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The Hydra’s research facility. The leading astral power engineering and research institute.
It once had an expansive lawn that stretched out like the ocean, dewy and alive. Now, the grounds were red and black from the flames. Its iron fence was warped out of shape. Around the fence were guards who had been knocked down by Salinger’s Blast—his astral power.
“You chose the wrong man to mess with, Hydra.” The jacket draped on his shoulders billowed in the wind. The model-esque man with a head full of white hair marched straight through the scattered sparks.
“Creating a simple diversion would be such a bore. After all, you’ve all invited chaos into the Sovereignty. How about I bring those secrets to light?”
A dozen soldiers leaped out from Snow and Sun’s first-floor entrance, hauling giant guns and specialized riot shields to fight against astral mages.
“Oh, you misunderstand,” he scoffed at the gathering soldiers. “You’re just average soldiers, destined to stay on the sidelines. Did you think you were leads on this stage? You should have just sat in the back row and applauded.”
They pointed the muzzles of their guns at him. He looked at them with ennui and sighed.
“Yes, that’s right.” Salinger snapped his fingers. “There was Talisman’s protégé. Someone who knows of the Gregorian Descant. Come out. Name yourself. I will give you permission to join me onstage just this once.”
Silence.
Not a single one of the mercenaries who’d leveled their guns at him said a word in reply. Not just because they didn’t understand what he was talking about—they wouldn’t have been able to even begin to conceptualize it.
“Ha-ha. See? The head of house doesn’t trust you at all,” the sorcerer jeered. “Enough. I grow weary of seeing your faces. Disappear. Go on now—”
“The planet is filled with rage.”
Violet flames.
The ash-covered lawn broke apart—a fissure in the earth that erupted with a wall of flames. It created a dome around Salinger, a barrier of sorts.
“Is this…astral flame?” Salinger’s eyes glittered.
The flames hadn’t come from activating an astral power. No, this was a surge of astral energy that had condensed into a material form, hot like fire. Once it started to blaze, neither water nor cold wind could extinguish it.
A century ago, these flames had reduced the Imperial capital to ash.
“A prison of astral flames. You think this will keep me contained?”
“No, this is your grave.”
From beyond the wall of violet flames emerged a human silhouette, speaking in a girl’s voice.
“You will be burned at the stake. We use flames to purify those who commit most heinous crimes.”
This wasn’t a person.
Calcified metals gleaming ruby had hardened around her head, appearing hair-like. The thing that looked like a girl wore no clothing; her body was transparent like glass.
“Salinger, the transcendental sorcerer, I presume? Oh my, you’re much younger than I’d imagined. And just my type, you handsome devil. I almost regret the fact that I need to burn you to a crisp.”
“……”
“Oh, cat got your tongue? Do I look that bewitching?”
“So you’re the experimental subject,” Salinger murmured.
“Huh!” Her eyes opened wide. “What in the world do you mean?”
“Don’t play stupid with me.” The man glanced around the dome of astral flames around him. “The tri-stage, the integration of humans with the astral powers. Humans who achieve this stage become more powerful than astral mages and reach an entirely new plane. But only two have reached that state using their own power in the history of the world. The Founder Nebulis and Lord Yunmelngen.”
“ ”
“And soon, I will be the third. But the Hydra have been experimenting for decades to artificially achieve the state. You were a subject in those experiments, weren’t you?”
Humans turned into astral mages if they hosted astral power. But…if the astral power went from possessing the human body to fusing with it, what would happen?
“I saw it happen thirty years ago, after all. One of the prototypes before you. The true culprit behind the attack on Nebulis VII.”
“Oh. So you knew all of that, huh,” replied the inhuman girl. “I suppose you know about me, too, then?”
“I don’t. And I don’t care to.”
“It’s Vichyssoise. As you can see, I’ve given up my humanity, but I hate being referred to as a subject. If you’d be so kind as to use my name.”
“It’s a little too late for that,” he answered, looking around the violet dome as he spoke. “You want me to remember your name? You’re bold, waif.”
“But I know about the Gregorian Descant, too. Should you really be talking to me like that?”
“It’s on the top floor, isn’t it?” Salinger looked at the wall of flames and chuckled in a low voice. “As soon as I spoke about the descant, you scrambled to set up a barrier before I could get inside. Even if it meant exposing these astral flames to me.”
