Unnamed Memory - Volume 5 - Chapter 6

6. Bloodless Scars

Morning light prickled at her eyes. The breeze coming in from the open window stirred her long black hair.

Such brightness was wholly unwelcome. Instinctively, she curled up and pulled the pillow over her face. She tried to fall back to sleep, but someone tapped lightly at the back of her head.

“Wake up, Tinasha.”

She heard him speak but couldn’t comprehend the words. Resisting, she shook her head underneath the pillow.

Heartlessly, he kept going. “Wake up, wake up. You’re terrible at getting out of bed in the morning.”

He grabbed her arms and pulled her upright, but she quickly flopped back down before he could keep her in place.

He eyed her prostrate form with dismay. Sighing, he hoisted her up into his arms. “I’m going to toss you into the bathtub.”

“Ugh…” Her dark eyes blinked open.

“You better not go back to sleep, got it? I’ll pinch you if you do.”

“Mm-kay… Morning, Oscar.”

“Every day you test my patience, I swear.” The words were harsh, but inside them was a deep and abiding affection.

She gave an absentminded smile. With her arms wrapped around his neck, she slowly slid down until she was standing. After a pause, she yawned. Blue sky could be seen through the window.

“Nice weather today,” she commented.

“Do you want me to take you out somewhere? I’ve got Nark, so it wouldn’t require much time.”

Her eyes grew wide. Hope blossomed inside her heart.

She was quick to squelch it, however. “There’ll be trouble if anyone finds out I’m gone. But thank you.”

“You’re still a kid. You should get to take a break,” he argued, stroking her hair. Her eyes went half-lidded like a cat’s as she grinned.

When she opened her eyes, the room was already light. Tinasha pulled away the arm she’d flung over her face.

Didn’t she already get up? For some reason, she was in bed again. Though her body was sluggish to respond, she managed to drag herself upright. Someone asked calmly, “You up?”

Tinasha looked over to see a man getting changed, facing away from the bed. She recognized the broad stretch of his back.

Sleepily, she replied, “Mm-hmm. Good morning. I’ll go make breakfast…”

“What?” he questioned sharply, turning back to look at her.

She blinked at him in confusion, her head tilted to one side. “What’s wrong, Oscar?”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Huh?” Tinasha shook her sleep-addled head. Looking around, she saw that she wasn’t in her room.

Glancing down at herself, she noticed that her body wasn’t the skinny frame of a teenage girl. She had soft, womanly curves.

She looked back over at the man who had paused mid-dressing, his arms through his shirt. Abruptly, her memories returned. “Oh… I—I think I was just half asleep. Sorry.”

“Wake all the way up. You’re so bad with mornings.”

Tinasha gave her flushed cheeks a light slap. She had confused a dream from her younger days with reality. The rooms she lived in then no longer existed. She was in the king of Farsas’s bedchamber.

Looking down at herself again, she realized she was wearing the same clothes as she had the day before. “Did I fall asleep here?”

“You went out like a light. You’re a champion sleeper and yet so very, very bad at getting up. How long did you plan on staying in bed?” Oscar chided.

“Urgh… I’m sorry…”

Tinasha swung her legs over the side of the bed to sit on the edge of the matress. She glanced at the clock and paled. “I—I’m going to be late… I have a meeting…”

“I thought you might. That’s why I tried to wake you, but you completely refused,” Oscar replied. He was now fully dressed, and he tossed her a teasing smirk.

Tinasha shrunk in on herself like a scolded child.

Even home in Tuldarr, she was a poor riser. Often, she only just barely managed to drag herself to the bath in the morning. While her ladies-in-waiting all knew she was like this, almost no one else did.

If Tinasha hurried, there was still a chance she wouldn’t be late.

“Sorry, I need to get back now,” she said with an apologetic nod.

“Mm-hmm,” answered Oscar, flapping a hand at her. She flashed him a soft smile and summarily vanished from the room.

Oscar shook his head at his fiancée, gone so abruptly.

Had that been a good distraction for her? At the very least, she had seemed her usual self when she’d grinned.

Eyeing the clock, Oscar realized that he was an hour late, because he’d been dealing with Tinasha.

Although he should’ve been in a rush, too, he couldn’t help but focus on what Tinasha had said when she was still half awake.

“What kind of food could she even make? Terrifying,” he muttered with a smirk as he headed out to begin his work for the day.

The stone chamber was so enormous it could house a mansion. The walls and ceiling were bare excavated rock, while the interior was cold as ice.

It wasn’t naturally frigid, however. Strange waves of bitter air kept rolling in from a gigantic hole in the center of the room.

Valt stood on the edge of it, peering down. It was boundlessly deep, the bottom impossible to make out. But if he strained his eyes, he could see something slithering in the darkness.

Whatever it was emanated pure evil.

“Valt, isn’t it time yet? If we leave it there much longer, it’s going to eat all,” someone said, and Valt turned to see a dozen men standing along the wall, clearly unwilling to get as close to the aperture as he was. It had been one of them who complained.

Valt gave a shrug. “True enough. I suppose we can begin.”

The men stirred. Every time one of them had suggested something like that to him previously, he’d shot the suggestion down. Sensing their morale surging like a wave, Valt gave a strained smile. “I will handle it until it’s set outside. No one else can, after all. Aside from that, do as you like. I won’t attempt to control it.”

“That’s fine. We’ll handle it,” one man stated confidently.

Internally, Valt sneered. The men were far too dazzled by the sheer power to judge whether they were actually capable of wielding it.

But very soon, they would all learn firsthand what it was like to hold too much strength.

Valt could have warned them but saw no reason to. His desires lay elsewhere.

It had taken meticulous planning and execution of work laid by generations before him to reach this turning point.

After Tinasha’s meeting, which she barely arrived to on time, she had lunch with Legis. The conversation naturally turned to the events of the day before.

“Using the bodies of mages to summon magic is a dreadful thing,” Legis spat in a rare display of undisguised irritation.

Tinasha’s face darkened. “That type of forbidden curse was attempted often in the past, but I don’t think the effects are worth the high number of sacrifices. At best, the caster only becomes a slightly stronger mage.”

In the end, seven people had perished for a mediocre power increase.

Someone with true knowledge and strength would’ve been able to call a fantastic amount of magic from the flesh of just one powerful individual used as the catalyst. Tinasha was once the recipient of such colossal magic from a forbidden curse, though she herself had not asked for it. The memory of that event was bittersweet.

Sighing, Legis said, “I suppose in the end, we can’t completely stop the use of forbidden curses.”

“Unfortunately, that would be very difficult to achieve. People believe that great risks mean great rewards. In reality, there is no case that I know of in which a forbidden curse successfully led someone to their goal.”

In all Tuldarr’s records, nearly every forbidden curse ended with the caster dead and the curse either disintegrating or causing wild, unplanned mayhem. There weren’t many who knew that, though.

If that knowledge was made public in an attempt to deter future incidents, it would only end up revealing more information about forbidden curses. That was a danger that could not be overlooked. No matter how loudly they might preach about the futility of forbidden curses, those who sought power wouldn’t listen.

As a result, a force capable of stamping out those threats was vital, and the queen had already taken steps toward creating one.

Ever since Tinasha first began considering dissolving the contract with the mystical spirits, she had also started plans for how the mages of Tuldarr might fight back against a forbidden curse. In the days leading to her coronation, she’d selected qualified candidates and had begun running them through battle-oriented drills.

When Legis inquired how that program was going, Tinasha smiled. “It’s going well. Everyone is very talented, and they’re quick learners.”

“I see… Do you think that, in a real-world scenario, they could defend against a forbidden curse?” he asked.

“I do. In magical warfare, firepower alone isn’t what decides things. It’s about how it’s utilized… In other words, it’s more important to devise a winning strategy. In that sense, it’s no different from regular combat, and carefully laying preparations can actually be more effective than anything else. That’s especially the case when spells are set in advance.”

A team of multiple spell casters with finely honed magic would absolutely be enough to defy a forbidden curse if they used their power in the right places and at the right times. When Farsas had defended against Druza’s forbidden curse, Oscar had noted that a head-on battle was pointless. Tinasha felt the same way, which was why she was instructing mages on technique and knowledge. As an elite unit that could tacitly communicate and understand each other, they would be more flexible and dynamic than a single powerful mage fighting alone.

“It’s usually a group of mages who are behind a large-scale forbidden curse, and they’re all reliant on the spell. I don’t think it should be so very difficult to rein them in,” the queen stated confidently, and Legis nodded.

However, another possibility occurred to him, and so he asked, “What would you do against a witch?”

Though he had voiced the question off the cuff, it was a weighty one. Tinasha’s face turned pensive, and then she smiled slightly. “To be honest, I don’t know. I think it would be a pretty tough battle, because a witch would have so much more experience. Perhaps we could set up a very carefully laid trap… It would be best to avoid a direct confrontation.”

