The Hero
Click.
The moment I realigned the gears that had been grinding out of place deep within my soul, knowledge that was not my own flooded into my mind.
Utterly alien at first, that knowledge soon settled into something familiar—like experience I had always possessed. By the time I came back to myself, flames were already flickering naturally along my wings.
Whoosh!
Within the fire, this body shall reclaim its vitality.
Flap!
The pain had vanished without my noticing. I beat my wings hard, overtaking the mutant sandworm that had been charging toward Huey and Lucy.
“Simply watch. Then our Father shall hear that prayer.”
The words left my mouth of their own accord, completely beyond my will. In a hazy, almost drunken daze I watched the flames gather before my chest.
Whoooosh—!
A colossal wave of fire rose as if it meant to swallow the entire canyon whole. Through the surging wall of flame that barred the mutant sandworm’s path, I glimpsed the blurred silhouette of a crimson bird—something I felt I had seen somewhere before—and then my strength drained away in a rush and everything went black.
At Ren’s cry, Huey and Luciella clenched their teeth and sprinted toward the far side of the canyon, where a white light was flashing.
Whoooosh—!
A wave of searing heat exploded behind them. They spun around and began running the opposite way.
“That idiot for real!”
“Master. Pardon the intrusion!”
“What—whoa!”
They were racing to catch Ren, who was already falling unconscious, when Luciella seized Huey by the waist and yanked him backward.
“Please take care not to bite your tongue. Hup!”
“At least warn me first—!”
Huey complained even as he let her take control of his body. An instant later Luciella hurled him forward with all her strength.
“Got… you!”
Huey managed to wrap his arms around Ren a heartbeat before she hit the ground. Behind them the wall of fire was already beginning to thin; he spun and bolted in the original direction without wasting another second.
“Aargh, what a mess…!”
With Huey’s grumble the barrier of flame finally vanished completely.
Screeeech—!!
The mutant sandworm, blackened and charred in patches, roared in fury and charged straight at Huey—more precisely, at Ren cradled in his arms.
“Master!”
“Forget it—just run!”
Huey shouted at Luciella as she sprinted toward them, then murmured a quiet apology to the girl he held carefully against his chest.
“It’s about to get rough. Sorry in advance.”
He locked his left arm around Ren’s side and thrust his right hand deep into his robes.
“…Damn it. If not now, when?”
A blue talisman radiating an ominous aura rested in his palm. With a look of grim resolve Huey crumpled it and shoved it into his mouth.
Gulp.
The instant he swallowed, white static began crackling around him.
Crack. Crackle.
“Lucy! Hand!”
White lightning gathered beneath Huey’s feet as he called out. Luciella glanced back, slowed just enough to reach out, and took his hand.
“…Ugh! Isn’t this a bit too rough for a lady?”
“No time for jokes!”
Huey yanked her in, slung an arm around her waist the same way he held Ren, and shouted,
“Don’t bite your tongue!”
He launched himself forward in a single powerful leap—
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!
Screeech—!!
—just as the mutant sandworm, its burned flesh already healed as if the fire had never touched it, smashed through the canyon walls and closed in from behind.
Crack… Rumble!
Thunder cracked. Huey’s body streaked forward like a bolt of pure white lightning, leaving only an afterimage. In a single burst he reached the end of the canyon and tore open the distance again.
“Whoa! That’s dangerous!”
“I told you to be careful!”
He flung Luciella roughly aside, staggered as he regained his balance, and turned.
“Ugh… Look at that—he still won’t let go of Ren. Honestly.”
“She’s unconscious right now.”
Huey offered the half-hearted excuse while Luciella grumbled about being the only one dumped on the ground. With nowhere left to run, he stared at the approaching sandworm with a distinctly troubled expression.
“Lucy. Can you buy me about three minutes against that thing?”
“Does it look like I can?”
Three minutes was a fantasy; thirty seconds would already be a miracle. Luciella was seriously considering whether she should just thrash Huey until one of them died when her eyes suddenly widened.
