Around the same time Ren departed from Erendil.
Several hours away from the Imperial Capital by Magic Ship, nestled within a certain canyon.
Vane and his companions had arrived in this treacherous land where monsters were known to congregate. There was a specific reason they had to be here now, exactly as the Demon King Cult began their move.
Sisil Meldeg, the ancestor of Squall Meldeg—a first-year student at the Imperial Academy—was one of the legendary Seven Heroes. Upon returning to Leomel after the war against the Demon King, Sisil established three hidden sanctuaries across the empire.
In size, they were hardly different from an ordinary house. Hidden by layers of powerful barriers, they were normally impossible to see or even detect. Within those walls lay the dormant holy power left behind by Sisil Meldeg.
Sisil had anticipated that the Demon King might one day return to exert his dark will over Leomel once more. To prepare for that day, he had laid out a massive Magic Circle that would allow his descendants to wield a fragment of his ancient strength.
The Magic Circle would only activate once rituals were performed at all three sanctuaries. However, triggering it required both an immense reservoir of mana and exceptional talent. Perhaps because the Meldeg bloodline had thinned over the centuries, no one in the family had successfully activated the circle for generations. Even in eras of peace, the Meldeg heirs would always attempt the ritual to ensure they were ready for an emergency, but the results were always the same failure.
Until Squall Meldeg.
He had successfully performed the ritual and awakened the Magic Circle. He discovered this talent shortly after enrolling in the academy, a development many attributed to the resurgence of the Heroes' descendants.
The group stood near a massive waterfall within the canyon. Using the scattered boulders as stepping stones to cross the river, the seven of them gathered near the churning basin of the falls. They had kept their numbers small to ensure the location remained a secret, and even the Magic Ship Deus was taking care to avoid detection by the enemy.
Squall took a deep breath, placed a hand over his heart, and offered a prayer.
"By the name of Meldeg!"
The waterfall parted to the left and right, revealing the wet rock face behind the curtain of water. Stepping onto the slick stones, Squall touched the rock, which pulsed with a pale blue light. The stone surface immediately turned translucent and vanished as if it had never existed, revealing a dark tunnel leading deep inside.
"It... it worked."
Squall managed a weak smile, but his legs buckled. Vane lunged forward to catch him.
"Squall!"
"I-I’m sorry... Just opening the entrance takes so much out of me. But I’ll see the ritual through. I promise."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Trust me. As a Meldeg, I will finish this."
This mission had been decided before the seven of them left the capital. The current Archduke Meldeg had explained that by visiting the sanctuaries and activating the Magic Circles left by Sisil, they could exert a powerful counter-influence against the Demon King Cult.
The protected area was vast, centered on Windea, the Place Where Water and Wind Sleep, and extending to the neighboring settlements. Windea had been chosen as the focal point because it was the cradle of wind and water—natural forces vital to all inhabitants of the continent, not just Leomel.
The Magic Circle formed a triangle encompassing Windea. Legend claimed that once active, the power of the Demon King's Army within its boundaries would be almost entirely neutralized. Sisil had intended to leave even more protections, but his strength had been exhausted by the creation of this massive circle; he spent his remaining years spreading the teachings of the Main God Elfen instead.
Sisil had spent years traveling the land to personally lay out the boundaries of this defense. Like the systems protecting the capital and Erendil created by Milim Altia, it was a unique masterpiece that could never be mass-produced.
"I'm sorry for being a burden," Squall whispered.
"Don't be. That's why we're here," Vane replied, lending Squall his shoulder as they moved down the hidden path.
This was the adventure leading toward the climax of Chapter One in The Legend of the Seven Heroes II. They hadn't activated the circles earlier because doing so would have been a waste before the enemy appeared. Every path to these sanctuaries had to remain classified.
Furthermore, sending Squall alone was out of the question. Having Vane and the other heirs of the Heroic Archduke families along provided both the necessary protection and the guarantee of secrecy.
There were no monsters inside. After walking through the cavernous passage for ten minutes, they reached the subterranean sanctuary. The cavern resembled a limestone grotto, filled with a pale blue radiance reflecting off a large, still pool of water.
By the time they reached the structure, Squall had recovered enough to walk on his own. The group stopped before the Stone Sanctuary, and as they approached, torches along the walls flared to life.
Squall stepped inside first. "This is the sanctuary I came to inspect at the start of spring."
The interior was austere, built of simple stone. It consisted of a single room with a Magic Circle carved into the wide floor. At the center of the circle stood a pedestal holding a polished White Orb.
Squall placed both hands on the orb and closed his eyes. The orb began to vibrate, and the Magic Circle on the floor surged with light. Vane and the others watched in hushed silence.
"I can't fight like the rest of you... So at least let me do this!"
Brilliant white mana erupted from Squall's body. The Magic Circle responded, its glow intensifying until the entire sanctuary was bathed in light. While the others stood within the glowing lines of the circle, Squall was drenched in sweat, his teeth gritted. A sharp crackle, like localized lightning, snapped from the orb between his hands.
"Gu... ugh...!"
