Crow fired his crossbow repeatedly as if to answer her. She dodged his bolts one after the other. Once he was out of ammunition, Crow tossed his weapon aside.
“Excitation!”
He now gripped a red spear in his hands.
“I see. So, you’re a noble now.”
“That’s right! And this isn’t all!”
Crow lunged at Tess. He’d largely avoided taking part in any fighting during the revolution; somehow, between then and this moment, he’d learned some spearmanship. His technique was shoddy. Normally, it wouldn’t be difficult for Tess to handle this much, but the strength and speed of his strikes were abnormal. She was slowly losing her ground.
“It’s thanks to Dr. Dimitri! I’ve obtained a way of gaining even more strength than nobles!”
“How low you’ve fallen, Crow!” Bandore shouted as he jumped in front of Tess.
“Fallen? Quite the contrary, I’ve reached an ever higher stage of life.”
“Is that what you wanted? I never liked you.”
“What a coincidence: the feeling is mutual.”
Bandore swung his axe wildly and closed in on Crow.
“An idiot like you is truly excruciating to handle,” Crow said as he backed off.
Bandore couldn’t reach him. He readied his axe once more, but seeing Crow ready his spear from an unreachable distance, Tess screamed.
“Dodge it! Bandore!”
Crow’s spear pierced through Bandore before he could react to her voice. His spear had extended in length.
“This is a blood caliber. It’s no simple spear. Do you understand now? You can’t win against nobles,” Crow declared coldly as he watched Bandore groan.
Crow pulled the spear out with a twist of the handle. He scowled at the intestines twined around the tip, then swung them off.
“Oops. I ended up killing him. I was ordered to toy around with you lot as long as possible.”
“You bastard!”
Tess charged in, but the difference in range between her spear and Crow’s blood caliber was far too large. Tess had lost her composure and let herself get pushed into a corner.
“I’ll be very careful not to kill you. I need you to lure out Nagi Strano.”
Tess couldn’t dodge his thrust; the spear’s tip found its mark in her right arm. The weapon easily tore through bone, leaving her hand dangling from a single piece of skin. Her scream echoed through the battlefield.
Saya and Jubilia rushed to a room in the palace where they could look down over the front gate. Jubilia was unsteady from using Excitation Overdrive, while Saya was in poor health. This led to it taking more time than they imagined.
There was supposed to be no small number of government officials and ladies of the court gathered there to watch the False Sovereign’s execution. However, as they got closer to their destination, they crossed paths with ladies running the other direction.
“What happened?” Jubilia asked one of them.
“It’s a Tainted rebellion!” one of them yelled, not stopping her flight.
“The Crestfolk?”
“It wouldn’t be strange for Nagi and the others to come to rescue Kyou. No, they’re definitely here. So long as they knew when and where the execution was taking place.”
Hearing this, Jubilia had a sudden revelation. “Oh no, this is a trap! Lord Lernaean plans on dealing with the leadership behind the Crestfolk, Nagi and Keele, right here and now!”
Realization dawned on Saya as she got her unsteady feet moving.
“Let’s hurry!”
Nagi looked down over the chaos. Bandore had died. Tess had lost an arm. Nagi reflexively held up his bow when he heard Tess scream. Crow had his spear held ready and was closing in on her. Nagi’s thoughts ran wild. He decided beforehand that he absolutely would not loose a single arrow until Lernaean showed an opening. Once he did, his position on the roof would be exposed.
All of the Crestfolk knew this was their very last chance. That was why they came out here so recklessly. They did so to grasp the future, even if they had to sacrifice each other. No matter what happened, Nagi had to save his arrow for Lernaean.
But...
“Huh?”
Crow looked down at the arrow sticking out of his chest. He couldn’t even say anything before dying in a daze. The arrow had pierced him square in the heart. At the corner of Nagi’s vision, he saw a curtain flutter from one of the palace windows. Was someone watching from there? Now wasn’t the time to be worrying about that, though.
Nagi quickly nocked another arrow and took aim at Lernaean. He knew full well he was being naïve for thinking Lernaean wouldn’t notice. And sure enough...
“Excitation.”
Nagi felt like Lernaean’s quiet voice reached his ears. Just by moving his finger ever so slightly, Lernaean shattered the arrow the moment before it hit him.
“Nagi Strano is here. On top of the building. After him!”
The knights all turned to Nagi in unison at Lernaean’s command.
Crap. Now that they know I’m here, I’m not going to hit anything, no matter how many arrows I use. At most, I can block them off.
He didn’t have the time for that, however. The knights flooded toward Nagi’s building. The exits were all sealed before he could make his escape. Nothing could be done now. That was when Nagi realized this was exactly the trap Lernaean had prepared for them. This was all for the sake of catching Nagi and Keele.
He was frustrated. How much were things going exactly as Lernaean planned? In just a little more time, Nagi was sure to be mercilessly cut down by the knights. The Crestfolk fighting below would also die. Everything Nagi tried to protect was slipping through his fingers. Then, he would die.
As he steeled himself for death, however, something terribly beautiful entered his field of vision. They were small red lights. Nagi covered his eyes on reflex, recognizing them instantly. The lights were scales scattered from the wings of blood-colored butterflies. Those in the plaza began collapsing one after the other. And behind that curtain in the palace...
“Saya, you... can’t...”
Nagi wasn’t able to say anymore. Upon being touched by a butterfly, his consciousness flew away.
“Is this... Saya?” Tess muttered.
Saya wasn’t supposed to be allowed to use her royal caliber. That was why Nagi had to suffer so much. But right now, in front of her eyes, her royal caliber filled the plaza. Knights, gentry, civilians—they crumpled to the ground like discarded dolls, one after another. Mesmerized by the swarm of butterflies, Tess’ grip on her open wound slackened, and arterial spray gushed from her stump. A detachment of butterflies halted in midair, momentarily drawn by the blood, then lost interest and rejoined the murmuration. Just as it had during the siege of the palace, Saya’s caliber was as effective as a passing breeze on Crestfolk.
“Wait, damn you!”
Tess spun Keele’s way at the sound of his outcry as he chased Lernaean into the palace. Tess shivered at the sight. Lernaean had been seized by a fit of manic laughter. For a moment she thought the butterflies had ignored him, until she saw a small flock tailing him smash to pieces, just like Nagi’s arrow.
Even Keele couldn’t catch up to Lernaean, so long as he used the full extent of his inhuman strength. Lernaean quickly rounded a corner and vanished into the palace. The crimson butterflies burned away in a drawn-out flash of phosphorescence. Having lost his prey, Keele sized up his surroundings and ran to Tess.