Year 2: The Heroes Descend - Chapter 6

Team 1 - led by Duncan Warick

Duncan Warick

Brenda Iversen

Feng Li

Dao Chen

Stephanie Ryan

Blake Armstrong

Team 2 - led by Yve Muller

Yve Muller

Liam Bryne

Hailey Carman

Gati Pramath

Adrien Iason

Kavi Tarin

Team 3 - led by Hajime Sakamoto

Hajime Sakamoto

Akane Nariko

Amen Hassad

Sayeh Azimi

Ari Teina

Zuzu Arnost

Team 4 - led by Guy Simeon

Guy Simeon

Eerika Korhonen

Tomar Bedi

Talon Laurent

Reis Conley

Delwyn Anghard

Team 5 - led by Kayleigh Henson

Kayleigh Henson

Ewan Walsh

Gabriel Perez

Fala Talli

Trevor Newlin

Elysa Tedra

“So, these are the teams we came up with,” Duncan said as Dante read through the documents.

“Hmm, well done, Duncan.” Dante clasped his hand on Duncan’s shoulder and smiled. “I knew you guys were capable, but I didn’t expect you to think of this stuff so quickly. Have to say, I’m impressed.”

“Thank you!”

“If I had one criticism, it’d be that you didn’t even try to come up with cool team names.”

“Cool names?”

“Yeah. I mean, I thought for sure you would’ve at least tried, instead of just going ‘So, we decided on our leader first and so we’re team one’. Isn’t that a bit boring?”

“Does that really matter?” Kayleigh sighed.

“…I guess not.”

“Then, can we take it that you’ll accept our teams as we’ve decided, or-?”

“Ah, yeah, this works perfectly for us, doesn’t it Kella?” The adventurer only nodded back. “See? I’ll let the leaders of the alliance know and we’ll construct our training sessions around having you guys work in your teams almost exclusively. That way, it’ll be better for you all in the long run. Although.” Dante laughed lightly. “I was planning on sorting you into teams myself after seeing what you could all do. If you guys are happier this way, then we’ll work with this instead.”

“Alright, listen up!” Dante clapped twice loudly, silencing the summoned heroes who were chatting amongst themselves in the courtyard. “After looking over the team’s you guys came up with, I’ve decided that these shall be your official teams moving forward and that we’ll train you in those six-man groups as well. To that end, please allow me to introduce to you your instructors!”

Four people emerged from the pillars behind Dante, only one of whom the summoned heroes recognised.

“I know that you guys have already met her, but on the far left we have the highly skilled adventurer Kella, who is a master of the spear and has fought against the Demon Emperor and lived to tell the tale.

“Next to her is one of the finest fencers the world has ever seen, winner of eight different sword-fighting tournaments in the Holy Empire of Themis and the personal knight of her royal highness, Princess Aeila: Dame Chelsea.

“As for the very muscular and very scary woman beside her-”

“Who are you callin’ scary lookin’?!”

“…I mean, Atalanta, have you-?”

“Shut your mouth, Dante!”

“…This wonderful, charming woman is Atalanta - an S-ranked adventurer from the Kingdom of Rhodes and she’s, uh, she’s…very sweet when…intoxicated.”

“Damn straight.” Atalanta folded her arms and smiled smugly.

“…Moving right along,” Dante mumbled. “The man beside her is the Shogun of the Yun Shogunate, Princess Hiiragi’s husband and commander of all her armies, Lord Takahiko Akechi! Why has someone so skilled and valued taken time off to come and teach you lot, you might ask? Well, that should tell you just how serious our situation is.”

“It is as Dante says, brave heroes,” Akechi said with a polite bow. “Whilst I know not how overwhelming this must be for all of you, I promise that I shall do my utmost to make sure you are all ready to fight against and defeat our most hated foe.”

“And, last but not least, I’m Dante - last surviving member of the Order of Monster Hunters. I’ve fought Behemoths, Dragons and all the worst kinds of beasts you can imagine, and I still lost an arm fighting the Demon Emperor’s lackies. This.” He held up his liquid metal arm. “I lost to the ever-lovely Satyr Knight, and I can’t wait to return the favour.”

“Even though you couldn’t last time we fought her.”

“It was a draw, Kella.” Dante cleared his throat. “Okay, so, allow me to go over a few more things about the training plan before we start assigning you guys’ trainers.

