“Huh?!” Sir Lamorak’s expression twisted out of disgrace. “The Rothschild is a holy relic of a Celtic Christian saint! Three shields for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—the Trinity. That’s the sacred representation of Gunimo, Philiotaio, and Ramheid! A fourth puts that harmony in disorder. It’s an ominous, unlucky number in Celtic tradition, but I bet you already know!” “Y-you couldn’t have?!” “That’s right. The protection from the invincible Rothschild is only taken away when you’re facing four enemies—no more, no less! It can’t be three or five! It has to be four! That’s how Gawain’s four-person hack team won against you!” “Rintarou Magami, you’re reeeaaally getting on my nerves!” Sir Gawain screeched. Rintarou continued. “Heh… It was a big risk, whether I guessed correctly, but…looks like that is how it works, and the bet paid off, Lamorak…” Gnash… Sir Lamorak wiped away her own trickling blood and ground her teeth. “Th-this is unfathomable…” Her shoulders shook with fury. “This netherworld is a Yetzirah—a formative stage…! No one should be able to get in from the outside unless they came with you from the start…! How…?!” Then… “Whaaat? When did I say I made this netherworld?” Rintarou feigned ignorance, provoking her. “What?! Y-you couldn’t have…?!” Sir Lamorak shifted her eyes to the side. In front of Sir Lamorak’s eyes, Felicia stood resolutely with her sword at the ready. “Yes, I’m the one who made this netherworld. I’m its master. Weren’t expecting that, huh? I’ll have you know…despite my looks, I consider magic my great pride.” “Whaaa…? Wha…?!” “That’s right. Only the enchantress who made the world can enter and exit on their own accord… In other words, Felicia can bring as many people as she wants with her!” “How… How idiotic…?! To say a little girl did this…?!” Sir Lamorak was only at a loss for words. She was dumbfounded. She would have expected it from Merlin, but she couldn’t have believed that Felicia had enough skill with magic to invoke a Yetzirah world… Sir Lamorak realized that she and Emma had been duped. “After that, we just needed to wait for the perfect timing! You want to know why we had to time it for right now?! That’s ’cause if we launched a four-person surprise attack on you in this place—well, we knew you’d be ridiculously angry! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Rintarou’s loud laughter echoed sinisterly. I can’t believe that he would strategize to specifically rub salt in her wound after her terrible trauma…, thought Sir Kay. I already knew it, but he’s the absolute worst person ever…, noted Felicia. …Merlin is terrifying, observed Sir Gawain with a shiver. All three of them shied away, their faces pale and eyes disgusted. “Merli… Rintarou Magamiiiii?!” Sir Lamorak raged, causing the air around her to become electrified. “You think you ants have accomplished anything just because you can group together and give me a mere wound?!” She swung up her sword and leaped at them all at once. Thud. Sir Lamorak opened her eyes wide and took a knee when her body suddenly felt heavy. “Wh-what is this…? I suddenly feel slow…?!” “…Hey, Lamorak, make sure you don’t underestimate us too much.” Sir Lamorak looked around. “Royal Road! Excalibur—the Radiant Steel Sword of Glory. Pardon me, Sir Lamorak.” Felicia had lifted up her rapier, already invoking her order. A blinding light radiated out from Felicia’s Excalibur and dampened Sir Lamorak’s power. “Okay, Sun’s Blessing is invoked, my liege.” Which meant Sir Gawain was three times more powerful than usual. “Gah… Wh-why you…?!” For the first time, Sir Lamorak looked uneasy, as it seeped onto her expression. “Heh… If you were in your normal state, and if I did my Fomorian Transformation, Felicia used her debuff, Sir Gawain was three times his power…and Sir Kay…uhhh…Sir Kay?” “It’s fine! You don’t have to force yourself to include me!” Sir Kay was in tears. “Well, anyway. Even if we did a ton of stuff, we wouldn’t have won against you. You’re just that overpowered.” But Rintarou dauntlessly smiled. “Now that you’ve let me get in a ton of practice, my powers are about on par with yours! On top of that, you’ve lost your Rothschild, and you’re fatally wounded… Now then, I wonder which way the scales will tip?” Sir Lamorak gritted her teeth with hate. “In order to… In order to manufacture this situation, you tricked me into a duel…?! You did this because you knew that I would train you in a one-on-one fight?!” “Ha! Of course! All you knights think battles are sacred and fair—to defeat your opponent at full power… I mean, you do that because you’re all dumb!” The bite in Rintarou’s mocking cackle was merciless. And that infuriated Sir Lamorak. “Fine… You asshole…! If you’re willing to go that far to die a gruesome death…then I’ll plaaaaaay!” she hollered. Sir Lamorak brought up her claymore and lunged at Rintarou and the others. “Ahhhhhhhhh?!” At that moment, Emma felt a powerful impact that jarred her head and sent her rolling along the ground, crying bloody murder. It