The memory ended abruptly. It was longer than all the ones Dallion had experienced in the past and still felt too short. Near the end, he had seen glimpses of his grandmother. If only it had continued for a little bit longer, there was a chance he’d learn more about her: what she was like, how she met his grandfather, possibly who had betrayed them both.

“I’m not going back!” Harp’s terror quickly brought him back to reality.

For some reason, the deck seemed a lot smaller than it had moments ago. After witnessing the nymph fight in the open ocean, even a boat this large seemed constricting.

Grym remained there, a fair distance away. Further back, more Azures were gathering. All of them appeared human, but Dallion suspected that they had a nymph symbiote echo inside, controlling their every move.

Don’t worry, Dallion told Harp. You’re not going back.

As determined as he was, there was no denying that he himself felt intimidated. Fighting a puppet couldn’t compare to the real thing, but even so the entity standing before him was likely none other than the nymph empress herself.

“You’re Tiallia,” Dallion said.

The name made “Grym” pause. The nymph probably never expected to hear that from the mouth of a human.

“That’s why you didn’t put in so much effort fighting me,” he continued, using as much of his music skills as he could muster. After all, the second Tamin empress had managed to defeat Harp with music alone. Maybe a similar attack would be successful here as well? “Even after all this time, you were still keeping your promise. That’s why you can never—”

“Trying to use music?” Grym sounded amused. “Even if I didn’t know about your skills, I’d have noticed. Just because you kept Gia safe, I’ll let you live and have your little crumb on the shore. Keep your gorgon and what’s left of the alliance, if you want. Just return her to me.”

The man extended his hand.

So, this is your ultimatum, Dallion thought.

“How about you make a Moon vow?” he asked. “Just in case.”

A frown formed on Grym’s face.

“No?”

If the nymph empress had any intention of sparing his life, it was gone now. On the positive side, at least he knew the stakes—if he didn’t give it his all, he wouldn’t survive.

“You’ve seen there’s no magic in this puppet,” Grym continued. “But you haven’t seen the other things he’s capable of.”

Wooden spikes emerged from the deck, thrusting upward. The action was fast, though not fast enough to affect Dallion.

“I know he’s a domain ruler,” Dallion said. “And I know he’s excellent in actual combat. One might say almost as good as your sister.”

There was no detectable change in Grym’s emotions, but Dallion was certain the nymph empress was anything but calm. Being a mage and noble, there was one thing she had in abundance, one that she couldn’t hide with skill or manners—ego. Therefore, it was only proper that he pushed a little more.

“I also know that you won’t risk harming Harp. Not now, in any event.” He held the harpsisword higher, displaying it prominently. “Also—” Dallion performed a sudden point attack directly down. As he suspected, the mages protecting the ship had covered the outer hull with multiple spell layers, but no one had bothered to protect the deck itself.

Wood broke into fragments, as the force of the blow went on, then—stopped by the outer magic shielding of the hull—spread to the sides, destroying decks and people as it did.

This was the tipping point. The supreme arrogance of someone who had escaped banishment didn’t let her put up with this. Seeing the symbol of her authority destroyed, Tiallia forced Grym forward. Dozens of other puppeted humans followed. Since no nymph lives were at risk, they had only one goal: kill Dallion, no matter the cost.

Swords clashed as the two exchanged blows. The puppet’s speed was greater than anything Dallion had seen so far. If the battle was back when he was at the Academy, he would have lost. Even now, it was a struggle to keep up.

Parrying with his harpsisword, Dallion struck at Grym with his aura sword, casting spells as he did. Magic circles appeared non-stop, showering all other enemies with aether shards. Most of them were able to fend them off easily, though there were a few that received serious wounds.

You can’t win, Harp said, her voice still trembling. You’re not in a state that you could beat her.

But you are, Dallion replied.

The tip of Grym’s blade pierced Dallion’s left shoulder. The pain was sharp, though bearable. Thanks to the firebird, Dallion didn’t have to worry about consequences. No one could claim that it was honorable, but as he had seen, honor was judged by the survivors.

The puppet’s thrust was followed by a multi-attack, forcing Dallion to fly backwards in order to avoid it as much as possible. On multiple occasions, he attempted to break into instances, only to have them fade away due to a precise strike by Grym. Clearly, this wouldn’t be the solution.

“You won’t risk harming her,” Dallion said, using his music skills again. “The way you’re attacking, you’ll destroy the item.”

There was no reason for such an idle threat to have an effect, and yet Grym paused. The few wounds he had closed with a distinctive magic glow, as he shifted his gaze from the harpsisword to Dallion.

“Memory fragments,” Grym said. “That’s how you know.”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“Does it matter?” Dallion kept waving the aura sword about. Unlike his opponent, he couldn’t afford to stop casting spells. Even if they were doing relatively little harm to the rest of the crew, they kept them pinned down and unable to attack.

“Not particularly. You know what they say about a little bit of knowledge?” A thin layer of water covered Grym’s blade. “It’s always a dangerous thing. It’s true, I won’t let anyone harm my sister. But she’s not that weapon—just its guardian.”

