Chapter 15
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Kaltake
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- Kai, are you awake?
When was it? When did I have that dream?
The raw scent of spring.
The feeling of a blue, close sky.
When I opened my eyes, my mother’s hand was there, stroking my head as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Why?
Why did my eyes well up with hot tears the moment I felt her warmth, her scent?
- Huh? What’s wrong? Are you sick?
His mother asked, hastily wiping away Kaisen’s tears.
His mother was always like this.
The kind of mother who would fuss over her son’s smallest sigh.
The kind of mother who would smile as if she could die of happiness at her son’s slightest smile. His mother was a blessing in his life.
- What is it? I think… I had a bad dream.
- A bad dream? Wait right there! Mom will go give that bad dream a good scolding.
- How?
- Somehow.
Kaisen chuckled, *pfft*.
At that, his mother said, "You think this is funny?" and pounced on him.
Mother and son rolled in the spring grass, giggling like children.
Spring was radiant.
A spring with his mother by his side, his father at home, and his sister chattering with girls her age—it was so radiant it brought tears to his eyes.
Why didn't I know it then?
- Mom.
- Yes?
- That sword. Why do you always carry it?
His mother's hand, which had been picking blades of grass from his face, paused. A bitter smile followed.
- Ah, this? It’s because someone Mom… truly loved gave it to me.
- Dad?
- No, not that kind of love. If I had to say, it was more like a little brother? Or a daughter?
- I don't have a younger sibling, so I wouldn't know.
- Are you asking me to give you a little brother? You sly little thing.
- ?
- Right. I really hope that child can meet you someday, Kai….
His mother's smile was tragic.
Her hand caressing the hilt was limp, and her eyes grew red.
- If she saw me alive like this, she would resent me. She might even hate me.
- Why?
- Because it’s no different from running away and leaving her with all the burdens. When I was all she had.
His mother's smile as she said this was so unbearably pitiful and sad that Kaisen found himself saying:
- Don't worry, Mom! I'll talk to her. I'll tell her not to hate you.
The plan was a success.
Because his mother laughed brightly and hugged him.
- Oh, how could I have been blessed with such a lovely boy like Kai for a son…
In that very moment, as he laughed happily with his mother, the ground suddenly cracked, and the world began to crumble.
- Mom, Mom, Mom…!
The moment he reached out in despair, watching his mother being dragged into the collapsing ground.
The crest of Valkrush flashed ominously, filling his vision, and then a single-bladed axe suddenly plunged into his mother's shoulder, sending blood spurting.
- …Theeee ooonlyyy waaaayyyy tooooo cleeeeannnnseee thiiiisss taaaaiiiintedddd hooonnnoorrrr issss….
As Kaisen screamed, the creature's voice swirled chaotically.
- …byyyy kiiillliinnnggg yooouuu, whooo haaasss beeecccomeee aaaa waaaarrriiooorrr, iiiinnnn Kaaallltaaaakeeee….
Kill him.
I have to kill him.
The moment he raised his mother’s shortsword toward the source of the voice, *gasp*, a choked breath caught in his throat, and the dazzling daydream ended.
- A dream…?
That memory again…
When the dream ended, his whole body was slick with cold sweat. He let out a long sigh and threw his head back.
Kaisen was in a trench.
His injuries had been so severe that he was the last to awaken from Setsunen’s spatial transfer.
In other words, it was just before the ‘Dragon Egg Escort Mission’ was about to begin.
Kaisen, unaware of the mission’s details, was bewildered by the frantic situation when Camilla approached him.
- How old are you, crying for your mommy? Did you piss your pants?
With the same hair and eyes as his mother, Camilla was a constant reminder of her. Though their personalities were complete opposites.
- I didn't say 'mommy'.
- You did.
- I didn't. Have 30 years as a spinster made you start hearing things?
- Ha, to think the day would come when this insolent brat calls me a spinster. What a goddamn world.
As she spoke, Camilla’s gaze turned toward the front lines far beyond, where gunfire echoed ceaselessly.
The port city, <Aristarpo>.
Where the Yellow Dragon flew above the city, unleashing countless waves of holy light and lightning. Setsunen of Thunderous Fragrance's battle had already begun.
- I'll probably die today. If my master were here instead of me, things might have been different.
- Master?
- Yes, master. Why ask when you already know? Raminea Alter Aradamanthel. Your dead mother was my master.
- …
- You've been trying hard to hide it, and you're doing a good job. If people found out you're the son of a deserter, your head would be smashed in an instant.
- …
- But it's pointless in front of me. From the moment I saw that sword—no, from the moment I saw your face, I had a feeling. That you were my master's son.
The existence of Raminea was a veil of sorrow draped over both Camilla's and Kaisen's lives.
Shrouded by the veil, not a single ray of light could shine into their lives.
And shrouded by the veil, even when they managed a faint smile, the shadow of that smile was soaked in tears.
