142 – The Final Escape (2)

A signal!

[─This is the First Fleet of the Pinar Federation. We will dispatch a rescue vessel upon identification.]

Communication returned in Ascalierian. A rescue team was coming. My heart pounded with the reality that we could escape this deserted island.

But there was one point that stood out. The country that was coming to pick us up was neither the Holy Spirit Nation nor the Magic Nation.

“Pinar?”

“The nation of Elves,” Tiria said.

“It’s located to the south.”

I know it. The Pinar Confederation. An economically advanced nation situated in the Southern Hemisphere. Sparsely populated, but possessed of formidable technological prowess.

“Isn’t that the country that chose the path of isolationism? So a neutral nation is coming to our rescue, is it.”

“It seems so, doesn’t it?”

Tiria beamed. With her hands clasped together, she gazed at the heavens and prayed.

“Oh, Goddess, thank you! When I get back, I’ll bear many children!”

“Saintess, your language is so…earthy.”

A neutral nation coming is good. Good, but…

Something feels off.

Why would a country that’s chosen isolationism in its diplomatic relations enter another nation’s war zone? No, wait, is Pinar even a neutral nation anymore?

“Hold on.”

Just as I was contemplating this, Riyo interjected. Riyo, having sated her estrous urges, was sharp-witted. Befitting her status as a student at the Holy Spirit Nation’s most prestigious academy, she delivered a single sentence that pierced to the heart of the matter with keen insight.

“The Selbrien continent is quite far from the Tatankur Archipelago. Why is a Pinar fleet anywhere near here?”

“Oh? Now that you mention it, you’re right.”

“And they said it wasn’t a civilian vessel, but a warship.”

“Hmm.”

Tiria hummed thoughtfully before opening her mouth.

“Looking at everything that’s happened on this island so far, there’s a strong possibility that the Magocracy launched a preemptive strike against Pinar.”

I had just reached the same conclusion.

Perhaps, right now, Pinar isn’t a neutral nation at all.

“Major General Giffold, you know something, don’t you?”

“…Yes.”

Adora nodded in response to Tiria’s question.

“Supreme Headquarters had ordered a preemptive strike against the Elven States. It was the Führer’s order.”

“Are they insane? Weren’t there any officers who opposed it?”

“There were. They all found themselves out of uniform before long.”

Adora, seemingly dumbfounded, added a hollow laugh at the end of her statement.

Rachel grasped the tips of my fingers.

“…Erich.”

A tremor ran through me. Far from the war ending, the situation was only worsening. I didn’t know how much longer we’d have to fight.

Therefore, I had to stop it. I had to prevent the war from dragging on any longer.

“Rachel, it’s just us. If we don’t get out of here, the war between the Holy Empire and the Magocracy won’t end with just that. A world war could erupt.”

“U-huh.”

“Let’s go.”

We gathered our supplies and the data. Scrupulously checking our escape equipment. After sending a message that we were leaving as soon as the rain stopped, we went to find Salvira.

[“My pupil, as I told you before, Leviathan might appear when you leave.”]

The Sea Dragon, Leviathan. The magical beast who forced us onto this deserted island. It is said he guards the entrance of the barrier, a gatekeeper.

[“That fellow has immense loyalty to the Demon King. Even if he appears, I will try my best, but prepare yourself mentally.”]

[“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”]

This is the final hurdle.

After dinner, the female soldiers and I went to sleep early. Embracing each other for warmth, as it was cold from the rain.

The last night on the deserted island was passing.

*

A few months prior.

As soon as the new year began, the Magocracy had sunk the merchant ships of the Pinar Federation several times. For the reason that they were secretly selling weapons to the Holy Empire.

Justification bred justification. Having minimized its interest in other countries for a long time, the Federation decided to join the war.

“To think they would look down on our Water Elves.”

Elves are also divided into sub-races. Wood Elves who adapted to the forests, Mountain Elves who adapted to the highlands, and Water Elves who adapted to the seas, and so on.

Among them, Pinar was a nation ruled by Water Elves, and as an archipelago nation, their navy was incredibly strong.

Though the Magocracy was churning out drones and submarines based on magical technology, the Federation was not an opponent to be trifled with. By forming a united front with the Holy Empire, the Allied Forces succeeded in securing the Tatangkur Sea.

And they discovered two startling facts.

The first was.

[─Survivors including Theria Carsten, the Saintess of the Holy Order, present. Requesting rescue.]

A distress signal of unknown origin.

“The Saintess?”

“The Holy Empire’s Saintess, Valkyrie squadron members, and even members of the Sacred Engineering Corps? And Magocracy officers too?”

At first, they thought it was a false signal. However, after exchanging information with the Holy Empire, they concluded that it was possible.