had been caused by Luna’s last-ditch roundhouse kick. Emma had tried to take the attack with the Rothschild, but of course, something went awry. The Rothschild that protected her…had suddenly lost its materiality and melted into thin air. The end results were that Emma got a full taste of Luna’s kick to the side of her head, knocked away. “Hmm, look at that. I guess I finally got a point in?” As Luna slowly brought down her leg from its position held high over her head, she smiled without fear. “Wh-why did the Rothschild do that?! S-Sir Lamorak…?!” Shaking her head, Emma got up and looked around her but couldn’t find her Jack. It seemed that because she was so absorbed in battle, they had been separated at some point. As a King, Emma had a spiritual line of connection with her Jack. Based on their connection, she didn’t sense that Sir Lamorak had been defeated, but…that was all she got. They seemed to be in a peculiar situation. “Ha-ha… Now that annoying shield is finally done-zo… In other words, Rintarou did good… Well, I knew that from the start! All according to plan!” “Wha…what in the world did you do…?!” “Well, well. More importantly, how’re you feeling? You just got the hood pulled over your eyes by your ‘inferior’! Who’s looking down on who now?!” “Aaah! This is absurd…!” Emma used her sword to support her weight as she forced herself to stand. “I don’t know what happened, but your attack only landed because of Rintarou Magami! It’s not like I lost to you!” “Erm? What’re you talking about? A vassal’s power is her lord’s power, right? That’s the difference in our abilities as Kings? Does that ring a bell?” Luna retorted. “Ack?!” Emma could only grind her teeth. “Well, anyway…this battle…starts now…!” Even though Luna’s whole body was tattered as a rag, she readied her sword. When faced with Luna’s incomprehensible and tenacious spirit, Emma was overawed momentarily and backed away. “…I-it’s useless. Even if I don’t have the Rothschild, I’m stronger than you, Luna. This doesn’t change how the battle ends.” “I wonder…if that’s true…!” Luna declared, even though her consciousness was getting hazy. “…Don’t you get the situation you’re in? Or have you lost your senses to the point you can’t even make that judgment?” Emma looked at Luna, who staggered and was in a hopeless state. The younger girl took back her composure in exasperation. “You’ve already gotten ten strikes of my Excalibur. In other words, in just one more strike, you’ll be visited by decisive, unavoidable death. The battle is already over.” She saw the ten phantom crimson flames burning all over Luna’s body. Luna was covered in figurative fire. “I’m amazed you held out for this long, but…why don’t you give up already? Think over the words that you’ll use to beg forgiveness—” “Shut up, you idiot! I’ll say this as many times as I need!” Luna declared, swinging her sword. Bwoosh! “As a King, I’m superior to you!” she shouted. “Plus, you’ve lost the protection of the Rothschild, and my swordsmanship is better than yours! You don’t have a chance of winning anymore! You’re the one who should hurry up and surrender already!” “…Aaah. I guess there’s no saving you.” Emma chillingly narrowed her eyes and readied her sword. “It’s fine now. My compassion as a King is at its limit. Luna, please die—like the eleventh king who died opposing King Arthur, refusing to accept his compassion until the bitter end. Meet your maker like Lot.” “—Ngh?!” Then… “Royal Road…” Emma tried to release the final order, but… “RAAAAAH!” Luna leaped at Emma’s chest with indiscernible speed. How could she move this quickly in her state? Emma could only be internally stunned by Luna’s tenaciousness. “Like I said, it’s useless!” Emma’s sword lightly swiveled. She had trained to fend off attacks and deliver blows. It was like muscle memory at this point. She apprehended Luna’s swift sword, sweeping it to the side, and at the same time, she pierced it deep into Luna’s chest. With this, it was over. —Or it should have been. However… “AAAAAAAAAH!” “What?!” Luna’s thought process was incomprehensible, but she stepped forward, even as she took on Emma’s sword. Because of that, Emma missed. Though Luna’s wound was severe, it wasn’t fatal. Gong! She head-butted Emma’s skull, even though Luna was bleeding. “Argh?!” In that moment, Emma’s vision flickered. Unable to withstand the attack, she bent back and jumped away. It was the first time Emma had ever retreated purposefully since the fight had started. “Heh-heh… How’s that? Wheeze… So this is all you amount to when you haven’t got the Rothschild?” Hacking up blood and in pain, Luna grinned smugly. “Huh…? Wh-what are you saying…?” As she held her smarting head, Emma wondered whether Luna had finally gone insane. Luna proudly said she had gotten a hit on Emma, but…the younger girl had sustained just one head-butt. On the flip side, Luna had acquired nontrivial sword wounds. In that match, the obvious winner was clearer than ever, but— “Wheeze… Hah… Ugh…what’s wrong? You couldn’t be