Master of the Demonic Sword (5)
Yulian was making his way through the forest alongside Carol, their hastily formed party pressing forward together.
Walking a step ahead, he asked Carol, who was studying the map.
"So, um... why are you always chasing after Miss Potts, anyway?"
"Because I'm going to make her mine."
"?"
She answered instantly, without a moment's thought. Then, glancing sidelong at Yulian's wide, bulging eyes, she snickered.
"Kidding."
"Oh, r-right... a joke... huh?"
Yulian, who had been laughing awkwardly, glanced down. Carol was glaring at him with her lips stuck out, looking oddly dissatisfied about something.
"Wh-what's the matter all of a sudden...?"
"We agreed we'd speak casually with each other, remember?"
"I-I do remember, but..."
Yulian found himself quietly avoiding her gaze.
"Still, that's a bit much to just spring on me..."
"Casual."
"But—"
"Casual!"
Carol stamped her foot and raised her voice. Yulian's face had already flushed as red as a freshly pulled radish. In the end, unable to withstand the pressure, his head bobbed in surrender on its own.
"O-okay... fine."
"Should've done that from the start."
Only then did Carol turn away, a satisfied smile on her face. Freed from the pressure, Yulian let out a sigh of relief.
"..."
Before he knew it, a small smile had crept onto his lips as well. However reckless Carol's behavior seemed at first glance, it was unmistakably out of consideration for him. Since enrolling at Elysion, this was the most at ease Yulian had ever felt. He was enjoying this moment with Carol far more than he ever enjoyed his exams.
"Honestly, how far has Miss Potts gone... KYAAH!"
Just as Carol, walking ahead with the map, was about to grumble, a violent gust came tearing through the forest, and her slender body swayed dangerously. Startled, Yulian immediately dashed up from behind and caught her in his arms.
"Ngh... what kind of wind was...!"
The leaves, battered by the sudden gust, rasped harshly against one another. Crouching low, Yulian struggled desperately to keep from being swept away. Before long, the raging wind died down, and he relaxed, exhaling in relief.
"Whew... a-are you okay? That was so sudden... huh?"
"..."
Yulian found himself meeting Carol's bright, round eyes blinking up at him from below. Only then did he realize he was still holding her tightly against his chest, and heat came flooding up his face. He released her at once and stammered out an apology, flustered.
"S-sorry... I startled you, didn't I...?"
"W-well..."
Carol was averting her gaze slightly, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Her uncharacteristic behavior only made the moment more awkward still. Yulian was just about to change the subject, desperate to escape the situation.
"S-so, what was with that wind, anyway... huh?"
Suddenly looking up, his voice trailed off into a daze.
"What in the..."
The clear, sunny sky, not a single cloud in it, was nowhere to be seen. The empty air had been stained a horrifying, blood-red, and Yulian stiffened where he stood. The floating, lighthearted feeling from moments ago vanished, replaced in an instant by a crushing sense of dread.
Something enormous and terribly wrong was happening in Alheim at this very moment.
"So they're just children."
Then a horrific voice came from within the forest, like fingernails scraping down a pane of glass.
"Wh-who's there...! Wh...?"
Yulian whirled around in alarm—and his face drained stark white. Standing before them was a man of grotesque appearance, half his face and body covered in scales. A huge, twisted horn jutting from his temple and eyes with black and white inverted—he was, for all intents and purposes, already a demon.
Yulian knew at once what he was.
"A D-Demonic Human... here? How...?"
The man before them was a being that should never, under any circumstances, have appeared in this place. His body, mutated beyond any recognition of its original form, warned all the more clearly of just how dangerous he was.
"You were frightened before the fight even began."
The demon's voice remained perfectly calm—the languid bearing of an apex predator regarding helpless prey. And in truth, that was exactly what it was.
"It would be beneath me to exert myself against those with no will to fight."
The demon rolled his eyes over Yulian and Carol, taking their measure, and spoke again.
"Leave this place at once, and I shall not pursue you."
"What...?"
But the hope that had briefly welled up in Yulian's chest was shattered utterly by what came next.
"However—you will leave the girl behind."
The demon's fingers, tipped with long, twisted claws, pointed precisely at Carol, who stood behind Yulian.
"In celebration of the Apostle's birth, I shall offer her flesh and blood to the God of War."
"Wh-what is that supposed to...!"
"When mercy is granted, a fitting offering is owed in return."
"Tch...!"
Horrified, Yulian's eyes shot straight to Carol.
"...Mm."
In the eyes of the frightened girl looking up at him, there was something that could only be described as quiet resignation.
Judging by his form, the demon before them was a minion that served War. Such demons, unlike ordinary Demonic Humans, had a tendency to obsess over fighting a worthy opponent. If Yulian fled now, he would surely survive with his life intact.
"...It's all right."
Yet somehow, Yulian smiled, as if to reassure her. Then he turned back to face the demon. The trembling in his limbs had already subsided. He could no longer feel any fear of the formidable enemy before him. His hand was already moving toward the sword at his hip.
