Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 8.5 - Chapter 5

The Silver Princess and the Blue Knight

Once Koutarou obtained Signaltin, the Reborn Forthorthian Army’s advance was unstoppable.

Word of Koutarou repelling Fire Dragon Emperor Alunaya spread throughout Forthorthe like wildfire, and the army quickly gained the support of more and more people in the form of manpower and supplies. At their current pace, the Reborn Forthorthian Army would doubtless become strong enough to win the war. That was how everyone in Forthorthe felt. As a result, the bands of knights that were still on the fence were slowly won over, and they joined the Reborn Forthorthian Army one after another. With that, the army’s numbers swelled even further, and they now had a strong enough force to take on the coup d’etat army.

Meanwhile, the coup d’etat’s forces were constantly diminishing. Once word spread that the Reborn Forthorthian Army could take down even dragons and that they were only getting stronger, morale took a turn for the worse in the coup d’etat ranks and soldiers started defecting left and right. If Alunaya, who was currently missing, reappeared, the negative feedback loop that the coup d’etat army was experiencing could probably be reversed, but there was no sign of that happening. Things were looking more and more grim for them by the day.

Even though there was almost no difference in their numbers now, the difference in morale put the coup d'etat forces at a significant disadvantage. While the Reborn Forthorthian Army was becoming more and more skilled with daily training, the coup d’etat army was practically running amok all over the country. And that just made the situation even worse for them.

As a result, the Reborn Forthorthian Army was able to advance almost effortlessly without Koutarou even needing to use Signaltin. Because of that, by the time the first snow fell, the Reborn Forthorthian Army was already marching on the capital city of Fornorn.

Koutarou and Clan were staring at the hologram projected by Clan’s bracelet. In it, they could see a brick cityscape. To their modern sensibilities, it looked old-fashioned, but in this age, it was beautiful and without peer. As expected of the capital of an imperial country, the villages and towns they had seen so far were nothing compared to this. They both felt like farmhands leaving the country and seeing the city for the first time.

“So this is the capital, huh? It’s pretty big.”

“It’s the largest city on this continent. It’s equipped with aqueducts and sewers, and I’ve even heard there are streetlights.”

The population of Fornorn was over a hundred thousand. Compared to analogous historical cities on Earth, it was quite large. Before the invention of the steam engine, there was an effective limit to how large a city could grow. All things considered, a population of over a hundred thousand in this age was more than enough to qualify Fornorn as a metropolis.

And because it was such a large city, the military presence there was equally large. Since it was the capital, they could easily expect ten thousand soldiers to be waiting for them. If the coup d’etat army mobilized all its forces, it could even be several times that. But since the coup d’etat army was also busy suppressing riots and maintaining the borders, Alaia and the others weren’t expecting that kind of turnout. Even then, however, ten thousand men was quite a sizeable force.

“Still... this is strange.”

“That’s true. Why haven’t they deployed?”

“Who knows? Let’s just hope they don’t go for a scorched earth strategy...”

The Reborn Forthorthian Army had moved to surround the city limits of Fornorn. They were eight thousand strong, but with reinforcements on the way, they would soon number closer to ten thousand. But despite their approach, the coup d’etat army showed no sign of intercepting them. In fact, they hardly seemed to care. The capital was being marched on and they hadn’t even taken up defensive positions.

“Princess Alaia doesn’t want that kind of battle.”

“How rude. I don’t either, you know.”

“Sorry, Clan.”

“Just how long is it going to take for you to acknowledge me as a princess?”

“I said I was sorry.”

What Koutarou and Clan feared the most was that the coup d’etat army had actually deployed their troops inside the city. If the city turned into a battlefield, there would be serious collateral damage and likely civilian casualties. They couldn’t risk reducing the capital to ashes, even if it was to catch the masterminds behind the coup d’etat. That would be doing more harm than good.

“More importantly, if that’s their goal, we need to find a way to launch an assault directly on the palace.”

“More importantly... Jeez... Repairs on the Cradle will be finished soon. If we use that, it might be possible.”

“All right. Gather some more intel for us, Clan. Concentrate on the area around the barracks.”

“I understand. I’ll have something more in-depth for you before the reconnaissance team returns.”

Koutarou and the others were taking the utmost care in making their move on Fornorn. Considering what would happen after the war, it wasn’t enough just to suppress the coup d’etat. That was one of the tricky parts of a civil war. If they fought in a way or did anything that might upset the citizenry and lead to further riots or uprisings, the civil war would never really be over. Both Forthorthe and Earth were full of examples of civil wars that had come to such poor, drawn-out endings.

“Your Excellency! You must hear this!”

The young man who served as Koutarou’s adjutant suddenly jumped into Koutarou and Clan’s tent. Normally he would never do something like that. He was a polite man and always announced his presence, so his entrance alone told Koutarou that something serious had happened.

“Calm down, man. What is it?”

Koutarou switched to his Blue Knight persona and immediately asked the adjutant what had happened. He could tell that it was something important, but he knew he wouldn’t get anything useful out of his adjutant while he was panicking. In order to settle him down, Koutarou spoke to him in a calm voice.

“W-Well, the coup d’etat army has surrendered!”

“What?!”

“Wh-What did you say?!”

However, upon hearing his report, Koutarou and Clan lost their cool too.

The reason the coup d’etat army had surrendered was because the masterminds, Maxfern and Grevanas, had gone missing in action. Allegedly they vanished a few days ago and hadn’t been seen since. The alchemists and court magicians had disappeared as well, taking only their proteges with them. Not only were they gone, but they had left the coup d’etat army without any specific orders. Like a child who had grown tired of a toy, Maxfern seemed to have simply tossed them aside.

“...And since we don’t want to go to battle either, we are now surrendering.”

“I understand, but it’s rather hard to believe...”

Though the coup d’etat army messenger had spelled everything out for Koutarou, he was absolutely baffled. He understood what the messenger was saying, but it was hard for him to take at face value.

“I can understand why you feel that way, but it is the truth.”

The coup d’etat army messenger seemed to be equally perplexed by it all. The situation had thrown them for a loop too, and he did his best to explain that to Koutarou.

“Your Excellency, I sent a scouting party to confirm. What this man says is all true. Maxfern and Grevanas were nowhere to be found in the palace, and the alchemists’ atelier and the wizards’ tower were completely empty as well.”

The adjutant corroborated the messenger’s story.

“Hmm... I see. I suppose that leaves both sides at a loss.”

“I am glad you understand.”

Even though it was nearly unthinkable, it was the truth. Maxfern and Grevanas had abandoned the coup d’etat army and vanished from Fornorn.

“Clan.”

Now that he had a grasp of the situation, Koutarou beckoned Clan over. Once she was close enough, he leaned in so he could whisper to her.

“What’s going on? There was nothing like this in the play.”

“I don’t know either. According to history, the Blue Knight should have fought against Maxfern and Grevanas...”

In both Theia’s manuscript and Forthorthe’s records, the Blue Knight did battle with Maxfern and Grevanas. Though the exact details of their fight varied from historical account to historical account, there was no question that they did indeed fight.

Despite that, Maxfern and Grevanas were nowhere to be found even though the Blue Knight had made it to the capital to face them. Theia’s manuscript was largely historically accurate, and according to it, the decisive battle took place in Fornorn. That’s why Koutarou and Clan had believed that they would be walking into a fight. It only seemed natural with how the war had been proceeding. All in all, this was about the last thing anyone had expected.

“If history is different from the script, what do we do now?”

“This doesn’t feel right, but Alaia has to ascend the throne. That’s the endgame, so let’s just work towards that.”

“All right, let’s start with that.”

After his private talk with Clan, Koutarou turned back to the messenger.

“We will accept your surrender. Prepare to receive us right away.”

“Th-Thank you very much, Your Excellency!”

Hearing Koutarou’s answer, the messenger’s expression brightened up. He was also stumped by the current situation. It was so strange that he’d known coming in to this that there was a chance that Koutarou wouldn’t believe him. If he suspected it was a trap, he very well may have been killed on the spot, so he was truly relieved that Koutarou had come around. With this, the war would be over and he could safely return to his family. It was an emotional moment for him, and that intense emotion expressed itself in the tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Jeez...”

Koutarou let out a small sigh and lowered his shoulders. Seeing that, Clan furrowed her brow.

“It’s still too early to relax, Veltlion.”

“Well, I know, but... it’s better if the war comes to an end.”

“That’s true. It’s not like I don’t understand how you feel.”

Koutarou was relieved. No matter how many battles he went through, he had no love for war. If the fighting was truly over now, he was glad of it. Though it bothered him that history had changed, he was still ultimately relieved. The same was true for Clan. Though she’d scolded Koutarou for relaxing, she too felt a weight lifted off her shoulders.

However, all their relief was premature.

“Veltlion, it’s terrible!”

With the end of the war in sight, the atmosphere in the tent was light, if not relaxed. That changed immediately when Flair jumped in, the blood visibly drained from her face.

“Princess Alaia and Princess Charl have been kidnapped by Maxfern!”

Those words would raise the curtain on the final battle.

While Koutarou and the others were distracted at the capital, Maxfern had ambushed Alaia’s forces that were positioned in the rear. With the entirety of the coup d’etat army left in Fornorn, nobody had expected a surprise attack from the rear like this.

Maxfern had used a flock of strange, winged monsters to attack. They were creatures summoned by Grevanas and his court magicians, and they descended on Alaia’s camp on command. The unexpected aerial ambush sent the soldiers into a panic and the Reborn Forthorthian Army was scattered. Alaia and Charl were kidnapped, and Mary and Fauna were taken with them since they were all in the same tent together.

After that, Maxfern left the Reborn Forthorthian Army an odd message. It stated that Koutarou should come to Sariachal Castle without his army.

“So, what kind of place is this Sariachal Castle?”

While riding on horseback, Koutarou called out to Lidith. The name “Sariachal” hadn’t appeared in Theia’s manuscript, so Koutarou was unfamiliar with it.

“Sariachal is northwest of Fornorn. It’s an old castle that the Maxfern family used to manage. It fell out of use around the time Fornorn was being built, so it should be abandoned now.”

