That was when the door opened, and a man stepped in—it was Warren. He already had a stiletto in hand. The knights followed next.
“Ngh…”
Brunhild moved Anima behind her back. Thunder was woven in the fingers of her right hand.
But Warren didn’t even seem to be on guard. It was easy to dodge and to knock down arrows from someone who wasn’t even a warrior. He could even neutralize Brunhild right this instant.
But he chose not to.
He looked back and forth between Brunhild and Anima and said, “This is a perfect opportunity.”
Anima’s heart thudded horribly.
Warren said to Anima, in a tone basically like an order, “Kill Brunhild. You will become a hero. Don’t betray your true name.”
Anima was frozen. He had yet to make the decision to kill Brunhild.
Brunhild’s eyes were fixed on Anima—but not to beg for her life. She was looking at his face in attempt to figure out what was happening. “…I basically understand what’s going on. Anima, take that spear. And kill me.”
“But…you…”
“It’s fine. I’ve already fulfilled my role. I destroyed Kriemhild’s crown. She should be free now. My sister is no fool. Right now, she will be escaping from the castle. So I’m satisfied.”
As Anima was still frozen with indecision, Brunhild told him sharply, “I don’t know why you’re hesitating… You’re too emotionally invested for having been together for just three days. I hate lowborn scum like you. You and I are not friends.”
“You…” slipped from his lips in an angry tone.
With that remark from Brunhild, Anima made his move.
He picked up the spear that had been leaning against the wall.
His body swayed as he raised the weapon.
Brunhild closed her eyes. A magic spear might be able to take her life, but there was no guarantee of it. She might wind up suffering and unable to die. She wished that she would find peace after a single stab, at least.
Anima muttered in a loathing voice, “…Don’t give me that.”
His spear flashed, thrusting forward in a magic strike.
There was a clanging noise, and a stiletto soared through the air.
The spear had repelled Warren’s weapon.
Anima turned to Brunhild and howled, “Don’t you give me that! Because of you, my whole life plan is messed up!”
He scooped her up with his free arm. Her body was small and very light. Then he continued to run off toward the exit.
Not friends, my ass. Anima gritted his teeth. “Men are idiots, you know… Three days together, and you’ll have a friend.”
Warren didn’t just stand there and watch as the pair of them tried to escape. He pulled an extra stiletto from his coat and threw it at Brunhild.
“…!” Anima somehow knocked it down with his spear.
But of course, Warren would not miss that opportunity. He pulled out another stiletto, its naked blade already moving toward Anima.
The blade was already right in front of him.
I can’t dodge it…
Regret passed through his mind.
In a few seconds, he would be stabbed by Warren’s blade. He couldn’t dodge the stiletto, and neither could he block it.
Damn it. Maybe I shouldn’t have saved Brunhild without thinking about the consequences…
Anima could only prepare himself for the oncoming pain.
There was a hard, clanging sound.
He looked to see the stiletto lying on the floor.
That attack he’d thought he couldn’t knock down had been knocked down.
“Huh…?” The most confused one here was most likely Anima, holding the spear.
The spear had moved on its own. It had struck aside the blade as if it had its own will. Maybe this was one of the reasons why the magic spear was called magic.
Anima recalled—his clan had believed this spear would protect them.
Warren immediately tried to stab him with a new stiletto, but the spear repelled that, too.
Its spearpoint danced—in order to protect the two royals from evil.
It was as if its former owner were trying to get revenge.
Warren swung a stiletto at Anima. In response, Anima manifested skill greater than what he had naturally, brushing it aside.
They clashed about ten times.
But neither of them could bring the fight to an end. If this had been an ordinary fight, the magic spear would have long since pierced the heart of its foe. But despite his age, Warren was capable enough to rival the magic spear.
The competition between the magic spear and the old soldier was intense, and the knights who rushed up to the scene were unable to interfere.
The sounds of weapons making contact rang out.
The magic spear gradually slowed.
No, it was the opposite. Warren’s movements were becoming more precise. Warren understood the enemy’s attacks, seeing through them well enough to lock blades with him. He had fearsome talent.
“You goddamn…”
Gradually, Anima was starting to be pushed back.
Sensing they were at a disadvantage, Brunhild pulled a little bottle out of the pocket of her clothes. It was filled with a silver solid and a fluid. She tossed it at Warren.
For an instant, Warren wasn’t sure how to respond.
It should be easy to deal with. He could dodge it or cut it. But he recalled what had happened earlier. After he’d dodged her Thunder, the crown had been destroyed. Evading this bottle might be just what the enemy wanted—if she was throwing the bottle in order to get him to dodge.