“First, and I cannot stress this enough, you thirty heroes are Aangapea’s best hope of defeating the Demon Emperor. Two Gods gave a lot to send you to us, and so I must believe that it was for this purpose and this purpose alone. While we might train you hard and often push you beyond your limits, it is because we want you to be our saviours and will do anything we can to help you reach that goal.

“Second, training will vary each and every day of the week, but there will always be at least an hour long session outside or in the training rooms to stretch your legs, practice controlling your Divine Artefacts, using whatever mana or magic you might possess, and potentially tapping into a potential no one knew you had. There will be a rest day after six days of practice and training, but that doesn’t mean that’s all you’ll be doing.

“Sometimes, you might be sent on quests for the Adventurer’s Guild to get some real field experience. Other times, you might be tasked with sitting in on diplomatic missions or escorting VIPs around the city. In a few weeks or months’ time when you’re all a bit stronger, we do plan on sending you across the west, either to the frontlines or to help our allies across Aangapea. However, we will not send you east until we know we can achieve victory.

“Finally, we do plan on holding some lectures and lessons for you to choose from, led by each of our wonderful instructors, including yours truly. If you want to know how to brew potions, Atalanta might look and talk like that, but she’s one of the best in the business. Lord Akechi has offered to give lectures on battlefield tactics and strategies. If anyone wants to become a member of the Order of Monster Hunters, I’ll gladly take on any disciples and train you how to use Arts. If you want to know what Arts are, then attend my class.

“Now!” Dante grinned. “With all that out of the way, I’ll now announce the trainers for each of your teams.

“For Team One, led by Duncan, Dame Chelsea. For Team Two, led by Yve, Kella. For Team Three, led by Hajime, you’ll have Lord Akechi. For Team Four, led by Guy, you’ll have Atalanta. Which means, Team Five, you’ve got me!”

“Dante, sir?”

“Yes, Amen?!

“Might I inquire as to why we have been assigned these instructors?”

“Dissatisfied with Lord Akechi?”

“N-no, sir, absolutely not! It’s just…” Amen awkwardly scratched his cheek. “It all seemed a bit…random.”

Dante smiled. “Don’t worry, Amen. You might not know why now, but I assigned the instructors to each team for a reason. I promise you that you’ll all work best like this. With that out of the way, everyone, please follow your instructors to a different part of the field, get to know one another and become the heroes Aangapea needs you to be!”

***

“A pleasure to meet you all.” Dame Chelsea gave Duncan’s team a beautiful smile and put a hand to her chest. “I am Princess Aeila’s personal knight, Dame Chelsea. While it embarrasses me a little to say this, I’ve only ever instructed the Princess on how to wield a sword. From what I can see, you all have quite different Divine Artefacts, so please bear with me as I figure out the best ways to educate each of you.”

“It is an honour to learn from one as skilled as yourself, Dame Chelsea.”

“Thank you, Lord Feng.”

“Please, Dame Chelsea, I must insist that you do not refer to me as such.”

“But-”

“Whilst we might be equals in terms of our titles, we are your students and, as my good friend Duncan has shown me, the best way to build bonds between one another is to discard any barriers that separate our hearts.”

“…When did Duncan do that?” Blake muttered.

“…I think he might’ve taken Duncan’s words a bit further than Duncan meant him to,” Stephanie giggled.

Chelsea nodded and held out her hand to Feng Li. “Then, Feng, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise, Dame Chelsea.”

“You can drop the Dame if you’d like. Oh, and that goes for all of you too.”

“Then, I’ll do just that,” Blake said.

“Me too. Although, I think we should probably call you Dame Chelsea when we’re in front of other people,” Stephanie added.

“I think we’re all on the same page then.” Duncan beamed. “Chelsea, I meant to ask, were you in attendance when we chose our Divine Artefacts?”

“I wasn’t, I’m afraid. Her highness wasn’t permitted to watch.”

“By whom?”

Chelsea thinly smiled. “Her brother. Ever since…well, I’m sure you can all guess.”

The Failed Reclamation - the disastrous counterattack led by the Prince and Count Barthlow.

Duncan and the others had been informed about it by King Alexander when they’d first arrived, but Duncan had only learnt that it was called days later. Prince Augustus, the last known surviving male heir to the Holy Empire of Themis, was rumoured to be unhealthy reclusive, banning almost everyone from visiting his quarters.

His sister, Princess Aeila, hadn’t suffered the same emotional blow, but she often tended to her brother to try and help ease his suffering.

