Realms of Magic: Demon Invasion

109. Princess Rescue Mission I

"Okay, so," Aelita says. "Vio's powers came from Merango, right? Now that he's gone, will it be gone too?"

Lita glances at me with worry. "Blood Sword." I summon a blade of blood. "I don't think so. If anything, I feel stronger now with Merango's array of spells unlocked to me. I just need more raw power to use them properly."

"It's not that Merango inhibiting Vio is the cause of her affinities to blood magic and necromancy. In fact, he inhibits her because of the latter."

Madam Fron enters with a rather grim expression. "Hello, Vio. I hope you're ready to talk politics, cause boy oh boy shit went down pretty spectacularly."

"Uhh, yeah. Alright. How's the situation?"

"Well, the situation in Irvine is quite controlled after a barrage of speeches and campaigns by key nobles and leaders, and Erwing and Lutzia have dealt with the situation pretty well. A civil war has erupted in Al Azhar: Princess Suzuran is of part Erwingian descent, after all, so several groups have mobilized against her. Francia, after the Aurum Imperium withdrew, has broken apart and is now in a state of total chaos, with warlords vying for territory."

"... I didn't expect things to be that bad," I say. "I'm recovered now. Where should I go?"

"You aren't going anywhere," she replies. "There is one more problem: we are now hunting Crown down."

"Oh, the Imperium's spy? I presume they have told us about them."

"Yeah. It's Seira herself."

My heart skips a beat. "Seira ... Princess Seira?"

"Yes. Part of her complicated plan to seize power in Irvine once the Imperium wins. She's done a lot; sabotaging our defences in Pazna and poisoning Anwar, Charles, and Arctus are just some."

I bite my lips. "She can't be allowed to escape," I say, half-shouting.

"Agreed," Aelita answers. "Are we seriously not able to track her down?"

"We can only h-"

An agent enters, disrupting us. "Madam Moonray, we have located Princess Seira's location," he claims.

"Excellent," Madam Fron says. "Where is it?"

"It's, uh, complicated. We received an ultimatum from a person who claims to be 'Lilith, the Dollmaker'. She demands to be given all of Roenzia's research data in exchange for the princess."

The Dollmaker ... is she the one who supplies the Imperium with slaves?

"Tell me we haven't accepted those terms."

"The King invites you to discuss this with other leaders."

Madam Fron leaves. I turn to my friends, all of whom have been shocked. "I don't understand why we're going to such lengths just for one traitor," Remi comments. "It's not like we need information or anything."

"As a former traitor myself, I think everyone deserves a second chance."

"Lita, I reckon there's a massive difference between personal betrayal and outright killing many of Irvine's best mages," I say. "I want to see her suffer for what she's done, but it's better for us to do it justifiably."

"I'm with you here," John comments. "We can afford neither total altruism nor blind vengeance."

"That aside, I wonder why she betrays us in the first place," Aelita chips in. "I mean, imagine if she stays on our side. King Arthur dies in a decade or so and she becomes queen of all Irvine. Why risk supporting an enemy?"

"She isn't the most popular princess," John explains. "It's probably to eliminate internal opponents, like Madam Fron and the Windwoods."

"And she'll probably receive further compensation, most likely at the expense of Erwing," Remi adds.

"I'm more interested in this 'Dollmaker'. Isn't she the Empire's ally?" I intrude.

"Yeah, but apparently she never maintains direct contact," Remi answers. "I wonder why she seeks the Princess of Terror's research."

"Because it's extremely valuable," Lita claims. "No matter what we do, we'll never be able to replicate her research into soul magic-not without breaking hundreds of laws and ethical considerations."

"Personal experience?" Remi questions.

"I saw her experiment on live bodies myself," Lita grimly says.

"How much do we have anyways?" I ask.

"From Madam Fron's ransacking, at least several thousand pages worth of research. And it looks like Lutzia has about that many," John replies.

"Eh, it could fall to worse hands I suppose," I say.

"Like the Dollmaker's, yes," Madam Fron intrudes, making an entry (luckily through the door). "We have good news for now. Irvine is giving fuck all to the Dollmaker. Our spies have surrounded her hideout."

"Are we storming it any time soon?" Remi asks with enthusiasm.

"It's one of the options, but our diplomats are attempting to negotiate. Utter bollocks, if you ask me, but I suppose it could buy us some time," Madam Fron answers. "We have to split up. The Dollmaker's position is disturbingly close to Ad Astra's base. John, Aelita, join our diplomats to negotiate a treaty with them. Remi, with me. We'll scout the base. Lita, Vio, an aerocopter has been arranged to carry you to the base."

"Okay, let's move!"

Lita lends me one of her spare blades. Yet before we can even get out of the hospital, the agent brings yet another message, this time in the form of a recorded orb. "From the Dollmaker."

"Let's listen to it."

"I know you don't intend to hand over those papers," a disturbingly charming voice says. "Well, I have another card to leverage. I'll let you know that I've begun training your dear little princess. She hasn't been broken ... yet." The short message ends.

"Not good," Madam Fron murmurs. "What does King Arthur have to say?"

"He intends to hand over tampered data. He allows you free rein to execute the plan."

"Excellent. Alright, everyone. We follow the initial plan, except for Remi. Remi, take the tampered documents as soon as it's finished. Alright, move your asses!"

Lita and I went to the airport. However, a crowd forms before us. "It's Violleta!" one of them shouts. They surround me faster than Lady Sakurako's teleportation can. 

"Hey, what the fuck?" I whisper.

"Uhh ... beating the demon king does grant you some sort of following."

"Sign my t-shirt, pleaseee!" says a man.

"For you to have this is our honor!" says another, shoving a small statue. 

"O-okay, okay, one by one please."