Zero no Tsukaima

Chapter 2: The Elf[]

Along Ragdorian Lake, which was situated on the border between Gallia and Tristain, in front of an old-looking house nearby, a blue-haired girl who was riding a wind dragon alighted.

Although the Gallia royal family"s crest could be seen at the door of the residence, it was humiliated by an unsightly cross-shaped dent. This was the house in which Tabitha"s mother lived quietly... It was the premise of an ex-Orleans residence.

Tabitha pondered about the contents of the letter which she had torn up completely last night. It was a letter with the Gallia royal family"s seal. Something short was written inside:

“Charlotte Hélène Chevalier de Parterre. Deprivation of your t.i.tle as my right-hand a.s.sistant, Chevalier, and your social status. PS: The aforementioned person"s mother, ex-d.u.c.h.ess of Orleans, is restrained. For bail negotiations to be approved, within a week, the aforementioned person must be present at the ex-Duke of Orléans" official residence.”

“Bail negotiations” is an extremely mild expression. Tabitha was certainly not deceived. In other words, it means “Because your mother has been made a hostage, surrender peacefully!” After that, a trial against Tabitha"s treachery would probably begin. The result would be... if she is lucky, the gallows. If not... she did not really want to think about it.

Together with the refreshing breeze of the morning, the sunlight of spring made fun of her face. In an instant, that refreshing breeze became a freezing, icy aura, as Tabitha took a step forward into the residence.

Sylphid, who was sitting down, let out a worried sound: ”Kyui!”

“Do you intend to surrender peacefully? Those eyes were asking.

“Chill.”

Facing the front, she told that to her faithful familiar, upon which “Tsush, tsush...” Sylphid drew nearer to her.

Tabitha turned back, and stopped Sylphid.

“Wait. I"ll finish this soon.”

Sylphid shook her head.

This wise dragon understood. Her master obviously did not have any intention to surrender. She intended to fight, and recover her mother. Naturally, Gallia"s royal government should not have thought that Tabitha would hand over her wand peacefully. To win over that wind magic, they would have definitely prepared many powerful users.

Because of her betrayal, there was absolutely no reason whatsoever for them to continue using Tabitha. Since the start, the royal family had been wanting to dispossess Tabitha of her life. However, if she were to be murdered with her father as well, it would result in the ex-Duke of Orleans" formal faction being enraged. Consequently, they a.s.signed dangerous tasks to her, thinking that she would be disposed of that way.

Yet, Tabitha managed to accomplished those tasks well. The current king"s faction should be certainly impatient now.

This time... was the chance for them to deliver their full potential to kill her.

Sylphid noticed the unpleasant atmosphere enveloping the house. That air had a chilly sensation as if p.r.i.c.king one"s skin, and Sylphid"s scales were agitated.

“You understand, don"t you? From now on the fight would proceed. In the same, usual way, wait for me in the air.”

Slyphid never joined Tabitha in battle. She always used the reason that "You need something that can bring you back home, right?" and stayed in the air meekly waiting for her master to complete her battle.

However, this time was different.

Tabitha"s enemy was the royal family of Gallia.

This was an opponent on a completely different level than the beasts, mages, or demihumans whom she fought against until then.

A kingdom against a person; no matter how she struggled, she had no chance of winning.

This ex-Orleans residence was already not the place of Tabitha"s dear memories.

Nor was it the battleground.

It was a place where the executioner, who was dispatched to kill her, was waiting; her coffin, her grave.

If it were a “battlefield,” it would still be okay; but her beloved master must not venture alone into this “cemetery.”

Tabitha gazed firmly at Sylphid, who was staring at her with those brave eyes.

In a soft, instruction-like voice, Tabitha said.

“Because you are waiting, I can fight. Because I have a place to return to, I can fight.”

Although Sylphid was motionless for a while... her eyes brimmed with tears, she nodded hard.

“Kyui!”

Gently, Tabitha stroked Sylphid"s snout. Firmly, Sylphid raised her face, and soared to the sky.

Gazing at Sylphid which was circling the sky above the residence, with the same expression as usual, “Thank you,” she whispered.

