“All nineteen have regained consciousness,” Marie reported. “The box seems to be in working order as well.”
“I see.” Oscar nodded. Then he turned to Fiona and bowed his head again. “Your Highness, thank you for the Extra Heals.”
“Master...” Fiona began, her expression betraying her worries.
This was the second time Oscar had sacrificed his arm. The first time had been against the elf. This time, it’d happened against someone close to that elf...
Oscar closed his eyes. “That water magician is a thorn in my bloody side.”
But when he opened them a moment later, his gaze shimmered with determination. “I may have lost this time... But the next time we fight, I’ll make sure nothing of him remains but ash and bone.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Urrrgh...” Ryo groaned, stirring awake on a bed somewhere.
“Ryo!”
Sera’s hug was practically a tackle.
“Oof.”
He let out a pathetic groan but managed to quickly take stock of the situation.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Sera? Did you save me?” He smiled. “Thank you.”
She shook her head.
“What do you mean?” Ryo was confused.
“I went to the warehouse...”
“Then thank you for that. That was the main battlefield, after all,” he said.
“No. I should have left Abel and gone to you, Ryo. I didn’t know you were injured this badly.”
“Hello? I’m right here.” Abel rolled his eyes. “But she’s right. I only made it out alive ’cuz of her.”
“You don’t disappoint, Sera. I think you made a good decision. I’m grateful.” Ryo gently stroked Sera’s cheek.
She looked on the verge of tears. “But, Ryo...”
“I’m fine.”
Ryo touched his right side and realized someone must have cast Extra Heals on him while he was unconscious.
“I just lost a little too much blood. When I’m feeling better, let’s go to The Fill-Up Station and eat curry.”
“Excellent idea!” Sera replied, beaming.
Suddenly, Ryo’s expression hardened, and he looked at Abel. “Where’s Kenneth?”
“Safe. He’s safe, but, uh...he’s still in the lab. Inside your ice. He’s awake, but he can’t get out.”
“Uh-oh...”
A short time later, everyone celebrated as Baron Kenneth Hayward emerged from the ice.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Abel, it appears we’ve lost,” Ryo said as he and the swordsman made their way through the margrave’s estate.
“You could say that with a bit more gravity, man, considering how bad a situation we’re in now...”
“We can’t move forward until we’ve accepted defeat.”
“Jeez, fine. Okay. I may have lost to one of the Twelve Knights, but you drove back the Inferno Magician, right? And you protected Kenneth.”
“I’m glad he’s safe, but they still reclaimed the box. Not to mention what that jerk did to my side...”
Ryo scowled. He was definitely glad Kenneth was safe, but he credited the guards and knights of Lune who’d laid down their lives to protect him for that.
Plus, his battle with Oscar had ended in a draw due to time running out... Given the damage to his flank and the fact that he’d passed out afterward, he certainly couldn’t call that a victory. Best-case scenario, it was a loss by decision...
“If you forget the fundamental principle, you lose.”
“Yeah? And what’s that?”
“Breaking your opponent’s composure is the foundation of one-on-one combat.”
“Right. You sure love to say that one.”
By this point, Ryo’s “catchphrase” had been seared into Abel’s mind.
“The moment I entered the room and saw the Inferno Magician carrying Kenneth, I lost my head,” Ryo said with a sigh.
“Wow. That is rare for you.”
“For whatever reason, I just can’t maintain my cool when I confront Inferno Man.”
“I get it. I mean, he did make Eto bleed in Whitnash.”
“Exactly. That’s why I got so angry this time. It felt like back then, you know? I thought I had calmed down halfway into our fight, but I was wrong. I still have a long way to go. I need to review this! It’ll be on the test!”
“Do I even wanna know what you’re talking about now...” Abel shook his head, baffled.
Even though they were talking about their defeat, the atmosphere between them was anything but gloomy.
“What’s done is done, I suppose. We survived, which means we’ll just have to win next time.” Ryo nodded decisively.
“Your confidence astounds me.”
Accepting defeat isn’t easy. Most people, whether on Earth or Phi, make excuses to avoid facing it. Abel was genuinely impressed. Ryo knew that only those who didn’t avert their eyes from defeat and overcame it could reach even greater heights.
“Defeat is an old friend,” Ryo replied with a shrug.
When he’d lived in the Forest of Rondo, his sword master, the Dullahan, had trounced him every night. Even here in Lune, Sera used her Wind Robe to defeat him every time they sparred. That didn’t mean that Ryo thought losing was inevitable or even acceptable, of course. Whenever he fought, he clung to the conviction that he would one day surpass his opponent—and there was no reason that day couldn’t be today, or the next.
