The Girl Raised by the Death God Holds the Sword of Darkness in Her Arms - Volume 6 - Chapter 5.7

VII

The clouds that had obscured the sky moved off into the distance, allowing the enchanting glow of the moon to illuminate the wild plains. Olivia was at a loss for how to attack next.

What is wrong, Deep Folk girl? Will you not strike? When Olivia was silent, Xenia said, Very well. Then allow me. At last, Xenia took a step forward, swinging its great scythe a few times as though to test the feel of it. Seeing that the God of Death meant to attack for the first time, Olivia cast the defensive spell Lofty Citadel over herself. Her whole body was ensconced in rainbow light.

My, my! Is that high-level magic I see you using on yourself? Then I shall humor you a little. “Observation,” as our friend might say.

Observation... Olivia repeated slowly.

Do not concern yourself so. We Interdimensional Knights are bound by an oath preventing us from doing anything to cause the death of the humans upon whom we feed. Though of course, there are exceptions to any rule. Xenia had scarcely finished speaking when Olivia felt a nauseating chill. She used Swift Step of Shadows to put distance between herself and Xenia, only to find it waiting for her as though it had been there all along, its scythe flashing out from one side with a sound like doom. Olivia quickly shielded herself with the ebony blade, but she was unable to fully absorb the impact of the blow, which sent her flying. Her back slammed into one of the great boulders that loomed behind her.

She choked, pain lancing through her entire body. Lofty Citadel had been all but meaningless. Before she could so much as wipe the blood that trickled from the corner of her mouth, Xenia appeared in front of her. Olivia raised a hand and released a rapid burst of flaming spheres, but they all passed straight through Xenia.

A mirage?! she thought, just before a carelessly thrown kick came at her from the left. She dodged it by a hair. Instead, the boulder took the hit for her, shattering apart with an earsplitting crash.

As Olivia struggled to catch her breath, Xenia commented, You may be a lesser being, but I see the Deep Folk in you. The way you fight is quite something. Perhaps I can excuse extending my observation a little.

Xenia began slowly to rise straight up. Olivia slipped the ebony blade back into its scabbard, then clapped her hands together. She stretched out her Odh into a shining bow from which she loosed a continuous stream of arrows made from magical light. Soon, Xenia was enclosed in a ring of more than a hundred shining arrows. But it gave no sign of moving. Olivia swung her hand out to one side, then snapped her fingers. All the arrows flew straight at Xenia. There was a thunderous roar overhead that went on and on as lightning sparked wildly in all directions around the God of Death. Then, the world disappeared in a blinding flash.

Surely that did a bit of damage, Olivia thought, breathing hard. As the earth beneath her shook violently with the shock waves, Olivia looked up at the sky now clear from smoke, never letting down her guard.

The Arrow of the Pole Star... Xenia stood there, unharmed, raising its scythe. Now it is my turn. 

A ring of countless scythes appeared around Olivia.

“Wh—?!” As though taking revenge for her own attack, the scythes all descended upon her. Olivia used Swift Step of Shadows to dart through, deflecting them back with the ebony blade. But more scythes kept appearing as though to mock her. The onslaught continued, unending, until Olivia could finally no longer maintain Swift Step. Another scythe appeared behind her, swinging down without mercy. It sliced straight through Lofty Citadel and into her, forcing her to her knees.

Xenia alighted soundlessly before her. You were better entertainment than I expected. But here even you have reached your limit, Deep Folk or— Hm? Xenia suddenly looked up. Seeing an opening, Olivia rose shakily to her feet, ready to try some sort of attack, when—

For now, it is time to withdraw.

Olivia froze in shock.

Can you not hear me?

Forgetting the pain from her wound, she cried out, Z! It was the voice she had longed for all this time, that voice that, if you listened past the unfeeling flatness, brimmed with comfort and warmth. How could she fail to hear it?

You surely understand in your bones that you cannot win as you are now.

But... Olivia pleaded.

There is a lake to the south of here. I am waiting there.

Okay, Olivia said at length. I will.

Xenia cut in. That feels like Z. What are you playing at, anyway? There are many questions I need to ask you. Now show yourself! It spoke as though it had already forgotten Olivia was there. But Z did not reply.

Screwing up the last of her strength, Olivia used Swift Step. Xenia did not bother to give chase as she sped away from the plains, and she made for the lake where Z had said it would be waiting, scarcely able to contain her excitement.

Her breathing came in ragged gasps by the time she caught sight of the lake surrounded by rocky cliffs. Even so, she called out Z’s name over and over. The scene in front of her splintered into a web of cracks, then there was a noise like glass shattering as a dark figure appeared.

