She asked, why?
Because it was really too strange.
She was clearly a traitor.
Because of her, everyone had died.
Everyone was dead.
She lied to him, Sion, Tyle, Toni, Fahl, everyone…
So, someone like me shouldn’t be treated so gently.
But…
He looked at me, and laughed with the usual lethargic expression, but filled with a caring gentleness.
And he took my place in prison.
Ryner had his usual lazy smile, and smiled from the other side of the iron bars.
He told a lame joke, as he smiled.
I don’t understand.
Why? Why? Why?
I…
I clearly caused the death of everyone…
She spoke with a trembling voice:
“Why, Why… Why is Ryner willing to do this for me…? Why are you so caring to me? I… I betrayed Tyle, Toni and Fahl… I caused them to be killed…”
But, he interrupted her.
“You’re wrong.”
He said.
Then looked at her with that sleepy, lethargic expression.
“The ones who killed aren’t humans, but monsters, Kiefer. War is a kind of monster. This country is a kind of monster. Lust is a kind of monster. And I too…”
At this juncture, he stopped, then smiled at her.
That smile made her want to cry.
Why does he look at me with that kind of expression?
I’m clearly a traitor.
I betrayed the friends that I liked.
I betrayed the person I love.
And… The one that she wanted to save, her younger sister that she had sacrificed so many people for had already been killed…
Even her older sister had been killed cruelly before her eyes…
What value do I have?
My existence is meaningless.
There is no meaning for me to live on.
I am clearly a despicable person who cannot save anyone, but will betray my companions for nothing and cause them to be killed…
But, he still had a very caring expression as he looked at her.
“But, Kiefer is human. So, Kiefer doesn’t have to worry too much. Understand?”
He said.
In that moment, she understood everything.
She understood why she liked him so much?
Understood why she loved him so stubbornly?
Because he was so caring that it was unbelievable.
She had always misunderstood. She had always thought, because he was unmotivated, so unmotivated that there wasn’t any need for anyone to be wary of him, because he always made people feel comfortable, so she would like him, but…
She was wrong.
It was actually because he was so caring that it was unbelievable.
And…
Because deep within that caring smile…
There was a deep wound…
He said:
“And I too…”
He said he was a monster.
At the same time he said this, he smiled really gently…
But, that…
What he said—
“But, Kiefer is human.”
Kiefer is human!!
Her tears nearly burst out.
Feeling the loneliness in his heart, her tears nearly flowed out.
He was in the bottom of a place that was unbelievably dark… but, he still smiled.
He smiled at me.
Because I am a monster…
Because I am a monster…
This smile, she had seen it several times.
The first time she said she liked him, he had an expression that was filled with resignation and smiled.
Because I am a monster…
He gave up on everything, and curled up in the layer of darkness by himself, rejecting the whole world.
Only because he did not want to hurt anyone.
He didn’t want to hurt anyone important to him.
He smiled in resignation.
How many layers of pain are hidden under that smile?
How many layers of grief are hidden under that smile?
Because I am a traitor… So I can’t love anyone, I can build friendships with anyone. She had thought that…
But, he had told himself that he couldn’t come into contact with anyone from the day he was born.
Because he didn’t want to kill, so he couldn’t approach anyone…
So, she reached out to the metal bars, grabbed his clothes, and pulled him over.
Then forcefully overlapped her lips with his.
That was a promise.
A promise that linked him who didn’t interact with anyone to her.
A promise to never let him be alone.
Even if he locked up his heart, and not accept anyone…
A promise that she would bring him back again.
This was the promise that she made in her heart, by her own will.
She stared at him and said:
“Ryner isn’t a monster. At least I don’t think you are a monster. I will live on. Thank you, Ryner. And…I will definitely…”
At this point, she didn’t need to say anything.
There was no need to say it.
But in her heart, she swore.
She would save him.
From that layer of darkness…
She would save him from the bottom of the layer of darkness…
At this moment—
“Kiefer!! Kiefer Knolles!”
There was a shout, momentarily jolting her awake.
She opened her eyes.
And she discovered, what was before her eyes wasn’t the scene she had with Ryner two years ago…
Reality lay before her eyes.
Lights were fired.
Followed by sounds of explosions.
Then…
People died.
Every time a beam of magic flashed, people would die subsequently.
People died.
People perished.
Kiefer stared at this scene.
Not far from her, the fighting soldiers seem to be acting out an act, simply collapsing one after another.
She had seen this scene before.
Her comrades…
The scene of her comrades’ heads and bodies continuously jumping apart…
That scene was like hell.
She didn’t want to see that kind of things anymore. She had clearly thought that, but she was still in that kind of situation.
War.
Blood splattered, magic was chanted, people died.
…Death.
Seeing this, she frowned.
Right before her eyes was the rising country, Gastark’s soldiers. And, the army’s power wasn’t what a rising country should have…
No, it could even be said it was till an abnormal stage.
Because, near to the north of the Menoris Continent, the soldiers of the military country Stohl that was said to have the strongest and largest army, was now losing their determination, and escaping…
The difference between the two armies could be easily seen.
She looked straight at this scenario with her red eyes.
In these two years her red-hair that was the same colour as her eyes had grown to shoulder-length, her slim body was now wearing light armour that belonged to Imperal Stohl.
At this moment, the voice spoke again:
“Kiefer?! Let’s escape! This place isn’t going to hold much longer!!”
The squad leader of the troop she belonged to shouted, preparing to escape.
Kiefer replied:
“…But, if we escape, this village… Shouldn’t we let the citizens evacuate first…”
The captain’s face twisted in response.
“Leave this village!! Our main body is already coming over! Even the Mage Battalion is reaching. We could even possibly be caught up in the crossfire between the Gastark army and the Mage Battalion! At that time…”
But, at this instant Kiefer didn’t want to hear it.
Because she knew what he was about to say.
--At that moment, this village would disappear in an instant. If they didn’t escape, they would get caught in the crossfire… He wanted to say this.
The captain ran off with a pale expression. The other team members followed behind him, escaping together…
Kiefer sighed when she saw this.
“Yeah, I can understand everyone’s feelings of escaping…”
She murmured softly.
The squad that Kiefer belonged to, had never received any vigorous army training. Because they were the furthest from the front lines, a village situated relatively inside the borders of Stohl…
By right, the Gastark soldiers would not attack this place. So, it became the camping site for Kiefer’s team. In addition, there were many civilians here. The front line should be somewhere further away.
But, the Gastark forces were too strong. They broke through the front line, and attacked here…
This shouldn’t be something that would happen.
They couldn’t possibly defeat Imperial Stohl that was said to be the strongest country in the northern part of the Menoris Continent that no country could match up to, and reach here in a single breath.
She could understand that her companions had felt shocked at this development, and struggled to escape.
But, Kiefer looked at this with a steady expression.
“…As expected.”
Yes. To her, this development was within her expectations.
She only needed to look at this and understand.
Due to the distance from the front line, the country did not put the squads that had the important task of sending supplies to the front line any battle training. From this fact… this outcome could be expected.
The supplies that Stohl sent to the teams were gone.
As long as there was anyone with a little fighting power, they would be sent to the battle field…
Then they would be killed.
She stuck out her tongue and said:
“Eh~~ this situation is bad. I invested in the wrong country… I initially thought that picking the strongest country in the north Stohl… perhaps I could find some information about Ryner’s… Alpha Stigma…”
That was the reason why she was here.
Alpha Stigma.
What was that?
That was the only reason why she picked Stohl.
No, ever since she handed the task of rescuing Ryner from prison to Sion, and left Roland… She only lived to find out the entirety of this matter.
To save Ryner.
To save him… from that oasis of darkness…
On the way north from Roland, she had chosen Runa, Cassla and Veiohl and other countries, at last she entered the strongest country out of these countries, Imperial Stohl.
Her intention was to gain information.
At this moment, she had a troubled expression, and she looked at the Gastark army that was kicking up clouds of dust and approaching.
“Indeed, I chose the wrong country…”
She didn’t think that a large country like Stohl would be embroiled in this kind of battle. And it was the state where they were being wiped out.
If she wanted to leave Stohl, she had to do it now.
“Kiefer Knolles, second-grade soldier, died in action in Hoins village…”
If the country announced that, then leaving this country would be easy, right?
If she wanted to desert, she had to do it now.
Around her were the village people, everyone was crying and shouting, trying to escape the village. If she took off her armour, and escaped with everyone…
At this moment, the sound of a horn was sounded from behind her, she turned her head when she heard it.
At some point in time, the army of Stohl had appeared…
“…”
Seeing this, she was momentarily speechless.
It was an unbelievably large army.
The army expanded in a horizontal fashion, there were more than a hundred thousand?
This was the power of the Imperial Stohl.
According to what the captain said earlier, this large army had a reputation that just with one squad, they could block one thousand of the opposing Mage Battalions.
The strength of the army was abnormal.
One the other hand, there were thirty thousand Gastark soldiers.
If they clashed, Gastark would probably be destroyed in an instant?
The villagers cheered.
“They’re here! The Stohl army is here to save…”
But, they stopped.
An arrow pierced through the shouting man’s head…and he collapsed.
That arrow was shot from the Stohl army.
In the next instant, the Stohl army shot a large number of arrows.
And those were arrows that depended of the wind manipulation of magic, to increase their range.
A large number of arrows surpassed the village, and flew to the Gastark army…
But, there were hundreds of arrows that landed in the village.
Kiefer quickly dodged the arrows and said:
“…I really chose the wrong country.”
She looked around her, the villagers screamed as they became targets, and frowned.
But things were at this stage, she was powerless too. Protecting herself was already taking up her energy…
Kiefer continued to run forward.
She attempted to leave the village…
Arrows rained down.
Every time it caused the death of the villagers.
Women, men, elderly…
Kiefer was unable to save them. Because she did not have that luxury. If she relaxed, she would become the next target of the arrows. Under this situation…
Kiefer still had a sorrowful expression.
“…I’m sorry, but I cannot die here, I have to keep to the promise…”
And at this moment…
There was an arrow from the front.
In order to dodge the arrow, Kiefer threw her body to the side. Her eyes followed the movement of the arrow…
In a moment, she saw the scene behind her.
She saw the place where the arrow she dodged was heading to!
There were two kids in front of her. They were girls. Two young girls.
They were sisters?
The girl that seemed like the older sister was frantically pulling her younger sister’s hand and running…
There was a rut beneath their feet.
The arrows flew over.
The arrows flew over.
Several arrows shot towards their feet…
But the sisters continued to run frantically.
Kiefer spoke when she saw this:
“I’m sorry. I currently have no way to save …”
But—the younger sister fell.
The arrows flew over.
The older sister seemed to notice, that arrow was shooting towards her younger sister.
And, in the urgent moment, she blocked her younger sister…
In that moment…
“I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, LETTING THE SLUMBERING MALICIOUS SPIRIT DWELL WITHIN.”
Kiefer chanted. Loosening the restrictions on her mind, her body’s speed increased.
That was the magic that her older sister had used to protect her and her younger sister.
Lately, she had learnt to use this magic. How much later was that than her older sister who had learnt this magic and age thirteen? Her older sister was certainly a genius. And, Kiefer’s magic efficiency would never compare to her older sister’s.
But, she moved to the sisters with her increased speed.
She dashed to the older sister who seemed to be protecting her younger sister from the arrow, and grabbed the younger sister’s body, dodging the arrow…
And.
“Urgh…”
Her right leg suffered a blow.
Then, she hugged the sisters, rolling on the ground and stopped.
She immediately raised her head.
“Are the two of you hurt?!”
But the sisters were so terrified, they seemed like they were about to cry…
Kiefer asked loudly again:
“I asked if any of you are hurt?”
The girls sniffled, and shook their heads quickly. Kiefer nodded when she saw this:
“Good! Then escape quickly!!”
Saying that, she made to stand up, but a stab of pain passed from her right leg again…
“Ah…”
She looked at her leg. An arrow was buried in it…
The wound wasn’t deep. It didn’t seem to have hurt her muscles or ligaments…but it would be hard for her to bring the girls and escape under this situation.
If there was no way to escape, then she had to quickly remove the armour, and find a place to hide.
A place where arrows would not reach.
A place where the fires of war would not reach…
But, there was no one to guarantee that their lives would be safe from harm.
“Ah, really, this is terrible… Why do I have to do this? Things about sisters is really my weakness…”
She said as she looked around, looking for a place to hide.
