Heroic Archduke Leonard stood outside the training grounds.
"Kaito!"
As he approached, everyone stopped in their tracks.
He was a towering, muscular man who somehow retained a lean, dignified appearance. A single glance was enough to feel the overwhelming aura of authority and power he projected.
"Father! Is there a problem?" Kaito asked.
"Monsters have appeared in the skies above this Magic Ship. It is a flock of Forest-Eaters."
"Is... is everything going to be all right?"
"Yes. Most have already been eliminated by the Magic Weapons, but a few have undoubtedly slipped through and are heading for this ship. I will handle them myself."
Heroic Archduke Leonard was one of the empire's few true elites. In addition to his mastery of the Leonard Family Shield Arts, he had reached the Sword Saint Class in both Holy Sword Arts and Imperial Swordsmanship.
"Father, I’m fighting as well," Kaito declared.
This was no time to be told it was too dangerous. Knowing this, the Archduke simply nodded.
Vane stepped forward and patted Kaito on the shoulder.
"It’s not just you, Kaito. We're all in this together."
Sera, Nemu, and Charlotte nodded in agreement.
The port where Ren and the others had gathered was alive with activity. The aroma of seafood grilling at the stalls and the scent of charred sauce combined to whet everyone's appetite.
"Boss, Boss! Let’s head over there next!"
"Very well! Lead the way!"
The adults leading the group were even more excited than Ren and Fiona. The two of them, walking a few steps behind, shared a quiet chuckle.
"Letting Lady Fiona eat street food while walking... I’m worried Lord Ulysses will have my head later," Ren joked.
"Hehe, that's not true at all. Besides, I... I’ve always wanted to try this."
"Eating while walking, you mean?"
"Close. I'll give you ninety percent."
"Why am I missing ten percent?"
"It’s a secret!" Fiona replied, pressing a finger to her lips in a playful gesture.
A winter break like this was a welcome change. Ren took a bite of the skewer in his hand and followed after the adults.
After visiting several stalls, they were all quite full.
"Other than the lack of wine, this has been quite satisfactory," Estelle lamented.
Unfortunately, the recent waterway issues had disrupted transportation. While seafood could be sourced locally, several luxury goods—including alcohol—had failed to arrive.
Leaving the port, they walked along a road lined with the waterways that were the pride of Eupeheim. As the crowds thinned, they paused for a short rest, leaning against the railing of a bridge.
Estelle’s gaze fixed on the water, and she suddenly fell silent. She narrowed her eyes, focusing her attention deep into the depths. This bridge was close to the harbor and spanned a major waterway leading into the city center.
She remained perfectly still, not even responding when Verrich called out to her.
"Fiona Ignat."
The summons was abrupt.
"Just 'Fiona' is fine. Is something wrong, Director?"
"Then call me Estelle. Let me ask you something."
Ren and Verrich both noticed the shift. Her voice held a sharp tension that she never showed in casual conversation.
"The Waterway Abnormality began in early autumn, didn't it?"
"Y-Yes! My father has been investigating the sea and various water sources, but we haven't found the cause. For now, we're using Magic Tools just to keep the city's water flowing."
"I see. So he has already conducted an extensive search."
If Ulysses had investigated, there should have been no oversights. And yet—
"Kuku... it seems even that Strong-Armed man couldn't reach deep enough."
Estelle let out a competitive laugh and raised her voice. She hailed a knight of Eupeheim who happened to be patrolling the bridge.
"You there! I am Estelle Osroes Drake!"
Despite the suddenness of the claim, the knight did not doubt her. Seeing Fiona standing beside her was proof enough.
"Ma'am!" the knight shouted, immediately rushing over to kneel before her. "How may I serve you?"
"Dispatch word immediately to all sectors, including the Imperial Capital, under my name."
Estelle took command. She ordered the knight to request urgent reinforcements from the capital and to mobilize Eupeheim's guard according to her specific instructions. The knight, overwhelmed by her sheer presence and the gravity of the situation, had no room to question her.
