“Lady Saya, are you hurt?!”
“Jubilia! Did you come on your own?”
“I quit my job,” Jubilia proclaimed, though Saya didn’t really understand. “I can explain later. Nagi, I have a message from Lord Lernaean.”
The situation hadn’t actually improved with Jubilia’s arrival. They were still surrounded, and escape was impossible. The knights were still keeping their distance, wary of Jubilia, but an attack was sure to come.
“It’s not actually a joke,” Jubilia said, relaying Lernaean’s words verbatim. “I don’t know what he meant, though.”
“What’s not a joke?” Nagi was perplexed at first, but came to a sudden realization. He looked like he was at his wits’ end. “You’re kidding me. They said blood calibers were proof of adulthood, but will that really work?”
“What’s the matter?”
“Jubilia, lend me your ear for a sec.”
Nagi beckoned her over. She complied, somewhat suspicious of his actions. They were in the middle of a battle, so this was pretty outlandish, but Nagi was desperate. Jubilia kept an eye on the enemy and brought her ear closer to Nagi’s mouth. His whispered question was so unexpected that it seemed completely out of place in the current situation, but Jubilia immediately figured out the meaning behind it.
“It’s possible... I think,” she said with a nod.
“Seriously?”
“What are you two whispering about?”
“S-Saya, it’s nothing,” Nagi stuttered.
Jubilia was once more shocked by Lernaean. She never considered he would think of such a thing. It was true she could actually be a hindrance here. Well, she did just give him a push, so there was some worth in her arrival.
“Be quick about it if you don’t want to die. These bastards likely won’t lay their hands on Lady Saya, but neither of us will be shown any mercy. If that really is true, it’s the one and only way of saving everyone.”
“There’s a way?” Saya asked.
“That depends on you, Lady Saya. I’ll keep the enemy at bay for as long as I can. You lot help as well.”
Jubilia was no longer a knight. The others had no reason to obey her, but they did so anyways. Now protected by the Sapphire Blood, Saya and Nagi were left alone.
“Saya, uhhh...”
Jubilia fretted as she listened to Nagi’s voice. She lightly parried the blow coming at her from the front and cut down the enemy knight. The cleanliness of her strike surprised even herself, despite the fact that she was far more interested in the conversation behind her than the fight in front of her.
“There’s something I want to tell you.”
“Mm.”
Jubilia suppressed her urge to yell at him to just do it and redirected her anger toward the enemy. The knight faced her unreasonable outburst of anger and was cut down in a single slash.
After getting cornered, Jubilia had come to Saya’s rescue. That was fine and all, but her behavior was strange. Actually, it was Nagi who was being strange. When he heard Lernaean’s message, his behavior had clearly changed.
The two of them whispered to each other, and Jubilia said it was the one and only way to save everyone. If there was a way, then it had to be done quickly. And yet, Jubilia and the other knights left Nagi and Saya behind on their own.
Nagi averted his eyes while fumbling over his word. “Uhhh... There’s something I want to tell you.”
“Mm.”
I wonder what it is? What does he need to tell me at a time like this? I would suppose it must have something to do with saving everyone. Saya figured that much out herself, but she didn’t know what this method was. She wanted to be told quickly, but Nagi was being strangely inarticulate.
“Uhh, how do I even put this?”
“Nagi, are you okay?”
“I’m okay...” Nagi held his head and took a deep breath. “I’m okay.”
He looked right into Saya’s eyes. His green pupils made Saya’s heart leap. It had been quite a while since he looked at her like this. This is the person who saved me from that prison.
Nagi grabbed Saya’s shoulders with a strong grip. The stiff feeling of his hands hurt a little, but she felt the heat from them far more than anything else. Saya was shaken. What exactly was Nagi trying to tell her? She was scared, but she wanted to know. His eyes were filled with determination, and then, he slowly opened his mouth.
“Saya, I love you. I want to be with you. I want to live with you forever.”
Before Saya could even unravel the meaning of his words, Nagi awkwardly embraced her. Her mind couldn’t keep up. She could only feel the heat from his bony, rugged body.
Nagi continued with awkward movements as he pressed his lips against hers. Saya was shocked. She only realized Nagi was kissing her a moment later. In that instant, a torrent of emotions swirled in her heart. She could tell; this was love.
“I love you too, Nagi.”
She wanted to be with Nagi. She wanted to go everywhere with him. But here, there were those trying to obstruct her desires. And with those overflowing emotions dominating her heart—she knew what to do.
Heat gathered on the back of her hand. It took on the shape of a crest. Scaled wings sprouted from her back. The vibrant butterfly wings that shouldn’t have been a part of her body felt as natural to her as if they were there since birth. This was Saya’s blood caliber.
She mastered its use in an instant. Saya could see a bird’s eye view of the entire battlefield. She knew everything that was going on from the interior of the palace all the way to her current position. She could sense the blood flowing within every knight. She could sense her own power flowing within them.
She had to stop them. She couldn’t be with Nagi otherwise. The wings on her back were larger than her body. Countless little butterflies fluttered out like scales, covering the entire battlefield in the blink of an eye.
The butterflies danced about and came down upon the knights who were trying to capture her, stopping the power which flowed in their blood.
More. More. I need to stop everyone who’s getting in our way. I can do it.
Saya’s consciousness burned away in a white haze, overcome with a sense of exaltation and omnipotence.