The Power of the Vow
The garden had been reduced to complete ruin.
At its center yawned a vast fissure, and before that crack stood a demon of overwhelming size—one of the 72 Demon Gods. Bathin.
Scattered around him lay the fallen members of the student council, Erica among them. The only ones still standing against Bathin were Marie and me.
“Th-that’s…”
“It’s a demon. Stay behind me, Marie.”
I stepped in front of her and leveled Scarlet.
Marie’s entire body trembled.
“……”
Bathin fixed his gaze on me.
The pressure was crushing. Without Aggressive Warrior, I might have dropped to my knees then and there.
In one hand Bathin gripped a colossal sword. The blade alone stood as tall as a two-story building; a single swing looked capable of erasing the entire academy.
“Oh my, a sword? You know a thing or two, I see.”
I tossed out a light quip.
Of course I did. Bathin was the very first boss I had designed. I had never set an exact size, yet he towered roughly three times my current height.
“To remain standing before me… not bad, human.”
Even his voice was overwhelming.
Then Bathin spoke words that made no sense.
“One who is not of their own body… and a traitor sharing the same flesh.”
“How amusing.”
“…?”
Not of my own body? Had he sensed that I was a possession? And “traitor”… was that about Scarlet?
I swallowed hard.
None of that mattered right now.
Could I even fight him? Could Scarlet land a single blow on that monstrous frame?
This… is getting interesting.
Bathin raised the giant sword toward Erica.
“I will take that human.”
“Why?”
“There is a saying: the stronger the light, the deeper the shadow.”
“…!”
With his free hand he scooped Erica up as though she weighed nothing.
“A lifeform most suitable for us demons.”
At that moment Marie bolted past me.
“Marie!”
She planted herself between Bathin and Erica, voice shaking yet resolute.
“T-take me instead!”
“Hmm?”
“I—I’ll join hands with the demons! Just leave that woman alone!”
Wh-what?
Bathin looked Marie up and down. Then, seemingly satisfied, he dropped Erica to the ground.
“Oh-ho. You look quite suitable yourself. Very well. Follow me.”
So that was it.
Marie had never fallen. She had been trying to sacrifice herself to protect someone else.
From the very beginning I had been wrong—imagining some hole in her heart. She was simply too kind…
I…
Did she really think I would let her go?
“I will praise you for enduring before me this long, human.”
As Bathin reached for Marie, I spoke.
“Oh dear. How unfortunate.”
“Hmm?”
“I never gave my permission, you see.”
“What is this, human? Do you mean to resist?”
The sheer charisma in his eyes felt ready to cleave me in two. Still, I would not yield.
“Marie is mine. Taking her without her master’s leave is pure nonsense—and I shall teach you that lesson myself.”
“Franc…!”
I raised Scarlet high. Marie dashed to my side, hoisted Erica onto her back, and took cover.
Come on then, you demon bastard.
“Hmph.”
Bathin swung.
It was instantaneous. The casually loosed sword-aura carried the absolute certainty of death long before it arrived.
Clang!!
I met the blade head-on. My arms screamed; my knees felt ready to shatter under the force. This was a level utterly beyond any monster I had ever hunted.
“You endure well, human.”
Bathin lifted the sword with both hands, preparing to smash it down—when fireballs streaked in from behind and slammed into him.
“……”
He turned. Soldiers who had finally arrived were casting in unison.
“All units, fire!”
“No!”
I shouted.
“Useless insects have gathered.”
Swoosh—
Bathin swept his sword in a wide arc. The soldiers burst like overfilled balloons.
People dying that easily… the shock hit hard.
Th-that was…
“Now endure once more, human.”
“You… damn…!!”
Bathin reset his grip and brought the sword down again. I spun, driving Scarlet upward.
Rising Smash
Clang!!
Bathin staggered back a step; I was thrown the opposite way. My arm felt sprained. Simply remaining on my feet was already a miracle.
“Amusing. Is that the traitor’s power?”
“Spare the nonsense and come at me. I’ll take whatever you throw.”
“Very well. Die now.”
As Bathin reset his stance the ground around him cracked open. I clenched Scarlet until my fingers felt ready to burst.
He spun and slashed sideways. I met the blow—yet in the next instant my vision flipped to sky, then went black. I had been launched into a wall.
“Guh!”
“Franc!”
“That was rather enjoyable, human.”
Bathin charged toward the wall where I was embedded.
No—I refuse to die as paste.
I forced myself up and activated a dash skill.
Brave Rush
Boom!
The wall collapsed completely.
“A mere insect, rushing toward death.”
He was getting irritated. Simply parrying would never win this.
I activated Clairvoyance. At the center of Bathin’s chest I spotted the core—his weak point.
I charged again and drove Scarlet straight into his solar plexus.
“Mm.”
Damn it—nothing?
Bathin seized me and hurled me away.
Crash!!