Sensing that the mood had turned sour, Chelsea coughed loudly and clapped her hands. “Don’t worry - Dante already informed me what your Divine Artefacts were, though I imagine some will be easier to teach than others. Duncan, step forward, would you?”

The boy did so, and Chelsea moved behind him, positioning her chest to his back; then, she started moving his body bit by bit.

“Hold still and stay where I put you,” she said. “Duncan’s sword, Angurvadal, is the type of weapon I’m most familiar with. Admittedly, while I was always better with a thinner blade, I know how to use all types of swords, from bastards and claymores to rapiers and sabres. As for those runes.” She lightly touched his sword before moving his arms into position. “We’ll have to uncover their meanings together.

“Now, stay in that position for a few minutes Duncan.”

“O-okay.”

“That form is a Themis-style of sword fighting: The Tethys School. It focuses primarily on using powerful strikes to defeat your opponents, no matter what weapon they wield. You keep the blade up and in front of you, ready to swing, stab, block, or parry. Then, using the rest of your body, you generate power as you move, giving your strikes greater weight and impact. Remember this position Duncan, because it’s this exact position that I’ll have you get into at the start of every single one of our training sessions.”

“I-I’ll do my best!”

“Good! Brenda, your Sword of Surtr is slightly larger than Duncan’s, but the Tethys School works just as well for that, so assume the same position.”

“…Okay.”

“No, you’re slightly off,” Chelsea lightly scolded. She grabbed Brenda’s arms and bent them to the exact same point as Duncan’s. “There you go. Hold it until I say otherwise.”

“Right.”

“Feng, your bow is, well.” Chelsea laughed a little. “There’s only so many ways to hold and shoot a bow but, from the look of you, you’ve seen your fair share of combat before, haven’t you?”

“That I have, Chelsea. Before being reborn here, I fought in many battles, slew many foes and lost many friends.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Are you well-versed in-?”

“I know how to use the bow, sword and spear, Chelsea,” Feng Li answered with a bright smile. “I believe that, for now, your time would be best spent with my companions than me.”

“…As you wish. Dao Chen-”

“I’m good.”

“Excuse me?”

Dao Chen sighed and grumbled beneath her breath. “You heard me.”

“…Um, have I done-?”

Dao Chen turned away, fluttering her Divine Artefact, the Swan Cloak, behind her as she walked a few metres away.

“…She’s been like that since we arrived,” Stephanie confessed. “I don’t know what’s bothering her, but-”

“It’s fine.” Chelsea shut her eyes and nodded. “Everyone has the right to keep to themselves, though…”

If you don’t address it, it’ll never get better.

“Dame Chelsea?”

“Dao Chen’s fine as she is. As for you.” Chelsea spun to face Stephanie. “I’m afraid to say that I don’t know much about magic and witchcraft, though I’ve heard tales of the Book of Thoth.”

“…I don’t suppose any of those tales tell you how to use it properly.”

The two shared a small laugh together. “I’m afraid not, Stephanie. All they say is that it contains the most powerful magic this world has ever seen and that every single page is more difficult than the last to read.”

“Great.”

“The castle library, as well as the city’s grand library, are at your disposal. Not just that; King Alexander has sent out the call for translators, interpreters, mages, and wizards to come to Rhodes specially to help you decipher the inner secrets of the Book of Thoth. Hopefully, with their assistance, it’ll be less of a burden to you.”

“Thank you very much! Oh, I guess I need to thank King Alexander too.”

“He’d be happy to hear that, though he’s rather busy these days, so I’ll try and pass on your sentiments when I see him next.” Finally, Chelsea turned to Blake and said, “Solomon’s Rings are quite a mystery too, so I think I’ll have to see about hiring a mage or magical instructor from the university to help you get to grips with the basics. I hope that’s okay with both of you.”

“Of course!”

“Thank you very much,” Blake said with a bow.

“Well then, with that all out of the way, let’s start building up your core muscles and stamina. Today, I’ll teach you a work-out routine that I expect you to follow to the letter every single day, as well as a means to take care of yourselves after pushing yourself.

***

Tonbokiri - one of the three legendary spears forged by Fujiwara Masazane, with a blade so sharp that when a dragonfly landed on it, it was instantly cut in two.

Made with polished wood from a sakura tree, encrusted with gilded gold and silver, it was a thin spear with a narrow blade that elicited a beautiful sound when swung or thrust with.

