| Author: Tensei Mikami | Original Source: Syosetu | Word Count: 2269 characters |
| Translator: Jiro | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 1018 |
| Editor(s): Robinxen | ||
“Who are you… That armor…. You’re a knight from the kingdom!”
Amidst the ceaseless clamor, the boy soldier’s surprised and quizzical gaze pierced Lichter.
Lichter noticed it, but maintained his smile. Seletina took a deep breath and after exhaling all the air in her lungs, she looked at Lichter.
“How confident are you?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t confident.”
Lichter said, shrugging his shoulders. The corner of Seletina’s mouth turned up slightly at Lichter’s slightly childish response.
“Then can I leave a third, no, make that half of them to you?”
At Seletina’s words, Lichter narrowed his eyes and looked at the black horde as if examining it. Including the reinforcing Demons, the horde numbered close to three hundred.
Lichter licked his lips and slowly pulled out the kukri knives at his waist. The sound of the blade scraping against the sheath echoed sharply.
“I don’t think I’ll be satisfied with just half. I’d rather feast on them all.”
With that, Lichter smiled ferociously and ran off, maintaining an extremely low posture. His unusual speed and low posture made him look like a beast. With a hue reminiscent of blood, Lichter’s tongue swept across his lips.
In no time at all he found himself in the Demon’s territory. The Demons clamored, welcoming their new prey. Lichter, in turn, playfully tossed the knives in his palms. Black covered everything in his field of vision. From all directions, the Demon’s reddish eyes focused solely on Lichter.
A claw suddenly swung through the air. The claw, which had probably already devoured a number of soldiers’ lives, was coated in a dark red color. There was no signal to guide them, yet the Demons all swarmed around Lichter as if in unison.
“One.”
Lichter muttered. And at the same time, the claw closing in on Lichter was shattered by his kukri knives. The knives moved with incredible speed and carried with themselves destructive power.
The glistening, bewitching kukri knives were already wet with the Demons’ blood. In no time at all, the Demon standing before Lichter split apart, from the top of its head, all the way to its groin.
“Two.” Lichter muttered.
Meanwhile, the myriad of claws that pounced on him all missed their mark. He took an absurd stance and easily dodged all the claws with only his reflexes and wild intuition. And in the next moment brushed them all away with his knives.
Lichter then spun around and threw his knives while avoiding the Demons’ claws. The thrown knives flew, and plunged themselves into a Demon’s head, which promptly ruptured, unleashing a torrent of blood.
“Phew~ ♪” Lichter cheerfully whistled as he fought.
“Three.”
“Four.”
“…… Nine.”
Each time Lichter uttered a number, a Demon perished. It was like a death spell.
“So that’s a knight from the kingdom…” The young soldier muttered, the words still stuck in his mind.
Seletina smiled sarcastically. “I knew he was an eccentric one, but to think that he was this good…”
With that, Seletina swung Elyutinias to the side, creating a sharp sound of the wind cutting through the air.
“Angel!”
“It’s about time I join as well. It’d be dangerous to leave him alone.”
“………… Please be careful.”
“I will. Make sure you’re prepared to take the kids with you in case of an emergency. Well then, I’m off.”
Seletina said this and ran off without a second thought. Her steps were heavy. But now is the time for her to step up to the plate. Knowing this, Seletina could not stop. She had no intention of stopping.
Red and golden meteors streaked across the blackened grasslands. When the red one passed, the blackness split, and when the gold one passed, the blackness scattered. The pair of meteors were truly the stars of hope for the Empire.
Lichter Willgame and Seletina ul Gold Aldelight.
The two swordsmen, who had gone beyond the realm of ordinary people and even entered the realm of heroes, continued to hunt Demons as if they were mad. They hunted, hunted, and hunted. So much so, that it even made one wonder who the real Demons were.
Lichter’s moves were rough. They were unrestrained, wild and followed no rules whatsoever. The beastly style could only be produced thanks to his amazing reflexes and strong, supple muscles.
Conversely, Seletina’s moves were sophisticated. They were the peak of swordsmanship. It was the form of swordsmanship that reigned over all others. It lacked in strength, but what it lacked in strength it compensated with speed. Divine speed that could take away a life with a single, swift blow.
The two sword masters could not be any more different than one another, yet each one of them could be called the strongest on this battlefield.
The red and gold glows raised the Empire soldier’s spirits even more. The men raised their voices, their muscles screaming for blood as they began to use the Demons as a stepping stone for their growth.
Soon the Demons began to show fear. They were finally outnumbered by howling, raging humans who struck back. No more reinforcements came from the Demons’ side.
Eventually, the red and gold hues continued to overpower the black with the Empire’s soldiers right behind them. Victory was finally in sight, but it was at that moment, that the golden hue lost its light.
Seletina expended all of her strength and collapsed onto the grassy field. The dull glowing Elyutinias also slipped from her hand and rolled helplessly. But in her blurred, flickering vision, Seletina saw a group of Empire soldiers in silver armor rushing to her.
Having fought for as long as she could, Seletina finally rolled onto the grassy plain and smiled.
“We protected the children. We also managed to escape total annihilation. I guess I’ll leave the rest to Lichter and the soldiers. Sorry for leaving the rest to you, but for now I need some sleep.”
Having expended all of her strength, Seletina fell into a silent, deep sleep on top of the smoky grass1. She did not have an ounce of strength left in her.
