Forbidden Territory (1)
"You're going out into the human world?" Lutia, chieftain of the Hwa, asked.
"Yes, Chieftain. I want to help my husband change the human world. I believe it's my calling."
Yorahan offered a silent apology.
'To the chieftain, Armand is like an unusually precious daughter. Letting her go will hurt.'
Above all, she was the only warrior with an active temperament capable of defending the Hwa.
"I see."
Lutia smiled, pleased.
"So this day has finally come. The Hwa must help humans. That has been our reason for existing since the elders."
Understanding the sincerity behind her words, Yorahan wondered for a moment.
'Who were the first Hwa?'
The Hwa were generally passive; over time their identity should have faded.
'Yet they kept one calling for so long. This isn't just about temperament.'
It felt like a revelation.
'Before the truth, active and passive mean nothing. The first Hwa must have known—about humans, about human life...perhaps even more deeply than I do.'
Yorahan spoke for the first time.
"We won't leave right away. The Mikas Kingdom's forces are encroaching on Hwa territory. At this rate they'll make contact within a month. I'll look for a proper place the Hwa can relocate to."
"Hoho. Always so kind, Yorahan."
His face flushed.
"Don't worry. I know the Hwa better than anyone. Though passive by nature, that's how we've survived. You'll do well."
Armand stepped forward.
"But Chieftain, humans—"
Lutia cut her off.
"Yes, a dangerous species. But Armand, you must learn to understand them. Otherwise, how can you follow your husband's will?"
She turned to Armand and continued.
"Leave even tomorrow if you must. I'll manage the Hwa's relocation. The world we see is different from the world humans see. No matter how fine a refuge you find, it might not be a place where our flowers can bloom."
The Hwa could subsist by photosynthesis alone.
"Understood."
With Lutia's blessing, Yorahan and Armand went home and packed. Because it was a cherished place, they moved slowly.
'I really don't want to leave. But if we delay a day or two, we'll end up living here for real.'
Swallowing tears for the sake of their dream, Yorahan found a box tucked under the bed.
"Huh? This..."
He turned it over, fingers on the dagger he hadn't drawn since coming to the Hwa village.
"Darling, can I use the whetstone?"
"Why the dagger? You never even look at it."
"Because we're going to the human world. I used to carry this everywhere. Something like this helps avoid bad people."
Armand snorted.
"What is there to worry about? I'll protect you."
She wrapped her arms around him from behind and whispered in his ear.
"And I'll bet you never even get to use it. You tremble even when cleaning sparrows." They knew each other completely.
"Tch! Who says that? Still, it can be used to threaten. Who's going to be scared of a rusty blade?"
Armand insisted and pulled out the whetstone; Yorahan shook his head.
"Anyway..."
Still, it felt reassuring.
At dawn, Yorahan woke to screams outside.
"What...!"
By the time he sat up, Armand had already drawn her longsword and stepped out.
Hwa children ran up, pale.
"Sister! Something terrible has happened!"
"What is it?"
When Yohan looked out, a troop of soldiers had already taken up position at the village entrance.
"Cavalry?"
They wore metal armor and the pennants on their lances bore a lion's face.
"The Mikas family."
There was no doubt, but the force was too small to have pushed through such a remote wilderness alone.
'The kingdom must have been encroaching bit by bit alongside land reclamation. So why—?'
Yorahan watched the lead of the cavalry.
Young, with a cleft jaw and fierce eyes.
'Probably the eldest son of House Mikas... Areon Mikas.'
'If the rumor was three years old, he must be eighteen now. Desperate to prove royal blood.'
Though not popular, Yorahan was a thinker—he could read the habits of power.
A white-robed scholar rode beside Areon.
"Prince, this appears to be the Hwa village. Issue your next orders."
"Hm, the Hwa."
Areon stroked his chin.
'Strange abilities, but records say they're not dangerous. Rather, they're like obedient servants.'
A scholar's note.
'In other words, you could have servants who never betray you. That's exactly what a king needs. No wonder Father insists on the reclamation projects.'
There were, of course, many other reasons.
'Anyway, I arrived before Father. I cut through that forest and came here.'
Ambitious Areon had mingled with many talents; one of them was Pisk at his side—an expert at navigating the maze-like woods.
"Pisk," Areon said. "This place will be the first territory in my record of conquests. Bring the Hwa and Father will acknowledge me."
His succession would be secured.
"They'll think of you as the heir of a great king. No sibling could claim such a feat."
Areon leveled his blade toward the village.
"Conquer."
At his command, over a hundred horsemen surged forward at terrifying speed.
The bewildered Hwa didn't know what to do. Then chieftain Lutia shouted.
