CHAPTER 3 The Lonely Demon and the Midnight Sun Luna’s proposed mission was to infiltrate a certain establishment. The aforementioned information was apparently hidden in this building. Somehow, Luna had prepared intelligence and a map of the location in advance for their plan to break and enter, and they had a detailed meeting right before they started their work. Using the sewer pipes, they entered the establishment from below and crawled carefully forward on their hands and knees in a ventilated air duct that snaked along the ceiling. Eventually, they removed a vent cover and stealthily dropped down onto the floor. Once they investigated their surroundings, they found they were in an endless corridor, continuing before and behind them. Here and there, dim emergency lights along the corridor indistinctly lit up the darkness. They turned to each other and nodded, then started running soundlessly. They checked the time on their clocks and compared that to the scheduled rounds of the facility guards in their minds. From there, they chose a route where they were sure they wouldn’t come across any guards and quickly sprinted through the building. After some time, they arrived at the door of a certain room—their objective. That door had a card reader. It could only be opened by running a key card over it. “Hmph, easy-peasy.” Luna pulled out a key card—she’d gotten her hands on it from heavens knows where—and ran it by the card reader. Beep. With that small electronic sound, the red light on the reader turned green, and the door lock clicked open. “…You sure are prepared.” Rintarou immediately opened the door and slipped into the room. There were countless desks, chairs, computers, printers, and shredders lined up in the room. It must’ve been an office. At the very back of the room was a heavy safe. “Rintarou. That’s the one.” With an incredibly retro-looking dial, the object in question was out of place for the modern office. Unlike an electronic safe, it served as a simple physical defense mechanism, incapable of being cracked using hacks or other backhanded tricks…normally, at least. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the combination to this safe even when I used my information network to its fullest extent. Can you do it?” “Ha… Who do you think you’re talking to?” Rintarou smiled faintly and put his ear next to the safe’s dial. Then he noisily started turning the dial to the right and left, listening for subtle changes to deduce its combination. Two, three times, he spun the dial quickly, turning it right and left to the indicator, until he eventually heard a clink of a small bell—and the safe was open. He’d taken fifteen seconds, if that. “Wowza…” As he felt Luna’s wide eyes gape at him from behind, he grabbed the lever of the safe and pulled it open with a clunk. The only thing inside the giant safe was a manila folder secured by a string and two grommets. “We did it!” She eagerly pulled the envelope out and checked its contents. There was no mistaking it: That was the incredibly important information Luna needed. “Yeah! This battle’s as good as ours! It’s all thanks to you, Rintarou!” She shivered from intense emotion and excitement. “Are you gonna tell me what you’re using that for now…?” he asked in a hushed voice as he folded his arms. It seemed he was starting to regret what he’d gotten into—that or he might have just been scared. He was unusually shaky, breaking out into a cold sweat, and an oily sheen seeped out of his pores. “Hee-hee. You haven’t…lost your nerve, have you?” she snickered, her mouth forming a thin, cold, crimson line in the darkness. “I guess I didn’t expect you to be such a coward? Was that bravado just for show?” He clicked his tongue in annoyance. “I said to tell me what you’re using that—” With that, Luna beamed as she pointed to the bundle of documents and yelled, “You mean—with the questions for our midterms?!” When she said that, the air faintly trembled as her words reverberated throughout their surroundings. “…” “…” For a while, heavy silence settled over Rintarou and Luna. Yes, they’d just infiltrated…their very own school, Camelot International’s faculty building—as though they were on an espionage mission in another country. Indeed, this room was simply a regular office. “Well, you see… My approval rating as president has been dwindling, just a tiny bit… It’s all thanks to that annoying resistance movement and their smear campaign,” she started, giving Rintarou a staccato explanation. “I still don’t understand why people even support you in the first place… Anyway, how are these related?” “Well, I was thinking I’d take a shot at boosting my approval ratings in one go.” “Uh-huh.” “Basically, I’ll take these test problems and float them by the students close to flunking out and the sports teams, so they can focus on their matches. That way, I can swing some more votes.” “…” “In other words! This solidifies my victory in the next presidential campaign—” Slaaaaap! The noise coldly echoed around them. Rintarou had expressionlessly hit Luna across the head with a notebook. “That hurt?! Wh-what do you think you’re doing to your King?! You brute!” “What do you think you’re doing?! What part of this is supposed to help you ‘win the King Arthur Succession Battle’? How is this ‘important information’ that you absolutely had to get your hands on? You idiot!” “Wh-what?! It’s important, isn’t it?! As the true King, I also hold the throne of student president… If I lose my throne as the King of this school, I’d be too anxious and depressed to fight in the King Arthur Succession Battle!” “Who cares about that stuff?!” “You dummy! How can I be King Arthur and rule the world if I can’t even be King of this school?!” she declared in all seriousness. “Okay, that’s a decent point, but there’s something really wrong with your reasoning!” Rintarou yelled, pulling at his hair. As he did that, Luna had a scummy grin as she gave him an order. “Look, Rintarou, we’re going to take pictures of the problems, then hurry up and get out of here, okay? Heh-heh-heh…” “I…might’ve made a mistake by deciding to side with you…” With a sigh, Rintarou pulled out his smartphone… Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep! Unexpectedly tearing through the silence in that dark room, an alarm started to blare loudly. “Huh?! What?! What is this?!” she exclaimed, confused, as they heard sounds of a large crowd pushing toward them from the corridor. Eventually, the door of the office was flung open, and countless shadowy figures surged in like an avalanche. The person at the front of the group was— “Aha! You fell right into my trap, Luna!” With an armband that read ETHICS COMMITTEE—it was Tsugumi Mimori. “T-Tsugumi?! Why are you here?!” “This was all a trap to catch you!” she declared, chest confidently puffed out in victory. “I knew you were sniffing around the staff room trying to steal the test questions! We twisted that around on you. The Ethics Committee used everything it had to execute this plan!” “Wh-what?! You’re treating me like some sort of villain?!” “You’re clearly a villain!” yelled Tsugumi. “You’re obviously a villain!” shouted Rintarou. “Ugh?! I thought getting that key card was way too easy… I