“All righty! Everything seems fine for now!”
Half a day had passed since they’d left the city. From the coachman’s seat, Tiana had been diligently scanning their surroundings as the carriage, pulled along by the unicorn, raced across the fields.
Aetherborn now lurked in the inner zone, but it was difficult to ascertain exactly where. So she’d taken on the responsibility of spotting them early and changing their course to avoid burdening Crow, who was resting inside the carriage’s cabin.
Rubbing her eyes, dry from exposure to the headwind, she continued her watch.
“Tiana,” Crow called out. “Maybe I should take over.”
“No way!” she snapped. “I’m taking care of you!”
“Hrm,” he grunted, unable to protest.
Secretly, Tiana was annoyed by Crow’s kindness. Even as he was about to engage in mortal combat, he was still worrying about others.
Just sit tight and conserve your strength! she thought. You’re fighting a dragon, remember?! That’s the strongest aetherborn there is!
Dragons had featured in the lore of various cultures since ancient times. They’d been portrayed in various forms, but not one of them had ever been described as weak. And so, in the present day, when formerly imaginary beings had come to life, dragons reigned absolute as the greatest threat to the world.
They didn’t specify which kind of dragon this is, but I mean, it’s a dragon! It’s probably some humongous, hard-scaled, fire-breathing flying monster. And he has to face it one-on-one...
Tiana could sense how awkward Crow felt about being the only one taking it easy. She couldn’t help but sigh at his restlessness.
You really should take better care of yourself, Crow!
She thought back on what her mother, Fiana, had said to him before they’d set off.
“If only House Alithlai had more influence, I could’ve protected you...”
The commander had profusely apologized for not being able to supply him with cursed arms. Surely they would’ve provided extra firepower to a myth conqueror like Crow.
Yet Crow seemed unfazed. “Cursed or not, aethereal arms are a precious resource. It’d be inappropriate indeed for me to hoard that many,” he’d said. He’d even consoled Fiana!
And then he’d added, “I’d much prefer it if someone else could use them to protect others.” Those words had made both mother and daughter want to cry. He’d essentially said he was willing to sacrifice himself to protect complete strangers!
Crow, whose hometown had been razed by a villain, had sworn to never allow such a tragedy to befall anyone else. His devotion to protecting others was tragically extreme.
Crow... How can I get you to love yourself more?
Just as Tiana was about to ask that question out loud, the unicorn pulling the carriage whinnied.
Startled, the young knight looked ahead to see a group of ten or so giant pig aetherborn—trolls—emerging from the bushes.
Dammit! I got distracted!
Tiana inwardly cursed at herself. She’d just vowed to regain her motivation! What a mess she was! The young girl despised her own inadequacy.
“Unicorn! Quickly, change the path!” she commanded—but it was too late.
The trolls were already charging at the carriage with thudding steps, their vigor belying their massive size—over twice that of a human. “Grooooar!”
“Damn!” Avoiding them was no longer an option. Resolute and knowing she had no choice, Tiana moved to activate her own aethereal arm.
Before she could, however—
“Embrace your doom, vile fiends!”
A dark shadow rushed forth from within the carriage. Reaching for his sheath, Crow leaped at the group of enemies. “Haaah!”
With a single flash of his blade, too fast for the human eye to follow, multiple trolls were cut in half. Keeping up the momentum, Crow continued his assault. He threw his vampiric knives in a frenzy, restrained the enemies with his demonic chain, and slashed, slashed, slashed at them with his deadly black blade.
“Grah?!” The screams of the aetherborn came one after another. The sight of the trolls tripping over themselves to flee as fresh blood splattered everywhere was almost pitiful.
“Die,” Crow said coolly, relentless in his pursuit as he mercilessly cut them down.
Stained in the blood of his enemies, he looked like a god of carnage. Seeing him in a crazed frenzy like that saddened Tiana even more.
What kind of man are you really, Crow?
A martyr, risking his own life for the sake of others—and a fiend, a frenzied demon when it came to cutting down evil.
With both of those qualities, he seemed the very embodiment of knighthood.
Still, if he continued down that path, Crow was certain to meet his doom.
None of that is an excuse to self-destruct like this!
Such a sorrowful existence was too much for her to bear, and Tiana was overcome with the urge to hold him close.
But she couldn’t. She wasn’t fit to stand at his side. She’d only drag him down and further expose him to danger.
“Oh, Crow...”
Vexed, Tiana could do nothing but watch.
At the same moment, however—
Whaaaaaat?! Why is Tiana looking at me like that?! I’m doing my best over here! Don’t give me those sad eyes!
She had it all wrong, of course.
Martyr? Fiend? Yeah, no. Not even a little bit.
The thing he’d said about wanting others to use the cursed arms? He just didn’t want to be the one to do it.
And all the determination to hunt down these trolls? A mere combination of Muramasa taking over, and him misunderstanding what she’d said about taking care of him. Wait, she’s taking care of me?! Man, she must think I’m totally helpless! I gotta do something! What kind of man would I be if I didn’t?!
That weird assumption was the only reason he’d even wanted to try at all.
The crossed wires from both sides only got more and more tangled.
Raaaaaar! Crow thought. Watch me, Tiana! I’m cutting them real good! I can do this!
Oh, Crow! Tiana thought. What an incredible aura you’re radiating! If you keep moving like that, your body will break!
He was struggling for no reason. She was sad for no reason.
I need to do better!
I need to support him!
Thus did they bond over the completely wrong things.