Chapter 111
"For Ractus!!"
Swords and spears intertwine.
The cold blades gleaming in the moonlight are buried in hot flesh and blood.
Some scream in agony, others spit out maniacal laughter filled with ecstasy.
The royal castle, half-destroyed.
A pillar of light soaring upward.
Empire soldiers emerging from within.
Along with the burning royal castle, the soldiers' fresh blood is splattered across the castle walls.
"Lord Kalias!! You must evade!"
It was Allen.
At the sight of Allen shouting urgently, Kalias quietly looked down at him.
Seeing Kalias's face, Allen asked with a frantic expression.
"Will you fight?"
Half of Karpe had plotted rebellion, and the Empire had stormed in through the gap.
The situation was dire.
Anyone would flee first.
However.
That anyone could not be me.
"If not now, when shall I fight?"
Closing his eyes, the noise of the battlefield reached him.
Footsteps of retreat.
Footsteps charging at the enemy.
Screams filled with pain and resentment.
Laughter filled with ecstasy.
Everything echoed in his ears.
When he closed his eyes from the dizzying spectacle, what he heard became clear.
And it became certain.
That those who must be killed first were all those wearing smiles.
Tap.
Kalias leapt into the battlefield.
The scenery blurred.
At the same time, he drew his sword.
"!"
The Empire's enemy commander, who had been slaughtering soldiers, showed surprise while simultaneously letting out a sinister smile.
"Come!"
A single point piercing through the soldiers' formation.
Kalias, shooting forward like an arrow, swung his sword.
Whoosh.
The sword, swung heavily with all his might, crashed down upon the Empire's enemy commander like waves breaking against rocks.
Crrrrrrraack!!
Kwaaaaah!!
"Guh!"
"Aaaaagh!!"
A single strike.
Everything before Kalias froze solid. The Empire's enemy commander, who had been unilaterally slaughtering the kingdom's soldiers, met his end in but a single blow.
Kalias's expression, having created such devastating carnage, was utterly indifferent, but his mouth commanded the soldiers with some urgency.
"The Queen is in danger. I will head to Her Majesty immediately. Hold this position."
Kalias, about to depart immediately, paused for a moment and looked at the soldiers.
"……."
"……."
With the sudden rebellion and the Empire's invasion, they had lost their composure. Thus Kalias spoke.
"For Karpe."
Allen, immediately understanding, shouted even louder.
"For glorious Karpe!!"
Even the bewildered soldiers could not fail to understand its meaning.
Soon they shouted loud enough to shake the royal castle.
"For Karpe!!"
"For Valterus!!"
"Waaaaaaaah!!"
Amidst the allied forces' battle cries proclaiming the battlefield.
Kalias dashed toward the Queen.
* * *
Clank, slash!!
A mountain of enemy corpses.
A man sitting atop it looked at the spear-wielding traitor.
"Open the door."
"I cannot."
"Gerard the Judge. There will be no fulfilling of that name today."
"An Archbishop of the Order selling the country to the Empire! What is the meaning of this!"
Before him stood one commanding the Empire's forces.
A traitor once called the Archbishop of the Valterus Order.
"I was never a Karpean. I merely served my mother, and served Valterus. If I have sinned, it is in forsaking God, not in selling out my country."
"Sophistry!"
"Sophistry it may be, but those are the only words you can hear. There is nothing Karpe can do now."
Unlike his relaxed demeanor, the Archbishop's inner heart was boiling.
Because the preparations he had made so intensely had gone awry beyond imagination.
'The internal rebellion is a mess.'
They had set it off spectacularly, but in reality, it was nothing more than an empty shell.
More than half of the major nobles who had conspired with him had lost contact, failing to coordinate properly. If by some chance the central authority remained intact, the rebellion would be suppressed in less than a week.
'Only five of Golus's Grand Altars activated.'
For some reason, three did not activate.
No one should have known the locations of the sacred relics.
As if Valterus's protection existed, some of Ractus's divine relics did not function properly.
'But what could Karpe do anyway.'
The mother had died.
There was no hope for Karpe.
"What have you done."
"I used the Empire's sacred relic to borrow their forces. Furthermore, I tricked foolish nobles into leading a rebellion."
"Foolish……."
"They are wiser than you. Suffering hardships that need not be endured to raise up a dying country."
Gerard the Judge gripped his sword so hard it felt like it would break.
He thought the man was one who clung to power, but he was actually a traitor.
"Karpe is already finished."
Valterus as well.
"It will disappear into history."
The Archbishop.
No, the one called Alhamtra of the Empire raised his sword.
And struck down with his spear.
Clang-!!
The sword split in half and fell away.
Clatter!!
At that moment, a golden lion in full plate armor burst through the castle wall.
A lion with a golden mane fluttering.
The commander of the Golden Lion Knight Order.
It was Luen von Luidren.
"Lord Gerard! Are you unharmed!"
"I am fine."
He shouted and assessed his condition, but it did not look good.