First she had to use the houses as shields, and leave the centre of the village that had supplies, even if it were a little distance was also fine…
But, her emotions stopped at this moment.
“……Uh!”
Kiefer looked at the sky, and was shocked speechless.
The light from the sky was suddenly blocked…
Darkness descended from the sky.
The whole sky was covered with despair.
Arrows—
An innumerable number of arrows covered the sky that she could see…
“It can’t be?”
She said as if moaning.
Even if they wanted to escape now, it was too late to escape to the houses that could act as shields. If it were only her, she had a slight chance. She could use magic to increase her speed… but, with these two girls…
Kiefer narrowed her eyes at this situation.
“…Oh dear, this is really bad…”
She looked at the descending arrows again.
Death was right before her eyes.
Death had a strong presence.
But, she was unable to move. Only lightly sighing…
“…It seems that I am unable to keep my promise.”
It was always like that.
She thought.
She was always unable to protect what she truly wanted to protect…
Her older sister, younger sister, everyone…
And Ryner too…
She had thought that she could save them a second ago, but in a moment the chance slipped through her hands again.
Because she had resigned herself. Because of resignation, she told herself, if she saved one side, the other had to be sacrificed.
Because she became resigned very easily, she told herself, for her younger sister, she had to sacrifice Ryner and Sion and the others.
In the end, she couldn’t save anyone.
It was always like that.
I can never save anyone.
It’s always, always, always, always like that…
“I’m already tired of that…”
She said.
She hated her weak self.
If it were her older sister, even in this situation, she would be able to think of a plan, and go past the difficulty?
If it were Sion who was proclaimed to be a genius in the academy, perhaps…
No, if it were Ryner…
If that were the case.
“There’s a way!”
Kiefer shouted.
“I can do it too! If I die here, how can I save Ryner! I can do it! I can do it! I can do it!”
She said, then looked back.
“You two, form a line behind me! I may not be able to cut off all the arrows. So you have to form a line… and hide under my armour!”
After she ordered the two girls, she looked in the direction of the arrows again, her fingers danced in the air, forming glowing words in the air.
It was Estabul magic.
The magic of her home country, the Kingdom of Estabul.
“I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS…”
This was the highest offensive grade magic that she could use.
But using this magic, how many arrows could she burn?
How many… of the thousands of arrows could she deflect?
But, she had no other choices.
She tried to attract the arrows. So that she could use the magic once and cut off the most number of arrows…
The moment the arrows were almost reaching her, she chanted:
“RELEASINIG THE SPIRIT OF LIGHT DANCING IN THE SKY!”
In a split second, a membrane of light appeared above her head, and a beast that was like a dog appeared…
The beast of light formed.
It flew straight towards the arrows.
And…
The arrows, using the magic that had blessed it with power, broke through her magic’s flames.
“How can that…”
She didn’t even manage to deflect a single arrow.
All the arrows glided towards them…
In a moment, she spread her arms, attempting to stop the arrows from reaching the girls behind her.
She spread her arms as wide as she could…
The arrows made a whistling sound in the air, preparing to pierce through her body.
At this moment…
Her vision was suddenly blocked.
A stranger stood in front of her.
“Heh!”
The man waved his sword.
And it wasn’t a normal sword, it was a sword that was so long that it was weird, and it was about three times of Kiefer’s height.
No, Kiefer didn’t know if it should be called a sword? Because the length of the sword didn’t seem like what a normal person could wield… And the blade of the sword was black, the black blade had several purple streaks, drawing a strange design, but had some organization.
The man lightly swung that sword…
In an instant.
The man cut through the numerous arrows that were about to pierced Kiefer and the others… No, he cut through the hundreds of arrows flying towards them.
He cut the arrows that were magically reinforced, that even her magic was unable to block…
“…”
This strange scene made Kiefer feel surprised.
No, it wasn’t.
It was the man’s appearance that made her feel surprised.
The man placed the strangely long sword on his shoulder. But, although the man was well-built, he seemed a little slim, it was unbelievable that he could carry that kind of sword.
He had slightly wavy tea-coloured… or it should be said slightly pinkish-coloured hair that was rare.
And what was most attractive were those sharp but confident eyes.
Eyes that seemed as if they could suck people in.
They displayed a strong determination, passionate wildness…
The man used those eyes to look at Kiefer, then he looked around.
“That armour… You are a Stohl soldier? But, I don’t see any other soldiers. Stohl didn’t let the villagers evacuate before they shot out so many arrows?”
Kiefer heard that, and stared at the man…
“From your tone, you are Gastark soldier?”
The man nodded carelessly and replied:
“Ah, eh, I suppose so.”
Then he looked around again.
“There aren’t any presences of ambushers… That means, the Stohl soldiers really abandoned the villagers, and deserted. But you stayed on to protect these girls… Are you an idiot?”
He suddenly said.
“Eh? Uh… i-idiot? W-why do you…”
But, Kiefer was interrupted again.
“Didn’t Stohl give up on this village? But you stayed on, what can you do? You’re only wasting your life? You can’t save anyone.”
Kiefer frowned when she heard this.
This man was right.
But, because he was right, so…
“…What do you know? This is why I hate wars.”
She said seemingly unhappily.
To save many people, it was necessary to sacrifice a few.
The truth was probably like that.
But, I can’t say that Onee-san’s death was unavoidable because of this.
I can’t say my little sister’s death was unavoidable.
So…
“…So I hate wars…People like you who only use numbers to look at the lives and deaths of people, only doing what you want, and thinking that you’re everything…”
“What? You’re clearly the soldier of the military country Stohl, but you hate war?”
Kiefer hearing that.
“Of course!! Who likes wars!”
Kiefer shouted uncontrollably.
But the man mildly stated:
“Heh. You’re good. You’re shouting at me and waiting for me to reveal a weakness, right? When you’ll escape with the children… You’re quite talented. In addition the magic you used… That has a large difference from Stohl’s magic structure, right? That means, you’re not even Stohl’s soldier.”
“You… that means, you clearly knew…”
But, her words were interrupted by the man again.
“Then where are you from? You’re clearly not a Stohl soldier, but you appeared in a war between Stohl and Gastark… to save a civilian, and nearly lost your life… The conclusion I made is, you are an idiot. To protect others, you will throw away your life without hesitation, that is only what an idiot will do…”
Kiefer glared at the man when she heard this.
These words were really evil.
What was wrong with sacrificing her life for others?
Even if she sacrificed her life, she wanted to help others, what was wrong with that thinking?
Onee-san died to protect me.
Ryner went to prison for me.
And because there’s someone like that…
Kiefer glared at the man viciously again.
Because there were selfish people like this who only thought of themselves, there was war…
But, the man suddenly laughed happily…
“But I like idiots like this.”
He actually said that…
Towards this sudden change—
“Eh?”
Kiefer uttered in surprise.
The man was still smiling.
“I hate wars too. Blood, tears, sadness, things like that, I do not like them. But…”
At this moment, several men wearing black cloaks suddenly appeared around Kiefer and the man…
Soundlessly, and without a presence.
It was certainly surprising.
Kiefer had been monitoring the change in their surroundings, planning to escape when the man was unprepared.
But, before the black-cloaked men surrounded them, she didn’t even register their presence.
Monsters…
She thought.
This wasn’t her first time experiencing that feeling.
The Mage Knight Battalion.
In the past when she was surrounded by the Roland’s Mage Knight Battalion,
When she was attacked by the Estabul’s Mage Knight Battalion,
She had the same feeling.
But, these Mage Knight Battalions knelt in front of the man.
And…
“The preparations are completed, Your Majesty.”
Kiefer heard that…
“Your, Your Majesty?! That means, you…”
But, the man shrugged in reply, the spoke to the men in black cloaks:
“The protection of the civilians?”
“It’s complete. Only those three are left.”
“Then the current situation?”
“The mage archers of the Stohl army have retreated. They will be launching a large-scale magic soon.”
Kiefer shuddered when she heard this.
Large-scale magic referred to a destructive magic operated by more than ten Mage Knights, that was used in war.
The power was greater than normal, and sometimes one hit could cause hundreds of deaths.
And, in general, any country’s large-scale magic would not need much time to activate, before the two armies clashed, every Mage Knight Squad could only launch one or two hits.
And generally speaking, when large-scale magics clashed with each other, the two would cause much damage as they came into contact with each other…
And, the number of Stohl and Gastark soldiers were not the same.
It would be possible for a few large-scale magics to affect this place?
Until that time, one hit could destroy this small village.
At this point, the black cloaked man said:
“So, please retreat Your Majesty. For Your Majesty to personally come to the dangerous front lines…”
But the man shook his head, then said:
“No, I was planning to use ‘that’ in the first place, so there’s no need.”
In a moment—the black cloaked men kneeling around them panicked.
“Your…Your Majesty, you…”
“Your Majesty, please perish that thought! Do not use ‘that’…”
“No, I will use it.”
The man smiled with an innocent expression like a child’s.
“But…”
The black cloaked man wanted to say something, at this moment—
“You don’t have to say anything else. Didn’t I say it, this is what I have decided since the beginning? If we do this now, it will have a large effect in the future. You should understand that too?”
So…
“…”
The black cloaked men for some reason, remained quiet with a frustrated expression.
But, Kiefer didn’t understand.
What was he thinking of doing?
Kiefer asked:
“……Hey, I don’t understand… What is ‘that’?”
So the man turned back to her.
“…Ah, I’m sorry. We were half way through our discussion just now. So, I said I hated wars…”
“No, I’m not asking about that!”
But, this man didn’t hear Kiefer’s words, pointing at the black cloaked men.
“I don’t like my companions dying.”
Then he pointed to the girls behind Kiefer.
“I don’t want to see children dying too.”
Lastly he pointed to Kiefer.
“It would be a waste if a beauty like you died, I definitely wouldn’t want that to happen… So, I hate wars.”
Up until that point, the man narrowed his eyes sadly. His expression continued to change. In one instant, he was smiling innocently like a child, in the next he had a fearless smile of a conman…
Then like now, he lowered his eyelids as if he were really sad…
The man said:
“But… as long as there are countries, wars will occur. As long as there is a system of countries, there will be conflicts. I always thought, if that’s the case, then what should we do to reduce the sacrifices, even if it’s only by a little? What should we do, to make it so that people who are unhappy are reduced? I was always troubled by this.”
Saying that, the man frowned as if he was really frustrated by this, then he looked at Kiefer again.
“…Didn’t you say earlier, you hate people who used numbers to consider the lives and deaths of people? But, how should we save people? If we don’t use numbers, then what should we use as a yard stick to save people?”
To this problem…
“…”
Kiefer was unable to reply.
What should be used as a yard stick…
At this moment, the man said:
“Some people will probably say. At least you have to save the people before you… That is enough. Some will say, if you can protect the important people before your eyes, then that is enough… But, I don’t want to save just the people before my eyes. Not only the people of Gastark, even Stohl… No, not only that, save everyone in the Menoris Continent, let war disappear from this world. That is my dream.”
He said.
His words were filled with charisma.
His goal was to become a king that would rule everything on this continent, to build a peaceful world where there was no war.
And… Kiefer stared at the man, stared at the king of Gastark, and said:
“Then, you say to destroy war, so you triggered a war… But, isn’t this a little contradicting? Your dream is a dream that is built on killing people and gathering corpses. To be more concise, you are a king, but the ones fighting are the soldiers, the ones suffering are people. The king only hides in a safe place, waiting leisurely to reap the fruits of war. Isn’t this method just wishful thinking?”
But the man nodded when he heard that.
“Yeah, that’s right. So I will use this here…”
Saying that, he lifted the sword from his shoulders, and gently placed the blade on his palm.
Blood flowed out from his hand…
Blood seeped into the purple patterns on the blade…
The purple pattern seemed to absorb that blood, and slowly turned red…
Suddenly, the blade started to pulse.
Thump thump thump, it beat strongly as if it were alive…
“Th,that is…”
When Kiefer murmured softly, something happened.
The space before her eyes twisted.
The surroundings of the flowing sword seemed to twist with the sword at the center of it…
The surroundings twisted.
Then, suddenly from the sky…
“Contractor… I reply to thou request.”
A voice descended from the sky…
A quiet, quiet, quiet…
But, it was a voice that had a very strong presence.
The voice resounded in their minds…
Kiefer heard that.