He was channeling a staggering amount of mana, far more than the others had realized he possessed. As Squall had admitted, he wasn't a front-line fighter; he had always supported the group with his healing magic. Deep down, he felt a lingering guilt for staying in the rear while his friends bled for him. That guilt fueled his resolve now.
His determination won out. The blinding light subsided, and the orb rose from the pedestal to hover in mid-air. Squall let his sweat drip onto the stone floor, his face bright with relief.
"I did it, everyone."
The other six looked at him with concern. There were two sanctuaries left, and Squall was already visibly drained. While this power was crucial for the coming battle against the Cult, they all found themselves wondering if he should push himself this hard when the military or other experts could theoretically handle the fighting.
But there was a reason for the haste. Unlike previous encounters, a powerful leader was now at the helm of the Cultists. There was no room for hesitation. If the enemy was within the circle's reach, they had to use every advantage.
When the seven returned to the Deus, Squall drank a potion and looked at them with renewed fire in his eyes.
"Two more. Let's get them finished."
As evening fell and battles broke out across various regions, the sky—which should have been a deep sunset red—was suddenly veiled by brilliant, shimmering clouds. These clouds began to shed glowing Light Crystals like gentle snow.
The battlefields were instantly transformed.
"What is this?!"
"I don't know, but it's helping us! Look at the enemies!"
Sisil Meldeg’s Magic Circle had been activated. The positions where Radius and his forces had been holding the line suddenly became overwhelmingly advantageous. The falling crystals rode the wind, sapping the strength of the Demon King Cultists.
The secret nature of the magic wasn't revealed to the regular knights, but they took it as a sign of a high-level allied support attack and moved to crush the weakened Cultists. Unlike the original timeline of the game, the casualties were negligible.
On the deck of the Magic Ship Deus, Vane and the others high-fived in the rushing wind.
"Hell yeah! That should settle things!" Kaito shouted.
"Don't get cocky, Kaito. We can't let our guard down. My grandmother always warned me about that," Lizred cautioned.
"She's right, you know. Stay sharp," Charlotte added.
"I agree. We need to stay focused until the end," Squall said.
"I get it, I get it... but man, you really did it, Squall!" Kaito grinned.
Though exhausted, Squall had come out to the deck leaning on Kaito's shoulder. Kaito held out a closed fist toward him. Squall tilted his head, confused.
"You do it like this," Kaito explained, showing him how to bump fists. Squall mimicked the gesture, and Kaito let out a boisterous laugh. "You were cool back there!"
"I... I'm glad." Squall felt a warm glow of satisfaction. For the first time, he felt he had truly contributed.
Vane smiled as he watched his friends. Sera stepped up beside him.
"The tide has turned," she said.
"Yeah. Now we just have to find that priest."
"True... I wonder where he's hiding. He's out there somewhere."
The war wouldn't be over until Orphide was dealt with. Even though they had successfully activated Sisil's ancient power, they couldn't afford to be complacent.
Suddenly, a voice crackled from a magic tool on the deck. It was Nemu, speaking from the pilot house.
"Everyone! Get back inside! I'm changing course!"
The group hurried to the pilot house. The Deus, maintained by the Archduke's house, was state-of-the-art. Nemu stood before the expansive glass windows at the flight controls.
"Nemu, what's wrong?" Vane asked.
"Well, now that the Magic Circle is active, we have to go make our report."
A military magic ship was anchored in a nearby airspace. They were to rendezvous, connect the gangway, and deliver the status update. Nemu adjusted the controls, steering the ship toward the coordinates they had been given before leaving the capital. After a few dozen minutes, the group was stunned by the sight. In the original legend, there were only a few ships, but now more than a dozen Leomel magic ships filled the sky.
As they pulled alongside one of the vessels, a magic gangway locked into place.
"We’ve received orders not to pry into the source of the magic from earlier," a knight waiting on the other side announced.
The Magic Circle was a State Secret. While they were reporting its success, the specifics remained classified. The military had simply been told to view it as a friendly intervention.
"From our end, we're just reporting that the objective was successfully completed," Nemu said.
"Understood. We will relay that to the capital. Also, regarding our current situation—"
The briefing lasted ten minutes. While skirmishes continued in a few areas, it was expected that the fighting would conclude soon. Leomel’s forces were decisively crushing the Cultists.
When the seven returned to the pilot house after the meeting, Nemu sat backward in her chair, licking a lollipop.
"Still no sign of the guy leading the Cultists, huh?"
"I don't think they're just going to pack up and go home," Sera noted.
"I agree," Lizred added. "It's hard to believe they'd just give up after such a sudden, coordinated attack."
As they sat in the quiet pilot house, contemplating their next move before heading back to the capital, a bell chimed—once, twice, then a third time. It came from the sensor array on the control panel. Nemu spun around in her chair and checked the readings.
"Wait... what?"
The lollipop fell from her mouth. She scrambled to her feet, cross-referencing other data. Realizing she didn't have enough information, she grabbed a notebook-sized magic tool from her bag.
"Hey! What's going on?" Kaito asked.
