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Half a day before the dragon’s shadow was cast over Arcadia, Joshua and Ash were making their way over to where Crevasse was waiting.
“That’s not fair!”
Joshua frowned. “Ash, you promised.”
“This isn’t the same! You said you’d grant me freedom as long as I gave you something about the Tempest Stormwind! And why do you keep calling me Ash? That’s not my name; my name is Ashteras Fairy Elunburse Norn—”
“That’s too long,” Joshua grumbled.
“Huh!” Ash stared at him. “Anyway! Even if you hit me or burn me alive, I can’t! I’m sorry!”
“Are you scared?”
The elf’s eyes widened. “Wh-What do you mean, scared? Who’s scared—”
“You’re afraid of heights.”
“How di—” Ash clapped his hands over his mouth.
Joshua grinned sourly. He remembered how funny it’d been when he first discovered that Ash was afraid of heights. High elves did not build their homes in the eaves of the world tree like the forest elves did, which had come as a real surprise to Joshua.
In the meantime, the boy had planted his feet stubbornly and refused to move.
“If you’re late, how do you plan to handle your former master’s anger? I can’t help you there; he scares me a little too.”
“…Can’t you tell me what you were talking about?” Ash eventually asked.
Joshua laughed. “We were discussing Asmodeus’s contractor,” he casually answered.
“Asmodeus…sss?” The elf’s eyes grew to the size of lanterns. “Asmodeus. Asmodeus—Is that the same Asmodeus that I’m thinking of?”
“Maybe.”
“Oh, no… What’s happening?” Ash was too exhausted to be surprised anymore. Demons had disappeared from Middle-earth for over a thousand years—the strongest of them would be much older than Ash. But the 32nd most powerful of them all, Asmodeus, had suddenly appeared.
Joshua suddenly wrapped his arms around him.
“What?!”
“If you keep acting like this, I’m going to drag you there.”
“I’m really really sorry!”
“Don’t move,” Joshua chastised the struggling elf. Ash’s fear was replaced by bewilderment as a beam of warm energy slipped into his body, calming his mind.
“Look, just close your eyes. I’ll be here, and I’ll help you work it out.”
“Help me what now?”
“Help you get over your fear,” Joshua firmly replied. “Don’t tell me you never want to go to Yggdrasil.”
“What the— What are you? How did you…?”
“I don’t know much about you,” Joshua laughed, “but I do know one thing: running away is not the answer.” He pulled off his robe and tucked it around Ash, feeling the boy’s tiny shivers through his fingertips.
If he thought it would fix anything, Joshua would have done the same. He never did, although he may have thought about it. He broke through, leaping past everything that stood in his path, never backing down.
And he’d do it again, even in his enemies’ den, the Imperial Palace.
Joshua slowly opened his eyes.
“Let’s go.”
Demas and Porter, Knights of the 2nd Battalion and the first people to notice that something was going on, were slacking off during training.
Demas leaned into the corner and yawned. “Hey, whether we’re C-Class or B-Class, do you think our boring life is going to change at all? Training, training, training. I’m so tired I could die.”
“But isn’t it good to die while you’re in your prime?”
“What?”
“Nothing, it’s just what people say these days. You’re a virgin with no hair on your head and a lot of hair on your chest; they say that’s a sign of low vitality.”
Demas grunted. He had a cross on his forehead. “Are you done?”
“No, I just mean… There’s no smoke coming out of the chimney, you know?”
“There’s no fire lit, duh. What are you on about?”
“Ah, jeez. If you’re too tired to think straight, just go home and rest.”
Demas’s shoulders trembled. He wanted to tell his colleague to go fuck himself, but he couldn’t help but admit that Porter had a point.
“Ahem.” Porter glanced to the side and frowned. “What are these worthless people here for?”
“The 12th Battalion?” Demas followed Porter’s gaze and spat on the ground. “Lowly things are only knights in appearance.”
The finely tuned senses of the 12th Battalion Knights couldn’t help but pick up on their insults.
