40Chapter 4: Missions
"There is a beast, interfering with the lives of my subjects," the Pontifex told me. "Go to the west and slaughter it. Do so for me, my loyal Knight. Prove your worth."
"Of course, my lady," I said, pressing a fist to my chest.
She graced me with a smile. I knew that I would not fail her.
On my name as Integrity Knight Rythin, Synthesis Thirty-One!
...
Administrator's words echoed in my mind as I descended to the 30th floor. A mission. A mission for me, to prove my worth to her! I couldn't have asked for anything more. Finally, I'd be able to go out and show up that golden girl. Stuck-up holier-than-thou spoiled princess.
Naturally, if I was going to do this, I needed to leave immediately and finish as fast as possible to show the Pontifex how useful I was. My dagger was already sheathed on my back, and since I wore my armor everywhere that wasn't my private room I was fully equipped to handle whatever beast was so disruptive it merited an Integrity Knight being sent out. All I needed now? A way to get to the location.
When I reached the Dragon Landing Field, I strode up to the man standing nearby. "The Pontifex has commanded me to fly west," I said with no preamble.
"Of course, sir Integrity Knight," the man said. When he pressed his hand to his chest and lowered his head, I smirked. Yes, that was the respect they should be showing me! "I've been informed of the location."
"Tell me as I prepare the dragon," I told him. "There is one for me, correct?"
"Yes. This way."
It was only mildly irritating that I was the only Integrity Knight I knew of to not have raised his own dragon from scratch. Something about how raising a dragon from a child 'deepened the bond between mount and Knight', or some nonsense like that. I didn't care. Why would I need a bond with something that only had the job of flying me around? Besides, it wasn't like it mattered at all that I was the only one who didn't have his own dragon.
Of course, it wasn't like I was entirely on my own. I'd learned how to fly on dragonback - that Alice insisted on me learning, as part of her duties - by using one of the fully-grown dragons in the... stable wasn't the right word, but close enough. Alice had her Amayori.
I had the one I would soon take to calling Red.
"Thank you, that will be sufficient," I said to the dragon attendant as I tightened the straps around Red's chest to secure the metal armor that protected her neck and upper body while on duty. He'd told me enough that I knew I'd be able to find the beast. "You may leave."
"...Yes, sir Knight," the attendant said. "Surely you know best." I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, but he'd already turned and walked away. Impudent human. I could crush him with one hand and there would be nothing he could do about it.
Whatever. The attitude of the servants of the church didn't matter at all. Red let out a quiet snort after I climbed up onto her saddle. "Let's go, Red," I told her. "We're going west."
...
I relaxed in the saddle as Red flew. Normally, I wouldn't dream of lowering my guard like that; Red's massive horns twisted back in jagged spirals, and her long tail could shatter stone if she struck it. Her red scales that earned her the moniker I called her by were almost as hard as my armor, so my simple dagger would find difficulty in piercing them. I still relaxed, though, because the binding Arts on her were powerful enough that she wouldn't try to kill me or disobey orders. I had no reason to worry because her obedience was guaranteed.
As for the target... It was a massive white tiger with black stripes that had decided to descend from the mountains near the edge of Wesdarath. It didn't live quite up against the «West Gorge», but that was good. Few humans lived near the only entrance to the Dark Territory in the western empire, which made my job much easier - I could fight without having my hands tied by the possibility of breaking the Taboo Index. Not that I was bound by the rules of the common folk; as an Integrity Knight, my job was too important to be restricted by an inability to kill. But, were I to fight this massive tiger in a village... Well, Red's fire breath would probably roast a few too many people. The Pontifex might be mad if I torched a village under her orders.
Before too much longer the mountain range on the edge of the empire came into view and I sat up straight. It wouldn't be long until... "There," I said. My finger pointed towards the single farming village in sight. "Fly to that village and land." Red didn't reply with a cry or anything like that, but her entire body shifted as she angled towards our destination.
The villagers had already gathered when I dismounted from Red's back. "Integrity Knight," an old man said. He was thin, and his cheekbones showed prominently on his face. "Welcome to our village. I am the mayor of -"
"I apologize," I said, my voice muffled by the identity-hiding helmet I wore. "But my mission is pressing enough that I can spare no time for the usual pleasantries."
"O-Of course, Integrity Knight," the mayor babbled. My smirk was hidden by the helmet. "I wouldn't dream - how can we assist you?"
There was no real need for me to request anything from them. Still, some small part of me had to crush the uncharitable flicker of glee that they were dancing around after a single sentence from me. Ah, what a wonderful thing, to be respected. "Simply information," I said, and the crowd murmured. "The beast shall fall before me, but my time, as I've said, is valuable. The more I know about the creature, the faster I shall destroy it."
The thin mayor said, "Yes, Integrity Knight. Please, wait a moment."
It didn't take long for the few villagers that had seen the white tiger to come forward and tell me their stories. Of them all, I was unimpressed except by one; I already knew the creature was massive and lived among the mountains, and so the only farmer with any new information was some heavy-set man with brown hair. He'd given me his name, but I didn't actually care. He was the only one to encounter it during the day and so the information, in this case, was that the sky had turned dark as the beast approached as though night had fallen.
Probably some sort of umbral element manipulation, unique to the animal. Some of the beasts in the human empire were able to use something close to Sacred Arts; Red's fire breath was a good example. Whatever this tiger did to blot out Solus's blessing, it was probably just umbral elements.
"We're flying, Red," I said. My dragon flapped her wings and we took to the skies. Red let out a roar, and I pointed to the sinking sun on the horizon. "That way. Towards the edge of the fields." She roared again and soared through the air.
The tiger had struck at a regular cycle according to the villagers, but it hadn't attacked yet this week. The next raid against their fields was due any day, and I had a good feeling about the day. The expression I was making... It wasn't quite a smile. No. I bared my teeth as I prepared to do battle.
As the sun sank down the horizon, I noticed a patch of shadows spreading towards me that outran the others. The sea of darkness spread outwards and I exhaled slowly. "Prepare your fire breath, Red," I said. "Use it on my signal."
Then, I jumped off the dragon's back.
