Apostle Rubshi (1)

"This city seems rather unsettled..."

The subordinate said it while glancing around. Broken festival decorations lay scattered everywhere. The garrison was on high alert, and the citizens' faces were anything but bright. It was Advent Day — a time when laughter should have been blooming in every street. A scene like this was nothing short of bizarre.

"Should I go ask around about what's going on?"

She put the question to her superior, an older man, who shook his head.

"If you're not gonna take responsibility for it, don't even touch it."

"I said I'd just ask. Who said anything about solving it? Honestly."

"I'd like to get back by Advent Day itself, you know. You'll go ask, come scurrying back, and then it'll be Captain, such-and-such is the problem, let's go fix it for them — I can already see you sticking your nose in..."

"We're supposed to reach out to people in trouble. Who do you think we are? Besides, you always grumble about it and then end up helping anyway, Captain."

"I hate being preached at."

"And a man like that is serving as a Guardian?"

"It's not like I wanted the job. Other people stuck me with it."

She knew perfectly well he could step down if he really didn't want it — but as she grumbled, the captain waved her off.

"Pipe down. Fine. Do whatever you want. Go on, get out of here."

And so the subordinate dashed off toward the garrison, her hair streaming behind her, clearly delighted. The guards were wary at first, but once she identified herself, they immediately laid out the situation. She listened with a bright expression, humming along — until her face gradually darkened, then twisted into outright horror.

She trudged back.

"I really shouldn't have asked..."

"Well, well."

So much for reaching out to people in trouble. When he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠glanced over, the garrison men who'd looked so haggard just moments ago now had hope flickering across their faces. A bunch of grimy middle-aged guys staring at them with sparkling eyes was... uncomfortable, to say the least. That pretty much told him everything.

"...Judging by the circumstances, it's heretics."

"Figured as much."

"They've already sent a request for reinforcements to the Holy City... Apparently a giant crow went on a rampage in the shopping district... And today there've been more reports of explosions and magic being fired off in the mountains behind the city, so the garrison is putting together a reconnaissance team."

"And they're looking at us like they want us to come along. Wait — look at that. Isn't that a barrier?"

No sooner had he pointed at the mountain than his subordinate's communication crystal began to flash.

"Yes, this is Peco. Yes... yes... He's with me. Ah, yes... We've just gotten a handle on the situation ourselves...... Yes, we'll see to it."

The Holy City already knew there were Holy Knights returning from a mission in the north. Ordering them to handle it would save time — it was the perfect arrangement. The female subordinate, Peco, finished the call and looked at Guardian Cedric with a miserable expression. Cedric found the sight so amusing he burst out laughing.

"Why the long face?"

"You know I really, really hate heretics... I don't even want to confront them... Honestly, I just wish they'd all disappear..."

"You're a Holy Knight through and through. I like that fire. I'll pray in the Saint's name that those hands of yours wipe them all out."

"Easy for you to say... How am I supposed to do something even you can't, Captain?"

Cedric shrugged and took the lead. Peco trudged after him. And so the two Holy Knights set out.

Deep in the mountains, the hymns of the Shadow Cult's faithful rose in a grand, rolling chorus. While Claude's subordinates had paused their pursuit to prepare the barrier, the last person they wanted to see approached Sugar and Ryly.

"Rubshi..."

"Sugar. You still haven't gotten any farther than this? And now the barrier's gone up."

That same easygoing manner as always only made it more unsettling. Cold sweat kept beading on Sugar's skin.

"Hm? This mana... Tommy's here too. I heard he was sick, but it looks like he's all better. I'm so glad he found his way here."

The way she said it so casually made Ryly clench his teeth. Sugar stepped in front of him.

"Glad about what, exactly?"

"Hehe. A friend who cares about you this much — and who you care about just as much — found you. You two reunited. That's why I'm glad."

"What are you even... Rubshi. I don't understand what you want. Weren't you trying to keep me trapped in the cult? Then this shouldn't be good news for you."

"Ah... well... I do want that, yes. But that's a separate matter. This is what you wanted, isn't it? A reunion with your friend. So I'm glad."

"..."

