Rise of a Heroine

One moment, Crisostomo was in the air beside Aya, then the next, he was on the ground, trapped between the claws of the beast.

“No!”

"GRAWRRR!!!"

Her scream vanished under its guttural growl.

It towered over him, its oversized hind legs digging into the earth as it prepared to strike again. He groaned and tried to push himself upright. But he was stuck, and the only thing that's keeping him from getting crushed was the barrier he’d quickly cast to shield himself. She could only watch, pale-faced and locked in place.

‘No, no, no, no, no…’

The beast lunged.

He barely rolled aside before its claws carved deep trenches into the ground where he'd been lying. Panic flooded her chest, stealing the air from her lungs. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears, her eyes darting around wildly.

She looked down at her self-proclaimed familiar at the same time the beast reared up again.

“P-Please!”

“Understood.”

It crashed into the beast, hurling it across the streets before it skidded to a halt. For several heartbeats, they glowered at each other. Then, both rabbits roared, their deep, resonant bellows rolling through the sky.

The berserk creature moved first.

It ripped a whole building and swung it with astonishing strength, tearing a terrified shriek from Aya. But the other caught the blow at once with its shadows, and the structure shattered. Then, with a thunderous leap that defied gravity, it crossed half the way in a single bound.

Roads cracked. Houses collapsed. The entire royal capital shook.

The maddened beast rose again, determined to reduce the world to rubble.

‘Can’t anything else be done?’

Aya glanced behind where Crisostomo was.

He was safe, much to her relief, but his injuries prevented him from getting back into action. She was now vulnerable too, with neither his wind magic nor barrier still protecting her. At this rate, she would plummet if another collision happened. She was powerless—helpless.

Regret and frustration gripped her.

‘If only I studied and trained magic properly, maybe I could've done something more,’ she lamented. ‘One spell... Just one spell… Even just one useful spell…’

As Aya continued looking at Crisostomo, an idea came to her. ‘That book I read about Crisostomo… ‘Crisostomo the Hero.’ Some chapters are longer than the others, particularly the fight scenes. Although the dialogues in those are few, the lines are lengthy. I sort of glossed over them since I couldn't understand the terms the characters used...’

Voices reached her ears at that moment. The mages, alongside Drevazio, had successfully formed a huge magic circle in the sky. Chants drifted in the wind, and she realized, ‘...Could those terms in the book be the Magic Language?’

Aya never read the Magic Language, or perhaps, she did—unknowingly.

It happened with the Magic Scratch. This whole time, she had been doing it without realizing, but because of that, she had a clue how Magic Draft was supposed to work. That could also be possible with the Magic Language. For all she knew, those specific excerpts in the books she read were derived from it.

‘Maybe they're real spells?!’ At the thought, hope sparked in her.

The only thing she was completely unfamiliar with was the Magic Grammar. However, Crisostomo had mentioned, “A spell requires memorization, visualization, and fluency.” If the Magic Language was what's memorized and the Magic Draft visualized, most likely, the Magic Grammar was what needed fluency.

Therefore, wielding magic properly right there and then was plausible. The invisibility spell, which she merely memorized, worked every time. Going by that example, it could be that even the lines in the books were viable as they were. They seemed to be constructed as actual spells, and they could probably be activated by doing the last requirement—the Magic Signature.

With that in mind, she concluded, ‘So, recall those, uh, magic terms from the books, envisage the spell but adapt only those words, then use them to compose a chant… I guess?’

“Aya, stay down! I'm coming!” Crisostomo shouted from below.

Her eyes widened at the wounds on his arms and legs. She clenched her teeth. It’s her fault. He did so much for her, yet she did nothing in return, and instead, she caused him harm. If this went on, she'd never get a chance to repay him.

“N-No, Crisostomo! You stay down!”

“What?!”

“You’re hurt! I don't…want you to get in danger again…”

“You're the one who's in danger right now! Just hang on, okay?!”

Aya appreciated it, but he could be far too self-sacrificing for his own good. He reminded her of her stepfather. ‘Dad… He must be waiting for me. I should finish this soon.’ 

“Aya! Are you listening?! Don't-”

“[O Void that Veils, woven by shadows…].”