“That, that is…”
She couldn’t stop trembling.
Because she had this kind of experience in the past…
This…
It was the same as when Ryner’s Alpha Stigma went out of control…
The voice spoke.
The voice spoke.
The voice spoke from somewhere below.
It directly resonated in her mind.
But, that voice was slightly different from the voice that spoke when Ryner lost control. The voice Ryner released was a voice that created unease in people.
And, this voice had a strangely strict tone, it was a voice that created fear in people…
The voice spoke:
“Respond. Respond. Tell me thou price. If that is the case, I will release my power.”
The man smiled when he heard this and said:
“Eat my left eye, then! I need power.”
Kiefer heard that—
“…Ah? What does that mean? Left eye…”
Then, the black cloaked man beside her, replied with a tight expression:
“That sword… That sacred sword is something that only descendants of the Hero can use… It can give His Majesty large power, but in return, every time His Majesty will lose an ability.”
“Ability? You mean…”
Then black cloaked man nodded.
“His Majesty has already used that sword twice before, and sacrificed his right leg and sense of smell. Didn’t you tell His Majesty, ‘The king only hides in a safe place, waiting leisurely to reap the fruits of war. Isn’t this method just wishful thinking?’
…But, if it is that kind of king, we wouldn’t follow him. His Majesty uses his own life as a sacrifice… attempting to save the world.”
Then, the man raised his sword and said:
“That is a beautiful thing. I am going to snatch many lives away. The price is only a left eye… It’s too cheap. Even so, I will still use this sword. To save more lives than I can snatch away.
I will become the king of the world—
To save everything in this world!”
He said.
He had a strong determined conviction in his words.
A king’s determination.
This man was definitely Gastark’s king.
The king raised the sword higher.
“Come, give me power! Glovil, release!”
Then, the voice descended again…
“…Contract completed. Releasing power.”
The sword released a light.
It released a red… red…
A blood-red light.
At the same time, several large lights illuminated from the Stohl army before them.
The large-scale magic was completed.
Then it was released.
An unbelievably strong destructive power was heading here…
With only one hit, hundreds of lives would disappear? No, that power had the power to destroy this whole village.
But, the black cloaked men surrounding them did not show any signs of fear.
They only watched the king in front of them.
The king only looked ahead.
With his sharp eyes…
His vision went beyond the approaching large-scale magics, to the even further army…
He stared hard, as if wanting to engrave this sight into his eyes…
“……This sacrifice will not be worthless. I will never forget this scene. My sins will never disappear. I am a murderer. A murdering king. If anyone wants to curse, then curse me.
But, even so—
Even so, I will still proceed…
Come…”
Saying that, he swung his sword hard, and stepped forward.
Then.
“Destroy everything!”
He swung the sword.
After which.
Something unbelievable happened.
The world’s scenery changed.
It disappeared.
Everything disappeared.
The strong power destroyed the whole world…
The village, land, magic, and even lives were wiped out.
Of the hundreds of thousands-strong Stohl army, tens of thousands had disappeared.
The victory could be determined from this.
An explosive power.
The large-scale magic lost its meaning.
Like that time.
Like how the Mage Knight Battalion were destroyed like toys… when Ryner’s eyes lost control.
That kind of despair…
That kind of power that made people think of the power of god…
There was no such belief in god in Kiefer’s home country of Estabul. There was none in Roland and Stohl too.
But, this strong power made people think of the power of God.
A strong fear.
A strong dread.
A strong horror.
Was it God…
Or was it the Devil…
That was a power that humans couldn’t have.
Because of that…
There was a need for a price to be paid.
Ryner’s body was engulfed in that deep layer of darkness…
And the Gastark king…
Blood spurted from his eye with a strange sound.
“Urgh…”
The king softly groaned, pressing a hand to his eye, the black cloaked men panicked when they saw this.
“Your Majesty?!”
They made to move over…
But the king stopped him.
“It’s fine. More importantly, find someone to pass the message on to Stohl. Tell them, if they don’t want to experience another attack like that, then surrender. This way, the war with Stohl can stop. Uh, if it doesn’t end here, then the tens of thousands of lives would have been sacrificed for nothing.”
The black cloaked men made a move after they received the order.
After making sure of that, the king turned back…
Kiefer looked at his face.
Blood continued to well out from his eye…
But, he still smiled.
He smiled as if he couldn’t feel any pain.
He had a sad smile that seemed to mock himself.
Kiefer saw that—
“Do you… regret it?”
And the king shrugged his shoulders, like he did earlier, then said:
“People who kill and don’t regret are trash.”
This sentence reverberated in Kiefer’s heart.
This man’s sentence had touched Kiefer’s heart.
Because everything he said was straight to the point, simple and not fake…
She felt that she could understand why Gastark had become strong.
The power of that sword…
No. Not that. The price that sword demanded was too great. It couldn’t be something that could be used continuously.
The true power of this country was the king’s charisma.
That was what Kiefer felt.
The country ruled by the strong, determined king.
The country ruled by the king who understood people’s pain and conquered that pain.
The man spoke.
He looked at Kiefer.
“Hey, I said it before… I don’t hate idiots like you. People who can’t even save the people before them, who else can they save? If you only want to save someone… only save someone very important to you, perhaps that is enough. But even so, if you want to save even more people, then come with me. Depend on me, Riphal Edea…”
Saying that, he extended a hand to Kiefer, at this instance…
The black cloaked man appeared again, and told the king… Edea:
“Your Majesty, the Imperial Stohl has surrendered. The king of Stohl has come forward to show that he is surrendering…”
Edea nodded when he heard this:
“I will go to see him. Stabilise Stohl’s internal matters as soon as possible. Try to avoid meaningless conflict, and proceed swiftly.”
Saying that, he looked at Kiefer…
“Come along too. I will treat your leg wound for you.”
But, Kiefer shook her head. Then said:
“Thank you for your invitation, Your Majesty, but… now, I still have things… to do in Stohl, so… but, one day, I will head to Your Majesty’s side.”
Yes, her words and tone differed from earlier, they were carefully chosen and respectful.
Edea narrowed his remaining right eye when he heard that.
“Things to do in Stohl… is that so? Eh~~ What kind of person are you? I’m really interested, but… Since you say one day you’ll depend on me, then I will not force you now. Then, see you.”
Saying that, he left swiftly.
After Kiefer watched him leave, she stroked the heads of the trembling girls, and told them, the war had already ended.
Then……
She left.
She headed in a direction away from Gastark and Stohl.
First, she had to go to the neighbouring country to investigate, what kind of country was this country called Gastark.
If she entered Gastark but knew nothing about it, then she would be at a disadvantage.
What kind of country was Gastark?
What was the status of that man called Edea? What was he?
And… that sword?
Immediately, several key words appeared!
‘The descendant of the Hero’.
‘Contract’.
‘The voice from the sky’.
‘The voice that was like what Ryner released’.
Kiefer smiled.
She had a lead.
She felt.
The answer must be here.
The answer to save Ryner.
She stopped… Then pulled out the arrow in her leg, staring at that arrow.
It was an arrow stained with her blood.
If it wasn’t Edea who had saved her, she would have died then. Not even saving Ryner, she could have died on that battle field.
Kiefer narrowed her eyes, thinking about Edea’s words.
“If you want to save even more people…”
But……at this point she shook her head.
“……Saving the world? What a strong charisma. The charismatic king, and a charismatic country… But, to the current me, saving Ryner is more important than saving the world. So…”
At this moment, she threw the arrow on the ground, turning around…
“……I’m sorry, let me use you for a while, Riphal Edea…”
After muttering that, she walked forward.
A startling large amount of fresh blood was left on the battle ground, and…
An unimaginably large number of corpses…
This was the first place she had met with him.
She who had always been cursed as a traitor and…
The Gastark King who could be called the ‘One-Eyed Hero King’, the first place they met.
And this meeting would…
The location and time changed…
Runa Empire.
In the Rajit Village near the boundary of the Imperial Nelpha, in the bushes not far from a house…
Ryner and Ferris… and the youth Arua who had not opened his eyes and was being carried by Ryner, hid in the grass patch. Ryner peeked at the situation of the village from the bushes, and frowned as he spoke:
“Ah~~ Like what we guessed, the Runa soldiers are lying in wait for us…”
The scene in the village was very weird.
Like what they saw in their previous visit, the villagers were hidden in their houses and didn’t dare to come out, in addition, there were several armed soldiers wandering around in the village…
To add on, there were two wearing armour different from the normal soldiers… There were some people with strange armour that was made up of crescent shaped-like rings, that seemed like that would cut if touched…
They already knew, that was the armour of the Runa Mage Knight Battalion.
These two people were standing before the house that Ryner and the others were looking at, as if protecting it.
Ryner saw this, and had an even unhappier expression as he said:
“Are they waiting for us? It seems, rescuing Kuku will be quite troublesome…”
They were here for this.
To save Arua’s childhood friend, Kuku.
From the looks of the underhanded methods of the Runa soldiers, if they left Kuku here, she would definitely be harmed.
It seemed that was true…
At this time Ryner narrowed his eyes, looking at Arua on his back.
An innocent face.
That face would be clouded with a layer of grief. His parents were killed before him… Not only that, grief and despair would twist his face again.
Like his past self…
“…”
Ryner’s expression became even more incomparably tired.
Perhaps she noticed his change in expression? Ferris nodded too.
“Yes, saving Kuku will be difficult. But, we can’t leave Kuku here? If Kuku is killed too, then we cannot get the reward for saving Arua’s life. This way, our dream of using that reward money to organize an extravagant dango feast will…”
“Ah, is that where the problem is…I want to ask you, ‘us’? Why does it seem like your dream has become my dream?”
Ferris replied simply:
“What did you say? Didn’t you frequently say that? ‘The wish of my princess, is also my wish. As long as I can see the happy expression of the princess, I am contented even if I die’.”
“Who said that!! Enough, talking to you is like saying having half a sentence appear even though I said nothing… Putting that aside… What do we do now? Even if we can deal with those normal soldiers, but I feel that those Mage Knight Battalions are troublesome…”
No, this wasn’t about whether it was troublesome.
The reason why they were called Mage Knight Battalion… That meant that they were the strongest team in this country.
Their fighting abilities were abnormal. Normally no one would want to face these monsters as enemies?
But… Ferris said:
“Mm-hmm. But, currently there are only two Mage Knights confirmed, and the only other Mage Knights situated here should only be these two. We can assume the other Mage Knights are looking for us who took Arua. This way… Currently, the only two here, should be nothing?”
She said it very simply… But, Ryner shrugged when he heard this.
“No, saying something strong like that in front of the Mage Knights, there probably is only you. Anyway I’m carrying Arua too…”
At this moment Ferris interrupted him.
“Even if you’re carrying him, by your strength, you can block two or three Mage Knights, right?”
But, Ryner said again:
“Uh, maybe, but… how should I say this, I’ve been suffering from a lack of sleep lately… I don’t really want to move…”
Ferris tilted her head suspiciously when she heard that.
“……Eh? What are you trying to say?”
Ryner, with an expression as if he had been waiting for this, nodding forcefully.
“So, eh, how should I say… I’m thinking, if Ferris who is not taking the Mage Knight Battalion seriously, can save Kuku by herself, then I wouldn’t need to carry Arua and run around, that would be very relaxed…”
But, he stopped here.
Ferris slowly unsheathed the sword at her waist and asked:
“So?”
Seeing this development, Ryner sighed.
“…The above is my imagination. I don’t want to die, so I will work hard.”
Saying that, he turned his eyes that were bloodshot because of tiredness and exhaustion, to look at the village.
The security was heavy indeed, but… it wasn’t until that stage where it was impossible to break through.
Swiftly scanning once, he saw two Mage Knights and five ordinary soldiers.
If Ryner had their capabilities, and save the hostage—
“Uh, it should be an easy victory?”
He rotated his neck. Then he used his sharp eyes to look at the Mage Knights and the Runa soldiers.
“…If Kuku is still alive and hiding in the house, then that would be good.”
That was where the problem was.
If the Runa people knew the high value of Kuku being a hostage…
Perhaps they had arranged Mage Knights to stand outside Kuku’s house, set traps, but kept Kuku somewhere else?
No, it was still good if she were imprisoned.
She could have been killed.
In the end the Runa people clearly killed Kuku… but told Ryner and the others:
“If you want to save that girl, listen to us obediently.”
