Wield Your Sword
Lydia let out a low sigh as she took in the scene before her. “Haa…”
The massive skeleton rider still roamed the dungeon crossroads at a leisurely pace, exhaling plumes of blue ghostflame. In response to its power, small skeletons clawed their way out of the dirt mounds scattered throughout the dungeon.
[Gwoooar—!]
The endless tide of minor mobs clattering forward was the signature pattern of the early-game necromancy boss, the Skeleton Rider.
Amid that grotesque sight, Mave and her companions trembled inside the prison cell, unconscious. Mana and life force were being siphoned from their noses and mouths.
“Kuh…!”
“Ugh, urgh…”
Lydia fell into brief contemplation. “…If we leave them be, Mave’s group will die. Even if this is the Academy in the neutral zone between the three nations, we won’t escape reprimand from Instructor Zach and the others. Moreover, Mave is a heroine who will prove useful in the future.”
No matter how detached she was from the original work, the outright death of a heroine was an entirely different matter. The Academy descending into chaos too quickly would also be problematic.
“At the very least, not until I’ve gathered all the heroines into the party. It’s still far too early.”
Therefore, the option of [not saving them] had vanished.
“…This is troublesome.”
Lydia drew her sword. It was not the crimson longsword she usually carried, but a plain blade purchased from the Academy’s marketplace. Her complicated expression reflected on its unmarked surface.
Shrrng—!
Arty stared at her in shock. “L-Lydia…! You don’t mean—?!”
“Set down your pack and prepare for battle, Arty.”
“…?!”
“I shall rescue the scattered students. In the meantime, you will face the Skeleton Rider. And you will defeat it. If you fail, they will have their very souls stolen by the rider.”
“M-Me…?!”
“Indeed, Arty.” Lydia met his wavering gaze. “You are stronger than they are right now. The time has come for you to protect them. That is the destiny I wish for you.”
“…Destiny.”
“Save them together with Aria.”
Aria swallowed hard, her face pale with shock. “…!”
Saving people was something both Arty and Aria fiercely agreed with. Yet whether they could do it was far from certain.
Arty and Aria hesitated. “….” “….”
Doubt gnawed at Arty. I’ve only trained my body and technique… Can I really help in this fight? And until recently, I was just an ordinary commoner…
Just because he had encountered the Holy Sword, just because he was fated to become the Hero—did that mean he had to step forward?
—Is destiny nothing more than something given?
Can I… really do this?
His mind churned under the crushing pressure of time. Then a voice reached out to him.
“…Arty.”
Lydia placed her free hand on his shoulder. It was the same strong, steady grip that had caught him when he nearly fell on the dirt floor.
“!”
Arty flinched. Within his still-trembling eyes lingered trust in his guardian—and dependence, hoping for reliable support.
“L-Lydia…?”
“….”
Lydia spoke. “Wield it, for it is no match for you.”
“…!”
It was not assistance. It was encouragement.
“Though brief, the training you have undergone was not in vain. Since coming to this Academy, you have met me, met Aria… and grown steadily stronger. You are no longer the ‘ordinary commoner’ you once were.”
Therefore…
“Take pride in yourself.”
Arty shuddered. “…!”
A sword. He had already become the princess’s blade. Though still unrefined, he had become sharper than the self of yesterday.
“The enemy will not wait for you to be fully prepared. But you have endured a fiercer time than anyone else at the Academy. With the Holy Sword in hand, you have grown faster than anyone.”
All that remained was…
“…to swing it toward wherever you wish.”
“!”
“Look to where your will points.”
“…Yes!”
Arty found himself resolved. Protect them.
It was a decision he had never seriously considered before, born alongside the pride blooming in his chest. He clenched his fist and confirmed the Holy Sword’s presence. The Holy Sword Danan resonated with a clear tone.
“!”
It was as if the blade welcomed his resolve. It awaited the moment it would be drawn.
…A sword that never leaves its scabbard can protect no one. That is not fate. It is a matter of will.
Aria approached him. Though her hands trembled with fear, her eyes were firm as she met his gaze.
“I’ll help too. Not because it’s the princess’s order.”
“…Saintess.”