“……”
“Amateur. You think you could have deceived my eyes?”
“Oh, that’s too bad.” Vichyssoise the witch snickered. The astral flames that blazed from her body roared and rolled. “You know too much. I like your face, so I thought I’d toy with you. But I suppose I’ll have to reduce you to ash now.”
“Don’t you think you’re getting ahead of yourself, subject?”
“I’ll teach you something, old sorcerer. Your time has passed. Even if you poke your nose through the curtains now, your act is over. There’s no stage for you.” The witch sneered.
“It seems you don’t understand.” The transcendental sorcerer kept his composure. “I do not need to rise to the stage. The stage is wherever I appear. I told you from the start. Cheers and applause mark my arrival.”
Snow and Sun. Fifteenth floor.
Talisman’s personal room was in front of their eyes. Unit 907 and the two servants watched the scene below them, dumbstruck. The sparks and ash flying in the air meant visibility was low, but they could see the gun-toting soldiers rushing outside.
“H-hey, Jhin! If the guards are going outside, that means we haven’t been found out, right…?”
“Looks like it. I dunno if it’s just coincidence, but looks like someone was a lot more rash than us.” Jhin put a hand on the windowpane. He looked down, not even blinking. “I’m guessing this explosion has something to do with us, considering everything. You really haven’t got a clue what it was?”
“A-as I said, no!” Nami shook her head dramatically, which sent her hair fluttering. “It’s not as though Miss Rin would resort to such forceful measures. If we were forcing our way into the building, you never would have needed my astral power…”
“Then who is it?”
“I-if I knew that, I wouldn’t be so concerned!”
“Wait, Nami. Quiet,” Sistia stopped her. She was closing her eyes, focusing. She was the only one able to faintly hear the sound on the ground level using Echo.
“…Salinger.”
Iska doubted his own ears when she revealed the culprit’s identity.
There was only one person he knew who went by that name. It was the very name of the evilest sorcerer from the prison spires in the thirteenth state.
…No, but he’s supposed to be—
…I thought he was imprisoned again right before his great escape. What’s going on?
Why was his name coming up here?
“Salinger? Jhin, who was that again? I don’t really remember,” Nene said.
“No clue,” Jhin replied. “If he hasn’t left an impression, he’s probably not anybody special.”
“That’s not true at all!” Nami wailed. “Salinger is a terribly villainous felon in our country! He invaded the palace thirty years ago and attacked the seventh queen! He’s a fiend! Sistia, you must have misheard what they were saying…”
“The guards were yelling his name on the ground.” Sistia slowly opened her eyes. “I bet they’re more shaken up than we are. Commander Mismis, I think the opportunity is now.”
“So we’re changing plans?!”
“Yes. The enemy is panicking, which means this is our moment.”
Talisman’s personal room. Protected by three layers of security measures, the door that Sistia pointed to made Mismis clamp down her mouth into a scowl.
“The guards are all outside, which means the inside of the building is short on security. And even if we do something now, they won’t notice, right?” Mismis asked.
“Yes. Even if they did, they would believe it was the sorcerer who did it. Our best plan of action is to quickly save Lady Sisbell and leave this place.”
“…I got it. Iska, do you think you can do it?”
“I’ll break it down.”
There was a flash. He had used his black sword to cut a hole large enough for one person to enter. The surveillance camera on the ceiling had been blown to bits using Jhin’s handgun.
“Nene.”
“Leave it to me!” Nene leaped into the hole in the door and unlocked it from the inside. She pushed open the thick door.
Talisman’s personal room…
As soon as Iska stepped into it, the smell of ink assaulted his nose. The space was large enough to act as a conference room. The walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling bookcases.
…A research room?
…No, I guess this is his study.
There were books on astral power research, old languages, astronomy, and even philosophy. Hundreds had been sorted on each bookcase. The dozens of bookcases gave it a library vibe.
“Lady Sisbell!” Nami’s voice rasped as she looked around the room. “Lady Sisbell, we have come to save—”
In the back of the room.
Creak…
A beam of sun illuminated a chair that had been turned away from them. It swiveled.