Legis was silent for a moment, for he had anticipated that reply.

A witch would certainly be much more formidable than even a large-scale forbidden curse.

The Witch Killer Queen knew better than anyone how terrifying it was to face off against someone with powerful magic, experience, and a will of their own. Only four such women had come to be called witches.

Sunlight streamed into the room—a rare occurrence. When Valt returned, he stared at the shafts of light with some surprise.

Miralys was sitting in her chair, hugging her knees to her chest. The bright afternoon sun made her snowy white skin shine. Her light green eyes caught his. “You’re back. Are you tired?”

“Yes, it was pretty exhausting calling it up alone. But what’s going on? You have the curtains open.”

“I’ll have to go into the outside world soon… so I’m acclimating myself,” Miralys answered.

“Ah, I see,” said Valt, a smile tugging at his lips at what a good, faithful girl Miralys was. He could feel his exhaustion melting away. Still, he made sure to ask her what he needed to ask. “Is the spell ready?”

“Yes, it’s done. It took a while, but everything is fine.”

“Thanks.”

Miralys was quite good at spell crafting. There was no need to worry over that part.

However, what did warrant concern was how their opponents’ forces would be deployed. Valt couldn’t help voicing his uneasiness. “I’m the most anxious about where the spirits will be placed. Keeping track of twelve really is tough.”

“I’ll be fine, since I have enough magic to confuse them… but you be careful,” Miralys replied.

“I will. I’ll be sure to put them to work pulling that off, too,” Valt said with a little yawn as he glanced out the window. On the other side of the glass, he could sense a peculiar magic drifting in the air. The country would probably change overnight.

That was only the beginning, though. A self-deprecating expression formed on his face. “I’m going to sleep. I have to replenish my magic.”

“Okay. Good night,” Miralys said with a little wave of her fingers. Poison lurked somewhere in that innocent smile of hers.

Everything hinged on tomorrow. The curtain would finally rise on their story.

The noontime sun blazed, bathing the earth in light.

The fortress of Ynureid stood at Farsas’s northernmost point and was built on terrain that was comparatively cooler because of its high elevation. The sun still bore down on it fiercely, though.

The first one to notice was a mage on the rampart.

About 60 percent of the main fort’s exterior had been rebuilt by a team of mages specializing in architecture, while artisans worked on the interior simultaneously. Mages were now setting up defensive spells along the outer walls. One of them looked up, sensing a flow of unusual magic. Something had gotten caught by the numerous surveillance wards placed at the national border.

He narrowed his eyes. A dark shape was slithering on the horizon.

It was impossible at this distance to distinguish exactly what it was, but it was clearly abnormal. The man raced along the ramparts to the general.

The hasty report reached the king in Farsas Castle five minutes later. Upon hearing the news, Oscar lifted his eyebrows. “Cezar made their move already?”

Cezar’s hostility toward Farsas was nothing new. It was most likely misguided resentment stemming from the fact that Farsas was a powerful country blessed with natural resources. But in hundreds of years, Cezar had never once attacked its enemy directly. This sudden action had to be the result of their evil god or some other entity spurring them to it, just as Druza had been pushed to strike with the forbidden curse.

Nonetheless, Oscar had been expecting this since he’d learned what Tinasha’s investigation uncovered. Swiftly, he issued orders to his attendants and left the room to prepare for battle.

One hour later, he and his army teleported to Ynureid.

“What’s the situation?” the king demanded.

The general bowed. “Most of the enemy army is infantry, so their pace is slow. It should take them another hour to arrive. Their numbers are close to forty thousand. However, er…”

“Yes?”

“The mages claim they sense some manner of abnormal magic.”

Oscar’s attendants gasped. Undoubtedly, they were all thinking of Druza’s forbidden curse.

Aware that this thought had just put them all on edge, Oscar grinned wickedly. “Now everyone thinks they can just whip out whatever weird thing, since they know they can’t beat us in a head-on fight…”

After what Druza did, a treaty was freshly signed banning the use of forbidden curses in cross-national wars. What had Cezar brought out now? Surely not a real evil god? Oscar’s brain whirred. “This’ll be a gamble.”

It was painful not knowing what their enemy had up their sleeve. But that just meant Farsas had to crush them before they could let loose whatever odd thing they had. Oscar gave orders to that effect, a grave expression on his face.

The half-finished fortress of Ynureid loomed before them. General Tarvo, leading the vanguard of Cezar’s army, restrained a laugh as he eyed it. He thought of Druza, which had only recently relied on a forbidden curse and suffered defeat.

“Of course Druza lost going about it that way. Even if they had destroyed the stronghold and army with their curse, what were they going to do once they’d used it all up?”

Any way you looked at it, overpowering Farsas was impossible without enough strength to last through a long struggle.

Cezar wouldn’t make such a foolish mistake.

Over long years, it had raised troops for just this purpose. What’s more, the nation had that. Victory was in sight.

However, there was one uncertain element, and that was the queen of Tuldarr, the king’s fiancée. Things could get dicey if she led her country to intervene in the conflict. The general wanted to weaken Farsas before that could happen.

“Have they not noticed us yet?”

The fortress still looked the same.

From horseback, Tarvo surveyed his infantry. He opened his mouth to give the order to speed up their march. But before he could speak, a fog suddenly rolled out. It was thick enough to block out the soldiers’ field of vision, even on the sunny plains.

“What is this?! What is happening?!” Tarvo shouted, jerking around to check behind him, but the soldiers showed no reaction and kept on advancing. He was glad to see that the march wasn’t impeded, but he was worried, nonetheless. Was it wise to continue in this fog when they had no idea which direction they were headed?

It didn’t look like any ordinary mist, meaning it had to be magic. Tarvo wasn’t a mage, though, so that was as best as he could comprehend it. He turned back to ask his officers for guidance, but the fog was so thick that he couldn’t see them.

After about five minutes of moving through the vapor, debating the entire time if they should stop, Tarvo and the rest of the army finally emerged from the fog. All of a sudden, he could see again, as if what had happened was just an illusion, and the fortress was much closer than it had been.

“So we were on the right path…”

He had been fretting that the magic was meant to throw off their course, but everything seemed fine. Feeling reassured, Tarvo took hold of his reins.

And that was when something came whistling through the air. Tarvo stiffened, then tumbled from his mount. An arrow was lodged in his helmetless head, piercing one ear and going out the other. His horse slowed and shook its head, seeking its rider that had disappeared from the saddle. A soldier who was walking behind ran into the steed.

Despite the obvious attack, the Cezar army couldn’t stop immediately upon losing a commanding officer.

In the next moment, the Farsas army attacked from their right flank.

“This magic is pretty powerful,” muttered Kav, who was casting spells from the fortress.

In the distance, Farsas’s and Cezar’s armies were clashing on the plains. Sylvia, who was watching the battle from beside Kav, nodded.

Producing fog on even ground was a potent type of spiritual magic that, ordinarily speaking, no regular mage could wield.

However, Tinasha had reworked the spell so that a team of ten mages could handle it and had taught it to those she was close with in Farsas. Tinasha had used this very tactic herself during the incident with the princess of Yarda; it was highly effective in combat.

While the fog robbed the enemy of sight, the Farsas troops had split up and teleported in groups to places along the Cezar army’s flank.

Once the fog dissipated, they launched an attack from the enemy’s blind spot.

Kav noticed that the Cezar army’s formation was collapsing under the force of Farsas’s charge and whispered, “I hope this ends quickly…”

An ominous chill ran up his spine.

The majority of Cezar’s forty thousand troops were foot soldiers. The Farsas cavalry rode into the middle of the infantry but were surprised to find no real resistance. The enemy moved sluggishly and were cut down as easily as grass.

It quickly became apparrant what was wrong. Enemy soldiers who should’ve been fatally wounded were still fighting back, swinging their swords as if nothing had befallen them.

Slowly but steadily, those blades pierced the horses’ bellies. With loud whinnies, the steeds collapsed, and their riders tumbled off their backs. They cried out upon finding themselves hemmed in by Cezar forces. “Th-these demons!”

Their eyes were cloudy, and the flesh of their cheeks was rotting. The gray pallor of their faces was unmistakable—these were dead men walking.

“Your Majesty!” shouted Doan.

“I know,” Oscar replied sullenly from the front lines.

This was the abnormal magic. While ordinary humans were mixed into Cezar’s army, the majority of the fighters were animated corpses.

“Those who are taken to Cezar’s castle never come out again, huh?”

Tinasha had said something like that to Oscar once. He hadn’t wanted to learn the fates of those unfortunate souls, and yet here they were. Oscar clicked his tongue in annoyance.

