novelThe Mercenary and the Knight's Encounter and Clash (2)
| ← Ch.135 | Ch.137 → |
He placed his bloody left hand back on Ascalon's hilt to join his right hand. The white cloth wrapped around it to prevent his hand from slipping was dyed red almost instantly.
"Have you made your decision?" asked Knight Leader remaining motionless."Have you decided whether you will run or die?"
"No, " William Orwell rejected those options."My two options are to cut you down or to not cut you down."
"... I see. It seems you have made your decision."
Knight Leader sighed.
He wouldn't directly say it, but William's goal was most likely to rescue the third princess.
The mercenary's retreat would more or less guarantee the complete success of the invasion and suppression of the United Kingdom that would lead to the third princess's execution. As he was her final fortress, it was hard to imagine him fleeing.
"So you truly will not leave."
"There is no point in speaking, " William immediately responded to Knight Leader's words.
The head of the knights clicked his tongue.
"To be frank, I cannot stand having to execute Third Princess Villian and I do not like some of Second Princess Carissa's methods."
"..."
"However, Lady Carissa has already begun her revolution. Every one of this country's knights knows that she is not someone that can be stopped by mere words."
The battle was already over.
Holding a sure-fire attack in his hands, Knight Leader spoke some final words to the mercenary.
"Now that history has begun to move, we cannot act lightly. If this revolution remains a civil war for too long, the United Kingdom's overall power will fall and external enemies will be able to easily defeat us using that opening."
This was all in accordance with the chivalrous nature of showing mercy to the weak.
The reason the head of the knights wielded his sword lay there from beginning to end.
"To save this country, we must sheathe our weapons and construct a new order. The real problem is who will stand at the top. If that position goes back to her majesty the queen, we cannot escape this crisis. As such, someone else must take the throne. Between the intelligent first princess, the militaristic second princess, and the benevolent third princess, the answer is clear."
"Pathetic, " spat out William Orwell."Do you really think you can pile unnecessary phrase upon unnecessary phrase and fill in the pit of your barbarity with the word 'justice'?"
"And are you still not going to speak?"
"Is it really something I need to say?" said the mercenary as he ignored his wound-covered body.
The head of the knights guessed what the words that would come next would be and spoke.
"So you want to ask me what would happen if the military acted without benevolence? My response is that there is no absolutely correct order of precedence here. We merely decided which card we will choose."
William held his large sword that held numerous methods of attack and had the knight's crest brazenly displayed on the side.
"I see. However, I have already indicated what my reason is."
"What?"
"Hmph. It too is something that does not need to be said."
He did not need any chance of victory.
The mercenary gathered more strength in his hands gripping the hilt of the large sword that was dyed in his own blood and glared directly at the head of the knights.
(That is the type of man he was. )
Knight Leader narrowed his eyes slightly and swung his sword up so the forward pointing tip was pointed straight up.
His ultimate strike contained Slicing Power, Weapon Weight, Movement Speed, Enduring Solidity, Attack Range, Special Use, and Precise Accuracy.
"In that case..."
Knight Leader did not hesitate.
He gave his final words to his old friend of an enemy.
"If you will not retreat, you will die."
They both moved simultaneously.
The explosive noise of a shockwave cut through the dark night.
William Orwell ran.
He ran only forward.
Using all the power he had, he moved in close to his enemy as quickly as he could.
On the other hand, Knight Leader's single step was not taken to move.
He shifted his weight and swung his sword down using both hands with all his might.
He did not need to run up close to his enemy.
Just by swinging his sword down, he fired off his strike that contained his enormous Attack Range. His overwhelming Movement Speed did not allow one to evade, his overwhelming Slicing Power and Weapon Weight did not allow one to defend, and his overwhelming Enduring Solidity did not allow his sword to be broken.
It was a certain kill.
And Knight Leader mercilessly swung down his longsword the instant before the mercenary reached him.
The sound of the air being sliced reverberated throughout the area.
Immediately afterwards, a slicing attack much too long for the sword that had produced it rushed down on William from above. The mercenary reacted immediately by bringing Ascalon above his head.
The two strikes clashed and were repelled.
Knight Leader's attack that should have been a certain kill had been stopped.
"!?"
(... There is nothing here that is worth saying. )
William thought as he ran.