The door to the entrance hall was not locked.

Tabitha pushed it, Giiiiiiiiii...Making a heavy sound, the door opened.

Usually, the butler, Percerin, would leap towards her, but... apart from the deadly silent and cold atmosphere, nothing else greeted her. There were supposed to be servants in the residence, but there wasn"t the slightest indication of any human"s presence.

Taller than her, she casually held her rough and k.n.o.bby staff, and Tabitha slowly faced the interior of the residence.

She had her usual expression, her usual movements, but Tabitha"s anger changed the atmosphere around her.

She walked down the long corridor leading to her mother"s living room in the interior of the residence, and... the doors at the left and right of the corridor opened simultaneously.

At the same time the doors opened, arrows flew out simultaneously. Unperturbed, Tabitha waved her staff.

Piiiiiinnnngggg!!The sound of water vapor spreading outwards in the air could be heard, as an ice barrier materialized around Tabitha, repelling the arrows.

As if greeting those arrows, subsequently, from the opened doors, soldiers jumped out. Yet... at a closer look, wielding swords, those were not humans.

Granted with a will, they were magic puppets, gargoyles.

Approached at a close range by 10 fearless and firm gargoyles, normal mages would not be able to deal with them.

However, Tabitha"s magical power right now swelled with anger.

Holding her staff up high, the countless ice arrows at her surrounding just now which shone a pale color, revolved. Her short hair also fluttered intensely due to the tornado which sprang forth, with her as the center.

A “Windy Icicle” of speed and power never displayed before this, pierced through the 10 gargoyles at the same time... and blew them away.

Because of the magic contained in the Windy Icicles, the gargoyles which had been pierced through, turned into ice in an instant. This was the result of the surging magical power seeking its destination.

With an intense fury even she did not notice herself, Tabitha"s rank went up one level.

The second power of Wind, and second power of Water were residing in her specialty, “Windy Icicle”.

Right now, normal user should not be able to fight her.

With her experience as the secret knight of Gallia, the Knight of North Parterre, and her furious Wind square spell, this pet.i.te blue-haired girl had become a prominent warrior even in the whole of Halkeginia.

Tabitha stood in front of her mother"s room, and turned the k.n.o.b.

It was not locked.

The double-sided door swung back casually.

A bed and a small desk could be seen. On top of the bed, her mother"s figure was absent.

The window was open, and spring breeze blew in.

There were bookshelves at the surrounding of the wall... A man was standing there.

Clad in a pale, light brown robe, he was a tall and thin man. He was wearing a hat of a foreign country, with a wide f.l.a.n.g.e and a feather on top of it. From the bare parts of his hat, golden hairs hung down until his waist. With his back facing the entrance to the room where Tabitha was standing, he was facing the bookshelf at the wall, and was apparently doing something enthusiastically.

The sound of pages flipping could be heard. To her astonishment, the man was seemingly reading a book. She had never heard of any a.s.sa.s.sin who turned his back towards his enemy and read a book.

Facing that back, Tabitha spoke softly.

“Where did you take my mother to?”

Like a librarian who was called out to, the man turned in a completely ordinary gesture, without the slightest indication of any bloodthirst or hostility.

“Mother?”

Like a gla.s.s chime, it was a high-pitched, clear voice.

The pupils of those slit eyes shone in a light blue color. He had extremely lovely, fine features. Nevertheless, his age could not be told at all. Although he appeared to be like a lad, one would still believe him if he said he were 40 years old- he had this sort of mysterious air about him.

“Where did you take my mother to?”

With the exact intonation, Tabitha repeated. Looking troubled, the man gazed at the book, but... opened his mouth again.

“Aah. The woman the Gallian troops took into custody is it? I don"t know their destination.”

If that"s the case, you are of no use to me, As if saying that, Tabitha waved her staff casually. Windy Icicles attacked the man at his chest.

However, Tabitha"s ice arrows stopped exactly in front of the man"s chest. There wasn"t any sign that he had recited a spell.

The stopped arrows dropped onto the bed, and broke apart into fragments.

It was the feeling that the arrows had lost their force due to a wall. What on earth is the magic power this guy uses?