"At once!"
The knight hurried away. While the nearby residents began to murmur in confusion, Estelle ignored them, her eyes fixed back on the water.
"Something is happening, isn't it?" Ren asked, his voice low.
"More like something is about to happen," she replied.
As she answered, Estelle reached for the sword on her back—Kuroi—and drew it.
Moments later, the surface of the great waterway before them bulged like an inflating balloon. A wave several Meils high suddenly surged toward the bridge.
Estelle prepared to strike the wave with the pressure of her blade, but a voice rang out before she could.
"Freeze!"
At Fiona’s calm command, the wave turned to solid ice in an instant. There was no trace of the fragile girl Ren had protected in the Baldur Mountains. This was powerful ice magic that left even Estelle marveled as it effortlessly neutralized the surging water.
"Magnificent. Truly worthy of praise," Estelle noted, before shattering the frozen wave with a single swing of Kuroi. The ice shards were blown back into the sea by the force of her blade.
"It hasn't overpowered the Magic Tools protecting the city yet. It appears the mana in the water was simply disturbed, creating a surge. The scale of the wave makes that much clear."
Ulysses’s assessment hadn't been wrong, but the Director of the Lion Sanctum was certain of the danger.
"We must regroup with Marquis Ignat immediately."
The flock of flying monsters raged with increasing ferocity. The Leonard Magic Ship was equipped with several Magic Weapons that kept the bulk of them at bay, but as predicted, a handful managed to reach the deck.
"To target my family's vessel... how foolish," Heroic Archduke Leonard muttered. He planted his Greatshield firmly on the deck.
A barrier of pure mana spread from his shield, forming a protective wall that shielded both the ship and the children standing behind him. It was a shimmering jade light, translucent enough to show the shock on the monsters' faces as they collided with it.
"As expected of the Archduke!" Charlotte shouted.
She loosed an arrow imbued with far more mana than she had used in her duel with Vane. The shield created by the Archduke allowed the attacks of allies to pass through while blocking everything else. Her arrows struck the flying beasts repeatedly.
Between the ear-piercing shrieks of the monsters, Sera’s voice rang out.
"Here they come! Move!"
The group swung their weapons at her command, intercepting the monsters approaching from different angles. Vane’s performance was particularly staggering; his sword carved through the Forest-Eaters with ease. Despite the chaos, the young students were more than holding their own.
Kaito fought valiantly, determined not to be outdone by his father as he used his own Greatshield to protect his friends.
"Attacking us out of nowhere! Is your target Airia?"
The monsters offered no reply. These were Forest-Eaters—low C-rank threats, but dangerous in such numbers. The battle was grueling, but the students were far stronger than their peers.
Dozens of Forest-Eaters had already been knocked into the sea. Suddenly, Vane froze.
(What was that...?)
He was the only one who felt it—a sudden, crushing pressure from the depths of the sea, as if something gargantuan was glaring at him. He glanced over the side, but the dark, stormy weather obscured the water's surface. The sensation vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
"Vane! They're coming back!"
"Right!"
Shaking off the feeling, he refocused. After striking down another Forest-Eater, he watched it plummet into the waves.
"Not bad, Vane!" Charlotte called out.
"You too, Charlotte!"
They continued their coordinated defense for several more minutes until the last of the flock was finally swatted from the air.
"Trifling," Heroic Archduke Leonard remarked, exhaling slowly. "You all did well! With this level of skill, we have nothing to fear from the likes of the Demon King Cult!"
With the Archduke’s declaration, the battle seemed to conclude. In the distance, warships were approaching from the port built into the cape. They were still some distance from the Magic Ship Dock, but they were finally approaching a safe landing zone. The ship began to gradually lose altitude.
(There it is again...)
Vane alone was not celebrating. He stared back down at the sea, his brow furrowed.
