The fired Flame and Ice Dark Arts of Charles covered the sky, becoming a storm.
It rained incessantly on the rooftop Moroha was standing on like a constant bombing.
What he heard from somewhere was the shout of Maya. Moroha, as he listened to her all the way across,
– Everyone is dead Die and return to skull Begin the ceremony of cremation now!
He completed the spelling with his left hand, chanting as if roaring.
And not poking the end mark lightly but striking it with his right hand.
The third rank of flames, Incinerate, remained in his right hand, then swung his blazing fist all the way up overhead.
A gust of wind broke out from the impact, soaring to the sky while mixing the glimmer of prana and the brilliance of flames.
Ancestral Arts Dark Arts Yin Yang, a combination of the Light Technique Jupiter and the Dark Art Incinerate.
Compared to officially pouring and releasing prana with a sword, Jupiter released from a fist had an unsatisfactory mana convergence, the power ended up scattering. He compensated for the loss of it with Incinerate.
That ad lib of Moroha worked perfectly!
He countered the incessantly falling Dark Art bombing by clashing directly with it and opened a hole similar to a rift between clouds in the storm of flames and ice that practically covered the sky.
Charles’s figure, who was hiding behind the storm, was exposed, he could see his surly face.
– Flutter, flutter as they should, wings of the great bird, release me from the oppression of gravity immediately as if I were fleeting and light as sparks!
Without a moment’s delay, he spelled a one-line phrase.
Ancestral Arts Yin Yang was a combination of the Light Technique Godlike Movement and the Dark Art Decrease Weight.
After he passed through the air hole and crashed Charles sitting on the blue sky throne, Moroha jumped in a straight line.
– Fool. That won’t do.
Charles flew horizontally and avoided the vertical charge of Moroha.
If even his reflexes as a Kuroma were this far, then he had the time to see and dodge him.
Unless Moroha could change his trajectory on the way, it would be impossible for him to just fly as is without wings.
――But it was naïve to think that.
– That shapeless blade That invisible inscribed sword Go, the one that severs!
1st Rank Fracturing Gust.
Rather than violently throwing the blade gust against Charles――he released it in the opposite direction as a propulsive power, forcibly twisting the vertical trajectory into a horizontal trajectory. He kept charging, aiming at Charles.
– You impudent.
Charles’s fingers quivered.
That was a sign of hesitation. His inner thoughts could be perfectly read by Moroha.
If he were to turn Fracturing Gust towards Charles, then Charles would also be able to cancel both Dark Arts just like he did by striking it. But the one who came flying was Moroha. Moroha, the person in question, could protect himself with Taimatsuu and Ward. So, could he stop him even if he crashed an instant and inferior Dark Arts into him?
He hesitated, and as a result――Charles chose to evade once again.
However, that momentary hesitation gave Moroha the chance to attack.
Moroha put his right hand like a hook and tried to grab Charles by the collar with Destructive Fist.
Escaping by a hair’s breadth, Charles’s chest was cut open, a five-line scar was carved into him.
It was there that Moroha fell, caught by gravity, but he clung onto the fence on a nearby building again with the chains of Bind and landed on it, pulling in the chain.
If he were compared to Charles, who could fly with complete mastery, this would be a very unsightly air battle. But why did that happen?
– What an insistent guy. You have no sword, there’s no chance for you to win. Are you so stupid that you don’t get it, seventh person?
– Certainly, you broke my sword. But my heart hasn’t broken yet!
He blew away Charles’s scorn, sending forth a strong spirit.
On the contrary,
– Don’t try to put on a brave face. Your spelling speed has been falling down since a while ago, isn’t it?
– Tch…
Charles had a sour-looking face.
What he said hit the mark.
Yes, although Moroha had lost his sword and compensated for it with Yin Yang, he managed to keep in pace with him and bite at him because the pressure of Charles’s Dark Arts was gradually going down.
The reason: fatigue.
It was difficult to keep ten fingers moving all the time at full speed and with absolute precision.
Actually, like an elegant looking pianist fighting against a tremendous physical fatigue.
It was impossible for Charles to not be fatigued.
Charles wasn’t a Shirogane, so he couldn’t use Naikatsutsuu, and that was his weakness.
– I shall admit. It’s as you say.
Charles showed the form of his real pride as he grinded his teeth in an extreme form.
– So what? If I stop you here, it’s my win. You have to go and save your companions. I can slowly take a rest here where your attacks won’t reach me satisfactorily, you know?
– You didn’t hear that, did you? That’s also one of Kuromas’ disadvantages.
Moroha pointed to the far bottom of a nearby building.
The obedient Maya, who had evacuated to a safe place without being told anything so as to not become a burden to him, was shouting loudly to where he was.
