Celestial Fire (7)

“Go to the watermill and join up with the retainers and soldiers!”

Azadine shouted that to the sentries, and in the meantime he faced the enemies himself.

No matter how outstanding one man’s martial skill might be, for only two people to hold back the advance of a large army was absurd.

The Bri shaman gave a snort of laughter and cast a spell.

The Bri who had been fleeing in terror suddenly wheeled around as though possessed by something and came charging at Azadine with foam spilling from their mouths.

‘So that’s why these bastards weren’t panicking.’

Azadine wanted to cut off the shaman’s neck with an arrow, but there were too many enemies, and he could not let go of the ceramite longsword he was swinging now.

And even Azadine himself was growing tired.

“Charge!”

But then it happened. Suddenly, from the south side of the road, shouting and the sound of hoofbeats rang out.

When Azadine turned his head, about forty knights were charging toward the battlefield.

Every one of them had angelic wings spread wide, and they shone brilliantly even in the darkness. Even a man with no faith at all would have found himself seeking the gods at such a sight.

A heavenly army descended upon the earth and galloped forward, piercing the darkness of night. Everyone froze at that majestic and dazzling spectacle.

‘It really is cold.’

Cold magic was spreading from the banner held by the rider at the front.

That cold magic froze the road so that the horses’ hooves did not sink into the mud, allowing the companies to charge forward.

With a thunderous roar that shook heaven and earth, the knights all leveled their lances at once.

They crashed straight into the Bri army with the force of their charge, and the Bri army, which had neglected its flank defense while attacking the watermill, was swept away helplessly like a plank fence struck by a flood.

The Celestial Fire Knights pierced through the Bri company’s flank and rear and rode straight on. It was a scene one could well call slaughter.

“Waaaah!”

“We’re saved now!”

The villagers all burst into cheers at once. It had been the charge of no more than about forty knights, but they had pierced straight through the Bri company with a might that shook heaven and earth.

Because of that, the Bri company, which until just before had been the agents of violence, now became its victims.

Toward the shattered Bri company, the soldiers thrust their spears, and the retainers charged while swinging their swords. It was like swinging a blade at a patient with a broken leg.

The Bri, left reeling by the knightly charge, were slaughtered helplessly, and the atmosphere of the battlefield was reversed.

‘Remarkable.’

Azadine was impressed by the majesty of the Celestial Fire.

The Celestial Fire rode straight through the enemies, then wheeled about at the entrance to the village and charged the Bri once again.

The Bri tried to block their charge by putting forward stag-bears and Bri giants, but…

When the rider raised the banner high and chanted a spell, a beam of pure white light struck the Bri giant.

-Thud!

The white beam that struck the Bri giant in the knee instantly sent a huge icicle blooming upward from the ground toward the sky.

The Bri giant’s knee split apart, and icicles made of blood and water jutted out like saw teeth.

The Bri giant collapsed helplessly, and behind it the Celestial Fire charged in. In an instant, they stabbed the stag-bears with their lances, then boldly cast the lances aside, switched to swords, and plunged into the rear ranks.

Once again, the Celestial Fire Knights pierced through the Bri and came charging through. Though there were only forty knights, they had already completely taken control of the battle.

Dawn broke, the rain stopped, and the Bri retreated. The Celestial Fire Knights had finally driven back the Bri and succeeded in saving this village.

“I am Karna Rioneir, commander of the Celestial Fire, and grandson of the Northern Emperor Cohen Rioneir. First of all, I commend your valiant efforts!”

The one who introduced himself as Karna was a beautiful red-haired young man so pretty it was hard to tell whether he was male or female.

His blazing red hair possessed an almost unreal beauty beneath the sky where the rain had cleared and dawn had broken, as though the finest court painter had depicted it with true passion.

Not only Karna, but every single member of the Celestial Fire possessed extraordinary beauty as well. The villagers were beginning to wonder whether they had died and arrived in heaven.

“Sir Aramis! Splendid work. To be honest, I had been worried, but you fought beyond expectations! You held out well!”

“I am ashamed, Commander. In truth, it was not I who commanded the companies, but….”

Aramis pointed at Azadine.

“Ah. The hippogriff knight. Excellent. And who might you be?”

“Commander. He is none other than Sir Azadine of Vermilion.”

A young female knight introduced Azadine.

‘Of course she would be here. She is a Celestial too.’

Azadine was not surprised at all by Izmilla’s appearance. Still, what stirred a bit of feeling in him was the flush on Izmilla’s face.

She was clearly deeply intoxicated by the exploits of the Celestial Fire Knights. And indeed, they had thrown themselves into a night assault, defeated the Bri, and claimed victory in the dawn-lit morning. It was no exaggeration to say that their very existence was a scene from a heroic epic.

The Celestials, who carried the blood of angels, had proven their worth.

“I see. So you are indeed Sir Azadine of Chadra. I thought you were no ordinary man.”

Karna said that and smiled.

