31 The Priest Praises the Brave Host/The Dragon Warrior Accepts the People of Fire

I have given everything to be here.

There shouldn’t have been anything left to lose.

-Father Felipo V-

Lady Kuroi’s return appears to have succeeded thanks to the support from Origis’s company... A fine result. In the end, it’s the only thing that matters. What else we sacrifice to obtain it is of no importance.

Jashan son Peine... well done. To drag Lady Kuroi from such a horde.

And now hundreds of bodies, hundreds of beasts, ignoring the elves in front of them, are charging toward us in pursuit of Lady Kuroi and the Origis Company. I see the vampires have recognized Lady Kuroi as a clear threat. It’s to be expected given that display of power.

The challenge is accepted. All we will do is fight and protect her.

With holy spear in my right hand and shield in my left hand, I, Felipo Valkie Millennium will not back down, not so much as a step. Behind me are five hundred infantry. I stand here, in the middle point of the center company.

The enemy aggressively swarms towards us. No doubt they’re headed right for us. The time for skirmishes is at an end. We can no longer leave it to the Bomber Knights.

I begin to hear the grunting and groaning from the troops... I hear even the clacking of teeth.

“Companies, halt! Reinforce by squad!” A good voice. Lord Willow’s orders ring clearly even from the right wing.

“We will repulse the forces pursuing the Origis Company here! Left wing, Marius Company, select the appropriate platoons as skirmishers! Use them to drive the enemy to the center, narrow the battlefield!”

“Understood, sir!” I wonder if he’s ordinarily taciturn to save his roar for the battlefield.

How strong. How dependable.

“Mage Company! Prepare for successive fire and get ready!”

“Yep! Lads, we’ll use the new wands! Prep them with your magic!” Odysson’s voice is quite impressive, too. Worthy of trust. Even when peppering his words with odd phrases in daily conversation, desperation brings out the steel in a man’s heart. He’s another hero worthy of praise next to Lord Willow. Bringing the once forbidden art of flame magic back into the world is an overwhelming contribution to humanity.

“Infantry companies! Prepare for full defensive combat! The enemy’s getting through to us!” A harsh voice. The voice of one shouldering scores of lives. And no doubt they’re right. There’s many enemies chasing the Origis Company. No matter how the cavalry moves, there’s no way they can intercept every last one of them.

“A’ight! Rear rank, volunteers! This is the time to spend your lives! Grit your teeth!” Captain Zakkow’s voice with the gravelly weight of one who clawed their way up the ranks. A harshness that drives them onward. No surprise. They’re about to face the supernatural without the benefit of being on horseback. They need to then hold their ground.

“What’s with the holy father? Front rank! We can’t hear you!” My voice, huh? Give me a moment, I’m preparing myself.

After all, the voice is the very first magic. Sending thoughts and emotions from person to person and directly influencing their hearts. It’s one of the most important things that a person can do to another.

Oh voice, take upon thy magic. Thy strength as magic. Become and secure thy place as human magic. And if thou art magic, then become fire. A fire that possesses the magic of the voice. Provide the spark upon my words, my truth, to become the magic of flame allowed only to humanity, and light a fire within their hearts. Give us hearts of flame.

This, today, should be in my power. I calm my jangling soul, and squeeze out only my strength. Letting flow my magic, I speak as though I breathe fire.

“Oh, brave souls! Oh, host of brave, strong souls who show courage upon this battlefield! You courageous souls!” Ring out, my voice. Cry out, my words.

“We are a band of able warriors! Audacious souls challenging fate with sharp blades in hand! Ones who protect the righteous to our back and strike down evil! We are those possessed by the flame!” Reach them, oh strong words. The great meanings. The pleasant ring.

“Stand upon this ground! A powerful, immovable mountain! Line up upon this earth! An unshakable resolve!” Oh God. I can see the flames. The invisible flames spark in my soul, swallowing the troops around me. Lighting their hearts, flaring, and feeding a greater flame.

“Now is the time! We move forward! For the victory of mankind!” The response is a heated, almost rabid roar of truth.

Deus Ex. Deus Ex. Deus Ex.

The expression of hope that it will be so. The repetition of that wish. Spreading like a roar.

The militia formed of settlers, the hired mercenaries and adventurers, the chosen flame mages, the soldiers from the New Golden Lands, they roar in unison. The Bomber Knights are still holding onto their discipline, but I can feel their heated commitment. If this were a spell, perhaps I would call it fire magic, Burning Battle. It seems the fear and doubt have burnt to ash, morale climbing into the heavens. It’s pretentious of me to try to control and wield this sort of intensity.

