Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 188 - Return

"...What the hell happened to the capital while we were gone?"

Medrauta stared at the torn landscape of the empire's capital with haunted eyes that burned with both rage and anguish. In the center of it all was the enormous Spire that reached to the top of the sky and beyond, the sole culprit for all this destruction.

Familiar streets lay in ruins, the remains of once-cozy homes strewn across the tattered roads. Piles of stone and wood decorated the city, smashed together like desecrated mountains of corpses left to rot. The place that Medrauta had spent her squirehood in no longer existed. There was nothing left of the city where she spent sunlit days frolicking around on the streets with her friends. Nothing left of the city where she and Viviane shared their first date.

All that remained was dirt and rubble, a testament to the apocalyptic power that Amelia wielded without care or caution.

Just like Medrauta, Viviane stared at the ravaged capital with unbridled rage. Her delicate yet calloused hands balled into fists as she grit her teeth in frustration. When they left the capital, things had been chaotic. Kaslavna had launched their great attack at last and Amelia had just revealed herself to be a witch, kidnapping the imperial princess in the process. But at the very least, it had been intact.

Now, the place they once thought they could return to after everything was settled no longer existed.

Of course, they hadn't expected it to remain pristine and untouched. The existence of the Spire alone already prevented such wishful thinking. However, they never expected the entire city to be in ruins, completely devastated by Amelia's beasts.

"...Unforgivable." Viviane murmured, unable to hold back her anger.

Never before had she felt such a violent tempest of emotions whirl within her, but seeing the place where she had forged so many unforgettable memories be desecrated by someone who she had once thought of as a friend drove her rage to greater heights with each passing second.

"I'm going." Medrauta suddenly said, starting forward. "I'll wring that bitch's neck until it fucking breaks."

For a moment, Viviane genuinely considered following in Medrauta's footsteps. She wanted nothing more than to rush to the top of the Spire immediately and confront Amelia. She wanted answers and closure from the witch. She just couldn't understand why Amelia had gone to such lengths merely for the sake of sowing destruction.

After all, Amelia herself had spent so much time in the capital. She had her own friends and her own experiences. Viviane refused to believe all of that was false even if their friendship had never existed. She refused to believe even a witch could be so heartless as to discard everything that once made them smile. That was why she reached out and caught Medrauta by the wrist, stopping her knight from going any further.

"...Medrauta. As much as I want answers from Amelia, we should wait for Lady Scarlet to return." Viviane said. "Besides, weren't you looking forward to seeing Lady Rosaline and Dame Leticia again?"

Medrauta paused mid-step. Though her mind and body were still rife with rage, her beloved lady's touch managed to quell the burning anger within her chest long enough for her to regain control of her emotions. "...Yeah. You're right, Vivi."

Reluctantly, Medrauta sat herself down, gazing off into the distance. Though much of the scenery below was dominated by the capital's ruined buildings, the hill they rested upon afforded a rather expansive view of the city. Rising just on the outskirts of the capital proper, the hill was one that Medrauta was quite familiar with due to the scenic panorama it provided to those who stood upon it.

Oftentimes, many of her field tactics classes had been conducted atop this very same hill, a thought that haunted her mind as she continued gazing at the devastated state of the city she loved. Medrauta couldn't see it from where she stood, but she hoped the academy and its occupants were safe at the very least.