-With Natsuki Subaru's whereabouts unknown, Emilia found herself in the greatest panic of her life.
"Please, Subaru.-You have to be with Rem."
After the shadows' sudden assault on the Pleiades Watchtower, Subaru and Rem-strictly speaking, not just those two, but another person of uncertain identity as well-had been sent flying somewhere far away.
The reason Emilia had not lost her composure even more than she had at that moment was that Beatrice and Ram, who had connections to Subaru and Rem, had both assured her they were alive.
Of course, being alive did not mean they could not encounter danger or something terrifying. Rather, having to help the sleeping Rem in an unknown land, Subaru was certain to push himself and do something reckless.
Yet neither she nor Beatrice could stay by his side, and that was why she was so frantic.
"We have to find Subaru and the others quickly...!"
With that determination, Emilia and the companions who had conquered the Pleiades Watchtower with her began to act.
First, they presumed Subaru had been sent into the Vollachian Empire to the south-which currently prohibited travel to and from the Kingdom of Lugunica-so they needed to find a way to sneak inside.
"We'll look for a way in from Kararagi. Unlike Lugunica, which they're already on bad terms with, Vollachia might not be watching Kararagi so closely."
That was what Anastasia said when she promised to help find Subaru. Including Julius and Echidna, Anastasia's group had undergone a tremendous experience at the Pleiades Watchtower, and they were in no position to return to their ordinary lives at leisure.
Even so, they had said that for Subaru and the others' sake, and it made Emilia immensely happy.
"I'm so glad I became friends with you, Anastasia."
"Well, I think it's a little different from being friends. You and I are still rivals, Emilia. But-"
"But?"
"Once we've settled everything, both Natsuki and the royal selection, let's become friends. Like Emilia, I don't have many friends myself."
Anastasia said that freely and promised to help. Though she knew this was no time for it, Emilia still eagerly awaited the day that promise-including finding Subaru, and becoming her friend-would come true.
Then-
"If Lady Anastasia intends to go through Kararagi, then we need only look for a way to cross the bo~rder."
After returning from the Pleiades Watchtower, they reunited with Roswaal. Understanding the urgency of the situation, he respected Emilia's wish to go find Subaru immediately. However, even with his position and power, entering the Vollachian Empire apparently would not be easy.
If they flew in, wyverns might bite them. More importantly, the Empire was enormous. Even if they managed to get inside, they had no idea how to find Subaru and the others.
As their impatience grew ever more intense, it was, as expected, that reliable man who brought them a workable plan.
"As for a way into the Vollachian Empire, I do have a lead. However, it isn't a particularly commendable method, and it comes with danger."
The one who broached the subject after much hesitation was Otto, who had returned to the mansion just as Emilia and the others had.
He had originally been recuperating in the Water Gate City Priestella, but had returned with Garfiel, who had stayed there with him, and pointed out a hopeful path through the problem troubling Emilia's group so deeply. However, the method was quite straightforward-
"-Smuggling ourselves across the border. Picoutatte... the fifth-largest city, located in southern Lugunica, is also my hometown. From there, we may be able to arrange a way across."
Smuggling themselves across meant sneaking into another country without going through the proper formalities or procedures.
As Otto said, it was not a commendable method. Considering what would happen if they were discovered, there was no denying that it was a highly dangerous choice. But if there was no other way-
"For Subaru and the others, we'll do everything we can."
Having firmly resolved herself, Emilia expressed her determination to everyone. Ram and Otto made many demands regarding that determination, but no one said, "Don't be ridiculous," or "Don't do it." Everyone wanted Subaru to be safe. To Emilia, that was what made her proudest of all.
"No matter what, Betty will bring Subaru back safely. Betty will make certain of it."
"Yes, that's right.-Let's do our best."
Beatrice, who had remained anxious ever since being separated from Subaru, took Emilia's hand in her small one, and Emilia squeezed back gently but firmly.
And so, after an in-depth exchange with old acquaintances in Otto's hometown, excellent negotiations by Petra with the group handling the illegal crossing, and even a bridal uproar caused by Frederica's unusual constitution, the party crossed the border into Vollachia-
"-That's enough."
So declared Emilia, who had brought white snow to the walled city swept by madness.
