Book 9: Chapter 35

The clanging of their swords resonated endlessly throughout the air around them. It rang out in a beautiful harmony as metal clashed against metal.

Suddenly, in the midst of the action, Eltrinde’s sword chipped off part of Susanna’s sword. It was very clear that there was a significant imbalance in the power of their swords.

But even then, Susanna did not draw back a single step.

Eltrinde’s sword was a single-handed weapon, while Susanna’s sword was two-handed. Although Susanna’s sword gave her a slight advantage in terms of reach, when it came to speed, Eltrinde’s lighter sword should have the clear advantage.

However, the speed of their swinging was roughly equal.

Their eyes focused only on each other, constantly searching for openings to strike. Though their fighting was heated and relentless, it radiated the elegant beauty of a swords dance.

…And then, after a few more clashes, they stepped away from each other.

They both raised up their swords, examining their condition. They both wore the exact same smile on their face.

It was a smile of fearlessness, a smile that curled the corners of their lips upward, signifying their bravery yet retaining their elegance.

「…You’ve improved a lot, haven’t you, Eltrinde?」

「You’ve also gotten a lot faster than I remember. How much are you planning to grow?」

「Heh, me? Compare me to a blademaster and my fighting will look like child’s play.」

「Stop joking around. If your fighting is child’s play, the majority of swordsmen would be less than babies.」

Gazing at each other, they broke into laughter.

「…Hey, Susanna.」

「If you’re planning to surrender, I’d be happy to listen to you.」

Eltrinde stared down at the ground disappointedly… However, when she looked back up, her face was full of determination.

「You don’t have any plans to put that sword away, don’t you?」

「I don’t. As long as I’m still alive, I will defend this place until I die.」

「…Understood.」

Eltrinde raised her sword. In an instant, she rushed up to Susanna and let out a powerful thrust.

「…!」

Susanna twisted her body over and immediately reached down to intercept Eltrinde’s strike with her sword. And with a high-pitched screeching sound, The surface of Susanna’s blade was scraped right off.

Staggering on the ground, Susanna panickingly swung her sword in a flurry of attacks. Eltrinde calmly blocked every single blow. Taking advantage of the opening, Susanna stood back up.

「…That was close.」

「I thought I had you there.」

Susanna glanced down worriedly at her damaged sword. Deciding that she could still keep fighting, she readied it once again.

「Absolute Sword Killmetal… I’m not dumb enough to think that I can have a fair fight against that weapon.」

「Ahh, yes, I was saved by this sword many times. It’s a sword whose power does not match my abilities as a warrior, but… I’m thankful that it’s by my side.」

The sword that Eltrinde wielded was one of the “Absolute Swords,” a group of swords that were among the most powerful weapons ever created. Even though Susanna’s sword was certainly one of excellent quality, it could not quite compete with Eltrinde’s. Its force would never pull through when they clashed, and she could only really use it to defend herself.

If she had decided to block the previous attack instead of parrying it, her sword might have been completely sliced through.

「…However, the difference in the power of our swords is not the difference in our swordsmanship.」

「That is true.」

Susanna and Eltrinde readied their swords once again, not daring to take their eyes off of each other.

Suddenly, the air in the room was filled with an ear-splitting crack. Shironos, who had been busy fighting the Imperial Guard knights, swung around to see what had happened.

Susanna had shoved Eltrinde out of the way.

「No, the difference in our swords is the difference in our strength!」

And then, from a vibrantly colored rift that had suddenly formed in the air, a silver arm reached out— It stabbed straight through Susanna’s chest, piercing right through her armor.

「Hmmm? What do you think you’re doing, old lady?」

The mysterious silver figure crawled out of the rift into the room. Its body was completely covered in silver armor that appeared to be made of countless metal blades. Its armor seemed to house some sort of unknown dark mass.

The strange creature yanked the sword back out of Susanna’s chest and kicked her body to the ground.

「What an idiot, getting in the way of my attack. Oh, but I guess it doesn’t really matter. You’d only be a nuisance if you were alive, anyway, so it’s a good thing I got you out of the way…」

The silver armored figure stomped on Susanna’s body. Eltrinde watched in disbelief, dumbfounded by what she was seeing. However, she quickly snapped out of it, pointing her sword at the unknown enemy.

Noticing this, the silver armored figure also raised its sword.

「Oh, you wanna fight already? That’s great!」

「…You’re that… thing from before. What did you come here for…? Take your foot off of Susanna!」

「Huh? You’re telling me to move? Do you even know who I— Gahh!?」

A white figure flew straight past Eltrinde and collided into the armored creature, launching it into the wall.

「It doesn’t matter who you are.」

「Ouch… W-wait, what are you…」

「You fool… Just die already.」

「Arghhhh!?」

Struck over and over again by Shironos’s rapid strikes, the silver armored figure staggered back.

「Wai-, wait a minute! Let me expla-」

「I have no plans to listen to your nonsense… Come, O, Light!」

「Whoa, stop, stop! Dammit, I’m just trying to say, they’re right there!」

The silver armored figure jumped out of a nearby window. He fell into the vibrantly colored rift that appeared in the air directly below him. Moments later, the opening vanished.