That was the technique nobles were best at.
Like how Kiefer’s younger sister had been killed in the past…
But at this moment Ferris said:
“That is not a problem. Even if Kuku isn’t inside, as long as we interrogate the Mage Knights or normal soldiers ‘within an acceptable range’, they will tell us where they have hidden her.”
Ryner smiled wryly when he heard that and looked at Ferris.
“Interrogating…You’re amazing. Uh, you’re right. If those nobles are always acting by their own desires, we have to change our methods too. If we don’t let them understand that we are not always in the situation where we are being beaten upon, then they will be even more arrogant. Then let’s move?”
Saying that, Ryner stood up.
This moment alone caused the Mage Knights to react…
“Ah, as expected of Mage Knights. Then, what battle plan shall we pick?”
But Ferris said:
“Does that standard of enemy need a battle plan? Go.”
Saying that, she leapt forward with an astounding speed.
Shortening the distance between her and the Mage Knights in one breath, she swung her sword…
The Mage Knights frantically unsheathed their swords, preparing for battle.
But, it was clear, their movements couldn’t match up to Ferris’s speed.
A Mage Knight suddenly felt something was off.
“En…”
As he prepared to shout, Ferris’s sword struck him on the head, shutting him up. The Mage Knight collapsed on the ground… Although he had not fainted, but he was seriously wounded, and his movements had slowed.
The other Mage Knight jumped back, attempting to increase the distance between him and Ferris, but Ferris chased after him with twice his speed…
Her sword swung.
The two exchanged two, three blows at a speed that couldn’t be seen…
But, the Mage Knight was slowly pressed back by the heavy power of Ferris’s swordsmanship, he continued to retreat, he retreated until his back touched Kuku’s family’s wall, then…
“Urgh… How powerful…Soldiers! Call the back-up! We will block this place off! Call the rest of the Mage Knights…”
He shouted fiercely.
But those soldiers didn’t hear his shout.
Those five soldiers were already on the ground…
“Ah, I’m sorry, I’ve already dealt with everyone…”
Ryner said with a lazy expression. Then he used a karate chop on the Mage Knight behind Ferris who was attempting to chant a magic incantation, making him faint, then…
“Heh, that’s it. Hey, Ferris, this side is done. You should end yours too.”
Then Ferris nodded.
“Then, I’ll be serious?”
The Mage Knight heard that—
“Ah?”
He let out a foolish shout, at this moment, Ferris’s movements became faster.
She swung her sword even more fiercely, in comparison, her earlier movements were a fake front…
The Mage Knight raised his sword in a moment, but the blade was broken into two.
The difference in power was too great.
In the time that Ferris was fighting, she had skillfully hidden the Roland crest imprinted on her armour, preventing the other party from seeing it.
But the difference in the two people’s abilities were really obvious…
Ferris swung her sword smoothly, slicing towards the Mage Knight’s neck, then said:
“That’s that, you’re not my opponent. The man behind me is stronger than you too. And that man is a pervert who doesn’t differentiate between man, women, old or young, he even chases after men! If you love your life and your chastity, then please tell me where you have hidden Kuku!”
She finished speaking. The Mage Knight’s face stiffened, and looked to Ryner…
Ryner seeing that, said:
“You really believe that?! Speaking of which, why do I always have to act out those perverted characters… Urgh, forget it, if this is threatening, I’m not protesting…”
He muttered unhappily. At thie moment, the Mage Knight replied with a stiff expression:
“In that house…”
But Ferris swiftly rejected it.
“You’re lying. I can’t feel any presence. That house is empty.”
She was right. Ryner could feel it when he approached the house. There was no presence in Kuku’s house. The house wasn’t very big. Kuku was probably not here?
Ferris said again:
“If you lie, and want to use that time to escape, then that is a waste of effort. Not only that, the more you lie, the worse the situation will become. Ryner, come over. This man seems to want to play with you.”
Then, the Mage Knight’s expression contorted with fear again, staring at Ryner.
Ryner couldn’t very well say—“I really don’t want to play with you…” at this moment.
Ryner replied with an expression as if he wanted to cry:
“Uh… Ah, eh, that… Alright, then let me play with you for a while…”
In the instant after he said that, he felt that the usually emotionless Ferris, had a slight smile…
Ryner momentarily felt like he had lost something important, and cried in his heard.
Uh, let’s not think about such trivial matters for now…
Ryner walked towards Ferris, and said:
“Ne, for your own good, we can probably kill you, and interrogate the other soldiers. I know that you have received vigorous training as a Mage Knight, and so you will not submit to interrogation… but, anyway those normal soldiers will reveal information very easily. And you have to die for no reason here? Why not you live on, then rebuild yourself…”
Then, halfway through, suddenly…
His head went flying.
Ryner’s eyes widened when he saw that.
“Ah…”
But, his words were cut off.
Something had cut the wall of Kuku’s family behind the Mage Knight into half. After the Mage Knight’s head was cut off, it headed towards Ryner’s head…
“Damn it…”
Ryner tried to dodge.
But, that thing extended towards his neck swiftly.
Ryner moved his body, but it was too late.
That thing was fixed on Ryner’s throat…
He was done for…
He thought.
His brain was going to go flying…
But, at this moment, Ferris grabbed Ryner’s hair from behind, and pulled him down, allowing him to dodge this fatal blow.
In the next moment.
Something surprising happened.
Kuku’s family’s wall split, then… it rapidly froze and shattered.
The pieces of the frozen house scattered, reflecting the sun rays, flashing a golden light…
What a strange scene.
The head flying in the air.
The Mage Knight’s head…
But there wasn’t any blood splatters.
Because the portion of the neck of the Mage Knight that had been sliced horizontally, no, his whole body was frozen, so there was not a single drop of blood splashing out…
Ryner had seen this before.
“Oh no…”
He said as if groaning, then he held on to the sleeping Arua on his back, and jumped back with Ferris… then looked ahead again.
And, a girl and man walked out from the destroyed house…
One of them was a tall man called Sui. But talking about tall, he was actually only slightly taller than Ryner by a little. He seemed a little timid, and was always smiling, and had a steady feeling.
The most special trait about him was his hair…
Tea-coloured… no, it should be slightly pinkish, a hair colour that was rarely seen.
And by his side was his little sister Kuu who had the same rarely seen pink-coloured long hair.
She was roughly thirteen or fourteen years old?
Her bangs were cut nearly, and she wore a black dress outfit.
Her pretty features and slender eyes made her seem like an adorably pretty girl.
And, she held a scythe in her hands…
That was not a normal scythe.
Because this scythe had decapitated the Mage Knight and froze the wall of the house, causing it to be destroyed cleanly.
That large scythe was made from an unknown blue metal…
That was… one of what Ryner and the others called the ‘Heroes’ Relics’.
It was a weapon that contained a strong power that people did not know of.
In the past Ryner and Ferris had been pressed back by this scythe’s power, and were nearly killed.
They were completely unable to match them.
That scythe had such a strong power…
At this point Sui said:
“Yo, isn’t this Ryner-san and Ferris-san? I didn’t think that we would meet here… We have quite the fate.”
He said with a gentle voice. But Ryner glared viciously at Sui when he heard this.
“I don’t want to see you at all…”
But, Sui stared at Ryner with his slender eyes that weren’t known if they were opened or closed, then replied:
“Really? How cold. But, I am rather interested in you, Ryner-san. The wielder of the special Alpha Stigma… Until now, I have hunted down a few Alpha Stigma wielders, and crystallised their eyes before snatching them… But, clearly, you are different from the other Alpha Stigma wielders… Your power is too strong… Even my Rhule Fragmei Elemio’s Comb couldn’t match you, so…”
Saying that, he raised his left hand.
By right, his left arm should have been gone.
When Ryner lost control of his Alpha Stigma, Sui’s left arm and the Heroes’ Relic Elemio’s Comb vanished.
But, Sui raised his left arm.
But, that was not a flesh arm. It was a prosthetic, a limb made from metal.
And there were several strange stones made from an unknown substance on the prosthetic limb.
The limb had an unknown structure, and Sui was able to move it like a real limb, freely moving, raising it high. Then he said:
“…And after you awakened and lost control, you could still regain consciousness. This has never been seen before. What are you?”
He asked. But, Ryner lowered his eyelids.
“If I knew, I wouldn’t have to suffer so much already.”
He replied unhappily.
What was he?
He had been asked this question many times, until it was overused.
What was he?
Was he human?
Or was he a monster?
And…
What was I born for…
Does my existence have any meaning?
But Sui spoke with a surprised expression:
“…Really? But the child you are carrying… That, is an Alpha Stigma wielder, right? You didn’t crystallise the other Alpha Stigma to steal the power of their eyes, but you protect, what meaning does this have? Do you know the real method of using the eyes…”
Before Ryner replied, Ferris said:
“Oh, your topic is interesting. You actually know that Arua is an Alpha Stigma wielder…”
Sui hearing that, replied:
“Obviously? Because we are here to hunt Alpha Stigmas… But, I didn’t think Ryner-san and you would bring the child with the Alpha Stigma here, this was beyond our expectations. It seems a little challenging…”
Saying that, he frowned.
“With you here… I’m unable to force that child’s Alpha Stigma to awaken, and steal it. Honestly, the power that your eyes have after awakening, that is something we are unable to match up to…”
At this moment, Ferris said again:
“And… You even let us Roland people know the fact that you are secretly dealing with Runa Empire. You obtained the information about Arua being an Alpha Stigma wielder from Runa, right?”
Sui smiled when he heard that.
“Wrong. So, things are really bad. I am very interested in Ryner-san’s Alpha Stigma, but… regretfully, I need you to die now…”
Saying that, he smiled again, then continued:
“Kuu.”
Then, Kuu nodded.
“…Yes.”
She raised her scythe…
At this point Ferris shouted:
“Ryner!”
“Understood!”
Ryner nodded forcefully when he heard that, running forward. As he ran, his fingers danced in the air, writing glowing words…
“I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, LETTING THE SLUMBERING MALICIOUS BEAST DWELL WITHIN.”
In the moment he finished chanting, his body’s speed increased.
He left his original place in a breath…
But, Sui’s voice sounded from behind him.
“You can’t escape from Kuu.”
He said gleefully.
That was right, Kuu, without a change in expression, chased after Ryner who had increased his movements with magic…
This was power gained from the power of the scythe.
That scythe seemed to be able to gift the wielder with enormous strength…
She used an aggressive stance, swinging the scythe down towards Ryner…
He was unable to dodge.
Although he was unable to dodge… Ryner looked back.
In a moment, Ferris jumped in front of him…
Ryner smiled when he saw that.
“Ok. You thought the same as me.”
But Ferris didn’t reply him, she grabbed her sword… and blocked Kuu’s blow.
But, because she was unable to take the scythe’s enormous strength, her body was blown over in a breath.
No, it should be said she used her opponent’s stance, to jump over?
Kuu’s strength was too abnormal.
Ferris jumped back, as if she were thrown back by that abnormal strength…
Ryner grabbed Ferris’s shoulder, jumping back.
In a moment, the two greatly increased the distance between them and Kuu, landing directly. But, they didn’t stop moving.
“Ryner, let’s separate. It will confuse them. The meeting point…”
“Where the carriage is hidden.”
“Yes.”
Saying that, Ferris left the village, disappearing into the forest to their right.
Kuu chased after Ferris. After Ryner checked the situation, he looked behind him…
But, Sui didn’t chase after him.
No, it seemed he didn’t plan to chase after him.
That was to be expected? Sui and Ryner’s speed couldn’t be compared.
Perhaps he knew, so after they increased the distance, he would never catch up, so he gave up?
Kuu probably could not catch up with Ferris.
No problem.
It seemed like they could escape from this.
He thought.
Ryner made to run forward again…
But, at this moment Sui who was relatively far behind suddenly shouted:
“Ah, Ryner-san! Before we separate let me tell you! That youth’s childhood friend, is now imprisoned in the villa of this land’s noble!”
Ryner turned back…in Sui’s direction.
He couldn’t see his expression…
But, Ryner knew what expression Sui had.
It was the usual steady expression that was laughing.
A laughing expression as if he could see through Ryner and the other’s thoughts…
Sui continued:
“I will await for the two of you there.”
Ryner frowned.
“…Bastard!”
After he cursed, he continued to sprint ahead.
