Nameless Hero (1)

The Emerald Fairy, Sylphia, once said this to mankind.

Offer me the bones and flesh of the deceased.

I shall consume them and bestow eternal life upon this land.

The Astrea Duchy of the Zelver Empire was a hub of commerce brought forth by the harmony of lush green trees and wide paved roads.

It was a territory under the command of Duke Gerald Astrea, the Empire's Hero and Sword Saint.

And it was also where the blessing of Emerald Fairy-Sylphia was bequeathed.

However, even such a reputation would naturally be rendered meaningless in the face of the ever-changing seasons. As proof of this, the forest encompassing the Astrea Duchy endured the winter, cloaked in white snow.

Kaya Astrea, a noble girl with verdant green twin tails, traversed the snowy field within that very forest.

Up ahead, thin ice floated by a tranquil lakeside. And at the heart of it all, an ancient arbor gigantes towered over a tiny island, extending towards the heavens.

People referred to this tree as the 'Covenant of Life'; An arbor gigantes grown to its current state by the seeds sown from the pact between mankind and the Emerald Fairy.

This tree, unlike others, did not lose its lush green leaves to the bitter winter cold, as it was shrouded by plant mana. If the Land of the Fire Blossoms Horan had their Flame of Desire, the Astrea Duchy had this eternally viridescent tree as their symbol.

As Kaya approached, the plant mana of nature resonated around the Covenant of Life.

And the light-green mana of nature took on the form of fireflies, as they began to float around in the air.

"Sylphia!"

Kaya called the name of her precious friend, but her voice scattered weakly into the forest.

"Sylphia, Kaya is here!"

Silence.

During summer and winter break, the Emerald Fairy-Sylphia never revealed her presence to Kaya.

At this point, even if the other party was a fairy, she couldn't help but be concerned.

After wrapping her body in a light green wind, Kaya floated across the lake and reached the Covenant of Life.

Leaning against the tree, she started channeling her plant mana. Perhaps the Emerald Fairy would appear after perceiving it.

However, no matter how much time passed, there was no sign of Sylphia appearing whatsoever.

"Today was fruitless as well…"

Kaya sighed deeply before pushing her back off the tree.

Once again, she wrapped a light green wind around her body and crossed the lake, before eventually making landfall. And right as she was about to leave the forest…

"…!"

Suddenly, a sensation sent a shiver down Kaya's spine; it was an ominous mana that was now all too familiar to her.

Astrea Duchy. A location quite far from here.

On top of an open ridge, black clouds formed in the blink of an eye and spread wildly, before swirling around a central point.

Eerie cries echoed in the air. Under the maelstrom of clouds, dark mana began to ceaselessly overlap on top of each other, as if stacking bricks.

After this construction was completed at terrifying speeds, an entity, massive yet elongated enough to touch the sky, scattered dark mana and revealed itself to the world.

Its pitch-black form was akin to a pillar. Or perhaps, the shape of a tower.

At first, it seemed like a structure, however, it wouldn't take one long to realize the fact that it was a singular entity.

The Devil Pillar. It possessed a physical form and anchored itself to the surface with its black roots.

Kaya's eyes momentarily widened, but she quickly regained her composure. After all, she had already encountered demons many times.

However… No matter how she looked at it, that one appeared extremely dangerous. Even when compared to the demons Kaya had faced at Märchen Academy, the power of that black tower would undoubtedly be on the stronger side.

Whooooosh───!!

After imbuing her body with light green wind magic, Kaya began to traverse the forest at high speeds.

She broke the sound barrier, letting out sonic booms in her wake and trees shook from the fierce winds.

[It's a demon. It looks quite dangerous.]

Her dark side whispered beside her with a signalment identical to Kaya. It was another version of her that only she could see.

With her crimson eyes raised chillingly, Dark Kaya glared at the Devil Pillar. No matter how fast Kaya moved, this personality stuck closely to her.

[If you don't want to die, don't have any foolish thoughts of running in alone.]

"I know. But still, there's nothing else I can do…!"

Due to Dark Kaya's influence, Kaya had a good gauge of the demon's power.

That black, tower-shaped demon would probably cultivate this area into its territory.

There would surely be many victims.

It just had to be at this time, when their most dependable combat asset was gone. Her father, the Sword Saint Gerald Astrea, had traveled far away with her mother, Historia, to receive the blessing of the Saintess; It was a ceremony performed at the end of each year.

Furthermore, summoning the Knight Order of the Astrea Household would take too long.

No matter how quickly the Imperial Court acted, it would take at least three days. Even if a special force of highly mobile elite members was formed, it would still require two days, at the very least.

Dark Kaya let out a sigh with her arms crossed.

"Pachi!"

[Pya!]

Kaya summoned her familiar Pachi, a flying squirrel with the wind element, on her shoulder.

"Go to the mansion immediately and deliver this. Go now! As quickly as possible!"

[Yessur!]

Kaya took out a red scroll and handed it to Pachi. It bore the crest of the Astrea Household, a design resembling the shape of a sword and tiger.

