「Rani! Lahti! Get away from here! It’s dangerous near me!」
When Inglis issued a warning to them, Tiffany’s jolly voice rang inside her head.
『Fufu. I’ve got an idea! I’m actually the type who takes grudges, you see?』
「……?! S-, stop it!」
Inglis thrust her right hand forward. A fierce pale light was converging into the same supermassive Ether Strike from before.
「Wh-, what brilliance! But I don’t feel any power at all! Wh-, what is happening?!」
「A-, amazing! It’s even bigger than usual!」
「Th-, that must have been what blown the area earlier!」
Everyone was stunned, staring at the light of Ether converging on Inglis’ hand.
「Don’t watch, run! It’s really dangerous!」The more Ether converged into the massive light bullet, the more panicked Inglis grew. She knew what Tiffany was trying to do. And that… is the last thing Inglis can do, the one thing she must avoid at all cost.
「Wh-, what are you saying?」
「Yeah, look how much power you’ve got!」
However, Rafinha and Lahti didn’t understand.
「Please, I beg you, run! My body is out of my control! It might fly towards you two!」
「EEeeeeehhh?!」
「Y-, yeah! We’re getting outta here!」
It was then, Tiffany's voice rang…
『Too late! An attack of this magnitude at this distance cannot be evaded!』
「I told you to stop! Consider your life forfeit if you do it! I will no longer show any shred of mercy!」
『Ahahaha. Why should I listen to someone who can’t even control her own body? Not to mention, this attack will suck all of your life force and kill you anyway! I can tell for sure how your life force is flowing out less and less! It doesn’t matter how strong you are, that is proof that your life is running out! Now, take you and your most precious friends’ lives with your own two hands! You won’t be so lonely that way, will you? FUFUFUFU!!』
「YOU B̲A̲S̲T̲A̲A̲A̲R̲R̲R̲D̲D̲!!!」
Thus, the Ether Strike left Inglis’ hand.
The unleashed supermassive bullet of Ether was… Once again, landed in the huge crater in the former site of Lekrea, waking up a massive pillar of light as it did. A huge amount of the ground was obliterated and blown away, leaving an even deeper and definite imprint of destruction to the earth.
『Wha?! You diverted the aim?! You managed to break out of my control in such a sort time?!』
Against the backdrop of the raising pillar of light, Tiffany’s alarmed voice rang inside Inglis’ head.
「Haah……! Haah……!」
Inglis herself, however, had already fallen to her knees, her hands supporting her body, and her breath ragged and beaten.
『No, even if you did… that blow should have shaved off all of your life! The fact that your life force is no longer flowing out is proof of that! If so!』
Inglis’ body was once again enveloped in a bright light. It was the same glow that occurred when Tiffany equipped herself on Inglis. This time, with the light dissipating, the armor left Inglis’ body and took a humanoid form.
「——!」
Tiffany, in her human form, appeared near Inglis. She had undone her weaponization and was back to normal.
「OOooohhh! Lady Tiffany!! You’re safe!」
Hallim shouted in joy at the sight of her. Tiffany paid him no mind and held up a hand spear against Inglis.
「Then I will put an end to you myself!」
「!!! HYAAAaaahhhhh!」
Before Tiffany’s spear hand even moved, Inglis activated «Ether Armor» and stepped right into her arm’s reach. She then proceeded to kick Tiffany in the torso with all her might, no mercy spared.
This time, Tiffany’s armor shattered into pieces as her body soared high into the sky.
「AAAAAAGGGHHHHHhhhh?!」
「OOooooohh?! L-, LADY TIFFANYYYYY?!!!」
Being shot to the sky like a bullet, Tiffany’s body soon bounced off the base of the levitating town of Lekrea and fell into the depth of the hole in the ground that had been gouged out twice by Inglis. It didn’t even take a moment for Inglis to reach where Tiffany fell to from where she stood.
「U……uugh… H-, how come, you still have such power? Your life should have been all gone!」
Tiffany, who seemed no different than a doll with its strings cut, asked Inglis so.
「That is just what it felt to you, nothing more.」
Tiffany sensed that life force had stopped pouring out of Inglis and decided that it meant Inglis had shaved off all of her life. She must have known from her past experiences as a Hyrule Menace that, when a Holy Knight had shaved off all of their life, their life force would stop flowing out. This time, however, it was not the case.
The reason life force stopped flowing out of Inglis was because Inglis interfered with Tiffany’s functions as a Hyrule Menace using her ether, essentially nullifying her effect of absorbing and releasing life force. Tiffany just misunderstood it on her own accord.
This was something the leader of the Ironblood Chain Brigade, Black Mask, had done previously. That time when he wielded Cystia, there was no hint of an ominous flow of power that indicated the diffusion of life force into the surroundings. It was probably because Black Mask used his mastery over Ether to suppress the side effects of wielding Cystia as a Hyrule Menace.
That was the only difference between his case and Silva’s case that Inglis could think of. That was precisely why Cystia pledged absolute obedience to Black Mask and trusted him with her power. Black Mask would never die, no matter how much he brandished Cystia.
The fact that such a wielder existed and her being needed by him dearly produced an unimaginable amount of relief and trust. He was truly a savior for a Hyrule Menace. She didn’t need to fear her own cursed power in the presence of Black mask.
If Black Mask managed to do it with the power of Ether, then it should be possible for Inglis too. In terms of the finesse in manipulating Ether, Inglis was far inferior to him, but her experience with Yua let her improve on that front. Which was precisely why, even though it was a dangerous bridge to cross, Inglis didn’t refuse being equipped by Tiffany. She needed to acquire the same skills that Black Mask had previously done. For that sole reason, she decided that it would be a good experience.
However, Inglis was far from being in her ideal state to challenge it, perhaps due to the hunger that had been haunting her ever since she came to Alucard. Maybe that was why she struggled so much more than she anticipated, but at the end of the day, she managed to pull it off.
Those who knew the truth behind the power of Hyrule Menaces, the Hyrule Menaces and the Holy Knights who wielded them, everyone had their own thoughts on this matter, but for Rafinha, what concerned her the most was, obviously, her brother Raphael.
What is Raphel’s take on this relationship between Hyrule Menaces and Holy Knights? Even after Inglis and Rafinha came to the Royal Capital and enrolled in the Knight Academy, there was no sight of waver in Raphael’s face. He didn’t say a single word of resentment towards Leon, he cared for Eris and Ripple, and he showed the face of a kind and broad-minded older brother in front of Rafinha and Inglis.
Perhaps he was completely prepared for his doom. That must be why he could act so natural without showing any signs of hesitation whatsoever. He accepted the contradiction of the Hyrule Menaces, and even if nothing that he does could change the situation where the Midland is being forced to submit to the Highland, so long Prismas still show up on Midland, he cannot leave them be. Otherwise, there will be many lives lost, and many griefs made.
Hence Raphael thought it was his duty to take the matter into his own hands. Raphael had always had that quality in him ever since he was a child. He was the kind of Hero who was willing to sacrifice himself to make the world a better place.
And if that Hero died on his duty as a Holy Knight, how would Rafinha feel, being left behind by him? It would be painful. It would be sad. And if things went poorly, it might even leave a permanent scar in her heart. Inglis didn’t want Rafinha, the girl she adored as her own granddaughter, to suffer like this. That’s why, when she realized the truth behind the power of the Hyrule Menaces, one of Inglis’ main goals was to acquire the same skill as Black Mask. She managed to survive that training, but…