The Great Inauguration (Zoe in the Dragonmaid Château)

Hara smiled gently. "You might move each piece once per turn. Keep in mind that the monster pieces will move as well during their turn." As Zoe asked, two numbers appeared at the base of each piece... "Each piece has 5 health points and an attack value determined by who they are based on... Some have... Special powers because of this..." Something in her gaze seemed to point at Philia's piece, maybe it had some kind of secret?

The Headmistress looked at the mysterious piece and negated with her head. "These pieces represent those closest to your heart and, of course, you. This little one is a mystery on itself..." She was right, the piece, unlike the others, had no numbers on its base, only interrogation symbols.

Event: Final Game
Zoe Piece: 5/5 - Power: 3
Eri Piece: 5/5 - Power: 1
Philia Piece: 5/5 - Power: 2+
??? Piece: ?/? - Power: ?
Enemy Pieces: 7

Each piece, that made sense. Zoe was keeping a running tally of everything she was hearing in her head, so she could keep track of it in the heat of the moment. She took a look at the numbers of each piece as she spoke, noticing the numbers on them. Each of them had the same HP, but the power that they all had was different. And Philia's had a strange symbol next to her power. Maybe she was special somehow? Zoe didn't know what that meant yet, but it would likely come up as they went through it.

And then, the mystery of the last piece. The thought had occurred to her, too, that she didn't have more than those two that she held strong attachment to. Her, Eri and Philia...so who was the fourth? It didn't even have numbers, as if they were waiting to be filled in. How...odd. If she needed to get all four pieces to the back of the board, around the others and through it all, then that made this last piece stressful. How strong was it? How durable was it? And...something about that made her want to keep it safe. She didn't really know why. Maybe she was worried it was weaker than she expected and that made her nervous to use it. She needed to get them all to the end, after all.

She took a deep breath, absorbing all of this information. "One last question, and then we can start. Are there...any more rules, I should know about, before we get going? I want to be sure I know what I'm doing, as much as I can..." She was already looking slightly more composed than she was originally. She could do this.

"There are no more rules just a piece of friendly advice. Remember what you have learn from your stay here. That might as well be the key to your victory." With nothing else to say, Hara removed the protection from the pieces marking the start of the final trial. "Your turn, mistress."

Event: Final Game
Zoe Piece: 5/5 - Power: 3
Eri Piece: 5/5 - Power: 1
Philia Piece: 5/5 - Power: 2+
??? Piece: ?/? - Power: ?
Enemy Pieces: 7

What she had learned here...? That made her pause, and think about what she had in front of her. She would have to figure that part out, too. She could think of a few things she had learned, but she wasn't sure how much she would get out of remembering those things specifically.

She looked behind her to give Philia and Eri a nod, doing her best to keep herself together, taking a deep breath. "Okay. I'm ready now." Ready as she was ever going to be, at least. She looked over her four pieces, each of them lined up in a row. Zoe's own piece seemed to have the highest strength, and she could understand that one, at least. Maybe it came from how hard she wanted to protect the others. And she would. But she couldn't just blaze through on her own. She had to rely on them too.

She started with her own piece. Moving it up one square, she moved Eri's piece that was next to her behind Zoe's own, shielding that piece. Eri's power was low, so she was going to play it safe. She didn't know what to make of that last one, so she did the same for Philia's piece, moving it up and protecting the mystery piece using her. She didn't know what that 2+ on her Attack meant just yet, but she wasn't going to leave that piece out on its own, and she had to put her trust in Philia. That move put her in range of the first enemy on the board she could reach, so she would get the first strike in combat. That usually meant something! Letting out a breath she was holding for what felt like her entire turn, she looked up at Hara. "I have Philia attack the enemy adjacent to her and end my turn."

As Zoe ended her turn, the monster pieces closest to her own moved as well. The piece representing Philia was right in front of a monster and so she delivered the first blow and, for some reason, dealing more damage than her number said. The Philia piece dealt a wooping 4 points of damage to the first monster piece, leaving it at 1. The monster counterattacked, dealing 2 points of damage to the Philia piece.