Stupid? Who cared! I was immortal, my Life was frozen! I had been called from heaven to obey the Pontifex's orders and slay her enemies, and I would never fall before my task was ended! "Generate aerial element!" The tips of my fingers glowed with green light, and I pointed at the ground. Just before I slammed into the ground, I shouted, "Burst!"
The blast of wind broke my fall perfectly and I landed lightly on my feet on bare, tilled earth. The crops that were planted were destroyed beyond repair, of course. But they were going to lose them to the tiger anyway, so what matter who destroyed them? In fact, because they were going to be ruined by the tiger, I could consider them as 'destroyed objects that were still living'. Thus, it was perfectly acceptable for me to destroy them, and not something the Pontifex would be mad about at all.
I enjoyed the last few moments of sunlight before the darkness swept overhead, blotting out the sun. The old man had described it well; the smoky clouds hanging over my head and all around me brought to mind the dark of night, while the small bits of light that filtered through from the sky gleamed like momentary stars. I drew my dagger and crept forward, walking lightly. My armor made little noise as I walked through the gloom, and I couldn't help but congratulate myself for being better at sneaking than every other Integrity Knight -
There wasn't much warning when the tiger struck. One instant I was walking forward, the next a massive paw was clawing at my head. I ducked with a gasp and the claws passed just over my head. I slashed at the tiger, but my dagger passed through the gloom without contact. I snarled and scrabbled back to my feet. "I am Rythin, Integrity Knight Synthesis Thirty-One!" I proclaimed. "The Highest Order Administrator has commanded me to kill you, beast!"
I didn't get an answer. I didn't expect one. But that wasn't the point. It made me feel better.
My dagger guarded my body as I looked around. The white tiger was focusing on me, now. I could feel the attention of the creature, almost like a pressure on my body. Abruptly I whirled and pointed. "Generate thermal element! Form element arrow shape, fly straight, discharge!" The fiery arrow shot forward and splashed against a white and black pelt, briefly lit. A yowl of anger and pain answered my attack, and I launched myself forward. I knew where it was, I just had to kill it!
My blade raked down the tiger's side and it splashed blood over my arm and chest piece. The wound was shallow, however, and it sprang to the side before I could sink the point into its hindquarters. I'd still been close enough to see that the charred spot of fur where my Sacred Art had struck wasn't effective in the least. The beast's fur protected against the elements!
I growled under my breath and slashed again at the beast. This time I missed the attack and I hissed out loud, just before bringing my dagger back to block against the tiger's massive claws trying to split me from crown to groin. Its claws clashed with my blade and I was knocked down, flat on my back while the beast's weight threatened to crush me in my own armor. It snarled and opened its mouth to bite me.
Exactly what I wanted.
"Generate... thermal element! Form element arrow shape, fly straight! Discharge!" Even if its fur was resistant, the inside of its mouth would be helpless in the face of my powerful Sacred Arts! Kya hah hah -
...Hah?! The red orb on my fingertip flickered as it tried to form the arrow shape I'd dictated, but couldn't manage to change from the orb shape. What?! I'd chanted it perfectly! It was impossible for me to make that mistake!
With a frantic yell I punched at the tiger's jaw. My gauntlet smashed at its teeth and it yowled angrily, twisting away from me. I rolled away and surged to my feet, then kicked backwards to put some distance between me and the tiger. Why had my Sacred Art failed?! I clenched my fist. It had summoned the element, so I hadn't chanted poorly, and naturally I wouldn't have stumbled on the second half of it, so...
Kuhhhh! Stupid! How had I failed to think of that at first! I snarled at myself. Of course the elements would be weak here - the beast was blocking me from the Sacred Power generated by the sun, making it impossible to do more than Burst an element! That was... How could I have screwed up!
"You're going to die!" I howled at the beast. "Pay for this with your life!"
How could I do this, then? I slashed at the tiger when its stripes passed by the corner of my eyes, but didn't catch anything. The creature was playing with me. If I couldn't use my Sacred Arts properly, then... No. Why would I give up? I was the Pontifex's most powerful servant! I would kill this tiger with my bare hands if it came to that!
An angry snarl echoed through the gloom and I answered it with a call of my own, snarling loudly. This time, when the beast jumped at me I dropped to one knee and thrust up with my dagger. I stabbed straight into the soft pads of the tiger's right paw, and when I yanked my blade free the spray of hot blood splashed over my white armor. "There!" I shouted. "Take that, you monster!"
The tiger snarled and backed away. "Oh? Did you really think I'd let you get away?" I asked with a sneer. "Be serious!"
Then the tiger, one paw curled because of the hole in it, still dripping blood, pounced directly at me.
"Gah!" I crashed to the ground and struggled, but the beast's weight was directly on top of me. No matter what I tried, it refused to budge. Even raking at its stomach with my feet didn't get it off of me.
No. This monster wouldn't let me go until I was dead - and with the way my knife was carving through its body, it seemed like it was going to be a double kill.
"Khh... Not gonna... be that easy," I ground out. "Generate element! Luminous element! BURST!"
I held my hand up high in the air and closed my eyes. Still, the blinding flash seared through my eyelids, turning my vision red. The white tiger, on the other hand, had no such warning, and the yowl that came from it almost made me feel bad about what I'd just done to it.
As soon as the pressure on my body shifted I rolled over and stabbed my dagger through the tiger's other paw and into the ground. Disoriented and in pain, it wasn't able to properly tug my blade out of the dirt. But that wouldn't last long. "You're... not going anywhere," I growled. "Just stay right HERE!"
I looked up, at the small gap in the 'night' sky. My luminous element had countered the clouds perfectly and blasted a hole, right where the sun was falling behind the mountains. And between myself and the sun...
Red roared, shaking the ground, and I sneered at the tiger. "Generate cryogenic element," I said.
My dragon opened her mouth and the red elements that had been gathering the entire fight collected into one massive ball. "Form element, shield shape."
The white tiger tried to run, but my dagger still pinned its paw to the ground. I kicked it in the stomach and it roared again.
"Discharge!"
The shield of ice covered my body just as the entire ground turned white-hot with dragon flame. I huddled under my shield and the tiger's body, but even with that layer of protection the heat bled through until it felt like I was cooking in my armor. I gritted my teeth and held on; if it was this bad for me, the thrashing tiger on top of me had to have it even worse. It yowled and screamed as the flames of Red's breath burned down on it.
