Episode 152
“…What?”
Artius’s sharp gaze turned blank at Elonia’s words. Elonia was even more surprised.
Lucius had attended the debutante ball. And now, quite some time later, the Asta brothers, Olivia, and Simon all knew Cielun was Lucius. Not only that, she had told him about her trip to the border, and he didn’t know?
Come to think of it, she hadn’t explicitly mentioned who saved the Tite Knights, but still… Elonia, hoping against hope, asked again,
“Cielun is Lucius. You really didn’t know?”
“…”
Artius wanted to make excuses. He had been too focused on protecting Elonia during the debutante ball, and when the Tite Knights and Elonia reported back from the border…
‘I was too preoccupied with Elonia’s anger and the potion of luck.’
Come to think of it, he vaguely remembered a report mentioning Young Master Luneus rescuing the Tite Knights.
How could he have been so foolish? Artius buried his face in his hands.
“…Was I the only one who didn’t know?”
“Um, well… Caroline didn’t seem to know either, until recently. Even though he’s been back for three years.”
Elonia offered a clumsy attempt at comfort, but it didn’t lessen the absurdity of the situation.
Artius was the one who had allowed Lucius to return to Heilan, and yet, he was the only one who hadn’t known about his return. Was it a relief that he knew now? Just as Artius was trying to convince himself of that,
Bang! Bang! The sound of frantic pounding echoed through the room, followed by Aaron and Garnethia’s voices.
“Your Majesty! It’s an emergency! An unidentified monster has appeared in the Peace Treaty Zone!”
“Your Highness…! An unidentified monster has also appeared at the academy…!”
Artius and Elonia jumped up in surprise.
Elonia and Artius watched the image projected by the communication devices brought by Garnethia and Aaron. Just as they had said, a never-before-seen type of monster was attacking people.
Only Elonia recognized it instantly.
“It’s a chimera.”
“Chimera?”
Ravanta wasn’t a religious nation, so the concept of a chimera was unknown. Elonia briefly explained,
“Yes. It’s a monster mentioned in the scriptures. Basically, it’s an artificial life form created by stitching together the best parts of different animals and artificially infusing it with life.”
“So that’s the monster you fought at the border.”
He had only heard about it, never seen it. Artius, his face grim, asked Aaron,
“Can’t the knights stationed in each zone handle it?”
“No, Your Majesty. The residents have been evacuated, but there are already casualties. Fortunately, the Magic Department faculty at the academy prevented any injuries there, but…”
It meant there were casualties in the Peace Treaty Zone.
They didn’t know why two chimeras had appeared in the heart of Ravanta, but they had to be stopped.
‘Maybe the sword is its weakness, like last time.’
Elonia scanned the chimera’s back in the projected image. But there was no sword, not even a stick-like object.
‘Why…?’
There was no time to ponder why the sword wasn’t there. Garnethia continued Aaron’s report.
“But the situation at Lucid Academy isn’t good either. The Magic Department professors are exhausted from making the purification potion and can’t subdue it properly…!”
“Can’t Professor Gunnar handle it?”
“No, Your Majesty. For some reason, his sword aura isn’t effective.”
She had felt relieved knowing the department heads were there, but if sword aura didn’t work…
The academy couldn’t fall.
Gaia Academy, the prestigious research institution responsible for the mass production of the purification potion, was located near Lucid Academy.
‘If Gaia Academy is attacked, it’s over.’
But they couldn’t abandon the Peace Treaty Zone either. Elonia made a quick decision.
“I’ll go to the Peace Treaty Zone.”
“What?”
“There aren’t enough mages in the Peace Treaty Zone. You go to the academy, Dad.”
“But—”
“Don’t worry. I’ve fought one of these before.”
Of course, she had defeated it rather easily last time, but she hid that fact to ease Artius’s worries.
“You and Professor Gunnar can buy time until the Magic Department professors are ready. If you cut open its mouth, you’ll find its core. That’s the key to defeating it. Remember, you have to use magic to cut open its mouth.”
“…Alright, I understand.”
Given the urgency of the situation, Artius nodded. Elonia summoned her rapier from subspace, tied her hair back tightly, and rushed out of the palace.
“I’m going now. Ethan, Rica!”
At her call, Ethan, Ricardo, and the Imperial Princess’s Knights assembled.
They didn’t bother with horses. Elonia teleported them directly to the Peace Treaty Zone.
“Aaaah!”
The Peace Treaty Zone was in chaos. Some had already lost their lives, and knights lay unconscious, struck by the chimera’s massive tail.
The Knight Captain shouted,
“Hold on! Reinforcements from the Imperial Palace are on their way!”
“Yes, sir…!”
But they all knew the truth. Would reinforcements arrive before the monster killed them all?