(A certain kill with overwhelming sharpness, weight, speed, toughness, and range.... If he was really using something like that, I wouldn't have gotten off with just a gash in my shoulder!!)
That's right.
It was true that Knight Leader could freely use Slicing Power, Weapon Weight, Movement Speed, Enduring Solidity, Attack Range, Special Use, and Precise Accuracy as methods of attack.
However, William had never seen him use more than one at a time.
In other words, he could only use one pattern at a time. If he gave precedence to Slicing Power, Attack Range would fail and if he gave precedence to Attack Range, Weapon Weight would fail. Because each one of Knight Leader's attacks followed one of the directions to its limit, he could not use them at the same time.
The reason he had not carried out a "certain kill" yet was not because he was hesitating for some reason or another. On a true battlefield, he would have no reason to be unwilling to use his full strength.
Such a convenient ultimate attack simply did not exist.
As such, William had a chance of victory.
For a strike that gave precedence to Attack Range, the mercenary would be able to stop the attack!!
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"
And then William had brought Knight Leader within range.
He swung his 3. 5 meter sword horizontally.
"!? Movement Speed!!"
"Not enough."
Knight Leader's arm moved at high speed and he just barely managed to block the mercenary's attack.
However, there was no weight or toughness behind it.
In response to the full strength blow, Knight Leader was knocked back a bit.
It did not result in even a second of lost time.
In that time, William turned the blade around with his wrist and focused on the spike near the base. He then swung Ascalon again.
The light turned white.
When large swords like the ones William and Knight Leader wielded were used in extreme close quarters, they were not as powerful. That sharp spike attached at near the base of the sword had been prepared to solve that problem. Most likely, its original purpose had been to rip the dragon's thick nerves from its flesh using the principle of leverage.
William gathered his magic power in one point and its penetrating power increased even further.
If Knight Leader did not stop that attack, he would be defeated.
"Enduring Solidity!!"
"Too late."
Immediately after William Orwell said that, the spike near the base that had been installed for close quarters combat slipped past Knight Leader's defenses and mercilessly pierced into the right side of his chest.
He did it all to save the third princess who was being led around by the military coup d'etat and was to be executed despite having committed no crime.
A loud explosive noise rang out.
There were no longer any birds around to fly off in fright.
More than half of the trees in the surrounding forest had been blown away, so the birds and beasts had long since fled.
Part 8
Meanwhile, three people were hiding on a different train than Kamijou Touma had been on.
The three people were Agnese, Lucia, and Angelene.
The girls were on a normal ten car train heading from Edinburgh to London. The train was heading down a track that went straight from northern Britain to southern Britain.
However, as the other trains had all been stopped due to the coup d'etat, the train was flying along at a much faster speed than usual and heading right past the stations it would normally stop at.
A cold wind blew on Agnese Sanctis's cheek.
They were neither within the train nor on its roof. They were on the wall. Lucia specialized in blowing up a giant wooden wheel and attacking with the fragments, but she currently had the sharp fragments sticking into the aluminum wall to use as footholds and handholds.
Holding on like at a climbing wall, Agnese twisted her body in order to peek in a window. The car would have usually held a large number of students and company workers, but the only normal things inside were the bright fluorescent lights. However, there were tools for maintaining swords and armor inside as well as a communications spiritual item that all must have been brought in by the knights.
Seeing that, Agnese spoke while barely moving her mouth.
"(... It looks like they really are keeping the captured nuns in the front cars with the knights gathered in the back of the train. )"
Lucia and Angelene both nodded.
"(... So this is the midway point between them?)"
"(... I-if so, we might be able to rescue them without having to face the knights head on if we disconnect the cars. )"
Most of the nuns of the former Agnese Forces had been captured in Edinburgh. They had not been beheaded there either because they wanted to at least officially have an inquisition so it would be lawful justice instead of an unreasonable slaughter or because Second Princess Carissa wanted to eliminate a large number of old enemies during her coronation as queen.
Either way, the captured nuns did not have a good fate awaiting them when they arrived in London.
As such, it was clear what Agnese and the others had to do.
"(... Let's get started. Sisters Lucia and Angelene, use your projectile weapons to attack the guards through the window. )"
By attacking the knights from outside the window, they could give the illusion that the train was being sniped from elsewhere. The knights would eventually detect the location of the "snipers", but that wouldn't be a problem if they finished things before that could happen.