The Farsas troops had stopped in their tracks, overwhelmed with fear. Their enemy was already dead and so couldn’t be killed. That said, the corpses couldn’t heal themselves. If their limbs were lopped off, the remaining corpse would only writhe disturbingly on the ground. While this could hardly be considered ideal, it was better than nothing.

“I guess we’ll make magic our main offense… It’s not really my style, but go ahead,” Oscar ordered, and the Farsas army formation shifted. As the cavalry soldiers held their positions, the mages behind them began to set the cadavers on fire. Puppeteered by some sort of spell as they were, they ceased moving once they were burned with magic. Similarly, Akashia could also render them motionless.

A full-size Nark spewed fire onto the dead army from the sky.

Oscar groaned as he beheld the scene. “There’s no end to them.”

Right now, things were fine. But Oscar wasn’t sure if this method would hold up against the entirety of Cezar’s soldiers.

Unlike Tuldarr, Farsas did not have vast reserves of mages. Most of them were at the fortress or castle. Only around twenty were on the battlefield.

A scowl on his face, Oscar exhaled hard. As he cut through the shambling cadavers, the king said to the mage mumbling incantations behind him, “Doan, hit me with a little magic.”

“What?!” Doan yelped, going wide-eyed at his king’s extreme request.

With a serious look on his face, Oscar urged, “Do it quick. It’ll alert Tinasha. It’s our best chance.”

Tinasha had cast an anti-magic barrier on Oscar that alerted her when he was struck by a spell. It was what had brought her to those strange ruins.

Grasping Oscar’s intention, Doan drew up a simple attack spell. Before it took shape, though, a voice called down from midair.

“Could you not summon me that way?” The woman was very obviously annoyed.

Just as Oscar and Doan looked up, a dreadful and thunderous roar rocked the entire area. Glaring light flooded the front lines and the Farsas soldiers instinctively shut their eyes against the sudden flash.

When they cautiously opened their lids again, they were all astonished to find the corpses they had been battling collapsed on the ground like marionettes with their strings cut.

“Wh-what on earth just happened…?”

Soldiers gasped when they saw huge swaths of open space where thousands of corpses blanketed the earth. The remaining Cezar cadaver soldiers appeared to notice the abrupt vacancies and began to shuffle toward the Farsas troops.

Frowning, Oscar said to the woman in the sky, “You sure do know how to make a spectacle.”

“I wanted to buy us a little time to talk,” Tinasha explained as she descended. She was wearing mage’s robes, though not formal ones. The form-fitting white attire hugged the shape of her body and was emblazoned with magical sigils. The outfit had seemingly been designed for ease of movement, as deep slits ran up along both sides of the skirt, providing glimpses of Tinasha’s milky-white legs.

She was equipped with multiple magic implements strapped to her slender arms and legs, and what had to be an ensorcelled dagger was belted at her waist. She was obviously ready for battle. A young man and woman stood behind her, awating orders; Oscar recognized them as two of the twelve mystical spirits.

Oscar’s eyes grew wide as he took in his very first glimpse of Tinasha’s battle uniform. “That’s some getup.”

Tinasha beamed, her eyes narrowing. When the expression faded, her eyes became as dark as the abyss and filled with unmistakable majesty.

“The queen of Tuldarr, Tinasha As Meyer Ur Aeterna Tuldarr, has arrived. I have detected the use of a forbidden art, hence Tuldarr’s decision to intervene at this juncture. We will dispose of this entity that should not exist, and no harm will come to either country,” she proclaimed in a full, sonorous tone.

Oscar grinned. He kept his response outwardly serious as he replied, “Understood. Thanks for acting so fast.”

Tinasha replied with a broad smile of her own and launched into a detailed explanation. “I will leave four of my spirits here. Also, that group over there is in training at the moment, so use them any way you wish.”

She indicated a spot close to the rear left flank of the Farsas army. About twenty mages stood next to horses some distance away. Upon catching Oscar’s gaze, they bowed.

“Mages from Tuldarr, huh? That’ll be a big help,” Oscar remarked.

“My intention was to create an anti-forbidden-curse unit, but I didn’t think it would see real combat this soon, so they’re all still learning. Rest assured, however, that they are excellent mages,” Tinasha clarified.

Oscar cocked an eyebrow. “How am I supposed to interpret that? Don’t give such a misleading explanation. And when you say you’re leaving them here, do you mean you have something else to do?”

“I’m going to go strike the heart of the corpse army.”

“Is it an evil god?”

“Yes,” Tinasha responded flatly, and though the words evil god still sounded too ridiculous to be believed, Oscar frowned. Tinasha was floating in the sky, so Oscar beckoned her to come closer. Once she did, he grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his lap, making her black eyes go wide with surprise.

With a light flush on her cheeks, the queen admonished him, “Oscar, we’re in the middle of battle…”

“Forget that. What’s this evil god? Do those really exist?”

Oscar had never once thought such things were real.

Tinasha made a face. “I don’t think it’s a mythological deity like Aetea, no. But it does exist in the sense that it’s a mass of accumulated magic and energy. I think it’s going to be pretty difficult to take it apart, which is why I’m the most qualified to go after it.”

“If you think you’ll have a tough time, wait just a little and I can go with you to help,” Oscar suggested.

“I’ll be fine,” Tinasha assured him. The smile on her face felt so ephemeral that a jolt of concern lanced through Oscar.

He held her tighter in his arms. “You’ll win, right?”

“Of course,” she said immediately. Oscar gazed searchingly into her dark eyes, seeing his own face reflected in the depths of night there. He could feel confidence thrumming through her lithe frame. As this wielder of both strong magic and fierce determination grinned up at him, Oscar couldn’t help matching her expression.

Then he glanced over her head and noticed soldiers coming closer. “Guess we’re out of time.”

There was no longer any time to chat. Sensing the enemy approaching, Tinasha attempted to float up into the air, but Oscar kept his sword arm tight around her side. With his empty hand, he tilted up her chin. “Come back to me, all right?”

“Leave it to me. I’ll beat you to the fortress and be waiting for you,” she replied with a graceful smile. Every time he saw that look on her face, it drew him in and charmed him so irrevocably.

Oscar drew close and pressed a kiss on Tinasha’s soft lips. It was just a light brush, but the warmth of it reached her heart.

When he pulled back, a bright red had spread across her ivory complexion. Covering her face with one hand, she turned away. “What do you think you’re doing? Didn’t I tell you we’re in the middle of battle?”

“Mm-hmm. Do your best out there,” he said, releasing her so she could float away.

Cheeks still pink, Tinasha turned to the two spirits. “Senn, Lilia, I’ll be counting on you.”

“Understood.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“You too, Kunai and Saiha,” Tinasha added, naming two more spirits who had not yet appeared. But then the queen giggled; evidently, they had given a reply only she could hear.

After that, her eyes focused on Oscar again. With a look like cool, clear water, she called to him. “Good luck in battle.”

“You too,” he answered.

Tinasha turned in midair to head in the other direction. Then, while Oscar was still watching, she vanished.

Oscar allowed himself one smile before his expression turned serious and he adjusted his grip on Akashia. The corpse troops were almost upon him now.

The Tuldarr mages mounted their horses and joined the ranks. The two spirits drifted to their own spots.

After confirming everyone’s position, Oscar gave a short, sharp exhale and drew himself up straight. “Let’s go.”

His clear voice signaled the continuation of battle.

A half hour’s ride toward Cezar from the battlefield, it lay enshrined in a flattened patch of grass and brush.

Tinasha, who had tracked its magic to the source, frowned sourly down on it from the sky. “That’s… quite something. What a grotesque shape.”

The spirits Karr and Mila stood on either side of her. The red-haired girl grinned at the queen of Tuldarr. “Lady Tinasha, do creatures like that disgust you?”

“I mean, it doesn’t have any legs, and it’s enormous,” Tinasha replied.

“Should I make it some legs?”

“That’s not the issue.”

Far below their lighthearted banter, a dozen mages were working to control the evil god, Simila. It was in the form of a gigantic black snake, but that was only clear to those hovering above. Up close, it was so large that it must have been impossible to determine its shape. It was long enough to wrap around ten houses and as thick around as two full-grown adults placed end to end. Such a colossal serpent did not exist in the natural world. With its eyes closed, it coiled around itself in a leisurely manner.

The snake’s tail was attached to a dark hole that opened in the ground. Upon closer observation, the snake had emerged from this magically created aperture.

Tinasha glared into the depths of the hole. “Do you think that connects to something?”

Karr, the seemingly male spirit, answered, “Perhaps it’s a conceptual entity? If it’s stemming from some manner of root, then I’d wager that’s the connection.”

“A root, hmm? I believe the evil god itself is made up of magic and human souls. Then it’s solidified with human flesh… and manifested according to a set definition. There must be a very capable mage behind this.”