sacred, right? Cough!” Luna asked, but her eyes were obviously declaring something else. She was saying: I win. “Wh-why you…!” Even though she had been hopelessly driven into a corner, Luna believed in her victory, without bending and without yielding. She had come to the battle to win. Emma felt nauseated by that. “Okay! In that case, we’ll see how long you can keep this up with my own hands!” Emma tried once again to ready her sword and release Royal Road. “AAAAAAAAH!” And of course, Luna had no choice but to leap at Emma’s chest again. “I knew that’s what you were going to do!” Emma easily drove back Luna’s sword. “I’m coooooooooooooooooming!” But Luna didn’t stop, even though she had sustained a major injury, ramming her head into Emma’s. The younger girl’s mind was shaken and went completely white for a second. “Ah! Gah?! Wh-why?! Why?!” Unable to endure the shooting pain, Emma took her distance, but— “I’m not done yet! I’m not even close to being done!” Luna mercilessly pursued Emma—without end, without fail. Rintarou had advanced his Fomorian Transformation; Felicia had wielded her Excalibur; Sir Gawain had activated his Sun’s Blessing; the surprise attack had been successful in landing a powerful blow. They had managed to force out the Rothschild. Even with all those conditions in place… “RAAAAAAAGH.” …Sir Lamorak possessed power that was beyond their leagues. With raging ferocity, she swung her claymore at Rintarou, Felicia, Sir Gawain, and Sir Kay as they assaulted her from all directions. Her attacks bowled them over, sent them flying, threw them down, and shook them off. If Felicia hadn’t cast Spring Wind of Abundance on all of them—which had the everlasting fey magic to continually heal their accumulating injuries—they would have already been six feet under by now. “I’m the best! I’m the strongest knight in this place! All you little shits can do is gang up on me! I can’t lose to yoooou!” However— “HAAAAAAAH!” Rintarou’s swords had picked up pace, coming at her faster and stronger. It was nothing like the beginning of the fight. “UUUUH-RAH!” Sir Gawain’s sword came to his aid. “Ack! Gah?!” They had started to carve more than trivial damage into Sir Lamorak. “Y-you bastards…! You little shiiiits!” To win, this Jack had to break out of this disadvantageous setup of one against four and switch her focus to making counterattacks. But because of Felicia’s Spring Wind of Abundance, any superficial wounds would immediately be healed, and Sir Lamorak couldn’t get anything to stick. “You’re so persistent! Are you all zombies or something?!” In that case, she had to reap their lives with one attack. Once she determined that, Sir Lamorak followed through with a momentary opportunity that she saw in Rintarou, who had grown more fatigued in the long battle. She used her entire soul, amassing all the aura in her body and collecting her strength to desperately swing once. “DIE! Rintarouuuuuu!” Oh crap, what’d I do wrong?! In that second, Rintarou was prepared for his own death, but— “Rintarou Magami!” Blood sprayed through the air. It was none other than Sir Gawain who had intervened between them. He had come to stop that fatal swing of the claymore with his Galatine. But her attack had been too savage. He had been unable to stop it, and the claymore violently split through his armor, carving deep into his flesh. At long last, one person had fallen. It wasn’t just Sir Lamorak who had believed that, but everyone there, Rintarou included. “Why…?!” Sir Lamorak snared. “Sir Gawain… Why aren’t you dead…?!” Her strike should have had enough power to murder any normal being, even though she had suppressed her strength. It had certainly been fatal. It was a fact that even Rintarou would have died in his current form. And yet, Sir Gawain was still alive, standing on his own two feet. Moreover, he was holding back Sir Lamorak’s claymore with his own body. “Ah…I can’t…get the sword out…?! Let go…! Let go…!” “I’m sorry, but…I’m proud of my strength and resilience…” Sir Gawain smiled as if he’d tricked her, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth. “I think it might be because I’m part of the family line of Danann. If I focus my aura on defense, I’m hard to kill,” he barked. Come to think of it, Rintarou recalled. He was thinking back on Mordred’s rebellion in their past lives. It was the last fight between Gawain and Lancelot. Over the course of a few days, Gawain had continued to fight to the brink of death, even after being beaten to a pulp by Lancelot. Sir Gawain. He was a step behind when it came to the sword or spear, but he had the greatest tenacity at the Round Table. Sir Gawain had caused the collapse of the Round Table. Frankly, Rintarou thought he was the most infuriating person in the entire world. After all, he was Merlin. But…at that moment, in that situation, Sir Gawain had Rintarou’s trust. “It’s go time! You’ve got to do it, Rintarou Magami!” Sir Gawain yelled. “HYAAAAH!” Rintarou moved in a flash, brandishing his two swords to draw two metallic crescents