Chapter 9:
A Small Glory
OUR BACK-AND-FORTH left me bruised and beaten, but I was glad Cain and I could finally fight toe-to-toe. My new ability to use everything around me as a weapon meant the battle got a whole lot harsher for him.
Our magic tug-of-war sent shock waves through the area. The effort tore guttural sounds out of my chest. Incredibly, Cursed’s energy flowed into me each time I used Piece Ruler to teleport Cain’s spells, as if replenishing the mana I’d paid. The mana that went into maintaining the ice barrier was now mine to use as I pleased. Was it working this way because its owner wasn’t here? Or was something else at play?
The pulse of mana pouring into my body brought searing pain with it, but I didn’t flinch—I couldn’t afford to. I knew that retreating to breathe would make my advantage crumble like a sandcastle at high tide. Instead of falling back, I used the pain as a foothold and urged myself onward.
Cain was losing his temper. “Impossible! There’s no way my strongest spells can fall apart like this! You won’t get away with this for a moment longer!”
He could tell instinctively not to approach me. No matter how many times I seized his magic, he didn’t give up. He cast spell after spell: fifty, one hundred, two hundred, five hundred. It was a volley of magic, though he didn’t fire them at me. His targets were Hana and the others.
“I won’t let you,” I said. I’d sworn to protect them. If I can’t steal all of those spells at once, then…
“I’ll cancel it out!”
Cain spluttered in shock, but what could he do? I seized half the spells as they were cast and swerved them directly into the remaining half. Bursts of wind and sound tore through the space where they made contact. I darted across the battered battlefield and drew close to Cain—close enough for my blade to reach. I swung.
“Curse you!!!” Cain seethed. He retreated in an armor of rushing blood.
He’d picked up that I couldn’t teleport equipped items. Dang, that was fast. The armor blocking my blade felt dense and much stronger than the Blood Wall.
So what, so what, so what? I’ll get through it, and anything else in my way!
I roared with the force of my strikes on his armor. My two blades flashed—one silver and one blue. The combo attack sang faster than the speed of sound. The silver and blue light blended into one beautiful color. The giant arc they formed slammed into Cain and pushed him back.
Revitalize’s effects offered me a hefty benefit, so I had something of an edge in close combat. I expected as much. Cain tried to retaliate with magic, but I seized control and slapped his spells aside.
“This can’t be!” Cain roared. “No power like this can feasibly exist—argh!”
Cain’s blood armor disintegrated at last. He was defenseless.
One more strike. One more strike and I’ve got him!
Piece Ruler’s time limit was almost up. Everything hung on my final attack. I swung Cursed, throwing my weight into the strike.
“You think you’ve won?!” he shrieked. “Think again!”
What I saw next turned me numb with shock. Blood sprayed in the air, but not from my attack. Cain’s right arm whirled upward. A magic circle glimmered in the stump where his arm had been, and soon enough, a spear composed of blood disgorged from inside of it. The spear didn’t rip his arm off to stand in for it. To my astonishment, it fired right at me.
I couldn’t believe it. This guy sacrificed his own right arm to attack my blind spot!
The result was devastating. The spell consumed the entirety of my vision before I had time to process what it was. I didn’t teleport it in time, not remotely. The blood spear knocked Cursed out of my grip and lanced Battle Barrier, shattering it in one hit. I was vulnerable to a lethal strike.
Another hit would end me.
I stepped forward, dauntless. No time to regroup. Now or never! Do or die!!!
I raised Nameless and swept it through the air, but Cain was not ready to die either. He transmuted the blood that gushed from his severed arm into the shape of a blade.
We clashed blades at a blazing pace, bellowing in unison.
Our blades slid against each other with a sharp, shrieking sound. The flow of time seemed to slow. I realized that Cain’s attack was a fraction faster than mine. His surprise attack must’ve slowed me down just enough for this to happen. Teleportation wouldn’t save me. Cain’s blade was about to cut my life short.
So what?!
Kill me, then! I’d keep my grip tight through sheer force of will and ensure this would end in mutual destruction—
A soft yet powerful voice rang out.
“Magic Sword.”
A lash of wind whipped up out of nowhere and bent the trajectory of Cain’s blood sword.
“What?!” Cain gasped.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her—the brave girl who sent that burst of wind.
Kurosaki Rei.
I understood, then. How could I forget? I wasn’t alone. The others lamented their powerlessness, but they rose up beside me regardless. We were never alone in our battle against despair.
The sword Rei swung so courageously hardly held a candle to Cain’s, nor did it successfully block his attack, but she bought me a millisecond of time that was worth an eternity. It was exactly what I needed.
Our gazes met. Her eyes bore into mine with determination.
“Go on, Rin,” she said.
I’ve got this.
Time and I both raced forward. I shouted with the release of momentum as I slipped past his weapon and slashed with my silver blade. I had just enough time to slice deep into his body. Blood gushed out of him, a lethal amount, I was sure. His eyes widened at the sight, as if he couldn’t grasp why his blood stopped obeying him. His ward evaporated as the strength to maintain it drained out of his veins.
“No. I…lost?” he breathed. “To a pathetic weakling like you…?”
“Maybe we were weak, but that’s precisely why we can get stronger. Our ability to grow means we’re not powerless at all.”
“You…ah…I see. A powerful person such as I can never understand your position,” he rasped. “If that ignorance is…the root of my failure…so be it. I must accept…”
Cain faltered and slumped to both knees. His eyes were vague and unfocused as he said his final words. “At least tell me your name.”
I hesitated before saying, “My name’s Amane Rin.”
“A warning to you, Rin,” he replied. “Don’t…don’t think my defeat will bring you peace. Your true hell…is only beginning.”
His body desiccated and crumbled away, as if the dungeon itself absorbed him.
The system rang out, proof that we defeated Cain and triumphed over hopeless odds.
“Rin!”
The girls cried my name. Relief that I’d managed to protect all of them hit me hard. So hard…and then…