Chapter 86
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: How Can That Be a Person's Name? (1)
I sipped my tea while gazing out the window. In the inner courtyard of Lionheart Fortress, the knights were diligently sparring as usual. It had already been two weeks since then.
During that time, nothing had happened—as if by some miracle. The movements of the demonic beasts had significantly decreased, and the demons had fallen silent. They were probably prioritizing the recovery of their wounds.
Two weeks—a short time if you thought about it. But it had been more than enough for Ruby to sort out her feelings. On top of that, through our joint training sessions, we had not only honed our skills but also built trust in each other.
"Captain, I brewed some tea."
"Thanks."
"No problem."
I took a sip of the tea Cluna had brought. For some reason, the tea she brewed always put me in an especially good mood. As I drank, she spoke cautiously.
"Captain, have you given any more thought to that matter from before?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Two weeks ago, you gathered everyone and made that announcement."
"Ah, that."
Before I knew it, the warm smile had vanished from her lips. Now, she was focusing her gaze entirely on me. It was quite an intimidating situation, so I scratched my head and fell into thought.
Two weeks ago.
The day Ruby slew Balak and achieved her revenge. That day, I had called everyone together for a major announcement. It was my declaration that I would hand the captaincy back to Yuren.
Yuren had originally been the captain of the Royal Knights. Aside from the expedition incident, he had hardly any missteps. And above all, he was undeniably the strongest in the Royal Knights right now.
So, I thought it would be best for him to take back the captaincy, and I informed everyone of that. But the backlash was more intense than I had imagined. Helia, in particular, opposed it fiercely.
[No! Absolutely not!]
[This is too sudden. Is something wrong?]
[If there's a convincing reason, we'll accept it.]
Their opposition was stronger than expected, so I had no choice but to take a step back for now. It was truly strange—usually, they nagged me like old fogeys about everything except the important stuff...
Come to think of it, this wasn't exactly a situation where I could afford to slack off. Still, enjoying this rare peace wasn't a bad thing. I took another sip of tea and opened my mouth.
"It's strangely peaceful, isn't it."
"Pardon?"
Cluna, who had been sorting documents right beside me, tilted her head at my words. Well, of course. It had been two whole weeks since we dealt with Balak, and nothing had happened.
But I couldn't imagine the demons just sitting idle. They had to be plotting something. The problem was, it was so peaceful that even trying to stay tense felt impossible...
My thoughts stopped there. The teacup I had set on the desk was now floating in midair. And it wasn't just the teacup. The desk, bookshelves—everything in the office was in chaos.
I instinctively realized it. Time had stopped. But this wasn't me stopping time of my own will. What did that mean? It meant my life had just been threatened moments ago.
I didn't panic at this level anymore. Even though this was the Royal Knights' headquarters, I had always been prepared for an attack at any time, anywhere. And now, it had actually happened.
Where?
Range?
Safe zone?
Within a minute, I assessed it all and moved. First, I picked up Cluna right beside me and relocated her. Then the other knights. Thank goodness they were all in the courtyard.
If they hadn't been...
The cooldown would have been twice as long.
After moving all the knights to the safe zone, I could finally let shock show on my face. This wasn't just an air raid. It was like bombs falling straight from the sky.
Thankfully, the office was hit first, triggering the time stop. If not, we might have lost one of the knights pointlessly.
I released the time stop. At the same instant, a deafening explosion ripped through the air, slamming into the knights. Stunned by the sudden event, they stared at me in confusion.
"Captain? What the...?"
"Enemy attack! Everyone, prepare!!"
"An enemy attack?! Out of nowhere?!"
Clara, ever the high-energy one, voiced exactly what I was thinking. That was precisely it. We had been able to relax this much because there was solid reason to.
The barrier of the Barrekan Holy Kingdom was still intact. Because of it, the demons' activities inside were heavily restricted. The restriction scaled with their power.
That was why the demons created weak lesser demons and beasts to operate within the barrier. In other words, no lesser demons or beasts could launch an attack like this.
"They must have thought that attack could take out at least one."
"These are the Royal Knights. You think we'd die to something like that?"
"If it weren't for the captain, at least one would have died, I'd say."
Three figures appeared before us. No matter how I looked at them, they weren't human. More precisely, they resembled humans but deviated far from human traits.
The one on the right was enormous. Easily over three meters tall. Yet its face was that of a lizard. Lizardman? Or some subspecies? No idea.
On the opposite side was a black-haired woman in a thin dress. Her obsidian-like hair and eyes made her striking. If not for the horns on her head.
"Haha, hello there? Royal Knights."
The one in the center seemed the most dangerous. It was the shortest—maybe middle-school first-year height. Light green hair. Overall, it looked unassuming.
But it had one trait I couldn't overlook. Its eyes were perpetually squinted. No matter where you saw it, squinters always got insanely strong when they opened their eyes full.
"I am Blood Tide..."
"Strike first, strike hard!"
"...?!"
I had been standing still to build momentum! They looked like demons beyond Pureblood rank, so I was tense. And the center one called itself Blood Tide. Well, that figured.
It had only been about a year since the Royal Knights' bloody battle with the Blood Tides. No way would three demons of Pureblood rank or higher come here directly! So, I took this one on myself.
After all, it was the only confirmed Blood Tide!
But I had no intention of half-assing it. To keep the others from interfering, I even used time acceleration to pull it far away. My stomach hurt a bit, but it was bearable.
The remaining ones?
The others would handle them.
I'm the weakest anyway! Better to take the weak one first!
"Hm, the captain is the captain, after all."
"This is getting fun~ A captain duel right from the start!"
"..."
The massive lizard-headed demon and the horned female demon chatted and laughed. As if they were on a picnic. Helia reacted first to their demeanor.
Thunder Dragon Swordsmanship: First Strike, Thunder Dragon Fang
The swordsmanship built over nearly a year and a half by a genius of overflowing talent through bone-grinding effort. It displayed power even those Purebloods couldn't dare ignore.
But power was just power. If it didn't hit, it meant nothing. So, the female demon reacted first. By then, a long spear was in her hand.
"You're pretty fast, huh?"
"Don't talk to me, trash."
"I like your attitude! Play with me!"
"Oh? Mind if we join?"
If Helia had been alone, she would have eventually been overwhelmed and killed. But fortunately, she had comrades. Speed types Clara and Cluna stuck with Helia.
Naturally, Yuren, Bayard, and Ruby faced the three-meter brute. The lizard-headed one glanced at them, then clasped its fists in a martial salute.
"They call me Rhart. What an honor to cross blades with the famed Royal Knights."
"...The intense killing intent vanished. No way, that just now..."
"The former captain lives up to his reputation. Yes, that was from the one your captain just dragged away."
"I-It can't be. Blood Tide should be below Pureblood rank."
"How can it emit that kind of pressure?!"
"Looks like you're misunderstanding something."
Purebloods meant true demons. Blood Tide was the name they gave themselves, claiming they wouldn't mingle with lowlies. That's what we thought until Rhart spoke.
"Blood Tide is that guy's name."
"What? Blood Tide is a name?"
"Yes."
"...And it seems connected to those Blood Tides."
"Bound to be."
Were they just playing with names? No, that didn't fit. These demons wouldn't joke like that. There had to be another reason. Rhart explained it plainly.
"That one is the creator of all Blood Tides."
The king of all Blood Tides, and Blood Tide itself.