Her fingers began to glow and trace the air while she mentally deciphered a particular excerpt in the book. Rather than the protagonist, Crisostomo, she was imitating the antagonist, the Evil Lord of Albania, who had mastered dark magic. She carefully restructured the character’s lines into a functional spell that met her conditions. The goddess's ambassador, seemingly recognizing the words, jerked under her.

“[...Raise thy hands from the deepest hollow...].”

Thin, flowing darkness surfaced from the ground like a storm cloud.

“[...Seize the beast of ruin, of chaos and strife… Bind its rage with chains of endless night…]”

It slid towards the beast, then wrapped around its limbs with the softness of silk. The creature flinched. The shadow held on. Gently, it draped across its shoulders and chest like layers of fabric—over and over until fur vanished beneath shifting folds.

“[...Let darkness claim and darkness hold… Its roars be silenced, its limbs controlled!]”

The giant screeched, and in response, the darkness thickened. What had seemed like cloth stretched into fingers—into hands that enveloped its neck, covered its eyes, and folded its ears in a perfectly coordinated motion. It thrashed in resistance, its breathing turning ragged, before it buckled under the shadow's overwhelming power.

The arms lifted the colossus. A mantle emerged beneath and carried it with ceremony like an offering. It climbed higher and higher, suspended in the black pit.

Crisostomo watched, his eyes and mouth wide open. “Aya, you…”

“Splendid, my lady! You have successfully summoned the Void that Veils!”

“Gah! It hurts, it hurts! My head hurts!” Aya wailed in pain, grabbing her head.

“Stop pushing yourself!”

“T-This is our only chance-”

“Use it to escape from here! Go!”

She gave her friend an apologetic look. “Sorry, but… I don't think I want to go home like this.” Her gaze flicked down to her familiar. “Let’s get moving, Mysterious Lord of the Obsidian Shadow!”

“Where to?”

“That way!”

Seeing where she pointed, the boy inhaled sharply. “The central temple?!”

Off they went.

They bounded forth, carrying their bounty caged in the veil of void. All around them were deafening explosions and crumbling concrete that threatened to break their momentum. They charged through nonetheless, around scattered debris and across deserted streets. The nearer they got, the louder the mages' chants became.

Aya had turned a strip of shadow into a safety belt, securing herself with it to avoid falling off. But another problem sprang up. She was on the brink of losing consciousness. Her eyes kept closing and struggled to open.

Blood trickled down her nose.

‘Oh.’

She was at her limit.

She could no longer stay up.

Even then, she didn't undo the spell. She remembered Crisostomo saying that magic auras could be sensed through Magic Signatures, and at this moment, she's able to do just that. With this, she could still tell the direction of the mages. So, they continued on the way, all while capturing the remaining beasts they passed by.

“What was that?!”

“Am I seeing things…?”

“S-Should we stop it?”

“Knight Commander! That is…!”

The Hunter Order was at a loss.

Right when they had finally subdued the rampaging creatures, one more came—a most peculiar one. A young girl was riding on it and using magic to drag the others along. For a fraction of time, everyone could all but stare. The commander then declared a ceasefire that halted the knights’ onslaught.

“Protect that child at all costs!”

“Sir…?”

“That child cannot be harmed, you hear?!”

As the knight commander said this, she noticed him looking at the staff she was holding.

Alas, they reached the central temple. Aya released the magic spell, and all four beasts gathered in the middle. She couldn't see at this point, but she sensed an aura nearby—stoic, strong, sage. Then, a pair of arms scooped her up. Drevazio's familiar voice filled her ears along with the intense sound of the wide-scale subjugation spell being unleashed upon the beasts.

“Good grief… So, this is what I get for believing in you, Lord Calixtus.”

‘...Calixtus?’

“Miss Aya!”

Lorenz appeared in the scene, looking disheveled and close to tears.

Maybe it was the relief of seeing him still concerned for her despite what she did. Maybe it was the satisfaction of achieving her goal to bring all five beasts there. Maybe it was the joy of helping others for once after running away the entire time. But right then, she finally let go of everything.

And into a deep slumber, Aya succumbed.