Lidith answered Koutarou’s question while skillfully handling her horse. She seemed to have natural skill at many things, and she was certainly a far better rider than Koutarou was. She had no trouble keeping up a conversation at a full gallop as she rode beside him.

“This is without a doubt a trap, Veltlion.”

Clan, however, was riding together with Flair since she could only make a horse walk at best. She was in such bad shape that it took almost everything she had just to hold on to Flair and not fall off, but even in that condition, she was primarily worried for Koutarou.

“They’re going to kill Alaia-san and the others either way. They probably just want to get rid of you before that.”

To Maxfern and Grevanas who had started the coup d’etat, Alaia and Charl were just a nuisance. To them, getting rid of the princesses would be the most efficient way for their coup to succeed. So Alaia and Charl would be killed eventually, regardless of if Koutarou showed up or not.

But Koutarou was in more immediate danger than Alaia and Charl were. If Alaia and Charl were to die, Koutarou, as the army commander, could lead his troops in a battle to avenge their fallen princesses, which could be devastating for the coup d’etat. It was even possible that the Reborn Forthorthian Army would gain momentum that way rather than lose it.

And Maxfern wanted to avoid that. The ideal scenario for him right now seemed to be capturing Koutarou, Alaia, and Charl and keeping whatever happened to them quiet. He could kill them if he wanted, but as long as he made the citizens believe they were still alive, he wouldn’t have to deal with any sort of backlash.

“I won’t let them do that! No matter what happens, I will save the princesses! Even if it costs me my life!”

Flair’s expression filled with rage and she spurred her horse. Her fury ran deep. She was always intense, and that was now directed at Maxfern, the evil man who had taken her highly esteemed princess hostage.

“Please calm down, Lady Pardomshiha. If I let you die, Princess Alaia will scold me.”

“But Veltlion, there’s no point in being careful if Princess Alaia and Princess Charl perish!”

Flair couldn’t get there fast enough. The unthinkable had happened. The situation was so extreme that there wasn’t an ounce of composure left in this normally dignified girl.

“Please slow your horse a little, Lady Pardomshiha. At this rate, your horse will collapse before we get there.”

“Ugh, s-sorry...”

Flair blushed a little as she heeded Koutarou’s advice and slowed down some. If she taxed her horse too much, she would never make it to her destination. Similarly, if she pushed herself too hard, she wouldn’t be able to accomplish what she wanted. Realizing she’d gotten too worked up, Flair admonished herself.

“Still, what are we going to do, Blue Knight?”

Caris, who was flying along with them on her staff, pulled up next to Koutarou. In her case, she was better at using her magic than she was at riding a horse. She even flew backwards so she could face Koutarou as they talked.

“If we keep going like this, we’ll walk right into their trap. And there’s just five of us, so there’s a limit to what we can do.”

In total, their team was only five strong: Koutarou, Lidith, Flair, Clan, and Caris. It hardly seemed like enough for a royal rescue operation. And knowing that they were heading into a trap, it wasn’t just Caris that was worried.

“Well, I guess we can’t get too hung up on pretense... Clan.”

“What’s with that face?”

Clan’s stomach sank when she saw the serious look on Koutarou’s face. At a time like this, it could only be a prelude to something reckless.

“You didn’t come up some stupid plan again, did you?”

“I might have. Clan, we can’t be picky in this situation. We’ll need to use all our resources to save Princess Alaia and the others.”

“...Are you sure?”

Clan indicated the other girls with a quick glance. “All their resources” included the Cradle and the equipment it carried, but resorting to that would be the same as admitting to Flair and the others who they really were. It was on a completely different level from being seen flying or using some advanced weaponry. There was a high chance they’d be changing the future of Forthorthe if they exposed the people of this age to that level of technology.

“Yeah. The end is nigh, and it’s just like Caris said. There’s a limit to what we can do with just the five of us.”

“...I understand.”

Clan nodded her head. Though there was a risk, Clan believed that Koutarou was right. They could trust Flair and the others, and it was true that they didn’t have enough people. It was better to risk exposing their identities than losing Alaia and Charl.

“And prepare that thing too. We might need it.”

“Th-That too?! I’m still in the process of adjusting it and―”

“Like I said, we can’t get too hung up on pretense.”

Koutarou smiled as he spoke. It was a wicked grin he normally only flashed when telling Clan a dark joke, but something felt different about it this time. Seeing it, something suddenly hit Clan.

“Veltlion, is there any chance you’re unbelievably angry?”

It looked like Koutarou was behaving calmly to Clan, but there was a palpable rage behind that smile. Maxfern and Grevanas had touched something that they shouldn’t have.

“No, I’m perfectly calm,” Koutarou replied as he touched the insignia on his chest.

“Right, calm... Okay, jeez... This might not end well...”

Based on Koutarou’s gesture, Clan was certain that he was angry. He was only acting calm so that he wouldn’t alarm the people around him. But the fact that she was starting to see cracks in his acting—which had been perfect all the while they’d been here—Clan considered proof that he was livid like she’d never seen him before.

I guess I never really had a chance of winning against such a nonsensical man...

Thinking about it, she realized Koutarou must have been the same way when she had fought him. And now understanding exactly why she’d lost, Clan could sense that the battle they were riding towards was going to be fierce.

After being taken to the old castle of Sariachal, Alaia and the others were confined in its dungeon for a time. After a few hours, they were then taken to the castle garden. It was a rather desolate place. Positioned between the gate and the castle, there was once an abundance of plants and statues there to welcome visitors. The castle was long abandoned, however, and there was no longer anyone to maintain the garden. The plants were withered, the sculptures worn and cracked. The fountain, no longer working, was full of dirt. The huge, dilapidated garden, over a hundred meters across, was a dismal place indeed.

Alaia and the others were brought out to the garden and bound to wooden stakes driven into the ground. They were tied up tightly enough that they could barely move, much less try to escape. As things were, it was growing harder and harder to stay positive. The situation was especially taxing on the young Charl.

“What’s going to happen now...?”

Charl let out a fraught sigh and furrowed her brow. Seeing that, Fauna and Mary smiled and tried to cheer her up.

“We’ll be fine! There’s no way we’d lose to villains like them!”

“That’s right! Layous-sama will definitely come save us!”

Talking to each other and trying to cheer each other up was really all the girls could do now that they were unable to move.

“I know! I know that! But...”

“Charl... You’re scared that Layous-sama will come, aren’t you?”

Alaia was painfully aware of how Charl felt. She too knew that Koutarou would come to rescue them, and that was exactly the problem.

“Sister, Blue Knight is an idiot, so he’ll definitely come! He’ll be killed trying to save us!”

“Charl...”

Koutarou would have his hands tied with Alaia and the others as hostages. He’d be in danger because of them, and most likely killed. There didn’t seem to be any way around it, and the thought terrified the two princesses.

“It will be fine, Charl. Layous-sama will definitely win. Our Blue Knight won’t die that easily.”

Alaia continued to try to comfort Charl. As much as she wanted to believe her own words, she too was sure that Koutarou would come and that he’d then let himself be killed without putting up a fight. Alaia knew just what kind of person Koutarou was. That’s why she loved him. But she just couldn’t bring herself to tell her trembling little sister the truth.

Please don’t come, Koutarou-sama... Whatever the reason...

All Alaia could do was pray. She fought back the desire to cry and did her best to smile for Charl.

“There’s no need to worry, Princess Alaia, Princess Charl. As long as the Blue Knight listens to us, there won’t be a need to kill him.”

“Maxfern!”

Before they knew it, Maxfern had appeared before them. Violbarum Maxfern had been a minister of Forthorthe for a long time, but he was the man responsible for murdering Alaia’s parents and bringing war to the country. Not even Alaia could conceal her scorn for a man like him. Her smile vanished and she glared at him with contempt.

“You’re full of lies...”

“That’s not true.”

Maxfern brushed off Alaia’s glare and revealed a, at first glance, tender smile. It quickly became clear that it was just for show.

“As long as the Blue Knight agrees to our demands, he will be no threat to us. A lion has no reason to crush a single ant.”

Maxfern was overflowing with confidence. He was convinced of his own victory. From the sound of it, he wasn’t interested in Koutarou’s life after all. He seemed just that confident.

Where is this confidence coming from...?

Alaia felt something eerie about his behavior, and the weighty unease left her at a loss for words.

“Maxfern-sama, it seems the knight in question has arrived.”

Grevanas, who stood next to Maxfern, pointed towards the gate on the other side of the garden.

“So you’ve come, Blue Knight... Hahaha, he sure is an exemplary knight. How excellent...”

Looking in the direction Grevanas had pointed, Maxfern laughed with satisfaction. The moment he’d been waiting for had come.

“Blue Knight!”

“No... Koutarou-sama, why...?”

Standing in the large, wide-open gate was a knight in blue armor. Even from afar, it was obvious it was Koutarou. He also appeared to be alone. After getting off his horse, Koutarou looked around the garden. As he did, his gaze met Alaia’s briefly. In that moment, Koutarou smiled gently before quickly returning to a stony expression. He knew now wasn’t the time to get emotional.

“You can’t, Layous-sama! This is a trap!”

Koutarou walked straight down the middle of the garden. His steps were slow but firm. Alaia could tell just what kind of resolution Koutarou carried with him as he proceeded.

“Don’t bother with us! Maxfern will kill us anyway!”

Despite knowing that, Alaia still called out to him. She was desperate to stop him.

“Please don’t worry. I’ll save all of you soon.”

No matter what Alaia said, Koutarou wouldn’t stop. He took step after step without breaking rhythm and had already reached the center of the garden.

“I see he’s brought that with him.”

Once Koutarou got closer, Maxfern stared at him for a moment before smiling and stroking his beard.

“It looks like it. I can detect mana.”

Grevanas was looking at Koutarou too, but not with just his eyes. He could see dense mana filling Koutarou’s body. Everything seemed to be going just as Maxfern and Grevanas had planned.

“Confirm if it’s the real deal or not right away.”

“As you wish.”

Grevanas raised his hand. As he did, an absurd looking creature appeared. It had the body of a carnivorous animal standing upright, but a reptilian head. On its back were large wings reminiscent of a bird of prey’s. Really, it looked like several different creatures put together, but it was a beast that Grevanas and his court magicians had summoned from a different world they called Hell.

