"Fire!" 1st Officer Pelmont commanded and the array of cannons behind him flew into action heaving back and bursting forth flames. When he had heard the offer given by Bethial he had scoffed. As the one who had been training the Hero for the past decade he knew how best to use the armour and the physical devastation it could cause across the battlefield. Truth be told when he heard of Jana's passing his heart had broken. The green haired girl was someone who shone and was the representation of what the Eternal Hero stood for. Her way of fighting and charisma reminded him of the stories told before the Eternal Hero vanished, back before they had to make these sacrifices. He had hoped that she would break the cycle and remain Hero for years to come. That wasn't what happened however and now he faced the next candidate. Although she had a gift for magic, her sense of battle was barely on par with the others. Even with her superior use of mana it would only grant her a small advantage or so he thought.
As the cannons fired the 1st Officer couldn't help but be curious. When the test began the girl stood firm without doubt and further still allowed Kyle to stand beside her on the field. With even one wrong movement to protect him he would be obliterated by the explosions. Yet her confidence did not waver and truly she looked like the Hero of old, ready for what was to come.
The first round exploded sending shockwaves across the room and throwing burnt smoke into the air. It looked like a direct hit but did it not end there as the second and third volley was fired. It was at the moment of the fourth that the 1st Officer realised something was wrong. The smoke hadn't faded and the amount of eruptions didn't match. His answer came just as he was about to call the command to cease fire.
In a rush the smoke cleared revealing the Hero standing having not moved an inch. Behind her the boy was unharmed but what surprised him more was the display that assaulted his eyes. As a soldier of the Hero's Guard he had done more than just fight demons and had gone out to apprehend criminals, some who were mighty magicians. The magic they used then seemed like child's play to what he saw now. Lances of ice pointed towards him ready to fire, a defensive array waiting to be used and even the shells he had fired, frozen in time and turned around to be used against him.
"Are we done here?" Lillia said through the Hero's voice.
His reaction surprised her as he clapped, a firm smirk on his face, "Magnificent. You truly went above and beyond my expectations as a Hero should, as the Eternal Hero would have."
"Then do I pass?" with a wave of her hand the magic faded and the spent shells landed to the ground harmlessly.
Officer Pelmont stood and paused before slowly nodding, "Yes you do." His eyes had passed by Bethial's who had given him a meaningful look. There were still many questions he had but if the Captain agreed then he would as well. "You're departure is set for tomorrow at noon. You may have free time till then so long as a member of the Hero's Guard stays besides you."
"Yes!" the cheer that echoed around the training ground did not suit the armoured figure but as she quickly ejected herself it didn't matter. Lillia's arms clung around Kyle who hadn't moved since the start. "We did it. We actually did it!"
The young man's legs finally gave way, "That was way scarier than I thought it'd be...."
Lillia held him up and tightened her hug, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! This would never have happened without you."
"Argh! Lillia too tight," Kyle twisted trying to hide his blush. "We don't have much time. Let's go back to the Garden and find Tai. I'll make sure the rest of today is a good one."
"Captain can we leave?" she let go and looked to him excitedly.
"You may, however Valandus will guide you," Bethial gestured to the driver. "The three of you aren't used to the city. Use him as you see fit and so long as you don't go overboard, consider the day on us."
The girl squirmed and clenched her hands before jumping up and heading towards the exit. Her hand held tightly against Kyle's, practically dragging him outside as Valandus quietly followed after them.
With the three gone all that was left were Reina and the two 1st Officers. Silently they made their way to clear up the mess in the room before finally sitting down besides each other in the shade.
"I saw something amazing today, but we both know there will be problems," Pelmont said with his hands clutched. "The Eternal Hero does not fight that way. She demonstrated great power but that power wasn't what the stories tell."
"And that's our problem," Bethial replied. "We kept to an ideal, one that has lasted the past 400 years. As important as that ideal is, I'd rather watch it fade away than make a sacrifice we could avoid. People change and so must the Hero as Eternal as he once was." The larger man looked up with a soft smile, "You saw her excitement. Lillia and the other children, as special as they may be, are still young. Even if it's small they should be given that option to live as they want."
Pelmont stroked his moustache, "The higher ups would rather see them as disposable weapons. The more freedom they have, the more complicated things become. You more than anyone knows this."
"I do and I stand by my words."
"So long as the world is safe," he relaxed into his seat. For a while the two just sat as Reina fetched some drinks. Pelmont looked at the selection and thinking about what had just happened went for the liquor.
Bethial smirked and did the same, "Reina it's still midday you shouldn't offer your superiors such a hard drink."
"Apologies sir but they were for me," she replied simply and took the last bottle for herself.
"Just don't tell the others," Pelmont chuckled and uncapped his drink with a satisfying hiss. As the strong flavour burnt down his throat he sighed relieved and set his drink down. "So how did you do it?"
"It wasn't me," the Captain answered.
"Then Reina?"
"Not her either."
"So Lillia made the breakthrough herself?
"Don't dodge around an answer you know Pelmont. It was Kyle who helped her," Bethial looked at him meaningfully.
"So the pretty boy is more than just publicity and care," he took another sip from his drink. "I thought he was meant to be a baker. Don't tell me he's secretly from the Elmori College."
"No, the boy can't even manipulate mana on the simplest level. He is no magician."
"Then how? I know Lillia had some talent with magic but even then she clearly was making use of the Hero's Armour some other way."
"That's the thing," the Captain's brow pulled together. "In that mess of information he was somehow able to pull out exactly what they needed. Given a month I'm not sure even Reina could do that. Old schematics of the armour that held information on different paths of manipulation that were perfect for Lillia to exploit, boosting her ability tenfold. Was it luck or something else?"
Pelmont looked at Reina, "You were supervising them?"
"Yes sir. There was nothing strange with his behaviour but his intellect was surprising compared to his origin. I am unable to say whether he even understood what he read but the few documents he gathered were of great use to Lillia." For a moment her usual poker face broke as she frowned, "It was absurd."
"Absurd indeed," Bethial agreed.
"So the boy just managed to help in the exact way for the best outcome by luck?" Pelmont couldn't help feel dubious.
"It would seem so. There are hundreds of books in storage compiling the information we know and though his efforts and Lillia's were extreme, they did not read them all. Yes many they found were dead ends but the amount that were useful was suspicious."
Pelmont gripped his drink tighter, "And you let him just take the girl away to the city?"
"Originally I didn't intend to have Valandus follow them. Kyle is harmless, or so I would like to believe. The pass few days has forced me to see him in a different light. The boy may have more hidden talents than I thought."
"He looked that way to me as well. If he were a spy, then he'd be either a terrible or amazing." He laughed, "Still a new path for the Hero. I can't say I dislike it."
"Neither can I."
"Then to the future," Pelmont gestured his bottle towards the other two.
"To the future. Long live the Hero." Three bottles clinked together as outside the targets of their concern prepared for something else entirely.