Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: 3. Ceres
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3. Ceres
After observing the situation, I appeared in front of Arbelia.
"I'll kill you, Silverlane!!"
Arbelia, seething with rage, kicked off the ground and charged.
The distance closed in an instant. The greatsword closing in swung wildly at my neck.
"Your stance still hasn't improved."
Along with the sound of blades clashing, a cold voice brushed past.
I subtly twisted my body, deflecting Arbelia's strike. A familiar sword technique.
There's no way I'd be defeated by the technique I taught her myself.
"Dragging your right foot to forcibly shift your center forward is just collapsing your own balance."
"Shut up......!"
I glanced at Arbelia's right foot. The ankle wasn't functioning properly.
She was essentially standing on her left foot alone.
"Ah, your right foot's wrecked, huh? No supporting bones left. Might be faster to just cut it off and regenerate it."
"Shut... up...!!"
Ignoring the pain, Arbelia charged again. The greatsword came slashing down diagonally.
The sword strikes didn't end there. Using her left foot as a pivot, the combo continued.
'High center, low right, high left, vertical, horizontal.'
Crunch!!
Her left foot, unable to bear the load, began to break down as well. Because she was putting in more force than necessary.
I sidestepped one step to the side. All the sword strikes grazed the tip of my nose and missed.
"You, you dare......!"
Arbelia's breathing grew ragged. Her wounds, poison, and rage were eroding her reason.
Arbelia squeezed out her last reserves of strength and unleashed a flurry of thrusts.
Her dysfunctional ankle blurred her aim. Not thrusts, but slightly elongated slashes.
Arbelia now looked like she was dancing. A sword dance wielding a keenly sharpened greatsword.
But her opponent wasn't getting hurt. Extremely considerate.
"Urk......!"
Tears welled up in Arbelia's eyes. Rage, humiliation, or pain—it was impossible to tell.
Thud......!
The ground shook. A massive shadow crashed down between us. The fully awakened demon.
Its bloated arms swept toward me and Arbelia simultaneously.
I leaped toward Arbelia. Closing the distance in a flash, I slashed vertically with my sword.
The demon's arm was severed. The sweeping arm precisely missed only us.
"Don't... get cocky......!!"
Arbelia shoved me back with her body and created distance. As she retreated, she thrust her sword.
I lightly parried the blade and rapidly closed in.
Close enough to feel each other's breath. I faced Arbelia right before my eyes.
"I'll... kill... you......!!"
I slapped Arbelia's cheek hard, then dodged the demon's hand swinging from behind.
I immediately dove under the demon's arm. I slashed horizontally once with the sword in my hand.
Slice.
The demon's arm was cleanly severed at the joint and fell away. I lightly kicked the massive severed limb far off.
"Gaaaaah!"
The demon's guttural scream shook the air.
My eyes met Ludwig's. Ludwig asked me with a perplexed expression.
"...Who are you?"
I jerked my chin toward Arbelia as I replied.
"Silverlane."
Ludwig's gaze shifted to Arbelia, then back to me.
"Silverlane? What do you have to do with the Sword Saint..."
Ludwig's words trailed off. He had realized who I was.
"...Silverlane von Stella."
The reaction didn't come from Ludwig, but from the other members.
Those who had fallen to Arbelia were regaining their senses one by one and gathering around Ludwig.
"The former Sword Saint? Didn't that guy die already?"
"...Tch. I heard he fell fighting a great demon during the imperial palace raid."
A lull due to the outsider's intervention.
I turned to Arbelia. She had already reached her limit. Just kneeling and propping herself up with her sword.
Her breathing was labored, her gaze blurred. But alone, her hand hadn't released the sword.
"Thanks for recognizing me. But I've got prior commitments right now. I'd appreciate it if you waited until it's all over."
Ludwig, having sorted his thoughts, shook his head.
"...No. Whether you're the real Stella or not, that woman dies here."
As soon as he spoke, the remaining members readied for battle. The demon, having regenerated its arms, prepared to attack as well.
I pondered briefly. Killing the other members and the demon wasn't an issue.
But Ludwig was different. He had to fulfill his role as the black curtain.
'A sort of mid-boss. An existence the protagonist Ceres must defeat as she grows.'