At this altitude and distance.
Normally, Maya’s voice wouldn’t reach him.
But it reached Moroha’s ears which were always with Divine Hearing.
– Shizuno-onee-san has contacted me desu! The last high knight has been beaten desu!
She kept in contact with their companions via mobile phone, sending out precise instructions as a relay and shouting the outcome results to Moroha one by one.
– Satsuki-onee-san is about to arrive nanodesu! Resist for a bit longer nanodesu, Moroha!
Was there a man who wouldn’t be cheered up by that hoarse encouragement?
Everyone was giving their all while Moroha was in this mortal combat――then breaking their hearts――and his own――would be a mistake, right?
– Ni〜〜〜〜〜〜sa〜〜〜ma〜〜〜!
And Satsuki’s voice reached his ears.
She jumped from building to building with Godlike Movement and came around while waving her hanging ID Tag.
– All of your comrades were restrained by us.
– Nonsense. Why don’t you tell me a more credible bluff?
– Try checking anyone through your mobile phone and see if it’s a bluff or not. I’m not going to reach you. Take your time.
– Muh…
Charles was a bit perturbed, his face still looking displeasured.
– Sheath your swords, Charles. It’s your defeat. There’s no point in fighting anymore.
Moroha thrust reality at him, waving his hand as if moving it swiftly.
Their gazes collided.
The one who glared down at him from the heavens was Charles.
And the one who looked up was Moroha.
However, Charles’s gaze was pressed as if their positions had suddenly changed.
– Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up…
Charles closed his eyes and moved his neck to the left and right as if shaking off Moroha’s fire-like eyes.
When he carefully observed, his eyes were no longer looking at Moroha.
He fixated on Satsuki who came considerably close to him with a cruel look in his eyes.
– Not yet. If I put you out of the way and bring that girl back home, it will still be my victory!
Those words.
That cowardice.
Moroha, who listened him, lost his cool.
He could no longer be in Natural Stance.
– You… you… still don’t know when to give up, huh!?!?
He bared his fangs and yelled, facing Charles.
– Shut up! Who cares about when it’s time to give up!? I came leaving all outward appearance in France!
– Everything for the sake of Flavie-san!?
– Yes, that’s right. If it’s to get Flavie back, then I can do anything!
– You big damn idiot!
Due to the very loud scolding of Moroha, Charles faltered and held his tongue suddenly.
– If that person is so important, then what are you doing here now!?
He recalled all the circumstances disclosed by Chloe.
He was frustrated, irritated and couldn’t bear it anymore.
He thought of saying these things to the person themselves directly.
– What have you been doing in the last five years!? You haven’t confirmed that she’s dead with your own eyes, have you? Don’t give up, even if the possibilities of her being alive are of 1%. Track her down without leaving stone unturned. That’s what『do anything』means, right? Don’t cling to prophecies or whatever!
Each time Moroha shouted, Charles grimaced like he was really punched.
– You’re just scared! You’re scared of looking for her and really seeing her corpse. I’m right, aren’t I? You’re looking away from reality and relying on prophecies and uncertain things! Hanging onto them! I escape from reality with all that I have because I try my best as you can see――but you’re that troublesome. Come on, don’t stick to that stupid way of thinking if you’re going to make things worse!
At that moment, Satsuki finally arrived to his side.
Satsuki attempted to say something with a smile on her whole face, but Moroha pulled her hand before she could do so, then held her waist and embraced her forcibly.
– If I were you, I’d never give up! I wouldn’t easily admit that the woman I’m in love with is dead! No matter how far she went or how separated we are, I’d always run after her and get her back! If someone gets in the way, I’d beat them to death, even if it’s God himself! Whether I have to run after her for millions of years or hundreds of millions of years, I’d absolutely, absolutely do so!
Satsuki, who was strongly embraced in his arms, blushed with tears in her eyes,
– This is awkward, Moroha…
She turned, looking happy.
Moroha pointed to the sky with his free right hand,
– No matter how many distinguished nicknames you have, you goddamn idiot are just a coward!
He criticized him together with a loud cry.
– Shut up… shut up… shut up… shut up….
Charles clenched his teeth.
He chewed up and chewed up sour-tasting bugs and made his complexion turn dark.
His ten fingers wriggled again and put ancient magic characters into written form that one wouldn’t care to count.
Because he rested for a while?
Because he was going to squeeze out one last desperate effort?
Did he go over his limits due to anger?
The multiplication rate of the traces of light completely returned to normal. Hellfire and blizzard spread out in the sky like dark clouds.
The troublesome, obstinate person painted over the sky with the stubbornness of an obstinate person.
– Moroha… here.
Satsuki, who was in his arms, gentle held out her ID Tag.
