An Unborn Hero

"I can't believe she chopped Rose's hands off," thought Mystery, as she watched Grace trying to repair the damage. "That's some serious badassery, but really not proper magical girl behaviour. Not that I know what proper magical girl behaviour should have been in that situation. Probably some spiel from Grace about how she would never leave Rose, the power of friendship would blossom and she'd find herself with unimaginable strength and tear Rose straight out of the wall."

Thankfully, they'd been able to snap the chain between her ankles without chopping her feet off too. The manacles were still clamped onto her, and it was disappointing [Magical Girl Transformation] hadn't removed them like it did clothes, but such was the nature of the spell. Thankfully, they weren't getting in the way.

"I wonder what would happen with other things?" pondered Mystery. "They keep their enchanted items, but not unenchanted jewellery. Why does the enchantment make a difference? But Rose's manacles weren't enchanted, so why did they get left? Was it because they were theoretically irremovable, in which case what would happen if her shoes were padlocked on or something?"

While Mystery pondered completely irrelevant spell details, Rrillandral was informing her father of recent events, and Hayedalf was doing something complicated and magical with a handful of monster bits he'd grabbed on the way out of their prison, trying to replace a couple of their stolen accessories. Kellela kept a careful watch on their surroundings, well aware that with Mystery around, hiding from the demons was pointless. The demons certainly knew of their escape and their current location. It was only a matter of time until they organised a response.

"What now?" asked Rrillandral, having finished her conversation with the elven king.

"Why are you asking us?" asked Kellela. "What do you think we should do?"

"I... do not think you should listen to my opinion. My plans are coloured by information that is obviously incorrect. I risk leading us into another trap. Making decisions based on no information would be preferable to decisions based on wrong information."

"You're still the most knowledgeable of any of us. You must have some thoughts."

Rrillandral sighed. "Very well. I believe we have a small amount of breathing room thanks not only to Grace, but also myself. The demons now know that I can cast [Meteor Storm], and am prepared to use it if pushed to the point at which a loss seems certain. They can also guess—given how many of them my first cast killed—that the skill has levelled significantly. That will put them off another group attack."

"How does she know how many she killed?" wondered Mystery.

"Did it level?" asked Rose. "If so, can you cast it and then we run away?"

"It jumped straight to level 10, and I earned an epic achievement for casting it and surviving. The wording of the achievement and the level up messages make it exceedingly unlikely that I would survive a second cast."

"Ah, that would be how. The level up message must have said 'for killing dozens of demons' or something," thought Mystery to herself as the girls kept talking.

"Pity. It would be nice if you could cast it and blow the entire forest up, and we just teleport away before it hits."

"I could build us a teleporter, if you find me the materials," suggested Hayedalf.

"That's... actually tempting," said Rrillandral. "I could arrange with Father to leave the materials on the forest's edge?"

"Okay, so that's option one," nodded Hayedalf. "We run to the border, pick up the materials, build an endpoint there, run back, build a teleporter, blast the forest, teleport to safety, run back again and clean up whatever is left."

"Sounds like a lot of running," pointed out Grace.

"Option two; Mystery tracks the egg of the demon lord, and we charge in and destroy it. My previous experience with demons is that most will simply let us destroy it rather than attempt to defend it if they know the outcome will be me casting [Meteor Storm] and the egg getting destroyed anyway, but based on recent experience... We should not rely on that expectation."

"Quicker and less running around. Potentially a greater chance of the demons getting desperate and throwing everything they have at us. Good chance of ending in mutual annihilation," summarised Grace.

"Mystery? Are you listening? Can you locate the egg?"

"... That way..." she answered, firing a small [Fireball] in a direction that the forest's ambient miasma seemed to be flowing from.

ding

For lighting the way, [Fireball] advances to level 7. Have you ever once used that spell for its intended purpose?

"I can't think of a better purpose than erasing kraken from the world," thought Mystery.

"How far?" asked Rose.

"... Don't know..."

"We are currently a half hour's brisk walk from the clearing. I wouldn't expect them to have moved the egg far, so it should be no more than an hour away, but..."

"Yes, we know. Don't rely on your expectations," sighed Rose.

"We should attack the egg now," declared Kellela resolutely. "It's a multiple day trip to the forest's border. That gives the demons too much time to plan, and the monsters too much time to respawn."

"I agree," nodded Hayedalf.

"Me too," said Rose.

