Blade of Despair
A radiant sword blazed in western Karhem.
The demon army surged toward it.
They had no choice but to guard the flanks once the soldiers blocking Ashtar were removed.
I never expected the radiant sword to charge in so recklessly.
Or that she would strike from the side like that.
As expected, that woman hadn't changed at all.
Only I had changed.
“Thanks to her, infiltrating Karhem was easy enough.”
Still, it was far too dull.
If I had tried to sneak in alone and wipe out the demons with grand magic, word would have spread somehow.
Better to look on the bright side. Since the radiant sword appeared at the perfect moment, I could drive all the demons her way and settle things with Pector myself.
Prince Aslan was probably in the underground prison.
Now that the radiant sword had shown up and the demon soldiers were sent that way, even that idiot would try to escape if he had any sense of self-preservation.
Of course, Pector would stand in his way.
I had wandered the Empire enough to know the location of Karhem's underground prison.
Voices drifted from not far away.
“Who said I was going to die here?”
“I may have been toyed with by your demonic hands, but I am still Aslan von Armenia! The imperial bloodline will not bow to demons!”
“This Lyle will follow His Highness the Prince!”
Good. A prince ought to at least manage that much.
I had planned to beat him half to death, but this was enough to earn him some leniency.
Some.
No matter how gallantly they fought, they were the sort who would die with a single casual swing from Pector.
Even Eugene could barely hold on with the Holy Sword against that guy. What chance did these fools have?
Anyway, I needed to intervene in the fight against Pector.
I gathered mana with Swordmagic and forged a blade.
It was do or die.
Following the voices, I arrived to find Pector swinging his sword at Aslan in front of the prison.
That blade, which shattered everything it touched, would cut a human apart just as easily.
Since I couldn't let the prince die, I stepped in.
Clang!
I caught the Authority of Despair with my mana blade.
At the same time, I detonated the mana and sent the prince and the other dead weight flying far away.
“The radiant sword?”
“The radiant sword is outside.”
She was probably busy dealing with the ones blocking the path right about now.
Looking at him like this made my chest swell.
Unlike my previous body as Noah, this one trembled fiercely all over.
It was reacting to facing a powerful opponent for the first time.
Still, I could handle this.
“Been a while, hasn't it? Sword freak Pector.”
At my words, Pector's eyes widened behind his helm.
For a brief moment, he simply stared at me.
What are you looking at?
“Yes. I see. It has been a long time, Noah.”
A gentle curve formed at the corner of Pector's mouth, visible beyond the helm.
Clang!
Our blades met once.
This body still lacked fine control.
For an instant, the Swordmagic nearly unraveled.
One exchange was manageable.
But how much longer could I last?
Without using Meteor or Thunderstorm, holding out with only Swordmagic was possible.
Otherwise, I would have to drag out every half-baked spell I knew just to fight him.
Well, even so... hatred and affection weren't so far apart.
I smirked at Pector.
“I never expected you to come at me like this. You've gotten quite violent, haven't you?”
He really had become violent.
Still, trying to kill the prince was going too far.
If I had been even a little later, he would have died.
“While I wasn't looking, you became a woman.”
When he put it that way, I had nothing to say.
“I died once. I don't see the need to drag this body's past into our conversation.”
There was no need to explain.
Standing face to face like this made it clear.
Pector and I acknowledged each other.
No matter what had changed, the opponent before me was still Pector, and the one standing here was still Noah.
“Yes. That must be so. I can tell at a glance. That characteristically relaxed expression. The same smile you wore even when your mana was exhausted. You are Noah. There is no need for tedious explanations. You are Noah, and I am Pector. What more needs to be said?”
“But you don't seem particularly upset that I captured your master.”
The moment I finished speaking, he rushed forward with terrifying speed, sword in hand.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
His strikes were sharper than before.
As ruthless as ever. Fighting me meant everything around us would be destroyed.
“This is a fight between you and me. Is there any reason to mention the Demon King?”
Right. Right. That refreshing attitude was exactly why I liked him.
Unlike the other Heavenly Kings, he fought fair and square like a fool.
Still, there were things that needed addressing.
I would keep talking for now.
Just to buy time.
[Mana Amplification]
[Mana Overlap]
[Elemental Enhancement]
I layered every spell formula I could.
Things completely unnecessary for a body fused with mana. I needed every scrap of power I could muster.
“Still, capturing the prince and using him for negotiation is a bit much, don't you think?”
No matter how I looked at it, that was underhanded.
“A flower raised in a greenhouse. This much is necessary for him to understand why the Four Heavenly Kings are called calamities. You yourself once held a commander hostage and threatened the Demon King's army.”
“That was that, and this is this. Worrying about the Empire too? How admirably nosy of you.”
I deflected the upward slash aimed at me from below.
Clang!
“And what about you? Are you all right in that body? It looks like quite a bit of weight has settled on your chest.”
He just had to poke at the one thing I was self-conscious about.
At this rate, he really wanted to die today.
The chest was unavoidable, but the rest of the body was actually lighter than before.
Mana flowed much more smoothly.
I charged straight in and swung.
At the same time, I activated Teleport.
Moving above Pector's head, I brought my blade down.
Clang!
As expected, he blocked it. Had I grown weaker?
The restrictions were weighing on me heavily.
Karhem was a trading city.
And it was close to Ashtar. If Karhem was destroyed, Ashtar would have to bear the full cost of reconstruction.
What if I dropped a meteor right now? It would be a decent trade if it meant taking Pector down completely.
But this wasn't the place for him to die.
Nor for me.
Whoosh!
I Teleported again to dodge his attack.
“Absurd. Your mana condition is actually better than before.”
“Your Teleport has certainly become faster as well.”