“Thank you for helping Sir Aramis. Well done.”

“You flatter me. I had no choice if I wanted to live.”

Azadine declined the praise and looked over the Celestial Fire Knights.

They too had not come through the battle entirely unscathed, and there were wounded among them. But there were no dead.

The individual combat power of the Celestials was so strong that although some had been thrown when their horses were injured or killed during the charge, even those had suffered no more than light wounds.

Compared to such a heroic victory, they were truly slight losses.

‘Well now….’

Azadine found a bitter taste in his mouth for some reason. He could not deny the skill, power, and even the beauty of the Celestial Fire Knights.

“Thanks to you, we survived, Sir Karna.”

“The honor is mine, Sir Azadine. I am glad to meet the man who overwhelmed the heroes of Chadra. The fatigue of battle must be weighing on you, so rest for now, and once the sun passes noon, let us meet then.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Azadine showed Karna proper courtesy and withdrew.

A child of the Northern Emperor—why a Celestial? How are Celestials made?

Those questions still remained in Azadine’s heart, but he also found himself thinking what use any of that was.

As the forces of evil grew stronger by the day, what was the point of harboring needless suspicion and digging into people like them?

From the beginning, the other members of the knightly order ignored and despised Azadine, and yet was it not only the Celestials of the Celestial Fire who treated him with goodwill instead?

Temptation seized Azadine.

His will to uncover and dig out the truth dulled, and fatigue wrapped around him.

Azadine entered the hut assigned to him and collapsed as he was, falling asleep like the dead.

Fatigue weighed Azadine down. He felt an irresistible pull, as though the floor were a giant magnet and his body had become a lump of iron stuck fast to it.

Even so, Azadine pushed himself away from the bed and laboriously raised his body.

He stank all over because he had not been able to change clothes, but he had no fresh clothes to change into, nor any leisure to wash.

Azadine came outside drenched in sweat. In the middle of the village, a cauldron had been hung up, and beans, vegetables, and meat were being boiled in it. It seemed everyone was taking that soup and eating it with bread for their meal.

Azadine approached to eat the soup as well.

“Ah, please sit here. You’re awake, Sir Azadine.”

Izmilla recognized Azadine and beckoned to him. She was not the only one welcoming him.

All the other Celestials beside her also looked at Azadine with delight.

“Welcome!”

“Sir Azadine!”

“…….”

Azadine looked over the Celestials who welcomed him.

They all looked like young boys and girls in their late teens.

Now that he saw their youthful faces, unlike when they wore armor and had their helmets pulled low, he could understand why Aramis’s command had been so immature.

‘But I still can’t get used to it. Making such warmly welcoming expressions.’

The Celestials were welcoming Azadine as one of their own.

Receiving their hospitality, Azadine approached Izmilla and sat beside her.

“Well then, to the members of the Celestial Fire Knights, I owe you much from last night. I truly owe you my life.”

“Oh, come on. There was no way Sir Azadine would have died there.”

Izmilla said that because she knew Azadine’s abilities well. She believed with absolute certainty that if Azadine wanted to, he could look after his own safety anytime.

“No, I did receive a life-saving favor. Truly. But the Bri?”

“The Bri were routed and are fleeing.”

Another female knight said so and handed Azadine a bowl filled with soup.

As Azadine inclined his head to her and took the bowl, her hand brushed the back of his hand and then lingered lightly between his index finger and the next.

Wondering what she was doing, Azadine paused for a moment. She was touching his hand with fascination.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Without thinking.”

“Without thinking?”

“C-could I touch you too?”

Another female knight spoke to Azadine.

“Touch me?”

“W-well, yes. It would be a rude request, wouldn’t it?”

“No, well, if you want to touch me, then touch me. But for what reason?”

“Well, among our brothers and sisters—ah, of course everyone in the Rescue Knights Order are brothers and sisters—but aside from us, this is the first time we’ve seen someone so handsome and so skilled. So we made a wager over whether you might really be a Celestial or not. If we touch you, we can tell whether you’re a Celestial.”

“Uh. What?”

Azadine felt dumbfounded.

So, because Azadine was handsome and highly skilled, they were suspecting he might be a Celestial like them.

“I’m not a Celestial.”

“But sometimes people do not even know their own birth, do they?”

“If that’s the case… is a hand enough?”

Flustered, Azadine held out his hand to her.

A silver-haired girl who looked to be in her late teens touched and felt Azadine’s hand, then shook her head.

“I can’t tell because of the gloves.”

“Honestly.”

Since it was time to eat anyway, Azadine took off his gloves. At that, she brightened and held Azadine’s hand, feeling it over.

“Hmm. No, I still can’t really tell. If it would be all right, could I touch your face?”

“I haven’t washed.”

“Oh, come on. We haven’t washed either.”

“…….”

It was absurd, and in some ways a rude request, but Azadine complied readily enough. He had no grounds to refuse, and he also wanted to experience for himself what kind of principle this operated on.

“You can touch it.”