Chapter 247: The Heir of Hope. [Release Version]

Song for today: "The Heritors of Arcadia" from "Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4irgZg-Wv0

Edit: Some stuff in the end.

____________________

“KRRRRRUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!”

The walls sheltering the orphanage’s district suddenly broke apart as a medieval standing cannon suddenly crashed into them, causing rocks to shower down upon us. Tasianna immediately manipulated the water from the rain above the orphanage to hold the rocks up, allowing Saori and me to break them apart with our respective powers.

Once all the boulders and debris were turned into pebbles, Tasianna tossed them away while Ellaine and I went over to the wall and hardened it with [Terra Wall]. As the orphanage was placed right next to Griffonpeak’s wall, it used to give the orphan kids a great sense of protection, as the caretakers always assured them that it would protect them from the dangers from outside. Now, this very wall almost crushed Eshe’s, Alikar’s, and Anivh’s bodies.

“I got them out. They’re over with the poor lass
” Grimnir informed us, having taken Alikar and Anivh out from their giant metal suits. While they were created from Eshe’s unique skill [Honored, Sworn Knights] and would ordinarily disappear once Eshe deactivated the skill, it seemed when they died,  their armor remained.

“A knight’s death,” Ellaine called it, and I agreed. These intimidating suits of metal were rather befitting of their status as Eshe’s bodyguards. It was just a shame that
 even thinking about them like this caused my tears to flow. I couldn’t suppress my grief and loneliness, even after I made sure everybody from Aurora was alive and here with me.

As the rest of us followed Grimnir to the garden, we saw he had placed a tent over their bodies, preventing the rain from dropping on them. Tasianna was preventing the rain from falling on us by freezing the droplets and then throwing those ice shards away with [Cryokinesis], but it was good that the rain couldn’t touch  Eshe and her knights anymore.

“Eshe
” I whispered in mourning. I wasn’t the only one, as Ellaine, Grimnir, and Tasianna prayed for them in the name of their respective gods, while Saori began cleaning their bodies from the rain and blood.

Seeing Eshe’s peaceful face was like a thorn piercing my heart. Memories of her resurfaced, and I couldn’t control myself any longer. Memories of how she would treat me to cooking from Sarkarfiina, of how we laughed as we played with the kids, and of how she truly was a “Saintess” as she stood up against the criminals of Shaturein to rescue the kids and slaves Hamil captured rose in my mind, drowning me in sorrow.

“Hieeehic! Hiuek hieuk uek uek, hic!” My voice cracked. I kneeled down, hiding my crying face on my legs, still unwilling to accept the reality of things.

Please, Aurena, please, answer
 Please, tell me Eshe, Alikar, and Anivh are still alive


<
 I’m sorry, Hestia.>

Her reply was something I expected, but it stung even more when I was confronted by it once again. I knew I couldn’t just stay here and continue crying with the large bug rampaging at the front of the capital’s gates, but I wanted this moment. I dearly needed this time to slow down and mourn.

I was in an emotional turmoil. I used up all my anger and wrath to kill the demonkin, and felt too weak to move, right now. Fighting was out of the question.

“Ellaine, hieec, Tasianna
” I forced out with my face planted against my legs. “I-I thought you two had died, too. I thought that I would have lost you too. That I left you two to die in Shaturein. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry
”

“N-No, no, I should be the one to apologize, Hestia.” I could hear Ellaine’s shaky voice due to how she too was just crying. “I was weak. I learned from Klea that Eithalr was the one who knocked me unconscious and handed me over, but I still got surprised and couldn’t react. If I hadn’t been captured
 you might have been able to focus more on protecting Saintess Eshe. O-Oooh, dear Goddess, dear Goddess Ilsaphone — please, let her soul rest in peace. Light be your guide to the gates of souls, Saintess Eshe.”

Ellaine wasn’t a very pious person in the sense that she didn’t go around spouting Aurena’s name like it was the most important thing in her life, but she was faithful. Most nobles in Artorias were, since the church of Aurena was the kingdom’s state religion.