can’t believe myself!” “Heh! We caught you red-handed with some super-small security cameras we just installed! Now that’s what they’d call ‘conclusive evidence’!” Uh-oh, sorry, Miss Ethics Committee. I already hacked all those cameras and killed them in advance. I don’t think you got any footage. If I knew what I know now, I wouldn’t have bothered. In his mind, he raised his hands together in silent atonement. “All that’s left is to catch you here, and victory is ours! We’ll free this school from the tyrant’s reign!” Please try your best. I’m praying for victory and glory to the noble uprising against this oppressive regime. This time, he raised his hands together in silent prayer. “Rest assured, Mr. Transfer Student! I’m sure Luna coerced you into helping her, right?! Yes, we already know!” “Oh, right. Yeah, sure, that’s the truth. Please save me—” With Tsugumi throwing him a metaphorical lifejacket, Rintarou was more than ready to throw Luna under the bus. “Now, how to get out of this predicament?! Any ideas, my faithful vassal, Rintarou?! Hey, what are we gonna do?! My right hand, Rintarou, the one who helped me with this plan! You swore you’d devote your life to me, Rintarou—my faithful partner! We’re thick as thieves and bound by the same fate, right, Rintarou?!” Th-this freaking girl…! With her blabbering on and on about their friendship, Luna effectively closed off all possible escape routes. His veins popped out on his temple, straining under his skin. “Huh? Mr. Transfer Student? A-are you really an accomplice…?” As Tsugumi trembled in astonishment, Luna smirked nastily and coiled her arm around Rintarou’s. “Of course!” she grandly declared. “I’m a King, he’s a vassal, and we’re of one body and heart! He’d faithfully offer up his life for me, and I’ll fight with my life on the line in exchange! There’s nothing stronger than the two of—” “Ahhhh—! That’s enough! Okay, okay, fine! I’m on the dark side with you! I’m on the dark side, too!” He wanted to punch her. Oh, how he wanted to punch Luna and her skeevy little smile, playing across her face beside him. Meanwhile, Tsugumi had finally come back to her senses and raised her voice expressionlessly. “Ugh! Whatever! Everyone! Restrain them both!” ““““ROGER THAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT!!”””” the committee members belted in unison, leaping at them. “Let’s go, Rintarou!” “Ugh?! Like we’d let you catch ussssssssssss?!” As the students tried to grab them, Luna and Rintarou threw them aside, obstructing them with body checks, nimbly tripping them up with their feet, cutting through the rest, pushing their way out of the crowd— “We’re through!” The pair escaped the mob and rolled into the corridor at the same time. Then they used their momentum to bound to their feet and run for dear life. “Th-they got away, Tsugumi!” “It’s okay! We have tons of people deployed all around the faculty building! We’ll catch them for sure! Now, everyone, move as planned!” At her command, they gathered into one, running after Rintarou and Luna with all their might. “Hey! Yo! Luna! Just how many enemies do you have at this school?!” He dared to glance behind him as they booked it through the corridors. ““““STOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!”””” roared the committee members. Like a tsunami, a sea of students rushed over to them. “Ughhh! Those disrespectful jerks! How dare they go against their King!” “You’re more like the King of the underworld! Which makes them the heroes by association!” Their comic timing was perfect, even though they’d only recently met. “Ugh, I don’t see their leader—that Tsugumi chick! They’re definitely trying to circle ahead! Even if we keep running, they’re going to eventually corner us!” “Ugh, well played, Tsugumi…” “What do you want to do? Do you want to just use Mana Acceleration to force our way through?” Those from the other side could awaken a skill called Mana Acceleration. It was a special way of breathing, which sent mana down the path that connected the sefira in their bodies. That allowed them to push their bodies’ senses and abilities beyond human limits. In the East, it was known as qigong or alchemy. In the East and West, now and in the past, those who unconsciously tapped into this power usually became one of the few heroes displaying extraordinary bravery. “I mean, it’d be a chore trying to get out of this by relying on our normal human abilities without Mana Acceleration. Especially considering that there’s so many of ’em.” “But I don’t want to roughhouse them when they have no idea what they’re getting into.” The two were struggling to decide on a course of action…when suddenly, they heard a high-pitched noise that rang in their ears. Their surroundings transformed. Almost instantly, it was as though the world was enveloped in an uncanny feeling, as if painted over with ink. “—Huh?!” “What was that just now—?!” The two of them automatically stopped in their tracks. It might have been midnight, but the world was still as delicate as always, held together by human movements and interactions. That’s why they felt the presence of a large crowd, even when they were far from earshot—and then the sudden sensation like it’d gone far away. This was different from their unremarkably normal day-to-day life, fogged over by an inexplicable something… It felt eerie, as though they’d been pulled into…another world. When they came to, they found themselves in a place that was their school but also wasn’t their school. At the same time, the other students had hardened up like statues. “Wh-what is this? I can’t really put what it is into words, but this strange feeling…” Luna batted her eyes in confusion and looked over the scene in front of them. He clicked his tongue. “It’s the Netherworld Transformation spell.” “Netherworld?” “Yeah. It’s a type of barrier that temporarily screws up the Curtain of Consciousness, which separates the real world and the illusory world. By someone else’s hand, we’ve been brought over to the underside of the real world…an illusion, a projection of the space in front of us. We’ve been pulled into a place called Neverwhere.” Rintarou gave a perfunctory glance at the frozen students. “Because of the Curtain of Consciousness, the people of the real world can’t perceive the illusory world. That’s why time stops for them when they’re thrown into another world.” “Who would do something like this…?” she asked, tilting her head. He grinned in amusement. “That’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s a setup…by your enemy.” “What?!” “Did you forget? The King Arthur Succession Battle has already started. There’s no need to wait for the four treasures to be announced. You can defeat your rivals before that.” At the same moment, they heard the wind howl. One of the frozen committee members suddenly started moving and lunged at Luna, pouncing toward her. Their speed was beyond human ability, as fast as a discharged bullet. “—Huh?!” Her reflexes were slow, and she watched the student’s arm savagely lash out at her in silence. But the arm swiped through thin air. “Whoa there!” Rintarou had quickly swept Luna under his arm and jumped backward. As he began to kick at the wall to leap farther away, the