The sands of time drew back to the moments after Claudia and Olivia parted ways.
After escaping Listelein Castle, Claudia and her soldiers advanced back along the hidden passage by which they had come until they arrived at the cottage at its entrance...
“The look on that old man’s face, Colonel Claudia, it was like as far as he was concerned, we couldn’t get out of the empire fast enough,” said her second-in-command Saizo, looking back over his shoulder at the cottage. “Here, he’s still watching us. Looking at him, I’d say he’s not going to move an inch ’til he’s sure we’re gone.”
“Well, our truce with the Azure Knights doesn’t change the fact that we are enemies of the empire,” Claudia replied matter-of-factly, keeping her eyes forward.
“But the Azure Knights have moved in open rebellion against the empire. It seemed pretty clear from the way that old man talked with their commander that they’re close, so I don’t see why he had to be so short with us.”
“What about you, then? Could you work with the Azure Knights without any ill feelings?”
“I, well...” At once, Saizo was at a loss for words.
Until just two days earlier, they and the Azure Knights had been killing each other. Though, with the way things had played out, they had found themselves fighting on the same side, by rights such a thing should have been intolerable. Yet because the order had come from Olivia, the soldiers—Claudia herself included—had obeyed without so much as a discontented mutter. Like as not, the Azure Knights held similar feelings. Considered like that, there was nothing especially mysterious about the old man’s attitude.
“If you ask me, we ought to be happy that he took care of our horses,” she said. They rode on, skirting counterclockwise around a lake, until at last they arrived at the paddock the old man had directed them to. Each went to their trusty mount and led them out from inside the fence.
“I’m sorry I left you alone,” Claudia said to Kagura as the horse nuzzled her happily. Claudia stroked her cheek.
“The night’s getting on, ser. What do you say we set up camp around here for tonight?” Saizo suggested. But Claudia, hooking a foot into her stirrups to leap up onto Kagura’s back, shook her head.
“We’re close to the imperial capital here. Our best course is to get away before we’re caught up in any more trouble. And I want to know what became of the Eighth Legion after they went on ahead. You can’t fault me for that, not at a time like this.” As she spoke, her mind was on a certain young man.
“Understood.” Saizo passed along the instructions, and her soldiers all mounted up. “All ready now, ser.”
“Good, then move out.” At Claudia’s word, they set off at a gallop along the forest road, guided by the silver light of the moon.
They continued down that road for a time, until Saizo, who rode beside her, suddenly spoke. “I know it’s a bit late now, but do you really think General Olivia will be all right by herself? Looking the way she does, she stands out at the best of times...”
Claudia saw what he was getting at. If she were discovered by imperial soldiers who knew her face, there would be a panic like someone had kicked a hornet’s nest. But she replied, “It’s not a concern. On the contrary, we’d just get in her way.”
Claudia had decided that it was only fear for their safety that Olivia had pushed her away as coldly as she had. If this Darmés who was calling himself the new emperor was really controlling the dead, then there was no chance she and the others could have taken him on, even if they had remained. The last thing she had wanted to do was burden Olivia by staying behind.
Not to mention that it’s brought us an unexpected opportunity. Olivia likely thought nothing of it, but in going to see Darmés she was also going to confront the emperor. The man beneath the crown might have changed, but what had not changed was that if they captured the emperor, the Royal Army had won. That was a given. Olivia and Felix’s duel failing to produce a victor had meant, in real terms, a defeat for the Eighth Legion, but the moment Olivia had infiltrated Listelein Castle, they might as well have had a knife at the empire’s throat. Olivia simply wanted to ask Darmés questions, and Claudia didn’t believe for a second that he would go along with it quietly.
Even if he did talk, he wouldn’t be stupid enough to let her go on her way afterward—it was perfectly natural that he would take advantage of the opportunity to do away with his greatest enemy. And Olivia had neither mercy nor hesitation when someone drew steel against her. It was possible that Darmés did have power akin to the mages—the so-called hands of the gods—in which case he truly ought to be considered a serious threat. But after being always at Olivia’s side, Claudia knew with certainty that she would not lose.
“Well, I don’t know about you getting in the way, Colonel, but you’re absolutely right about the rest of us. And it’s not just me—anyone who had that waking dream of a battle play out in front of them would say the same.” Saizo’s hollow laugh drifted through the night like dry leaves. It was still a long time until dawn...
The next day, the sun was hidden behind a bank of thick clouds. They had passed through the Elfiel Canyon and started up the mountain road to Fort Tezcapolis when Claudia and the others saw a great flock of death-eater birds up in the sky. Everyone knew why death-eater birds were known as the land’s cleaners. What few knew was that they only fed upon relatively fresh meat. Even from a distance, it was clear that the birds were circling around the fort. The air between Claudia and her soldiers grew thick with tension.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, ser,” Saizo said.
“Yes. We’ll make haste.”
Their horses picked up the pace from a steady trot into a full-on gallop. They climbed the gently sloping path through its snaking curves until they reached the top and saw Fort Tezcapolis.
I knew it... Claudia’s eyes were drawn first to the flock of death-eater birds that pecked at the corpses strewn about. Some held up eyeballs in their beaks like victory trophies, while others could be seen here and there flapping their distinctive magenta wings at one another as they gleefully fought over slimy, glistening innards. It was an everyday scene in the aftermath of a battle, but even so, it wasn’t often that one saw it up close. Even Claudia, who had thought she was used to corpses, couldn’t help but look away from the horror of it.
“The imperial army attacked? Now?” she breathed.
Saizo spat in disgust. “It’s carnage, isn’t it...?” The youngest soldier in their group watched a death-eater bird perched on a corpse. The bird let out a cry like the scraping of rusty armor, and the soldier doubled over and dry-heaved.
“For now, let’s get rid of these scavengers.” Claudia and the others brandished their swords at the death-eater birds and drove them away. Then, they set off once more at a steady pace, weaving between the scattered corpses as they took in the state of the fort. Though the style was very different, the imperial soldiers all wore armor that bore a remarkable resemblance to Olivia’s.
“Some new knight order?” Saizo wondered. Claudia could see why he thought so—all the imperial army’s knight orders had their soldiers wear armor in the same color.
“That seems likely,” she replied.
“But something’s off. The imperial army retook the fort, but left no garrison at all. Would anyone do that, normally?”
“Not normally, no.”
“Exactly. Normally, it’d be out of the question.”
“If things were normal...” Claudia looked down at a dead imperial soldier whose mouth was stretched in a horrible grin. All the others were in a similar state. Whatever this was, normal it was not. Even in death, she could still feel the madness within them.
“How can the empire even have the extra forces to mount a counterattack?” Saizo said. What with the Azure Knights’ rebellion, one didn’t have to be privy to the workings of the empire to guess that there was trouble afoot. Claudia understood Saizo’s disbelief. The fact was, they had been too optimistic—herself included. After seeing this, she had no choice but to admit it.
The question is, why were so many of our soldiers still at the fort? The bodies only look two or three days old, at most. They should have been long gone by then... The order to abandon any forts they took, with the exception of Fort Astora, had come from Olivia, who was second-in-command in the Second Allied Legion. The only one who could have overruled her orders was none other than Supreme Commander Blood himself. Given the time frame, news of the Eighth Legion’s situation had to have reached Blood. He might have issued additional orders, but Claudia couldn’t believe he would have been so stupid as to rescind any.