Daybreak Rondo

by Yuri Kitayama

  “Hah...!”

  Even then, Lucius rolled on the floor in a skilled defensive form and promptly stood up again.

  Did he move with that ridiculous body enhancement the first time I lost sight of him? But he didn’t release as much essence just now. What’s the trick to it?!

  He tried to keep a level head. Rio was using wind spirit arts to accelerate his movements, but charging forward from head-on or moving around in tight spaces required him to control his acceleration to avoid collision. They were currently outside of the city, right by the woods. It was a tight space, but Lucius hadn’t been able to figure out anything in such a short exchange.

  In that time, Rio launched a counterattack. “Fuck you!” Lucius cursed.

  With unparalleled precision and speed, Rio attacked Lucius. His movements were filled with a calm and cold murderous intent. Lucius barely managed to sidestep Rio’s slash — Or so he thought, when suddenly the ground around Lucius rose like a spear, stabbing through his body. Lucius responded immediately and leaped towards the forest at his back.

  Moments later, countless balls of light appeared around Rio. Rio lightly held his hand out at Lucius and the balls of lights all drew complex trajectories as they flew towards him.

  “Tch!” Lucius clicked his tongue, shaking off the black bladed sword he had in his hand. A darkness rose from the blade and spread across the area, swallowing the balls of light closing in on him, Rio narrowed his eyes faintly at the sight before redirecting his hand at Lucius, who was still hovering midair. A cannonball-like shockwave shot out from his hand. The invisible blow struck Lucius’ body with accuracy.

  “I can see that, you know!” Lucius yelled, swinging his sword vertically downwards. Darkness rose from his sword once again, intercepting the shockwave. One beat later, Lucius landed on the ground.

  “It’s one thing after another...” The ground at his point of landing rose like a spear, protruding to stab through Lucius’ body once more. As Rio had scattered more balls of light in the skies above, that light was now falling down towards Lucius like rain. Lucius first swung his sword at the ground to deal with the attack coming at his feet; the slash of darkness cleanly sliced through the rising dirt spears. Next, Lucius tried to swing his sword at the light bullets in the sky, but the rain of light fell on Lucius at the same time he’d managed to swing his sword.

  “Guh?!”

  The darkness of his blade swallowed part of the light, but it couldn’t eliminate all of the spheres. In fact, Rio fired even more of them, causing new light to rain continuously down on Lucius. The ground crumbled, creating a dust storm that rose around the older man.

  “H-Heh...” Lucius blended in with the dust and withdrew from the scene before anyone realized. However, he had taken several of the light shots and was completely worn down all over his body. The balls of light Rio fired were each low in power, but they had enough force to damage the body through any strengthening enhancements. The damage to Lucius’ internal organs was plentiful.

  On top of that, a large volume of blood was still pouring out of Lucius’ severed left arm; the blood loss was wearing him down, too.

  And yet, Rio fired even more balls of light at Lucius.

  “Tch!” Lucius clicked his tongue and forced his exhausted body to run in an attempt to evade the light.

  W-What... is this fight... Flora watched the battle in a daze. Unfolding before her was a battle that far surpassed what she knew. She had seen many advanced battles between renowned swordsmen and sorcerers in matches held before royalty, but this made those seem like child’s play.

  ...It’s not magic. Is it some kind of artifact? Watching Rio’s combat left Flora with such questions. A long-ranged wave attack based on some form of sorcery was being used against Lucius right at this moment.

  “Guh...” Lucius’ escape did not last for long. The moment his body screamed in protest and slowed, countless balls of light struck him and sent him rolling across the ground.

  “Kkh... hnghh...” Lucius writhed, somehow managing to take a stance on one knee.

  Damn it, my internal organs and ribs are done for. And I’ve lost too much blood... If I don’t reattach my arm... Lucius glanced over at his own left arm. While it wouldn’t be of any use for a while, there was a way to reattach it instantly.

  “Kuh!” Rio spotted the direction of Lucius’ gaze and ran for it first, picking up the left arm that had been lying on the ground. He tossed it into the air and created an intensely raging fire that turned the left arm into ash.

