Suddenly, I see someone move in behind Sereniel while we’re talking…!
“Sereniel! Behind you!” I shout.
The assassin swings their dagger down on Sereniel’s back. It’s too late! I think just as a loud bam reaches my ears.
“Disrespectful youngling, attacking a lady from behind,” Regulus scolds.
He stood to protect Sereniel from danger. About ten feet away from him is the hooded figure he bunted away, a poisoned dagger clutched in their hand.
It looks like Regulus saved Sereniel. So he can be useful when the time comes! If he can pull that much off, maybe I can appoint him as one of the Eight Divine Generals of Elle Village.
“One of the DemiOracles,” Julius murmurs after walking up to the defeated assassin and checking its face.
One of the DemiOracles? They can leave the castle? I didn’t know that.
“You said they’re the Demon Lord’s homunculi, right? My magic doesn’t seem to work on them,” Sereniel says, disgusted.
That means her magic won’t work on Clark’s homunculi, either.
Regulus looks back at me. “In any case, this changes nothing—we still need to hurry into the castle and bring a swift end to this battle. Go take care of it while the guards are bound by Sereniel’s spell. I will protect her here. The guards will come after you if anything happens to her,” he says, coming across a tad cooler than usual.
Relief washes over Sereniel’s face knowing that Regulus will stay with her.
“Okay. You better protect Sereniel to the end! If you do that, I’ll officially appoint you as Old Gray of the Eight Divine Generals of Elle Village!”
“Hah…Old Gray…?” Regulus mumbles under his breath, as if he doesn’t like my choice of names.
Sereniel bursts out laughing. “Pft! Come on! Why Old Gray? You have horrible naming sense, Elle. And for your information, Regulus used to have hair as red as you. He was called the Crimson Demon in his heyday, so think up a better name for him.”
What’s wrong with my naming sense?! Old Gray sounds like a superhero name to me!
I gape at Sereniel, waiting for a better reason why that’s a bad name, but she waves me away.
“Think about it. Anyway, leave before you take up too much time here… Julius, take good care of Elle for me,” she insists for good measure.
“You don’t have to ask,” Julius responds forcefully.
“Your worry is wasted on me! After all, I am the glorious Elle Village’s grand sorceress mayor! I’ll roast, toast, ghost, then post Clark in a jiffy, then scare, tear, and flare that stupid magic circle!” I declare in a voice that could reach the mountains.
A gentle smile softens Sereniel’s face, transforming her from a coy woman into something more motherly. “…Say, Elle, I want to speak with you about something if we succeed in stopping the Demon Lord’s revival. So make sure you come back alive and well.”
She wants to talk about something? What is it? What’s with both her and Julius holding back what they want to say until everything is over?
Oh well. I can wait.
“Of course I will come back alive and well. After all, I am Elle Village’s grand sorceress mayor!” I exclaim and sweep into the castle in a swish of skirts, leaving the exterior perimeter in Sereniel’s and Regulus’s capable hands.
Invading the castle with me are Julius, Aela, Prince Guido, and Golem. We’re down to five. Our dream team is slowly being chiseled off. But to be honest, anything can be overcome as long as I have Julius on my side, so we’re still good.
“This is the Demon Lord’s Castle…,” Golem mutters, curiously taking in his surroundings.
Magic balls of light float in the air, creating a mystical backdrop. It probably drives home that we are no longer in Gaea.
Guards litter the inside of the castle, too, but we walk right past them because they are stupefied by Sereniel’s spell.
After advancing deeper into the castle, I suddenly hear a girlish giggle.
“Kyahaha!”
I stop. This voice…
“L-Lylish…?” Aela stammers, her voice trembling.
Lylish is laughing. And it’s not just one set of laughter but all sorts going “Kyahaha” “Ufufu” “Hehehe” from every direction. Dozens of wings are flapping around us.
I search the area and see nothing.
She’s using manga Lylish’s specialty: Invisibility!
I immediately cast Dispel Magic, and like a curtain dropping, what we hadn’t seen before becomes visible. Dozens of fairies have encircled us without our knowledge—we’re surrounded by Lylishs.
They face us with plastered-on smiles that don’t reach their dead, green eyes.
“It’s me, Lylish! Your name is Aela? What a great name!”
“Aela! This way! Come here!”
“Hey, Aela? Why don’t we save this kingdom together?”
“Come with me!”
“Aela, I love you!”
“Be confident in yourself! God chose you as his saint, after all!”
“Cheer up, Aela. You can do it!”
“I’ll protect you, Aela!”
They are all saying encouraging words in cheerful voices, but their eyes are devoid of emotion.
And I hate to say it, but repeating the same lines with the same face is horror-movie territory.
While we’re standing still trying to grapple with the scene straight out of a horror flim involving multiple Lylishes, a single Lylish charges straight at Prince Guido.
Crap! Now’s not the time to be freaked out by terrifying fairies!
No sooner do I think that than Golem deftly draws his sword and cuts down an incoming killer fairy.
Sliced cleanly in two, the pieces just so happen to plop on the ground in front of Aela. The sight is too intense for the girl who spent years calling the fairy friend, and she shrieks in horror. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo!”
Aela sways on her feet and tumbles forward. Guido rushes over and catches her before she hits the floor.
“I-I’m sorry, Your Highness! I acted without thinking about how she would feel…! How is Lady Aela?” Golem asks as he fends off several Lylishes’ ramming attacks with his sword and shield.
“Don’t worry. She just lost consciousness,” Prince Guido answers, brushing the hair off her face to make sure she is okay. I catch a glimpse of how stark white her skin is.
“Are you all right?!” I ask and try to get closer, but another set of Lylish horrors singing “Aela! Aela, Aela, AELA! Hey, Aela!” zoom in to block my path.
Smiling with eyes as blank as glass beads seriously gives me the heebie-jeebies. I’ve never been able to handle scary stories involving dolls!
Before I can react, the Lylishes turn into popsicles and drop to the floor with a thunk.
“Elle, don’t leave my side,” Julius says, coming over to protect me.
His magic iced our fairy menace, but I’m still worried about Aela…! I look over to Guido and see Aela awake in his arms. She’s reaching for the Lylish Golem cut in half.
“My magic didn’t work on her. She told me it was because she’s a fairy, and I believed her. But that wasn’t true, was it? She was a homunculus. A doll created by a man called Clark… That’s why my powers couldn’t save her… Prince Guido, please, oh please, put our dear friend to rest,” I hear Aela say clearly over the ensuing battle between Golem, Julius, and the swarm of Lylishes.
“…I will,” Guido vows, rising and drawing his magic sword. He holds it in front of him with both hands. “Spirits of Light, give me power…,” he chants and stands in a meditative stance for a few long moments before his eyes snap open. “Shining Flash!”