Trapped in Another World With No Magic

Chapter 51: The Siege of the Citadel Part 3

Though she’s the shortest one present, the self-proclaimed Empress Hekate, ruler of the Citadel, seems to tower over all with her imposing magic aura, amplified all the more by the fact that one of the winged maidens that arrived just prior to Hekate cast a spell that was able to nullify everyone’s mana.

Muindis glances around with his eyes, trying to think. “Empress Hekate… I’m afraid I was given orders to retrieve Daniel, regardless of what you said last time.”

Hekate’s smirk hardens into a glare. “So, you don’t believe me? Should I feed YOU to goblins, next?”

Muindis can feel his heart racing as he tries to think. “I heard from Lady Shek, was it? She said goblins don’t eat people.”

“No. Shek doesn’t eat people. Goblins tried to eat me when I was working to conquer this place. I’ve eaten goblins.” She shivers. “Absolutely disgusting. Then, I met Da-Darling.” She gives Muindis a strong point with her finger. “I think you’re after Daniel’s weapons. But, you know what they say; ‘To the victor go the spoils’. I defeated him, I claimed him and his weapons. If you want them, you’ll have to defeat me.” She snaps her fingers, and seemingly from the walls, dozens of golems appear, each armed with a long staff sharing many similarities to the strange weapon the knight is wielding. Muindis can feel his body draining of strength.

“Oh, and my entire army,” adds Hekate mockingly. “I told you I just want to be left alone, didn’t I? Me and Darling… and his mistresses, I guess. Daniel is nothing but bones.” She crosses her arms, looking down on Muindis. “Now then, I think it’s about time you lot surrender, and I’ll consider sending you home one last time.”

Muindis swallows hard. To fail twice in so short a time would bring great disgrace upon him and his soldiers.

However, they don’t stand a chance against so many golems armed with Daniel’s weapons. If anything, it’s better to return and report back to Aramellianna about the extreme danger presented by Hekate and her forces.

***

Muindis sighs, bowing on the ground. “Please, your majesty. Forgive us.”

Hekate thinks for a moment. Suddenly she perks up. “Da-Darling, do you think Xyreko can do that thing to all of these guys? The same as with you know who?” She looks at Ryuogriar to make her point, and the dragon cocks her head. “Beg pardon, your Majesty?”

Hekate points at her own chest a couple of times, and Ryuogriar makes the connection, straightening into her regal posture once more. Hekate notices Geirahoel standing almost against Daniel’s shoulder as he observes silently. Her eye twitches, but she can’t have an outburst in front of enemies. She’ll give Geirahoel an earful later.

“Darling?”

“If that is your solution, your Greatness, I have to agree.” 

She nods contentedly. “Very well.” She faces Muindis, the invader that came before and asked to have Daniel handed over to him. “You will be given two options. The first and easiest option for me is to stuff you all into cells and forget about you until you die or get eaten by goblins. Whichever one comes first. The second option is for you to agree to contract magic. A contract magic that if you even cross into my territory again, you’ll… die. Instantly. And painfully.” She raspberries her tongue in a taunting sound implying an unceremonious demise. She does remember to add the benefits as well, though. “Obviously, all you’ll have to do is stay out of my territory and forget all about Daniel and this place, and you can see your families again, hold your children, make love to your wives or husbands, and live long and prosperous lives.” She puts her hands on her hips, becoming haughty again. “I’m quite merciful and gracious, aren’t I? Here I am, denied children by the man I love, and I’m willing to let you all return to yours, or so that you can have them.” She leans over Muindis, who flinches back a little. “I could add that into the contract, too. That, if you have children, you’ll die. Wouldn’t that be amusing?” She laughs mockingly, like a spoiled villainess.

Muindis hesitates, but he bows his head. “Please, y-your Majesty… Show us mercy this final time. We will ensure the Grand Duchy never interferes with you again. I will stake my life on stopping it if it comes to that.”

Hekate cocks her head with an amused smirk. “Oh? You would fight to stop your own people from invading us again?”