"Sorry, Kaito, just be quiet a second." Nemu’s expression was dead serious. She checked the numbers again. There was a nagging inconsistency she couldn't ignore. "This is wrong... these numbers shouldn't be possible. But the sensors are functioning normally, so there’s definitely a mana fluctuation in the air..."
She muttered to herself, eyes darting over the glass screen. "The calculation is off... no, it's this one. Okay, the numbers are accurate... but if they're accurate, then this is insane."
She looked out the window, her eyes widening as she stared toward the horizon. Charlotte noticed the direction she was looking.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking toward Windea?"
They were currently in an airspace not far from the sacred site. Though the visual effect of the Magic Circle had faded, they were still within its geographical range. Vane, who had been listening silently, remembered Ren’s casual comment.
'I was thinking, could Windea also be made a target?'
"The story about the Cult collecting holy relics... is this related?" Vane asked.
Nemu lunged for the map of Leomel spread across the navigation table. Windea, the Place Where Water and Wind Sleep. The place where the Ring of the Water Goddess was said to be hidden—the very place they had visited just this past spring.
The group crowded around the map.
"Nemu, what's the anomaly?" Lizred asked.
"The ambient mana in the air is acting bizarrely. I thought it was a sensor error, but it's too consistent for that."
"What kind of movement?"
"It’s like the mana is being forcibly displaced from one spot and pushed into another. It’s flowing through the air in waves."
"I see," Charlotte whispered. "So someone is manipulating it."
"It wouldn't be a stretch to think Orphide is looking for the Ring of the Water Goddess," Vane said, his hand tightening on his sword hilt. "It's worth investigating."
"I'm with you," Sera agreed. "We've come this far; let's see it through."
Vane looked at the group. "Let's notify the other ships and head for Windea."
"You got it! Changing course for Windea!" Nemu shouted.
"I'll go tell the knights to get ready!" Kaito ran back out to the deck to signal the other vessels.
Most of the equipment on the Deus had been built by Nemu herself. Given that they were Altia-crafted, their precision was undisputed. She reported the detected anomaly and stated they were rushing to the scene.
Within minutes, the Deus accelerated, pulling away from the slower military ships as it raced toward Windea. Several other ships followed in its wake. They would arrive in less than thirty minutes.
"What do they plan to do on the Holy Day of Water?" Lizred asked.
The Holy Day of Water was the celebrated birth date of the Water Goddess, a night when water mana was said to reach its peak across the land. If the Cult was after holy relics, the Ring of the Water Goddess was likely their ultimate prize, and Orphide was almost certainly waiting for nightfall to claim it.
As thirty minutes passed, Nemu called out, "I see it!"
Windea appeared ahead, illuminated by starlight. Nemu compared the readings on her console. "Maybe it's the Holy Day of Water, because the wind mana is surprisingly calm today!"
"Does that mean we can land on the upper level?" Kaito asked.
"Yeah! I spent a lot of time upgrading the Deus after our last trip. We can push it!"
"Nemu, take it easy! we don't even know if he's actually there yet!" Sera warned.
"It's fine, Sera! I reinforced the barriers. This level of mana density is nothing for—"
Nemu suddenly went silent. Sera’s expression soured.
"Don't tell me it's an emergency."
"It's not! But look at this!" Nemu pointed to the mana density gauge. The others couldn't read the raw data, but they could see the needle twitching erratically before locking onto a specific direction.
"Is it... pointing up?"
"Yes! Something is happening in the Windea Upper Level!"
Nemu threw the controls forward, sending the Deus into a steep climb. The other ships couldn't match the Deus's agility or power and fell behind. Nemu signaled the other ships to stay below and search the rest of the area while they went high.
"In that case, he's definitely at the sanctuary!" Kaito shouted.
"I agree! But we spent days climbing that place on foot! How are we supposed to get there in time?" Lizred asked.
"There's only one way!"
Nemu slammed her fist onto a bright red button on the control panel. The Deus was instantly enveloped in a shimmering wall of mana, emitting a high-pitched drone that made everyone's ears ring.
"We're going to use brute force and break through!"
The ship suddenly bucked violently as they hit the turbulent wind mana of the upper heights. Ordinarily, Nemu wouldn't have dreamed of taking the ship this high—if she could have, she would have done it in the spring. But something was different. Despite the turbulence, the resistance was far lower than it should have been.
"Someone is actively suppressing the mana around Windea!" Nemu realized.
It was possible to weaken wind mana with powerful magic, and if someone was doing it, it had to be Orphide.
"Everyone! Hold on! We're landing!"
Nemu poured all her focus into the controls. Reaching a height near the sanctuary, she aimed for a relatively flat rock shelf they had used as a campsite before. She engaged the reverse thrusters with everything she had.
The most violent shudder yet rocked the vessel, throwing everyone within off-balance as the Deus slammed onto the rock.
In the main cabin, where furniture and supplies had been tossed into a chaotic pile, the seven of them were sprawled on the floor. Nemu stood up, wiping sweat from her brow.
"Well? How was that?" she asked with a triumphant grin.