The hands that had grabbed him released him, letting him fall heavily to the ground. His assailant jumped down from where he was and joined the Hero, helping him up.
- Again your Shadow Hands," said the Hero, catching his breath.
- It's the first time I've had you so easily with this spell," replied Helmir. "Is it Fairy-Without-Wings that has you so upset?
- What are you talking about?" the Hero took offense, coughing, "It's not a kid who...
- Do you know how old she is to say that?
- No...
- So don't call her a kid when you know almost nothing about her.
- That's not the point.
Helmir put his hand on the Hero's shoulder and brought his face close to that of Asteron's brother.
- It doesn't matter if you have a heart for others, it will keep you from being like your dumbass brother who stuffs himself with mussels and only has money on his mind. It's weird enough that he "cares" about you. But don't let your attention waver, for your sake as well as for hers...
- I'll be careful...
- Especially if you go outside the kingdom, moron! she yelled at him by hitting his head.
The pain was so intense that the Hero threw himself to the ground, the night elf remembered that the wounds on the child's skull had a hard time healing and that she had to be really careful when playing with him.
- Oh sorry! I got a little carried away! Are you ok?
- Yes..., he answered painfully, you went a bit too far...
- But not even that!
- And when you apologize you could show a little more empathy, Helmir..., he reproached her.
The spy could not deny that even when she apologized, she had difficulty expressing an ounce of emotion, her gaze kept its coldness in any circumstance - to her great dismay.
Once the pain subsided, Helmir resumed her complaint towards the one who considered her her aunt.
- Could you avoid going outside the kingdom with a princess, or at least avoid lasting so long outside? I'm not with you all the time to watch your every move, so be careful.
- You say that as if I could know this place...
- I know. But I don't want anything to happen to you, especially to the wingless fairy, or we'll both be in trouble.
- I remind you that I am the hero of the legend, Auntie, laughs the Hero.
- I am not your aunt," Helmir told him.
- I... I know...," said the Hero in a sorry tone.
- But you can call me big sister, after all, I am your big brother's girlfriend.
- What's wrong with wanting us to have a parentage?" smiled the Hero.
- Don't reverse the roles, Helmir corrected him by putting a flick on his forehead, I would never have thought that you considered me like that. And anyway, you look so weak that we want to take you under our wing, said the elf in a falsely ironic way.
- That's it, yes.
Then Helmir had a flash. She remembered that she had something on her person for him. She took out a sheet of paper from her pocket and gave it to the Hero.
- The place where you have to go for your training.
- What for?
- To train you.
- What for?" he repeated.
- To get stronger, I guess.
- What for?" he repeated once more. I don't need it, he declined, I'm strong enough. I can take on anyone in this kingdom.
- If you say so. But it's someone special you're going to do this training with, it's worth it. I think so. Recommended by the queen, she added, and as you said to that lady, you don't have to do anything, so go instead of toking every day.
The Hero grumbled but accepted the invitation.
Helmir took out of his pocket a medallion with a strange turquoise inscription on it.
- Since you don't have your demon sword anymore, you can't use the "Elephant Step" that I'm having such a hard time putting on it. So, have a second one.
- Thanks, that's nice!" he enthused.
He'll be even later since he has the opportunity to go faster, Helmir thought.
And as he put on his medallion and put it under his top, Helmir went away into the shadows and the Hero only heard his footsteps fleeing in an unknown direction. If he were ever to face him, it would be one of the hardest fights he would ever face.
- Congratulations on your second victory!" said Helmir, whose voice could be heard throughout the cave.
It was true that he had just won his second match in the arena. He had completely forgotten that. He only had four more to go before it was the Fairy's turn to prove herself worthy of succeeding Queen Audiselia. After that, he would resume his pursuit of the chimera that was Nemesis and her troop of filth. He wondered, at the same time, how it was that Albedo was separated from the other Nemesis. He had too few elements to identify any anomaly in their behavior.
In the meantime, he was going to go to the place of this special training with this person recommended by the illustrious queen on the decline of Sylvania.