The fury of the dragon breath died off, but it took a while for me to realize it had ended. The heat rose from the earth and made the air visibly ripple, and I felt like I was cooking in my armor. But, as I pushed the tiger's body off and it fell over limply, I didn't care. I'd won.
...
I presented the evidence of my completed task to the Pontifex on the 50th Floor, in the grand hall with light pouring down from above. "Very well done, my Integrity Knight," Administrator told me. I straightened my back and smiled. "You served me faithfully, as commanded."
"Naturally." My voice was still somewhat hoarse from the heat - I'd been breathing in heated air, and the rasp in my throat was the natural result from that. Even the healing Sacred Art I'd performed after killing the white tiger hadn't properly restored it.
Administrator smiled at me, and the sight was so beautiful I couldn't help but bask in it. It was all I wanted, really. With this, she'd think I was the strongest no matter what! "As a reward... Let me see..." She ran her fingers over the body of the white tiger I'd laid at her feet. "Yes, this will do nicely. I will craft you a wonderful weapon, fitting the Integrity Knight that shall wield it."
My eyes gleamed as I watched her chant the Sacred Art. With this, I could fight back against Alice. She wouldn't be able to humiliate me like that ever again! Still, I had to shield my eyes as the animal's corpse lifted into the air and glowed a bright white. Its body broke down into streams of light that spiraled into the air and collected into a ball, high in the air; this had to be some sort of divine skill, not merely a Sacred Art. The strands of light twisted and turned, and somewhere within the ball a shadow emerged. It was a small blade, and Administrator extended her arms forward. The blade sank down as though it was being lowered into her hands by a god.
"This Divine Object," she said to me as she turned around, "will be yours. It is called the Starry Night Dagger. Use it well in your service to me, Synthesis Thirty-One."
The blade was deceptively simple. It was slim and thin, almost like the... It was! It was like the claw of the tiger I'd slaughtered had turned into a shining weapon. I touched the blade and marveled at the cool metal underneath my fingertips. The hilt itself was striped black and white, with a star-shaped gem set in the pommel.
"...Thank you," I said.
"Use it as you obey my orders and protect the Axiom Church," the Pontifex told me. Her musical voice turned it into an absolute command that I was all too happy to obey. "I continue to expect you to do this for me, Rythin."
She reached out and caressed my cheek, and I closed my eyes. Unfortunately, the cool touch was perfunctory and impersonal -
short and sweet
The cool touch was short and sweet, and when I opened my eyes it had already ended. Administrator had turned her back and walked away, and I bowed towards her back. "I will not fail you, Lady Administrator," I swore. Not like those other Knights. They could fail all they wanted. I'd never fail her, not after she'd given me so much.
Well, then. Time to practice with my new weapon.
November 5th, 379 HE
I walked through the halls. This was a rare chance, honestly. My services were in high demand by the Pontifex, naturally, and as I was quick to adapt to the situation at hand I was often flying about on a wide variety of tasks. I didn't get to really spend much time in the Central Cathedral often and while I didn't regret not being around Alice, it did also mean that I couldn't ever see the Pontifex. From what I'd heard from Bercouli, though, she was very busy and even he hadn't been able to see her recently.
While I didn't want it to be true, the combination of 'even the commander of the Integrity Knights hadn't talked to her' and 'I'd received all of my orders from the Prime Senator recently' lent credence to the idea that Highest Order Administrator was busy maintaining the peace and order of our society.
I sighed as I started to ascend the steps to my room. That didn't change the fact that I wanted to see her. I really, really wanted to see her. I wanted her to hold me in her arms and say that she was there for -
"Look, Linel, someone new! I haven't seen him around here before."
"Maybe he's a new Integrity Knight?"
I froze and looked around. The two young voices seemed to come from nowhere. But, I'd definitely heard them from above me. So, why not answer them? "I am the newest Integrity Knight," I said as I continued up the steps. "And who are you? Spying on me?" Maybe Alice drafted two of the novices studying Sacred Arts to mess with me.
"Hurry, run!"
"Ah, Fizel, wait...!"
As I rounded the stairs, I saw a pair of dresses scurrying further up the steps. They definitely looked like the uniforms the students wore when studying and learning on the lower floors of the Central Cathedral. Two girls, or at the very least two students wearing the female uniform, were spying on me. I could hear their footsteps stop as they climbed more steps, as well as some of the quiet giggling when they stopped. They were having a good time, eh? Well. I wasn't going to let them laugh at me like that.
"System call," I whispered quietly. The orbs of light blinked into existence on my fingers as I summoned aerial elements, and shaped a set of metallic elements into a thin circle underneath my feet. Then, it started to lift in the air.
I'd stolen this idea from the elevator that we rode up and down the central pillar. Mimicking it was more difficult than I had originally expected, but that made sense. There was a lot of structure to assist the elevator in raising and lowering that I simply didn't have. But, my sense of balance was excellent, and I was able to float upwards through the center of the stairs.
As I did, I could easily see the culprits. Two kids were kneeling on the stairs, peeking around the corner at where I was. Of course they hadn't looked up, so they couldn't see me as I ascended. Both of them were wearing the novice dresses, and since they weren't looking at me the only difference I could tell was how they had their straw-colored hair styled. The one in front had it pretty short in a messy style that... seemed... familiar?
No. I had to be imagining it. I'd never interacted with the students before in my life. The other one had longer hair, pulled back into braided twintails. That style didn't evoke that weird feeling in me, and I put it out of my mind.
My feet touched lightly on the steps behind them, nearly silently. The two students still hadn't noticed me and I folded my arms. Their situational awareness needed some work... "And why are you spying on me?"
"Eek!" Both students squealed and whirled around. The twintailed one grabbed at the short-haired one and ducked behind them, peeking out at me.
...Two girls? Why were they staring at me like that? The short-haired girl had blue eyes and a brave look on her face, and the twintailed girl had grey eyes with a meek expression on her face. They were wearing identical outfits, with a light breastplate on their chest. "Who are you? Are you allowed up here?" Their ink-black uniforms were rare this high up. Most of the time, the novices were studying.