“Go!”

As Grevanas swung his hand down, the monster flapped its large wings and took to the air. They apparently weren’t just for show.

“Wh-What is that?!”

Koutarou really only noticed the monster when it flew up in the air, and he had no idea what to think of it when he saw it. By now, however, Koutarou had seen all kinds of strange creatures in Forthorthe. The horses had horns and the lizards had wings. Not long ago, he’d even seen a giant dragon up close. As a result, he wasn’t caught too off guard by this beast.

“I see. So that’s one of the demons that kidnapped Her Highness and the others.”

Koutarou had heard tales of the bizarre monsters that had attacked from the surviving soldiers. They’d said a flock of beasts that walked upright and flew across the sky had kidnapped Alaia and the others. Their description matched what Koutarou was seeing perfectly.

“But so be it. It’s not something I can’t defeat, after all!”

Koutarou drew his sword without flinching.

Compared to that dragon, this demon is nothing! Besides, I have this sword!

The sword Koutarou had drawn was Signaltin, the powerful weapon given to him by Alaia.

“Skreeeee!”

The demon screeched loudly, flapped his large wings, and dove for Koutarou.

“Bring it!”

Koutarou shouted right back and pointed his sword at the demon. As he did, the silver sword sensed Koutarou’s will to fight and began emitting a pure white light.

A pulse? I see, this is Her Highness’s...

Koutarou could feel a gentle warmth from the light, and he recognized it as a sensation he’d felt before. It was the same warmth he’d felt during their dance, when he’d been injured, and when he’d held hands with Alaia.

“You’re quite unlucky...”

Koutarou was confident that he would never lose as long as Signaltin was still glowing. There was just no way he could with part of Alaia there to protect him.

“I’m in an extremely bad mood today!”

Koutarou swung his sword with all his might in a counterattack against the incoming demon as soon as it got in range. His target was the demon’s face.

“Skreeeee! Wrrraaaaak!”

But the demon’s movements were swift. It skillfully flapped its wings and changed course to dodge Koutarou’s attack. As a result, he barely managed to even scratch the demon’s tail.

“I missed?!”

“Wrahahahak!”

The demon escaped into the sky. It looked down on Koutarou and seemed to ridicule him. It was as if he was taunting him, saying that his attacks would never connect.

“Not bad...”

Koutarou looked up at the demon and was honestly impressed. But it wasn’t the demon he was impressed with.

“Wraah?! Wraaaaah!”

That was when the demon realized what Koutarou was looking at, and that was its tail. Without explanation, several dozen centimeters of it appeared to be missing.

“Wrrraaaaak! Wrrraaaaak!”

As it watched in horror, more and more of its tail was disappearing. A shining white light spread over his tail, and wherever it spread melted away. It eventually ate up the demon’s tail and began to spread to the rest of its body.

“Skree, skreeeee! Wrrraaaaa—”

The demon’s shrieking suddenly stopped. The light had devoured the demon’s body and it had now reached the head. The demon tried to cry out again, but without a throat, it simply couldn’t. The fear was visible in its eyes, but even they too soon disappeared. All that was left behind was a handful of ash that fell towards the ground and scattered in the wind.

Maxfern, who was watching that spectacle excitedly, turned to Grevanas.

“Grevanas, did that demon die?”

“No,” Grevanas answered calmly. “When a demon is summoned into this world, it creates a body by solidifying mana. That sword erased that mana and forcibly sent the demon back to Hell.”

“Forcibly sent back to Hell from just a scratch... How interesting.”

“Of course, he might have died as a result of that...”

“Either way, what splendid power! It’s beyond expectation.”

“Yes. It seems to be the genuine sword.”

Despite their subordinate demon being defeated, neither Maxfern nor Grevanas seemed perturbed. If anything, they almost seemed happy.

“Just what are you doing sending something like that at me? I came just as you told me to.”

Koutarou stopped and called out to Maxfern. Since he couldn’t tell what Maxfern was after, he proceeded carefully.

“Sorry about that, Blue Knight. I couldn’t tell if you were the real deal or not. I’d like to apologize for the rough welcome.”

“...So you’re Maxfern?”

Koutarou didn’t know what Maxfern looked like. Lidith had told Koutarou he was a muscular, middle-aged man with a long beard, but this was his first time seeing him.

“Indeed. I am Violbarum Maxfern, the man who will become king of this world.”

Maxfern introduced himself in a dignified manner. His regal behavior certainly made him seem like a king. If it weren’t for his despicable nature, that is.

“King of the world? That’s quite bold. Do you really think you can become king?”

“Of course. That’s why I had you come.”

“Me...?”

Koutarou was perplexed.

Does he think he’ll become the king of the world by killing me? That’s just...

Maxfern had called for Koutarou so he could kill him, using Alaia as a hostage. That’s what Koutarou believed. But if one could become king by killing an ordinary high schooler, the world would be overflowing with kings. Koutarou couldn’t follow Maxfern’s train of thought.

“It couldn’t be...”

But with those words, Alaia’s expression changed. Koutarou didn’t understand, but Alaia realized what Maxfern was after.

“Maxfern, you plotted all of this just for that?!”

“But of course! As expected from the wise Silver Princess! It seems Princess Alaia understands everything! Muahahahaha!”

Alaia was at a complete loss for words, while Maxfern was laughing out loud. He then reached his right hand out towards Koutarou.

“Well then, Blue Knight, let’s finish up our business! Once that’s done, I’ll give you back Her Highness!” he declared condescendingly. “Now, hand over that sword! That holy sword that is said to have been given to the king of the world by the Goddess of Dawn herself!”

It was as if he was trying to grasp the world with his outstretched right hand.

Maxfern’s goal wasn’t to take over the nation of Forthorthe. His plans were bigger. What he wanted was the holy sword now known as Signaltin. The sword capable of cutting open the future. The sword that led its owner to the throne and served as a sign of kingship. The royal family’s heirloom treasure. Maxfern was plotting to become the king of the world by obtaining that very sword.

However, the seal used to confine the sword was strong and not even the combined powers of all the court magicians could break it. At first, Maxfern threatened to kill Alaia and Charl to coerce the emperor into breaking the seal, but he refused. Even with his daughters’ lives in danger, he wouldn’t assist Maxfern in using the holy sword to take over the world.

So then Maxfern changed his plans. The holy sword’s seal would only be broken if the country faced true crisis. That’s why he assassinated the emperor and empress and started a coup. It was to create such a crisis. The coup d’etat wasn’t the real goal; it was just a means to an end.

Next, Maxfern let Alaia, who had no idea what was really happening, escape. Knowing Alaia and her friends wouldn’t be able to on their own, Maxfern had created an escape route for them. So when Maxfern’s niece, Lidith, guided Alaia down that road, he felt like hugging and praising her. She’d unintentionally done exactly what he hoped for.

After that, Maxfern kept watch of Alaia while keeping the pressure on her to make sure she always felt some sense of impending disaster. He would send pursuers after her, and he even ordered the poisoning of the village she was hiding in. His goal was to make Alaia believe that things were developing into a genuine crisis.

That’s why Caris’s mission had only been to monitor Alaia, and why Dextro had been forbidden from killing Alaia directly. Everything was to drive Alaia to unseal the sword, and he needed her alive to do that. But there was something that Maxfern hadn’t taken into account. And that was the existence of the Blue Knight. Of Koutarou.

Ever since Koutarou had appeared, Maxfern’s plans had started to go awry. The pursuers were defeated, the poison was treated, and the steel giant had been taken out. Attack after attack on their base was driven back, and the Reborn Forthorthian Army became unstoppable. Moreover, Koutarou gave Alaia hope, and she began believing that the country could be saved as long as Koutarou was around. That was a problem for Maxfern because he needed Alaia to believe that she’d have to go after the sword to save her beloved country.

So Maxfern changed his plans once more. He decided that the best way to impress a sense of crisis on Alaia was to threaten Koutarou’s life. Maxfern received reports from the spies he planted in the Reborn Forthorthian Army that Koutarou and Alaia were either lovers or something close to it. Maxfern suspected that if Koutarou was in danger, that would be enough to convince Alaia to break the seal. Sending Alunaya and the assassins after Koutarou was all to that end.

But now the seal was broken and the holy sword was within Maxfern’s reach. Though he’d hated Koutarou at first, he now almost felt like thanking him.

The moment Maxfern demanded Signaltin from Koutarou, Alaia let out a sorrowful wail similar to a scream.

“You killed my mother and father for that?! You started a coup d’etat, killed countless people, and cornered me all so I’d undo the seal on that sword?!”

The very idea threw her into despair. Everything had been part of Maxfern’s scheme. The Reborn Forthorthian Army, everyone who’d died in battle, and even Alaia’s heart. Maxfern had manipulated them all just to get Alaia to undo the seal.

“That’s right! If I hadn’t, I never would have been able to get my hands on that sword, meaning I would never become king of the world! I served the royal family for decades just so I could get this chance! It was all for this, Princess Alaia!”

This was the high point of Maxfern’s entire life. He’d waited for this chance for several decades. If he could just get his hands on Signaltin, it would all be worth it. He could enjoy eternal life granted by the sword’s powers, or he could turn his attention to world conquest. As long as he got the sword, the possibilities were endless. Maxfern no longer had anything to fear. The future was spreading out infinitely in front of him.

“...To think you were just after this sword...”

This all came as a surprise to Koutarou. In Theia’s script, Maxfern’s goal had only been to take over the country, but the reality of it turned out to be quite different.

“Now give that sword to me, Blue Knight. If you do, I’ll safely return Princess Alaia and the others to you. It’s not a bad deal for you.”

Maxfern crossed the garden as he casually approached Koutarou. He was sure Koutarou would accept his deal.

“If you’d like, I can even leave Forthorthe alone for a couple hundred years. As long as I have that sword, I have all the time in the world.”

“Damn...”

Koutarou began hesitating. Should he hand over the sword to save Alaia and the others? Or should he defeat Maxfern here and now to save Forthorthe and the world? Koutarou could only chose one of the two.

“You can’t, Koutarou-sama! Even if it’s for us, you mustn’t give that sword to Maxfern!”