He even noticed that.
Was this guy a pervert or something? He picked up on things I hadn't even noticed myself.
“Is that so? Your sword feels heavier than before.”
It definitely felt different.
Or perhaps I had simply grown weaker.
Disappointing in many ways.
“Your stamina has declined. A human female would already be frail. Will you still use that body?”
The brat had gotten even more aggressive with his words while I was gone.
Or was it provocation? A new kind of provocation? If so, it worked.
I decided to make proper use of the power Jerato had given me as a tonic.
Whoosh!
I dodged the swinging blade and leapt onto the stone wall.
My opponent was a demon. There was no need to fight him with ordinary strength.
I mixed demonic energy into my Swordmagic.
The blue blade turned purple.
Then I clashed with Despair from the wall.
Clang!
“Ah, I'm not an ordinary human anymore.”
I knew how to wield a demon's power to some extent.
Demonic energy filled the gaps where mana was lacking.
It was the principle of drawing power from mana as the higher order and demonic energy as the lower.
More precisely, it was the Demon King's aura sealed within the fragment. But at the moment I wielded it, it became my power.
Whoosh!
I pressed forward again.
Pector was pushed back, and I detonated my mana.
Boom!
Pector flew far back and crashed into a building.
I gathered Mana Bullets and rained them down on the structure.
Rumble! Boom!
Through the collapsing building, the massive armor rose once more.
“Oho. So you've dipped your toes into demonkind as well.”
“Dipped” was an understatement.
Strictly speaking, it was a power I had known how to wield even before becoming Olivia.
Surviving in that land had required every trick imaginable.
Only the method of obtaining the power had changed this time.
So I clashed again.
Clang!
It was much lighter than before.
But I couldn't keep this up for long.
Even if I matched his strength, there was a limit to reinforcing my body with mana.
I couldn't use grand magic, and I couldn't change locations.
In that case, I had to keep the conversation going, trade blows, and buy time.
Once the radiant sword arrived, Pector would simply withdraw.
What he wanted was a one-on-one fight with me.
Not a group assault.
Unlike her title, the radiant sword prioritized efficient combat.
She thoroughly crushed weaker foes, but against an opponent she couldn't easily defeat, she fought alongside others.
Once she finished dealing with the demons, she would likely join this fight.
It wasn't an ideal situation for Pector, who preferred fighting me alone.
The demons sent to face the radiant sword numbered at least several thousand.
“Jerato embedded something in me.”
“So that is what strengthened this frail body.”
It wasn't wrong, but ultimately it came down to a battle of wills.
“It's only been a few months since I became this body. I have to use whatever I can.”
“Unlike those who fall to demonic corruption, you handle such power with ease.”
“That's why I grew up in the Land of Destruction.”
The fight lasted longer than expected.
The prince's group seemed to have escaped by now, but the problem was me.
Was the radiant sword running late?
Well, unlike me, she didn't use magic. Swimming through a sea of demons would be difficult for her.
“Are you sure you can just stand there?”
“Ugh.”
Boom!
The sword of Despair swept through the spot where I had been standing.
In an instant, an entire building turned to dust.
Restoring Karhem after this battle was really going to cost a fortune.
If I kept dodging, wouldn't the whole place turn to ash?
My condolences to the House of Ashtar, who would have to foot the bill.
Clang! Clang!
But I had no other choice.
On the contrary, fighting Pector again after so long was helping me regain my old instincts.
Pector kicked off the ground and charged at me.
I gathered mana in my left hand and detonated it.
Boom!
While the blast obscured his vision, I retreated and formed Mana Bullets between my fingers before firing.
Bang! Bang bang bang!
Pector deflected every single Mana Bullet with his sword.
In that moment, I formed a bow from mana and imbued it with Swordmagic.
Boom!
A pure mana blade traced a trail of light and exploded against Pector's chest.
Of course, Pector endured it.
Though a section of his armor cracked, he hadn't expected the attack.
“Kahahaha! As expected! As expected, Noah!”
His voice rang so loudly it echoed across all of Karhem. I glanced around.
The radiant sword didn't seem to be arriving anytime soon. There didn't appear to be anyone else left in Karhem either.
What an oblivious fool.
“Someone might hear you. Call me Olivia.”
If Aslan's group came rushing back to help and heard my real identity, that would be a problem.
“Does that truly matter right now?”
It matters a great deal to me.
Honestly, I wasn't sure they would believe it easily, but given everything I had shown them so far, and considering that idiot Aslan, they probably would.
“It matters a great deal to me. Are you sure you don't mind not fighting me? If I get annoyed, I could just leave you here. You know me well enough.”
If I got into a bad mood, I would abandon both humans and demons alike.
“To threaten me with something like that... You really have become petty, Olivia.”
At least he was listening.
That was an improvement.
Even if I was found out later, it would be Olivia who was strong.
After all, if anyone questioned me afterward, I could always fall back on the excuse of having been abandoned in the Land of Destruction.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Unable to use grand magic, I mixed Mana Bullets into my Swordmagic combat.
If it weren't for the mana fusion, my body would have been torn apart long ago.
If it had been any other Heavenly King, I could have used magic freely. But of course, it had to be the one with magic immunity.
The only things that worked were Swordmagic and Mana Bullets that could deal physical damage.
He was far too much of a natural enemy for a mage.
Telekinesis would have been nice, but it didn't work on him either.
If that bastard Eugene had even half my skill, he would have cut Pector down with the Holy Sword already.
Unless you were a hero, you had no choice but to be cautious against a Heavenly King.
Rumble...
“Hm?”
The sky began to darken.
Maybe the radiant sword wouldn't make it in time.
...In that case, I needed to prepare for what came next.
Moving the heavens would work as well.