"(... I will use the Lotus Wand to destroy the link between the cars and then directly attack the disturbed knights. You two cover me. )"
"(... P-please be careful. A preemptive surprise attack is one thing, but we don't know if the three of us together can actually defeat a single knight in a frontal attack. )"
Angelene looked worried and Agnese was about to lightly strike her face, but she staggered while clinging to the wooden fragments and hurriedly grabbed onto the stake again.
The three nuns nodded to each other and began to move.
Lucia and Angelene moved from wooden fragment to wooden fragment heading for the roof of the train. Watching them go, Agnese moved along the wall to the back of the train car. She was heading for the link between the cars.
"Tutto il paragone. Il quinto dei cinque elementi. Ordina la canna che mostra pace ed ordine. (In accordance with all things. The fifth of the five elements. Open the crosier that symbolizes peace and order. )"
Her weapon, the Lotus Wand, was bound to her shoulder with a rope.
As those words came from her small lips, the wings of the crouched angel statues on the end of the wand opened up like a flower.
"Prima. Segua la legge di Dio ed una croce, Due cose diverse sono connesse. (First idol. In accordance to the laws of the son of god and the cross, link a different object with a different person. )"
When Agnese had gotten near the link, she held onto one of the wooden fragments stuck in the wall using one hand and used the other hand to grip the Lotus Wand.
Her wand ignored distance and directly struck the air itself. The destructive force of the spell was dependent on the strength with which the wand was gripped. In other words, it was dependent on Agnese's strength.
(Of course, I don't think I can tear apart a steel connection with the physical strength of my arm. )
She looked down at the gravel flowing by at high speed below her feet.
(If I press the wand against the ground and use the power of the momentum of the train against the connection point, I should be able to destroy it. )
She twisted her body slightly to check the coordinates of the connection and then slowly lowered the bottom of the wand towards the gravel.
Suddenly, the door to the connection area opened and a man in silver armor came out. Agnese was mostly clinging to the automatic door in order to get close to the connection and she franticly tried to hide herself, but it was too late.
However, the communications spiritual item that had been left in one of the seats made a small noise. The knight was in a spot where he would notice Agnese if he turned his head even slightly, but he hurriedly ran toward the spiritual item.
He spoke while listening to the communication.
"That Imagine Breaker snuck aboard the freight train heading for Folkestone? Damn him. Is he planning on retaliating against Lady Carissa?"
"(... Nice one, boy! I love you!!)"
Agnese gestured toward Lucia and Angelene who were waiting on the roof giving them instructions and changed where she was aiming the Lotus Wand.
At the same time as the train's automatic door was blown away, the roof above the knight's head collapsed. The knight franticly tried to draw his sword, but the three of them all focused their attacks on him.
Despite the 3 surprise attacks from 3 different directions, the knight still managed to block both Lucia and Angelene's attacks.
It was foolish to think one could win in a frontal attack against a member of the knights who was borrowing power from Curtana Original and the All-English Continent.
That was why Agnese did not attack the knight himself and instead attacked the floor below his feet.
"... !?"
The knight's immediate response may have helped her. A normal human would not have been able to step through that floor, but that silver armored foot broke through it like it was made of Styrofoam.
Of course, that was not enough to defeat a veteran knight.
(Not good. If I apply any more power, this car itself will be broken in half and the Anglican prisoners kept in the front cars will slip from our fingers!!)
To think through that much in an instant and immediately stop moving, the knight must have been fairly clever.
The dull noise of an impact reverberated throughout the car as a strike from Agnese's Lotus Wand ignored space and mercilessly attacked the knight's body. Ignoring the presence of the thick armor, it directly struck his flesh-and-blood body.
It hit him in one of a human's weak points.
Specifically, it hit the knight's crotch.
Like the moment after two samurai exchanged iai strikes in a historical drama, the knight remained motionless for a few seconds.
Finally, he muttered a few words.
"... That was an unchivalrous attack..."
It must have been due to the effects of Curtana and the All-English Continent that he did not collapse after that single strike.
Giving a snort, Agnese Sanctis puffed up her chest and gave her rebuttal.
"Yeah, well I'm a nun!!"
