The Royal Capital Galia (19)
Unlike Karel, whose power remained intact, Jina's was not. It was a fact both demons knew all too well. The disparity began with the amount of power each could wield. No matter how efficiently she squeezed every last drop, if the total reserves differed from the start, the fight was already lost. She was inevitably forced onto the defensive.
Jina's spear traced a smooth arc as it cleaved through the monsters. Limbs were severed. Heads were pierced. Bellies were split open. The spear moved ceaselessly, overworked and relentless. Thwack! Her thrust pierced a monster's throat. The grotesque head rolled across the floor with a dull thud, thud. No blood gushed forth. These were shadow monsters Karel had created—nothing more than artificial puppets. They might have been superior in performance, but they lacked the vital spark of true monsters.
Jina parried attacks pouring in from every direction. She had no choice but to. "Haa, haa." Her breath came out in white puffs. She had manifested her shadow spear but used no other shadows, fearing Karel would interfere. The more monsters she faced, the more exhausted she grew. Their numbers were overwhelming. Even when she killed or incapacitated them, they regenerated instantly, rendering her efforts meaningless. Karel's presence made it difficult to wield her shadows freely, and she had already exhausted herself fighting the hero's party. Fatigue came quickly.
"Huu, huu." This was a battle of attrition with no meaning. If she let it drag on, it would spiral out of control. She lowered her stance, tensed her calves, and leapt. Whoosh! The air and wind slammed against her as she shot forward like a bullet, tearing through every monster in her path. Thud! Her charge, which should have met no resistance, was halted by a wall of shadows Karel had conjured. Jina retreated swiftly. The wall morphed into serpentine forms that pursued her.
"How presumptuous, Karel." Slash! Her spear danced, striking down the shadows. Karel sneered. "You're not what you used to be, Sister." "Shut your mouth." It had been her trump card, yet the situation was turning against her. She hadn't even confirmed whether Ronin had revived safely. Was this where it ended? She refused to accept that. She would struggle to the bitter end.
Another wave of monsters surged forward. Jina thrust her spear, repelling them and piercing their heads to incapacitate them. The endless tide felt like an ocean. How long could she hold out? "……Haa, haa." Were they finally stopping? The moment the thought crossed her mind—Thud, thud, thud!—she spotted a quadrupedal monster charging straight at her. So that was why it had gone quiet; it had been preparing this. Its sharp, massive horn stood out. If she rolled aside to dodge, the other monsters would surround her. She had to take it head-on. Circumstances left her no choice. Damn it.
The charge was so ferocious the building beneath her shook. The impact would be tremendous. Jina did not move, her expression calm. If she acted too soon, the monster would adjust. She would only move at the precise instant it could no longer evade. The distance closed rapidly, shrinking toward zero. Jina set her stance and thrust. The strike was swift as a beam of light—clean, precise, without waste. Even if the monster noticed now, it was too late to stop its momentum or dodge. Thud! The slender spear pierced its skull, shattering bone and reaching the brain. Instant death. The monster collapsed, legs giving out. Yet its inertia carried it forward, and Jina was pushed back by the corpse.
"Kh!" The aftershock of taking that charge head-on reverberated through her body. It was only natural after receiving such brute force directly. Still, thanks to it, a sturdy wall now stood before her. "Your combat style remains as unrefined as ever." Refined? What nonsense was that in a fight where one killed or was killed? Crack, crack. As Jina relaxed her shoulders, her bones screamed and muscles protested. What did it matter? She brushed the dust from her nun's habit and narrowed her eyes. "Can't you stop getting under my skin?" "Then what will you do about it?" Karel wore a sly grin. Jina yanked her spear free from the monster's head. Her voice dropped lower. "You crossed the line first." "Since when have you ever cared about such things?" "True. I haven't been myself until now." "Until now?" "I've gotten angry too, that's all." A violet pulse erupted from her shadow. Even if Karel seized partial control, she needed this to break through the wall of monsters. The black shadows gradually turned pale purple, eroding the space around them. The world was dyed violet. Some monsters lunged at her, but they stood no chance against Jina fighting in earnest. Thud, thud, thud! The violet shadows split into countless branches, skewering the monsters like meat and vegetables on a spit. A few shadows, wrested from her control by Karel, turned on her, but she had anticipated this. She struck them down with difficulty.
