Chapter 222: Frillite (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 222: Frillite (2)
In the past, during a tournament I entered to meet Leslie, her father, Osner, had crashed the event.
Though originally frail, he had suddenly regained the body of his prime and begun to rampage violently.
After the incident was resolved, he told me that while it was his body, he’d had no control over it.
From my perspective, this current situation seemed similar.
The only difference was that back then, it was just one person. Now, there were more than ten.
Still, it wasn't a major problem.
It just meant I had to do what I did once, ten times over.
“The Platinum Knights have just finished preparations to advance.”
The Knight Commander, who had returned to the barracks at some point, reported.
It seemed I had been lost in thought for longer than I realized.
“Let’s go.”
I left the barracks and walked a short distance to find the knights arrayed in perfect ranks.
Every one of them had a tense expression.
There’s no need to be so nervous.
I considered giving a speech to ease their tension but decided against it.
They weren't amateur soldiers; they were the finest knight order on the continent. They’d know what to do.
Rather than wasting time on a clumsy attempt to boost morale, it was better to move in quickly.
“Let’s move out immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Knight Commander didn't question my decision, and thanks to that, we reached the barrier without delay.
Seeing it up close, the barrier was… more vast than I’d expected.
It not only covered the temple but extended into the open grounds, and there was even a second layer separating the grounds from the temple's interior. A total of two layers.
“Are all the brainwashed knights the ones outside?”
“Yes. The barrier was erected the moment they pursued us out of the temple.”
“Understood. Then let’s begin.”
“Yes, sir. Platinum Knights! All of you, draw your swords!”
The knights drew their swords in unison.
A formidable sword aura rose from the blue blades forged of Orichalcum.
“Fire!”
As the knights swung their swords, blades of sword aura shot forth.
I was slightly surprised by the sight.
The ability to project sword aura is the pinnacle a swordsman can reach as a mortal.
The fact that every single knight could do it was a testament to the exceptional skill of the Platinum Knights.
It seemed their claim of being the continent's best wasn't just empty boasting.
CRRAAASSSHHH!!
Ripples spread across the barrier as the sword aura struck it.
However, the barrier remained intact, without a single crack or scratch. The Knight Commander ordered them to prepare another volley.
In the meantime, the brainwashed knights, having heard the noise, began rushing toward us.
“Fire!”
CRRAAASSSHHH!
Another barrage of sword aura rained down.
The barrier still only rippled on its surface, showing no signs of breaking.
“Hah… A barrier that can withstand the combined sword aura of our entire order and remain unscathed. Lady Frillite is truly incredible. To think she could create such a barrier…”
The Knight Commander’s eyes widened in admiration as he stroked the barrier’s surface.
“Is this really the time to be impressed?”
They’ll all be on top of us in a moment.
It wasn't that we couldn't handle them, but there was no need to take the hard way.
“Step aside.”
I drew my sword and summoned my mana.
Because I had condensed the mana to its absolute limit, my blade, unlike the knights’, remained colorless.
“Sir Cloud. There is no need to rush. Even if we proceed slowly, we must be in perfect condition…”
Slice—
Against my highly condensed sword aura, the barrier was cut as easily as a sheet of paper.
“It really is sturdy, though. The sword goes through, but it doesn't shatter.”
Rather than trying to break the whole thing, it would be better to just make an entrance. I cut a long, rectangular section out of the barrier.
With a light push, the severed section tilted and fell, shattering like a pane of glass as it hit the ground.
“Huh…?”
Ignoring the dumbfounded Knight Commander, I stepped inside.
“Uwaaaah!!”
The brainwashed knights charged, intent on killing the ‘enemy.’
The first to reach me were a group of three. They didn't seem to be coordinating, attacking sequentially rather than all at once. I dodged a thrust aimed at my neck and kicked the man in the stomach.
Instead of resisting the force, he leaped backward to absorb the impact.
It didn't matter.
My only intention was to buy a moment of time.
Clang!
