Chapter 32: Day of the First Flight
Holding back a yawn as I go, I arrived before the front gates of the garrison. Soldiers were already lined up and waiting while the Champions and the priestesses stand before them. Seeing my arrival, Cecilia waves me over and have me assume my position in front of the soldiers, all eight of them. These are the men and women handpicked by the garrison commander and Toto to fly with us on her aircraft. Among them, four are Knights, two are Sorcerers, and another two are Clerics. Including us Champion this makes twelve of us, the exact number of how many we can send at the moment since we have only six aircrafts available and each have a maximum capacity for two passengers. They look capable enough, but still, I can't help but worry. After all, the last time we entered the forest, we had about twice this number and even then the fighting was harsh. To have to do it with half of what we had, I can't say I'm feeling all that confident.
On the bright side, I suppose we won't have to contend for every step with the hordes of [Demons] that the forest will most definitely send our way, and in the case that our flight goes wrong, the smaller numbers will make it easier for us to make a swift retreat. Of course, we could just scrap this plan all together and g back to our usual tactic of marching into the forest with a larger force. Yes, we could do that, but during the meeting yesterday, it was considered far more dangerous than ever before, and that is because of the presence of the Archer Champion.
Since our enemy is a Champion, without a doubt that even a single shot from him would be deadly. Our best bet against this Archer is to quickly close our distance and overwhelm him in close combat. The Archer should know that as well, which is why we expect him to keep his distance while the forest sends wave after wave of [Demons] to impede our advance. With us kept at bay by the numerous [Demons], the Archer would then pick us off one by one. Knowing this, we can't simply just march in from the front any more. We'll have to find a way to get around, and an aerial approach seems to be just what we need at this moment.
As Cecilia makes her speech, about how if this works, we'll change the way war will be fought forever, I inspect the troops from where I stand. They all seem rather light weight, most likely so that we can get the most mileage out of the aircrafts as possible. Yet, light weight as they are, they are all well trained and their well toned muscles are easily visible where their skin is exposed, all except one...... No, it can't be. This is just ridiculous- Did that soldier just avoid eye contact with me?
I walk up to the soldier, and upon seeing my approach, she starts panicking and her eyes start darting about, trying to find a way out of the situation. However, there's nowhere for her to go, whether she runs or stay, the result would be the same.
My hand reaches out, grabbing hold of her helm and tearing it off her head, tossing, no, slamming the damn thing onto the ground once it's off.
"So, anything to say for yourself, Princess Aurelia?"
"Umm... Oopsies?"
I want to smack her, I really do, maybe even do a pile driver, but I'm sure everyone here will stop me. Instead, I point towards the princess with my index finger and turn towards Toto.
"Toto, this here isn't one of the members you chose right?"
"Hey, that's rude! Don't point at me and call me 'this'. Don't you know who I am?"
"I am damn well aware, princess, but do you?"
The princess stiffens, probably because my tone reflects my anger, and I am most furious at the moment.
"You said you wouldn't do it again, right?"
"But you looked so nervous during the meeting. I thought you might need my help."
"If you think so then you should have said something during the meeting!"
"B-but if I did, you'd just reject it."
"You god damn bet I will!"
I don't think I have ever shouted so loudly before in my entire life. I mean, sure, I've been shouted by my boss like this before, but I myself have never done it. However, the most surprising thing here is that even while being shouted at, the princess retains her composure, and from the look in her eyes, I can tell that she firmly thinks that I am the one who's wrong. I'd say that I'm impressed, cause I'm pretty sure being shouted like this would make even me want to cry, yet here she is, so steadfast in her willfulness.
A pair of arms emerges from behind me, grabbing onto me and pulling be back.
"Now, now, Aurelius, calm down. I'm sure the princess means well."
The one stopping me is Cecilia while the commander jumps in-between the princess and I.
"Yes, calm down, Sir Aurelius, if you wish to blame someone blame me. It was my carelessness that allowed this to happen."
"You guys are far too forgiving! This is exactly why she keeps pulling this shit!"
Even though I know I shouldn't, I simply can't help but get angrier when being told to calm down.
