NOVEL WEB chapter 81 - Dawn of the Aishus Army
If Anima were to recall the brightest time of her life, it would be when she was still a child. It was the period she spent at the Fiviora Academy with her dearest childhood friend.
"Yuri!"
"Anima, you're here. How was your day?"
"Well, academy life is always the same."
Yuri had already become quite a celebrity among her peers. The Fiviora Academy, one of the top three prestigious academies in the Aingart Empire. Yuri, a talented genius, was already a prominent figure at this renowned academy. The only daughter of the noble Aishus family, she treated Anima, despite her humble status, with respect and without any discrimination.
And in comparison to Anima, who was just a military officer with basic sword skills, Yuri was a true polymath. For Anima, being Yuri's childhood friend was a great source of pride.
"Yuri, your skills have improved again."
"Thank you, Instructor Epinnel."
Epinnel Rosenkross, a young instructor at the academy, had always kept a close eye on Yuri.
"How about it, would you like to learn more about martial arts? People say you're destined to become the Empire's next great statesman, but I think you also have excellent athletic potential."
"Thank you for the offer, but I'm not confident in my physical abilities."
"Is that so? I still think it's a bit of false modesty... Well, if you ever change your mind, I'll support you, just say the word."
"Yes!"
Then one day, news of the Emperor’s sudden and suspicious death spread. Having passed away without naming a successor, the whole nation was thrown into turmoil.
And soon after, a shocking report reached Fiviora Academy.
"Apparently, Orlando Brans, once the closest aide to His Majesty the Emperor, has rebelled at Annel Castle?"
"What? A rebellion? Why would he do that? Does he want to die?"
When it was announced that Orlando Brans, who had held near second-in-command power in the Empire, had raised a rebellion, the academy was thrown into even greater chaos. However, at the time, everyone believed it was just a passing spark. No one realized that it was the beginning of the end.
After all, even though the Emperor hadn't named a successor, surely the eldest son, Algott von Aingart, would take charge and quickly restore order, right?
However, the news that came in wasn't of Algott's ascension to the throne, but of something else entirely.
News of the South's Ohana Army mobilizing.
News of the West's Walnut Army mobilizing.
One by one, people holding important positions in the Empire began declaring themselves lords and raising their own kingdoms in various parts of the continent.
The beginning of chaos.
The Aingart Empire, once united, began to fracture uncontrollably.
The flames of chaos had already spread to Fiviora Academy. An unidentified Imperial force attacked the academy, fully armed.
There were rumors that the Academy's dean was a supporter of Algott von Aingart, and that one of his siblings might have orchestrated the attack, but neither Anima nor Yuri, merely students at the academy, could know the truth.
No matter how talented the students were, or how many instructors were present, they could not possibly stand against the trained Imperial army. It was a one-sided massacre. The Imperial troops began slaughtering everyone, regardless of gender or status, who was registered at the academy.
"Yuri! You need to run!"
"But... I still haven't found Seira!"
"There's no time! We need to escape now!"
At that moment, an Imperial soldier, wearing full armor, began advancing toward them.
"Damn...!"
With no clear escape route, Anima made a desperate decision.
"Stay back!"
Despite Yuri’s shout, the soldier said nothing. His face was hidden behind a blood-stained helmet, and not even his expression could be seen.
Anima gripped her sword tightly and started looking around, hoping to find an escape route for them. Even if they fought two-on-one, they wouldn’t be able to defeat the soldier. Objectively, neither of them was an expert in combat.
I need to make sure Yuri can escape, at least!
As she thought this, she tightened her grip on her sword.
In that moment, the soldier’s blade moved with terrifying speed, and they were quickly overwhelmed.
"Ah!"
Before they could even exchange proper blows, Yuri’s weapon flew from her hands.
"…!!!"
The soldier raised his sword high, and the shadow of death loomed in Yuri’s eyes.
"Yuri!!!"
Without thinking, Anima threw herself in the way.
After that, Anima had no idea what happened.
"Ugh…?"
When she regained consciousness, her vision was fading rapidly, and an unimaginable pain surged through her body.
"Anima…! No, Anima, no…!!!!"
Yuri was holding her, crying. And, standing nearby, watching over them, was Instructor Epinnel.
"Epinnel… Instructor?"
"Anima! Are you awake?!"
Ah.
Right.
I threw myself in front of Yuri, and not long after... Instructor Epinnel had delivered a deep wound to the soldier’s abdomen.
Before that happened, though…
Ughhhh…!!!