Alaia wished for the latter, just like the former emperor had. But then Alaia and the others would be killed. If Koutarou chose to hand over the sword, peace might return to Forthorthe for a time. However, if the sword had the powers Maxfern said it did, Alaia and Charl’s descendants would eventually be the ones to suffer at his hands. The end result would be the same. The only difference was how long it would take.

“But Your Highness―”

“If you’re my knight, then please fulfill my wish! Please slay Maxfern and at least save yourself!”

“Sister’s right, Blue Knight! You must live! Live and protect Forthorthe!”

“Shut those women up, Grevanas!”

“Understood.”

Grevanas signaled several of his subordinates nearby. As he did, they formed a circle around a big crystal and started incanting something. The next moment, it appeared.

“ROAAAAAAAR!”

Something huge came crashing down from the sky at an incredible speed. Just before it smashed into the earth, it flapped its large wings, reduced its speed, and landed properly. Even then, the sound its giant body made made when it hit the ground was terrific. It was Fire Dragon Emperor Alunaya.

“That’s the dragon from before!”

“S-Sister!”

Although Alaia and Charl had remained courageous up until now, there was no fighting the fear that overcame them in the presence of an elder dragon. With the dragon—who seemed to be brutality given form—right in front of them, all the bound girls could do was stare.

“So you’ve come, monster...”

Koutarou instinctively tightened his grip on Signaltin’s handle. Seeing that, Maxfern stopped him.

“Careful there, Blue Knight. You’d better not be thinking of doing something stupid. One wrong move and Alunaya would surely bite the princesses in half.”

“Grrrrrr...”

As if backing up what Maxfern said, Alunaya growled and opened his large mouth next to the bound girls. If he snapped it shut, Alaia and the others would be torn apart instantly. Since Koutarou knew the dragon’s speed and strength personally, he knew what a threat that really was.

“Damn...”

Koutarou stopped and lowered his sword.

“Good, that’s more like it. As long as you obey, the princesses don’t have to die.”

Maxfern began walking again, this time all the way up to Koutarou.

“Koutarou-sama...”

Alaia bit her lip. As she’d feared, Koutarou refused to abandon them. Lowering his sword was a sign of his intentions. In reality, he had the ability to cut down Maxfern where he stood, but Koutarou couldn’t do it knowing what it would mean for Alaia and the others. He was probably going to hand the sword over to Maxfern, and there was no longer any way to prevent it.

Maxfern stopped in front of Koutarou and casually presented his right hand. He had a triumphant grin on his face.

“Now, Blue Knight. The sword.”

“...You win, Maxfern.”

Koutarou nodded in bitter resignation before extending his right hand and presenting Signaltin to Maxfern.

“Ah, the holy sword is finally in my hands!”

Maxfern raised the sword above his head with both hands. He looked like a child that had just gotten a new toy.

“We’re in position! Go ahead, Veltlion!” Clan’s voice sounded out from Koutarou’s comms.

“You’re late, Clan!”

The moment he heard Clan’s voice, Koutarou made a fist and swung at Maxfern. He was planning on taking Signaltin back. The moment Koutarou had been waiting for—the time to fight back—was finally here.

“I can’t help it! We had to change position because Alunaya appeared!”

“I don’t want to hear excuses!”

“Wh-What?!”

Maxfern was so focused on the sword that he was unable to dodge Koutarou’s punch. Taking the blow square to the cheek, Maxfern turned violently to the side and collapsed. Koutarou quickly rushed over to him and tried to grab the sword.

“I will not allow such interference.”

However, before Koutarou reached the sword, Grevanas cast a spell. His magical staff had a special magic built into it. It required neither incantation nor motion to activate. He wielded an artifact that let the user cast a spell just by thinking it. The magical arrows created by the artifact staff rained down between Koutarou and Maxfern, keeping Koutarou from getting the sword and allowing Maxfern a chance to get up and away from trouble.

“Damn it! Kill Alaia right now!”

Maxfern was furious after Koutarou’s unexpected attack, and he ordered the murder of Alaia and the others as revenge. The life of a princess was a price far too high to pay for a single punch, but Maxfern couldn’t forgive Koutarou for such a disgrace now that he had become king of the world.

“Do it!”

Grevanas barked the order to his subordinates to kill Alaia. The crystal they were stranding around was how they gave orders to Alunaya.

“ROAAAAAAAR!”

Receiving the order, Alunaya let out a fierce roar. His thunderous voice shook the very air in the garden. He then opened his mouth wide to attack Alaia and the others who were still bound. However, just before the dragon’s fangs reached them, there was a large explosion by Alunaya’s feet. The unexpected blast caused Alunaya to lose his balance and fall to the side. Alunaya crushed the stone pavement underneath him, and the impact rivaled the explosion beforehand.

“Uwah!”

While the explosion saved Alaia and the others from Alunaya’s fangs, it wasn’t all positive. Fragments of the stone pavement that Alunaya crushed were sent flying towards Koutarou.

“Damn it, that’s overdoing it, Clan.”

After getting hit by a ten centimeter rock, Koutarou fell backwards and landed on his butt. Fortunately, thanks to the armor’s barrier, that was all that happened. Without the barrier, he would have been seriously injured.

“What was I supposed to do?! I don’t have time for fine-tuning when there are dragons just randomly showing up!”

The explosion had come from a bomb Clan had set. Using a device that she had invented herself, Clan could become invisible to the naked eye. So while Koutarou was distracting Maxfern and the others, she’d snuck onto the scene and planted the bomb. Using the opportunity afforded by the explosion, Flair, Caris, and Lidith used the same device to save Alaia and the others. That was the rescue plan Koutarou and Clan had come up with.

“Veltlion, we’ve saved Princess Alaia and the others!”

The plan was a success so far, and Alaia and the other kidnapped girls were now free once more. Koutarou could see everyone meet up out of the corner of his eye.

“All right!”

All that was left was to reclaim Signaltin and defeat Maxfern. Pumping himself up, Koutarou moved to pick himself up off the ground.

“Koutarou-sama, look out!”

Alaia’s cry echoed through the old castle garden. The next moment, Maxfern appeared in front of Koutarou with Signaltin raised above his head.

“Things won’t go the way you want, Blue Knight!”

Unlike Koutarou, Maxfern hadn’t been pelted with stones. He was still on his feet. Seeing Koutarou fall over, he didn’t miss the chance to attack.

“Maxfern!”

Koutarou was still getting up, leaving him defenseless.

If that hits, I’ll be killed!

Realizing the danger he was in, Koutarou quickly gave his armor instructions.

“Raise the barrier! Full power!”

“As you wish, my lord. Commencing emergency deployment of the distortion field.”

The armor obeyed Koutarou’s order and deployed the barrier. Interconnected, semi-visible hexagonal tiles appeared in between Koutarou and Maxfern, getting in the way of the incoming attack. While they blocked the blow, Koutarou fell over once more from the impact. As he hit the ground, his armor’s AI let him know it was unhappy.

“Alert: Distortion field function has been stopped. The damage has exceeded tolerance levels.”

“From one hit?!”

The hexagonal tiles disappeared all at once. With just a single strike from Signaltin, Maxfern had knocked out the armor’s barrier. Even though the armor had stood up against all kinds of attacks before, it was powerless before Signaltin.

“Looks like you’ve met your match, Blue Knight.”

Maxfern raised the sword above his head once more. Koutarou was now prone and his barrier was gone. With one swing of Signaltin, Maxfern could easily cut Koutarou in half.

“Not so fast!”

Koutarou focused on his left hand. He used his spiritual energy to create a large fireball and threw it right at Maxfern.

“Did you think a petty trick like that would work against this sword?!”

Maxfern swung Signaltin down without even flinching. The sword easily cut through the fireball and continued towards Koutarou.

“Not even that worked?!”

Koutarou had used all the spiritual energy he could muster to create that fireball, yet Signaltin had destroyed it with ease. Neither Koutarou’s defensive or offensive powers worked against Maxfern. He didn’t have anything left up his sleeve.

I’m sorry, Your Highness... Even though I swore that I would protect you, it seems this is as far as I go...

Unescapable death came flying at him in the form a sword blade. Koutarou acknowledged it and prepared himself for the end.

“But...!”

But even then, Koutarou leaped at Maxfern. Even if he was killed, he wanted to injure Maxfern as much as possible so he could buy even a little time for Alaia and Charl to escape. Even faced with death, he wanted to uphold his oath to his very last breath. That was most likely the moment Koutarou truly became the Blue Knight.

“Nooooooooooo!”

Alaia screamed at the top of her lungs. To her, the sight in front of her almost looked like it was unfolding in slow motion. Koutarou had realized he was going to die, yet he still charged at Maxfern. She saw all that, but visions of her memories of meeting Koutarou and the time they’d spent together flashed over it.

“Please! Nooooo!”

Koutarou would die. And by Signaltin, the very sword she had unsealed to protect him. It felt like Alaia was killing Koutarou herself. Her heart couldn’t take it. She just couldn’t accept it.

Alaia’s life had become part of Signaltin. It would always protect Koutarou. It would always be beside him. That was her own oath, and her only real wish as a girl who lived her life bound by duty.

“Koutarou-samaaaaaaaa!”

Alaia screamed and screamed, but the time had come. Signaltin swung downward, brushing Koutarou’s hair before it reached his face. Seeing that, Alaia was overcome with despair.

“Wahahahahaha! Die! Drop dead, Blue Knight! Accept your punishment for defying the king of the world!”

Maxfern brought the blade down with all of his might. All who watched on were sure Koutarou would be cut in half.

However...

Signaltin was what was split in two.

The moment Signaltin touched Koutarou’s body, it broke in half with a shrill noise, leaving Koutarou completely uninjured. It split like a cheap toy sword made from nothing more than paper and glue. No one who saw it could believe their eyes, but the most surprised of all was Maxfern.

“How could something like this happen?! It had so much power just moments ago!”

Maxfern was in complete shock and stared at the broken Signaltin in disbelief. It had lost its shine and turned to mere rusty iron scrap. It looked the complete opposite of how the beautiful silver blade had just moments before.

