The Hero King, Reincarnate to Master the Art of War (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 4

Chapter IV: Inglis, Age 15—The Evil Hieral Menace (4)

Three days into their march to Leclair, Inglis’s group was making good time. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for a pleasant reason.

The towns and villages along their path were already long gone. Because there were no remaining inhabitants in the various places they flew past, Inglis’s group had no need to distribute food. Fortunately, because everything was deserted, it was also easier for them to find places to comfortably rest, making for a much better experience than camping.

And thus, they advanced.

Attacks from Tiffanyer’s Highlanders had ceased, leaving a lull, but passing by ruined settlement after ruined settlement was hard on Rafinha and the others.

The gloomy clouds matched the melancholy air surrounding them. Lahti pointed to the overcast sky ahead from the deck of the moving Flygear Port. “If the weather weren’t like this, we’d almost be able to see Leclair.”

With such dense clouds, visibility was limited even from a Flygear Port.

Rafinha bit her lip and tightened her grip on the handrail. “I hope we get there soon... I hate seeing nothing but ruined towns.”

“Rani, if you get yourself worked up now, you’ll have nothing left when the time comes. It’s okay. I’m sure plenty of the people are alive in Leclair,” Inglis insisted.

When Inglis had soberly assessed the devastation in each town, they had seen surprisingly few bodies compared to the scale of the damage. From that, Inglis had concluded the inhabitants had been taken—probably to Leclair, which had become a prison—rather than killed on the spot.

What purpose there could be for forcibly relocating so many people, Inglis still didn’t understand, but if the raids had solely been for acquiring food, the people could have been left behind to starve. If Highlanders had abducted them, it was for a purpose, and Inglis assumed their safety was guaranteed so long as that purpose was incomplete.

“But—” Rafinha began.

Rrruuummmble!

The sound of something shaking echoed from afar.

“Wh-What was that noise? Was it thunder?” Rafinha asked.

“That was oddly loud,” Leone said.

“Maybe it was an earthquake?” Lahti guessed. “I think the ground shook.”

“It’s hard to know for sure when we’re in the air,” Liselotte said.

Everyone was chattering uneasily around Inglis when she suddenly interrupted. “No... Look over there, in Leclair’s direction! Something’s happening!” She could sense a huge swell of unnatural mana from Leclair. Despite the distance between the Flygear Port and the city, the strange mana was of such a large scale that she could sense it even from so far away.

“Huh...? What is it, Chris?” Rafinha asked, worried.

“I’m not sure...but it’s definitely not normal.”

“For you to say so, it must be something serious,” Leone said.

“But in this weather, we can’t see anything...” Liselotte said.

“No, wait! It’s clearing up!” Lahti announced.

He was right. The clouds before them suddenly parted, as if to give Inglis and the others a glimpse of what was to come.

It took Inglis’s breath away.

Rafinha was just as shocked. “Wh-What’s going on?!”

“Th-That’s Leclair?!” Leone said.

“How is that possible?!” Liselotte cried.

Lahti gaped at the sight, horrified. “No way... Is that what they were after the whole time?!”

The city of Leclair was not what it should have been. To be precise, it was not where it should have been.

It had broken its earthly bounds and was floating upward toward the sky, held in place only by huge chains.

“This must be the Floating Circle...” Inglis said.

“The thing Cyrene told us about in Nova? Would the same have happened there if it had activated?!” Rafinha asked.

“Yes, but...”

In Nova, the Steelblood Front had turned Cyrene into a magicite beast, and the black-masked man had destroyed the Floating Circle. Had things gone differently, Nova also would have lifted into the sky. Rafinha was right about that.

However, a Floating Circle required enormous amounts of mana. In Cyrene’s Nova, that had still required more time due to Cyrene’s unwillingness to hasten the pace. She hadn’t seemed in any hurry to accumulate it, and she’d wanted to take the residents along to Highland and give them favorable treatment there even if the circle did activate. In comparison, its activation in Leclair seemed too fast. How did they gather that much mana?

Thinking on that, Inglis felt it was best not to tell Rafinha what lay ahead of them. A Floating Circle collected mana from people on the surface, and when it gathered enough, the land rose into the air to become a new part of Highland. Humans generated mana just by being alive, but the greatest surge of mana came when it left the body—upon death. The quickest way to activate a Floating Circle was to gather a large number of people and execute them within its area.

Inglis couldn’t help but wonder if that was the case in the now-floating Leclair. Nonetheless, she was afraid to let Rafinha and the others hear of this theory.

“Never mind. It’s nothing. You’re probably right, Rani,” she said after they had waited for her to continue.

“Guys, this is really bad! At this rate, it’s going to be taken away to Highland! That’s the whole point of that circle!” Rafinha cried.

“Then we need to hurry before we’re too late!” Leone urged.

“Pullum might be in there too!” Liselotte said.

“I think we can reach it with our Flygears! Should we take them?” Lahti asked.

Rafinha nodded. “Yes. They’re the fastest—”

An unfamiliar woman’s voice interrupted. It was calm and pleasant to listen to, like the gentle ringing of a bell. “That would be quite inconvenient. I’d rather you didn’t.”

Out of nowhere, a girl was standing among them, her long, light-blue hair bound up in pigtails. Her face was refined, and a large floral ornament in her hair further accentuated her beauty. Her hands, legs, and neck were pale and delicate, and her skin was soft and translucent, yet her outfit drew the eye to the curves of her body. She was both lovely and bewitching—a frighteningly attractive combination. Even Inglis’s first impression was one of awe; the girl possessed a level of beauty that rivaled her own.