Blood flowed from his side, and bruises covered him everywhere.
"The Queen is…."
"She is inside. Victor is guarding her, so there is nothing to worry about."
Victor, the kingdom's foremost Guardian Sword.
If it was him, they could rest easy.
As the Golden Lion appeared, Alhamtra's brow narrowed. As if it couldn't be helped, he looked behind him and spoke.
"There is no time."
"I know."
As a rough man's voice approached from the darkness, Gerard's white eyebrows rose.
"Gerard, it's been a while."
"Paseton! How could you……."
Gerard's face contorted.
A sense of dismay welled up.
The Empire's Third Spear. Paseton the Demon Spear.
The one who had never lost to anyone wielding a sword, pointed his spear at the opponent who had created his first draw.
"Since you are here, how could I not be. Should we not settle our unfinished bout from the past?"
"……The place where you and I should meet is an honorable battlefield."
"If I have my spear and you have your sword, then wherever that place is, it is a battlefield."
In an instant, Paseton's figure disappeared.
Boom!
The sword and spear, each possessing tremendous force, created a shockwave that shook heaven and earth.
Something that could not be thought of as created by old veterans.
The castle walls reverberated loudly.
And that was merely from weapons clashing.
That was the power of Masters! The Golden Lion unconsciously swallowed dryly.
"Gerard. I am sorry, but what can be done. This too is the will of the gods."
"Ractus's will always stands at the opposite point of Valterus. Today your god will not achieve its purpose."
"That cannot be."
He soon exuded an intense aura and shouted.
"This place is my sanctuary."
"My battlefield is my sanctuary!"
Kuwung-!
Their sanctuaries intertwined, distorting space itself.
Soon their figures disappeared, and only the sound of projectiles piercing the air from somewhere announced the fierce battle of the old knights.
"……."
The royal castle's scenery had somehow given way to a desolate desert and barren earth.
The Golden Lion became infinitely small before the two knights' sanctuaries that had devoured the area.
But he was not afraid.
Behind the door where he stood, the Queen resided.
Absolutely.
Even if he died, he would protect this place.
That was the best he could do.
The Golden Lion gripped his sword with both hands.
"It is useless, Golden Lion."
"Archbishop. Why have you done such a thing."
"Such things are meaningless. What matters is that I seek to bring down Karpe, is it not?"
Creak.
At the Archbishop's answer, the Golden Lion severed his hesitation.
The opponent before him was an enemy.
A traitor seeking to overthrow Karpe.
"Come. I will soothe the spirits of our fallen comrades with your head."
But Alhamtra shook his head.
"Unfortunately, your opponent is not me."
What appeared behind the Archbishop was brilliant blonde hair shining even amidst the desolate sand desert.
"You……."
It was his younger brother.
Luteon.
"It has been a while, elder brother."
"Luteoooooon!!!!!!!"
Kwaaaaang-!!
The Golden Lion struck down his sword in fury, but Luteon blocked it with the shaft of his Explosive Spear.
"What audacity brings you to set foot in Karpe! How dare you!!"
"I have my circumstances as well. Everyone has their own circumstances. Just as you let me go that day, elder brother."
Just as you let me go.
At those words, the Golden Lion's face clouded.
"……I gave you a chance."
"With that chance, I died once."
Swish.
As Luteon shook off his Explosive Spear, the Golden Lion stepped back.
A moment of silence flowed between the brothers who had become enemies.
Eventually Luteon corrected his stance and pointed his spear at him.
"Elder brother."
"You, who have not even learned the Golden Banner technique, do you think you can stand against me."
"I too, have not been idle."
Click, boom!
A massive explosion. But the golden lion that burst through the pitch-black smoke lunged at Luteon.
Thoom-!
Fwaaaaaah!
The desert sand carved into a round circle, and between them Luteon's spear once again spewed light.
Kwang-!
Alhamtra, looking down at that with emotionless eyes, then took a step forward.
"Deep brotherly affection, I see."
"Alhamtra."
From behind Alhamtra, a hooded figure appeared.
Toward the one holding a massive spear, Alhamtra respectfully turned his head.
"Yes."
"Guide me to Karpe's Guardian Sword. I wish to see for myself the level of the kingdom's finest."
"Understood."
Alhamtra took out a compass made of wooden planks and dropped a single drop of blood onto it.
Then the quiet compass spun rapidly and pointed in one direction.
"Step aside."
The large man spread one palm and drew his spear behind his waist.
And thrust it in a single breath.
Kwang-!
A hole opened in the desolate earth, and through the gaps of the pierced royal door, a knight was glimpsed standing tall, his reverse-gripped sword resting on the ground.
"Are you the Guardian Sword, Victor."
"From breaking an old veteran's sanctuary, you must be the Empire's Demon Spear."
The large man removed his hood.
One of his ears was torn, and perhaps because of that, the large scar running across his cheek made him an impressive man.
Thus his face looked as vicious as a ghost.
"You cannot pass."