「Damn, he got away.」

Frustrated, Shironos turned back toward the room.

Susanna lay on the ground, and Eltrinde was gazing down at her. At the far end of the room, the Imperial Guard knights stood in astonishment, struggling to comprehend what had just happened.

Susanna did not move.

But that was because she couldn’t move. The body that lay on the ground was nothing but an empty shell of what used to be Susanna. Her soul had already left her body, and it had begun its journey to the God of Life.

It was just one strike… In just one cruel, unfair strike, she was…

「…Why?」

Why did she swear her loyalty to Narika? Why did she choose to save Eltrinde? Eltrinde’s mind welled up with countless questions that she could not answer.

However, only one of these questions escaped her mouth.

「Why…why did you have to die like this…」

Susanna was the one who had taught her the way of the sword. She was the one who helped her fulfill her dream of becoming a knight. Even when the castle was thrown into turmoil over the struggle for power, she had remained fair and just.

And despite her dedication to Narika, in the very end, she gave her life to save Eltrinde.

And now she would never get to know what Susanna had really been thinking.

「……」

Eltrinde gripped her sword tightly.

Seeing her take a step forward, the Imperial Guard Knights, snapping out of their astonishment, raised their weapons.

「…Move out of the way.」

「We cannot.」

「That Mazoku was targeting me… It must have been sent by Mazenda.」

The knights fell silent. After a moment, the knight at the very front spoke up.

「Narika commanded us not to kill you. If that Mazoku had actually been targeting you, it would have been a direct violation of her commands.」

「That is true.」

As Eltrinde nodded in agreement, one of the other knights added on.

「Also… The only person the Mazoku killed was our co-captain. With how quick it was to evacuate, it’s hard to think that it was specifically targeting you.」

One of the other knights brought his hand to his chin and nodded in agreement.

「Now that I think about it, you’re right.」

「However, the only reason why Susanna died is because she took the attack for Eltrinde…」

As the knights discussed in confusion, Eltrinde took another step forward.

「Are you trying to imply that I was communicating with that Mazoku?」

Everyone fell silent in response to Eltrinde’s visible anger. They all understood that this would be a ridiculous assumption to make.

「N-, no. I was…」

「That’s not what we were…」

Though most of the knights were clearly avoiding eye contact, one of them was staring right at her.

「It seems like you have something you want to say.」

「Yes, I do. And it is that no matter what you say, Eltrinde, we’re not letting you pass.」

「Despite this horrible situation?」

「Because of this horrible situation.」

The knight responded firmly to Eltrinde’s question. He opened his mouth again.

「It does seem that the Mazoku was targeting Eltrinde. However, as a result, our co-captain was killed. There are several conclusions we can make from this situation, but regardless of what this means, our duty is to protect Narika. And Narika commanded us not to kill you.」

「…It seems that you aren’t taking Mazenda into account.」

「As the Imperial Guard, we cannot act off of such ridiculous assumptions with such little evidence. Doing so would only cause massive confusion.」

Eltrinde nodded in understanding.

It was true. Though they should not act only in response to commands, acting without being commanded would be improper behavior for an army whose duty is to protect their master.

「I think that, as knights, you are doing the right thing. Loyal knights like you are what give Narika her validity as a ruler.

「Well if you really think so, please leave immediately. We cannot let you pass through here.」

「Ahh, well, I guess it is your duty to tell me that. However…」

Eltrinde unsheathed her sword and waved it through the air.

Absolute Sword Killmetal—Its powerful, mesmerizing gleam intimidated the knights. They staggered back.

「However, you will still let me pass.」

「We cannot.」

「Understood. You will all be remembered as excellent knights.」

The moment she finished her sentence, Eltrinde readied her sword. The knights all raised their shields at once.

「…Let’s go!」

Eltrinde yelled, and Shironos joined her, but then…

They heard a large crashing sound coming from the audience hall. Moments later, they heard a scream that must have come from Narika.

「……!? Narika!?」

「What was that sound!?」

The Imperial Guard knights panicked and swung around. The knight closest to the hall opened the door.

「The Imperial Guard is here! Narika, are you okay!?」

「Is it really the time to be asking that!? Narika, excuse me!」

The knight next to him, yelling, shoved the door open with incredible force and rushed in.

—and he fell silent.

「……!?」

There, on the ground, lay a man and a woman.

The man had blonde hair and the woman had black hair—It was Ein and Kain. They should have been in the mountains going through the final Knight Army trials at the time. They were covered in blood.

「This, this is…」

The knight had served as Narika’s guard during the Knight Army trials, and he had watched the fighting competition. Therefore, he recognized their faces almost immediately. He also knew that the two should currently be hunting goblins in the mountains.

So why were they lying on the floor of the audience hall, covered in blood?

The knight looked all around, searching for an answer. He saw the army captain standing alongside a surprised Narika, along with… an incredibly displeased-looking Mazenda.

「…I thought I told you to guard the entrance?」

「Wait, but… The entrance is still being guarded, and I was worried about Narika’s…」

As the knight panicked to answer Mazenda’s coldly delivered question, he began to notice the commotion behind him.

And as he swung around to see what was going on, he saw Shironos flying right over the knights’ heads, holding Eltrinde in his arms.