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FE4 Suzuki Novelization Translation (Gen II) - Chapter 5

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Chapter 5 - Black Knight Ares

In Leonster, located in the northern part of the Thracian Peninsula, Prince Leif, of the Leonsterian royal family’s bloodline, aided by the knight Finn, revolted against the empire. While he was able to recover his castle, Leonster, en route to attack the capital city, Munster, he suffered utter defeat at the hands of Bloom, the eldest son of House Freige, and his army.

Out of all of Leif's followers, only Finn, the troubadour Nanna, and a handful of soldiers made it back to Leonster castle.

Bloom's army, morale high from their victory, started marching towards Leonster. Leif took Finn's advice, gave up the castle, and fled for the border. They'd heard that Seliph's army had just conquered the Aed Shrine and was now marching towards the Thracian Peninsula, so their only hope was to join them.

The liberation army had indeed entered the Thracian Peninsula, but that didn't mean they would go to Leonster right away. Along the way was Melgen Castle, where Bloom's son Ishtor, and Ishtor's beloved, General Liza, were waiting for them.

The army at Melgen Castle was small, but their objective was to postpone the liberation army's arrival in Leonster, even if only just a little bit, so they fought to the very last soldier.

Both Ishtor and Liza were good people who opposed the empire's child hunts. Seliph had doubts about killing people like them.

"They obviously aren't bad people. But what they've done until now has supported the cruelty of the empire, making them guilty of the same sins as people like Arvis and Bloom. If they oppose us until the very end, we must fight and defeat them. That's what war is." Lewyn said to Seliph to help guide him.

The fall of Melgen Castle came as a huge shock to the Thracian Peninsula.

Bloom's armored infantry unit, his niece Tinny's mage unit, and the Sister Magi Squad　made up of Vampa, Fetra, and Eliu all started marching towards the liberation army.

And then, in the northwestern oasis town of Darna, Darna Castle's lord, Bramsel, ordered Javarro, leader of a cavalier mercenary group, to deploy.

This was done in an attempt to attack the liberation army from two sides at once.

Black Knight Ares decided to go visit his sweetheart, the dancer Lene, before leaving for battle. But when he asked about her at the inn, he was told that she'd been summoned by Bramsel, and had left for the castle.

'He's trying to deploy his subordinates, yet he's requesting a dancer. How carefree of him.' Ares thought, then headed towards the castle.

The main building's guards, perhaps surprised by how calm he was, didn't try to stop him.

There was one more reason why they didn’t stand in his way. Though Ares was currently a mercenary, he was also the son of King Eldigan of House Nordion. As a person born of noble blood, the way he carried himself overpowered them.

His father, Eldigan, had told King Chagall of the Dominion of Augustria to stop the war with Grannvale. However, Chagall disagreed with him, and had him executed for it.

After Sigurd killed Chagall, he passed Eldigan's Demon Sword Mystletainn down to Ares.

When the Dominion of Augustria fell, Ares was found and raised by Javarro. Though Ares knew his status, he accepted his fate as a mercenary.

He entered the reception room while Lene was in the middle of dancing for Bramsel and his men.

The contrast of her pale skin, easily visible through her thin clothes, and her bright green hair, created a strong impression. Her dance reminded him of the graceful movements of her body and the scent of her hair during the nights they’d spent together.

When her dance soon ended, Bramsel's eyes were clouded with lust.

"That dance was exceptional, Lene. C-Come here for your reward."

"I've already received my payment, so I don't need anything else, thank you. If you have business with me, then please come over here."

"Oh ho ho, your strong will makes you all the cuter. But, Lene, you must watch what you say. And do not raise your voice against me! Hey, one of you, seize her!"

"Yes sir!" One of the soldiers lunged at her.

"Wh-what are you doing!? Unhand me, you idiot!"

At the sound of Lene's scream, Ares rushed into the middle of the room. "Stop it, you pigs! Get your hands off her!"

"What!? How dare you?" Bramsel said, looking displeased. "You are nothing more than a lowly mercenary! Are you really going to oppose me!?"

"I won't allow anyone to lay a hand on Lene! Even the lord of this castle!"

"Wh-what!? C-Curse you! Hey, one of you! Kill him!"

At Bramsel's order, the soldiers all unsheathed their swords at once.

Ares' laugh was full of confidence as he slowly unsheathed Mystletainn, then raised it high above his head.

The sword emitted a strange light. Anyone could tell with just a single glance that it was no normal sword.

"Has this sword caught your interest? Once Demon Sword Mystletainn has been unsheathed, it craves human blood! Anyone who wishes to satisfy its hunger need not hold back! Come at me!"

The name seemed to have a magical effect on the soldiers. Their eyes were drawn to the sword, and none of them could move.

"D-Demon Sword Mystletainn? ...Y-You can't be…!?" Bramsel gasped.

"Oh, but I am! I am Black Knight Ares! Now, what will you do!?"

"I-I see. ...I'm so sorry, I was just joking. We won't lay a hand on her ever again, so please forgive us this time!"

"I will, so long as you understand what will happen if you do." Ares returned Mystletainn to its sheath. "Now let's go home, Lene."