"Vane? What is it?" Charlotte asked, walking over to him.
Vane didn't answer. He kept his eyes fixed on the water, his entire body tensed for a fight. Even as the dock drew closer, his sense of alarm only intensified.
"It’s not over yet!"
The boy who carried the blood of Hero Ruin spoke with absolute certainty. In his hand was the masterwork sword entrusted to him by Heroic Archduke Riohalde—a legendary blade that Sera’s frame couldn't handle, leaving Vane as its wielder.
Vane began to run. He was driven by a courage he had only recently discovered and a mysterious sense of duty he didn't yet understand. The other children of the Seven Heroes followed him to the very edge of the deck.
"Something is coming!"
Everyone was surprised that Vane had sensed it first, but they didn't doubt him. His words were immediately proven true. The sea below began to churn violently, creating irregular, massive swells.
It was as if a giant balloon had inflated beneath the surface. Water pillars erupted everywhere, blocking the path of the falling Magic Ship.
"Tch... there were more of them!"
The water pillars were dozens of Meils in diameter, reaching higher than the ship itself. Then, they saw the enemy lurking in the depths.
The Apostle of the Giant God, Wadatsumi.
The beast was a massive serpent, nearly thirty Meils long. It was covered in shimmering, bluish-white scales that sparkled like gems, with deep blue fins adorning its neck and waist. It was a beautiful monster, resembling a woman draped in celestial robes.
A series of water pillars sprouted around it, releasing thousands of tiny droplets. Each droplet was imbued with mana, turning them into lethal bullets that tore through the air toward the Magic Ship.
"Do not underestimate the Leonard name, monster of the Demon Continent!"
Heroic Archduke Leonard deployed a barrier even more powerful than before, enveloping the entire vessel. The mana wall repelled the water magic with a series of ear-splitting cracks.
Ren had never seen this monster in the legends he knew, but as the battle intensified, the scene felt hauntingly familiar.
"What of a monster from the Demon Continent! Right, Vane?"
"Yes! We have to take it down!"
"Wait, you two! Don't do anything reckless—ah, geez! Charlotte! Support them with Nemu! We'll take the front!"
"Got it! Just go!"
The exchanges between them mirrored the Legend of the Seven Heroes almost perfectly. The only difference was the location and the presence of the Archduke. The tension and the power of the enemy were exactly as the stories described.
Wadatsumi continued its assault from the waves. Realizing it couldn't sink the ship from below, it prepared a massive spell. A spherical Water Barrier formed around the Magic Ship, trapping it. If the ship continued forward, it would crash into the wall of water.
The barrier was thick enough for Wadatsumi to swim through it, allowing the beast to encircle the ship within its own domain.
"Hey, hey! You’ve got to be kidding me!" Kaito shouted in alarm.
"We have to break that barrier, or we won't be able to drive it off," the Archduke noted calmly.
"Father, does that mean—"
"We either use brute force, or we use..."
The two looked at each other and said it in unison: "The holy power of Airia."
Airia possessed a powerful Evil-Breaking Power. It could block Wadatsumi’s attacks and potentially shatter the water barrier entirely. However, they knew the enemy was likely targeting the relic itself. Taking it out was a gamble.
Just as they hesitated, a mass of water surged from the barrier, lashing out at the ship. Within the sphere of water, Wadatsumi arched its body, its horns glowing with a blinding light.
"Kaito! No more waiting!"
At his father’s command, Kaito ran for the relic. The Archduke planted his shield and took a deep breath, projecting a massive wall of mana at the front of the deck.
Wadatsumi let out a deafening roar and opened its maw.
A beam of water magic erupted—a breath attack that looked like a stream of blue fire. It tore through the barrier toward the ship, expanding like a shotgun blast and carrying winds that could slice through steel.
The Archduke's barrier held, but the strain was visible. A few well-placed shots from the ship's magic weapons caused the water barrier to tremble.
