Chapter 20:
A New Way Forward
LUCIANA’S IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE WAS not a portent for the battle to come. Quickly, things devolved into a stalemate.
They could not damage the beasts. Luciana’s harisen certainly hurt them but could inflict no lasting damage. The group held the wolves at bay, but the longer the fight dragged on, the more ferocious the wolves became. The monsters knew this was dangerous prey. Maxwell was dangerous prey. Particularly his sword.
Maxwell swung, and a wolf whined. The wound didn’t vanish this time.
“Your blade can hurt them,” Lect said. “Why? Is that… Is it made of silver?”
“Precisely. Though, in truth, it’s a ceremonial bauble we keep in our carriage for entirely superstitious reasons. Better than nothing, I thought, but it’s proven quite effective.”
Maxwell was lying, of course. It had been prepared in advance for this very purpose.
And that can only mean this attack has something to do with the Dark One, he thought. Divergences aside, this proved the ancient evil’s revival was nigh, as prophesied by the royal couple.
What are those creatures? the aforementioned ancient evil wondered while nestled in the legendary Saint’s arms, back at the carriage. Their mana is similar to my own and yet different from what I’ve felt before. Thralls, by the look of their energy. But whose? And why do they attack? Who is so foolish as to send such weaklings after the Saint? Unless… The pup sneered. As best a pup could. This master of theirs either doesn’t know who they’re dealing with, or they’re foolish to a fatal degree. After all, not even I can sense her saintly aura. One would never suspect it unless predisposed to suspicion.
Grail chuckled menacingly. Fool. Fool! I only came because I thought this mana my own, but I’ve smelled more appetizing scents at breakfast! In fact, the odor I smelled some days ago was far more enticing. Nevertheless! I could not best this wretched girl, and now you shall meet the same ignoble fate!
Melody shut the pup’s oddly chuckling mouth. “Hush, Grail.”
Eyes infused with mana, she analyzed the battle. These creatures were nothing to her. A single Missile Guidato dart would have made quick work of them. Her mana seemed to serve as a natural repellent for the mana enshrouding the monsters, so doubtless her spells could pierce the veil and damage the wolves’ physical forms. The fly in the ointment was, of course, how to do that while keeping her secret. Outing her magical talents was tantamount to tying a noose around the neck of her life as a maid, and using the Cecilia persona as a cover was risky to say the least.
Then again, maybe she could trust Maxwell. Melody knew she could, but it wasn’t him she was worried about. The death blow to her way of life could come from anywhere anytime. Maxwell was the son and heir to a marquess, and that was a messy business.
Not to mention the fact that they were in public. Eventually, the chaos would attract attention. Manors in the upper district sat spaced generously apart to allow for those all-important, grandiose courtyards and gardens, so things were quiet for now, but that wouldn’t last with all this noise—to say nothing of the ten brightly glowing orbs shining in the dead of night.
What do I do? If they can take the wolves out on their own, great, but… Melody examined Maxwell’s blade. To her enhanced eyes, it glowed a pale white. That’s almost like the color of my mana. So that’s why he can cut through the dark energy and actually damage them. If the others had that same advantage, they stood a good chance. But what spell do I use? And how do I cast it without anyone finding out?
She considered enveloping them in their own veil of mana, but three shining beacons of magic wasn’t exactly subtle. They already had ten of those. Perhaps she could turn invisible and deal with the monsters herself? Subtle in a certain sense, but subject to intense confusion and scrutiny, which were the last things she needed.
Argh, what do I do?! The longer this takes, the more danger they’re in. Think! Think, Melody! Oh, if only that pesky dark mana weren’t there!
A light bulb flickered on over Melody’s head. “If only the mana weren’t there. That’s it!”
Grail gurgled.
“Oops! Sorry.”
She quickly let the pup down on a carriage seat, then returned to the battle. It’s so simple! Why didn’t I realize it sooner?! The problem’s the dark mana shrouding the wolves. Get rid of that, and there’s nothing protecting them anymore!
“Come, arcane winds—Argento Brezza.”
A gale picked up around the battlefield, charged with Melody’s mana. She’d used this very spell to whisk away the dark mana plaguing the crops in her lady’s county, and it had worked beautifully. Despite its name, Argento Brezza—silver wind—was entirely colorless, odorless, and imperceptible. The winds breezed over the monsters and swept away the mana covering them like brushing salt off a dining table, then the gale carried the mana up into the air and condensed it, just as it had with the mana afflicting those crops.
Might come in handy for summoning the Silvershine Raiment, she thought.
The others finished the job swiftly. Rook swung, and his blade struck true. The stalker wolf let out a death rattle, twitching on the ground before it finally stopped moving.
“It worked?”
The remaining four froze in shock.
“Eyes forward!”
Lect slammed a mana-charged fist into a wolf’s face. As the creature bounced against the hard road, Lect swung his leg up to bring his heel down on the wolf’s head. The beast howled its last.
“I’m not entirely sure why, but our attacks are working now!”
“They need help,” Rook said, indicating Luciana and Maxwell, who had been holding their own against three stalker wolves by themselves. They hurried over.
All three wolves eyed Maxwell and his dangerous blade. Luciana managed to distract one, but the remaining two were pushing the lord to his limit. He wouldn’t last much longer.
“Whoever’s looking out for us, I owe them my gratitude,” Maxwell said.
Lect quickly relieved Maxwell of one of the wolves, leaving him to face the other on even terms. Maxwell swung his silver sword in a great arc.
It worked. Without numbers or darkness, stalker wolves were little more than household pets. Lect summarily disposed of his foe as well.
“Oh, did someone even the odds? Looks like we win!” Luciana said. “Take this!” She reeled back and blasted the beast with a full-bodied swing of her harisen. It crashed to the side of the road, where it lay twitching yet alive. “Huh? I was told we could hurt them!”
“The harisen is meant to be harmless!” Melody reminded her, shouting from the carriage. “Harmless yet torturous!”
Maxwell shot Cecilia an incredulous look.
“Oh, right.” Luciana groaned. “Rook, would you please?”
“Right away.” The valet put the spasming beast out of its misery.
Fatigued panting replaced the snarls of the hounds and swishing of swords.
Luciana raised her fist skyward. “The day is ours!”