**Chapter 00:Crimson Flames and the Light of Determination**

The twilight sky was enveloped in flames.

With the castle gate razed to the ground,the flames have already spread to the surrounding town and encircled the castle itself,dying it red.

Having lived in idyllic peace for the longest time,the Kingdom of Rughzenhaide was now on the verge of utter collapse.

As for the soldiers who were to protect the country–some were burned to ash;others were cut down by malevolent black shadows that accompanied the flames.None of them able fulfill their duty to their country.

However,not all of the retainers were dead.

On the castle’s balcony overlooking the castle’s vicinity,stood a lone girl facing off against the assailants.

Her name:Ritona Reighnvhasta.

She was the last of the descendants of the Reighnvhastas,a family that has served the Rughzenhaide royalty as their Guardians.

Nearly 20 years of age,she had a tough,firm look to her.Her red eyes gleamed with determination.

Clad in a stately dress,her outfit was wrapped in a deep purple cloak that covers her entire body.

What drew the assailant’s attention first though,was the gleaming badge at the collar of her neck–a sign of her kravter’s rank.

“A dual…!”

The one facing against Ritona raised their voice in surprise.

To be considered a dualkravter,one has to have mastered manipulation of two of the four types of mana:pyro,aqua,terra,and aero.

For someone who was even yet to reach 20,to have achieved the title was a true feat.

The assailant looked to be taken aback–but only for a moment–and quickly regained a smirk of reassurance.

Her name was Koko.Younger than even Ritona,her appearance was that of a 12 or 13 year old.However,it was clear to anyone that she was no ordinary little girl.

Her body was covered in splashes of blood from the countless many that she had massacred on her way to the castle.

A little girl that smiled while bathed in freshly drawn blood could not possibly be an ordinary little girl.

“…What do you want?Why are you after Selphine?”

Her guard still up,Ritona kept an eye on the girl’s every single movement as she tried to dig out her true motives.

The child assailant’s target was most likely the girl under her protection:Princess Selphine.

Seeing her precise movements in the castle,it was clear that attack was planned from the very start.Considering the attack’s pinpoint timing,taking place just as the king was away,it wasn’t difficult to surmise that the princess was who they were after.

Ritona herself was already certain with her conjecture,but posed the question to the attacker regardless,hoping to draw out even the slightest bit more information from her.

“Huuhhh?”

Clearly displeased,Koko snapped back–

“Hah!Ahahahaha!I think you’ve got the wrong idea here!”

And laughed at Ritona.

“Listen here:this is a one-sided attack on you.It’s up to us whether you all live or die.Understand?Do you get what I’m saying?”

The town was still ablaze,the fires reaching into the castle.There were also countless intruders deep inside the castle.

Just as Koko said,this was indeed a one-sided attack.Given that she doesn’t have a full grasp of the enemy’s own forces,the possibility that she could repulse all attackers was close to nil.

Regardless,the light of determination in Ritona’s eyes did not fade.

Seeing Ritona’s expression,Koko sneered–but only for a moment–then quickly returned to a serious expression and continues:

“All you need to do is look us in the eye and answer our questions.Well,if you wanna die,that’s a different story.”

There was clear murderous intent in her voice the moment she said the word“die”.

Having understood the meaning behind those words,Ritona nodded and muttered“…I see”under her breath.

“Oh,judging by your clothes,you’re a servant here or something,aren’t you?Do you know where Selphine is?”

Koko reminded Ritona of their positions in this confrontation and provoked her further:

“C’mon,do you know?Or don’t you?”

Ritona remained silent.Koko provoked her further.

In response,Ritona slackened her expression and retorted,“…And what if I do?”

“For real?!Let’s make a deal!You tell me where she is,and I don’t murder you.”

“Oh hoh?And what if I say‘no’?”

Ritona attempted to get a read of Koko from her reaction.

“Oh,really.Well,if you don’t tell me,then I’ll kill you.I think that makes things a bit clearer,doesn’t it?”

“Hehehe!”Koko snickers,after threatening Ritona.

“…So that’s how it is.”

Ritona remained unfazed by Koko’s reaction.In fact,she smiled.

“…You’ve just been messing with me,haven’t you?Are you aware of the situation you’re in?Are you just so scared that you went crazy?”

After seeing Ritona unperturbed from their situation and unwilling to give into her threats,Koko still seemed composed,but began to show signs of irritation.

“I swear,you are pissing me off…Next time you give me a stupid answer,I’m going to murder you in front of Selphine.”

“That’s Princess,to you.”

“Huh?”

“That’s‘Princess’Selphine–you little wench.”

