“Being late is just another point of etiquette when it comes to propaganda.” Dill’s feet touched down on the ground, and he held his shield and sword high as he commenced a violent retort against Hero, who readied his spear and his Skill in answer.
“Kill him, my dear Aegisthus.” After catapulting the late arrival with his lump of iron, Halberd smiled in satisfaction. Years ago, in the Holy War, he had sent Dill off in the same way many times. In those days they had found themselves surrounded by Titans, but now they faced off against undying Reincarnators.
“Hmm.” Fearing the influence the giant would have on the battle, the Manager—Summoner—appeared, commanding a small group of skilled Chiefs. Halberd gleefully readied his lump of iron. Mail-cloaks equal in number to the enemy Chiefs lined up alongside Halberd.
In front of the temple, Dill and Hero traded blows as the flying observation drone whirled around them, broadcasting live video. Each time Dill jumped, somersaulted, or whirled around, his rusty hair and chain mail cloak followed his movements. The opposing Hero’s long, silvery-white hair silhouetted his body like the spray of waves crashing against a craggy cliff.
“Master! Let me join you!” Sid leaped out of a gate of phosphors floating in the air and positioned himself on a diagonal from Dill, trapping Hero between them. Sid traced Dill’s movements, and they executed a perfectly synchronized pincer attack against their foe.
“Orestes,” Hero said. “Haven’t you learned your lesson? How many times have you already tried this and failed? It appears that you don’t know the difference between courage and recklessness, and it’s about time you faced facts. You are inferior to me.”
“No way I’ll be giving up! Master and the other men in the brigade grew strong by doing the same thing over and over again. The strength you and I have, attained easily through our Skills, is counterfeit!”
For a moment Hero looked stunned, apparently taken aback by Sid’s words. Dill did not overlook this. “No matter how many times you change your body, it’s no use. Your weakness is that indecisive mind of yours.” Dill stretched an arm toward Hero, which he dodged a moment before it connected, narrowly avoiding Dill seizing hold of his throat. All Dill had in his hand was the intercom receiver that Hero had held to his mouth—but that had been his aim all along.
“By merely plucking a single gadget from me, what do you—”
“Eugene, Hero of the Reincarnators—your speech was comical. Let me show you what real propaganda looks like.”
Hero realized that the hologram in the sky now displayed a massive image of Dill. What was the observation drone doing? Turning his head, Hero saw a grinning man with a tattoo, holding the drone he had shot down with his crossbow.
“Tell them, partner!” cried the bard with the eagle tattoo, Rick. Dill raised the intercom receiver to his mouth and started to speak. Dill’s hologram stared sternly at the crowd. His features were sharp, though the scars of past battles were emblazoned across his face. His expression was dark as he turned his eyes down; under the black shadow cast by his bangs, his rust-colored eyes burned with the glow of hatred. The remnants of the magic he once had when he was considered a child prodigy as an actor continued to captivate people’s gazes.
Dill did not speak immediately. He knew just how much dramatic effect a calculated silence could produce. “—My name is ‘Aegis,’ the broad shield. I am the one who opposes the tyranny of the Reincarnators.” His voice resounded throughout the temple. It was a low, expansive, deep voice. Even his enemies, the Reincarnators, reflexively stayed their hands and listened. “Tereans, tamers of horses, and Vulcans, who gather around the anvil—I know you well. In the bygone days of the Holy War, the warriors of Terea ran through the fields of Notos with armaments forged by the people of Vulcan. We aimed for the Holy Land, with its tall spires, where the father of the gods, Ex Machina Anxiety, lives. To reclaim our god from the hands of heretics who paid their respects to the Titans, Terea and the Eleven Fortress Cities formed an alliance by divine providence.”
Dill’s speech continued. The Reincarnators, who at first had simply observed the situation, were no longer willing to stand and watch. To cut his speech short, Hero assumed a stance in preparation for unleashing his Skill.
“Don’t you dare—”
“—interrupt him!”
Hero was driven back by the young lion, Orestes, and the veteran, Whitehead.
“Our battles, as fierce as any found in mythology, could no doubt be heard raging far in the distance—even to the ends of the earth. We fought armies counting the Satyrs, Gigantes, and the Nymphs—all legendary Titans—among their numbers. In the Holy Land, Dios, we struck down the enemy general Lycaon and Chimera, the heretic priestess. These numerous acts of valor, and the mountains of treasure sent back to our hometowns, were only possible thanks to the bravery of Terean men and the skill of Vulcan craftsmen. I know you well... I don’t believe the same people, in the middle of this sacred city, watched over by your god, would sell themselves to the enemy without a fight. I know for a fact that you are not a crowd of such pitiful cowards!”
As Dill raised his voice, a shudder went through the assembled refugees. A true battle had already broken out in the plaza as Halberd led the mail-cloaks in his brigade to hinder the Reincarnators who tried to interrupt Dill’s speech.
From time to time, Dill was forced to evade gunfire and psychokinetic projectiles raining down on him. Still, he continued to face the broadcasting device held by Rick Wake and did not falter in his speech.
Dill pointed to the other half of the skyward hologram, the PR video of the colonial city. “Gaze upon the terrible state of our home city! Towers from another world have been driven into the fallen land of our forefathers! The invaders have trampled upon our lovely flowers and ancient castles, as if they own the place! Those of our brethren unable to flee in time have been reduced to slavery, forcing smiles to please their captors! I know them well. The free people of Terea were said to be the proudest and most favored by the Ex Machina!”