"-"
Numerous buildings had collapsed, and the once-beautiful cityscape was gone. Huge shadows also crisscrossed the sky, swerving left and right, using their wings to destroy and batter people's lives.
Watching the scene from afar, Emilia's anger continued to rise. How could they do something so cruel? Was there no other way? Had they tried to look for one?
But even she, thinking that, could only come up with forcibly stopping this war through her own power, and that discouraged her. So, after regretting it as much as she could, she resolved never to forget that regret.
And so-
"-Ice Age."
Emilia whispered, and the world around her began to lose heat violently. The air gradually cooled, and snow-white crystals began to sparkle in the chilled sky. It all happened so quickly, with nowhere to escape, and the town was covered in cold.
Reminding herself not to go too far, she carefully adjusted her mana. If she failed, this city would become like her homeland, Elior Forest, with everything encased in ice.
Of course, the ice and snow might melt afterward, but she could not freeze people into a state of suspended animation as she had done with Regulus's brides, either.
What Emilia needed to do was bring an unbearable icy season to this imperial territory that knew no bitter cold. Winds that chilled to the marrow, piling snow-white crystals, a season of magical ice that turned breaths white, covered the walled city suffering from the wyverns' devastation.
With that-
"Dragonkind fear the cold. All the more so for wyverns that have never experienced freezing temperatures. This bitter cold should noticeably affect their wings."
With those words, a figure leaped onto the half-ruined city wall where Emilia stood, accompanied by light footsteps. Emilia glanced over and nodded.
"Yes. Petra told me before we left that wyverns fear the cold. She's ve~ry studious, and she learned so much about the Empire very quickly."
"Relying on a servant's wisdom, are you? No wonder a half-devil, normally devoid of wisdom, has carried out a sensible strategy."
"Mm, you shouldn't say things like that. Also, how did you know I'm a half-elf... Huh?"
Pouting at the other woman's sarcasm, Emilia widened her violet-blue eyes. The woman wore a vivid red dress, her long orange hair fluttering in the cold wind. Though her hairstyle differed from Emilia's memory, the person standing there was unmistakably-
"Huh, Priscilla? Why are you here? This isn't Lugunica, you know?"
"I return that very question to you. Though I can more or less guess why you entered the Empire... I'm impressed you managed to get in."
"Ah, how we did it is a secret. We can't tell anyone. Also, I can't say who I am. So be careful. I'm..."
Surprised and somehow deeply moved by this unexpected reunion with Priscilla, whom she should not have met in this foreign land to the south, Emilia replied that way.
That said, she was not merely surprised. The way Emilia had infiltrated the Empire was forceful and unreasonable-in other words, illegal. She had to tell Priscilla that-
"-! Priscilla, look out!"
Breaking off what she was about to say, Emilia warned her.
"Tch."
The next moment, Priscilla clicked her tongue and leaped away, while a fiercely spinning blade-a flying wing blade-gouged through the place she had occupied. The sharp blade cleanly sliced the battered city wall, which had been on the verge of collapse, and miraculously spared it from falling instead.
Having dodged the blade, Priscilla landed closer to Emilia this time, her skirts swaying. Then-
"You keep showing up, one after another! What is wrong with you people?!"
Catching the returning flying wing blade in one hand, a girl's furious voice reached Emilia. Looking down, she saw a horned girl standing alone on the road amid the ruined cityscape, her eyes blazing as she glared at Emilia and Priscilla standing side by side.
Apparently, the other girl was very angry too. But Emilia was also very angry. So she pointed at the girl.
"My name is Emili... Emili! A passing spirit arts user!"
She had almost given her real name, but forced it into an alias. At that shout, Priscilla narrowed her eyes, while the girl murmured:
"A spirit arts user... Like that dog-person...?"
"If you mean Arakiya, she is a 'spirit eater,' not a spirit arts user. Do not confuse them, Madelyn Eschart."
"Guh...!"
The girl-Madelyn-stiffened at Priscilla's pointed correction, which had hit upon what she was thinking. But Emilia could not simply let what she had just heard pass.
"Um, what's a 'spirit eater'? What do they do to spirits?"
"Precisely what you heard: eat spirits. They take spirits' power into their bodies and make full use of it. The art is nearly lost now; even in the Empire, Arakiya is probably the only one left."