"I understand."
The words were said with a calm and soothing voice. Upon hearing it, my anger starts dissipating and I look towards the princess, the one who said those words.
"If I'm such a nuisance to you, then very well, I will stop."
"Good."
With just that one word, I send her away. Still, what a mess, and what an embarrassment. She's supposed to be the princess of the Beastkins, yet here she is, behaving like some brat. What will the soldiers think? To see such a willful princess, what will the people think of being ruled by such a person?
"Pardon me, but perhaps you are too harsh on her."
The one saying that is the commander of the garrison. I don't understand, he should be the most infuriated of them all. Why is he speaking up for the princess like this? It's not like he's sucking up to her is he? Can't be, the princess had already left.
"I certainly don't think so, commander, she needs to understand her position."
"Is that how you see it? Not that I condone her actions here, but I think she understands her position very well."
"Are we sure we're talking about the same person?"
"A person has many sides, Sir Aurelius. When you're not around, she would often say that it is imperative that each and every single one of the Champions here must survive, that the life of one of yours is worth more than a hundred of ours. Compare to one of yours, even the life of a princess is but an insignificant price to pay. A princess may be replaced, she said, a savior on the other hand, they do not come by so easily."
"And you agree with that?"
"I do, Champion, and you'd be hard pressed to find another here that doesn't. THis is the reality of our situation, the depths of our desperation despair before you arrived, if you will."
His eyes are dead serious as he makes that claim.
"Can't you just summon more?"
"If we could, don't you think we would have done it by now? In fact, unbeknownst to you, we have been trying to recreate your summoning several times now, to no avail. It appears that the covenant can only be made once."
Covenant. That's what he said... The word resonates in my mind, like I've heard of it not too long ago.
"The covenant?"
"It's part of the summoning ritual. The summoning of beings as powerful as yourself isn't within its price you see."
"And the price?"
"Only the princess knows."
Covenants, prices, things that I'm hearing about for the first time... I suppose even now, there are still things she hides from me.
"I still don't understand why you would find our lives that much more valuable than yours. Don't you value your own lives?"
"You have no idea how many we've already lost, and we're prepare to lose even more, till there's not a single one of us remains. Surely you realize how desperate a position we are in. Most of the world has been tainted and overrun by [Demons], and with each passing day, we lose more ground. For the longest time, all we have known were loses and defeats, until you came. You have no idea how much joy we felt when we first heard of your victory in the eastern mountains. For the first time, we saw hope. We were on the brink of giving up, to simply let the [Corruption] take us, but you, you allowed us to stand our ground, because for the first time in what seemed to be eternity, you gave us something to believe in that was not utter despair. So go ahead, Champion, feel free to ask anyone here, not just the soldiers, but the villagers as well, and see if anyone is unwilling to lay down their life for you. I'm confident, most confident, that each and every men and women here will gladly do so."
At the corner of my eye, I catch the soldiers lined up before us nodding along with every word said by the commander. Is it true then? That this world is so far gone that people would gladly die for someone like me?
I turn to check on my guildmates, and from their tense expressions I can say with confidence that they are just as spooked as I am. Of the three, I'd say that Cecilia looks to be the calmest, but knowing her, perhaps she's the one feeling the most weight upon her shoulders.
"I understand... No, actually, I don't, not really. The desperation you felt is beyond me."
I mean, logically, I understand. If only us four can save the world, then it makes sense to sacrifice everything to keep us alive. But, how can a person just allow him or herself to be sacrificed just like that? I understand that if there's only a few, but surely not everyone can be this self-sacrificing. Exactly how terrifying the [Demons] had to be for them to turn out this way?
"You! You're late!"
Suddenly, I hear the commander yelling at someone. Apparently, it's the eighth soldier that was supposed to join us on this flight, the one the princess was attempting to replace.
"Apologies, sir, I... I overslept somehow."
To the soldier's reply, the commander merely grunted and told him to get in line. I suppose now is not the time for punishments.
"Alright, now that we're all here, let us make our way to the platforms."