Moroha received the article she came to deliver as he stared at the heavens.
A light piece of metal she showered with her prana without fail every day.
He grasped it in his right hand and traced the name of Satsuki engraved on the surface with his thumb.
In the depths of Moroha’s head, something like a wall was tore off, giving off sparks intermittently.
He grasped tightly the ID Tag and poured all the prana he had into it.
At that moment――a flash of light burst in his hand.
In the light where his field of vision almost whitened out, Moroha saw a scene of the olden days as if daydreaming.
The Cathedral of the Sword.
The ceremony of succession.
The decrepit and ugly King said the ceremonial scriptures, looking reluctant.
– You, protector. Do you swear to carry it and wield it in sickness, in health, in happiness and in sorrow and to keep fighting for the rest of your life?
Flaga bowed his head in assent from the bottom of his heart. *
*TN: During all this sequence, Flaga is the furigana reading for Moroha.
– Yes, I swear.
The decrepit and ugly King looked to the side this time.
Flaga also stared at that person.
The figure of his beloved little sister holding the heavy sword and sheath stared back at him.
The King recited the usual scriptures.
– You, Young girl. Do you swear to support, comfort, honor, love and be in company of the protector in sickness, in health, in happiness, and in sorrow and to keep serving him for the rest of your life?
Sarasha briefly nodded her head in assent.
– Yes. I swear.
With determination, she lifted up the sword, showing a somewhat sad smile on her face.
The King recited a scripture to conclude the ceremony.
– This sword, protector and young girl have become the Trinity. Until death you do part――
– That can wait.
Flaga disrupted the stereotype of the ceremony and forced his way through into the scriptures.
The King got confused and the cathedral became noisy thanks to his cursed deed.
Flaga declared, without being concerned about that.
– I vowed to fight until I die, but I said nothing about saying goodbye if I die, right?
Isn’t that right? He looked for Sarasha’s consent.
His beloved sister stared in puzzlement for a moment.
But she immediately replied, showing a smile on her whole face this time.
– Yes. With this sword and my soul, I will eternally devote myself to you.
Then the daydream came to an end.
Shaken by a strong conviction, Moroha called. Shouted. This time. The name of his partner.
– Come――Saratigaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
In the whitened out flash of light, a sword slowly showed its appearance.
A carefully designed and crafted grip.
It fitted in his hands very well.
It advocated that it wasn’t a work of art, but an armor to win through mortal combats.
And the mirror-like sword blade.
Exactly like a divine beauty.
Everybody would know how forged and polished this masterpiece was without having to test its sharpness.
The treasured sword――it was appropriate to call the thing itself a treasure already.
The inscription: サラティガ (Saratiga).
Flaga protected the unparalleled holy sword.
Embracing Satsuki in his left hand and holding Saratiga in his right hand, Moroha looked up at the sky.
The mana of Charles, which had taken countless forms, covered the whole sky.
Moroha’s prana, which was infinite, converged on Saratiga.
All of Charles’s mana was transformed into destruction called Dark Arts.
All of Moroha’s prana was filtered through Saratiga into Ars Magna.
Charles’s Dark Arts certainly reached Moroha and Satsuki.
Moroha’s Light Technique didn’t reach Charles.
That absolute wall called「distance」standing between them.
But Moroha paid no heed.
He made the sparks in his head get even more angry and impatient and converted them into power.
He transformed Ars Magna, honed by Saratiga, into something even more different.
It turned the whitest, most stable and harshest brilliance of this three-dimensional universe into the shape of Moroha’s soul.
Ancestral Arts Light Technique, Mars.
The shape of Moroha’s soul was to sever.
The power to sever everything, to eradicate crime, to sever even the world.
It didn’t embody the blade like AJ did, rather, this was the concept itself of「severing」and「cutting」.
If there was something preventing Moroha from getting to Charles――
Then he just had to cut apart the concept called「distance」!
– Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!
A war cry that shook the heavens surged from Moroha’s throat.
He brandished the sword housing Ars Magna while watching over Satsuki in his arm. *
*TN: In this case in particular, Ars Magna is the furigana reading for true prana.
And cut at Charles, who reigned on the heavenly throne, with all of his strength!
A line ran.
A straight line to Charles. In an instantaneous event.
The whole creation that composed this world.
Moroha’s soul chopped off Charles’s right arm.*
*TN: Soul is the furigana reading for Mars.
– Gu… aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…
Charles’s scream echoed.
Bright red blood scattered from the base of the cut right elbow.
His concentration was disturbed by the pain, all the Dark Arts that covered up the sky were fired to the wrong directions, diffusing and disappearing without moving.
– Guh… uuuuh… uuuuuuh….
Charles had a demon-like look, he tried to bear and chew up the pain.