Seconds later, Kaito returned. The Airia in his hand was glowing with a soft, ethereal light.
"Father!"
"Now, Kaito!"
Kaito stood beside his father and raised the shield. Sensing the change, Wadatsumi’s eyes turned a deep, sinister crimson. It prepared another breath attack.
"This shield once withstood the attacks of the Demon King himself!"
As Kaito planted Airia on the deck, a silver-white aura exploded outward. The legendary shield, which had frustrated the Demon King centuries ago, finally showed its true power once more.
The breath attack vanished the moment it touched the Silver-white Barrier. The energy from the collision dispersed into light that drifted through the air, striking the water barrier and Wadatsumi itself. The sound of crackling electricity filled the air as the barrier swayed.
"I’ll say it again!"
Kaito felt his mana draining rapidly, but he stood his ground with pride.
"This is the shield that protected Hero Ruin from the Demon King!"
He pushed the barrier forward, forcing it against the enemy. The silver light didn't just block the attack; it surged into the water, turning into a wind of light that tore the barrier apart.
The sphere of water burst, and Wadatsumi was thrown back into the sea by the force of gravity. Its crimson eyes began to dim. The water barrier collapsed, turning back into harmless seawater.
"Everyone, hold on!" the Archduke shouted.
A massive amount of seawater rained down on the deck. Everyone used magic or combat arts to deflect the deluge and clung to the railings. Drenched but safe, they finally took a breath.
"We... we did it!"
"Kaito!"
Vane caught Kaito as he nearly collapsed from exhaustion. They shared a weary smile, ready to celebrate their victory.
But the battle wasn't over.
Wadatsumi was preparing one last, desperate strike. Normally, the monster would have fled at this point, but something was different. As it fell toward the waves, it gathered the last of its strength.
Vane was the first to move. He pictured Ren in his mind—the boy he looked up to, the strength he wanted to match.
"...Even I," he whispered.
I don't want to just be the one who's protected.
Vane remembered Ren’s words before the tournament: I don't intend to lose to anyone. Not since I found someone I wanted to protect.
"I can't stay the way I was!"
Wadatsumi unleashed a final breath attack. As Vane swung his sword, several water pillars rose from the sea, turning into giant Water Arms that reached for the deck.
Both Kaito and the Archduke tried to raise their barriers, but they were frozen by the sight of the dull, lingering flash emanating from Vane’s sword.
Sera, though exhausted, couldn't help but smile.
"It’s just like that time, Vane."
Vane’s sword, now wreathed in that same flash, carved through the air.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaa!"
With a mighty swing, he repelled the water arms and diverted the breath attack harmlessly into the sky. It wasn't a full awakening—unlike the legend where he stopped Ulysses—but it was a start. Wadatsumi was far weaker than a revived Asval, but the spark was there.
Just as he had done when he saved Sera as a child, the power of Hero Ruin sleeping within him had flared to life. It was only a fraction of the Hero’s true strength, but it was proof that Vane was closer than ever to his destiny.
The sun had passed its zenith.
Ren regrouped with Ulysses and his party on a cape near the Old City, not far from the coastal caves. He had arrived on horseback, accompanied by a few knights from the town.
"Lord Ulysses!"
Ulysses was surveying the area with Edgar and several subordinates.
"Oh? Ren? What brings you here?"
Fiona had remained safely in the city under Estelle’s protection. Ren quickly relayed what had happened in Eupeheim, and Ulysses’s expression hardened.
"Estelle believes it’s linked to the Waterway Abnormality," Ren explained.
While Ulysses had military experience, in a crisis of this scale, the Director of the Lion Sanctum was the superior commander. He was grateful that the empire’s strongest knight was currently overseeing the city.
"Master, we should head back immediately," Edgar urged.
"Agreed. Let’s go."
Ren turned his horse around, desperate to get back to the city. Following the lead of the others, he galloped back toward Eupeheim.