by Takehaya
“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!”