Talisman’s luxurious chair turned halfway around, revealing the profile of the person sitting in it.
“Someone’s in a rush. Had you requested an appointment, I would have prepared some tea.”
What a charming voice.
And it had come from a girl with hair the color of lapis lazuli, a hue more brilliant than the blue sky.
“Oh. I cannot see the people who have seemed to magically open the door. So you must be using Fog or one of its subspecies. If you’re able to slip past the cameras, it must be a rare one.”
Her face looked mature, and her features were chiseled.
She recrossed her legs, showing off her pale thighs. Even that action seemed perfectly calibrated to be its most beautiful and fluid form. Her beauty was on the same level as Alice and Sisbell, both of whom Iska knew well.
“…It’s Princess Mizerhyby,” Sistia breathed out, whispering from behind Iska, “It was her breathing I was hearing, not Lady Sisbell’s. I am so sorry for my blunder.”
“Her?”
From the Hydra.
Since the planning phases of this mission to invade Snow and Sun, Rin had been on guard for this purebred.
Mizerhyby Hydra Nebulis IX.
The next in line for the head of the Hydra. Rarely did she leave Talisman’s side. As for her power…
“Princess Mizerhyby’s power is called Glory.”
“It’s quite special. There are few astral powers that are similar to hers, but I’ve heard…”
He remembered what Rin had told him.
“How unpleasant.”
…At that moment, a brilliant flash went off, burning itself into their retinas. The glimmer, bright as the sun, had been released from the astral crest on Mizerhyby’s forehead—astral energy shot out of it, materializing.
…What is this?!
…It’s way too strong, even for astral energy!
It was so brilliant, it made their vision white, so it was almost impossible to open their eyes.
“I suppose that I didn’t express myself clearly enough. I mean to say you should show yourselves. I was so generous to wait for you. Well, if you are ignoring my kindness, then I suppose there’s only one thing that must be done.”
Snap, went her supple fingers.
“Instant execution.”
They heard the sound of a motor whirring. Gun muzzles emerged from the bookcases surrounding Iska’s unit from all directions, peeking out from the gaps between the tomes.
“…What?!”
All of them realized something at the same time. This wasn’t Talisman’s study.
It was an execution room.
“These are ray guns that condense and discharge astral energy. Twenty-four in all. They are an experimental device invented in this facility, but I can assure they’re powerful. They use my astral energy, after all.”
The purebred pointed her finger—right at the center of the room—exactly where Iska’s unit was positioned.
“Au revoir,” called out the purebred coolly.
“Get down!” Iska shouted over the princess.
The ray guns blasted. Iska’s black sword sliced through the rays heading toward them.
One of the rays grazed his shoulder. Blood dribbled from the area, splattering on the ground.
“Oh, one of you has come out.”
When she saw Iska, the corners of her lips curled up. Fog hadn’t been able to contain him when Iska rushed forward to slice through the rays a moment earlier.
“Just you? Or maybe your invisible comrades have been hit, knocked out on the floor? Fog can be so hard to use.”
“Leave me behind!” Iska yelled at the five people who were still hidden. “You get to the ground floor ahead of me!”
“Iska?!”
“I’ll figure out where you are on my own. Hurry!”
Iska could no longer see them, likely because he was no longer under the effect of Fog. But he did sense some presences hurry out of the room.
…So Sisbell wasn’t on the top floor.
…Only her attendant was in this building. Has she been moved to another location?
The results of this gambit were painful to bear. They still had no idea where Sisbell was, and they had been found out.
“You won’t escape from me.”
On top of the desk, the light on the landline was flicking on and off. Had she notified all the guards? Mizerhyby must have just pressed it.
“My dear burglar, I believe you should give up on your friends—” The princess of the Hydra stood up, full of grace. “Let us make a deal. I will allow you and only you to live if you join my side.”
“…What did you say?”
“Isn’t this what the sorcerer seeks?” The beautiful girl flicked the sun-shaped earring with her nail. “I’m interested to know how a man who has been in prison for decades would know of our secrets. Pretend to escape from this building and get it out of him, will you? And ask him how he knows of the Gregorian Descant.”
“What?”
Something felt off.
What was this princess talking about?
…We just came to get Sisbell.
