Chapter 101
The Flower That Bears a Sword - Chapter 101
Translation: godsn
It didn't happen. Still, vomiting dead blood meant her condition wasn't at its absolute worst. But Rosalin, who had been beneath Eki, didn't know that. Seeing the blood dripping onto her dress, she turned deathly pale and began to stammer.
"M-M-Miss Roaz, b-b-blood...!"
Eki didn't have the strength to respond. She clenched her mouth shut, pushed Rosalin aside, and forced herself up. The explosion on the balcony had left the room in complete disarray. Only now did the junior knights manage to rise and subdue the unconscious royal guard and the other one who had been left dazed. The sound of people rushing in from outside grew louder. The deafening explosion must have alerted them that something had happened.
As Eki tried to sheathe Amethyst, her hand fumbled once. Her vision flickered black, and a tremor ran through her fingers. She barely managed to slide the sword in when someone nearly shattered the door as they burst inside.
"Echinacea!"
Her blurred vision filled with white.
Ah, right. It was Yurien.
The moment she saw him, she felt a relief so profound it surprised even herself. Now that he was here, everything would be alright. A thread of solace wove through her nerves, which had been stretched taut with tension. But her body, less conditioned than before, couldn't hold on any longer the moment relief washed over her. As she swayed and collapsed, Yurien swiftly caught her.
[Hey, hey, Master? You can't pass out now! I mean, sure, if you unleash the bloodlust, I'd feel refreshed, but you getting angry is terrifying, so...]
The voice of the Magic Sword buzzed in her ears like a distant hum. Her vision wavered, and Eki, leaning against Yurien's chest, bit down hard on the inside of her cheek.
'I can't lose consciousness like this. The bloodlust...'
Yurien's face twisted as he saw the blood soaking Echinacea's lips and the front of her dress. This wasn't an injury or illness. The only reason someone would vomit blood like this was if they had ingested poison. She was undoubtedly poisoned.
"This... is..."
Who? How? Why? The words shattered in his mouth. He bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood, then roared.
"Bring the Saintess here now! And the priests and physicians!"
Several of those who had rushed in with Yurien reacted to his command and bolted out. Then, Yurien turned his gaze to the junior knights restraining the royal guards and Rosalin, who stood pale and trembling.
"You—lock them up in the dungeon and report the situation to the vice-captain. And you," he said to Rosalin, "stay by the princess's side. Make sure she tells the vice-captain everything that happened."
The junior knights saluted hastily in acknowledgment. Rosalin nodded frantically, her body shaking uncontrollably. Yurien lifted Echinacea, who was letting out faint whimpers, into his arms. Heading urgently toward the nearest available room—the princess's bedchamber—he spoke.
"Everyone, get out. And when the Saintess arrives, let only her in."
His voice was terrifyingly low and cold. Those who had been standing awkwardly reflexively backed away. Even Rosalin, too stunned to walk properly, was led out by a junior knight, leaving the wrecked room completely empty.
Yurien kicked open the door to the princess's bedchamber and stepped inside. He laid the girl in his arms down on the large bed, but she refused to let go of his collar. The knuckles of her hand, clenched tightly around the fabric, were white with strain. Her posture radiated pain.
He looked down at her as she curled up on the bed, then called her name in a voice that was almost a groan.
"Echinacea."
He reached out as if to brush her hair aside. But before his hand could touch her, Eki released his collar and jerked upright. The woman who had been whimpering and curled up just moments ago now assumed a refined stance, her hand moving to the sword at her waist.
Yurien froze, his hand still suspended in midair. Her eyes locked onto his. He checked their color first.
The violet hue still remained.
Eki was barely holding onto her consciousness. It would have been easier if enemies surrounded her on all sides, but with only Yurien in sight, her tension kept threatening to dissolve. She wanted to lean on him. She cursed herself inwardly.
'What are you doing in front of the one person you absolutely can't let find out? Get a grip, please.'
She shook her head. She let go of the hand that had been reaching for Amethyst and relaxed her shoulders—only for her body to lurch violently. Another gush of blood surged past her lips. This time, along with the blackened blood, streaks of fresh crimson mixed in. Proof of internal injuries. Her body, still underdeveloped for a Master, couldn't withstand the massive amounts of mana churning violently inside her as she fought against the poison.
Even then, it was only because her mana affinity was absurdly high that she was merely injured—anyone else would have already begun to collapse. Just like how those forcibly subjected to the Magic Sword's mana would go on a rampage before inevitably breaking down and dying.
While Eki pressed a hand to her mouth, Yurien watched her and moved very, very slowly. Like someone trying not to provoke a beast. He knelt on the bed and reached out to her with deliberate slowness, wiping the blood from her lips as he murmured,
"Don't push yourself. The Saintess will be here soon—"
"Yu...ri...en."
Half-lost to delirium, Eki didn't even realize she had called his name. Yurien's breath hitched briefly before he exhaled long and slow. The skin around his eyes trembled faintly.
"...Yes. I'm here with you."
His hand cradled her cheek, steady and warm. Unconsciously, Eki thought:
It hurts. It's hard. Can I lean on this hand? I want to.
[Hey! Hey!]