Though Ritona’s eyes were cool and collected,fury began to flare from her eyes.

“Kuh…!”

Feeling pressured from Ritona’s spirit,Koko faltered backwards without realizing.

“I don’t know what could possibly have inspired all of you to attack the royal family,but…to address the princess of a country without her title?Know your place.For you to do something so crude,that must mean whatever cause you’re fighting for isn’t worth its salt.”

“—Excuse me?!”

Koko’s eyebrows furled in anger.

“Words are pointless now–have at me.”

The fearless smile vanished from Koko’s face.

“Things would have gotten violent regardless–so why don’t I teach you the rules of this world?”

Ritona returned to her battle stance.

“…Were you even listening to me?Do you actually plan to fight me like this?Or what,you think you’re so hot just because you’re a dualkravter?Are you retarded?!You can’t possibly be this stupid,can you?!That title of yours means nothing outside of the Alliance!”

Koko gets into a tirade,clenching the staff in her hand.

“Come on!”

Meanwhile,Ritona replied curtly and gripped the sword in her hand.

Reflected on the blade are the twilight sky;the flames surrounding the castle;and Koko herself as they faced off.

“Wha—?!You,is–is that…G-Glass?!A glass sword?!Do you really plan on fighting me with that?!”

Just as Koko said,what Ritona held in her hand was a glass sword.

No matter how hard it may have been tempered,glass is still glass.

“That it is.What of it?”

“You’re nothing but a glassmith–an artisankravter–and you dare to fight me?!”

“Enough babbling.Have at me little girl–you’re nothing but talk.”

“I swear,you keep calling me a little girl…Quit treating me like a kid,you—!!”

Koko screamed with all her might.

Contrary to Ritona’s expectations however,she did not just charge right at her.

Why isn’t she approaching?Is she trying to buy time?

Ritona began to ponder why Koko hadn’t acted on impulse.Meanwhile,Koko—

“I don’t even know who you are,but we don’t have time to waste on an artisankravter like you!”

During her outburst,Koko struck the floor twice with the end of her staff.

The next moment,lines of light appeared beneath Ritona’s feet.

“Wha—?!”

The lines raced across the floor of the balcony,drawing the shape of a triangle.

“A ranged attack?!She isn’t a battlekravter?!”

Surrounded by the triangle of light,Ritona recalled the sensation of battle.

“I’m gonna kill you in one shot!Diiieeeee!”

Koko screamed at Ritona once again.

“Triangle Incineration!”

Right as Koko screamed,the light underneath Ritona’s feet pulsed brightly.

“Bless!”

There is a moment’s silence—

A torrent of crimson flames burst forth from the triangle under Ritona,creating a pillar of fire towards the sky.

The conflagration tore into the twilight sky,burning everything within its path to ashes.

With the sparks still floating in the air,the lone young assailant merely looked ahead into the blaze,a huge smile on her face.

**Chapter 01:The Extremity of Extravagance**

Just a few moments before the crimson flames enveloped Ritona—

In the midst of the sparks,Koko ran and ran.

All around her was the smell of fire;of burnt things,both living and otherwise.

Any normal girl no older than 12 or 13 would have just grimaced at the scene.Koko on the other hand,had an eerie grin on her face,her hair done into twintails swaying as she raced up the spiral staircase towards the Rughzenhaide Castle’s Sky Terrace.

“First…to the Sky Terrace!!”

She opened her eyes wide and gripped the staff in her hand.

Holding her breath,she surveyed the surroundings.

However,there wasn’t a soul around.

There’s…no one here?

For a moment,Koko is puzzled.

According to her companions’information,there were no soldiers on the Sky Terrace–she knew that much.

And indeed,there were no soldiers on the Sky Terrace.

However,the girl that Koko was looking for was here,there was no doubt about it.

"Path-down successor of the country of Rughzenhaide,Selphine Rughzenhaide!Show yourself!You know there's nowhere for you to hide now!"

Koko’s voice echoed through the deserted Sky Terrace.

There were no soldiers around,but Koko continued to keep her guard up.

Her numerous experiences on the field told her to do so.

With practiced and mechanical movements that contradicted her small frame and flashy outfit,Koko approached the center of the Sky Terrace.

She once again surveyed the area.There were of course no soldiers,but her objective,Selphine,wasn’t anywhere to be found either.

Is there really no one here…?

The doubt surfaced in the back of her mind.

Does that mean her team’s information was wrong?

Koko pondered the situation for a moment and used commkravte to contact her teammates,who were busy blocking off any reinforcements.

“Sian…Can you hear me?”

However,this“Sian”didn’t reply.