I blocked a warhammer aimed at my shoulder with the flat of my blade and deflected a sword strike from the other side with the back of my hand.
Using my arm strength, I pushed the warhammer away to create distance, then reached for the remaining knight, whose posture had been broken when his attack was parried.
[Knife-hand Strike]
My fingertips pierced through his platinum armor and drove toward his heart. As I neared it, I felt an amorphous, jelly-like something on the back of my hand. I grabbed it and pulled it out.
An opaque, gray slime squirmed and struggled in my grasp.
I recognized it and let out a hollow laugh.
“I had a feeling, but you were still alive? Was that other one not your main body?”
Right, I thought it ended too easily.
That finally clears up that lingering doubt I had.
I slammed the slime onto the ground and prodded it with the tip of my sword.
Eredna Magic Swordsmanship.
[Flame Sword]
As fire erupted from my blade, the startled slime thrashed about, trying to escape. The closer the flames got, the more frantically it struggled. It seemed it wanted to live, for what it was worth.
Fwoosh—
The moment the fire touched the slime, it instantly engulfed its entire body.
Soon, completely melted by the flames, the slime stopped its frantic movements.
After dealing with the slime, I took out a potion and poured it over the body of the knight who was now free from its control.
He was a knight, after all, so his body should be sturdy. This should be enough.
I looked up at the remaining brainwashed knights.
Having witnessed their comrade fall in an instant, they were now wary of me, hesitating to charge recklessly.
I glanced back at the Knight Commander, who was still staring blankly in this direction.
“What are you doing? Am I fighting alone?”
“Uh… Ah, no, sir! Platinum Knights! Charge!”
At the commander’s shout, the dazed knights snapped to their senses and began entering the barrier one by one.
About time.
“Ugh, uwaaaah!!”
As the knights charged in, the brainwashed knights must have decided that standing still was no longer an option. They screamed and rushed forward.
I stood protectively over the recovering knight, blocking the incoming attacks.
I need to end this quickly and get inside.
Seeing them made me start to worry about Frillite’s condition.
*
Inside the temple dedicated to Lebeus.
Frillite sat leaning against her greatsword, which was planted in the floor. One of her eyes had turned into a black sclera with an inverted pupil, and blood vessels radiated out from it.
Her condition was, to put it mildly, not good.
There was a reason she, once hailed as the greatest hero, had been reduced to this state.
‘To let my emotions into a battle… A mistake only a rookie would make.’
Even before entering the Demon Realm, a lump had taken root in Frillite’s chest. Over time, the lump grew, and with it, the suffocating feeling she felt intensified.
To relieve the pressure, she had tried slaughtering every monster in her path, but the lump in her chest wouldn't disappear.
If anything, it only grew larger while she was busy fighting, tormenting her even more.
As a result, by the time she reached the temple, she had lost all composure.
A body without composure was prone to miss things it would normally notice with ease.
The moment she had killed all the evil god’s followers and let out a sigh atop their corpses, an amorphous creature had suddenly leaped out and shot into her mouth.
She tried to vomit it out immediately, but for some reason, only stomach acid came up.
Just as she was beginning to feel a sense of unease, a commotion erupted within the knight order. Seeing them fighting amongst themselves, she realized the truth.
‘A parasitic monster…’
Instantly recognizing the danger, Frillite erected a barrier, isolating the unaffected knights from herself and the brainwashed ones.
Three days had already passed since then.
To maintain the barrier, she had neither eaten nor drunk, let alone slept.
Naturally, her mind and body were exhausted, and the monster did not leave her be.
As Frillite blankly maintained the barrier, Cloud’s face appeared in her mind. He wore a playful smile, and she, in turn, smiled faintly.
But the smile didn't last long.
His smile wasn't meant for her.
On a luxurious bed in the Imperial Palace, a woman with light brown hair and a swollen belly sat, while Cloud gently caressed her stomach, smiling.
Grind.
She ground her teeth.
Seeing the two of them whispering happily made the tightness in her chest even more suffocating.