Oh, and it also means I can bring both of you back together now, so that's fortunate too, she added quickly. A crow sat perched on a branch above her head.

It was impossible to read her. She'd always been hard to figure out, but at least Sugar had been able to get a sense of her personality. She'd even shown a ditzy side now and then. She'd felt like a regular person. But now? Sugar couldn't make sense of her at all. She'd act friendly, then stab you in the back. Then just when you thought she was doing it again, she'd be steering you toward something else entirely.

Just standing there with her eyes closed and that strange little smile — Sugar couldn't understand it. She frowned at the sight, and Ryly opened his book.

"Anyway. You came after us, which means ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you're here to catch us again."

"Ah! I knew I sensed something unusual — so that's what you've been hiding all this time! Let's see... a stone? A book? Could you describe its form for me?"

"Shut up and pick up your staff."

"Ah... everyone's busy setting up the barrier anyway. A little conversation wouldn't hurt, would it?"

"I've got nothing to say to a kidnapper."

"Appearances aside, we haven't done Sugar a single bit of harm."

At those words, Ryly looked at Sugar — her soles were torn open, and her body was covered in wounds. Beyond the scrapes from tree branches, there were angry red marks where various spells had grazed her. Ryly's face twisted. Sensing the shift in the air, Rubshi quickly changed tack.

"Well. Let me rephrase — not until Sugar started acting up. Once she set the altar on fire and started fleeing while unleashing His mana, well, we had no choice."

You set a fire too? Ryly's silent look asked. Sugar nodded sheepishly.

"I was actually trying to protect Sugar through all of that. I wanted to take care of her until the day I died. Even when she ran, I tried to stop her with a sleep spell — an extremely humane method, I'll have you know."

The words flowed like water. Sugar sighed and pushed back.

"Rubshi... I never asked for any of that. What I want isn't the cult's care — it's freedom under the sun. I don't want to face the god you worship, I don't want to believe in it, and I don't want to live with any of you... Just let me go. What happened to all that talk about a child's wishes being important?"

At those sincere words, Rubshi smiled, running her fingers along her staff. The way this tiny little girl was chattering away, asking to be let go — it was just too adorable.

"Freedom. How lovely. How sweet."

Slowly, as if chewing over the past.

"But it isn't something you get for free, you know."

She launched into an incantation at once. Just before she could speak the activation word, Sugar pointed her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wand and sent a pebble flying from the ground. Rubshi ducked with a look of amusement, then closed the distance in an instant.

A whole other world unfolded before her eyes. Sunlight pouring down. The sound of birdsong. It was the top of that towering tree she'd seen before — a strange place where you could almost touch the clouds if you reached out, yet it wasn't cold. Neither Rubshi nor Ryly nor anyone else was in sight. A space all her own. She knew it was an illusion, but the vivid realism still left her mouth hanging open.

"Take a moment to rest and enjoy the view."

Rubshi's voice drifted through like a dream. But Sugar didn't panic. She simply raised her wand and began to chant. One of the three spells she knew how to use. Protection, Warm Breeze, and Dispel.

The moment she spoke the activation word, reality snapped back.

Ordinarily, dispelling an illusion of this caliber would be no easy feat. You'd have to decipher the caster's spell woven through the space — and a powerhouse like Rubshi would have prepared thoroughly. She'd stacked the incantation layer upon dense layer; even a decent mage would need dozens of minutes. And yet Sugar unraveled it with ease.

Rubshi's mana permeating the illusion. Reaching out, she could naturally feel her way to its source. If she just followed the path in her mind, she couldn't help but know the flow of the spell.

Looking around with clear eyes, she found Ryly staring blankly, muttering something under his breath — still in the middle of trying to dispel it. Sugar raised her wand to help him. At that moment, a mana bolt from Rubshi sent the wand flying.

"Ugh!"

"Wow, Sugar. Whether it's because you've been through this before or not, you got out of that incredibly fast."

Sugar threw herself toward the wand — and Rubshi stepped into her path.

"No wand, either. What will you do now?"

She clasped her hands behind her back and bent down playfully to meet Sugar's face. As if to say, no matter what you try, I can stop it. It was infuriating.

