Lich for Hire

Did the present-day Lyon still deserve his loyalty?

Allen had never thought about this question. Even when he had decided to burn down the armories and stop the war, he had still felt that he was correcting Lyon's mistakes.

But was correcting the empire's mistakes enough?

He couldn't help thinking back to the young orc who had once shouted at him.

"My parents have long since perished within this city! You Lyon lapdog, I dare you to kill me too! I'll return to the embrace of my god, and I'll wait for you invaders to follow me to Hell!"

The voice still seemed to echo in his ears.

He thought of the young man who had wanted to leave military service after the war ended, and whose own family had insisted on executing him on the spot.

Allen had left Lyon to travel to the territory the dwarven kingdom had newly seized, with the original inhabitants displaced to make room for incoming dwarves. However the dwarven kingdom tried to manage the resettlement, the squeeze on living space had been impossible to avoid.

He had spent some time among the displaced. What he had heard most often there weren't curses against the dwarves, but rather against Lyon, the empire that had started the war.

There had been no real cause for the desert campaign. Couldn't the people of Lyon survive without the gold of the dwarven lands?

Allen couldn't answer that question.

The official explanation from when he still lived in Lyon was that Lyon merchants had been mistreated by the dwarves. Casualties on both sides had spiraled from there.

Lyon's years-long invasion followed.

At the time, Allen had believed it was just. The Lyon people were nobler than desert dwarves. A single Lyon life was worth ten thousand dwarven ones.

Now he could see that this was no different from the rule of the Dragon Tyrant.

The histories recorded that there had been incessant uprisings during that period. Whenever a single dragon lost but a single scale, the nearest village would be massacred in retaliation.

In the eyes of the dragons, the value of a single scale outweighed thousands of lives.

The dragons of those days had operated exactly as Lyon did now. Their faith had been twisted by their own fervor.

The Lord of Dawn taught his followers to act with justice and to never give up hope. He had never taught them to bring despair to others.

Allen clenched his fists and turned to Arthur Lyon. "Your Majesty, your descendants have transformed the Lyon Empire entirely. They've become more and more like the very tyrant you rose against. If Lyon doesn't recant, I will use everything I have to overthrow this corrupt empire."

By the end of his speech, he sank to his knees, unable to lift his eyes to meet Arthur's.

Telling Arthur Lyon that he would overthrow the Lyon Empire might be the most reckless thing Allen had ever done. This was Arthur Lyon, the hero he had idolized since childhood, the greatest of saints. Wasn't this tantamount to blaspheming against his childhood hero?

But the reproach Allen had braced himself for never came. Instead, Arthur Lyon clapped him on the shoulder. "If you can hold to that stance, then perhaps Lyon can still be saved. Allen, how do you intend to overthrow the empire?"

Allen looked up in astonishment. He hadn't expected the Holy King who had founded the Lyon Empire to endorse his stance, which would involve tearing down everything Arthur had built.

Astonishment quickly gave way to confusion. He didn't know how to answer at all.

How was he meant to overthrow the Lyon Empire? It was the strongest empire on the continent, and Allen but a paladin who had just become a legend.

He answered with shame, "I... I don't know."

Arthur Lyon offered no reproach. "Don't feel ashamed. There's no school in the world that teaches you how to overthrow a nation. When I was your age, I was running around the streets, nowhere close to being a legend. You're far stronger than I was. I trust you'll do no worse than I did.

"If you don't know where to begin, tell me, why did you decide to burn down the armories and granaries?"

Allen could only describe Lyon's impending invasion of the Unholy Kingdom. It was the only thing he could think to do.

Arthur shook his head. "I don't know much about today's Lyon Empire, but I doubt this approach would accomplish much. Why not choose a forthright method?"

"Forthright?" Allen frowned. "Your Majesty, what do you mean by that?"

Ambrose cut in. "He means that you should walk straight up to Lavarun's gates and announce the wrongness of this war to one and all. Urge that general not to commit unconscionable war crimes."

Allen shot him a look. "Could you stop interrupting and making things up?"

Walk up to the city gates and shout? The general would simply have him shelled with magitech cannons. That would be even more pointless than burning down a warehouse.

To Allen's astonishment, Arthur Lyon didn't disagree. He nodded approvingly. "This lich understands my points better than you do. That is exactly what you should do: declare your principles and your position openly and without reservation. Of course, I'm not telling you to risk your life on a speech. Now isn't the time for martyrdom. But a legendary paladin isn't easy to kill, surely? Once I reached the legendary tier, ordinary dragons stopped being a threat to me."

Allen fell silent. He didn't know how to answer.

Ambrose, of course, didn't hesitate to twist the knife. "Arthur, the paladins of today aren't what they were in your time. Drop them into the Dragon Tyrant's war and they'd be crushed like paste. A friend of mine cut his way clean through the Lyon Empire, and they couldn't do a thing about it."