He tried to redo the spelling one more time with his still safe left hand.
He understood that because his eyes were turned upward.
He tried to continue fighting, stimulated by an already logical, certain and deep-rooted stubbornness.
How bothersome, words wouldn’t get through him until the end.
The outcome was decided. However, to stop him――he had to snatch his other arm?
He heard a voice from somewhere as he hesitated.
– Please stop, Charles-sama!
It was Chloe.
She appeared on the rooftop from a nearby building.
Maybe she saw the strange phenomenon that covered up the sky and quickly came running from the park.
She ran, stretched her arms as much as she could, faced the sky and caught the falling right arm of Charles, holding it in her arms as if it were a treasure.
– It is as Haimura-kun says! We should not believe in prophecies! We are weak… and cowards… we just couldn’t take a straight look at reality, that we lost Flavie. Ever since that night!
– Shut up… shut up… shut uuup.
Chloe appealed to her master in tears.
Charles continued denying it, repeating the same lines like a curse.
Chloe didn’t back down.
– You were never a strong person! You were no different from me! I am sorry for not being able to notice it. I am sorry that we were unable to suffer together and that you were alone. I imagined that you, Paris Saint-Germain, the strongest magician in the world, and an S-Rank Savior, were naturally strong and naturally different from us! If Haimura-kun had not come to notice it, it would have been too late to do something!
– Shut up……… shut up………
– Stop, please…. Throw the prophecy away…. Stop this useless dispute…. Will you go with me… to find Flavie? This time, I will accompany you to the end of the world…
– …… Shut …… up……
– It is alright, you do not have to take it upon yourself alone anymore. … No, I will not let you take it upon yourself!
Without hiding her tears, her voice now hoarse, the appeal for Flavie felt as if laying bare her whole heart.*
*TN: I have my doubts here: I think it shouldn’t be “appeal for Flavie” but “the complaint of Chloe” because the wording in Japanese makes no sense for me.
The shout.
Her words, which seemed to carry her body and soul, finally stole the voice from Charles.
– Ku…….h.
Charles stopped using Dark Arts, clutched the opening of the wound and groaned a single word.
This was, the end.
The wounded Charles slowly descended to where Chloe was.
Chloe received Charles with her right hand extended as she held the arm of her master in her left hand.
Charles endured the pain and uncomfortableness while still having a surly face.
Chloe had wept her eyes out.
They stared at each other.
It wasn’t the relationship between a man and a woman, but between a master and his follower――
The certain bonds they had raised such strong feelings.
Moroha lowered his right hand and quietly made an offering to the point of Saratiga.
Then he remembered that he was hugging Satsuki close with an amazing strength and relaxed.
He turned his gaze from Charles and Chloe to her in his arms.
And, he opened his eyes wide.
She was trembling.
Satsuki, that is.
He didn’t understand because he was hugging her close with all his strength.
The way Satsuki trembled was unusual, the roots of her teeth didn’t meet and made sounds.
– What’s wrong…?
He examined her expression, she was growing pale.
Satsuki replied, being startled.
– Something… something terrible is… coming…. Moroha.
Exactly at the same time.
A large shadow came flying and obstructed the sunlight for a moment.
Moroha raised his chin as if jumping.
And, he saw it.
– Charles! Above you!
He warned him, raising his voice.
Charles looked up without being stubborn. Was it because he was defeated or because he had to endure the continuous complaints of Chloe?
A strange looking thing mistaken as a person――was there.
An extremely repulsive dress as if it were made of snake skin.
The bottom part of the skirt spread loosely. Inside of it, a cluster of snakes as a substitute for legs wriggled.
The arms, which were spread like an affectionate mother does, had a marbled appearance.
There was, no head. It was hollow.
How on earth was that thing floating?
There were no signs of prana or mana at all.
Instead, they felt like it was full of Satana.*
*TN: Satana is the furigana reading for mystical power.
Therefore, there was no doubt.
This thing which had never been seen by Moroha――
No, it hadn’t been discovered yet in the history of observation――
It was a metaphysical with a shape similar to that of a person and the same dimensions of a person.
Later on, this one, the first one, would be named by the White Knight Organization as《Arch Fiend》.
*TN: Arch Fiend is the furigana reading for devil-class metaphysical.
Was it vocalizing from somewhere? The headless metaphysical roared.
A piercing cry that resembled human speech but possessed no words.
――Help me! It’s dark and cold here!
Despite this, the meaning of the words resounded in Moroha’s mind.
An anguished woman captured in the depths of darkness and her shouts requesting help reached him.
Certainly this was the phenomenon that should be called telepathy.
But the real surprise would arrive later.
Charles muttered as if his soul had come out.
– …… Fla …vie…?