That unpleasant noise of an impact could be repeatedly heard coming from the same spot and the knight's armor trembled. Due to his helmet, his expression could not be seen, but it would most likely have been quite a sight to behold.
"Hm, it seems my attack is the most effective because it ignores distance. I can just directly strike the flesh and blood body within the thick armor, " Agnese said as she poked the motionless knight with the wand to see if he would still attempt to resist.
"Ah wah wah wah wah!" yelled Angelene as her face turned bright red. Perhaps to turn her focus elsewhere, she headed for the communications spiritual item to intercept some of the knights' information.
"U-umm... It seems that spiky-haired boy escaped the freight train with a female magician from New Light."
Lucia sighed.
"Really, what is going on? Although I suppose that's more or less business as usual for that boy."
"A-and it seems they failed in diving into a river, struck the water's surface, and floated downstream where they happened to run into Third Princess Villian who was also fleeing. The knights are pursuing the three of them."
"What kind of situation is that!? The Japanese Momotaro!?" Lucia snapped back and Angelene's shoulders shuddered.
"D-don't ask me... S-Sister Agnese, can't you say something, too.... Eee!!"
When Angelene looked back in Agnese's direction, she let out a scream.
She saw Agnese trying to get more information out of the defeated knight by force. She was moving the Lotus Wand in a rather questionable manner.
"Oh. So you like being struck more than being caressed? Ah ha ha. What are you trying to tell me with that twitching body of yours? Oh, what's this? You react here, too? You seem to be much more sensitive here. Hee hee hee. A gentleman like you feels good having someone mess with his hole? What a pervert. How about I stick this wand all the way up there directly?"
"G-gyaaaaahhhh!! S-Sister Agnese is in her full-blown naughty mood!!"
"... Sister Angelene. Why is this surprising you now? Sister Agnese was acting like this in the incomplete Orsola Church during the Book of the Law incident."
"Y-yes, b-but... I thought Sister Agnese was actually a lovely pure maiden!! I thought being seen naked by that boy was a new thing for her!!"
"Yes. Sister Agnese is the type of person that loves to flip up others' skirts but hates having her own skirt flipped up."
"Th-that's horrible!?" said a flustered Angelene.
"... I recall you doing something similar, " said Lucia with a sigh of exasperation."We should probably stop her soon. That may merely be a method to gather intelligence with no love or lust behind it, but it looks like that knight is going to fall into depravity if we don't stop it now."
"C-can we really stop Sister Agnese now that she's this far gone!?"
"Returning her to her senses is simple. Don't you remember what I just said?"
Lucia stared at Agnese's ass while Agnese was too lost in operating the Lotus Wand to notice their conversation.
"Sister Angelene. This is a job for you. As I said, Sister Agnese is the type of person that hates having her own skirt flipped up."
Part 9
Two silhouettes appeared in the dark night.
One was William Orwell.
The other was Knight Leader.
The two stood perfectly still, despite having moved here at beyond the speed of sound. Knight Leader's longsword, having failed its defense, became awkwardly rooted in mid-air; William took the spike at the base of his greatsword and drove it past Knight Leader's defenses and into the right side of his chest.
The spike fitted on the back of the grip wasn't in the same size range as a nail.
Matching the greatsword's full length of 3. 5 meters, the spike was practically a stake.
Realistically, even if the attack wasn't instantly fatal, the right ribs must have been pulverized.
The two faces hidden by the darkness were mirrored.
One was in anguish.
The other was aloof.
However, the expression of anguish belonged to William, and it was Knight Leader who was aloof.
While William's strike wasn't meant to be fatal, its destructive force should have been enough to ensure that Knight Leader became immobilized.
But in truth, there wasn't a single wound on him.
The spike which should have been rooted into his chest hadn't even penetrated the cloth of his suit, let alone draw a single drop of blood.
The unnatural sponge-like sensation naturally brought an expression of doubt to William's face.
(The impact was displaced... no, that can't be. Is this... ?!)
"Do you know of a Norse warrior called Thororm?"
Knight Leader spoke without a change in his expression, as the spike continued to push against his chest.
"He used a magic which had the power to reduce the sharpness of an enemy's blade to zero. Thus, no attack could harm him, while Thororm's would be the only sword which could cut at the opposition."
"You, mean..."
