I got hit with a blow that came at the speed of sound. Moments after the battle began, I'm on the ground, before Viers and Paina even move an inch.

A blow so heavy in the form of a formless shockwave. I recognize Master Mita’s technique but I've never experienced it with my own body. My lungs scream for air, my body protests from the abuse. Are my bones shattered? It feels like they are.

“Rose!”

Viers and Paina’s shouts enter my ears while I’m groaning on the floor.

“Intriguing. You’re not dead,” Jerrold says while taking a sip from a glass of wine. “Incredible damage mitigation, that runic magic… Was it from your dwarven ally?”

It's just as Jerrold says. A rune has been flickering on my chest ever since I received the blow. After serving as a distraction at the start, Tomthur has retreated to a safe place but he still supports us using his own way.

Currently, he’s hitting an anvil repeatedly, giving us damage mitigation when needed. If not, a newly-minted Level 3 like myself would have turned into a paste from a Level 4’s strike. He demonstrated it before, the runic protections are renewed when the anvil is struck.

“...Stick, ughh… to the plan,” I say hoarsely as I struggle to get back on my feet. “I’ll hold her back.”

Using additional life-saving treasures to further protect myself and lock Mita in place, I face the woman that I love like a mother. Watching her looking at me with blank eyes is excruciating, for the blame lies partly in me. I failed to reach her in time.

“Master Mita, disciple Rose, requesting your guidance.”

“Heh,” I hear Jerrold scoff, “How long can an unremarkable lass like you last? Without the angel’s blessing, you are nothing.”

That stings. However, I can't afford to waver. The plan is going awry already. There should be at least five of us using the ‘unity’ before engaging a Level 4. The only thing I can do right now is to keep Master Mita in place until Ciel and others -or the elf siblings- reach us.

It doesn't need to be said; that it is an extremely poor plan. I told Viers as such before stepping into the teleportation portal. However, we didn't have much choice. There was no guarantee we would be able to find the others in the maze below as the inside of the Magitek Wonder seems to be completely under the control of the enemy. The silver lining is they treated this as a game where we can proceed after passing through the obstacles they made.

Even now, Jerrold and the Governor-King showed no sign of moving.

From their situation on the screens, they too are fighting their own battles. Their opponents are the same as the evacuation battle. Just like how Viers was pitted against Russ and Paina with Enzo. The Level 4 elves, Delimira and Kailu are fighting the hardest opponents, other Level 4s, including Unem.

Supported by Tomthur’s dwarven art and expensive life-saving treasures from the Church, I fight a desperate defensive battle.

“Arte - Nature’s Protecti-”

Mita rings her bell, her weapon.

“Eh?”

Then, I lost.

The previous strike no doubt had a Level 4 class power behind it but this one is too mysterious, too difficult to comprehend. The ring of the bell destroys all of the life-saving treasures in my person and strips me of Tomthur’s runic protection. The ground cracks as if a giant invisible hammer falls from the sky. I’m not turned into mush but the damage is severe.

I thought I could hold her back. But it got over in an instant.

“Weak. Disgustingly weak. Do you think faraway support from another Level 4 and items are enough to hold a Level 4 peak at bay, girl? See what happens if people of our caliber become a little bit serious?”

I am a piece of cloth trying to hold back a raging fire. What hubris…

“Akh…”

Master Mita sits on my chest as I lie face up, her hand on my neck. She isn't squeezing my throat but the implication is clear: she can kill me whenever she wants. The shame… I almost wish they would just end my miserable existence here and now.

“No, you don't get to die just yet,” I hear Jerrold say. “As for you two, go ahead and finish your battle. Don't be shy. There's more to come.”

“Rose, hold on!”

Paina encourages me but although her voice reaches my ears, it doesn't reach my heart. I am pinned in place and forced to watch Paina and Viers’ fight. Through the screens that are floating in the air, I can see the battles of others too. While they all bleed, I am unable to contribute. The feeling alone is torture enough.

Looking at it from another angle, with Mita keeping me in check -however unnecessary that may be- and not interfering with their fight, I did fulfill my role. However, it is not my achievement. It is given to me by the enemy.

The sense of impotence consumes me in body and spirit.

Paina fought Enzo in a defensive manner. She raised a sphere of water around herself as a barrier while playing her flute. At times Enzo pierced the shield but Paina dealt with it one way or another. The defense is extraordinary so I thought she’s a defense specialist. They usually don't do well on offense but I was wrong. She played that flute not for show. Paina was accumulating power by doing that and finished the battle in one strike, a Water Slash discharged by the swing of her staff. Enzo was alive but heavily injured.