“Y-Yes…”

“Good. Then, I suppose I won’t magically castrate you.” She snaps her fingers. “Xyreko, prepare magical contracts for these pathetic fools and the twenty thousand soldiers outside.” She grins wickedly, adding with an icy tone, “Let’s see how many of them can survive being captured.”

Xyreko appears, giving hand gestures that order the golems, and they march to each of the soldiers, capturing and restraining them to escort them off to cells. Hekate adds, “Worry not, brave fools of the Stalvaltan Grand Duchy. We will only be holding you until the contracts are ready. Should you try to escape or harm any more of my allies, I will do unspeakable things to each and every one of you. Afterwards, while you cling to life, I’ll destroy everything you love. Do NOT test me.”

The soldiers go quietly, and Hekate asks, “Did we get all of them?”

“I… will not assume so, my Lady,” replies Xyreko. “I could not detect them. The spell they were using; I am unfamiliar with it. It was sufficient enough to mask their presence even from me.”

Daniel states, “Xyreko, silence me.”

She nods at him, “Done.”

“I’m going to try something. Play along and don’t tell the others. Keep a stealth golem on each of the captured soldiers if you can.”

“It shall be done, Daniel.”

Daniel takes his helmet off without warning the others, and Hekate snaps, “Wh-What are you doing Dan-Darling!?”

“It’s okay, Hekate.” He pets her head, adding, “You did a good job. It really does seem like they came to assassinate me for my weapons.”

The feldrok girl gasps, and Ryuogriar quickly scans around as she searches. “Master, are you sure this is wise? I would happily wish to be all powerful, but…”

“I’m sure we got them all. Relax. It’s not like they’ll try to assassinate me now, what with the whole of the Grand Duchy on the line.” Daniel intentionally speaks loud enough that anyone with particularly good hearing and who might’ve been outside of Ryuogriar’s range could overhear.

Just in case. Additionally, if they can see his face, they’ll know that he’s the tallest human in the world of Zenkon; Daniel. Or, at least, it becomes a very safe bet.

Daniel flinches lightly when something bumps his back. He tries to look over his shoulder, but she stays in his blind spot. He does catch a glimpse of her fiery red hair.

Daniel smiles. “Thank you, Geira. Thank you all. You all really…” He halts mid-thought when arms wrap around him from behind. He hears sniffling behind him, and he does his best to look.

“I-Is it true?” whimpers Geirahoel. 

“Is what true?” asks Daniel softly. The others remain quiet, surprised by how tender Geirahoel is being with Daniel specifically.

“Y-... The airship…”

“Yes. There was an airship armed with a weapon meant for dragons. It was able to knock Reignleif off balance.”

She shakes her head against his back. “Y-You…” She hugs him tighter. Daniel gently puts his right hand on hers. “Geira, I don’t understa-...”
“YOU ALMOST DIED!” She presses forward on him, and when Daniel tries to shift his feet for balance, her tail trips him, taking them both down with her pinning him from behind. She still hasn’t let him go, and Daniel grunts, “G-Geira!?”

Ryuogriar teases softly, “Seems I wasn’t the only one worried when Reina and Hekate returned without you.”

“I-I-I obeyed your wish not to come… B-B-But… Do you… Do you know how…!?” She clutches him tightly, sobbing softly.

Daniel wants to reassure her, but he suspects simply claiming he wasn’t in that much danger will only serve to invalidate her concerns and ultimately anger her. “I’m sorry I worried you, Geira. Ryuo. Xyreko. I believed I had it under control, for what that’s worth.”

“D-Dumb… Dummy…”

Daniel chuckles softly, petting her bicep gently to reassure her, since she’s still pinning him to the ground. Hekate is glaring at them both. She huffs, adding in her own thoughts. “I was worried, too, when you told me to teleport, and you jumped clear. You’re lucky we returned when we did.”

“I know. Thank you. Truly. But, we still have business. Hekate, is Shek alright?”

Hekate nods. “Yes. She’ll be bruised, but she’s okay.”

“Goblins tend to bounce back quickly, Daniel,” adds Xyreko. “But, we’ll monitor her closely. Lady Skloe is with her now.”

“Good. Now then… Uh… Geira? Can you please let me up? We need to deal with the siege finally.”

She shakes her head, refusing to let him go.

