The old man’s biwa transformed before Astrid’s eyes, becoming thinner and longer until it resembled the female long-necked demon of legend known as the rokurokubi. As the old man’s strumming became more intense, the coquettish moans from its mouth morphed into harsher shrieks.
Duke Dragonaut and Astrid stared at the repulsive sight, frozen to the spot. That was in part because the old man’s power had shocked them, but they were also on high alert. The highest level for spells based on the four fundamental elements of magic—earth, water, fire, and wind—was Category 9, and the higher the category, the more the mana required to cast the spell. The spells themselves also became increasingly difficult to learn.
Traditionally, mages who mastered Category 9 magic were given the title of Sage Lord. But while there were records of such mages having existed, they were few and far between: for even one to appear in the span of several generations was considered miraculous. At least, that was the case within the borders of Kanaria.
The earth spell the old man had used, Fortification, was a Category 8 spell. What’s more, he’d cast such a powerful spell without an incantation. Astrid had never seen anyone pull that off. Even the most capable mages in the royal court could only manage up to Category 7 spells, and sans incantation, probably not even Category 6. Evidently, the old man’s claim that he was Level 73 hadn’t been a bluff, and Astrid could feel that reality sinking in. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
Duke Dragonaut, meanwhile, emitted a strained voice like a moan. “You said ‘Shinsou’ just now. Then that means you’re an Illusory Blade user?”
“Hee hee, precisely. It seems you’re already aware of us, Raikou—though I already suspected as much.”
“I know your kind have kept the Demonic Gate on Onigashima sealed for the past three hundred years. But why would you turn against our kingdom?!”
Three hundred years ago, the Sword Saint had come up with the Illusory Blade style in order to defeat the Demon God. The technique was so immensely powerful that ever since Ad Astera’s founding, the empire’s territory had expanded but never shrunk.
The duke himself had once witnessed an Illusory Blade user’s fighting style as a little boy, so he knew the extent of their power firsthand. If the empire ever mobilized those warriors to invade other nations, they’d probably have the strength to unify the continent. But based on what the duke knew about Illusory Blade users, he doubted that would ever happen. When it came to foreign affairs, the Mitsurugi family and the warriors they governed had a strict policy: Don’t invade, and don’t let the others invade. If the empire was to be invaded, the Illusory Blade users would defend their mother nation, of course, but they would never lead a full-scale invasion against another country, even if it was an order from Ad Astera’s emperor. The Mitsurugi family had enough pull within the empire that they were allowed that level of freedom. The Illusory Blade was meant to be used on monsters, not humans.
In fact, if the enemy was any manner of evil spirit, demon, or apparition, the Mitsurugi forces would even cooperate with other countries to eliminate the threat, just as Kanaria had enlisted the aid of the family to wipe out a tribe of demonkin forty years ago. It was during that battle that Duke Dragonaut had seen the Illusory Blade power for himself.
At present, Kanaria had no desire to invade the empire. The duke was remaining vigilant of the empire’s intent to attack, of course, but there were no plans in place to strike the empire first. So why had one of their warriors come to bare his fangs at the kingdom? He could only think of one reason.
“It’s because the kingdom chose to protect that demonkin, isn’t it?”
To the Mitsurugi family, the Demon God and any of its descendants were mortal enemies, which included the demonkin girl, Suzume. Duke Dragonaut suspected Kanaria had incurred the Mitsurugis’ wrath when the royal family had praised the demonkin’s achievements and permitted her to live within their borders.
The old man made no attempt to keep his true objective under wraps and answered readily with a cackle. “It’s a good guess, and I won’t say it’s not one reason. It’s true that we must wipe out anyone related to the Demon God. But in this case, let’s just call that a side mission, shall we? My main target is Claudia Dragonaut herself.”
“You attacked the royal capital just to kill Clau?!”
“Well, if she had died from her curse like she was supposed to, I wouldn’t have had to go this far. And yet, I don’t know how you all did it, but you removed the curse. I’ve waited a whole year for it to saturate her body to make her unfit to marry to the crown prince, now I’m back to square one again!” The man laughed again, flashing his yellow teeth. “The crown prince is scheduled to wed Princess Sakuya two months from now, in tandem with her coming-of-age, so I don’t have time to curse Claudia again. Therefore, I was forced to take a more direct approach. Much like the forest is the best place to hide a tree, the best place to hide a corpse is in the middle of a bigger tragedy! No one’s going to pay much attention to the death of a single girl while undead are running loose all over the capital!”
