Daybreak Rondo

by Yuri Kitayama

  “Understood. Please, follow me.” The soldier bowed respectfully before taking the lead.

  ◇　◇　◇

  A short time later...

  Most of Liselotte’s personnel had relocated to the temporary command post in the garden, leaving the mansion essentially deserted. The only ones that remained in the mansion were those under heavy protection, like Hiroaki and the others.

  “This way.” A dark black-skinned revenant walked along confidently inside the mansion. Lucius followed along behind it. Further behind him were four less dark-skinned revenants, walking in obedient silence.

  “Sure makes things easier with a tour guide. Something impossible for the enhanced revenants.” Lucius bantered casually with no sense of tension at all.

  “Hmph. The guest room. Is beyond the corner. Of that corridor,” Alphonse huffed somewhat unhappily.

  “Gotcha. Right, so from here on it’ll be your time to shine. Leave the princess unharmed. You can smack the hero around too, as long as you don’t kill him,” Lucius informed Alphonse without any particular concern in his voice.

  “Yeah. Leave it. To me. I’m stronger. Than any minotaur. Right now,” Alphonse replied with his disjointed words.

  “Ah... Is that leftover intelligence you have left, or are you just broken? Well, whatever. Get going.” Lucius scratched his head before apathetically sending Alphonse away.

  “Is someone there?” A voice echoed from down the corridor, having picked up on their conversation. It seemed to be the knights on guard in front of the room.

  “Yeah, there is,” Lucius replied easily, showing no panic at all.

  “Who’s there?” the voice asked dubiously from down the corridor.

  “Oh no, it’s nothing. I’ve just got a little bit of business to tend to before making my way back. Don’t let it worry you.”

  “...Wait. Step out of there.” The presumed knight ordered down the corridor in a stern voice.

  “Good grief.” Lucius sighed in exasperation before walking forwards into the corridor. There were two knights standing on guard before the door to the room.

  One of the knights approached Lucius and questioned him. “An adventurer? Are you alone? You were talking to someone, no?”

  “Nah no one else. Feel free to go see for yourself.” Lucius assumed a cooperative attitude, standing to the side to make way and shrugging his shoulders.

  ◇　◇　◇

  Less than a minute later, thunk went the sound of something hitting against the door of the room Hiroaki and the others were waiting in.

  “...Hey, did you hear something against the door just now?” Hiroaki asked, staring at the door as he asked the others around him.

  “Indeed I did,” Duke Huguenot nodded, sending an order to the knights with a look.

  “Yes, sir.” There were four knights including Stewart guarding the inside of the room. One of them slowly moved to the door and opened it with a creak.

  “Hey, what happened?!”

  A pitch black fist came flying through the doorway. The knight was struck squarely in the face and sent flying towards the back of the room. Hitting several pieces of furniture along the way, he came to a stop with a loud crash.

  “Kyaa?!” Flora, who had been sitting nearby, couldn’t help but scream.

  “W-What’s going on?!” Roanna looked at the door in shock. “Ha. Ha. Ha.” The dark black-skinned revenant, Alphonse stood there and grinned eerily. Behind him were four paler black-skinned revenants.

  “M-Monsters?! How could they be here?!” The other three knights — including Stewart — drew their swords reflexively.

  “Go,” Alphonse ordered shortly.

  “Vaah!” His subordinate revenants screeched and charged into the room. “Augendae Corporis!” The knights chanted at the same time, but the one to two seconds it took for the magic to activate were fatal. The revenants closed the gap and attacked the knights before they could finish enchanting their physical abilities.

  “Shit!” The knights had no choice but to cancel their magic and swing their swords... but unfortunately, there was no way they could hurt the revenants without enhancing their physical abilities.

  “They’re rock hard?!” Steel-like skin deflected the blades of their swords.

  “Graagh!” The grey revenants went up one on one against the knights, grinning in delight. There were three knights and four grey revenants, which left one grey revenant and Alphonse free.

  “Hey, what is the security doing?!” Hiroaki suddenly shouted at the corridor, but no one came running to save them.

  “Hmph. Go.” Alphonse snorted in contempt, giving the order to the remaining revenant. It started running gleefully, charging into the back of the room to harass Hiroaki’s group.