The fired Flame and Ice Dark Arts of Charles covered the sky, becoming a storm.
It rained incessantly on the rooftop Moroha was standing on like a constant bombing.
What he heard from somewhere was the shout of Maya. Moroha, as he listened to her all the way across,
– Everyone is dead Die and return to skull Begin the ceremony of cremation now!
He completed the spelling with his left hand, chanting as if roaring.
And not poking the end mark lightly but striking it with his right hand.
The third rank of flames, Incinerate, remained in his right hand, then swung his blazing fist all the way up overhead.
A gust of wind broke out from the impact, soaring to the sky while mixing the glimmer of prana and the brilliance of flames.
Ancestral Arts Dark Arts Yin Yang, a combination of the Light Technique Jupiter and the Dark Art Incinerate.
Compared to officially pouring and releasing prana with a sword, Jupiter released from a fist had an unsatisfactory mana convergence, the power ended up scattering. He compensated for the loss of it with Incinerate.
That ad lib of Moroha worked perfectly!
He countered the incessantly falling Dark Art bombing by clashing directly with it and opened a hole similar to a rift between clouds in the storm of flames and ice that practically covered the sky.
Charles’s figure, who was hiding behind the storm, was exposed, he could see his surly face.
– Flutter, flutter as they should, wings of the great bird, release me from the oppression of gravity immediately as if I were fleeting and light as sparks!
Without a moment’s delay, he spelled a one-line phrase.
Ancestral Arts Yin Yang was a combination of the Light Technique Godlike Movement and the Dark Art Decrease Weight.
After he passed through the air hole and crashed Charles sitting on the blue sky throne, Moroha jumped in a straight line.
– Fool. That won’t do.
Charles flew horizontally and avoided the vertical charge of Moroha.
If even his reflexes as a Kuroma were this far, then he had the time to see and dodge him.
Unless Moroha could change his trajectory on the way, it would be impossible for him to just fly as is without wings.
――But it was naïve to think that.
– That shapeless blade That invisible inscribed sword Go, the one that severs!
1st Rank Fracturing Gust.
Rather than violently throwing the blade gust against Charles――he released it in the opposite direction as a propulsive power, forcibly twisting the vertical trajectory into a horizontal trajectory. He kept charging, aiming at Charles.
– You impudent.
Charles’s fingers quivered.
That was a sign of hesitation. His inner thoughts could be perfectly read by Moroha.
If he were to turn Fracturing Gust towards Charles, then Charles would also be able to cancel both Dark Arts just like he did by striking it. But the one who came flying was Moroha. Moroha, the person in question, could protect himself with Taimatsuu and Ward. So, could he stop him even if he crashed an instant and inferior Dark Arts into him?
He hesitated, and as a result――Charles chose to evade once again.
However, that momentary hesitation gave Moroha the chance to attack.
Moroha put his right hand like a hook and tried to grab Charles by the collar with Destructive Fist.
Escaping by a hair’s breadth, Charles’s chest was cut open, a five-line scar was carved into him.
It was there that Moroha fell, caught by gravity, but he clung onto the fence on a nearby building again with the chains of Bind and landed on it, pulling in the chain.
If he were compared to Charles, who could fly with complete mastery, this would be a very unsightly air battle. But why did that happen?
– What an insistent guy. You have no sword, there’s no chance for you to win. Are you so stupid that you don’t get it, seventh person?
– Certainly, you broke my sword. But my heart hasn’t broken yet!
He blew away Charles’s scorn, sending forth a strong spirit.
On the contrary,
– Don’t try to put on a brave face. Your spelling speed has been falling down since a while ago, isn’t it?
– Tch…
Charles had a sour-looking face.
What he said hit the mark.
Yes, although Moroha had lost his sword and compensated for it with Yin Yang, he managed to keep in pace with him and bite at him because the pressure of Charles’s Dark Arts was gradually going down.
The reason: fatigue.
It was difficult to keep ten fingers moving all the time at full speed and with absolute precision.
Actually, like an elegant looking pianist fighting against a tremendous physical fatigue.
It was impossible for Charles to not be fatigued.
Charles wasn’t a Shirogane, so he couldn’t use Naikatsutsuu, and that was his weakness.
– I shall admit. It’s as you say.
Charles showed the form of his real pride as he grinded his teeth in an extreme form.
– So what? If I stop you here, it’s my win. You have to go and save your companions. I can slowly take a rest here where your attacks won’t reach me satisfactorily, you know?
– You didn’t hear that, did you? That’s also one of Kuromas’ disadvantages.
Moroha pointed to the far bottom of a nearby building.
The obedient Maya, who had evacuated to a safe place without being told anything so as to not become a burden to him, was shouting loudly to where he was.
