Chapter 362: The Tin Knight and the Emerald Country (12)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 362: The Tin Knight and the Emerald Country (12)
To Kalidah, her memories of being human were endlessly drab.
A murky time. One of countless orphans scattered across the world.
A child chosen by the Heavens for the sole reason that the nature of her innate mana was unique.
Those who take in and raise a child with nowhere to go are usually called adoptive parents, but the Heavens had never once shown her a parental side.
They modified her body and granted her power, but it was never for Kalidah's sake—it was for the Heavens.
She was given the plausible title of one of the Four Angels and rose to a high position in the Heavenly Realm, but in essence, she was nothing more than a convenient weapon, a puppet for the God-King Oz to command.
Not that Kalidah had ever harbored any complaints about it.
Complaints arise from knowing satisfaction.
Kalidah, who had never held a complete life in her hands, had never even questioned her own existence.
She simply fought as commanded, and died as commanded.
The reason her life deviated from this path was none other than her own strength.
While the other angels in situations similar to hers could do no more than perish alongside the generals of the underground, she was the only one who had ever struck down a general of the underground.
As a price, she lost consciousness for a long time and even her memories, but thanks to that, the Heavens never learned of her survival. In that sense, it was a stroke of luck.
And then, she met her fated partner.
For the first time, she knew love and felt the happiness of being a person, not a tool or a weapon.
She began to dream of a life like any other: bearing children, growing old with her lover, and finally meeting a peaceful end.
But fate would not permit Kalidah such an ordinary life.
The belief that she had been betrayed by her lover plunged her into a bottomless pit of anguish.
The happiness she had once tasted was so sweet that she could never return to the days when she knew nothing and therefore felt no pain.
And so, Kalidah became a prisoner of her past.
She relived the dream of her happiness with her lover and the agony of his betrayal, over and over again.
It was an endlessly sorrowful memory, but it was the only thing she had left to hold onto.
But why?
“As the h■■d of the Lenn■■t family. As the one who inheri■■d the sw■■d of ■■■■, I tell you this. ─Geisel ■■■n Lennart did not betray y■■.”
A voice was there, waking her.
“The Heavens drove a wedge betw■■n you and Sir Geisel, whispe■■d lies to you, and recov■■ed you. And Sir Geisel, even as his soul alone suffered for hund■■ds of years, tried to meet you. Because he wanted to clear the misundersta■■ing. Though that p■■n ended in failure… still, he fought for you until the very ■■d.”
A voice insisted that her suffering was wrong.
That the tragedy she had endured was born from a misunderstanding.
That her lover had struggled for her sake until the very end.
In her hazy consciousness, as if drunk on sleep, Kalidah denied it.
She tried to erase the owner of the voice, telling them to stop spouting nonsense, to not wake her.
But why?
No matter how hard she tried to shake it off, the voice would not disappear.
It faced Kalidah, persistent and proud, and did not back down an inch.
Just like her lover, Geisel, who had once crossed swords with her as an equal.
To deny it, Kalidah swung her sword with even greater ferocity.
She did not want to wake up.
She did not want to know the cruel truth.
The truth that she had endlessly resented her innocent lover.
The truth that she had been conveniently used by the Heavens who had trapped her in their scheme.
And above all. She did not want to admit the fact that she could no longer meet Geisel and apologize.
“─Still, I’ll be happy to serve as an outlet for your anger.”
But no matter how hard she tried to break her opponent, they would not break.
The brilliant golden hair was full of life, and the violet eyes were so similar it was like looking in a mirror.
That body was as strong as Geisel’s, and that mana was as fierce as Kalidah’s.
It was as if the child the two of them could never have had appeared right before her eyes.
“──AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! ! ! !”
Lingering affection, regret, despair, anger, lamentation.
All manner of emotions tore through Kalidah’s heart.
The more they did, the more violent the violet lightning she harbored became.
Accordingly, the level of destruction she wrought grew ever more severe.
When she stepped, the ground sank. When she extended her arm, the air was torn to shreds.
Though Adelaide was the only direct target of her attacks, the mere aftershocks began to crumble the entire surrounding area.
Chrrrrrrk!
The chains scattered around the throne tried to bind Kalidah.
The angel’s duty was to protect the anchor of the barrier and repel invaders.
For Kalidah herself to try and destroy that barrier was to put the cart before the horse.
It was impossible to control Kalidah completely, but just as they had deployed her to retrieve Ozma from the underground, it was possible to temporarily restrain her.
However.
“─Stay out of my way.”
Swish!
A single slash from the golden-haired, violet-eyed lioness sliced through the chains in an instant.
Her face, which usually held a gentle and innocent light, was now covered in clear fury.
“How dare you look down on people like this? How long will you continue to trample on people's hearts? How can you be so cruel!”
As the violet lightning flowing from Kalidah’s body intensified, the violet mana radiating from Adelaide also grew more powerful.
Not to confront or compete with Kalidah, but as if empathizing and responding to her pain.
“This is a duel between her and me! The likes of the Heavens have no place here!!”
Kaaaaang!
Adelaide’s two-handed sword and Kalidah’s greatsword clashed, creating a massive shockwave.
