Episode 23

A red flash raced across the battlefield in every direction.

No matter how polished one’s swordsmanship or how refined one’s magic was, it meant nothing if it did not hit. Before a speed they could not touch, Van and the others were forced entirely onto the defensive.

“He’s fast…… What the hell is with this guy’s speed?”

“……I can’t fix my aim.”

A slash that sent flames dwelling in his sword flying—Flame Slash. Van’s favored technique only cut through empty air without catching Aaron. Atri’s dark magic, which used shadows, also lacked speed and continued to fail.

“Looking away is strictly forbidden. —Lightning Spear!”

“?! Sanctuary!”

Aaron fired off spells in succession while moving at high speed. Ciel somehow blocked them with her barrier.

Van and the others took positions back-to-back, forming something like a circle. Against Aaron, who boasted speed like lightning, they had no leeway to watch their backs.

“Still more to come! Oops……”

Magical bullets fired from two magic guns. Aaron dodged them with ease. His figure, dancing elegantly while stepping in rhythm, moved like a performance.

“It’s not just his movement speed. His reaction speed has increased too.”

“That is the privilege of lightning magic. I did not know of any user on this level…… other than Baccus-san.”

Aaron pierced through every magical bullet fired in succession with his rapier clad in lightning. He advanced through a world measured in fractions of a second as though he owned it.

“Too slow. Too fragile. Is that all you are capable of?! And with that, you claim you will stop him!”

From the magic circles that appeared above Van and the others, multiple bolts of lightning fell. They were struck by violent roars and tremors, but there was no damage. Ciel’s barrier had protected them.

“……He disappeared?”

Their vision was poor from the effects of the lightning magic. The smell of scorching and smoke drifted around them.

“He’s always clad in red lightning. If we pay attention to the sound and light, we should be fine…… huh?”

Van strained his eyes, but his vision remained poor. Yet they were surrounded by an unnatural silence. The red lightning that had been roaring so loudly had vanished before they knew it.

“?! Everyone, in front!”

“You noticed well. But you’re too late, Knight of Light-kun!”

Their obstructed vision cleared in an instant.

The smoke and dust were blown away by Aaron, who was wrapped in red lightning. In Aaron’s right hand, he held a rapier glowing bluish white.

“Lady Ciel. The sacred arts used by those who inherit the royal blood like you are special. ……But you see, an origin point certainly exists. Like this! —Izosaar-style Court Swordsmanship: Thunder Radiance!”

The rapier pierced into the barrier. The electrified slender sword, roaring with a high-pitched sound, broke through Ciel’s sacred art. With a shrill sound like shattering glass, Sanctuary broke apart.

“Kyaaaaaa!”

Through the barrier, lightning struck Ciel, the caster. Her life was not in danger, but she was numbed, and her movement was sealed. —The cornerstone of Van and the others’ defense collapsed.

“Ciel?! Damn it……!”

“Do you have the leisure to worry about others, Swordsman-kun?”

Aaron stepped into Van’s chest range all at once.

Van answered the rapier thrusts with his sword, but Aaron’s fierce assault forced him to retreat. Before he realized it, Van had been separated from his companions and isolated.

“Is this your first time fighting a slender sword user?”

“He’s hard to fight…… And what the hell do you mean, Swordsman-kun?! You’re that gray-robed bastard from before, aren’t you?!”

“……Are you a genius?”

“?! You’re mocking me!”

Van blocked the continuous thrusts. He somehow kept up with Aaron, whose speed had been raised by the lightning magic he wore.

“Move…… We’re going forward!”

“I cannot allow that. ……This is my final grand stage.”

Their positions shifted again and again. Van’s presence in the line of fire made Glanz and Selen hesitate to attack. Because of Aaron’s thoroughly calculated tactics, they could not make a move.

“You keep up well. As expected of the future Sword Saint, perhaps?”

“Don’t look down on me. This ends now……!”

Van’s mana rose sharply. Tension ran through the torrent of heated power.

“No, Van! Powerful flames in this sealed space will burn everyone to death!”

“—The Knight of Light-kun is right. Are you a little lacking in intelligence?”

“?! ……When did you get behind me?!”