She asked, why?
Because it was really too strange.
She was clearly a traitor.
Because of her, everyone had died.
Everyone was dead.
She lied to him, Sion, Tyle, Toni, Fahl, everyone…
So, someone like me shouldn’t be treated so gently.
But…
He looked at me, and laughed with the usual lethargic expression, but filled with a caring gentleness.
And he took my place in prison.
Ryner had his usual lazy smile, and smiled from the other side of the iron bars.
He told a lame joke, as he smiled.
I don’t understand.
Why? Why? Why?
I…
I clearly caused the death of everyone…
She spoke with a trembling voice:
“Why, Why… Why is Ryner willing to do this for me…? Why are you so caring to me? I… I betrayed Tyle, Toni and Fahl… I caused them to be killed…”
But, he interrupted her.
“You’re wrong.”
He said.
Then looked at her with that sleepy, lethargic expression.
“The ones who killed aren’t humans, but monsters, Kiefer. War is a kind of monster. This country is a kind of monster. Lust is a kind of monster. And I too…”
At this juncture, he stopped, then smiled at her.
That smile made her want to cry.
Why does he look at me with that kind of expression?
I’m clearly a traitor.
I betrayed the friends that I liked.
I betrayed the person I love.
And… The one that she wanted to save, her younger sister that she had sacrificed so many people for had already been killed…
Even her older sister had been killed cruelly before her eyes…
What value do I have?
My existence is meaningless.
There is no meaning for me to live on.
I am clearly a despicable person who cannot save anyone, but will betray my companions for nothing and cause them to be killed…
But, he still had a very caring expression as he looked at her.
“But, Kiefer is human. So, Kiefer doesn’t have to worry too much. Understand?”
He said.
In that moment, she understood everything.
She understood why she liked him so much?
Understood why she loved him so stubbornly?
Because he was so caring that it was unbelievable.
She had always misunderstood. She had always thought, because he was unmotivated, so unmotivated that there wasn’t any need for anyone to be wary of him, because he always made people feel comfortable, so she would like him, but…
She was wrong.
It was actually because he was so caring that it was unbelievable.
And…
Because deep within that caring smile…
There was a deep wound…
He said:
“And I too…”
He said he was a monster.
At the same time he said this, he smiled really gently…
But, that…
What he said—
“But, Kiefer is human.”
Kiefer is human!!
Her tears nearly burst out.
Feeling the loneliness in his heart, her tears nearly flowed out.
He was in the bottom of a place that was unbelievably dark… but, he still smiled.
He smiled at me.
Because I am a monster…
Because I am a monster…
This smile, she had seen it several times.
The first time she said she liked him, he had an expression that was filled with resignation and smiled.
Because I am a monster…
He gave up on everything, and curled up in the layer of darkness by himself, rejecting the whole world.
Only because he did not want to hurt anyone.
He didn’t want to hurt anyone important to him.
He smiled in resignation.
How many layers of pain are hidden under that smile?
How many layers of grief are hidden under that smile?
Because I am a traitor… So I can’t love anyone, I can build friendships with anyone. She had thought that…
But, he had told himself that he couldn’t come into contact with anyone from the day he was born.
Because he didn’t want to kill, so he couldn’t approach anyone…
So, she reached out to the metal bars, grabbed his clothes, and pulled him over.
Then forcefully overlapped her lips with his.
That was a promise.
A promise that linked him who didn’t interact with anyone to her.
A promise to never let him be alone.
Even if he locked up his heart, and not accept anyone…
A promise that she would bring him back again.
This was the promise that she made in her heart, by her own will.
She stared at him and said:
“Ryner isn’t a monster. At least I don’t think you are a monster. I will live on. Thank you, Ryner. And…I will definitely…”
At this point, she didn’t need to say anything.
There was no need to say it.
But in her heart, she swore.
She would save him.
From that layer of darkness…
She would save him from the bottom of the layer of darkness…
At this moment—
“Kiefer!! Kiefer Knolles!”
There was a shout, momentarily jolting her awake.
She opened her eyes.
And she discovered, what was before her eyes wasn’t the scene she had with Ryner two years ago…
Reality lay before her eyes.
Lights were fired.
Followed by sounds of explosions.
Then…
People died.
Every time a beam of magic flashed, people would die subsequently.
People died.
People perished.
Kiefer stared at this scene.
Not far from her, the fighting soldiers seem to be acting out an act, simply collapsing one after another.
She had seen this scene before.
Her comrades…
The scene of her comrades’ heads and bodies continuously jumping apart…
That scene was like hell.
She didn’t want to see that kind of things anymore. She had clearly thought that, but she was still in that kind of situation.
War.
Blood splattered, magic was chanted, people died.
…Death.
Seeing this, she frowned.
Right before her eyes was the rising country, Gastark’s soldiers. And, the army’s power wasn’t what a rising country should have…
No, it could even be said it was till an abnormal stage.
Because, near to the north of the Menoris Continent, the soldiers of the military country Stohl that was said to have the strongest and largest army, was now losing their determination, and escaping…
The difference between the two armies could be easily seen.
She looked straight at this scenario with her red eyes.
In these two years her red-hair that was the same colour as her eyes had grown to shoulder-length, her slim body was now wearing light armour that belonged to Imperal Stohl.
At this moment, the voice spoke again:
“Kiefer?! Let’s escape! This place isn’t going to hold much longer!!”
The squad leader of the troop she belonged to shouted, preparing to escape.
Kiefer replied:
“…But, if we escape, this village… Shouldn’t we let the citizens evacuate first…”
The captain’s face twisted in response.
“Leave this village!! Our main body is already coming over! Even the Mage Battalion is reaching. We could even possibly be caught up in the crossfire between the Gastark army and the Mage Battalion! At that time…”
But, at this instant Kiefer didn’t want to hear it.
Because she knew what he was about to say.
--At that moment, this village would disappear in an instant. If they didn’t escape, they would get caught in the crossfire… He wanted to say this.
The captain ran off with a pale expression. The other team members followed behind him, escaping together…
Kiefer sighed when she saw this.
“Yeah, I can understand everyone’s feelings of escaping…”
She murmured softly.
The squad that Kiefer belonged to, had never received any vigorous army training. Because they were the furthest from the front lines, a village situated relatively inside the borders of Stohl…
By right, the Gastark soldiers would not attack this place. So, it became the camping site for Kiefer’s team. In addition, there were many civilians here. The front line should be somewhere further away.
But, the Gastark forces were too strong. They broke through the front line, and attacked here…
This shouldn’t be something that would happen.
They couldn’t possibly defeat Imperial Stohl that was said to be the strongest country in the northern part of the Menoris Continent that no country could match up to, and reach here in a single breath.
She could understand that her companions had felt shocked at this development, and struggled to escape.
But, Kiefer looked at this with a steady expression.
“…As expected.”
Yes. To her, this development was within her expectations.
She only needed to look at this and understand.
Due to the distance from the front line, the country did not put the squads that had the important task of sending supplies to the front line any battle training. From this fact… this outcome could be expected.
The supplies that Stohl sent to the teams were gone.
As long as there was anyone with a little fighting power, they would be sent to the battle field…
Then they would be killed.
She stuck out her tongue and said:
“Eh~~ this situation is bad. I invested in the wrong country… I initially thought that picking the strongest country in the north Stohl… perhaps I could find some information about Ryner’s… Alpha Stigma…”
That was the reason why she was here.
Alpha Stigma.
What was that?
That was the only reason why she picked Stohl.
No, ever since she handed the task of rescuing Ryner from prison to Sion, and left Roland… She only lived to find out the entirety of this matter.
To save Ryner.
To save him… from that oasis of darkness…
On the way north from Roland, she had chosen Runa, Cassla and Veiohl and other countries, at last she entered the strongest country out of these countries, Imperial Stohl.
Her intention was to gain information.
At this moment, she had a troubled expression, and she looked at the Gastark army that was kicking up clouds of dust and approaching.
“Indeed, I chose the wrong country…”
She didn’t think that a large country like Stohl would be embroiled in this kind of battle. And it was the state where they were being wiped out.
If she wanted to leave Stohl, she had to do it now.
“Kiefer Knolles, second-grade soldier, died in action in Hoins village…”
If the country announced that, then leaving this country would be easy, right?
If she wanted to desert, she had to do it now.
Around her were the village people, everyone was crying and shouting, trying to escape the village. If she took off her armour, and escaped with everyone…
At this moment, the sound of a horn was sounded from behind her, she turned her head when she heard it.
At some point in time, the army of Stohl had appeared…
“…”
Seeing this, she was momentarily speechless.
It was an unbelievably large army.
The army expanded in a horizontal fashion, there were more than a hundred thousand?
This was the power of the Imperial Stohl.
According to what the captain said earlier, this large army had a reputation that just with one squad, they could block one thousand of the opposing Mage Battalions.
The strength of the army was abnormal.
One the other hand, there were thirty thousand Gastark soldiers.
If they clashed, Gastark would probably be destroyed in an instant?
The villagers cheered.
“They’re here! The Stohl army is here to save…”
But, they stopped.
An arrow pierced through the shouting man’s head…and he collapsed.
That arrow was shot from the Stohl army.
In the next instant, the Stohl army shot a large number of arrows.
And those were arrows that depended of the wind manipulation of magic, to increase their range.
A large number of arrows surpassed the village, and flew to the Gastark army…
But, there were hundreds of arrows that landed in the village.
Kiefer quickly dodged the arrows and said:
“…I really chose the wrong country.”
She looked around her, the villagers screamed as they became targets, and frowned.
But things were at this stage, she was powerless too. Protecting herself was already taking up her energy…
Kiefer continued to run forward.
She attempted to leave the village…
Arrows rained down.
Every time it caused the death of the villagers.
Women, men, elderly…
Kiefer was unable to save them. Because she did not have that luxury. If she relaxed, she would become the next target of the arrows. Under this situation…
Kiefer still had a sorrowful expression.
“…I’m sorry, but I cannot die here, I have to keep to the promise…”
And at this moment…
There was an arrow from the front.
In order to dodge the arrow, Kiefer threw her body to the side. Her eyes followed the movement of the arrow…
In a moment, she saw the scene behind her.
She saw the place where the arrow she dodged was heading to!
There were two kids in front of her. They were girls. Two young girls.
They were sisters?
The girl that seemed like the older sister was frantically pulling her younger sister’s hand and running…
There was a rut beneath their feet.
The arrows flew over.
The arrows flew over.
Several arrows shot towards their feet…
But the sisters continued to run frantically.
Kiefer spoke when she saw this:
“I’m sorry. I currently have no way to save …”
But—the younger sister fell.
The arrows flew over.
The older sister seemed to notice, that arrow was shooting towards her younger sister.
And, in the urgent moment, she blocked her younger sister…
In that moment…
“I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, LETTING THE SLUMBERING MALICIOUS SPIRIT DWELL WITHIN.”
Kiefer chanted. Loosening the restrictions on her mind, her body’s speed increased.
That was the magic that her older sister had used to protect her and her younger sister.
Lately, she had learnt to use this magic. How much later was that than her older sister who had learnt this magic and age thirteen? Her older sister was certainly a genius. And, Kiefer’s magic efficiency would never compare to her older sister’s.
But, she moved to the sisters with her increased speed.
She dashed to the older sister who seemed to be protecting her younger sister from the arrow, and grabbed the younger sister’s body, dodging the arrow…
And.
“Urgh…”
Her right leg suffered a blow.
Then, she hugged the sisters, rolling on the ground and stopped.
She immediately raised her head.
“Are the two of you hurt?!”
But the sisters were so terrified, they seemed like they were about to cry…
Kiefer asked loudly again:
“I asked if any of you are hurt?”
The girls sniffled, and shook their heads quickly. Kiefer nodded when she saw this:
“Good! Then escape quickly!!”
Saying that, she made to stand up, but a stab of pain passed from her right leg again…
“Ah…”
She looked at her leg. An arrow was buried in it…
The wound wasn’t deep. It didn’t seem to have hurt her muscles or ligaments…but it would be hard for her to bring the girls and escape under this situation.
If there was no way to escape, then she had to quickly remove the armour, and find a place to hide.
A place where arrows would not reach.
A place where the fires of war would not reach…
But, there was no one to guarantee that their lives would be safe from harm.
“Ah, really, this is terrible… Why do I have to do this? Things about sisters is really my weakness…”
She said as she looked around, looking for a place to hide.