On the other side, another monster piece had moved closer to Zoe's, dealing the first blow to the fox girl's piece and, when that happened, something strange happened to Philia's, now it was showing a 3+ instead of a 2+, maybe it was this what Hara meant by special abilites... Just like Eri's piece seemed to glow, raising the health number on Zoe's piece by 1, maybe the fox girl's piece had the ability to heal adjecent pieces, this could prove really useful...

Event: Final Game
Zoe Piece: 4/5 - Power: 3
Eri Piece: 5/5 - Power: 1
Philia Piece: 3/5 - Power: 3+
??? Piece: ?/? - Power: ?
Enemy Pieces: 7
Monster Piece 1: 1/5
Monster Piece 2: 5/5

Spoiler:

The one turn had proven to be somewhat eventful, and had shown quite a bit. Eri's piece could heal! So this is what Hara meant by "special abilities"...and she didn't fully understand how Philia's piece had worked, but she had done a lot of damage! More than her number had said even now...she looked at the unformed piece with curiosity, wondering if it had done something to that one. Both of the pieces in front were engaged in combat now. She had to take action if she wanted to keep them safe!

"I attack with both Zoe and Philia's pieces against the targets that they are next to." She called out her move, intent on not making changes to their positions. Eri could keep her own piece topped off when it came to health, and if Philia had moved, she would have been forced to take another hit; it would have been easy for it to follow her. The best course of action she could see was by pressing the advantage she had and keeping the effects of the pieces next to them going. "And then I end my turn." She was in this, and her brain was working overtime now.

Just as Zoe expected, Philia's piece destroyed that of the monster she was facing, she did a pretty big overkill but then, something happened, the overkill damage seemed to keep moving forward and, once it reached the next monster, Zoe noticed that the piece took 1 point of damage. "As you might have noticed, mistress, overkill damage will keep moving forward. Degrading by 1 point per space, this might aggro the other pieces so keep that in mind." Just as Hara said, the damage piece started moving towards Philia, one space forward.

On Zoe's end, she was still engaged against the monster piece, dealing 3 points of damage and taking back 2 just to get 1 point healed by Eri's piece. It would seem that she could keep mitigating the damage like this and, with her next attack, she could easily get rid of the monster piece...

Event: Final Game
Zoe Piece: 3/5 - Power: 3
Eri Piece: 5/5 - Power: 1
Philia Piece: 3/5 - Power: 3+
??? Piece: ?/? - Power: ?
Enemy Pieces: 6

Monster Piece 2: 2/5
Monster Piece 2: 4/5

Spoiler:

So the damage she did that exceeded the target would carry over to targets behind that one...that was good information to have! It would attract attention, though. She would have to be careful how her damage moves on to the other targets. She had a plan, though.

"I have Zoe attack the target in front of her..." For a moment, she was considering her options. For now, she moved Philia next to Zoe's piece to the left, and moved Eri's piece right, so that she was right behind Philia and next to the mystery piece. That should heal Philia and prepare her for the next one that was coming. She needed to play defensively for now, and get ready for the push into that area.

"...and then I end my turn."

With the power that Zoe's piece had, it was easy enough to deal with the monster. A single slash was enough to finish it, sadly no overkill damage to move to the next enemies but now, all of Zoe's pieces were rounded up and there was one more monster coming after them, giving them the chance to prepare an ambush...

Event: Final Game
Zoe Piece: 3/5 - Power: 3
Eri Piece: 5/5 - Power: 1
Philia Piece: 4/5 - Power: 3+
??? Piece: ?/? - Power: ?
Enemy Pieces: 5

Monster Piece 3: 4/5

Spoiler:

This was going well. She had gotten the attention of the monster coming at them, and she was in a good situation. She was feeling confident. Bold, even. One ear flopped over to its side as she moved the Zoe piece up a space, but didn't touch the others. Maybe she had a knack for this whole strategy thing after all and she never knew!