It shouldn’t be surprising to see Ellaine cry for Eshe, even if they hadn’t known each other for too long. To Ellaine, seeing Eshe die would most likely be similar to a Christian seeing a revered clergyman like the pope dying before them.

“Ellaine, Tasianna
 what happened with you two?” I wiped the tears from under my eyes, trying my best to stop crying. Saori and Grimnir had told me what happened to the necromancer, but I still had no idea how Ellaine escaped or where her parents were, as they should have been with Tasianna.

Noticing I wasn’t in the right state of mind to fight, they nodded to each other and began telling me their stories.

For Ellaine, it was a wild ride of emotions. Hearing from Klea’Hatma how Eithalr had bashed her face against the floor caused another surge of rage inside me, as the contempt I felt for that bastard grew and grew. If he hadn’t been so adamant about stalling me, I could have learned that Ellaine wasn’t in Shaturein earlier and saved Eshe in time. If he hadn’t kidnapped her, none of this would have happened.

“He’s a kill-on-sight!” I shouted, grinding my teeth.

“I understand your feelings, but if you were having so much trouble against him in a duel, would it be smart to constantly fight him? Although, I must admit I want to get revenge on him,” Ellaine replied, trying to calm me down.

She continued her story. Jonathan, her brother, was the one to rescue her from the cell and the both of them went to save Amelia from the corrupted nobles, only for Ellaine to get her head cut off by Charleslyt. She managed to survive her own death thanks to her [Necklace of Vampiric Undying], but hearing that coming from her own mouth caused me to feel [Battle Frenzy] crawling up again.

Ellaine noticed this and quickly ended the story by telling me that she defeated him with Klea’Hatma’s help, and that they seemingly had created a symbiotic relationship with each other. Charleslyt was defeated and Jonathan and Amelia brought them to the knights to arrest him.

[“Wrath doesn’t suit your cute face, dear. Calm yourself down, you can unleash all of it against that giant bug once your heart settles,”] Klea’Hatma advised me. I wanted to click my tongue to her words, just ‘cause I was annoyed at Eithalr and Charleslyt, but restrained myself, knowing giving a tantrum now would be disrespectful to Eshe and her knights.

“
 Haaaaaaaa.” I did my breathing technique, slowing my beating heart a bit. “Tasianna, Lord and Lady Helvas aren’t with you. What happened down in Shaturein?”

“Oh, please, don’t worry about it, Lady Hestia. Nothing happened to them; in fact, when they saw Ellaine safe and alive, they were fully capable of crying and embracing their daughter,” Tasianna explained, only to cause Ellaine to blush in embarrassment.

What happened was that Tasianna and the Helvas parents had to fight through a horde of mercenaries to get into Hamil’s secret base. Most of them were random thugs and small-time mercenary companies not registered with Blackreach — a major crime in Shaturein as you were disrespecting the leading guild of the undercity — but a few notable participants were the members of the Yanderu Elusuess and Charleslyt’s “wyvern slayer” buddies.

Of course, if Eithalr had been hired, his crew wouldn’t be far behind. Allies one day, enemies the next. It’s fucked up how that had to happen


All of the mercs except for the Yanderu folks naturally underestimated the trio of Tasianna and the Helvas parents since they were vastly outnumbered. That was quite the surprise, since Kaian, who was there, should have seen Tasianna fight before. He could have informed everybody of how dangerous Tasianna was, not just his own group. Cutthroat, honestly.

Nevertheless, Lord and Lady Helvas weren’t too bad themselves, according to Tasianna. They were former adventurers but they never did tell us what their ranks were. Marianne conquered the field with her spells while Lord Helvas cut everything down. He and Kaian even dueled evenly while Tasianna took care of the wyvern slayers.

“We had the advantage, don’t get me wrong, Lady Hestia. We probably would have won and I could have shut those damn wyvern slayers up forever, but the moment Pestrodus and the lycerepth appeared, most of them fled the scene. Like, the lycerepth announced themselves and all of the mercenaries just retreated.”

The surprising addition to all of this was Pestrodus and his agents. They were on their own investigations in Shaturein from what Muraina told us, as we had presumed he was the demonkin. Naturally, Tasianna was wary of him. She even tried fighting him when he tried to approach them.