…What’s this Gregorian Descant? What does it have to do with Salinger?
Something wasn’t adding up. Iska had assumed she knew he was part of an Imperial unit. But Mizerhyby had an entirely different perspective. With Salinger attacking Snow and Sun, she had thought that they were working for the sorcerer. They had read each other’s intentions incorrectly.
Iska had no idea what Mizerhyby was proposing.
“…What are you talking about?” Iska murmured to himself.
Mizerhyby clucked her tongue lightly. “Tsk.”
The clever princess had immediately picked up on the situation based on Iska’s reaction. The intruder in front of her was not one of Salinger’s assassins.
“It seems I’ve misinterpreted the situation. So you’re one of the Lou’s mercenaries. Then the sorcerer outside is a complete coincidence, huh?” She held her right hand in front of her and thrust her willowy finger toward Iska. “A change of plans, then. I suppose I’ll have you disappear here and now.”
Lights burned in the twenty-four muzzles. Iska sliced through the rays of condensed astral energy using his black sword.
“Did you just cut through the light?! How absurd…!” She held her breath. “I know. Perhaps you might be the former Saint Disciple Iska? Vichyssoise was uncharacteristically reluctant to report about you. You did quite a number on her.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“And impertinent as well, I see… Well, I forgive you regardless.” Mizerhyby’s eyes gleamed.
In that moment, the princess released astral light from her body, making Iska back away reflexively. He had never seen anything like it before. It seemed crushing, like it would force anything bathed in its light to yield.
“Huh! Is this Glory…?!”
“So you lived after fighting that Aliceliese. I’m looking forward to this. I would like to hear the cries of someone as mighty as you.”
She wore a sadistic smile. Her tapering eyes narrowed like crescents, and she extended her arms.
“I am Mizerhyby Hydra Nebulis IX; now, I shall show you the most glorious power in this world.”
Snow and Sun.
They scrambled down the hidden staircase from the top floor, almost tumbling over themselves.
“…The situation has gone from bad to worse,” spat out Nami, who was at the front of the group. “I’m not sure if they anticipated Salinger’s attack. Either way, it seems Lady Sisbell is not here. I am afraid they must have moved her to another location. And to make matters worse, she was waiting for us on the top floor…!”
“Don’t forget: They’ve also seen us,” Jhin said from behind her.
The camouflaging ability of Fog did not work when they moved faster than four miles per hour. And since they were running as fast as they could down the stairs, they were past the speed limitations.
“Even if this staircase will take us all the way to the first floor, they’ll see us when we go through the hall there. You think we can force our way through the crowd of guards?”
“I…”
“Shh. Nami, quiet.” Sistia had on a grave expression as she looked over her head.
The floor above them. The wall had blasted away with the deafening sounds of an explosion. Black smoke billowed in. “The royal guards! They aren’t normal soldiers! They’re Mizerhyby’s guards!”
“Of course they’d know about this hidden passageway. What do you want to do? Should we get to the first floor or fight them… Hmm? …” Jhin squinted. “What’s that light…?”
He was looking at three goggled royal guards—or rather the strangely brilliant astral light that flickered behind them.
It was like it was dawn. The astral light, which burned their eyes, seemed to be clinging to the guards’ backs.
“Hey, Nami, Sistia. Is that some sort of astral power?”
“…That’s…”
“That’s?” Jhin asked back.
“Dangerous. Please head down as quickly as you can. And don’t you dare stop!” Nami shouted. “That’s the crest of Glory. It’s Mizerhyby’s power! Those royal guards have been bequeathed it!”
“…What did you say?”
“Like Miss Rin said. Don’t ever attempt to fight Mizerhyby or the guards that accompany her… It will never amount to a fair fight if you battle them directly!” she yelled.
The two attendants each grabbed Nene’s and Mismis’s hands and ran.
“Now that you’ve mentioned it, you did tell us about that.”
He swung his sniper rifle, which he had been holding in his hands, around to his back.
Several days ago, Rin had told them about Mizerhyby’s power.
“We do not have much information…”
“But Princess Mizerhyby’s Glory emits her own astral energy and strengthens others’, supposedly.”
Just as plants grew under the sun, Mizerhyby could temporarily boost others’ astral power to their highest potential using her light.
