The False Hero, Volume 12, Chapter 15 pt.2

----- Elise -----

Without a word, Elise plunges her blade, the Zanthium Delineator, into a Blighted’s heart. Or at least where its heart would be, if it were a normal creature.

Still, it’s enough to finish the monster, as it’s only a mid-class fiend to begin with. There are many of them now–weaker opponents, sent to distract her from the real threats. Even with the arrival of Archfiends to the battlefield, their strategy remains focused around targeting sections of the front line where the four races are weakest, pushing the anti-Archfiend squads to their limits.

To counter that strategy, Lutz and many of our other powerful companions have begun traveling to the threats, rather than waiting for them to arrive. Unfortunately for Elise, such a tactic doesn’t work for her particular situation.

Just to her right, in the battlefield’s eastern direction, is Lumina’s father, King Edgar. The traitorous former duke, Bradley, seeks to seize the crown, even now. It’s a battle neither can run from, meaning Elise and her squad are pinned down alongside him.

“Ohhhh, I knew Father’s insistence that I stay near him would render me near useless!” Lumina voices a rare complaint. “If only I could follow Sir Lutz’s lead and scour the battle for more threatening foes…”

“An unfortunate restriction, Princess, but one that lends itself well to our plans.”

“Yes, I understand the logic. Yet it’s still frustrating to only be able to cast from a safe distance.”

Elise cuts down a Berserker in a single swing. “In that case, imagine how much restraint your brother must be mustering.”

“I don’t have to imagine. I can hear his complaints.”

Unlike Lumina and Lyle, Elise is free to walk into the melee. Considering her main weapon is her sword, that is precisely what she did as soon as the battle began. Of course, she’s directly in front of Lumina’s position in the back lines, making it easy to reach her in case she requires assistance.

So far, Elise has been free to slay fiend after fiend without pause, though she too is limited in her ability to maneuver around the battlefield. Like Lumina, her contribution has been minimal compared to Lutz or King Edgar, but this too is simply part of the plan, as expending everyone’s mana and stamina early could lead to difficulties later.

Additionally, Lumina has her own task that only she can complete. One far more important than simply adding another powerful warrior to the front line.

Elise leaps above the heads of her personal squad of soldiers, ones who have aided her in many of the tasks she has completed for the sake of Princess Lumina. Her men are soldiers, trained to keep formation and fight as a single unit, letting them fit in with the rest of the army.

But Elise isn’t that kind of warrior. She can’t bring out her full potential when standing shoulder to shoulder with her men like Julius, so she’s opted to support her squad from just above, eliminating the largest threats and physically intervening when the line is under too much pressure.

It’s a rather passive strategy, but it’s one that conserves her strength. At the moment, that is what’s most important to the overall strategy.

Elise lands in a narrow gap between two fiends. With a quick flourish, a Berserker hits the ground. The Mutant, however, still stands, as they tend to do.

“Now I’m beginning to understand why Lutz doesn’t like this variety.” Elise’s Zanthium Delineator flashes, set to finish off the Mutant.

A flash of light bursts out from just in front of her, powerful enough to make Elise shut her eyes in response. With a bad premonition, she ends her attack and leaps back into the sky, using her hand to shield her eyes while she reopens them.

“Crush them all…” A deep voice resonates from nearby.

Elise looks down at the Mutant she nearly finished off. The creature is simply … gone. In its place is another, far more fearsome foe. An Abyss Knight.

“What happened!?” Elise drops to engage the Abyss Knight that suddenly appeared in front of her squad.

As she falls, another flash of light. Then another. All across the battlefield, the same bursts of power can be seen and felt.

Without time to consider what the sudden change in enemy tactics can affect their plans, Elise is forced into an unexpected battle against a High-Class fiend.

“Did I just see that Mutant transform into … that?” Natan, Elise’s second-in-command, stares at the Abyss Knight. “Not that I could see much with that light.”

