1845-1856 eng

1845 Seventh Royal Legion

The [Mark of Shadows] played an important role. It protected Rain and gave her a few useful abilities, but its main purpose was to confuse people. After all, she did not want anyone to learn that she did not have an Aspect, and the snake tattoo bestowed upon her strange powers that could be seen as one.

Her teacher had mentioned that he was working on something else to make her disguise more convincing, as well. Rain did not know what he meant, yet, but was going to learn one way or another in due time.

What excited her the most was not the [Mark of Shadows], though.

It was the Memories her teacher had given her.

Oh, the joy and delight of having Memories!

Rain held a strong opinion that all the rest of the Awakened in the world had no idea how good they had it.

Her threadbare bodysuit and old clothes were gone, replaced by an enchanted armor. It was so soft and light that she did not feel any burden at all, but more resilient than her mundane equipment had ever been. The armor was made of dark grey fabric and lusterless black leather, fitting her perfectly. It was an Awakened Memory of the Fifth Tier — that was what she had been told, at least — called the Puppeteer's Shroud.

Its enchantments increased her mental endurance and resistance against mind attack, as well as allowed her to recover from mental fatigue faster.

...The armor looked suspiciously similar to what her teacher used to wear, so she suspected that it had not been, in fact, crafted specifically for her. But even if the Puppeteer's Shroud was a hand-me-down, Rain did not mind.

The euphoria of having a wonderful suit of: incredibly light, but resilient armor that adjusted to fit her body perfectly, cleaned and repaired itself, and could be summoned at any moment was simply too great!

It was the reward for slaying the Awakened Tyrant.

There were two other Memories that she had received from her teacher, as well. One was a powerful bow made of green metal... in fact, Rain knew that metal all too well. It seemed that her teacher had smelted the blade of the Huntsman's axe to forge the limbs of the bow, while the string was made from some strange black material.

The bow was called the [Beast of Prey], and was an Awakened Memory of the Third Tier. Its enchantment allowed Rain to enhance the damage dealt by her arrows, as well as infuse one arrow with devastating force at the cost of most of her essence. However, the bow was also able to absorb and store her essence, somehow — so, with sufficient preparation, Rain could use the deadly shot twice.

She received the Beast of Prey in exchange for the Memory coupon her teacher had given her for slaying the Huntsman.

The third Memory she received, however, was a free bonus. It was a quiver of enchanted arrows that never seemed to run out. The arrows did not really possess any special qualities, apart from the fact that their flight was absolutely noiseless. They were also incredibly sharp and could pierce thick armor.

All in all, Rain was quite happy with her little arsenal. Of course, it was only the beginning — she expected to receive many more Memories in the future. Sadly, her teacher seemed determined to only award her Memories that fit her skills. He could have given her something much more powerful, without a doubt, but then people would start asking questions about her identity. How could a newly Awakened girl with no backing be walking around with a soul arsenal that put even the Legacies to shame?

That sort of thing...

"Get up. Rest is over."

Tamar's voice drew Rain from her pleasant thoughts. Opening her eyes, she sighed and rose to her feet.

All around them, the Song Army was stirring. After ascending the left arm of the dead deity, they were finally ready to delve into the jungle growing on its white surface, and then cross to the colossal skeleton's collarbone. This rest stop was the last one they would be able to enjoy in relative safety.

The edge of the jungle was somewhere ahead, a few kilometers from the head of the column. The Seventh Legion was marching closer to its tail, so Rain could not see anything.

Nevertheless, everyone was tense. That was because everyone knew that they were heading into battle.

...Not that people like Rain and the members of her cohort could do anything in a battle like that. From what they had heard in the last few days, the jungle had been allowed to grow for long enough that most Nightmare Creatures populating its depths were of the Corrupted Rank. Awakened warriors were simply not powerful enough to face them.

Today, the battle was only for the Masters and the Saints.

And for the abominations enthralled by Beastmaster.

Just as Rain thought about it, a messenger arrived from the head of the column and hurried past them. She turned around and watched him disappear into the command tent of the legion.

Soon, several Blood Sisters emerged from it.

And then, their leader.

Rain couldn't help but hold her breath when she saw the Queen's daughter. Saint Seishan... was a striking woman, without a doubt.

With her strange, but beautiful grey skin and tantalizing grace, she was like an embodiment of nobility and regal poise. She seemed both inhuman and riveting, but most of all mysterious.

Her beauty was truly breathtaking.

It was to the point that the Blood Sisters, each an exquisitely beautiful woman herself, seemed plain and unassuming next to her. Rain still found it weird that most of the most powerful warriors of the Song Domain were women... but she couldn't complain. Especially here in the Seventh Legion, she sometimes felt that she was in a flower garden instead of an army.

Granted, those flowers were roses with bloodied thorns, and most of the rank and file soldiers were still men.

Saint Seishan led the Ascended warriors of her legion toward the head of the column. The Awakened warriors silently bowed as she passed, wishing her luck. Rain couldn't help but do the same.

The Song Army was bound to suffer casualties during the push to establish a fortified base on the collarbone of the dead deity. Looking at the powerful members of the legion, she couldn't help but wish that all of them returned alive.

At the same time, Rain couldn't help but wonder...

Today, they were going to fight against Nightmare Creatures.

What would she feel when the time finally comes for them to fight against people?

1846 Ground Perspective

The army assembled in a complicated battle formation. With so many soldiers, it was vast and unwieldy, and mostly useless... but not entirely so.