She was staring at them on their Flygear Port, her hands gripping Leone’s dark greatsword Artifact.

“Sh-She’s cute... As cute as you are, Chris...but who is she?!” Rafinha asked.

Leone gasped, noticing her Artifact was no longer on her back. “Ah! That’s mine! When did you—?!” This mysterious girl had taken it from her without her even noticing.

The blue-haired intruder kept an unhesitating soft smile. At first glance she’d just been a beauty, but the flow of power around her, her poise... There was no mistaking it.

“Good day to you. I’ll be borrowing this for a moment. With that, I bid you adieu,” she said before plunging the greatsword into the deck at her feet.

Thunk!

Its blade pierced through the deck, but it did not stop there.

Rrriiip! Krrraaak!

The Artifact’s Gift activated, the blade expanding and tearing through the ship.

“Wh—?! Stop! What are you doing?!” Leone shouted.

“The Flygear Port...?!” Lahti gasped.

“The hull is gonna break apart! Stop it!” Rafinha yelled.

The blue-haired girl answered Rafinha with a smile and a giggle. “I don’t want to.” She tightened her grip, and the dark blade embedded in the Flygear Port began to slice through it.

Rrriiip! Krrraaak!

The frightful strength of her slender arms would surely have cleaved the ship completely in two if not for a resistant force compelling the creaking of the hull to go silent.

“With such strength, you must be a hieral menace...” Inglis murmured.

She had quickly created a blade of ice and blocked the greatsword, holding it back. With Aether Shell inactive, that girl’s power would be strong enough to push Inglis out of the way if she wasn’t careful—wonderful! She couldn’t help but feel glee at the physical strain put upon her.

Inglis giggled. “You must be Tiffanyer, then. Good day to you.”

“And to you. May I have your name?” Tiffanyer responded with her most inviting and ladylike smile. Interspersed between their fierce clashing blades was casual small talk.

“Ah, I beg your pardon. Inglis Eucus. First-year at the Chiral Knights’ Academy.”

“A student, then? Yet so powerful... You’re quite promising—and adorable as well. I’m a bit jealous.”

“That’s kind of you to say, but I don’t measure up to you.”

“You flatter me.”

Liselotte interrupted, shouting as she gripped the Flygear Port’s controls, “It’s dangerous for us to remain at this altitude when the hull’s damaged... I’m going to land!”

“Chris! Keep holding her off!”

“Yeah! Got it!” Inglis replied to Rafinha without turning her head. Tiffanyer may have cultivated a gentle appearance of a sweet thing who’d never hurt a fly, but her phenomenal strength left no room for distraction.

“So she’s the enemy hieral menace! I had no idea she’d come after us directly—I didn’t even notice her taking my Artifact!” Leone’s disappointment in herself was palpable.

“Chris, you’ve taught me that people aren’t always what they seem...but I can’t believe a girl this cute is the boss of the bad guys who’ve done such terrible things!” Rafinha said.

“Oh? Did I give you a surprise? I’m simply accelerating the plans of my predecessor following his untimely demise,” Tiffanyer replied.

“By that, do you mean Evel?! So taking Leclair was his plan all along?!” Inglis asked.

“Yes, yes it was. Inglis, yes? Did you perhaps meet Archlord Evel?”

“I did. I was present at his passing. I’m terribly sorry for your loss.” Leaving aside the problem of Evel’s personality, Inglis truly regretted his death. His aggressive, short-tempered nature had made him a perfect foe. Given his title of archlord, he was quite an effective one as well. If only he hadn’t died then... He would have been the ideal opponent, one who could be relied on to fight with all his might every time.

“But it wasn’t our fault he died! Don’t blame us!” Rafinha insisted.

Tiffanyer chuckled with amusement in response, the cutest smile in the world on her face. “Ah, but I’m quite pleased that that snotty little brat is dead! You’ve met him—you should know what he was like.”

After an awkward pause, Rafinha mumbled, “I can’t really argue with that.”

“I’d rather not speak ill of the dead. The loss of a fighter with his ability is to be regretted—it’s a shame,” Inglis said.

Tiffanyer tilted her head. “You’re a strange one, aren’t you, Inglis? Perhaps you should see things from a different perspective.”

“Many people say that about me, but I don’t need to worry on that front.”

“In any case, I should be grateful you had something to do with his death. Thanks to you, I had the opportunity to take over as his successor. He hated me. He was a child at heart, so it was very difficult for me to curry favor with him.”

What she meant by that wasn’t that hard to imagine. Perhaps this was the root of the bewitching charm behind her innocent beauty.

“With your womanly charms, I assume,” Inglis fired back.

“Hee hee hee! Highlanders aren’t all gods or angels. There are many driven by their desires.” That must have been how she gained authority quite differently from Eris and Ripple. “Not that I’m one to talk. I may be a hieral menace, but I’m no saint. I’ll do what I must for my own ambitions.”

“I see—from what Harim said, I’m getting a better sense of what you’re like.”

“Oh, don’t tease him too much! He may be weak in a fight, but he’s quite energetic. He’s my favorite. I wouldn’t want to see him lose his confidence.”

“Personally, I’d rather someone stronger.”

“Oh my. If you’d like, I could lend you him, and you could see how good it is.”

“N-No thanks!” That was a terrifying thing to hear. For Inglis, it would be a quite-unwelcome favor.