corridor seemed to fall behind them and flow away like a torrent. As he bounded from wall to wall, he turned over upside down to kick the roof and jumped even farther back— —to make a spectacular landing. They skidded across the hallway another dozen yards. “Th-thank you…,” Luna stammered. “That’s the Puppet spell. If they can control this many people at once…our enemy must be a pretty strong sorcerer, huh?” He let Luna down and looked forward. When he did, the frozen students started coming to life one after another. The students had an ominous, yellow glow around them, looking at Luna with empty, spiritless eyes, and slowly approached them exactly like zombies. “But if they’re involving bystanders to get you…they’re willing to use some pretty dirty tricks!” he shouted as he yanked Luna into a nearby classroom, where he closed the door and wrote the words KEEP OUT in archaic Celtic Ogham letters. It was a Confinement spell. He’d locked the door using magic. Before long, the students gathering outside the closed door were vigorously starting to bang on it. As the shrill sounds filled the classroom, the door started to creak and groan under the weight of their balled fists. “Tch… It won’t last long.” He looked outside the classroom window. Because of the Netherworld Transformation, the world outside the window was strangely wriggly and warped. An other-dimensional space spread out ahead of them. If they fell into that space, they wouldn’t get out alive. There would be no escape through the window. Even with this revelation, Rintarou wasn’t flustered or shaken. He was simply analyzing the situation calmly. Someone is magically controlling those guys and increasing their abilities. At someone’s command, they’re super-eager to kill Luna…and trying to reason with them is impossible. Making a getaway is also impossible… Hmm. In that case, there was only one answer. “Guess we’ve gotta kill ’em,” he concluded mercilessly, pulling out his sword. In his left hand, a sword cane. In his right, a long sword. Their frosty blades glinted, bloodthirsty like their handler. “Heh, no hard feelings, okay? You just got unlucky getting drawn into this fight,” he scoffed casually with a smirk—morally broken, cold-blooded, and matchless. He readied himself for the door’s inevitable collapse and the flow of students that would come barging through as he shamelessly overflowed with murderous glee. But when he did that, someone grasped his shoulder. It was Luna. “…What?” He gloomily turned to Luna. Her eyes bored deep into Rintarou with complete seriousness, almost frighteningly so. For a moment, he was at a loss for words before her vividly beautiful eyes. “Rintarou. That’s one thing I won’t allow,” she stated with dignity and a stern will, which seeped into his ears and soul. He realized Luna was acting completely different. She wasn’t her usual jokester self, instead bearing an air of majesty and royalty. It made him almost unconsciously submit to her. “H-huh…?” To be honest, he was kind of annoyed at himself for being overawed by this brat. “Hey, do you understand the situation we’re in right now? They’re all under the control of an enemy hiding who knows where. You think we can get out of this without killing them? If you get caught, they’ll rip you to shreds,” he retorted. “It doesn’t matter what’s going on!” she asserted. “I won’t allow you to lay a hand on those kids! That’s the only thing I won’t allow! Ever!” Tch… He clicked his tongue. Eh, she’s a girl after all… Discouragement colored his face. “You’re soft. Do you really think you can become King—?” “I do this because I am a King!” She boldly brushed off his contempt and ridicule. “—Ngh?!” He couldn’t stop his eyes as they flung open. Like a flash of light, her voice cast away the darkness. “Sure, those kids are part of an insolent uprising against me, but they’re students under my rule all the same! In other words, they’re my vassals and subjects! I won’t allow a sword to be turned on them! A King’s duty is to protect her kingdom, and if you ignore such a basic rule and lay a hand on them… Rintarou, as King, I will pass judgment on you!” Her sword sang as she unsheathed it and held it in both hands like a cane, as her gaze blazed with sincerity and continued to stab away at Rintarou. Is this really the same irresponsible dunce who tried to steal the test questions? Almost doubting his vision, Rintarou couldn’t do anything but be perplexed at her presence. This confident stance made Rintarou recall the memory of facing a certain person. He remembered a distant and nostalgic scene in a grand grassy field of old Britain. There was a pair of blazing blue eyes, hardened by witnessing countless battles, and a gentle smile that never disappeared. In this memory, the figure’s golden hair moved with the wind, the armor sparkled and gleamed brilliantly, and the cape was majestic. He remembered the treasured sword, the Excalibur, imparting a blinding glitter—neither gold nor silver. It’d been carried in the hand of a young King—that guy. With confidence and pride filling his face, he’d always say to his waiting vassal by his side— “. This is a King’s command…” “Rintarou! This is a King’s command!” At the sound of her voice, his consciousness stopped wandering in his old memories and snapped back to the present. Chanting something, Luna gripped her pendant at her chest, and a Gate opened out of thin air. With the sound of mana bursting forth, Sir Kay was summoned. This time, she wasn’t in any sort of cosplay. She was fully in her knight form. “I’ll distract those kids! You work with Sir Kay to find the person putting up this attack and cut them down!” Unconsciously, he found himself looking at Luna’s hand. What she held was not an Excalibur, shining in all its brilliance. There was nothing extraordinary about it. It was just some rugged bastard sword. It was obviously inferior compared to her capabilities. If that’d been the real Excalibur, then— That’s too bad. He didn’t notice this moment of pity passing through his brain. “H-hmph… You’re placing a tall order on yourself, considering you don’t even have your Excalibur. You really think you can keep it up long enough for me to crush the puppeteer?” “Hey! If I can’t, it just means I was never fit to be King!” “Damn, don’t be a hero when you don’t need to be… You’re exactly like him.” “…Him?” “Tch… Seems like the King I’m serving is a handful.” Ignoring Luna and her quizzical look, he quickly returned his swords to their scabbards. “Okay, I’ve got it. GOOOOOO!” As Rintarou yelled desperately— —Bam! The students ripped through the door and rushed into the room. “AHHHHHHH!” “HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Rintarou and Luna moved into position. With the waves of students pushing toward them, the two slammed into the mob, delivering a blow with the force of their bodies, pushed the students back, and forced a path through the sea. With that, they jumped out of the classroom. They should have expected that when they got out, the students would go after them in droves. “Whaaat?! L-Luna?! What’s going on?!” shouted Sir Kay, following after them with no real understanding of what was happening. Luna yelled back, “Sir Kay! Follow Rintarou!” “Well, but—” “Hey, let’s get a move on! C’mon, you amateur knight!” He grabbed onto her cape and left Luna behind as they furiously sprinted away. