Chapter 295: Preparing for War I - Asura and his army of Valkyrie
"I want to help repair the castle..." Asura said while walking along the beautiful corridor. He looked through the window towards the eastern tower, now in ruins—the tower was only metres from the former cathedral where he married Vela only yesterday.
"Eh? Don't you want to go grab a delightful meal with me, darling?" Valerie asked in a sweet voice.
"Nn, that sounds nice, but the kingdom is in shambles while the castle looks like this."
"I will help you, my love." Verana gave a soft smile while winking at Mu Xue, who seemed to become spurred by Verana's interest.
"Me too, Asura. Let me help you." She clung to his arm further and rubbed her bosom against him.
Asura looked around while walking, wondering if he could find the chance to repair it all. His eyes noticed dozens of servants and commoners already using their weak magic to help rebuild and clear the rubble.
'I can help with the rubble. This will save them a lot of time.'
He had a thought.
'...'
The surrounding rubble hovered. Stones tapped the ground while he lifted his arm, drifting it towards the pile. People crushed them and reformed them back into pristine white bricks, merging them with dense magic and metals that absorbed elemental magic.
Thanks to Vela, his earth manipulation became stronger each day.
He didn't want to frighten anyone by suddenly hovering over rubble, so he walked forward, following the rubble, and showed everyone he was performing the magic.
"Hello, sorry. I wish to help you."
"Your Highness!?"
"P-Prince Asura!"
Many of the commoners looked in shock, although the newly crowned prince seemed stunned that he would help them.
"Why are you all so surprised? You're working hard while I have much more magic than you since you work so hard for our kingdom. Let the kingdom work hard for you in return!" He smiled.
Asura approached and began lifting the rubble into the air before crushing the broken bricks into a reusable powder.
After his display, Verana and Mu Xue followed him, with Xue forming a long ice strip, and Verana used hundreds of shadowy hands to grasp the excess rocks and slide them across the frost path formed by Mu Xue.
Despite being rivals, their teamwork was amazing. Vela and Xavida used her dragon's body, loading Xavida's back with the heavier rocks, while Vela used her magic to break down the rocks and form them into objects easier to hold or move.
Through an insignificant gesture, the crowd of several hundred commoners changed from a miserable face, fearing the future and hating this tough job, now helped by Asura, Vela and the other women all helping each other to impress Asura the most.
"Even the princess is helping!"
"Ah, that's right, even His Highness is helping!"
"How can we not help our future king and Queen? He is just like us! He is helping us commoners when he didn't need to!. His efforts make everything so much easier for us! He lifts his fingers to help us."
The most surprising thing was that Ignis, who followed with a small group of Valkyrie from Unit Seven, helped.
They took the tools from the commoners, helped clean up the small bits of debris, and began to wash and clean the steps. Some remained cracked, but there was a kind of beauty with those as if the capital had survived a battle, yet its beautiful steps remained intact.
Before the people knew it, Asura and more than a hundred women were helping fix the broken areas that Freyja had not repaired. They were all helping their beloved man—the centre of their attention and affection.
With so many women helping, they made substantial progress. They no longer felt like a task; they were working for the kingdom, along with the man they wanted to be their husband, while the commoners felt a surge of hope. The marriage of the princess and a different side of the royal family started a movement.
"Okay, I'll help you, Asura, here!"
With a flick of her wrists, Sigurd created a beautiful array of wind magic; the new bricks prepared by the group of masons floated through the sky before slamming into the ground, forming the new citadel and eastern tower.
"Give me a reward for this, Asura!"
"Oh my god, it's the sword saintess!"
Many people who were hiding in their homes came out to see what had happened. Both nobles and commoners were shocked at the people helping repair the city. Seeing the Duchess of Drakkur, the prince and earl of the Phoenix Glade, Princess Vela, and the army of Valkyrie, they rushed to help in what little manner they could. Find your next read on m_v l|e'm-p| y r
The snow princess from the north and her Valkyrie weren't the only ones helping. A flock of high-level mages appeared from the castle. The queen also stood on the balcony watching with her gaze fixated on the beautiful and reformed cathedral, noticing Asura and her daughter in front of the castle.
"Sigh. Look at that. Who would have thought I would see these kinds of people helping repair the kingdom?" She leaned forward as her elegant silver hair hung over the balcony, watching as her people happily worked alongside her daughter and new son.