That stopped when Tasianna saw my [Solar Beam] attack from my fight against Eithalr, and that was when she decided that she had to hurry up and find Ellaine before rendezvousing with me. Since all the Yanderu and associated mercenaries had left, entering the mansion proved no challenge.

Tasianna initially tried to ignore Pestrodus and keep him at arm’s length, ready to freeze him the moment she noticed something wrong. After all, Pestrodus mentioned he was looking into apprehending Hamil and found this base after painstakingly investigating leads over multiple days. Of course he would, he was the demonkin working with Hamil, right?

“Hamil wasn’t there, he had already fled. Arcanuess and Arcaliess Helvas agreed with me to rendezvous with you, since it’s likely that Hamil would be in the last area. However, Pestrodus stopped us, warning us that Eithalr would be there,” she explained.

Pestrodus was adamant that this was the only possible place for Hamil to be, since he inspected the neighborhood’s blueprints beforehand, learning that there was an underground passage. Tasianna wanted to rush over to me after learning I was possibly fighting against Eithalr, but that was when she saw me flying away. That must have been when I learned from Aurena was Eshe was about to die.

At that point, she assumed I had most likely learned where Ellaine was and decided not to pursue me. She had so much faith in my ability to win against Eithalr that she honestly thought I had won against him. Kinda made me feel worse when I informed her he wasn’t even going all-out against me and I was still nowhere close to winning, at least going by what he said after I poisoned him.

With the Helvas parents agreeing to leave the rest to me, Tasianna followed Pestrodus and his lycerepthors as they vehemently searched the mansion for the secret entrance. In the meantime, Lord and Lady Helvas went around to collect any evidence to aid King Drangleic in sending out the knights.

When they finally found the entrance, Tasianna readied herself for a fight, believing Pestrodus was using this place for their grave. But a conflict never happened. At the bottom of this passage was an underground river, leading south according to the documents they found. Hamil had escaped south, to the Atadoro Kingdom before they even entered the mansion. The mercenaries truly were just there to stall.

Pestrodus had smacked his fist on the wall, infuriated by his failure to catch a heathen to the church. But it became even worse for him once he began looking through all the documents, becoming distraught when the truth was written on a piece of parchment.

“The demonkin you fought went by the name of Joachim von Spitzwald, Pestrodus’s younger cousin. A cousin he had recruited to the order as a favor to his uncle. Hamil documented every letter, transaction, and meeting he had with him, intending to use it as blackmail. He only learned that Joachim was a demonkin after he took over International Desires.”

So, in the end, Pestrodus’s cousin was killed and replaced by a demonkin of envy who used his appearance to enact all of this. The more I learn, the more fucked up everything is.

Eventually, the garms found Tasianna and the Helvas parents, and informed them that Ellaine, Amelia, and Jonathan were safe. The trio left on the backs of the garm, leaving Pestrodus to deal with the information they found. Once back on the surface, they met up with the Saori, Ellaine, and Grimnir.

They then left to find Jonathan and to hand in the documents to the knights. I honestly still didn’t understand why the knights weren’t sent out already, but I also had little idea how any of the bureaucracy worked in Artorias. I figured the king had the final say in everything, but it seemed the dukes had a lot of rights to keep the power balance between them intact.

I sighed in relief, happy to hear that at least something good was happening to others. “I see
 Thankfully everything seemed to be going well for—”

But I was quickly interrupted.

“Hestia, you gave Eshe two of the [Room] runes, correct?” Saori asked, to which I nodded. “They aren’t on her or her knights. Grimnir and I can’t find them!”

The runes? Hold on
 did I forget— Ooooh!

“The kids and caretakers!” I shouted before pulling out a pair of [Room] runes to open the subspace.

I’m such an idiot! How could I have forgotten about them!

I entered through the portal, ending up in the community room, expecting to see the kids and caretakers worryingly waiting inside. However, to the surprise of my party and me, the whole room was full, not only with the kids and caretakers, but also various strangers. The elderly, adults, teenagers, and also kids.

