Heroes

After saving the King, we get ready to depart in search of Leviathan.

"So, where exactly are we going to?"

"There is a town in the west called Serpent's Nest. It is a town filled with outlaws. One of those outlaws, in particular, is who we want to capture."

"And he is?"

"She is a former Valkyrie Knight. Elsie Bloom. She is quite dangerous, even more so than Erika here."

I look at Erika and say, "Not to be disrespectful, but how powerful is Erika?"

She clutches her sword and says, irritated, "How about we find out?"

"Erika. Put your blade away, we do not have time for..."

I raise my hand and say, "Wait. I want to play this out."

"What?" Rai stares at me and says, "Fine. I will allow it; however, only for a minute. Elsie will not remain in Serpent's Nest forever."

"A minute is all I need," I say, smiling. We stand opposite each other. "Are you okay with this?" I ask her.

"If you continue your conceited way, then this will be a short battle," she says, irritated.

"Conceited? That is not quite right. Being conceited means I take pride in myself; however..."

She charges me before I finish my sentence. She draws her sword and slashes me, screaming, "Sakura Style: Heavenly Bloom." She feigns a downward strike but drops her body down and goes for a slash from the ground up.

Is this Illusion Magic?

The slash strikes me across the chest. She jumps back and smiles, "How was that?"

"As I was saying," I say, as I appear behind her. I knock her unconscious and continue, "I don't take pride in myself. I just know that I am going to win."

"W-what did you just do?" asks Rai, surprised.

"It's called Shadow Step. Humans use two methods to detect others. One is by sight. The other is by detecting mana. By suppressing my mana to the point where detection is impossible, I eliminate mana detection. Then by moving faster than the speed of light, I can eliminate sight detection. There are more ways than just flaunting your power to win. That is why I know I will win."

After healing Erika, she regains consciousness. She bows before Rai. "I apologise, Lady Rai. Due to my weakness, I lost."

"Don't worry about that, Erika. You put up a great fight." She looks at me, "It seems we still have many things to learn."

After that, Erika would beg me to train her. Day after day. She would bow down, clenching her teeth. As someone as prideful as her, I never would have expected her to do this. Does it mean that much to her?

"Why do you want me to train you? I'm not even proficient in sword skills. If you need a sword instructor, you could ask Seanan or Niklaus."

"I do not want sword training!!" she yells, surprising me. "Nothing is wrong with my swordsmanship; however, I have never had a magic instructor. Please, Haruki. No, Lord Haruki, become my magic instructor. Please!!"

I have a feeling this will continue until I say yes. "Sigh, Fine. We start tomorrow."

A wide smile envelops her face and sparkles glint in her eyes. "I won't let you down, Master!!"

"Master?"

Erika, jubilated, runs into the woods and starts training. "That girl has a tough exterior, but she is quite a softy," says Rai, taking a seat next to me.

"Rai?"

"Yes, Haruki."

"What exactly are you doing?" I ask her.

"I am only resting my head on you," she says. She looks up at me with puppy dog eyes and asks, "Do you not want me to?"

"N-no, you can continue."

She continues with a smile on her face.

After a few minutes of silence, I ask her, "Hey, Rai. Erika is a hero, right?"

"Yes, she is the Sakura Kingdom's hero. How did you know?"

"Her sword. It's the legendary sword, Excalibur. Only heroes can wield legendary weapons."

"I'm surprised you know that."

"Well, Niklaus did shout out the sword's name when we first saw it."

"I forgot about that," she says, giggling.

"She's also not from this world, is she?"

Rai stops laughing. She looks at me, shocked. Then she says, "No, she's not."

"I get the same feeling from Niklaus. He does not smell like a human from Leagard. You know something, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Who exactly are the heroes? Or should I ask what are they?"

"The heroes," she says silently, "are, as you said, not from Leagard." She gets up and says, "Do you believe in reincarnation?"

"As in being reborn after you die?"

"Yes."

"Well, I have seen a Phoenix rise from the ashes before. So, reincarnation wouldn't be that far a stretch."

"Heroes are humans from a parallel universe."

"A parallel universe?"

"Yes. From a universe where magic exists only in fairy tales. Heroes like Niklaus and Erika were born into our world after they died in theirs."

"Do they know this?"

"No, Erika, and I assume Niklaus as well, are oblivious to this fact."