At this altitude and distance.
Normally, Maya’s voice wouldn’t reach him.
But it reached Moroha’s ears which were always with Divine Hearing.
– Shizuno-onee-san has contacted me desu! The last high knight has been beaten desu!
She kept in contact with their companions via mobile phone, sending out precise instructions as a relay and shouting the outcome results to Moroha one by one.
– Satsuki-onee-san is about to arrive nanodesu! Resist for a bit longer nanodesu, Moroha!
Was there a man who wouldn’t be cheered up by that hoarse encouragement?
Everyone was giving their all while Moroha was in this mortal combat――then breaking their hearts――and his own――would be a mistake, right?
– Ni〜〜〜〜〜〜sa〜〜〜ma〜〜〜!
And Satsuki’s voice reached his ears.
She jumped from building to building with Godlike Movement and came around while waving her hanging ID Tag.
– All of your comrades were restrained by us.
– Nonsense. Why don’t you tell me a more credible bluff?
– Try checking anyone through your mobile phone and see if it’s a bluff or not. I’m not going to reach you. Take your time.
– Muh…
Charles was a bit perturbed, his face still looking displeasured.
– Sheath your swords, Charles. It’s your defeat. There’s no point in fighting anymore.
Moroha thrust reality at him, waving his hand as if moving it swiftly.
Their gazes collided.
The one who glared down at him from the heavens was Charles.
And the one who looked up was Moroha.
However, Charles’s gaze was pressed as if their positions had suddenly changed.
– Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up…
Charles closed his eyes and moved his neck to the left and right as if shaking off Moroha’s fire-like eyes.
When he carefully observed, his eyes were no longer looking at Moroha.
He fixated on Satsuki who came considerably close to him with a cruel look in his eyes.
– Not yet. If I put you out of the way and bring that girl back home, it will still be my victory!
Those words.
That cowardice.
Moroha, who listened him, lost his cool.
He could no longer be in Natural Stance.
– You… you… still don’t know when to give up, huh!?!?
He bared his fangs and yelled, facing Charles.
– Shut up! Who cares about when it’s time to give up!? I came leaving all outward appearance in France!
– Everything for the sake of Flavie-san!?
– Yes, that’s right. If it’s to get Flavie back, then I can do anything!
– You big damn idiot!
Due to the very loud scolding of Moroha, Charles faltered and held his tongue suddenly.
– If that person is so important, then what are you doing here now!?
He recalled all the circumstances disclosed by Chloe.
He was frustrated, irritated and couldn’t bear it anymore.
He thought of saying these things to the person themselves directly.
– What have you been doing in the last five years!? You haven’t confirmed that she’s dead with your own eyes, have you? Don’t give up, even if the possibilities of her being alive are of 1%. Track her down without leaving stone unturned. That’s what『do anything』means, right? Don’t cling to prophecies or whatever!
Each time Moroha shouted, Charles grimaced like he was really punched.
– You’re just scared! You’re scared of looking for her and really seeing her corpse. I’m right, aren’t I? You’re looking away from reality and relying on prophecies and uncertain things! Hanging onto them! I escape from reality with all that I have because I try my best as you can see――but you’re that troublesome. Come on, don’t stick to that stupid way of thinking if you’re going to make things worse!
At that moment, Satsuki finally arrived to his side.
Satsuki attempted to say something with a smile on her whole face, but Moroha pulled her hand before she could do so, then held her waist and embraced her forcibly.
– If I were you, I’d never give up! I wouldn’t easily admit that the woman I’m in love with is dead! No matter how far she went or how separated we are, I’d always run after her and get her back! If someone gets in the way, I’d beat them to death, even if it’s God himself! Whether I have to run after her for millions of years or hundreds of millions of years, I’d absolutely, absolutely do so!
Satsuki, who was strongly embraced in his arms, blushed with tears in her eyes,
– This is awkward, Moroha…
She turned, looking happy.
Moroha pointed to the sky with his free right hand,
– No matter how many distinguished nicknames you have, you goddamn idiot are just a coward!
He criticized him together with a loud cry.
– Shut up… shut up… shut up… shut up….
Charles clenched his teeth.
He chewed up and chewed up sour-tasting bugs and made his complexion turn dark.
His ten fingers wriggled again and put ancient magic characters into written form that one wouldn’t care to count.
Because he rested for a while?
Because he was going to squeeze out one last desperate effort?
Did he go over his limits due to anger?
The multiplication rate of the traces of light completely returned to normal. Hellfire and blizzard spread out in the sky like dark clouds.
The troublesome, obstinate person painted over the sky with the stubbornness of an obstinate person.
– Moroha… here.
Satsuki, who was in his arms, gentle held out her ID Tag.