“You secretly put a curse on my daughter a year ago so that no one would suspect the empire was involved in her death. Now that your plan has failed, you sic undead on innocent townspeople to distract them while you kill her?! Is this how the Mitsurugi family conducts business?! Aren’t the guardians of Onigashima supposed to defend their country rather than attacking others?!”
“Hee hee hee hee! Oh, but we are defending our country—the empire. And once Ad Astera’s rule encompasses the whole continent, we’ll protect the entire world and everyone in it. How is that going against our creed? Sure, a few innocents might get trampled in the process, but in order to walk, you have to crush a few ants, no? You can’t call it cruel when it’s an inevitability. Hee hee!”
The old man’s shrill laughter caused Claudia, who’d been listening silently up until then, to finally speak up. “So...you lied to me back at the cemetery, mister?”
The man goggled at her, and the scorn and ridicule seemed to vanish from his tone. “No, miss, nothing I said back then was a lie. It’s true that I see unruly spirits off to nirvana for a living, and it’s also true, Claudia Dragonaut, that I admire your behavior.” His voice became almost a whisper. “I use my music to suppress malevolent gods and purify evil spirits. But that’s not my only job. As retainers of Mitsurugi, my brethren and I serve as the emperor’s sword and shield, and sometimes that means I’m ordered to do dirty work. Even if it means I’m forced to cast a curse on an innocent girl to give her a slow, painful death.”
“Mister, you—”
“Although,” the old man continued, cutting her off with a grin, “my master only tasked me with ending Claudia’s engagement to the crown prince, and doing it in such a way that no one would suspect the empire’s involvement. I was free to choose exactly how I wanted to get it done.” It sounded like he could barely contain his delight.
“What?” Claudia looked shocked.
“In other words, little girl, I came up with the idea of killing you with a curse that slowly takes effect! And the undead currently attacking the royal capital! Hee hee hee hee! Do you know why?! It was so I could enjoy hearing your screams of suffering over this past year! Those shrieks of pain are like music to my ears—and that one you let out the other night was your best yet!”
Claudia gasped.
“Oh, how I enjoyed it! Oh, how thrilling it was! People shine brightest when they’re suffering, you know! Brooding! Agony! Despair! And let’s not forget lamentation! It’s all so radiant! Not since I strangled my wife to death with my own two hands have I felt such delight in another’s suffering, Claudia Dragonaut!”
The man began to strum his biwa—now his Shinsou—violently. The biwa shuddered intensely before emitting a noise that could hardly be called a note. The cursed, incomprehensible sound struck the ears of the duke and his daughters alike, stabbing into their brains. They howled in pain, collapsing to the ground.
In contrast, the old man’s voice was calm. “However, I am curious about something. How in the world did you remove my curse? That was my greatest masterpiece, devised with my own Shinsou. Not even the most potent rejuvenating water could have dispelled it, of that I’m certain.”
“Oh, you don’t know, mister?” Claudia said through gritted teeth. “A princess’s curse can only be dispelled by her prince’s kiss.”
“Hee hee hee! Funny joke, but if one kiss was enough to dispel a curse, sorcerers couldn’t make a living, now could they? Well, if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. I’ll just take my sweet time getting it out of you. Remember, it’s the right of the strong to savor their prey!”
The man grinned again. Just as he was about to expel another peal of shrill laughter, however, it happened. As though it couldn’t bear to hear the old man prattle on any longer, a black flash of light erupted from the mansion with a noiseless impact, swallowing the night sky. Its sheer power disrupted the Fortification spell the old musician had deployed.
“What was...?” The man narrowed his eyes as the light even swallowed up the rest of his sentence. He felt intense pressure on his skin. His throat went dry. The presence coming from the mansion was like nothing he’d ever seen or felt before. He immediately abandoned the idea of torturing the duke and his daughters to death. Or rather, this new opponent was so formidable that he was forced to give up on the idea.
Before long, a lone young man emerged from the mansion’s entrance. The old man recognized him from the public cemetery. Back then, the stranger had approached the seemingly homeless old man without any fear or prejudice, just like Claudia Dragonaut had done.
And there was something else he recognized as well.
“Mr. Sora!” Claudia cried out.
The young man’s name. As a retainer to the Mitsurugi family, it was a name that, for a variety of reasons, the old man could never forget.