“Now we have achieved some level of peace once more,” he went on. “But say, little knight, there are a lot of corrupt people in this era, wouldn’t you agree?! Rotten noblemen, waving their authority around, riding on the coattails of their ancestors’ glory!”
Vita couldn’t deny the man’s words. She was, after all, the descendant of a corrupt noble family herself.
“You know what comes next, don’t you?” the man asked. “That’s right. Humans began to stabilize, and as a result, this repulsive inequality was born! The Spirit Wall of Berlin divides us between inner and outer zones, allowing the chosen to live carefree within its boundaries. Disgusting, don’t you agree?!”
“I...” Vita faltered. The man spoke like a prophet, and the girl found herself nodding at his words.
She’d been certain that they were simple villains, come to sow chaos, to loot and plunder. And yet...
“We were born in the outer zone, you see. Day after day, we lived in fear of the aetherborn, longing for that peaceful capital far, far away! So much jealousy! So much envy! Not one night went by when we didn’t lament living in our miserable village! Why couldn’t we be the ones to live in safety?!”
Tears began to stream down the fox-eyed man’s face, and the others nodded firmly, as if overcome by emotion themselves.
What...are these people?
They were nothing like what Vita had imagined evil to be. These men had a solid rationale, understandable circumstances, and bonds with their fellows.
As she teetered on the edge of unconsciousness, the young girl thought that maybe, if they had their own sense of righteousness in their hearts, they might be open to conversation.
“And then,” the man continued, “fate brought us and our great leader together. He told us, ‘Let us destroy it all. Crush the Four Cardinal Cities to dust, lead an army of aetherborn into the capital, and have them all share in our anguish!’ Marvelous! Truly the righteous hammer of justice we sought!”
“What?” Vita exclaimed, startled. She understood then that the justice they spoke of was nothing like her idea of it.
Conversation was not an option.
“Ten years have passed. Steadily, diligently, we’ve prepared for this day, and the time for action has finally come!” the man exclaimed zealously. “Now, my friends, let us destroy everything in sight! Let us create peace through violence! Carve the despair we have felt into every last one of them!”
The black-clad men roared, their bloodshot eyes shining with frenzied madness.
Rationale? Circumstances? Bonds? All an illusion, Vita realized. These people were drunk on violence, nothing more. Lunatics, deluding themselves into thinking they’d be the ones to bring about change to the nation.
“Righteous hammer of justice?” she spat with her last ounce of energy. “Don’t make me laugh. You’re nothing but filth!”
The fox-eyed man cocked his head back at Vita’s words, disgusted.
“A pretty thing like you must be the daughter of a military aristocrat, no? Someone like you would never understand our ideals,” the man said, thrusting his arm at the young girl.
Around his wrist was a bracelet adorned with a gray stone, from which a faint hint of aether emanated.
“Ah, but we don’t want you dead before I introduce myself, do we? I am Nya Vincent, one of the Wanpurgis’s Seven!”
As he shouted his name, more aether gushed forth from his bracelet, and a gray, smoky phosphorescence oozed down toward Vita.
“Drown in despair, girl!”
Vita shrieked as the man slowly approached her.
Blood loss had already rendered her immobile, and the black-clad men had also stomped on her arms, legs, and back. She couldn’t so much as move a muscle, let alone grip her dagger’s hilt to activate its powers. They had her completely cornered.
“I can tell looking at you that your body is toned despite your age. Now, you and I will—”
What was he going to do to her? Vita didn’t know. She didn’t want to know. All she could do was tremble in fear, waiting for despair to strike.
“Nooo!” she screamed.
And in that moment, just as she was about to fall prey to evil, an angry cry reverberated from the heavens!
“Bastaaaaaard!”
“Gwahhhhh!” With a single flash of a blade, the fox-eyed man was cleft in twain, the two halves of his body sliding apart as a geyser of blood gushed forth!
The other men in black, reacting a moment too late to the sudden assault, shouted in anger.
“Wh-Who the hell are you?!”
“How dare you!”
Instead of faltering, however, he glared at the men with transcendental rage, making them recoil.
Vita felt it deep within her heart. This was what righteous anger truly was! He was the righteous knight she had dreamed of as a child!