- So what? Why are you telling me this now?
Raminea had been everything to them both, and they had each lost that everything at different times. The most precious treasure in the world.
- Like you said, maybe living as a spinster until my dying day has made me go senile.
Before he could ask what bullshit she was spouting, Camilla drew a shortsword in a pure white scabbard from her hip.
Kaisen was stunned.
She was suddenly tossing him the very thing she had taken as collateral for their contract four years ago.
- I promised I'd return it when you'd learned all I could teach you. Here, I keep my promises.
Kaisen hesitated.
His mother's sword, held for the first time in four years, felt unfamiliar.
He wondered if her scent still lingered on the sword, but he could no longer clearly recall her scent or her smile.
- Hey, Kaisen.
Camilla, who he thought was about to leave after returning the sword, asked. For some reason, her voice trembled.
- That sword… how did my master treat it?
Normally, he wouldn't have answered.
But today was different.
Was it because he was confused by the shock of Camilla being his mother's student and the bewilderment of having her sword so suddenly returned?
- She said it was a gift from someone she loved more than anyone in the world. She treated it like a treasure, carrying it with her wherever she went.
Kaisen couldn't continue.
For a moment, he couldn't even breathe, his entire being soaked in bewilderment.
- Is that so?
A summer breeze blew, and as Camilla’s high-collared cape fluttered, her pale face, once hidden, was revealed.
Tears…?
A translucent smile played on her red lips, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
- I'm so glad….
She was crying and smiling at the same time.
Camilla, who in four years had never shown any emotion aside from anger and irritation…
That was the first time Kaisen had ever seen Camilla smile. And in that instant, he realized. Camilla’s smile was just like his mother’s.
And so, with a face that held his mother’s smile, Camilla spoke his mother’s words.
- Kaisen, you must live.
End of Childhood, The Siege of Aristarpo (6)
The central force led by Camilla became the target of Kishun's unit.
The high ground was just ahead.
A little, just a little further, and the forest would end at the [Rayboro Bridge], where the river began. If they could cross that bridge and destroy it, victory would be theirs.
But.
*Perhaps it's called fate because it is never so easy,* Camilla thought with a bitter smile.
“Fire! Kill them all!”
Amidst the crossfire of the riflemen.
The Uruks charged, using the corpses of their fallen comrades as shields against the bullets.
And in the clash between the charging Uruks and the spearmen, blood and flesh became a tangled mess.
“WUHAHAHAHA!”
Kishun let out an ecstatic roar.
His meteoric iron claws, forged from steel torn from the stars, killed and killed again the soldiers of Camilla's corps who stood in his way.
“Guh…!”
“Gah, gaaaaah…!”
A claw that had pierced a beastman soldier’s head immediately slammed down on another rifleman, shaking the very ground.
The other claw tore a spearman's throat, then threw the body at other spearmen, knocking them down.
“What’s this, what’s this! Put some more effort into it! Warrior Corps!”
Fear, a primal fear, made the soldiers falter.
A monster, he’s a monster…
He had killed three beastman soldiers who attacked him at once in a single blow. Their hands grew slick with cold sweat, their legs refused to obey.
“Tsh!”
It was then.
That an urgent shout erupted from somewhere.
“Over here, there’s a swordmaster with a longsword!”
Simultaneously, with a sharp *clang* of metal, a crimson flash flared, and the screams of Uruks echoed.
“Heh, heheheheh…”
Kishun let out a savage laugh.
*Kaisen, so you’re there!*
He charged in that direction, slaughtering any soldier who blocked his path.
“Shibettera! That one’s mine!”
But Kaisen wasn't there.
Only the FakeWarrior Camilla, her white bob slicked with blood, swinging the Supreme Holy Sword Aradamanthel.
“Huh…?”
Kishun tilted his head.
Kishun’s second-in-command and younger brother, Kishe, approached with a grin and spoke in the Uruk tongue.
“Is that her? You’re going to take her in a Kaltake? She’s killed over 30,000 warriors on her own. Won’t be easy.”
“No, that’s not him. And I’m not really feeling it.”
“Scared?”
“Kishe, would you risk your life to eat rotten meat?”
“What?”
“She’s already dying. There’s no thrill in fighting someone like that one-on-one.”
It would be better to just sneak in with his subordinates and kill her with a surprise attack.
Winning a Kaltake against someone like that would earn him nothing, and losing would only bring shame to the tribe’s honor.
Just as Kishun assessed, Camilla had already passed her limit. She gasped for breath, thinking.
*‘There’s no life force left to wield. My body can’t keep up with my mind.’*
If her life were a candle, it was now nothing more than a bit of melted wax, barely flickering. And yet.
*Fshaaaaak…!*
Camilla’s sword was swift and strong. Thousands of Uruks had collapsed at her feet as bloodied corpses.
Not only Kiranzuki Gaga, but even chieftains of renowned clans were cut down in a single stroke, rolling on the ground without even putting up a fight.