"I'm Fizel Synthesis Twenty-Nine," the front girl said proudly.
"Ah... I'm Linel Synthesis Twenty-Eight," the other one said.
Um. Well. That's awkward. Come to think of it, I could see that each of them had a dagger sitting on their hips; the reddish wood hilt poked out around their side and was fastened with a green belt. The novices weren't allowed to carry weapons on them... I should have noticed that earlier. Stupid, idiot Rythin. "Ah. Integrity Knight Rythin Synthesis Thirty-One," I said with a polite bow. "It's nice to meet you two."
"Yeah, same," Fizel said. Linel nodded without saying anything.
"I must say, I'm surprised that you two are Integrity Knights," I said. "How old are you?"
Fizel grinned at me. "We're ten!" she said proudly.
"Ten and two months," Linel corrected her.
...Okay, the kids were pretty cute. "Do you have a weapon?" Fizel asked. "What's it made from? Can we see?"
I blinked at the rapid-fire questions. "I... Um, yeah. A dagger that -"
"Cool!" Fizel said. "We use daggers too, right Linel?"
"Right," Linel said.
"Wanna play?"
I blinked again at Fizel's question. "What."
"Wanna play?" she asked again. "One of the big rooms should be open, so the three of us can play around. If you're a new Integrity Knight, Linel and I want to test ourselves!"
Oh. When she says play, she means... "I'll fight you," I said. The two girls smiled, and there was a glimmer of feral glee in their eyes. It seemed like something interesting...
The open hall was clearly meant for training, with human-like training posts set up along the wall. Several of them were heavily scarred, and it was probably about time for the wood to be replaced; their Life was probably almost down to zero. Fizel and Linel ran into the room and turned to face me. "So, let's just go until one team yields," Fizel said. "Sound like fun?"
"Sure," I said. "Since you said team..." I cracked my neck and knuckles. "You two versus me?"
Linel nodded. "If that's fine, then let's start."
I smirked and pulled out the Starry Night Dagger. Sure, this was live steel. But who cares? If they die, then... well, that was a shame for them, wasn't it? Administrator didn't need weaklings serving her. Besides, the two girls pulled out their own daggers. The weapons were pretty long, more a very short sword than true daggers. Their weapons might be longer than my own, but that didn't mean much when I was a head taller than them. My arms were longer, and that meant I had the ultimate advantage.
The two children charged me at once and I exhaled slowly. They were moving quickly enough, but in my eyes everything they were going to do was crystal clear. Fizel would try to distract me from the front with a series of attacks forcing me back while Linel circled around to get me from behind. From there, they'd just try to knock me down and pin me, since actually killing was supposed to be off-limits.
Heh.
Instead of waiting for them to come to me, I took a step back and took another deep breath. Then, it exploded out of me as I lunged forward, my blade glowing. The edge cut a path through the air and left the blue trail behind me as I rocketed forward towards the two girls. Their eyes widened and they both split up to dodge the attack, but that was all I needed.
As soon as my body was able to move again, I surged forward and brought my empty hand up to catch Fizel's wrist as she moved for a slash. I smirked as her eyes widened and she gasped, "Uh oh!" I twisted and spun, and Fizel went flying directly into Linel as the twintailed girl tried to stab me in the back. They both collapsed on top of each other, groaning.
"Not a bad idea," I said while Fizel rolled off of her friend. "Especially Linel, going for my back when I was countering Fizel. But you're too slow right now to pull that off, when your opponents are stronger."
"Ow ow ow..." Fizel moaned when she stood up.
"I've been meaning to ask," I said as I flipped my dagger in the air, "but how come you two are Integrity Knights? You both seem a little young for that sort of position."
"Eheheh... Well, we're not really Integrity Knights yet," Fizel admitted. "We were allowed to choose our next Calling when we completed our first, and we both chose to be Integrity Knights!"
Linel sighed. "But someone complained because we were too young. The Pontifex made us prove ourselves." She looked at her dagger. "We killed the previous Integrity Knights Twenty-Eight and Twenty-Nine, so we were made Integrity Knight trainees."
Huh. Well. That's interesting. A pair of little killers, huh?
I opened my mouth to say something to them, but cackling laughter interrupted me. I turned around and straightened my back as the red and blue ball bounced into the training room. Behind me, Fizel and Linel got themselves in a presentable state just in time for the Prime Senator to unfurl and spin around on one foot.
"You! Number Thirty-One!" Chudelkin exclaimed. "A new mission. Head west to Veshire and investigate. Monsters from the Dark Territory have sooooomehow been seen nearby. Hmph!" A puff of air escaped his piggy nose. "Whoever let that happen will surely be punished! Clean up their mess, will you?"
"Of course, Prime Senator. I would never refuse one of the Pontifex's orders," I said placidly. My eyes were cold and drilled into the butterball. Of course, if he noticed the barbed comment, the Prime Senator didn't say anything and instead bounced off deeper into the Central Cathedral.
I let out a quiet sigh and turned back to Fizel and Linel. "...Well, you'll never beat me the way you were trying earlier," I told them. Both girls looked at me. "But when you can't beat someone with pure strength, you need a separate strategy. Poison is a very, very good idea." I grinned at them. "If your opponent can't move, there's nothing that'll stop you from slitting their throat or cutting out their heart."
"We're good at that," Linel said.
"The stabbing in the heart thing," Fizel said. "We'll give the poison part a try too!"
Aww. They look like they're going to try their best. "When I get back, I'll fight you again," I said. "Show me how much you've improved."
And if anyone cares that I'm beating up literal children? Who cares. I'm winning, and that's the important thing.
Veshire. This place was already boring and banal and I was just flying over it on Red's back. I can't imagine how obnoxious it will be once I'm actually down and in the place; it probably smelled like the rest of the swampland Red and I had been flying over for the last several hours. However, I had to go down there and do my job. Highest Order Administrator may not have been the one to give me these orders, but the Prime Senator nominally spoke for him and so I needed to obey.
"Alright Red, let's go down. Duty calls." Red couldn't answer me, of course, but her answering growl deep in her chest was answer enough. Soon enough we were circling over the central clearing of the town, dropping lower and lower until Red finally folded her wings on the ground.