I think I recognized one or two of them visiting the restaurant, but the majority were strangers.

“““Big Sis!”””

“A-Abi?!”

The orphans ran up to us the moment they saw us enter, jumping into our arms. Shoyi, Saori’s slime, happily jumped on top of her head and began to wiggle like a puppy in elation at seeing its mistress again.

“Wady Weshe! Hiiec! Is Wady Weshe alwight?!”

Tears and snots covered their faces while their cheeks and eyes were a vibrant red. Their talking was mixed in with their crying, coming out as slightly incoherent as they slurred their words. Looking at them crying so loudly, I wondered how long they’ve been doing this.

“W-What happened?” I asked, holding Abi and two others tightly as if I already understood what occurred from the looks of all the people around us. Their tattered clothes, their wounds, and their worried expressions — if I thought back on what Eshe’s personality was like, I could already guess what happened.

And it was confirmed when the orphanage director came over, her wrinkles growing under her eyes from all the weeping. “L-Lady Hestia, is Saintess Eshe alright? Please, tell us, is Saintess Eshe alright? Where is she?”

“S-She’s— Huek
” I stroked the kids’ hair, unable to speak it out. Regardless, from my reaction alone, it seemed the director and caretakers already understood the situation, and when they understood, the kids did as well.

“N-No, Lady Eshe c-couldn’t be, no, Big Sis, you’re lying! She can’t be gone, nooo!” I remembered the faces of those who Eshe told me were the children of adventurers, who had to learn the deaths of their parents in the same similar fashion. They knew what was going on, they couldn’t, no, they didn’t want to accept it again.

“Stop it, stop shouting at her! S-She’s not at fault here
 RrrrrARRRRRGH! Fuck, dammit!” The older kids, those who had to live knowing their parents weren’t with them anymore tried to control the younger ones, but even they were at their limits experiencing the same trauma.

“Huh? Wait, why is everybody shouting and crying? Where is Lady Eshe, Big Sis?” But the ones that broke my heart the most were those who had no idea. Those who were too young to remember their parents, those born into the orphanage due to some noble clergyman wanting to have fun with a grey-robed priestess, or those who were far, far too young to contemplate on the implications.

And Abi was one of them. Seeing her confused with tears flowing from her eyes made it all too much more problematic. It felt like my heart could just break apart at any moment. I knew there would always be a risk in my lifestyle, but I thought I was more prepared for it
 I was mistaken.




And it didn’t get much better.

Saori and Ellaine stepped out of the subspace, having learned where Eshe most likely hid the runes. Once they reappeared, they told everybody it was safe to exit the portal, and to give everybody mourning some space.

“Saintess Eshe
 Light be your guide to the plains of souls —she was a benevolent person. The perfect embodiment of a saintess, Lady Hestia,” the director told me after I let out another waterfall of tears. I never thought I could cry so many tears.

The reason why Eshe was around the church area instead of at the fortifications in the merchant district was because of the people she met enroute. Countless people tried to barricade themselves in their houses or neighborhoods, trying to survive the undead and monster outbreak on their own.

Some didn’t trust the knights, some didn’t trust the nobles or merchants nearby, some just didn’t want to get trampled on by the scared populace. Everybody had a reason to refuse to go to the merchant district.
Eshe tried to dissuade them, urging them to go to the church at least for their protection, but even if she was a saintess, some couldn’t place their trust in the church or Aurena. I didn’t know if they were atheists, but it was their choice to make. Artorias had a state religion but it had no laws to force that religion on their citizens, unlike the Folschreck Empire did according to Eshe.

Eshe wasn’t used to being rejected like that, so she had asked the director and caretakers how to handle the situation. They suggested to her to allow those who wish sanctuary to come with her, but it wouldn’t be right to force people. After all, even if they weren’t in the church, the Goddess would still grant them her protection.

“But as we spoke, Sir Alikar informed us that monsters were breaking through the floor. Sir Alikar and Dame Anivh managed to repel the threat, but most of the citizens were slain. It was a gruesome sight but, Light be praised, the children weren’t exposed to it.”

