"Hey, I heard the news, Al. Are you truly Level 8 now? That is an incredible feat. You have finally equaled your grandfather, the former Captain."
"Quiet, or I will send you back to Heaven."
"..... Wait, don't you think you're being a bit too harsh on me?"
.... There was absolutely nothing to celebrate.
That reckless messenger god. I wished he would trip on the stairs and fall on his head, getting himself kicked back to the divine realm.... Level 8..... No, it really felt impossible....
Even Revis and Enyo had only reached the upper tiers of Level 7 at most... I wondered if Revis could merge with some demon to reach Level 9.
... Well, it didn't matter. I knew things would eventually come to this. Enyo and the others must have taken measures against me... and that trump card, the Behemoth Sword, still existed, didn't it?
Now I had to head to Meren.... Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to it. No powerful enemies waited there—only Amazons. I never knew how to deal with Amazons. Their concepts of life and death were bizarre; those who weren't "battle-obsessed" were often so foolishly cheerful that they seemed incapable of feeling gloom....
They should learn from the Elves. Despite their narcissism and obsession with purity, once you became their friend──like Ryuu or Filvis──they showed their grief and vulnerability clearly and easily.
The enemies were weak, and the opponents were Amazons..... I felt no motivation to fight.... Ah, but I suppose some of Bell's heroines were there. I had already met Liliruca Arde, so this would be a good chance to see Sanjouno Haruhime as well.
●○●○●
"Child, begin."
Full hips and a narrow waist—the Amazon wore traditional combat attire that accentuated her alluring tanned physique, looking like a venomous butterfly in her mesmerizing beauty. The order came in the Common Tongue from behind the black scarf covering her lips.
In the dark night of Meren, a light flashed for a single moment. This wasn't the glow of magic stone lamps, but the radiance of an overflowing, mysterious magical power.
Engravings resembling a magic circle appeared on the ground and began to glow, the brilliance rising into fluttering golden particles.
"── Enhance."
Amidst the roar of monsters and the cries of warriors echoing throughout Meren, those calm, hymn-like words rang out.
The one chanting was a girl of priestess rank, hiding her distinct demi-human ears and tail under white miko robes. Her voice possessed a childish resonance and beauty that made the air tremble as the golden lights began to gather and condense.
"Let power dwell within this vessel. May myriad desires reside within these abundant riches."
The golden-haired girl clasped her hands as if in prayer, closing her eyes as she spoke. With every word, the magical power intensified. The swirling golden magic thickened, catching the girl's hair in the draft.
"Until the time the church bells ring, I pray, grant us glory and imagination."
With that delicate voice, a brilliant golden light erupted, illuminating the surroundings as if it were broad daylight. The fluttering magic transformed into a cloud of light, forming a mysterious magical dome.
"This body that has tasted the holy sacrament. This golden light the gods bestowed upon me."
"Reach the hammer and return to the earth; grant your blessing."
"── Enhance."
●○●○●
As usual, after Bache's training had left me looking like a tattered rag, I remembered the pile of old papers lying around. I crawled to the corner of the room and grabbed the scraps.
"Bache..... Will you read to me?"
I held the papers in both hands and offered them to Bache. She took them without changing her expression.
The papers were written in the Common Tongue. Naturally, a child who could not read or write even the Amazon language could not decipher them.
Bache took the papers silently and began flipping through them one by one. As the sound of dry paper turning echoed through the silent room, I waited for her reaction without saying a word.
I will never forget Bache's face at that moment. It was an expression I had never seen on her usually cold, emotionless features.
Confusion marked her face; a light sweat broke out on her forehead, and her eyes began to wander. Her agitation was obvious. She told me, "W-wait here," and then left.
Later, after that day's training ended, Bache returned with the stack of papers. She told me the contents in a slightly faltering tone.
Bache, who had never left Telskyura, was just as illiterate in the Common Tongue as I was back then. However, it seemed her pride would not allow her to be helpless before a child ten years her junior. She had gone to the Goddess Kali and asked her to teach her what was written.
"The young man said to the King, unaware he was being deceived: 'Very well, I will certainly go to rescue the captive princess from the Labyrinth.'"
"What happened next? What will happen to them?"
I sat on the cold stone floor, my heart pounding with excitement as I listened. In the darkness lit only by a torch's flame, only Bache's calm voice could be heard.
