Blooming Petals (2)
“Evan Farcion. Will you… marry me?”
Petals of every color rode the wind, swirling around Violet and me as if blessing us. A cool spring breeze washed over my skin, and the sunlight pouring down was radiant beyond measure. The sky was a flawless blue, without a single cloud, and in Violet’s eyes as she looked up at me were expectation, trembling, and a faint thread of anxiety all mixed together.
The beautiful silver ring resting lightly atop the lotus in her hand, I realized on closer look, bore a pattern where the crests of the Farcion and Lailia houses had been woven into perfect harmony.
A beautiful sky. A pleasant breeze. Warm sunlight. And a woman who wished to love me.
Everything was perfect.
All that remained was my answer.
“Violet Lailia. I look forward to our future together.”
“…I’m so happy.”
She dove into my arms with a soft thump. The hair that settled against my chest carried the fragrant scent of flowers.
“Here—give me your hand. I’ll put the ring on for you.”
“…Wouldn’t it be better if I put it on you?”
“I will put it on you.”
Pushed along by the strangely forceful look on her face and the pressure of her presence, I held out my left hand as she demanded. Radiantly happy, she slid the engagement ring onto my ring finger just like that.
It settled onto my hand as if it had been made for me alone. A month from now, at the wedding, we would press our lips to each other’s engagement rings and swear a lifetime.
“Perfect. We’re family now, aren’t we?”
Gone was Violet’s usual blank expression and charismatic way of speaking; in their place was the face of a girl in love, beaming with a blossom-bright smile.
A beautiful sky. A pleasant breeze. Warm sunlight. And a woman who loved me.
A perfect day.
How could my heart not soar?
I stepped closer to the brightly smiling Violet and carefully cupped her cheek. She looked briefly startled, then smiled with her eyes, wrapped her arms around my waist, and waited for what I would do.
I had never kissed anyone in my life—but somehow, I knew exactly what to do now.
I tilted my head just slightly, met her beautiful eyes, and pressed my lips to hers.
The taste of a first kiss was the sweet flavor of flowers.
A beautiful sky. A pleasant breeze. Warm sunlight. And two lovers who loved each other.
A perfect day.
KYAAAAAAAAA——!!!
And then, the discord.
“Kh… hah… E… va…”
“Huh?”
Scattering petals and spraying drops of blood tangled together in a dizzying whirl. Blood dyed the petals; the monster’s scream made the flowers wither. A collapsing flower—no. Violet. A black dagger the size of my hand was buried in her chest.
“Vi… olet?”
No answer from you. Only blood staining the soft brown earth red.
“Ah. Healing. Someone. Ah—”
For the engagement ceremony at Lake Calion, every attendant had been sent away. Even the coachman who had brought us this far had already gone home.
Lake Calion sat on the Empire’s border—the Empire’s very edge. We had come this far at speed in an Imperial magic carriage, but no matter how hard I ran, I would never reach the capital in time.
That left only one option.
The Holy Kingdom… I have to find the Saint…
If it was the Saint, she could be saved. I might face the Holy Kingdom’s judgment for it—but that was none of my concern right now.
Right now—
KYAAAAAAAAA——!!!
I would kill you first.
I laid Violet properly on the ground where she had collapsed, bleeding, and applied the emergency hemostatic magic I had learned during the Continental War. When a blade is driven that deep, yanking it out in a panic only makes things worse.
“Just wait… I’ll be right back…”
I had no weapon. Flowers cannot be swung to cut. Forging a weapon with magic that could withstand my strength was impossible.
All that remained was to pray to a god.
“I form a contract. …Lellasion.”
“What shall you offer this lady this time?”
“Half of half of what remains of my life.”
“Regrettably. This lady has no need of that.”
“…Whenever you wish. Three times only. I will become your apostle.”
“Five times. And this lady shall hold your fiancée’s life in place until you reach the Holy Kingdom.”
“.....”
Ting—
I felt something carve itself into my soul, and at the same time something filled my empty hand.
A long blade of pure white. A cross-guard shaped like a star, and a slender navy hilt.
Lellasion’s first sword. Life.
“…I didn’t particularly want to see you again.”
“As if this one wished to see the likes of you again either, child.”