First she had to use the houses as shields, and leave the centre of the village that had supplies, even if it were a little distance was also fine…
But, her emotions stopped at this moment.
“……Uh!”
Kiefer looked at the sky, and was shocked speechless.
The light from the sky was suddenly blocked…
Darkness descended from the sky.
The whole sky was covered with despair.
Arrows—
An innumerable number of arrows covered the sky that she could see…
“It can’t be?”
She said as if moaning.
Even if they wanted to escape now, it was too late to escape to the houses that could act as shields. If it were only her, she had a slight chance. She could use magic to increase her speed… but, with these two girls…
Kiefer narrowed her eyes at this situation.
“…Oh dear, this is really bad…”
She looked at the descending arrows again.
Death was right before her eyes.
Death had a strong presence.
But, she was unable to move. Only lightly sighing…
“…It seems that I am unable to keep my promise.”
It was always like that.
She thought.
She was always unable to protect what she truly wanted to protect…
Her older sister, younger sister, everyone…
And Ryner too…
She had thought that she could save them a second ago, but in a moment the chance slipped through her hands again.
Because she had resigned herself. Because of resignation, she told herself, if she saved one side, the other had to be sacrificed.
Because she became resigned very easily, she told herself, for her younger sister, she had to sacrifice Ryner and Sion and the others.
In the end, she couldn’t save anyone.
It was always like that.
I can never save anyone.
It’s always, always, always, always like that…
“I’m already tired of that…”
She said.
She hated her weak self.
If it were her older sister, even in this situation, she would be able to think of a plan, and go past the difficulty?
If it were Sion who was proclaimed to be a genius in the academy, perhaps…
No, if it were Ryner…
If that were the case.
“There’s a way!”
Kiefer shouted.
“I can do it too! If I die here, how can I save Ryner! I can do it! I can do it! I can do it!”
She said, then looked back.
“You two, form a line behind me! I may not be able to cut off all the arrows. So you have to form a line… and hide under my armour!”
After she ordered the two girls, she looked in the direction of the arrows again, her fingers danced in the air, forming glowing words in the air.
It was Estabul magic.
The magic of her home country, the Kingdom of Estabul.
“I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS…”
This was the highest offensive grade magic that she could use.
But using this magic, how many arrows could she burn?
How many… of the thousands of arrows could she deflect?
But, she had no other choices.
She tried to attract the arrows. So that she could use the magic once and cut off the most number of arrows…
The moment the arrows were almost reaching her, she chanted:
“RELEASINIG THE SPIRIT OF LIGHT DANCING IN THE SKY!”
In a split second, a membrane of light appeared above her head, and a beast that was like a dog appeared…
The beast of light formed.
It flew straight towards the arrows.
And…
The arrows, using the magic that had blessed it with power, broke through her magic’s flames.
“How can that…”
She didn’t even manage to deflect a single arrow.
All the arrows glided towards them…
In a moment, she spread her arms, attempting to stop the arrows from reaching the girls behind her.
She spread her arms as wide as she could…
The arrows made a whistling sound in the air, preparing to pierce through her body.
At this moment…
Her vision was suddenly blocked.
A stranger stood in front of her.
“Heh!”
The man waved his sword.
And it wasn’t a normal sword, it was a sword that was so long that it was weird, and it was about three times of Kiefer’s height.
No, Kiefer didn’t know if it should be called a sword? Because the length of the sword didn’t seem like what a normal person could wield… And the blade of the sword was black, the black blade had several purple streaks, drawing a strange design, but had some organization.
The man lightly swung that sword…
In an instant.
The man cut through the numerous arrows that were about to pierced Kiefer and the others… No, he cut through the hundreds of arrows flying towards them.
He cut the arrows that were magically reinforced, that even her magic was unable to block…
“…”
This strange scene made Kiefer feel surprised.
No, it wasn’t.
It was the man’s appearance that made her feel surprised.
The man placed the strangely long sword on his shoulder. But, although the man was well-built, he seemed a little slim, it was unbelievable that he could carry that kind of sword.
He had slightly wavy tea-coloured… or it should be said slightly pinkish-coloured hair that was rare.
And what was most attractive were those sharp but confident eyes.
Eyes that seemed as if they could suck people in.
They displayed a strong determination, passionate wildness…
The man used those eyes to look at Kiefer, then he looked around.
“That armour… You are a Stohl soldier? But, I don’t see any other soldiers. Stohl didn’t let the villagers evacuate before they shot out so many arrows?”
Kiefer heard that, and stared at the man…
“From your tone, you are Gastark soldier?”
The man nodded carelessly and replied:
“Ah, eh, I suppose so.”
Then he looked around again.
“There aren’t any presences of ambushers… That means, the Stohl soldiers really abandoned the villagers, and deserted. But you stayed on to protect these girls… Are you an idiot?”
He suddenly said.
“Eh? Uh… i-idiot? W-why do you…”
But, Kiefer was interrupted again.
“Didn’t Stohl give up on this village? But you stayed on, what can you do? You’re only wasting your life? You can’t save anyone.”
Kiefer frowned when she heard this.
This man was right.
But, because he was right, so…
“…What do you know? This is why I hate wars.”
She said seemingly unhappily.
To save many people, it was necessary to sacrifice a few.
The truth was probably like that.
But, I can’t say that Onee-san’s death was unavoidable because of this.
I can’t say my little sister’s death was unavoidable.
So…
“…So I hate wars…People like you who only use numbers to look at the lives and deaths of people, only doing what you want, and thinking that you’re everything…”
“What? You’re clearly the soldier of the military country Stohl, but you hate war?”
Kiefer hearing that.
“Of course!! Who likes wars!”
Kiefer shouted uncontrollably.
But the man mildly stated:
“Heh. You’re good. You’re shouting at me and waiting for me to reveal a weakness, right? When you’ll escape with the children… You’re quite talented. In addition the magic you used… That has a large difference from Stohl’s magic structure, right? That means, you’re not even Stohl’s soldier.”
“You… that means, you clearly knew…”
But, her words were interrupted by the man again.
“Then where are you from? You’re clearly not a Stohl soldier, but you appeared in a war between Stohl and Gastark… to save a civilian, and nearly lost your life… The conclusion I made is, you are an idiot. To protect others, you will throw away your life without hesitation, that is only what an idiot will do…”
Kiefer glared at the man when she heard this.
These words were really evil.
What was wrong with sacrificing her life for others?
Even if she sacrificed her life, she wanted to help others, what was wrong with that thinking?
Onee-san died to protect me.
Ryner went to prison for me.
And because there’s someone like that…
Kiefer glared at the man viciously again.
Because there were selfish people like this who only thought of themselves, there was war…
But, the man suddenly laughed happily…
“But I like idiots like this.”
He actually said that…
Towards this sudden change—
“Eh?”
Kiefer uttered in surprise.
The man was still smiling.
“I hate wars too. Blood, tears, sadness, things like that, I do not like them. But…”
At this moment, several men wearing black cloaks suddenly appeared around Kiefer and the man…
Soundlessly, and without a presence.
It was certainly surprising.
Kiefer had been monitoring the change in their surroundings, planning to escape when the man was unprepared.
But, before the black-cloaked men surrounded them, she didn’t even register their presence.
Monsters…
She thought.
This wasn’t her first time experiencing that feeling.
The Mage Knight Battalion.
In the past when she was surrounded by the Roland’s Mage Knight Battalion,
When she was attacked by the Estabul’s Mage Knight Battalion,
She had the same feeling.
But, these Mage Knight Battalions knelt in front of the man.
And…
“The preparations are completed, Your Majesty.”
Kiefer heard that…
“Your, Your Majesty?! That means, you…”
But, the man shrugged in reply, the spoke to the men in black cloaks:
“The protection of the civilians?”
“It’s complete. Only those three are left.”
“Then the current situation?”
“The mage archers of the Stohl army have retreated. They will be launching a large-scale magic soon.”
Kiefer shuddered when she heard this.
Large-scale magic referred to a destructive magic operated by more than ten Mage Knights, that was used in war.
The power was greater than normal, and sometimes one hit could cause hundreds of deaths.
And, in general, any country’s large-scale magic would not need much time to activate, before the two armies clashed, every Mage Knight Squad could only launch one or two hits.
And generally speaking, when large-scale magics clashed with each other, the two would cause much damage as they came into contact with each other…
And, the number of Stohl and Gastark soldiers were not the same.
It would be possible for a few large-scale magics to affect this place?
Until that time, one hit could destroy this small village.
At this point, the black cloaked man said:
“So, please retreat Your Majesty. For Your Majesty to personally come to the dangerous front lines…”
But the man shook his head, then said:
“No, I was planning to use ‘that’ in the first place, so there’s no need.”
In a moment—the black cloaked men kneeling around them panicked.
“Your…Your Majesty, you…”
“Your Majesty, please perish that thought! Do not use ‘that’…”
“No, I will use it.”
The man smiled with an innocent expression like a child’s.
“But…”
The black cloaked man wanted to say something, at this moment—
“You don’t have to say anything else. Didn’t I say it, this is what I have decided since the beginning? If we do this now, it will have a large effect in the future. You should understand that too?”
So…
“…”
The black cloaked men for some reason, remained quiet with a frustrated expression.
But, Kiefer didn’t understand.
What was he thinking of doing?
Kiefer asked:
“……Hey, I don’t understand… What is ‘that’?”
So the man turned back to her.
“…Ah, I’m sorry. We were half way through our discussion just now. So, I said I hated wars…”
“No, I’m not asking about that!”
But, this man didn’t hear Kiefer’s words, pointing at the black cloaked men.
“I don’t like my companions dying.”
Then he pointed to the girls behind Kiefer.
“I don’t want to see children dying too.”
Lastly he pointed to Kiefer.
“It would be a waste if a beauty like you died, I definitely wouldn’t want that to happen… So, I hate wars.”
Up until that point, the man narrowed his eyes sadly. His expression continued to change. In one instant, he was smiling innocently like a child, in the next he had a fearless smile of a conman…
Then like now, he lowered his eyelids as if he were really sad…
The man said:
“But… as long as there are countries, wars will occur. As long as there is a system of countries, there will be conflicts. I always thought, if that’s the case, then what should we do to reduce the sacrifices, even if it’s only by a little? What should we do, to make it so that people who are unhappy are reduced? I was always troubled by this.”
Saying that, the man frowned as if he was really frustrated by this, then he looked at Kiefer again.
“…Didn’t you say earlier, you hate people who used numbers to consider the lives and deaths of people? But, how should we save people? If we don’t use numbers, then what should we use as a yard stick to save people?”
To this problem…
“…”
Kiefer was unable to reply.
What should be used as a yard stick…
At this moment, the man said:
“Some people will probably say. At least you have to save the people before you… That is enough. Some will say, if you can protect the important people before your eyes, then that is enough… But, I don’t want to save just the people before my eyes. Not only the people of Gastark, even Stohl… No, not only that, save everyone in the Menoris Continent, let war disappear from this world. That is my dream.”
He said.
His words were filled with charisma.
His goal was to become a king that would rule everything on this continent, to build a peaceful world where there was no war.
And… Kiefer stared at the man, stared at the king of Gastark, and said:
“Then, you say to destroy war, so you triggered a war… But, isn’t this a little contradicting? Your dream is a dream that is built on killing people and gathering corpses. To be more concise, you are a king, but the ones fighting are the soldiers, the ones suffering are people. The king only hides in a safe place, waiting leisurely to reap the fruits of war. Isn’t this method just wishful thinking?”
But the man nodded when he heard that.
“Yeah, that’s right. So I will use this here…”
Saying that, he lifted the sword from his shoulders, and gently placed the blade on his palm.
Blood flowed out from his hand…
Blood seeped into the purple patterns on the blade…
The purple pattern seemed to absorb that blood, and slowly turned red…
Suddenly, the blade started to pulse.
Thump thump thump, it beat strongly as if it were alive…
“Th,that is…”
When Kiefer murmured softly, something happened.
The space before her eyes twisted.
The surroundings of the flowing sword seemed to twist with the sword at the center of it…
The surroundings twisted.
Then, suddenly from the sky…
“Contractor… I reply to thou request.”
A voice descended from the sky…
A quiet, quiet, quiet…
But, it was a voice that had a very strong presence.
The voice resounded in their minds…
Kiefer heard that.
