335 - Chance of Victory
――The ruins of the Central Royal Palace.
There, the First and the Second were fighting before a continuous swarm of dead soldiers and monkey-like beasts prepared by Agrissa. The soldiers they had brought along were also fighting on the spot.
"Enough of this――just drop dead alreadyyy!!"
The First swung a silver greatsword wildly, blowing away and cutting down the monkeys. However, the opponents were monsters that could instantly regrow their arms or legs no matter how many they lost. They stood up again and again, breathing fire from the mouths of their red masks.
The Second shot down the emerging skeleton soldiers one after another with his bow. The soldiers positioned around the Second were also shooting down the enemies in succession.
Meanwhile, the First's soldiers, lacking any formation or proper orders, were charging forward to fight the skeleton soldiers.
"This is some busy target practice. There's no end in sight. I mean, Father――get some organization. Don't let them fight in such a disjointed mess!"
The First, resting the greatsword on his shoulder, replied.
"Who cares! Charging in and smashing them is the Walt Family way――eek! Mother!"
"Eh?"
The First was startled, and when the Second looked back, there stood a formidable woman with a naginata resting on her shoulder. She was looking at the two of them with irritation.
"...You two, line up!"
When the formidable woman――the First's wife――spoke, the First's soldiers, who were mostly barbarians, gathered around. The Second's soldiers also put more strength into shooting the skeleton soldiers.
The woman walked forward and swung her naginata in a single flash――sweeping away the skeleton soldiers before her.
"Hurry up and finish off those monkeys. It's the only thing you're actually good at."
The First nodded silently several times at the sight of her back as she wildly blew away the skeleton soldiers with her naginata.
"Old lady..."
As the Second looked at his mother's back with nostalgia, several metal rings――each about the size of a human head――flew out from behind him, rotating.
"Wait, you too!"
The Second turned and shouted, and there stood a woman who had appeared from a blue light. Several metal rings floated by her right hand, gradually rotating and increasing their speed, sending a low humming sound echoing through the surroundings.
"It looked interesting, so I came."
Seeing his wife acting cute, the Second averted his gaze. She appeared young――in her early twenties――but they had a history together. She simply looked like she was trying too hard to look young.
"It's a bit painful to watch."
"Huh?"
"――I think it's great!"
Then, a small child followed behind the woman. The Second's eyes widened.
"Father!"
The child waving his hand was Dewey. He was the eldest son of the Second, who was supposed to inherit the Walt Family, and the first grandson to the First.
"Dew――"
"Dewey! Stay there and watch, I'll show you how cool your grandpa is!"
The First's great joy crushed the reunion, and a surge of displaced anger welled up within the Second. Then, the Second's wife patted him on the back.
"You could just show him your cool side too. Come on, hurry up and deal with the monkeys and skeletons in front of you――and maybe take out the mother-in-law quickly too."
The Second's wife's face was relatively serious. Hearing the words of the daughter-in-law targeting her, the First's wife blew away the surrounding skeletons and looked back.
"You woman, who can only make soup that tastes like water, are you trying to defy me!"
The Second's wife moved behind Dewey.
"Kyaa, Grandma is bullying Mama, Dewey!"
Using the grandson as a shield, a vein popped on the First's wife's forehead. Everyone was composed. Thanks to the orb, everyone was receiving the benefits――the effects of skills.
"You wench――"
"Mother, Grandma... let's get along."
"Yes, Mama and Grandma are best friends!"
"――We're in front of the grandson. I'll hold back any further, you wench."
When Dewey looked at the two of them with honest eyes, devoid of the craftiness the Third possessed, both of them melted.
The Second thought.
(I wonder why the Third became so crafty?)
――And then.
The First readied his greatsword.
"The grandson is watching. I've got to crush these monkeys and scatter the small fry. We can leave the top to Lariel, so it should be fine."
The Second muttered.
"Doing that again. Well, we're the ones who trained him. I'll trust him, but I suppose we should do our own jobs."
The Second also readied his silver bow. An oversized arrow appeared. And not just one. Hundreds of them appeared around the Second.
The greatsword the First held also began to emit a blue light, taking the shape of a dragon's head. The sword's form now looked like a dragon's head.