Tiffanyer chuckled. “You’re so cute, though. You should enjoy yourself more.”

“I’ll pass. This is enough fun for me.”

Inglis and Tiffanyer were at completely opposing ends on how to find pleasure while working up a sweat.

“Your position and your thinking seem to be completely different from the others’—from that of the hieral menaces I know,” Inglis commented.

“I suppose. I am second-in-command to an archlord, and thus a Highland official, so perhaps castaway tools thrown down to the surface are different.”

“Castaway—?! Don’t talk about Eris and Ripple like that! They try their hardest to protect us!” Rafinha protested angrily. “Just look at what you’ve done here in Alcard! You hurt people and steal their food! That isn’t what hieral menaces do! They’re far better people than you are!”

“The hieral menaces you surface people revere as guardians may have found a purpose when they had nowhere left to turn, but seen from above they’re simply tools fulfilling their purpose. Nothing changes, and Highland continues to rise above. They’re just playing house. I suppose it’s nice that they enjoy their little game.”

“Th-They’re not just playing! They’re trying their hardest! Don’t make fun of them!”

“Aha ha ha. And what are you going to do about it? Defeat me? As if you could,” Tiffanyer taunted. “What of that town breaking free from the earth? Can you stop that? By the way, to activate the Floating Circle so quickly, we executed the majority of those captured to release their mana. What will you do about that? Bring them back to life? If I crush your legs here, you won’t even be able to get close to them.”

“N-No! Is that how the Floating Circle works?!” Rafinha cried.

It seemed that Inglis’s assumptions about the Floating Circle had been accurate. She hadn’t wanted to say anything for fear of upsetting Rafinha, but Tiffanyer had let it slip. It was unfortunate, Inglis thought—but even though Rafinha was clearly shocked, she snapped out of it with a shake of her head.

“We can save the survivors! We won’t let you hurt them all!” Rafinha insisted.

“What about Pullum?! Where is she?! Did you order Ian to kidnap her?!” Lahti demanded.

Tiffanyer answered him casually, without ostentation. “Oh, Harim’s sister? Don’t worry. He’s keeping her safe. I don’t know about this ‘Ian,’ though.”

What did that mean? What was going on with Ian? Was Tiffanyer hiding something, or did she really not know? Inglis was curious, but she didn’t have time to worry about that right now.

“You really don’t need to worry. I wouldn’t call her a hostage. Doing so would undermine the trust of my subordinates. I still want to take good care of my friends and attract the best and brightest. I’d welcome you, since you were able to fight my subordinates off. What do you think?” Tiffanyer proposed, her voice and face completely calm.

“How can you ask that so casually? After all you’ve done!”

Rafinha’s mutterings aside, Inglis thought that Harim and the other Highlanders did have an unusually passionate admiration of Tiffanyer. Perhaps she really did take a lenient hand with her pets. On the other hand, she seemed to have no mercy for her enemies or the people of the surface.

“If you’d like to be a Highlander, I can make you one,” Tiffanyer offered. “If you want, you could even try to be a hieral menace yourself—once you drop all of that nonsense about ‘missions’ and ‘obligations,’ it might not be a bad way to grasp power.”

“You think I could be a hieral menace?” Inglis asked.

Tiffanyer nodded. “I think it’s possible. No one’s born a hieral menace. They become one after a procedure in Highland. I used to be a normal girl myself. The other hieral menaces were the same. Inglis, if you were to successfully become a hieral menace, I think you could even surpass me. After all, even Runeless, you’re able to cross swords with me.”

Even through their long conversation, their clash of blades continued. Tiffanyer kept pressuring Inglis with superhuman power. The resistance against Inglis’s blade made of ice felt sublime. Inglis wanted to enjoy it as long as she could.

“Don’t give me that! Those missions and obligations are what make a hieral menace a hieral menace! That’s why they’re so noble! That’s why they’re our guardians!” Rafinha fired back. “You don’t understand anything. You might be a hieral menace, but you’re not like the ones I know! There’s no way we could work with you! Don’t insult us.”

“Yes! That’s right!” Leone agreed.

Liselotte nodded as well. “Indeed!”

Inglis’s heart surged seeing Rafinha care so strongly. She smiled like a proud guardian. That was why she also felt a pit in her stomach.

“Sorry...” Inglis quietly said, apologizing for having been a bit intrigued by the idea of becoming a hieral menace. She’d been interested in it solely because increasing her power would be fun. She figured she could try it, and if anything strange happened, she wouldn’t be put off by it, just like how there had been no way for her to get a Rune at her baptism. It was pure intellectual curiosity to think the procedure was worth a try.

Rafinha fixed a long stare at Inglis. “Chris? Were you just thinking something weird?”

“N-No, I wasn’t! I just think Eris and Ripple are amazing, so...”

Watching Inglis flounder, Tiffanyer began to chuckle. “Ah, yes, you with the dark hair. What’s your name?”

“Rafinha! Rafinha Bilford!”

“Mm-hm. Rafinha, you’re a good girl, aren’t you? A very good girl. Pure, proper, and beautiful. I love that kind of girl—love to see where they break and how far they fall.”

Rafinha flinched as she gasped.

“Do you prefer physical or psychological pain? I have a game we can play—I’ll take you back with me, and I’ll pull off your fingernails one by one and kill a hostage in front of you if you scream. You can be my little present. Won’t that be fun?”

“Sh-Shut up! You think that’ll make me bow down to you?”

Tiffanyer chuckled again. “I saw you flinch. And you, Inglis—how about you? You certainly seemed interested.”

