Chapter 16: Sylvia, That Tragic Battle (3)
Sylvia kept climbing the spiral staircase. The closer she drew to the summit, the more the dense miasma pressed down on her entire body. For the first time in her life she felt the aura of one of the Four Heavenly Kings. It was anything but ordinary.
“So this… is a Four Heavenly King. Incredible, just as I expected.”
Breathing itself was difficult. Yet thanks to the potion still circulating through her system, her feet kept moving. It was not yet unbearable. Sylvia climbed on and at last reached the top. There she came face-to-face with the red-haired demon.
“So you’re Sylvia. Indeed… you resemble Jeanne.”
Those were Sharon’s first words. A sinister voice. Yet somewhere within it, unbelievably, seemed to linger a trace of longing. Unwilling to be cowed by the atmosphere, Sylvia drew her sword.
“Because our family produced a demon like you, we have borne a thousand years of disgrace. Today I will wipe that stain clean and restore our house’s honor.”
“Family honor? You fight for something like that? You’re a little different from Jeanne.”
“You keep saying Jeanne, Jeanne… You have no right to speak her name. You’re a traitor.”
“Jeanne is my younger sister. Originally I was the one meant to inherit the dojo. That girl stole what was mine.”
“I have no idea what nonsense you’re spouting. Do you enjoy chattering? Right now I want to kill you so badly I can barely stand it.”
“Well… fine. Then let’s see what you’re made of.”
Sharon drew her own blade as well. At that very moment a crow flew in through the window and settled on the sill. Its eyes were slit vertically like a goat’s.
“Caw! Caw!”
“Quiet, Brown.”
“…Forgive me, Lady Sharon. This is an important fight, so I thought a witness would be necessary.”
“You’re right. Will you serve as referee? The winner must be clear if we are to decide the true heir of the dojo.”
“Caw! Caw! Very well.”
The crow Brown’s expression grew solemn. He no longer looked like a mere bird but like a seasoned referee. In a deep, resonant voice he declared the start of the match.
“Four Heavenly King Sharon versus Sylvia, knight of the Hero’s Party! The battle of the century begins! A fight where the winner takes all! Begin!!!”
At Brown’s command the two women launched themselves forward at the same instant. Their speeds were nearly identical. The moment their blades met, a shockwave rippled outward and the castle itself shuddered.
“Oh… my descendant. Not bad at all. Your speed and power are almost equal to mine. This should make for quite an entertaining match.”
“Hmph… I haven’t shown you everything yet!”
“Then… show me. Before you die.”
They exchanged blows. When Sharon swung, Sylvia parried; when Sylvia thrust, Sharon dodged. As their exchanges passed thirty, Brown watched in admiration.
Oh… matching blades with Lady Sharon—what formidable skill.
An opponent who has blocked Lady Sharon’s sword more than three times… I haven’t seen one in two hundred years.
This Sylvia… she’s quite the genius.
And she still doesn’t seem to have gone all out.
Well…
The same goes for Lady Sharon, of course.
Brown cawed loudly.
“Ten minutes elapsed! Ten minutes elapsed! Still evenly matched! Impossible to say who’s winning! Both of you, give it everything you’ve got!”
“Is that so… evenly matched…”
Sharon murmured.
“My descendant. A fight this enjoyable is the first in two hundred years. The last battle against the Hero’s Party was truly disappointing. That so-called Hero was pathetic. I can’t even remember his name. Nero, was it? Well, whatever. He was far too weak. Even facing the entire Hero’s Party at once was boring. I never even needed to release the first seal.”
“You talk too much, Sharon! Enjoyable? I didn’t come here to entertain you—I came to kill you!”
“True… you don’t seem to be giving your all either. For some reason you appear to be rushing the outcome. In that case… shall I shift into a higher gear?”
“What?”
“My descendant. I possess three seals. Seals I myself asked the Demon King to place upon my body. If I fight at full strength from the start, my opponents die far too easily, so I imposed these restraints in order to savor the contest. But against someone as strong as you… I think releasing one seal would be fine. I will now release the first seal.”
“W-what did you just say?”
Those words meant she had been holding back until now. Sylvia herself had not been fighting at full power just in case, yet hearing that Sharon could level up three more stages made her flinch a little. And already ten minutes had passed. She was starting to worry about the potion wearing off.
