Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume14 Chapter6 (section)

===Part 3===

Kamito and company were seated in a row across the table from Rubia.

The girl who had led the way earlier prepared bread and tea on the table.

Although Kamito and company were hungry, they had no intention of touching the refreshments. Only Restia thanked the girl, took some bread and started to eat.

From the corner of his eye, Kamito observed the girls sitting by his side.

Confronted with the Calamity Queen, Ellis seemed especially nervous.

...Speaking of which, this was probably Ellis' first time meeting her directly.

As for Claire, she kept her face down the whole time and did not sit face to face from her sister. According to Rinslet, Claire was originally a timid and shy girl, apparently. During the Blade Dance tournament, she could still maintain her forceful attitude due to pressure from circumstances, but once she encountered her sister sitting down in this kind of quiet setting, she seemed to return to her old self.

Under the tense atmosphere hanging in this room, Rubia drank tea nonchalantly. Her graceful airs made Kamito think that she truly lived up to her name as a former duke's daughter.

The girl bowed after bringing the tea, then left the room.

"Is that girl just now an orphan from the Instructional School like me?"

Finally, Kamito started the conversation with this question.

Rubia slowly lowered her cup of tea back to the table.

"&mdash;Indeed. She is one of the orphans I had taken in to join my forces."

"...So it's just as I thought."

The girl was giving off vibes like those who had been raised in the Instructional School. This attitude of eschewing all unnecessary emotions, regarding oneself as a tool, was very similar to Kamito's before he encountered Restia.

"Is she the only one on this ship?"

"Yes. I originally had as many as thirty of them as my subordinates, but the vast majority were taken by Sjora Kahn. They have currently become dogs of the Theocracy."

While she whispered, subtle turbulence in emotions seemed to be visible in her eyes.

"What about Muir and Lily? They're not here together?"

"I have sent them to a certain location to carry out an important mission."

"A certain location?"

"We are severely lacking in combat strength, in both the number of militarized spirits and elementalists to use them. Those are precisely what they are procuring."

At this point, Rubia paused.

"&mdash;For the sake of the imminent war."

"War?"

Kamito asked in return.

"What the heck are you planning? You even acquired this kind of ship!"

His tone of voice got worked up as he questioned Rubia before him.

Previously, Rubia had awakened the power of the Darkness Elemental Lord dormant inside Kamito, intending to use him to destroy the Elemental Lords.

She had collected militarized spirits in the past in preparation for chaos in the human realm after the elimination of the Elemental Lords.

However, the plan to assassinate the Elemental Lords had failed.

Had her solitary fight not ended yet?

"...Nee-sama, don't tell me you still plan on killing the Elemental Lords?"

Silent until now, Claire finally mustered the courage to speak for the first time.

Rubia glanced at her and shook her head slowly.

"I am unable to exterminate the Elemental Lords. It is not possible no matter how powerful an army you raise. The only one capable of eliminating them is the Demon Lord wielding the powers of the Darkness Elemental Lord&mdash;"

Saying that, she looked at Kamito. Enduring her gaze, Kamito glared back at her without backing down.

"War... So what exactly are you going to be at war against, Nee-sama?"

Claire continued without faltering.

Hearing that, Rubia raised a finger and pointed at a location on the map.

It was precisely where the red pin's spot.

"...Eh?"

"At present, my opponent is the Holy Kingdom of Lugia&mdash;"

"...The Holy Kingdom for real?"

Kamito frowned at the unexpected answer.

The Holy Kingdom of Lugia was a land-locked country that worshiped one of the five Elemental Lords, Alexandros the Holy Lord. Despite its name as a kingdom, actual administrative power was held by neither the king nor the parliament but Des Esseintes, whose members were all cardinals.

Despite being a major nation that rivaled Ordesia and Quina, little was known about the Holy Kingdom, much like the Alphas Theocracy.

(...Quite a suspicious country indeed.)

What surfaced in Kamito's mind was the appearance of the Sacred Spirit Knights in the Laurenfrost forest. The captain of the knights, Luminaris, had somehow found out about Restia's rebirth and intended to capture her.

However, why did Rubia suddenly mention the Holy Kingdom's name?

"&mdash;I suppose I ought to start in sequence."

Presumably realizing Kamito's queries, Rubia withdrew the red pin from the map.

"First of all, where do you think the Elemental Lord, which you had liberated, vanished off to?"

"...Huh?"

The sudden question confused Kamito.

No, the literal meaning was easy enough to understand.

On that day, after gaining the privilege to have an audience with the Elemental Lords through their victory in the Blade Dance, Kamito and company had liberated the Fire Elemental Lord from the Otherworldly Darkness&mdash;This was probably what Rubia was referring to.

"The Fire Elemental Lord should have vanished from the throne. Teleported somewhere in Astral Zero or the human realm like the Water Elemental Lord you liberated in the past&mdash;"

Indeed, Water Elemental Lord Iseria Seaward had been transported in an amnesiac state to the abandoned city of Megidoa situated in Astral Zero. In that case, the Fire Elemental Lord must have been teleported somewhere in that instant, but&mdash;

"Who knows. All I did was purify that Otherworldly Darkness. As for where the liberated Fire Elemental Lord went, I've no idea."