“One with some nasty tastes, though,” quipped a spirit, and Tinasha nodded her agreement.

That serpent was the evil god that, once manifested, acted as the source of the magic controlling the corpse army. It was more akin to a crystal containing a forbidden curse than to a demon that came into being organically. Its huge body seethed with resentment toward humans, and its mere existence polluted the surrounding air.

Tinasha looked at the spirits on either side of her and snapped her fingers. “All right then… let’s do a little trial.”

In response, the two spirits teleported to other points around Simila, so that they formed a triangle with Tinasha.

Tinasha stretched out her right hand, palm facing up.

“Despair that refuses sleep soars through the night. The moon shines on the far side of the sky, a prayer that can never cross over.

“So shall it be defined, so shall it manifest. Power as power shall seek that line. Upon disappearing it will turn to nothing in the air.

“I command the procession to never end. Hidden words confront form.”

As the queen recited her incantation, the two spirits also began their own.

An enormous array stitched together in the sky, Tinasha’s spell intermingling with those constructed by Karr and Mila to make an intricate configuration. The mages controlling the snake noticed the unique magic and looked up to the sky.

At first, Tinasha and her spirits had remained invisible in order to observe the group. Now they appeared proudly as embodiments of devastating power. As the mages below realized the spell was like a net entrapping them, they trembled with fear.

“Hey! Put up a barrier…”

“We can’t, there’s no time!”

They were right, for not a moment later, the spell was complete, and its magic triggered. Silver chains manifested, glittering as they fell onto Simila.

An argent web now hung on the snake’s gigantic form. Power began to burst as it blanketed the evil god.

A flash of light seared the world. Moments later, a delayed boom from the explosion rent the air.

A Cezar mage crouched to the ground, ducking and covering his head. Hot wind whipped up pebbles that buffeted his body. There came the horrible sound of bits of flesh whistling through the air.

Seconds later, all was silent again, and the mage gingerly looked around. Beyond a cloud of dust lay the ebon form of Simila. The mage stood up to assess the situation—but that was when a strange sensation made his hair stand on end.

He looked down.

Scattered black residue was tangled around his feet. Very slowly, it crawled up his legs.

“Ahhhh!” he shrieked in fear, but there was no need for that.

The vestiges of Simila leaped up farther on his body from that momentum, wrapped around his throat, and tore into him.

“Oh no… That’s revolting,” remarked Tinasha, her face twisted with disgust as she watched this all play out from above.

Her attack had blown up half of the snake, but the residue was devouring nearby mages to reconstitute itself. In a matter of seconds, the evil god had created a dozen moving corpses and had returned to its original shape. Tinasha could also tell that it was drawing up more power from its tail, which was connected to the hole.

Slowly, Simila lifted its head to face its enemy in the sky. Eyes as red as blood fixed right on Tinasha. Its scarlet tongue flicked out as if it were locking onto its prey.

There was no doubting this unsightly creature was an evil god. An ordinary person would have already collapsed from fear, but Tinasha regarded it evenly, meeting its crimson gaze.

As she watched, the serpent slowly drew its head back. Then it launched itself at Tinasha, swift as the wind.

It whizzed through the air at such a speed that it was invisible. But she had expected this.

As Tinasha expanded her defensive barrier, she dodged to the left of Simila’s maw. The snake noticed this, however, and twisted itself in midair, turning to grab her.

With a frown, the queen began to cast a new spell while maintaining her defensive one.

“Take that!” she cried, sending herself and her barrier flying through the air to kick both feet at the snake’s head. The recoil bounced her away.

Then she brought both hands together and released more magic. An intangible pressure twisted Simila’s neck, and an ear-piercing shriek escaped its throat.

“Ugh, it’s so loud…”

Tinasha teleported over to Karr to escape the writhing serpent. Despite the force tightening around the evil god’s body, it showed no signs of weakening.

“We’re in quite the predicament. We can use these makeshift measures to keep it restrained, but that won’t solve anything for good,” grumbled Tinasha.

If she didn’t completely eliminate this thing, the corpses out on the plains would keep moving. But she was up against something very powerful, not an opponent that would go down easily.

Karr gazed down at his master. “What do you wanna do, little girl?”

“Hmm… mmm… can we cut off the power coming from that hole?”

Karr glanced over at the pit the snake had crawled from, and then over at Mila, who was floating a distance away from it. The evil god was still wriggling about, trying to break free of the pressure on its neck.

“Not with two of us,” Karr answered. “But I think five could do it.”

“Then that’s what we’ll go with,” the queen decided.

“What’ll you do once the supply is cut off?” Karr inquired curiously.

Tinasha smiled. Her dark eyes narrowed like she was looking at something far in the distance. “Do you remember when I was made the way I am now?”

Karr let out a little gasp. Of all the spirits, he was the one who knew exactly what she was referring to—that incident four hundred years ago when she absorbed huge amounts of magic. Karr had been the ruling king’s spirit at the time, and while he hadn’t been in the room, he’d pieced together what happened based on the flow of magic.

“Hey… are you really thinking of absorbing that thing?”

“Not much of it is made of magic. I will divert away the souls and flesh and take in only the raw power. Once it no longer has the strength to stay manifested, it should fall apart on its own,” Tinasha explained, her light tone belying the severity of what she was proposing.

Karr gave her a warning. “That does sound logical, but it’s really dangerous. What if you take in too much magic and you explode?”

“If it starts to feel like I can’t handle it, I’ll drain some of it away,” she stated, flashing the spirit a reassuring smile.

It was hard to tell who was the master and who was the servant. Tinasha ever placed herself in the most dangerous positions.

Once the spirits answered their queen’s call and appeared, they were free to carry out her orders as they saw fit. But that, in turn, meant that they could not render aid unless called upon.

Tinasha was the type to avoid relying on others, to a reckless degree. She would first try to solve the problem herself. Karr, who had known the young woman since her childhood, grew occasionally frustrated with how stubborn she could be.

As he looked between his master, still so small, and the gigantic coils of Simila, he snorted. “I guess this is the only way…”

None of them knew if there was a limit on the power feeding into the serpent from that hole. That made a prolonged head-on battle disadvantageous. The surest way to eliminate it would be with its power supply cut off.

Karr acknowledged Tinasha’s plan, and she nodded. “Go ahead, then.”

As she spoke, Tinasha summoned up three more spirits and positioned herself before Simila’s vermilion eyes once more. It had finally shaken off the constraints she’d placed on it.

Farsas held the front line and gradually began to push the Cezar troops back. Magical explosions detonated constantly, blasting apart the Cezar forces. Witnessing that power from the very front of the vanguard, Oscar gave a wan smile. He said to the spirit woman floating next to him, “Wow, was the war with Tayiri four hundred years ago like this?”

“No,” answered Lilia. “The corpses are moving much slower and burning easier this time, so things are going far more smoothly. We also didn’t have as many mages from Tuldarr… It was particularly hard fighting against the cavalry.”

“I see,” Oscar responded.

Lilia flicked out a hand and a lightning bolt blew away some cadavers. Without stopping to check that it had worked, she moved on.

The four spirits the queen had left were flitting about the front lines, providing support all over. They were immensely strong, which came as powerful reassurance to the Farsas troops.

“The hard part is not being able to see the end of all this,” Oscar muttered to himself, clearing away a swarm of rotting warriors as he steadily pushed the front line forward.

Just then, he detected something sharp and bloodthirsty heading for him from the side. Glancing over, he saw a cavalry battalion amid the corpses. At its forefront, a man clad in armor and armed with a longsword glared at Oscar with blazing eyes. Oscar regarded him with bemusement. The cavalry soldiers, so determined to fight, stood out among the lethargic dead. With a roar, they suddenly charged for the front line. The man in the lead was headed right for the king.

With a shrill cry, he lifted his sword high overhead. Oscar yanked his horse’s neck aside and met the blade with his own.

The man’s voice was a growl as he gave his name. “I am Tauma, a Cezar general. I know you to be the king of Farsas. You will battle me.”

“Sure, but… are you even alive?” Oscar jabbed.

Tauma gave an unpleasant grin. “Why don’t you find out for yourself?!”

The man’s sword came whistling down for Oscar’s life, but he parried it handily and counterattacked.

All around the two, mounted fighters on both sides clashed. Those mages mixed in were handling the corpses. The stench of blood and steel commingled over the plain.

Deep down, Oscar was shocked by how skilled Tauma was with a blade. His technique blended strength with accuracy. Even in a regular battle, he would be worthy of commanding a unit. However, that was as far as it went.

The exchange continued almost methodically until Oscar abruptly sped up his next thrust. Tauma narrowly evaded it, but he couldn’t dodge the one after. Akashia sank into the joint between the armor plates at his shoulder, and then Oscar poured strength and speed into cutting Tauma down from his horse.