"I have constructed a technique by which I can reduce the offensive power of any and all armaments I recognise as such to zero. And I will let you know, that it makes no distinction between science or magic. Theoretically, it can neutralise even a nuclear weapon. As for those against which it has been proven... yes, it should be able to handle something on a level similar to the slashing attack wielded by the Saint of the Far East, designed to fight divinity."
Knight Leader slowly shook his head.
I told you that I had prepared multiple trump cards, he continued.
"It is effective against each weapon for ten minutes at best. Of course, there is no need to consider arrows and bullets once they have fallen to the ground, and bombs would not suddenly explode ten minutes after their first attempt failed, though that would necessitate the prevention of any further 'explosive triggers' - not that this relates to you. In any case, I have simply created a grace period of ten minutes... but you should know well what end awaits one who presents that much time to his enemy on a true field of battle."
Knight Leader glared directly at William.
"I was subjected to a terrible ambush at Dover, long ago - it was enough so that I wished to take measures against something like this."
"-!!"
Using his bare hands and seemingly holding the sword by the blade, William drew back Ascalon swiftly. Once he had opened some distance, he released several slashes, each in a different attack method.
The light was red - an axe-like thick blade to cleave at the sinews of the evil dragon.
"Turn to zero."
The light was blue - a razor-like thin blade to cut away at the fat of the evil dragon.
"Turn to zero."
The light was green - a churchkey spike in the blade to tear off the scales of the evil dragon.
"Turn to zero."
The light was yellow - a fretsaw wire nestled on the blade to disembowel the evil dragon.
"Turn to zero."
The light was purple - a giant saw on the back to severe the bones of the evil dragon.
"Turn to zero."
The light was pink - a hook spike attached to the pommel to pull out the fangs of the evil dragon.
"Turn to zero."
The light was white - a close-combat spike near the grip to gouge out the nerves of the evil dragon.
"That's already been turned to zero!! Are you quite done yet?!"
The series of booming noises suddenly ceased.
Ascalon, being swung at the closest possible distance, was seized by the bare hands of Knight Leader, like it was a styrofoam board. They glared at each other, as William put even more power into his grip of the greatsword with a grinding sound.
Knight Leader, standing atop an absolute advantage, readied his red-black sword with his other hand.
"This is the end."
Their gaze clashed in the minimum distance between the unmoving pair.
Knight Leader, while holding down the greatsword of the mercenary, said with a steady voice,
"Or you can forgo weapons and use magic - yes, in your case, you might be able to kill me with your runes or such. Perhaps you would like to try?"
His suggestion wasn't made seriously - his tone had conveyed that.
The speed of William and Knight Leader were equal. If he were to neglect the techniques which governed his body in favor of other kinds of magic, he would be quickly cut down and killed.
"This power was lent to me to protect England through the Original Curtana. A mercenary who would throw the country into chaos for his own sentiments without any thoughts of consequences, will never be able to kill me."
Knight Leader aimed his red-black sword at William.
Able to kill the mercenary with one more swing, he spoke again, at the last.
"Ascend to Heaven, together with the Third Princess."
"... You still don't know it yet?"
It was then that he heard these words spat out.
They were coming from the old friend and enemy before him.
"I hadn't thought that I would need to say this on purpose."
"What... ?"
The doubtful Knight Leader then looked at the sword he had sealed with his own hands, Ascalon.
Or rather, he saw on its side - a coat of arms, fixed by metal.
"You - what are you thinking? What are you planning?"
"You're being a pest. Even now, you still ask with words?"
Hearing this, Knight Leader became even more dubious.
William Orwell was not a simple optimist. In a way, perhaps he was more intimate with the tragedies of war than the one who had remained in England, Knight Leader himself.
A mercenary like that should understand - between 'military affairs' and 'human virtues', which strategy should be supported to better protect England. Eliminating Carissa to support Villian - with her mentality, they wouldn't be able to repel even France, the country which would become the spearhead of the Roman Catholic Church.
This man always had a core.
However, it was unthinkable that this road to destruction would be constructed on William's own steady heart.
Wasn't there something that Knight Leader was mistaking?
What was it that the mercenary called William Orwell was fighting for?
And again, he looked at the weapon wielded by William.
Or rather, to the escutcheon attached to the base of the sword.
