In fact, the Land of Rain had its own means of dealing with disasters.
While Shiomi and Aesc stood on the hills outside the city and sensed the calamity's aura sweeping in from the sea, the fairies of the Rain Clan detected it as well.
After Aesc reported the situation to the King and Queen, they immediately took action.
In a very short time, a fairy army was raised—though to Shiomi's eyes it looked far from impressive. The fairies carried weapons that were not finely crafted but kept in good condition, and they marched toward the outskirts of the city.
However, instead of advancing further, they halted outside the walls and formed defensive lines with the city wall as their fallback.
From atop the ramparts, Shiomi frowned. Even at a glance, their formation was disorderly. Still, the fairies seemed mentally prepared, aware of the enemy they would soon face, and thus they showed little panic.
Before long, countless dark figures appeared on the horizon, racing forward at tremendous speed. In moments, they clashed with the main defensive force outside the city, and battle erupted.
Through his magically enhanced sight, Shiomi made out the forms of the shadows.
They had bodies shaped like congealed black mist, leaking a foul magical aura as they crept across the ground toward the Land of Rain. The glowing spots on their faces were most likely their eyes.
The monsters quickly collided with the Rain Clan's army and began their assault on the fairies.
"What are those?" Shiomi asked, turning to Aesc.
"Moss." Aesc gripped her wand tightly. "They are one of the calamities that have existed in this Britain since the very beginning."
"Where did such calamities come from?" Shiomi pressed.
At that moment, the Queen's voice came from behind them.
"Moss are fairies who lost their purpose, lost their radiance, and in the end, even lost the ability to maintain their own form."
"I see—" Shiomi's gaze shifted back to the battlefield, noticing something strange in how both sides fought.
The Land of Rain's army was doing everything possible to avoid direct contact with the Moss, instead harassing their advance with arrows or flasks of burning oil.
But such tactics only slowed them down. The true damage came from certain fairies who could wield mana, firing projectiles of pure magical energy.
It wasn't even Magecraft, but rather the innate power of the fairies themselves.
Keeping distance?
Shiomi immediately guessed the reason. The curse radiating from the Moss was no mere illusion. To the fairies, it must be like venom—taking effect the instant contact was made.
"The battle won't last long, Vivian. Go relay the order to the second wave—have them reinforce the vanguard."
The Queen immediately issued her command.
"I'll lead the fairies within the city to prepare for the counterattack."
"Yes, Mother." Vivian promptly obeyed and hurried off to carry out her orders.
The Queen cast one more glance at the situation beyond the walls before preparing to depart herself.
"Mother, what about me?" Aesc asked at that moment.
"…You stay here, Aesc." The Queen pushed her toward Shiomi. "Sage, I entrust Aesc to you. If we cannot withstand this wave of Moss, I ask that you take her away from Orkney and escape to the mainland of Britannia."
Shiomi did not answer immediately.
"Are you planning to throw your life away, Your Highness?"
"It isn't throwing it away—it's the only choice we have. The Moss are the natural enemies of our kind. Even the slightest contact will cling to us." A trace of fear flickered across her face. "We can only pray this isn't the Great Calamity."
Terrified though she was, she still had no choice but to lead her people into a battle steeped in despair.
This forced Shiomi to see the fairies in a slightly different light.
"What about the humans?" he asked, instead of refusing her request.
He had already noticed that neither the vanguard nor the reinforcements led by Vivian contained any human soldiers—only fairies armed for war.
"Humans… can't fight. On the front lines, they'd only end up as husks possessed by the Moss."
As she said this, the Queen hesitated, casting a wary glance at Shiomi. She feared her words might offend him.
Having said all she needed, she turned away from the ramparts.
"Mother!"
Aesc tried to follow, but Shiomi pressed a hand on her shoulder. The pressure wasn't heavy, yet it held her firmly in place.
"Don't stop me," she pleaded, turning back to him.
"Do you have combat experience?" Shiomi turned her fully around, gripping her arms as he asked seriously.
She was not yet sixteen. Among fairies, there were those born with innate Mana, but Aesc was different—she could construct her own Magecraft systems and Thaumaturgical Foundations, crafting unique techniques for manipulating phenomena.
Even so, she didn't look like someone who had ever fought before. Shiomi could tell that much at a glance.
"No…" Aesc faltered under his question. The strength holding her wasn't overwhelming, and she slipped free of his grip. "But I can use Magecraft. Even if I can only attack from afar, at the very least, I can help hold back the Moss."
Shiomi's hand loosened, yet Aesc didn't immediately run off. She understood the weight of her mother's words, and she knew Shiomi had promised to protect her.
So she sought his permission.
"I knew it." Shiomi let out a weary sigh.
Morgan had once said that the Land of Rain perished in this era. Seeing the Moss appear and the army's decline, he had assumed that was the cause.
He hadn't intended to interfere, content only to stay by Aesc's side. But now, he couldn't ignore the look in her eyes—pleading, anxious, unwilling to lose.
Whether the Land of Rain fell today or not, Shiomi had already made up his mind.
"…So I—eh? Eh? Eh?"
Aesc thought Shiomi was about to firmly refuse her. Just as she was about to speak, he suddenly swept her into his arms.
It was the same as that time they had returned from the forest. After more than a month, feeling his embrace again left her mind reeling. If not for the looming crisis, she might have been far less flustered.
"Tenkei, I—" She tried to protest, asking him to put her down.
"If we're going to the battlefield, don't hide in the rear." Shiomi held her tightly. "We'll be going up a little high, so don't scream, alright?"
Before Aesc could question him, a fierce gust rushed past her ears. In the blink of an eye, she found herself soaring high into the sky.
The army and the Moss below shrank into tiny specks in her vision.
Shiomi didn't linger in the air. He plunged downward at tremendous speed, straight toward the battlefield's center. As the ground rushed back up into view, Aesc instinctively buried her head against his chest.
BOOM!
The thunderous impact shook the earth, a shockwave rippling outward. Over a hundred fairy soldiers staggered back, while the Moss were forced to halt their advance for the moment.
...
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