Still, this was just the beginning and a chain reaction started where more monsters and undead appeared. Whether children or adults, Eshe wanted to help all of them, so they tried and tried. More people populated the subspace as Eshe and her knights fought through the chaos.

I remember giving her the normal permission of everybody in my party, just in case I might have forgotten to give every kid permission to enter the subspace. I never really thought she would end up letting so many strangers into the [Room]. Eshe
 why did you have to be such a hero?

It was heroic. A tale worthy to be told by the bards. A feat fitting for a saintess of Aurena. Her kind and warm heart saved the lives of over 60 people, even if most of them weren’t too warm to her at first.

But she died.

Ambushed while trying to rescue others, Eshe and her knights tried to flee from the demonkin only for him to try using hostages to draw her out. Alikar was gravely injured in the ambush attack, but even then he did not reject Eshe’s wish to save them. He and Anivh had sworn a vow to serve her, even if it meant their deaths.

In the end, Eshe managed to save the people from the demonkin, but at the cost of Anivh. She tried to enter the subspace to escape from the demonkin, but that was when the director saw Alikar being cut down by the disguised demonkin. Eshe, seeing this, ran out, using her spells to give cover fire for the remaining people to enter the [Room].

But


“
” I closed my eyes, complaining internally at what Eshe had done. It was a truly selfless stunt, but to me, while I was still emotionally broken, it felt so very selfish. Why did she have to sacrifice her and her knights’ lives? Why did she have to act so heroic?

“Hieeeeuc! Hieghieghieg
  haaaaaaiec.”

And then it came to me.

I turned around, seeing Saori crying as profusely as I did after hearing Eshe’s story. I forgot about this, too. I wasn’t the only one suffering. To Saori, this probably hit even worse due to her own past.

As Saori from Japan, she lost her father, a firefighter. He managed to rescue the people trapped inside the burning building, but he lost his life in the process. After his death, Saori’s mother broke down, and was never the same. Saori had to give up on her ambition of becoming a historian to pursue a job that paid more, sooner.

For once, I could fully understand why Saori was so hesitant about risks. Why she had been adamant that I not leave to rescue the lizardmen we met in the Belzac forest. Being heroic was fine, but if you lost your life in the process, how many people would you leave behind?

I began to sympathize with Saori’s mindset.

“Before the portal closed, she threw this into it, telling us to give it to you, Lady Hestia.” The director handed me a slightly ripped piece of parchment with words written on it. As I read it, tears began to fall once again.

‘Stay strong.’

“
 Idiot.”

“Stay strong.” That was all that was written on it. I had no idea how to respond to those words. It felt weird. Grief and anger were the two emotions I felt at this very moment, battling with each other to become the dominating one. Grief for losing a friend, and anger at having learned how Eshe died.

It was kinda fitting for someone like Eshe, but I also felt slightly betrayed by it. She knew she was about to die. Her knights were gone and she still willingly went out to defend those entering the subspace. If somebody were to sacrifice themselves for others’ safety, it would be Eshe.

Verdammt


Memories of when Eshe helped me read through a holy book appeared as I thought of her last message to me. “Aureolis Scriptures on the Principles of the Holy Clergy,” was the book’s name.

Eshe described the book as the most common and widely used text to teach newly initiated white-robes to the hierarchy and order within a temple. Rituals and ceremonies being important to the church meant that it was imperative that every clergy member learn how to perform them, which also included the grey-robed priests, as they would act as supporters.

I thought it sounded all good, but when I began to read it, it was completely gibberish to me. Objectively speaking, the book was just a way to worship Aurena, a way to indoctrinate the reader while giving information on how you should act and function as a priest and shrine maiden.

In a way, it was also mildly sexist with how it encouraged only females to join the shrine maiden ranks, even if shrine priests were a possibility. “Only the elegant and fair may serve the Goddess as her shrine maidens, as purity is important to not contaminate her shrines,” was a quote, before it began explaining how you were supposed to remain “elegant and fair.” According to Ellaine, it was the usual etiquette lesson a noble lady must learn sprinkled with a bit of religious zeal.