Ah, fuck… that hurt like hell. Something felt broken.
I had grown up taking beatings, yet I had never been hit this hard. A high-pitched ringing filled my ears; nothing else got through.
Yet through that tinnitus one word reached me.
“Franc!”
Ma… Marie?
“Form a vow with me! Please!”
A… vow…!
Right—that mysterious skill I had seen that day. It might be the breakthrough we needed.
I forced my battered body upright, lifted my broken arm, and clasped Marie’s hand.
“What are you doing, human?”
I closed my eyes and focused entirely on the feel of her fingers. Brilliant light bloomed from our joined hands.
Fwoom—
The souls of Francoise and Marie have been bound.
“!!”
Sensing something, Bathin lunged through the light to stop us, sword raised high.
In that instant a greatsword of pure white and cyan light cut across the radiance.
Clang!
Bathin was driven back.
“So that was it.”
As the light faded, Marie stood there gripping a greatsword of her own.
I stared in shock. Marie… wielding a blade?
“Is this… the power of the Vow?”
She turned the massive sword over in her hands, still dazed.
It wasn’t over yet. I shouted the demon’s weak point to her.
“Marie! There’s a core in the center of his chest!”
“Yes!”
“Both of you, come. I will crush you thoroughly.”
Bathin gathered his aura. Violent wind pressure surged outward—but we would not fall to something like that now.
He brought down a sword wreathed in violet energy. Marie met it and forced it upward.
Kaaang!
“Franc! Now!”
I took three bounding steps and poured everything into one decisive strike.
Un
Deux
Trois
Strike
A clean hit. Wounds began to open on Bathin’s arm.
“!”
He gathered power and swung at blinding speed. Marie and I parried every single stroke.
Kakakakang!
“Receive~ if you please~”
“I—I can actually use swordsmanship like this…!”
“Insolent insects dare—!!”
Bathin retreated and concentrated his power once more.
“Marie!”
“Franc!”
We pressed our blades together, pooling our strength. The final clash was coming.
My broken arm and legs throbbed, yet the moment I felt Marie beside me the pain turned warm.
“This ends now, humans!!”
A violet laser erupted from the tip of Bathin’s sword.
Pew—
Marie and I thrust our blades straight into the beam.
Crimson Spear
Scarlet and Marie’s sword tip split the laser. Razor-sharp sword-aura punched straight through Bathin’s heart.
“Guh—!!”
A critical hit. Bathin dropped to one knee.
“Mere insects… dare…!!”
He leapt backward toward the fissure.
“Remember this, Francoise.”
With a heavy thud the crack vanished.
Did we… do it?
Strength left my legs and I collapsed—only to be caught in a soft, warm embrace.
Marie’s arms.
Thank goodness…
Thank goodness…
When I opened my eyes, Marie was watching me with a worried face.
Ah—an unfamiliar… no, a familiar ceiling. The infirmary where Cael had once lain.
“Franc!”
Marie threw her arms around me.
“Marie, you’re safe.”
“Yes! Thanks to you!”
Behind her stood the rest of the student council. James stepped forward and bowed deeply.
“We heard you stopped a Demon God. On behalf of the entire student council, allow me to express our deepest gratitude for your great efforts.”
Oh? Had I become a hero?
Erica suddenly flung herself at me as well, sandwiching me between her and Marie.
“Thank you… thank you so much, Miss Franc.”
“As expected of our underclassman. I already knew, but you truly are remarkable.”
“Hmph. I offer my respects.”
“Cute and strong~ I really want to give you a reward♡”
“……”
The student council was a noisy bunch.
In the middle of the chatter someone came running in at full speed.
“A-are you okay?!”
It was Kairin, panting hard.
“Oh, commoner! How lovely to see you~”
“You look fine enough…”
She let out a long breath of relief.
“The Adventurer’s Guild is in complete uproar. Word that someone actually fought a Demon God has everyone going crazy.”
“My, the rumor has already spread?”
“Yeah. The S-rank in charge of this region couldn’t handle it—and you did.”
Oh? Did that mean I was S-rank now too?
“It seems time to renew my license, then.”
“No. Just rest for now. Don’t push yourself.”
I looked at Marie.
“It wasn’t only me, you know.”
“Huh?”
“Without Marie, I might never have managed it.”
“Franc!”
“H-hmph.”
“……Ugh.”
Kairin and Erica both looked distinctly displeased. Had I said something wrong?
“Come to think of it… where is my Scarlet…”
The greatsword stood propped beside the bed. As if it had been waiting for me to wake, a status window bloomed.
Fwoom—
Strength has increased slightly.
New Skill Acquired:Crimson Spear
Vow Unlocked:Skills are now shared with the vowed partner.
“Wh-wh-what?! A V-Vow?!”
“What’s a Vow? Who did you form a Vow with?!”
Flustered, Kairin and Erica pressed me relentlessly.
Who else? Of course it was Marie.