“That, that is…”
She couldn’t stop trembling.
Because she had this kind of experience in the past…
This…
It was the same as when Ryner’s Alpha Stigma went out of control…
The voice spoke.
The voice spoke.
The voice spoke from somewhere below.
It directly resonated in her mind.
But, that voice was slightly different from the voice that spoke when Ryner lost control. The voice Ryner released was a voice that created unease in people.
And, this voice had a strangely strict tone, it was a voice that created fear in people…
The voice spoke:
“Respond. Respond. Tell me thou price. If that is the case, I will release my power.”
The man smiled when he heard this and said:
“Eat my left eye, then! I need power.”
Kiefer heard that—
“…Ah? What does that mean? Left eye…”
Then, the black cloaked man beside her, replied with a tight expression:
“That sword… That sacred sword is something that only descendants of the Hero can use… It can give His Majesty large power, but in return, every time His Majesty will lose an ability.”
“Ability? You mean…”
Then black cloaked man nodded.
“His Majesty has already used that sword twice before, and sacrificed his right leg and sense of smell. Didn’t you tell His Majesty, ‘The king only hides in a safe place, waiting leisurely to reap the fruits of war. Isn’t this method just wishful thinking?’
…But, if it is that kind of king, we wouldn’t follow him. His Majesty uses his own life as a sacrifice… attempting to save the world.”
Then, the man raised his sword and said:
“That is a beautiful thing. I am going to snatch many lives away. The price is only a left eye… It’s too cheap. Even so, I will still use this sword. To save more lives than I can snatch away.
I will become the king of the world—
To save everything in this world!”
He said.
He had a strong determined conviction in his words.
A king’s determination.
This man was definitely Gastark’s king.
The king raised the sword higher.
“Come, give me power! Glovil, release!”
Then, the voice descended again…
“…Contract completed. Releasing power.”
The sword released a light.
It released a red… red…
A blood-red light.
At the same time, several large lights illuminated from the Stohl army before them.
The large-scale magic was completed.
Then it was released.
An unbelievably strong destructive power was heading here…
With only one hit, hundreds of lives would disappear? No, that power had the power to destroy this whole village.
But, the black cloaked men surrounding them did not show any signs of fear.
They only watched the king in front of them.
The king only looked ahead.
With his sharp eyes…
His vision went beyond the approaching large-scale magics, to the even further army…
He stared hard, as if wanting to engrave this sight into his eyes…
“……This sacrifice will not be worthless. I will never forget this scene. My sins will never disappear. I am a murderer. A murdering king. If anyone wants to curse, then curse me.
But, even so—
Even so, I will still proceed…
Come…”
Saying that, he swung his sword hard, and stepped forward.
Then.
“Destroy everything!”
He swung the sword.
After which.
Something unbelievable happened.
The world’s scenery changed.
It disappeared.
Everything disappeared.
The strong power destroyed the whole world…
The village, land, magic, and even lives were wiped out.
Of the hundreds of thousands-strong Stohl army, tens of thousands had disappeared.
The victory could be determined from this.
An explosive power.
The large-scale magic lost its meaning.
Like that time.
Like how the Mage Knight Battalion were destroyed like toys… when Ryner’s eyes lost control.
That kind of despair…
That kind of power that made people think of the power of god…
There was no such belief in god in Kiefer’s home country of Estabul. There was none in Roland and Stohl too.
But, this strong power made people think of the power of God.
A strong fear.
A strong dread.
A strong horror.
Was it God…
Or was it the Devil…
That was a power that humans couldn’t have.
Because of that…
There was a need for a price to be paid.
Ryner’s body was engulfed in that deep layer of darkness…
And the Gastark king…
Blood spurted from his eye with a strange sound.
“Urgh…”
The king softly groaned, pressing a hand to his eye, the black cloaked men panicked when they saw this.
“Your Majesty?!”
They made to move over…
But the king stopped him.
“It’s fine. More importantly, find someone to pass the message on to Stohl. Tell them, if they don’t want to experience another attack like that, then surrender. This way, the war with Stohl can stop. Uh, if it doesn’t end here, then the tens of thousands of lives would have been sacrificed for nothing.”
The black cloaked men made a move after they received the order.
After making sure of that, the king turned back…
Kiefer looked at his face.
Blood continued to well out from his eye…
But, he still smiled.
He smiled as if he couldn’t feel any pain.
He had a sad smile that seemed to mock himself.
Kiefer saw that—
“Do you… regret it?”
And the king shrugged his shoulders, like he did earlier, then said:
“People who kill and don’t regret are trash.”
This sentence reverberated in Kiefer’s heart.
This man’s sentence had touched Kiefer’s heart.
Because everything he said was straight to the point, simple and not fake…
She felt that she could understand why Gastark had become strong.
The power of that sword…
No. Not that. The price that sword demanded was too great. It couldn’t be something that could be used continuously.
The true power of this country was the king’s charisma.
That was what Kiefer felt.
The country ruled by the strong, determined king.
The country ruled by the king who understood people’s pain and conquered that pain.
The man spoke.
He looked at Kiefer.
“Hey, I said it before… I don’t hate idiots like you. People who can’t even save the people before them, who else can they save? If you only want to save someone… only save someone very important to you, perhaps that is enough. But even so, if you want to save even more people, then come with me. Depend on me, Riphal Edea…”
Saying that, he extended a hand to Kiefer, at this instance…
The black cloaked man appeared again, and told the king… Edea:
“Your Majesty, the Imperial Stohl has surrendered. The king of Stohl has come forward to show that he is surrendering…”
Edea nodded when he heard this:
“I will go to see him. Stabilise Stohl’s internal matters as soon as possible. Try to avoid meaningless conflict, and proceed swiftly.”
Saying that, he looked at Kiefer…
“Come along too. I will treat your leg wound for you.”
But, Kiefer shook her head. Then said:
“Thank you for your invitation, Your Majesty, but… now, I still have things… to do in Stohl, so… but, one day, I will head to Your Majesty’s side.”
Yes, her words and tone differed from earlier, they were carefully chosen and respectful.
Edea narrowed his remaining right eye when he heard that.
“Things to do in Stohl… is that so? Eh~~ What kind of person are you? I’m really interested, but… Since you say one day you’ll depend on me, then I will not force you now. Then, see you.”
Saying that, he left swiftly.
After Kiefer watched him leave, she stroked the heads of the trembling girls, and told them, the war had already ended.
Then……
She left.
She headed in a direction away from Gastark and Stohl.
First, she had to go to the neighbouring country to investigate, what kind of country was this country called Gastark.
If she entered Gastark but knew nothing about it, then she would be at a disadvantage.
What kind of country was Gastark?
What was the status of that man called Edea? What was he?
And… that sword?
Immediately, several key words appeared!
‘The descendant of the Hero’.
‘Contract’.
‘The voice from the sky’.
‘The voice that was like what Ryner released’.
Kiefer smiled.
She had a lead.
She felt.
The answer must be here.
The answer to save Ryner.
She stopped… Then pulled out the arrow in her leg, staring at that arrow.
It was an arrow stained with her blood.
If it wasn’t Edea who had saved her, she would have died then. Not even saving Ryner, she could have died on that battle field.
Kiefer narrowed her eyes, thinking about Edea’s words.
“If you want to save even more people…”
But……at this point she shook her head.
“……Saving the world? What a strong charisma. The charismatic king, and a charismatic country… But, to the current me, saving Ryner is more important than saving the world. So…”
At this moment, she threw the arrow on the ground, turning around…
“……I’m sorry, let me use you for a while, Riphal Edea…”
After muttering that, she walked forward.
A startling large amount of fresh blood was left on the battle ground, and…
An unimaginably large number of corpses…
This was the first place she had met with him.
She who had always been cursed as a traitor and…
The Gastark King who could be called the ‘One-Eyed Hero King’, the first place they met.
And this meeting would…
The location and time changed…
Runa Empire.
In the Rajit Village near the boundary of the Imperial Nelpha, in the bushes not far from a house…
Ryner and Ferris… and the youth Arua who had not opened his eyes and was being carried by Ryner, hid in the grass patch. Ryner peeked at the situation of the village from the bushes, and frowned as he spoke:
“Ah~~ Like what we guessed, the Runa soldiers are lying in wait for us…”
The scene in the village was very weird.
Like what they saw in their previous visit, the villagers were hidden in their houses and didn’t dare to come out, in addition, there were several armed soldiers wandering around in the village…
To add on, there were two wearing armour different from the normal soldiers… There were some people with strange armour that was made up of crescent shaped-like rings, that seemed like that would cut if touched…
They already knew, that was the armour of the Runa Mage Knight Battalion.
These two people were standing before the house that Ryner and the others were looking at, as if protecting it.
Ryner saw this, and had an even unhappier expression as he said:
“Are they waiting for us? It seems, rescuing Kuku will be quite troublesome…”
They were here for this.
To save Arua’s childhood friend, Kuku.
From the looks of the underhanded methods of the Runa soldiers, if they left Kuku here, she would definitely be harmed.
It seemed that was true…
At this time Ryner narrowed his eyes, looking at Arua on his back.
An innocent face.
That face would be clouded with a layer of grief. His parents were killed before him… Not only that, grief and despair would twist his face again.
Like his past self…
“…”
Ryner’s expression became even more incomparably tired.
Perhaps she noticed his change in expression? Ferris nodded too.
“Yes, saving Kuku will be difficult. But, we can’t leave Kuku here? If Kuku is killed too, then we cannot get the reward for saving Arua’s life. This way, our dream of using that reward money to organize an extravagant dango feast will…”
“Ah, is that where the problem is…I want to ask you, ‘us’? Why does it seem like your dream has become my dream?”
Ferris replied simply:
“What did you say? Didn’t you frequently say that? ‘The wish of my princess, is also my wish. As long as I can see the happy expression of the princess, I am contented even if I die’.”
“Who said that!! Enough, talking to you is like saying having half a sentence appear even though I said nothing… Putting that aside… What do we do now? Even if we can deal with those normal soldiers, but I feel that those Mage Knight Battalions are troublesome…”
No, this wasn’t about whether it was troublesome.
The reason why they were called Mage Knight Battalion… That meant that they were the strongest team in this country.
Their fighting abilities were abnormal. Normally no one would want to face these monsters as enemies?
But… Ferris said:
“Mm-hmm. But, currently there are only two Mage Knights confirmed, and the only other Mage Knights situated here should only be these two. We can assume the other Mage Knights are looking for us who took Arua. This way… Currently, the only two here, should be nothing?”
She said it very simply… But, Ryner shrugged when he heard this.
“No, saying something strong like that in front of the Mage Knights, there probably is only you. Anyway I’m carrying Arua too…”
At this moment Ferris interrupted him.
“Even if you’re carrying him, by your strength, you can block two or three Mage Knights, right?”
But, Ryner said again:
“Uh, maybe, but… how should I say this, I’ve been suffering from a lack of sleep lately… I don’t really want to move…”
Ferris tilted her head suspiciously when she heard that.
“……Eh? What are you trying to say?”
Ryner, with an expression as if he had been waiting for this, nodding forcefully.
“So, eh, how should I say… I’m thinking, if Ferris who is not taking the Mage Knight Battalion seriously, can save Kuku by herself, then I wouldn’t need to carry Arua and run around, that would be very relaxed…”
But, he stopped here.
Ferris slowly unsheathed the sword at her waist and asked:
“So?”
Seeing this development, Ryner sighed.
“…The above is my imagination. I don’t want to die, so I will work hard.”
Saying that, he turned his eyes that were bloodshot because of tiredness and exhaustion, to look at the village.
The security was heavy indeed, but… it wasn’t until that stage where it was impossible to break through.
Swiftly scanning once, he saw two Mage Knights and five ordinary soldiers.
If Ryner had their capabilities, and save the hostage—
“Uh, it should be an easy victory?”
He rotated his neck. Then he used his sharp eyes to look at the Mage Knights and the Runa soldiers.
“…If Kuku is still alive and hiding in the house, then that would be good.”
That was where the problem was.
If the Runa people knew the high value of Kuku being a hostage…
Perhaps they had arranged Mage Knights to stand outside Kuku’s house, set traps, but kept Kuku somewhere else?
No, it was still good if she were imprisoned.
She could have been killed.
In the end the Runa people clearly killed Kuku… but told Ryner and the others:
“If you want to save that girl, listen to us obediently.”
