La Tarajue, La Saqat: Because She Is the Hero (5)
Clang— clang, claaang! Kraaaang…! Fwoooosh!!
Black energy clashes against silver energy, the black greatsword against the silver longsword, repeating their thunderous collisions. An exchange of sword strikes similar to moments before. A repetition of impacts. But the difference this time is that Emilia is purely overwhelming her opponent.
Wrapped in silver energy and a colorless storm, Emilia faces the black knight, who counters with raw strength. Yet before his sword can reach her, it's blocked by the storm, unable to touch her. Seizing the opening that creates, Emilia attacks, forcing the black knight to abandon his offense and switch to defense.
Her battle spirit and killing intent swell. The aura emanating from Emilia grows ever more intense.
"Incredible…"
The one who muttered that was a knight who had arrived at the banquet hall as reinforcements, waiting for an opening to provide aid. Unable to draw near the battle between the black knight and the hero—where even the storm raged—many others gripped their weapons tightly, merely observing from afar.
Knights who had once confidently slain monsters harmful to the kingdom, now found themselves speechless before the brutal yet refined swordplay of these two, whose skills they couldn't even gauge.
And it wasn't just the knights watching. Outweighing their fear, a curiosity and anticipation to witness a legend firsthand had several nobles and influential figures from politics and business gasping in admiration at the spectacle.
Unaware or uncaring of their gazes, the battle between the Demon King's loyal servant and the hero intensified, hurtling toward its conclusion.
Craaack… shatter!
"Tch, this one too."
Pressing her opponent relentlessly with her colorless storm and a barrage of fierce strikes, Emilia suddenly hurled her mithril sword—now cracking along the blade—at the black knight and leaped back. Even using the mithril sword from Mona, this was already the third one she'd broken.
Tougher than iron, yes, but ordinary mithril couldn't withstand Emilia's full power.
Next…!
Retreating while searching for her next longsword, Emilia had plenty of options nearby—not just longswords, but an array of weapons sent by Mona. She grabbed a massive axe and a morningstar, hurling them vigorously at the black knight.
"【Roar!】"
The same incantation as before. With her resonant voice echoing, a powerful storm enveloped the weapons leaving her hands, hurtling toward the black knight with tremendous force.
The black knight channeled denser energy than ever into his greatsword, swinging at the incoming weapons. Sparks flew, but the thrown weapons didn't bounce away—they clashed head-on. Propelled by the storm like an invisible divine hand, the axe and morningstar pressed forward with even greater power.
The black knight held on barely, yielding ground bit by bit—then deflected them upward.
Kiiiiing!
A massive storm erupted, sending the axe and morningstar flying. But he couldn't fully swat away the morningstar; it glanced off at an angle, smashing part of his helmet and cracking it. Black mist oozed thickly from the fracture.
"【Roar!】"
Toward the knight disrupted by his shattering helmet, Emilia charged with a fresh mithril sword gripped in both hands. She crouched low, crawling like a beast or skimming the ground like a storm, closing the distance in one breath.
"【Sing, roar, raise your voices high and shout with all your might!】"
"【Victory—sing victory together!】"
⟨ La Tarajue, La Saqat ⟩
The uplifting incantation rang out loftily, as if rallying the spirits. With it, the silver light on her sword—and the colorless storm enveloping not just the blade but her entire body—grew even stronger. Leading that light and the rampaging storm, Emilia's body hurtled forward like a cannonball.
Facing it, the black knight tried to raise his greatsword in defense once more.
…But in that instant, his arm wouldn't lift as high as he wanted.
This is… the end, then.
A long seal. A body repeatedly killed, annihilated, and killed again by holy power. Immortal, yes—but not invincible or flawless. Overworked, it naturally needed time to recover.
Yet he'd forcibly moved this freshly unsealed body with black mist and magic, clashing with the foe before him and enduring that storm, exhausting and abusing it to the limit.
The limit had come. That was all.
"—Taaaaah!!!"
He took in the sight of the golden-haired hero bearing down on him and her strike. But it was too late to block.
Their exchanges were merciless; a blink, a breath—that fleeting moment decided victory or defeat.
Thus, with his movement delayed by just an instant, he had no way to stop the incoming blow.
Shiiiing!
Craaack!!
Silver trajectory and storm struck simultaneously, swinging with enough force to bisect the belatedly defending black knight in one stroke.
Rumble…!!
Emilia's desperate strike. The black knight's body flew through the air from the intense impact and storm, hurled backward. Glaring at him as he crashed down with a heavy thud, Emilia caught her breath without relaxing her guard.
"Ha… ah…! Hah… hah… hah…!"
A barely landed effective hit. He'd taken the full brunt of that vicious power, which even a mithril sword couldn't sustain for long. No matter his sturdy armor, the strike must have reached inside.
She could still feel the deep-cutting sensation in her hands.
Whoooosh!
Whoooosh!
Fwooosh…
The mithril sword in Emilia's hand, and the storm swirling around it, died down and dispersed. But soon, cracks spiderwebbed across the blade, and like the others, it shattered. She tossed the hilt—bare now—carelessly to the floor.
Don't get up… don't get up… please…
Emilia had faced many formidable foes and terrifying monsters, but this was her first battle against an enemy of this caliber. She barely remembered how she'd fought, feeling as if she'd been swept along by the flow.
She rubbed the back of her hand. There, the Hero's Blessing. The pattern, burning like fire since their first encounter in the corridor, still radiated ominous heat—as if warning the fight wasn't over.
Yet her legs trembled so violently she could hardly stand, let alone move. Her lungs refused proper breaths, like hyperventilation setting in, leaving her gasping.
Calm down, calm down, calm down. Get it together…
Hooo… ha… hoooo… ha…
Having overtaxed her unprepared body, her mana circuits throughout were frayed in every way. Recovery was essential. She couldn't handle another fight like that right now.
Behind her, clamor arose—voices praising the hero, voices of awe. But though they shouted from afar, no one approached. Likely due to the massive corpse dragon still intact.
The wound from Emilia's initial strike seemed healed. It hadn't intervened, probably lacking orders from the black knight. Now, it crouched protectively over his fallen form, menacing her.
…Can I… take that thing down…?
A razor-close battle after so long. A body pushed too far. Could she face that dragon in this state? At least some recovery was needed.
But would she get the time…?
……End……
"?!"
At the faint voice, Emilia tensed. The source: the distant fallen black knight. Lying with his back to the floor, he slowly rose, his red eyes glowing as he murmured indistinctly.
…Ex…cellent…
Praise. Praise that brought no joy. With it, the risen black knight was a total wreck from Emilia's strike. His armor—and the bluish flesh beneath—were slashed from neck to waist, black mist billowing out like a liberated fog.
Yet despite the gruesome state, the black knight stood unbroken.
Right behind, the voices that had sung of victory and lauded the hero now choked into horror and fear.
Emilia wiped her sweat, scanning around. …No usable weapons within reach.
"Give it a rest… I'd appreciate it if you died gracefully."
…Regrettable… but… combat… is… impossible… Body… too weak now… Recovery… needed…
Good for her. In her current state, she couldn't win anyway. If they had to fight, better when he was fully recovered. Or ideally, when he reappeared far, far away, so she wouldn't need to.
Emilia entertained such hopeful thoughts.
…But… killing the hero… is my… given… order…
For… my Demon King's… glory… I offer… this one life…
Her vision darkened. Oh, come on. Please don't be that oblivious…