“Wasn’t I supposed to become king of the world?! Wasn’t it supposed to have the power of the Goddess of Dawn in it?! It was even supposed to be able to destroy the evil rooted in people! What is going on, Grevanas?! This is just some scrap!”

Trembling with rage, Maxfern threw the remains of Signaltin to the ground. When it landed, the rusted blade fully shattered. The handle was the only part of the sword that remained recognizable, but even then it was cracked and looked like it might fall apart at any moment.

“I-I don’t understand either! Why did it suddenly lose its power...?”

“Now this was all for nothing, Grevanas!”

Maxfern yelled at Grevanas, his face dyed red with rage. Even the calm Grevanas seemed to have lost his composure after this most unexpected turn of events.

“Signal... tin...”

While everyone was stunned, only Koutarou remained calm. He picked up the handle that had been thrown to the ground and looked at Alaia.

“...”

Unlike everyone else, Alaia had her eyes closed and her head turned down. She was trying to block out the world. She didn’t want to see the moment Koutarou was cut down. She didn’t want to hear his last screams. And because she was so numb to her surroundings, she had no idea that Koutarou was safe.

“Of course... This is Signaltin... That’s what it is...”

The sword crest on Alaia’s forehead was shining brightly. It was almost as if that crest was the real Signaltin.

“Princess Alaia.”

Having understood everything, Koutarou called out to Alaia. While both enemy and ally were at a loss and the situation had been brought to a standstill, it didn’t change the fact that they were still in the middle of enemy territory. In order to escape from this, her help was essential.

“Huh...?”

Upon hearing Koutarou’s voice, Alaia opened her eyes. At first she thought she might be hearing things, but when she looked up, she saw Koutarou standing there.

“Koutarou-sama?”

“I’m sorry for making you worry, Your Highness.”

“Koutarou-sama, w-weren’t you... killed just now...?”

Defying all expectation, Koutarou was still alive and well. That mysterious, wonderful sight made Alaia doubt her eyes. She was happy, but she was so confused that she could hardly make sense of what happened. She had no idea how to react.

“It seems like Signaltin took the hit for me.”

“The sword... Ah...”

Alaia looked down at Koutarou’s hand, clutching Signaltin’s handle. The moment she saw the ruined sword, she was reminded of what it had looked like when they first retrieved it from the temple.

I see. If I am part of that sword, that sword is also part of me. Then my oath is―

Alaia’s eyes lit up as she realized what it all meant.

“Let’s go, Your Highness. I told you I would use my life and this sword to protect you.”

“I believe in you, Koutarou-sama. And in turn, I will protect your life.”

They nodded at each other before entering their respective stances. Koutarou pointed the tip of the non-existent blade towards Maxfern, and Alaia reached her arms forwards with her palms towards Koutarou. Seeing all this, Maxfern sneered.

“What are you going do with that piece of scrap? Did your precious holy sword breaking drive you a little mad?”

If Maxfern had ordered Grevanas and his court magicians to attack right away, things might have turned out differently. But in his own stupor and hubris, Maxfern disregarded what Koutarou and Alaia were doing. He was convinced they were powerless.

“You seeing this sword as broken is exactly why you couldn’t cut me down.”

“What?!”

Koutarou’s lips curved up into a grin when he saw the look of shock on Maxfern’s face. He then broke into a run and charged at him. The way he carried the handle really did make it seem like he was holding a powerful sword. As he closed in on Maxfern, Alaia began reciting an incantation.

“Past, present, and future, oh mother of all things, Goddess of Dawn.”

They were the same words she’d used in the temple, and with each one she spoke now, the sword crest on her forehead glowed brighter and brighter. The light became so strong that it covered her entire body and began flowing out of her.

“I, a daughter of Forthorthe and thy faithful servant, beseech thee. Now is the time to break the seal and give us power to overcome the crisis that threatens us.”

The light from Alaia gathered around the shattered fragments of the blade lying on the ground. Once it surrounded them all, it lifted them up into the air and carried them towards the handle Koutarou was holding.

“Wind of the heavens. Green of the earth. Water of the sea. Fire of the mountains. Using my life as provision, reveal the power to rule all things!”

The fragments connected to the handle one by one and began reconstructing the blade from the hilt up. By the time Koutarou had reached Maxfern, the sword had regained its former shape.

“I am Alaia, the silvery white snow of Mastir! Oh holy sword of the temple, carve my name into your blade and revive!”

Koutarou raised the newly formed sword above his head. As he did, the sword regained its silvery sheen and began emitting its pure white mana. The sword that had been mere rusted pieces of metal just a few seconds ago was reborn again in all its splendid glory.

This was the holy sword Signaltin. Now that Koutarou and Alaia’s feeling were as one, it was filled with more power than ever before.

“That’s impossible! A broken blade regenerating like that is just impossible! There’s no way it could regain its powers like that!”

“Since you’re not a knight, you would never understand something as simple as why this sword shines!”

What was important wasn’t the sword itself. Its condition didn’t really matter. What mattered was what the sword represented. Koutarou could feel the warmth emitting from the sword in his hands. It was going to protect not just him, but the whole world.

“Just because I wasn’t born a knight? Preposterous! I won’t accept that!”

But Maxfern understood nothing. He thought that Koutarou meant his lineage, and missed the point much the same way that he was too obsessed with the condition of the sword and not what it meant. He didn’t realize what was truly important. If he had, the sword might have actually answered to him.

“With this, it’s over, Maxfern!”

“Damn it! God damn it!”

“Maxfern-sama!”

Koutarou brandished the sword boldly and was about to come down on Maxfern when he suddenly sensed someone’s intent to attack the area right where he was standing. He instinctively abandoned his attack and jumped back. Not a moment later, giant claws cut through the air right where he’d just been.

“Alunaya!”

It was a strike from Fire Dragon Emperor Alunaya. Clan’s explosion had knocked him over, but he had now recovered and was attacking Koutarou.

“Kill them, Grevanas! Don’t let any one of them escape alive!”

Boiling with rage and his eyes bloodshot, Maxfern ordered the deaths of Koutarou and everyone else.

“Please stop it already, uncle! What more will come from fighting?!”

“Shut up, shut up! I’ll kill you too!”

“Uncle...”

Not even Maxfern’s niece, Lidith, could reach him now. That was just how intense the rage that consumed him had become.

Maxfern couldn’t forgive the holy sword for not accepting him, the man who was supposed to become the king of the world. Nor could he forgive Koutarou, who was using the sword instead. It was like they were taunting him. Mocking him. Telling him how insignificant his existence really was. That all of his efforts up until now had been in vain. And allowing this to continue—allowing Koutarou to live—would be like admitting all that was true. The prideful Maxfern wouldn’t stand for that.

“Get them, men!”

In contrast to the enraged Maxfern, Grevanas was clam and swiftly gave the order for his subordinates to attack. Heeding his call, a flock of demons easily numbering in the hundreds sprang up from cover all throughout the garden. Their strange appearances were varied, yet their eyes all flashed the same bloodlust. But that wasn’t all. Several of the same kind of steel giant Koutarou had fought before dotted the ranks of the demons.

These were Maxfern’s current troops, or rather, his horde of monsters. In his pursuit of power, Maxfern had reached out to non-human creatures for aid. It was almost like a reflection of the man he was inside. Maxfern was a monster with the appearance of a man.

The horde of monsters attacked Alaia and the other seven girls. They were like ants swarming their prey.

“Your Highness! Everyone!”

Koutarou quickly moved to rescue the girls.

“Oh no you don’t! Your opponent is right here!”

“ROAAAAAAAR!”

Alunaya moved in front of Koutarou. After roaring loudly, he bared his fangs to intimidate Koutarou. And with a dragon in his way now, he was no longer able to head to the girls’ rescue.

“Damn!”

“Hahaha! Blue Knight, even if you’re invincible, those girls are normal humans! Can they last long enough for you to make it to them? Wahahahahah!”

Maxfern laughed at Koutarou. With Signaltin, Koutarou was strong. He might even be able to beat a giant dragon. But even if he could, it would take time. And Maxfern was planning on using that time to kill the girls.

“You’re too naive, Maxfern.”

But Koutarou was still smiling. Despite Maxfern laughing at him, he showed no sign of anxiety.

“What?!”

“Sorry, but things won’t go as you planned.”

Koutarou knew the girls wouldn’t go down without a fight.

As the swarm of demons attacked, the girls followed Flair’s lead and calmly entered formation. Clan and Flair took to the front. Skilled in fighting, they would act as a wall the other girls could stand behind. Clan was using her rifle like always, but Flair was wielding something different.

“You understand how to use those swords, right?”

“I’m fine! The balance is slightly different, but they’re not much different from the thin blade I usually use!”

Flair was holding two swords made out of light. Shining blades reminiscent of neon tubes extended from the metal handles. They were the latest model of beam saber that created a scorching hot blade by containing heavy metal particles within an electromagnetic field. The beam simply imitated the shape of the sword. Flair had gotten them from Clan, and held one in each hand. She used them skillfully to fend off the oncoming demons.

“Something like this?”

Flair blocked one demon’s attack with one sword and attacked a different one with the other. The high temperature of the beams easily cut through the demons and scorched their bodies. Her swift, sharp skills with a blade made it look like a tiny, glowing tornado was cutting down the demons.

“Yes, that’s perfect! Keep doing exactly that!”

Clan was shooting at the demons that Flair couldn’t reach with her sword, giving her some more freedom in combat. And if Flair was about to get attacked, Clan would move in to cover her. Her barrier was easily strong enough to protect the both of them from the demon’s claws.

While they maintained the front line, Lidith the alchemist and Caris the magician were positioned behind them.

“Caris, it’s time for the next attack!”

“All right, I’m ready!”

Lidith and Caris were working together on ranged attacks. Their jobs were to wipe out was many demons as possible and destroy the steel giants.

Lidith used the strategical computer and observation device she had borrowed from Clan to selectively target the demons. Since Caris and Lidith’s minds had been linked through Caris’s magic, she could see exactly what Lidith was targeting. Going off of that, Caris repeatedly sniped enemies she had no actual visual on. And with Lidith prioritizing targets that were entering Caris’s range, they were shot down before they could even get to the girls.