Arbelia had a role in the same sense.
'The mentor role for protagonist Ceres.'
After mulling how to handle the situation, I made a proposal to Ludwig.
"Killing Arbelia here would be a waste. So, how about this? I'll help you."
"...!!"
"Don't fall for it, Captain. It's a trap. He might say he'll join but not cooperate at all."
"Agreed. There's only one reason he's still alive. He faked his death. He might still be operating under the Empire."
Ludwig hesitated. Covered in wounds though she was, the powerhouse who had cornered Arbelia.
Moreover, possibly the former generation's Sword Saint. Such a person as an ally would surely provide immense strength.
Ludwig, after agonizing, finally posed one question.
"I saw your corpse. I'm certain. You died once. That's why I didn't recognize you right away."
"..."
"Who are you? Are you really the man I knew?"
I smiled faintly.
"Well. What do you think?"
Ludwig's face hardened rigidly. Ludwig replied in a trembling voice.
"...You're not Stella. The man I knew wouldn't wear such a chilling expression."
"So, what will you do?"
"I'll trust you."
Ludwig tossed something to me. His own communicator.
"Contact me through that later."
Ludwig and the surviving members climbed onto the demon's hand.
They vanished beyond the pitch-black darkness that instantly blanketed the horizon.
Realizing they were completely gone, I turned around.
"Ah......Aaaah......!"
At some point, Arbelia had assumed her stance. The lingering mana at her sword tip began to glow faintly.
A sensation as if the surrounding air was being drawn in. My hair and clothes fluttered in the rushing currents.
An irreversible strike concentrating all her strength and mana into one point.
I could tell from instinct. That strike would reach the Domain.
'Dodging is a bad move, deflecting isn't great, blocking means instant death. Then the best option is...'
I set my sword down in the exact same manner.
Finger positions, foot spacing, shoulder angle—perfectly identical stance.
"......!?"
Arbelia's pupils dilated fully.
"There's no disciple who surpasses their master. My daughter."
Daughter.
At that word, Arbelia's face crumpled horribly.
"Even to the end, mocking me...!!"
With Arbelia's final cry, her body vanished forward.
A world of black and white.
Two perfectly synchronized whites collided at the center.
KABOOOM—————!!!
Light and sound exploded. The ground caved in, and surrounding debris flew outward.
Through the blinding glare that threatened to blind eyes and deafen ears, I thrust my hand out strongly.
Eventually, the dust settled.
I laid Arbelia, cradled in my arms, down on the ground.
Her sword had already fallen from her hand.
She barely opened her eyes and stared into empty space, as if acknowledging her defeat.
"Ah..."
I glanced at my shoulder, cleanly severed.
"Splendid."
To the extent that I could just discard my right arm.
Just as I said that and turned to leave.
Arbelia, who had stopped breathing, lost consciousness and uttered a word buried in the corner of her heart.
"......Fa..."
In that instant, I halted mid-step.
I turned back to Arbelia.
Then, a hollow laugh escaped me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Ludwig recalled the exchange that had just occurred.
[Well. What do you think?]
Those words were why Ludwig chose to retreat.
"Captain. Was it really okay to pull back like that? If we'd handled it right, we could've even gotten the Sword Saint..."
Ludwig dismissed Bella's words.
"No. The opposite. We nearly all died."
Silverlane von Stella.
No, whatever was wearing that man's skin.
In the exchange with him, Ludwig had clearly sensed it.
'If he'd truly intended to kill Arbelia to the end, we would've been the ones dead.'
"He's a monster using a lion's body. Until we know his abilities, avoiding conflict is the right call."
"Then you're really planning to take him in? I couldn't even read what he was thinking."
"Of course not. We can initiate contact first. In the meantime, we gather intel on him."
Suddenly, Ludwig felt a sense of incongruity.
Incongruity. Perhaps alienation.
As if he wasn't acting on his own will, but being toyed with by someone—
"—But Captain, don't you think something's off? If he wanted to save the Sword Saint, attacking us would've been faster."
"Ah... You're right. He showed an oddly complete lack of hostility."
'No. No.'
It was his own doubt, his own will.
There was no room for anyone else to intervene.
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