Bache's voice, unaccustomed to reading, stumbled occasionally, making it hard to follow. Yet, I listened with my entire soul. After that day, she always read the continuation to me after training.
Of course, every story has an end, and that stack of papers quickly reached its final page.
During those few days of reading, the fear I had felt toward Bache began to fade.
"Face the enemy's attacks. Draw them toward you until the very last moment, then repel them."
"How do I repel them?"
"... Just repel them."
Training that once brought only pain and hardship gradually, almost imperceptibly, turned into something enjoyable. Moreover, a new desire was born within me—not just the urge to fight, but the longing to know how the stories ended.
One day, the Goddess Kali asked me out of curiosity if I wanted anything. I answered without hesitation.
Kali granted my request. She immediately bought me beautiful new books.
Thanks to Kali's tutelage, I quickly learned to read the Common Tongue. When Bache was no longer needed to read to me, I noticed a shadow of sadness on her face—a sight that left a deep impression on me.
Having discovered a form of entertainment that provided a thrill entirely different from combat, I began to read every day.
As a reward for winning the "Rituals," I would receive new books and devour them. I even spent entire nights reading by candlelight instead of sleeping.
Because the books piled up day after day until they filled the stone room, Tione once got furious and confiscated them all.
I changed after encountering those "Hero Stories." I realized I was laughing more often. During those days, I believe my conversations with Bache increased as well.
Even though her expressions still rarely changed, I knew she smiled sometimes. Everyone rumored that I was a mad warrior who had lost her mind, but I didn't care.
Several years later──when I left the country, I saw with my own eyes, in the City of Heroes, a battle that was being written as a true "Hero Story."
●○●○●
"That damn brat.... She actually dared to declare war on us."
Loki muttered these words quietly, radiating an aura of murderous intent unimaginable from her usual playful demeanor.
Members of the Loki Familia accompanying her in Meren—those of lower levels who were still high-ranking adventurers—had been attacked by the Kali Familia and severely injured.
Fortunately, Riveria's healing magic closed their wounds, but it appeared Lefiya had been kidnapped by Bache, a Level 6. The likely purpose was to use her as bait.
A chilling divine aura filled the area. Even veterans like Aki and Alicia felt fear, but Loki was consumed by a cold, sharp rage.
As she watched the girls receiving treatment from Riveria, her gaze grew sharper. She narrowed her red eyes, suppressing the boiling emotion within.
"Hmm.....?"
Suddenly, she noticed the Familia emblem had vanished from the unconscious members' clothing. She wondered if it had been forcibly removed and confirmed it was indeed missing.
"(Do they intend to declare war by stealing the emblem? No, that's not it; kidnapping Lefiya made it clear enough... Ah, I see it now.)"
Loki shook her head and let out a disgruntled sigh, realizing what Kali was planning.
"Stop Tiona and Tione. Do not let them go anywhere."
She issued instructions to the assembled Familia members, knowing they were already on the defensive.
With ninety percent certainty, Kali intended to force her followers into the deadly combat rituals of Telskyura against Tione and Tiona.
"Listen, Ais, you are the only one who has fought these people, besides those two strong sisters. What is your estimate of the enemy's strength?"
Recalling the confrontation with the Amazons who had wreaked havoc in the city and her fight against their leader, Ais replied, "The Amazons I fought were approximately Level 3 or 4."
Hearing the answer, Loki crossed her arms with a grim expression. For Ais, who was Level 6──excluding the two enemy leaders of the same rank──these enemies weren't difficult to overcome, but their unique hand-to-hand combat techniques were not to be underestimated.
More importantly, their persistence and willingness to close the distance regardless of their own lives was troublesome. It was the philosophy of the "Mad Warrior," honed in the midst of daily battles where death reigned.
As Ais said, if all the Amazons were Level 3 or higher, they would become extremely annoying opponents, especially for the younger members unaccustomed to killing humans.
For adventurers specialized in hunting monsters, their experience in fighting humans was minimal. Not to mention face-to-face combat intended to kill the opponent—that was almost non-existent.
Of course, they would not hesitate if necessary, but compared to fighting monsters, their movements would be slightly slower.
Even Ais was like that, and members of the second tier and below might hesitate in a crucial moment. In the current Loki Familia, the only ones who could easily shed hesitation were leaders like Finn and the others who had been on the front lines since the start of the "Dark Era," along with Al, who didn't hesitate even to kill gods.
"Aside from the leaders, it seems the enemy's middle-rank members are stronger than ours."