This was a signal to the Astrea Household. The red scroll indicated the highest level of danger, essentially conveying to 'eliminate the threat with full force'. There was no need to specify what that threat was.

Pachi saluted with perfect discipline, then jumped off Kaya's shoulder and spread the wing membrane on its flank widely.

As Pachi flew off, Kaya surged out her mana, as if pouring fuel, and cut through the air. The streaks of light green mana followed her like a tail.

***

"Tsk."

"Ian, are you okay?"

"I'm fine…!"

It was an unexpected crisis.

In order to get stronger over the winter break, Ian Fairytale had come to the Astrea Duchy, accepting one guild commission after the other.

And Amy, a girl who had a black rabbit ear ribbon attached to her short white hair, followed Ian as if it were a matter of course.

They had been finalizing a commission to hunt demonic creatures with two adventurers they had met in the Astrea Duchy.

But a demon that looked especially dangerous just had to emerge now of all times…

With a howl, the black tower shot out dark mana towards the sky. The large eyes consisting of red pupils were looking down at Ian.

The grotesque-shaped demon had a puffy, squirming exterior.

Huge inky beads hovered numerously, dotting the sky around it; They were prisons made of dark mana.

Ian hypothesized that the giant demon confined everyone in the area within those beads to absorb their mana.

Ian, who was swallowed by one of these dark beads, escaped with Amy by unleashing a sword strike infused with the light element.

The two adopted a combat stance, facing the Devil Pillar. Compared to the towering demon that touched the heavens, they as humans, appeared infinitely small.

However, Ian did not falter. Rather, he couldn't afford to.

High above, countless people were trapped inside the beads of dark mana. Despite the short time they had been together, he could not just leave behind the adventurer companions whom he had formed a rapport with, not to mention the innocent villagers nearby who were swept away by this chaos.

"I… will not lose…!"

He would save them all, no matter what. Ian strengthened his resolve and gripped his sword tightly with both hands.

─────[Kiriririririririk─────!!!]

At that moment, an unpleasant sound reverberated through the atmosphere.

And three dark rings surged up the black tower before rising above it.

Pshaaaaa───!!

"Keuk!"

"Kyaaak!"

From the three dark rings, pitch-black mana spread in every direction.

Reflexively, Ian, who was at the forefront, generated an illuminant.

And this light source formed a light elemental shield, protecting both himself and Amy.

While a storm raged and the ground crumbled, Ian's shield barely held off the shock delivered by the surrounding dark mana.

"Kuaaaaaaaah!!"

Ian unleashed a roar of determination. It was a battle of strength, yet, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

Attempting to defend against the attack of such an overwhelmingly formidable demon was ill-judged, to say the least.

It would have been more effective to partially neutralize the Devil Pillar by cutting it with a light elemental attack like [Radiant Wing Slash].

However, from Ian's perspective, it couldn't have been helped. After all, predicting and annulling the enemy's attack was extremely difficult, no matter how talented he was.

Crack──!

In the end, the light elemental shield shattered like glass.

And Ian, who had been at the forefront, received the full impact of the dark storm.

Sequentially, that shockwave flung Ian and Amy off the ground, leaving them to flounder helplessly in the air.

"Ian!!"

In mid-air, Amy snapped to attention, grabbing Ian's arm and pulling him towards her.

Chilly dark mana swept through the air.

In a flash, the top of the ridge had turned to ruin. The earth was haphazardly splintered and dyed black. Dark mana rose from the ground like acrid smoke.

Flying flocks of birds, varieties of plants, and animals roaming nearby all had their life force drained as they drooped feebly.

The Devil Pillar established his own distinct domain. This place had become a land of death blanketed with dark mana.

Kuooong.

Ian and Amy, who were in each other's embrace, fell back to the ground. All Amy could do was gaze at the motionless Ian with wide eyes.

"Ian!!"

Ian had fainted.

"This is not the time to faint! Quickly get uppp!!"

After lifting Ian's upper body, Amy shook his shoulders fiercely while welling up in tears.

However, no matter how much she shook him, Ian showed no signs of waking up from his deep slumber.

This is… a serious problem.

Without Ian, an existence capable of wielding divine power… How could she survive against such a demon on her own?

"Huh…?"

Soon, Amy felt all her strength draining out of her body.

It seemed that this area had truly become a land of death.

Amy bit her lips. Since such a massive demon had emerged and this was the Astrea Duchy, she had hoped for swift reinforcements from the Astrea Household… but it didn't seem like she could hold out until they arrived.

"…You really are high maintenance."

Even so, Amy couldn't give up.

Amy took the sword that Ian was holding and stood up.

With her back to the unconscious Ian, Amy faced the black tower and bravely pointed the sword at the demon extending toward the sky.

The difference in strength was abysmal.

She couldn't suppress her fear. Her hands holding the sword trembled uncontrollably. Her survival instincts screamed at her to run away immediately, but it was too late. Before she could escape this vast land of death, she would have no choice but to meet her end when her life force was extinguished. In the first place, there was no way that the demon would let Ian and Amy go.

She immediately threw away the ridiculous idea of negotiating with that black tower.