(No... )
That coat of arms had originally been meant for when a certain mercenary was to be dubbed with knighthood.
In the end, that chance had been lost, and a white space would forever haunt the halls of Buckingham Palace.
(It can't... )
The shield was split into four and painted in blue with various patterns.
Above that were arranged three creatures in green - the Dragon, the Unicorn, and the Selkie.
(It can't be!)
Four sections and three creatures.
There was only one thing that these could represent.
(It can't be!!)
The blue foundation was England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The green creatures were 'the Royal Family', 'the Knights', and 'the Church'.
This coat of arms represented the complete harmony of the organization known as the United Kingdom.
For this mercenary, it was not a matter of killing who or supporting which.
His wish - disregarding both the Second or the Third Princess - was to combine the strength of the three sisters and the Queen.
"... Are you serious?"
Knight Leader groaned.
"Is that what you are really thinking?"
Against this, William Orwell's hard face loosened slightly.
As though he was saying, so your thoughts have finally reached that far?
"I've already said that there's no meaning in saying it."
"It's impossible."
"That doesn't matter."
Despite this situation of absolute despair, William replied with frightening ease.
"This is not a 'reason' covered by words, meant to be understood by millions. As you have said to me again and again, all along, this was just the personal sentiment of a worthless mercenary. I won't say that this should end with words. You simply need to act according to your beliefs, wordlessly."
"-"
Strangely, it was here that Knight Leader was lost for words.
On the other hand, as the mercenary had said, their swords would not be stopped here.
No matter how he thought about it, it was for the sake of England that they carried out this reform.
If the Second Princess didn't come into power during this dangerous situation, there was no telling how many enemies may advance upon them.
(... In the end, it doesn't change what needs to be done. )
They had both presented their reasons.
Words were not necessary.
One of them would win, and one of them would lose.
That was all there was in their world.
(However, now that you have lost all your weapons, you stand no chance. )
Knight Leader had already stopped Ascalon in his grasp, and his own sword was ready to cut down William at any moment.
Thororm's technique to reduce a weapon's offensive power to zero was only active for about ten minutes. His mission had to be executed before his powerful foe, William Orwell could recover his weapons.
"I will have to settle this now."
"That's true."
It happened right after this frank reply caused slight doubt to appear on Knight Leader's face.
Immediately, William Orwell put all his strength into Ascalon and pulled at the grip - only for that grip to abruptly slip out.
Knight Leader, now holding onto the blade of Ascalon temporarily bereft of power, felt his balance topple slightly.
(He destroyed it himself?)
Though he thought this, it was not correct.
Extending from William Orwell's grip was a blade over 1 meter long.
It was the last grand sword, hidden within the 3. 5 meters long greatsword.
Normally, a part of the blade's steel would be imbedded within the grip (or it is caught between two sheets and used as the grip) and then kept in place by screws or wedges, to prevent the blade coming off the hilt when it was swung.
For Ascalon, it was the opposite.
Stowed in the greatsword, nestled in the shape of the steel imbedded in the grip, was yet another smaller sword.
It was a trick only possible because of the sword itself being overly large.
And, because it was hidden, Knight Leader did not recognize the sword.
William turned his back to him, as though trying to hide the sword behind his large frame. And from that stance, he twisted his body at a high speed, releasing a blow on a horizontal track.
The air was cracked with a resounding woosh.
"?!"
For the first time, Knight Leader's expression changed. He had moved back with all his might; his suit was ripped, and a wound like a straight line ran across his chest. A spray of red liquid followed after.
Yes.
Wasn't the Thororm of Norse mythology killed by a hidden blade that came flying out from under a sleeve?
The words pierced his heart, heavier than nails.
His last resort, his continual fighting spirit, and his wordless strike.
Considering this the proof of William Orwell's legitimacy, Knight Leader involuntarily roared out.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
It was not only Knight Leader who shouted.
William Orwell, the last grand sword in his hand - or perhaps this blade was the true core of the spirit weapon Ascalon - chased down the retreating Knight Leader, breaching his defenses.
Whether from his gouging wound, or his blood loss, Knight Leader's movements became dull.
However, it was not a fatal wound.
He still possessed two means.
Either to cleave at William's body with his red-black longsword, or to render William's sword powerless with Thororm's technique.
(Crush the sword. )
He made a prompt decision.