"Then how do you know?"

"It is written in the Royal Scroll."

"Royal Scroll?"

"Yes. It is a scroll written by the Progenitor God, Kreo Supreme. It contains all knowledge about heroes."

Progenitor God? "Does this scroll mention the importance of heroes?"

Rai looks around for a second, before saying, "The heroes are born as weapons to fight against the Order of the Fly."

"The Order of the Fly? Are they not the organisation that will initiate war on everyone?"

"Yes. This organisation, despite being dormant for the last few centuries, still brings fear throughout Leagard. So much so, that schools educate students on them."

"How big is their organisation to spread more fear than the Illuminati?"

"It's not the quantity of their organisation, but the quality of their members. The Order of the Fly consisted of only five members."

"Only five?"

"Yes, only five. However, even with that number, we could not figure out their identities."

"Why?"

Rai clenches her fist, and says, "Because whenever someone comes in contact with a member from their organisation, they do not survive to tell the tale."

I see. So, the spies get eliminated before they can disclose information on the organisation. "If I fought against a member of their organisation, would I win?" I ask her.

"From the tales spread about their strength, I would say you will put up a decent fight; however, the victor will go to whoever can outsmart their opponent."

So, if I fight recklessly, I will lose. Then I need to be on guard when I come face-to-face with them. Night sends his goodbyes as day breaks. Erika, anxiously awaiting my arrival, cannot suppress her excitement.

"So, Erika..."

"Yes, Sir!!"

Her sudden scream startles me. "Calm down," I say nervously. "Is learning magic really this exciting?"

She blushes and says, "The truth is, I never learnt magic. I only focused on swordsmanship."

"I see. Then we need to start from scratch, right?"

"Y-Yes."

Her excitement reminds me of my first time learning magic. How long ago was that I wonder? "Well then, Erika, do you know what mana control is?" 

"Yes. Mana control is essential for swordsmanship. Especially for women. If we learn how to control the mana in our bodies, we can overcome the physical gap that separates men from women."

"Good. Then we need to figure out your magic."

"How are we going to do that?"

"There are many ways to determine your magic compatibility. The one we will be using, though, is quite an ancient method."

"Ancient method? Is it divination through a water medium?"

"Yes, it is. How did you know?"

"I never focused on training my magic; however, I always loved studying magic."

She loves both swordsmanship and magic. She has the makings of a Paladin. However, her magic will tell me whether she can become one, or not. After transforming into my Fólkvangr mode, I use earth magic to create a small crater in the ground and water magic to fill the crater with water.

"Water magic and earth magic? Is your compatibility not Healing Magic?"

"Yes, Healing Magic is my speciality; however, it feels like I'm compatible with every magic when I transform. Like I am accepted by mana itself."

"Accepted by mana itself? What does that mean?"

"It's an unexplainable feeling. Anyway, let us continue. Place your hands above the water and pour your mana into it."

She places her hands above the water and pours her mana into the water as I order. The water becomes murky for a short while. Then it returns to its vibrant clearness. Neon orbs start emitting from the water's surface. They gather around Erika. "Beautiful," she says, mesmerised.

Indeed. This is a beautiful sight. And this confirms it. "Erika," I say, "Your magic, is Energy Magic."

"Energy Magic? I have never heard of that magic before."

"I doubt many people know about this magic. That is because Energy Magic is Lost Magic."

"Lost magic!" she exclaims. "Magic lost in time. Magic so powerful, you could raise war against an entire Kingdom by yourself."

"Yes, lost magic is the rarest type of magic. It's magic that rivals Ancient Magic. Energy magic is even rarer though, even among lost magic abilities."

"But what exactly can energy magic do?"

"Energy magic allows you to manipulate the energy that surrounds you."

"Energy?"

I grab a stick lying near us and draw a picture as I explain. "Energy comes in two forms: Kinetic and Potential energy. From that, you can draw on the power of science to fight your battles."

"Kine... what?"

"Wait, does Leagard not research science?"

"T-they do… but…"

"Sigh, You don't study it, do you?" She shakes her head. "Fine, I will drill everything I know about science. So, you better prepare yourself, Erika Blade."

Three weeks pass. We finally reach Serpent's Nest. Before arriving, I thought finding Elsie would prove challenging; however, finding her was easier than I would have expected.