"Yes, it is unfortunate, but....."
●○●○●
To rescue the kidnapped Lefiya, Tiona headed to the predetermined location. She ran across rocks wet with seawater and entered a cave that smelled like rusting iron.
Seawater flowed from the brackish lake, eroding the rock walls, which made the cave very damp. She pressed forward, the heavy air sticking to her skin, until she reached a vast space.
Total silence gripped the area, broken only by the rhythmic dripping of water from the ceiling.
"A sea-carved cave....?"
The waves had carved a massive entrance, large enough for several people to pass through, until it looked like a perfect circle made by human hands. The interior was dark, so Tiona looked closely to inspect her surroundings.
Moss and seaweed covered the rock walls, submerged in knee-high seawater, and the floor was wet and slippery. Above all, the humidity was so high it made the air feel heavy.
"It feels a bit like the Labyrinth."
After walking for a while through intersecting paths resembling an ant farm, she reached a rock wall where magic stone lamps were placed here and there.
The lamps emitted a dim glow, marking the path through the darkness. Tiona did not stop and continued her advance.
Finally, she reached an open area. The space was relatively well-lit, with a large opening in the ceiling allowing moonlight to filter in.
There stood Amazon women, ranging from girls younger than Tiona to others the age of the twin leaders. They wore dancer-like clothing—the traditional, provocative Amazon attire that revealed much of the body.
"You finally came, Tiona."
The child Goddess in the center welcomed Tiona, who entered this natural arena surrounded by the Amazons forming a circle.
She tossed her long, deep-purple hair, a seductive smile on her face that combined childhood innocence with the wisdom of the elderly.
In addition to the Amazons and Kali, there was a single girl who was not an Amazon, wearing white miko robes Tiona had never seen before. However, Tiona had no time to focus on her now.
This was because a woman exuding an air of stillness stood directly in front of Tiona. Her sand-colored hair reached her shoulders; she was tall with a curvaceous figure, surrounded by a shimmer of light particles that made her look like a fallen angel.
"Bache....."
Tiona whispered her name, looking at the sand-haired woman. Bache remained silent, staring at Tiona with a piercing gaze.
"..... Kali, where is Lefiya?"
"She is being held in another cavity. Don't worry, I will release her."
Kali narrowed her eyes as she watched the teacher and student facing one another, looking extremely amused. She muttered poignant words to herself: "I never imagined such a day would come... that the teacher and student would face each other after both had reached such heights of power." She then glanced at Tiona's small chest and gave her a look of pity.
"Well, it seems one of the chests didn't grow much....."
Tiona's expression shifted at Kali's pitying words. Tiona placed a hand on her chest. Yes, it might be small, but she planned for it to grow in the future!
It was in the developmental stage, so it was fine! Besides, there were movements only this size could perform! While Tiona tried to argue internally, she unfortunately didn't know her growth phase was nearing its end.
By the way, Argana's chest was roughly the same size as Tione's, while Bache surpassed them both in fullness—but that wasn't the point right now.
"── Get ready, Tiona."
Fuming with rage, Tiona snapped back to reality and looked ahead at the sound of that voice. Bache was there, already in a combat stance.
Standing there with her mouth covered by a black scarf, she embodied the image of a true warrior. The battle aura radiating from her body began to affect Tiona as well.
Under that terrifying pressure, Tiona involuntarily swallowed hard.
"We will fight to the death."
She said it coldly, directing her fists toward Tiona—whom she considered her student and even a younger sister—without a shred of leniency.
The sudden tension in the air forced Tiona to realize that the current Bache was entirely different from the one she had left ten years ago. Her bloodlust made Tiona's skin crawl.
In Telskyura, Level 1 children are forced to kill each other to select Level 2 warriors.
To find Level 3 warriors, Level 2s are forced to fight; to create Level 4s, Level 3s fight.
To obtain Level 5, Level 4s fight; and to reach Level 6, Level 5 warriors are pitted against each other to kill and create a stronger fighter. This is the way of the Amazons in Telskyura.
Perhaps during the years Tiona was away, Bache had "approached" the ideal Telskyura aspired to: the "True Warrior."
A body and soul purified through fratricidal struggle and warriors preying upon one another—combined with the numerous techniques and tactics born throughout the long history of the Amazons. The woman standing before her now, draped in all that experience, was undoubtedly the Monster of Telskyura.