“According to rumors…on one battlefield, she created ten soldiers as strong as the Founder’s descendants all on her own.”
“What?!”
“So she’s called the walking vortex. She’s one of the next queen candidates and, though it pains me to admit it, her power is seriously strong.”
Zing. Something had burst, accompanied by light.
“Crap! Get down!” Jhin had barely managed to yell when a bolt of lightning—a beam of light—blew away the hidden staircase below their feet.
The Nebulis palace. The queen’s room in the Stardust Skyscraper.
This space had been passed down between queens for generations, starting with the Sovereignty’s Founder.
“Any progress, Alice?”
“…No, Mother. We still haven’t received any word from the unit that went to release Sisbell. If anything happens, Rin will send me a report.”
They were seated at a four-person table.
Alice was looking over documents alone with the queen. Rin had prepared them to explain the plan to save Sisbell. These were copies. Unit 907 had been given the masters.
“Rin never disappoints. She has every detail down from the blueprint of Snow and Sun to the equipment carried by the Hydra’s personal soldiers. She left out the unnecessary information and only selected what we need.”
“Rin said she borrows from your wisdom, Mother.”
“She just asked for my advice. There are many things I do not know. For example…Princess Mizerhyby of the Hydra. I do not know much about her astral power. The Hydra do not make much information public.”
Twitch. Alice’s eyebrow reflexively arched.
…That’s right. Rin said the same thing.
…That Mizerhyby might be the one guarding Sisbell.
But to presume too much was dangerous.
Even if her sister was in Snow and Sun, there were too many possibilities and people who could be standing guard over her. She had told Unit 907 that as well.
“I’m worried about one more thing,” Alice said. “About the report during the meeting earlier.”
“About Salinger, yes?”
“…Yes.”
The transcendental sorcerer was an atrocious felon who had attacked the previous queen.
When Alice had found out he had an extensive history with her mother—and an ill-fated one at that—she hadn’t been able to hide her surprise.
“I don’t know why the sorcerer would have attacked an establishment owned by the Hydra. I doubt it has anything to do with Sisbell… Do you have an idea why, Mother?”
“Unfortunately, I do not. What is that man thinking…?” In the seat next to Alice, the queen weakly shook her head. “Since our separation thirty years ago, I have not understood a single thing that has gone through his mind. We’re no longer close, after all.”
A short silence. A slightly self-derisive smile formed on the queen’s face.
“I was unable to stop the Imperial attack, unable to stop them taking my own daughters, and now I could not even dispel the ministers’ fears. I’m a failure as a queen.”
“Oh. Mother, that’s—”
“I am not wallowing. I have a daughter I am proud of.”
“……”
“Whoever is chosen to become the new queen will determine the Sovereignty’s future. I have a feeling that will be true.”
The Zoa and the Hydra were also after the throne.
If the Zoa were selected, they would launch an all-out war on the Empire. Alice did not know what the Hydra intended, but if they were willing to usher the Imperial forces into their country and go after the queen’s life, they had to have been planning some great upheaval.
“As a mother, I pray that you do not lose, Alice. If you fail at the conclave, the Sovereignty will be doomed to fall.”
“Mother, I’m also worried about the future. But…” Alice gently placed her hand over her mother’s on the table. “You must continue to work hard, Mother. Because I still have some unfinished business as a princess.”
“Such as?”
“First, Sisbell’s rescue. It would be laughable if a queen could not save her own sister.”
Alice had been forced to realize that she never wanted to go through the same thing again. She never wanted to feel the shock of seeing the queen and her older sister get taken down by the Saint Disciple in the Queen’s Space—nor the blinding anger that had caused her to declare war on Iska. She’s had enough of rage and grief, emotions that had made her lose sight of all reason.
“This is my choice. Though it may not be what you hoped for.”
This was the path that Aliceliese would walk down. It wouldn’t lead her straight toward queenhood, but it would allow her to protect her little sister and her mother as a princess.
Even if…that wasn’t the fastest route to becoming queen.
…And you’ve misread the situation direly, Talisman.
…You still haven’t realized something.
The Sovereignty still didn’t know the true strength of the swordsman named Iska—the person Aliceliese Lou Nebulis IX had recognized as her one and only rival.
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