For Hajime, who had long since dreamt of becoming a hero in another world, it was the perfect Divine Artefact for him.

I’d read some books about it back in Japan, but it doesn’t even come close to the real thing! He laughed happily to himself as he gently held it in his hands. Thank you, God.

“Hajime.” Lord Akechi patted him on the shoulder. “Remember, as a team leader, it’s important that you lead by example. If the man issuing the orders isn’t willing to follow them, then why should any of the men under his command.”

“R-right…sorry.”

“As long as you understand. Now, here.” He handed the boy a sealed scroll. “This contains in-depth instructions on the types of exercises I wish you to lead them in, whilst I will simply supervise.”

“You’re not going to teach us personally?”

“Not for now, no. For now, I’ll simply keep watch in order to get a greater understanding of how you all work together, how you communicate and, more importantly, how you lead them.”

“…Right.”

“You sound unsure of yourself. Are you-?”

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it, Lord Akechi!” Hajime grinned awkwardly at him. “I’m just, I guess, a bit overexcited.”

“…Then, that’s fine. Go.”

“Right!”

Lord Akechi watched Hajime as his back got smaller and sighed.

I know that many of them are inexperienced, but there’s a limit to how unprepared one can be for war.

He continued observing them for an hour and, with every passing minute, frustrations grew.

Not just from Lord Akechi but, more crucially, Hajime’s teammates.

“He’s not suited to lead.”

***

“Focus!” Kella yelled, smacking the blunt end of her spear into Gati’s gut.

He sputtered for air and collapsed onto his knees, tightly gripping his stomach.

“Just because those shoes make you faster doesn’t mean that someone can’t counter you. If you move in a predictable manner, guess what happens?” She kicked him lightly on the back, dropping Gati onto his front. “Next, Hailey!”

“Yes?!”

Kella beckoned her over. “Get your sword and shield up.”

“Like this?”

“No.” Kella grumbled and forcefully moved Hailey into the right position. “Like this. Now, I’m going to thrust my spear at you ten times; block at least half of them, or else we’ll keep going. Understood?”

“Yes?”

“Good. Then.” Kella spun her spear in her hands a few times, then aimed the blunt end at Hailey’s head. “Begin!”

In an instant, Kella reclosed the few metre-wide gap she’d left between her and Hailey and struck. The first blow was aimed right at Hailey’s jaw which, out of sheer panic, the girl flinched and moved to protect her face.

The spear bounced off Pridwen, but Kella used Hailey’s lack of visibility and struck three times at her stomach, twice on the left and then once on the right. Hailey almost dropped to her knees but caught herself just in time to block Kella’s next strike.

Alas, the blow was more powerful than Hailey anticipated, and it sent her flying backwards onto the ground.

“Next, Liam!”

“You okay, Hailey?”

As Kella moved onto the next victim of her spartan training, the only other girl on Hailey’s team came over to offer her a hand up, Yve Muller, their team leader.

“…Thank you, but I’m-” Hailey muscles ached as she tried to push herself up off the ground.

“You want to rethink that statement real quick?”

The two shared a small laugh as Yve eased Hailey back onto her feet. “Instructor Kella really doesn’t hold back, does she?”

“…No.”

“Though, I think I got off slightly better than you guys. All she did was cut my arrows out of the air, then tackle me to the ground. Though, I can definitely feel a big bruise coming on my back tomorrow.”

“…Yeah.”

Yve smiled slightly and met Hailey’s eyes. “I don’t mean this to come across wrong or anything, but have I done something to upset you or-?”

“No, it’s nothing…like that.”

“Ah, are you shy?” Hailey shook her head. “You sure? Because that’s what all the kids at kindergarten do when they’re shy.”

“Kindergarten?”

“Oh, didn’t I mention that? My family runs one back in France and I’d help out on the weekends or whenever I had a day off school. All the shy ones would shake their heads, look down at the ground and promise me that they weren’t shy.” Yve giggled a little. “I never thought I’d see a nineteen-year-old do the same thing.”

“…Seriously, it’s not…that.” Hailey shut her eyes and lightly gripped her arm. “I…lost someone, and I never really…got over it.”

“…I’m sorry to hear that. How long ago?”

“A few months. And then…I died, in front of his sister.”

“…Sorry, I shouldn’t have pried.”

Hailey shook her head. “It’s…fine. It’s just.” She smiled weakly. “I really hoped he’d be here.”