With Cecilia's word, we begin our march out into the meadows. As we proceed onwards, the words of the commander and the looks on the approving soldiers continues to haunt me. This weight on my shoulder, I can feel it crushing me.
***
In the middle of the meadow, tall structures can be seen, three of them. They are the ramps used for launching the aircrafts, though we've gotten around calling them "launching platforms". "Ramps" were apparently too silly sounding for Cecilia's taste. Wheels have been installed onto them to move them around with more ease, making them look somewhat similar to the siege towers I sometimes see in movies.
"I can't believe we're actually doing this."
Standing beside me, Six starts talking as we watch the aircrafts being pull up the launching platform via a sort of a archaic elevator, made from a wooden platform with ropes attached to the platform on one end and weights on the other.
"Did you think it wouldn't work?"
"I mean, look at it. Doesn't it look a bit cartoonish? What with the wheels and ramps."
"Maybe, but it works. With enough momentum we can generate lift and gain a substantial amount of air time. The science is clear."
"You say that, but here we are, about to apply magic to it."
"Magic is a science... in this world... probably..."
"I wonder if there isn't a magic that would let us fly around."
"I heard that some of the Dragonbrood have something like that."
"Too bad they're all [Corrupted]."
"Yeah, too bad indeed. Too bad that three quarters of this world are in the same state. Too bad we're even summoned here in the first place. Too bad that-"
"Aurelius, are you feeling alright? You're getting a little worked up."
"I'm fine. I just can't get what just happened out of my mind."
"Try not to stress yourself out, alright."
"I'll keep that in mind, but what about you, how are you feeling? That was a lot to take in."
"Me? I don't particularly care. I just do whatever I can to get home. Whatever happens to the people here is their own business."
"That is, as they say, cold, my dude."
"Hey, what can I say, that's how I am. And who even talks like that anymore? How old are you?"
I ignore that last part.
"Frankly speaking, I'm a little envious. I sort of always wanted to be aloof like that. Life would be much easier if I could just get myself to relax a little."
My words got Six to start scratching his head, pretending to be troubled, though his clear blush gives it away all too easily.
"Well, I mean, really, I wouldn't be so aloof is you guys weren't here. I wouldn't know what to do if I was alone. I mean, I couldn't been able to lead the soldiers like Cecilia, I wouldn't be able to sit around a table all day coming up with plans like you do, and I certainly can't build all that ridiculous contraptions like Toto had done. Really, more than you're envious of me, I'd say that I'm rather envious of all of you."
Six's words sounds like those of someone unsure of himself. Makes me wonder if he's actually quite young. He doesn't seem to be able to handle stress all that well either, though he certainly bounces back quickly enough with the right support. Frankly, I'm a bit curious, but I don't want to pry if I don't have to, so I'll leave it at that.
"Looks like they're about done setting everything up, let's get going."
"Hey, what do they say before going on a flight again? Break a leg?"
"No, that's definitely not it."
***
When the time came for takeoff, the princess arrived upon the scene. Even if she had just left not too long ago, she has to be here, since none of this would work without her [Feather Weight] spell. Arriving alongside her was Merida, who had been curiously absent when the princess was pulling her little stunt.
"Aurelius, I must apologize for the princess."
Leaving the princess' side for a bit, Merida approaches to speak with me.
"That's fine and all, but I'm more curious as to how you let this happen a second time."
"I'm afraid that I was asleep when it occurred. If not for that, I would have stopped her without fail."
"You overslept? Hard to imagine."
"Yes well, it would appear that the princess had added a little something to my dinner last night. It was not commendable, but I feel quite proud of the fact that she made it so that I couldn't even tell the difference in taste."
Am I hearing that right? She says that she's proud? I don't get it.
"Don't look so confused, Aurelius. I am the one who had taught her about it."
"You taught her how to drug you?"
"I taught her about medicine and poisons. You see, Aurelius, before the [Demons] started appearing, the princess has many siblings, not all of which she gets along with. I merely did what I can to ensure that she can live a long and prosperous life even when I'm gone, preferably with as few enemies as possible."
"I see..."