  “Aah...!” The tremendous heat wave washed over Flora, making her let out a little scream and turn her face away, unable to bear the heat.

  “...Hah, you’re one nasty bastard.” Lucius glared at Rio with hatred.

  “Not as much as you. Let’s finish this soon,” Rio said, closing in on him.

  “Sure you don’t need to capture me alive?” Lucius asked in desperation. “Unfortunately, I received no such orders.” Rio shook his head without hesitation before accelerating, swinging his sword with the full intention to behead the heavily battered Lucius.

  “...Guh!” Lucius wrung out the last of his strength to avoid the slicing attack. However, Rio had seen through the fact Lucius still had energy left and thrust his knee straight into Lucius’ face.

  “Gah! Aaah!”

  His knee struck right where Lucius’ left eye was; Rio had felt a certain resistance. Lucius rolled across the floor, yelling uncouthly as he felt the greatest pain he’d been in since this battle began.

  He must have his physical body enhanced, because he really is unyielding. In order to end him for sure, I must... Rio pointed the tip of his sword right at where Lucius’ heart was, but Lucius shifted his body by the slightest amount, avoiding the direct stab to his heart. However, the sword pierced through his upper body.

  He was practically at death’s door.

  “Guh... hah...” Blood was pouring out of Lucius’ mouth.

  “Stubborn ass. I’ll just have to wipe any trace of you from this world,” Rio said, pouring magic essence into his sword. An intense heat radiated from his sword, melting Lucius’ flesh.

  “Guh...! Aaah!!” Lucius yelled, unable to endure the pain. The light of Rio’s blade grew stronger, expanding its area of effect to melt the rest of Lucius’ body.

  “But you still... need to... protect the princess, right...?!” Lucius yelled, using the final dregs of his power. Holding the pitch black sword in his right hand, a small amount of darkness flowed out of the tip.

  “No!” Rio reflexively withdrew his sword and moved to Flora in an instant, embracing her before leaping into the air.

  “Kya?!” Flora gave a small scream. The place she had been standing a short moment ago was covered in darkness, from which the tip of Lucius’ sword could be seen sticking out. If Rio hadn’t saved her, Flora would have been pierced through.

  “Hah, hah... hah...” Lucius endured the pain to give a wicked grin. He had lost his left arm, endured his left eye being crushed, and had large holes all throughout his body. Though he had enhanced his physical body, his wounds were so serious it was a wonder that he was still alive.

  “Uhm... Ah.” Flora realized that Rio had saved her and shuddered, shaking her body. She moved her hand in fear and flattened herself against Rio clingingly.

  He’s hanging on by a thread. Still holding Flora there, Rio slashed his sword down vertically. A slicing wind laced with essence immediately flew out of Rio’s sword, closing in on Lucius crawling about the ground. However, the wind slash passed through where Lucius was lying and dispersed into the forest behind him, cutting down several trees along the way.

  Lucius had changed locations at some point. “You’re late, damn it...” He raised his head and muttered resentfully upon spotting the figure through the blurry vision of his right eye.

  “What a mess this is. If only you didn’t have that bizarre desire to play.” Standing there was Reiss. Clad in his cloak with the hood covering
his face, he held the severely wounded Lucius in his arms.

  “...I have business with that man.” Rio lowered Flora on the ground and addressed Reiss in a sharp voice.

  “Unfortunately, I have business with him too.”

  “I was here first.”

  “No, no, no. You want to kill him, right? That means I won’t be able to finish my business, no?” Reiss stated nonchalantly.

  “Then what will you do? Run away? Lucius, what about you? You going to run with your tail between your legs?” Rio taunted.

  “...Hey, Reiss... Let go! I have... to kill him!” Enraged, Lucius spat out blood.

  “Reiss?” Rio heard the name clearly.

  “...That’s something I cannot do. The moment you undo your physical body enchantment, you’ll die. Even if you keep up the enchantment, your body will only last a few more minutes. There is no other choice but to withdraw here.” Reiss sighed as he spoke to Lucius, when a large number of light spheres floated in the air around them.