Yve smiled a little back. “Yeah, I can imagine how you feel. I got lucky that I met someone I knew here, but that was what, like a one-in-a-billion chance? Maybe less. And even then, Guy doesn’t really remember me. I’m sorry that he wasn’t here.”

“…Yeah.”

“I’m not going to say something stupid like ‘Get over it’ or ‘It’ll all get better’ because that’s not too helpful, so, instead, I’ll say this.” Yve grabbed Hailey’s hand and met her gaze. “I’m more than happy to lend a shoulder, an ear or even an arm or two, if that’ll help you in any way. You don’t have to get along with everyone, not even the guys on our team, but I’d at least like to be your friend and help you in some way. Is that okay?”

“…I’m grateful to hear that, but…it feels like I’m being spoken to like a child.”

“Oh, does it?” Yve playfully stuck her tongue out. “I guess I can’t shake the act of playing the ‘big sister’ too easily.”

Hailey giggled. “No, but…thank you, Yve.”

“You’re very welcome, Hailey.”

As the two spoke softly to each other to one side, no one else near them had overheard their conversation, aside from one person.

Every so often, Kella had thrown glances at Hailey, fearing that it would confirm the worst-case scenario she could imagine.

The name Hailey had muttered - David.

There was only one person who Kella knew that went by that name, and she knew he had come from another world.

It could just be a coincidence, or…

***

“Good work today, everyone!” Dante cried, applauding the young heroes’ efforts with loud, resounding claps. “Now, I know that some of you might have been pushed a bit harder than others.” He said, giving Yve’s and Guy’s teams a sympathetic look. “But I can assure you, that every single one of your instructors has done what they think’s best to train you.

“Don’t worry - it won’t be like this every time. It just…might be worse some days.” He laughed heartily. “Don’t worry though, as time passes, you’ll look back on these days and laugh and cry at the happy memories you all spent together training. For now, go back, have a big dinner, relax, and enjoy the rest of your evening together!

Once the exhausted heroes had left, Dante waited until the other instructors had left before finally calling out to Kella.

“You went a bit too hard on them, don’t you think?”

“…Really? That’s how the guild usually treats its newbies.”

“I didn’t know Themis’s adventurer’s guild was that rough."

“It’s worse than that, I can assure you.”

Dante sighed and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. “Kella, I, uh, I’m not sure how best to ask this but, is…everything alright?”

She tensed up a little. “What do you mean?”

“…I’m not going to pretend I know what you’re going through, but…I think it’s best if you talked to someone about it. Doesn’t have to be me or any of our colleagues, but-”

“Dante. When was the last time you lost someone you loved?”

“…Hundreds of years back…the last day of the Draconic Wars.”

Kella smiled bitterly at him. “A year ago, I had a brother…I had someone I called my big sister. I had my friends, my parents…I had a life. Now.” She grunted. “Now I have…this. And this is it. There’s nothing left…in here.” She gently traced her fingers over her chest. “It’s empty…no, it…I feel dead, Dante. There’s one place in this whole world where I don’t feel this way and…it’s not here.”

“Kella, we don’t know that your parents are-”

“You said I should talk to someone, right? Who?”

The two stared at one another uncomfortably until, finally, Kella weakly said, “Goodnight, Dante.”

“…Night, Kella.”

She wasn’t like this a few weeks ago - something happened, or changed, but what?

…The Summoned Heroes?

***

Despite experiencing one of the most gruelling and physically demanding days of his life, Duncan couldn’t sleep.

He had emerged from his bedroom to find all but the night-time servants asleep; they asked if they could get him anything, but he politely refused, saying he just wanted to go for a quick walk.

However, the castle was much darker at night than he’d expected it to be, so he didn’t want to go too far.

I guess I took streetlights for granted. Duncan thought.

After strolling aimlessly around the gardens for a while, he came across a steel-clad knight smoking alone on some stone steps.

She had long, curly brunette hair tied up in a ponytail behind her head, deep violet eyes and a gentle expression on her face that still befit a woman of a noble upbringing.

“Dame Chelsea?”

She stopped herself before taking another puff from her pipe and smiled at him. “Good evening, Duncan.”

He laughed. “It’s probably closer to morning at this point.”

“Is it?” She turned away from him and smoked again. “It’s hard to tell, these days.”

Unsure of what the right thing to do was, Duncan slowly moved to sit beside her; Chelsea didn’t reject his advances and lightly patted a spot beside her for him to sit on.

