Chapter 81: The Dawn of Aeshers Army
—
For Anima, if asked to recall the most radiant period of her life, she would undoubtedly mention her childhood days.
Those days spent attending Pibiol Academy with her dearest childhood friend.
“Yuri!”
“Anima, you’re here. How was your day?”
“Same old, same old with the academy life.”
Yuri was already somewhat of a celebrity among her peers.
Pibiol Academy, counted among the top three prestigious academies of the Aingart Empire.
Yuri was a prodigy, a leading figure in this illustrious academy.
The sole daughter of the noble Aeshers family.
She treated me, of humble origin, without any discrimination.
Compared to me, who knew a bit about wielding a sword, she was a jack-of-all-trades.
Being Yuri’s childhood friend was a source of immense pride for Anima.
“Yuri, you’ve improved again.”
“Thank you, Instructor Epinel.”
Instructor Epinel Rosencross of the academy took a special interest in Yuri, among others.
“How about learning more about combat? People see you as a potential great minister for the empire, but you seem to have good physical reflexes too.”
“Thank you for the offer, but I’m not confident in physical activities.”
“Really? You might be too modest… Well, if you ever decide, I’ll support you. Just let me know.”
“Yes!”
Then, one day.
News of the emperor’s mysterious death reached us.
The empire became somewhat chaotic due to his death without naming a successor.
Soon after, shockingly, news arrived at Pibiol Academy.
“Orlando Brans, once a close confidant of His Majesty, has started a rebellion in Anel Castle?”
“What? A rebellion? Why would he seek independence? Is he mad?”
The academy was even more disturbed by the news that Orlando Brans, who held nearly second-in-command power in the empire, had raised an army.
But at that time, everyone thought it was just a fleeting spark of trouble.
No one realized it was the beginning of an era of chaos.
After all, even without a named successor, it was expected that Algott von Aingart, the eldest son, would stabilize the situation and ascend the throne, right?
But instead of news of Algott’s ascension, we heard different kinds of news.
The uprising of Ohara’s army in the southern region.
The uprising of Walnut’s army in the western region.
And more, key figures in the empire declaring themselves lords and starting consecutive rebellions across the continent.
The beginning of chaotic times.
The Aingart Empire, once unified under one banner, began to fall apart uncontrollably.
The flames of chaos, already kindled, reached Pibiol Academy as well.
An unknown commander’s imperial forces invaded the academy, armed to the teeth.
“Because the dean was aligned with Algott von Aingart, someone among his siblings made a move to clean up,” or so the conspiracy theories went, but…
Anima and Yuri, merely students at the academy, had no way of knowing.
No matter how talented the academy’s students or how many instructors there were…
They couldn’t stand against the well-trained imperial forces.
It was a one-sided massacre. The imperial troops began killing everyone enrolled in the academy, regardless of gender or status.
“Yuri! We need to run!”
“But… we haven’t found Seira yet…!”
“It’s too late! We need to escape now!”
Then.
An imperial soldier, clad in armor, began approaching us.
“Damn it…!”
With no proper escape route.
“Don’t come any closer!”
Despite Yuri’s shout, the soldier said nothing.
Wearing a blood-stained helmet, his expression was hidden.
Anima, holding a sword in her right hand, looked around for an escape route for Yuri.
Even if we fought 2:1, we couldn’t beat a soldier. Objectively, neither of us was particularly skilled in combat.
“I must find a way for Yuri to escape alone…!”
As she gripped her sword with that thought, the soldier’s blade struck with incredible speed.
“Ah!”
Before we could properly exchange a few blows, Yuri’s weapon was knocked away.
And then, as the soldier raised his sword high…
The shadow of death flickered in Yuri’s eyes.
“Yuri!!!”
Anima instinctively threw herself in front of her friend.
After that.
Anima couldn’t comprehend what had happened.
“Ah…?”
As consciousness returned, her vision blurred rapidly.
Unbelievable pain overtook her body.
“Anima…! No, Anima…!!!!”
Yuri was holding her and crying next to her.
And watching them was Instructor Epinel.