More pain surged as she slowly turned her head.
Her right arm.
The arm that should have been holding her sword…
Was gone.
No, to be more precise...
A dismembered arm lay some distance away.
"…!!!!!"
After realizing that, well...
To be honest, I can’t quite remember what I was thinking at that moment.
There are only fragmented scenes that come to mind.
"First, let’s find a safe place to hide! We’ll have the medicine to treat you there."
It was when Instructor Epinnel briefly hid us in the academy’s underground basement.
There, we administered some basic first aid, and somehow managed to survive without dying.
"Ugh... Anima, I'm sorry. Because of me... because of me."
"Yuri..."
At first, when I lost my arm, I was honestly thinking about what to do next.
But, if it meant Yuri could survive, honestly, I could live with that.
"Anima. I’m sorry. The only thing I could do for you was this much..."
"It’s alright, Instructor. Thanks to you, I’m still alive. Thank you."
After spending some time there,
We stepped outside when things had quieted down. What we saw when we emerged was—
'...Oh my god.'
Countless corpses of the academy's instructors and students.
The sight of those bodies piled up like a mountain, a scene that could only be described as a hellish nightmare.
"Damn those Eingart bastards... What the hell is going on?!"
Epinnel, filled with rage, cursed aloud, but nothing changed.
Whatever happened, this place, the Fibiola Academy, had become a target and had been marked for destruction.
"Ugh... my friends..."
Yuri kneeled and cried out for a long time.
There were no survivors.
We spent a long time in shock, surrounded by the dead.
Then, at that moment...
"Yuri-sama!"
From a distance, a man and a woman approached us.
"Emma... Hernandorf...!"
"It’s really you, Yuri..."
Emma and Hernandorf.
Anima recognized them too.
They must be retainers serving under the Aishus family.
"What happened? What about my house? My father... my mother?"
"…"
At Yuri's question, Emma and Hernandorf lowered their heads without responding.
She must have realized what their silence meant, as she collapsed to the ground, her face drained of color.
"…Ah... ah."
Just like that—
Anima and Yuri lost everything in an instant.
The peaceful life they had taken for granted, the results of their hard work, the simple joys of an ordinary life.
All of it was swept away by the Empire’s flames.
The days that followed.
"Yuri."
"Anima... ugh, sob."
Every time she looked at Anima, Yuri only had a sad expression and teared up.
Perhaps it was because of the guilt over her lost arm.
Or maybe it was because of the pity she felt for herself—having done nothing, simply being swept along by the course of history.
She couldn’t do anything, so she had to rely on Emma and Hernandorf just to cling to life.
But as for Anima—
She was of the mindset that they couldn’t go on like this.
The Aishus family had taken a blow near to destruction, but at least Yuri, their heir, was still alive, and two of their retainers had survived.
Though almost everyone at the academy had died, there were still three survivors: herself, Instructor Epinnel, and Yuri.
Five survivors.
They had to survive and take revenge on the Empire.
In an era where feudal lords were rising up all over the continent, they had Yuri, the rightful heir of the Aishus family.
If others were doing it, there was no reason they couldn’t!
"Yuri."
"…"
"Snap out of it, Yuri!"
Anima grabbed Yuri by the collar with her left hand.
"How long are you going to keep this up?!"
"But... but, Anima... because of me... because of me..."
She stammered, tears flowing.
"If you really feel sorry for me, don’t sit here moping—move forward."
"...Huh?"
"Build a nation. With your own hands."
When Yuri heard those words, her eyes went wide with shock.
Anima didn’t look away from her trembling eyes.
She kept gazing into them, projecting all the desires she had lived with and the hunger she felt now into those two eyes.
"The Eingart Empire is already finished. You saw how all those lords fought among themselves, right? A new era is beginning."
"I... I..."
"Yuri. We can do it. No, to be more precise..."
Anima recalled the past.
The days spent comfortably at the academy.
Now, it was time to wake up from that irretrievable fantasy.
"You can do it."
"Me...?"
"And."
I’ll be your wings.
At that moment,
Anima Ingram decided, with all certainty,
to entrust her fate to the friend in front of her.
***
Now, as Anima reminisced about those memories, which had become a thing of the past,
It felt as though that moment was right in front of her, vivid and clear.
"Yuri. Epinnel. Emma. Hernandorf. And me... The five of us. From that moment on, we became blood brothers, transcending age and status, engraving the name of Aishus into our hearts."
That was the dawn of the Aishus Army.