“No, that’s a misperception. I have absolutely no room for negotiation with you.”

“Hmm? Oh dear, you’re so cold all of a sudden.”

“I’m Rani’s squire, so I will not tolerate anyone who seeks to harm her. They must be eliminated.”

Those who would hurt Rafinha. Those who would make her cry. And the vermin who sought to steal her away even though she was still young. Inglis would absolutely not forgive them. Eliminate, eliminate, absolutely eliminate them!

“Oh my. Such strength, and yet you follow a child with such a shallow sense of justice? Is that really what you want? Isn’t that a waste?” Tiffanyer asked.

“Power doesn’t solve everything. That’s what love and bonds mean in human society, right? Rani and I have that, and that’s all that matters,” Inglis responded emphatically.

“That sounds off-putting coming from someone who’s usually all about power,” Rafinha said.

“Rani! I’m being serious here!”

Rafinha chuckled. “I was just kidding. Thanks. That makes me happy—though it’s a little embarrassing.”

Tiffanyer sighed. “That was a pleasant conversation, but it seems the time for talk is over. Then, as I was saying—I’ll crush your legs. I need to bring Leclair back to Highland and show the higher-ups I’m different from Evel. For that, I need you out of my way.”

“That’s what I love to hear!” Inglis replied. “Show me your true power.”

Tiffanyer was using Leone’s Artifact. Hieral menaces, in their normal forms as women, summoned and used the weapons they could transform into. Ripple summoned guns, and in her weapon form, she became a gun. The Steelblood Front’s hieral menace was a spear. Inglis had never seen Eris as a weapon, but she’d summoned twin blades back when they had fought, so she probably became twin blades as well.

In that case, what was Tiffanyer? She hadn’t summoned any sort of weapon yet. It was a fascinating question, one Inglis wanted to see answered as soon as possible—and one she wanted to fight against to her utmost.

Tiffanyer laughed. “Well, that’s up to you, isn’t it? Here I come!” The greatsword grew even longer in Tiffanyer’s hands, thrusting all the way down to the ground and vaulting her aloft. In an instant, she was so high up that Inglis needed to crane her neck to see her opponent.

Inglis gasped as she watched the greatsword suddenly shrink to its original size. It had practically propelled Tiffanyer in the air. Brandishing the sword with a giggle, Tiffanyer swung it through the air. It expanded again. The shadow which fell over Inglis and the others’ heads told the story of its gigantic size.

Leone’s eyes went wide. “Th-That’s far more impressive than when I use it!”

Indeed, in Tiffanyer’s hands the Artifact’s Gift was faster, larger, and scarier. “Now... How about this?!”

Whoosh!

The gigantic dark blade roared downward. Its force, its mass—if left alone, it would cut the Flygear Port in two. Inglis would love to take a strike of that magnitude head-on, but if she were to block it with an ice blade she created, the momentum would carry through to the Flygear Port and send it crashing to the ground.

That would obviously be bad. So...! Inglis decided what needed to be done and leaped into the path of Tiffanyer’s slash.

“Wh—?!” Tiffanyer’s expression suddenly twisted in surprise. That made sense. It looked as if Inglis was jumping to meet the attack herself. But in a situation where it was necessary to protect the Flygear Port, it was the best solution.

Inglis twisted in the air, preparing herself before screaming out, “Haaaah!”

Claaang!

Metal clashed against metal as Inglis swung a kick into the side of the gigantic blade with great force. The direction of Tiffanyer’s slash was swung wildly by the sudden impact from the side. The blade’s trajectory missed the Flygear Port and headed for the ground below, where it dug into the snowpack, kicking it up.

Tiffanyer’s eyes went wide. “Oh my, I can’t believe you deflected that.”

A slash could be blocked with brute force. A slash could be evaded by using one’s skill to predict its path. However, parrying a slash took both strength and skill. To see the path of the oncoming blade, choose the right moment, and then strike its side forcefully—that was what Inglis had done. It was something none of Tiffanyer’s underlings could have done. Even Inglis was doubtful she could repeat the feat if asked to do so. She wouldn’t put herself in the situation again to begin with, though.

Still, that Runeless girl is exceptional, Tiffanyer thought. She has no Rune. She has no Artifact. She doesn’t use mana. Yet she can shrug off a hieral menace’s full-force attack like that...

Tiffanyer couldn’t come up with a logical explanation for how Inglis had done such a thing. In other words, she must be a sort of entity about which even Tiffanyer didn’t know. And there’s no letting my guard down against an opponent like that. Failures don’t rise to the top in Highland. This isn’t just a simple matter of destroying a Flygear Port anymore. I need to stay on my toes, focus, and take Inglis down.

Tiffanyer turned her focus to Inglis, who was in the air now. She had made an impressive counterattack, but it must have been difficult for her to control her stance as she was thrown into the air.

I need to take this chance to follow up. 

But Inglis was no longer there.

“Wh—?!” She must have taken advantage of my distraction to disappear somewhere...

“I’m over here!”

“Ah!”

Inglis ran up the blade of the dark sword. Thrust into the ground, it made the perfect foothold—in fact, it was practically a path for her. Inglis had controlled her orientation in the air, landed on the sword, run up the side of it, and plunged into close-quarters combat with Tiffanyer.

“That’s Leone’s!” Inglis yelled, determined to return the Artifact.

Slam!

Inglis’s spinning kick plunged directly into Tiffanyer’s back.