Tabitha lifted her staff cautiously. She thought of examining the opponent"s moves.

“This "story" is wonderful.”

The man"s next move took Tabitha by surprise. Somehow, the man had retrieved the book he was previously reading from the bookshelf.

“As for us, we don"t have such culture. “Books” are limited to the recording of accurate phenomena, history, and research contents. Adding up personal interpretation to the history and making it fun to read, arousing the feelings of the reader, causing him to slip into the author"s point of view... Something interesting.”

The man in the robe of a foreign country informed Tabitha in a voice without any implication of hostility.

“This “Hero of Ivaldi” story... have you read it before?”

The moment that man reverted his sight back to the book, Tabitha released Windy Icicles towards him again. This time, it was twice the previous amount.

Yet... as expected, the ice arrows lost their force before the man"s hand, and dropped onto the bed.

Not worrying about Tabitha"s spell at all, the man continued his words.

“Oh my, your people"s “story” is really interesting. And you are against us in the matter of religion... But our only saint is also a hero to you people.”

Shades of anxiety began to show up on Tabitha"s face. She did not understand why her ice arrows stopped half way. Some sort of wind magic? She had neither seen nor heard of such a magic element.

Then Tabitha realized.

Magic element?

There is another element of magic which exists in this world.

As the Knight of the North Parterre, the spells used by the demihumans she had fought many times before...

“Ancient magic...”

With an extremely mysterious face, the man muttered.

“Why do you barbarians call us in such an unrefined way?”

After that, in a voice which hid nothing,

“Ah, or maybe you had mistaken me to be a barbarian? Sorry. It is manners to remove my hat at the first meeting with you barbarians.”

Saying that, the man removed his hat.

“I am the Bidashal of “Neftes”. I am grateful for this meeting.”

From the blond hair... long pointed ears protruded.

“Elf.”

Tabitha squeezed out an astonished sound from her throat.

That man was an elf.

Staying at the outspread desert at the east of Halkeginia, a race that had long life.

A race which boasts of many-fold history and civilization compared to the humans.

The dreadful warriors who were users of the powerful ancient magic.

Tabitha grasped her staff tightly.

Even for the Knight of the North Parterre Tabitha, who had fought with various types of enemies, there were two opponents she did not want to meet. One of them was dragons. For a human to fight against a mature dragon, the danger was far too great. The dragons" flame power and vitality easily surpa.s.sed her magic powers.

And, the other one was elves, the one standing in front of her eyes right now.

First time seeing an elf, Tabitha was struck with wonder... and subsequently terror. According to rumors, their magic powers were extraordinary. Anyhow, her Windy Icicles could not reach him at all...

“I have a request of you.”

In a pitiful voice, the man who had called himself “Bidashal of Neftes” told Tabitha.

“Request?”

“Yeah. My request is that you do not resist. We elves don"t like useless battles. Despite your intentions, I must take you back to Joseph. Because I had promised that. That"s why, if you can, I want you to come along with me peacefully.”

At her uncle"s name, Tabitha"s blood flowed backwards.

How could you be afraid? You had decided to bring back your mother! Whether it is an elf, or a G.o.d, I cannot stop here.

While fear faded away from her heart, tempestuous storm filled her once again.

Magic power is willpower.

Willpower is feelings.

The power of the strong feelings influences the total amount of the magic power.

In the midst of her fury and agitation, that part of her which was freezingly cold like ice-cold snow, taught Tabitha to increase the power of her element.

Tabitha starting reciting a Triangle spell which possessed Square power.

“Raguuzu Wootaru Isu Iisa Hagaraasu...”

For an instant, the air around Tabitha shook, and froze.

The lump of frozen air revolved around her body like countless snake-like objects.

Combining both the beauty of the art formed by ice and wind interweaving each other, and the sharpness which would split anything which touches it into two, the “Ice Storm” appeared.

Buuuooo, buuuooooo, buururoooooooooooo!

Smashing the interior of the room, the “Ice Storm” raged about.

The eye of the storm shifted from her body to her staff.

At the same time, aiming at the demihuman, she swung down her staff. Those things were done within the split of a second.

