108
Chapter 108
"Right here, right now, I will put an end to your recklessness."
The First Prince of the Empire declares so before us.
A completely sudden situation.
But even so.
The energy I felt, the bloodlust transmitted through the air, made me realize that this was reality.
'...How on earth?'
The only ones who knew our destination were Miss Rubia and Hans, who died earlier.
Since we used Lucy's contract, Hans couldn't have betrayed us, and naturally, Miss Rubia would never have told him our location.
However, listening to what that man was saying, it seemed the First Prince knew our location and had come to dispose of us.
If so, how on earth did he find out our location? I couldn't understand it at all.
But....
That wasn't what was important right now.
Figuring out the reason wouldn't change the situation we were in.
If I had time to play detective, I should spend it trying to somehow resolve this situation.
That meant there was no time to hesitate.
Before he could construct his spell formula, I quickly kicked off the ground and charged at him.
However,
"...It's been a while since I've seen that sword."
My sword never reached the First Prince.
A loud clang echoed.
The silver-haired man's sword clashed with mine.
A Holy Sword is a Holy Sword.
The oath I made back then. As long as that will remained unbroken, the Holy Sword would never break. No matter how fierce the sword aura, it shouldn't have been severed.
Aside from that, even when I pushed with all my might, he wouldn't budge. The ominous energy I felt from the opponent right in front of me.
And the face I knew so well.
What all this pointed to was clear.
"I thought you would never show up again. Is this too fate?"
...A Sword Master.
The First Prince's words that he could dispose of us without relying on luck were no empty boast.
The Imperial Family's direct Imperial Guard.
Karl was standing right before my eyes.
It would be dangerous to maintain this standoff. Unlike with Balzac, they had a mage on their side.
I gritted my teeth and created some distance between us.
'This is....'
The situation was not good.
In fact, it was extremely bad.
I could feel cold sweat running down my back.
The First Prince, who grew his power by sacrificing talented individuals, had already reached the 9th Circle ten years ago.
Judging by the energy he exuded, it seemed he had already reached the realm of an Archmage.
Just dealing with a Sword Master was already overwhelming, but now I had to face an Archmage at the same time?
Could I win?
No, more than just winning....
'Can I even escape?'
I couldn't even figure that out. The path ahead was completely blocked.
But even so, the enemy wasn't going to wait for us.
As soon as I created some distance, sword auras flew at us as if they had been waiting. Hundreds, no, thousands of slashes rushed toward us.
Ciel's shadow tried to swallow them up, but....
Perhaps it was too much to swallow that many slashes; she couldn't even block half of them, managing to stop only a fraction.
In the end, I swung the Holy Sword to cancel out those sword auras with my own slashes.
...No, I tried to cancel them out.
But why? I clearly swung my sword, yet it didn't swing.
The fact that I swung my sword was severely distorted.
Reality Manipulation.
An act of twisting causality.
A magic formula of someone who had reached the realm of an Archmage.
That turned my attack into something that never happened.
Eventually, the slashes reached right in front of our noses. Ciel's body couldn't possibly withstand that.
I desperately threw my body out and had to block them by taking the sword auras head-on.
'...This is really driving me crazy.'
Was pain beyond a certain level treated as a mental attack? I couldn't feel any pain, but my head throbbed on its own regardless.
The more we fought, the clearer it became that their combination had no weaknesses.
Usually, casting such great magic takes some time, and if attacked during the casting, the caster themselves takes significant damage.
Attacking with well-timed precision is the best approach.
But they have a Sword Master on their side.
Even if I tried to stop the Prince from constructing his spell formula, I would just be blocked by that guy's defense.
It was a situation where attacking the Prince was practically impossible.
'But... that's the only way.'
I couldn't even guarantee victory against just a Sword Master. There was no way I could win against a Sword Master backed by an Archmage.
By any means necessary, break through that guy's defense and incapacitate the Prince. That was the only way to win.
I sent a signal to Rien, and kicking off the ground with her, I charged at the First Prince.
I gathered all my divine power into the Holy Sword.
...Of course, I had no intention of actually using this.
Divine power is not infinite.
To annihilate those two in one fell swoop, I would need at least a strike containing my full power. I couldn't waste my only card this early.
Therefore, there was only one reason I was doing this.
Bluffing.