Sugar erupted mana through her entire body. Rubshi predicted movements by reading mana flow — so Sugar just blasted it out wildly, giving her nothing to read.

"So you've figured out how to fight me. Still, at this distance I can hear whatever move you—"

"That's the idea!"

"!"

Without any physical movement, Sugar poured mana into her vocal cords and shrieked right into Rubshi's ear. The blind Apostle, with her hypersensitive hearing, flinched and went rigid.

She didn't see that coming.

Sugar grinned in triumph and rolled toward her wand. The instant she grabbed it, she pointed it at Ryly and spoke the activation word.

"Dispel Magic."

Ryly startled and looked around wildly.

"...You dispelled it?"

"Mhm."

She barely had time to look smug before mana bolts rained down. The two of them immediately threw up a barrier and leaped aside.

Following the spell Ryly uttered in succession, something transparent shimmered into being above Rubshi's head. The instant she registered it, a rain of mana began to pour down. It came down with the force of a torrential downpour.

Rubshi chanted a defensive spell and darted this way and that, but the transparent cloud pursued her relentlessly, never letting up. The force was such that she could feel her barrier being punched through, bit by bit.

Apparently she liked that — the blind Apostle let out a great laugh, then tapped the ground with her staff. More precisely, she tapped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her own shadow. In an instant, she vanished into it.

"What... where did she go?"

Sugar stared in bewilderment as Ryly began chanting to dispel the spell. Magic Rain persisted until the caster's mana ran dry, after all.

"Hello."

At that moment, Rubshi burst out of Sugar's shadow. The mana cloud immediately chased after her — which meant Sugar was now inside the attack range as well.

Ryly froze. If he finished the dispel, he wouldn't be able to stop whatever Rubshi was about to do to Sugar. But if he stopped the dispel, Sugar would get hit by the Magic Rain. Caught between two choices, he clenched his teeth—

Sugar rolled her eyes toward him, meeting his gaze. It was as if she were telling him to trust her. Ryly clicked his tongue and finished the spell.

"Dispel Magic."

The mana cloud vanished. Rubshi murmured, "Wasn't that a handshake?" and reached for Sugar — only for Sugar to point her wand right back at her.

As if she were about to speak an activation word any second. Through her empty eyes, Rubshi could see the girl's mana flowing actively. A stance for attack. Even she wouldn't come out well from taking a hit head-on. And yet, somewhere inside, she also wanted to take Sugar's magic with her own body. She leaned in, thick with a sticky kind of excitement—

...Huh?

What?

Warm Breeze?

The spell she just cast was Warm Breeze? That activation word she shouted so boldly? Seriously?

Rubshi's brain short-circuited. In that interval, a breeze blew through, warmly wrapping her body that had gone cold on the winter mountain.

"..."

That only made it more absurd. As she stood there with her mouth hanging open, Ryly seized the opening and cast.

From where Rubshi stood, countless thorns erupted with a vicious shriek. The attack range cut off right in front of Sugar. She rubbed her chest at the terrifying sight, then peered into the thorns — no one was there.

Thorns that had burst forth in the blink of an eye, and a Rubshi who had vanished just as fast. She hadn't been turned into a hedgehog among the thorns, so she must have dodged on her own. As Sugar thought that, a soft tap of a landing came from far off.

"Wow... you're quite something."

A voice full of admiration.

"I think I underestimated you two for being children. For opponents like you, I suppose I should start putting in a little effort."

So far, Rubshi hadn't used a single lethal spell. Illusions to neutralize them, mana bolts to keep them in check — actions that made it abundantly clear she had no intention of hurting them. That was why they'd been able to hold on somehow. And now she was going to start trying?

"Rubshi. You remember your oath, right?"

"Of course. That's why every spell I've used so far has been so gentle. It'll stay that way, so don't you worry."

As she spoke, she pulled something from her robes and dropped it at her feet with a soft tap. Right where her shadow lay.

"A humble little trick of mine. I do hope you'll enjoy it."

The fragment — that same pitch-black shard Claude's crows used to spit out — melted into Rubshi's shadow. And with it, the activation word.