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!” As she was pulled along by her arm, Sir Kay’s shrieks were immediately swallowed by the dark depths of the hallway. “Don’t you dare die until I get this done! You unreliable King!” he yelled. “Rintarou!” Luna blurted, hurling her words at him. “I believe in you!” “!” Unintentionally, he’d stopped in his tracks for a moment. “Hmph…” He sighed, snorting and picking up his pace. As expected, it seemed whoever had set this up was after Luna. The students didn’t even cast a glance at Rintarou and Sir Kay escaping, instead choosing to flood around Luna. “Heh, be patient! My vassal will release you from this despicable grip on your souls!” she declared. Even though she was clearly targeted, Luna was wearing her usual fearless, smug grin. Jumping onto her, countless students swarmed in on Luna, unarmed. Under the control of magic, their movements were agile and fierce, predatory. Their speed and power couldn’t be compared to any normal human. However, she was flexible and energetic even when the students viciously closed in on her. “Hah!” She sidestepped a student trying to grab her from the front. She stopped the fist of a student trying to punch her from the right and launched them overhead in a masterful hip throw. She jumped over a student trying to body-slam her from the left. She did a somersault off the shoulders of a student advancing on her and landed perfectly. On top of the crowd, she nimbly leaped from shoulder to shoulder of the students beneath her, until she eventually jumped clear of the crowd to run in the opposite direction of Rintarou and Sir Kay. The turbulent wave of manipulated students followed closely after her. …So she believes in me…huh? As Rintarou ran down the hall and explained the situation to Sir Kay, he was deep in thought. What an idiot. What if I abandoned her? Or if I was actually part of an enemy group? Isn’t she suspicious or paranoid? …Yeah, she probably won’t live for long… His mouth sarcastically contorted at the thought of Luna’s carelessness. But… It’s the first time anyone in this era has ever said that to me. Well, it didn’t really matter. They were just words, after all. They didn’t hold any real value. Rintarou shook his head back and forth and pulled himself back together. “I—I see. Okay, I understand what’s happening now!” shouted Sir Kay, sprinting behind Rintarou down the corridor, as wild and fast as a tempest. “In that case, I think one of us really should’ve stayed behind in order to protect Luna!” “Hey, hey, Sir Kay… You’re as overprotective as always, huh?” His smile was steeped in sarcasm. “Huh? What do you mean by…‘as always’?” “You got a direct order from the King, right? She told us to butcher the puppeteer… Shouldn’t you follow her command and believe in your King as her vassal? “Well, not that I’m her vassal or anything,” he added, grumbling in a low voice. “Rintarou… Could it be that you have some ties to King Arthur’s time?” she asked, as if she’d noticed something about him. “It seems extremely odd to ask you when you are a person of this era, but…did you and I perhaps serve the same King?” “The enemy is controlling a ton of students and sicking them on Luna in the netherworld. On top of that, whoever it is has strengthened the students by supplying them mana,” he explained, all the while ignoring her original question. “Of course, magic has an inverse relation to distance. To use a spell this strong, the caster has to be close by. It’d be impossible for the culprit to control that many students and make them that strong from outside the netherworld, even for a wizard from Arthur’s time.” “…You mean to say the puppet master has to be somewhere in this space?” It might have been because the situation was so tense, but Sir Kay didn’t press him any further and went along with his explanation. “That’s right. We need to blot them out.” “B-but… Just where could this person be hiding?!” With a vaguely impatient expression, Sir Kay looked around the vicinity. Though the floors, ceilings, and walls were configured like a normal school building, the corridors were like a maze going forward, backward, left, and right into one another. The floor plan had obviously gone bonkers. “The Netherworld Transformation probably distorted the space. If this keeps up, we’ll be stuck here forever! We need to find the person who set up the trap fast, or Luna will—” “—Wait!” Rintarou stopped in his tracks. As he squinted ahead of them in the corridor…he saw a palm-sized girl with wings on her back scattering glittery dust from her scales as she drifted along. “Is that a Messenger Pixie?” he asked uncertainly. The pixie noticed them approaching, her eyes meeting with Rintarou’s, and nodded. Then she flitted away, turning to the right at the T-shaped corridor ahead. It was as though she was telling them to follow her. “I see. It’s an invitation from the puppet master,” he concluded with a smirk. “…Could it be a trap?” Sir Kay asked apprehensively. “Well, that’s unlikely. They already went through the trouble of using Netherworld Transformation here, after all. What would be the point of luring us into a trap here…? If it were me, I’d keep quiet and let my unsuspecting victims drop in the pitfall on their own. Besides,” Rintarou continued, “even if it was a trap…I’d just crush it.” “Sigh… Wow, so dependable. Who are you, really?” It went without saying that Rintarou didn’t reply to her exasperated question. “C’mon, let’s go, Sir Kay. The mastermind behind all this is waiting.” He darted after the flying pixie without hesitation. Following the pixie through the corridors and going right at a crossing, they went through a classroom to a window. It extended into another corridor, where they climbed one stairwell after another. “Ugh… What is this place? It makes me feel kind of sick,” Sir Kay lamented. Rintarou let her complaints wash over him as they continued to earnestly climb the stairs that seemed to go on and on and on and on. Based on the number of stairs they’d climbed, they’d already far surpassed the height of the school building. But finally, at the end of the staircase, they caught sight of a door. The pixie was floating beside the door as though waiting for them. “…It’s the exit.” The door clunked as Rintarou turned the handle and pushed through. They stepped out… “!” The vast courtyard of Camelot International spread before them, filling their field of vision. When he turned around, he saw the door was the main entryway to the first floor. “…I don’t like this one bit. This is why I dislike magic. I can’t tell what’s going on.” Sir Kay groaned, her head hurting from the curious phenomena in front of her. She closed her eyes halfway, fed up with the whole thing. He paid Sir Kay no mind as he continued to stride forward. In the middle of the courtyard were two shadows waiting for them. “I see. So you were the ones who set this up…” Waiting there were the familiar faces of a certain boy and girl. That was because he’d just met them the night before. “You finally made it… You’re late, you know?” It was