If it weren’t for Eshe, I would have probably had to ask Theodore or it would have taken a long time for me to decipher it. It was honestly even worse to read than the church’s public version of the bible, which at least had cool stories.

When she finished explaining it to me, she went into what my job as a champion was and what our roles as fellow blessed were. Since she had never met an actual champion of Aurena in person, she tried to make me out as somebody heroic with a Divine mission to help the people. That was when we first met, so we hadn’t known each other for too long.

Even now, you want me to ‘stay strong?’ I’m not a hero, Eshe, I’m just a normal girl who was reborn as a dragon.

Sure, I’ve experienced things that would cause normal people to crumble, but look at me. I didn’t want to fight against that geisenlarg king after seeing Eshe’s lifeless body. What sorta hero is that supposed to be? I’m emotionally fragile, always have been.

But
 you’re right, Eshe. If I don’t stay strong, how will I be able to protect those I still have? I wasn’t strong enough to rescue you in time. I don’t want to lose anybody else important to me. This day wasn’t over yet, and the longer it continued, the more I could lose.

Biting my lips, I placed the memento in my storage and turned to Saori. “Saori, I—”

“I know, Hestia.” She wiped her tears away and breathed in deeply. “I will not scold you. I am already over that phase. Griffonpeak needs help. We need to help them.”

I nodded.

“A lot of adventurers should be fighting in front of the gates. I heard from those who saw me fighting that Muraina and the garrison captains are holding it the best they can. Cannons were deployed and a lot of mage adventurers were helping. Even then, the bug is still alive.”

I nodded once again. “They need a beacon of hope.”

I said goodbye to the director and the caretakers, telling them that I will do what I have to do in Eshe’s stead. When the kids saw me leaving, they ran over to the entrance, body blocking me from the portal.

“““Nooo, Big Sis, no! Please, don’t leave!””” Abi and the other kids shouted. They hadn’t gotten over Eshe’s death yet as I could see them still crying. “““Please, we don’t want to lose you, too!”””

They pleaded with their watery eyes, looking up at me like disgruntled little puppies. I could understand them. If it were before I read Eshe’s note, I probably would have even stopped Ellaine from going out to fight for her own kingdom. I wanted to be selfish, too.

I kneeled, putting my hand on Abi’s head as I patted her with a wry smile. “I know, I’m so sorry.” Tears wanted to fall but I forced them back. Right now, I have to be strong. “But I need to go—”

“You don’t have to go! We don’t want you to go, Big Sis! Please, don’t leave us, too!” she begged.

Kuek! I’m sorry!

“I’m sorry but I have to! Just like Eshe. We are both blessed, we are people chosen by the Goddess to help those in need. Just like how Eshe did everything she could to help even strangers. I know I’m being selfish to all you little ones, but I’m
 Believe in me. Trust in me. I will make sure that when you leave my home, you will see a bright sky! I will come back, I swear it on my tail, and I will never, EVER go back on a promise!”

I stretched my tail forward, holding it up like a pinky swear.

“You promise?” Abi asked.

“On my scales!”

The kids reached out their pinkies, holding onto my tail with their small fingers. ““Pinky promise!””

Saori and I left the subspace, where we saw the rain had stopped pouring down. There was still some drizzle, but it wasn’t as bad as before. I turned around, noticing all the people who were inside my subspace kneeling and praying for Eshe and her knights. They mourned for her, crying and apologizing for being stubborn and being the cause of her death.

It was bittersweet.

“Saori, I’ll meet you in a moment
” And without waiting for her answer, my rocket boosters activated and I blasted into the air.

Having had the time to recover, my scale-dust amount has recovered back to a point where I could consistently accelerate my flying speed. And I needed it, since my goal was the top of the mountain, Wintertalon.

The cold stung my skin as I stepped onto cold, hard rocks on this mountain, holding up the citadel and royal palace of King Drangleic and his family. Up here, I could see the entirety of Griffonpeak. Just like when I had my city tour with Ellaine, this place really was a sight to behold. I had never gone mountaineering, but maybe this is why mountaineers never stop this dangerous hobby.

Parallel minds, boost it up.

‘Understood, boss.’ Manager mind responded.