through the air. “AAACK! URK—!” Fwoosh! The paired weapons closed in on her sides, causing a spray of blood to spurt up from Sir Lamorak. The wound was deep, in the shape of a cross. It was almost fatal—a severe injury. “Hurk?! Wh-why youuuuuuuu!” Sir Lamorak used all her might to kick at Sir Gawain, drawing back her sword and springing away to take her distance from Rintarou. Drenched in blood, Sir Lamorak readied her claymore. Rintarou was sticky with sinew, too, facing Sir Lamorak and darting at her at top speed. He was close to his limit. Well, he had already gone past his limit. If he didn’t finish her with this next blow, they would lose. Resolutely aware of that premonition, he sprinted as fast as his legs would take him. He dredged up the last of his strength and released the final stroke of his sword. “LAMORAAAAAAAAAAAK!” “RINTAROUUUUUUUUUU?!” Rintarou and Sir Lamorak headed for their final clash, closing in on each other. And then— “Why is this happening?!” Finally, Emma started crying. “Why…? Why? Why-why-why-why?! Why can’t I beat you?! Why won’t you give uuup?!” Emma couldn’t piece together the situation anymore. In tatters, Luna stood before Emma. Well, it would be an insult to beaten rags to call her that. She had already received the ten strikes of Emma’s Excalibur, receiving the brunt of her sword countless times. She was soaked in blood and wiped out—a lost cause. In fact, she seemed close to death even in that moment. And Emma wanted her to die. Emma had only sustained damage in the form of head-butts—and not even ten, at that. Out of a survey of a hundred, it was obvious that everyone would say Emma was the victor here. And yet… Regardless of this whole situation… “Cough! Koff! What? Is it over alrea—? Cough!” Luna smiled with menace. …The one who was overwhelming the place, the one who was dominating, wasn’t Emma. It was unmistakably Luna. “Wheeze… Aaaah… Come to think of it, I’m actually in a bad place, too… I’ll die at this rate…,” Luna said, vomiting blood. “Th-that’s right! If you keep it up, you’ll die! You’re going to perish! Hurry up and acknowledge defeat and surrender to me—” “…I won’t!” Why?! Emma was ready to bawl, regardless of how it would have looked to others. “Well… I’ve bided my time long enough. Now, I present to you…my Royal Road,” Luna started to suddenly say. “After this…it’s over…!” “Oh…” Suddenly, Emma’s expression twisted in fear. I see… That was the plan all along! Her Royal Road! She has that ace up her sleeve. That’s why she hasn’t lost hope and kept up with her stubborn act… Gah! The Kings who entered the succession battle had a trump card—that was their Excalibur’s Royal Road. At the sign that Luna would publicly exhibit hers, Emma’s entire body tingled with nerves. B-but…if she has a Royal Road that could completely reverse this desperate situation… What could it even be…?! Immediately, Emma lost the composure her superior advantage afforded her. Her nerves were going haywire, making her breath go ragged. No, it’s fine. If she’s been saving it until now, then it must be a deadly attack of Military Pursuit. Or maybe it’s a Kingly Epiphany that gives her a boost… It can’t be the most dangerous manifestation: a Royal Menace… In which case, I can still win, as long as I can keep predicting her attacks…! Emma readied herself and her sword. “Okay, I’m up for it! Come at me anytime!” “Yeah? Huh… Then, I’ll take you up on it, and—” Luna started to race forward. In the eleventh hour, she turned to Emma all at once—with unbelievable speed and without hesitation. She brought up her sword, shouldering its weight. “Royal Road!” Luna declared. Emma chuckled to herself. In that moment, Luna ran closer and closer within fighting distance. I’m sure of it. She has the type that’s all about Military Pursuit! And the type of ability that needs to be in close range! In other words, it was possible she could more than handle it with her swordsmanship. Emma had won. Fwish! But for some reason, Luna had suddenly thrown her sword to the side, right before Emma’s eyes. “………What?” Emma’s mind drew a blank when she witnessed the unexpected. What? Why? Did she just throw her sword down?! What kind of Royal Road is that?! Th-that couldn’t be a Divine Revelation, right?! That’s only been in rumors! N-no! It couldn’t be… Because if that was the case… As Emma focused all her senses on the oncoming attack, she had left an opening for a very brief moment. If just for one second. But it still happened in that time. “Royal Road! My Excalibur—the Steel Fists of Sheer Ol’ Will!” She pounced toward Emma’s chest, punching her with her bare hand. “Mm—What? What is that…?” In a fluster, Emma leaped back, trying to swing her sword to intercept, but it was already too late. Before Emma’s sword could seize Luna, the straight punch from her right hand had made direct contact with Emma’s left cheek. Without mercy, Luna had swung her fist—striking a single punch, charged by her imperceptible dash with her entire body weight behind it.
Chapter 30
18 min read