"If you want to take Carol..."
For the first time in his life, he had met someone who affirmed him—a half-pint, a failure—and accepted him as he was. Losing that person was, to Yulian right now, more frightening than anything else in the world.
"...you'll have to kill me first."
Sword finally drawn, Yulian leveled it at the demon as he spoke.
"Hah... hah..."
Yulian, battered and broken, was gasping for breath. He was only barely staying upright by leaning on his sword.
"Yulian...!"
Seeing him in such a wretched state, like a soldier fleeing a routed battlefield, Carol stamped her feet, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Truly dense, aren't you."
The demon gazed at Yulian and spoke in that same placid voice. His body remained utterly unmarked—not a single wound on it. It stood in stark contrast to Yulian, blood streaming from wounds all over his body that refused to close.
"Even a worm crawling in the dirt knows to measure itself against its opponent."
There wasn't even mockery in the demon's voice.
"You are less than that."
"Hah... hah... cough, ptui!"
Yulian merely spat out the blood pooled in his mouth and glared at him. Gritting his teeth, he raised his sword once more with his trembling arm and threw himself at the demon. It was an astonishingly swift movement, his form blurring for an instant—but the demon, without so much as shifting his feet, simply swung his arm again.
-THWACK!
"Gahk...!"
Struck squarely by the blow, Yulian let out a strangled cry and went tumbling across the ground. He no longer had the strength to continue his assault. The gap in their power was simply that overwhelming.
"Wasting more time is pointless. Let me end your pain quickly... hmm?"
The demon, mid-sigh, suddenly let out a bewildered sound. Something heavy had dropped and was rolling at his feet. Lying there was the very horn that had been attached to his head mere moments ago.
"You little..."
The demon groped at his head, then whipped his gaze around to glare at Yulian. His severed, halting voice dripped with unmistakable fury.
"Cough—wh-where did I get it? Take a guess..."
Yulian, staggering back to his feet, wore a grin full of satisfaction at having landed his blow.
"Th-this... is the Thrust of Phebiel... guardians of the Northern Wall... cough, cough!"
"..."
A murderous aura poured out of the demon as he clenched his teeth. He stared at Yulian for a long moment, then slowly opened his mouth.
"...Very well."
Then, at last, he drew his own sword and leveled it at Yulian.
"If that is truly your wish, I shall grant it."
Yulian couldn't stop his face from twisting. The demonic energy seeping from the creature's blade felt potent enough to poison him with a single breath. Cut by such a thing, he couldn't trust even his own life to hold. He had no strength left to resist. The outcome had been decided long ago. Everything Yulian had done was nothing more than a meaningless provocation—plucking the whiskers of a sleeping lion.
"All of this is of your own making."
"..."
Yet Yulian only steadied his stance once more. He couldn't have said what drove him forward, but even battered to the brink of collapse, his spirit refused to break. He simply fixed the enemy's form in his eyes, determined to hold the image until the very last moment.
"You can be the offering with her!"
And at last, the demon's blade, saturated with foul demonic energy, was about to lunge for Yulian's throat.
"You held out well."
-CLANG!
The sound arrived before the sight—the crisp ring of steel deflecting a blade.
"GRAAAHH...!!"
The demon's sword-bearing right arm had, at some point, dropped lifelessly to the ground and lay rolling in the dirt. Clutching his gushing, fountain-spraying shoulder, the demon screamed in agony.
"Ah..."
And Yulian, without realizing it, let out a breath of pure relief. The one who had subdued the demon with movements too fast for his eyes to follow was a man with a distinctly unenthusiastic expression.
"Prof...essor..."
"...You held on until the very end."
Kallen looked down at Yulian and spoke matter-of-factly. But despite his words, his gaze swirled with an oddly complicated tangle of emotions.
Even as his vision blurred, Yulian forced his mouth open.
"Did I... d-did I do well...? Like you taught me...?"
"You did better than I would have."
Kallen nodded as he said it.
"From here on, leave it to your professor."
"Ah..."
A smile of perfect, utter contentment spread across Yulian's blood-streaked face. Then his body, no longer able to hold out, crumpled straight to the ground. Carol, who had been on the verge of sobbing the whole time, rushed over and caught him in her arms.
"Y-Yulian! Stay with me, Yulian...!"
Tears dripped down onto the unconscious boy's face. Watching them for a long moment, Kallen spoke quietly.
"He's only fainted."
"Oh..."
Only then did relief wash over Carol's tear-streaked face. As he watched her press her own cheek against Yulian's, Kallen turned away. The scene was far from finished.
"You bastard...! A cowardly ambush...!"
The demon, snatching up his sword with his intact left hand, radiated murderous intent and glared at Kallen as if he'd like to tear him apart.
"Don't expect a clean death! How dare you—!"
"...Funny. I was about to say the same to you. You see, someone just put me in a very foul mood."
Kallen simply replied evenly, his brow furrowing slightly.
"You're dead."