"Sir Integrity Knight!" the man dressed in rich silks said. "Wh-what brings you to our village?" I stared at the man. His indulgences showed clearly on his body, with the heavy jowls hanging from his cheeks. His voice irked me.
Fortunately, I was able to hide my irritation with my new helmet; I'd been allowed to request new armor a few weeks prior for doing an excellent job rounding up wild animals that had been threatening farms in the eastern empire. Naturally, I'd chosen a tiger as my armor's motif. "Pest control, I suppose," I said. The new armor warped my voice more than before, making it nearly unrecognizable to anyone except another Integrity Knight. "Demons from the Dark Territory have been detected nearby."
"Ah... Thank you for hurrying, Integrity Knight," the man said as he mopped his brow with a square of silk. "Recently, our farmers have been unable to properly tend their fields. Each morning, the crops are trampled and ruined."
"And you know this to be the work of the demons?"
"W-We do," he said. "One of our woodcutters noticed the ugly creatures sneaking through the woods. Thanks to his bravery, their nest has been discovered."
I nodded gravely. "And his service will be remembered." Of course it won't. It's not like anyone else matters but me and Highest Order Administrator. "As the mayor, you should be proud of your citizens."
"Of course, Integrity Knight," the fat man said. "Will you be leaving immediately?"
"No," I said, and glanced at the sky. It was still overhead, and wouldn't begin to descend until later. "The demons from the Dark Territory despise the pure light of Solus, and will not leave their den while it shines."
The mayor stared at me and nodded. "That makes perfect sense! Why, it would explain why our farmers never see them during the day!" Honestly? Most of what I'd said was made up. In the small amount of time I'd spent in the Dark Territory, the creatures there were perfectly active in the daylight. That being said, since the mayor confirmed they only went out at night, I didn't have to come up with a creative excuse for why I'd been wrong. "What shall you do until then? If it's not too much trouble, I would be honored if you were to avail yourself of my hospitality," he said, wringing his hands together.
"Very well," I said, and looked at Red. "Find some place to stay, Red," I told her. "I'll need you in several hours, so return by sunset." The beast rumbled in return and lifted herself into the air before flying away. Now, to the mayor's house.
The house that was, as it turned out, pretty big, all things considered. The town seemed to be very poor, all things considered, but that didn't stop him from having multiple floors. As I walked through the halls, I passed by a young girl carrying a quilt that had dust and cobwebs all over it. "Why isn't that clean?" the mayor snapped. "Useless girl!"
I blinked as he raised his hand and smack her across the face. The small girl's cheek turned red but she didn't do more than whimper. Her face barely registered an emotion as she bowed to the mayor and ran off. "Does that happen often?"
"Often enough, I'm ashamed to say," the man replied. "The young children come serve as my maids before they reach the age when they get their Calling. That often means I must be... firm of hand with them."
*Th-thump*
I pressed a hand to my chest in surprise. What...? What was that feeling? Well. It probably didn't matter.
Several hours later, after I'd eaten my fill of the cheap food they'd presented me, I returned to the clearing. Red was already waiting for me, fortunately, and it didn't take long for me to climb up on her back. "Integrity Knight," the fat mayor said. "If there's anything else I can do -"
"Get on," I said.
"Erm... pardon me?"
I frowned. Why must I repeat myself? "I said, get on," I said, and gestured to the second seat in the dragon saddle. "I'll need you to lead me to their nest."
"B-B-But sir Integrity Knight, it's getting dark, and I'd intended -" A gentle pressure on Red's side made the dragon growl, and the fat man seemed to rethink his complaints. "Yes, of course, Integrity Knight!"
It didn't take long for Red to fly us to the location of the nest. Which made sense when I gave it a few moments' thought, since a single woodcutter had managed to walk there and back. I instructed Red to land a little bit away and hopped down. "Stay here," I told the mayor as he scrambled down from Red's back. "I will be doing my work, and don't want you in the way."
"Of course!" The fat man huddled against a tree. I nodded once and walked forward, pulling the Starry Night Dagger from its sheath.
Time for me to enjoy the hunt. I smiled under my helmet and licked my lips, then shot forward through the swamp. It was rough to move through the soft dirt but that didn't slow me down as I bounded forward. I barely even noticed the drag as I searched for the demons proper. I just had to look around, until...
My lips curled into a smile as I saw the glimmer of fire in the dark. Demons from the Dark Territory were quite stupid indeed. Without saying a word, I strode forward and entered the small circle of light. My eyes darted back and forth as I scanned the clearing, and then I smirked. This was going to be easy. After all, all I needed to do was kill ten or so goblins.
Their green skin was painted with white symbols that didn't mean anything to me, and they were conversing to each other in their guttural tongue. A few of them laughed in cruel tones and hefted sharp but rusty weapons; others were busy eating what smelled like burned meat. It seemed they'd managed to slaughter some livestock as well as trash the farms. Of course, they hadn't managed to upgrade their wardrobe, and all of the goblins were wearing disgusting and torn loincloths.
"Heh... Some mongrels snuck in," I said. "Looks like I'll have to take out the trash."
"Grrrr...! One of the Ium knights," a goblin growled.
"Let's kill him and eat him down to his bones!"
A large shadow stretched over me and I looked up. The rest of the goblins were roughly my height, maybe a little taller or shorter. But the large monster that stood over me was easily twice my height. Unlike the other goblins, this one was wearing rudimentary armor around its rotund stomach. "Don't hesitate," the massive goblin rumbled. "It's kill or be killed."
I snickered. "Don't worry, don't worry! There'll be no dying today. On my side, at least."
The goblins all hefted their weapons, and a roar from the goblin boss sent them charging towards me. I cackled with glee as they ran directly into what would definitely be their doom!
A pair of the goblins died almost instantly as my dagger flashed out and severed their heads from their bodies. One of them had almost managed to guard, but my Starry Night Dagger was too strong a weapon for them. The top half of the chipped cleaver clattered to the ground, and I smiled. The blood of the two dead goblins dripped on the ground, and there was a brief moment of hesitation as the goblins paused. "What are you waiting for? Kill the Ium!" the boss roared, and the other goblins forced themselves into motion.
