“...Just my luck. Of all the people to show up here, it had to be the holy knight,” she said with a sense of resignation.
“Harti! Do something already!” screamed Iblis.
She looked at him and shrugged.
“What do you want me to do? We’re up against the holy knight, you know? And the one said to be the strongest ever, to boot.”
“Why did you go after your own sister?” demanded Sain as he held his radiant blade at her throat.
“Because she’s my sister. I love her, I care about her, and I want to be with her. Is there something wrong with that?” She glared at Sain. “Well... I guess his circumstances are also factored in.”
She motioned at Iblis with her chin.
“What do you mean?”
“I managed to integrate with a second generation, and Marni’s my sister, so the clan had high hopes for her compatibility, as well. My crippled recruiter over there fast-tracked his career in the clan when he pulled me in, so he was probably hoping to earn himself some more points with her.”
Then, she turned around, paying not the slightest attention to the blade at her neck, and faced Sain. The lack of hostility in her motion caught him by surprise and stayed his sword hand.
“You’re too strong, holy knight... and that’s why you’re an obstacle. Having you around will only weaken Marni’s resolve.” Emotions swirled in her eyes, subtle and complicated. “Can you take responsibility for the rest of her life?”
“...What do you mean?”
“That girl is struggling right now. She’s tearing herself up inside trying to choose the path she walks. Either she comes with me, or she stays with you. I can protect her... But can you? You, the holy knight... Can you swear in good conscience that you’ll always be there for her? You can’t. Eventually, you’ll leave her behind. It’s just a matter of time.
“The salvation you offer is fleeting. It’s the passion of a moment that serves nothing but your own ego. I won’t let you take my sister... You don’t have what it takes to look after her. To keep her safe.”
Her gaze was solemn and testing, filling the very air between them with tension. In response, Sain threw his head back and laughed. It was a disarming laughter — the kind that came from inside.
“Wow. That’s what you’ve been worrying about this whole time? That’s so... stupid!”
“...What did you just say?”
“I said that’s stupid. You don’t trust your sister at all.”
His words struck a nerve, and Harti bared her teeth in a fierce scowl.
“Harti.”
Suddenly, Marni spoke up. It was the first they’d heard from her since she’d curled into a ball on the ground. Now, there was a glint of determination in her eyes. Realizing that she was about to make her choice, Harti rushed to speak first.
“Marni, listen. You need to calm down and think about this carefully. Your friend might be the holy knight, but he can’t protect you forever. If you come with me, though... and if you gain the power of Chaos, I know you’ll—”
“I’m... okay now, Harti.” Marni looked up at her sister and held her gaze. “Ever since you left, I’ve been lonely... but now, I have friends. Friends I care about. Sain, Alicia, and Melia... None of them treated me differently when they found out that I’m a dark elf. And I... I trust them from the bottom of my heart.”
Her voice still trembled when she began, but it steadied as she spoke, growing in volume and confidence.
“That’s why,” she continued, “I’m not lonely anymore. I want to stay here. With everyone else... I can’t go with you, Harti.”
Her last few words carried with them the weight of finality.
For Harti, Marni’s time had stopped two years ago. She still saw her sister as the same person she’d left behind — her dear and delicate sibling who needed her protection to survive. That Marni, however, had ceased to exist. After a long pause, during which a multitude of emotions flashed across Harti’s face, she finally nodded.
“I see. You’ve... grown, haven’t you? Stronger.”
And then, her expression softened, and she gave Marni a look. It was one that Marni recognized — the same gentle, caring gaze of the sister she knew.
“Well, that’s it, then. I guess it’s time to say goodbye,” Harti said, making Sain’s eyes go wide. The least thing he was expecting was for her to back off so easily.
“...Are you serious? That’s it? Weren’t you here to take your sister with you?”
“I would if she wanted me to. I’m not going to force her. I never intended to. I am her big sister, you know? If she says no, then I’ll leave. That was the plan all along.”
She smiled. Her colleague, however, was not impressed by the turn of events.
“No way... There’s no way in hell I’m going to let it end like this!”
Iblis howled, his face twisted in bitter rage. Sensing that something was wrong with the man, Harti tried to placate him.
