There was a strange enthusiasm hanging in the air over the palace gates, where the execution was being held. It was as if time had turned back to the days when the flagstones ran slick with the daily sacrifice of counterrevolutionaries. All for the False Sovereign Kyou.
If only he hadn’t incited the commoners and Crestfolk, the promised days of stability and wealth that was supposed to come after the revolution would already be upon the people. They would have eternal life granted by Amrita. Such pipe dreams soared among the populace.
Nagi looked down at the masses, hidden atop a roof. He had his bow in hand, with a Halahala coated arrow at the ready. It was his duty to kill Lernaean. The Crestfolk warriors hid among the crowd. Nagi thought back to the conversation they had just beforehand.
“This really is our last chance,” Keele said, handing Nagi his portion of Halahala.
“We don’t off Lernaean here, and the Crestfolk are done for. Let me remind you, that guy’s been achin’ to wipe us out for at least two hundred years.”
The noble’s fixation verged on abnormal.
“It’s not just the Crestfolk,” Nagi said. “You saw Leshva. Lernaean plans on wiping out the commoners too.”
Keele nodded.
“Nagi, you shouldn’t go,” Tess implored him, right to the very end. “You haven’t been sterilized. You can still have children. If someone’s going to die here, then let it be me.”
“If Lernaean dies here, then the Crestfolk still to be born will be able to live proper lives. That’s far more important. Besides...”
Nagi stopped there, unable to say his next words. He was sick of himself for being so irresolute. Seeing him like that, Tess reluctantly agreed.
“Fine... Make sure you hit him.”
“I’ll cut him down before that, so don’t you worry,” Keele cut in.
Everyone laughed for some reason. It was as if the group was off to pick berries in the mountains.
Nagi smiled as he remembered this, finding the situation so strange. His mood was in such stark contrast to the excited mob beneath his gaze.
This could work. My arrows tend to hit at times like these.
“We shall now begin the False Sovereign’s execution,” a nobleman—probably a congressman—declared.
Members of Congress came out one after the other. Nagi quietly held out his bow and waited for his prey.
“Step aside.”
Saya and Jubilia were headed to Kyou’s execution to put a stop to it when they were blocked off in a palace corridor.
“We can’t do that,” Dimitri said, a dozen knights standing by him. “Lady Saya, please return to your room.”
“I have the responsibility to see my little brother’s execution through to the end.”
“You’re going to try to stop it somehow, aren’t you? It’s useless. It’ll be bad for your heart. All you need to do is quietly sleep in your room.”
“This is the Sovereign’s command.”
“Seeing that you have lost your ability to make sound judgments, Lady Saya, His Excellency Lord Lernaean now acts with all your authority. Your command means nothing.”
“Did Lernaean put you up to this?”
“No. This is my decision as a doctor and a researcher. I won’t report this to him. I’m sure it won’t be a problem, anyway.” Dimitri paused to clear out his throat. “In any case, you’re a unique specimen. I can’t do any practical research on Amrita without you. It would be troublesome if you were to get hurt.”
“A specimen, you say?” Jubilia said, clear anger in her voice. “Just that one word is enough of a reason for me to cut you down. Lady Saya, what shall we do?”
“Hurry up. The execution could start at any time.”
“Very well. We shall force our way through.”
“Hah! Force your way through?” Dimitri said scornfully. “I brought the royal guard here. No matter how skilled you are, you’re nothing but a lower-ranking noble. Faced with so many opponents, you can’t—”
Jubilia didn’t wait for him to finish. She rushed in full force and made her declaration of intent.
“Excitation: Blood Blade.”
She grabbed the slender sword of blood in her hand and severed the dominant arms of two of the knights in a flash.
“I won’t take your life, seeing as this was a surprise attack. Everything from here on out is a different matter, however. Step aside if you aren’t prepared to die.”
“Kill this woman!” Dimitri yelled. “You can use your blood calibers! Don’t even scratch Lady Saya!”
The enraged royal guards manifested their blood calibers at once.
“I don’t care if you’re royal guards. I won’t lose to a bunch of ruffians who can’t keep straight who they’re meant to protect.”
Jubilia’s heart was aflame, yet terrifyingly cold. Saya accepted her fealty. That passion gave strength to her entire body. She never felt so light before. At the same time, Jubilia kept an icy calm, searching for the path through that Saya needed.
Even as she cut down knights one after the other, she realized she was at a disadvantage. The palace corridors were wide compared to any other building, but it wasn’t suitable for swinging around a long weapon. This helped compensate for the numerical disadvantage she found herself at, but still had limits.
The royal guard were high-ranking nobles to begin with. She had no intentions of losing in swordsmanship, but their skill with the blood caliber and their pure physical strength were supposed to far outstrip Jubilia’s. It was one thing while they were agitated as they were now, but the longer the fight went on, the greater her disadvantage. Jubilia decided to use her ace in the hole. She roughly twirled off the cap from the small bottle she had hidden in her hand and gulped down its contents.
“Amrita... Excitation Overdrive?!” Dimitri screamed in fright.
The last time she used this, she was put out of commission for days. Regardless, her lady had told her to hurry up, so Jubilia didn’t hesitate. So long as she had a means to annihilate her enemies as quickly as possible, she had no choice but to use it.
The blood caliber in Jubilia’s hand transformed into an enormous sword. At the same time, her body was enhanced to that of an upper-ranking noble. Jubilia turned into a gale. Each time she swung her blade, a knight’s arm was torn away and flew into the air. The royal guards were defeated before they could lift a finger.
“Dimitri, you’ll do well to step aside,” Jubilia declared.
Dimitri’s reaction was far beyond her imagination. “Hahaha! Wonderful! Amrita truly is wonderful!” Despite the defeat of all but a single knight he brought as a guard, Dimitri laughed in joy. “That’s exactly why I can’t lose the specimen. Oh well. You, hold out your arm.”
“Professor, that’s a little...” his escort said, faltering for some reason.
“You do know that if you defy me, you’ll be heading to the gallows next, right? You’re just going to get killed by this woman, anyway. It’s okay, our results show the side effects are small if it’s only for a short time.”
His escort held out his arm in resignation. Dimitri smiled as he pulled out a container from his pocket. Jubilia stood on guard as he pulled out a needle which resembled those used for blood offerings. She thought it was poison, but was once more completely baffled by his unpredictable actions. He stabbed the needle into his escort’s arm.