“I don’t understand, either.” Elise catches the fiend’s hammer with her sword, a task that requires far more effort for her than it would for Lutz or Alisha. “But this Abyss Knight is certainly the very same Mutant I was fighting before.”

“The fiends are evolving,” Lutz’s voice comes through our shared connection. “They’re turning into stronger types, healing their wounds at the same time.”

Elise looks at the Abyss Knight in front of her and notices that the grave injuries she gave the Mutant are no longer hindering her evolved opponent.

“Do you know how they’re managing to strengthen their troops in such a fashion?” Crown Prince Rhys asks.

“Their god only has access to a certain amount of power. If I had to guess, as the fiends die, he’s able to transfer that power to the ones that are still alive, evolving them into a stronger variety.”

“Are you suggesting that as the battle draws long, our enemy will grow stronger, rather than weaker?”

“Looks like it. Given long enough, there won’t be any weaker types left at all. I think you can imagine how bloody things would get if the only enemies remaining were Abyss Knights and Incinerators.”

“A standard squad cannot hope to stand against a horde of such fearsome opponents. I shall have to create countermeasures, in case the density of High-Class fiends becomes too much for our men.”

“Alright, I’ll leave that to you.”

All the members of Lutz’s parties were privy to the conversation, so all of us understand the situation without the need for an additional explanation.

The Abyss Knight finally falls, a task that would have been much easier to complete if the creature were still a Mutant.

Perhaps I judged Mutants too harshly…

I immediately discard the thought when another one of them shows up to challenge me. The fiend finds itself quickly dispatched, ensuring that it doesn’t have time to evolve into an Abyss Knight again.

Normally, Elise has to take to the skies to avoid getting surrounded. That makes her a target for spellcasters, but it’s better than trying to fight when it’s too crowded to even swing a sword.

However, despite standing on the blood-soaked dirt, she finds herself completely void of challengers. Fiends know no fear, so the only reason for them to avoid combat is when they’re ordered to do so by someone with authority.

And the one who gave them such a command is none other than…

“I should have known her handmaiden would end up getting in my way.” The traitorous hero, Collette, strides right up to Elise. “I hope you’re having fun here, wasting your time with these weaklings.”

“Collette.” Elise points her blade at the former hero. “You will be facing judgement here today.”

“Always so serious and to the point, never willing to play along. That’s why I always hated you.”

“Your emotions are no concern of mine. I merely perform the tasks that are required of me, nothing more.”

“Then hurry up and move aside like an obedient servant. Your master is here.”

“Greetings, Collette.” Princess Lumina has come forward from the back of the formation, stopping at a safe distance. “I’m honored that from amongst all the people at this battle, you’ve come to duel me.”

“Don’t act as if there’s no reason why I chose you. Our new god wasn’t pleased about my failed assassination attempt against you, and I’ve been trying to earn back his favor ever since! The only way to erase that stain is to finish you here, before anyone else has a chance.”

“I’m sorry to hear that my survival created such hardships for you. May I suggest that in subsequent assassination attempts, perhaps don’t fail the mission?” Lumina’s sarcastic reply causes the former hero to frown.

“I’ll take that advice, Princess.” Collette pulls out a wand with a twisted, metallic handle and a purple, cracked gem on the end. “Right here and now.”

Like many other of the enemy’s champions, Collette has come to defeat one of the four races’ strongest warriors. With the enemy’s initiative in the early stages of the battle, they’ve been able to pick and choose all the battles, sending Archfiends and powered-up traitors wherever they please.

Collette was glaring at the mocking monument of her failure, the princess who had ruined her plan to earn her god’s favor simply by surviving.

“I’ll wipe away the shame with your blood, you snotty little princess.”

“Are you sure about that?” Lumina tilts her head just a bit.

“Of course I am! Our god has gifted us with the strength to remove all of you from existence!”

“So why haven't you?”

“Why else would I be standing here?” Collette scoffs. “And people praise you for your intelligence. What a farce.”