“Iblis, calm down. You promised you’d respect Marni’s choice—”
“Shut up!” he snarled.
There was a sudden shiiick — the sound of something sharp meeting flesh — and Harti grunted. Sain watched in stunned silence as a previously undiscovered Beast began to retract its long claw, now protruding from Harti’s flank.
“Ib... lis... You...”
“Stay out of my way, Harti. This is for the sake of the clan. I’m taking your sister back, whether she likes it or not. I might have to rough her up a little, but hey, if she’s lucky enough to survive the integration, then it’ll all work out fine.”
Harti stared daggers at him, but he paid her no mind as he walked toward Marni.
“And you, holy knight!” he shouted before Sain had a chance to move. “Stay right where you are.”
“S-Sain...”
“This is definitely not my best moment...”
Sain spun around to discover Alicia and Melia each in the clutches of large reptilian monsters. Pained groans escaped the girls as the monsters tightened their grip on them, threatening to crush them alive. Furthermore, behind each of them was a Beast standing guard.
“How’s that for an ace in the hole, huh? Meet my little pets. They’re fourth-generation Fubaku Yuukai. Hehehe... Looks like even the mighty holy knight has trouble sensing things he can’t see.”
“...Damn you.”
The Founder, Fubaku Yuukai, had the ability to turn invisible. More specifically, it could hide both its shape and presence, making it impossible to detect even by sound or smell. The two monsters his attendants had been captured by were heirs to that power.
“Now don’t try anything funny. There’s only one of you, and there are two of them. You can’t save them both. If you don’t want them to turn into meat pies, then do what I say... You said you always wear light-binding seals to hide your powers as the holy knight, didn’t you? I want you to put those back on. Remember, you do anything weird, and they die.”
Sain had no choice but to obey. He took out the seals he kept in his coat pockets. One by one, he put the trinkets back on, starting with his silver necklace and ending with his grossly over-designed rings. Once he slid the final ring onto his finger, his holy power vanished. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, clutching at where Iblis had driven a boot into his stomach.
“Ugh... Hngh!”
“Bahaha! What a sight! The holy knight himself crawling like a worm at my feet! Look at you! Without the blessing of the goddess, you’re useless!”
He stared with amusement at his victim before cackling to himself. Marni grimaced at Sain’s muted groans of pain, and she ran toward him.
“Stop!” Iblis snarled, causing Marni to freeze. “You, little miss Harti Junior, had better stay where you are.”
He waited to see that his orders were being obeyed before continuing.
“Good, good. Things were really starting to head south, but this is turning out just fine. Who’d have thought I’d be able to get rid of the holy knight in a place like this? Hah! It’s our clan’s lucky day! Harti’s sister is just a consolation prize compared to this!”
He snapped his fingers, and a massive catlike monster appeared from the forest. With his holy power sealed, Sain stood no chance against it.
“...Sain.”
He heard a soft voice. He craned his neck up to find Marni looking at him. She said nothing else, but her unblinking eyes told him everything he needed to know.
You can do this. I believe in you.
Iblis made a gesture, and the menacing Beast slowly padded toward him. Sain watched as it approached. As he stared death in the face, his heart was filled not with terror, not with worry, but a single phrase that echoed in a voice he knew so well.
The unpracticed mind knows no composure.
To use dark magic, he needed to be cool and composed. The relentless mock battles Marni had put him through were to teach him just that. He mustn’t panic. Slowly, he held out his hand. He forced out of his mind all his pain and exhaustion, leaving only cold, hard focus. Dark magical energy began to coalesce in his palm.
Remember and recreate.
He fettered his baseless fantasies of dark magic and dug through the mental archives of painful practice and hard-earned experience. He recalled the dark forest where he’d battled night monkeys and the tag-team training with Marni to practice his new spell. He felt a familiar tension in his muscles, their fibers yearning to repeat the motions he’d ingrained in them through countless repetition.
His sweat and toil had not been in vain. Dark lightning buzzed around the dense mass of energy in his palm. It lengthened before congealing into the form of a spear.
“Die, holy knight.”
The maw of death opened before Sain’s eyes. He stared down the black abyss as the final principle surfaced in his mind.