“We finish this fast.”
It was black from head to toe, like some kind of clown, and though its mouth had been stitched shut with thick thread it was still forcing its jaws open to scream—as if begging to be killed.
“Then… as you wish…”
I’ll kill you.
KWAANG—!
I cycled mana through my body and kicked off the ground at the same time as I poured mana into the blade, invoking Life’s authority.
KAANG!
The clown kept screaming as it swung the dagger in its hand and knocked my strike aside. The weight of it was like being parried by a shield; my stance nearly collapsed. I forced mana into my wrists and ankles and brought the deflected sword back down in another cut.
“You fight no differently than you did back then. Utterly unpleasant.”
Dduduk— Seogeok—!
At last the dagger was bisected by my swing, and I was not about to let that opening slip. I corrected the blade’s path mid-descent and carved straight through the clown’s chest.
Forcing a mana-laden sword’s trajectory to change halfway made my whole body scream, but I could not let go of the blade.
KYAAAAAAAAA——!!!
“Kh.”
The instant I cut down through the clown’s chest, blades erupted from its body and flew straight at me. We were so close that I managed to bat a few aside—but not all of them. The blades the clown had launched wore saw-toothed edges; my left arm and right shoulder had every tendon severed, and neither would take any strength.
“Thirty minutes.”
“…This one shall grant fifteen minutes.”
Paaaat—
I triggered the authority I had kept active since the fight began. The blades embedded in my body fell away, the severed tendons regenerated, and strength returned to my muscles. But because I had been given only half of the thirty minutes I had asked for, my body did not recover completely.
“Use that.”
“…Thanks.”
Lellasion’s first sword, Life. In the beginning, taking pity on humankind, Lellasion had bestowed it upon a human chieftain, hoping they might more easily hunt wild beasts and continue to live. But give humans power and they yearn to use it. The chieftain took up the sword and began slaughtering other races, until at last Lellasion, unable to watch any longer, reclaimed it and returned it to her scabbard.
Because of that history, the sword with a will of its own—Life—loathed being wielded by humans, and loathed above all being swung by a human’s ability. My ability, Conductor, was something it hated with a special, visceral disgust. Which is why, even when I was on the battlefield, I had only been able to use it twice.
Wooong—!
“Nngh… As expected. This sensation is foul.”
“Just endure it a little. I’ll finish this right away.”
If the Imperial Army were to classify me, I would be closer to a magic swordsman than a pure swordsman—a magic swordsman who flies blades with Conductor and treats them as wands to cast. Right now I had no sword to serve as a wand, but that was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
“Buy me just fifteen seconds.”
“When fifteen seconds pass, this one will forcibly release the ability. Know that.”
Wooong—! Kaang—!
KYAAAAAAAAA——!!!
Life was a sword with a will of its own, so it could fight without my direct command. In the meantime, I began to chant.
“A single flower that blooms true and upright,”
“Petals of thunder and of roaring sound,”
“It shall be the hammer of the gods—”
“O unmoving arrow, pierce through.”
⟨ Giga Lightning ⟩
Ordinarily a thirteen-verse chant was required, but time was short, so I poured every scrap of calculation I could spare into simplifying the formula. The result would be less than half the spell’s original power—but that would be enough.
“Giga Lightning.”
Pajijijijik—!!
“Kihyaaaaaaaaaaak——!!”
The clown, too absorbed in fighting Life, failed to dodge my magic and took a direct hit. Lightning-attribute magic, once it reaches Star-class, shatters the very essence of its target. What I had used was only King-class—but even so, the clown would collapse where it stood.
“This one shall take leave. Let us not meet again.”
“You’re stuck with me until the contract between me and Lellasion is over anyway.”
“This one knows that, you fool. This one said it would return to its scabbard.”
“Then go already.”
“Tch. This one will seek you out tonight.”
“Do whatever you want.”
None of that mattered right now.
“Violet…!”
I held a hand beneath her nose as she lay collapsed. She was still breathing—faintly. Lellasion must have reduced Violet’s metabolic functions to an extreme minimum.
Seogeok—
I cut away the blade still buried in her body so it would not shift when I lifted her, then carefully gathered her into my arms.
Destination: the Holy Kingdom. The place where the Saint resided.