  “Did you think I would let you run?” Rio poured a large amount of magic essence into his sword and called out to Reiss himself.

  “Well, I do have some confidence in running and hiding my presence, after all. But who knows, against an opponent like you. There’s no telling until I try...” Despite the casual tone of voice Reiss took on, he observed Rio cautiously with a sharp look from under his hood. The blade of Rio’s sword was glowing with a dazzling light.

  “...Here I go,” Reiss informed him with a chuckle. At the same time, Rio released a single blow to eliminate both men.

  Haruto, above you! Suddenly, Aishia’s voice echoed in Rio’s head.

  Rio turned his attention above him. “?!”

  A pitch black flash was falling down to where Rio and Flora stood. Rio promptly changed the direction his sword was aiming from Reiss to the flash in the sky above.

  “Guh?!” A tremendous shockwave blew all over the area. It was the clash of the attack Rio had released and the falling flash of light.

  “Ah! Aah...?!” Flora watched the spectacle in shock from behind Rio.

  “Hide behind me!” Rio ordered Flora in a frightening tone, and Flora moved behind Rio’s back in a panic. A few seconds passed like an eternity.

  “Haaah!” Rio pushed back the black flash of light. A dazzling ray of light tore through the sky. However...

  They’re gone. At some point, Reiss had disappeared carrying Lucius. He looked around, but there was no sign of their presences. Even if he tried to search for traces of magic essence with spirit arts, the fight until now had scattered essence all over the place. He had no choice but to give up.

  Rio looked up at the sky with a sharp glint in his eye. There, flying far in the skies to the west, he spotted a black dragon-like creature and immediately guessed that the attack just now had come from that.

  Did that man call it here? When he considered why it attacked in such a convenient way for Reiss and Lucius, he couldn’t help but feel suspicious. However, something like that hardly mattered to him right now.

  They got away... Shit.

  Rio grit his teeth with a shamed expression. With a wound that deep, there was a high chance he wouldn’t survive. He had what would have normally been a fatal wound, and even if he survived, his body was damaged too much to ever fight again.

  But it was unacceptable. That man would probably survive. Rio had no evidence, but he couldn’t help but feel like that man would survive.

  I’ll kill him. I’ll definitely find Lucius and kill him. As for Reiss... Rio felt a strong, bitter regret before he carved the name of the person who could hold a clue into his mind.

  “U-Umm...” Flora called out nervously from behind Rio.

  “...” Rio silently turned back.

  Despite being the one to call out, Flora didn’t know what to say, moving her mouth without saying whatever she was trying to say.

  “U-Umm... Sir R-Rio...” She grabbed onto Rio’s sleeve imploringly, whispering his name.

  “Yes.” Rio nodded with a guilty look without averting his gaze from Flora.

  Rio... That’s right. I’m Rio. He reconfirmed who he was in his mind. Starting today and from tomorrow onwards, Rio would live as Rio. Nothing from this experience would change that. Rio couldn’t become anyone other than Rio.

  He would continue to live the path of Rio from tomorrow onward, despite the fact that it was a long, fruitless path in a battle with not his future, but his past.

  However, a light shone on that gloomy road for him today, because he’d discovered that Lucius was alive. There was no need for pessimism. The empty road with no end he had been traveling on until now finally had a destination. There was no mistaking the path he had chosen. All that was left was to continue forward.

  Rio slowly looked up at the sky and watched the bright dawn sunlight lead to tomorrow.

  ◇　◇　◇

  Meanwhile, far from Amande, in the underground of the Proxia Empire castle...

  “Hnnghahh...” Lucius rolled on the floor as he spewed a large volume of blood from his mouth. But it wasn’t just coming from his mouth — blood was also pouring from the area where his left arm was amputated. Furthermore, he had a large hole in his abdomen, which consequently covered his whole body in blood.

  Reiss looked down at Lucius with cold eyes. “Left eyeball ruptured, flesh gouged from abdomen to chest, left arm lost completely. In addition to the complex bone fractures throughout the whole body, the damage to your body is a little too severe. There’s no other choice.” He took out a giant gem from his chest pocket, its color a blood crimson.