Moroha received the article she came to deliver as he stared at the heavens.
A light piece of metal she showered with her prana without fail every day.
He grasped it in his right hand and traced the name of Satsuki engraved on the surface with his thumb.
In the depths of Moroha’s head, something like a wall was tore off, giving off sparks intermittently.
He grasped tightly the ID Tag and poured all the prana he had into it.
At that moment――a flash of light burst in his hand.
In the light where his field of vision almost whitened out, Moroha saw a scene of the olden days as if daydreaming.
The Cathedral of the Sword.
The ceremony of succession.
The decrepit and ugly King said the ceremonial scriptures, looking reluctant.
– You, protector. Do you swear to carry it and wield it in sickness, in health, in happiness and in sorrow and to keep fighting for the rest of your life?
Flaga bowed his head in assent from the bottom of his heart. *
*TN: During all this sequence, Flaga is the furigana reading for Moroha.
– Yes, I swear.
The decrepit and ugly King looked to the side this time.
Flaga also stared at that person.
The figure of his beloved little sister holding the heavy sword and sheath stared back at him.
The King recited the usual scriptures.
– You, Young girl. Do you swear to support, comfort, honor, love and be in company of the protector in sickness, in health, in happiness, and in sorrow and to keep serving him for the rest of your life?
Sarasha briefly nodded her head in assent.
– Yes. I swear.
With determination, she lifted up the sword, showing a somewhat sad smile on her face.
The King recited a scripture to conclude the ceremony.
– This sword, protector and young girl have become the Trinity. Until death you do part――
– That can wait.
Flaga disrupted the stereotype of the ceremony and forced his way through into the scriptures.
The King got confused and the cathedral became noisy thanks to his cursed deed.
Flaga declared, without being concerned about that.
– I vowed to fight until I die, but I said nothing about saying goodbye if I die, right?
Isn’t that right? He looked for Sarasha’s consent.
His beloved sister stared in puzzlement for a moment.
But she immediately replied, showing a smile on her whole face this time.
– Yes. With this sword and my soul, I will eternally devote myself to you.
Then the daydream came to an end.
Shaken by a strong conviction, Moroha called. Shouted. This time. The name of his partner.
– Come――Saratigaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
In the whitened out flash of light, a sword slowly showed its appearance.
A carefully designed and crafted grip.
It fitted in his hands very well.
It advocated that it wasn’t a work of art, but an armor to win through mortal combats.
And the mirror-like sword blade.
Exactly like a divine beauty.
Everybody would know how forged and polished this masterpiece was without having to test its sharpness.
The treasured sword――it was appropriate to call the thing itself a treasure already.
The inscription: サラティガ (Saratiga).
Flaga protected the unparalleled holy sword.
Embracing Satsuki in his left hand and holding Saratiga in his right hand, Moroha looked up at the sky.
The mana of Charles, which had taken countless forms, covered the whole sky.
Moroha’s prana, which was infinite, converged on Saratiga.
All of Charles’s mana was transformed into destruction called Dark Arts.
All of Moroha’s prana was filtered through Saratiga into Ars Magna.
Charles’s Dark Arts certainly reached Moroha and Satsuki.
Moroha’s Light Technique didn’t reach Charles.
That absolute wall called「distance」standing between them.
But Moroha paid no heed.
He made the sparks in his head get even more angry and impatient and converted them into power.
He transformed Ars Magna, honed by Saratiga, into something even more different.
It turned the whitest, most stable and harshest brilliance of this three-dimensional universe into the shape of Moroha’s soul.
Ancestral Arts Light Technique, Mars.
The shape of Moroha’s soul was to sever.
The power to sever everything, to eradicate crime, to sever even the world.
It didn’t embody the blade like AJ did, rather, this was the concept itself of「severing」and「cutting」.
If there was something preventing Moroha from getting to Charles――
Then he just had to cut apart the concept called「distance」!
– Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!
A war cry that shook the heavens surged from Moroha’s throat.
He brandished the sword housing Ars Magna while watching over Satsuki in his arm. *
*TN: In this case in particular, Ars Magna is the furigana reading for true prana.
And cut at Charles, who reigned on the heavenly throne, with all of his strength!
A line ran.
A straight line to Charles. In an instantaneous event.
The whole creation that composed this world.
Moroha’s soul chopped off Charles’s right arm.*
*TN: Soul is the furigana reading for Mars.
– Gu… aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…
Charles’s scream echoed.
Bright red blood scattered from the base of the cut right elbow.
His concentration was disturbed by the pain, all the Dark Arts that covered up the sky were fired to the wrong directions, diffusing and disappearing without moving.
– Guh… uuuuh… uuuuuuh….
Charles had a demon-like look, he tried to bear and chew up the pain.