Hekate offers, “Daniel, if you’ll allow me, I’ll handle it. I intend to warn them, and then round them all up with golems and dragons”

“Didn’t we agree not to give them no escape route?” asks Reignleif softly.

Daniel, still pinned down, remarks gently, “We need to be cautious about it. If they have a bomb that can wipe out an army, being trapped with no threat of escape means they’ll trigger it to take us with them. If they have a secret weapon that they’re waiting to try to bring down dragons, they’ll take out a valuable person on our side. And, even if they take down a major golem, it’s costly. Until we can start replenishing the Citadel’s mana through offerings, I don’t want to wager too much. And, we only have one revival potation remaining, which is for emergencies only.”

Hekate nods, “I won’t leave the barriers, then. But, what if I threaten them, give them an hour to retreat, and if they try to call our bluff, I’ll have the dragons demonstrate how much damage they can do on either side of them? If still they won’t retreat, then we’ll move in. Twenty thousand people who can’t ever return to our territory is a good way to weaken the threat, right?”

Daniel nods in agreement as he considers her suggestion. “You’re not wrong. Xyreko, can you handle twenty thousand people with contract magic?”

“Of course,” confirms the caretaker golem of the Citadel. I am confident we can perform batches of contract bestowal of about a thousand at a time. There is no real difference as long as the contract circle is large enough. In the case of the dragons, I simply used a temporary circle suited to each of them.”

“I see. Makes sense. Do you have a big enough circle for a thousand at a time?”

“I have a space. I’ll begin preparing the circle at once. It should be prepared by tomorrow.” She waves her hand, and a new golem appears; one that looks almost identical to Xyreko, but with a more combat-oriented outfit on. She explains, “This is my subordinate, Ucahote.”

A male voice comes out of the new golem as it bows. “My sincere pleasure to be able to finally meet you, Master Daniel, Empress Hekate, Ladies Ryuogriar, Reignleif, and Geirahoel. I have the pleasure of continuing to be Ucahote.”

The group return polite greetings before Xyreko explains, “Preparing the magic circle for the contract will take a fair amount of my focus to ensure no detail is flawed, so Ucahote will take over siege command in my place. Hekate, he shall provide assistance as you lead the battlefront.”

Ucahote nods his head in agreement. “Anything you need, your Greatness.”

Hekate smiles. “I like you already.”

“Why? Because he is or was a man?” teases Ryuogriar.

Hekate crosses her arms, saying smugly, “It’s a factor. Come, Ucahote, Ryuogriar, Reignleif. We shall recruit the others and unleash vengeance upon these feeble easterners.”

The others move closer to Hekate, with exception of Reignleif, who says softly, “I’d like to help Geira guard Daniel. If you need me, please summon me.”

Hekate sighs. “You have served me and Daniel faithfully today, Reina. I shall allow it.”

Daniel chuckles as he looks up from under Geirahoel, who is finally calming down and sniffling. “You’re sounding like an Empress, Hekate. Keep up the good work.”

With a grin, she retorts proudly, “I am an Empress, my Emperor.” She laughs giddily as she teleports herself, Ryuogriar, and Ucahote to the control room, and Xyreko bows before teleporting away as well to begin her tasks.

“D-Daniel?” sniffles Geirahoel.

“Geira?”

“I… P-P-Please don’t… b-be so reckless.”

“I panicked… Geira. I needed to trick Hekate into getting Reina out, but I was terrified of the thought of that thing reaching the Citadel. If any of you got hurt…” He gently touches her arm.

“I… We feel the same… stupid Daniel…”

“I know, and I’m thankful. Reina and Hekate saved my life in the nick of time. If all of you had returned with them…” He scoffs, chuckling softly. “... I wouldn’t have wanted you to, but I very well couldn’t have been angry, could I?”

She doesn’t say anything, but she does continue to hold him. Daniel adds, “Thank you again, Reina, for coming back for me.”

She blushes, hiding her cheeks behind her mantle’s high collar as much as possible. Geirahoel finally allows Daniel to stand up and he helps her to her feet. She wipes her face, mumbling thanks. “I’m surprised Hekate gave in so easily. I figured she’d get super suspicious.”

