Chapter 50: The Stone Muse (10)

Norbelle’s airship, the Legendary, arrived at dawn.

Simon watched it from the command deck of Lauriane’s own flagship, the Wisdom, with apprehension. Ten of the war machines hovered over the Goetia Research Center, having traveled all the way here from the War Party’s secret base. Between the intimidating escort and the facility’s already considerable defenses, they should have nothing to fear.

A single look at the two giant creatures escorting Norbelle’s airship convinced Simon otherwise.

The first was Azulbolla, the Azure Dragon, an Eidolon Norbelle had successfully wrestled control away from Fablan after that country’s subjugation. Simon had only seen the creature once from very, very far away when his half-sister summoned it as part of her eighteenth birthday celebration—which he had to observe from the Frightwall’s battlements—and it had somehow grown even bigger since. The creature, which resembled a serpent with blue scales of bark and wood antlers on which flowers bloomed, coiled around its summoner’s airship like a Uyoan boa constrictor around its prey. Though it had no wings, it could still fly all the same thanks to dozens of lightning-crackling orbs carrying it upwards. The monster looked nothing like Vouivre in spite of its title of dragon, but it was no less intimidating.

The other creature was smaller, though its wingspan could overshadow a small keep. This one resembled some kind of bird of prey with crimson feathers whose tips burned with otherworldly fire. Its black beak breathed out the blackest smoke, and a golden mask covered its forehead. A trail of embers followed each flap of its wings.

So it was true, Cocagne had lent Norbelle the Phoenix.

Lauriane had extensively briefed Simon and his allies on their enemy prior to boarding. “Norbelle is level 68, according to my information. Her Summoner Noble Class lets her bind Eidolons to her will, and since she inherited her mother’s visionary powers on top of that, she can summon more than one at the same time. Not only can she have them fight for her, but she can empower herself or her allies by harnessing the Eidolon’s power. This lets her boost stats and grant multiple beneficial effects.”

Level 68, and she’s younger than I am, Simon thought grimly. Norbelle had always been a magical genius in spite of her young age, the family’s golden child. “Is it true that a summoned Eidolon’s power is proportional to the Summoner’s level?”

“Yes, so we must assume that every creature she summons is at least the equivalent of a level sixty to seventy monster.” As if the prospect of facing one high-level spellcaster hadn’t been daunting enough. “Finally, the Summoner is a spellcaster class with mana regeneration and access to multiple schools of spellcasting. Considering Norbelle’s level, you can expect spells like the Insteadeath-inflicting Death X spell or the ship-destroying Exaburn.”

A single level 68 monster would be the equivalent of fighting Vouivre, and Norbelle had brought at least two. And neither of them matched the description of the dragon creature she unleashed against the War Party in a previous reign, so either she had yet to acquire it in this timeline or she had another ace up her sleeve.

“Thankfully, the Summoner has two key weaknesses. Not only will Norbelle’s Eidolons disappear if she is knocked unconscious–” Or killed, Lauriane avoided mentioning, “but an Eidolon’s destruction will also inflict immense mental strain on her.”

In short, knocking out one of the three should incapacitate all the others on paper.

Unfortunately, Norbelle wouldn’t be their only cause for concern. A small company of Templars and soldiers bearing the Church of Light’s banner rode upon the enemy airship. It was only a few thousand troops, but the High Confessor’s elite fighters were nothing to scoff at. This would be a dangerous battle… should it start at all.

Simon glanced around him. Lauriane sat on a throne at the heart of the command deck, facing the large landscape window giving her a full view of the troubles ahead. Although she portrayed a calm and confident facade, he could see the way she gripped her armrests. Her eyes darted to the engineers and mages working on the machinery around them. They had spent the last few minutes sending light signals that Norbelle’s own staff should hopefully see.

Would Norbelle accept their offer of a peaceful meeting and their evidence? She was wiser than Thalas, but that wasn’t saying much, and her mother Euphemia had just survived a spell bombardment she blamed on Louis. She might ignore them and push on with the assault.

Simon prayed she would listen, but the cynical part of his mind couldn’t believe in it.

He glanced at his remaining retainers. All were also present, save the late Lorimor, but they all reacted differently. While Meredith, Belzemine, and Leonard faced the situation with the stoicism of trained warriors, Duchar looked outright annoyed to have been dragged out of his lab and onto a battlefield. As for Cassandra, she clung to her staff with all of her strength.

“Anxious?” Simon asked her.

“A bit,” she admitted, biting her lip. “I have never fought a Noble Class user before.”

“Hopefully, we won’t fight at all.” Simon could tell Cassandra didn’t believe him, largely because his own words sounded empty even to him. “Even so, it was very brave of you to agree to join us today. I appreciate it.”

“That is what friends are for,” Cassandra replied with a small frown. “Or at least I believe it is. Am I wrong?”

“No, not at all.” Simon’s head perked up as an engineer wrote down a letter. “Did we receive an answer?”

Lauriane nodded sharply as the engineer gave her the document. Simon could tell its content the moment the scowl on his sister’s face deepened, and his heart sank in his chest.