“…Master. Over there.”
“Hm?”
She pointed past the sandworm’s head, to a white beam of light glittering between the collapsing canyon walls.
“That’s what Ren was talking about earlier… right?”
“Seems so.”
The descending light carved a great arc through the air. With a deafening roar the mutant sandworm thrashed wildly, spraying green blood in every direction.
And then, from directly above the two of them who stood staring in stunned silence, a familiar voice rang out.
“Everyooone—! Is anyone huuurt—!”
“…Chloe?”
“Why is Chloe here…?”
A blonde priestess in a dark-blue habit came sliding down a curtain of deep azure holy power as if it were a playground slide. Huey and Luciella could only gape.
“Hiyah!”
Chloe landed with a cute little shout, flashed them a V-sign, and declared with absolute confidence,
“I’ve come to help!”
A little earlier—right around the moment Ren’s party began their escape from the tower—
“Hmm. I wanted to go inside at least once.”
A girl stood atop the canyon rim, watching the tower collapse with open regret.
“This is all because Chloe was late.”
“…If we’re assigning blame, isn’t the real problem that you left first without any way to contact you?”
“Is that so?”
The one answering with pure exasperation was the blonde priestess in the dark-blue nun’s habit—Chloe.
“And where did you dump your armor this time?”
“But it’s heavy. And not cute at all.”
“Even so, showing up in something this light in a situation like this… Sigh. Never mind.”
Chloe started to lecture the girl who stood before her in nothing but a light uniform, then swallowed the words and simply sighed.
“Ehehe.”
She already knew perfectly well that no amount of scolding would ever reach those ears.
“Whatever Sister Marta says later, I know nothing about it.”
“Ugh… I-It’s fine! Master said she had business and is sitting this one out!”
“No wonder you left that precious holy sword stuck in the ground…”
Chloe quietly studied the girl smiling so confidently in front of her.
Flawless white skin. Beautiful pure-white short hair. Light-purple eyes brimming with spirituality, shining with pure light. A white uniform that fluttered gently in the desert night wind, edged with golden partial armor the girl had crafted herself with her own prodigious talent. She had drawn the great holy relic known as the Holy Sword from the scabbard on her back, planted it in the earth, and now rested both hands on the hilt as she gazed straight ahead.
“Hehe. Cool, right?”
The youngest Hero in history. The one who received more love from the gods than any Hero before her. And the one judged closest of all to the First Hero—Sion.
“More importantly, look over there.”
“Yes, yes. What is it this time, Hero?”
“There are people who broke through the Demonic Territory.”
“Huh? Those people are…”
“Familiar faces?”
“……”
Following Sion’s gaze, Chloe looked down at the three figures catching their breath after escaping the tower—Ren’s party—and fell silent for a long moment.
“I-I must have seen wrong. I don’t know them.”
She answered while pouring cold sweat so obviously that the lie might as well have been written on her forehead.
“…Sigh. You got drunk and caused trouble again.”
“Ahem.”
“Honestly, both you and Master… I will never understand why you like that awful stuff so much.”
“M-More importantly, shouldn’t we help them soon?”
Having clearly given up on defending herself, Chloe changed the subject with zero subtlety.
“Haa. That’s exactly why the God Deneb keeps complaining to me. ‘My only Saintess is a complete drunkard,’ they say.”
“Ugh.”
Sion gave Chloe a long, cool look, sighed, then turned her eyes to the enormous mutant sandworm rising in the distance.
“No need to worry.”
Even though the situation was clearly critical, she showed no sign of moving.
“The gods are rejoicing. An old friend is about to return.”
While Chloe fretted, Sion remained perfectly calm as she watched the thrashing sandworm far below. Then, from the figure of Ren who had soared into the air, a massive wave of flame erupted—large enough to swallow the entire canyon.
“Wow. Amazing.”
“Good heavens. What is that…?”
“What else? A signal that it’s our turn to move.”
And so the Hero began to move.