Heilder Kingdom

"Why did you seek me out, Princess Rai?" asks Elsie, wiping her weary eyes.

"We need your help defeating Leviathan."

"Leviathan!?" she gasps. She looks in my direction, and asks, "Why would you need me when you have a walking disaster next to you? If anything, I'd say Haruki here could easily handle Leviathan by himself."

"That would be impossible," I confess.

"Why? You haven't even met Leviathan yet. And, if you use that white-haired form of yours, you could defeat anyone."

"There's a limit to my transformation."

"A limit? And what would that be?" asks Rai.

"When I use that form, I hear a voice whisper in my ear."

"A voice? What does it say?"

My chest tightens up as I recall the sinister female voice. "'Kill them... Kill them all!!' is what she says." The memories from before flash through my mind. "I can suppress the voice; however, if I use it longer than a certain period, I can feel a presence inside me trying to rob me of my conscience."

"And what is that period?"

"Five minutes."

"Only five?" asks Rai, shocked. "After hearing what Elisabeth told us about Leviathan, this battle would be much longer than five minutes."

"Yes, that is why we need all the help we can get."

"I understand," says Elsie. "So, do you know where Leviathan is?"

"I was hoping you would know, Elsie."

"I do know someone who might know; however, that person has been held in the Heilder Kingdom as a prisoner for a few weeks now."

"The Heilder Kingdom!?" screams Rai. "Of all places, it had to be that kingdom."

"The Heilder Kingdom?" I ask. "If I'm not mistaken, they are the kingdom defying our mystery villain and attacking the Borneheimer Kingdom, right?"

"Right."

"But why is it bad that our informant is jailed in the Heilder Kingdom?"

"That kingdom is known as the Land of Snow. This is mainly because that land only has snowy weather. The other reason why it's called the Land of Snow is because of its cruel leadership. The King of the Heilder Kingdom is a cold-hearted man. I met him once. His aura was cold and distant. Father warned me to never get near him."

"So, you are afraid our only lead has been executed by the Heider Kingdom?" She nods her head. "How long will it take to reach the Heilder Kingdom?"

"If we take a train, we will arrive in three days."

"I can get us there in one." I lead them outside and start transforming into my dragon form. "With my dragon form, I can travel much faster than your machines."

"This is the first time I've seen a dragon," says Rai in awe. "It is majestic."

"Hop on," I say. After they get on my back, I spread my wings wide. It's been long since I flew in the sky. I flap my wings and the surrounding buildings topple from the wind pressure. We take flight.

"Amazing!!" screams Rai, excited. "So, this is how flying feels like.

"I'm sorry," I say to Elsie, who has her eyes fixed on the destroyed town.

"What's there to be sorry about? The town was destroyed four years ago. I have nothing left."

"No, you're wrong, Elsie," I say. "As long as you live, then that town will never truly be gone."

Her eyes are filled with tears. She smiles, and says, "Thank you, Haruki."

The flight was shorter than I expected. We arrived in the Heilder Kingdom in five hours. After arriving, I land a few hundred metres away from the nearest town. "So, this is the Heilder Kingdom." I look around. "It really is only snow."

"Why did you... drop us so far... from the town...?" asks Erika, shivering.

"Erika, are you perhaps someone who can't handle cold temperatures?"

She flinches. "N-no..." she stutters, "of course... I can handle... this mild weather."

I see. Well... she's hopeless. I turn around and enter my Fólkvangr mode. "I purposely landed far from the town," I reassure her. "This town is heavily guarded by powerful mages. They set up a barrier to detect mana signatures. Since we are foreigners, they will arrest us on the spot. To avoid this, I will have to set up a barrier of my own."

"A barrier? What will the barrier do?" asks Elsie.

"It will obscure us from the enemy's barrier. It's the first spell I learned from Grandpa."

"Your Grandfather?"

I look up to the sky. "Grandpa was my only family. He said my parents died when I was very young, and he took me in."

"Was? Does that mean...?"

"Hmm... Oh, no. Grandpa has been alive for aeons. There are only five monsters more powerful than Grandpa, but even then, they could not kill him without losing something. It's just... when I was summoned here to this realm, I never got to say goodbye to Grandpa. It all happened so suddenly. And when I arrived here, I was nearly forced to obey a tyrant."

"Was that tyrant... Judge Borneheimer?" asks Rai.

"Yes. At the moment of my summoning, Niklaus was the one who brought me to this world. However, his father only wanted to use him - the future hero - to summon a powerful summoning. Had I not gone berserk, there is no telling what would have happened. But because of my inexperience, I took the lives of millions."

"It was not your fault, Haruki," comforts Rai. "Niklaus is also not to blame. It was Judge Borenheimer's greed for power that took those lives. And he would have taken more lives had he succeeded in controlling you. So, do not beat yourself up and let's continue on our mission. If we succeed, we can save this realm from the evil trying to claim it."

I walk away from her, and say, "Yeah, you're right. I should focus on our current mission." I turn to the three of them and start chanting, "Aeeitlicnt chpea erlsgn n msta smgoemiesigatiea ie. Hrlimosofrgd eeednb mtur necisni. Barrier Magic: Detection Shield."

For an instant, a blue-green light envelops everyone's bodies.

"So, we can enter the village now?" asks Erika, at her limit.

"Yes," I say. We walk into the barrier. It feels like a breeze blows by.

"Was that the barrier?" asks Rai.

"Yes, it seems the spell is working perfectly." We continue walking through the thick veil of snow. Our walk leads us to the area I saw earlier. When we finally see the village, we all stand in shock.

"Haruki... This was the village you were speaking about... right?" questions Elsie.

"This can't be..." I say, looking at a desert of snow. Where's the village?