I met the club of one goblin braver than the rest of them, and rewarded the bravery with a heavy kick to its stomach. The goblin flew backwards and I brought my fist back to punch the next one. The number of goblins wasn't even a concern, because I could kill each of them with a single Art with my dagger.
One goblin, smarter than the rest of his friends by virtue of the fact that his friends were lying in various amounts of pieces on the ground around him, ran past me and into the woods. I turned to chase after him when something told me to dodge. A grunt slipped out of me when I raised my blade to guard my back just in time for heavy metal to crash down on it.
"Hey," I snarled as I turned around slowly. "...You're in my way."
The boss of the goblins had finally made his move; his desperate attack from behind had been blocked almost contemptuously, and while I had to strain a little bit thanks to the oversized butter knife that he was swinging around, his weak broadsword wasn't strong enough to make my arm more than shake. In fact, I could see the blade losing Life every second it was pressed against my Divine Object. "You shitty knight!" the goblin boss howled. "I'm going to turn you into meat!"
"Spit your threats to Vecta in the afterlife," I sneered. It was child's play to bring my fist up, and my body flowed in a motion that I'd never practiced before but felt perfectly natural; I just followed the steps that were laid out in front of me. I moved forward and spun on my foot, thrusting up with the heel of my gauntlet. My palm struck right at the giant goblin's wrist and it grunted in pain. More importantly, it dropped the sword. In a flash, the weapon landed in my hand and I'd spun it around, driving it forward directly into the creature's throat.
The giant goblin clawed at its throat as it died, until it finally collapsed to the ground. I nodded in satisfaction as I took in the corpses around me. I bet the Pontifex will be really happy with me! I killed a whole lot! Buuuuut, she'll be upset if I leave the job half-done. All that's left is that one goblin, right? Heh. Gotta go take care of that, then.
As I started following the obvious tracks it left in the woods, my eyes narrowed. They were retracing the tracks I'd made on the way here almost perfectly, and that meant... That meant the goblin was going to stumble on Red and the mayor, wasn't it?
Sure enough, halfway back to my dragon I heard a scream followed shortly by a roar and a short gout of flame that lit up the night sky. Things returned to their natural silence a moment later, and I shook my head. Truly, goblins are stupid, idiotic creatures. Why would anything else willingly charge towards a dragon?
"I've returned," I said as I stepped into the clearing that Red had made. "I see I'm not the only visitor." The pile of charred bones and ash was the only evidence that the goblin I'd been chasing down had made it this far -
"S-Sir Integrity Knight! Please! Help me!"
The pile of charred bones and ash, and the horribly wounded mayor of Veshire were the only evidence that the goblin I'd been chasing had made it this far, I hastily amended my thought. His rich and colorful silks had become sticky with his blood, and with the rate the stain was spreading his Life must be plunging at an alarming rate. He stared up at me with tears and snot running down his face, and gestured at the gaping wound running down his chest.
"Ah... System call..."
*Th-thump*
I trailed off as that weird feeling pounded in my chest again. The face of that maid after he'd bruised her, the way his people were barely scraping by and he lived in opulence... Did I truly, actually have to heal him? My healing Sacred Arts were limited in power, and there was a very good chance he might lose all of his Life despite my best attempts.
So why should I make the attempt at all?
It wasn't mandated in the orders that I'd been given that I must attempt to save a life; I was only prevented from injuring another person and deliberately lowering their Life. He'd lowered that girl's Life, even temporarily, while executing his noble's right to judge. So... if I healed him, wouldn't that be allowing him to lower other girls' Life in the future? Sophistry, maybe, but what did it matter?
"Sir... Integrity Knight?"
I smiled under my helmet. "Don't worry. I'm sure they'll mourn for you."
"N-No! You can't! Please! Please please please...!" His begging trailed off into whimpers and moaning as his Life trickled down little by little. I didn't bother to continue watching him. Instead, I went to Red and made sure she was all set for the long flight back to Centoria. She'd fed on something earlier, but that didn't mean I'd given the straps and everything else a firm check before the short trip out here. I didn't want to fall off halfway, after all.
...It fell quiet a little bit after that.
The flight back to Centoria was long, long enough that I was close to falling asleep on Red's back. But... The whimpering and the moaning as the mayor died... as I killed him... Heh. Heheh. Kya hah hah. It felt pretty good to listen to, didn't it? It made me feel all warm on the inside! Heh... Heh...
By the time I got back to Centoria, the sun had been up again for some time and I was drowsy on Red's back. I barely registered landing at the Central Cathedral, much less going through the motions to take Red's gear off and get it put away. It was the kind of haze where I blinked and suddenly realized that I'd been walking through the halls and had no idea if I'd ensured that Red had food or not.
"Ah... Rythin, you've returned. Welcome back."
I let out a heavy sigh and turned to face Alice. I might have been swaying back and forth slightly. I wasn't sure. "What do you want, Alice?"
The blonde girl blinked and shook her head. "I... I simply..."
"If there's nothing important," I hissed, "then leave me alone."
She stared at me, and then her features went stony - wait, had they been softer and kinder before now? "I see. Very well then," she said. "Whatever your plans are, I will leave you to them." Alice turned on her heels and stormed away, walking down the hall.
Huh? What even was her problem? Whatever. I was exhausted. I needed sleep.
Unfortunately, before I could reach my room and fall asleep, I was accosted by the red and blue bouncing ball. "Number Thirty-One!" the Prime Senator whined. "Another mission for you. Fly east tomorrow and kill the demons that are starting to sniff around the eastern edge of the empire!"
I sighed as he bounced away. No rest for the wicked, is there...?
May 20th, 380 HE
I strode through the halls of the Central Cathedral. Another mission! I was so excited. It had been ages since the Pontifex had given me orders to do something. I was definitely going to impress her with this.
A full year had gone by since I'd descended from heaven to act as one of Highest Order Administrator's most powerful servants. A full year of my service, and most of it was... well, boring. The fight against the white tiger was my only real challenge the entire time I'd lived in the human empire. Everything else had been simple tasks. 'Patrol the edge of the southern empire'. 'Tend to the roses in the garden of the Central Cathedral'. And most recently, 'Assist Alice in training Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-Two'.