Shedding tears of relief, the young knight groaned and yelled out the name of her savior, “Crow...!” He’d really come for her! At the brink of despair, he’d come to her rescue! “Be careful, Crow!” she cried out. “These men are dark magi! They’re dangerous!”
There were dozens of them, all wielding what seemed to be aethereal arms. Far too dangerous for one man to handle alone.
However, despite the very warning she’d given him, Vita couldn’t think of anything that could cow Crow’s spirit. Instead, the fire in his heart burned even brighter, and he declared, “Outsiders! You dare torture a young girl and disturb the peace of this city?! I hereby condemn you for your sins!”
His words sent something like an electrical current coursing through Vita’s body, a sensation so sweet it nullified the pain in her chest. Before the dignified, heroic young man, Vita lay entranced, having all but forgotten her predicament.
“Oh! Ohhhh, Crow! Crow...! ♡”
She had, without a shadow of a doubt, fallen completely and utterly in love with him.
The young knight no longer had eyes for anything else. A future where she would be safely cradled in the brave hero’s strong arms was all she could envision.
“Perish!”
The fierce battle that followed drove Vita’s heart rate to its limit.
Crow danced across the battlefield, undaunted, unflinching—slicing, cutting, and slashing without hesitation, as though he had no regard for his own body. Unparalleled, black blade in hand, he was the very picture of carnage.
Terrified, the men in black pushed their aethereal arms to the limit, and exhausting the weapons’ aether was the least of their concerns. They unleashed fire, lightning, and ice in an astonishing storm of attacks, far more powerful than what was necessary to kill a single man.
None of it made Crow hesitate. He launched himself at his enemies, in what could only be described as a suicide charge.
With a deafening roar, the black-haired swordsman unleashed a flurry of slashes at his opponents. One after another, he annihilated the wicked men, unfazed even as many of their attacks grazed him.
On her hands and knees, Vita gazed up at Crow as if looking upon a god, unable to contain her feelings for him.
Ah, I don’t know whether I can be a righteous knight. But I want to be a woman fit to stand at your side!
The young knight’s feelings were running wild. Respect turned to love, and love turned to passion. Energized by her newfound feelings, she gripped the aethereal blade at her waist, chanting, “Awaken, o Fragarach, the Vengeful Gale!”
Instantly, violet gales began to flurry around her.
Moments ago, she hadn’t been able to lift a single finger. She was losing blood and out of air, her heart about to stop. Now, however, it didn’t matter.
I don’t care about any of that! If I don’t at least put up a fight, I’ll never be worthy of Crow!
Gathering the last of her strength, clad in wind, the young girl made a mad dash for the last remaining enemies—a group of men in black who had cunningly been trying to attack Crow from his blind spot—thrusting at them in a murderous rage.
“Diiiiiie!”
With a flash of her wind blade, before the men even had a chance to react, she slashed off their heads, scattering fresh, wicked blood everywhere.
A sense of accomplishment as a knight filled her young heart.
“I-I did it... I got them...” she heaved, having reached her limit.
Vita collapsed where she stood. Before she hit the stone pavement, however, a pair of strong arms caught her.
“C-Crow...”
“You’ve done well, Vita. You have my thanks,” Crow said with a smile.
“Oh...!” Those words made tears flow freely from her eyes. Her vision, already compromised by the blood loss, blurred even further. “I-I’m the one...who should thank you, Crow...”
Vita was immensely grateful. He hadn’t just rescued her from being fated to walk the path of darkness—he’d also rescued her from a deadly fate. What a wonderful man!
The young girl poured all of her gratitude, all of her feelings, into a heartfelt smile of her own.
But at the same moment Crow had uttered those words—
Dude, seriously, thank you! My whole body’s crumbling to dust! Do you know how hard it is to fight like that?! I’m sooo grateful! You saved me, even in the condition you’re in!
Crow was probably more grateful to Vita than she was to him.
His heroic act but a facade, he’d actually been forced to descend upon the group of enemies, holding back tears as he swung his blade around, mentally arguing with his sword all the while.
“Ah shit, my muscles are tattered! Also, I keep getting hit everywhere! That hurts! What happened to keeping me safe, Muramasa?!”
“VESSEL. YOUR PHYSIQUE IS INSUFFICIENT. UNFORTUNATE.”
“What did you just say to me?! Say that again, I dare you!”
As Vita expressed her gratitude, she had no inkling of the absurd goings-on inside the man before her.