It was a strategy only made possible thanks to Lidith. Normally there wouldn’t be anyone capable of using the strategical computer in this age, but she’d picked up on how to operate it while working as Clan’s assistant. Thanks to that, they were able to pull off a combination attack using science and magic.

“Caris, the giant!”

“I know! I’m currently planting it! All right, detonate it!”

“Detonating!”

One of the steel giants collapsed with the low, booming sound of an explosion. The giant itself didn’t appear to be particularly wounded, however. The damage was limited to a small dent and scorch marks on its chest, which certainly wasn’t enough to take down a steel giant. That too was a combo attack from Lidith and Caris.

After their first fight with a steel giant, Clan had prepared a certain type of explosive in case they had to fight one again. It was a unique bomb that was applied directly to the target before use and didn’t cause that big of a blast. Its explosive power was mostly channeled into a shockwave aimed to destroy the target or something inside of it. And once she understood how the golems were made, Clan decided on this kind of bomb to specifically target the crystals powering them. Though the giant’s armor was made from thick steel, their core was just a crystal. Destroying that was easy with the concussive force of such a bomb.

Caris would use her magic to attach the explosive to a giant from a distance, and Lidith then gave the computer the order to detonate it. The mighty giants were powerless to stop them. It was a simple but brilliant idea. Even though their first battle with one had given them a hard time, they were now turning the steel giants into useless lumps of metal left and right.

Behind Caris and Lidith were Alaia and Fauna the priestess. Fauna was in charge of using spiritual energy to heal any injuries and increase everyone’s physical strength. With her support, the four up front could fight without reservation. Alaia was in command of their squad, but she was also using what magic she could to help out.

“I think I’m gradually starting to get the hang of it, Fauna.”

“You’re doing great. That’s very impressive for someone using magic for the first time, Alaia-sama!”

Alaia didn’t have any real training in magic, but she was currently receiving mana from Signaltin via the crest on her forehead. She could then control it using the ancient ritual language she’d learned in her seminary studies. As a beginner, she couldn’t help with attacking, but she could strengthen and defend, and she used her newfound power to support everyone.

All the way in the rear were Charl and Mary the maid.

“Please sit still, Princess Charl.”

“I know, I know.”

The young Charl didn’t have much of a job. If anything, it was to stay put. If she wandered around, she would risk getting in the way of the others and worrying them. Being wise for her age, however, Charl understood that she should stay back and keep low.

“Um, Your Highness... I feel like I’m not being of much use.”

“Don’t worry, Mary. I’m really the one in the way.”

Mary’s role was to guard Charl. Though she had learned martial arts for self defense, she wasn’t skilled enough to take part in actual combat. That’s why she’d been put in the back to guard Charl. But it wasn’t busy work. Charl’s safety had an impact on everyone’s morale, so the very job Mary was complaining about was in fact the most important of all.

Just as Koutarou had expected, the eight girls weren’t going down without a fight. In fact, they had taken up a counteroffensive and were steadily reducing the enemy’s numbers. They had gotten weapons and equipment from Clan, and they were firmly holding their ground.

“Grevanas, just what is going on?! It’s just a few girls!”

“But Maxfern-sama, their weapons are―”

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear any excuses!”

Maxfern was irritated by the current situation. Nothing was going how he wanted. He’d gotten his hands on the sword only to lose it. He tried to kill his enemies, but not one of them was dead. His plan had been proceeding smoothly up until reaching Sariachal Castle, but it now seemed like his luck had run out the moment he set foot on the castle grounds. It was a nightmarish reversal for Maxfern.

“It looks like your plan is falling apart, Maxfern. I guess you’re just a third-rate villain.”

Koutarou readied his sword and kept Alunaya in check while provoking Maxfern. His aim was to get Maxfern to focus on him to reduce the pressure on everyone else. In reality, Koutarou was most terrified of Alunaya turning his flaming breath on the girls.

“Shut up! I’ll still at least kill you! Do it, Grevanas! Kill the Blue Knight!”

Koutarou’s plan worked. Maxfern was coming after him. He might not even have needed to taunt him in the first place. Maxfern absolutely hated Koutarou for being able to use the sword that he couldn’t.

“As you wish.”

Grevanas ordered his subordinates to send a portion of their ranks attacking the girls to go after Koutarou instead. Grevanas himself let go of his staff to personally take over control of Alunaya to help crush Koutarou.

“Well, so far so good, but now I have to do something or else I’m going to eat it big time... I should change the battlefield.”

Realizing that he was now at a disadvantage, Koutarou dodged Alunaya’s flaming breath attack and then activated his boosters to soar up into the sky. He thought it was a better bet than staying on the ground with a mass of magicians and demons targeting him.

“ROAAAAAAAR!”

Alunaya chased after him with a loud roar. Flapping his wings, Alunaya’s giant body rocketed through the air. His large, magically enhanced wings gave him an immense amount of lift and power, letting him fly like a bird despite his size.

Ten or so demons followed after Alunaya. Grevanas was controlling Alunaya, while his subordinates controlled the demons. In other words, the court magicians were using their full force to crush Koutarou. Koutarou had wanted them to come solely after him, but it put him in a tight situation. This was easily the greatest danger he’d been in yet.

“If I’m forced onto the defensive, I’ll end up losing! So instead...!”

His armor’s barrier still hadn’t recovered from the blow from Signaltin, meaning taking repeated attacks in his current state would spell disaster. So Koutarou quickly made up his mind and dove forward with Signaltin at the ready. His target was Alunaya. He had to beat down the dragon and secure an escape path.

“Everyone! Please lend me your power!”

Those words unwittingly slipped from Koutarou’s mouth. All of his power was borrowed. It was a fact he’d grieved in the past, but now he was grateful. He’d realized that obsessing over your own power was what made men like Maxfern.

To Koutarou, it didn’t matter if he didn’t have any power of his own. He could always work with someone to achieve his goals, and he realized that working together was really what gave him the most power of all. He’d only gotten this far because of the allies and friends who supported him.

“I would prefer it if you came to me first.”

“Princess Alaia?!”

Alaia’s voice reached Koutarou just as things were about to get heated. But it hadn’t reached his ears. Rather, it was projected directly into his mind through the glow of Signaltin.

Koutarou instinctively looked down to the garden, and there he saw Alaia looking up at him with her hands in front of her chest. At the start of the fight, it would have been incredibly dangerous to stand defenselessly like that. But now that the number of enemies had been reduced, the chances of her being attacked had dropped.

“Koutarou-sama, I will fight by your side.”

“What do you―”

Before Koutarou could question Alaia further, a demon appeared in front of him. Koutarou abandoned his conversation and made a wide swing with Signaltin. As he did, a powerful glow poured forth from the blade. It was almost as if it had sensed Koutarou’s intention to attack. The demon was cut in half by the light of the sword before the blade even reached it. Signaltin passed through the demon with no resistance at all. It was like he was cutting through an illusion. The dust that scattered on the wind once the demon was consumed by the light, however, was proof that it had indeed been real.

“Koutarou-sama, fight any way you want. I’ll handle the timing from here.”

“I see, so that’s what you meant! I’m counting on you, Your Highness!”

“Yes!”

It turned out that the sword hadn’t sensed Koutarou’s will to attack; it was Alaia. Using the crest on her forehead, she controlled Signaltin’s output from a distance. Normally, Signaltin emitted a constant flow of mana. But by controlling Signaltin, Alaia could choose to release the energy only during the moment of attack. And by regulating when Signaltin used its mana, she could reserve it for short, powerful bursts rather. It wasn’t so much of a power-up as it was an efficient use of resources.

“Here I go, Your Highness!”

“I’ll protect your back! Please just focus on what’s in front of you, Koutarou-sama!”

“Understood!”

Koutarou charged at another demon. Alaia used her powers to help accelerate him, so he closed in on the demon in the blink of an eye. To the demon, it must have looked like Koutarou teleported. Even if it wanted to dodge, there was no time. Signaltin shone brightly once more and the demon was cleaved in two before it could even move.

“Tchk, tchk, tchk!”

“Wrrraaak!”

Two demons came at Koutarou at once. One had an insect’s head and the other had a goose’s head. They were both aiming for Koutarou’s back with their sharp claws, planning on tearing him apart.

However, before their claws ever got close to Koutarou, they were hit by a small shockwave. It didn’t have the power to harm them, but it was enough to affect their wings and stop them from moving momentarily. But a moment was all it took.

Signaltin cut both demons in half without so much as a sound. Their bodies decomposed into mana and then to dust. It was a splendid combination attack by Koutarou and Alaia.

“We can do this! With this, we can do it!”

Thanks to Alaia’s precise control of its energy, Signaltin was a completely different beast now. Its offensive power had risen dramatically, and the leftover mana was used for defense and other support. With Alaia’s help, Koutarou was overpowering the demons with no trouble. In a matter of seconds, he’d decimated the ten or so demons that came after him. Only a few remained.

“ROAAAAAAAR!”

With the majority of demons gone, Alunaya charged at Koutarou. As he did, the remaining demons retreated. Maxfern had determined that the demons didn’t stand a chance against Koutarou now.

“Time for the main show.”

Koutarou knew things were about to get serious, so he did too. He now took Signaltin in both hands and brandished it boldly.

“Koutarou-sama, I’ll keep watch of your surroundings. You deal with Alunaya.”

“Please do, Your Highness.”

While Koutarou was fighting with Alunaya, there was a chance that the demons might launch a surprise attack. With Alaia watching his back, however, Koutarou could focus on Alunaya.

“We’re almost there! Do your best, Koutarou-sama!”

“As you wish, my princess!”

As he shouted, Koutarou readied his sword and flew forward at full speed. Koutarou could see Alunaya’s intent to attack with his spirit sight, and right now the area of the attack was increasing. It would either be a tail swipe or a burst of his flame breath. Koutarou would be a sitting duck where he was, so he continued forward towards Alunaya to try and make it harder to use such a massive attack.

Alunaya swung his giant tail around in a wide arc. It was like a massive whip cutting through the air.

“I can’t take that!”

Koutarou dove into evasive maneuvers to dodge the tail. Without his barrier, a single hit from something like that would be fatal. And without Caris’s illusions as diversions, he had to prioritize safety over all else.