Red lightning drew a trail and slipped into Van’s blind spot. Just when Van had thought he was getting used to Aaron’s speed, Aaron became even faster.

“That will not reach my friend. Farewell—Izosaar-style Court Swordsmanship: Jade!”

“Guaaaaaaah?!”

Van’s sword was knocked flying, and Van himself was blown away. Van collided with the ruins’ wall and collapsed. He seemed to be conscious, but he was numb and unable to move.

“Aiming for the healer is basic. Crushing the vanguard is standard. Now then, who is next?”

Thunder continued to roar through the ruins. The red lightning still echoed without stopping.

“……Aaron-san, was it? What do you desire?”

The Sage, who had stayed in a support role until now, stepped forward. The mage praised as one of the greatest on the continent came to the front.

“I remember that you had several faces…… but no matter which position I view this from, I cannot think this is the best choice.”

“Mister Wiseman. Is the best choice you speak of not from the perspective of the whole called the nation? ……I am only looking at my friend.”

Only a little time remained for Aaron.

Zeke advanced through the suspicious ruins. He ran down the dim stairs and headed for the deepest part.

(Damn it, every last one of them……)

Skeletons appeared with eerie rattling sounds. The remains of the dead, covering the stairs, closed in to drag Zeke into the underworld.

“Get lost.”

Zeke took one step forward. Every skeleton within range froze and was forcibly sent back to the underworld.

It did not matter who his opponent was. If they threatened his goal of survival, he would show no mercy even if they were the living people of the past. —Even if they had faces he remembered.

(Why would they help Zeke? This guy is a villain.)

Quite a long time had passed since he possessed Zeke. He had still been a child back then, but now he was a young man. The passage of time was swift and cruel.

The malice and hostility directed at him by people since the time he replaced Zeke. He had been showered many times by gazes that looked at him as though he was the killer of their parents.

From Hiroto’s point of view, that was natural, and Lagias had done that much. He had no memories of Zeke before possession, but judging from the behavior and actions of the Lagias couple and his knowledge of the original work, Zeke was likely a criminal who deserved to be judged. ……The evil acts before possession did not simply cease to exist. And the sins accumulated by generations of Lagias would not be settled either.

The vanished swarm of skeletons appeared again. Whether it was an illusion or some kind of power, the skeletons blocked his path in their appearances from life. A knight wearing silver armor and holding a sword, and farmers charging with farm tools in hand.

He could guess that the farmers were residents of the farming village that had gone missing on the outskirts of the royal capital. As for the knight…… he was probably one of the Duke Guard members he had let die. Both attacked him with pained expressions while spitting words of resentment.

“Do not get in my way.”

Ice swords jutted out from beneath their feet. The dead, pierced by the cold swords, froze and scattered into mist. While raising voiceless cries, they returned to the place where they truly belonged.

(It would have been a thousand times easier if they hated me like these people.)

It had been painful. It had been sad. The negative emotions directed at him by so many people. Why him? Why had this happened?

Even though he understood in his head why Lagias and Zeke were hated, Hiroto was not strong enough to accept it immediately.

He looked only at the goal of surviving and sealed away his own feelings. He did not look at his weak self. —Because that was easier.

Because he was Lagias. Because he was Zeke. It could not be helped. There was no need to care if people who knew nothing made noise. After all, he was the villain. No one would understand him. There was no need for them to. ……That should have been fine.

Skeletons appeared again and again. Their numbers were far greater than before.

Their appearance was like that of town residents. Their standard of living seemed higher than that of farmers. And the others who stood out were young people. Some were of an age that could be called boys and girls. They wore various outfits, such as swords and staffs, armor and magical robes.

The moment he saw them, he understood who they were. —They were probably the residents of Osten, which had been destroyed, the applicants who had participated in the enlistment exam, and the knights and mages who had been their guards.

They were those Hiroto could not save. Lives he had cut away.

“—Earth Eisen.”

Sheer icebergs mercilessly pierced the once-living people. Zeke moved past them at a run. Without turning his eyes toward them, he looked only ahead.

(Why do they help Zeke? If they acted like everyone else, they could live comfortably.)

What came to mind was the scene from the other day. The foolish people who had continued fighting without faltering even before the Knight Order.