"――I'll finish it in one blow."
Hearing the First's words, the Second released the arrows. All the arrows pierced the surroundings and the monkey monster, causing explosions. As the monkey monster flinched and the surrounding skeleton soldiers were blown away, the First dashed forward.
"Here I come, you bastards!!"
He headed toward the path the Second had created and the flinching monster. That was the back of the First that the Second had admired. The Second, who had taken up the bow to protect the First, smiled slightly.
"Go for it, Father."
The First, swinging the greatsword with raw power and wild abandon, hacked the monkey monster to pieces. Finally, he slammed a full-power blow into its head.
The tilted floor gave way, and the monkey monster sank into it. The powerful strike tore through and blew away the monster――turning it into chunks of meat. Amidst the splattering blood and flesh, the First shouldered his greatsword.
"Alright, next one, next!"
As the First spoke while laughing, the surrounding soldiers in barbarian attire raised one arm and cheered――.
"Just in case this happened――the Porter was prepared to fly!"
The Porter, with its cargo section detached, now consisted only of the upper body. The spinal section had been removed, and the upper body of the Porter was being carried by Valkyries that had become capable of flight.
It clearly wasn't built to fly, but since it was flying, I'll keep quiet.
The Porter's head was shifted toward the edge of the torso. Therefore, I stood in the middle of the torso and looked at Agrissa with my katana.
At the chest of the giant Agrissa――Novem hung there, head lolling. It seemed she had been taken in and was gradually being absorbed.
However, there was still time, so there was no need to panic. I will rescue Novem, so the main issue is...
"How to make the rescue memorable. That's the problem. How about the golden combo of rescuing, hugging, and kissing, Eva?"
Eva, who was also riding on the Porter, was looking down and shaking violently. If water was no good, the sky was also no good. Useless Elf――that was Eva.
"I-I don't care, just hurry up! It's high! It's higher than I imagined and it's scary!"
Eva, clinging to a part of the Porter, was cute. Clara was inside the Porter.
"I don't care either. More importantly... i-it's cold. It's very cold! Lariel-san, let's finish this quickly."
Clara, shivering uncontrollably, pleaded for it to end quickly. She was cute, like a shivering small animal.
Monica, wearing a white dress and possessing wings, was flying in the sky along with the Porter. She was deflecting Agrissa's attacks beside the Porter.
Valkyries were also around, and Aria was on the Porter's left hand.
"Lariel, finish this already! I mean, you can actually win, right!"
Aria asked such a thing. I brushed back my hair.
"Of course! This Lariel Walt――is a man who does not fight without a chance of victory. A chance of victory is important. By the way, I also love praise. Be ready to praise me at any time! My heart is always prepared!"
Eva looked at me.
"So uncool!"
What! Is it cooler to challenge an enemy without a chance of victory? No, wait――I am cool. And strong. Therefore, isn't it just that I have fewer battles without a chance of victory?
――The loneliness that comes from being the strongest. I felt that and smiled a bit sadly.
"You're an idiot, Eva. For me, every battle is one where I have a chance of victory. If I can't win, I'll just make it so I can. That's the Walt Family! That's why we're the strongest! And I believe that I am the greatest masterpiece within that Walt Family."
Aria covered her face.
"You just believe it yourself. Just tell us about that chance of victory."
When Agrissa pointed her right hand toward us, the Valkyries stepped forward and deployed shields. A massive light approached, but the Valkyries repelled it.
Agrissa pushed through the grey clouds, chasing us. Lightning generated in the surroundings, rumbling, occasionally flashing light on the ground or above the clouds, followed by the roar of thunder.
"Well, this far is enough."
Having lured Agrissa away from the vicinity of Central, I told Clara to direct the Porter toward Agrissa.
Then, Agrissa stopped the game of tag and floated before us.
"Have you stopped running, Lariel? Do you think something will happen just because you lured me away from Central?"
Agrissa showed a smile of composure. I want her to maintain that arrogance until the end and die pathetically.
"Ah, as expected, a kiss is best for a sleeping beauty. It's classic and overused, but I still love those kinds of situations!"
Eva, shaking violently, said.
"T-the conversation isn't connecting, Lariel."