- Thank you!" he replied.
At the royal guard barracks, where the guards and future guards who were or will be in charge of protecting the court nobles and the queen herself resided and trained, his future trainer was waiting for him, preparing the various scarecrows and targets to test the Hero, but he didn't think he particularly needed them. He did enchant a few of them to see how he would react in an unexpected situation, but from what he could see, the Hero had an amazing ability to adapt.
But he was going to test it, no matter if he was Elena's son, in Queen Audisélia's papers or the hero of the legend who is supposed to deliver the world from the darkness which invaded it bla bla bla...
If this hero wanted to win his princess and defeat the Nemesis, he was going to have to outdo himself to at least defeat him, the Commander of the Queen's Saints legion, the Sylvania army, the first royal guard and former champion of the twenty-sixth queen of Sylvania.
Among the din of the soldiers' armor and weapons, the noise of the crates being moved and the shouts of the soldiers during their training, led by the different generals of the capital, Sawyer perceived the footsteps of the Hero, but also the particular aura that surrounded him, the oppressive emptiness that accompanied him at every moment.
As he came in, the routine noise of the barracks began to fade before disappearing completely, leaving only a silence disturbed by the sound of the Hero's footsteps pounding the floor.
Everyone was watching.
Few of them knew about it, but the rumor had spread that a human had fought the queen, that it was the hero of the legend, and that he had survived this monstrous confrontation. But with the version brought by the queen during the tournament, this hearsay no longer made sense.
Observed by all, some spat at his approach, others threw him black looks filled with hatred and contempt. He didn't care about the attention he was getting, he had come to see the one who claimed to be able to make him stronger and prove to him that he was already strong enough. He walked towards the only man he knew, who was standing nonchalantly against a training scarecrow, a small smile and a straw in the corner of his mouth.
- By Osgul, you've come to me," Sawyer said in a falsely surprised tone.
- Did you bring me here?" asked the Hero with arms crossed and lacking patience.
- Yes, you do. You seem more than eager to follow my training.
- No. I'm more than eager to prove that I don't need this so-called training.
Sawyer laughed happily at this vain assertion.
- You're pretty arrogant for someone who could only rely on his immortality to survive the onslaught of a mere fairy.
Sawyer's subordinates took offense at his words; it was blasphemy to belittle the ruler of Sylvania to this extent. But no one could judge him because, apart from the queen-and the late Triface-he was the highest authority in the kingdom.
- For you, it is a simple fairy? Funny. While there are people who consider her a goddess here, from what I've heard.
- If the Church of the Holy Fairy still existed, I would have had my wings ripped off, but since they were swept aside by the Fairy, I can badmouth the queen all I want, he said, shaking his head dismissively, but back to you, my nameless human boy: if you really think you're up to the task of defeating the number one in the great Sylvania army, then prepare to be taught the lesson of your life!
No sooner had he tried to throw himself on top of him than the Hero was pinned to the ground. The queen's bodyguard was simply waving his index and middle fingers at the hero.
- Extreme gravity spell: Painful Gravity.
The Hero found himself unable to make the slightest movement, pressed down by an incredible gravity that weighed him down more and more until he dropped to one knee.
- Seriously... To be fooled by such a crafty spell... Most soldiers can get out of such an absurd trap," Sawyer taunted him, "but it's true that you're totally devoid of magic, so you can only suffer my spell.
- Do you think so?
Raising his arm against the intense gravity he was undergoing, Sawyer was distracted for a moment by the strange gesture of his future student, this single moment allowed the Hero to evaporate into thin air, disappearing from the eyes of the crowd that was beginning to gather around them. It was indeed thanks to the necklace offered by Helmir that he could reproduce the feat he had accomplished in the arena. He reappeared in a flash of turquoise light, behind the Queen's bodyguard, ready to strike him in the back of the head.
- As with the lizard man," said Sawyer identifying the technique used by the Hero, "unfortunately, I know this 'racial technique' well...
Guessing exactly where his opponent was, Sawyer grabbed his arm and tackled him to the ground, blocking him with an arm lock.