Soon, the First Prince's spell formula was completed. My arm, which was about to swing the sword, stopped as if frozen.
It was an obvious result.
If I poured all my divine power into an attack, even that guy wouldn't be unscathed.
From his perspective, he had no choice but to stop me.
And if that happened...
"Give it your all, Rien!"
No matter how powerful of an Archmage he was, he couldn't use a spell formula that manipulated causality on two people at the same time. Inevitably, an opening would appear.
Hearing my shout, Rien charged fiercely.
She didn't miss the opening that had just been created.
Of course, Karl stepped up to protect the First Prince, but...
Black chains bound Karl.
It was the magic Ciel had prepared. Since the opponent was a Sword Master, she wouldn't be able to maintain it for long. But that didn't matter.
There was no need to restrain him for a long time in the first place. It was enough to just stop him from protecting the First Prince for this single moment.
Rien's eyes flashed fiercely as she thrust her fist forward with everything she had.
A sonic boom loud enough to hurt my ears.
A strike that shook the heavens and the earth.
That was how we would incapacitate the First Prince and somehow turn the tide of this desperate battle.
We should have been able to turn it around.
That was how it should have been...
But an anomaly occurred.
An ominous and immense energy that made my skin crawl.
A woman jumped out from the First Prince's shadow.
That woman handled a sword like a Sword Master, effortlessly blocking Rien's attack.
At the same time, as if she were an Archmage, she used Dispel on the spell formula Ciel had desperately squeezed out, melting the chains away.
After pulling off such an absurd feat.
That woman—no, that corpse looked at me.
"Kill me."
While saying those very words.
My head spun. The situation just wouldn't process in my mind. It was inevitable.
That person wasn't supposed to be there.
She wasn't someone who should be appearing here.
Just why.
Of all places, here.
'Why is a predecessor's comrade showing up...'
I gritted my teeth.
I had to survive. I needed to live. So I didn't have the time to be flustered by such a thing or to think about what had just happened.
I had to think.
About how I should act, about what I had to do to survive against them.
But...
"......."
There was no way an answer would come to me. If it did, that would be even stranger.
Weapon Master. The All-Rounder.
A born genius, permitted to stand beside the Hero, who was the very center of the world.
To face such a being—not alone, but alongside a Sword Master and an Archmage? There were limits to how absurd things could get.
So, to put it another way...
If things continued like this, there was no way for us to win.
*****
Ciel stared blankly at Ian.
As soon as she saw his face, she could tell.
There was no chance of winning.
That Ian had come to that conclusion.
It was probably the right judgment.
Three enemies, each overwhelming on their own, had swarmed them. Victory was out of the question, and even escaping was impossible.
That was why the girl thought to herself.
About what she had to do right now.
And that deliberation didn't take very long.
She couldn't even hear Wolf's noisy laughter.
The mocking voice asking if it was really okay, if she was sure she wouldn't regret it, wasn't important.
It was only natural.
Because from the very beginning, there had only ever been one person who mattered to her.
"Ian, do you remember? What happened back then."
Ciel asked.
Hearing those words, Ian looked bewildered. It made sense.
"How on earth did you do this?"
Shadows had somehow enveloped the three of them.
The bizarre Sword Master, the Mage, and the unknown woman. None of their attacks could reach them.
It was incredibly quiet here.
So he couldn't help but be panicked.
"No, that's not what's important.... What exactly did you offer to sacrifice?"
Ian asked with an expression even more serious than before. But she couldn't answer him.
"You know, before. You promised to grant me one request. You haven't forgotten, have you?"
As soon as he heard those words, Ian's expression darkened. He had realized what she was trying to do.
But it was already too late.
Rien, struck down by that woman, and Ian had their legs swallowed by the shadows.
Once they returned to the mansion, the two of them would surely be safe.
She wouldn't be safe, but that was okay.
It would probably be okay.
It had to be okay.
"So, I'm asking you now."
For some reason, the words wouldn't come out easily. Her heart ached. Her eyes stung.
But even so, she had to say it. Because if she didn't, Ian would definitely throw himself into danger to save her again.
I love you.
I'll miss you.
I wanted to spend more time with you.
Please remember me.
Locking those true feelings deep within her heart so they wouldn't leak out, she forced a smile.
"Forget about someone like me and live."
The girl spoke a lie she didn't mean.