Valoran Subjugation Battle (2)
"...What is this?"
Having finished reinforcing the barrier, Rubia rushed over and asked.
"This is a video transmission artifact I poured my heart and soul into creating."
Ser shrugged with a confident expression as she gazed at the image floating in midair.
"That's not what I was asking..."
"Ah, so you're asking about the content? Very well. Kind Ser shall explain it to you one by one. This is a scene of Noah, whom Lady Rubia loves so dearly, crouching down and conversing with Lady Cartia. Oh, a tail has just appeared. She's hugging it and nuzzling her cheek against it — truly adorable. Come to think of it, how curious. Weren't you enemies when you first met Carpeng? You seem to have grown quite close so quickly. I shall have to look into that next time."
Just as Ser said.
Across the plaza where the village residents had gathered in evacuation, videos projecting Noah's figure were being broadcast.
"...No, but... why would you do something like this...?"
"Erden is fighting dirty, so I had no choice. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, fabrication for fabrication."
Ser's voice, which had been wearing a subtle smile as she looked up at the video, grew a little quieter.
"And more than anything else. Because a hero must be remembered."
Hearing that voice, Rubia let out a small sigh and stepped closer to Ser's side.
Then, with genuine sincerity, she whispered.
"...Thank you."
"Of course, you should thank me as well, but you should thank Noah even more. The reason she stepped forward so recklessly seems to stem from not wanting to see Lady Rubia suffer."
"Of course. Naturally."
Nodding, Rubia released her Divine Power to send a signal to Noah.
At her fingertips, where the Divine Power gathered, a thin thread bloomed into being.
"Look at that. Just a moment ago she was pouting and turning her back, and now she's grinning and chattering away. I don't usually say this sort of thing, but... she really is adorable."
"Hehehe... My Noah is very cute, yes."
"Looking at her like that, I'm beginning to question whether anyone would think of her as a hero. Perhaps my calculations were wrong."
The residents watching the video still wore blank expressions, but warm smiles had formed on Ser and Rubia's lips.
Ears fluttering with emotion, hugging a fluffy-looking tail. The sight of her laughing as if she were the happiest person in the world while talking with Cartia was far too trivial and cute to call heroic. Far too carefree for someone about to face a Beast of the End.
The residents felt an even greater sense of dissonance at the sight and sank deeper into confusion.
And so, just as the murmuring began to grow louder—
"Hmm, I was too distracted by Noah's appearance."
Ser snapped her fingers.
"I stayed up two days and nights preparing this, so please watch carefully."
And the video changed.
"...That, wait? Lady Ser. That figure is—"
"Shh. Just watch quietly."
A mischievous smile formed on Ser's face as she covered Rubia's mouth.
"Fabrication for fabrication. This is how we can strike Erden from behind after they dared to brand our friend a heretic."
The video broadcasting Noah's figure shrank and moved to one corner.
And the newly risen image — the fake video created by Ser — showed a suspicious person standing atop a strange magic circle.
A mage wearing the robes of the Erden Order.
That mage began dragging the corpses of village residents onto the magic circle and stacking them one by one.
The people's murmuring grew even louder.
"Everyone, can you see?"
Ser's voice, carried by the power of wind spirits, reached even places it should not have been able to reach.
"Can you see those atrocious acts?"
Soon the person in the video began splitting open the corpses' bellies, pulling out their entrails, and draining their blood.
Screams, nausea, despair, sorrow, terror, distrust, disgust, rage.
The residents' outcry, a mixture of so many emotions, began to fill Cartia.
"That is the true face of Erden."
In that moment, a woman with dazzling silver-white hair streaming behind her could be seen walking across a river soaked in blood.
The image of the priestess, her white robes stained with blood as she shed tears, was pure and noble enough to hold the residents' crumbling hearts together.
"...Th-that's me, isn't it?"
And when white could no longer be found on the woman's robes, she fell to her knees and began to pray.
"What the hell..."
Then the brilliant aura that bloomed from her body killed the mage, purified the red blood until it was transparent, and transformed the corpses strewn across the ground into particles of dazzling light that rose into the sky.
"The priestess you see there has come to personally punish those heretics corrupted by evil. Your hero, the priestess, has come once more to save you."
At last, clear water rolled down from Ser's eyes.
That image was being broadcast in a corner of the video showing the priestess.
"I, too... was saved by the priestess."
A trembling breath.
"Even so, will you still believe in Erden?"
Another video.
Video after video after video.
Killing people, grinding them, tearing them apart.
Watching those videos, Ser shed tears.
"Will you still simply stand by and watch?"
Again, tears rolled down.
"Will you continue to! Just... hup... just stand there doing nothing!"