Kamito shook his head.

"Guess what? That Fire Elemental Lord's location..."

Saying that, Rubia's lips curled in self-mockery.

"...Indeed, this must be so-called karma. The link as a Queen."

She revealed the emblem of a fiery crown, branded on her right hand. Rather than Laevateinn's, this seal belonged to the Fire Elemental Lord whom she used to serve.

"How!? The Fire Elemental Lord's seal should've been inherited by Reicha&mdash;"

"Indeed, the Elemental Lord's spirit seal should have been inherited by Reicha Alminas who had succeeded me as Queen. However, the spirit seal bestowed upon me did not disappear in bizarre turn of events, be it a curse or a blessing. This is presumably an abnormal situation stemming from the Otherworldly Darkness eating away at the Elemental Lord."

Responding to Claire's surprise. Rubia continued.

"Ever since becoming the Calamity Queen, I have attempted many times to erase this seal. However, neither cutting with a knife nor burning with fire has worked. Every time, this seal would reappear like a curse, tormenting me. Ironically, this seal, which I have resented overwhelmingly in the past, has now told me the location of the reborn Fire Elemental Lord&mdash;"

Rubia's gaze fell upon the map again.

"Where the Fire Elemental Lord was reborn, happens to be&mdash;"

"No way&mdash;!"

"Indeed, the capital of the Holy Kingdom of Lugia&mdash;Alexandria."

Kamito fell silent.

The Fire Elemental Lord had been reborn in the human realm, and the Holy Kingdom's capital to boot&mdash;

What did that imply? Simply imagining it made one speechless.

Suppose the Fire Elemental Lord had been transported in a state of amnesia just like Iseria and someone, knowing of this fact, attempted to claim that power for their own use&mdash;

(...It would be equivalent to obtaining an ultimate weapon far surpassing the power of strategic-class militarized spirits.)

Imagining the worst-case scenario, Kamito broke out with cold sweat on his forehead. Yes, supposing someone malevolent got their hands on the Fire Elemental Lord's power, it would be possible to engineer a destructive calamity even greater than what had befallen Elstein territory four years ago.

"So you tracked down the Fire Elemental Lord&mdash;?"

"Of course. Muir Alenstarl and I infiltrated the Holy Kingdom together. However, a few days after we entered Alexandria, the spirit seal's response was suddenly cut off."

"...What happened?"

"It implies that someone has secured the Fire Elemental Lord&mdash;"

Claire spoke quietly in a nervous voice.

"Once locked in an isolation barrier, the contracted spirit's link will be cut off."

"Indeed. And the erection of an isolation barrier is evidence that someone has hidden the Fire Elemental Lord on purpose. Needless to say, the barrier is so strong that it can even seal away the incomplete Fire Elemental Lord. There is no doubt that a state-level agency is involved&mdash;"

"In other words, Des Esseintes has obtained the Fire Elemental Lord?"

"I fear so. Regardless, I have lost the trail. My current power is still insufficient to oppose the Holy Kingdom's upper echelon."

"But assuming that's the case, how did the Holy Kingdom know about the Fire Elemental Lord's location?"

Putting aside Rubia, who was the former Queen, other people were not supposed to know, right?

No wait, before talking about location, how would they even know about the liberation of the Elemental Lord in the first place?

The existence of the Otherworldly Darkness corrupting the Elemental Lords should only be known to Rubia and Kamito's party.

"I am not sure of that either. Did they come to know of it by chance, or was the teleportation of the Fire Elemental Lord to the Holy Kingdom something deliberately engineered by someone&mdash;?"

"Speaking of which, they also seemed like they knew about Restia..."

Kamito suddenly looked at Restia, who responded by looking back at Kamito with a puzzled expression.

"But what is the Holy Kingdom planning to do after they obtained the Fire Elemental Lord?"

"Monopolizing the power of fire on the continent? Well, that is merely a hypothesis."

Hearing Claire's suggestion, Ellis cocked her head. Indeed, if any single country could control the Fire Elemental Lord to do their bidding, they would surely wield overwhelming influence over the surrounding countries. Needless to say, it would be even more true for the Holy Kingdom of Lugia, a major nation.

"&mdash;It would be a relief if that was only as far as they will go."

"What do you mean?"

Kamito asked.

"You must have seen that Otherworldly Darkness corrupting the Elemental Lords, haven't you?"

She suddenly asked.

"Yeah..."

Kamito nodded. With complicated looks on their faces, probably from recalling what they had witnessed at the Elemental Lords' shrine that day, Claire and Ellis nodded.

True darkness that even devoured the mortal realm's darkness. Also&mdash;

(That army of countless angels, restless in the depths of the darkness...)

However, the Fire Elemental Lord should have been freed from that darkness.

However, what Rubia said next was even more unbelievable.

"&mdash;The Holy Kingdom has obtained that Otherworldly Darkness."

"...!?"

Kamito and company were rendered speechless.

"What did you say? ...What the hell is going on?"