- For fairies, you're pretty valiant," said the Hero, trying to free himself from Sawyer's grip.
- We are already aware that we are a different kind of fairies compared to the others. It is because of our ancestors who were fairies who liked to fight and who had a human size, which is more or less rare among ours, that we have this undeniable advantage over the other races who expect to face weak fairies having only magic to defend themselves, he explained, but that should not make us arrogant because we are not the only fairies with a human size who handle weapons. Otherwise, will you give up?
- I can very well break my arm and put it back together later...
- Considering how we had to fix you when you came before you even took the miracle bath, I would like to avoid that...
- Then I'll rip my arm off..., suggested the human excited by the position he was in.
- At the price of a great stamina and an excessive accumulation of tiredness, retorted Sawyer to him, it is for that reason that in the tournament you preferred to finish the fight quickly, even if it means to shock the morals of the inhabitants of this kingdom. Forget it and give up.
- Never! I don't have to fight against someone much weaker than the Nemé...
The commander of the Sylvania army silenced him by casting the Silencio spell.
- Don't talk about "it", Sawyer whispered to him, people already have a hard time accepting that the hero of the legend can exist and that it gives you the right to stay here, but if you start to say the name of this abominable thing, I don't think it will pass. Come on, get up.
Sawyer got up and helped him to his feet. And as soon as the Hero got back on his feet, he wanted to fight again, so the guard decided that he needed to be taught a lesson so that he would understand that even though he was the hero of the legend, there was always a way to defeat the insurmountable... especially if he was human.
Before the hero could execute his move, the fairy hit him in the shoulder, immobilizing him, and he was taken by a devastating headache, making him bend his knee to the ground.
Was it a technique that was unknown to him?
The use of any spell?
No. Far from it.
It was a simple, well-placed blow where his arm had been sliced off, right where one of the nanomachine pins that had been implanted in his body five years ago was located.
He hated feeling that pain from those biomechanical microbes, especially when one of the parts of his body, containing one of the regenerating pins, was touched.
- You're right: you are strong. And maybe even talented, but not strong enough to claim to be as strong as your mother. If I can beat you, then imagine what your enemies that you hate so much can do.
- You managed to defeat me because you know one of my weaknesses..., the Hero said breathlessly.
- If you didn't have so many openings, it would never have happened," he contradicts, "especially since you don't even bother to give it your all against me...
A shiver ran down the spine of everyone outside the barracks, stopping the conflict between the Hero and Sawyer, both turned in the direction of the source of their shiver.
It was Queen Audiselia who had just arrived. And as usual, when she was still suffering from acute laziness, and when riding in a carriage bored her, she ran through the city at lightning speed. The notable drawback of this electric race was that when she landed, an electric discharge was released under her feet, strong enough to electrify the people around her.
- Didn't I tell you to learn how to land properly when you make your run?" her bodyguard reprimanded her, "You're already taking over your bodyguard in my absence...
- Don't be so rigid. It's my day out, I didn't want to be surrounded by people I don't share any chemistry with," she said, winking at the Hero.
He didn't understand what she was getting at with her expression. Sawyer rubbed his eyes in exasperation.
Can't she stop making a spectacle of herself?
- I don't understand Franca, and speak it even less compared to her or the other Nobles, but what she meant is similar to "having Estep's blood stirred"? he whispered to the Hero.
- Yes..., I guess...
She could talk to him frankly, instead of making foot calls to establish friendship...
He sighed before bowing to her in greeting and everyone else in attendance did the same, except the Hero.
- Do the same," Sawyer ordered him.
- I have already told you that I will not bow down to anyone...
- And I told you that it was not serious, she reassured him, get up, you others.
Sawyer wanted to tell him to go away and let him carry out his experiment, but then thought about it and decided that he might as well observe the two of them.
- So how is the training going?" asked Audiselia to the Hero.
- We haven't started yet, we just did a little fight to see how we measure up...
- Hum, I see, she nodded, anyway, you are the hero of the legend, you must be as strong as your mother, I am sure.