What is this?
What in the world are you talking about to look so happy?
Why are you only talking to each other?
Don't tell me you're talking about your future together?
Why?
Why are you, Cloud, having that kind of conversation with her?
I'm the one who should be sharing that conversation with you.
We had already finished that talk, hadn't we?
Why are you bringing in a new woman now?
Stab.
A large nail drove into her chest. The lump that had once occupied her heart burst, and the nail dug deeper, tearing the wound open.
It hurt.
Of all the countless wounds she had suffered, had any ever hurt this much?
No, there hadn't been.
Even when she had carelessly lost an arm in her youth, the pain hadn't been this severe.
The emptiness and fear she had felt looking at her missing arm were nothing compared to the despair and desolation she felt now.
Is this what people mean when they say it feels like a tower you've painstakingly built has crumbled?
No, in this case, it would be more accurate to say the tower was stolen.
Lorraine had stolen the tower named ‘bond with Cloud’ that Frillite had so diligently built.
That damned bitch.
Why would she steal someone else's precious tower?
Couldn't she just build her own instead of stealing?
Is it that difficult?
I doubt it.
It might be for a socially inept bitch like me, but for you, it should be easy.
Ah… I see.
You stole my tower on purpose.
I think I know why, even without you telling me.
I clearly remember the resentful, jealous look in your eyes every time we met.
It was obviously your idea of revenge.
Revenge…
Revenge, you say…
Fine.
Since you took your revenge by stealing what was mine, I suppose I can take my revenge now, too, right?
You touched what was most precious to me. Honestly, I've earned the right.
Well… it doesn't matter if I have the right or not.
With your lowly family and meager skills, there's nothing you can do anyway.
Look forward to it.
I'm going to destroy everything you hold dear.
The Kalita Kingdom, the royal family, all of it.
I'll turn your kingdom into a vassal state of the Empire, just like the Policia Duchy, and strip it of its status. As for the royal family, I'll replace them entirely.
It won't be difficult.
All I have to do is frame the Kalita royal family for treason against the Empire.
Then, everyone with even a drop of your blood will be sent to the guillotine. They'll be beheaded in front of all their people.
Without a single exception.
On and on, until that filthy bloodline vanishes from this continent.
It'll be useless to ask Cloud to stop me.
In fact, the more you try, the more cruelly I'll do it, limb by—
‘…Damn it.’
Frillite bit her tongue to stop her darkening thoughts. The sharp taste of blood cleared her mind slightly.
‘This is getting worse and worse.’
The monster parasitizing her body kept pushing her down the wrong path.
But it didn't feel like someone else whispering of corruption; it felt like her own desires were taking form.
It felt like it was transforming her love-hate for Cloud into resentment, and her resentment for Lorraine into hatred and disgust.
The problem was that the process felt so natural that if she let her guard down for even a moment, she felt she would be swept away.
This was dangerous.
She was managing to endure for now, but she didn't know what would happen if more time passed.
As her mind and body grew more exhausted from the lack of rest, she would lose her ability to think rationally, and eventually, she would be consumed by that filthy temptation.
What would happen after that was obvious. She would be seized by vile, sordid desires and commit unforgivable acts. Frillite did not want that.
She drew her holy sword and held it to her neck.
It would be more beneficial to the world for her to die by her own hand than to fall to corruption.
‘Perhaps it's for the best that Lorraine appeared.’
A dark woman like her would only have made him miserable and pained, never happy.
Making a natural exit like this would be better for him, too.
‘…Still, I can't help but want to see him.’
Just as a bitter smile formed on her lips and she was about to move the sword…
“Hey!!!”
A man’s voice echoed through the sealed chamber. It was the voice of the one Frillite had missed so dearly. She froze, her sword still, and turned her head.
“What the hell are you doing?! Put that down right now!”
It was Cloud, his face pale as a sheet, shouting.
Seeing him, she let out a hollow laugh.
“What am I supposed to do if you actually show up…”
Just when I’d finally steeled my resolve.