A whisper escaped Toshisaka as he collapsed to his knees. “Damn...”
But Al hadn’t given up.
“No, I won’t accept this! There must be a way! Please, I have to come up with something!”
Al clenched his fists to the point that his knuckles cracked. His persistence was a double-edged sword. Some thought it was cool, but others thought he was simply bad at losing.
“I’ve got it!”Al excitedly turned toward Feena. His sudden mood change made it seem like a boulder had hit him in the head.
“Feena! Can you make an ice wall— No, an ice bridge like last time? One that connects to the ship!”
“Huh? An ice bridge, you say?”
The dumbfounded Toshisaka went completely ignored as Feena prepared her wand. “Got it!”
She chanted the spell. “Ice Wall!”
Suddenly, a long path of ice began extending across the water’s surface. Then...
Bam!
A direct hit on the ship. The bridge of ice connecting the land with the ship was finally complete, stopping the ship in its tracks.
“Thanks, Feena! Please cover me!” Al shouted as he started dashing toward the ship.
“He’s alone! Fire the bows!”
“Destroy the ice! Quick!”
The completely dumbstruck sailors finally began their counterattack. The archers prepared to fire and the oars began destroying the ice beneath the ship. Meanwhile, Al was running toward the ship at full speed.
“Come forth, wind!”
Feena was supporting Al while Toshisaka protected Feena. A strong gust of wind blew forth, scattering the arrows aimed at Al, though he also felt the effect of the spell and barely managed to stop himself from sliding into the water. Regaining his balance, he continued rushing toward the ship, but...
Bam! Crackle, crackle!
The sounds of explosions suddenly interrupted the flow of the battle. The ice trapping the ship had been blown away.
“Damn, they had gunpowder?! I was so close!”
While trying to regain his footing, shaken by the blast, he stared at the ship that was sailing farther and farther away.
“Maybe I should ask Feena for another bridge. It’d most likely meet the same fate, though.”
Out of ideas, false hopes such as sprouting wings crossed his mind, until...
Al turned to Feena and shouted, “Feena! Hit me with a fireball!”
“What?!”
Feena looked at him with eyes colder than a quiet winter’s night. Apparently, she wasn’t too thrilled by the idea of having a masochistic boyfriend.
“No, not like that! I want you to propel me all the way to the ship!”
Having heard his rushed explanation, Feena decided to go with the plan.
“Fireball!”
Pew!
A moment later, the fireball struck the ice directly below Al’s feet and he was sent flying through the air.
“Hyaaaaaah!”
He flew toward the ship in a beautiful parabola. Given that she was a Diva, her impeccable aim was to be expected.
“Gahhh!”
A sharp pain surged through Al’s body, but he didn’t have time to lick his wounds. He quickly sprang up, ready to take action. The soldiers were caught off-guard, as shown by their delayed reaction to the man quite literally falling from the skies.
“Raaaaah!”
Al began his attack on the dumbstruck soldiers. Limp bodies collapsed onto the deck one by one after taking blows from the handle or accidentally touching the blade of the weapon.
“It’s like the scythe of Death itself, trapping the souls of anyone it comes in contact with...”
Conflicted about who the villain really was, Al’s mouth curled into a cynical smile.
“Fireball! Lightning Bolt!”
While they were focusing their attention on Al, Feena had managed to recreate the bridge and was closing in at full speed.
“Aaaaah!”
Toshisaka had also caught up to the group. He was pushing soldiers off the deck, one after another.
“Surrender, Imperial dogs! You stand no chance!”
Judging by their overwhelming power, Al was certain of their victory.
“The Empire knows no defeat!”
However, the Empire didn’t share his perspective. Al turned around, ready to finish the tiring ordeal once and for all, but... He was too late.
“Commander Gwain! What are you—?!”
The Imperial soldier referred to as Gwain walked up to a stack of barrels with a torch in his hand.
“That must be gunpowder,” Toshisaka whispered.
“I’ll blast it away!”
Al raised his hand to stop Feena before she did anything rash.
“You’d blast all the prisoners and half the ship away!”
They couldn’t afford to take risks and act recklessly while the enemy had so much destructive force in their hands.
“Your Majesty, shall we distract him for a second?”
Toshisaka sneaked his hand into his pockets. He probably had something in mind.
“Okay, but we’re doing things my way.”
Al took a quick glance at Toshisaka, who signaled his agreement with a slight nod.
Let’s see if he’s worth recruiting.
Al took a step back from Toshisaka, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.
“Hey, you! What do you think you’re doing?!”
He took another step back.
“You’d betray your comrades just to protect your honor?!”
“Sh-Shut up! You think you know everything?! If I fail this simple mission, not only will I be stripped of my class, I’ll fall directly into slavery! Who knows what’ll happen after that; they might turn me into a crude abomination with that almighty crystal of theirs! I’d rather have this ship and everything on it sleep with the fishes!”
Al planned to ask about the abominations in great detail, but first...
“There’s another way. Desert the Empire!”
“Desert... the Empire?”
Anyone could tell from the look in the commander’s eyes that he was truly lost. Seizing the opportunity, Al took a step forward.
“Exactly. You can settle down in Althos instead! We may be poor, but there is no capital punishment for a failed mission. As the king, I myself can guarantee that!”
The commander’s eyes sparkled when Al stretched his arms.
Finally, Al could relax... But that blissful moment vanished in an instant.
“Pfwahahaha! You think the Empire wouldn’t crush your puny excuse for a country?! I would rather die here than meet a traitor’s fate!”
Unfortunately, the previous sparkle was not one of hope, but of insanity.
“Hyahh! Die!”
The mad commander dropped his torch on the barrels.
“Get down!”
Just as Al gritted his teeth, trying to cover Feena from the blast...