“Hey,” Porter muttered, “Watch what you’re saying. Their commander, Baron Sanders, is a proud Master of our Empire,” he sarcastically proclaimed.
“Oh my gosh~ I’m so scared I almost peed myself.”
One of the 12th Battalion knights made toward Porter and Demas.
“These bastards— Captain Ranger?”
“We can hold it in; why can’t you?”
“But…”
Ranger’s jaw clenched. Joshua was looked down upon by more than just the nobles. Before Joshua became a baron, he was an Imperial Knight.
He was a living legend, the commander of the auxiliary battalion, the youngest Master, and a talent unmatched across the entire continent. It was no wonder the 11th and 12th Battalions walked with their chins held high, and it was equally obvious why the other battalions would be envious.
“That’s right, bow your heads. Yeah, looks good.”
“Hey, hey, your captain that you’re all so proud of is basically a criminal right now. It would be weird if he wasn’t killed.”
“These jerks—”
“Wait, you’re the one who told me to calm down—!”
In a sudden reversal, the knight was now holding back Ranger.
“Just give me one second and I’ll put my boot into that bald fool’s groin!”
“No! You’re going to sully the Captain’s name right when he’s about to return?”
The other knights of the 12th watched them and shook their heads sadly.
Demas threw his head back and laughed, just in time to see something dark flash by with a woosh.
“…Hmm?” He tilted his head again. “What’s that?”
“What are you doing?” Porter, confused, followed Demas’s vision.
Both knights’ faces flushed red with surprise at the same time.
“I… I… I…”
Two great wings blew gusts of wind down at the palace. Porter and Demas had seen this creature before—in a book of myths.
“Dragon…”
“Run! Damn it!”
“They called us through the crystal ball! Commander Rod is summoning everyone to the front of the Imperial Palace!”
Even without the knights who had been dispatched, there were still well over a thousand Imperial Knights garrisoned in the Imperial Palace, enough to swallow any lesser nation whole. Yet none of that stopped Ranger from running so fast that his feet sweat.
“Dragon! A dragon!”
“In the middle of Arcadia? How?!”
The dragon in question was big enough to cast the entire Palace into shadow.
“Take the high ground!” Commander Rod’s mana-infused voice boomed. “1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions protect the Imperial Palace!”
“Understood!”
“4th, 5th, and 6th Battalions, into the Palace! Protect the other nobles, but prioritize His Majesty’s safety first!”
“It will be done!”
“Everyone else, to your stations! Those of you who just got here—”
“Sorry we’re late. I am Captain Ranger; the 12th Battalion is here to help.”
“Ranger!” Cazes, Viper, and the rest of the 11th and 12th were waiting for them.
“Hmm…” After a moment of thinking, Commander Rod nodded. “The captain of the 11th and 12th Battalions is still missing, so they will remain in reserve. Move quickly, everyone!”
“I see…”
“Hey, trash sub battalion! Can’t you hear the Commander telling you to stay out of the way? Move!”
“Fuck.” Ranger’s face flushed bright red. He couldn’t believe they were shit-talking in a situation like this.
“Incoming!”
They barely heard the warning because a black object was falling from the sky. Even from several hundred meters away, they had no trouble seeing it.
“The wizards have already placed their magic shields around the Palace! Remain calm and act with deliberation.”
“Understood!”
In spite of their answer, the knights couldn’t hide their nervousness. They were fighting a dragon.
“Hold on, that’s…” Ranger’s jaw dropped.
They stared; the 11th and 12th looked like they’d seen a ghost.
“C-Captain?”
“Oh my— Is that Captain Sanders?”
The man fell freely out of the sky; even from a distance, he sparkled.
“Captain!” Ranger yelled. It hadn’t even been a year, and yet there were so many things he wanted to say. Why was he here? Was anyone hurt? He didn’t care about the naysayers right now; he just listened to his instincts.
“HEY, DIPSHITS!” he shouted. “OUR CAPTAIN IS HOME!”
The 11th and 12th Battalions laughed until they cried.