The serpent’s head lanced forward like an arrow, closing in on Tinasha. She barely dodged to the right; it missed her by a hair. Black thorns formed on the evil god’s skin and homed in on her.

Tinasha whipped out the dagger at her waist and sliced at the sharp barbs. As she leaped farther back, she lopped off the tips.

“Ngh…”

There was a stab wound on her left thigh. Blood dripped and scattered on the breeze, but she ignored it and cast a new spell.

“Rise forth, o spray—”

Tinasha fired off five orbs of light with exact precision. As each struck Simila, black filth burst forth with a muffled whump. The substance wriggled slowly through the air before returning to the snake’s body. The serpent lifted its head in Tinasha’s direction; evidently the attack had accomplished nothing.

“It’s like one endless, muddy mess. Oh, are we ready?” muttered the queen as she raced through the air. She glanced down at the hole after receiving word from one of her spirits. The five of them were floating in a circle above the pit the snake’s tail connected to. An intricate spell configuration had already appeared.

“Then let’s get started…”

On the queen’s command, magic suffused the array. A spell pattern written in crimson emerged over the hole and cut through the tail. A burning, crackling noise sounded as interlocking rings slowly revolved.

Sensing something abnormal had struck its body, Simila turned back toward the pit. Its red eyes blazed as it focused on the five spirits.

It never had a chance to strike, for a cool voice commanded, “Over here.”

Tinasha held out her arms. Simila craned its neck until she was within its sights.

With an arresting smile, she intoned her spell.

“The very first and very last despair you meet shall be me. Now let us dance.”

The snake’s murderous fury and the woman’s compassion locked together in the air between them. Tinasha flung her arms open wide and a gigantic spell appeared. As the serpent lunged to rip her soft body apart, Tinasha sent the magic hurtling toward it. Silver threads billowed out into a veil of sorts that settled over the evil god.

Immediately, a plume of oily smoke rose from the serpent, and an acrid stench of rotten flesh wafted on the breeze. With a flick of her slender fingers, Tinasha sank her spell deeper into the gigantic serpent.

There was a sound like the tinkling of the finest chains being drawn. The silver threads were dismantling the flesh, human souls, and magic that made up Simila’s body.

Dark, discolored flesh dripped to the ground, while the human souls turned to pale light. Tinasha diverted both away while pulling in the magic that remained.

Recognizing that its very existence was gradually waning, Simila seethed with more resentment than ever as it glared at Tinasha.

Its black head lowered a fraction. Then it lunged for her, its jaw open as wide as it could go in an attempt to swallow the young woman whole. It rammed into her protective barrier at a terrifying speed, but the magic shield held firm.

Tinasha had no words to describe what was happening

The magic she had taken in circulated through her body. She could feel her blood growing hot. Some sort of exquisite pain racked her frame.

At times, attacks grazed the queen’s skin and sent blood flying, but she was indeed steadily dismantling the snake. The spirits observed the process, all with different expressions. The spell they had cast did a masterful job of keeping back the sinister power that was attempting to creep out of the hole.

One spirit peered into the dark pit. “Will this disappear once that snake does?”

“Probably. It looks like the terms of manifestation are centered within the serpent. We’ll need to clean up the hole, but it shouldn’t be too difficult once that thing is gone.”

“Will our queen be all right?” another spirit asked with obvious concern, but Karr only gave a wan smile. Their master had a fragile body, but the power within it far surpassed theirs.

She was very much like a witch in that way, although it was a mystery how a human became one of them. Perhaps it was because human lives were so unstable that occasionally one shone with fearsome radiance.

The snake glided through the air.

The silver threads eating into it pulsed with the glow of magic. Pure red blood trailed in Tinasha’s wake.

Tinasha flew up to dodge another lunge of Simila’s head. Then she placed both hands on its body and slid herself around its circumference. She poured magic into every spot she touched, disassembling the creature. Only about half of Simila’s corporeal form remained.

“Dissolve…”

With all ten fingers, Tinasha manipulated the spell. Bit by bit, the gigantic head lost shape, leaving only those wicked eyes.

As Simila’s power diminished, Tinasha’s grew immensely. When it seemed that victory was inevitable, Simila abruptly ruptured, scattering in all directions. Its enormous form turned to black filth and dispersed.

The spirits looked up at the dark remnants floating in the sky.

“Is it over?”

“No…”

Karr gasped. Bits of black gunk were swooping down on Tinasha one after another.

With an annoyed click of her tongue, Tinasha attempted to flee, but the filth entwined around her legs before she could. Shaking it off was useless, as it hardened instantly, giving the remaining bits plenty of time to gobble up her delicate frame.

“No…”

The queen was no longer visible. There was only a pulsating, bulbous black blob floating in the air.

Snapping out of her stupefied state, Mila made to shoot off into the air.

“Mila! Don’t get close to it!” Karr shouted to stop her.

The red-haired girl whirled to face him, fury clear in her glare. “We need to get it off her now! It’s going to use the magic she sucked in to possess her!”

“If you abandon the spell, she’ll never win completely. Have a bit more faith!”

Karr’s words rang true, and Mila fell silent. They were the ones keeping Simila from its power. If they stopped, and the gunk grew stronger, it would consume Tinasha. Gnawing on her lip in frustration, Mila returned to her post.

The spirits all gazed upward.

A weakly pulsating sac hung in the air beneath the blue sky like something ripped from a nightmare.

“Lady Aeterna, the world is not only what we can see with our eyes. So many invisible layers are stacked together, and we call these planes of existence. From heavenly virtues to the depths of the sea, one world encapsulates all of that.”

She had heard that somewhere before, although she couldn’t recall where or when.

It was very dark.

Why was she in such a place? An unnamed consciousness drifted in a space without time.

Wordless whispers surrounded her. Resentment, resignation, and grief swirled about her like stagnant water.

The place opened by human flesh and souls. The interior of a bottomless hole.

It was so very bleak. There was nowhere to go.

“You should just go to sleep,” whispered Resignation.

“All things end in tragedy,” whispered Grief.

She was puzzled. Is that really so?

“There is no way you’ve never held a grudge against someone,” whispered Resentment.

She gave a bittersweet smile. Yes, she had held grudges. But she could not remember them now.

She sank deeper into the darkness.

No, she wasn’t falling. Planes of existence were slowly passing through her.

At the bottom of the hole was a murky sea.

The human world was actually flimsy and treacherous. This was the place below its bottommost layer. The human realm was like a tiny boat drifting through a stormy ocean at night. Once anyone learned of the endlessness beneath, fear would overtake them and rob them of happiness.

She observed herself sinking through the depths as if it were happening to someone else.

Exhaustion permeated her, and a faint grin came to her lips. Then she became aware of the expression, and it turned sharp and wry.

She could smile.

No matter how bad it was or how sad she felt, she could smile if she wanted to.

“You’re so scared you can’t help it,” something whispered.

“I’m not scared,” she answered, and she stretched out one ivory hand. “What do you want?”

“I want,” came the reply. “I want to become one. Then there will be true stability. An incomparable peace of mind. The undermost layer the human soul can reach will catch every drop.”

“I don’t mind. But you are the same as me.”

“The same.”

The words echoed around.

She continued. “When you acquire me, I also acquire you. From the beginning, we have always been connected. It’s only our names that are different.”

The darkness was silent. Confusion developed. After a while, an answer came back from the drifting sediment.

“Then we are still different.”

The darkness asked for her name.

She thought for a bit. As she scanned the lightless expanse, her lips formed the words, “My name is undefined.”

She still lacked a title to represent her being. She had not yet hit on one, nor had she transformed into anything else.

However, she did know one thing.

“My element is—innovation.”

Each person was born with an element they were unaware of.

However, she now understood hers.

Her words evoked its true essence. A change began to ripple through the gloom.

At first, she thought she had begun to float upward, but realized she wasn’t moving. Innumerable planes of existence were passing through her. All of them were part of the world. She knew each and every layer. Her soul knew them.

So she touched the world and discovered the foreign objects placed inside it and the gazes trained on it.

She turned to look back at the planes passing by her.

“Are you waiting?”

They were quickly moving very far away. Even the things she had understood were vanishing.

She had never been a special piece of the puzzle.

Yet the destiny she’d been given and the fate she’d chosen made her something different.

Under Mila’s watchful glare, the black mass gradually shrank in size.

At first, she thought she was imagining it, but she wasn’t. The sac contracted as though being sucked into its center. Then it ruptured open with a muffled sound.

Magic, souls, and remnants of flesh went flying, and in the middle of it all was a floating woman.

The backlash from the magic sent her glossy black hair whirling up behind her. Her wet, dark eyes burdened with sorrow were downcast.

Power erupted from her right hand, clearing the air.

At the same time, the hole from which Simila had manifested shrank as well. The dull, stagnant feel in the air faded, and Mila cried out, “Lady Tinasha!”

