With the appearance of the three holy beasts, the stagnant, scorched space was at once purified and enveloped in an atmosphere so holy it almost hurt.
“How...?” Ziek and everyone nearby drew in breaths. They could all see the holy beasts, as expected of Trundle. “Miss...Erza... So these are who Erza wanted to protect with her life...”
I rushed over to heal my grandmother, but Asu interrupted me.
“Wait, I have to find who did this first! I need a second...”
He closed his eyes. Miyu and the lesser dragon gazed at my grandmother.
“Who set the fire? And on whose orders?”
One of my grandmother’s associates answered quietly. “We’ve captured six magicians, but we put them to sleep so they don’t kill themselves.”
“I’ll go, Sere. I can see through lies,” Lou said.
We were about to go to the attackers, led by one of the people there, when Miyu suddenly began to shake. Lou and I stopped in our tracks.
“W-Waaaah!” Miyu cried.
“Miyu, what’s wrong?” I asked.
“This is...my curse...”
“What do you mean?” Lou asked.
Miyu spoke slowly as she looked at my grandmother. “You were attacked by so many assassins when we traveled together, Miss Sere. But you never let me kill them after we captured them. I got frustrated and cursed them to suffer forever.”
“You...did?”
“Now that curse is on our master, for some reason... My curse...on our forest’s...kind protector... Why...?”
“Did somebody reverse engineer the curse from one of the assassins after they returned...?” Lou wondered aloud.
“Is that possible, Asu?”
“Nobody could do that, unless they were a very irregular being.”
Lou growled. Someone with cheat abilities...
“Miyu, lesser dragon, you know curses best. Find the source...and retaliate!” Lou ordered sternly.
“Yes!” Miyu shone, grew to a size smaller than the lesser dragon, and began analyzing the curse with a determined look.
I traded places with Ziek, kissed my grandmother’s cheeks and forehead over and over, and held her head.
“I’m sorry, grandmother... I’m sorry...”
Her mouth moved. She was saying something. I put my ear close.
“Ah... Liruphi... Why...?”
Liruphi? Liruphione? My mother’s name?
“Miyu, what do you mean that they suffer forever?”
“They have a nightmare that never ends... They relive the most painful things that ever happened to them over and over...” Miyu’s face contorted in sadness.
My grandmother was reliving the time my mother died over and over in her dreams... Of course she couldn’t sleep...
“It’s her!” growled the lesser dragon.
“You found them?” Lou asked.
“It’s that little girl who tried to kill me before you two came to help!”
Maribelle...
“Send it back to her even stronger!” Lou commanded. “And Miyu, you’re now the heavenly beast of the east. Use a spell on her that will keep her from ever doing something as foolish as stealing our spells again. Make her pay for what she did.”
“Okay.” Miyu’s eyes glinted through her tears, and she approached my grandmother. The lesser dragon followed behind her. They synchronized their breathing, opened their eyes wide, and bathed my grandmother in their magic.
A lot of black stuff came out of my grandmother’s body, and it all coalesced into a single pitch-black ball on her stomach. Miyu muttered something angrily to the ball and exhaled. The ball turned so black that it was completely opaque.
“She’ll regret ever using me. Go!”
The ball vanished.
Asu climbed onto my grandmother’s chest and let a tear fall onto her mouth. It soaked into her dry lips.
“You don’t mind, Asu? Thank you...”
“It’s our fault in a way, since Miyu wasn’t careful. And Erza is your irreplaceable mother figure, isn’t she?”
I nodded.
“You fool!” the lesser dragon roared. “Why did you go against what Serephione told you?! And don’t tell me you thought it was for the best! I told you that curses are double-edged swords! Your carelessness has made Serephione and the master in charge of guarding all creatures in Trundle suffer!” The lesser dragon smacked his daughter, the heavenly beast, with his tail.
“Father... I’m sorry...”
“D-Don’t be angry at her! I couldn’t have lived in Marsche without Miyu!”
It wasn’t Miyu’s fault. It was mine for not being able to give the order to kill the assassins. Actually, no, it was one hundred percent Maribelle’s fault.
“That’s enough,” Lou said. “Miyu did her best to protect Sere while I was away. And she’s going to do better in the future. Right, Miyu?”
“Y-Yes!”
“You two are too easy on Miyu...” The lesser dragon continued to lecture his daughter, but I turned my attention to my grandmother. Thanks to Asu, the color had returned to her face slightly.
“Liru... Liruphi...”
“I’m here, mother,” I played along. “Rest well.”
“Liruphi... But I have to protect...your treasure...my treasure...Serephi...”
Grandmother... I bit my lip. This wasn’t the time to cry. I resolved myself.
“Mother, I’ll take on the responsibility for protecting everything that you’ve protected.”
I’ll protect my grandmother from now on.
The crease between her eyebrows finally softened...her grimace relaxed...and she fell asleep. I kissed her eyelids as a charm. She smiled slightly.
I draped my favorite fluffy blanket over her...and picked up the black sword that always stayed with the head of the Trundle family.
Ziek watched me with a mystified expression.
I stood up and drew my black sword, a sword that will never break, said to have been forged by my distant ancestors themselves.
“I hereby declare myself, Serephione Granzeus, the head of the Trundle family. Although I do not bear the name of Trundle, I am a direct descendant of Geintz and Erza Trundle. I vow to cherish the land that bears their name and guard it with my sword, as my ancestors have. And I consider the act of harming my beloved ancestors and attacking their lands as a declaration of war. From now on, Trundle shall be ready for battle. We will not tolerate any intruders.”
Lou and Miyu stood tall on either side of me. Asu spread his wings wide and jumped onto my left shoulder.