"Sorry. I was just thinking about how to rescue Novem so that she falls for me from the bottom of her heart. It's no use. Despite being the closest, I couldn't hold her heart――well, a woman who isn't easy every once in a while is fine too."
Since everyone else was easy, I thought it would be fine to have a woman with a slightly higher difficulty level.
Aria threw a tool she was holding at me.
"Don't call us easy!"
I comforted Aria, who was blushing.
"Don't be so angry. I'm strong, cool, rich... and attempting to hold the greatest power on the continent, you know? Everyone is easy before me."
As I declared this while striking a pose, Agrissa approached rapidly. Monica stepped forward and spread her wings, from which hundreds of thin beams of light were released, attacking Agrissa.
"Defense weapons――you'd even bring out something like that. You are a Moon Gravekeeper, aren't you?"
Agrissa, saying such things, only had her surface slightly scorched. It was immediately repaired, but Monica, her golden twin-tails flowing in the wind, replied.
"Calling it second-hand is cruel. This is brand new. It's a tool I received from the sisters who were on the moon."
The automatons, who are the cores of the Valkyries, had guarded graves on the moon in the past. Whose graves were they?
"Hmph, acting all high and mighty despite having everything destroyed by Novem and Octo. However, you don't think you can win with just that, do you?"
As Agrissa spread both arms, several lights appeared. The light emitted from them were all high-density clumps of magical power.
I thrust my left hand in front of my face and snapped my fingers.
"True, it seems I'd vanish if it hit. Therefore, I'll just make sure it doesn't hit."
Unlike Monica's, the light released from Agrissa attacked us as thick clumps of light. ――But.
"Warp."
Before those lights could hit us directly, they were all sucked into space, and Agrissa tightened her guard.
"Mocking me――!"
The high-density magic she had released attacked from the space around Agrissa. As expected, it dealt more damage than Monica's earlier attack.
I narrowed my eyes while looking at Agrissa.
"――As I thought, it's impossible even for you to master all skills. I was on guard because you said you created skills, but at most, you're just like Celes, doing your best to swap out prepared skills. The power is on a different level, but there are plenty of ways to handle it."
I showed composure and laughed as if making fun of Agrissa.
Perhaps I hit the mark, because Agrissa said.
"So what? Don't think you can defeat me with your attacks. Even if I'm inferior to my prime――"
I raised my katana. Then, the surrounding lightning gathered into the katana.
"Don't forget. I also carry the blood of Septem. With the support of the orb, I can perform this kind of trick as much as I want. Clara, throw me."
Riding on the Porter's right hand, I was thrown toward Agrissa. I manipulated the surrounding lightning with magical power and slammed that energy into Agrissa.
That was my plan!
"So what."
Agrissa dodged with a light hop. I was thrown into the sky, losing my target and simply free-falling――not so!
Because I am――strong!
"That's why I'm saying you're naive. ――Shuffle."
Swapping positions with a Valkyrie that had charged Agrissa, I slashed at Agrissa as I was.
As expected, natural energy is great. I sliced off the right arm Agrissa had raised for guard.
Agrissa, recovering the sliced right arm, immediately reattached it and opened and closed her hand.
I then swapped positions with the Valkyrie again and was recovered by the Porter's right hand.
"Did you feel the pain?"
When I said that while closing one eye, Agrissa frowned and laughed.
"Ah, it's a nice change once in a while. Therefore, I'll pay you back dozens, hundreds of times over. And let me tell you. If you think you can defeat me with this level of――"
"I don't think so. However, don't think it ends with this level. After all, I'm a man who doesn't fight battles without a chance of victory."
The Porter then threw Aria. Furthermore, I was thrown as well.
"Shuffle."
Swapping positions with a Valkyrie, Aria and I attacked Agrissa.
"Tch! You brat――"
Honestly, it would be more interesting if she threatened to attack the ground, allowing that oversized attack to be slammed into Agrissa, but the opponent was also on guard and wouldn't do it.
The only way was to chip away at her.
Aria and I were recovered by the Porter again. Eva, perhaps having gradually gotten used to it, readied her bow and released an arrow.
"Select."
The arrow Eva released increased its momentum in mid-air, circled around Agrissa's blind spot, and attacked her back.
"You noisy, pestering flies!"