Warren’s conclusion was to cut the bottle down. He swung his stiletto at the bottle.
That moment, Brunhild covered Anima’s eyes with both hands. And she also closed her own tightly. Anima yelled, “What are you…?!”
A powerful flash burst out from the broken bottle. The whole room turned white.
The bottle had been filled with chemicals that would create a burst of light via chemical reaction. The flash was overwhelming, blinding Warren. Only Brunhild, who had closed her eyes, and Anima, who had had his eyes covered, were all right.
Brunhild thought it would have been bad if Warren had dodged the bottle. If he had, then the bottle would have exploded behind him. She certainly would not have been able to blind him like that. Although she had thrown it anticipating he would choose striking rather than evasion based on their earlier exchange.
Now they could get away. Certain of that, the two of them finally made to leave the room.
But they couldn’t.
The shnk of a sword’s stab sounded in the ground.
A stiletto had been thrown to stick in the ground one step ahead of Anima.
“No way…”
Of course Brunhild would be shocked.
Warren had kept going—just as if he could see.
Even being blinded hadn’t really hindered the old master’s fighting prowess. He could generally pin down his enemy’s position and movements based on sound, smell, and the airflow touching his skin.
Pulling out a new stiletto, the old soldier approached Anima.
His fierce attacks never let up. As their blades crossed, Anima was pushed back and back, farther into the room.
The entrance door grew farther away. Warren was almost starting to read the patterns of the magic spear’s attacks.
Finally, Anima was cornered by the window.
He thought about leaping down to escape, but that was out of the question. This was the tenth floor. Below was stone paving, and they were sure to die.
But Brunhild cried, “Jump, Anima!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me…!”
Was she trying to say she would be okay if she fell, since she was physically invincible?
“I won’t let you die. Trust me.”
Anima had no other options. If he continued to fight Warren, then he would just be quickly defeated and die.
He had no choice but to trust Brunhild now.
“Damn it…” He smashed the window and leaped outside.
Warren did not follow. Of course not. If he did, he would fall and die.
Brunhild and Anima began to free-fall.
“Wahhhhh…!”
He had assumed Brunhild had some kind of plan when she’d said to jump, but it seemed that was not the case. Maybe she had tricked Anima in order to save herself.
Anima screamed.
But someone caught the two of them in midair as they fell.
It was the amber dragon.
“I called him in the Dragon’s Tongue, telling him to come to the room.”
As Anima and Warren had been fighting, Brunhild had been conversing in the Dragon’s Tongue with the amber dragon. It hadn’t been in human language, so only the two of them had heard it.
Brunhild smiled at Anima.
“So? Glad you trusted me, right?”
He had no reply.
Anima was passed out, foaming at the mouth.
Warren was looking down at the shards of broken window glass. They had completely outmaneuvered him.
All his plans had ended in failure.
The crown had been broken, and Brunhild and Anima had escaped.
He returned to the throne room. He thought that at least he would gather the fragments of the smashed crown.
He stepped into the room, expecting it to be completely empty by this point.
But there was someone there.
It was Kriemhild.
She was gathering the scattered fragments of the crown.
Reflexively, he asked, “Why didn’t you flee?”
Kriemhild was a meek girl, but she still had God’s Power and an invincible body. Without the punishment from the crown, if she was serious about it, she would have been able to walk all over some mere knights to escape.
“No matter what, I am still the queen. I swore to my sister—I wouldn’t run from my responsibilities.” While gazing at the silver fragments in her hand, Kriemhild replied in a peaceful tone, “And besides, I thought I said—that your inhumanity doesn’t seem like it comes from ill will…”
Those weren’t her only reasons. The events in the tower had also been a major factor. She figured if she hadn’t seen him unable to strike her with his stiletto then, she would have fled.
Kriemhild offered the fragments of the crown she’d gathered to Warren. “Please accept this. Even if it’s a cursed tool to me, it’s a holy relic to you, isn’t it?”
Those were the very words he had once said.
Kriemhild had assumed they meant this: It was a holy relic he could use to admonish the queen as he pleased, because it was convenient.
But now, it seemed as if that had meant something else.
When the crown had been destroyed, Warren had expressed emotion for the first time—feelings of hate.
No one would become that angry unless you destroyed something dear to them.
“Why is this crown so important to you?”
Warren didn’t talk about his past. It wasn’t worth talking about.
He pulled a leather bag from his coat, accepting the fragments and pouring them in as he said, “I just wanted to hear her voice—the voice that can be heard if you put on the crown.”
They said that if you put on the crown, you could hear the voice of the First Queen.
But even if Warren put on the crown, he wouldn’t hear anything.