Viers’ battle was more straightforward. Cut and dice. Russ who had been glamoured was acting like a berserker. His power and speed increased but Viers defeated him all the same. Russ was missing four limbs but similarly, alive. All clean cuts, at least reattachment shouldn't be a problem.

“Bravo, bravo,” Jerrold claps his hand. “Wonderfully done, my daughter and her courier.”

“Don't call me that,” Paina replies.

“He’s easier to deal with than before. Russ’ strength is his precise swordsmanship. Turning him into a mindless killing machine is detrimental,” Viers keeps a wary eye.

“Oh I know. He insisted, you see. So like a good father-in-law, I granted his request for more. Your triumph upon him is foreseen. Paina’s is a bit of a shock. Your progress as a Pathseeker is, despite your condition, a pleasant surprise. I’m proud of you, daughter.”

“Stop calling me that,” Paina growls.

“Khukhukhu… Compared to you two, this one on the other hand.”

He looks at me with a sigh.

“Failed to save her master in time, failed the journey, failed the fight.”

Mita walks to Jerrold’s side, sent to do so like a maidservant with a hand gesture. I can't stand, raising my upper body alone makes my bruised muscles ache. Those words are like sticks that beat me up.

“You rigged the place so we never made it in time to save Mita anyway. The maze is proof enough,” Viers and Paina come closer to my position, not letting their guard down in front of Jerrold and the Level 5 who still sits on the golden throne.

Jerrold doesn't give Viers a reply. He continues addressing me.

“I can almost hear the disapproval from your predecessors. All the Blessed so far have accomplished noteworthy feats. But you? You’re nothing more than a mistake.”

I…

“I know you, Rose. I see you from Mita’s memories. A girl that comes into her power by pity from other beings… Hmph! First the angel, then the Church. By wanting to save your master, you have led your friends to certain death. It isn't hard to guess what a child like you is thinking. You hope to somehow reverse the situation by borrowing the strength of your patron, just like a beggar in the streets.”

He’s… right. Borrowed strength is fragile. Viers said that to me once. Uncontrolled borrowed power, even more so.

“Only, you can't do that, can you? You’re not in control. You can't even control a sliver of the trickling angel power. Fumbling in the dark. But even then your growth is extraordinary compared to the ordinary Pathseeker. A luck undeserved.”

Every scorn he gives me, is earned.

“We are Pathseekers. We walk the Path of Power, and it is perilous. Those without resolve won't go very far in the Path of Power. But you don't seek your path, do you? It has been laid down before you, a nice, straight and paved road, so all you need to do is stroll forward. Hmph! I find the notion ridiculous!”

Pathseeker… I never thought too deeply about the meaning.

“True Pathseekers build their power from the ground up, using blood as the mortar. Their own, or their enemies’.”

Conn and June are shown on screen, battling.

“Your teammates and friends. Always friendly and on good terms with you, but is that how they truly feel? During enrolment, you’re weaker than them. But in no time at all, you shoot past them in terms of power, devalue their hard work, their struggle.”

“No! That’s not-”

“The achievements and rewards that should have been theirs are taken by you. You share your reward with them but how would you feel if you were in their shoes, to be given the uneaten part of another's meal? Hm?”

Shock.

“In the Spire, you let Viers lead the way. So you didn't have to make ugly choices, so you could keep your hands clean. Content to follow others, to do what you’re told… Always preach about saving others but what have you ever accomplished?”

Shame.

“Indecisive too. To Viers. Can't muster the guts to take revenge for Leon, nor do you possess the will to forgive him. To just let the unresolved situation stew. I’ve never seen an Angel-Blessed this pitiful. A lass like you, dreaming to be a hero? What a farce!”

My conviction is in pieces. I know crying does nothing but they just come out. Stop, damn it. How much more can you disgrace yourself, Rose? Is all of this not damning enough?

And then, I saw a man’s back, between me and Jerrold.

“Do not mock her,” Viers says. “You have no right.”

“Oho,” Jerrold muses. “This is unusual. You’re defending her? I pegged you as one who’s more aligned to ‘our’ side.”

“We are a different breed of villains. Do not make fun of somebody who works hard to achieve their dream.”

“A foolish, dreaming girl’s dream, mismatched to reality. Her ego is further boosted by the angel's blessing.”

“An angel's blessing does not make her more than human, beyond shortcomings or mistakes. But that power is given to her, to a special few, who in their core, want to do good, to make the world a little better.”

Viers’ answer to Jerrold does more than surprise me. It feels like he raised shelter during a stormy night.

“Because she wants to do good then she gets to be a hero? How convenient. Does it make her deserve to be given an angel's blessing?”

Viers’ reply is swift and steady.