Apparently, no matter what defence magic was employed, he would be blown away in one strike.

Yet... The blond, tall elf completely ignored the furious “Ice Storm” which was plunging towards him.

His gaze did not shift from Tabitha at all.

Neither hostility nor anger could be sensed from those fine pupils.

Tabitha recognized the true meaning of that thing residing in the elf"s pupils, and was astonished.

Somehow, that thing inside was “constraint”.

And the magic attack which possessed the Square power was going to attack him... Until now, the elf did not even see Tabitha as an enemy.

The elf"s body was shrouded by the “Ice Storm”... At that instant when this seemed the case,

The revolution of the ice storm reversed abruptly.

Just like that, preserving the same amount of force, it rushed back to Tabitha.

“Iru Furu Dera...”

In a moment, with the “Fly” spell, Tabitha flew and tried to evade it.

Tabitha who was rich with battle experience, completed her incantation in an instant.

Release.

At the moment she was about to fly off, Tabitha"s eyes opened widely.

I can"t fly!

Without her noticing, her legs were kept down by the bed. The bed which had become like clay, grasped Tabitha"s ankles firmly.

Dumbstruck, Tabitha murmured.

“Ancient elves...”

She could not finish her words.

Tabitha was completely swallowed by the “Ice Storm” she made, and lost her consciousness.

Tabitha who had tumbled down, worn-out, was approached by Bidashal. Tabitha"s pet.i.te body was inflicted with countless wounds because of the ice blades she made herself. Blood from her wound mixed with water, making a terrible mess on the blanket of the bed.

Bidashal lay his hand at the collapsed Tabitha"s neck. She was barely alive.

“O water which flows from this body...”

The tall elf started reciting a spell in a clear voice. The magic which had been called by Halkeginians as “Ancient”, was known by the elves and demihumans who use it as the “power of the spirits”.

As if being painted over with paints, the wounds on Tabitha"s body were healed. Compared to the “Healing” element magic, the healing of her wounds was faster.

Bidashal cautiously lifted up Tabitha whose wounds were healed.

He looked outside the window, and noticed a Wind Dragon looking at him. Evidently, this was the familiar of the lady who was just defeated. Those eyes were glittering with anger.

Because of those eyes, Bidashal realized that Sylphid was no ordinary Wind Dragon.

“Rhyme Dragon huh....”

He guessed Sylphid"s true ident.i.ty immediately.

Rhyme Dragons could be said to be extinct breed. A mythical beast with high intelligence, possessing Ancient Magic, and excelled in sprachgefühl (speech and language).

The unconscious lady in his arms... To make a Rhyme Dragon as her familiar, it should take her a great deal of skill. If she was not recognized as a master during the “Contract”, it would possibly be dangerous.

“Rhyme Dragon. I have no intention to fight against you. “The Great Purpose” did not wish for me to fight you as well.”

“The Great Purpose” was... the general concept believed by the elves, Rhyme Dragons... the Ancient inhabitants of Halkeginia. They existed with the source which was called “the power of the spirits”, something which determined their respective actions... It was something like a G.o.d to the humans.

Despite “The Great Purpose”, this Rhyme Dragon before his eyes did not pull back. On the contrary, as if gathering courage, started roaring.

This dragon knew what “fear” was. Whilst aware of his hidden ability as a user of the “power of the spirits”, which was many times more, she bared her fangs.

“You went as far as selling your soul to barbarians? Familiar, what pathetic existences.”

At the same time Bidashal muttered this, Sylphid broke through the wall, and flew to him.

However, Bidashal"s expression did not change one bit. He merely raised his hand towards Sylphid.

It was bizarre for such a thin elf to stop the huge dragon with only one hand. Sylphid tried to struggle... but could not move.

The magic power was too strong.

Bidashal held his left hand over Sylphid"s head. Slowly... Sylphid"s eyelids closed.

Dooonnn! Looking down at the Rhyme Dragon which had lost its consciousness and fallen on the bed, Bidashal murmured.

“O “Great Purpose”... Please forgive such a foolish use of the “power of the spirits”.”