Time rewinds slightly.
The fighting near the center of the Brissa Plain—where the Mercurio Army and the Subjugation Army were locked in combat—had devolved into a war of attrition through numerical warfare since Digma of the Water Dragon’s defeat. Slowly but surely, the Mercurio Army was beginning to buckle under the pressure.
They were managing to hold their ground for now, but the tide was steadily shifting against them as the minutes ticked by. However, the first sign of change came when the Mercurio Army in the center suddenly found its second wind and launched a fierce counteroffensive.
Because they had been the ones doing the pushing until moments ago, the Subjugation Army failed to grasp what was happening at first.
Yet the pressure they felt from the Mercurio Army had undeniably changed.
They had been aggressively forcing the enemy back through sheer brute force, only to suddenly realize that they were the ones suffering the brunt of the casualties.
"Damn it, what the hell just happened?! We were in the lead just a second ago, even if we weren't totally crushing them!"
A soldier on the front lines, swinging a longsword, screamed in frustration.
Just as he said, they had been utilizing their overwhelming numbers to press the assault until only moments ago, yet somehow the roles had reversed, and they were now the ones under siege.
A response reached the ears of the enraged soldier.
"I suppose that is what happens when you rely on numbers instead of reading the flow of combat. Although, considering the way this battle has gone, I suppose you shouldn't be blamed for your lack of foresight."
"...Eh?"
The voice that echoed in his ears was beautiful—so captivating that it seemed to steal his very senses.
When he turned toward the sound, he saw a single woman. Despite being in the middle of a battlefield—or perhaps because of it—she was dressed in a Thin Raiment so translucent it was almost see-through. She possessed a captivating beauty and a breathtaking body that she flaunted without the slightest reservation.
As a citizen of the Bestia Empire, the soldier knew exactly who this was.
"Vihe—"
The moment he tried to speak her name, he realized that the woman, who had been several paces away a heartbeat ago, was now standing right beside him—at a distance where he could reach out and touch her. He reflexively gasped at her sweet scent... and in the next instant, as her hand brushed against his armor, his world went dark and he collapsed to the ground.
"You should sense the changes in the war for yourself instead of asking others," Vihera murmured, glancing down at the unconscious soldier.
However, deciding she had no more time to waste on an enemy who had already lost his will to fight, she immediately raised her voice.
"I will tear through the enemy army! All of you, follow me! I shall become the spear tip that pierces their lines!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"
At Vihera's words, the surrounding Mercurio Army soldiers raised a thunderous roar.
Among those shouting were Gurgast and his men, who had until recently been rampaging across the battlefield where the White Rose Knight Order and the cavalry unit directly under Schuls were fighting. Vihera didn't seem particularly concerned by their presence.
Even back when they were officially part of the Second Princess Faction, Gurgast and his veterans had always rampaged at their own whim.
Knowing Gurgast, Vihera was aware that instead of giving him rigid instructions, simply providing a general objective and letting him move as he pleased would yield the greatest results.
Furthermore, Tilleul, who was moving alongside Gurgast, practically worshipped Vihera. It was only natural that he would come rushing over the moment he sensed she was leading a charge.
"Now, let's go!"
With those words, Vihera spurred her horse forward.
As she charged on horseback, the Subjugation Army's front line drew closer in the blink of an eye. The soldiers followed like a wave in her wake.
The Mercurio Army soldiers already engaged on the front lines noticed the figure who could only be described as a War Maiden charging from their rear. To bolster their own morale and crush the enemy's spirit, they shouted at the top of their lungs.
"It's Lady Vihera! Lady Vihera is here! We've won! This victory is ours!"
The Mercurio Army soldiers rejoiced, while the Subjugation Army felt the cold grip of despair.
Listening to those cries, Vihera threw herself into the enemy ranks.
"Hah!"
She practically tumbled from her horse to land on the ground, using that momentum to slam her palm against a Subjugation Army soldier's armor.
In that instant, magic power was hammered into his body, and the soldier lost consciousness.
The technique known as the Magic Impact Palm was exceptionally convenient for dealing with multiple opponents, as it took effect through mere contact.
One, two, three, four... as soon as she touched them, the Subjugation Army soldiers collapsed.
Touching every enemy soldier she could, Vihera continued to carve a path into the heart of the enemy formation, taking them down one after another.
Other soldiers moved to protect her flanks and rear, and before long, she had pierced deep into the formation like a spear driven through the Subjugation Army's ranks.
"Defend! Defend! Defend! Don't let them push in any further!"
An enemy captain screamed at the sight of her incredible breakthrough power, but his shouting did nothing to increase his men's skill.
In fact, since it was Vihera herself at the head of the Mercurio Army, there were even soldiers on the Subjugation Army's side who respected her so much they couldn't bring themselves to fight.
...Conversely, there were also those who tried to rouse their fighting spirit with the base intent of defeating Vihera and claiming her body for themselves.
However, such men were almost universally left with heavy wounds by Vihera's hand, and the truly unlucky ones had their lives taken outright.
The Subjugation Army's misfortune did not end there.
"Behind us! Look behind ussssss!"
The voice that echoed across the field was so frantic it sounded as though they were in mortal danger. It was so piercing that even the Mercurio Army soldiers turned their gazes along with their enemies.
"What is it?! What happened now?!"
The captain, who had been desperately trying to handle Vihera’s unit as they pierced through his position, shouted irritably. He felt they already had their hands full with the opponent in front of them; what on earth could have happened to the rear?