- I don't think so, ma'am," he refuted with an embarrassed look, "she will always be stronger than me.
The leader of the Royal Horse Saints squinted.
- It's true that she was really strong, she was the only being on this earth who could stand up to me...
- Queen Audiselia, I think you should leave, Sawyer told her, especially since new information on the army that is far away has been transmitted to us, in addition to some that concern this sect that is hiding in our kingdom.
- It's true that I still have to deal with this, she sighed, I'll let you go about your business as men.
- Goodbye, said all the soldiers in the barracks in unison.
- Goodbye, my... aunt," the hero tried to say.
So this is the status you chose for me..., thought the queen, so be it.
The queen greeted them with her hand and joined General Kiliyam to discuss the situation of this army that was far from their kingdom.
Sawyer took the Hero's shoulder and indicated that they would both go to the top of a tower that was right behind them.
At the top, the Hero understood that it was a training ground, the bodyguard had taken with him the scarecrows, he arranged them in the middle of the field.
- Is that what I'm going to fight?
- Now? No. You'll still be fighting me. I must admit, catching you off guard with my magic wasn't very fair.
- On the battlefield, there is no such thing as fair play.
- That's the spirit... Nevertheless, for now, I'm not training you, I'm testing you.
- It's even worse than I thought..., the Hero got annoyed, I thought my fight against the queen was more than enough!
- Absolutely not to beat the Nemesis," Sawyer retorted, "but it's that fight that tells me I still need to see something before I adjust your training.
He took swords from a barrel and threw them at the Hero.
- Here are the two swords you ordered from the blacksmith.
The Hero tested them by whipping the air with them.
- It's a beautiful work, isn't it?
- Yeah.
- Know that they are customizable as you wish since they are technomagic.
- It was better to give me magic swords directly.
- Have you never had technomagic and magic weapons to know the difference between the two?
- No. Apart from the armor that you should, by the way, give back to me one day, I have never been in possession of any technomagic or magical weapon. I've only fought magical ones.
- I see. So let me explain the disadvantages and advantages of both: magical weapons are created directly from the magic of its "summoner", so to speak. This weapon then designed from the mind of its user has a power equal to the maximum of its magic, however, this incredible power tests the weapon to break it into a thousand pieces.
- Is it the same principle as enchanted weapons?
- Not quite. Enchanted armies are basically simple weapons that have been coated with magic to make them more powerful, but they only use half of their enchanter's magic potential. Only those that have been crafted with expert workmanship by an expert blacksmith and combined with powerful magic from an erudite magician can claim to be equal to a magical or technomagical weapon.
- So what is a technomagic or neomagic weapon?
- Ah, you're up to date with the terms! said the surprised bodyguard, the arms dealer must have explained to you that neomagic weapons and armors are different because they use magic as a living being would: by assimilating magic directly into it. Neomagic weapons, not to be confused with neomagic, use the magical power of stones that are difficult to create with one's own magic and of special gems, but not necessarily, that are inserted into absorption circles. And from this, the weapons are able to use the magic of the inserted stone(s) with more or less power depending on the physical and psychic abilities of its user.
- So even non-magicians can use all these weapons.
- That's right. But for now, there's nothing inserted in your weapons, so you're going to fight me empty.
- Another fight..., grumbled the Hero, the first one didn't amuse me.
- The queen has not entrusted me with your training so that you can have fun, the knight rebuked him, for the moment I want to verify a certainty that I have about you and the queen, and which, potentially, is proven by the spy Helmir.
The Hero gripped his two new weapons tightly and charged at his opponent, running at full speed, his blades whistling through the air and striking the right side of the fairy's armor.
- Fast... but predictable.
Red runes lit up on Sawyer's armor and a force field pushed the Hero away before disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.
- When?
- While I was explaining to you the principle of the different "magic" weapons, he revealed to her, you are not concentrated enough to be able to defeat me... but above all, how can you have the audacity to hold back, the queen and you?
- Right?
Sawyer removed his armor and revealed his chest.
