B9 - Chapter 25: The Colossus Stirs II

Viola stared down in stunned silence.

The ground rushed past beneath them at a speed unlike anything she had ever experienced aboard an airship. This was more akin to flying under her own power at full speed. Yet, for these new types of ships, it seemed to be nothing more than their normal cruising speed.

The sight made her thoughts wander.

Could it be that the age of Mages had secretly passed while she had been locked away underground? Had the age of machines finally come, just as the Dwarves had predicted all along?

Thankfully, it only took a single glance toward the central hub of the ship to relieve her of such doubts. Ten men, all experienced Grand Mages, had to work together to fuel even this vastly more efficient vessel.

In the end, it still came down to the same thing: Mana.

As long as Mana was needed, Mages would never lose their place, even if machines could outperform them in some minor ways.

“Pretty impressive, isn’t it?” somebody asked from behind.

Viola turned toward the familiar voice and found herself face-to-face with her former commander and great-great-great-aunt—Melissa Windtänzer.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Melissa said with a half smile.

“...Aunty!”

Viola immediately threw her arms around the woman. After hearing about their defeat against Zeke, she had worried most about this very person. From their time together, Viola knew all too well that Melissa was the type who would rather go down with a sinking ship than flee. It was the very reason she had not dared to ask about her fate, too afraid that the answer would confirm her worst fears.

“What are you doing here?” Viola asked after they separated.

“Didn’t you hear, kiddo? The Legion has been disbanded.”

Viola had not heard about it, but she had already figured as much. The Legion had been formed with the explicit goal of creating a secret strike force against Rukia. Its sole reason for existence had been to remain an unknown entity, capable of catching the entire continent off guard at a decisive moment.

But that moment had come and gone. Their existence was no longer a secret, and their ranks had been devastated in the attempt. There was little reason to maintain the Legion in its current form.

“Were you reassigned to the regular army, then?” Viola asked, fully aware that the Empire would never let a talent like Melissa and her elite unit go to waste.

Melissa’s smile stiffened for a moment. “I’ve been... placed on leave.”

Viola nodded slowly, but inwardly, she grew even more confused. “Shouldn’t the family have given you a ship of your own, then? Or even a couple?”

From what Viola knew, Melissa’s standing within the family shouldn’t have been much lower than even that of her own father, the Windtänzer Patriarch. In terms of achievements alone, she could be said to eclipse everyone except her grandfather.

Melissa let out a deep sigh. “...With what crew?”

Viola’s mouth snapped shut.

It seemed that even though she had survived the battle, her losses had not been light. Viola couldn’t even imagine what must have happened for such a bizarre situation to occur. Melissa had commanded some of the Legion’s most capable Mages. For so few of them to remain that she could no longer crew even a single ship...

Rather than risk tearing open those wounds, Viola decided to hold her tongue, though even she could tell that her smile must have looked terribly awkward.

“Don’t worry about it,” Melissa said consolingly. “It’s not your fault that...” Her words cut off mid-sentence, and her gaze turned vacant.

For a moment, the woman seemed to be somewhere else entirely.

Then she caught herself and returned to normal. “Anyway... Excited for the big day?”

Viola studied her for another moment. Whatever had happened in Rukia, Melissa had not truly left it behind. But this was neither the time nor the place to press her about it.

So, Viola simply went along with the change in subject. “Nobody will even tell me what today is about.”

Melissa grinned, her gloomy air fading slightly. “Want me to tell you?”

Viola nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. “Please!”

Melissa shook her head with a chuckle. “I don’t think there’s much need for that. We’re almost there.” She pointed toward the horizon, where a city was slowly coming into view. “See?”

Viola stared in that direction, her gaze caught by something other than the familiar silhouette of Magusburg.

From the Rhone River to the east, a sea of sails stretched toward the distant horizon, the white cloth reflecting the light like a road made of pearls. She recognized it as the Wellenrufers’ main fleet, which seemed to have sailed inland all the way from the open sea.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

To the south, the flat plains were dotted with what appeared to be steep cliffs—or perhaps the outlines of hills. But Viola recognized them for what they truly were: the walking fortresses of the Steiner family. These mobile cities were the Empire’s most formidable engines of war, each one so immense that even Zeke’s flying fortress would have looked like a toy beside them.

Of course, there was no true comparison. The walking fortresses were ponderous things, confined to land and dependent on enormous supply lines. But in terms of sheer size and presence, there was nothing like them.

And from the west came the rhythmic thumping of countless boots beneath a blinding light. Thousands of soldiers marched under the radiance of an artificial sun. Viola could tell by sound alone that the Feuerkranzes’ main army was several times larger than the force they had displayed during the campaign in Rukia.

Viola’s expression grew grim.

So, it was not only her own family. All the Great Houses had come in force, displaying their might for all the world to see.

But why?

“...Seems like we arrived just in time,” a new voice said.

Viola tore her gaze away from the scene and noticed that her grandfather had appeared beside them at some point, standing at the railing not a step away from her.

“What is going to happen?” Viola asked immediately.

In all her life, she had never seen anything like this. Every Great House had brought its main forces to the capital. Such a gathering could have been the prelude to a war capable of consuming the entire world.

