Part 44:
The Miner Confesses to the Lady Knight
in the Depths of Hell
✦ ✦ ✦
The Prison City of Dis was surrounded by flames.
Catria found herself overwhelmed by the sight. Large black towers lined the horizon, and anything resembling a street or a path was made with ashen sand that produced blue flames. Catria felt the heat from the bottom of her shoes. Pretty much everything was on fire, yet amidst all of this, Lithisia was skipping about, merrily singing.
“Sho-vel! Sho-vel!”
She was messed up in the head.
“Catria, you should try Shovel Transmission, too!”
“I refuse.”
“It’s super fun!”
“I refuse.”
I’m just going to follow along. I’m not going to skip around in Hell.
“Don’t make this harder on yourself, Catria. Get yourself together and use Shovel Transmission.” Alan, on the other hand, was walking along the burning Hell sand like it was no big deal.
“Not happening! Princess Lithisia’s the only one mad enough to do that!”
“I’m going to have to insist. If you walk around normally in Hell, the flames will roast your very soul.”
“Wha?”
Alan explained that Prison City Dis’s flames weren’t just any old flames, they were Fallen Flames. On contact, a normal human’s spirit would be burned to a crisp, causing them to fall into darkness. Using Shovel Transmission allowed one to maintain the integrity of their state of mind and guard against corruption through happily singing about shovels.
During Alan’s analysis, Catria felt an uncomfortable jolt in her chest. Her heart was smoldering; it felt like smoke was rising out of her mouth.
“Gah…agh!”
“Catria, this is bad! Hurry and use Shovel Transmission!”
The flames were creeping in on her soul while Princess Lithisia smiled, inviting Catria to the dark side. The lady knight nearly caught herself saying “shovel,” but managed to stop at the last second.
No, no, no! Why did I even come on this dangerous journey in the first place?! To save the world from shovel corruption, right?! Wait, is that really how this all started? Why do I get the feeling I’m wrong… No, either way! I can’t afford to let myself lose to the shovel!
“I…won’t…lose!”
Think, Catria. Think!
Catria squeezed her Holy Knight Blade. At the end of the day, Shovel Transmission was a technique used to protect oneself from having their heart corrupted. If that was the basic principle, if she focused her powers, there was no rule it had to directly involve a shovel!
“Ooooooooh! Blade of mine! Accept my power…!”
Catria continued to clutch her sword. Eventually, her body stopped shaking and she could no longer feel the heat beneath her feet.
“Haaah, haaah…” Catria flashed a fearless smile. How’s that?! I did it! Without a shovel, too!
Alan couldn’t help but be impressed. “Not bad at all, Catria. I’m amazed you managed to devise your own way of guarding your soul from the flames of Hell.”
“R-right…?” Joy spread through Catria’s heart. She had impressed Alan, and she was terribly proud of that.
“AmazCatriShovelnius! (Amazing! My Catria is a shovel genius!)”
“I’m not a shovel genius.”
“But your sword is currently 70 percent shovel.”
Slowly, Catria looked down upon the Holy Knight Blade in her hand. Or, what was left of it. It had basically taken the form of a shovel.
“…”
Catria stared at her weapon in shock, then shook her head. She then smashed it vigorously and repeatedly against one of the steel buildings. After a few seconds, it had generally regained its sword form. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled again. “Your Highness, this is no shovel. It’s a sword.”
“Catria…you’ve grown so shovely strong.”
“It’s a sword!” Catria denied the shovel with all of her might, tears in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Alan nodded in satisfaction. He had a warm look in his eyes, almost like that of a father watching over his growing daughter.