"That is something to find out by breaking through."
"You cannot pass.
Thump!
As he stamped the ground with his reverse-gripped sword.
Crrrrack.
The ground behind Victor, where the Queen was located, broke away and shot up into the sky, and before long the scenery was embroidered like a night sky where starlight resided.
"Alhamtra. Go! Kill the Queen and our victory is assured!"
"I will not let you pass."
The battle between the Demon Spear and the Guardian Sword continued.
In the meantime.
Alhamtra steadily advanced.
Advancing, and advancing again, he reached the King's throne floating high in the sky.
Gripping his spear, he slowly headed toward the King.
"Archbishop. You have come a long way."
"Yes. Have you been waiting."
"I could only watch. A powerless king can do nothing."
"Then offer me your neck."
"If I were going to give it so easily, I would not have struggled so."
Alhamtra immediately raised his spear. Even with the spearhead pointing at her throat, the Queen stood haughtily.
"It is useless. My surroundings are protected by the kingdom's Guardian Sword, Victor."
Just as the Queen said.
Something transparently shimmering surrounded and protected her vicinity.
The Guardian Sword's sanctuary.
Absolute defense.
But Alhamtra scoffed lightly.
"Do you know how long I have yearned for this day, and how much I have prepared."
"……."
"The Guardian Sword's absolute defense. It is famous. The sword that always protected the king at his side. His absolute defense has never been broken."
However.
"Do you think I would have undertaken this without accounting for that much?"
An ominous light gathered in his twisted spear.
Something like black and red foul water dripped onto the Queen's protective barrier.
Bzzzt!
Sparks flew, and the absolute defense began to waver.
"!"
"Impressive, isn't it. Do you know how the Empire created this spear?"
"……A demon spear."
"Yes. And not from a mere demonic beast, but from a True Demon."
True Demon.
Not the demonic beasts derived from them.
The genuine article.
It would mean a fallen flesh.
"An act deserving of divine punishment……."
"But even that is for the sake of the gods. While the Empire, walking the path of demon extermination, committed such deeds, what did Karpe do!"
"Karpe……."
"Merely busy barely surviving. And yet, in the end, it walked the path of a ruined nation."
An incompetent king.
Incompetent ministers.
When nothing but incompetent things gathered to form an incompetent country.
"Must you not pay the price of incompetence."
Oh incompetent Queen of Karpe.
"I may be incompetent, but Karpe is never incompetent."
"Why is that."
Ssssszz.
Alhamtra, saying that, brought the True Demon's spear against the absolute defense.
Even though it was a spear that embodied the culmination of the Empire's techniques created with the True Demon's spear, it could not easily break through the Guardian Sword's defense called absolute.
He could understand why the kingdom's Guardian Sword was foremost and closest to the king.
But this too was merely a matter of time.
"Do you know why the balance of sword, spear, and mace that formed the Three Great Nations collapsed."
"Because the mace fell."
"No. It was because they volunteered to become slaves to the spear."
"But because of that, they remained a duchy. Unlike Karpe."
"Even as a duchy, in the end they are slaves to the Empire. We will not volunteer to be slaves. We will fight to the end."
"Why. Why is that?"
"Because Karpe is strong."
Alhamtra scattered ridicule and twisted the corners of his mouth.
His face, which had been chuckling in disbelief, soon turned cold.
"How foolish. I have treated you as a king of a nation all along, but now I will discard that. Listening to the delusions of a young girl is too much of a waste of time."
"No. That is not so. Karpe is."
"Karpe will!! Fall!!"
"……."
"Shall I tell you in detail what will happen when you die. First, all the knights of the royal castle will die. Will that be the end? No, the fifty thousand Imperial troops stationed at the border will pour in like a flood."
That would be an example to other small nations.
The futile end of a nation that resisted.
"To subjugate the corrupted land that defies the will of the gods."
Everything for the sake of the gods.
Nevertheless, the Queen remained haughty.
Even as the spearhead drew closer before her eyes.
Even after hearing the kingdom's devastating future, she stood upright.
"Karpe is strong."
"Where does such confidence come from?"
"Because Karpe, unlike you, is not controlled by the gods."
That was the reason Karpe had not become one with the Order.
"You use the gods as tools. While borrowing the power of the gods to cling to life, you spout such nonsense."
"We are no one's slaves. The gods merely exist and pose questions. Whether to use that power or not is entirely one's own choice, do you still not know this?"
"Nonsense!!"
Shring.
The sharp spear pointed at the Queen's throat.
The Guardian Sword's absolute defense had crumbled.
With a viscous ominousness.
With a freezing, venomous murderous intent.
Rumble boom!
Even the sky marked Karpe's end with thunder.
"A most fitting day."
Alhamtra's spear thrust forward.
Kaboom!!
"What……."
But his spear could not pierce the Queen's throat.
A blue bolt of lightning that fell from somewhere.
Had blocked his spear.
"You bastard."
He was the Wolf of Zerban.
It was Kalias.