Victor gave her a sideways glance.

“History, child.”

“What does that—”

“Shush.”

It wasn’t Victor but Melissa who admonished her.

Viola turned to her aunt, only to find her demeanor completely changed. Whether sadness or mischief, it had all vanished from her face, replaced by absolute seriousness.

Her grandfather was no different. The moment they crossed the boundaries of the city walls, both of them changed in the same way, becoming rigid as statues.

Viola didn’t understand what had brought about this transformation, but she could feel that the time for asking questions had passed. Besides, wouldn’t she learn everything soon if she simply waited?

And so, Viola mirrored her elders and adopted a dignified expression as well.

Or, at least, she tried.

When nothing more happened for several minutes, she felt her composure slipping. To keep herself from growing bored, she observed the streets below.

At first, they seemed suspiciously empty, but the reason soon became clear. The closer their ship drew to the city center, the more crowded the streets became. Near the grand plaza at the heart of Magusburg, the masses grew so dense that the people could advance no farther.

This went far beyond merely drawing a crowd. It was by far the largest gathering Viola had ever seen. She hadn’t even known this many people existed in the Empire.

The people toward the back had no hope of hearing any announcement made in the square. They couldn’t even hope to glimpse the outline of the stage from several streets away.

And yet, they had still come.

The young, the old, mothers, fathers—entire families had traveled from far and wide to take part, in whatever small way they could, in today’s announcement. Some carried children on their shoulders, while others waved old imperial banners Viola had only ever seen in history books.

A few were openly crying.

Viola’s curiosity rose to new heights as she observed them.

What could possibly have prompted such a turnout?

Slowly, their ship began to decelerate as they neared their final destination: the main plaza at the center of the capital, situated between the royal palace and the Elementium Academy.

The sky ahead was already crowded. Dozens of smaller airships, not unlike the one Zeke had designed, dotted the airspace.

They quickly gave way before the Windtänzer vessel, if not out of respect, then at least out of self-preservation.

Viola recognized many of the passengers aboard the ships they passed. Feuerkranz. Wellenrufer. Steiner. Along with the prominent families beneath their banners.

Some of them were former classmates. Some were even old rivals. But now, they merely nodded to her from a distance, without any of the fire that had burned between them in their younger days.

Finally, the stage came into view.

Five figures stood upon it.

Viola recognized them all.

Her eyes immediately locked onto the man standing at the far left. He was tall and slender, standing in a relaxed posture, with his unruly silver hair hanging loosely past his shoulders.

Dimitry Windtänzer.

The Windtänzer Patriarch and... her father.

Viola stared at him, waiting for him to look up.

It was the first time she had seen him in years. Surely, he knew that she had woken up. Surely, somebody had told him that she would be coming today.

But Dimitry never turned toward her. He merely continued his conversation with the woman beside him, as though the arrival of his daughter did not warrant even a glance.

Something tightened in Viola’s chest.

Strangely, the pain was not as sharp as she remembered. Perhaps the years had dulled it. Or perhaps, after everything she had experienced, there was simply no room left for the same childish expectations.

With her blue hair and matching eyes, the woman beside him could only be the Wellenrufer Patriarch. Next to her stood two other men, one with flaming red hair and the other with earthen-brown skin.

In a sense, Viola had seen these three even more recently than her own father. They were the very same figures who had fought Maximilian in her dream.

And alongside the four Patriarchs stood the man who had dominated the later scenes of it.

Otto Geistreich, Chancellor of the Empire and de facto leader of Arkanheim.

The longer Viola watched these five pillars of the Empire, the more her emotions twisted inside her.

These were the people she had been raised to respect. Her father stood among them. Her family had served beside them for generations. Once, Viola would have considered their presence on the same stage a sight worthy of reverence.

But she could no longer see them that way.

Not after witnessing their battle against Maximilian.

Not after experiencing Zeke’s despair.

Not after watching that despair turn to hatred.

The hundreds of faces that had fallen to Zeke’s bounties flashed before her. Toward the end, they had all become too indistinct for her to make out anyone clearly, but the trail of blood still seemed to lead back to the five people on that stage.

What need had there been for them to act against Maximilian? To alienate Zeke? To drive him to such desperation?

How different might everything have been if they had chosen another path?

But she wasn’t given time to dwell on those thoughts.

Only moments after they arrived, a surge of Mana emanated from the stage. It was unlike anything Viola had ever felt—at once almost imperceptible and utterly irresistible.

The moment the pulse washed over them, all five figures on the stage fell silent.

Then, as one, they dropped to their knees in perfect unison.

The crowd followed a moment later.

Hundreds of thousands of knees struck the hard ground simultaneously, the sound rolling through the capital like distant thunder.

Beside her, Viola found that Melissa and even her grandfather had done the same.

She quickly followed suit, her heart hammering against her ribs.

In all her life, she had never seen her grandfather kneel to anyone. Victor Windtänzer was one of the most powerful men in Arkanheim. Even the Chancellor could not have compelled such submission from him.

The only man who was supposed to be able to make him kneel was...

“All hail...” the five figures called out, followed by the entire crowd.

“The Emperor!”