“Please leave it to me.”

Alaia increased Koutarou’s speed to make up for the lost ground while dodging, and Koutarou charged forward again at top speed.

“Goooooooo!”

Alunaya had a powerful barrier protecting him. While Signaltin had the ability to dispel magic, it was uncertain if it would be enough to break through it. The only way to find out was to try.

“ROAAAAAAAR!”

Alunaya let out a pained wail. Signaltin had pierced his barrier like it was nothing and sheared off a few scales.

“It worked! But it was too shallow!”

Since Alunaya wasn’t a creature summoned through magic, his body wasn’t composed of mana like the demons’ were. A single blow wouldn’t reduce him to ashes. In fact, all a single blow had done to Alunaya was take off some scales.

“So I can hurt it if I want, but the sword won’t do that much damage, huh?”

Koutarou dodged Alunaya’s claw swipes while racking his brain. Alunaya was over twenty meters long. The sword simply wasn’t big enough to do but so much damage to such a massive beast. The armor’s built-in weapons wouldn’t fare much better. It was like challenging a tank with a rifle.

“Do I have to rely on this just like last time?”

Koutarou was referring to Kiriha’s gauntlet. With Signaltin’s ability to break through the barrier, the gauntlet should prove more effective this time around. And by combining that with the armor’s weapons, he might be able to do a little more damage.

“If only he had a weak point...”

“A weak point? Oh, that’s right.”

Alaia inadvertently reminded Koutarou of the crystal on the back of Alunaya’s neck. During their last fight, he’d been able to make Alunaya retreat after attacking that.

“There is something like that. A magical crystal embedded in the back of Alunaya’s neck.”

“I see... Then that would be the perfect target for this sword. By dispelling the crystal’s mana, we might be able to turn the tables of this battle.”

“I’ll give it a shot!”

Koutarou readied Signaltin and activated his boosters once more. His propellant was quickly running out, so just like his last fight with Alunaya, it would be best to settle this as quickly as possible.

Koutarou tried to use his mobility to his advantage and get behind Alunaya, but it wasn’t that easy. Unlike the last fight, he was the only one in the air with Alunaya now. Alunaya could keep his eyes on Koutarou, and he wasn’t about to just let him circle around behind him. And without support from Caris, Koutarou was just wasting time trying.

“What should I... I don’t have the time to wait for Clan...”

Clan and the others were currently dealing with the rest of the demons on the ground. Although there were significantly fewer now, they still had to protect Alaia so she could support Koutarou. It looked like they had their hands full with that, and Koutarou didn’t have the time to wait for them to finish up.

“Look out, Koutarou-sama!”

“Whoops!”

Immediately after Alaia’s warning, Alunaya’s flame breath passed by right next to Koutarou. It was so close that it singed his hair.

“Please be careful, Koutarou-sama! It’s all over if that hits you!”

“Sorry, I was a little lost in thought... Wait a minute...”

Seeing Alunaya’s flame breath fly off into the distance, Koutarou was struck with a wild idea. He quickly ran it by Alaia.

“Your Highness, can the sword cut through those flames?”

Alaia nearly gasped at what Koutarou was suggesting.

“It might be possible... But if it fails, there’s no going back.”

Alunaya’s flame breath was really just magical fire. In other words, Signaltin might be able to dispel it.

Alunaya had to stop moving in order to spew flames, and the flames themselves partially obscured his vision. So even if it was only momentarily, he left himself open when he attacked that way. If Koutarou purposely took the flame breath head-on, Alunaya would lose sight of him. He could then use Signaltin to protect himself.

But if things went wrong—if he screwed up the timing or came in at a bad angle—Koutarou would be swallowed by the flames. Considering that risk, Alaia couldn’t agree to such a plan. Hearing her answer, however, Koutarou smiled and called her name.

“Princess Alaia.”

“What is it?”

“Which do you believe in more? The fire breath? Or me?”

“...Kou...”

Alaia was at a loss for words.

“K-K-Koutarou-sama! That’s not the point! That’s unfair!”

Alaia raised her voice and scolded Koutarou. To her, that question only had one answer.

“Stupid Koutarou-sama!”

So instead of answering him, she continued to criticize him like a child.

“That’s poor manners, Your Highness... Clan, do you have any advice?”

Koutarou smiled and asked Clan for her input over his comms. He wanted to hear the scientist’s opinion.

“...I don’t, stupid. But if there’s anything you should know, it’s that the flame breath is practically plasma. So by using an electromagnetic field, you might be able to protect yourself a little, stupid...”

Clan’s actual advice would have been to abandon this plan altogether. However, knowing Koutarou’s personality, she knew that he’d already made up his mind by the time he asked her. So she gave up on trying to stop him and instead gave him information she thought might be helpful.

Normally when plasma came into contact with an electromagnetic field, a complex reaction would occur. In this case, the plasma breath should diffuse and the barrier field would serve as a sort of umbrella, much the same way Earth’s magnetic field protected against solar winds. However, if the momentum was too great, there wouldn’t be much of an effect at all. That was a very real possibility against Alunaya’s breath.

“All right, I’ll give it a try.”

Koutarou grinned and pointed Signaltin towards Alunaya’s face.

“Koutarou-sama, please reconsider.”

“Your Highness, I still haven’t heard your answer.”

“I...”

Alaia was hesitant to answer. After several seconds of silence, she quietly mumbled something.

“...Make sure you come back, Forthorthe’s Blue Knight...”

“As you wish, my princess.”

In the end, she still never answered the actual question.

Alunaya liked to use his flames to keep Koutarou at a distance because he knew that Koutarou was stronger at close range. Because of that, it wasn’t that hard to bait a breath attack.

Alunaya opened his large mouth and began inhaling. Seeing that, Koutarou positioned himself not too close, but not too far away either. The balance of that was actually quite tricky. If he was too close, Alunaya would swipe at him instead, and if he was too far, he wouldn’t be able to use the flame breath as cover for his approach. Koutarou had to find the perfect spot for this to work.

“Now, Koutarou-sama!”

After confirming that Alunaya was gathering mana in his gullet—a sure sign he was about to spew flames—Koutarou set his boosters to maximum thrust and charged straight forward. As long as he could close the distance in time, the rest should be easy, so he was willing to use the last of his propellant on this if he had to.

The next moment, Alunaya exhaled a white-hot pillar of fire. Flames hotter than even the surface of the sun were coming straight for Koutarou.

“How about thiiiiiiiisss?!”

While using his boosters to adjust his angle of approach, Koutarou thrust Signaltin out in front of him. He also generated an electromagnetic field around it to shield himself from the plasma that Signaltin couldn’t dispel.

In a flash, all Koutarou could see was white. Signaltin’s mana covered Koutarou’s entire body as everything else around him was engulfed in plasma. And while the sword might have been capable of dispelling the plasma, it couldn’t do anything about the superheated air that swirled around it. The surrounding temperature spiked immediately and Koutarou felt like he had been thrown into an oven.

“Tch...”

Fortunately, his armor was designed to be used in space and could withstand extreme temperatures. The AI reported several warnings, but there was no major damage. The outside shell of the armor was scorched and discolored, which, all in all, was an excellent result for having just survived a blast of straight plasma hotter than the sun.

Koutarou dove out from under the flames and circled around to Alunaya’s back. Since Alunaya couldn’t see Koutarou because of his breath, he had no idea that he was being flanked.

“Taaaaakeeeee thiiiiiiiis!”

Without letting up on his boosters, Koutarou charged straight at Alunaya. His target was the blue crystal attached to the dragon’s neck. Signaltin pierced through Alunaya’s barrier and struck its target. As the mana inside the crystal was dispelled, it shattered and scattered all over.

“ROAAAAAAAR!”

Alunaya immediately screamed out in pain. His wailing voice was so loud it felt like it was shaking the entire world.

“Did that do it?!”

“Koutarou-sama!”

As Koutarou looked on, Alunaya plummeted towards the ground. The moment the crystal shattered, he lost control of his body. He repeatedly tried flapping his wings to regain control, but in the end, the dragon slammed into the earth below.

Maxfern blankly stared as Alunaya crashed into the garden, but then fell into a fit of quiet laughter. It was a dark, frightening sound. It sounded like the laugh of a demon coming up from the depths of hell, and it was enough to make all who heard it shudder.

“Heh... Heh heh heh... Splendid... Truly splendid... Even with the holy sword, to think you’d be able to defeat Alunaya...”

As Maxfern’s laughter creepily echoed through the garden, the demons surrounding Alaia and the others moved to form a defensive formation around Maxfern. His loyal alchemists as well as Grevanas and his court magicians were already by his side. They would follow Maxfern until the end.

“Just give up already, Maxfern.”

After landing, Koutarou approached to within a few dozen meters of Maxfern, but the small army surrounding Maxfern showed no sign of attacking. Perhaps it was because they feared Koutarou, or perhaps it was simply because hadn’t been ordered to yet. Either way, they didn’t get in the way of Koutarou and Maxfern’s conversation. The eight girls well behind Koutarou watched as the situation unfolded as well.

“You’ve lost.”

“...That’s true. I’ll admit to that. It’s your victory, Blue Knight.”

Surprisingly, Maxfern seemed to accept his defeat. He’d failed to obtain the sword he was after, and his ace in the hole, Alunaya, had been defeated. His plans had all gone awry, and now the only thing he had left to show for himself was a few dozen subordinates and a horde of monsters willing to protect him. Even his chance to take the country of Forthorthe had slipped through his fingers. There was no coming back from this, but he was reasonable enough to acknowledge that.

“But I still have no intention of letting you take this country, Blue Knight! This world is mine! I won’t hand it over to anyone!”

Before anyone knew it, the demons were all holding bottles filled with black liquid. But they weren’t planning on attacking Koutarou and the others with them. No, they poised to take off into the sky.

“Do it, Grevanas!”

“Maxfern-sama, do we really have to go this far?”

“Shut it! Are you willing to accept such a miserable defeat?! That everything we’ve done has been for naught?!”

“I-I didn’t say that, but...”

Grevanas, who had so far calmly obeyed Maxfern’s orders, was now showing hesitation. It gave Koutarou a sinking feeling.