“We have her permission.”

“Permission?”

Geirahoel and Reignleif both nod gently. “We merely asked.”

“I… I told her about… us…” adds Geirahoel at a near whisper.

Daniel is surprised by this, and Geirahoel looks away.

“Hekate… all of us want you to have reasons to stay, Daniel…” adds Reignleif. “Hekate… will do anything to make that happen. A-And… so I asked nicely…”

Daniel relaxes. “I see. Thank you for telling me. I…” He smiles softly, scratching his cheek. “It’s a little embarrassing, especially talking to more than one of you ladies at the same time.”

They both look at him cautiously, and he sighs. “I’m grateful to all of you. I could never imagine even wishing for a life like this… let alone being granted it. But… I know in my heart I could never leave now…”

Both of them hug him for a moment, and Daniel kisses each of their foreheads, causing them to fidget, but keep their heads down against his collar. Reignleif and Geirahoel are shy in their own ways, and ever since Daniel and Geirahoel spent a night together following her egg being laid, she’s been especially soft and tender with him, though she can still get fiery if people point it out in a group when she isn’t in the right mood for it.

After a moment together, Daniel finally pats their backs. “Now, I want to test what we talked about earlier,” he whispers. “Make it look like you’re leaving, and then follow me in stealth, if you would.”

Both of them nod in agreement, and Geirahoel turns beet red for a moment, causing both Daniel and Reignleif to look at her. “R-Reina. Let’s go get dressed in something more fitting for a-a-attending to M-Mukori.” She glances at Daniel, though her eyes suddenly seem a little dazed from embarrassment. Daniel doesn’t poke fun. She did that as part of her own adaptation to his plan. He’ll definitely have to thank her when he gets a chance.

Reignleif smiles, looking at Daniel with a sheepish blush of her own. “We’ll be waiting, Mukori.”

Daniel bows his head approvingly, and the two walk away from him. Daniel casually carries his helmet as he walks the opposite direction towards the prison cells. It’ll take a little while, but he might be able to determine on his own if anyone remained in stealth when the skirmish was over.

He keeps his helmet off for now so that anyone observing can see that he’s a tall human, and hopefully, they might just reveal themselves if they believe there’s an appropriate opportunity.

***

“FOOLISH WEAKLINGS!” Hekate practices her role from her position on one of the defensive turret towers of the perimeter wall around the Citadel’s town. It’s just inside the barrier, and a great position for her to see the layout of the siege forces. They are still fighting valiantly, but an endless column of mud golems marches into their forces, and some of the soldiers have already been captured. Xyreko was using the captured soldiers as meat shields, hoping their allies would avoid attacking those golems holding eastern soldiers hostage for fear of hitting their comrades. Ucahote, under Hekate’s decision, is now ferrying any captured soldiers behind Citadel lines to imprison them. If they’ve been captured by mere mud golems, it’s highly likely they’re out of mana or otherwise completely incapacitated.

Unfortunately, because mud golems are made of mud, they can’t move very fast or they fall apart or ‘melt’ trying to move faster than the mud can keep up. As such, they lumber headlong into enemy forces, and they’re easy to avoid and cut down with magic and melee attacks.

The advantage is their low cost granting numbers, and their fearlessness as they carelessly march into the enemy lines, wearing them down through continuous attack.

Ucahote explains, “The enemy forces have been fighting in shifts of approximately five thousand at a time where they can. They have impressive magical prowess, but are constantly swapping out when their mana depletes, it would seem. Those in back replenish with restorative consumables to restore mana and recover injuries where applicable.”

“It’s kinda sad that we can pretty much ignore them, and they’re still trying so hard.”

“One on one, I believe these soldiers would win with ease. However, if the Citadel was even half-manned, it would be infeasible to believe they have a chance of victory.”

“We were discussing that very thing. The siege is just a distraction. It’s the only explanation.”

Ryuogriar, observing from next to Hekate, remarks, “I’ve always been surprised by how spirited eastern races can be. Even in the face of impossible odds, they will endeavor.”

“I can understand both sides now, since it wasn’t long ago I was nearly powerless.”