“Eeeek!” Tiffanyer fell toward the ground.

Inglis used Tiffanyer’s shocked reaction as an opportunity to use the hieral menace as a launch point, pushing up into the air and landing back on the Flygear Port. Inglis gripped Leone’s greatsword Artifact, which had slipped from Tiffanyer’s hand and returned to its original size.

“Here, Leone. You can have this back.” She returned the blade to its owner.

“Th-Thanks... Those were some outrageous moves in the air, though. Weren’t you scared?” Leone asked.

“Nope. It’s exciting fighting so high up,” Inglis answered. In King Inglis’s time, there had been no such things as Flygears or Flygear Ports; battle had been a strictly terrestrial affair. Aerial combat was something she could experience only by being reborn as Inglis Eucus. It made for fresh, fascinating fights—not a bad battlefield at all.

“Ha ha ha...” Leone laughed nervously.

“What’s up, Chris? Did you beat her just now?”

“Of course not. A blow like that wouldn’t do much to a hieral menace. So I’m going to finish her off!” Inglis said, leaping from the handrail on the edge of the Flygear Port’s deck.

“Ah, at least take a Flygear!”

“I can’t wait for that!” Inglis plunged toward the ground and activated Aether Shell shortly before landing. Without that, the fall might have injured her severely, but between Liselotte managing to bring the Flygear Port down significantly and Aether Shell increasing Inglis’s physical strength, she was fine.

If anything, her only problem was that she’d landed in a snowdrift, and large amounts of the snow had gotten in her clothes and were making her cold.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Tiffanyer—let’s get back to it!” Inglis called out, but there was no response. She saw the nearby patch of snow where Tiffanyer had landed, but there was no sign of the girl herself. “Hmm? Where are you hiding...?”

With a smack, something roughly grabbed Inglis’s leg and lifted her into the air upside down.

“Eeep!” Inglis’s hands reflexively shot to the hem of her skirt as it threatened to slip down toward her head. It was embarrassing how this had become a reflex for her. Keeping your skirt in place is probably a natural reaction for a girl to have—but I’m not sure if it’s right for me to act this way. Just how comfortable am I becoming the new me? And in battle, no less...

“Oh, you’re surprisingly shy, aren’t you? And after you were so rude earlier,” Tiffanyer said, dangling Inglis upside down. She must have hidden herself in the snow.

“No, it’s not that I’m shy about my body. It’s that I’m embarrassed by my reaction—it’s complicated.”

“I see. I don’t really understand, but I hope this next part hurts!”

Tiffanyer tucked Inglis’s legs under her arms and spun around. Her smile was terrifyingly adorable, but her strength was real. In terms of pure physical power, she might beat Eris, Ripple, and Sistia.

“Yaaaah!” Then, with the centrifugal force built up, she threw Inglis toward a nearby stand of trees.

Inglis grimaced as she flew away, sweeping down thin tree after thin tree, each with considerable shock and pain.

This...is good, in its own way.

In her path, a huge, thick-trunked tree appeared.

Now here is an opportunity. It would make a good foothold, unlike the thin trees that were destroyed by her impact. She twisted herself in the air and planted a foot on the giant tree’s trunk. It fractured, but it somehow managed to withstand her momentum. “Haaah!” Bounding off the trunk, she headed straight back for Tiffanyer.

But Tiffanyer was also closing in on her.

“Ngh?!”

“Yaaaah!”

They each were unarmed, using their bare fists.

“That’s what I was hoping for!”

Thuddd!

Their fists slammed against each other. Inglis could feel her hand go numb and delighted in it.

“I don’t understand,” Tiffanyer said after a pause.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re Runeless. You’re not a hieral menace, so how do you have such power? It seemed like you were using mana before, but I no longer sense that.”

“Well, I work out a lot.”

“That...doesn’t really answer my question. I’ll simply have to beat an answer out of you!”

“Yes! Throw every bit of force you’ve got at me! I love it!”

Tiffanyer chuckled. “You have strange kinks.” She pulled her fist back, only to attack with the other as she swung her torso into the blow.

The punch was powerful, sharp, perfect—but not so perfect that Inglis couldn’t react. Raising her left arm to block, she counterattacked with a quick kick with her right leg.

However, Tiffanyer was equally swift. Her left arm feinted a block before thrusting toward Inglis’s abdomen.

Bam! Slam!

Inglis’s kick struck Tiffanyer’s side; Tiffanyer’s punch struck Inglis in the gut.

“Gwah?!”

“Agh!”

But neither was enough to stop the other. They immediately attacked again, this time each with blows aimed at the other’s jaw.

“Haaaa!”

“Yaaaah!”

The rumbling of their flurries of punches filled the air. They both aimed a kick at each other, and as their strikes met, the impact pushed them apart for a moment.

“I see... This is a fun way to fight!” Inglis had fought hieral menaces hand to hand before—Eris and Ripple while sparring, Sistia in a real fight—but Tiffanyer was different from the rest. The others’ attacks were powerful, but she’d been able to parry them and use their momentum against them.

However, Tiffanyer’s attacks kept catching her. Why? Inglis thought. Because Tiffanyer has no desire to avoid or defend against me.

In a fight, one normally tried to avoid the opponent while finding an opportunity to strike. The other hieral menaces fought that way, as did Yua, who was especially skilled in concealing her own intentions while attacking. She could fight while completely evading her foe.

