At first, the monsters from the Midnight Tower looked varied and grotesque, but Otto’s nervous anticipation had affected what he was actually seeing. Upon further scrutiny, he realized they all shared the same features: they were dark-skinned, armored, and humanoid, and some were even on horseback.
“By the grace of the Goddess, they’re Nether Elves!”
“We see that, Shiny!” Princess Emerald called, eyeing the elves through the scope of her rifle. “Now be quiet while I work.”
She fired several rounds so quickly that they almost sounded like a single gunshot. Blackblades in the infantry fell for every shot she fired. She reloaded and continued to shoot, but there were far too many and they were approaching quickly.
Otto and Princess Sapphire drew their swords, seeing that the mounted Knights of the Tower were beginning to charge. Otto swallowed, knowing already that there were too many for the three of them to fight alone. Their journey was going to end here.
“I’m sorry, Princess Sapphire, Princess Emerald. I have failed you.” He breathed out. “I never thought we would be so overwhelmed. I have let down your father, I have let you down, and I have let down the kingdom of Crystal—”
“Oh, shut up!” Princess Sapphire shouted. “Now, on my command, leap to your right!”
Otto looked back at her in confusion. “What?”
The mounted Nether Elves were galloping at full speed, their lances aimed right at them. Otto turned back to Princess Sapphire. She held her sword behind her back, the gem on her cross guard reflecting off the crystal monolith behind her.
Wait a minute . . . is she . . . ?
The sound of the galloping horses suddenly became a roar, and he turned back to see the army bearing down on them. If now was the time to die, Otto was going to face it without fear.
He raised his sword to clash with the oncoming Nether Elves when Princess Sapphire screamed, “Now! Leap!”
Once again, Otto’s instinct to act on the princess’s command kicked in, and he dove to his right as the horses charged past them. There was a flash of light, and the monolith appeared to swallow up the front of the army’s cavalry.
“Hah, you did it, Sis!”
Otto rolled to his feet, pleased to see that the rear of the army had pulled back just in time.
“It’s not over yet!” Princess Sapphire raised her sword. “For Crystalia!”
Otto spun and clashed with a Blackblade, quickly cutting it down only to face two more. He slashed one way, ducking as one elf’s blade flew over his head, and then struck low to take out its legs before stabbing the other. He whirled as a Knight of the Tower reared up on its horse. Before it could stab him with its lance, Princess Sapphire leapt up behind it and stabbed through its dark form.
She landed next to Otto, catching his gaze before spinning and cutting at the Nether Elves behind them. Once again, they fought back-to-back so that no monster could sneak up on them. Princess Emerald had been firing a cover volley when they were starting to get overwhelmed, but when her hiding place was found, she was forced to shoot at the enemies around her. Without her cover fire, more pressure was heaped upon Otto and Princess Sapphire as the remaining enemies encircled them.
“It was a good plan, Princess,” Otto said, baring his teeth at the Blackblades lashing at them.
“Hah, at the speed they were going, I thought the whole lot would go through. Bad luck, eh?”
A Blackblade raced from the shadowed masses, and Princess Sapphire struck it down as another one charged at Otto. From their ranks, an elven hand shot out and grabbed his sword arm, trying to draw him in so the rest of them could hack him to pieces. Quickly, he reached back and grabbed the lance Aelyph had given him. It may have been a weapon meant to kill dragons, but his father had always told him never to die with a weapon undrawn.
He stabbed through the Nether Elf and slashed at those trying to draw him in, spinning with his two weapons to widen the circle around them. His heartbeat pounded in his ears as a rage came over him. It felt like a voice was in his mind, manipulating his emotions, but he fought it just as he fought those trying to kill him.
“Come on, betrayers!” He flung himself into the crowd.
Something in him felt broken. All of his despair for his father fueled a fury that filled his muscles and sent him hurtling through the elves, cutting them down as he went. As they backed off to give him space, he laughed and scanned the crowd for another target.
However, this time he was knocked back, struck down by a Knight of the Tower. He rolled to his feet as the dregs of the army flooded toward him. He spun about, blocking with his lance and striking with his sword, but he knew his stamina could only last so long. The battle was over and he knew it, but still, he fought on.
The hum of a familiar melody arose from behind the Nether forces.
The Goddess’s song?
Then, at the army’s rear, there was a cry from the Nether Elves and three of them went flying. Cutting down the one he had been struggling with, he looked up as the rear ranks of the army glanced behind them.
“Sis!” Princess Emerald cried out.
Several of the elves were cut down by a rain of bullets, and some kind of explosive went off. Then the Nether Elves at their rear were retreating, attempting to escape from whatever pursued them. Otto and Princess Sapphire cut down the ones running, then watched as whoever was attacking from the rear burst through the army in a flurry of fists.
“Come back here!” screamed a silver-haired young woman wearing a dark jacket over topaz-colored armor. “You started this fight, remember? Now I’m going to end it!”
Otto suddenly realized he had seen this woman before, but it had been so long that he barely recognized her.
“Princess Citrine?” he asked.
She looked up at his cry and grinned, but it wasn’t him she was smiling at.
“Sis! Is that really you?” Princess Sapphire asked.
She slashed down several Blackblades in her way and ran toward the warrior princess. Otto ran with her to make sure that none of the Nether Elves would attack her from behind, but they seemed to ignore her in favor of fleeing. The two princesses embraced.
“I thought I would never see you again!” The relief was palpable in Princess Sapphire’s voice. “I thought you would end up like Ruby!”
Princess Citrine pulled back from her. “Why? What happened to Ruby?”
“Princesses!” Otto shouted as the few elves that had not run gathered for a final assault. “We can talk about this later. Right now your assistance is needed!”
Princess Citrine’s grin widened and she stretched her arm. “What a pain they are. You’d think they would’ve learned their lesson by now.”
Following Princess Citrine’s lead, they formed an arrowhead and advanced into the army. With two master sword wielders at the flanks, Princess Citrine’s ferocious fists in the middle, and Princess Emerald picking foes off from a distance, they cut through the final line of Nether Elves like a sharp blade through parchment.
When the battle was over, Otto and the princesses stood victorious.