The throne tried to avoid destruction by cloaking itself in holy power like armor, but the battle between the two warriors could not be stopped by such measures.
Crack.
The chains groaned.
Crack.
A fissure appeared on the throne.
Crack.
The palace that had imprisoned her for hundreds of years began to collapse.
“──Geiseeeeeeeel! ! ! !”
Power gathered around Kalidah.
Her stance was a diagonal downward slash, from upper right to lower left.
“Here I come!”
Adelaide’s senses sharpened to their absolute limit.
Her stance was a diagonal upward slash, from lower right to upper left.
The mana drawn from the tips of their two swords formed crescent-shaped sword energies that shot toward each other and finally collided.
Kwoaaaaaaang!
A battle between transcendent beings, clashing with all their might.
Unable to withstand the aftershocks, the barrier was, this time, completely destroyed.
And that was the same as the fence that had held the two of them back collapsing.
Every time Kalidah swung her sword, not only what the blade touched, but even the surrounding buildings untouched by the sword were pulverized by the pressure alone.
“St-Stop, please! O, Black-Red Angel! At this rate—Keuk!!”
No, it wasn’t just the buildings being pulverized.
The soldiers continuously produced from the emerald buildings, the priests on standby to command those soldiers—none were an exception before Kalidah’s destructive might, all turning to dust.
It had gone beyond simply defending a barrier; the entire southern part of the Kingdom of Heaven began to be shattered at Kalidah’s hands.
Even while exposed to such a fierce onslaught, Adelaide, far from trying to suppress Kalidah, charged at her as if to incite her further.
Her swordsmanship had already surpassed that of her father, once called the strongest in the kingdom.
Her body had already surpassed that of the Lion of Nemea, once called the strongest in the Empire.
Her very status was already attempting to surpass even that of her ancestor, Geisel, the strongest of the Lennarts.
That’s right. The girl who had once been a sheltered flower in a greenhouse had already reached the status of a true transcendent being.
Wuuuuung!
The Lion Duke’s sword in Adelaide’s hand roared.
As if longing for its former master, as if rejoicing in its new master’s capabilities, it urged its wielder on, telling her to rampage more, and more.
Thwack!
Struck by the pommel of the greatsword, Adelaide’s left shoulder was crushed.
Swish!
The sword energy scattered by the two-handed sword cut a deep gash across Kalidah’s chest.
Crunch!
The moment their right legs collided, Adelaide’s shin was shattered.
Klang!
A sword swung in a somersault split Kalidah’s helmet, revealing its contents.
Beastly red hair and a lion’s golden hair scattered in the wind.
Violet eyes, born from the same root, met each other.
On the land where the entire visible area had collapsed into ruins.
Kalidah’s lips parted.
“…Tell me your name. I didn’t hear it properly before. One more time.”
It was not the roar of a beast. Nor was it a scream engulfed in madness.
Perhaps because she had vomited out all the emotions that had rotted her from the inside out for so long, her face held a hint of relief along with its bitterness.
After spitting out a mouthful of blood that had risen in her throat, Adelaide shyly wiped her mouth and bowed her head.
Kalidah gave a bitter smile at the gesture, which was so unfittingly, almost cute for someone with such martial prowess.
“My name is Adelaide von Lennart. …Should I call you Miss Kalidah, or perhaps, Lady Kalidah?”
“Whatever you’re comfortable with. It won’t be called again after this, anyway.”
The meaning of her words was clear.
Whether she finished Adelaide or she herself was finished, she had no intention of stopping the fight halfway.
Realizing the hidden meaning, a look of pity filled Adelaide’s eyes.
But Kalidah’s will was firm.
The madness that had gnawed at her marrow, the ferocious, crimson beast, had been with her for so long that it had long since become one with Kalidah herself.
Though she was maintaining a clear mind for the moment, there was no telling when she might fall back into that delusive dream.
Kalidah didn’t want to doubt anymore. She didn’t want to resent anymore. She didn’t want to regret anymore.
And so, she raised her sword.
Adelaide, sensing that will, reverted from a girl back to a warrior.
They took their stances, observed each other, and swung their weapons. Their bodies crossed.
Klang!
The emerald greatsword shattered, scattering fragments.
A massive wound appeared on Kalidah’s body.
Despite having suffered an irreversible, fatal wound, Kalidah’s expression was incredibly serene.
Kneeling, she looked not at the Heavens that had tormented her, but at the earth where her lover had been, and spoke.
“…This time, I’ll truly be… by your side……”
Swoosh.
Like an extinguished candle flame, her body turned to smoke and scattered into the air.
The armor, having lost its master, clattered as it rolled on the ground.
Adelaide, who had been watching with a complicated gaze, smiled as she saw a faint light from the Lion Duke’s sword merge with the smoke and disappear.
And then, she collapsed backward.
‘Will it take about ten minutes to recover?’
That was the standard not for a full recovery, but for the minimum physical condition to be able to swing a sword.
If she couldn’t even do that much, it was obvious that moving elsewhere would only make her a hindrance, not a help.
Still, if she could do this much, maybe next time she could fight not behind the Tin Knight, but right beside him.
With that thought, the brave lioness gave a faint smile.