Grace nodded.

"... And me..." added Mystery.

Rrillandral remained silent, still second guessing herself.

"Then the moment Rose is healed, everyone is back at full mana, and Hayedalf has finished his work, we move."

There came another round of nods.

"Speaking of Rose, that was... an interesting solution," commented Rrillandral.

Rose perked up, considering that high praise from the elf, who valued novelty and interest above all else.

"I only wanted to slap her, not maim her..." muttered Grace.

"Huh?!" exclaimed Rose.

Grace blushed heavily, not having intended to say that out loud. As her old habits broke down, the control [Etiquette] exerted over her behaviour was slipping further and further. "Sorry... I didn't mean..."

"You two have the most interesting relationship," commented Rrillandral, at which Rose frowned, somehow unable to consider that as praise despite the use of the exact same adjective. "I admit I have no idea if you are close friends or irredeemable enemies."

"Can't we be both?" asked Grace.

"Huh?!" exclaimed Rose again.

"... No. I am reasonably sure that's not an option," said Rrillandral.

"Leave them be. Grace is on a journey of self-discovery. She needs to work it out for herself," said Kellela.

"I'm pretty sure we're friends?" said Rose, but with an inflection at the end that made it sound more of a question.

Grace giggled.

"Like I said, interesting," repeated Rrillandral. "How long will the healing take?"

"Another hour."

"We shouldn't sit still for that long. It gives them too much time to surround us, or tunnel underneath."

"Every ten minutes, we move in a random direction, in the vague direction of the egg but not directly towards it."

Once again, everyone agreed, and so their plans were laid.

"Huh. That's interesting," declared Grace, as Aster Blue's fingerless gloves grew back along with Rose's regrowing hands.

"Does that not normally happen?"

"No. You can't 'heal' clothing. It needs to be mended or repaired. For healing to work, it would need to have memory of some sort, or ingrained knowledge of what its perfect form is supposed to be."

"As I have mentioned before, the costume is a vital part of what makes up each variant," pointed out Rrillandral. "To change the costume is to no longer be Aster Blue. Therefore, the effects of healing magic are not particularly surprising."

Mystery pondered. She was fairly sure that wasn't supposed to be how it worked, but given the weird ways magical girl logic interacted with traditional magic, she could see it making some amount of sense.

The party's work continued in silence for a few minutes more until it came time to move. They set off in a direction a small angle away from the miasma source, continued with the healing and resting, then moved again. Thankfully, Rose's healing progressed more quickly than expected, both her and Grace levelling under the desperate situation.

"Grace?" called Rose, having spent a few minutes deep in thought as they walked. "I know there's no way I'd ever fit in high society, but I was thinking, if one of your maids happened to try on a dress or two, maybe eat your leftover posh sandwiches, would anyone ever notice?"

Now it was Grace's turn to utter, "Huh?!"

"Just a random thought I had. Your maids seem to have a few of the advantages of being royalty without any of the disadvantages."

"What happened to wanting to be the world's greatest adventurer? And they aren't my maids. They work in the castle."

"I've definitely never said 'world's greatest'. And in case you haven't been counting, I've almost died three times in the past month and a half. I'm starting to suspect I'm not really any good at this adventuring thing..."

"... Iron ranked..." pointed out Mystery reassuringly. "... Demons... Dragons..."

Rose giggled.

"I honestly have no idea if you're joking," sighed Grace.

"... Stop...!" called Mystery, and as one, the party came to a halt, arranging themselves into a closed circle in a single practised movement. "... Grace... Purify...!"

ding

For spotting a hidden opponent, [Soul's Eye] advances to level 43.

Grace fired a purification wave, and a scream echoed from their side. A demon, hidden behind a withered tree, toppled over sideways, his burnt flesh smoking. Not taking any risks, Rose threw a sword at it, the blade piercing through the head and into the barren soil beneath. It didn't even twitch.

"Just the one?" asked Grace.

"... I see... no more..."

"A lesser demon. An imp, like the one that first attacked Rose," commented Hayedalf.

"Why would he attack on his own? He must know he wasn't a threat."

"Who knows? Let's keep moving."

They managed less than a minute before another demon attacked, this one not trying to hide, but charging at them straight on. Again, it fell in a single cast of Grace's purification wave. Another minute, and a third came, then a fourth and fifth.

"Why are they attacking one at a time? What's the point?" asked Rose.

