Vol 2 Chapter 50 – The Frontier City Aegis【Vol 2: The Hero of the Fairy Tribe】

Having accepted Labilia’s request, Allen went around the castle to bid farewell to the people in the Beast Kingdom who had taken care of him.

Leon, a passionate fan of Eufaria, earnestly begged him to look after her. He carefully explained Eufaria’s current situation to Leonhardt, stressing the necessity of going to the Empire.

If things continued like this, Labilia and Eufaria would end up killing each other. To stop that, Allen had to go along.

To Leonhardt, who couldn’t hide her loneliness at being separated from him, Allen promised that he would definitely return, somehow managing to get her to accept it.

Also, Labilia and Leonhardt had come face-to-face, causing a bit of a scuffle, but Allen stepped in and somehow smoothed things over.

Allen’s dying words, “I leave the world to you”—said purely because he thought it sounded cool—were heavily influencing Labilia’s decision-making. That was a massive problem when it came to persuading her.

Would he really be able to persuade Labilia?

Harboring these anxieties, the next day arrived.

Led by Labilia, who had refused a grand send-off, Allen mounted the Black Dragon Geofried while Labilia straddled the back of the Phoenix Shiranui. Early in the morning, they took to the sky from the courtyard spreading out before the royal castle.

“Kweh…?“

“…Guh.”

Along the way, Shiranui, flying alongside Geofried, kept tilting her head and staring at Allen, making him feel restless.

However, perhaps due to the effects of the 【Mirror of Phantasm】, she didn’t seem to have reached the level of absolute certainty that Reisel had.

A phoenix and a black dragon. The two heroes, riding upon two of the highest-ranking Spirit Beasts, vanished into the distance in the blink of an eye.

They bid farewell to the Beast Kingdom Euglasia, a snowy country dyed silver as far as the eye could see.

“—Labilia-dono, which city in the Empire are we heading to first?” Allen raised his voice over the cutting wind to ask.

“We’re heading to the frontier city Aegis, which served as the absolute front line against the Demon Lord’s army.”

“…Aegis, you say.”

“You know that the Empire repelled the Demon Lord’s army independently, correct? Rumor has it that the lord of that city is a hero who played an active role in the Human-Demon Great War. If Eufaria’s goal is Allen’s resurrection, she would likely choose a highly influential figure as a sacrifice.”

“…I see. So the next most likely target is the lord of Aegis.”

Allen also knew that necromancy was equivalent exchange. For someone to be brought back to life, someone else had to die.

One of the former Eight Demon Generals cooperating with Eufaria—【Soul Return】. He was the only one who wasn’t a demon, but a member of the Human tribe.

Aside from him, it seemed Eufaria had five National-class criminals with her. Were they obeying her quietly, or did they have their own objectives? There were far too many elements of uncertainty.

(…Things are getting interesting. It seems charging up my power wasn’t a waste of time after all, no?)

(…Asmodeus, why do you sound so incredibly entertained…?)

Ignorant of her master’s feelings, his partner was currently buzzing with excitement in his mind while sheathed at his waist in her sword form. Sitting cross-legged on Geofried’s back, Allen wore an unusually grim expression beneath his mask.

After flying continuously above the clouds for several hours, worrying about how to persuade Labilia and Eufaria while gazing at the rapidly shifting scenery…

They arrived in the vicinity of the Empire’s frontier city, Aegis, quite early.

From a sweeping view high above, Aegis could be described as a robust fortress city enclosed by towering city walls. Perhaps due to the Demon Lord’s army’s invasion, the walls were crumbling in places, but it was still a spectacular sight.

But strangely enough, there were two perfectly circular walls stretched out within the interior of the city as well.

The cluster of buildings towering in the center of the city, where the lord’s mansion was located, was magnificent, and the roads were perfectly paved. Trees were planted systematically along both sides of the main streets, looking beautiful even from a distance.

(…The only ones living there are the Fairy Elf tribe or the Dark Elf tribe.)

(…Indeed…)

Next, the district beyond the first inner wall appeared less well-maintained than the center.

(…Unlike the center, there are no fairies to be seen. It looks like the Giant tribe and the Amazoness tribe live beyond this wall.)

(…Umu. Saying they are partitioned by race makes it sound nice, but…)

It was obvious that less money was spent here compared to the city center. He slid his gaze further outward.

Beyond the second wall.

The spreading scenery was just one step away from being a slum. Perhaps taking the brunt of the Demon Lord’s army’s damage, there was no shortage of collapsed buildings.

The ones living there were the Human tribe and the Dwarf tribe.

It was structured as if intentionally dividing them into a noble district, a commoner district, and a slum. Just as the rumors said, they seemed to heavily favor the fairy races.

By the way, there was something else eye-catching besides the walls inside the city.

A barrier was deployed from four spires standing in each corner of the city—North, South, East, and West—creating a system that prevented intruders from passing through.

This barrier was likely the work of an Artifact. Cities with similar defensive mechanisms existed in the Holy Empire as well.

“—Sir Noir. We will stand by here for now. I have already informed the lord in advance that the two of us are coming. After a short while, he should temporarily lower the barrier for us.”

“…Understood.”

Down below, the residents were making a fuss over the ominous black dragon and the massive bird wreathed in brilliant flames hovering above the city.

In less than a few minutes, the barrier covering the city was dispelled, and Allen exchanged a nod with Labilia.

“—Let us start by gathering detailed information on the Obsidian Cult from the lord. Let’s go.”

“…Understood.”

The two conveyed their intentions to the Spirit Beasts they rode upon, and began their descent toward the mansion of the lord—famed as a hero—located in the center of the city.