“She is willing to face the fiercest foe when another needs her helping hand, even though she’s afraid. She does so not for glory, not for gain, but for others to be spared of greater suffering… What is she, if not a hero?”

My mind blanks white. The phrase is too beautiful. Wasted on me.

“So stand up, Rose,” Viers urges.

“I… I can't.”

Physically and mentally.

“Do you know how to become a hero? One is never born a hero. They grow into one, when overcoming their tribulations. Heroes are not perfect. They might have their flaws but even then, their virtues and deeds touch the hearts of others… That’s why children adore them. That’s why you want to become one. Believe in yourself, and stand up.”

I clench my hands and lower my head in fear.

“What is there inside me that I can believe in myself, Viers?! I’m selfish, and weak, and always get the people I love into trouble! Jerrold was right. In truth I realized that I’ve always been a frightened little girl!”

“Rose… Strength begins when you realize your own weakness. Your friends believe in you. Paina, Ciel, June, Conn, Damon, and the others. Your master believes in you. As do I. If you cannot, then believe in us… who believe in you.”

Oh…

My thoughts fly back to the memory lane.

On the night before the assault on the Tower of Doom, of Damon’s encouragement, Rachel’s nod, Brian’s thumbs up, Wendy’s pep talk, and Ciel’s smile.

Going further, my meeting with June and Conn, and then, Master Mita. Of the time we spent together.

Lastly, a happening of years before, something so faint that it had been submerged by the sands of memories, emerges.

“Hahaha! It's so like you, to answer ‘I’m going to defend this town and the orphanage’.”

A boy laughs.

“Mmhhh,” I pout while washing the dishes. “You’re going to make fun of me too?”

“It’s not like that. I believe you can… You’re not good at fighting though, so I’ll be by your side, helping you.”

“Okay,” I replied, not thinking too deeply about it at the time. “It’s a promise, Leon.”

Reliving those memories in but an instant, they mend my broken heart. The will to stand wells up inside me.

They believe in me… No matter what, no matter how miserable I might be, I’ll make sure their trust is not in vain! I’ll struggle until there’s no breath left in me!

“Aaaaaaahhh!!!”

I scream from the top of my lungs as if trying to expel the weaknesses that Jerrold inflicts on me.

And then there was light. A light that comes from within me. Power courses through my body like a river. I feel the wounds on my body heal.

“That’s it… Never forget it,” Viers says.

I stand a renewed woman, in the middle of Victa tempest. My Victa.

“Enough talk. Begone!”

Jerrold orders Mita to attack and so she does. Mita appears before me and is about to slash me on the neck using her bare hands. I instinctively know this attack is similar to the one that defeated me.

And this time I stopped it with minuscule effort.

“Impossible!” Jerrold gasps when he sees me catch Master Mita’s arm but it’s not him I give my attention to.

“Master, I’m sorry I’m late.”

I embrace Master Mita as gently as I can. Above me, the ceiling, no, the sky unravels, showering all of us in golden rays of light. Golden clouds and majestic grace, white feathers gently falling from above. It’s impossible to tell what is on the other side but if there’s Heaven, then it might be it.

Wreath with light, there’s a silhouette. Too bright to be seen.

Master Mita struggles but cannot break free of my gentle embrace. Suddenly, there’s the sound of a flute, playing a melody that somehow completes the whole situation.

Thank you, Paina. My dear friend.

Now I know it will work. I don't know how I know but I’m convinced it will be a success.

The Arte appears in my mind.

“Arte - Purge Evil!”

There was a wave of light; how far it spread, I do not know. I hear Jerrold’s painful scream amidst all of it but Paina’s melody is ongoing.

Master Mita suddenly loses the power in her knees and I crouch to prop her up.

“Master! Can you hear me?”

A gentle caress touches my cheek.

“Foolish disciple,” Mita says weakly, looking up at my teary face. “You should have left me behind.”

I’m so, so glad.

“What kind of disciple am I, if I don't help my master in her time of need?”

Master Mita’s own words, that I return back to her. I see a tiny smile on her lips before she loses consciousness.

“Well, well… It seems we’ve missed quite the party.”

The owner of that voice brings me joy.

“Ciel! Everyone!”

Ciel and the others have arrived. Damon’s five-man group, and the elven siblings.

They bear the marks of difficult battles but their convictions are unwavering. Weapons in hand, they make a formation in front of me, between me and Jerrold who looks like he's been broiled by fires. His clothes are still smoking.

“Do you know what heroes do, Jerrold?”

Viers’ voice is soft and even, like a kind adult educating an immature child.

“Even against overwhelming odds, they win.”

-

-

Chapter 275 - Heroes