Z! Olivia threw herself into the arms of the shadow. The black mist that hung around it coiled around her almost tenderly, and a familiar scent reached her nose.

You have become very human since I saw you last. Z gently wiped away the tears that poured unchecked down her cheeks. Olivia grinned up at it.

“I’ve always been human.”

Z was quiet for a moment. I suppose you have.

Just then, Olivia, feeling something amiss, looked down to her right. “Huh? Z, what happened to your arm?”

Z’s left arm was gone. But Z went on talking without answering her question.

You have been cruelly wounded. Of course, such a thing is only to be expected...

“I know. I was helpless against Xenia. I don’t feel like I have any chance of beating it. Z, was that one of your allies?”

Not...anymore. Olivia felt somehow relieved to hear Z say that.

As you are now, you will never defeat Xenia, no matter how hard you try. Do you still wish to fight, even knowing that?

“As I am now...” Olivia looked up at Z. “Come to think of it, you said that before. What do you mean?”

Even if she challenged Xenia again after recovering her full strength, try as she might, Olivia couldn’t picture herself winning. Z was right. Olivia had held nothing back, and Xenia had fought her off as though it were nothing. The difference in their powers was too great to be bridged.

Yes, it seems you are not broken yet, Z said.

“Huh? I mean, I got really beat up, but my bones and my sword are all in one piece.”

Z paused for a moment. And yet that area still needs some work. It gave what was unmistakably a wry smile, ruffling Olivia’s hair. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling for the first time in however long. Z stroked her hair a little longer, then summoned its scythe.

Now it is time for us to train, it said.

“What? We’re training?” Olivia was surprised. She had not expected Z to bring up training under the current circumstances. Still, the word had a nostalgic ring to it.

“I can’t train right now,” she went on. “Honestly, I can barely stand up.” She laughed. Without a word, Z raised a hand over her and at once, her body was enveloped in soft light.

“What’s this?” she asked.

Your wounds and strength should be restored now.

“Huh? Wait, huh? My body...?!” Not only was the horrible pain gone as though it had never been, but she felt physically refreshed. She tentatively touched her back to find that the wound from the scythe was gone too. Even her battered armor gleamed like new. Olivia had seen magic to repair broken things before, so the armor she could understand. But she had never seen magic that could not only heal wounds instantaneously but even restore one’s strength. The thought filled her with breathless excitement.

“I didn’t know you could do all that so easily!”

You seem to have misunderstood, so allow me to correct you. I cannot heal wounds, nor restore strength.

“Huh? But my wound healed up, and I mean, look.” Olivia flexed her biceps.

I wound back time to before your fight with Xenia.

“You wound back time... Z, you can do that with magic?!”

Only a few scant moments. Z said it as if this were unremarkable. Olivia bounced up and down like a gray rabbit, feeling as proud as if Z’s incredibleness were her own.

Now it is time to train.

“We’re really going to train?”

I don’t believe I ever said your training was over?

“R-Right. That’s true.” Z had disappeared without a word, but now she thought about it, it was true that it had never told her that her education and training were over.

Draw your sword now. Olivia did as she was told, hurrying to unsheathe the ebony blade. If you are able to master the swordcraft I am about to teach you, it will open a pathway for you to triumph over Xenia.

“Really?” Xenia had been so overwhelmingly powerful that Olivia struggled to simply take Z at its word.

Have I ever lied to you?

Olivia shook her head. “Not once.”

This technique consumes Odh at a prodigious rate. If you can hold it for three minutes, even with your vast reserves, you will have done well. On top of that, it demands extremely precise Odh manipulation. If you make even the slightest mistake in its execution, it will cost you your life. Thus, on this one occasion, I will allow you to refuse. 

Olivia knew very well that Z was not exaggerating. If she slipped up, she really would die.

Quietly, she closed her eyes. In the two years since she had left the Gateway to the Land of the Dead, she had met so many people she held dear. Her heart warned her that Xenia, who spoke of humans as though they were vermin, would destroy all of that. So it was without any doubts that she smiled and gave Z her answer.

“Z, teach me the technique.”

Humans are strange creatures. When you have something to protect, you show powers beyond your abilities. It is part of what makes you so worthy of observation. Now, Z went on, the final stage of your training begins. Ready your sword.

Olivia felt goose bumps break out all over her body as Z twirled its scythe, giving off an even more powerful crushing intensity and eeriness than Xenia.

Complete this training. Master the way of the blade by which you shall devour death itself.

Olivia settled into a mid-stance, then held her sword flat, the pommel pressing into the palm of her hand. Z’s scythe thrust toward her as Olivia launched into Swift Step of Shadow...