“I want to help the one the Holy Sword’s destiny has pointed to. I want to save people together with you. And I want to believe in the you I’ve seen until now. Right now, that’s all I’m thinking about.”
“I feel the same.”
The three of them looked toward the same place at once. At that moment, the Skeleton Rider noticed them.
[Gwoooar—!!]
It began to charge, swinging its massive spear through the air. Blue ghostflame danced wildly at the spear’s tip, spreading toward the skeletons rising from the ground. Like an enraged mob, blue flames flashed in the eyes of countless skeletons.
Lydia spoke. “Now, let us begin. You two will fight the Skeleton Rider and win.”
“Yes!”
“…Understood!”
“Do not stop thinking. Remember what you have learned. There will always be an answer. I shall rescue the fallen among those skeletons.”
Arty looked at Lydia. His eyes no longer wavered. “….”
He was only worried. Saving the unconscious amid that landslide of skeletons might be harder than fighting the Skeleton Rider itself.
“…Can you do it?”
“….”
Lydia couldn’t help but laugh. Worrying about that now?
“Huhu.”
Goodness. To think he’s worried about me over something this small. He’ll faint once he sees the trials ahead, Arty.
“Lydia…?”
“It’s fine. Now that I think about it, this is your first real battle, so of course you wouldn’t have a feel for it yet. Charge when I give the signal.”
“?”
Sword in hand, Lydia walked forward step by step. Then she glanced back at Arty and Aria. A faint smile graced her lips.
They swallowed at the sight of her eyes. “!” “!”
It was as if… endless crimson flames raged within the princess’s gaze. The fire burned so fiercely it seemed to have risen from the heart of the sun itself.
Flames…? And this pressure… what is it…?
Lydia spoke. “I shall show you. That your master is by no means weak.”
She leapt several meters in a single bound and plunged into the midst of the raging skeletons.
—Kyaaaak—!!
—Ssshhh—!!
Dozens of skeletons lit their ghostflames and lunged to tear apart the living being who dared intrude among them—enough hands to leave not even a trace of her form.
There, Lydia swept her sword horizontally with her right hand. The motion was flawless, like a salute.
A horizontal slash.
A simple movement that could hardly be called swordsmanship. Yet its aftermath defied imagination.
Swish—!
The skeletons that had seemed ready to rip her apart froze. They stood rigid, unable to comprehend the sudden change that had befallen them.
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
And then, with a gentle breeze—like a sandcastle crumbling in the wind—dozens of skeletons were cleaved apart and collapsed.
Thud thud thud!
Arty and Aria trembled at the sight. “A-amazing…!”
Lydia’s strike far surpassed the skill of any knight who merely wielded mana. They could tell at once that it was a blow whose limits could not be measured.
Just how far has the princess’s level reached…?
But it was not over. The enraged skeletons rose again from the ground like weeds, fueled by the Skeleton Rider’s blue ghostflame. One by one, an endless battle of attrition began.
—Kyaaaak—!!
—Ssshhh—!!
Lydia gripped her sword with both hands amid the chaos and faced the approaching skeletons one by one. Diagonal, horizontal, turning her body—vertical upward slashes. Each time a skeleton fell to her blade, another took its place. With every strike, more skeletons shattered. The remnants flew so violently they seemed to fall from the sky.
A battlefield where endless sword dance and blue ghostflame intertwined like white flowers scattering in the wind. The princess continued her dance without pause.
[Gwoooar—!]
The Skeleton Rider used its collapsing soldiers as shields and widened the distance, retreating to a far corner with the sound of clattering hooves. Then… the ominous horse the rider mounted let out a cry. Blue ghostflame danced at the tip of its spear, sharp as a skewer, and it began to target the one who was shattering its troops.
In tandem with the attack, ghostflame spewed from the eyes and mouths of the rising skeletons.
But the Skeleton Rider’s opening had been exposed.
Lydia shouted. “Now! Arty! Aria! Go—!”
“!”
“!”
Arty and Aria reflexively broke into a run toward the Skeleton Rider, heading for the dim end of the crossroads where blue ghostflame flickered at the edge of their vision.
*
The path to the Skeleton Rider was far from smooth. Skeletons blocked the way at every turn.