one of the Kings participating in the King Arthur Succession Battle—Felicia. Attending her was her Jack, the young knight. The two had been waiting for them to come, completely ready to wage war. The pixie that’d guided the two flew to Felicia with a twirl and circled around her before disappearing like a mirage. “Good grief… You don’t look the type, but you sure use shifty tricks, don’t you?” “Hmph, were you surprised? I have ancient elven blood running through me, and I’m pretty much the best with magic. Unlike you, Luna, who’s brawns over brains… Hey, wait!” Huh? Felicia tilted her head. “Wh-where did Luna go? …Oh?! Did she send you so she could lean back and watch? Ugh, she always takes me for an idiot…!” “What are you ranting on about? We split up just like you wanted. Let’s hurry up and get this fight started,” he stated, smiling fiercely as he drew his swords and readied himself. “Now, we’ll have you pay back your debt from last night, Rintarou Magami,” replied Felicia’s Jack, standing in Rintarou’s way and preparing his sword. “Ha! Like you could. You don’t know your own place,” Rintarou spat at him. “Y-you’re the one who doesn’t know your place!” shouted a voice. “Whoa?!” Sir Kay wrestled Rintarou from behind and pinned his arms behind his back. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?! Let me go?!” “Be quiet! You don’t know anything about that knight! You can’t strong-arm him!” She flipped Rintarou around and threw him behind her. “I didn’t think you and your knight would have appeared here, Master Felicia. Ugh, there’s not much I can do now! Though I have my flaws, as someone who also lived through King Arthur’s reign, I will have to be the one to fight you!” she swore under great distress, pulling out her weapon. “Rintarou Magami, I’ll buy you some time. But make sure to beat Master Felicia,” she ordered, stiff from the tension. “Hmph…Sir Kay,” said the Jack. “Come to think of it, quite some time has passed since our swords last met like this.” “…Ugh?!” “But do you…actually believe you can stop me?” The Jack maintained his composure as he leisurely readied his sword. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” With no room for argument, Sir Kay leaped into action, giving a spirited scream as she bolted toward the Jack. In an instant, the earsplitting clash of metal tore through the night. “Hmph, you never change. This is all you can muster?” “—Guh?!” Her desperate attack was fended off by his sword, easily pushing it back to defend himself. “You’re the weakest of the knights of the Round Table. Sir Kay, you should do well to remember the reasons why you were ridiculed.” “Ugh, uhhh… AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!” Roaring in frustration, Sir Kay quickly struck him from every angle. Her blows danced like flashes of lightning, faster than any normal human would be able to achieve in their lifetime. But Felicia’s Jack could easily see through all her moves and handled them one after another while barely moving himself. It was obvious one was more talented than the other. He handled Sir Kay with ease. Their swords crossed fiercely a dozen more times before the Jack finally made his move. “Hah—” “—Ngh?!” The battle was over. It happened in an instant. In a single moment, Felicia’s Jack had suddenly slashed at her with seraphic speed, as though a whirlwind or storm. As for Sir Kay, she narrowly met the strike with her own sword— —but she wasn’t able to stop the blow, and the tip of the Jack’s sword grazed her, cutting through her armor like paper. There was a spray of crimson, rising upward. In an instant, Sir Kay’s body went limp, and the Jack landed a brutal reverse roundhouse kick in her stomach the moment she dropped to the ground. “AGHHHHHH?!” Blown away by the impact, she rolled to Rintarou’s feet. “Guh! Hah… Hah… H-he’s strong!” She coughed, hacking up blood as she tried to get up. Though her body trembled under pain and injury, she staggered to her feet using her sword as a cane. “Ha-ha-ha, as excepted of you and your valor, Sir Gawain!” called out Felicia with pride upon witnessing the events unfold in front of her. “…Do you get it now? Rintarou, do you see what I mean?” Sir Kay bitterly squeezed out. “That’s right. That Jack is…Sir Gawain. He’s the eighth seat of the Round Table and chosen by the armor-smiting blade Galatine. The heir of fearless King Lot from the Orkney Islands and like a son to King Arthur, who ruled all of Britain in his greatness—” “Yes, that’s exactly right!” Felicia continued, crowing triumphantly already. “My Jack, Sir Gawain, is famous as the strongest of the Round Table! His bravery outstrips all! He’s noble, upright, and trusted by King Arthur—a knight among knights!” “Ah, my liege. To declare I’m the strongest of the Round Table and a knight among knights… Why, you know how the truth embarrasses me.” But Sir Gawain was not at all bashful: In fact, his smile was prideful and hubristic. “On the other hand, that Jack over there is well-known for being the weakest knight of the table—Sir Kay! She was given the third seat, out of King Arthur’s pity, and is a dismal knight! You didn’t stand a chance against us from the outset! Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho!” Felicia laughed loud and hard. “Exactly. Would you please stop dragging the Round Table’s reputation with you… Stop cheapening King Arthur,” cursed Sir Gawain, mixing pity with contempt. “—Grgh!” Sir Kay leaned on her sword, hanging her head, as she gritted her teeth. There was no retort. Even in modern legends of King Arthur, it was still widely accepted that she was the weakest at the Round Table. In her defense, Sir Kay was not weak in the slightest. But the others of the Round Table were too far beyond human potential in their ability. “Damm…it! I—I… I…” In frustration, her face quivered and crumpled. Rintarou gently rested a hand on her trembling head. “Don’t worry about it, Sir Kay. I mean, in the first place, your role in the Round Table wasn’t even to battle, right?” “Wha—?!” Her eyes opened wide in astonishment and looked up at him. “If you weren’t there for that dude Arthur, his military rule would’ve easily been cut off halfway through.” “What’re you saying, R-Rintarou…?” “Well… Putting that aside for now, I guess it’s time for the main show…,” he remarked as he went front and center, followed by Sir Kay’s shocked eyes. “Mr. Magami… You want to fight? With Sir Gawain? …Really? But you’re a person of this era,” Felicia said scornfully, eyebrows raised. “I’ll tell you this, but I won’t allow any more blunders like last night, Rintarou Magami. That surprise attack was just a lucky hit, I’ll have you know. And I won’t let it happen…again.” With that comment, Sir Gawain carefully readied his sword. He seemed intimidating in a way he hadn’t been until that moment, now completely serious and composed. “Guh…it’s no use…Rintarou. Challenging Sir Gawain head-on is…” Sir Kay made her appeal desperately while enduring the pain of her wounds. “I don’t know…how you’re so powerful in this day and age…but to put it bluntly, there’s a fundamental difference between you and those from the era of King Arthur. With the passage of time, modern humans have lost their strength… They