  “Shit! Head for the door! Run!” Realizing they would be cornered rats at this rate, Hiroaki ordered Flora and the others beside him before running for the door in a panic. He wasn’t just a hero for show, as his movements were clearly inhuman in speed.

  “Eh, ah...” Unable to react on the spur of the moment, Flora was confused, but Roanna suddenly grabbed her by the arm.

  “Princess Flora, this way!” Roanna said and ran after Hiroaki’s lead.

  Thankfully, the knights were somehow managing to push back the revenants one by one. The room was spacious, leaving plenty of room for them to run between the gaps of the fights taking place.

  On top of that, the leftover revenant that charged into the back of the room was just cackling to itself in delight, showing no signs of attacking them.

  And so, as long as they managed to do something about the pitch black revenant camping before the only doorway in or out, they’d be able to get out. Duke Huguenot seemed to be thinking the same, following after Hiroaki behind Roanna and the others.

  Their only hope was Hiroaki and his secret hero combat abilities. He had technically been on par or above with the knights in their sparring matches before. While he was fairly agitated at the moment, unlike the previous battle, he was heading for the monsters himself this time. It seemed like he wouldn’t be useless from fear this time.

  “Move it! Come, Yamata no Orochi!” Hiroaki summoned his prided divine arms to his hand. With the beautiful blade in his grasp, he swung the sword at Alphonse, but Alphonse saw through Hiroaki’s movement easily and slipped right up close to him.

  “Hmph.” Alphonse snorted, punching Hiroaki’s face with all his might.

  “Gwoah?!” Hiroaki was easily blown to the back of the room.

  “I’ve always. Wanted. To beat. This guy’s face in.” Alphonse cackled with satisfied laughter.

  I-It talked?! W-What is this?! What in the world is that?! It’s so creepy! Roanna felt an instinctive sense of revulsion from the bottom of her heart at the fact the pitch black monster before her had spoken. Goosebumps crawled across her skin. The half-human-like shape of its body made it creepy already, but when it spoke human words, it was absolutely revolting.

  “P-Princess Flora, get behind me...” Roanna said. She believed it was her role as a noble to become the shield for royalty. Meanwhile, Duke Huguenot was recoiling in a bad state.

  “Kuh...” The knights were still fighting with the three revenants and unable to use their magic to enhance their abilities, so they were suffering quite a bit. Their breakthrough plan with Hiroaki had been flipped so easily, and there was nowhere left to run.

  “You’re next. I won’t. Let you off. Easy. Understand?” Alphonse looked at Duke Huguenot intently, mouth twisting in a sinister grin.

  “...What?” Duke Huguenot looked dubious. The capability to communicate meant there was a chance of mutual understanding. He suddenly wondered if they could obtain some kind of information.

  “Ahaha!” But there was no time to think about that. In a single bound, Alphonse leapt upon Duke Huguenot and pummeled his fist with just the right about of power held back into Duke Huguenot’s abdomen.

  “Guh. Gah... kgh...” Duke Huguenot collapsed to the
floor, unable to stand the attack.

  “F-Father!” Stewart’s expression changed when he realized Duke Huguenot was being attacked. He frantically swung his sword, trying to brush off the revenant he was facing. Meanwhile, Alphonse grabbed Duke Huguenot by the collar and lifted him easily off the ground.

  “There’s still. More. Where that. Came from!”

  “Hah, kknhh...” Duke Huguenot struggled to breathe, writhing in agony.

  “Father! Move, you monster!” Stewart swung his sword desperately, moving the revenant in front of him out of his way. It let out a sinister cackle with a twisted grin.

  “...No, Father! Release me!” Stewart attacked Alphonse desperately. Alphonse lightly evaded Stewart’s attack before tossing Duke Huguenot to the side roughly.

  “Hee! Heehee! Oh, I know. I know.” With a pleasant smile, Alphonse turned back to Stewart.

  “Shit! Die, die!”

  “That. Won’t work.” Stewart swung his sword intently, but Alphonse’s inherently tough skin made his sword bounce off without a scratch.

  “...Princess Flora, you at least must escape.” Roanna slowly inched towards the door, whispering to Flora quietly.