Though her ferocity was enough to inspire fear, the creatures kept targeting Camilla, swarming her from all sides.
“Yes, come on. Come at me! I’ll kill every last one of you and take you with me as companions on my lonely road to the afterlife!”
She remembered screaming with all her might.
In an instant.
In that very instant.
Her vision went black, and when she came to, she was flying through the air. The moment she slammed into the trunk of a giant tree, hot blood surged up her throat.
“See? What was the point? No thrill at all. Couldn’t even dodge one hit.”
Camilla gasped for air.
Through her blurry vision, the first thing she saw was the fist-sized hole in her abdomen.
And above that hole, the giant Uruk… Kishun… walking toward her with heavy footfalls, his head cocked menacingly.
“Camilla!”
A desperate scream erupted.
In an instant, the air crystallized and froze, then flew toward Kishun all at once.
“Hmph, a mage.”
Kishun immediately picked up the corpse of a not-quite-dead comrade and used it to block the icicles.
*Th-th-thudududuk…* The Uruk’s body, letting out a final death rattle, trembled violently. The sound of crystals tearing through armor and flesh was as sweet as a harmony to Kishun’s ears.
A bland smile formed on his lips.
“Strong, aren’t you?”
Which makes this awkward.
Things as un-warriorlike as mages are no fun to fight. Where the hell is Kaisen?
《Ring of the Ice Realm》.
The moment Wolf formed a hand seal, mirrors of ice rose around him and Camilla, forming a blue protective barrier.
The strain of using the spell took a toll on his body, and his nose began to bleed profusely.
Wolf shook Camilla’s body and shouted.
“Camilla, stay with me, Camilla!”
Camilla coughed up blood, reaching out a trembling hand to touch Wolf’s cheek. She barely managed to speak.
“Why did you come here, you idiot…”
I was sorry for everything…
There was so much she wanted to say, but she didn't.
Because she knew better than anyone that the more words you leave behind, the deeper the scars you leave on those who remain.
“Haha… Did I seem like such a scoundrel that I would run away and leave the woman I love?”
Wolf laughed weakly.
Wolf loved Camilla, and Camilla knew it well. But they had both thoroughly hidden their feelings.
Because theirs was a love that could never be.
More than anything, Camilla, whose life was about to end, didn’t want Wolf to be tied down to her.
But now, there was no reason to hide.
“Break it!”
“Drag them out and slaughter them!”
The sound of the Uruks’ axes grew louder.
*Crack, craaack, craaaack…*
Wolf watched the cracks spreading across the ice mirrors with a detached air.
*‘It’ll be over soon.’*
In a few moments, the ice mirrors would shatter, and Camilla and Wolf would meet a miserable end.
If that was the case, it would be easier to just kill themselves here…
Judging by the silence of the last death throes, the corps had clearly been wiped out.
*Shing*, the moment Wolf drew his dagger.
The moment the ice mirrors half-shattered, revealing the Uruks.
The moment he was about to quickly plunge the dagger into Camilla’s heart amidst the laughter of the Uruks.
“Get the hell away from them────!”
A sudden battle cry.
Following the cry, the screams of Uruks erupted.
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
The sound of axes chopping stopped all at once.
The Uruks’ attention focused on the direction of the commotion.
As the ice mirror in that direction happened to shatter, Wolf too could see the source of the noise.
His eyes trembled with a thrill of terror.
The sight of a sword demon who had leaped from a cliff, indiscriminately slaughtering the Uruks blocking his path to forge a way forward.
The first Uruk, he killed by slitting its throat.
The second and third, he disarmed by severing the wrists holding their weapons.
The fourth Uruk that charged, he slid between its legs, slicing its lower body and abdomen open, causing it to collapse.
“UhAHAHA!”
Kishun, who had been looking at Wolf’s ice mirrors with boredom, shook with laughter at the sight.
Why?
Wolf mumbled the reason in a daze.
“Kaisen…?”
Kaisen.
It was him, Kaisen.
The boy who had joined the corps four years ago with nothing but grit and learned swordsmanship from Camilla.
“How is he here…?”
Kaisen?
The dying Camilla trembled.
A dozen Uruk warriors had fallen under the boy’s blade in an instant.
The Uruk warriors couldn’t hide their shock. Kaisen, drenched in crimson blood, looked like the incarnation of a demon.
The young demon, panting for breath, turned his head this way and that.
Was he looking for someone?
Then, the moment his gaze locked onto the grinning Kishun, he kicked a severed Uruk head in that direction and pointed his sword.
“Ogure wi irishina ro chi Kaisen—I am Kaisen, son of the Crimson Lotus────!”
He roared in the Uruks’ tongue.
So that every being on this battlefield could hear and understand.
“──────Hishime ki KALTAKE ro gimarasu—I challenge you to a Kaltake!”
Four years ago.
Just as Raminea Alter Aradamanthel had done to save her son.