A Villainess Should Be Strong

It was a long fight.

Hours of struggle that trained their bodies, minds, and soul altogether. The monsters did not tire out, but the Knights were humans.

They had thoughts and sentiments.

More often than not, their thoughts went astray and wanted to give everything up- that the fight was pointless and they were just wasting their time.

The end was nowhere to be seen as they fought the monsters one by one.

At one point, it wasn't about their bodies anymore, but their minds really couldn't take on another monster. It was very vexing.

More painful than actual physical injuries.

To cheer them on, Estelle rose up to the sky and stood mid air.

She played the role of a mascot, who the Knights could see and regain confidence from whenever they felt battered up during the fight.

Thankfully, they were able to keep their sanity and persevere through the entire ordeal.

They gained a lot from the swarm. They successfully prevented the city's destruction.

It was like a hellish training regimen.

However, along with it, they learned something.

The ferocity of the monsters and their might. It wasn't something they could hold up against.

They realized that the reason they felt so refreshed was because the angelic little girl above them had cast a wide area spell.

For that, they grew even more thankful.

The battle would've been over in one or two hours if not for the girl. Obviously, the winner would be the monsters.

Even though they obtained victory, they were completely drained. Not much celebration was done.

Before they could laugh and relax, they had to report back to the authorities. In this case, it would be Alan.

They marched back to the evacuation site, knowing that Alan would be there.

Led by the most experienced Knight, their eyes were constantly drawn to the girl who was still floating on top of the battlefield, unmoving like a still turret.

Although it was a shame that she didn't want to follow them, their duties had to be prioritized.

They were also sensible, and knew not to push some things.

The anonymous figure had saved them times and times again during the battle. If they couldn't repay her right away, then the least they could do was to respect her wishes and not bother her any longer.

Estelle observed the mountain of corpses from the skies and muttered.

"Well, it's good that I don't find this gruesome at all," Her feelings had been desensitized to such a massacre, she wondered what atrocity would cause her emotions to be triggered.

Turning around, she watched as the storm that was chained in place still brewing as large as it can.

"The battle hasn't ended yet," Estelle sighed. After this, she was going to have a good rest.

The Knights walked on their way back to the evacuation site.

Luckily, the distance was not that far away.

When they arrived, Alan was standing outside of the camp. The civilians were all holed up inside the protective bunkers specially made for situations like this, where many lives would be threatened.

It was just that they were never exposed to danger of such a large scale. They received considerable damage.

Alan looked at the group of Knights and was instantly able to tell that they were exhausted.

"Reporting back. The crisis has been averted, but the storm is still there," The most influential Knight stepped forward and gave his salutations towards the Duke before conveying his knowledge.

Telling the story from when the storm doubled, to the battle's beginning, and up until their victory.

"The storm.. The twin storm, is it..?" Alan, who had been leading the evacuation process saw the storm too. He had been preoccupied with the turmoil that ensued.

The civilians were chaotic in their paths. Murmurs, tears, and panicked shouts, along with a terrible mix of emotions was quite the challenge to pacify.

However, the storm was just too eye-catching. Alan could see from when the original singular storm gained a friend and went ballistic together once the evacuation finished.

He had the chance to step outside and finally swallow the precarious situation.

And the other thing.. this 'angelic little lady' who sounded awfully like his beloved daughter that graced his Knights' reports.

As much as he wanted to press on the matter, it was a bit tough to do so. If it wasn't for Estelle, his Knights would've perished altogether.

Even though Alan didn't personally join the battle, he could read the terror that his Knights displayed when talking about the times they were pushed back.

The monsters were too frightening. They were not only outnumbered, but an individual monster also overpowered one Knight by a large margin.

Alan sighed, troubled by how he could solve this. He nodded at the head Knight and gave him the permission to stand back.

He looked at the grey sky caused by the storm's influence. The sunny fief was no longer in sight, and the morning which should've been graced with gentle rays of sunlight was stolen from them.

"Estelle.." He murmured the little star's name, expecting her hand in this matter as well.

The girl wouldn't stop unless everything was back to normal. Such was Estelle Clareste, the Duke's daughter whose power was out of the world.

Perhaps, only her could restore the fief back to its original state at this rate.

He was selfish. Alan knew he was selfish.

He wanted to protect Estelle, but at the same time, he wished for her aid in the Dukedom's dilemma.

As a father and as a Duke. Which one must her prioritize?

Estelle was precious to him, and he couldn't bear seeing her suffer.

But if it wasn't for her, the fief would collapse.

What must he do?

Indeed, just like Alan's predictions, Estelle was currently trying to figure out how to make the storm disappear. Heine and Yulia was by her side, aiding her in the process.

Yulia had came back and delivered her results not long after Estelle went over to assist the Knights, but they still hadn't found the true solution.

The first clue was that the storm was actually manufactured using ground magic.

It wasn't wind, but fine dust and dirt piled up to create a wind like movement. Of course, it wasn't like wind completely didn't exist.

It was just that, due to the large scale of the ground storm, it was impossible to destroy it.

Yulia said that there was something keeping the storm together. A force that attracted the fine particles to compile into the disaster they saw right now.

"A force..." Estelle mumbled, looking at the storm that stretched up into the clouds. It was like a pillar, but it didn't bear a good meaning.

Instead, she was reminded by the outcome that would come out of it.

Their enemies would definitely take advantage of this, wouldn't they?

Estelle pouted before floating up into the sky.

"The best way is to use brute force. I'm going inside the storm to witness this 'force' personally. I'll try to destroy it, but.." Estelle groaned as she scratched the tip of her nose, stretching her entire body and preparing to dive into the storm.

Of course, she would expose her body to the disaster without proper precautions.

Protective magic, enhancements, counterattack measures in case something goes wrong... She had it all planned.

The only way she would fail is if another unexpected variable popped up.. In that case, everything went down to Lady Luck.

She hoped that the omnipotent Gods of Luck could bless her for this brave stunt.

"You're crazy, you know that? I went around the sides, and I felt a strong wind pulling me towards the storm. I was meters away from that thing, but the force was enough to make me stagger!" Yulia raised a brow in disapproval.

Entering the storm was one thing, but wouldn't discovering the cause inside the storm be just as hard?

Maneuvering their bodies once they get swept by the currents, they had to properly calculate the necessary force to exert.

However, Estelle was Estelle.

Once she was determined, what could shake her decision?

Seeing the assured and relaxed poise Estelle showed, Yulia could only sigh and lament how the young girl didn't value her life at all.

In truth, it wasn't because Estelle didn't value her life.

It was because her intuition told her that the solution was very simple, and it laid within her.

It was a gut feeling.

Two massive storms created from nothing.

Elias was a powerful figure, but his plans inside the Surface were very slow and time-consuming.

If Estelle's guts were right, then his power must've reduced significantly inside the Surface.

Elias created the storms on a whim, treating them as an additional method for causing chaos.

It wasn't his main weapon. It was there as a support for the monsters' relentless march.

If so, then the storm wouldn't have been made with meticulous and extensive plans.

Further convincing herself, Estelle set off to the sky, gliding around with the wind like she had real wings.