What made the new cathedral special was the mural, a large depiction of the day the cultists attacked the kingdom, with a statue of Asura, Freyja, the queen and Vela all resisting the enemy.
"I don't know if I like her being here, but without her, we would have lost more people." Asura carried a massive pillar towards the front of the citadel, his eyes looking at the image of Freyja with complex feelings. 'Thought I don't know if she's really evil or not... She gave me a year when I reached this level in a few months. I don't think she did that without knowing the dangers.'
"Hehe, husband, look at me!" a guttural voice sounded as Xavida's form dropped the tower upon the citadel. Her huge white claws clasped the stone together before her throat swelled, and a beautiful white flame covered the entire building, melting and fusing the special metals with her white lightning breath.
"Woah!?"
Because of the metals, her purple lightning began glowing in beautiful colours. An array like a rainbow surrounded the church, causing all the people there to look in awe.
"Ohhh! It's God's will!"
"Varos is blessing our new queen, our new kingdom!"
"Silvara Banzai!"
"All hail Prince Asura and Princess Vela! Praise the Kingdom of Silvara! Protected by a phoenix and dragon!"
Seeing this spectacle, they called out praises to both Asura and Vela, and her face flushed, and she turned to the crowd. The surrounding people all began to kneel and bow, causing her to grasp his hand tight.
Vela's first moment as their crown princess, hundreds of commoners, warriors, mages and nobles all knelt as she stood in front of the shining citadel, the radiance causing her to glow in beauty.
"Don't be shy, my lovely wife," Asura whispered, clutching her hand tight. "We can only hope to have a kingdom worthy of our future children. They deserve a kingdom without ruin."
"Husband..."
She trembled at his words and nodded. She stepped forward with Asura, her silver hair gently fluttering in the wind.
"My people, as your princess, I am honoured by the effort you all have given." She waved her hand in a commanding yet elegant movement. "It is a little too soon to crown me queen, but I promise you all. I will give you a future as splendid as this citadel! The dimming light of Silvara, losing our sword. I swear on my name! Vela Silvara to return that light!
My beloved husband will become the sword that cuts through this dark time and protects us all with his warm yet powerful light!"
As if on point, Asura released his unique magic aura and pressure, which fused and reacted to the light of Xavida's breath, creating a radiance that spread far into the horizon. The people became so enthralled by the beautiful sight that some cried after the fear of the day before and the sudden loss of the Silvara Sword.
This moment and act caused a seed to sprout in their hearts.
"Long live the Silvaran kingdom!"
"Long live Queen Vela!"
"Long live, King Asura!"
On the balcony, the queen leaned over, her hair dancing wildly in the evening wind while watching the beautiful radiance that spread throughout the entire capital and gripped the stone railing tight.
"Ah... You two are so adorable, my beloved girl. You are so similar to me, yet so different, and it excites me that your husband supports that radiance you hold, nurturing it. I am happy. Tonight, I shall drink!"
Nobody noticed the radiance that flooded the shards of the broken sword; however, the glow was no longer a bluish purple. The sword seemed to absorb the Animus from Asura, slowly repairing the cracks as the people chanted at the capital's rebirth.
On the edge of the capital walls, a woman with long silver hair, glossy and shimmering like a goddess, with golden eyes, watched this scene. The sword's fragments danced in her hands before slowly forming together, repairing the broken blade as the people of Silvara's capital chanted for their new king and queen.
"...You really are special, my beloved Asura. A little push and look... You became a king."
With a flick of her wrist, she absorbed the magic created by Asura and sent it back into the gigantic sword, her eyes watching Asura without moving while she gave a gentle smile.
"This sword will no longer protect the capital from monsters, but once it awakens with your essence filling it to the brim, it will protect all you love and cherish from even the gods." The sword's colour faded to form a black and white patch, small but slowly growing larger each moment Asura existed.
"I will play the villain as long as I can save you from death. There is no reason to keep repeating this cycle when you're already my ideal man."
Her golden eyes flickered to the sky, turning silver for a moment and shimmering with beautiful light.
"They will detect my magic if I am too involved. This one thing should be alright, I hope."
In the next moment, her body faded like the moon's light when covered by clouds. Only the spell she wove with her hand continued to grow before the sigil buried itself inside the sword, creating an invisible bond between Asura and the broken blade.
The sword of Silvara would rise again.