- Do you see a single scratch? A single hematoma after your blow? Don't play with my nerves! Even if your curse is in stasis, don't tell me that's all the hero of the legend has in him! The one who must slay the darkness of the heavens and strike down the Evil One to bring light back to the world?" ranted Sawyer. "Aren't you and Audiselia ashamed to be holding back stupidly because of your unconditional love for Elena?
- What are you talking about?
- Of your boundless admiration for Elena. You again, I want to understand because she is your mother... but it's still excess. And thanks to you, in quotes, I can finally understand why you do this. And it is because you have so much admiration that you are afraid to go beyond it.
- What are you talking about?" said the Hero, as if I didn't have to be stronger...
Sawyer took his armor and threw it to the Hero, who caught it in mid-air.
- Do you know what this armor is made of?
- In ardesium or some other crap you tied me up with.
- No way. Your swords would have exploded him, it's a very good material to make chains or to constrain someone but certainly not to protect oneself. And since your swords were made of a metal alloy like voliarinium, they would have devoured him. No, my armor was made of iron.
- Right?
What a twist, my friends.
Iron has become a basic metal in this period of all fantasies. It is only used as a base for certain alloys or to build test tools to check the reliability and viability of new tools or creations before moving on to much rarer materials such as Lilinel wood - Lilinel which is an evil creature from an evil tree found in the forest of the Black Magmirs, in the north of the land of the Amstertis red mills. These woods are highly prized for their magical conductivity.
But in a world where creatures resist the most powerful bombs built by mankind, it's not a scrap metal sword that will make the difference...
- I would have thought it was mithril...
- Because I barely polished it, don't let it fool you. Anyway, I don't know if it's consciously or unconsciously that you're limiting your abilities but you should fix it.
Would his abilities be restricted? Unthinkable. Just a few days ago he was cutting up a wolf with the strength of his hands alone. With such an act, one could not say that he was limiting his abilities, especially since they were already limited by the seal that had been placed on his body.
This Sawyer must have been playing him, he thought.
- And I want you to know, even if you don't believe a word I say, that you are stubbornly unaware of this blockage, and as a result you are putting yourself and your loved ones at risk, Nameless. Never mind your immortality and regeneration. One last thing, don't think that just because you beat these tournament clowns that you are all-powerful. Even Tarkus...
- Are you done?" raged the Hero.
- Yes.
- So I'm leaving.
- Come back next week, I'll find you a suitable training.
- If I feel like it.
The Hero came down from the tower more than a little grumpy.
Sawyer's words had really irritated him. Yet the bodyguard had not meant any harm: he had just given him his observations made by comparing two people he knew. But the Hero sensed that the man who claimed to be one of his mother's friends had a real resentment towards her. Perhaps it was the way he spoke or his mind that was playing tricks on him?
However, what bothered him the most was the fact that he might think he wasn't giving it his all. That would mean that during his journey, he could have saved so many people that were within his reach, with the strength he had acquired...
It made him very angry. It was the fault of that damn Will that forced them to be unable to save anyone because the only duty was to save the world, not the people in it. He could have some leeway, but when Fate drifted...
Ironic, isn't it, that he complained about this injustice, while he hated the people of this world. Even when he was reborn in this abominable form, his naive, compassionate nature and quest for justice for all would not leave him.
And yet, he had to get rid of it to carry out his "ambition"... unhealthy...
Above the tower, Sawyer was still practicing with the scarecrows, perfecting his spear skills without using glyphs. He thought about what he had just said to the Hero; he didn't think he had been too hard on him, he had just put some lead in his brain so that he could understand that he would be capable of so much more if he didn't let himself go. But he admitted to himself that he was a coward for not being able to say those same words to Audiselia.
This made him tense.
Yet both had the same inordinate love for this woman. But, even though he thought it strongly, Elena did not seem to be the only reason he was bridling himself like this.
Now that the power of the curse was cancelled, and his heroic power was diminished by the lack of boost that the curse provided, and the weakening that the seal added to it, his abilities were weakened but he didn't think they were weakened to the point that he became a regular human again, already that was impossible since he had a genetic attribute in him - whether it was faulty or not, that wasn't the concern.