“Sian,if you can hear me,respond.”

Koko tried to page her again,but there was no answer.

“Damn!Still fighting…”

Koko spat out the words in frustration and looked around once more.

No matter how much she searched,she couldn’t find a trace of anyone anywhere.

“There’s no one here…”

She muttered to no one in particular and lowered her guard.

Koko relaxed and took a deep breath.Once more,she let her eyes wander around.

“Hm?”

Something caught her attention.

What Koko saw was a huge wooden dining table deep in the Terrace.

Further into the Terrace,there was an observation deck built to look out into the castle town below.The large table was placed on the deck as a form of decoration.

On it laid an elegant tablecloth.

Encircling it were heavy-looking chairs.

Various ornate decorations were here and there.

The entire set made for a work of art suitable for the magnificent terrace.

“Hmm…”

A thought crossed Koko’s mind–she stood up one of the fallen chairs and sits her small self down on it.

She looked down at the view–the castle town was now in a sorry state of affairs.

Rughzenhaide was the very epitome of peace.If everything weren’t surrounded in an inferno,anyone seeing it would have been able to see the resplendent townscape.

Her view from the head of the table was so majestic,she couldn’t even begin to imagine what it was like from her humble upbringing.

“Heheh…”

Seeing the scenery unfold before her,Koko laughed,then—

Thud!She slammed her feet down as she rested her legs against the table and leaned back against the chair.

Still reclined,Koko slowly closed her eyes and laughed“Ahaha”once more.

Experiencing firsthand the huge gap between this place and her own upbringing,she couldn’t hold her laughter back.

Whose seat was this?

Just what star would you have to be born under for you to be able to sit on a chair like this?

The answer was patently obvious:

It’s nobody’s.

Just like how this crumbling castle soon won’t be anyone else’s either.

“I bet it would be great to eat at a place like this…”

Koko spoke to herself and looked at the castle town below once more.

Beneath her laid not a beautiful townscape,but crumbling buildings and people trying to escape surrounded by crimson flames.

“Boy,what a sight.”

This conclusion was all wrought by the extremity of extravagance—

To Koko,she couldn’t have asked for a better spectacle.

“This is so…”

—Stupid.

Leaving with words of apathy,she stood up from the chair,then suddenly—

“Ah—”

Koko felt a presence behind her–she slowly turned around.

There stood a silver-haired girl who–just like her–was bathed in splatters of blood.

**Chapter 02:The Silver-haired Marie’shelle**

“Miss Marie'shelle…”

Koko turned around–she called the name of the silver-haired girl who stood before her.

The girl called Marie’shelle remained still,looking dazed.She raised her hand up,her palm facing Koko as if gesturing to her,“Yo.”

“Koko…Have fun?Sitting on chair?”

In broken phrases,Marie’shelle asked Koko,her partner.

“I-It’s…Not really,no…”

After Marie’shelle looked upon Koko with doubtful eyes,her words stammered off.

Contrary to Marie’shelle’s lax disposition,she quickly got behind Koko without much effort,despite Koko’s considerable experience.

Behind her lazy,vacant stare dwelt an unimaginable amount of power.

You’re as nonchalant as ever,Miss.

Though the thought flashed through her mind,Koko kept it to herself.

Marie’shelle.

Based on her appearance,she seemed to be around the same age as Koko.

Unlike Koko’s rough and tumble appearance,Marie’shelle’s charming,almost doll-like looks didn’t match the bloody battlefield.

However,the juxtaposition of the countless splatters of blood on her dress against her seemingly innocent figure made for a strange effect.

“I can’t believe how laid-back you are coming here,all things considered.”

So Koko mentioned to Marie’shelle.

Rushing past the soldiers crawling about,Koko had run to the Sky Terrace in a straight line.

On the other hand,Marie’shelle arrived at the Terrace leisurely,making sure to take each and every soldier out on the way.

As strong as Marie’shelle was,it exasperated Koko to see her being this complacent in the middle of enemy territory.

However,said girl in question was puzzled at the comment.She merely looked up–“Hmm?”–a question mark practically appearing above her.

“Why run…?I don’t know…”

“I mean,of course you’d run!Just walking around in this situation would be what’s weird!”

The castle smelled of smoke and blood.

Screams and explosions continued to ring throughout.

In such brutal circumstances,Marie’shelle simply stood still,paying absolutely no heed to what was going on.

“Already the end…Running…No point.”

“W-Well,I suppose that’s true…”

Koko lost all words,after hearing Marie’shelle’s simple response.

“…Not here?”