“I see. So you can only find solace after cleansing the stain from your failure to assassinate me.” Lumina raises one hand, holding a book with a dark green cover. “In that case, allow me to aid you in finding that peace.”

The book vanishes from Lumina’s hand. Its blurred figure zips across Elise’s vision, a dark green smear against the bright, blue sky.

“Wha-OW!” The book’s spine smacks into Collette’s frowning face, hitting her right in the nose.

“My apologies. It slipped from my grasp.”

“You bitch.” Collette rubs her nose, the book now held in her angry grasp. “I was just going to kill you and be done with it, but I don’t think that’s good enough anymore.”

“It seems I’ve managed to enrage you once again. Perhaps you should take heed to my advice, if you wish to overcome your anger.” Lumina points to the book in her hand. “It’s right there in the title.”

Collette, still rubbing her nose, flips the book over so the cover is facing up. “How To Give Up On Your Dreams…? What kind of book is this!?”

“Everyone has dreams, don’t they? Not long ago, I yearned to travel with the Summoned Heroes, to join them on their battle against the forces of Chaos. To join you, Collette.” Lumina shakes her head. “It was merely a dream, a reality that would never come to pass. And so, I acquired the book you now hold, in order to learn how the author managed to give up on his dreams without becoming a failure in the process.”

Lumina raises her grimoire, putting her opponent on edge. “I have no more need for that text. In the end, I managed to grab hold of that dream and turn it into reality, thanks to you and the other two heroes shattering the illusions that had been binding me. You, however, won’t find your dreams so easily obtained, so I’ve provided a book to help you overcome the emotions you will feel after you fail here today. I also have a few other books that might be of interest as well, like How to Mage without harming your allies.”

Collette raises the book so it’s level with her face. “What a thoughtful gesture. But I won’t need a useless book like this.”

Flames appear in her palm, engulfing the text. In a matter of seconds, there’s nothing left but cinders. Collette wipes her hands together, sending out a puff of ashes that gets picked up and carried by the wind.

“Now get over here, you rotten little princess. I don’t care if we’ve been ordered to waste your time, I’m making a special exception just for you.”

“Is that so? How unfortunate, then.” Lumina lowers her grimoire. “As I won’t be your opponent today.”

“What!? Are you that terrified to fight me, you coward!?”

“I see you still haven’t learned to give up on your dreams. If only you had a text written by someone who could help you move past your rivalry with me.”

“Stop dancing around the truth! You’re scared of me! Without your precious little handmaiden to protect you, there’s nothing a little girl like you can do!”

“I’m afraid the reasons are mine and mine alone. However, the truth is that…” Lumina completely exits any semblance of a combat stance, signifying just how serious she is about not fighting. “...You’re not worth my time, Collette.”

“N … not worth your time!? Me!? A hero, chosen by this world’s new god!? How dare you…! How dare you look down on me! Like hell I’m going to just let you walk away! I’m going to–” Collette takes a single step forward, then stops both her feet and mouth.

“The princess has spoken.” Elise stands between the two, her Zanthium Delineator pointed at Collette’s chest. “I shall be your opponent this day.”

“The final battle to determine the fate of this world…” Collette can’t keep the hatred from her voice. “And you want me to spend it battling your attendant!?”

“You are free to challenge the princess, if you wish. After you defeat me, of course.”

Collette looks at Lumina, who stands surrounded by human soldiers, one of whom is powerful enough to stand against an Archfiend by himself. Chasing her deep into the enemy backlines would be dangerous, even for one of the heroes chosen by the god of Chaos.

“I suppose this battle won’t end quickly.” Collette finally takes a step back, though the rage still covers her face. “One more battle. Then, I’m going to fulfill my dream.”

“I’m glad that you understand so quickly.” Lumina gives Collette a bow so small that it would be seen as mockery in the courts. “Then by all means, follow your dreams.”

With that, Lumina retreats back to the line of casters, leaving Elise to battle one of the former heroes alone. Just as she desired.

Nobody targets Lumina and lives. You die here, Collette.