Tiffanyer was another story. She ignored her opponent’s attacks and went on the aggressive, paying no heed to anything else. She abandoned defense to specialize in landing her own blows. Such a thing was risky; the moment an opponent attacked could be an opening for a counter. That resulted in taking a lot of strikes head-on, so she needed the endurance to stay on her feet through it.

A hieral menace had superhuman endurance—superhuman physical capabilities in general—but was she really that confident in her own stamina? Either way, it was an extremely crude way of fighting that didn’t match her dainty, elegant appearance.

“So you focus on attacking rather than avoiding or blocking your opponent’s attacks?”

Tiffanyer chuckled. “Now you get the idea. Still, what are you going to do about it? Run away? After all, a black eye would really ruin your look.”

“Of course I’m not running away! I’ll go along with it!” Inglis especially wasn’t going to run from any opportunity at becoming a stronger version of herself. If Tiffanyer was challenging her to a slugfest, she’d take it.

Take it, beat her, and win! “Let’s go!” Inglis went to lunge toward Tiffanyer again, but the introduction of several new voices stopped her.

“Lady Tiffanyer!”

“A-Are you okay?!”

“I-I cannot bear to see you hurt!”

Several Highlanders loomed into view aboard Flygears. Harim didn’t seem to be among them, but they were all handsome young men. Tiffanyer’s tastes were obvious.

She was only slightly hurt, but they were making a very big deal about it.

“Oh, it’s you all. Didn’t I tell you to stay at home? Leclair is already starting its journey into the sky. You need to keep an eye on—”

“B-But you’re fighting alone, Lady Tiffanyer!”

“Let us fight too!”

“This time, I’ll take that silver-haired girl down!”

“You mustn’t. You’re no match for her. I can’t have you throw your lives away. You’re still important to me. Endure it for now, and make me feel better later.”

“Y-Yes! Leave that to me!”

“No, I’ll handle it!”

“I—!”

Tiffanyer giggled. “Don’t worry, you’ll all get your turn. I’m not running away. And if we manage to bring Leclair up to Highland, you’ll be rewarded. Once our mission is complete, we can have some fun. So just cheer me on from there. That’s what will help me.”

Inglis was beginning to feel like the villain here—but she wasn’t alone.

“Chris! Are you okay?” Rafinha’s voice came down from above. The Star Princess had launched from the Flygear Port, and she and Lahti were aboard, Lahti handling the controls.

Inglis couldn’t see Leone or Liselotte—they were probably protecting the Flygear Port. “Yeah, I’m all good, Rani!” she called back.

“We’re going on ahead! Take care of this!” Lahti yelled.

“Do your best, Chris!”

Leaving these words behind, the Star Princess soared off toward Leclair. Its acceleration was far faster than that of a standard Flygear thanks to the modifications Inglis and Lahti had made.

“W-Wow! It’s fast!” one of the Highlanders exclaimed.

“What’s with that Flygear?!” another shouted.

“Chase it,” Tiffanyer ordered. “Leclair’s our own gift to the higher-ups—if anything happens to it, things won’t look good for our standing.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Nodding, the Highlanders chased after the Star Princess.

But Rafinha turned and gripped her bow Artifact, Shiny Flow. “Not so fast!” She loosed a blast of white light which split into a rain of arrows that circled the Highlanders.

“Whoa?!”

“Guh! I can’t see!”

Then a voice rang out from another direction. “Hyaaah!” It was Leone’s voice. At the same time, the dark blade of her Artifact sword swung up from the ground, sweeping the Highlanders’ Flygears away.

“What?!”

“An ambush?!”

Operating at a low altitude, the Highlanders managed to land safely, but they wouldn’t be acting as pursuers anytime soon. They couldn’t easily catch up to Rafinha and Lahti without Flygears of their own.

“Not bad,” Inglis remarked. First Rafinha had distracted the enemy, then Leone had taken advantage of the opening to remove their mobility. It was a decently planned turning of the tables on Tiffanyer. Inglis wondered who had thought of it. She’d be proud if Rafinha had, but Leone or Liselotte—who both excelled in their lessons at the knights’ academy—seemed more likely.

“Inglis! We’re going too!” Leone announced.

“We leave the rest to you!” Liselotte followed. They also took a Flygear from the Flygear Port and followed Rafinha and Lahti. They were prioritizing getting to Leclair and rescuing Pullum and the survivors.

“Got it!” Inglis yelled back.

Tiffanyer sighed. “Well, that’s not good. Now I can’t take my time and enjoy this.”

“It seems that way.”

“Now, if you’ll forgive me, I’m in a hurry!” Tiffanyer charged straight in.

Inglis braced herself to counter. Tiffanyer’s momentum was intense, but it wasn’t much different from before. Inglis hadn’t yet grasped what she meant by “hurry,” but something was different.

Tiffanyer beamed at her. “Yes, take it head-on—thank you. I’m cheating a little, but you know how it has to be!”

Tiffanyer began to glow brightly, but that didn’t stop Inglis from landing a punch on her.

Claaaang!

“Wh—?!” It made no sense, but Inglis’s fist had collided with something hard.

Blammmmm!

The force of the kick Inglis took in return was a far cry from the previous ones as well. “Gah!” Though the impact pushed her back, she somehow kept her footing. “Your body...?!”

When the light faded, Tiffanyer’s transformation was finished, revealing platinum armor with glittering decorations. The beauty of the craftsmanship gave it the appearance of a work of art rather than a tool of battle. The armor ensconced her body, making her beauty even more mysterious and noble.

Tiffanyer laughed. “You wanted to see my true power? Allow me.”