—Kyaaaak—!
“!”
A few skeletons wreathed in ghostflame charged forward. Though their numbers were nothing compared to what Lydia was holding back, they were more than enough to hinder Arty and Aria’s sprint.
Arty thrust out his right hand and summoned the Holy Sword. “Danan—!”
With a heavy resonance, a blue sword appeared in the boy’s grasp. He gripped it firmly with both hands. Steadying his breath, he recalled Lydia’s teachings.
—Against lesser monsters, complex techniques are unnecessary.
—Th-then what do I need?
—Raise the hilt to your head, blade level and pointed at the enemy. A stance where the raised blade and your body form a cross.
—It allows you to thrust at any moment and parry upward at any moment—a stance of simultaneous offense and defense. Choose and chain attacks and defenses endlessly with a single moment’s intuition.
Attack and defense as one—!
Arty raised the Holy Sword above his head and locked it firmly in place. The physical training and Accelerated Healing he had undergone became his solid foundation.
A skeleton wreathed in ghostflame launched itself at him.
“Kyaaaak—!”
“!”
A massive attack—and a massive opening!
“Attack—!”
Arty roared and drove the Holy Sword into the skeleton’s burning skull. He felt the sensation of the skull shattering into pieces at the blue blade’s tip.
Crack!
“…!”
I struck it down…!
But beyond the collapsing skeleton, two more approached. They leapt for Arty’s arms and legs respectively.
…Defense!
Arty brought the thrust blade down to parry the skeleton coming from below. Then he spun the blade in a circle and cleaved the one attacking from above.
Slash—!
The blue sword tip rippled, tracing a circle. The speed of his swings increased. Thrust, parry, raise, reset stance. Several skeletons shattered in an instant.
The path before Arty was clear.
But—
“Hero! Behind you!”
“…?!”
At Aria’s cry, he turned. A skull wreathed in flame floated there, its jaws gaping wide. A massive fireball erupted from its mouth. The tongue-like flame hurtled straight toward Arty’s eyes.
Damn it, to destroy a necromancy monster you have to break its power core—?!
In the moment Arty faltered, Aria stepped in front of him. Golden light gathered in her hands. She had invoked a lesser holy incantation.
“O great sun—! Protect us!”
The golden radiance became a thin barrier that enveloped Arty and Aria. It shattered like glass against the flame attack.
Crash—!
Fortunately, they had been running. They escaped the explosion that detonated earlier than intended.
Aria traced a holy sign toward the floating skull. “Judgment of the sun—! Annihilate the darkness—!”
Golden lightning flashed across the dark crossroads. The skull struck by lightning shattered in midair.
Aria looked at Arty. “Keep moving—!”
“!”
Arty suddenly recalled the moment they had gathered the red herbs. “….”
The words Aria had answered shyly then.
—I’ll go with you.
He realized that her answer had not been a mere promise. She was a comrade. He understood that for the first time.
Fighting together with a comrade…!
Arty answered. “Yes! Let’s go together!”
“Yes, Hero.”
The two finally reached the Skeleton Rider. The rider turned its head as if surveying the battlefield, circling once. Ghostflame rose like mist beneath the ominous horse’s hooves.
Clop clop
Then it stopped. “…!”
In that instant—
[Gwoooar—!]
The Skeleton Rider charged like an arrow. Its spear tip, flickering with blue ghostflame, hurtled forward in a chilling assault.
“!”
Arty grabbed Aria and dodged. “Look out—!”
“Kyaa?!”
Slash—!
The Skeleton Rider’s charge passed harmlessly between them. But it was already turning its mount to come around again.
Even as he rolled across the ground with Aria in his arms, Arty forced his body—shriveling with tension—to awaken. Amid the ragged breaths of battle’s excitement, he drew upon Accelerated Healing. That too was one of Lydia’s teachings.
—Awaken your second heart.
“In battle, one shall have two beating hearts…!”
Faint blue mana rose from Arty’s Holy Sword. It seemed to cry out that it would protect the Hero from the massive blow.
And then—
Arty’s Holy Sword and the Skeleton Rider’s spear collided.
BOOM!