“Instructor Epinel…?”
“Are you awake, Anima?!”
Ah.
Right.
I had thrown myself in front, and soon after… Instructor Epinel had inflicted a deep wound on the soldier’s abdomen.
Before that, what had happened…
“Ah…!”
Pain surged again, and I slowly turned my head.
My right arm.
The arm that should have been holding the sword… was nowhere to be found.
Or, more precisely-
Far away, an arm lay discarded.
Realizing this, well.
I don’t quite remember what I thought at that moment.
Only fragments come to mind.
“First, let’s go somewhere safe to hide! There are medicines there for treatment.”
Instructor Epinel had hidden us in a deep cellar of the academy building for a while.
A simple first aid there allowed us to survive, barely.
“Yuri… I’m sorry. It’s my fault… I’m sorry.”
“Yuri…”
At first, losing my arm made me wonder how to proceed, but…
If it meant Yuri could survive, honestly, I was satisfied.
“Anima. I’m sorry. This is all the treatment I can offer…”
“No, Instructor. Thanks to you, I survived. Thank you.”
After spending some time…
When we ventured out during a lull, we saw…
“…The world.”
The countless corpses of academy instructors and students.
A hellish scene, with bodies piled like mountains.
“Damn Aingart bastards… What’s happening?!”
Though Instructor Epinel cursed in anger, nothing changed.
For some reason, Pibiol Academy was targeted and marked for elimination.
“Uhuhu… everyone…”
Yuri knelt and cried for a long time.
No survivors.
In that moment, amidst the corpses, we lost all sense of time.
“Yuri!”
From a distance, a woman and a man approached us.
“Emma… Ernandorf…!”
“You’re alive, Yuri…”
Emma and Ernandorf.
Faces Anima recognized.
They must be servants of the Aeshers family. Certainly.
“What happened? My home? My father… my mother?”
Silence answered Yuri’s questions as Emma and Ernandorf bowed their heads.
Realizing what their silence meant, Yuri collapsed again, eyes void of life.
“Ah…ah.”
Thus-
Anima and Yuri lost everything in a moment.
The peaceful days taken for granted, the fruits of their efforts, ordinary happiness…
All swept away by the empire’s calamity.
—
After that day.
“Yuri.”
“Anima…sob, sob.”
Each time she saw Anima, Yuri could only weep with a sad expression.
Perhaps due to
guilt over the lost arm?
Or pity for themselves, merely swept along by the tide of history, now relying on Emma and Ernandorf for basic survival.
Anima felt they couldn’t continue like this.
Although the Aeshers family had nearly faced extinction, Yuri, carrying their blood, survived, along with two loyal servants.
Nearly all from the academy were gone, but Instructor Epinel, Yuri, and herself were alive.
Five survivors.
We must live on and seek revenge against the empire.
In an era where lords rise everywhere, we have Yuri, the rightful heir of the Aeshers family.
Why couldn’t we do what others were doing?
“Yuri.”
“…”
“Wake up, Yuri!”
Anima grabbed her weeping friend by the collar with her left hand.
“How long will you stay like this?!”
“But… Anima… because of me… sob.”
“If you truly feel sorry, then stop crying here and move forward.”
“?”
“Establish a nation. With your own hands.”
Yuri’s eyes widened at those words.
Anima didn’t look away, projecting the fervor of their shared past and current survival into Yuri’s gaze.
“The Aingart Empire is over. You’ve seen lords declare independence, right? A new era has begun.”
“I, I…”
“Yuri. We can do this. No. Let me be precise.”
Anima reflected on the past.
The carefree days at the academy.
Now was the moment to step out of that unreachable dream.
“You can do it.”
“Me…?”
“And.”
—–I will become your wings.
In that moment, Anima Ingram decided-
To entrust her fate to the childhood friend before her.
—
Even now, recalling those bygone memories as if they were before her eyes.
“Yuri. Epinel. Emma. Ernandorf. And me… The five of us, from that moment, became brothers in arms beyond age and status, bearing the name of Aeshers in our hearts.”
It was the dawn of the Aeshers Army.
