The Saint Stands Upon the Earth (2)
“Master. I shall now dispel the perception-inhibiting magic and protective wards upon this chamber.”
At Foradnit’s words, the Vampire Lord Valbasor clenched his fists until the knuckles paled.
Already the clamor of shattering explosions, screams in every pitch, and the wet sounds of things being ripped apart or smashed to ruin were forcing their way through the gap beneath the door.
“Huu…”
Valbasor, who had reigned for ages as the incarnation of terror to all humankind, drew in a long breath. Even in the gloom his crimson eyes burned like coals as he spoke.
“This is driving me fucking insane.”
The crude words that left the Vampire Lord’s lips clashed violently with the deep, imperial timbre of his voice. There was no helping it. Long ago, during the agonizing process of becoming a vampire, his vocal cords had twisted beyond repair. Whether in sorrow, in rage, or even if he stubbed his little toe on the corner of a desk, the only sound he could produce was this same solemn, majestic tone.
In that sense, the solemnity he displayed now was the solemnity of a man forced to do something he truly did not wish to do, laced with equal parts resentment and irritation.
“I can feel it, Foradnit. Dawn is nearly upon us.”
“I will prepare the teleportation spell at once, Master.”
“Good. Tch. It ruins the image, but it cannot be helped.”
From Valbasor’s massive shoulders erupted a pair of enormous bat-like wings.
“Open it!”
At his command, crimson light flared from Foradnit’s hands. An invisible barrier shattered like glass.
BOOM—!
Valbasor kicked the door off its hinges and rocketed into the sky.
“S-something just came out!”
The moment Milosi pointed at the floating Valbasor and shouted, the Vampire Lord’s face twisted in displeasure. He snapped his fingers.
“A mere insect not even worth draining of its blood dares to point its finger at me, Valbasor?”
RUMBLE—KWAANG—!
With a deafening roar, razor-sharp stone spikes erupted from the ground beneath Milosi.
“Uwaaht!”
The earth where Milosi had stood was instantly transformed into a forest of stone thorns with no room left to set a foot.
“You were nearly killed, soldier. That was far too close.”
Milosi, now safely deposited on a rooftop with Lucie’s small hand still gripping his arm, clutched his trembling legs and let out a hollow laugh.
“H-ha, haha… Y-yeah… it was…”
“I think it best you stay back for now. Sometimes simply watching a battle can teach you more than leaping into it.”
So saying, Lucie patted Milosi’s head with her small hand as though he were a child and gave him a gentle smile.
“I-I can still—!”
Milosi began to flare up at being treated like a little boy, but quickly shut his mouth again.
“That is no ordinary high-ranking demon. It may be something even greater. We must end this swiftly before the casualties grow any worse.”
The gentle smile that had graced the Saint’s face only moments earlier vanished the instant she turned her gaze back toward the demon. In its place burned the furious eyes of a predator.
“Hup!”
With a short burst of breath, Lucie leapt skyward, a radiant axe forged of holy power blazing in her hands. She flew straight at Valbasor.
“Do you truly believe I have never before seen that abominable power you call holy?”
Valbasor’s dark-crimson eyes flashed an even deeper scarlet. The moment their gazes met, Lucie hurriedly looked away, but it was already too late.
“Ugh—!”
The light scattered from her hands and the holy axe dissolved into motes of brilliance. Valbasor did not miss the opening. He shot toward her at full speed.
“A vile thing like a Saint must have its seed crushed before it can take root.”
Lucie twisted her body in midair, trying to evade the oncoming Vampire Lord. Yet fighting an airborne enemy with no weapon was no difficult task for Valbasor.
“Kgh!”
Feinting a frontal assault, Valbasor shot past her, seized her from behind, and clamped his hand around the back of her neck.
“You will regret setting foot in the domain of this Vampire Lord, Valbasor!”
SWISH—!
A single arrow tore through the air and buried itself in Valbasor’s shoulder. The enraged Vampire Lord whipped his head toward the source. There stood Jiri, flanked by Jindrich and the knights under his command, all with bows drawn.