Just the memory of that last order made me grit my teeth. Seriously, I was worth so much more than a glorified babysitter to the newest Integrity Knight. So what if he'd been called only four or so months after I had? I still knew more than enough to be given control of his training. But no. Bercouli must have interfered or something, because Eldrie had attached himself to the little princess's side after only a few weeks.
Tch. So what if I still had trouble activating whatever that stupid 'Incarnation' was? I'd never failed the pontifex yet, but they hadn't even given me a chance to train Eldrie before handing him over to Alice. She wasn't even that good a teacher anyway, she hadn't exactly taught me much of anything other than my Sacred Arts.
...Whatever. I wouldn't want to teach him anyway. I had my hands full sparring with those children that used daggers. I always beat them, so it was a good way to blow off steam after Alice or Bercouli had pissed me off. Which, all things considered, tended to happen whenever I ran into them in the halls of the cathedral. Fighting Lady Fanatio was also fun, since she was a challenge. It really had been a surprise when I'd shattered her helmet and realized she was a woman, but who cares about her gender when I can go all out and fight?
But that was over now! I had my orders now, and that meant I was going to get out of this place. As much as I was devoted to the Axiom Church, the Central Cathedral didn't really keep me that entertained. Plus, there was just something about flying that I enjoyed. Even though I was in the saddle the whole time, it felt... achingly familiar. I must have flown quite a bit before being called down to the human world.
I finally reached the stairs and went down the two flights to reach the 30th Floor. As I reached a landing, I turned - and stopped dead in my tracks. My lips twisted into a scowl just out of habit. "Ah," Alice said. Distaste colored her voice. "Rythin."
"Alice," I said just as flatly.
"Lady Alice," a voice said. My eyes darted away from Alice to briefly recognize that Eldrie was standing just behind Alice on the steps, but my gaze went right back to Alice immediately. He wasn't important. Not in the long run. Alice, on the other hand... I did my best to avoid her, but no matter what I did I couldn't help but run into her from time to time.
"Lady Alice," I amended smoothly. "And greetings to you as well, Eldrie." Synthesis Thirty-Two. My technical subordinate, but the puppy never left Alice's side when he could help it. He thought his crush was subtle or something, just because Alice was either too dense to notice or too kind to let him down easily. The man was pathetic, honestly - I had no such distractions when it came to my work.
'Lady' Alice sighed and turned back to Eldrie. "As I've told you before, the title is not necessary, Eldrie. We are all equals as Integrity Knights, and though I may be more senior, that does not mean you must show such... such..."
"I couldn't possibly!" Eldrie said immediately. "You are due all the respect I could give." Tch. The puppy thinks he's being so clever by not looking at me, doesn't he? I could hear the unspoken 'unlike some Integrity Knights' he didn't say. Little upstart. "Ah - Rythin," he said as he turned back to me. "Would you care for some training? I know that you train by yourself, but some light sparring couldn't be amiss, and would be a valuable experience for both of us, according to Lady Alice."
Hmm... A fight against Eldrie, was it? It was certainly an option. I had... oh, roughly about an eighty percent chance at victory? I was a much more vicious fighter than he was, since he was so obsessed with honor and respectability - something else he picked up from Alice, likely - but while he wasn't really that tough that whip of his was still tricky to deal with. If I wasn't careful, I could still lose.
"Unfortunately, I can't at the moment," I said finally.
"I would like to test my skills against you myself," Alice mused. "It has been a while since our fight, hasn't it?"
My lips thinned under my helmet. "My apologies, Lady Alice," I said, "but I must leave. Our match must wait until a later date, I'm afraid." Much, much later, if there was anything I could do about it.
Alice shook her head. "A shame."
"Truly." My voice was dry. "If you'll excuse me?"
Alice and Eldrie stepped aside as I continued down the stairs. As I was just barely in earshot of the pair, I heard Alice say, "He only fights guaranteed victories. Training dummies and children..."
Say it to my face, woman. Unless you're a coward.
"Well, Red," I said when I entered the hangar, "we've got orders. Get ready to fly for a while, we're heading out to the edge of the southern empire."
'Oh, finally,' Chudelkin had said when he'd seen me. 'One of you Knights walks by! Hmmm, you seem... Ahh, it doesn't matter!' He'd bounced back and forth, hopping on one leg at a time. 'Time to get going! The senators are reporting that there's movement in the Dark Territory!'
My lips curved into a smirk as I patted the scales on Red's neck. She stared at me flatly. Sometimes, it felt like my dragon was almost able to understand me. ...But that couldn't be it. "How do you feel about slaughtering some giants?"
With a low hum, Red's lips pulled back and she bared her teeth.
"Heh. Then let's get flying, shall we?"
It didn't take long for me to finish armoring up Red. I'd gotten good at it in the months of flying around the human empire. The servants... I didn't miss how they always 'coincidentally' saddled up Alice's dragons and the other dragons first, and then by the time I got there mine was the last one to get suited up for flying. I'd just learned to put it on myself. So much faster that way. Once the straps were tight under her chin and body, I jumped into the saddle and we were off.
We were able to get away from the Central Cathedral quickly enough, and as I relaxed in the saddle I let out a huge sigh. All the tension in my body seemed to just melt away with the slow, heavy flaps of Red's wings and the roar of the wind in my hair. Because naturally, I took my helmet off as soon as I could. Sometimes I didn't like wearing it all the time at the Central Cathedral - but, on the other hand, it made it really easy to make rude faces at Bercouli while maintaining plausible deniability.
Was it childish? Probably. But it made me feel better. And, as long as I wasn't openly disrespectful (hence the helmet) I wasn't doing anything the Pontifex wouldn't approve of.
Now... My mission. The Dark Territory I was flying to was the giant's territory, if I recalled my lessons correctly. Their attacks aren't as common as those of the goblins that tried to invade through the northern caves, but when they popped up someone had to put them down. In cases like these, I was sent out to deal with the approach of the creatures. There were other Integrity Knights, but Chudelkin and the Pontifex trusted me to eliminate their enemies! And eliminate them I would.
