I didn't think I'd get to meet a character that is much closer toward the character cast of the Trailsverse. Both the golden-haired girl and the sandstone-haired girl. The Crimson Roselia, and Vita Clotilde respectively!
There is also Isola Millstein, Emma Millstein's mother. She unfortunately passes away after her clash against the Black Alberich, and is dead by the time you get to see Emma introduced for the first time during the Cold Steel games. On the other hand, Vita is much younger here. She should be around nine, making her six years older than me. By the time she becomes a wandering witch of her own, the Hundred Days War would have been long over. I'd be around ten at the time.
Vita is currently, as one would say, broadening her horizons. Witches-in-training aren't even allowed to leave Eryn Village until they become a wandering witch. I'm surprised to even see her next to me right now. She probably begged to come, and Isola permitted it.
All matters typically get delegated to the Crimson Roselia, though. Eryn Village isn't that big. Only has tens of people at most. The Hexen Clan has waned over the centuries. And you heard me right, centuries. They've been around since the Middle Ages several hundred years ago and perhaps even longer. It wasn't exactly clear how old the Crimson Roselia is. I say that, but this version of the Crimson Roselia is her second iteration. She isn't her original. Part of her memories lingered, which eventually took shape into a soul, becoming the Burning Sphinx again. From there, the Hexen Clan formed. Right now, she's parading around as Roselia Millstein. So in a way, she is truly Isola's Mother and Emma's Grandmother. Vita also calls her Grandmother, but the two aren't bound by blood. It's a very convoluted relationship, to say the least.
But it is a relationship the four share nonetheless. Vita sees Emma as her younger sister. She challenges Emma in various ways, despite being on the opposite side. You'll clash against Vita here and there during Rean's adventure. And honestly, I see myself doing that too. Depending on how this new life of mine goes, I could end up being Rean's ally, or Rean's foe. Especially if I want to honor Father's name as an Osborne.
Right now though, I simply smiled back at Vita after we introduced ourselves to each other. It's nice just being near her like this.
"So you're fine being called Vita then. In that case, you can just call me Naoto.", I happily said to Vita. "Father's been training me, but we were rudely interrupted by the appearance of this giant wolf. I promise you I will not get in their way.", I said, taking another look at Vita while saying that. In the coming years, Vita will become a world-renown beauty, and a leading opera singer to boot. It might do me well if we can become friends now. The more connections you can form, the better. Plus, she could be a ticket into Ouroboros, should I ever want to encounter those types of people!
And that was just on the outside. Vita's a true Witch.
"Hehe, that's fine by me. So it's Naoto. Why is such a small kid like you training in the first place? It's dangerous out here you know. I know you said something about a military background, but that's still way too young, isn't it?", Vita responded, still doubtful.
"Like I said, that's being the son of a General for you. It is true I'm only three right now. The more foundations I can set earlier, the better off I'll be later on, or so Father says.", I replied, scratching my head. "And I can't exactly go against Father's wishes.", I continued to say, shrugging my shoulders.
"I think I know where you're coming from. I can't exactly go against Grandmother either. And trust me, I've tried. I'm grateful both Auntie and Grandmother allowed me to come.", Vita replied, also shaking her head, sighing. It would seem we shared a similar sentimentality on the matter. Go figure!
As we exchanged those words, I saw Father suddenly unleash a crazy battle qi. You see, there's a term for this. It's called Battle Aura. This is something that isn't fully explored in the Trailsverse, but reach a certain point in the martial arts you study, and you can unlock something called Battle Aura. Martial Arts is much more prominent in Eastern Zemuria compared to the west, so like I said, it's not a fully-versed topic as subjects like Arts and Combat Orbments are. I don't even know the conditions to unlock Battle Aura, and not everyone can wield it either. You need to reach a certain point in your training. Only practitioners can use it, as far as I'm aware.