She glanced at the spirits, smiled, and attempted to wave at them, but flinched. “Oo-ow… I haven’t felt pain like this in… four hundred years…”

“Of course you haven’t. You’re saturated with magic,” Karr replied, shaking his head as he teleported to his master’s side and gathered her up. “We’ll handle the cleanup. You should go rest.”

“Urgh… sorry about this…”

What power Tinasha hadn’t absorbed was floating on the breeze. Although the hole had shrunk, it wasn’t closed yet. If they didn’t work more spells to get things sorted, all of it would end up rooted here.

“Should I send you to Tuldarr?” Karr asked.

“Oh… no, please bring me to the fortress of Ynureid.”

“All right.”

Tinasha looked to all five of the spirits present. “Thank you,” she said to them. They bowed silently in response.

A smile bloomed on the beautiful queen’s face, and she and Karr vanished.

The wind ran across the battlefield.

There may not have actually been a breeze, but to Oscar, it felt like there was.

The body before him lay collapsed and motionless. And it wasn’t just that one. One by one, the corpses toppled to the ground in a wave that left the Farsas army speechless. Cezar’s forces, which had already been reduced to half their original number, instantly dwindled to almost nothing.

The Cezar cavalry paled to see their fighting cadavers rendered motionless. Until now, they had been at a disadvantage, but the wall of moving dead had kept them safe from the Farsas troops. Suddenly, that buffer was gone, and discomfort was clear on their faces.

Oscar eyed the Cezar soldiers, smirking. “I guess that means… she won.” No one was there to confirm it, but the dramatic change spoke for itself. To his attendants, Oscar said, “Let’s mop this up quick and head back. I’m sick of looking at those dead things.”

Sunlight poured down from the cloudless sky. On almost all the bodies blanketing the plain, there were no scars and no spilled blood.

The nightmarish landscape was sure to make stories of this battle the stuff of legends.

Sylvia was there at the rampart to receive Karr and Tinasha when they teleported over. The young blond mage hurriedly showed them to a guest chamber so Tinasha could rest.

The room was sparsely decorated, but Karr breathed a sigh of relief as he lay his master on the wide bed. As he scrutinized Tinasha’s pale, bloodless face, he asked, “How do you feel? You okay?”

“I’ll be back to normal after a little sleep. Thank you.”

“Good,” Karr replied, his face solemn as he gave the queen of Tuldarr a brisk pat on the head. It did occur to him that this wasn’t the sort of thing to do to one’s master, but to him, Tinasha was still the kid who’d lived in the detached wing of the palace.

“All right, Mila’s still shaken, so I’m going to go and help get things wrapped up. You take care of our little girl, pretty lady,” Karr said to Sylvia.

“I will!” Sylvia chirped, both fists clenched with determination. She brought over a clean cloth right away and wiped the sweat from Tinasha’s forehead. “What happened out there?”

“I’m not too clear on that myself. My memories are hazy… I was in this weird place, and I feel like it made sense at the time, but… for some reason, I can’t remember now,” Tinasha answered.

“Ah, that sounds like a dream. Although with dreams, you can still remember everything when you wake up.”

“Yes, exactly. But in any case, I believe Cezar’s forces should be severely crippled. The corpses are all dead for good.”

“Then that means the king will be coming back soon, too!” Sylvia exclaimed with a grin, which made Tinasha smile, as well.

When Oscar saw her, he’d probably chastise her for doing something reckless. Absorbing the magic that made up an evil god was not a feat for a normal person. When Tinasha took in all that magic four hundred years ago, the pain had been so awful that she’d been bedridden for a week.

Even so, Tinasha wanted to see him. Feeling supremely sleepy, she closed her eyes.

That was when a man’s voice sounded in the room.

“We’ve got to hurry. I don’t want to run into that Akashia swordsman.”

Both women’s eyes snapped wide open at the unexpected intrusion. Reflexively, Tinasha cast a spell. But just before she could complete it, something cold touched her wrist, and the spell dissolved.

“Huh?”

Sylvia was sent flying. She hit the wall and slumped to the floor.

“Sylvia!”

Forgetting her own agony, Tinasha tried to vault from the bed and run to her friend. Someone grabbed hold of her arm before she could, however.

A man’s soft voice whispered in her ear, “You can have a nice long rest once we arrive. There’ll be plenty of time.”

Everything went black. As Tinasha fell into darkness once again, she reached out. However, there was nothing to catch hold of. She lost consciousness.

Most of the remaining Cezar troops had been subdued. Some had fled toward their homeland when Simila vanished.

A cursory interrogation of the prisoners of war revealed that Cezar had long been controlled by Simila and the cult centered on worshipping it. The current king, in particular, did whatever the cult founder said, leaving royal family members and magistrates powerless. Speaking out against decisions was tantamount to asking for death. All the while, the founder amassed sacrifices from all over the country to make a corpse army. Among those bodies given were living people who forfeited their lives to Simila for the sake of the long-awaited war against Farsas.

The cruelty and tragedy sounded like a terrible joke. Oscar made a face. “Should I kill that cult leader?”

He hadn’t seen any such person during the fighting. Perhaps they were safe back in their own land.

Still, now that Tinasha had destroyed the object of their worship, the cult and its leader would lose power. Things inside Cezar would probably fall to pieces, but that lay outside Oscar’s area of responsibility.

While arranging for post-battle cleanup, Oscar headed back to the fortress to go and see the woman who had won the day.

Naturally, he was aghast to discover something had happened that no one could have foreseen.

“What’s going on here?”

Kav shrank back in the face of the king’s indignation. Face pallid, he explained what had happened.

Someone had abducted Tinasha from the room where she was resting.

Sylvia had also been present and had been seriously wounded during the attack. Kav had learned of the events while healing her.

Fury blazing in his blue eyes, Oscar asked, “Did he have silver hair?”

The first possible culprit Oscar thought of was that demon king. He wouldn’t put a stunt like this past someone like him. However, the answer he got indicated otherwise.

“No. It sounds like she didn’t get a very good look at his face, but he was wearing black mage robes,” Kav replied.

Oscar mulled that over, and then another possibility occurred to him. “Could it be… Valt?”

Reports had identified a male mage as being responsible for an attempt to poison Tinasha before she took the throne and for planting Delilah in the castle. Word had it that he bore a close resemblance to a Yardan court mage by the name of Valt who had visited Farsas before disappearing overnight.

And the Simila cult sent Delilah to Farsas Castle.

Everything was coming together. Valt’s aim was Tinasha all along. He had tried to extricate the young queen from Farsas and take her for himself. Oscar cursed himself for taking so long to realize this.

Mila, evidently unable to stand it any longer, shouted, “Karr! This is all your fault! Why weren’t you with Lady Tinasha?!”

“I’m sorry…,” Karr replied, hanging his head and making no attempt to defend himself.

Mila looked like she wanted to start in on him, but Oscar interrupted. “Tinasha and I are the ones responsible. Can you track where she’s gone?”

“Unfortunately… I can’t sense Lady Tinasha’s magic at all,” Mila confessed. “I think she’s either closed it off herself or something powerful has sealed it.”

That left them with no trail to pursue. Irritation washed over Oscar, enough so that it showed on his face, a rarity when he was in the presence of others. “I’ll contact Legis first. Whoever abducted Tinasha may have sent a demand to Tuldarr.”

The last time Tinasha was taken, Oscar had managed to retrieve her right away. He wanted to hope that this time would be no different.

An unshakable dread settled deep within the king of Farsas, however.

Oscar closed his eyes and remembered Tinasha’s clear smile from the last time he saw her.

Legis was shocked to hear the news Farsas delivered.

The queen had left the country with the mages she was training and her spirits a few hours prior. No matter her opponent, he hadn’t doubted that she would prevail. It had certainly never crossed his mind that she might vanish.

Oscar went straight from the battlefield to Legis, where he was received in a salon reserved for confidential discussions. As soon as the king of Farsas caught sight of Legis, he bowed his head and apologized. “What happened is entirely my fault. I am deeply sorry.”

“You don’t need to bow to me. She must have been negligent to some degree,” Legis replied.

Tinasha herself had asserted that the single most crucial thing for a mage was meticulous preparation. And now she had fallen for a meticulously laid trap. Her enemy had bested her.

As Legis sat down, unpleasant scenarios ran through his mind. “It’s possible we’ll receive a ransom demand… but if we don’t, it only spells greater danger.”

Tinasha was a queen, after all. Her kidnappers might’ve only been after the woman herself. If that were the case, it would be very difficult to catch those responsible.

Before Legis lost himself in speculation, Oscar said, “Farsas is also considering invading Cezar. Evidently, it is under the control of a religious cult at the moment, and it’s extremely likely that the man who abducted Tinasha is connected to that organization.”