(Even if this mercenary is killed, if that sword which symbolizes his conviction remains, it won't be my victory!)
Because he believed in his own justice, he would not settle for an easy retreat, but instead would completely trample over the justice of his foe.
Ignoring the pain of the shallow wound in his chest, Knight Leader moved to crush William's last weapon. If he could manage this one stroke, afterwards it would become a one-sided offense in his favor.
"Turn to zer-!!"
The mouth that tried to speak, stopped.
There was no blade in William Orwell's hands.
Both his hands were on the grip, but the blade which should have been above that wasn't there.
(Wha... where?!)
The technique of Thororm which Knight Leader controlled could select as a target any object he recognized as a weapon, and turn its offensive power to zero.
Reversely, it could not interfere with weapons that could not be recognized as such.
It was then that he saw a glitter, something shining.
Extending from the sword grip William was wielding was an extremely small wire. And the mercenary's thumb was touching a button-like object on the grip.
(He shot it upwards?!)
Most likely, he would have relied on Knight Leader missing the timing of the strike, connecting the blade to the hilt again by rolling up the wire, and releasing a second strike.
While it surely would have dealt great damage to him had it succeeded,
(It is over once I have discovered it! Turn to-!!)
Just as he shifted his gaze from William directly before him to above his head, something moved in the corner of his eye.
It was a branch about 2 meters long, thick as a human arm.
Having broken and fallen onto the ground, William stepped on one of its ends, forcing it to stand up like a seesaw.
The blade from above, or the branch from below.
While they were both weapons, it didn't even need to be said which was more dangerous.
(You thought, that you can buy time?!)
Without hesitation, Knight Leader's gaze moved up.
He turned the offensive power of the grand sword that would fatally wound him, to zero.
(Now-!!)
Confident in his assured victory, he put more power into his two-handed grip of the red-black sword.
However, there was an abnormality.
The sword grip William held, and the small wire that connected it to its floating blade; something like tree sap came bursting out of what was strictly speaking a microscopic tube. Hardening like glue once it contacted the air, spikes flew out in every direction, and was reborn as a primitive club.
Yes.
It had changed to the weapon William Orwell cherished above all else, the giant mace.
"!!"
"!!"
(Will I make it?)
This was the final blow.
It would be his victory if he could hold against this attack; it would be William's if his attack could overcome him.
Knight Leader focused his attention on the giant mace closing in right before his eyes.
(Turn to zero!!)
The ruined mercenary swung his mace down with all the strength in him.
The master of the knights, with no thought of defense, answered him with a swing of his red-black longsword.
The two giant weapons clashed.
Boom!! A rumbling noise exploded.
The unpleasant oscillations of crushed flesh echoed across the surroundings.
At that instant, in the last moment, Knight Leader's technique had exercised its effect.
The giant mace and stake that William Orwell wielded had its offensive power reduced to zero; even if it was a direct attack which surpassed the speed of sound, it was not in a situation capable of damaging Knight Leader at all.
Within the darkness, the two men became still.
Regardless of who saw it, the result would be obvious.
"... Hah, "
Knight Leader opened his mouth first.
He could freely control the 'pattern' of a weapon that appeared in mythology, using it as an attack method. For the final strike, what he chose was 'cutting power', the might to cleave everything apart. Against a blade which could rend the earth just by touching it, even if the opponent was a Saint, a direct hit would be fatal.
"Good grief, what a dull ending."
"..."
The mercenary did not reply to his words.
And then, Knight Leader's body quivered and swayed to the side.
William's mace was sunken into the side of his neck.
Or rather, the grip of the mace - and the sword.
Under closer scrutiny, it was a part of the mechanism which shot out the blade - the small clasp which secured the blade to the grip, and which had protruded slightly, buried in his neck.
Knight Leader could select anything he recognized as a weapon to be a target, reducing its offensive power to zero. Reversely, even if it was something right in front of him the entire time, as long as he didn't recognize it as a weapon, he could not interfere with its offensive power.
"It's been 10 years since we separated... I thought... I'd trained myself enough... but, it's just another ambush, like Dover, huh..."
His red-black sword, thrown off its path by William's attack, slipped from his hand and fell far away onto the group.
"Even so... to shame, a knight... what a, conceited man... Certainly, to have... added, my name... onto your coat of arms... of English unity..."