  “Eh, ah... but you... but what about everyone?!” Flora’s expression changed with a gasp, showing deep disapproval.

  “The physical abilities of that monster are abnormal. It’s amusing itself right now for some reason, but we’ll all be wiped out at this rate. Even if we tried to run, there’s a high possibility we’d be caught before we can use any magic. So at the very least, let us become decoys for you to get away,” Roanna said, giving a hurried but organized attempt at persuasion.

  “N-No, I can’t! I can’t... that’s too...”

  “Please, I beg you. If you let this chance go...” Roanna looked at Stewart in a panic.

  “You monster! Monster!” Stewart had become desperate, slashing away at Alphonse, but it was clear that Alphonse was toying with him.

  “Gahah. Gahahaha!” Alphonse laughed loudly, mocking Stewart. The same went for the revenants dealing with the other knights. Alphonse must have inspired them, as they were similarly laughing as they dealt with the knights.

  “Damn it!” The knights facing them were pale and breathing heavily — they wouldn’t last long in this situation.

  This was the only moment Flora could get away.

  “Princess Flora! Princess Flora!” A voice calling for Flora could be heard down the corridor.

  “Oh! Princess Flora is safe! Please help her escape!” Roanna suddenly thrust Flora towards the open doorway with all her might. Then she stood in front of the door to block it from any pursuing revenants.

  “Kshaah!” The revenant at the back of the room started running towards Roanna.

  “Roanna!” Flora called Roanna’s name in a panic, still in her state on the floor. Then, a man appeared from outside the room, grabbing Flora’s hand and easily pulling her into standing.

  “Princess Flora, this way.”

  “L-Let go of me!”

  “I cannot do that. You must come this way.”

  Flora objected heavily, but the man led her away from the scene without listening to her protests.

  ◇　◇　◇

  Meanwhile, Roanna used offensive magic to push back the revenants in the room.

  “Photon Projectilis.”

  A magic circle appeared at her hands, firing high-speed bullets of magic energy from its center. Roanna’s aim was precise and landed directly on the revenants that approached her from deeper in the room.

  “Guh?!” The revenants that were hit in the body by the bullets staggered.

  “There’s still more where that came from!” Roanna shot her bullets at the revenants facing the other knights. One shot, two shots, three — the bullets pummeled them mercilessly.

  “Ah. Was I. Hit?” While Alphonse felt the impact, he brushed it off with a tilt of his head.

  “?!” But Roanna didn’t falter; she continued hitting the revenants with her photon bullets.

  “Argh!” An annoyed voice laced in furious anger echoed through the room. Roanna flinched and unthinkingly cancelled the magic she had activated.

  “Ah?” The revenants attention was drawn in the direction of the angry voice. Duke Huguenot was collapsed on the floor, and the knights were exhausted. Which left —

  “Yeah, I’m mad. I’m really mad now. Getting punched by those filthy hands of yours... Disgusting.” Standing there was Sakata Hiroaki.

  “...You’re. Surprisingly tough. I hit you. With my full. Power.” Alphonse narrowed his eyes, impressed.

  “Die, you cockroach!” Hiroaki yelled, attacking the unoccupied revenant nearby. The revenant promptly assumed a guard stance with both its arms raised, but —

  “Guh?!” Its body was cleanly divided into two with a bam.

  “This is total shit. Just die already,” Hiroaki said, moving to slash at the next nearby revenant in succession. His speed surpassed that of the paler black-skinned revenant, allowing him to exterminate the second one just as easily.

  “Ugh, now I’m pissed off!” Hiroaki’s anger showed no signs of waning. He glared at the revenants with eyes full of loathing.

  “S-Sir Hiroaki?!” Roanna’s eyes widened at the sudden change in the young man.

  “Move, Roanna! I’ll kill them all!” Hiroaki yelled, charging towards Alphonse. Roanna couldn’t stand it and escaped to the side of the room.

  “Grarh!” The remaining revenants attacked Hiroaki from both sides.

  “Shut up!” Hiroaki swung his sword with a ridiculous stance, cutting down the revenants in a single swing. His blade was exceptionally sharp.

  “What?!” Alphonse’s eyes widened in astonishment.