It's those inexplicable colors you'd see when you saw characters like Zin the Immovable and Walter the Direwolf clash during Sky's peak. That fiery-orange and that cool-blue aura respectively. It might just appear flashy when you see it happen, but Battle Aura has its own story to it. It can tremendously boost one's combat parameters, depending on how much you can unleash it.
As to whether or not I will learn Battle Aura, that will remain to be seen. Father is currently finding a teacher for me to teach me swordplay, so it could become possible down the line. Unlike me, Father has had years of combat training under his belt. He has taken the Erebonian's military combat form to its peak, and unlocked Battle Aura along the way. The energy he was now releasing was similar to Zin's aura, a fiery orange-red. Father's had more red in it than orange, making him very domineering.
"Haaah!", Giliath roared. Not holding back, he allowed his aura to sweep around his entire body. Still crouched, he dashed. Using his legs, Giliath leapt in the air, several feet high. Continuing his motion, Giliath slashed downward in front of him, aiming for Agnagarn's head. Agnagard suddenly opened its mouth seeing Giliath's imminent attack, and tried to chomp away at his greatsword. Shhrringg!
We heard a displeasing sound that caused the remaining nearby monsters to flee in terror. Agnagarn's large fangs clashed against the steel of Father's sword. It was surprisingly unpleasant to the ears. Father had taken the first strike against the gigantic wolf!
Following that to make sure Agnagarn didn't back away, Isola immediately began another chant. The previous blue aura I saw enveloped Isola's body once again, keeping her staff horizontal. No matter how many times I see this happen, it was still exciting to see with my own eyes. And it does beg the question, will I be able to learn Magic somehow? It was practically non-existent in my previous life. It only existed in fantasy stories. I don't know how Witches operate here in Zemuria. Is their Mana decided at birth, or can it be trained? If I get a chance to head inside Eryn Village, I'll try to find out to see if I have any chance at learning Magic.
"O Spirits of water, please listen to the soothing of my voice. Wash over this raging echo as you listen to the depths of my mana and strike at the heart of this beast. Rendering Flood,", Isola raged out. She raised her staff up high. The air began to churn and swirl. It condensed into a blue swirl, sweeping up around it. Boooom!
A deafening boom swept around us as Isola launched her incantation. Before we realized it, the churning air turned damp and moist, almost as if we had just entered a violent storm. The water then rapidly sped up, becoming a self-contained river. The river then burst, spewing water outward at Agnagarn. It raged onward, striking at the gigantic wolf and landed a direct hit.
"Awooo...", Agnagarn responded with a painful howl, feeling its entire body being blasted apart by a flowing river of water. It was now in agony. Seeing this Cryptid release a bunch of flames and destruction where it stomped around earlier, it should be weak to the Water element. Most Cryptids typically had one Element that they were weak too, allowing you to take advantage of that. And in return, Isola managed to do so. She was using a Water Spell.
As I was distracted by Isola's spell, I heard Agnagarn let out another painful howl. Father had launched himself all the way up, landing on Agnagarn's back. He had stabbed into Agnagarn's back. A deep gash appeared, and an insane pool of blood spilled out from it. Agnagarn had taken heavy damage from these two consecutive attacks alone.
Giliath grinned, letting his battle aura continue to swirl around himself. This time, he switched up his battle style, and brought out his Combat Orbment. Opening it up and tracing his fingers alongside the Lines, Father's Combat Orbment lit up in a green glow. The glows swiftly moved to his feet. Pulling the blade out of Agnagarn's back, Father leapt again, striking closer toward its neck. More blood splattered after the second attack struck the gigantic wolf's body, painting his clothes red. That was the downside of fighting a Cryptid. You had to deal with this bloody stench.
The gushing water soon began to die down, striking again where Giliath's sword struck. BAM!
Taking the greatsword of Agnagarn's neck, Father began to slash his sword sideways, delivering one strike after another. Agnagarn tried to shake Father off its body, but Father held tight, likely thanks to the active Art he had over his feet.