"Eat spirits?! That's so cruel..."
For Emilia, a spirit arts user contracted with many lesser spirits, it was unbelievable. If Puck or Beatrice encountered that "spirit eater," would their bodies be bitten and chewed as well? Imagining them on the verge of tears made her heart ache.
"No, more importantly right now... May I call you Madelyn?"
"...Do not look down on a dragon, half-devil."
"Then let's talk properly, Madelyn. You're the one who ordered those wyverns to attack the city, aren't you? I want you to tell them to stop right now."
Gazing into the distance, Emilia pointed at the flock of wyverns flying around above the city. Their movements looked somewhat sluggish because of the falling temperature. If she kept lowering it, she could probably make them so cold they fell to the ground. But if possible, she did not want to do that. Even if they were wyverns, she did not want to kill them.
"If those wyverns matter to you, I hope you'll listen to my request."
"-"
"Madelyn?"
Emilia expressed her feelings as honestly and sincerely as she could. Otto, Ram, or Petra might have been able to put it better.
But when she saw the city ravaged by the wyverns' attacks, Emilia was the only one who could rush there. Since she had taken the lead, she had to give everything she could.
The result was-
"To make demands of a dragon-you overestimate yourself, human...!"
Yes, even if it made Madelyn's anger explode.
"-Even if it were not you, no one could persuade her. That is a dragonkin, a noble creature that was never inclined to listen to those rooted to the ground."
Emilia caught her breath at Madelyn's furious answer. Priscilla, who had been quietly listening to their exchange, declared the negotiations a failure. It sounded almost as though she were encouraging her, and Emilia's eyes widened.
"Priscilla, I always thought you only said nasty things to me."
"I do not consider it rude to plainly tell an unsuitable person that they are unsuitable. Do not misconstrue my merciful words.-Now, what will you do?"
"Yes."
Nodding, Emilia made an ice hair clip in her left hand and offered it to Priscilla, who closed one eye dubiously. Emilia nodded again.
"Let's stop that girl together. No being mean."
"Do not liken my conduct to childishness, you half-devil."
Despite her harsh words, she accepted the ice hair clip and gathered up her hair, fastening it in place. As the clip clicked shut, Priscilla, restored to her familiar air, stood beside Emilia.
Then-
"-Those who face a dragon without knowing fear must be tired of living."
"I fought a very big dragon not long ago. So even if you want me to be afraid, I'm not afraid of you at all!"
Madelyn bared her teeth threateningly, while Emilia spoke clearly. Then Madelyn's pupils narrowed like an earth dragon's, and the flying wing blade in her hand hurtled toward the two with astonishing speed and force.
Watching the spinning weapon approach, Emilia formed a great ice hammer in both hands. She swung it upward from below, trying to knock the flying wing blade away with one blow.
"Ngh, heave-ho!!"
A fierce recoil struck both her hands. Planting her feet firmly, Emilia swung the ice hammer with all her strength, barely deflecting the flying wing blade so that it passed above her and Priscilla's heads. But the hammer shattered after that single exchange, and both her hands went numb.
"What incredible strength... She might be even stronger than me...!"
"Of course! Comparing dragons and dragons by the same standard is simply wro-"
Her small body took a step forward as she boasted of victory to Emilia, whose hands were aching.
A block of ice larger than the city hall appeared above Madelyn's head and fell toward her.
"-Huh?!"
The suddenly appearing ice block, its sheer size and weight robbing her of speech, bore straight down on her. An icy shock wave burst outward in all directions with her at its center, and white winds blew away ruined walls, bringing tremendous destruction.
"How can you have the gall to tell others not to destroy the city?"
"Huh! But the city has already been destroyed..."
"A shallow view. Your servants must bear a heavy burden. That said, now you will finally understand."
"Understand what?"
Looking toward where the ice had fallen, Priscilla folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. Emilia asked her question, but the answer came simultaneously from Priscilla's lips and the sight before her.
The ice block that should have crushed Madelyn trembled slightly where it had driven into the ground, then began to make a sound as though the world were cracking. The girl was holding up the fallen block with her hands. Cracks spread from that point as well.
"-Just how troublesome dragonkin are."