The Masters and the Saints were going to assault the vermilion jungle, but the Awakened were prepared to fight, as well.

Obviously, they had very little chance of killing Corrupted abominations, not to mention the Great horrors who dwelled in Godgrave. However, they did not necessarily need to.

The commanders of the Song Army were well aware of the limitations facing their troops, so they had come up with various chilling, but effective strategies. If it came to that, the task of the Awakened soldiers was not to kill the powerful abominations, but to immobilize them.

Although hard, that could be achieved with numbers alone. Even if an abomination had to be buried in human bodies, that was one way to deal with it. Of course, Rain felt a bit horrified by the prospect, just like all the other Awakened warriors did. Still, it was not like the Nightmare Creatures would spare them otherwise — so, they were prepared to carry out their orders and do their best., no matter the cost.

Hopefully, that was not going to happen today.

If the Saints and their Ascended retinue succeeded in holding back the tide of Nightmare Creatures, it would not.

The Seventh Legion was positioned in the second line of the formation, so she could not even see the battle. All she could see were the tops of the strange and hideous plants swaying in the distance and the backs of her fellow soldiers. She could also hear the sounds that the wind carried from somewhere far ahead. Next to her, Fleur trembled nervously and looked at Tamar.

"...It is starting, isn't it?"

The Legacy girl nodded somberly.

"It is."

A few moments later, the sound of a horn rolled above the army, and the ground under their feet trembled slightly.

Rain saw vague silhouettes moving forward from the front of the battle formation. The white surface of the ancient bone was still inclined, since they had not reached the collarbone yet, so she could not discern their shape clearly. But she knew that they were the Saints who had assumed their Transcendent forms, as well as the larger of the Nightmare Creatures enthralled by Beastmaster.

At the same time, the jungle came alive.

She saw the red trees sway, but mostly, she heard and felt it: a harrowing choir of bestial roars and sounds too alien to be described with human language washing over the massive army like a tide, the violent trembling of the ground as countless abominations rushed forward at the scent of human souls.

She glanced at Tamar.

For the rest of them, the fate of the Saints fighting on the frontline was an abstract concept. The Saints were people whom they admired, looked up to, and maybe even knew — as well as the wall separating them from having to face the dreadful horde of Nightmare Creatures themselves.

But it was different from Tamar, whose father was somewhere out there, as well. The Saint of Sorrow was among the warriors whose task it was to make the tide of abominations stop.

There were close to two thousand Masters in the Song Army, but only around forty Transcendent champions.

It did not seem like a lot, but at the same time...

The world suddenly quaked.

The world suddenly seemed to be on the verge of shattering.

The violence of forty Saints unleashing their Transcendent power at the same time was staggering.

Even far removed from the battlefield, Rain felt blood drain from her face. Next to her, Fleur swayed and leaned heavily on Ray. All around them, the Awakened soldiers staggered.

Only Tamar remained standing straight, seemingly undaunted.

She did, however, look at the sky.

As Rain's eyes widened, she did as well.

...Was the clash between the champions of the Song Army and the creatures of the vermilion jungle terrible enough to rip apart the veil of clouds?

Luckily, it did not seem so.

For now.

The sounds of the battle grew much more loud, becoming almost deafening. Rain had to struggle not to raise her hands and cover her ears. To her shame, she found herself trembling.

'Insane, insane... this is insane...'

The fear that had risen from some deep, primal part of her was almost too powerful to overcome. The inability to see what exactly was happening out there, ahead, only made it worse. After all, it was the unknown that was the most terrifying.

All she could see were the backs of the Awakened soldiers that stood in front of the Seventh Legion in the formation.

They were not faring any better than her.

Some were shaking. Some had fallen to their knees. Some had dropped their weapons.

There were those who did not, though. There were those who helped their comrades to stand up and supported them, gripping the hilts of their swords tightly.

Rain wanted to be one of those brave souls, as well.

Assaulted by the terrible cacophony of battle, she looked down at her shadow. The sight of it instilled her with strength.

Gritting her teeth, she raised a hand and patted Fleur on the shoulder. The delicate girl looked at her with frightened eyes.

"R—rani?"

Rain smiled.

"Relax. What's the worst thing that can happen?"

Fleur's beautiful blue eyes widened.

"What?! Why did you say it out loud?!"

Tamar and Ray glared at her with resentment, too.

Rain grinned.

She was still a bit of a stranger in this small cohort, so apart from Tamar, the other two members acted a little awkward around her.

It was rare to see all three united in such a sincere display of emotion.

And that emotion was pure outrage, not fear or anxiety. So, her job here was done.

Rain looked ahead and sighed.

Although... she might have overdone it.

From what she could hear, the vanguard of the army had managed to stem the tide of the Nightmare Creatures. A furious battle was happening somewhere ahead.

However, the Saints had not managed to stop all abominations.

Just then, she heard a litany of human cries, and saw bodies flying into the air. It was as if something massive slammed into the front row of the Awakened soldiers at the head of the battle formation.

Human blood spilled on the white bone.

The war horn blared one more time, and the soldiers ahead of her moved forward.

Rain shivered and gripped her bow tighter.

Far ahead, a strange haze rose above the crimson jungle.

It seemed like a haze at first, but soon, she saw that it was a vast swarm of flying abominations rushing from the depths of Godgrave like a cloud.

 "G—gods!"

One of the Awakened soldiers near them pointed at the swarm in horror. Rain sighed and looked at the members of her cohort apologetically.

Her grin grew a little forced.

"Well... I guess that's the worst thing that could have happened..."