Lene smiled and wrapped her hands around his left arm. "Thank you, Ares! I love you so much!"

As they left the castle, Ares explained that he would have to leave for battle soon.

The moment he did so, Lene's face darkened. "Awwww! But why? I'll be so lonely without you!"

“It's because I'm a mercenary. I have to fight to make money."

"I think it would be better if you quit!"

"What!? Don't say a foolish thing like that!"

"C'mon, don't go! Please? Can't I ask you for something, just this one time?"

"I owe it to Javarro. He took me in and raised me."

"He's just using you for your sword! Anyone would have figured that out right away, just by looking at him! I hate him!"

"But still, Lene…"

Anger flashed through her large eyes. "Fine! If you like him that much, then do whatever you want! I don't know what else to tell you!" She yelled, then let go of his arm and started running back towards the busiest part of town.

"Wait, Lene…!" He called out, but she refused to turn around, and was soon out of sight.

"Jeez, what is it with women!? If you don't do what they want, they get mad in an instant!" Ares grumbled and headed for the place he was told to gather outside the castle.

Lene stopped once she'd returned to town and turned a corner, hoping to see that her boyfriend had chased after her.

However, he never showed up. Finally, she got impatient, and tried to go back after him, but someone suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder from behind.

"Oh, Ares, you rasca..." She started to say, but her words were cut short when she turned around and came face-to-face with a bearded soldier.

"Lord Bramsel has summoned you once again. Come with us quietly, or else."

Lene panicked and looked around for Ares, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Lene was taken back to Bramsel.

"You embarrassed me greatly, girl. Now that the boy is gone, it's my turn to embarrass you. Much more than you did to me."

"What are you doing? The moment Ares disappeared, you forced me here! You're as mean as always, Bramsel, but I won't let you do whatever you want!"

"Well, we'll see about that. Do you think you'd be able to resist forever once we hurt you? First, you'll dance for us naked. Then, you'll comfort all of us until we are satisfied. The battle is about to begin, so we have to leave now, but afterwards, that is exactly what we are going to do.

"Someone throw this girl into the dungeon!"

Her screams fell on deaf ears as she was taken away.

The next morning, as the cavalry unit was lining up for battle in front of the castle, Javarro approached Ares.

"Ares, how could a man like you fall for a girl like her?"

"..."

"Well, what's done is done, so forget about it."

"'What's done is done?' Javarro, what is that supposed to mean!?"

"Muah ha ha… Bramsel's probably having his way with her as we speak…"

"N-No way… Javarro! You knew, and didn't tell me!?"

'Lene's been kidnapped by that damn Bramsel…!' He thought, his brow furrowing with anger. It was in that moment that he realized just how much he loved her.

"Girls should be for fun, and nothing else. Especially a dancer. She doesn't suit someone of your status…"

'I did just think I was having fun with her at first. But then I really fell for her. That happens sometimes, too. But he would never know what that is like. He only cares about those who will give him money.'

"I was wrong about you, Javarro." Ares yelled. "I'm returning to the castle to take her back!"

"Don't be stupid! I won't let you! I won't show mercy to anyone who disobeys my orders. Not even you, Ares."

"Dammit!" Ares looked at Darna Castle, where he knew Lene should be.

'Even if I do have Mystletainn, that doesn't mean I can take on the whole mercenary unit myself.' He thought. Plus, the castle looked so far away.

"You took me in, Javarro. But that's all over now."

"What are you going to do?"

"Whatever I want. Those who stand in my way will have to face Mystletainn." He threatened before unsheathing the sword and ordering his horse to start galloping.

'I'll treat anyone who follows me to a bloodbath.' He thought, but no one did. 'Since things have come to this, I'll join up with the liberation army and conquer Darna Castle. I have business with Seliph anyway.'

His horse continued until evening, when he saw an army coming his way. He was sure they were the liberation army. However, they were much larger than he had anticipated.

The day before, the liberation army had held a meeting at Melgen Castle about how to handle the fact that enemies were coming at them from two directions at once.

Their key information came from Fee's report.

Bloom's unit, marching in from the east, was made up entirely of infantry. There was a forest and some other natural obstacles in their way, so it would take them four days to reach the border, and it would take them another day on top of that to get to Melgen Castle.

On the other hand, the enemies coming from Darna Castle to the north were all calvary.

"Oifey, you taught me that the ironclad rule of tactics is to never, ever split your army in two. So what are we supposed to do in a situation like this?" Seliph asked.

"Splitting into two is certainly the worst strategy of all. But if the situation calls for it, both forces cannot be used for offense. Only the main force should be. The other should be for sufficient defense. In our current situation, it will take five days for the enemies coming from the east to reach here, meaning we don't need a defense unit until then. We'll probably have more than enough time to send everyone north, defeat the army from Darna, then return. Plus, our entering Melgen Castle seems to have interrupted the attack on Prince Leif. I know we want to rendezvous with Prince Leif as quickly as possible, but first, I think we should prioritize taking out the threat from the north."

And so, the entire liberation army started marching north.