As soon as she finished speaking, the great, elongated block of ice split in two with a thunderous crash. The destructive impact passed through the whole mass, and the shattered ice began turning into mana dust at its edges. At the center of the swirling ice fragments, the roaring embodiment of a dragon-the dragonkin-lunged at the two.
Bone-piercing winds raged, the urge to destroy ran rampant, and beautiful women danced across that battlefield.
Anyone watching the battle from afar would have doubted their own eyes at its solemn, sacred grandeur.
Wondering whether this was reality or a dream.
"-Rooaaar!!"
Putting in enough strength to crush the ground underfoot, the short dragonkin hurled spinning "death."
Tracing an arc and sweeping away everything in its path, the destructive flying blade cut with the perfection of a brutal threat, tearing through the world.
Had this been a painting, perhaps mortal aesthetic sensibilities would have focused not only on the destruction, but also taken in the pruning that so perfectly cut away the world.
Madelyn Eschart's fury was, in essence, violence honed through countless trials.
But-
"Priscilla! Here!"
Creating icy footholds in the air, the peerless beauty dodged the flying wing blade with her silver hair streaming, then swept a hand toward the ground. The street, which had lost its original shape, instantly froze. The frozen earth rose, forming an exquisitely decorated ice sword.
The beautiful lady dashed past and pulled the ice sword from the ground-
"Anyone other than me would lose their fingers to frostbite.-Still, the decoration is not bad. I shall use it."
Blue-white ice swept past, slashing diagonally across Madelyn's body. Whatever power that small body contained, the strike only made Madelyn lean back slightly, while the ice sword that had delivered it shattered instead.
Just like that, Madelyn reached out to seize Priscilla, who had drawn close-
"Oryaah!!"
Refusing to let her unleash that violence, Emilia dropped from above, kicking both feet at Madelyn. Her feet, swinging down as she spun, were already clad in ice skates, mercilessly seeking to shatter the girl's shoulders. The attack made even the tenacious Madelyn stagger back a step.
At that instant-
"Please!"
"Do not order me about."
Landing, Emilia touched both hands to the ground. Priscilla snatched up the twin ice swords that formed, passed over the crouching Emilia, and slashed at Madelyn. The ice blades in her right and left hands closed in from different angles, and Madelyn immediately caught them with the claws of both hands, producing a clear ringing sound.
"Don't get carrie-huh?!"
"Hyaah!"
Having knocked aside the twin swords and prepared to counterattack, Madelyn saw an ice spearhead thrust out beside Priscilla's head and immediately tilted her upper body to dodge. Emilia, who had switched places with Priscilla, thrust her long ice spear with bewildering speed.
"Switch."
When Madelyn dodged the spear, it was Priscilla's turn to display her ice sword dance. Her red dress swirling, she smoothly wielded twin swords that shone blue. Dancing through the frozen, silver-white world, Priscilla attacked her enemy's entire body with her sword dance, forcing her back.
"-Why, why, why, why, why?!"
Forced to contend with the twin swords and driven onto the defensive, Madelyn screamed. Even at that anguished cry, Priscilla did not lessen the force of her fierce assault. And what was a nightmare for Madelyn was that even when Priscilla halted her sword dance-
"Hiya! Oryaya! Heeyah!!"
Before she could catch her breath, Emilia rushed out, forming ice weapons one after another and attacking with all her strength, wielding her unusual adaptability.
Priscilla relied on technique, Emilia on strength, perfectly shutting down Madelyn's offensive.
The physical abilities dragonkin were born with were beyond anything feeble humans could compare to. Even demi-humans, who were somewhat hardier than humans, were no different from dry twigs before dragonkin. And, irritating though it was, the oni who were compared to dragonkin were no different in that respect.
Dragonkin and oni were often called the strongest races, but that was a false comparison. Oni were ultimately just the finest bloodline among demi-humans. Dragonkin, however, were fundamentally different. Dragonkin were not demi-humans, and thus had absolutely nothing to do with races related to humanity. Dragonkin were not human.
-And yet, why was nothing going right?
"What are you... what even are you?!"
The attacks she unleashed in her anger kept missing, and even the fury she finally voiced was about to run dry. Once the dragon's wrath was exhausted, what emerged in its place was a dragon's sigh too pitiful to watch.