"AWOOOO!", Agnagarn yelled, roaring in agony. Giliath was able to keep his momentum, and continued his onslaught. Agnagarn's face was now bloody, letting its own blood seep into its eyes. The gigantic wolf even looked more crazed now. In the next moment, its fangs lit up in a searing flame, trying to respond to the threat on its back.
"Haha! I haven't had a good challenge like this in a while, apart from that spar. This has been a good warm-up.", Giliath responded, grinning while he was attacking the gigantic wolf. As he continued, he activated the same Art again, and the green glow appeared beneath his feet. Leaping upward, Agnagarn opened its mouth in an attempt to bite Giliath in one gulp and get pierced by its flaming fangs. Giliath didn't let that happen, and swung his greatsword down hard. It began to slide down right at Agnagarn's open mouth. Schrring!
Another sound of clashing metal struck our ears while Giliath's blade became stuck in Agnagarn's mouth, just like a toothpick. It was stuck, unable to move any deeper. Agnagarn roared out in pain. Even my body shuttered a bit. Imagine taking a knife to cut your own one of your own teeth in half. Sheesh, that must be painful. The fangs of the gigantic wolf began to crack and split open!
Agnagarn's crying roar intensified. This was the most painful roar yet. It began to toss its head around, trying to shake Giliath off its body, but Giliath held on. He acted as if this was a playground, despite currently battling a Cryptid.
Seeing this, I became silent.
"...Is this even a battle?", I retorted. Giliath was having too much an easy time fighting this Cryptid. It was quickly becoming one-sided. Vita giggled hearing me say that.
"Hehe, your father isn't a slouch, that's for sure. Those high up in the military can carry themselves well in battle. I fear us providing aid might have been for naught. I don't see this battle lasting much longer.", Vita replied.
And after Vita said that, we heard a loud shatter. Crrrack!
Agnagarn's flaming fangs actually managed to shatter into several pieces, crushing its mouth altogether. As a result, Giliath was able to use this momentum, continuing to slash Agnagarn's body through and through.
"It seems my support is no longer needed.", Isola said, joining our side.
Isola placed her staff back onto her back. She only used two incantations total. One helped sweep away the monsters nearby Agnagarn, while the second one allowed Giliath to secure a good footing on top of it. The water even helped quell the flames it unleashed, until it decided to use its last-ditch attack with its fangs. Blood continued to splatter onto the grass before us. Before Isola placed her staff away, she made sure to put out all the nearby flames so they wouldn't spread to the rest of the forest. How thoughtful.
Now Father won't need to waste another Art to deal with this aftermath. The scorched grass left behind a blackened trail, unfortunately. But the flames were extinguished, and this will eventually get replaced. Fresh grass and plants will cover this place in due time. This scorched grass left quite a big trail, and it could be seen quite a long way to the Schwarz Drache Barrier. All the while, I heard a constant flurry of distant gunfire, taking care of the other monsters.
Agnagarn let out its death woes, unleashing a final howl. Father had actually cleaved its body in half with his greatsword. I truly underestimated how powerful Father can get. Or is this the result of a vast difference in Levels? I'm not sure. The gigantic wolf couldn't even shoot out its signature flaming breath move to burn all of its nearby surroundings before Father finished his attack. Isola didn't even need to help him deal the finishing blow.
I saw its body start to shine brightly, slowly evaporating into different colored lights. So Cryptids do end up "returning home" after all...
The battle ended as swiftly as it began. But would you have it, a notification soon followed suit. It was something I expected seeing that we cleared the mission, but I heard multiple notifications follow suit. I inwardly smiled, all of the Emergency Quest Tasks have been completed!
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has successfully completed Emergency Quest: Slay The Flaming Beast, Agnagarn!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has completed the allocated tasks within the first hour since the Emergency Quest was issued. Now calculating rewards...]
It looks like my first Level Up has come!