“Thank you,” he whispered, before quickly wishing he’d brought a coat with him, for the stone step was quite cold.

Chelsea, however, noticed his discomfort, took her coat off and placed it around his shoulders.

“Thank you very much.”

Her lips around the pipe curved into a smile before she returned to gazing up at the three moons in the night sky.

“…Wow.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s beautiful. I mean, I haven’t seen a sky with three moons outside of movies and games before.”

“Movies? Games?”

“They’re things we watch or play to have fun with back on Earth.”

“Like a play at the theatre?”

“Yeah, not that I’ve ever been myself.”

She coughed a little. “Have you ever wanted to see one?”

“…Yeah, but money was always a bit tight in my house, so…”

“Well.” Chelsea blew smoke out of her mouth. “All of you will be getting massive allowances from the Free People’s Alliance soon, so you should pop down to the Athenian and see one sometime.”

“I might just do that.”

With their conversation complete, silence returned between them for a relaxing few minute, before Chelsea’s pipe finally ran out of tobacco.

“I don’t suppose you smoke, do you?”

“N-no, I don’t.”

“Ever wanted to?”

“No, thank you.”

She smiled. “Me neither.”

“Then, why did you start?”

Chelsea smacked the pipe gently against the steps, clearing out the reside from it, before pocketing it with a weary sigh.

“How much do you know about the day that Old Themis fell?”

“Just what the monarchs told us, and the things I read in some newspapers.”

“…I was there the day the capital fell. I was one of the trusted few knights worthy of guarding our Emperor and his family; when I heard that laugh, I knew that the worst had happened. At the time, I thought it must’ve been Karak-Harth, for who else could laugh that cruelly but him. It was only when we escaped across the border that I’d learnt of the Demon Emperor.

“When the monsters attacked the palace, the royal family led us to a secret tunnel that would get us to safety. I, another knight by the name of Cacus, Prince Augustus and Princess Aeila escaped in that tunnel - Emperor Hector and the rest of the imperial family stayed behind, sealing off our escape route. I heard the screams as the beasts assaulted and butchered them, but I did not turn back.”

Chelsea collapsed onto the grassy pathway behind her, staring blankly up at the stars.

“I still remember the day I swore to be Emperor Hector’s loyal defender. I remember when the youngest member of the imperial family was born, I remember playing with Aeila in the gardens and…I remember the last time I ever saw them all happily eat together.

“Duncan…I volunteered to teach you lot out of my own selfish desires; I want to see the bastards who took away my happiness die. I want to see the moment when the warriors I train defeat the Demon Emperor and avenge the death of my family.

“Princess Aeila keeps acting strong, but I’ve heard her weep late at night. Prince Augustus has spent weeks trying to rally any more support to his side, but no one listens to him anymore. He went from having legions of men at his side to thousands, then dozens and now there’s only fifty who still proclaim themselves members of the Holy Legion. Cacus, the foolish knight, got himself killed when we attacked the east and now…I’m the last of the Royal Guard.

“Even the maids and butlers who attended to the heirs are strangers to them. Themis forbid that the ones they treasured suffered the same fate as their parents when the capital was sacked.”

Once she was finished getting everything off her chest, Chelsea shut her eyes and whispered, “What am I doing?”

Silence returned between them.

Whereas once it had been comfortable, now it was heavy and oppressing.

Duncan wasn’t sure what to say, or how to process everything that Chelsea had thrown at him.

On one hand, he was happy that she trusted him enough to reveal so much about herself; on the other, it was a much darker, and terrifying, truth than he could ever have imagined.

I’m not too sure what the best thing to say right now is, but.

“Thank you.”

“Huh? What for?”

“Telling me. I can’t even begin to imagine how painful it must’ve been for you to go through all that, but there’s only one more thing that I want to say.” He sat up and bent down on one knee to her. Surprised, Chelsea sat upright as Duncan smiled and proclaimed, “I, Duncan Wilson, vow to you, Dame Chelsea, that I’ll become stronger than anyone else and defeat the Demon Emperor. Not just for you, but for everyone who has ever suffered because of his tyranny.”

Ah, it ended up sounding a bit too corny at the end! Duncan screamed internally as his cheeks became slightly flushed from embarrassment, but he didn’t let it show on his face. Instead, he kept smiling at her as he stared into her eyes.

Chelsea was almost moved to tears by his proclamation.

She smiled softly back at him. “I look forward to it.”