Not paying any attention to Koko,she jumped straight into looking for a certain someone—

Their target:

The Path-down successor of the Rughzenhaide Kingdom,Selphine Rughzenhaide.

However,Koko had already arrived at the Sky Terrace before her,and was unable to find anyone.

“Ah,yes,she isn’t here…Shang X'ei Ling–the information from her was accurate,right?”

As she detailed her progress,Koko doubted the veracity of the reports from her teammate,whom she more often referred to as“Sian”.

“Sian…Can trust her.”

Marie’shelle immediately shot her down.

“But—”

Koko tried once more,but Marie’shelle continued:

“Even if can’t trust,we follow.Sister’s ordas.”

“Ordas?”

For a moment,Koko couldn’t pick up what Marie’shelle just said.She quickly understood however,and corrected her–“It’s orders.”

“Orders.”

Marie’shelle repeated the word and raised her hand in the“Yo”pose again,as if saying“Don’t mind it.”

Such was one of her expressions in her very limited repertoire.

“Still,if they aren’t here in the Sky Terrace,then we’re in a bind…I’m pretty sure we didn’t let anyone slip…”

Having given up on verifying the information,she looked to Marie’shelle for instructions.

“Plan B.”

Marie’shelle gave her an immediate answer:

It was an order to execute Plan B,another course of action they had agreed upon prior to the Rughzenhaide Kingdom attack.

"A manual search?Ugh,what a pain...The sheer size of this place makes my head spin."

Koko scowled at the thought.

Seeing her expression,Marie’shelle snickered.

“Funny face…”

So she told Koko straight.

"Oh,leave me alone...Fine,plan B then.Let's stick to the plan and take one wing each–I'll be on the east wing."

Understanding that arguing would be pointless,Koko quickly agreed to go with Plan B and decided on their direction.

Marie’shelle said“Nod”as she nodded and stared fixedly back at Koko.

“What’s wrong?”

Said Koko.

“We search…Shadow soldiers,won’t dispel?”

“There’s just 150 of them,I’ll be fine.I’ve pretty much finished off the rear line defenses anyway,there won’t be anyone else hard to deal with.”

Koko smiled triumphantly.Marie’shelle once again looked back at her with doubt.

“…U-Um…What is it…?”

"Overconfidence...your biggest weakness..."

Though her voice was soft,her words carried weight.

“Everything so far went…Real good.Too good.Don’forget.”

“I-I understand…!”

Unconsciously,Koko stood straight as a rod.

“Nothing bad from…being careful.Tha’s all.”

Leaving with just those words,Marie’shelle departed the same way she came.

“G-Geez,that was surprising…She can get all serious sometimes…”

The changes that Marie’shelle showed would not have been perceptible to others.

She was terrible at expressing herself in words.

That couldn’t be helped,of course.

She had only recently learned words,after all.

However,it’s just that her vocabulary was wanting.It’s not that she can’t read the mood,or lacked intelligence.

Koko,who had partnered with her for some time,understood that.

**Chapter 03:An Extraordinary Existence**

Having the straight-faced Marie’shelle identify her shortcomings like that cornered Koko to the point where she stood stock still for a while.

Still half-dazed,she was only able to come to her senses after getting a message through commkravte from her teammate,Sian.

“Hello,hello.Koko,can you hear me?”

Shang X'ei Ling’s carefree voice rung in her head.

“…Hm?”

For a moment,Koko didn’t realize that the voice was commkravte–she mumbled in puzzlement.

But only for a moment.

She quickly understood the situation and answered Shang X'ei Ling back.

“Yeah,Sian…Mm.I can hear you.What’s going on there?Are you done fighting?”

“I’m done with the commits‘til the third floor!”

I’d expect no less from you.

So she thought,but kept that compliment to herself.

“Now no one can get into the castle–unless someone falls from the sky or something.”

Sian’s work left them nothing else to worry about,

All that was left was to make sure Plan B went off without a hitch,and to get ahold of Selphine,their main objective.

Koko cut her commkravte and began shifting to her next move.

“Hey,hey,listen to this!So like,the last two guys I killed?God they were so boring.Can you get any more anticlimactic?I could find more excitement in a siesta.”

Shang X'ei Ling didn’t seem to know of the virtue of silence as she kept a one-sided conversation.

Koko responded half-heartedly with interjections here and there–“Yeah”,“Uh huh”,and then muttered:

"All this coming from someone who personally said she'd just keep guard...?"

“But like…”

Interrupting Sian,Koko continued:

"Can't really complain if you didn't volunteer to head up to the front lines instead."

After her rejoinder,Sian remained quiet for some time.