"It seems that they are reverting to their old, self-defeating ways," replied Rrillandral. "This is what I would expect from them."

"Don't be so sure..." commented Hayedalf. "This could be an effort to deplete Grace's mana. She's already recovered less than the rest of us thanks to needing to heal Rose."

Rrillandral frowned as she considered that. "This is why I don't trust my thinking," she muttered. "It is true that only lesser demons have attacked thus far, and they have come one by one with exceedingly short breaks between attacks. Possibly they were driven to act by their stronger brethren."

"Rose? Can you take over for a bit? Fight them without Grace's purification."

Rose nodded, her hands having recovered sufficiently to grasp a sword. She slayed the next demon easily, his chitin not providing protection against the growing might of her blades.

Demon number seven turned out to be Xry'kl, and he did not look happy to be there.

Hayedalf threw a handful of enchanted soil at the flying demon. He rolled, a hard flap of his wings shifting him out of the way. He likewise dodged Rose's strikes as he soared over her head. However, instead of heading for Kellela, he targeted Grace, diving straight at her with claws outstretched.

Grace responded in the obvious manner, bursting with white light. Xry'kl screamed as his flesh cooked from the inside, but the greater demon survived the strike. Despite clinging to life, Grace's assault had burnt gaping holes in his wings, leaving him unable to control his flight. Carried only by his momentum, he slammed into one of Kellela's barriers, which cracked but did not shatter, then dropped to the ground, stunned. Rrillandral quickly bound him there with her vines, and Rose ran a rapier through the back of his head before he could free himself and get back to his feet.

"That confirms it," sighed Hayedalf. "The moment Grace stopped consuming her mana, a stronger demon turned up and attacked her directly. They're still trying to take Kellela alive, but apparently they've decided to take out her protection first."

Mystery (Human)

Age: -9 months

Occupation: Hero (L)

Skills:

- Soul's Eye (U) (43/100)

>> Sense Vitality (U)

>> Sense Soul (R)

>> Sense Mana (U)

>> Sense Light (C)

>> Sense Sound (C)

>> Pierce Illusions (U)

>> Sense Miasma (R)

>> Multi-focal (R)

>> Sense Spirit (R)

- Astral Projection (U) (26/60)

>> Sure Navigation (U)

>> Uncontainable (U)

>> Tether of Will (L)

- Robust (C) (30/50)

>> Hardened Soul (R)

>> Secured Mana (U)

>> Pain Tolerance (C)

>> Strengthened Will (U)

- Stealth (C) (3/20)

>> Camouflage Vitality (R)

- Magical Girl Transformation (R) (26/30)

>> Age Correction (R)

>> Gender Bending (R)

- Light (C) (12/20)

>> Heterochrome (U)

- Increased Attributes (C) (11/20)

>> Mana Storage (U)

- Investigation (C) (6/10)

- Cosplay (U) (12/20)

>> Skit (U)

- Mana Absorption (U) (13/30)

>> Drain Mana (U)

>> Conduit (U)

- Translate (U) (10/20)

>> Two Way (U)

- Telepathy (U) (18/40)

>> Reciprocity (U)

>> Empathy (U)

>> Guarded Mind (U)

- Lightning Bolt (U) (8/30)

>> Multishot (U)

>> Continuous Discharge (U)

- Fireball (U) (7/20)

>> Multishot (U)

- Wall of Light (U) (1/10)

- Energy Resistance (U) (7/10)

- Recharge (U) (3/10)

Achievements:

- Early Bloomer II (R)

- First Skill (C)

- Adept (U)

- Survivor of Zarklaxxos, the Arcane Infernal (R)

- I Broke The System, And All I Got Was This Lousy Achievement (E)

- Astral Explorer II (E)

- First Spell (C)

- I Broke The System Again, And Now The Administrators Hate Me (E)

- Famous Spell Forger (E)

- Demon Slayer III (E)

- Monster Slayer VI (E)

- Curiosity (U)

- War Veteran (U)

- Royal Audience (C)

- Diligent Hero (L)

- Studious (C)

- Pioneering Guider (E)

- Royal Pervert (R)

- I Couldn't Stop Breaking The System, And Now I've Been Smited (E)

- Royal Corrupter (E)

- Blessed of the Forest (C)

- Artefact Wielder (R)

- Veteran of the Corruption (R)

Artefacts:

- The Vale's Finger