“Ah… isn’t it possible that her captors have already fled Cezar? If so, then rushing in after them might put Farsas at a disadvantage.”

“I’m aware of that,” Oscar replied flatly. He had no interest in invading other countries, a fact made clear by how he hadn’t pursued Druza during their incursion. Plus, if he invaded Cezar now, other countries would naturally turn vigilant.

Of course, it was obvious that Cezar was the one in the wrong, as it had mounted an army and brought in a forbidden curse, to boot. Yet it was Farsas that stood as a leading member of the Great Nations, and that was soon to be linked by marriage to Tuldarr. The country was perpetually in the spotlight, and thus subject to greater scrutiny and suspicion.

All this was at the source of Legis’s concern. And Oscar was grateful for his candid thoughts. Legis’s advised prudence wouldn’t change Tinasha’s situation, though, and Oscar wanted to strike fast.

Legis seemed to sense that determination in the other man and got to his feet, a pensive look on his face. “While she is… the queen of our country, I will leave this matter to you. To Tuldarr, she is like an unexpected stroke of luck. And that good fortune has always been directed at you. For that reason, Tuldarr will not criticize anything Farsas does in regard to her. We will work with you however we can, so please do everything to help her.”

Oscar bit back a sigh. Legis must have known why Tinasha had come to this era. Tinasha likely hadn’t confessed as much directly, but the answer had been there if Legis had searched.

A woman with such immense magic and authority had traveled four centuries to meet Oscar. Quite a few men would’ve found such a thing off-putting.

While Oscar understood that Tinasha could be a handful, it came as a package deal with her intrepid spirit and her childlike innocence, making her a rare woman in his eyes.

He wanted to make her his and never let her go. He certainly didn’t plan on relinquishing her to someone who’d taken her by force.

“Thank you for your kindness. I promise I will bring her back,” Oscar declared with a bow. He then bid farewell to Legis and departed Tuldarr.

There was no telling what the future held, but the king of Farsas stood on the front lines with firm resolve to forge his own tomorrow.

“There aren’t very many enemy forces left. We could overrun them,” reported Mila, once Oscar returned to Ynureid, and he nodded. Most, but not all, of the spirits had expressed a desire to work with their master’s fiancé in her absence. First, they had gone to Cezar’s capital—the obvious starting place—for reconnaissance.

Once the red-haired girl finished her report, she wrinkled her nose and tilted her head to one side. “If you used the army, wouldn’t it turn into a whole big thing and strand you there until everything resolves?”

“Yep, which is why it’s a sort of last resort. We need to finish this as quickly as possible,” Oscar said. They didn’t know how many people they were up against, nor what their nature was.

Based on how cleverly Tinasha’s abduction was carried out, it was clear that even if her captors were in Cezar, they would escape swiftly upon learning Farsas was invading. They might even have time to silence anyone who knew what was going on.

“I wish there was a more surefire way to do this,” Oscar muttered. Karr and Mila said nothing.

The king looked from the two spirits to his advisers and attendants. When his gaze landed on Doan, he suddenly recalled something. “Oh yeah… she put a protective barrier on me. Could we use that to track her?”

“What? Oh, so she did. I would have never noticed without you pointing it out,” Mila commented.

“She really did… It must be connected to her,” said Karr.

“Could it work?” asked Oscar.

Mila and Karr exchanged glances. Karr crossed his arms, making a face. “Not right now. We can’t see where the magic leads to. But if she were close by, it might lead to her.”

“So I could be the key to tracking her down?” the king asked before falling into thought. No one missed the dangerous gleam in his eyes.

The darkness said nothing.

When Tinasha was little, she had read somewhere that it was only the living who attached meaning to death. Was it salvation or repentance that they sought from it? Regardless, it didn’t concern the departed. They no longer existed.

Tinasha believed that human thought was sacred.

However, when she learned that fact, it suddenly seemed like humans were not capable of genuinely mourning the deaths of others. It all felt so… tragic.

When she awoke, she was lying on her back in an unfamiliar room.

Her head was fuzzy, and her memories were a jumble. Tinasha slowly stretched both arms upward—and discovered something odd.

A silver bracelet was touching her left wrist. It was thick and ancient-looking. Its appearance was not what made it unusual, however. Her wrist was not inside the bracelet. Instead, layers and layers of fine chains kept her wrist and the bracelet bound tightly together.

“What in the world…?”

She touched the bracelet with her other hand; nothing felt off about its hard exterior.

Letting her arms fall, Tinasha yawned. Her body was heavy, and she wanted to sleep for just a bit longer. Just as she closed her eyes to pass out—a memory flashed through her mind.

“Nnn!”

With a wordless cry, she came back to her full awareness. She leaped to her feet, on top of the bed.

There was no one else in the plain and yet spacious room. Rubbing at her aching head, Tinasha climbed to her feet.

“Mila?” she called, which made her notice what was wrong. There had been no magic in the word. She couldn’t summon her spirits.

That wasn’t all. When she tried to cast a spell, her magic scattered. Only two times in the past had her power been so completely blocked. The first was when she’d touched Akashia, and the second was when she’d been in the Lake of Silence.

Dully, she stared at the bracelet attached to her. “I’ve been kidnapped…”

She hoped that Sylvia was all right.

Wondering where she was, Tinasha went over to the door that led to a balcony. Her room appeared to be on the second floor, overlooking lush greenery. The expansive gardens were not well maintained by any stretch of the imagination, and she inspected them with interest.

Tinasha could make out a faint reflection of herself in the glass. She was still wearing her battle mage attire. Her own blood dotted the fabric in places. The dagger she’d carried and all her other magic implements had been taken.

Scratching at her temple, Tinasha went back to the middle of the room and picked up a wooden chair. She hurled it at the door, and it flew through the air.

But as she had feared, no cracks formed in the glass from the impact. There was only the sound of the impact. The chair toppled to the floor, one leg now twisted.

“Hmm… this is a pretty sturdy barrier,” she commented.

“So violent,” a man remarked dryly from the one doorway in the room. He had light brown hair and eyes of the same color. His appearance exuded intelligence, and he wore a calm smile.

Tinasha spoke his name. “Valt?”

“It’s been a while. I’m glad you were able to take the throne with no trouble,” replied the mage who’d used psychological magic to sneak into the court of Yarda. Here was the man who had apparently been involved in numerous plots against her.

Cautiously, Tinasha turned to face him. “What do you hope to achieve? Who are you really?”

Valt only laughed, but Tinasha didn’t miss the bizarre glint that flashed deep in his eyes for just a moment.

She couldn’t use magic. No one could search for her. Truly isolated and helpless, Tinasha still drew herself up to her full height and fixed her gaze on him.

That made Valt grin. “I’m not going to hurt you. I only want to talk. Come, I’ll make tea.”

With that, he turned and left, leaving the door open. Tinasha wasn’t sure what to do, but in the end, she followed him. Once they reached a large dining table, Valt began to brew tea.

“Go on and have a seat. It’ll be ready soon,” he said.

Despite the vast size of the mansion, the layout was not an aristocratic one. The kitchen and the dining rooms were connected, like in a commoner’s home. Tinasha sat at the table while continuing to inspect her surroundings, and before long, cups of tea were brought out.

When she took a sip, Valt smiled from his seat across from hers. “How does it taste?”

“I make better tea.”

“That’s a shame,” Valt answered with a laugh.

Tinasha stared at him coldly. “So? What did you want to talk about?”

“Must you rush? How are you feeling? You’ve been asleep for almost a full day.”

“I wanted to rest for a little longer, but you’ve gone and done something ridiculous.”

“I certainly didn’t expect you to absorb components of Simila’s physical form, but I should have known better. I did wish you’d waited a little longer, considering all the hard work I put into it, but it all went swimmingly.”

Picking up on all the hints he had dropped, Tinasha couldn’t help leaping to her feet. “You were the one who manifested Simila?”

“Yes, I was.”

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? That was—”

“Oh yes, I’m aware. And while I know how this sounds, I was only a tool in all of that. I merely did what I was instructed to do. It was the people of this country who decided to sacrifice their fellow citizens,” Valt said.

Seething with rage, Tinasha spat, “That’s not a very good excuse.”

“It’s not one at all. They did everything of their own volition. Honestly, if you look at it, you and your fiancé are partially responsible.”

“What does… that mean?” she questioned, knitting her brows as she kept her eyes fixed on the grinning Valt.

Their gazes met. Had her magic not been blocked, the power might have crackled in the air around her. Such was the intensity in her glare.

It was Valt who looked away first. He gave an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders. “You should sit. Doubtless, you’re tired. Ah… if you’d like to change clothes, I’ll get you something to wear.”

Backing down, Tinasha pursed her lips. After a moment of indecision, she eventually sat back down.