But until then, I only had to relax and take a nice nap on the way. The first few times I'd flown on Red's back, I'd been too nervous to sleep - but now, I'd become accustomed to the rocking and shaking. Besides, I'd carefully probed the limits of Red's controlling Sacred Arts; she couldn't drop me.
...
My breathing hitched and I woke up abruptly. The wind blew at my hair and quickly dried off the cold sweat that beaded on my forehead. What... I could barely remember the dream. But there was someone with... brown hair, and whiskers? No. That couldn't be possible. Several of the Integrity Knights and the students at the Church had brown hair, but whiskers were a facial feature that I'd never seen before. I must have just eaten something off before going to sleep.
Or, maybe dealing with Alice and Eldrie gave me nightmares, even though it had been a few days since I'd seen them. I snorted and shook my head.
Red craned her neck back as if to look at me, and I shook my head again and blinked to clear the last of the cobwebs from my mind. "How much further do you think, Red?" I asked her. Since naturally I didn't get an answer, I looked down over the land we were passing. It was mostly desert, with the very infrequent splash of color from a village. I must have napped for a little bit, since we were so deep in the southern empire I couldn't see Centoria when I turned back.
Somehow, I felt more tired than when I'd left the church. I yawned and rubbed at my eyes, and then hunched over close to Red's back. Maybe I'd feel better after I slaughtered the giants that were causing trouble. A fight usually cheered me up. ...Usually, at least. As long as I won.
Two days had passed by while we flew over the deserts of Southacroith, and before too much longer the large mountain that marked the edge of the human territory loomed in our sight. I held onto the reins tightly as Red folded her wings and dove forward a little bit. The ground rushed towards us, and for an instant my mind conjured up an image of what would happen if I crashed into the ground -
- and then Red flapped her wings once and she leveled off to fly through the South Corridor. The gravity crushed me in my seat, but I didn't mind. This wasn't the first time I'd been through the South Corridor on a mission, and it probably wouldn't be the last. Since the Corridor itself was basically a thin path between two massive, brown mountains, there wasn't really much to look at. Every time, it felt like the loading zone took longer and longer to fly through.
I blinked. ...Loading zone? What was that?
That sort of thing happened from time to time. After waking up from a dream, sometimes strange words or images would flash through my mine. It was bizarre - but nothing to worry about. Administrator had assured me of that. When we slept, Lunaria would visit us and bestow nonsense dreams; they were often strange words or images that didn't exist in reality. The simple explanation was enough to soothe me, and from that point on I'd simply ignored the strange things.
Another yawn escaped me as Red emerged from the canyon. Mmmm, sleepy... I'd need another nap after slaughtering the giants. I wish I didn't even have to get out of bed, some days. It just felt so difficult to get up and go. But, we were in the Dark Territory now, and that meant it was time for me to get to work.
I saw the giants approaching from a distance, and I prepared myself for combat when Red let out a scream of challenge and dove. Her massive tail would be useful for striking them, but in the end...
I jumped free from the saddle just as Red slammed into the nearest giant. I was gloriously weightless for an instant, until my dagger sliced down the giant next to the one that Red had knocked down. Its hand fell to the ground with a heavy thud, severed just above the elbow by my blade, and I cackled when the blood sprayed. "Kya hah hah! Yes! Now this is what it's like to be alive!" My heart was pounding! I couldn't stop the smile that appeared on my face. For once, I was feeling something! "Now come on!"
The giants were tall, but it didn't stop me. One jump carried me up to the knee, and from there I jumped up to its chest and buried my dagger in its throat. Another slice dealt with the rest of its Life, and as I fell I simply spread my arms. Red swooped in at the last moment and my hands caught in her reins.
"Try to last longer than one bell!" I laughed and taunted the remaining giants. "Just kidding! You won't possibly live that long!"
Sure enough, it didn't even take thirty minutes to slaughter all of the giants. My Starry Night Dagger was a Divine Object forged by Administrator, after all. These creatures couldn't possibly compare. Still, it was almost a little disappointing, in a way; because Solus's blessing was so weak in the Dark Territory, these giants couldn't use Sacred Arts. So all I needed was the weapon itself, and not the Full Control Art - there was no point to wasting its Life when I wouldn't even be able to use the Sacred Art-countering effect its shadows had.
I flicked the blood away from my blade and wiped it off. Nothing really grew in the Dark Territory, so there wasn't any grass nearby; I just had to make do with the cooling flesh of one of the giant's corpses. A quick inspection of the blade, and I sighed. I'd need to clean it properly once we were back in the Central Cathedral.
When I looked up at the sky, I noticed the sun starting to set. "We'd better get going, Red," I said. "Two more days in the sky... At least you don't need to eat that often."
Red's answering growl made me smile faintly. "Oh, don't give me that," I said. "You're still going to get fed when we get back, and I know that you're capable of lasting this long. Besides, I saw you eat an arm or three from those giants we killed." The dragon seemed to almost seem embarrassed. At least she was on-board with my whole plan of 'murder things'. The dragon clearly took an almost sadistic glee in roasting the giants alive while we were fighting them, though I wish she would be more careful in the blasts. I almost got caught in them from time to time.
Flying back on the dragon's back was... well, it was boring, honestly. The first several times I'd gone flying, it had been amazing - but now, it was just another method of transportation. If the Cathedral weren't so far away that I'd need over a week on the best horses to get there, I'd walk just for a change of pace. Still... There were some perks to flying on a dragon's back. Namely that I could just curl up and go to sleep again.
I yawned and relaxed. My eyes were heavy, and I just wanted to sleep for days...
Being an Integrity Knight kinda sucks for him, doesn't it? Still, he's got the wonderful Pontifex to serve, so Rythin should be happy.
That being said, timeskip - I know some people might be against it, but I'll be honest here. There's not really anything interesting happening during the intervening time. Rythin just did more of the same things over and over again, day after day. I got the main highlights in (Rythin kills the tiger, he kills his first corrupt mayor, and then timeskip to around the important time) but showing everything would be... maybe too much boring stuff. Rythin flies out, he kills, he flies back.
Anyway. If Reki can do it, so can I.
Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or reviewed. The TvTropes page for this series can always use some love, if you want!