“Then just do as you’re told!”

“I understand...”

“What are you planning, Maxfern?!”

Koutarou demanded answers. The sinking feeling in his gut was rapidly getting heavier and heavier. He couldn’t tell what, but he felt like something bad was about to happen. He couldn’t just sit still.

“Like I told you, Blue Knight! I have no intention of just handing this country over to you!”

“So that’s how it is, Maxfern?!”

In that moment, Alaia suddenly raised her head. She wore an expression of astonishment and fear. She’d realized exactly what Maxfern was plotting. Exactly what he was going to have the demons do.

“That black liquid! It’s that poison from before, isn’t it?!”

“That’s right! Well spotted, wise Princess Alaia!”

The bottles the demons were carrying contained the same fatal virus that Dextro had used on the village during the harvest festival. The alchemists had gathered, studied, and reproduced it in mass quantities. Maxfern was planning on using the demons to distribute it throughout Forthorthe and sicken the entire country.

“Are you planning on destroying Forthorthe?!”

A chill ran down Koutarou’s spine when he realized Maxfern’s goal. The virus might wipe out more than just Forthorthe. Viruses didn’t respect borders, and there would be nothing stopping it from spreading across the entire continent or even the entire world.

“Hahaha! Isn’t this how you’re supposed to seize a country?!”

Maxfern laughed tauntingly at Koutarou. He looked like a raging madman, and that rage was directed at one person in particular: Koutarou. When his smile faded, the crazy look on his face betrayed just how insane he really was. There was a dangerous gleam in his bloodshot eyes.

“This country— No, this world is mine! That sword might be yours, but I will never hand over this world! I’d rather turn it over to darkness!”

Maxfern was filled with hatred and envy. Not only had the holy sword rejected him, it had accepted Koutarou instead. If the holy sword chose Koutarou to be king of the world, then Maxfern would ravage the world to make Koutarou’s title meaningless. All out of spite and bitterness.

“Ahahaha! Muahahahaha! Nobody can stop it now! This world will end! And you, Blue Knight! You will reign over nothing but a dead land of corpses!”

“Maxfern, you bastard!”

As Maxfern’s mad laughter filled the garden, the demons took to the sky carrying the black bottles. In total there were over fifty of them, and Koutarou had no way of defeating all of them while making sure the bottles didn’t break in the process.

“Clan, can’t you do something?!”

“I can’t come up with anything on the spot! If just one of those bottles shatters, something terrible will happen. There’s no way to keep them all whole...”

The odds were fixed against them. If just one of the bottles were to shatter, the virus would pollute the entire area. From here, it would probably spread to Fornorn, the heart of the country. And once the capital was infected, there was no way of keeping it from spreading to the rest of Forthorthe.

“Uncle! Please stop it!”

“Shut it, Lidith! You don’t deserve to address me as family after you chose the Blue Knight over me!”

“Maxfern! There’s no meaning in this!”

“That’s exactly right, Princess Alaia! The goal is to make it meaningless, after all!”

Their only hope seemed to be to make Maxfern call the demons back. But there was no way such an insane man would ever listen to reason. He was dead set on his revenge against the goddess who’d erred in her judgement.

“It’s no use, Veltlion! Forthorthe will be ruined!”

Clan could create a cure for the virus, but the country would be ravaged before she could administer it to everyone. There just wasn’t enough time. This would be on a completely different scale than saving a single village.

“Blue Knight! Please do something! You must have something you can do, right?! Please say there is!”

“Princess Charl...”

Koutarou gritted his teeth.

Damn it, is watching this all happen all I can do?!

Koutarou would have loved to tell Charl that he had an ace up his sleeve. Something that would save them from this crisis. But he didn’t. He was just as lost as everyone else.

“Caris-chan, can’t you use your magic to do something?”

“It’s impossible. They’re too spread out.”

“Flair-sama, what should we do?”

“I’m sorry, Mary. I don’t know.”

The demons flew off one after another as Koutarou and the others watched on in horror. They were literally watching the world end.

This is my first time ever seeing something so truly frightening... No, wait, is it really?

Something was tugging at the back of Koutarou’s brain. Something about this sight was familiar to him.

When was it? Where have I seen this? What am I remembering?

Koutarou desperately scanned through his memory banks. Something in there might be the key to solving this problem, and right now, he was willing to try anything.

“Ah...”

Before long, Koutarou stumbled across what he was after. In his fight against Clan during the play, just as she was about to unleash her final attack, Koutarou had heard a mysterious voice. He also had a vision of strange, monstrous creatures taking to the skies with black bottles in their clutches. And―

“Clan!”

Koutarou’s eyes lit up and he rushed to Clan, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her back and forth. Having found a solution, he lost sight of himself in the excitement.

“Wh-What is it?!”

Being so shaken, Clan’s eyes rolled in their sockets in bewilderment.

“We’ll use that! You know, that thing!”

“Please slow down! What are you talking about?!”

“Obviously, I mean that bomb that brought us here in the first place! Use the second one to blow away these demons and those bottles!”

That bomb, the Super Space-time Repulsion Shell, was Clan’s ultimate weapon. She’d developed it herself. When activated, it shunted everything caught in the blast outside of the very universe. Koutarou wanted Clan to use it to cast the demons out of this world.

“R-Right, that! But it’s still being adjusted. We don’t know where―”

“You idiot! Now’s not the time for worrying about things like that! Just hurry up and do it before it’s too late!”

“I get it! Cradle! Prepare to launch the Super Space-time Repulsion Shell.”

“As you wish, my princess.”

Right beside the now desperately shouting Clan, a black hole much larger than what she normally used to call out weapons appeared. A rounded cone emerged from it. It was the missile’s warhead. Clan had created two such missiles, the first of which had been destroyed by Koutarou. That made this the second and final one. She’d intended to use it to return to her own world, but she didn’t have much of a choice now.

“Fire it as soon as it’s ready, Clan!”

“At least let me do a final check!”

“No!”

“Fine, fine! I got it! Jeez!”

The repulsion shell was already fully charged. Since Koutarou had said beforehand that he was willing to use any means necessary, Clan had made sure it was charged just in case.

“No matter what you’re planning, it’s too late now! Just sit back and watch!”

Maxfern boasted triumphantly. He had no way of knowing what Koutarou was planning or what Clan was about to fire. Convinced that whatever they were up to wouldn’t make a difference, he decided to let them struggle in vain.

“What are you trying to do, Koutarou-sama? How can we help?”

Unlike Maxfern, Alaia sensed something serious in Koutarou and Clan’s behavior. She asked him for instructions.

“Get down! There’s going to be a big explosion!”

“I’ve finished inputting the target coordinates and parameters! Target is locked! Here we go, Veltlion!”

“Fire!”

“Everyone, get down!”

“Firing!”

The girls listened to Alaia and threw themselves to the ground. The next moment, a missile as tall as Clan came flying out of the black hole. The missile’s rocket engine sputtered a trail of flame behind it as it headed straight for the flock of demons above Maxfern.

That’s right. This is what it looked like...

The sight unfolding before Koutarou was exactly what he’d seen in his vision. Maxfern and his subordinates were stunned.

“What?! Grevanas, what is that?!”

Seeing something unknown flying towards them, Maxfern demanded an explanation of Grevanas. He believed it was some kind of magical tool.

“I don’t know! It might be some variety of weapon, but something like that couldn’t possibly defeat all the―”

Grevanas quickly started his explanation, but he wasn’t able to finish. The missile travelled far faster than his mouth could move. In a matter of seconds, the Super Space-time Repulsion Shell activated at its target location.

A bright flash filled the area with light, and the horde of demons was surrounded by a gigantic cube. The cube grew in size, extending downward and outward so that it also covered Maxfern, his subordinates, and the castle. But it only lasted for a few moments. Then it vanished and it took everything inside of it with it. The demons, the bottles they were carrying, Maxfern, his men, and even the castle behind them. All that was left was a giant, square hole in the ground and an earthquake-shockwave combo that felt like it shook the entire world. The intense vibrations of space being erased created the earthquake, and the air flooding in to fill the vacuum turned into a shockwave that assaulted everyone in the area.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Koutarou and the girls screamed. Clan’s barrier could block the shockwave, but not the intense earthquake. They all clung to each other as the ground beneath them shook violently.

“...D-Did it stop?”

Since it wasn’t a natural earthquake, however, the shaking soon subsided. Koutarou hurried to his feet. He stared at the gaping square hole carved into the ground, a sign of just how powerful the Super Space-time Repulsion Shell really was.

“Did we do it...?”

“We did it, Veltlion! They’ve all been completely erased!”

The demons were gone and so were the bottles they were carrying. All of it had been cast out of the universe. Forthorthe was saved.

“No, not yet, Veltlion! Look over there!”

Pale-faced, Flair frantically called out to Koutarou and pointed towards the sky.

“Oh no! It looks like one of them made it!”

A lone demon remained overhead. It was still flying after being hit by the shockwave, albeit very shakily. Fortunately, the demon seemed to have absorbed most of the shockwave and the bottle in its hands was undamaged.

“We can’t let it get away! Hurry and―”

Just as Koutarou was about to take to the skies and chase after it...

“Koutarou-sama, it’s falling!”

“What?!”

The shakily flying demon suddenly began plummeting towards the earth. The shockwave had been too overwhelming, and the demon finally lost control.

“Oh no, the bottle is going to break!”

Of course, the bottle fell right along with the demon. If it broke, the virus would be unleashed, giving birth to yet another nightmare.

No good! I won’t make it!

Despite knowing what was at stake if that bottle hit the ground, nobody could reach it in time to catch it. The demon was too far away. Koutarou wouldn’t be able to make it even if he set off now at full speed. There was no longer anything they could do.

“There is no need to worry.”

Suddenly something large blocked out the sun overhead, casting a towering shadow on Koutarou and the others. Looking up, Koutarou nearly staggered backward when he saw what it was.

“Alunaya?! Y-You’re still alive?!”

“Yes, and you will be grateful for it yet.”

A white line of fire shot through the sky. It was Alunaya’s breath attack. The high-temperature flames incinerated the demon and the bottle in one fell swoop.