Eris, Kratz, Simon, and Yorn. They were characters who either did not appear in the original work or died.

Because of the deal with Arnica, they would probably not lose their lives. —But that was not absolute. Arnica might break her promise. There might be irregularities that even Arnica could do nothing about. If that happened, Yorn and the others would lose their lives. Unlike the protagonist party, they did not have the world’s blessing.

(Aaron’s an idiot too. He should be focusing on rebuilding the House of Izosaar.)

No matter how much Aaron had strength surpassing the original characters, his opponent was the protagonist party. Even if he managed to exploit an opening and take down several of them, victory was impossible. From the perspective of this world, each and every one of them was superhuman. They were an all-star army. There was no way he could win.

—At this rate, someone would die again. Because of him.

He did not check each appearance one by one. As he passed them, he cut them down with his sword and froze them with magic.

He had no time to pay attention to the dead. He needed to finish his business as quickly as possible and retrieve Aaron.

Zeke rushed underground like a flash. Just as he found it strange that the number of skeletons appearing had drastically decreased, a new assassin appeared ahead of him.

(……Please, stop already.)

The figure holding a sword and standing calmly was the strongest in this world. A person Hiroto knew well, called the Sword Saint.

In the game, he had not been able to save him. In this world as well, Hiroto had been able to do nothing. He had let him die. He had abandoned him to die. Negative emotions assailed Hiroto.

“Hah, don’t make me laugh. Do you think I would lower my head and apologize at this point?”

Many footsteps sounded from behind. The dead who had revived again closed in. In front was the strongest swordsman. Behind were countless miscellaneous dead. All of them were lives Zeke could not save.

“I have no regrets about my choice. I will repeat the same thing as many times as necessary. ……So die again. Please die.”

Together with those strong words, his mana swelled. With cold power, he froze and destroyed everything. It was the same as before. As always. That was how Hiroto had come this far. By trampling the weak.

A vast number of dead and Zeke collided——at that instant, they were enveloped in light. Warm light, gently illuminating the ruins filled with a suspicious atmosphere, covered Zeke and the skeletons. When he turned his eyes toward it, the light in question was being released from the weapon at Zeke’s waist…… the sword entrusted to him by Masfelt.

The shining light became platinum flames and burned the dead. Their flesh burned, they became skeletons, and they vanished like smoke. Before he realized it, only Zeke was left around him.

“……Do you think you saved me with that? How stupid.”

Zeke ran again. He could not stop.

His body creaked. It was burning hot. Blood spurted from every part of his body, and every time he vomited blood, he felt his life slipping away. His vision was gradually fading too.

“Hah, hah…… This is nothing.”

“……Let us stop, Aaron-san. At this rate, you will die.”

Luke, carrying his sword, quietly declared the end of the battle. There were wounds on the armor he wore, but Luke himself was almost unharmed. Sacred arts that healed all wounds unconditionally were, as expected, a power bordering on unfair.

They had succeeded in neutralizing Ciel, the healer, once. If that condition had continued, there would have been enough of a path to victory. But the enemy had the Sage. They had a genius who had even mastered healing magic perfectly. Through Glanz’s treatment, Ciel had stood up once more as the cornerstone of their defense.

“What the hell are you? There are six of us here. ……Are Royal Guards really this strong?”

“I am not a Royal Guard. I am Aaron Izosaar. His friend……?! Goh!”

Aaron vomited a large amount of blood. Unable to stand, he fell to one knee. His body, which had been so hot, cooled rapidly.

(……It seems this is as far as I go.)

The red lightning he had been wearing had long since vanished, and his mana had bottomed out. Perhaps because it could not withstand the heat, the tip of his rapier had melted. He was in a state that could be called damaged—wounded all over.

It had truly been a boring life. He had dedicated everything for his house. He had gained power for his country. But to them, that had been nothing more than one insignificant piece.

Killing his emotions and continuing to live like a puppet. That had been Aaron’s life. It should have remained that way until the very end.

(It was at a time like that, wasn’t it? When I met you.)

Zeke had seen Aaron as one person, not as anyone else. Only he had not seen Aaron as a tool, nor had he treated him specially because he was a member of a marquis house.