“Now I understand—you’re an armor hieral menace!”

It was only with the protection of that armor that her purely offensive fighting style became truly effective. Inglis figured Tiffanyer must have been confident that she could leave it all to the armor. From that perspective, her seemingly reckless tactics were actually quite effective. The hieral menace was ready to fight seriously now.

“That’s right! Now, are you prepared to look death in the eye?!” A look of triumphant pride on her face, Tiffanyer launched a follow-up attack. She was far faster than before, despite how heavy her armor had to be. The armor probably boosted her physical capabilities.

Her fist audibly sliced through the air, before connecting with Inglis’s face—and stopped neatly in place.

“Eh...?!” Tiffanyer’s eyes went wide. She had wanted to finish things in one decisive strike, so she had struck with all her might, aiming to take Inglis’s life. In her armor, she was unbelievably powerful and could achieve combat feats exceptional even for a hieral menace.

When I’m in my armor, I’m completely different. Inglis is strong, but she should be no match for me like this. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to take her out in an instant—yet, I can’t. She took a full-force punch to the face without even flinching.

But from what I can see, what I can sense, nothing has changed about her. She doesn’t look any different. The forces around her don’t seem any stronger. If anything, her mana is less intense than when we fought on the Flygear Port. She’s Runeless. I don’t sense any power within her. Yet still...

The results were far from her expectations.

Does she have some power I don’t comprehend? That much is obvious. There’s no other explanation. But what does she possess? I don’t understand it at all.

“Wh-What are you?!”

“I am merely a cadet squire.”

“Don’t lie to me! You’re no mere student!” Tiffanyer attacked again, a high kick with all her might. Although it connected, Inglis still didn’t flinch.

“Sorry, but I’m in a rush,” Inglis said bluntly. Tiffanyer’s attacks had, of course, failed because she’d activated Aether Shell and wrapped her body in aether. She hadn’t wanted to, but Rafinha was on her way to Leclair. And with Harim not present here, it was obvious that the others were heading into dangerous territory in the town.

I’m worried about Rani going on ahead without me, Inglis thought. I can always do something for her if I can keep an eye on her, but that isn’t the case if she’s out of sight. Honestly, I’d rather she stayed here, but it wasn’t an option under these circumstances.

With Tiffanyer in her armor, she was strong enough that Inglis needed Aether Shell. This girl was a true hieral menace. Taking her down one-sidedly with an even higher power would be dull, though.

There was no doubt that Tiffanyer was a strong foe, of the sort Inglis only rarely encountered. Fighting her with her divine knight abilities wouldn’t really help Inglis grow. She believed that, to master her power, she had to seek the utmost personal growth in every battle. In this case, by avoiding the use of Aether Shell as much as possible and instead taking that difficult battle on a trial-and-error basis, she could expect to improve many combat-related abilities, such as her melee prowess, endurance, and tactics. This was a reckless choice to abandon that opportunity.

However, Rafinha’s safety was more important. She might find other strong foes if she looked, but there was only one Rafinha. “Sorry, but I’m not going to hold back! Haaaaah!” Inglis’s fist, wrapped in the glow of Aether Shell, once again struck that platinum armor.

Crrreeeak!

The hieral menace’s armor twisted and groaned, making a very different sound from before.

“Wh—?! Eeep!” Last time, Tiffanyer had breezily absorbed Inglis’s punch, but this time she was sent flying. She rapidly rolled away, head over heels across the snow. Large columns of the deep snowdrifts kicked up in her wake.

“Lady Tiffanyer?!” Her underlings cried out in shock.

“Wh-What was that attack?! She wasn’t—”

“Don’t worry about that! Just stop her! We won’t let her hurt Lady Tiffanyer any further!”

“Got it! Wait, she’s gone?! She disappeared!”

By then, Inglis was already to where Tiffanyer had come to a stop. Not through any special ability. She’d just moved so fast that they couldn’t see.

“And here’s more! Haaaah!” Before Tiffanyer could get up, Inglis unleashed a flurry of punches.

Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam!

“Aaaaaaah!” Tiffanyer moaned. The hail of blows fell not just on Tiffanyer, but also on the ground around her. In an instant, the earth had caved in, creating a large crater.

“Lady Tiffanyer! We can’t let this happen!”

“We’ll save you even if it costs us our lives!”

“Grahhhhh!”

The Highlanders swarmed forward in desperation.

“N-No, stop! You won’t be able to hold her back!” Despite the barrage unleashed upon her, Tiffanyer was still able to restrain them with a few words. For her to do so in such circumstances meant that she really was concerned for their safety.

Furthermore, just take a look at that... Inglis thought, stopping her assault for a moment to examine Tiffanyer closely. Her platinum armor was dented and bent, but not decisively destroyed. It has tremendous strength. Far beyond even that of an upper-class Artifact. Like, for example, Leone’s dark greatsword—if I were to have activated Aether Shell and punched that with the same amount of strength, it would’ve shattered by now. So this is what the armor summoned by a hieral menace is capable of.

Inglis supposed that made sense. If Tiffanyer were to fight alongside a holy knight with a special-class Rune, it would be the armor that protected that knight from the blows of a Prismer. She felt a little bit regretful that she hadn’t been able to destroy it.

“Ngh... Argh...” As effective as Inglis’s blows had been, Tiffanyer was still conscious thanks to her armor.

That’s probably to be expected too. Inglis hopped back a little, opening a gap. As if taking their own turn, the Highlanders ignored her and helped Tiffanyer to her feet.