"Run!"
Armand charged through the crowd against the flow, drew her sword, and hurled herself at the cavalry.
Yorahan followed.
"Honey!"
"Don't come! Get as far away as you can!"
"I'll go with you."
"Are you mad? You'll die! Protect the children. You can lead—Lutia can't do this alone."
Yorahan bit his lip at the irrefutable logic and twisted his body.
"Buy time and get away!"
Armand nodded, cast away every thought, and focused on the fight.
"Precision Control."
Her sword sliced through the air; blood spurted between the knights' plates.
Watching the mounted knights topple, Areon's eyes glittered.
"Who is that woman?"
Pisk opened his notebook.
"Among the Hwa there are extremely rare individuals with an active temperament. They're called carnivores. Combined with their innate abilities, they possess tremendous combat power."
"She's strong," Areon said. "And strength is beautiful. Pisk, capture that woman alive. You can do that, right?"
"Yes."
Pisk was capable.
"Divide the cavalry into three. One unit blocks the retreat, one seizes the villagers. Finish in three minutes."
The aide signaled with a banner, and the cavalry split into ranks like a blade cutting a formation.
Yorahan saw through the tactic.
'We can't outrun horses. At this rate everyone will be taken. We have to do something...' An idea sprang to him and he told Lutia.
"Chieftain! Into the forest!"
As the Hwa fled under the trees, the cavalry hesitated briefly before abandoning their horses and running in after them.
"Hah! They'll still be unable to attack properly... huh?"
As if the forest had come alive, plants and insects began attacking the knights.
"Damn! They're using some strange technique!"
No matter how branches were cut, the attacks seemed endless; the knights began to falter.
Pisk, scanning the forest, said, "This is troublesome."
"Same on that side. Are they well-trained?"
Given full authority comes responsibility. Pisk dismounted, spread his arms, and said, "I'll handle this."
Suddenly a strong wind formed around him; he launched like an arrow, legs extended.
Taken off guard, Armand twisted and a hand grazed her shoulder.
Pisk said, "Slow."
At that instant Armand felt something unfamiliar.
'What is this?'
If it had been Shirone's era one might call it electricity, but—
"Ugh!"
She had no way to understand air sharpening like a blade.
Clutching the cut on her forearm, she stepped back as Pisk landed.
Armand sheathed her sword and asked, "Was that a memorized skill?"
"No."
Pisk extended a hand. "The power of the mind."
"I am a seeker of the world's truths. My king wants you; surrender and no one will be harmed."
"Hmph."
Baring her fangs, Armand lunged.
"You belittle the Hwa. We love peace, but we are not cowards afraid of death."
Farther in, the forest trembled and exhausted knights staggered out, clutching their heads.
"We read it in old texts. The idea of harmonizing with all things of nature seems true. However..."
Pisk raised his hand above his head.
"Humans command natural phenomena. This is the fifth element that unites fire, water, earth, and air."
The air heated; an orb of flame the size of a pumpkin formed above his palm.
"It is mental concentration." Armand's face went blank at the sight of fire created without physical means.
"Fireball."
He swung his arm; the fireball arced and landed at the forest edge.
"No!"
There was a boom; black smoke rose from the trees.
Pisk said, "See? Far stronger than natural fire. This is the potential humans possess."
As smoke choked the villagers and they stumbled out, the cavalry closed in around them.
"Choose. If you abandon their lives, perhaps you may live. Will you fight or surrender?" The battle ended there. Despite mutual losses, the cavalry had suffered more than expected, and Areon felt pleased.
"Is everyone accounted for?"
With the Hwa gathered in terror, Armand swept her gaze around.
'Where's Yorahan?'
He was nowhere to be seen.
If he'd run he'd be safe, but the opposite was possible and her heart sank.
'Please... please be alive.' Areon announced, "I am Prince of Mikas. From today this land becomes Mikas territory and you are subjects of the kingdom. If you deny that—"
While his long speech went on, Yorahan watched the scene through a gap in a storage shed.
'So they were captured in the end.'
Driving the cavalry off by uniting the Hwa had worked, but now the forest had caught fire.
'Magic.'
That's what they called it.
'What do I do now?'
As long as the children were held hostage, Armand would never raise her sword.
'We can't shake off the cavalry. Even if we could, if one person falls behind the Hwa won't run. And if they're dragged off like this...'
Yorahan's brows twitched.
'There is a way!'
A way to take everyone and escape.
'I don't know how a mage would judge this—no, it's not luck. They will never be able to chase us.'
Only one thing remained.
'Can I do it?'
Yorahan's eyes burned more fiercely than ever as he fiddled with the dagger tucked against his chest.