The only choice left was to fight.

Amy's flames followed along the blade, illuminating her eyes and skin.

At the same time, she unfolded a fire elemental magic circle above her head.

"Do you even know how much I like you? You dummy."

And Amy turned her head towards Ian and stuck out her tongue with a pout, as if she found him insufferable.

Crackle───!

She did not have the chance to speak any longer. As the demon unfurled a grand magic circle from behind, jet-black blades of darkness rained down.

Swallowing hard, Amy swung her sword clumsily, releasing a sword energy imbued with the fire element, and shot out a [Fireball] from the magic circle in order to resist it.

However, reality was often harsh.

No matter how much fire mana she poured out, she couldn't stop a single one of those dark blades.

Amy sensed death looming over her. So, this was how everything would end; Without even being able to graduate from the academy. Without even experiencing love with that idiot. She… she would simply die in vain.

While gazing at the sweeping cascade of dark blades, Amy prepared to meet her death.

Then.

「Baphomet's Hymn (Wind + Blood Element)」

Whoooooooosh─────!!!

A furious wind saturated with mana collided with the dark blades like a relentless onslaught.

The swirling mana tousled Amy and the unconscious Ian's hair and clothes. The clash of parried blades was brutal. No matter how one looked at it, it was not a sound that wind should produce.

Amy raised her head. A girl wrapped in a light green wind stood still in the air, as her verdant green twin tails fluttered in the wind.

With highly proficient use of wind magic, she hovered stably.

Amy couldn't pick her jaw off the floor at the sight of her.

"Kaya Astrea…?"

It was Kaya Astrea, the second daughter of the Astrea Household as well as the freshman second seat of Märchen Academy's Magic Department.

Kaya's pupils were tinged with red. Stopping that demon in her original state was impossible, so she had no choice but to borrow Dark Kaya's strength.

[Flower of Evil]. A thorny stem extended from Kaya's neck up to her right cheek, weaving together with a pattern of a flower to form a tattoo.

Blood mana surged within her.

After gesturing towards the Devil Pillar with the Armana Wand, Kaya the Ravenous assumed a combat stance.

"Hoooh."

Kaya took a deep breath. Having encountered demons multiple times before, she could maintain her composure even before the sky-scraping black tower.

Winning… was not possible. Even Kaya could easily gauge such a difference in combat power.

As such, the top priority was to endure until the Astrea Household's reinforcements arrived. On this land that bore the name of Astrea, Kaya did not wish for more victims to be made.

"How are you here…?"

"That's something I should say! Rather than that, let's talk later…!"

There was no time for conversation. Numerous dark blades sliced through the air, even cleaving the ground in an effort to reach Kaya.

Kaya rallied her mana and swung the Armana Wand downwards. As she did so, a magic circle imbued with hues of crimson and light green unfolded on the ground, sprouting red flesh and enveloping Ian and Amy.

The flesh turned into the shape of a red tree and extended upwards, as it was covered in tough red bark; An arbor gigantes that could rival the black tower. It was the best defense that Kaya could currently create.

This was the only way to protect them in the face of this land of death and that massive demon.

"Well, well, look at this ruckus on Astrea's land. You demon."

Dark Kaya snarled savagely.

Once again, dark blades swarmed forth in droves and Kaya resisted with [Baphomet's Hymn].

The deflected dark blades absorbed the life force of flying birds upon contact, causing them to meet their demise.

And whenever a single scratch formed on the red tree, it would heal itself in a matter of moments. As a combination of top elements like plant and blood, the tree boasted an outstanding level of regenerative ability.

She couldn't take a single step back. Dodging these attacks was like trying to avoid a downpour with just her bare body. Even the smallest lapse in concentration was forbidden.

"Keuhhh…!"

Kaya's hand that held the Armana Wand trembled. It was difficult to endure.

The red tree she had erected was relentlessly cut down. At this rate, her mana would run out first.

Still, she had to protect them. She couldn't stand the sight of people dying right in front of her; even more so if it was by a demon on Astrea land.

However, the difference in power was all too clear.

As if enjoying itself, the demon repeatedly rained down dark blades with eyes tinged with laughter.

All Kaya could do was struggle with all her might to hold on.

"Ah…!"

After exchanging dozens of attacks, the power of Kaya's wind mana plummeted.

However, the black tower leisurely poured out dark blades aimed at Kaya.

That attack… was impossible to block.

That was when it happened.

A terrifying mana threatened Kaya's survival instinct.

Even the Devil Pillar seemed bewildered, as the huge eye engraved in its body opened wide. At the same time, the dark blades turned into wisps of mana, as the demon absorbed them back into its body.

It withdrew its attack, as if instinctively, it judged that even the most minuscule amount of strength had to be conserved.

The Devil Pillar turned its attention away from Kaya, witnessing a young man strolling along the land of death.

When Kaya also looked at the man, her eyes shook in astonishment.

"Sir Isaac…?"

A young man with silver-blue hair, dressed in a navy blue hooded robe.

With just his appearance, the air itself turned heavy, as a dense pressure descended upon the entire area.