"I end my turn." With the way the units were laid out now, she had a pincer formation for the next one. And, she was safe if the others decided to rush in.

Just as Zoe's piece moved up, the monster piece seemed to ignore her. Keeping its course and moving forward aiming, apparently, at the little and mysterious piece...

Event: Final Game
Zoe Piece: 3/5 - Power: 3
Eri Piece: 5/5 - Power: 1
Philia Piece: 4/5 - Power: 3+
??? Piece: ?/? - Power: ?
Enemy Pieces: 5

Monster Piece 3: 4/5

Zoe licked her lips as she saw the piece move just how she was expecting it to. It seemed to have a one track mind...which was fine by her. Maybe that was the unformed piece's ability? She was getting into this. She might have to try and find these kinds of games more often! She moved her own piece right, and Philia's piece right as well. She had pieces two sides of the opposing enemy, now. Just for good measure, before calling out her next move, Zoe moved up the Eri piece so that it was sitting inbetween the two of them.

"I attack the adjacent enemy with both Zoe and Philia, and end my turn!"

Zoe's plan worked flawlessly. Between her piece and Philia's the monster piece had no chance. One thing did happen. The monster let let out an agonizing roar that seemed to wake up the other pieces. Two of them started to move towards Zoe's pieces. She would need to think more carefully now...

Event: Final Game
Zoe Piece: 4/5 - Power: 3
Eri Piece: 5/5 - Power: 1
Philia Piece: 5/5 - Power: 3+
??? Piece: ?/? - Power: ?
Enemy Pieces: 4

Monster Piece 4: 5/5
Monster Piece 5: 5/5

It was a success! The piece was removed without a hint of damage caused to her own. She was pretty good at this. But it seemed like that action had caused the two on the far right to start making their way down. So they all had their own abilities, too...still, playing defensive had worked out for her so far. The last thing she wanted was to jump into a scenario where she would instantly have all this good progress backfire...

Thinking about it for a moment, she moved the mysterious piece inwards to the left, behind Eri. All three of the other pieces were next to Eri's piece, now. This was something of a test...if they really were attracted to this one's presence, then she could use that to her advantage.

"I end my turn." Zoe scratched her chin with her hand, clearly using all of her brainpower on this. More than she was used to, that was for sure.

Just like Zoe expected, the monsters were still aiming for the little piece. They kept moving forward and, at the same time, Eri's ability continued to heal the other pieces.

Event: Final Game
Zoe Piece: 5/5 - Power: 3
Eri Piece: 5/5 - Power: 1
Philia Piece: 5/5 - Power: 3+
??? Piece: ?/? - Power: ?
Enemy Pieces: 4

Monster Piece 4: 5/5
Monster Piece 5: 5/5

Spoiler:

Right now, Zoe had an impregnable defense, and her group was working as a team. As the next group came into view, Zoe simply move all of her units one space to the right, as her Zoe and Philia piece was surrounding the first of the two enemies. She would take a hit from the one behind it, but that was okay. This setup meant everyone was safe, and the damage would be slightly mitigated.

"I attack with both Zoe and Philia, and end my turn." As long as she kept the momentum going in her favor, she had this.

Zoe's perfect formation was ready. Between her piece and Philia's, she was able to quickly get rid of one of the monsters. She even manage to deal some overkill damage to the one behind the monster they just got rid of.

Right after that, the remaining monster moved in to strike at Zoe and, as the hit connected something happened. One of the monsters that had been waiting patiently before the goal moved in and struck at Eri. Luckily, it all ended in just a scare, since, at that moment, Zoe's piece's ability revealed itself. The fox girl's piece moved on its own, shielding Eri's and taking a second hit and, as if a chain reaction, Philia's ability triggered... In a different way. The little maid changed forms, transforming itself into a dragon, a bigger piece than the monsters', so this is what Hara hinted, such transformation was probably a big surprise for Zoe. Things got even more interesting as Zoe saw the stats now showing on Philia's piece: a whooping 10+ power! Not only that! The piece now had several arrows at the base, probably indicating that it now was able to move in 8 directions instead of 4! "Ah, and so the little secret is revealed. As I said, some pieces had special abilities and, sometimes, the little things turn out to be those most powerful." Hara added.