  “You’re next, bastard! Die!” Hiroaki charged at Alphonse — the final one remaining — and gave a great swing of his sword from afar. Then, an abnormal amount of water came jetting out of the blade.

  “Guh?!” Alphonse stepped back reflexively, twisting his body to evade the attack as he retreated into the corridor. Immediately, a torrent of water shot through the air. The blast of water pierced straight through the mansion wall, flying outside.

  “Y-You!” Despite Alphonse’s enraged fury, he continued retreating into the corridor.

  “Hold it!” Hiroaki promptly pursued him into the corridor, leaving Roanna and the other wounded men in the room. Once Hiroaki jumped out into the corridor, his eyes locked on Alphonse in the narrower space. He moved to launch another straight attack, but —

  “Goodness,” a flat voice said.

  “Ah?!” Hiroaki turned back toward the voice and instantly received a strong blow to the neck. His head was rocked violently, making him black out in no time at all. He fell to the floor heavily.

  “Y-You’re...” Alphonse’s eyes widened in shock. Standing before him was Reiss. Sharp eyes looked down at Hiroaki from underneath his robe.

  “...You, outside. Your role here is over. Go with the other revenants and buy time for Lucius to flee from here,” Reiss ordered Alphonse coolly.

  “What? But...” Alphonse made to argue back.

  “Just go already,” Reiss said in a hollow voice, interrupting any rebuttal.

  “A-All right.”

  “Good. There should be interesting prey for you outside as well. Now, I must hurry,” Reiss stated, departing from the scene promptly. Meanwhile, Alphonse headed outside the walls through the hole Hiroaki had opened up. Then, one beat later, Roanna nervously stuck her head out of the room.

  “...S-Sir Hiroaki!” Upon noticing Hiroaki collapsed on the corridor floor, she hurriedly ran to him. However, once she saw he was breathing, she realized he was simply knocked out and sighed in relief.

  Meanwhile, Reiss was lurking around the corner of the corridor.

  Perhaps it was a mistake to call Lucius after all. While his abilities are exceptional, his ephemeral hedonism shows on his face as soon as he gets excited. He is more beast than man, really. The plan looks like i
t will work out, but at the cost of some needless headaches, Reiss thought as he quietly watched Roanna’s face.

  That Alphonse too... The way he immediately ran to play in his excitement shows how far he is from the perfect specimen. Well, the base human was an imperfect creature to begin with, Reiss lamented.

  “Well, he will be disposed of here. At least I’ll be able to measure the strength of the humanoid spirit and contractor before I leave,” he muttered before departing.

  ◇　◇　◇

  Meanwhile, a bit earlier, Flora’s hand was being pulled along by an unknown man.

  “Umm, please, please let go of me! Where are you going?! We have — We have to call for help!” Flora protested at the man forcefully tugging her along while looking at the room behind her with Roanna and the others. The man was wearing a hood, hiding even his profile.

  “Nah, that little lady’s already done for. She’ll be ruthlessly torn to pieces any moment now. If they weren’t playing around, it would’ve been over in ten seconds or so.” The man walking before her cackled in delight.

  “Y-You... Who are you?” Flora asked fearfully. At a glance, he looked like an adventurer dispatched to protect the mansion, but something was clearly wrong. She wondered if he was taking advantage of the commotion.

  The man suddenly came to a stop. “Nah, I’m not someone worth naming myself. But I suppose it’d be rude not to say in this position, so... Well, I’m human trash.” He faced Flora and temporarily removed his hood to answer with a grin, and Flora finally saw the man’s face clearly.

  It was Lucius.

  “U-Umm...” Flora stumbled for words.

  “Ah, it was so funny earlier, I couldn’t help but watch for a bit. The good old fashioned servant-master relationship of royalty and nobility is so beautiful to see. What a wonderful scene that was indeed. I almost wanted to ruin it.” Lucius chatted away in a somewhat worked up state.

  Flora was overcome with an indescribable fear and yelled in a panic. “S-Someone! Is anyone there?!”

  “Hahaha, so you want to call for help? Well, be my guest.” Lucius smiled pleasantly, speaking to Flora.

  “Y-You... What are you...?” Flora asked, clueless as to what Lucius’ aim was. Lucius had taken on a completely defiant attitude, making him seem so unnerving.