I took out my glaive and placed it before me. As the wind began to move by my commands, the sounds of instruments began to play.

<[Music Resonation (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>

“In the midst of the desert ♫

A bright ray of light shines ♫

Pure and brave, that she was, as she walked ♫

She was the ideal for me ♫

The bringer of children’s smiles ♫

Alas, the world seemed bleaker without her ♫”

The music and my voice roared around like a typhoon, blasting themselves from the tops of this place down Griffonpeak for everybody to hear. I had to cast [Air Shield] around my ears to prevent them from rupturing, meaning I couldn’t hear my own song. However, I didn’t need to. The time I needed to fly up here was all I needed to internalize this whole song.

A calm voice. Play it slowly like an introduction.

<[Music Resonation (Moderate)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>

“But all wounds must heal, we must force back the tears ♫

Her legacy remains for everybody to hear ♫

All these wounds will heal, mourning must end ♫

Our path is made clear through the loss of a friend ♫”

Powerful vocals! End with harmony through repeating voices. Softly waning into the next verse.

<[Stage Fever (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>

“The sun rays lost all their colors ♫

The pain stinging in the heart ♫

A wild plea for the martyr, will she come? ♫

Dawn and dusk, so very fleeting♫

The world turns as we c-hieuc-ry ♫

Hiuc, huech
 Beseech, w-wake yourself up, or all’s forgotten ♫”

Tears fell from my face onto my glaive as I held it like an impromptu microphone. I couldn’t hold it in. I knew which words came out from my mouth, and it made it so much harder for me to force back my tears. I wanted to stay strong, I really did.

But it was impossible to control my emotions any longer.

Still, the show had to go on!

<[Music Resonation (Major)] [Stage Fever (Moderate)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>

<68 humans and beastmen have become your fans>

<Total follower count updated. Total follower of [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]: 2750>

“And from my despair, awakens a pyre ♫

I will heed her wish and soar all so higher ♫

This stage that she left, the light shines anew ♫

With heavenly fire, this dragon is here for you! ♫”

I spread my wings out, materializing white flames and made them look larger and larger, like those angel-like wings people thought they saw me with in Cedaraille. I cast [Shine] on my tail, shining it so brightly behind me that people will think of me as a beacon of light with two angel wings.

<234 humans and beastmen have become your fans>

<Total follower count updated. Total follower of [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]: 2984>

“I pray that my song will reach your soul ♫

For hope will fly down on wings of grace ♫

and banish the sadness ♫”

Time will move on, but your stories remain ♫

A legacy made upon the warmth of your heart ♫

The light shines so brightly, all in your honor ♫

May the light guide you to the plains of souls! ♫

<467 humans and beastmen have become your fans>

<Total follower count updated. Total follower of [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]: 3451>

And from my despair, awakens a pyre ♫

I will heed her wish and soar all so higher ♫

This stage that she left, the light shines anew ♫

With heavenly fire, this dragon is here for you! ♫

<891 humans and beastmen have become your fans>

<Total follower count updated. Total follower of [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]: 4342>

<You have poured your emotions into the song, granting it power from the depths of your soul. The performance was one truly worthy for a singer. The sheer emotions expressed with each word will influence the power of this spell song>

<The recording has ended. Please wait as the System analyzes the song>

“In the midst of the desert ♫

A bright ray of light shines ♫

Pure and brave, that she was, as she walked ♫

She was the ideal for me ♫

The bringer of children’s smiles ♫

Alas, the world seemed bleaker without her ♫”

I repeated the song.

<1002 humans and beastmen have become your fans>

<Total follower count updated. Total follower of [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]: 5343>

<Congratulations. The song has been successfully accepted. You may now give your song a name>

The Heir of Hope!

<Proficiency requirement fulfilled. [Idol Lv. 2] evolved into [Idol Lv. 3]>

<“The Heir of Hope” has been registered. Song description and effects will now be generated. You have chosen “Buffing.” This song is filled with your true emotions of everything, a self-reflection on your future, and in loving memory of somebody dear. The song was written to give those in even the darkest of depths the fire of hope, to awaken their will and bring them out from it. The more people gather around you — the beacon of their hope — the more this song will inspire you and those around you>

<Custom magic song gained: [The Heir of Hope]>

<Custom magic song [The Heir of Hope] has been perfectly integrated into the System>

And I repeated!

