Chapter 1 The Red Wings

Soldier: Captain Cecil! We will arrive at Baron shortly!

Cecil: Mhmm…

Soldier: See, even the captain…

Soldier: Even if it was an order…

Soldier: Stealing the Crystal from innocent people…

Soldier: We are the Red Wings, a proud airship fleet! And now we're robbing the weak and defenseless!

Cecil: That's enough!

Soldier: But Captain!

Soldier: How could we rob mages who didn't even resist!

Cecil: Listen up, all of you! The Crystal is absolutely essential for our Kingdom of Baron to prosper. His Majesty judged that the people of Mysidia know too much about the Crystal's secrets. We are the kingdom's airship fleet, the Red Wings of Baron! His Majesty's orders are absolute…

Soldier: Captain…

Soldier: Captain, monsters!

Cecil: All hands, battle stations!

Soldier: Agh!

Cecil: Are you all right?

Soldier: More incoming!

Cecil: Damn!

Cecil: Everyone okay?

Soldiers: Yes, sir!

Soldier: But all these monsters lately…

Soldier: Yeah, far too many.

Cecil: Is something… about to happen?

Soldier: We have arrived at Baron!

Cecil: Good. Bring us down.

Beigan: Excellent, so you have obtained the Crystal.

Cecil: …But the people of Mysidia didn't resist at all…

Beigan: Whatever do you mean? Come along, His Majesty is waiting.

Beigan: Sir Cecil, please wait here a moment.

Beigan: Your Majesty… If I may be so bold, I fear that wretch Cecil seems to be losing faith in you.

King Baron: Truly!? Nothing escapes my Captain of the Royal Guard. Well done! But it matters not, so long as we get our hands on the Crystal. Bring Cecil before me.

Beigan: Yes, my liege.

Beigan: Sir Cecil, His Majesty summons you. Please proceed.

King Baron: You have served well, Cecil. Now, where is the Crystal?

Cecil: Here it is, sire.

Handed over the Water Crystal.

Beigan: It appears to be genuine.

King Baron: So it is! Oh, how radiant! You may leave, Cecil!

Cecil: Your Majesty!

King Baron: Wh-what!

Beigan: Wh-what is it!

Cecil: Your Majesty, what is the meaning of all this? Everyone is losing faith in you!

King Baron: And you foremost among them?

Cecil: ! No, I would never…

King Baron: Did you think I knew nothing of this!? That someone of your standing should fail to trust me… Regrettably, I can no longer leave you in charge of the Red Wings! You are hereby relieved of your post as captain of the airship fleet!

Cecil: Your Majesty!

King Baron: Your new charge is to hunt down an Eidolon! We have reports of a phantom beast, an Eidolon, haunting the land near the Valley of Mist. Slay the monster, then deliver this Bomb Ring to the village of Mist. You depart tomorrow morning!

Cain: Please wait!

Cain: Cecil would never…

King Baron: Cain. If this one worries you so, then go with him!

Cecil: Your Majesty!

King Baron: I have nothing more to say! Take the ring and begone!

Obtained the Bomb Ring.

Cecil: Your Majesty!

Cecil: Sorry for dragging you into this, Cain…

Cain: Once we slay that Eidolon or whatever, His Majesty is sure to forgive you. You'll be reinstated to the Red Wings soon enough.

Cecil: …

Cain: Don't worry about it. Leave all the preparations to me, and rest up tonight.

Rosa: Cecil!

Rosa: Thank goodness you're safe. Your mission was so sudden, I was worried.

Cecil: Sure, we're safe… Hard to get so much as a scratch facing mages who didn't even resist…

Rosa: Cecil!

Rosa: I'll come to your room later…

Cecil: Mhmm…

Cid: So you're back, Cecil!

Cid: Rosa's been worried sick! Make her cry and you'll have me to answer to, ya hear? Now then, are my darlin' airships okay? Your men are too rough with 'em. Hey now, what's with the long face?

Cecil: Well, Cid, you see…

Cid: Whaa? Eidolon hunting? As if anyone but you could command the Red Wings! Bah, what's gotten into His Majesty? He's tellin' me to make a new model of airship, but… I don't want 'em made into murder machines! Folks in town are all wonderin' about it too… Anyhoo, you be careful now, hear! You'll take out those Eidolons with one swipe of your dark sword! Me, I'm headin' home. My daughter's been makin' a fuss 'cause I haven't been back home lately!

I've changed your linens. I hear you leave tomorrow morning, sir… Please rest well tonight.

Cecil: His Majesty… what has happened to him? He was once a renowned knight, and a kind and strong man. He took in orphans like me and Cain and raised us as though we were his own children. Mysidia's Crystal… Is it something we need so badly as to steal it from villagers who didn't resist? To think we did such a thing, even under orders!

Rosa: Cecil!

Rosa: What happened? One day you suddenly leave for Mysidia, and the next you're going Eidolon hunting… And you haven't been yourself since you came back.

Cecil: No, it's nothing…

Rosa: Then look at me.

Cecil: In Mysidia, I… stole the Crystal from innocent people! I'm a Dark Knight on the outside… with a heart to match…!

Rosa: …You're not that kind of person.

Cecil: I'm just a spineless Dark Knight who can't defy His Majesty…

Rosa: Cecil of the Red Wings would never whimper like that! Not the Cecil I love…

Rosa: You're going to Mist tomorrow, right? If anything should happen to you, I…

Cecil: No need to worry. Cain is coming with me…

Cecil: It's late… You should get some rest too.

Rosa: Be careful…!

Cecil: Thanks, Rosa… But I'm a Dark Knight. You and I…

Cain: Let's go, Cecil.

Cecil: Counting on you, Cain.

Cain: Heh. Leave it to me.

Thus the Dark Knight Cecil, captain of the Kingdom of Baron's airship fleet, the "Red Wings," was stripped of his command. Together with Cain, captain of the Dragon Knights, he left Baron Castle for Mist, a frontier village in a valley thick with fog… The airship, a vessel that soars across the heavens, had long been a dream of mankind… But the airship's swift reach could become not merely a dream fulfilled, but even a tool of men's desires. Through its airship fleet, the "Red Wings," the Kingdom of Baron became the strongest military nation. Why then did Baron, already so mighty, seek the Crystal…? And why did so many monsters begin to appear in broad daylight…? The Crystal, in silence, simply brimmed with its light…