“Lady Tiffanyer!”

“Are you all right?!”

“Leave this to us!”

Tiffanyer shook her head. “No, you can’t... You’re no match for her...”

“B-But—!”

“We’ll protect you, even if it costs us our lives!”

“Please, get to safety!”

Taken as a scene alone, it was a beautiful expression of loyalty. However, Tiffanyer had been committing atrocities across Alcard. If Rafinha were here to see it, would she have wavered? Or would she have held firm in her judgment of the hieral menace?

Rafinha was the kind of person who saw people in a positive light and tried to find the good in everyone, so she might have wavered. Inglis would do no such thing. She didn’t believe in innate goodness—not that she believed in innate evil either. There were things more important than good or evil.

“Let’s end this here. Release Pullum and the survivors in Leclair, and discard the Floating Circle. If you do so and return to Highland without the town, I won’t pursue you any further.” Inglis had really wanted to take this fight with Tiffanyer slow and enjoy it, but she’d ended it quickly to ensure Rafinha’s safety; its aftermath also needed to be resolved quickly. Rafinha’s wishes and safety were Inglis’s top priority.

“L-Lady Tiffanyer?”

“What shall we do?”

The Highlanders looked at the hieral menace. Their reaction revealed that they were willing to take those terms. That made sense, in a way. Inglis, despite her overwhelming advantage, was essentially saying that she’d let bygones be bygones if they left now. She wasn’t asking for any atonement or compensation.

Many might be outraged by that leniency. But even though the offer would be her salvation, Tiffanyer was hesitant to agree. “And if I do...what becomes of me?”

“You return to Highland and try to make a fresh start?” Inglis offered.

Tiffanyer laughed bitterly. “Maybe that would work on someone who’d be given a second chance.”

“You’re saying you wouldn’t be?”

“Yes. I’m not a favorite of our rightful ruler, the Pontifex, like Lord Evel was. I’m a hieral menace. No matter how powerful we are, the rulers of Highland see us as nothing more than tools to be dispensed to the surface... If we fail and return to Highland, we’re treated as the tools we are.”

“I’d be happy to fight you again if we get the chance, if you’re safely sent back down to the surface.”

“And what value does that hold? As long as a hieral menace is a hieral menace, we can’t truly defend the surface. We won’t change anything; we can’t change anything. I don’t want to fight for such nonsense.” Tiffanyer seemed to be very displeased with her role and position as a hieral menace.

Inglis could tell that there were reasons for it, but she had a different outlook. “Fighting doesn’t need a meaning or a purpose. We fight because we want to fight, and enjoy becoming stronger—isn’t that enough? Anyway, if you promise me that the next time we meet you’ll try to take me down for real—”

“I said, what’s the point of that?! Are you some kind of beast?!”

“All I wish is to reach my ultimate potential. I’d like to secure as many chances for combat experience as possible.”

Tiffanyer stared at her. “I’m not going along with that! What even are you?! You already have the power to take down a hieral menace without breaking a sweat! You’re just making fun of me!”

“I’m not trying to make fun of you—” Thinking back, Inglis vaguely remembered Sistia, the black-masked man, and Evel feeling similarly insulted. Tiffanyer’s response was tinged a bit differently, but she was angry too. It seemed there were few foes generous enough to break things off with “Understood! Next time we meet will be your death!” and train up to challenge her again.

It was reinforcing her previous impression that she’d need to find Evel’s abandoned lab and try to duplicate herself. After all, she knew herself best. After matters were settled here, she’d need to go looking.

“But looking at the circumstances, I don’t think you have any option but to accept... And I hate to say this, but we could consider those people around you hostages,” Inglis said.

“Ugh...?”

“Gah! This girl—?!”

“She’s using us as bait to get to Lady Tiffanyer!”

The Highlanders were agitated by Inglis’s words. This was a natural reaction, having just seen her overpower Tiffanyer.

But Tiffanyer was different. “Looking at the circumstances? I see—so you’re still a bit naive in your own perceptions.”

“Oh! You still have a trick up your sleeve?!” Inglis exclaimed in excitement. She wanted to finish things quickly, but it wouldn’t hurt to see just what it was.

“Look at you smile! I can’t wait to see how I can twist that expression!” Tiffanyer shouted, sweeping aside the Highlanders and rushing at Inglis.

“Ah!”

Yet her charge lacked the speed and force it had once had. Tiffanyer couldn’t hide the impact Inglis’s punches had left on her. “Yaaaaaah!”

There was no strength in Tiffanyer’s blow. Why is she still fighting in this state? What reason does she have? Inglis thought. She moved to brush Tiffanyer’s fist away.

With a high-pitched, penetrating sound, Tiffanyer’s body began to glow from within. This—I think I’ve seen this light before.

“Huh?!” As Inglis caught her opponent’s fist, the shine grew more intense still, swelling to a tremendous size. Inglis couldn’t keep herself from squinting. It was too bright to keep her eyes open.

Skreeeeeeeeeech!

A distinctive high-pitched sound filled her ears. There’s no mistaking it—! It’s like that fight on the flying battleship over the palace! “You’re transforming into your weapon form?!”

Within the light, Tiffanyer’s voice, coming not from a human but from armor, echoed in Inglis’s head. “That’s right! I can still do this! Now, taste it! The true meaning of a hieral menace! That cursed power!”

As the light faded, a new sight came into view—Inglis in a suit of platinum armor that looked as good as new.