She grabbed the wing blade and swept it sideways, but Emilia ducked under it, while Priscilla leaped over it. Splitting into an upper and lower route, the two answered her sigh at the same time. Since she had asked, "What are you?"-
"-Emili!"
"I am myself."
The ice greataxe swinging upward and the two flashing ice blades each struck Madelyn. The ice blades hit the horns on her head, and the ice axe slammed into her body, sending Madelyn flying backward before she could even defend herself.
Even during the battle, the snow had not stopped. Madelyn's body bounced high once or twice off the snow-covered ground, then crashed into a pile of rubble with a tremendous noise and a cloud of white dust.
Emilia did not let her guard down, keeping her eyes fixed on the rubble Madelyn had crashed into.
"...Did we get her?"
"I felt the blows land. Unfortunately, she offered little bite."
"Bite...?"
Watching the twin swords in the hands of Priscilla, who had walked up beside her, turn into light, Emilia tilted her head in confusion.
She instinctively looked at Priscilla's mouth. She was not eating anything, so why had she mentioned bite? Noticing her gaze, Priscilla let out a soft breath.
"I mean that, despite being born a dragonkin and holding a position among the Nine Divine Generals, this was all she amounted to."
"Um, never mind the Nine Divine Generals, what are dragonkin? Are they demi-humans?"
"A race that died out in ancient times. They supposedly could communicate with dragons, which have already vanished from this world, but that is the stuff of superstition and legend."
"Dragons... then could she talk to Volcanica, too? Though he's gone a little senile."
Emilia spoke apprehensively, and Priscilla raised her elegant brows slightly. Then she lightly touched her fingers to her lips.
"How unexpected, hearing such words from your mouth. Have you changed somewhat?"
"-? Oh, did you think I was joking? Not at all. Actually, I met Volcanica not long ago, but because he's been alone all this time, he couldn't really hold a conversation."
Seeing that Priscilla did not believe her, Emilia hastily argued her case, only to immediately remember that something else took priority.
"No, wait. If we've finished her off, we can't ask Madelyn to stop the flying dragons!"
"As long as this cold persists, the sluggish flying dragons will all be killed before long."
"People will still be in danger until then! And Subaru and Rem might be in danger, too..."
"-Hmm."
Emilia dashed away from Priscilla's side and approached the rubble burying Madelyn. The exchange carried on with Emilia's back turned made Priscilla knit her slender brows.
However, Emilia, who had made an ice digging pole and begun working hard to dig Madelyn out, remained unaware of that reaction.
In any case, Priscilla let out a quiet breath as she watched her back. Even if this outcome had come about through an unexpected move, she would accept it as satisfactory for now.
However, the damage caused by Madelyn and the flying dragons was too extensive to erase. In the worst case, they would have to move their base to the Demon City of Chaosflame, or rely on their collaborator, High Earl Serena Dracroy (the Empire's "Scorching Duke," allied with Priscilla's "Sun"). All of these possibilities had to be considered.
"Whatever the case, let us have those wings folded first."
Putting thoughts of the future aside for the moment, Priscilla gazed up at the gloomy white sky. Though its range was limited, Emilia's power could change the weather. She would be more highly valued if she simply stayed in Vollachia, and then she would not be foolish enough to waste her time on a losing battle like the royal selection.
An ability respected in Vollachia would not necessarily receive the same treatment in Lugunica.
That said, abilities aside, with Emilia's personality, she could not survive in Vollachia-
"-"
As Priscilla pondered while looking up at the sky, her gaze wavered slightly. Her ruby-like eyes shifted because she had spotted something unusual in the air.
And Priscilla, realizing what that unusual sight was-
"I found you! Madelyn, I'll dig you out right now. But you have to do as we say..."
"-Ah."
"Huh?"
Finding the girl buried in the rubble, Emilia used her ice digging pole to remove the fragments of the building. The dragonkin girl lay on her back beneath them, her body and clothes stained by dirty snow.
Her lips moved, letting out a hoarse sound, and Emilia listened closely. She hoped Madelyn would concede defeat and tell the flying dragons to retreat.
But that hope was dashed. What Madelyn's lips formed was not a declaration of defeat.
She said only one thing.
A name.
"-Mezoreia."
(Guided missile launched-just kidding.)
The next second, the roar of a "dragon" from the clouds poured destruction down upon the ground.