There’s an awkward silence, but Hekate isn’t being passive aggressive. She adds sincerely, “When you have nothing else, you just have to give all you have. If you’re really lucky, someone will help you.”

“And, they have thousands of others helping them,” points out Ucahote.

All three nod.

Hekate then clears her throat, preparing the spell she needs to project a hologram of herself over the Citadel’s barrier. She murmurs again, “Foolish weaklings! FOOLS!” She looks at Ryuogriar. “Ready, Ryuo?”

The dragon in human form smiles elegantly. “Of course, your Greatness.”

Hekate smirks. Ryuogriar is being a little sassy, but as long as she plays her part, there is no issue. Two of the other dragons are watching her for the signal. Unlike Ryuogriar, Reignleif, and Geirahoel, the rest of the dragons aren’t allowed to cause harm to any person. However, they aren’t forbidden from demonstrating their power.

Hekate’s form rises high above them all as the hologram appears on the surface of the barrier. No one would believe it’s an actual giant, as hologram magic is rather common, according to Xyreko. In this case, it’s who and how they speak that affects the effectiveness of a hologram.

“FOOLISH WEAKLINGS!” Hekate’s voice booms across the battlefield, briefly bringing the siege to a lull as the startled and surprised soldiers look up at the towering image of the fox-eared girl.

“I am Empress Hekate Fell Lawson! Ruler of the Citadel and the Fievegal upon which you tread! I have graciously spared your kingdoms from my forces, but this pathetic invasion and attack on my home is an absolute show of disrespect! Surrender to me now, and I shall merely discipline you like the petulant children you so obviously are.”

There’s an eerie and awkward silence. Ucahote halted the golems when Hekate began speaking, and now the soldiers are seeing just a taste.

“If you will not kneel before me, then I will show you what fools you are!” Hekate gestures with her right hand, and Ryuogriar casts the transformation spell, growing in a swirl of smoke and magic light as she returns to her true form. The pearlescent dragon emerges from the smoke, roaring as several of the other dragons roar in tandem with her. 

“My dear sweet friends! Show these pathetic mortals what true power means!”

Ryuogriar and the other dragons helping out for the display inhale almost in sync with each other. As they open their mouths, sparks of light appear; magic being concentrated to empower their spells even further.

And then, hell itself opens its eye for a mere moment.

Beams of light streak across the ground, passing by the siege forces of the eastern armies, and almost immediately, explosions rip apart the landscape as the soldiers flinch, cry out, scream, and scramble in terror, many of whom fall in their panicked state. Fire, debris, smoke, and shockwaves rain down on them as the rapidly expanding materials instantly vaporized by the deadly fire lance breaths of the dragons cause chaos.

“That you are alive at all is by my mercy!” booms Hekate, putting her hands on her hips, which is imitated by her colossal hologram. “I ignored you these last couple days in hopes that you would see that your attempts are futile and retreat. But, you are like immature children, and though I want children of my own, I must be ready to discipline them.” She waves her hand out, and the hologram’s arm reaches far. “You may attempt to flee, but you will only make it worse for yourselves. Kneel -nay- BOW before me, and I shall show you a mother’s mercy!” She begins cackling, and this time, new golems begin marching out of the Citadel; golems armed with golem-specific fully automatic rifles; among the most advanced style of Daniel’s weapon that he brought to this world. Each golem is armed with special bullets meant to knock the soldiers down, and it can fire many of them in rapid succession. They pass through the ranks of mud golems, which fall into formation alongside and one row behind the rifle golems.

“My beloved minions, should these mortals bow to me, do not harm them. Escort them to their private quarters and see them fed properly. Everyone else, take them down and drag them in.” The small feldrok girl with big fox-like ears and a black, bushy tail begins cackling deviously.

Vaergraes approaches and speaks softly, staying out of the hologram, “My lady, if you continue down this path, they will begin calling you the demon tyrant.”

Hekate remarks calmly, “Let them. If they will attack me and make up lies about me, it will not save them from my discipline.” 

The rifle golems, formed of iron themselves, begin firing as the lumbering mud golems keep pace. Many of the soldiers instantly drop to the ground, bowing in a small and humble position as their weapons fall. True to her word, the golems only fire on the soldiers that try to resist or flee, and they topple happlessly. Even the mud golems march by them, though some of the rifle golems break off to begin arresting the soldiers that surrender. 