An intentional crack in her voice.
The residents' silence.
"Rise up!"
And then—
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaah—!!!"
A roar loud enough to cover the sky rang out.
"This is... insane..."
Rubia pressed her Perception Obfuscation Robe down even deeper as she listened to the roar that shook the heavens.
"How do you like it? This is the power of our honor, our renown, and our authority."
Even amid the uproar, every single word of Ser's reached Rubia without fail.
"So... what are you trying to do with these people by stoking this fire? They just... need to stay evacuated, don't they?"
"That would be far too wasteful. There are clearly strong individuals mixed in among them here and there. Just trust me."
Ser, who until a moment ago had worn a bitter smile, sent tears rolling down once more just before turning her head toward the residents.
Then the video changed again.
Not a fake video like before — a video showing the real fanatics of Erden.
"Can you see? Things corrupted by evil still reside in this city. They are targeting all of you!"
Those fanatics, just as Ser said, were charging toward the plazas where the residents had gathered.
"So rise up. Rise up and fight back."
In that moment, a spirit in human form that had descended from the sky stretched a hand toward the fanatics.
Then—
KWAAaaang—! The sea of light that burst from the spirit's hand swept the fanatics away and spread out in a fierce wave.
And again, the video changed, showing Noah rising to her feet.
"Fighting for peace is the same as having sex to preserve one's purity. So do not fight for peace."
A line was drawn across the sky.
The thin line gradually connected, split, and thickened, taking on the shape of a door.
Guung—! An ominous bell toll, as if announcing the end of the world, rang out.
And from beyond the slowly opening door, clad in pitch-black armor, astride a giant horse — a humanoid magic beast with ash-gray hair.
Valoran revealed himself.
Just as the residents' gazes were about to turn toward him—
Thud—! Ser stomped her foot roughly and drew their attention once more.
"Everyone, fight for yourselves!"
Hundreds of thousands of spirits covered the sky.
"Fight for your hero!"
Crrrack—! Space warped, and a highest-rank spirit slowly walked forth.
"Together with us!"
Craaash—!
Along with Ser's voice soaring high into the sky on the wind, the image of Noah deflecting Valoran's greatsword — a blade that seemed to contain every calamity — the image of that small girl's body seeming to push back the end of the world, was burned vividly into the residents' minds.
"Fight for tomorrow!!"
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaah—!!!!"
Multicolored mana flooded the residents' vision.
The thunderous roar. Passion, rage, hope, fighting spirit. Became a great flame that began to burn hot in the residents' hearts.
Looking at that spectacle with a playful smile, Ser turned to Rubia.
"Go on ahead. I will handle the remaining work and join you. For now... it would be best to go with my spirit. It will take me quite some time."
The highest-rank spirit standing behind Ser nodded and approached Rubia's side.
"Lady Ser... what are you going to..."
Countless words rose in Rubia's mind, but she swallowed them all and turned her back.
Because right now, more than those questions — Noah was more important.
"...Come quickly. And don't get hurt."
Her footsteps cast everything aside and advanced without hesitation toward Noah.
Confirming that Rubia's figure had vanished, Ser closed her eyes and steadied her breath.
From now on, she had to do the work Sirin had dumped on her.
The work Sirin had done in secret while Noah faced the Tyrant in Urusphier. It was Ser's turn to take over.
"Huu..."
Facing the real Master sent by Erden's side. Ensuring that not even a single one of them could get past her and reach Noah.
That was the second task Sirin had entrusted to Ser.
Taking out the communication crystal connected to Hermila, she whispered quietly.
"I will be there within an hour."
"...Understood. Please come without getting hurt."
"Hehe, needless worry. An enraged spirit mage Ser is quite terrifying and powerful. Do not worry."
Finishing her words with a small laugh, Ser crushed the crystal in preparation for any unforeseen situation and began to walk.
In her field of vision, the image of Valoran being swallowed by a fierce inferno was being broadcast.
"Huh. Thinking about it from a friend's perspective, I hope Noah doesn't get hurt. This is the first time I've felt this way. Truly... a strange emotion. Hehe."
"You've changed."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. You no longer kill my children as much as you used to."
"If it were up to me, I'd want to stick them between my fingers and pop them right this instant."
Ser smiled as she looked at her own palm.
"But my 'friend' told me not to. So I'm holding back."
"I see... So that's how it is."
"And ten years is... more than enough time for a human to change."
"Mm, certainly. Ten years is a long time for humans."
"Indeed. You spent that long time just lying around sleeping. And from the sound of your voice, you slept quite soundly."
The smile vanished from Ser's face.
"A very good morning to you. And it's been a long time. Spirit King."