“Even if you do, I can’t put it on with this in the way,” she replied, lifting her wrist to indicate the bracelet. She couldn’t put her arm through a sleeve with that thing attached to her wrist. “Why is it on this way?”

“Ah, sorry. Only a member of the Farsas royal family can open or close that,” he answered.

“What?!”

“It’s called Sekta. It’s a sealing ornament with the same properties as Akashia, and it’s been passed down for centuries as a royal heirloom. Although I suppose no one there actually remembers it exists. My grandfather borrowed it from the Farsas treasure vault about forty years ago, as we suspected you would wind up in this era.”

“Excuse me?” Tinasha said, unable to suppress the shiver that ran up her spine with that last bit.

If Valt was speaking the truth, then just how far back had this been planned? Were they really after her, someone from the distant past who may or may not arrive in this time period?

Glancing at how pale she had gone, Valt gave an uncomfortable smile. “Well, now that you’ve received some warning, let’s dive right in. This is the truth that I wasn’t able to tell you earlier. I… no, we are after Eleterria. You know what that is, don’t you? The red and blue magic orbs that can take you into the past. We’d like you to get both of them for us.”

The darkness in Tinasha’s eyes froze over.

It was then that she understood what the wheel of fate revolved around.

“Why do you…?”

“Why do I know about them? Or why do I want to use them? I know because I am aware of many things. More than even you,” Valt replied, his lips quirking up into a sneer that veiled something unreadable. “One is in Tuldarr, and the other is in Farsas. You’re the best person to retrieve them. We actually wanted Delilah to get the one in Farsas, but she was no match for you. And now that you’re the queen, it should be a simple matter.”

Suddenly, everything fell into place.

The treasure vault in Farsas and the one in Tuldarr. Breaking into either was extremely difficult. Perhaps because of the Farsas royal family’s cavalier style, that country took a perfunctory view of its treasure vault. But Tuldarr’s was filled with priceless magic treasures. Only those authorized could enter. If Tinasha had married Oscar without becoming queen, even she would not be granted entry.

Which was why Valt had separated Tinasha from Farsas and forced her into negotiating with him.

“What… are you going to try and change if you have both?” she asked.

“I can’t tell you that just yet. But I will if you work with us and get both of them.”

“You think I’m going to cooperate with you?”

“I certainly hope so.”

Tinasha felt dizzy.

Despite not knowing why Valt sought the orbs, it was plain that letting him have them was unacceptable.

There was no telling how those little spheres could alter the world. They held tremendous power in the hands of someone with wicked intentions.

Tinasha had to stop Valt at any cost, regardless of whatever harm it brought upon her.

Inhaling deeply, Tinasha calmed herself and cleared her face of emotion. Just as her refusal was on the tip of her tongue, a loud male voice roared angrily from the corridor outside. “Valt! I know you’re here!”

Valt scowled. Before he could do anything more, however, the door flew open with a bang.

“Simila is gone! What are you going to do about it?!” boomed a man in extravagant robes. Rage colored his face.

“As I told you, that’s not my responsibility,” Valt replied.

The man was about to hurl more abuse at Valt when he caught sight of the woman sitting with her back to him. He circled around the table to get a look at her face. “You… you’re the queen of Tuldarr! Valt, have you been conspiring with her this whole time?!”

“Absolutely not. That’s very rude,” Tinasha put in, offended. She shook her left wrist and the attached bracelet at him.

Once the furious man took that in, glee came over his face. “Great job, Valt! Now we still have a chance.”

He reached for Tinasha, roughly grabbed her arm, and hauled her out of her seat. While she turned her face aside, he pulled her close for a better look. In her ear, he whispered, “You really are a pretty one, looking at you up close. No wonder you snared the king of Farsas.”

“Disgusting. Please let me go,” she demanded.

“Hmph. Stubborn. Whatever, you’ll make a perfect hostage to threaten Farsas,” the man said as he flashed her a sinister leer and licked his lips.

Feeling his breath on her face, Tinasha clicked her tongue in disgust.

This man had to be from Cezar. If Valt was to be believed, this was a person who’d decided to sacrifice his own countrymen. She drew back her leg to give him a nice kick in the shin.

Valt spoke up before she did, however. “Could you let her go? She’s a very important guest of mine.”

“A guest? Isn’t it her fault that Simila’s gone?” the man asked in disbelief.

“Even so, her role is over,” replied Valt, lifting a hand. The man seemed to sense the presence of a spell forming, and he yanked Tinasha in front of him as a shield.

Tinasha’s lip curled with revulsion at being treated like an object. “Excuse me…”

“Let her go. She’s mine,” snarled a wholly unexpected person. All three in the room went still. When Valt turned in his seat to look at the door, all the blood drained from his face. He changed the spell he was preparing and teleported away from there instantly.

Now alone, the Cezar man turned around slowly. With Tinasha held firmly in his grip, he locked eyes with the intruder in the doorway.

There stood the king of Farsas, with Akashia in hand.

On Oscar’s left and right were Mila and Karr, with Doan and Als behind him.

Tinasha’s dark eyes grew round and wide. “Oscar!”

“Wait just a damn minute,” said the Cezar man who’d walked into a surprising situation. He looked down at the woman he was holding on to. She was now his lifeline, in a different way than he had originally anticipated.

Whipping out the dagger belted at his waist, the man pressed it to her neck. “Come any closer and she dies.”

“Hmph. So we just have to keep our distance?” remarked one of the spirits disdainfully, and the man’s dagger shattered to pieces. Shocked, he released Tinasha.

Without missing a beat, she ducked and slipped out of his range. At the same time, Oscar stepped right up and punched the man in the face, sending him flying like a rag doll.

Crouched on the floor, Tinasha craned her head to look back. “Do you really think we should let him live?”

“If I killed him here, you’d end up a bloody mess,” Oscar responded, sheathing Akashia and helping Tinasha to her feet. He hugged her tight to him, making sure she was safe. “I really can’t take my eyes off you for one second.”

Irrepressible relief tinged his affectionate teasing.

Als and Doan searched the mansion but found nothing of note. All they could glean from the rooms and possessions was that a man and a young woman had been living there alone.

While they were conducting their search, Oscar settled Tinasha on his lap as he interrogated the Cezar man. It turned out that he was the founder of the cult that worshipped Simila and the mastermind behind the recent skirmish.

Oscar eyed him with open scorn. “We’ll be taking you back to Farsas. You can tell us the full story there.”

“Take him away, Mila,” said Tinasha.

“Got it!” chirped the red-haired spirit, and she disappeared with the cult leader.

Tinasha heaved a sigh, then glanced up at Oscar. “Um, I’d like to get down now…”

“No.”

“…”

Whether he was upset with Tinasha or not, he kept his left arm firmly wrapped around her. The abduction must have hit him pretty hard.

Tinasha turned her flushed face aside, feeling guilty. She held up her left wrist. “Then please take this off.”

“What is it? I thought you were wearing it for a change of pace.”

“It’s a sealing ornament that belongs to your country!” she retorted.

At Oscar’s dubious look, Tinasha relayed what Valt had told her. The king traced a finger along the bracelet, and it popped right open. He drew it free from the chains and lifted it up to examine it. “Hmm, so this was stolen forty years ago?”

“Apparently. Why is security so lax in Farsas?” Tinasha chided.

“How about you just organize things after we’re married? Is this thing really that strong?” Oscar responded, and he touched the bracelet to her wrist. It clicked onto it as easily as it had opened.

Frowning, Tinasha cried, “Don’t put it on me!”

“Oh, this is fun. Wonder how it works?”

“It is not fun!” she fumed. Oscar removed the sealing item and stowed it in his jacket pocket.

To test her magic, Tinasha cast a spell in her palm and then extinguished it. She glanced at Oscar and asked, “How did you find me?”

“I wandered around Cezar using that barrier you put on me to locate you. This house is in a town close to the royal castle,” he explained.

“You wandered around? Right after the battle?”

“I wouldn’t have found you otherwise. Two of your spirits were with me the whole time. It was fine.”

“Oh… thank you,” Tinasha said, feeling ashamed of how easily she had been kidnapped. More than that, however, she was grateful to those around her. For all her strength, there were many things she couldn’t handle alone.

Oscar smiled. “I’m just glad we found you.”

“Um, how’s Sylvia?” Tinasha inquired.

“Good. Her injuries were healed. Two or three days and she’ll be back to normal,” Oscar assurred her, and Tinasha exhaled with relief. She’d been fretting about her friend this whole time.

Als and Doan returned to report that they hadn’t found anything of interest.

Oscar stood up with Tinasha in his arms. “Let’s head back, then. Everyone waiting back at the fort is probably worried.”

Tinasha caught his eye and smiled. Despite the delays, the war with Cezar was over, and it was the start of a new stage in the game.