“Hey,Sian,can you hear me?”

Thinking that the commkravte had been cut,Koko tried to contact Sian again,but it seems like that wasn’t the case.

“…So?What’s going on over there?”

Shang X’ei Ling’s reply had no connection,entirely disjoint from their previous conversation.

“Just gonna ignore me then…?”

Koko grumbled in irritation.

However,she quickly realized that there was no point in voicing her dissatisfaction.

Though normally cool and quiet,Sian doesn’t try to hide that she is a slacker;she’s full of herself,and only speaks whatever she wants to,whenever she wants to.

Such was Sian’s personality–one that Koko was quite familiar with.

Trying to forget her irritation,Koko tried to change the topic.

“Oh right!This place is completely deserted.Are you sure that the princess is here on the Sky Terrace?”

The information that the princess was on the terrace was from Shang X’ei Ling.

However,the princess in question was nowhere to be found.

Koko expressed her doubts to Sian herself.

“Huh?No,I’m sure of it.If she isn’t near the balcony,then try scanning the whole top floor.”

Shang X’ei Ling flatly rejected her claim–she was absolutely sure of her information.

And Miss Marie’shelle told me that I could count on Sian’s information too…

She clicked her tongue in frustration and protested whatever she could of the situation.

“Scanning is such a pain…It tires me out so much…”

Without paying any heed to Koko’s complaints,Shang X’ei Ling replied.

“You’re so lazy,for someone so young.”

She smirked at Koko.

"I don't wanna hear that from someone who volunteered to shore up our defense instead!"

Koko shouted,having played completely into Shang X’ei Ling’s hand.

“Look,enough whining.We need to get back to work.We’re already at the home stretch.”

“Oh shut it…”

Shut down by Shang X’ei Ling,Koko could do nothing but groan.

Though Koko didn’t like how she was being made to dance to Sian’s tune,even she knew that there was no point in arguing with her here.

“Geez,what a letdown this has all been~”

Regardless of whether she was being conscious of Koko,or that she had just wanted to rant,Sian suddenly changed the tone of her voice.

“Rughzenhaide is like,the strongest country in the Alliance.Is it supposed to fall this easily?”

So Koko responded to her.

“We planned this for so long,of course it’s going to work out…And even Miss Melano is involved in this.”

The moment Shang X’ei Ling mentioned the name“Miss Melano”,the conversation ground to a halt.

She breathed a deep sigh—

And forced the conversation back on its feet.

“…Well y’know,frankly speaking,it’s probably mainly thanks to the second reason.”

"What,you mean we all could've gotten this far without the help of the shadow soldiers?"

“No,that’s not what I…”

Even though the exchange was through commkravte,a question mark practically floated above Koko’s head.

“Considering Miss Melano...I bet she could probably take down an entire country or two."

Though it was true,she didn’t want to actually say it out loud.

“……”

Those words silenced Koko.

“If I had to describe her with a single word,it'd be‘cheater’.”

“You have a point there…”

Koko couldn’t help but agree.

To the two,this“Miss Melano”was just that great a figure to them.

“Aight,I’m gonna head back to the castle and work on the commits.Good luck with the search~!”

Changing her tone once again,Sian bid Koko farewell and immediately cut the commkravte.

“Miss Marie’Shell,and now Sian…I swear,does no one have any sense of tension here…?Even I’ve lost my drive.”

Ending their call,Koko cursed under her breath.Suddenly—

The situation takes a 180.

“—!”

When Koko realized,it was already too late.

“—!?”

Just as she heard the sharp slice of something cutting through the air—

“Wha—”

The tip of her staff fell to the floor with a loud thunk.

“—Eh?!”

Her staff was made of metal alloy–and yet its tip now rolled on the ground,felled by the clean slash of some blade.

With a focus on lightness,metal alloy formed the primary material of her staff.

Though it wasn’t forged to be a particular hardness,metal was metal.

It might dent when taking a direct hit from a sword,but it couldn’t possibly be cleaved in two so easily.

“Wh-What was that?!There’s…There’s something sticking out of the wall…?”

Just what was the blade that had cut through her staff?

After slicing the staff,it had flown straight into the wall.

“A transparent knife…?”

An ice knife?Or perhaps an illusory one formed by manakravte?

Either way,this signaled the presence of an unknown threat.

“W-Who are you?!Show yourself!”

Surprise colored her voice,as she shouted.From the shadows slowly appeared a young girl.

“Hmm…”

Koko gave her would-be assailant a once-over.

Before her stood a girl wearing a purple cloak–the Royal Guardian,protector of Princess Selphine:Ritona Reighnvhasta.