“Read for yourself,” she told Simon upon giving him the letter. “These terms are unacceptable.”

Simon checked and steeled himself. Norbelle replied that she would only agree to a peaceful meeting if they agreed to open the Goetia Research Center’s doors to her forces, which was tantamount to surrender. Euphemia had apparently ordered them to secure the site, and they would not walk away without it.

If Norbelle had even looked over the evidence Lauriane’s airship had sent her about the Malphas conspiracy and the Zodiac Parade, she didn’t mention it.

“I’m sorry, Simon,” Lauriane apologized to him, though it was no fault of her own. “I fear the outcome was decided the moment Frightwall burned.”

“Yeah,” Simon confirmed, resolving himself to fight another pointless battle. “Yeah, you’re right.”

The civil war was bound to become inevitable, quicker, and bloodier whenever Belzemine was removed from Castle Frightwall. They lived in the Oracle’s world now, where the pieces she set in place had fallen in a way that would bring down House Magnos upon itself.

He would keep that in mind.

“Send them one last counteroffer to stand down and talk this through, but prepare for battle,” Lauriane ordered her troops before turning to Simon’s group. “Lady Firewand, Duchar, please join the mages on the artillery deck. Your powerful spells may make the difference. Simon, you stay with me and watch.”

Belzemine looked at Simon, who nodded back in confirmation. While he would have preferred to keep the elven archmage close, Lauriane was an experienced commander and he trusted her expertise. Belzemine and Duchar left the command deck to take their battle positions.

“Order the ships to spread out and to flank the Legendary,” Lauriane ordered her soldiers. “Norbelle’s summons will have us beat in speed and maneuverability, but her flagship is vulnerable. Have lookouts keep an eye on the Eidolons, too. There is a possibility Norbelle is riding one of them and using her ship as a decoy. Fire at will as soon as they enter our range.”

Light signals caused the airships to follow through with the order. Lauriane’s fleet spread out like a crescent, the wings ahead of the center. Rather than flee, Norbelle’s group flew forward with the clear intent of taking the fight directly to the Wisdom. The Azulbolla’s orbs charged up with magical lightning while blue fire built up inside the Phoenix’s mouth.

And then the Battle of Goetia began.

There was no particular signal, no call of Lauriane followed by an artillery volley. Both sides simply shot at each other the moment the other came within range. The Azulbolla’s orbs burst with mighty thunderbolts strong enough to pulverize castle towers, the Phoenix unleashed fireballs the size of houses with a screech, and the airships retaliated with spell bombardments. The same power Simon witnessed lay waste to the Berwick Islands was now turned against enemies that could take it and dish it back.

The horizon beyond the window erupted into a blinding light show. Explosions rocked the heavens and blasted away clouds, the wind carrying embers and ashes across the landscape. Thunderbolts blasted apart airship wings and cast them out of the sky, while spell barrages blasted the Phoenix’s face and shattered half of its metal mask to expose regenerating flesh underneath. From Simon’s point of view, this battle was a dance of hellfire; from the ground, it must have looked like the end of the world.

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Such tremendous power, Simon thought as he and his allies watched the devastation with awe. Norbelle commanded these two forces of nature with the power of a single Noble Class. Their power let her match an entire fleet of airships manned by thousands and capable of ravaging entire nations. Could I bend these Eidolons to my will, too, if I ever devoured her Crestone? Would they crush the Zodiac Fiends and Vouivre, or fall to them?

That thought wouldn’t leave his mind even as the battle continued to escalate. Norbelle’s Eidolons successfully shot down two of Lauriane’s airships, but the rest had begun to close in on the Legendary. The Azulbolla attempted to break the encirclement by flying straight at the Wisdom, swaying left and right like an eel swamming through the sky with a shroud of lightning crackling along its trail. Its maw opened as it approached the command deck, light building up in its gullet, and Simon steeled himself for impact.

A colossal fireball thrown from the artillery deck—likely Belzemine’s work—struck the Eidolon in the face in a devastating blast, tearing off half its face and causing it to miss its target. Its breath of lightning and cherry petals blew aimlessly across the sky. The Eidolon fell to the side, its head and neck hitting the airship’s left wing and causing it to shake.

“Damage report!” Lauriane ordered as smoke began to rise from the left side of the ship.

“Something broke into the cargo hold!” one of the engineers replied, reading a bottled message forwarded to them through a metal tube. “I’m receiving demands for reinforcements!”

“Stowaways carried by Azulbolla?” Lauriane clenched her jaw and turned to Simon’s allies. “I will need your retainers.”

“I’ll go with them,” Simon decided.

“You are still too low-level,” Lauriane warned him with a hint of concern.

“Don’t worry.” Simon summoned his ‘Templar’ Class outfit—actually the Overlord clothed in Fiendmask—and raised his morningstar. “I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeves, and great bodyguards.”

“I see…” Lauriane hesitated an instant, but gave him a nod of trust and approval. “Good luck.”

Simon thanked her and then left with his party towards the cargo hold, rushing down corridors and past soldiers traveling from one part of the ship or another, depending on immediate needs. Simon had no idea how Lauriane could even manage so many people without a Commander Vassal Class to organize them.