Licoris bowled into Sharm and the two of them went down in a heap of flailing limbs. She then brought her dagger down toward Sharm’s chest, and he blocked it with his arm. He screamed in pain as the blade pierced his soft flesh, but he doggedly grabbed onto Licoris’s arm to prevent her from striking again. Furthermore, he kept trying to appeal to Kaime and Selm even as Licoris assaulted him. Incensed, Debra picked up a nearby branch and ran over to help her daughter kill her grandson.
Within seconds, Sharm was covered in numerous cuts and bruises. The apostleified knights with Darrion watched on in amusement, and the two dragonmen even applauded. They were enjoying watching a mother kill her son.
“There are so many more wonderful things in this world than you realize.”
Laus’s words once again ran through Kaime and Selm’s heads. They thought back to the sunset they saw together from the beach near the capital. There had been other happy dragonmen families there, enjoying the view.
Even though what their mother and grandmother were doing was something a true believer in Ehit should’ve been proud of, Kaime and Selm felt disgusted.
“Hmm, I see Reinheit Ashe is heading this way. I imagine witnessing Sharm Barn get killed by his relatives will shake him to his very soul.”
Darrion was saying something, but Kaime and Selm didn’t notice.
“Kaime-nii-san, Selm-nii-san, get a hold of yourselves!”
They were too captivated by Sharm’s unwavering gaze.
How can he stay so unyielding even after being hurt so badly?
“Finally building up the resolve to be a proper father to you two.”
Laus had said they could ask him for anything, so they’d constantly challenged him to duels. Kaime and Selm had, of course, been looking for an opening to kill him, but ultimately, the duels had ended up being more training sessions than anything else. At some point, it had even stopped annoying them that Laus could wipe the floor with them. They started feeling a kernel of pride again knowing that their father really was the world’s strongest knight.
Of course, they’d never admit that to his face, but they had asked him what had made him so strong, and the above words had been his reply.
“I know it might be too late, but I swear I won’t let anyone, not even Ehit, steal your freedom ever again,” he’d added afterward with a wan smile.
“You need to get away, even if it’s just you two!” Sharm shouted at Kaime and Selm. Licoris and Debra were having more trouble than they’d expected with him. That was only natural, though. The two of them had lived a sheltered life wanting for nothing, whereas Sharm might still have been a child, but he’d struggled and fought his way through numerous deadly battlefields. His will to resist was on a different level.
“That’s enough. Out of my way,” Darrion said, getting tired of this farce. He stepped forward, preparing to deal the finishing blow himself.
To Kaime, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. It was only his memories with Laus that flashed by at a breakneck pace. He remembered the first time Laus had praised them for their fighting skills. He’d patted them on the head, and for the first time, Kaime had realized just how big his father’s hands were. He remembered the first time Laus had cracked a joke. The first time he’d taught them magic. The first time he’d cooked for them—which had been a disaster. For the first time, Kaime had come to learn what a family truly was.
“You should decide for yourselves what it is you want in life. What you want to protect, who you want to fight, what you want to believe in, all of it.”
Most importantly of all, Laus had taught Kaime to choose for himself.
“Don’t stop struggling!” Sharm shouted.
“Ah!”
His voice was like a hard slap to the face, and it brought Kaime and Selm back to their senses.
Kaime looked up to see Darrion holding a bloody spear aloft. Sharm was below him, one of his arms and one of his legs broken. He couldn’t even stand, but he remained resolute in the face of death.
“You have to decide for yourself what you want in life!”
Sharm was saying the exact same things his father—the strongest knight—had said. Before he knew it, Kaime was on the move.
“What are you doing?” Darrion asked as Kaime jumped in front of Sharm and held his sword behind him to block Darrion’s spear. He then fired a disintegration beam behind him, forcing Darrion to leap away.
“Nii-san?”
“Shut up, idiot brother.”
Sharm blinked in surprise. Even if Kaime had added “idiot” in front of it, he’d called Sharm his brother. Kaime had never done that before.
Kaime turned back to face Darrion, and Selm walked over to stand with him. Licoris, Debra, and the apostleified knights were all at a loss for words. Just then, Reinheit appeared.
“Sharm-samaaaaaaaaa?!” he shouted, growing pale when he saw the condition Sharm was in.
Upon seeing Kaime and Selm standing next to Sharm, his face contorted in anger, but then Kaime shouted, “You worthless hero! Can’t you even protect one kid?!”
At the same time, Selm summoned up a bunch of chains to grab Sharm and throw him toward Reinheit.
“Get out of here,” Kaime said, pointing his sword at Darrion. Selm also brandished his staff at the knights, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
Seeing the two brothers’ resolute expressions, Reinheit realized who the real enemy was here.
“Nii-san, no! You have to come with us!”
Sharm desperately reached out to Kaime and Selm with a bloodied hand, and Reinheit hesitated, unsure if he should really leave.
“Oh, Holy Sword. My goddess...” Darrion said with a rapt look in his eyes.
Suddenly Reinheit felt as though some foreign object was trying to bore its way into his head and he fell to his knees with a groan. However, that was all that happened.
“I guess with things as they are now, it’s impossible...” Darrion said, clicking his tongue in frustration. It seemed he couldn’t take over Reinheit’s body.
“I won’t let you take him!” Selm shouted, activating his special magic, Forbidden Command, to seal Darrion’s own special magic.
“Tch, what a pain,” Darrion mumbled as he rushed at Reinheit.
However, this time Kaime blocked him. He activated his special magic, Sacred Way, as well, doing everything in his power to keep Darrion from reaching Reinheit.
Kaime might have been older than Sharm, but he was still a boy. And yet, he was actually managing to hold Darrion at bay. It was taking every ounce of his strength, but he was doing it.
“We can’t hold them off for long. Hurry up and go! You’re too outnumbered here to do anything!” Selm shouted, using Sanctified Purge and a volley of light spells to keep the apostleified knights from overwhelming Kaime. There were more knights and dragonmen headed this way, so he knew this tenuous equilibrium wouldn’t last long.
More than anything else though, Sharm’s wounds were severe. If he wasn’t treated soon, he’d die. At the same time though, the three brothers had finally come to care for each other. Reinheit didn’t want them to have to part so soon.
“Reinheit Ashe, as Laus Barn’s eldest son, I order you to protect the next head of the Barn family!”
Those words from Kaime were the last push Reinheit needed to make his decision.
“As you command, my liege! I’m sorry!”
Sharm squirmed in protest, but Reinheit chose to prioritize Kaime’s orders and ran from the battlefield as fast as he could.
“My goddess!” Darrion shouted, his spear glowing brighter than usual. He forcibly broke Kaime’s guard and sliced him in the chest, but even as Kaime coughed up blood, he fired off a Celestial Flash to keep Darrion from running past him and chasing after Reinheit.
“Brother!” Selm shouted in a pained voice.
“Hah, compared to Laus Barn’s attacks, Darrion’s are nothing!” Kaime said with a fearless grin, thinking back to all the times he’d dueled his father.
Reinheit was well out of sight now, so Darrion turned back to face Kaime and said, “I suppose I should have expected as much from the sons of a traitor.”
Kaime scoffed and replied, “I’m just choosing for myself for once.”
He once again pointed his sword at Darrion. Licoris and Debra were yelling something at him, but he didn’t feel like paying any attention. Instead, he turned to Selm and said, “Sorry, Selm, I’ve killed us both.”