"You know about the coup d'etat at the Theocracy several days prior, don't you?"

"Y-Yeah..."

Kamito nodded vaguely.

Reportedly, the Theocracy's witch, Sjora Kahn, had taken over the palace of Scorpia using merely two hundred troops, beheading Hierarch Rajihal Kahn to institute a regime change. That news had shaken all the surrounding countries, thus leading to an All Nations Conference being held at the imperial capital.

"The heart of the Theocracy, Scorpia, should be garrisoned with a large number of spirits. Do you not find it odd why it had been taken over so quickly?"

"..."

Indeed, Sjora Kahn was a terrifying elementalist but it was hard to imagine her single-handedly defeating all the elites at the palace. Even if all of her subordinates were elementalists, it would be no easy task.

Seeing Kamito silent, Rubia continued.

"According to my spies at Scorpia, the palace's spirits all went insane when possessed by horrifying darkness."

"...! No way&mdash;"

Kamito's team recalled something and instantly exchanged looks with one another.

"&mdash;Indeed. The same existence likely caused the spirits at Areishia Spirit Academy to go berserk as well."

The militarized spirits attacking the Academy were definitely corrupted by the Otherworldly Darkness.

"Des Esseintes was controlling the Theocracy's coup d'etat from the shadows. Do you have any recollection of the name Millennia Sanctus?"

"Millennia Sanctus..."

Claire remembered.

"That girl with the eyepatch... Riding a berserk militarized spirit..."

It was the girl with Otherworldly Darkness residing in her left eye.

That was the name of the mysterious girl who had conspired with Lurie Lizaldia to attack the Academy.

"She is a cardinal of Des Esseintes, right?"

"Indeed, she is a member of Des Esseintes who leads underground diplomacy without ever working out in the open. She has obtained that Otherworldly Darkness&mdash;"

Rubia's eyes of ruby burned with crimson flames.

To her, that Otherworldly Darkness was a mortal enemy that must be obliterated.

"Supposing the Fire Elemental Lord falls into her hands&mdash;"

"&mdash;Indeed, it will be hell on earth."

Rubia's voice was filled with intense determination.

The image in her mind was probably her homeland, devastated by the insane Elemental Lord in the past.

(&mdash;So is this what she meant by preparations for war?)

She seemed to be seriously planning for war against the Holy Kingdom.

"...In other words, you rescued us to recruit us as part of your forces?"

"Precisely. Work under me, Kazehaya Kamito."

"What if I refuse?"

"That option is not open to you."

Saying that, Rubia placed a pin on the map.

The pinned location was Ostdakia, the capital of the Ordesia Empire.

"What do you mean?"

"The Holy Kingdom masterminded the attempted assassination on the emperor on this occasion."

"...What!?"

Kamito, Claire and Ellis all yelled in surprise.

"The main conspirator in the assassination incident was most likely Fianna's elder brother, Arneus Ray Ordesia. A puny man driven by ambition. However, it is undoubtedly the Holy Kingdom backing him. They presumably intend to make Arneus their puppet."

"...I knew it. Fianna was framed."

"Indeed, she was exploited to purge the anti-Arneus faction."

Rubia nodded then looked at Kamito squarely.

"You will hurry to the imperial capital and rescue Fianna Ray Ordesia, yes?"

Hearing Rubia&mdash;

"In other words, we want to rescue Fianna and you want to crush the Holy Kingdom, so our goals are the same?"

"Correct. Our interests are aligned."

Kamito muttered in his mind&mdash;

(...This suggestion isn't bad, actually.)

Despite his reluctance to be controlled by Rubia, there was no reason to refuse. Frankly speaking, they had simply escaped from the military base for now. He had absolutely no idea how to rescue Fianna.

He looked at Claire and Ellis, who both nodded.

&mdash;Then it was decided.

"Understood. Then I guess we'll work under you for a while, Rubia Elstein."

"&mdash;The contract is established."

Rubia declared concisely, stood up and left the room.

"There is still time before we reach the imperial capital. Take a break until then."

&mdash;Kamito, Claire and Ellis breathed a sigh of relief after Rubia exited the room.

"...It feels so exhausting."

"Yeah, after all, her presence is so forceful."

Kamito concurred with Ellis' quiet complaint.

"But the Otherworldly Darkness..."

"The Holy Kingdom has acquired the Otherworldly Darkness while the Fire Elemental Lord has gone missing at Alexandria&mdash;"

"Honestly, this is totally ominous..."

&mdash;At that moment, the earlier girl returned to the room.

"A room for napping has been prepared accordingly. Please get some rest."

"Sure, thanks."

"But I would like to see my esteemed sister&mdash;"

"In that case, please follow me."

The girl nodded after listening to Ellis.

"Claire, don't you need to have a chat with Rubia?"

"...Huh? H-Hmm..."

Kamito's question brought a complicated expression to Claire's face as she responded ambiguously.

"...I-I suppose... But... what should we talk about, I've no idea."

(...Well, I guess she's right.)

Understanding Claire's feelings vaguely, Kamito chose to remain silent.

After experiencing such a long separation, the huge gulf between them could not be bridged so easily.