If her sister Argana was the "Poisonous Snake" monster, then Bache was──!!
"[── Devour it]"
"[Vilus]"
A very short magic chant was uttered without changing her combat stance. It was an enhancement magic permitted only to Bache, activated as fast as Ais's enchantment.
As the magic activated, the fist aimed at Tiona became encased in a fluctuating, blackish-purple film of light.
It was a magical glow that appeared toxic and horrific, yet strangely beautiful in its ugliness, covering Bache's entire right arm. Seeing this, Tiona tightened her defense.
It was a "sinister" enhancement magic, entirely different from the brilliant and beautiful magic like Al's fire or Ais's wind.
Its element was "Deadly Poison." An enhancement magic that could not be parried and infected anyone it touched. it was the most lethal means of attack in hand-to-hand combat, combining offense and defense.
That magic, which served as both an inevitable poison and a certain kill, was her strongest spear and shield. Facing this magic, Tiona felt fear for the first time.
If she didn't resist, she would be killed in the blink of an eye. Memories of their past bond as teacher and student did not apply to the current Bache.
"── I am coming."
── Only a faint purple trail remained as Bache vanished from Tiona's sight.
"──?! ── Ggh, aah?!"
In the next moment, the space directly in front of Tiona exploded. The shockwave from a fist that passed her like an arrow shook her hair.
With difficulty, Tiona managed to prepare for the shadow that attacked a split second later, but the blow—like a battering ram—smashed through her defense and struck her vitals with force.
The impact rattled her internal organs and forced all the air from her lungs. Although she managed to lessen the force by jumping back at the last second, the intensity of the blow sent her flying and tumbling across the ground.
Before Tiona could process it, Bache had already closed the distance. Seeing Bache initiate her next attack, Tiona rose immediately and swung her fist to parry.
But Bache's fist had already reached Tiona. Tiona tried to shift her strike's trajectory quickly but failed to make it in time.
Tiona's left arm took a direct hit from Bache's right fist. The immense momentum sent her arm flying back. She barely managed to control her posture in the air to land, but her face contorted in agony.
While Tiona was reeling, Bache sprinted toward her to continue the assault. Her left fist, launched from above Tiona's head, descended to crush her.
Sensing this, Tiona immediately leaped to the side to dodge. In the next heartbeat, the fist emitting a toxic shimmer slammed into the spot where Tiona had stood just moments ago.
Her speed surpassed even Finn and the others, not just Tiona. No matter how Tiona tried to counterattack, she was easily blocked, forced to dodge every one of her opponent's strikes.
Though she managed to avoid a direct hit by raising her arm to block a thrust from the poisonous limbs, her left arm screamed in agony from the lethal toxin.
Furthermore, Bache's fist was enough to numb Tiona's arm with a single strike, even without the poison's effect.
That poison, which couldn't even be compared to "Poison Vermis," wasn't something that should be summoned with such a short chant, regardless of being Level 6. And above all...
"(I'm supposed to have ranked up, yet I'm being completely overwhelmed in power and speed?! ───── Could she be Level 7?)"
When they met on the ship, she hadn't felt such terrifying pressure. Though she was stronger than Tiona, who had just reached Level 6, she hadn't seemed to match Al or Ottar in any way.
"I apologize, Tiona. This is not my way. Originally, combat between equals is supreme..... But since the 'Sword Saint' isn't here, I had no choice but to do this to see the true power of Level 7."
Kali's eyes danced as she watched Bache's immense potential. "Argana wanted to kill Tione with her own strength," she said, revealing the truth behind the power gap with the current Bache.
"Nonetheless, even a fake version is this powerful..... I wonder what the strength of the 'Sword Saint' or Ottar would be....."
As Tiona suffered, she realized from Kali's mutterings—"I might have to use the 'Sword Saint' as a breeding stud if necessary"—that there was a trick behind Bache's power. She realized Kali's true target wasn't them, but Al. But Tiona, who was sacrificing her life to block every blow, could do nothing.
"── Farewell, Tiona."
Bache's hand, transformed into a black spear that transcended purple, lunged toward the chest of the defenseless Tiona ─────.
In that instant, a clap of thunder illuminated the dark cave, and a lightning-fast strike blew away dozens of the observing Amazon women.
"── Al?"
With a rippling strike of his sword, Bache—whose power equaled a Level 7—was sent flying into the rock wall, leaving behind only a faint purple trail.
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