While they were setting up camp, a knight wearing black armor visited Seliph’s tent.

"Are you Seliph?" The black knight asked and glared at him.

"Yes, I am. And who are you?"

"I am Black Knight Ares, though you probably know me as Eldigan's son."

"Whoa, really…!? The King Eldigan of Nordion!?"

"Yes, that's right, my father is Eldigan, the man your father killed! My mother carried her grudge against Sigurd to her grave. Do you understand how much she suffered!?"

"I'm sorry to hear that… But our fathers were friends! They met an unfortunate end, but they didn't hate each other or anything like that!"

"That's nonsense. Sigurd is my father's murderer. That's what I've always believed. That's why I came here, to decide what to do based on your response.”

"Please wait!" Diarmuid cut in. "If you're King Eldigan's son, then you must be my cousin! My mother is his sister, Lachesis.”

"Really? What do you want me to say? 'Oh, what a coincidence?'"

"My mother told me that King Eldigan and Prince Sigurd did fight, but she stepped between them, and Eldigan agreed to her requests, withdrawing his soldiers. He then returned to the castle and pleaded with King Chagall to end the war. Instead, Chagall betrayed him and killed him."

"I heard that, too! My father, Sigurd, might have been connected to your father's death, but at the very least, he is not his murderer."

"So that's the real story? Alright then. I'll assume it's true for now, but if I find out you two lied to me, then you better be prepared. I'll take my revenge out on you, since I can't take it out on Sigurd."

"If that time were to come, then you're allowed to do as you wish. But, Ares, I think the fact that our paths crossed would make your father happier than anything else in the world. I can't help but feel that way."

"I'll see what happens before I agree with you on that. For the time being, I'll fight with you, because I have business at Darna Castle. Tomorrow, you will witness the power of my Demon Sword Mystletainn."

The battle began in the afternoon.

As the mercenary unit came into view, Shanan said, "Draw them to us! Battle is the same as swordplay. “If you cut your enemy’s flesh, then you must cut your skin. If you cut your enemy’s bone, then you must cut your flesh.” When the first wave of enemies comes to clash with us, counterattack after they have lost that momentum. We will take a bit of damage during the first wave, but when you look at the big picture, this is the best way to minimize the overall damage done to us.”

The battle began exactly as Shannan had suggested.

The first wave clashed with Shannan, Oifey, Iuchar, Ares, and the soldiers they were leading. Then, when the enemy slowed down, everyone rushed in to counterattack.

Shannan and Ares in particular, wielding their Holy Weapons, fought remarkably. In one-on-one combat, no one stood a chance against Balmung nor Mystletainn. They cut through the enemies' armor like paper.

Once it was clear the liberation army would win, Ares headed straight into the enemy's formation to search for Javarro.

Javarro was standing in the very back.

When he saw Ares galloping towards him, he shouted, "Ares, you ungrateful brat! Did you really think I'd just let you go!?"

"You disgust me! Now die!" Ares repelled Javarro's sword with Mystletainn, then swung the Demon Sword down.

"D-Damn you!!" Disbelief flooded Javarro's face, and he fell from his horse.

'Finally, Darna Castle.'

The cavaliers went along with Ares. The slower soldiers appeared to not be included in the attack on Darna Castle, and were instead returning to Melgen Castle.

'Please be safe, Lene. No matter what they did to you, please, just be safe.'

Ares took out the enemy soldiers guarding the front of the castle, then rushed straight through the castle gate. 'First, I need to find Bramsel.'

He dismounted his horse in front of the main building and ran inside.

He immediately found his target.

He rushed up to Bramsel, and brought down Mystletainn.

Though he was seriously wounded, Bramsel attacked back.

Ares blocked the attack with Mystletainn and shouted, "This is for Lene!"

The Demon Sword sliced Bramsel's armor in two.

"Lene! Where is she!?" Ares grabbed an enemy soldier by the throat and asked.

The man told him the location of the dungeon.

"Lene! Lene, where are you!?" He screamed the moment he reached the bottom of the dungeon stairs.

"I'm in here, Ares!"

He thrust his sword in the guard's face, threatening the man to open Lene's cell.

"Oh, Ares!" Lene jumped into his arms.

"Are you okay, Lene?"

"Yeah, I am. You came back for me, Ares!"

"I'm sorry. I was really stupid. I didn't listen to you, and… you had to go through all of this..."

"It's all okay now, because you came back! Though I always believed that you would save me."

"I'll never yell at you like that ever again…"

"And I won't get angry like that ever again, so don't run off on me ever again…"

With Darna freed, the cavalry unit traveled south, towards their next battle.

Behind everyone else was Ares and Lene, staring into each other's eyes...

Lene walked as if she was dancing.

'No, she doesn't look like she is dancing, she is dancing. For me, and me alone.'

Ares matched her pace, and stared deep into her eyes...

They slowly got further and further away from the group.

'Forgive me, Seliph. Tomorrow, I'll dedicate Mystletainn to you once more. But today is for Lene and me. Just the two of us.'

Lene danced, and Ares matched her pace, and Lene danced, and Ares...

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