Event: Final Game
Zoe Piece: 2/5 - Power: 3
Eri Piece: 5/5 - Power: 1
Philia Piece (Dragon Form): 5/5 - Power: 10+
??? Piece: ?/? - Power: ?
Enemy Pieces: 3

Monster Piece 5: 4/5
Monster Piece 6: 5/5

Spoiler:

That was a whole lot to take in all at once. She almost lost her own piece, with a play like that. She hadn't thought this was risky like that. But, through a stroke of good luck, that triggered something in Philia's piece, which turned...into a dragon? She had to steal a look back at Philia (the real one), before back at the newly formed piece. Didn't quite expect that. But, for sure, this was an incredibly powerful piece. And yet, she was still in a tight spot.

She needed all of the pieces to reach the goal. But her own piece was hanging on by a thread, and surrounded by two pieces that would break her down if given the chance. She had to think fast...and Philia was the key. Stress was starting to get to her a little bit, but she was doing what she could to stay in control. She had a play, and that was to get the Zoe piece out of harm's way. But...Zoe's piece had rushed in to protect Eri's. Which...posed a problem. If she did that again, she would die...thinking about it, that made perfect sense from her perspective. But not when she needed her to come back in one piece!

Zoe took a second to breathe, calm herself down...her ears twitched as she did, having trouble. She didn't know what to do! She was having trouble visualizing it, the way she wanted to...maybe stress was getting to her. All the information she had been gathering was jumbling around in her head, and she was having difficulty reaching for it all in the heat of the moment...before it finally pulled out something!

She reached for the Philia piece, moving it up next to Zoe. With it's new 8 way direction, she could attack the one just above her. Next, she moved Zoe to the left, so that both it and Eri's was around the remaining one.

"I...I attack with Philia's on the one, and with Zoe and Eri on...the second." She gulped. A good bit less confident than she had been just a moment ago. She really, really hoped this would work. It all came down to this mystery piece, and whether she really understood it. Zoe's tail bristled as she continued. "And...I-I end my turn."

Zoe had risked it all in this move... And it worked! Just as Zoe suspected, the mystery piece seemed to buff the attack of the pieces next to it, just like Eri could heal. Thanks to this and combining an attack coming from Zoe with it, the monster piece was easily destroyed in one quick swoop. On the other side, the now dragon Philia, obliterated the monster piece with it's incredible power. "Yeah! Take that for bullying Zoe, you mean monster!" The little maid had remained silent so Zoe could focus but she couldn't hold back after seeing that, her tail and pigtails waving and wiggling to celebrate. Eri had a smile on her face, she knew Zoe had what it take to complete this challenge and it proved to be truth.

The final monster started to make it's way to Zoe's pieces. So far, enemy pieces had been showing their abilities but this one didn't have the chance yet, what could it be? Zoe would have to wait and see, hoping that it wasn't anything too bad, mainly because Zoe's piece was hanging on a thin thread, she would need to stick close to Eri's in order to heal back...

Event: Final Game
Zoe Piece: 2/5 - Power: 3
Eri Piece: 5/5 - Power: 1
Philia Piece (Dragon Form): 5/5 - Power: 10+
??? Piece: ?/? - Power: ?
Enemy Pieces: 1

Monster Piece 7: 5/5

Spoiler:

Zoe let out a large, relieved sigh, that she'd pulled her way through that. Everything had gone like she had originally wanted. Maybe she really had just been overthinking all of it. A few sweat beads had dripped from her forehead during that exchange, and she wiped them away with her sleeve at seeing the results. There was only one left. And she...had a Philia. But she really needed to get her own piece out of there. She had done her part. Hearing Philia's excited shouts behind her, she looked back at the maid and gave her a weak thumbs up, before returning to the board. She couldn't have done all this without her, after all.