“Inferno Man, your time is coming! And Abel, you will crush all twelve of the emperor’s knights!” Ryo thrust his fist aggressively into the air.
“Uhhh, sure. I’ll do my best, I guess.” Abel wasn’t sure he would succeed, but then came an unexpected ray of hope!
“Abel, do you know what we need to win next time?” Ryo said with inexplicable confidence.
“No, but I’ve got a feeling you’re about to tell me.”
“Of course.”
From experience, Abel knew that Ryo’s self-assurance was rarely a good sign... But this time he was desperate, so for better or worse, he wanted to hear what Ryo had to say.
“What we need are new special moves!” Ryo declared, his expression the very picture of punchable smugness.
Abel stared, dumbfounded. “Huh?”
“Before we fight them again, we must master new special moves. No, we must create them! We have a serious challenge ahead of us, my friend.”
Ryo looked happy. From his perspective, of course, developing a new move meant he would become tangibly stronger. His star was on the rise, so it only made sense that he’d be elated.
Of course, Abel merely sat there shaking his head.
“A special move needs a cool name,” Ryo continued, pointedly ignoring the swordsman. “One that makes people go, ‘What the heck is that?!’ Something like ‘Murakumo’ or ‘Oboro.’ Names in my language just sound more profound. They feel like techniques powerful warriors would use, don’t they?”
Ryo smiled and bobbed his head.
Resigned, Abel decided to play along a bit. “So...what kind of technique would ‘Murakumo’ be?”
“Huh? Well, I haven’t thought past the name.”
“Just the name, huh?”
“Yes. You can’t create a special move with a snap of your fingers, can you? Abel, you must have a strong grip on reality.”
Abel let out a long sigh, realizing he’d made the mistake of expecting Ryo to share his standard of common sense.
“Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.”
“Oh, but...” Ryo hesitated. “I’m not convinced by special moves that only work under certain conditions.”
“Like what?”
“Like something you can only use when you’re cornered. Sure, it sounds heroic and cool, but when I think about actually relying on it...it feels wildly impractical.”
“I guess you have a point.”
“Or self-destructive techniques, like the one Inferno Man used. He superheated his left arm and tore a chunk out of my side. Moves like that cripple your ability to continue fighting.”
“Whoa. He really did that? Man, battles between magicians really are something else.”
A fight between swordsmen sharpened all five senses, but at least they didn’t have to rely on techniques that cost them an arm.
“He did. But swordsmen cut through flesh and bone too, right? It’s not like their techniques are any less brutal.”
“Huh. Now that you mention it...”
“You can’t beat a powerful opponent without getting hurt. Sometimes, victory demands sacrifice.”
“Yeah, and figuring out how much you’re willing and able to sacrifice isn’t just a question for combat. It’s something everyone has to face, sooner or later.”
Both Ryo and Abel understood this fact. Victory was elusive, and that was precisely why preparation was so essential.
The two arrived at the alchemy lab.
“Hello, Ryo,” Kenneth said. “Should you be up and about so soon?”
“I’m right as rain, Kenneth,” he replied with a smile. “I tried to visit you as soon as I woke up, but everyone stopped me.”
“It was mostly Sera,” Abel added.
The lab had already been repaired and returned to normal operating conditions.
“I was surprised they even attacked us here in Lune. It’s supposed to be the safest place in the Kingdom,” Kenneth said with a wry smile.
“Yeah. Honestly, Abel, what were you doing?”
“How the hell is any of this my fault?”
“It’s a swordsman’s duty to protect his nation’s brilliant minds.”
“It’s also a swordsman’s duty to prevent prisoners from being taken.”
“But in the end...”
“Yup. They rescued them...”
“And they stole the box from me...”
Abel and Ryo were despondent, despite leading themselves into this conversation.
“The information inside the box has been transcribed, so we should be able to create more detailed maps of the country than before.”
“Kenneth, you are a god among men!” Ryo cried out. But then he frowned. “But the Empire already received that data... And the bigger question remains—what was that thing?”
“What thing?”
“I guess the best term would be...the airship.”
“Right, that.”
“I only saw it with my sonar, so I’m not sure. I know that the Empire has had some sort of battleship for a long time, but that thing was a different kind of beast entirely, wasn’t it? They built a new one, even though they shouldn’t have been able to...”
Seeing Ryo’s frustration, Kenneth smiled gently. “Don’t worry. I’m not at liberty to say more, but the Kingdom certainly doesn’t intend to lose this conflict.”
“Huh?”
“You’ll find out soon. Very soon...” Kenneth nodded resolutely.