Imperial Standard Time 14:00 hours—at the Eighth Assault Garden.
“Captain, um…”
It was just when an elite unit of hand-picked Holy Swordsmen moved to investigate the tear that appeared near the capital. One of them, who had his scanner Holy Sword deployed, pointed to the sky suspiciously.
“What’s wrong?” The captain asked.
“I’m not sure, maybe I just imagined it…”
“What? Tell me, no matter what you think it is.”
The captain, a seasoned knight who had much experience attacking Void Hives, knew not to doubt the intuition of Holy Swordsmen with scanner type Swords.
“Y-yes, well, you see… That tear…,” he whispered, looking up. “I think I just saw it…expand a little.”
“What?”
Crack… Crack…!
The sound of shards of glass rubbing against each other filled the area. Everyone else heard it clearly.
“…Report this to the intelligence bureau at once. Tell them we noticed a change in the tear above the capital.”
“Yes…”
But just as the knight nodded—
Crack, crack, crack…!
Countless cracks appeared around them.
✦ ✦ ✦
Morning dawned over the Void world, and the sky once again became red as blood. The battle vehicle, fused with the Deus Machina, drove through the wasteland, kicking up a cloud of dust. They ran into Voids a few times along the way, but they were all small groups Regina and Sakuya were capable of handling on their own.
For the time being, Schwertleite’s upper half was attached to the driver’s seat with industrial tape.
“Hmm… Are you okay, Leite? You’re not tired?” Riselia asked in concern, resting a hand on Schwertleite’s shoulder.
…Leonis marveled at his minion. She just shortened a Dark Lord’s name into a nickname…
“I am fine, master. This is only consuming a negligible amount of mana.”
“…That’s good. But don’t overexert yourself.”
“Ah, Lady Selia, the tear is coming into view!” Regina called out, holding on to the ceiling’s railing.
“At this speed, we should return to the Seventh Assault Garden in a few hours,” Riselia said, checking the vehicle’s telescopic camera.
She sounded a bit more encouraged than earlier. Being in the world on the other side of the Void tear was making her anxious.
“I’d love to take a shower once we get back to the dorm.”
“I’m gonna go to Le Parfait and have their all-you-can-eat fruit-cakes. ”
“I think I’ll go visit the mansion over at Old Town. I’m sure Raiou and the others are worried about me.”
“Query.” Schwertleite’s horn flickered rapidly. “What is a fruit-cake?”
“It’s a dessert, a cake that uses seasonal fruit. It’s tasty.”
“Fascinating, master.”
“…Aren’t you a machine?” Leonis asked in a whisper.
Maybe she had a feature that allowed her to convert food into mana?
Either way, Schwertleite seemed very attached to Riselia, who seemed to like her in return and gladly interacted with the Deus Machina.
This is a Dark Lord, after all…
Not that Leonis was one to talk, because he was a Dark Lord, too, and Riselia fussed over and spoiled him.
“Once we get back to the Academy, we’ll have them give you prosthetic limbs. And we’ll need to get you clothes… For now, I’ll let you wear my old uniform. I think it’ll suit you.”
“Matching outfits with master.” Schwertleite remained expressionless, but her horn flickered with what looked like glee.
As he looked over the two bonding with mixed feelings, Leonis contemplated the situation. He came up with a theory as to why Schwertleite treated Riselia as her master.
…It’s because of the black crystal fragment Nefakess planted in Riselia’s heart back then.
It was the same kind of fragment Zemein had when he tried to awaken the Undead King in Necrozoa, and seemed to be made from the same material as the black pyramid in the bottom of the Eisen Fort. It clearly had some relation to Roselia.
Leonis had destroyed the fragment laid in Riselia’s heart, but maybe some traces of its influence still lingered in her body.
I suppose that will be cleared up once we repair her memories.
But then, the battle vehicle’s communication terminal let out a shrill alarm.
“…Wh-what’s the matter?”
“Is this…” Riselia’s eyes widened in surprise. “Is this a distress call from the Seventh Assault Garden?!”