“I don’t intend to deny you. But if he really…… murdered…… a large number of people, what will you do?”

“……It does not matter.”

“Huh?”

“It does not matter. If he has done what he is suspected of doing—then let us stain our hands with evil together.”

In the end, that was what it came down to. What mattered was not what Zeke had done. Believing in his friend and standing with him had more value to Aaron than anything.

“If he wants to turn this world into hell…… I will become the Demon King’s right arm. That is my way of life.”

“You’re insane……”

“For my friend, I can become anything.”

Aaron vomited blood. Van and the others looked at him with bitter expressions.

“This makes it look like we’re the bad guys……”

“……Bad guys? You are bad guys, are you not?”

Aaron’s body, which had lost its heat, began to grow hot again.

“You all gang up and do nothing but deny him. What part of that is justice? Is that not evil itself?”

A hot heart and a cool head. That was supposed to be Aaron’s mindset…… but he did not seem able to suppress the rise and fall of his emotions.

“Is deciding everything by birth alone justice? Fighting while wearing oneself down to atone for past evils. Is that evil?”

Aaron’s past. Zeke’s future. Those were being denied. —That alone was something he could not forgive.

“To be born and live freely. Will you not even acknowledge that?”

At Aaron’s feet, several red flowers had bloomed.

“Aaron-san. Let us stop. Any more than this, and you will die.”

“That is my wish. And I can still dance. ……You will accompany me until the end.”

“……It is all right. Your feelings—we have firmly received them.”

“—Eh??! Gofuh, gofoh?!”

It was an amount of blood they had never seen before. A vivid red. It seemed he had pushed himself far too hard. He had truly done something unlike himself.

But this was fine. He should have bought enough time.

(There is hesitation. But…… his eyes are very strong.)

Within his fading consciousness, he met Luke’s eyes.

There was a reason Zeke held him in high regard. He was strong, straightforward, and shining. He possessed a strength neither Aaron nor Zeke had. —If it was him, then surely.

(Farewell, my friend. I leave…… the rest to you.)

He fell slowly, as if in slow motion. He no longer had any sensation.

“It is rare to see you battered this badly.”

He felt a gentle warmth. His cold body, and his heart, were being healed. Was this the afterlife he had heard rumors of, paradise?

“I told you before, didn’t I? From now on, continue devoting yourself to the country.”

At the voice he remembered hearing before, he imagined a certain person for a moment, but immediately corrected that thought. From his position, it would first of all be impossible for him to set foot in such a frontier.

“There is nothing strange about me being here. After all, I was the one who told you where Zeke was.”

A pendant in which Diabalet mana was sealed. Publicly, it was said to enhance the effects of sacred arts. —Then what was its hidden meaning?

“The pendant he carries showed the way. To you, to me, and to us.”

““Nabla Cyclone!””

A whirlwind rose up as if separating the two sides. Van and the others leapt back, creating distance.

“Did we make it in time somehow……?”

“What a rare way for you to get beaten, just as the next duke said. Right, Aaron-dono?”

Silver light lit in Aaron’s pitch-black vision. A gentle healing sparkle healed Aaron, who had been covered in blood.

“Mister Aktor-dono…… this is……”

There was Yorn, the regimental commander of the Mage Corps whom he had known for a long time. There was the sturdy man who had led the Lagias private army, and Aktor. There were also the woman who had spoken with Zeke in the royal capital before and even a man from another country.

“It is rather violent to beat someone down one-sidedly with a large group.”

“Perhaps they had their own justice?”

Five people stood before Aaron. The only one with whom he was deeply involved was Aktor, but he did not really understand what kind of relationship these people had with one another.

“He has made us swallow enough bitter pills until now. This is harassment. —He seemed to want to be alone, after all.”

“Ha, haha…… It seems God still will not let me rest.”

Power surged through him. Aaron stood again. It was not over yet. It could not end.

“What we believe in may be closer to a devil than a god, though.”

“I agree. ……Now then, what shall we do? The numbers are the same, but in terms of combat strength, they may be above us.”

“No problem. From here on, it’s not solo, but unison.”

The battle moved into its second phase.