Personally, I thought Yukine’s opponent had to be captivated by seeing such a slender, exquisite, beautiful cutie pull off that feat of sheer strength. As president of the Yukine Mizumori fan club, I would’ve gladly welcomed him into our ranks.
Except her foe remained expressionless. His breathing was ragged, as if he was aroused. Though, I figured that excitement came from his zombie instincts and not any interest in Yukine’s striking figure.
“Ugh, seriously?”
“Yuika, this is no time to stand there looking surprised. There are still other followers to worry about.”
The ones who’d have the easiest time confronting the ax-wielder were either Yukine or me. I hesitated over what to do, but Yukine turned to me and signaled to leave it all to her with a glance and nod of her head.
From there, a dual-sword wielding follower moved forward to attack, but Yuika took them on for me.
Meanwhile, Nanami fired arrows at the long-range attackers farther back to keep them pinned down.
“As of right now, it looks like we’re managing.”
After seeing that each of us was going up against one of the followers, I moved over to get closer to Ludie. Then I used my Third Hand to deflect the enemy spells coming at me.
Once I got in front of Ludie, I slammed the incoming hammer-wielder with my Third Hand. I wasn’t going to let a single person past this point.
“From here on out, it’s all up to you, Ludie.”
The stage was set.
—Ludie’s Perspective—
Only ten minutes or so had gone by since the fight started, but I was already panicking. I hadn’t been able to reach the High Elf state.
I tried casting several spells at the Arch Elf, that perhaps I had attained by tapping into my ancestral powers without really feeling it, but none of them broke his barrier.
“Wind, lightning, and light. Not a single one’s working.”
Of course, even as I cast my magic, I understood it was all basically meaningless.
“Ludie, keep cool.”
Kousuke came up to me to tell me this, but that wasn’t happening. How could I possibly keep cool right now?
I mean, he had to see it, too, right?
Claris, Yuika, Nanami, Yukine—everyone was holding out. Kousuke, too, of course. If they defeated any more of the pawns, there was a chance the Arch Elf might begin to move, so they simply endured the onslaught, unable to take down their foes.
They held on as wounds began to line their bodies, to the point where I saw several red lines form on Yukine and Yuika’s beautiful skin.
Through it all, I was the only one who hadn’t done anything. Just me.
Right now, they were all barely holding out, but there was no telling when one of them might fall. Although we had taken a break in front of the ruins, everyone was exhausted from fighting nonstop. Their mana reserves were draining away as well.
Yet still, everyone desperately battled on.
Telling me to keep cool was ridiculous! How could I?!
“Ludie!”
Kousuke’s voice brought me back to my senses. I suddenly noticed some magic flying straight for me. It was a spell from the staff-wielding follower.
Kousuke wedged himself in front of me, then spread out his stole to block the attack.
Normally, I would have easily been able to dodge an attack like that, but I was in such a daze… There were wounds on Kousuke’s cheeks and arms.
“I’m sorry…”
“C’mon, you’ve got nothing to apologize about. Don’t let it bug you.”
Kousuke stared hard into my eyes. Then he began to speak, appearing to remember something.
“Oh, right. Ludie? You did all that explaining about the Arch Elf just now, so I’m guessing you know this, too, but are you aware of how the Arch Elf and High Elf attained their power?”
Well, sure.
“More or less, yes.”
I heard Nanami’s voice reach us. “Master, my apologies. I let one through.”
It was the dagger-wielder. Kousuke stepped forward before blocking the attack with his Third Hand and used his Fourth Hand to punch him away. Then he pressed forward to deliver a follow-up attack.
“How is bringing that up supposed to help?”
The method of attaining High Elf status was passed down through the imperial family.
“It is attained when those with the lineage and talent truly thirst for power.”
Whether I had the gift was a mystery, but I was certainly connected to the imperial family by blood. The fact that I had been able to enter the Sanctuary was proof of that. I simply didn’t know if I had the talent for it or not, but…
“What about the Arch Elf…?”
How had the man before me become the Arch Elf? I hadn’t brought it up when speaking to everyone about the Arch Elf earlier, but Father had told me that it was because the necromancer’s loved ones and friends had been taken away by Leggenze.