no longer have heroes. There’s no way you could win head-to-head against a legendary hero . Unless…you have a trick up your sleeve?!” “Huh? I haven’t got any tricks,” he replied casually. “Ugh…of course you wouldn’t…!” She gritted her teeth with regret. “A trick is something someone of lower rank plays on someone of higher rank, right? That’s why I don’t need any tricks.” “…Huh?” “What?” “…Hah?!” For a brief moment, everyone was taken aback by his strange word choice. “That’s inexcusable, Rintarou Magami,” said Sir Gawain as irritation faintly appeared on his tough and stoic mask of a face. “To me, it sounds like… It’s almost as if you’re trying to say I’m inferior to you?” “Yeah? You’re a little slow. I’m not trying to say that, I’m saying you are,” he jeered, smiling as he gestured and pretended to cut his own neck. “Gawain… You’re not even worth calling my enemy.” “…Hah?!” “Wha…?” What’s this guy saying? Is he an idiot? A fool? That or he just talks big. Felicia, Sir Gawain, and Sir Kay were completely in agreement in their minds. “Ah, well. Guess you’re hell-bent on mocking me. You know the only way to atone for insulting a knight is death, right?” “Th-that’s right, Mr. Magami! You have no idea! You have no idea how strong Sir Gawain is! Just think! Think about how Sir Gawain is represented in games and manga and stuff nowadays! He’s almost always set up as the strongest character and—” Felicia was running her mouth and started to spout ridiculous nonsense. With her prized Jack insulted, blood had come rushing to her head. “Huh… A strong character? You mean Gawain?” Rintarou asked incredulously as he twirled and played around with his swords. “What a joke! If Arthur hadn’t set things up for him, he wouldn’t have been able to get anything done. You know, people call him a hack of a knight all the time.” “Wha—?” Sir Gawain’s expression froze over. “Huh?” said Felicia. “Set things up for him? What did my brother do?” Blinking back in confusion, Felicia and Sir Kay had no idea what he meant. “Come on… Come at me, you little lackey. I’ll show you how different we really are.” After he finished his taunt, Rintarou suddenly stopped spinning his swords like a street performer and readied them. In that instant, Sir Gawain made his move. His eyes burned with fury. “RINTAROU MAGAMIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!” He streaked toward him, faster than sound itself, as he broke through air. “—Hah?!” Emanating homicidal rage, Sir Gawain assaulted Rintarou’s entire body like a gale. “—Huh?!” “Ha, that’s fast—” As the knight charged in a blur, Felicia and Sir Kay had lost track of his movements. He’d left behind the sound barrier and raised his sword, trying to hit Rintarou from above—it was lightning raining down from the heavens. The move was a death blow Sir Gawain had tempered with blood and perfected in countless battlefields. It was a strike modern swordsmen wouldn’t be able to defend themselves against, no matter how hard they trained—a method that ensured instant decapitation. Even if the target attempted to evade the attack, they would be struck down faster than they could respond. If the target parried, their sword would break. That spoke to— No, that was the swordsmanship of a hero during the rule of King Arthur. Those at the courtyard imagined, almost hallucinated, the image of poor Rintarou rolling over on the ground a second later, nothing more than a corpse. But— Clang! The sound of clamorous metal cut through the dark sky. Upon closer inspection, yes, Rintarou had stopped the oncoming sword with his right blade, as though it were no large feat. He had held on to Sir Gawain’s descending sword and stopped it in place. He hadn’t even used the blade. No, he was holding Galatine at bay with nothing more than the very tip of his sword. “What’s the meaning of this…?! What was that? It’s like you’re a street performer…?!” “I-impossible…?!” Witnessing this unbelievable scene from the sidelines, Felicia and Sir Kay froze in place. Even Sir Gawain was in disbelief at the sight before him. “Heh—” In the next moment, Rintarou slid the tip of his blade along the body of Sir Gawain’s sword as he darted forward. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” He passed by Sir Gawain, and his left sword shot at the knight’s torso. “GAAAAAH?!” Sir Gawain immediately went on the defensive and pulled back his sword. Their swords clashed. The impact of each attack made the air tremble, violently sending sparks every which way. With a powerful blow, Rintarou hit Sir Gawain and launched his body back in a fantastical display. “NGHHHHH?!” Sir Gawain scraped the ground with the soles of his feet as he was pushed back a few dozen yards. Galatine, the famous armor-rending sword, creaked and groaned. “How’s that? You didn’t expect that, right? I’m pretty awesome, huh?” he bragged, composed. The rest were all taken aback with fear and shock slowly registering on their faces. They desperately wanted to believe the scene in front of their eyes—no, even going before that, they wanted to believe their very first encounter was from a dream. “Hey, you ready?” It was Rintarou’s turn. Bam! The ground ruptured as he stomped on it, hard, and charged. “—Huh?!” Rintarou’s swords formed an X as he bolted toward Sir Gawain, who stopped the attack with his own weapon gripped tightly with both hands. Again, the swords rang out, the sound threatening to rupture the eardrums of those nearby— Pushing and rubbing against each other in a spiral, the two were beginning to stir up a hurricane with their movements. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Then, with their swords still in place, Rintarou pushed Sir Gawain, who gouged deeper into the ground as he resisted. “Don’t get carried”—Sir Gawain defended himself and pushed away Rintarou’s advances—“AWAAAAAAAAY!” Then he flipped around, pivoting on his foot to thrust at Rintarou’s back. “Heh!” Without even so much as a glance, Rintarou stopped the attack by swinging his left sword around behind him. “RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” When he turned around, he immediately hit Sir Gawain with his right sword. “GUUUUUUUUUH?!” But he was extraordinarily fast as he reacted and countered. Their swords clashed head-to-head several more times as the air and ground trembled under the impact of their might. Almost taking on a life of their own, their blades acted callously, rampaging, bringing forth showers of small sparks. The force of their exchange blew the two of them in opposite directions, like balls bounding against each other. “Why, you—” “We’re just getting started—!” In the next moment, the two of them disappeared like mist and left a hollow of earth behind them as Rintarou and Sir Gawain collided in the middle. Sword violently met sword over and over again. “HAAAAAAAAAAH!” “OAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” It was the advent of a terrific battle scene. When Rintarou tripped the knight with his right sword, Sir Gawain leaped to avoid it and brought his own blade down. When Rintarou stopped that with his left sword and brought up his right sword, his opponent saw through the attack and pried himself away. When Rintarou quickly gave