However... when that captain looked behind him, he reflexively stopped moving.
A wave of heat seemed to wash over him.
In fact, if he listened closely, he could hear agonized screams coming from the rear units as well as the front.
And above all, was that not a gryphon breathing Fire Breath down toward the ground over the rear unit?
Someone had shouted earlier about seeing Seto flying over the rear lines, but the captain had been so focused on dealing with Vihera that he had failed to notice.
Rei and Seto had originally been fighting Noise in the rear, so it was only natural that they hadn't been noticed while moving through that chaotic area.
But now, the state of the rear unit was the problem.
The gryphon was soaring through the sky.
The captain wondered for a fleeting moment if the heatwave he felt was caused by the gryphon, but he instinctively realized it was something else entirely. Even for this captain, his intuition had been sharpened by surviving numerous battlefields.
That was why... he understood something that he would have normally been happier not knowing.
(The one who commands a gryphon is Crimson. Which means... is this sensation because of Crimson?)
As if to answer the captain's question, he saw soldiers being blown into the air in the rear units.
He had seen that sight before.
It was during a mission back then, when the Subjugation Army had layered plan upon plan to capture the territory of the Mercurio Army—who were calling themselves the Rebel Army at the time. The operation had been largely successful and had proceeded exactly as predicted, until a single being suddenly intruded at the very end and turned the battlefield into chaos.
The scene before him now was an exact replica of that day.
That was precisely why the captain uttered that name.
"Crimson."
Those words were so heavy with bitter emotion that anyone listening would have understood the depth of the hatred they contained.
However, the captain was currently caught in a pincer. From the front, the unit led by Vihera was rampaging; from behind, Crimson was single-handedly causing havoc. Furthermore, in the sky above, the gryphon was raining down Fire Breath while also launching Ice Arrows and Lumps of Water as it pleased.
It was simply not a situation where anyone had the luxury of listening to a captain’s hateful words.
(Why? Everything was going so well until a moment ago. Digma of the Water Dragon was defeated, but we should have been able to corner the Mercurio Army by pushing them back with sheer numbers. Why is this happening?)
The battlefield where they had held the advantage only a short while ago had seen its tides turned in an instant. That was something the captain absolutely could not forgive, and—
"Captain!"
He heard a subordinate's voice nearby. The captain, whose blood was boiling, was about to reflexively snap at him to shut up when—
"You're quite leisurely to be lost in thought on a battlefield."
The moment he heard that voice close by, he lost consciousness.
"Honestly, I think you're letting your guard down a bit too much for a battlefield. The quality of the Bestia Empire's soldiers has truly dropped," Vihera muttered, looking at the man in his thirties who had collapsed to the ground.
He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't even noticed her approaching right next to him.
"...Well, I suppose I can't blame him."
She cast a quick glance toward the sky over the Subjugation Army's rear. There, Seto was raining Fire Breath from above, trampling over the enemy to his heart's content.
"Since Seto is there, that commotion must definitely be Rei. Honestly, he really knows how to make me anxious. To think he's such a teaser not just in love, but in battle too. Elena must have a hard time. ...Though I'm not exactly one to talk."
"Pardon? Did you say something?"
At Tilleul's words as he caught up mid-sentence, Vihera shook her head and turned her gaze back toward the sky. Tilleul followed her gaze and saw Seto, letting out a small smile as he spoke.
"Considering we're facing His Highness Cabajid and His Highness Schuls, we can't let our guard down until the very end... but it seems the outcome of this battle has been decided."
"Yes. If nothing particularly strange happens, our victory is certainly assured, but..."
There was a shade of worry on Vihera's face as she muttered.
The man Vihera knew as Cabajid was someone whose thoughts were impossible to read, and she couldn't predict what he might do now that he was cornered. He was a brilliant older brother; there was no doubt he possessed the ability to rule the Bestia Empire if he were to become Emperor. He had received the education befitting the First Prince, and his track record of results was undeniable.
Yet, despite that, Vihera felt a sense of unidentifiability from Cabajid... or rather, she had always felt as if he were wearing a mask.
That was why, when she heard from Theoreme that Mercurio was under house arrest and his life was being targeted, and learned that Cabajid was among those responsible, she couldn't just stand by.
"Even so, he certainly took his time making an appearance."
Tilleul must have noticed that Vihera's mood had darkened slightly. While drawing his bow and loosing arrows, he shifted the subject.
Perhaps understanding his consideration, Vihera dodged an incoming spear thrust with a half-turn, her gauntlet claws slicing through the spear tip. She dove into the enemy's reach and robbed them of consciousness with a Magic Impact Palm, smiling at Tilleul.
"It can't be helped. Since Rei was delayed this much, there's no doubt he was fighting a suitably powerful enemy."
"A suitably powerful enemy, you say?"
"Yes."
Vihera answered Tilleul, who tilted his head inquisitively, without mentioning the name "Noise" that she had heard from Digma. He wondered if there was actually someone in this battle capable of fighting on equal terms with Rei.
However, even when he turned back to Vihera, she seemingly had no intention of answering, simply keeping a faint smile on her face as she looked toward the enemy ranks.
As Vihera gazed toward the Subjugation Army, she suddenly noticed the surrounding temperature rising rapidly.
At the same time, screams began to echo from deep within the enemy formation... and eventually, Rei appeared, covered in Crimson's Magic Power as he split the enemy apart.
Rei also seemed surprised to encounter Vihera here, his expression showing his shock...
"Did I keep you waiting?" he asked.