She didn't hear the Magic Sword's warning cry. A crack had formed in the dam she'd been holding up. The moment she faltered, her rationality crumbled away.
Echinacea lost consciousness.
When her weakly closed eyes opened again, they were dyed black, swirling with malice. The killing intent she had suppressed—now at Zenith's level—had begun to leak out.
The moment he saw those darkened eyes, Yurien reflexively pulled back. Echinacea didn't pursue him. Over her expressionless face, a viscous blackness, like condensed evil, crept upward along the ends of her pink hair.
Yurien could guess her current state with relative accuracy. He had seen it before. In the erased past, during the time she had gathered Giosa, when she had been poisoned in the merchant's estate. The situation was similar. Back then, in that state, she had slaughtered every mercenary in the estate and even tracked down Giosa. Then, the moment she escaped to safety, she collapsed and suffered terribly.
Yurien remembered what had happened to her as she teetered on the brink of death alone. When she lost consciousness from the pain and completely lost her reason, the Magic Sword had begun to consume her. But at the time, she hadn't killed anyone. She hadn't wandered around looking for humans to slaughter—just sat there blankly, eyes blackened with bloodlust. Perhaps because the reason for her loss of control wasn't rage or killing intent, her behavior had been different.
[Still, be careful. Back then, the Magic Sword's wielder was alone when she was corrupted—there were no humans around. We don't know how she'll react to you, a human.]
The Holy Sword spoke in a tense tone. Yurien, keeping his distance, observed her state carefully. Echinacea remained motionless. Her hair had turned completely black. Now, she resembled her past self as the Demon of the Magic Sword. The only differences were that her skin hadn't darkened, and she wasn't holding the Magic Sword.
He tried activating his True Sight. Boiling malice smothered her soul, but unlike before, it wasn't like a swamp. Amid the darkness, a light burned brightly, like the sun. Because of it, the encroaching blackness couldn't seethe freely—it was stiff, restrained.
Yurien closed his True Sight once more and cautiously reached into his coat. One of the rewards he'd received from the Magic Tower for providing information about the Node now rested in his grasp. It was fortunate he'd kept it on him all this time in case of emergencies.
It was a metal chain about the width of two fingers, with transparent gems woven between its links. Dense magic circles covered every inch of both the gems and the chain. It resembled the sealing tool they had used long ago to imprison her when she was the Demon of the Magic Sword in the underground dungeon.
Sealing tools used to punish Master-level knights or mages suppress the target's mana core, preventing them from using mana. The one Yurien had obtained from the Magic Tower had an additional function—it absorbed mana. The transparent gems embedded in the chain were designed to siphon and store mana.
Even as he approached the bed again, Echinacea remained motionless, her gaze fixed blankly on empty air. Keeping his eyes locked on her, he gripped the sealing tool and climbed onto the bed. The mattress dipped beneath his weight, and at last, she turned her head.
Her movement was silent, animalistic. Those ominous, pitch-black eyes locked onto the man drawing near. Her slender body, still wrapped in the blood-soaked dress, trembled faintly—then tensed to spring.
"......!"
Yurien reacted instantly. He seized her shoulders and slammed her back down onto the bed, pinning both her wrists with one hand. Just as he moved to fasten the chain around her neck, he froze.
Right now, she's suppressing the poison with mana. If I seal her mana in this state... what happens to her? The imagined consequences sent a wave of terror through him, chilling his blood.
[What are you doing?!]
The Holy Sword's shout rang out just as the struggling woman conjured the Magic Sword in her free hand. Yurien dodged the black blade aimed at his head, rolling off her to the side. Retreating, he stuffed the sealing tool away and drew Langiosa instead.
[Why didn't you apply the seal—]
"If I seal her mana now while she's suppressing the poison, I don't know what will happen to her."
Yurien's voice was rough as he leveled the Holy Sword toward her. The Magic Sword's inky mana had become so dense it was nearly visible, writhing ominously. If only there were a way to seal just the sword's mana, but the sealing tool indiscriminately suppressed all mana flow—it couldn't make such distinctions.
Slowly, the black-haired woman rose from the bed, the Magic Sword in hand. Her inhumanly dark eyes fixed on him. A terrible sense of déjà vu washed over him, nightmare-like memories surfacing.
At the same time, anxious worry pounded in his chest. Traces of blood still stained the corners of her mouth and her neck. How much pain must she be in, with her body poisoned like this? The thought made it hard to breathe.
[But you can't stop her like this either!]
"I have an idea. I'll try it first."
[That—that thing you mentioned to me at the Magic Tower? That's just speculation! What if it fails? You could die trying to save her! Just use the sealing tool, please!]
Langiosa's protests fell on deaf ears. Echinacea, who had been silently watching him, suddenly moved. He blocked the Magic Sword's thrust—wreathed in black mana—with Langiosa's blade enhanced by Sword Energy. In that moment, the Holy Sword attempted communication with its counterpart. Normally, awakened Giosas could converse upon contact.
[Dammit, I knew it. There's no consciousness. Just a hollow shell of bloodlust.]
Langiosa sounded thoroughly annoyed. With Echinacea's reason gone, the Magic Sword's spirit—connected to her soul—had clearly sunk into dormancy. The Magic Sword was always in an awakened state, but...