The Arch Elf had been part of the imperial family, and he wielded power and authority, which had allowed him to spend the money to find his beloved, and only his beloved, and get her back. But by then, she was already dead.
That was when he had wished for power. When he could no longer abide Leggenze’s heinous deeds. When he wanted to protect the other elves who had been abducted. And when he came to believe it no longer mattered what foul power he used to achieve those ends.
And then, he attained his powers.
“The Arch Elf’s goal was to protect and save. But at some point, he was inundated by people whose loved ones had been abducted and who wished for vengeance. As he interacted with these people more and more, the whole of Leggenze became wicked in his eyes. On top of that, his powers of necromancy ultimately cast a shadow over his heart.”
As a result, his heart and mind shattered. His actions became twisted and extreme, and he began to kill anyone—even the elves he was meant to protect—who claimed he was going too far, turning them into part of his army. To stop this, my ancestors decided to seal him away.
When I thought of it that way…
“The thing that triggered the Arch Elf’s awakening was his wish to protect and save everyone. Similarly, the High Elf only awakened out of a desire to protect everyone from the Arch Elf.”
If a desire to protect everyone was required to attain the power of the High Elf, then shouldn’t I be able to awaken it, too?
After all, I had people I wanted to save. People I wanted to protect at any cost.
Claris, Yukine, Nanami, Yuika. Mother, Lilou, Father, and everyone living in the empire. And finally…
“Kousuke.”
My eyes fell on him.
Even now, he was shielding me from the attacks coming my way, from the long-range magic to the hammer-wielder’s strikes, and arrows flying toward me.
I drew slightly closer to him and cast healing magic.
“Thanks, Ludie… Wait, what’s up? C’mon, now, don’t look at me like that. I’m fine,” he said.
Then he once again blocked more attacks flying in my direction, along with blows directed at him from the hammer wielder.
He was always putting others above himself. Even at this moment, I imagined he was more worried about me than himself.
I wanted to protect him. But in reality, I only ever managed to be protected by him instead. There he was, knocking away an arrow on a collision course with me.
Why couldn’t I protect him? Why was I so powerless…? Even when I had someone I so desperately wanted to keep safe. Looking at his back, this feeling of frustration inside me grew stronger and stronger.
I wanted power. I wanted to protect him so much, it was driving me crazy.
At that very moment…
“Huh?!”
…I felt as if a lid had popped off somewhere inside me.
“…Ludie?” he murmured, looking at me in astonishment. But I felt almost the same way he did—I had no idea what was happening to me.
The only thing I understood was there was a mysterious power spilling out from inside me. It felt almost cozy, like a gentle breeze blowing under the shade of a tree. Yet at the same time, it almost seemed like a structural part of me at my core—a truly mysterious power indeed.
“What are those green particles enveloping Lady Ludivine’s body…?”
“How pretty…”
Somehow, I realized this was the High Elf’s power. And though I had never wielded it before, I somehow understood what I needed to do.
I began collecting this power in both my hands.
Little by little.
The power gradually grew into a large torrent, but my instincts were telling me this still wasn’t enough. More, far more power. More mana…
“Kousuke.”
“Ludie.”
He understood without me having to say a word.
Kousuke placed his hands on me. From them came a great…no, a truly massive amount of mana. It was converted inside me, before it finally pooled in my hands.
“Thank you, Kousuke.”
He took his palms off me and started amassing mana in his own katana sheath. Then he folded his stole into a spring, placed it down on the ground, and squatted against it.
I could tell exactly what he was trying to do. He planned on instantly closing in on the Arch Elf to defeat him as soon as he could. However, there was something I had to accomplish before he could do so: destroying the Arch Elf’s barrier.
Right at that moment, the church followers all came charging at me. However…
“Uh ohhh! You suuuure you want to show me your back like that?”
“Lady Ludivine!”
“Target practice is a specialty of mine.”
Yuika, Claris, Nanami. Finally…
“You’re not laying a single finger on Ludie.” Yukine got out in front of me to protect me.
“Thanks, everyone.”
Now they were all defending me. I needed to settle things. I raised the power gathered in my hands up over me, brought it all together, and then…