  “The incident this time should be a good lesson for you. I can’t have you dying on me, after all. Allow me to save you,” Reiss said, pushing the gem into the missing section of Lucius’ abdomen. Immediately, the gem melted away with an oozing sound, being absorbed by Lucius’ abdomen.

  “Grah! F-Fuck! If — If I... had... my left arm... I could... have won!” Despite his face distorting with pain, Lucius bluffed insistently.

  “...You’d have regained the strength to speak as soon as the healing process began. However, I doubt the result would have been any different even if you had your left arm. Give up. There is no way for you to win against him right now,” Reiss stated firmly, his face extremely exasperated.

  “Guh...!” Humiliation and rage mixed in Lucius’ expression.

  “But I have things to reflect upon myself this time. It seems I underestimated his abilities a little too much. Honestly, I’m at a loss for what to do. We can only accept our defeat quietly this time. In the future, we’ll have to put a hold on facing him alone. It would be best to avoid interfering,” Reiss said.

  “W-What?!” Lucius’ expression was completely against it.

  However, Reiss didn’t lend an ear to Lucius’ complaints. “I won’t let you object. You were the weak one this time, after all.”

  Epilogue

  Just what time was it? And where was this place?

  Miharu wondered vaguely in her drowsy consciousness.

  “Miharu.” Someone called her name.

  Ai-chan... Yes, it was Aishia’s voice.

  Before she knew it, Aishia was standing before Miharu. Aishia stared at Miharu’s face closely. “Though it’s temporary, a connection between your soul and mine will be made because of the path formed. Is that all right?” she asked suddenly.

  “Umm, is there a problem with having connected souls?” Miharu’s mouth moved regardless of her own will to confirm nervously.

  Ah, this is a dream. From before we came to the village... Miharu became aware that she was within her own dream, vividly reliving a past event.

  “Not particularly. Maybe the occasional empath moments?” Aishia answered with a tilt of her head.

  “Empath?”

  “Our minds may connect with each other.”

  “Umm, what will happen when it does?” Miharu couldn’t quite picture it in her head and sought a more specific expla
nation.

  “The other person’s mind and memories might be transmitted to you in some form. Like déjà vu. I’m able to intentionally create an empath effect if we’re in direct contact, but I can’t trigger it willingly from afar. It won’t happen often, either. And it’s uncontrollable. But it might happen when either one of us is feeling a strong emotion,” Aishia explained carefully for Miharu’s sake. While one would normally feel creeped out and dislike it, Miharu showed no reluctance at all, accepting the temporary path with Aishia.

  “That’s fine. Use my magic essence until Haruto returns.”

  “...Okay, thank you,” Aishia said.

  Thus, this was how Miharu and Aishia formed their temporary path. But why was she having a dream about it now? Miharu pondered with her drowsy mind, but she didn’t know. As she was thinking, her vision changed once more. A different dream seemed to be beginning.

  Who is that? Miharu blinked in wonder. A black-haired mother and her similarly black-haired child of around five years old were happily walking in front of her with their hands linked. They seemed to be located in a city somewhere in Strahl.

  “Hey, Mom. Why do you and I have black hair? We’re the only ones different to the people around us.” The boy asked his mother curiously.

  “Well, you see, Rio. That’s because your father and I came here from far away, I think.” The mother answered the boy’s question with a troubled face.

  Rio? That’s... Haruto? And Haruto’s mother? She’s beautiful... Once Miharu realized she was looking at a young Rio, she watched his mother in a daze.

  “Do all the people who live far away have black hair?” Rio asked curiously.

  “Yes, that’s right. It’s not just you and me. Your father’s hair was black, your grandpa’s hair was black, and your grandma’s was as well,” his mother answered with a gentle smile.

  “Huh... I want to meet grandma and grandpa someday.” Rio watched his mother’s smile and grinned in return.

  “...Let’s see. I’ll take you to meet them once you’ve grown up. They’re in a place called the Yagumo region,” his mother said with yet another troubled smile.