The Allied Forces launched an operation. Searching the Tatangkur Sea for survivors.

It was then that the second startling fact came to light.

“…So, that snake-thing is Leviathan, or whatever they call it?”

“So it would seem. Never in my life have I seen a fish that big.”

“A rare sight indeed, in times like these.”

The elven officers raised their heads. A massive serpent’s head rested on the cargo ship, marred by the telltale signs of melted metal from bombing raids.

“Its resilience is legendary, I’ve heard.”

“Well, investigation can wait. For now, we can only hope the Magi Dominion surrenders. Which means stabilizing the Tatangkur Sea first… Are the signals still coming through?”

“Yes, reports continue to indicate similar distress calls.”

“We can’t simply ignore them.”

The water elf read the currents, deciphering the secrets hidden within the waves’ rhythm.

“The warriors who faced the Sea Dragon all reported the same thing. For reasons unknown, they sensed a presence thirsting for vengeance, just beyond their perception…”

“…Perhaps we’ve hooked a leviathan.”

Reports of an overlaid barrier within the sea region had also surfaced. The issue of the unidentified distress calls had to be resolved.

Perhaps there were more monsters like the Sea Dragon lurking beneath the waves. The United Federation mobilized its First Fleet, launching a rescue operation that bordered on excessive.

The sea remained calm. The search spread wide, but yielded no sign of life.

“Could it truly be as they say? The dispatched Saintess, working hand-in-hand with a Magi Dominion officer, sending out distress calls…?”

“Speculation changes nothing. Just follow orders. If we find them, it’s a jackpot. If not, at least we won’t incur the Holy Spirit Nation’s displeasure.”

“But what if the war never ends, and we’re stuck out here…? Hold on!”

“What is it?”

“Something’s caught!”

*

“Hey! You said the weather was supposed to be nice today, and yet, the wind is howling!”

[“BEEP! BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!”]

“Everyone, hold on tight!”

A wave surged forward. The sea surface undulated violently. Even rowing was a struggle. Even Rachel, usually plagued by seasickness, was forced to join in the rowing.

It felt as though the barrier itself possessed a will, determined to impede our escape.

How much further must we go?

Can we even get out of here?

Just as the strength in my arms and the clarity in my mind began to fade from the relentless rowing…

*Thump.* A stifling impact shuddered through the boat. The bow had been halted by something, preventing any further progress.

“…This is it.”

Raising my head, I saw a barrier patterned with geometric symbols. A door without a door. Invisible to the naked eye unless one focused their mana.

Riyo produced a spell-disrupting tablet.

“If this doesn’t work, we have to turn back.”

“Don’t jinx us, you fox-cub!”

“Grrr! Who’s calling who a fox-cub?”

Having received the stone tablet from Riyo, I called for Tiria. She grinned and placed her hand on the tablet. Her hand overlapped mine.

“Let’s do as planned.”

“I’m ready, darling.”

A ward that could never be opened from the inside unless divine power and arcane magic were infused in perfect harmony. We were forcing it open.

[“——.”]

“——.”

As the incantation cycled, the tablet glowed. Rachel captured the light, which had risen into a spherical form, within the spear.

And then.

“Haaah!”

She threw it.

*Crackle!*

The world cracked. As if the world that had been was nothing but a lie, the ceiling split open.

The fox sisters and Adora continued their bickering, but kept rowing. The boat surged forward, and the scenery shifted. From a dreary backdrop of overcast clouds, to a sun-drenched ocean bathed in warm light.

“…Did it work?”

I looked at Salvira. She closed her eyes and silently nodded.

We were quiet. Everyone silently gazed up at the ‘real’ sun, repeatedly letting out shallow sighs. We rowed, and rowed, and rowed again.

Then, suddenly, we saw three or four small boats rapidly approaching us.

What country’s boats they were didn’t matter.

Because, the flag on the leading warship bore a red star on a white field.

A hospital ship.

Though described as small, that was only relative. The ironclad ship that drew alongside looked dozens of times larger than our makeshift raft.

*Thunk.*

A small lift descended from the hospital ship’s starboard side. People, no, elves were on it. Rescue crew clad in the Pinar Navy uniform.

The elves stared at us in astonishment. Then, one of them saluted and asked in broken Ascalian,

“Where are you headed?”

A small smile playing on my lips, I returned the salute and answered.

“A neutral nation.”

With that final utterance, my consciousness began to fray. My head fell forward. The last things I heard before oblivion claimed me were the cries of my fellow women soldiers, desperate for me to regain myself, and the sight… yes, the impossibly blue sea. Sparkling with a shimmering, phosphorescent sheen.

The sea, it breathes still, even now.