Realizing his sister was fighting with everything she had, Karel pulled a cigarette from his pocket and placed it between his lips. Click. A spark at his fingertip lit the end. He took a drag and exhaled. Huff. Pale smoke drifted outward. "I suppose it's time to stop sending the small fry." At his words, a grotesque giant appeared—a shadow monster nearly five meters tall, the beast Karel had brought with him. It was not merely large. Its most striking feature was its humanoid form paired with an abnormally oversized left arm, like a hammer attached to its shoulder. -Kwoooaaar! The giant charged toward Jina. Her violet shadows surged to meet the new prey, but shadows were not hers alone. Karel used his own to intercept the tendrils reaching for the giant. "How pathetic." Jina ducked beneath the monster's sweeping arm and tried to gain distance. Most people mistakenly believed size meant slowness—an absurd notion. Greater muscle strength naturally allowed for greater agility. In an instant the monster closed the gap, its torso twisting to its limit before its massive left arm swung. It was no mindless blow; centrifugal force lent it lethal power. Jina crossed her arms in an X to guard her head and chest. Thud! The impact was far greater than her effort deserved. She felt herself lift off the ground, sent flying. Where? Her consciousness blurred. Thud. Her body jerked to a sudden stop. Her wavering vision steadied. The giant had seized her leg mid-flight, refusing to let her escape. It slammed her into the ground while still gripping her leg. Crash! "Kahak!" Her body rebounded violently off the floor. The shock stole her breath. Her back burned. Her head spun. She tried to bind the giant with shadows, but her control had grown imprecise. Karel would not miss the opening. Her own shadows turned against her, binding her in place. The monster seized the moment and drove a proper fist into her airborne body. Thud! Air burst from her lungs as she was hurled away, still restrained, soaring over several buildings. Karel clicked his tongue. "You've grown so much weaker." It pained him. She had always been proud and strong. He could not understand why she would abandon her power for something as trivial as emotion. His sister had become defective. Karel felt a pang of pity. "Bring her to me." He gave the order. But— "I'm afraid that won't do." An uninvited guest had arrived. Karel slowly turned his head. There stood a man with neatly parted brown hair. Since when? The question was foolish. What mattered was not that. "Who the hell are you?" "I'd like to introduce myself as a bishop of the Sex Cult, but I've likely been excommunicated by now." "What are you trying to say?" "You seemed fond of conversation, but perhaps not?" Karel's expression twisted savagely. "You're not my sister." The man merely smiled, unfazed by the cold, twisted tone. "That much is true." "So? You still haven't answered my question." "Question, you say." As the man appeared to ponder, shadows around Karel howled with fury, as though desperate to tear the intruder apart. Never before had Karel felt such intense hostility; even he was taken aback. He was merely human—why was Karel trembling? The man swept back his hair. "I'm the one who took your sister for personal reasons." "Nonsense." Karel raised his hand, pointing at the man—a signal to kill. The giant swung its grotesque arm. Crunch, crunch. The man should have been reduced to a mangled lump of flesh. Instead, reality defied Karel's expectations. The man leapt, driving his bare hand through the monster's chest. His fingers shattered ribs, tore flesh, and crushed the core. His expression remained unchanged as he regarded Karel. It was as though Jina's prime had returned. "You may call me Ronin." The man had returned.
* * *
Thump, thump, thump. I hear that sound. I used to hear it often back then. When things were truly unbearable, tinnitus would sometimes ring in my ears. Those hopeless days. Moments when I couldn't believe tomorrow would be any better than today. Only the feeling of suffering remained. It's been a while since I last heard it. Why am I hearing this tinnitus again? Because I'm in pain? Because I'm struggling? Hmm, I don't know.
"Aria?" "Yes?" Ain looked at me with concern. Why was she doing that? I didn't understand. "Don't pay attention to that madwoman's words." Ah. She must have thought I was bothered by Jina's words. That couldn't be. The claim that Bishop Ronin was alive was obviously a lie, wasn't it? I tried to smile. The corners of my mouth stiffened like stale baguette. Yes. I couldn't smile. The result was an awkward expression. My eyes trembled. "I'm scared." I was terrified. Terrified that he would appear and take you away. Terrified that he would violate me again. Terrified that these precious moments would all fade away like bubbles. I wrapped my arms around my shoulders and trembled. Ain quietly embraced me. "I'll protect you." It was warm, comforting—yet that only made me more afraid. "I believe in you." At the time, I didn't know what would happen to you. What would happen to me. If I had known… would anything have changed?