chase, Sir Gawain launched a counterattack. As the boy somersaulted to avoid it and aimed at his target’s head, the knight countered. And so on and so forth. It was both instantaneous and endless. As the fight raged onward, they met with one skilled technique after another. Rintarou’s two swords danced freely, skipped, twirled, and waltzed madly in the air. Sir Gawain’s sword swung straight, swiped, veered, and weaved all through the night. Without exaggeration, each blow—one after another—was a death blow. The darkness of the night was carved into countless pieces by the intricate, grotesque lines drawn by the swords. Each time their weapons met, they’d parry even faster. Their speed kept increasing and increasing—it was as though there was no limit to stop at. “Tch—!” “What’s wrong?! Hey! Weren’t you gonna chop me up?!” Clang! The sparks bloomed in a showy display, hanging in the air as the two swordsmen passed by each other in one moment, turning back in the next. With an afterimage trailing behind them, they once again took aim and dashed forth, slashing savagely. Again and again and again— “Wh-what is…? What in the world is this…?!” stammered Felicia, confused and overwhelmed by the transcendent combat that was occurring. It was completely beyond her expectations. According to their little plan, Sir Gawain would stand before her, and Felicia would support him with magic—but with Rintarou and Sir Gawain, she could see no break or gap in which she could intervene. “Mr. Magami… I can’t believe you’d equal Sir Gawain in a match…?!” “Equal him…? No, that’s not right…,” said Sir Kay. He held the power to win against a battle with a dignified knight who had battled until the bitter end during King Arthur’s rule. Intently watching the battle, Sir Kay noticed the subtle change in the battlefield. “Rintarou is…gaining ground…?! No…he’s…becoming stronger!” From the start, Sir Kay had felt like something was slightly out of place— It was true: Just as she’d discerned, the speed of his swords and attacks had been steadily increasing throughout the battle. With each blow, his speed and power grew. It was like a dull, rusted sword becoming tempered and regaining its brilliance with each parry. “Rintarou… You can’t possibly be getting better during this battle, are you?!” Faced with surprise after yet another surprise, Sir Kay couldn’t process any more information, leaving her on the verge of being overwhelmed. “Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaa?!” Rintarou laughed. “That’s right! Good, keep that up! I’ve started to remember! Nothing beats a real battle for getting your intuition back!” “Gruuuuuuuh?! What, impossible—?!” Sir Gawain hadn’t noticed when it happened. But his rising torque had reached its limit while the speed of Rintarou’s parries had surpassed already him, increasing more and more. The battle between equals now leaned in one swordsman’s favor. By this point, the knight had his hands full, barely stopping the successive attacks of his opponent’s dual blades. Rintarou had completely overwhelmed Sir Gawain. “Take THAAAAAAAAAT?!” “AGHHHHHHHHHH?!” Rintarou swung his sword like he intended to bash his enemy with it. The blade ripped through the air, and Sir Gawain met it with his sword. There was a clash—then the sound of an impact. The sparks flickered and wavered. The air itself trembled. The force and tension tore through the ground, searching for release. The loser of the fight, the knight, was sent flying by the blast. “GUUUH?!” The fight was suddenly cut short when he tumbled to Felicia’s feet. “Sir Gawain?!” “I-I’m fine, my liege…but…” He motioned Felicia to stop as she anxiously approached, and he finally got up. From his forehead, sweat flowed freely in rivulets. He was the hero who’d fought each battle to the bitter end during King Arthur’s rule. But at that moment, he struggled to breathe, on the brink of total exhaustion. On the other hand… “Heh, what do people say in these situations again? Right—I AM A GOD!” exclaimed Rintarou as he shouldered his swords with a smug grin. There wasn’t a drop of sweat on his forehead or a panting breath. “Rintarou, you’re amazing… I can’t believe you did that to Sir Gawain… Just who are you…?” “Sir Kay, it’s dangerous. Keep back. I’m going to settle this here.” “O-okay…” Huh? Wait, am I a useless side character? Sir Kay inquired within herself. Rintarou once again stood before Sir Gawain, who’d watched what was happening distantly and could only exhale in chagrin. “I must acknowledge that Rintarou Magami…is strong… Even stronger than I am,” the young knight concluded. “…Huh?!” Felicia’s face soured. “It’s certainly true he’s arrogant, thinks he’s essentially a god, and definitely has no friends—a true loner. He also has no manners or class and is scum among men…but he’s not all talk, at least.” “…H-high praise, Sir Gawain.” “It’s a different story with a King and an Excalibur, but for a modern human, it should be impossible for them to go up against a knight from the era of King Arthur, no matter how much they train. For example, had Sir Kay been born to this era, even she’d have made a name for herself as the strongest swordswoman.” “In that case…how is he…? How is Mr. Magami…?” “I’m unsure. But the only ones who should be able to face a person from King Arthur’s time would be someone who was also born in the same era. In that case, he must also have some sort of ties to the past.” As Sir Gawain and Felicia were going over that, Rintarou’s patience started to wear thin. “Yo, just how long are you gonna spend talking in your little safe haven? You trying to buy yourself time?” He thumped the sword against his shoulder in agitation. “I’m in a hurry. While we’re doing this, Luna’s—” Whoops, shouldn’t say that. He’d almost said something that didn’t suit his personality, causing him to unconsciously click his tongue. “Hey, if you’re gonna withdraw, hurry and do it already! If you’re gonna fight, then fight! Now, which is it?!” “Guh…” Would they fight or retreat? With hesitation spreading across her anxious face, Felicia ground her teeth. “Let us prepare ourselves, my liege,” suggested Sir Gawain, as if to console her, and once again went to the front. “We’re out of options…are we not?” “!” “Let’s use that…that thing you have.” “Y-yes, I understand…” Felicia nodded. “Now, then… Rintarou Magami. Who are you?” quietly questioned the young knight. “We know you aren’t some old, regular person born to this era. And your prowess as a warrior has overwhelmed me… What else resides within you?” “Who knows.” “To speak of the dual wielders in the Round Table, I can only think of Balin le Savage or Galahad the immaculate paladin… But Sir Balin would be rougher and wilder with his technique, and Sir Galahad’s technique is as elegant as a fine art. Your technique is wily enough to not apply to either… Though, actually, I think you’re somewhat similar to Sir Balin.” “…” “Now, what are you…Joker?” “Tch… That doesn’t matter.” Rintarou evaded the question with visible irritation. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter.” The knight smiled. “There’s no use in trying to pry into things when you’re going to die anyway.” Rintarou faintly raised his eyebrows at this threat stated so matter-of-factly. “…You won’t be able to do it, Gawain. They’ve overestimated you in this era and raised you to the top ranks of the Round Table, but…your true strength at best is average… The table was packed with people much stronger than you.” “Wha—?!” Sir Kay and Felicia were dumbfounded, while Sir Gawain lapsed into silence. “Wh-what do you think you’re saying, Rintarou! Sir Gawain?! Average?! That’s idiotic! I saw it with my own eyes! Sir Gawain’s strength was among the Round Table’s—” “Didn’t I tell you? That was all because Arthur set him up for it,” he responded indifferently. “Hmph. So you really did know about that, Rintarou Magami…” Just about at the end of his rope, Sir Gawain’s shoulders drooped. “The blood of the old Danann gods runs through me. They were the embodiment of the sun… I have the Sun’s Blessing in my body. As long as the sun rises, my strength is thrice what it was… That’s the kind of divine protection I have.” “Wha…? Th-thrice you say…?! What is that…?!” “That’s right. As long as the sun’s rising… In other words, Gawain is only strong in the morning,” explained Rintarou, nodding at the speechless Sir Kay. “Arthur knew that about his beloved little nephew and always made sure Gawain’s matches were in the morning… That’s all there was to it.” “I—I can’t believe Sir Gawain had such an unfair advantage…,” whispered Sir Kay, who, upon learning the astonishing truth, turned back to Sir Gawain in triumph. “Hmph! So that’s all it was! So that’s where all your bravery came from! If you weren’t cheating, you wouldn’t have been that—” “Well, even without that, he’s still stronger than you, Sir Kay,” Rintarou retorted. “MIND YA OWN BUSINESS!” she shouted, slumping over and on the verge of tears. “Well, that’s how it is. But the events of the King Arthur Succession Battle largely take place at night. Your pathetic skills won’t see the light of day. In other words, you’re three times as weak, Gawain,” he provoked. “I see… That’s certainly the case.” Sir Gawain remained mysteriously calm. “There’s no use in hiding it. It’s true my power is merely average among those who have a seat at the Round Table… To be honest, it’s nothing to get excited about. But I wanted to rival Sir Lancelot and Sir Lamorak…so I used this ability to its greatest extent. I won’t deny that.” “S-Sir Gawain…” Felicia anxiously gazed at her knight. And in order to put her at ease, he showed her a small, fleeting smile. “But I’ll tell you this, Rintarou! As long as I’m with her…as long as I’m with Felicia, I’m the strongest knight at the table! I’ll make sure Felicia is the true King in this battle, no matter what it takes! I came from Camlann Hill for this sole purpose!” “Oh? Bold claim for a third-rate knight whose shitty divine gifts won’t even work at nighttime… Do you still not get how different we are? Gweh-heh-heh-heh…” Rintarou chuckled in amusement and readied his swords. “Okay. How about you show me how you’re the strongest? I’ll crush you to a pulp!” “Rintarou… Wow, this villain role really suits you. The way this is set up, you’re making them look like they’re the good guys,” quipped Sir Kay. Rintarou gloriously ignored her insults and sighs. “Okay, let’s go!” “Come at me! Rintarou Magami!” Rintarou charged at him. Sir Gawain readied his sword. As he ran, Rintarou swung his swords in an X again while the young knight held his blade above his head to stop the attack. With residual force from the impact, Rintarou pushed him back. The soles of his feet dug deep into the ground in resistance and raised a cloud of dust. “What’s wrong, huh?! Weren’t you the strongest knight of the Round Table (LOL)?!” “GUUUUH—?!” Of course, Rintarou was gaining the advantage again. His power completely surpassed Sir Gawain’s, and the match was as good as done. It was just a matter of time—or so they thought. Witnessing the drift of the battle, Sir Kay hollered confidently without thinking. “You won! This battle… It’s our victory!” “I wonder…if he really has?” said a familiar voice. Felicia slowly pulled out her sword and brandished it above her head. It was the precious rapier sword—her Excalibur—proof she was worthy of being a King. Then she yelled an incantation. “‘My sword, show my authority, show my sovereignty through your light!’” Thump. Felicia’s mana blazed. The overwhelming, heavy Aura changed states and rose, gathering at Felicia’s sword. “Tch! I can’t believe you’d use your Royal Road this early on!” Rintarou held Sir Gawain at bay as he gritted his teeth in annoyance. A Royal Road. It unleashed the power from a King’s Excalibur. Each Excalibur possessed latent power that could turn the course of a battle around in an instant. That was invoked through the Royal Road. Of course, it was a King’s trump card, something to conceal until a critical moment. It didn’t bode well to introduce it so early in the battle. That was because any power in the sword was halved as soon as it was used. But Rintarou wouldn’t have time to deduce Felicia’s true intentions at the moment to understand why she was revealing the Royal Road now. “What, you think that’s gonna work? Sir Kay! Snuff that girl!” “R-right!” Sir Kay charged at Felicia. When all was said and done, Sir Kay was a knight from King Arthur’s rule who’d fought her share of bitter battles. She moved swift as a tempest. But her opponent’s incantation was faster. “Royal Road—Excalibur the Radiant Steel Sword of Glory!” In that moment, the sword in her hands released a blinding light, flooding the entire area with daylight and whiting out their vision. “At that moment, King Lot, the King of the Hundred Knights, and King Carados set on King Arthur all at once. “At their command, the three hundred knights and thirty thousand soldiers followed after them. “But King Arthur drew the Excalibur. ‘Know who you dare to challenge,’ said the king. “That sword glowed with the light of thirty torches, burning King Lot and his men blind. “At that light, the enemies surrounding him—the kings and the knights and the soldiers—shuddered to think ‘Oh, what have we done?’ In that moment, they understood they were traitorous rebels and readied to flee—” John Sheep, LAST ROUND ARTHUR, THIRD VOLUME, NINTH CHAPTER “Guuh—?!” Showered in the light of Felicia’s sword, Rintarou started to feel a little strange. “Hmph!” In that instant, Sir Gawain pushed Rintarou back and rained down with sharp, heavy slashes on him. Clash! There was the violent noise of scraping metal, as though it were crushing the air itself. Using momentum from that impact, Rintarou barely leaped away, and his face contorted in frustration. “Ugh, damn! My body feels heavy!” He was close to coming to his knees and stuck his sword into the ground like a cane to support himself. Yes, Rintarou’s body felt abnormal, almost exactly as though it’d been turned into lead. “How does that feel? What do you think of my sword’s power?” boldly gloated Felicia, who continued to hold up her glowing sword. “The inscription on this sword is the Radiant Steel Sword of Glory, a sword that emits light to display the sovereign authority of the legitimate King. ‘When bathed in this sword’s light, enemies will feel their bodies become heavy and their powers wane.’”
Chapter 7
50 min read