Faster than before, Grym flew forward, leaving a trail of instances behind. Left with no means of escape, Dallion remained where he was, just as the sword thrust into him.

MAJOR WOUND

Health reduced by 50%

A purple rectangle emerged in the air, quickly disappearing a moment later.

“So overconfident,” Grym said, a grin widening on his face. “I’ve hated your entire branch since that witch used music on her. So many worthless Elaznis holding more than they deserved, more than they knew, and taking her for granted. Half of you would have lost their awakened powers if it wasn’t for her.” Grym twisted his weapon. “Now she’ll be where she belongs.”

MAJOR WOUND

Health reduced by 50%

Another purple rectangle flashed above Dallion.

“Just,” he managed to say, gasping for breath. “Just one last thing…”

“Dying words? It’s always amusing to hear those. They’re overrated, but let’s hear your take.”

“Why…” Dallion’s words turned into a whisper.

Unable to help herself, the nymph made Grym move his head closer to Dallion’s mouth.

“Why did you assume I’d come alone?” Dallion’s voice quickly returned to normal.

Tendrils of blue flame shot out from Lux in an attempt to entangle Grym. Unfortunately, the puppet proved a fraction of a second too fast. Releasing his saber, the man pushed away, landing back on the remaining parts of the deck.

As he did, Lux tore off Dallion like a ball of flaming jelly. His shape stretched, then smoothened, extinguishing all flames, until a green glowing slime remained in the air, its entire surface covered with magic patterns.

“A copyette?!” Grym yelled in shock.

“Not just any copyette,” Dallion replied, using his aura sword to surround himself with several layers of aether armor. “A friend.”

“Don’t look down on the newbie, newbie,” the copyette told Grym. “You’re not the first to have tried this gig.”

“You?!” The fear was palpable even through the human puppet. “It’s a trick. The Moons will never allow you to fight!”

“Just because I was banished?” The copyette laughed. “You were banished as well. Pulling the strings of a puppet doesn’t make you immune. You started this.”

An intricate spell pattern formed within the semi-transparent body, causing it to burst into thousands of droplets. Each drop was a copyette in its own right, all controlled by a single mind.

“Get ready, kid,” a chorus of copyettes said in unison. “You won’t get another chance at this.”

Dozens of Azure ships launched spells and ballista bolts at what was left of the flagship. Unfortunately for them, the spells cast on the hull prevented any external damage from occurring. Walls of water shot up from the sea, surrounding it like a bubble.

REALM CREATION

A green rectangle emerged.

Pan has created the Land of SINKHOLE – Level 1

Pan has granted you full control of the Land of SINKHOLE.

An equine has been designated as the land’s guardian.

Defeat the guardian to change the land’s destiny.

Dallion allowed himself a breath of relief. Never before had he felt so tense, yet somehow, they had pulled it through. The plan was as reckless as they came, but for once it had been Pan who had come out with it. He had no idea that Grym would turn out a puppet of the nymph empress, or that he’d be on the flagship. After facing nymphs in the past, he knew that they’d be too arrogant to ignore the challenge of a lone awakened, especially a human.

There had been some risk. With the race’s magic traits, it was unlikely that the copyette would remain hidden, as he had during the Star’s attack on Nerosal. For that reason, Dallion had decided to go with a different approach—not hide it at all. No mage would bat an eye at the sight of magic coming from a firebird. One would have to be incredibly skilled and cautious to check whether the magic threads were authentic or not. If any of them had bothered, they would have seen that the familiar awakening level exceeded a hundred.

And still, that was only half of the plan. Dallion’s entire fool-hearted “attack” was to hide something else: the small part of the copyette that made its way along the seabed, so it could create a realm in the center of the armada. After all, there was only one thing stronger than magic—the powers of a domain ruler on home turf. Now, thanks to a newly created village of one inhabitant, Dallion had gained control of the entire area.

“Let’s see you win this one,” he said, flying back towards the coast as fast as a flight spell would let him.

Cones of water shot out from the ocean in an attempt to grab him, yet they were quickly sliced down with a pair of line attacks. That was just the start of it. Massive cones of rock rose up from the ocean floor, making their way to the surface. The sheer strength of the impact was enough to turn over several vessels, despite all their magic protections. The flagship shook violently, disrupting the ongoing massacre between slimes and nymph-puppeted humans. Unable to breach its hull, the spikes continued rising, like a mountain beneath the sea. Within moments, a rocky island had formed, holding scores of enemy ships. Water poured down, as the entire section of the ocean parted, allowing land to fill the space between Dallion’s new domain and the coast. The sea invasion had just turned into a land fight, and unlike before, Dallion’s forces had the upper hand.

“Go!” Dallion shouted, using a magic symbol to amplify his voice.

“You better survive this.” Euryale’s voice was instantly recognized among all the other noises.

Thousands of gorgons leaped off the walls, charging forward at the attackers. Everyone knew that the casualties would be massive, but at the same time, they’d never get a better chance.