Looking at Agrissa, who was considerably irritated, I thought.
"――How about I get beat up and act like I've suffered these wounds to save you? I think a battered and bruised me would be quite striking, wouldn't it?"
Thinking about after the rescue of Novem, I asked Aria for her thoughts. Aria looked at me.
"Why are you so composed?"
Facing Agrissa, who had yet to receive any real damage, she seemed unable to believe that I was so composed.
"I told you, didn't I? I'm a man who doesn't fight unless I'm certain of victory. It's obvious I can win."
Gathering lightning into the katana, I readied myself to slash at Agrissa again. Agrissa glared at me.
"Do you seriously think a mere human can win against me――"
I thrust my left thumb up and pointed at myself.
"I do. After all――I am the man loved by the Goddess! The Goddess of Victory is smiling upon me!"
Oh my, I'm so cool. I'm so amazing it's scary. I might fall in love with myself.
"Cut the crap! Stop getting carried away!!"
Agrissa approached rapidly to crush us and swung her right arm. The momentum alone created an incredible wind pressure. I snapped my fingers.
"Sorry, but I have no intention of taking the hit. I'll devote myself entirely to dodging. ――Warp."
Along with the Porter, Monica, and the Valkyries, I warped behind Agrissa and continued to land small attacks.
――While searching for Agrissa's weakness.
――While thunder roared in the sky.
At Lariel's main camp, Glacia and Eliza, whom the Fifth had returned, were returning to their own forces to calm the soldiers.
The main force, having recovered, had a sudden surge in morale, so they were reorganizing to match that.
Glacia and Eliza merged with the main force.
In response, General Broa was attempting to reorganize the strategy.
"We can rebuild now. If we can surround the emerging dead soldiers――"
Beside General Broa, there was a woman. Clad in a red dress, she sat in a prepared chair, folding her fan and tapping it against her left hand, pon, pon.
She was a beautiful woman. However, while smiling, she looked at the collapsing state of Central.
"It is sad that the former capital has collapsed, but it is land that was ruled by the hateful Banseime. Moreover, my grandson will strike down Banseime and build an empire――nothing could be more joyful. Don't you agree, comrades?"
Comrades――the knights and soldiers who had once rebelled against Banseime. They were the descendants of the Kingdom of Centras, which had ruled the continent before the founding of Banseime, and were also descendants of Agrissa: the [Zenoa].
She was watching the battle at the main camp together with her former comrades.
They were the ones who had risen to overthrow the Banseime Kingdom, which had been in a terrible state at the time. Though few in number, they possessed strong wills.
"Zenoa-sama's grandson is magnificent. I believe we should also join the battle."
"The surroundings are pushing back the dead soldiers. It must be the successive generations of the Walt Family."
"We are ready."
Zenoa stood up and opened her fan.
"Celes has revived the yellow orb that has been protected for generations. However, if Lariel uses it to claim hegemony over the world, we must also help. The time has come to end the calamity left by Centras here and hand the continent over to the rightful successor!"
Glacia and Eliza were watching the lined-up army. Returning to the main body, they widened their eyes, wondering what was happening.
General Broa looked at the two of them.
"Madam, those two are also Lariel-dono's bride candidates."
Since they were noisy, General Broa pushed them onto Zenoa. Then, Zenoa looked back at the two and narrowed her eyes.
"――Lariel's brides? There are quite a lot of them. Well, if he is to take the imperial throne, having many is not a problem. We are launching a charge, so accompany us."
Both were bewildered by Zenoa's words. They had returned to seek General Broa's instructions. However, General Broa kept his gaze averted.
"H-he sold us out!"
When Glacia said that, Zenoa closed her fan, grabbed them both by the collars, and dragged them away.
"Hurry up! I don't want to get in my son's way. Also, we'll merge with Broad. That person is also inconsiderate."
Glacia and Eliza were dragged away while struggling.
"Wait, she's stronger than me!"
"L-let go!"
To the two struggling women, Zenoa said.
"If you follow me, I'll tell you about Lariel. Also, I'll check if you're suitable for the Walt Family."
Zenoa spoke like the Fourth's wife. Perhaps it was a custom passed down among the women of the Walt Family.
――It was a terrible custom.