Mud golems step up to intercept melee attacks, and the iron golems carrying rifles nimbly dive out of the way. Comparatively, the iron golems are a little taller than Daniel, but with a similar humanoid build. The mud golems look more like lumbering masses of sludge with only the basic humanoid shapes, but with very little detail. Ranged magic is the primary threat to iron golems, which is why they were built to move faster and be more agile, and their rifles make them unparalleled on the battlefield.

Treia, Gwenesphia, Aoloan, Shek, Vaergraes, Thymeria, and Illianna all flinch when a magically cast spear of ice explodes only a couple yards ahead of them against the magic barrier of the Citadel. Its aim was true, and it would have speared directly into Hekate, even from as far away as it was cast. Of course, Hekate has been through much worse when she was a powerless slave. Now, she is the Empress of the Citadel and a feldrok that absorbed the power of not only the Feral Feldrok, but the Devourer as well. Even if one of these eastern soldiers could penetrate the Citadel’s barrier, there’s almost no possibility of them getting through her own personal barrier as well.

The young feldrok girl crosses her arms. “I see many of you still feel the spirit of rebellion. Lady Ryuo?”

The pearlescent white dragon nods, and she rises into flight, soaring high above the battlefield. As she cruises, she also casts the magic disabling spell, careful not to overlap the barrier of the Citadel. She’s using a modified spell that recreates the shockwave’s effect from the god-killer, which briefly depletes mana. 

Just as she’s about to finish, Hekate suddenly realizes that the golems are pure magic. “Wait! I was wrong! Ryuo!”

Ryuogriar interrupts herself, banking hard to ensure that she isn’t a sitting target for attacks. As she cruises in a wide arc, she looks at Hekate.

“What is it?” asks her voice through telepathy.

Hekate still can’t use telepathy, so she admits it through the illusion. The eastern army has no options left but to try to run. “The golems. I almost forgot about the golems.”

She can tell Ryuogriar realizes it, too. They almost eliminated all of the golems for the small benefit of eliminating the remaining magic attacks of the soldiers.

“What’s wrong?” asks Vaergraes.

Hekate explains what the spell would have done, and Vaergraes nods in understanding. “I see. Yes, eliminating your soldiers for that would set us back.”

“Yep. Oh well. Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Ryuogriar transforms in midair as she returns, landing next to Hekate in her human form. “A good number of them are retreating.”

Hekate puts her hand on her chin, thinking. “I’d like to capture all of them so we can make them never return.”

“We could route them with magic,” suggests Ryuogriar.

“Of course we could. But, I promised Daniel we’d be safe.”

“You’re going really far to spare them…” murmurs Gwenesphia.

Hekate looks at her with a smirk. “Would you prefer we annihilate them? They are your people, aren’t they?”

Gwenesphia looks away, but she shakes her head. “N-No… I don’t want anyone to die…”

“Neither do I. The best case scenario sees them contracted to my will, mainly so that I can make them never return. I don’t know how big the eastern alliance’s full army is, but I want to believe twenty thousand people is a sizable part of it. Ucahote? Do you think you can handle rounding up the escapees?”

“Of course, your Greatness. May I have your permission to unleash our full golem battalion?”

Hekate nods once, and Ucahote nods as well. The number of magically-mechanized soldiers marching out of the Citadel suddenly begins increasing drastically. Some are smaller than the iron golems, and armored similar to the soldiers. They sprint ahead of the formations, while canine-shaped units and winged fighters also race out of the castle. 

Treia steps closer to the edge of the turret to look. “Wh-... Why not do this from the beginning?”

“To wear them out first,” replies Hekate. “Also, for our stealth forces to reach their rear encampment.” Ucahote nods, and she grins. “And now, we have their commanders. If we lose the rest, then so be it.” Hekate turns away from the crumbling ‘siege’. It was a rather weak attempt at a distraction, but she’ll reveal that the internal strike force has already been caught when the external soldiers are apprehended.

Or, at least, most of the strike team have been captured.

***