“All troops, attention to orders! Prepare arms! The enemy approaches!” Lord Willow calls out. There’s not a hint of disruption to the commands.

“Mage Company! Three blasts in succession! Reaaaady!” It’s time for us infantry to get to work. We hold up our shields. We ready our spears.

“Fire!” Now all there is to do is fight.

-Dragon Warrior Fleilyu IV-

What is that? Just what is happening?

Magical flames that arc high above the battlefield, then rain down, setting fire to the land. The fire magic of the humans... As though they are flame dragons. The evil dragons that served as the Demon King’s familiar in the old legends, the ones who feared no one, not even the gods.

The bloodsuckers go up in flames, leaving ash in their wake. There is not a shadow of the resistance they put up against the magic of us elves, erupting in flames as though they are mere kindling. Flames that had burned even the elves now revert to their true role.

Shadows that lurk over the burning fields. Black wolves. The vampires who managed to avoid the flames also rush forward. That aggression is their true nature. The bestial rage that throws the continent into chaos. Something that all elves loathe and fear in equal measure.

The mounted warriors swiftly move in to intercept. This I should have known. This I should have understood. I had witnessed the urban battle in pitch darkness. But this goes so far beyond that... to use magic as well. They are the equals of elven and vampiric warriors.

And what drives them? A morale that burns so brightly it could engulf a forest.

Were infantry not mere fodder, a wasteful use of flesh and souls? How do they fight so fiercely? To resist even as they’re flattened by black wolves, torn apart by the blood-suckers... could even elven warriors perform such a feat?

A people that wield fire, ride upon horses, and fight as though they are flames.

So these are humans.

This is humanity.

A people with a history comparable to the elves. Now possessing the blessing of a god. This is what they’ve become.

That is what this is. There is no doubt. I know humanity’s Apostle. The raven-haired warrioress that spells inevitability. The incredible threat that cuts through elf and vampire alike without distinction.

Kuroi... Kuroi, the Apostle of Humanity.

She is powerful. Very powerful. The vampires stood no chance against her. The sight of her creating infinite weapons, slaying her enemies with blades and reducing them to ash with flames was like a firestorm of swords. She drew on her quarry and utterly destroyed them without mercy.

To use summoning magic for melee combat... From the elven way of battle, it is a concept impossible to fathom, much less execute. Indeed, it is closer to the vampiric way of battle. Like the Three Apostles of the Vampires that continually trouble the Three Apostles of the Elves... For they hold in common the summoning of magic weaponry in battle.

“Fleilyu, are you here, Fleilyu?”

“Y-Yes, I am here, Lady Sakiel.” Shameful. I lost myself in surprise. Such is the sight before me.

“A runner to the human army... Instruct them to come hither! My magic cannot protect them from this distance!”

“Respectfully, they appear to have the advantage. Perhaps you need not direct them...” To bring that army closer, that is a risk.

It appears Kuroi has returned to the host to rest, so we should hold some distance from them. The others are still confused.

“Fool! The sky, turn your gaze skyward!” The sky. It’s painted in the color of the setting sun and red... No, stained red and black. A thick, curdling black cloud engulfs the entire sky. Just when did...? No, it’s growing as we speak.

“It’s her! She’s summoned a thunder cloud!” Her. Yes, Golden. The ruler of the evil earth, the Golden, has started moving.

“Hurry! Tell the humans... Oh! It approaches.” The clouds let out a menacing growl, twisting around before the light and impacts follow. One after another. Over and over. No one can do anything but close their eyes and brace themselves against the onslaught. An overwhelmingly violent display of lightning magic.

Yet, no harm comes to our ranks. For above us float countless Jellyfish Bells and Sunfish Gongs. Slowly, almost casually. Despite being subjected to such lightning, they absorb it without so much as letting through the faintest shock. A divine and towering art wielded by the Bell. The wondrous ability of Lady Sakiel.

The humans... they could not stand. The cavalry, the infantry, the mages. They mattered not. There is power that no equipment in creation can stop. Such is the lightning wielded through the Golden’s summoning magic.

But it’s an indiscriminate attack. The humans suffer enormous losses, but the vampires attacking them are a wreck as well. No matter the power, if it can only create barbarous, destructive results, it is only worthy of scorn, not admiration.

Here the thousand pebbles, the core of their host, begin to move. They stand as always with the Golden. If we can handle them properly, we can win this battle.

“F-Fleilyu...!” Lady Sakiel. If this is her first field battle, I can fully grasp the feelings that trouble her.

“I give to you my command as Dragon Commander.” Lady... Sakiel?

“Help the human army. Save their wounded. Then retreat. I shall cover the retreat. Stay silent, this is my command. I shall Do My Best and force a stalemate!”