Zoe grabbed her own piece and moved it down a step, right next to Eri's. Letting it heal just incase that last piece had a trick up its sleeve was probably for the best. Next, she moved the unformed piece next to Zoe's to deter anyone that would strike at it. And finally, she started moving Philia left towards the oncoming last threat. "I end my turn."

Not much happened this turn. The monster piece moved towards Zoe's group, it didn't seem to do anything special just yet but everything seemed to turn the tide of the battle in Zoe's favor.

Event: Final Game
Zoe Piece: 2/5 - Power: 3
Eri Piece: 5/5 - Power: 1
Philia Piece (Dragon Form): 5/5 - Power: 10+
??? Piece: ?/? - Power: ?
Enemy Pieces: 1

Monster Piece 7: 5/5

Spoiler:

She had the last enemy right where she wanted it. No matter what move it took, next turn, she had them right next to Philia's immediate burst of damage, and that would be that. Still, she had to be cautious. For all she knew, that last one could have something special to it, like her pieces did.

And then it hit her: Philia could attack in 8 ways now! She already had this! She moved Philia's piece left, right across from her target. "I attack with Philia and end my turn!" This was the turning point, and she had this! As long as nothing jumped out and surprised her, she had nothing left standing in her way...

Just as Zoe said, Philia's piece moved in and easily destroyed the last monster. When that happened, two things followed: first, Philia's piece changed back, not only that but it seemed as if the little maid was sleeping, probably reflecting how exhausted she would be after using her dragon form, and the second thing was how the board started to glow before dispersing into a cloud of light but, before it was completely gone, Zoe could swear she saw the mystery piece finally take form, for a brief second, it looked like Eri but much, much smaller... It was so fast that one could guess if it really happened or if it was a trick of the light.

Once the light was gone everything went back to normal, all the maids were there, looking at Zoe and clapping, celebrating the wolf girl's victory. Philia ran towards her, giving her a tight hug. "You did it Zoe! Congratulations!"

Eri didn't wait either, she walked towards Zoe and joined the hug. "I knew you could do it, Zoe."

"Congratulations, mistress. I must say, this has been a most wonderful challenge." Hara approached the group, leaving them space to enjoy the celebration. "With this, the game is concluded. I hereby am glad to declare you the first winner of our little contest."

There was a lot of things that went over her head with this game, most likely, but...she did it! Philia's piece obliterated the last enemy, and there wasn't any other challenges standing in her way. That form didn't escape her notice, however. Just before it vanished, that mysterious, unformed piece had a shape to it. One that was unfamiliar to her, but, at the same time...maybe it something couldn't remember? Or maybe even something that hadn't happened, yet...

"I....I won?" She didn't have time to think too much about it before Philia practically tackle hugged her, with Eri joining in afterwards. "...I won!" It took a moment for the initial shock to wear off, and realize she had passed the final test. She was a little mentally exhausted, but the rush from the fact that she had been actually successful at it all was definitely present. She hugged her two close individuals bag tightly, knowing they were the reason she got this far. "I-I didn't think I could do it! That was amazing! I...I did it...!" It didn't feel real, but it was very, very real.

Still holding the two of them, she looked over at Hara. "T-T-Thank you, for the game! I had...a lot of fun!" Zoe hadn't expected it to be so engrossing, but she had been 100% into it all, no doubts there. "So...what happens now?"

"First of all..." Hara made a gesture and Sylvia, who had arrive later than the rest, approached, carrying a book. "Allow us, to hand you the prize for winning our game: first of all, as a token of our appreciation for being our first guest, allow us to reward you with this book. It contains many magical secrets and spells, it might prove useful for you."

Philia and Eri released Zoe, so she could accept her prizes. Sylvia smiled and handed the book to Zoe. "Here, you go dear." It was a big book and it seemed to be old, very old.

"Now for the normal prize. We shall grant you, if it's within our reach, one wish of your choice." Hara continued.