N-no… I still have fifty minutes left. I can definitely take her down within fifty minutes. From now on I’ll go all out too. Finish her in a blitz before the remaining seals come off.
The very next moment after Sylvia resolved to pour every ounce of her strength into the fight—
“Huk!”
Something seemed to shift with a soft swish, and in the next instant Sharon’s form vanished only to reappear right in front of her nose. It was as if she had teleported.
“Kugh!”
Sylvia barely managed to raise her sword on pure instinct and block the strike, but she came within a hair’s breadth of being cut down. The speed was monstrous. She could hardly even see it.
“Watch carefully, my descendant. This is my normal speed. If you cannot keep up with this, the fight will not even be able to take place…”
“Th-that’s impossible. You’ve only released the first seal and you’re already this fast? Ha…”
Then… how much stronger would she become once the final seal was released?
It felt like living a nightmare.
Yet it was not yet time to give up. The speed was still just barely within reach if she pushed herself.
“Try to keep up, my descendant.”
“Don’t… look down on me!!!! I’ve trained with everything I have my entire life!”
Once more the two women traded blows. The image of Sylvia desperately chasing and Sharon relentlessly pressing was recreated. Sylvia thought anxiously.
About five minutes have passed now…? I’m starting to get used to it. There’s still time before the potion wears off, but I need to start planning how to finish this woman off.
Just then—
“Caw! Caw!”
Referee Brown delivered an interim report.
“Sixty minutes elapsed! Sixty minutes elapsed! Sixty minutes have passed since the match began! One hour is gone! About time for a decisive blow, don’t you think?! The audience is getting bored!!!”
“Audience…? What are you talking about, Brown?”
“Ah. Through the projector linked to my pupils I am broadcasting this fight across the entire Demon Continent. Current viewership exceeds one million, Lady Sharon. They are all looking forward to your magnificent performance.”
“Heh… is that so. Wait a little longer. This Sylvia is no pushover.”
No sooner had Sharon offered the praise than Sylvia’s expression suddenly darkened.
“What…? What do you mean sixty minutes elapsed? Time couldn’t have passed that quickly.”
“Ah… pay it no mind.”
Sharon calmly began to explain.
“This is a technique called Time Acceleration. A skill that becomes available once the first seal is released. It speeds the flow of time by a factor of ten, allowing me to display tremendous speed. It simply makes the fight more thrilling to enjoy. Hasn’t it become more fun thanks to it?”
“W-what…? I never heard of any skill like that…”
“Why do you look so troubled? Is the speed too much for you? No need to worry. Someone of your caliber can just barely keep up. I have no intention of releasing the second seal yet. Come, let us continue our fight. You and I—to decide who is the true heir of the dojo…”
“Haaah… haaah…!”
“? What’s wrong? Why are you dropping your sword?”
“D-damn it…!! Th-the potion…!!”
“??”
It was truly bizarre. Sylvia’s face turned purple as though she were starving for oxygen; she even let her sword clatter to the ground and collapsed right where she stood.
“…What are you doing, my descendant? Pull yourself together. I haven’t even landed a proper hit yet.”
Sharon’s expression was as cold as if she were looking at an insect.
“Stand up. Take up your sword and fight again.”
“Haaah… haaah… m-my chest… my chest is too… j-just wait a second…”
“??”
Like someone who had lost her mind, Sylvia rummaged at her waist. From her bundle she pulled out a medicine bottle. She hurriedly tried to uncork it—only for Sharon to kick the bottle and smash it.
“What do you think you’re doing? Taking vitamins in the middle of a fight?”
“D-don’t interfere! Don’t interfere! I-I need this!”
“What… are you ill or something?? I don’t understand. Explain yourself.”
“I-I…!!! Without this medicine I can’t fight! I-if you want to fight me, at least show this much consideration!”
“Tell me the concrete circumstances. I’ll listen for now.”
“I… I’m so cowardly that I can’t bring out my true strength in real combat. So… I’m using this medicine to calm my mind. The effect only lasts exactly one hour, but you suddenly sped up time and caused this mess. Don’t interfere with me taking the medicine. Got it?”
“……………..”
Sharon stared at Sylvia with a blank expression, then finally opened her mouth.
“You piece of trash… disappointing me this much is beyond the pale. Simply killing you won’t be enough. I will grant you pain so great you’ll regret ever having been born.”