****************************************

“But all wounds must heal, we must force back the tears ♫

Her legacy remains for everybody to hear ♫

All these wounds will heal, mourning must end ♫

Our path is made clear through the loss of a friend ♫

The sun rays lost all their colors ♫

The pain stinging in the heart ♫

A wild plea for the martyr, will she come? ♫

Dawn and dusk, so very fleeting♫

The world turns as we cry ♫

Beseech, wake yourself up, or all’s forgotten ♫

And from my despair, awakens a pyre ♫

I will heed her wish and soar all so higher ♫

This stage that she left, the light shines anew ♫

With heavenly fire, this dragon is here for you! ♫”

Hestia’s voice spread throughout Griffonpeak. Amplified by her [Aerokinesis], even if you were inside a house, you would be able to hear it. Farmers, commoners, merchants, nobles, and even the king could hear her voice echo down on them.

In these dire times where the citizens struggle to find safety inside the merchant district the merchants and nobles so very much want to keep isolated for their own selfish reason, and when the battlefield in front of the gates was so chaotic, her voice was a welcome surprise. It was uplifting.

“Quick, all of you in, now! Move in a line! In order! May the light protect you!” Two dissatisfied young knights opened the gates for the quickly made walls inside the merchant district. The commoners left out for the protection of the nobles and merchants quickly thanked them, praying to Aurena for their mercy.

They had been ordered to guard it and not to allow anybody to enter without the consent of their superiors. They were disobeying a direct order, a crime within the knight’s order that even a noble cannot escape.

However, these two weren’t the only ones. Inspired by Hestia’s song, the mages who made this all opened certain places for people to enter. The merchant district was becoming more and more crowded.

“Fight, fight! We have to protect our city!” Those on the battlefield fighting against the geisenlarg king were especially affected by her singing, motivating themselves despite the perilous threat.

To the centaur-like geisenlarg, these guards and adventurers were simply ants. But they kept on fighting. Using cannons and shooting out spells to aid the heavy hitters to repel it. But with only Krymdar, Muraina, and a couple of B ranks, the tides of this battle weren't turning.

“Fight! We will win today!”

They needed a beacon

“And from my despair, awakens a pyre ♫

I will heed her wish and soar all so higher ♫

This stage that she left, the light shines anew ♫

With heavenly fire, this dragon is here for you! ♫”

“
 KRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”

Down on the streets, those who heard this rumbling roar snapped their heads up, watching as the sphere of light at the top of Wintertalon flapped its angelic wings and flew up. As it shone up there, it dimmed out, only for the angel wings to flap and flap, descending down like a blazing comet with a white flaming tail.

And that was when she made her debut.

“O-Oh, look! Shit! A dragon!”

“KrrrraaaaAAAAAAH!” White flames burst from her mouth, bathing the geisenlarg in a searing inferno before she charged into it, driving the giant bug outside the capital.

“Skkkkrrrrooouuuuuuuuuuuuh!”

Unfortunately, the dragon, as large as she was, still looked like a child next to the enormous geisenlarg king. It used its shield-like hands to push the flying monster back while it stabilized its balance.

The push didn’t do much once he regained his balance, but that was when multiple earth blades shot out from the ground, aiding the dragon to stop the invading king.

[“You shall not pass!”] That telepathic voice resounded in everybody’s ears, a voice very much familiar.

The adventurers and soldiers looked up at the dragon, now flapping her wings to hover right in front of the invading monster. As they received a better look, they saw her crimson scales covered in a veil of white fire, cloaking not only her tail but wings.

The music they had heard before resumed around her, drumming the song on repeat. But unlike before, where they only felt inspired by the song, they now felt energy surging inside them. Morale was the fuel of an army, and this song gave them the fervor to continue the fight.

[“People of Griffonpeak! I, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor, party leader of the C rank adventurer party ‘Aurora’ stand with you!”]

Hope has descended.