‘Even if they ride at full speed, they’ll be too late…!’
They wouldn’t make it. As if sensing their despair, the chimera roared.
Keee-eeeek!
“Captain!”
A lion’s paw slashed towards the Knight Captain. He knew instinctively,
He couldn’t dodge it.
‘I’m going to die…!’
Should he consider it an honor to die fighting?
Just as he closed his eyes, bracing for the impact,
CRASH!
A loud noise echoed, but the pain wasn’t as severe as he had expected. Had he died instantly, spared from the pain? A young, sharp voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
“What are you doing?! Get a grip!”
“Huh…!”
The Knight Captain opened his eyes. He was alive. And standing before him, her back turned to him, was a young girl with bright mint-green hair…
“Y-Your Highness?”
“You’re a knight! Protect the people, don’t just stand there waiting to die! Get up! Hold your sword properly!”
“Y-yes, ma’am!”
Elonia’s commanding voice instinctively triggered the knight’s military discipline.
How could this young princess, who had never experienced war, possess such a commanding presence, like a veteran warrior? Questions flooded his mind.
‘Her Highness is skilled in magic, they said. Did she come here first?’
He didn’t doubt the princess’s abilities, especially after hearing Professor Caroline’s praises, but this chimera wasn’t something a single person could defeat. As if mocking his thoughts, Elonia shouted, her voice amplified,
“Imperial Princess’s Knights! Protect the people!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“…!?”
The Knight Captain rubbed his eyes. Reinforcements from the Imperial Palace had arrived.
“H-how did they get here so quickly…?!”
“Magic, obviously.”
He knew Elonia had used magic, but had all these knights also teleported? He wasn’t familiar with magic, but he knew such a feat was incredibly difficult.
“Damage report?”
“Y-yes! Seven Heilan hostages injured, two deceased.”
“Evacuation status?”
“Fifty hostages evacuated, but we couldn’t reach the deeper areas due to the monster.”
The situation wasn’t good, but it wasn’t completely hopeless either.
Elonia knew there were 78 hostages in the Peace Treaty Zone. About twenty were still trapped inside.
She nodded and began issuing orders.
“Rica, search for survivors trapped under the debris. You can lift the rubble with magic, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Good. Ethan, you’re with me.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Understood.”
Elonia, her silver rapier gleaming in the sunlight, approached the chimera.
The chimera roared upon seeing her.
Kyyyaaaa!
It flapped its wings, sending a shower of debris towards Elonia and her knights. The “debris” were actually large rocks, capable of causing serious injury.
Elonia scoffed.
‘Seriously?’
Did it think it could hurt them with mere pebbles? She slammed her sword into the ground, creating a barrier.
CRASH!
“Gasp!”
The knights flinched, expecting the impact, but the rocks disintegrated into dust upon hitting the barrier.
Elonia pulled her sword from the ground, twirled it, and pointed its tip at the chimera. Glowing chains of mana shot out and bound the creature.
“Knights! Rescue the remaining survivors while it’s restrained!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Ricardo and Ethan led their respective squads, splitting up to cover more ground. Elonia turned her attention back to the chimera.
‘Fighting on the ground will cause too much damage.’
She infused her feet with mana and leaped into the air, landing gracefully in front of the chimera.
Up close, it was even more grotesque, its stench nauseating.
“Still no sword.”
It wouldn’t be as easy as last time.
Its thick hide was resistant even to sword aura. Elonia reluctantly infused her blade with mana.
She prepared to attack its mouth, the common weak point of the undead creatures, when,
ROAR!
The chimera, sensing danger, roared again.
“Ugh…!”
The mana chains binding it shattered.
The clash between Holy Power and mana was like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. Elonia clicked her tongue.
“You’re annoying!”
The chimera flapped its wings, creating a powerful gust of wind, trying to blow her away, but her barrier held firm.
Elonia gripped her sword tightly and charged again.
SLASH! Her mana-infused rapier cut into the chimera’s jaw. This time, it seemed to have some effect, as sticky green blood spurted out. Just as she sighed in relief, thinking her barrier had protected her from the disgusting liquid,
“Your Highness!”
Someone called out to her from below. Elonia looked down.
The voice was coming from beneath a pile of rubble. Squinting, she saw—
“Noah?”
It was Noah Anglores. Elonia stared at her, puzzled.
Noah, her face frantic, shouted,
“Be careful! Its teeth can melt people…! Eek!”
Noah gasped, her eyes widening in fear as the chimera’s gaze followed Elonia’s downwards.
The moment their eyes met seemed to stretch into an eternity.
ROOOOAR!
“Kyaaak!”
The chimera lunged towards Noah.
Elonia simultaneously dove downwards, unleashing her mana chains towards the chimera’s neck.