Note to self; be careful the next time the princess offers food. But anyways, that explains why Merida hadn't stopped her, and I'll bet that's why the soldier that the princess was replacing had been late.
"Well, keep a tighter watch on her will you Merida. I can't help but feel that she's getting worse in her recklessness."
"She's just worried for you. Did you realize that you've been wearing a rather grim look recently? Even since you heard that you'll be going up against a Champion, I think."
Was I? Well, I can't deny that I might have. I definitely didn't want to have to face another Champion again. I still remember how close to death I had been before. I managed to win last time, with the princess' help no less, but there's no telling what will happen this time, or the time after this. Call me a coward, but I would prefer to not fight someone while at a disadvantage or even on equal terms, especially with my life on the line. Not to mention, I am starting to have a sneaking suspicious that the other Champions might just... Regardless, this is this and that is that.
"Even so, it doesn't change how reckless and stupid she was being."
"Which is why I'm apologizing to you right now."
"It's not going to change unless she apologizes herself, and I don't mean simply offering an apology superficially. She needs to understand exactly how stupid her action was."
"I- I understand. Now then, I should return to the princess. I bid you good luck, Aurelius."
"Thank you. Also, if you don't mind, let the princess know... Tell her that we'll have a talk once I return."
"Understood. Now, if you'll excuse me."
With that, Merida leaves the platform, and arriving after her, is Stella, the cat-eared priestess of the Holy Beast. She will be applying [Feather Weight] on four of the six aircrafts while the princess will apply the spell to two, leaving both of them with mana to spare just in case. The spell will be applied while we're riding atop of the aircraft so that both the riders and the vehicle will have their weight reduced, since if we're heavier than the aircrafts, we'd just weight it down and send it plummeting straight to the ground.
"I thought the spell only affects a single target."
I bring up the question as the spell is being applied.
"I mean, what do you even define as a single object? The plane was made of multiple parts and even people are made up of different cells. Is there something that is truly a single of anything?"
Answering my question with another very abstract question is Six, seated behind me.
"Six, you say some surprisingly profound things sometimes, you know that?"
"Hey, what can I say? I'm full of surprises."
Eventually, all six aircrafts have had [Feather Weight] applied to them and are ready to take flight. At this moment, I call forth Michaela and have her apply [Holy Ward] to the aircrafts in order the ward off the flying bird-like [Demons] that patrols the skies above the forest. Additionally, she will also be the one to cast [Dispel] to remove [Feather Weight] upon landing so that we can fight without the fear of floating away.
With only three launching platforms prepare, naturally, only three aircrafts may takeoff at a time. The first three with be the ones carrying Cecilia and Toto, Six and myself, and finally, a Knight and a Cleric. We waited for the winds to calm, and then, at roughly the same time, the aircrafts were pushed down the ramp, building up speed and went gliding off across the air.
As expected, this is terrifying. I've done this only once before and getting used to being so high up is just not possible in such a short amount of time.
"Don't look down! Don't look down! Don't look down!"
But behind me, someone is freaking out even harder. Seriously, if I had known that Six is afraid of height as well, I would have switched partners, because frankly, his panicked chanting isn't helping.
I try ignoring him, turning my attention towards our goal instead, even thought I can't actually see it, with the area being obscured by the rising smoke. Perfect. The enemy wouldn't be able to see our approach either. Hopefully it'll remain that way.
Turning behind me, I check on the others. Everything seems to be going well. The remaining three aircrafts have taken off successfully and is having some degree of success falling into formation with the limited steering the aircrafts provide. In the middle of said formation is Michaela, as the only one here who can fly about freely and knows the precise location of the next [Demonic Flower], she is tasked with guiding and supporting us in the air.
"Aurelius!"
"Huh?"
Faintly, I hear someone calling out to me. I think it's Cecilia. I wonder what's wrong... How odd, my vision is turning red... My Hp... it's draining fast. I feel something wet on my lap. And in my chest, there's a burning sensation.
I move my hand over my torso and I feel something wet and warm, and buried there, in my chest, it feel the shaft of an arrow.
***
End of Chapter 32
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