He tried to redo the spelling one more time with his still safe left hand.
He understood that because his eyes were turned upward.
He tried to continue fighting, stimulated by an already logical, certain and deep-rooted stubbornness.
How bothersome, words wouldn’t get through him until the end.
The outcome was decided. However, to stop him――he had to snatch his other arm?
He heard a voice from somewhere as he hesitated.
– Please stop, Charles-sama!
It was Chloe.
She appeared on the rooftop from a nearby building.
Maybe she saw the strange phenomenon that covered up the sky and quickly came running from the park.
She ran, stretched her arms as much as she could, faced the sky and caught the falling right arm of Charles, holding it in her arms as if it were a treasure.
– It is as Haimura-kun says! We should not believe in prophecies! We are weak… and cowards… we just couldn’t take a straight look at reality, that we lost Flavie. Ever since that night!
– Shut up… shut up… shut uuup.
Chloe appealed to her master in tears.
Charles continued denying it, repeating the same lines like a curse.
Chloe didn’t back down.
– You were never a strong person! You were no different from me! I am sorry for not being able to notice it. I am sorry that we were unable to suffer together and that you were alone. I imagined that you, Paris Saint-Germain, the strongest magician in the world, and an S-Rank Savior, were naturally strong and naturally different from us! If Haimura-kun had not come to notice it, it would have been too late to do something!
– Shut up……… shut up………
– Stop, please…. Throw the prophecy away…. Stop this useless dispute…. Will you go with me… to find Flavie? This time, I will accompany you to the end of the world…
– …… Shut …… up……
– It is alright, you do not have to take it upon yourself alone anymore. … No, I will not let you take it upon yourself!
Without hiding her tears, her voice now hoarse, the appeal for Flavie felt as if laying bare her whole heart.*
*TN: I have my doubts here: I think it shouldn’t be “appeal for Flavie” but “the complaint of Chloe” because the wording in Japanese makes no sense for me.
The shout.
Her words, which seemed to carry her body and soul, finally stole the voice from Charles.
– Ku…….h.
Charles stopped using Dark Arts, clutched the opening of the wound and groaned a single word.
This was, the end.
The wounded Charles slowly descended to where Chloe was.
Chloe received Charles with her right hand extended as she held the arm of her master in her left hand.
Charles endured the pain and uncomfortableness while still having a surly face.
Chloe had wept her eyes out.
They stared at each other.
It wasn’t the relationship between a man and a woman, but between a master and his follower――
The certain bonds they had raised such strong feelings.
Moroha lowered his right hand and quietly made an offering to the point of Saratiga.
Then he remembered that he was hugging Satsuki close with an amazing strength and relaxed.
He turned his gaze from Charles and Chloe to her in his arms.
And, he opened his eyes wide.
She was trembling.
Satsuki, that is.
He didn’t understand because he was hugging her close with all his strength.
The way Satsuki trembled was unusual, the roots of her teeth didn’t meet and made sounds.
– What’s wrong…?
He examined her expression, she was growing pale.
Satsuki replied, being startled.
– Something… something terrible is… coming…. Moroha.
Exactly at the same time.
A large shadow came flying and obstructed the sunlight for a moment.
Moroha raised his chin as if jumping.
And, he saw it.
– Charles! Above you!
He warned him, raising his voice.
Charles looked up without being stubborn. Was it because he was defeated or because he had to endure the continuous complaints of Chloe?
A strange looking thing mistaken as a person――was there.
An extremely repulsive dress as if it were made of snake skin.
The bottom part of the skirt spread loosely. Inside of it, a cluster of snakes as a substitute for legs wriggled.
The arms, which were spread like an affectionate mother does, had a marbled appearance.
There was, no head. It was hollow.
How on earth was that thing floating?
There were no signs of prana or mana at all.
Instead, they felt like it was full of Satana.*
*TN: Satana is the furigana reading for mystical power.
Therefore, there was no doubt.
This thing which had never been seen by Moroha――
No, it hadn’t been discovered yet in the history of observation――
It was a metaphysical with a shape similar to that of a person and the same dimensions of a person.
Later on, this one, the first one, would be named by the White Knight Organization as《Arch Fiend》.
*TN: Arch Fiend is the furigana reading for devil-class metaphysical.
Was it vocalizing from somewhere? The headless metaphysical roared.
A piercing cry that resembled human speech but possessed no words.
――Help me! It’s dark and cold here!
Despite this, the meaning of the words resounded in Moroha’s mind.
An anguished woman captured in the depths of darkness and her shouts requesting help reached him.
Certainly this was the phenomenon that should be called telepathy.
But the real surprise would arrive later.
Charles muttered as if his soul had come out.
– …… Fla …vie…?