Allen glared at him, but couldn't muster a rebuttal.

That Dullahan really was a stain on the empire's record.

After Ambrose had given him a sword in the Court of the Silver Moon, Allen had fought Gareth a number of times. He had never managed to force the Dullahan to draw on his full strength. He had been thoroughly outmatched in every match. Still, he'd made progress. By their final encounter, he had finally pushed Gareth into using his weapon.

Gareth's weapon was a four-meter-long blade burning with eldritch violet flame. A single strike had launched Allen across the field. Try as he might, he simply hadn't been able to get back up.

Allen still remembered Gareth's parting words. "Give it another thirty years and you might give me a real fight. Live well, kid."

Arthur Lyon noticed Allen's discomfort and chose not to trample on his pride like Ambrose. He changed topics. "Never mind that. Personal strength isn't really what matters. Allen, you must remember that no one person can overthrow this empire alone. You need companions—and I don't just mean friends. I mean people who share your convictions.

"If you don't tell anyone what you stand for, who would possibly stand with you? Allen, the first thing I want to teach you is this: tell everyone what you believe and find true companions. If everything you've described is true, then there must be many within the empire who feel as you do. They may simply be waiting for the right catalyst to act. You should be that catalyst.

"The power of an idea is greater than mere force of arms. Our plan back then was to unite forces from across the world to defeat the dragons and overthrow their rule entirely. A few of us, myself included, were tasked with holding back the Dragon Tyrant so he couldn't influence the other battlefields. I didn't live to see how it ended, but it appears the strategy worked."

Ambrose looked surprised. "That explains it. Reading the histories, I always wondered why the Dragon Tyrant had agreed to single combat with you. Even without his artifacts, with a beat of those wings, he could have outflown anyone on the continent. It must have been his last gambit to turn the tide."

Arthur shook his head. "If our plan had succeeded, no gambit could have saved him. Even if he had killed me, the result would have been the same. There were stronger fighters waiting for him after me. Without the support of the dragon race, and without the artifact that could reverse time, only defeat remained."

Arthur turned back to Allen. "Allen, remember this. You only need to make others understand what you stand for, so that they will work alongside you. Not everything need rest on your shoulders alone. You are one fighter among many. Your abilities may be greater, but never overlook what your companions can contribute, and never make yourself the absolute center of things.

"You aren't what will grant strength to the people. Your convictions will. People die, but ideals endure. Only when you understand that will you have any hope of overthrowing the Lyon of today. Think it through carefully. Work out what you truly believe, and pass it on."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I—" Something seemed to lodge in Allen's chest. He couldn't speak. He could only nod fiercely as tears welled up in his eyes.

As expected of the Holy King, Arthur Lyon had made it clear to the clueless Allen how to change the world in just a few sentences. What truly mattered wasn't the individual, but finding others who shared the same thoughts.

Ambrose was a little moved as well. As one would expect from a professional rebel, Arthur had hit the nail on the head.

Lyon was too strong to fall to external pressure, which would only cause it to set aside its internal schisms and bring about greater unity. The empire could only be dismantled from within.

"Well, then," Ambrose said to Allen. "Now that you've learned what you came to learn, off you go. I won't keep you."

A spatial rift opened up. Ambrose was sending him on his way.

But Allen didn't leave immediately. He turned to Ambrose with sudden seriousness. "Could you... free the Holy King? Please, I beg of you."

Ambrose laughed. "Sure. The price I quoted your father was one trillion gold, or the Draconic Armaments. Bring me one or the other and I'll trade with you at any time."

Allen's hand tightened on the hilt of his sword. He was genuinely tempted to challenge Ambrose right then.

He could overlook many things, but Arthur Lyon's heroic spirit was different. The spirit of the Holy King couldn't simply be left in a lich's keeping.

Arthur Lyon saw the two of them squaring up and intervened quickly. "Allen, don't be rash. I don't feel that this lich is keeping me prisoner. On the contrary, he freed me from an endless cage and let me see an old friend again. I'm grateful to him. I understand how you feel, but it isn't necessary. Your task now is to save your world, not to worry about a ghost from the past."

Allen was silent for a long moment, then turned and left Ambrose's extradimensional space.

Once Allen was gone, Ambrose couldn't help but address Arthur Lyon. "I didn't expect you to defend me. You do realize I treat you as merchandise, don't you?"

Arthur waved it off. "I do. But I don't particularly care about your motives. Your actions make it clear that you're helping others save this world. Master Megaman, however much you act like you only care about gold, your actions would all qualify as just and good. By the way, would you have any interest in converting to the Holy Light?"

Ambrose: "..."