CHAPTER 8
—I ASK THY WILL
1
It was crucial to form a solid mental image to mold the ice into the shape she wanted.
When Subaru first suggested Icebrand Arts to her, Emilia had thought it sounded incredibly useful but wasn’t sure whether she would be able to do it.
“Don’t worry! You’ll be fine! I’m sure you can!”
She remembered how Subaru had smiled and given her a reassuring thumbs-up when she mentioned her concern.
Thinking back on that now, she realized it had been baseless—no, he had given her a supportive push because he liked her.
In the process of learning to create the weapons she imagined, Emilia had practiced drawing a lot. Unlike music, drawing wasn’t really her strong suit, but even so, practicing drawing picture after picture together with Subaru, she had noticeably gotten better.
Ram was exasperated at seeing Emilia drawing things together with Subaru and Beatrice, while Otto just smiled wearily. Frederica and Petra occasionally joined in, and Garfiel would give her advice about ways to improve. Once in a while, Roswaal watched from afar while Emilia and Beatrice drew things together.
To Emilia, those were precious memories that she couldn’t bring herself to let go of.
She might have disappeared from everyone’s minds, but those were memories that Subaru still had, too. And that thought gave her a nice, warm feeling in her chest.
“Turn that into courage with a heave!”
Emilia steeled her resolve and faced the Holy Dragon Volcanica with ice weapon in hand, accompanied by her seven ice soldiers.
A mental image was absolutely crucial in forming the ice properly.
That applied to her weapons, of course, but it was the same for the ice soldiers, too. Naturally, they had taken a shape that was easy for Emilia to visualize. And that was why Emilia was fighting alongside seven Natsuki Subarus.
“But they’re even stronger than the real Subaru, and more nimble, too!”
Subaru didn’t lose in terms of cheerfulness or mischievousness, but the soldiers made of ice were built differently at a fundamental level. Their toughness relied on the density of Emilia’s mana, and it would be a mistake to assume they were the same as regular ice sculptures. Like her summoned weapons, they were as tough as steel.
“Go!”
Following her orders, a soldier charged forward and entered Volcanica’s range.
Volcanica lingered near the large pillar in the center of the first floor, unmoving. Judging from the tail swipe earlier, the dragon’s range was around twenty feet—
In an instant, as if sensing a determination to take the pillar, Volcanica’s blue tail moved at high speed.
It tore a hole in the air itself. That was the only explanation Emilia could think of to explain the odd noise she heard. An instant later, the lead soldier’s upper body shattered, and the head that wore the same mean glare as Subaru went flying.
“Sorry! But that means it isn’t just me being targeted.”
She felt bad for the soldier that she had used to test her theory, but now she was sure she knew what Volcanica’s aim was.
The Holy Dragon had been left behind, forgetting even about the examination, but even so, its determination to intercept all who tried to confront the pillar remained.
It did not matter whether they were alive or not. In which case, she had a plan.
“Please, soldiers!”
“—Thou who hath reached the tower’s peak, petitioner of omnipotence who treads upon the first floor.”
Sensing the approaching soldiers, the Holy Dragon spoke again, but those words had become a meaningless string of noises.
Emilia felt a terrible loneliness at seeing the figure before her who had become a deaf puppet. Volcanica had been trying to protect something so much that it had ended up in this terrible state.
She didn’t know who or what it was, or why Volcanica had made such a promise, but…
“—I am Volcanica. By ancient oath, I ask thy will.”
“Form a line!”
Aiming to stop the dragon’s tail movements, she had five soldiers line up shoulder to shoulder.
Another odd sound came from the Holy Dragon’s tail as it swung hard to sweep them aside. The movement was similar to how Subaru’s whip moved, but the speed and force were on a completely different level. Emilia could grab Subaru’s whip out of the air with her hand, but she couldn’t manage that with the dragon’s tail.
It swept away the five ice soldiers lined up together and crouching to hold on. However, once Emilia knew it was coming, she knew a way to deal with it. The ice soldiers were sturdier and thicker.
Even as their bodies cracked, the soldiers who resembled Subaru smirked. And the last soldier leaped out from behind the line of five who had been enough to stop exactly one strike.
The final ice soldier alone had a different mission. It wielded what looked like a polearm with two forks meant to safely pin a person to the ground. With the half circle formed by the two forks, the ice soldier pinned the tail against the ground to prevent another attack and—
“—Thou who hath reached the tower’s peak, petitioner of omnipotence who treads upon the first floor.”
The six ice soldiers started celebrating with high fives when a sound rang out and their bodies shattered.
Completely erased from the hips up, what was left of the ice soldiers collapsed. They hadn’t been defeated by the tail wriggling free, but by Volcanica’s claws.
As its tail was immobile, Volcanica swung its left front leg instead. The enormous force of the blow was more than enough to kill Emilia if she had been any less careful.
“If your tail and legs are fine, then…argh! Why is your head the only thing empty?!”
“—I am Volcanica. By ancient oath, I ask thy will.”
“I know that already!”
If it was anyone other than Emilia, that repeated message would probably have made them even more angry.
Even as she listened to it again, Emilia had too bold a spirit to break. All that had broken were the ice soldiers. And there was no need to cry over them.
As Emilia ran, seven spears passed overhead as they hurtled toward the Holy Dragon. They had come from the ice soldiers that had been re-formed in their starting positions. Emilia couldn’t create more than seven at once, but she could remake them when they shattered.
Her soldiers would keep standing back up so long as Emilia didn’t run out of strength. Just like the real Natsuki Subaru.
“—Thou who hath reached the tower’s peak, petitioner of omnipotence who treads upon the first floor.”
“Kyah?!”
Volcanica swatted down the flying spears with its front leg.
The attack seemed almost to tear through space, creating a shock wave that made it look like the tracks of its claws would just continue forever, swallowing Emilia, the ice soldiers, and the entire first floor in a raging storm.
“Please!”
Just before being swallowed up by that blast, Emilia stepped closer to the pillar. She was confident in her athletics, but that alone wouldn’t be enough to carry her to the pillar from there… Still, this was enough.
The first ice soldier that re-formed dropped low and pressed its hands together. It acted as a springboard when Emilia stepped onto its hands, giving her a powerful boost when she leaped into the air.
Her aim wasn’t the pillar itself. It was—
“—the top!”
She soared high above, clearing Volcanica’s head and coming very close to the pillar. From there, if she just touched the very top—
“…Eh?”
Right as her fingers were about to meet the pillar, there was a quiet wave of heat that came from down below.
—No, it wasn’t silent. The force and heat were so great that it drowned out all sound. As the very concept of sound apparently failed, it was no surprise that Emilia didn’t hear anything.
What she did notice was the destruction of all the ice soldiers on the first floor.
The one that had boosted her jump, the four that had supported her advance by throwing spears of ice, and the two racing to add more restraining polearms—they’d all disappeared.
They hadn’t been vanquished by Volcanica’s tail or front legs.
“—I am Volcanica. By ancient oath, I ask thy will.”
She could hear the very air crackling even as those words remained as solemn as ever.
When that repeated phrase reached her ears yet again, Emilia realized that sound had finally returned to the world. At the same moment, her fingers latched on to the pillar.
Somehow managing to steady her grip, Emilia looked down.
The floor below her was glowing white.
A few spots were still steaming, but there was no other trace of the ice soldiers that should have been standing down there. That showed how intense the heat must have been, never mind the force and destructive power…
Holy Dragon Volcanica’s breath had incinerated everything.
And…
“—I am Volcanica. By ancient oath, I ask thy will.”
Emilia’s eyes shot open as she watched Volcanica spread its blue wings and rise.
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