That was the technique nobles were best at.
Like how Kiefer’s younger sister had been killed in the past…
But at this moment Ferris said:
“That is not a problem. Even if Kuku isn’t inside, as long as we interrogate the Mage Knights or normal soldiers ‘within an acceptable range’, they will tell us where they have hidden her.”
Ryner smiled wryly when he heard that and looked at Ferris.
“Interrogating…You’re amazing. Uh, you’re right. If those nobles are always acting by their own desires, we have to change our methods too. If we don’t let them understand that we are not always in the situation where we are being beaten upon, then they will be even more arrogant. Then let’s move?”
Saying that, Ryner stood up.
This moment alone caused the Mage Knights to react…
“Ah, as expected of Mage Knights. Then, what battle plan shall we pick?”
But Ferris said:
“Does that standard of enemy need a battle plan? Go.”
Saying that, she leapt forward with an astounding speed.
Shortening the distance between her and the Mage Knights in one breath, she swung her sword…
The Mage Knights frantically unsheathed their swords, preparing for battle.
But, it was clear, their movements couldn’t match up to Ferris’s speed.
A Mage Knight suddenly felt something was off.
“En…”
As he prepared to shout, Ferris’s sword struck him on the head, shutting him up. The Mage Knight collapsed on the ground… Although he had not fainted, but he was seriously wounded, and his movements had slowed.
The other Mage Knight jumped back, attempting to increase the distance between him and Ferris, but Ferris chased after him with twice his speed…
Her sword swung.
The two exchanged two, three blows at a speed that couldn’t be seen…
But, the Mage Knight was slowly pressed back by the heavy power of Ferris’s swordsmanship, he continued to retreat, he retreated until his back touched Kuku’s family’s wall, then…
“Urgh… How powerful…Soldiers! Call the back-up! We will block this place off! Call the rest of the Mage Knights…”
He shouted fiercely.
But those soldiers didn’t hear his shout.
Those five soldiers were already on the ground…
“Ah, I’m sorry, I’ve already dealt with everyone…”
Ryner said with a lazy expression. Then he used a karate chop on the Mage Knight behind Ferris who was attempting to chant a magic incantation, making him faint, then…
“Heh, that’s it. Hey, Ferris, this side is done. You should end yours too.”
Then Ferris nodded.
“Then, I’ll be serious?”
The Mage Knight heard that—
“Ah?”
He let out a foolish shout, at this moment, Ferris’s movements became faster.
She swung her sword even more fiercely, in comparison, her earlier movements were a fake front…
The Mage Knight raised his sword in a moment, but the blade was broken into two.
The difference in power was too great.
In the time that Ferris was fighting, she had skillfully hidden the Roland crest imprinted on her armour, preventing the other party from seeing it.
But the difference in the two people’s abilities were really obvious…
Ferris swung her sword smoothly, slicing towards the Mage Knight’s neck, then said:
“That’s that, you’re not my opponent. The man behind me is stronger than you too. And that man is a pervert who doesn’t differentiate between man, women, old or young, he even chases after men! If you love your life and your chastity, then please tell me where you have hidden Kuku!”
She finished speaking. The Mage Knight’s face stiffened, and looked to Ryner…
Ryner seeing that, said:
“You really believe that?! Speaking of which, why do I always have to act out those perverted characters… Urgh, forget it, if this is threatening, I’m not protesting…”
He muttered unhappily. At thie moment, the Mage Knight replied with a stiff expression:
“In that house…”
But Ferris swiftly rejected it.
“You’re lying. I can’t feel any presence. That house is empty.”
She was right. Ryner could feel it when he approached the house. There was no presence in Kuku’s house. The house wasn’t very big. Kuku was probably not here?
Ferris said again:
“If you lie, and want to use that time to escape, then that is a waste of effort. Not only that, the more you lie, the worse the situation will become. Ryner, come over. This man seems to want to play with you.”
Then, the Mage Knight’s expression contorted with fear again, staring at Ryner.
Ryner couldn’t very well say—“I really don’t want to play with you…” at this moment.
Ryner replied with an expression as if he wanted to cry:
“Uh… Ah, eh, that… Alright, then let me play with you for a while…”
In the instant after he said that, he felt that the usually emotionless Ferris, had a slight smile…
Ryner momentarily felt like he had lost something important, and cried in his heard.
Uh, let’s not think about such trivial matters for now…
Ryner walked towards Ferris, and said:
“Ne, for your own good, we can probably kill you, and interrogate the other soldiers. I know that you have received vigorous training as a Mage Knight, and so you will not submit to interrogation… but, anyway those normal soldiers will reveal information very easily. And you have to die for no reason here? Why not you live on, then rebuild yourself…”
Then, halfway through, suddenly…
His head went flying.
Ryner’s eyes widened when he saw that.
“Ah…”
But, his words were cut off.
Something had cut the wall of Kuku’s family behind the Mage Knight into half. After the Mage Knight’s head was cut off, it headed towards Ryner’s head…
“Damn it…”
Ryner tried to dodge.
But, that thing extended towards his neck swiftly.
Ryner moved his body, but it was too late.
That thing was fixed on Ryner’s throat…
He was done for…
He thought.
His brain was going to go flying…
But, at this moment, Ferris grabbed Ryner’s hair from behind, and pulled him down, allowing him to dodge this fatal blow.
In the next moment.
Something surprising happened.
Kuku’s family’s wall split, then… it rapidly froze and shattered.
The pieces of the frozen house scattered, reflecting the sun rays, flashing a golden light…
What a strange scene.
The head flying in the air.
The Mage Knight’s head…
But there wasn’t any blood splatters.
Because the portion of the neck of the Mage Knight that had been sliced horizontally, no, his whole body was frozen, so there was not a single drop of blood splashing out…
Ryner had seen this before.
“Oh no…”
He said as if groaning, then he held on to the sleeping Arua on his back, and jumped back with Ferris… then looked ahead again.
And, a girl and man walked out from the destroyed house…
One of them was a tall man called Sui. But talking about tall, he was actually only slightly taller than Ryner by a little. He seemed a little timid, and was always smiling, and had a steady feeling.
The most special trait about him was his hair…
Tea-coloured… no, it should be slightly pinkish, a hair colour that was rarely seen.
And by his side was his little sister Kuu who had the same rarely seen pink-coloured long hair.
She was roughly thirteen or fourteen years old?
Her bangs were cut nearly, and she wore a black dress outfit.
Her pretty features and slender eyes made her seem like an adorably pretty girl.
And, she held a scythe in her hands…
That was not a normal scythe.
Because this scythe had decapitated the Mage Knight and froze the wall of the house, causing it to be destroyed cleanly.
That large scythe was made from an unknown blue metal…
That was… one of what Ryner and the others called the ‘Heroes’ Relics’.
It was a weapon that contained a strong power that people did not know of.
In the past Ryner and Ferris had been pressed back by this scythe’s power, and were nearly killed.
They were completely unable to match them.
That scythe had such a strong power…
At this point Sui said:
“Yo, isn’t this Ryner-san and Ferris-san? I didn’t think that we would meet here… We have quite the fate.”
He said with a gentle voice. But Ryner glared viciously at Sui when he heard this.
“I don’t want to see you at all…”
But, Sui stared at Ryner with his slender eyes that weren’t known if they were opened or closed, then replied:
“Really? How cold. But, I am rather interested in you, Ryner-san. The wielder of the special Alpha Stigma… Until now, I have hunted down a few Alpha Stigma wielders, and crystallised their eyes before snatching them… But, clearly, you are different from the other Alpha Stigma wielders… Your power is too strong… Even my Rhule Fragmei Elemio’s Comb couldn’t match you, so…”
Saying that, he raised his left hand.
By right, his left arm should have been gone.
When Ryner lost control of his Alpha Stigma, Sui’s left arm and the Heroes’ Relic Elemio’s Comb vanished.
But, Sui raised his left arm.
But, that was not a flesh arm. It was a prosthetic, a limb made from metal.
And there were several strange stones made from an unknown substance on the prosthetic limb.
The limb had an unknown structure, and Sui was able to move it like a real limb, freely moving, raising it high. Then he said:
“…And after you awakened and lost control, you could still regain consciousness. This has never been seen before. What are you?”
He asked. But, Ryner lowered his eyelids.
“If I knew, I wouldn’t have to suffer so much already.”
He replied unhappily.
What was he?
He had been asked this question many times, until it was overused.
What was he?
Was he human?
Or was he a monster?
And…
What was I born for…
Does my existence have any meaning?
But Sui spoke with a surprised expression:
“…Really? But the child you are carrying… That, is an Alpha Stigma wielder, right? You didn’t crystallise the other Alpha Stigma to steal the power of their eyes, but you protect, what meaning does this have? Do you know the real method of using the eyes…”
Before Ryner replied, Ferris said:
“Oh, your topic is interesting. You actually know that Arua is an Alpha Stigma wielder…”
Sui hearing that, replied:
“Obviously? Because we are here to hunt Alpha Stigmas… But, I didn’t think Ryner-san and you would bring the child with the Alpha Stigma here, this was beyond our expectations. It seems a little challenging…”
Saying that, he frowned.
“With you here… I’m unable to force that child’s Alpha Stigma to awaken, and steal it. Honestly, the power that your eyes have after awakening, that is something we are unable to match up to…”
At this moment, Ferris said again:
“And… You even let us Roland people know the fact that you are secretly dealing with Runa Empire. You obtained the information about Arua being an Alpha Stigma wielder from Runa, right?”
Sui smiled when he heard that.
“Wrong. So, things are really bad. I am very interested in Ryner-san’s Alpha Stigma, but… regretfully, I need you to die now…”
Saying that, he smiled again, then continued:
“Kuu.”
Then, Kuu nodded.
“…Yes.”
She raised her scythe…
At this point Ferris shouted:
“Ryner!”
“Understood!”
Ryner nodded forcefully when he heard that, running forward. As he ran, his fingers danced in the air, writing glowing words…
“I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, LETTING THE SLUMBERING MALICIOUS BEAST DWELL WITHIN.”
In the moment he finished chanting, his body’s speed increased.
He left his original place in a breath…
But, Sui’s voice sounded from behind him.
“You can’t escape from Kuu.”
He said gleefully.
That was right, Kuu, without a change in expression, chased after Ryner who had increased his movements with magic…
This was power gained from the power of the scythe.
That scythe seemed to be able to gift the wielder with enormous strength…
She used an aggressive stance, swinging the scythe down towards Ryner…
He was unable to dodge.
Although he was unable to dodge… Ryner looked back.
In a moment, Ferris jumped in front of him…
Ryner smiled when he saw that.
“Ok. You thought the same as me.”
But Ferris didn’t reply him, she grabbed her sword… and blocked Kuu’s blow.
But, because she was unable to take the scythe’s enormous strength, her body was blown over in a breath.
No, it should be said she used her opponent’s stance, to jump over?
Kuu’s strength was too abnormal.
Ferris jumped back, as if she were thrown back by that abnormal strength…
Ryner grabbed Ferris’s shoulder, jumping back.
In a moment, the two greatly increased the distance between them and Kuu, landing directly. But, they didn’t stop moving.
“Ryner, let’s separate. It will confuse them. The meeting point…”
“Where the carriage is hidden.”
“Yes.”
Saying that, Ferris left the village, disappearing into the forest to their right.
Kuu chased after Ferris. After Ryner checked the situation, he looked behind him…
But, Sui didn’t chase after him.
No, it seemed he didn’t plan to chase after him.
That was to be expected? Sui and Ryner’s speed couldn’t be compared.
Perhaps he knew, so after they increased the distance, he would never catch up, so he gave up?
Kuu probably could not catch up with Ferris.
No problem.
It seemed like they could escape from this.
He thought.
Ryner made to run forward again…
But, at this moment Sui who was relatively far behind suddenly shouted:
“Ah, Ryner-san! Before we separate let me tell you! That youth’s childhood friend, is now imprisoned in the villa of this land’s noble!”
Ryner turned back…in Sui’s direction.
He couldn’t see his expression…
But, Ryner knew what expression Sui had.
It was the usual steady expression that was laughing.
A laughing expression as if he could see through Ryner and the other’s thoughts…
Sui continued:
“I will await for the two of you there.”
Ryner frowned.
“…Bastard!”
After he cursed, he continued to sprint ahead.