Perhaps he had been too abrupt when he mentioned his mother. The Hero had to believe that he hated her... To deny, any animosity towards her, would be a lie, but she was still his friend... It was just that...
No, he was not to think of the dead, "only the living can be rescued", as his late father used to say. He will do everything to save Audisélia from her evil lineage, even if it means that she hates him, and will not let anyone interfere with it.
Speaking of the queen, maybe he should go see how the war council is going. Although he already knew the conclusion of this puppet meeting: no one will act until Audiselia has ordered it, so it will just be a matter of trying to convince her to go to war.
Let's hope she doesn't give in to conformity like she did in the past..., Sawyer thought.
In the meeting room, discussions were heated: many were in favor of intervening, others of going on a tangent by digging up the legs of Oterrapin - another name for the turtle, sometimes called Ratasquel Oterrapin - to get away from this evil army, and a minority advocated passivity.
- If they had wanted to attack us, they would have done so already," Captain Krine defended himself.
- What do you know about it?" the general Tzamirin challenged him, as if you had really lived through the war, you are just a youngster.
- Coming from a nobleman who hid behind the forcibly conscripted poor of the Nether..., Captain Krine retorted.
- I don't need to take lessons from a common leper elf from the Nether!
- But what does the human on a donkey's body want from me?
- Calm down. Calm down," General Kiliyam reminded them, "this is not the way to behave in the presence of our queen.
He unrolled a huge scroll, waving his fingers in the air, and a map of the land of Kano appeared. As in the previous information she had received, Audisélia noticed that this strange army was still on the border of this volcanic territory. What she found astonishing was the size of this army, it was equivalent to that of Sylvania, however, it had a notable difference compared to all those that the kingdom had faced during its existence: they were composed, for the most part, only of undead.
Whether they were guided by great necromancers or whether they were guided by their own instincts, and thus had retained intelligence while alive, remained to be seen.
This would determine the course of action to be taken.
- Have we received a declaration of war since?" asked Queen Audiselia.
- Still not.
One of Audisélia's old tics returned, her cheek twitched uncontrollably, but one really had to be a keen observer to notice it. However, it really irritated her that it was reappearing now. It could only be a bad omen. She tried not to believe it, however, the last time it had appeared was when she had lost control of her body.
Her generals brought her out of her thoughts by calling her repeatedly.
- Huh? Uh... What were we talking about again?
- How to proceed.
- Sincerely," intervened the bespectacled Norgul advisor, Ijiluan, "our current organization does not allow us to go to war, and according to our rites, which you all know, we cannot fight until the selection of the new queen is determined. Leaving a war in the hands of a new and inexperienced queen could cause the downfall of everything we have established then, especially since it is her champion who would become the new supreme commander of the armies of Sylvania and I can't imagine a mere child commanding our generals here. If you're going to fight a war, it has to be worth it, he warns her, because they may just be passing through.
- It is true, admitted the queen, it is not the first time that we meet the road of a "dead armada", considering our ignorance on the subject we cannot predict their behavior, but it is better not to tease them.
- In addition? asked the captain.
- Besides, we don't do anything until further notice... from me!" she emphasized, "because I know you, I've let you off the hook too much before, and what happened in the past, must never happen again. Was I clear?
- Affirmative, ma'am," they said in unison.
Audisélia left the room and after closing the door, she remained at the door step, staring at her azure crystal bracelet. Although her hue had not been disturbed for so many years, this bad feeling she had, ever since she learned about this army, gave her a cold sweat. Even more so when the Hero came in contact with the Nemesis. She hoped from the bottom of her heart that this ominous impression was only due to her fertile imagination, otherwise...!
Only the gods of the higher pantheon could keep it.
- I think I failed, Elena... My heart was still not so pure to forgive them... like that boy, no doubt.
The day progressed to the next day, and our hero found himself surrounded by a family of fairies and a dwarf guest.
Let's hope that everything goes well...