“Can you fools not see the woman I hold in my grasp?!”
“Heh heh. I told them beforehand to attack without hesitation even if I were captured.”
“Are you in any position to say that with a smile on your face?!”
“Protect the Saint!!”
At Jindrich’s roar the knights loosed their arrows in unison.
“Hmph! As if mere mundane arrows could so much as scratch this body—!”
Just as Valbasor declared, the arrow lodged in his shoulder fell limply to the ground the moment the wound began to regenerate.
“Are you not curious why I gave them those instructions?”
“You pathetic creature who cannot even recognize your own position—!”
SPLAT—!
Blood sprayed across Valbasor’s face. His pupils contracted as instinct outran reason. What followed was a wave of unease and searing pain. He slowly turned his gaze to the right hand that still gripped the Saint.
Glurk—
Thick blood poured from the place where his right wrist should have been.
“…Huh?”
Valbasor stared at the ragged stump, blood gushing from the torn flesh, and an idiotic sound slipped from his lips.
“Ahahahaht.”
An ominous laugh struck his eardrums.
“I told them that if I ever let an enemy capture me, it would be on purpose—so feel free to hit me with everything you have. That’s what I said.”
With the hand that had been holding her now gone, Lucie’s body began to fall away from Valbasor.
“Oh, and this belongs to you. It’s your right wrist.”
Just as she claimed, the object clutched in her small hand was unmistakably Valbasor’s severed right hand.
“…What the fuck? Give it back.”
“Then I shall return a lovely arrow in its place.”
“Fire!!”
Jindrich’s shout cut their exchange short. A storm of arrows rose from the knights below, passing Lucie like an inverted rain as she fell. Valbasor hurriedly wrapped himself in wings hardened like steel.
At the same time, he witnessed it.
The Saint’s eyes, as she plummeted toward the ground, were darting in every direction—up, down, left, right—trying to capture something in her gaze. It did not take Valbasor long to realize those eyes were tracking the arrows flying toward him.
He simply had no time left to react.
“You bastards dare—!”
The holy arrows slammed into his wings. The clash of sacred power against unclean flesh erupted in violent explosions.
“KRRRAAAAAGH—Foradnit—!!”
A tremendous blast of sound, heat, smoke, and gale tore across the earth of Trzikov as though scolding the very land itself. From within the smoke that blanketed the sky, a small girl fell like a shooting star.
“There! The Saint! The Saint is falling! We must save her at once!!”
Jindrich cried out in panic. But the speed of her descent was too great, and the distance between the knights and her position too far. There was nothing they could do.
KWAANG—!
The girl who fell from the heavens struck a building’s roof like a meteor. The roof collapsed instantly, and the entire structure caved in with a thunderous crash.
“S-S-S-Saintess!!”
Jindrich, nearly sobbing, charged toward the rubble at a speed one would never expect from his massive frame. What he saw there made him recoil as though he had seen a ghost.
“Y-you?! Are you all right?!”
“Heh… hehehe… I’m… not sure…?”
There stood Milosi, both arms mangled and ruined, yet still cradling Lucie protectively against his chest.
“That was reckless, soldier. The bones in both your arms must be shattered…”
“You’re… not exactly in great shape yourself… Saintess…?”
Just as Milosi said, Lucie’s condition was catastrophic. The explosion at point-blank range had all but incinerated her already ancient-looking robe, leaving it barely functional as clothing. On top of that, the continuous fighting without any time to recover had drained her holy power to its limit; blood streamed endlessly from her nose.
“Heh, hehehe… Indeed… To be seen in such a state… How truly embarrassing…”
Lucie had meant that she was ashamed of showing her injured, bloodied appearance. Milosi, however, interpreted it differently.
“I-I’m sorry! N-no, I didn’t see anything!!”
Milosi’s face flushed crimson all the way to his ears.
“Hm? Why is this fellow suddenly acting so strangely, Viscount?”
Even at Lucie’s puzzled question, Jindrich could only burst into hearty laughter, overcome with relief that both of them were safe.