The match had been decided.
"Now, that I think about... you... were always, that kind of man..."
His body leaned further, and he fell onto the ground.
He wasn't dead.
Like being hit by the back side of a katana, he was knocked unconscious by the strike on the neck.
Even if he couldn't interfere with its offensive power, in the first place, Knight Leader wasn't so weak a man as to die from a single clasp. And William Orwell, knowing this, took it upon himself to decide the outcome of the last attack relying on that small clasp.
The reason was clear.
"After all, I'm just a shallow, ruined, rogue mercenary. Compared to you formal knights, I fight with much less restraint."
Alone, the mercenary muttered this.
"I'm sorry to say that, I didn't bring a suitable blade for cutting an old friend."
It was idle talk - rare enough for him.
Part 10
Kamijou Touma arrived at Folkestone.
He was shivering and soaking wet with river water, but he wasn't about to complain about it. Perhaps from the tension of being right in the middle of the enemy lines, his senses had begun to dim.
(Dammit. Which way is the Eurotunnel terminal!? I hope Index hasn't been taken from there... )
Kamijou stared into the darkness of the mountain forest road that had no street lights.
He had met the mysterious magician girl Floris and Third Princess Villian on the way there, but they were no longer with him. The three of them had run into an Amakusa scout and the two girls had been taken in by the Amakusas. It seemed they had received information from Agnese that they were in Folkestone, so the Amakusas who had used a rescue seaplane to get to the area had sent out scouts to look for them. For some reason, Floris had yelled out "Y-you tricked me, you bastard!!" upon seeing the Amakusas, and Kamijou looked puzzled as he wondered what that had been about.
It seemed a powerful enemy named Knight Leader was in Folkestone protecting Second Princess Carissa. He had defeated a Saint like Kanzaki Kaori and his whereabouts were currently unknown.
They wanted to avoid a pursuit after the wounded Kanzaki and an important person like the third princess was there too, so the Amakusas had no choice but to choose an inevitable defensive battle. It seemed they were currently hiding to escape the knights' search and then find an opening to get the rescue seaplane moving.
"We could always break formation and send a few people with you..."
When one of the Amakusas had told him that, Kamijou almost accepted the offer, but he had decided against it and thought through the situation calmly.
"No, you need to focus on the rescue plane. We can't have Villian get captured again. And isn't Kanzaki having healing magic cast on her? Instead of coming with me, you should get her back to the battle as soon as possible."
"But..."
"After I save Index, how am I going to escape Folkestone? I'm telling you to guard the goal point. That makes me feel safer."
By indirectly bringing them all together as a large group, he had finally got the Amakusa members to reluctantly understand. It seemed they didn't like abandoning others.
Third Princess Villian was the top priority target for the knights.
It made sense to have all of the Amakusa's strength focused on protecting her and Kanzaki.
(... Itsuwa's face was all red and the others were physically holding her back from going with me. She must have really wanted to save Index. I guess the two of them must have become friends during all that Acqua of the Back stuff. )
Kamijou had no problem thinking that, although that probably would have gotten him stabbed with a spear if Itsuwa had heard it.
At any rate, he was currently alone.
"... ?"
Kamijou suddenly lifted his head up.
He had heard a noise.
Immediately afterwards, a shockwave like blast pounded at his ears.
(!? What... !?)
He rather pointlessly kneeled down and looked up.
However, he still couldn't see anything in the darkness.
He could tell nothing good would come of approaching whatever it was, but he couldn't save Index if he didn't charge in the direction of danger.
Kamijou slowly headed for the source of the noise.
He had been walking on a small paved road with fallen leaves on it. At some point though, it turned to a cracked and broken mess that was difficult to walk on. Even further along, the black soil was torn up and thick trees were knocked over.
As before, there were no street lights.
However, there was a light source.
"That's... ?"
Something was about 10 meters ahead of him.
He thought it was a carriage.
On the front of the very old looking vehicle hung something that looked like a glass lamp with reflectors surrounding it on 3 sides. It might have been the predecessor to the flashlight known as a lamp. It seemed to actually be using fire instead of some kind of imitation. The light illuminating the darkness occasionally flickered.
However, that was not the only light.
Light was also being given off by sparks from clashing swords and steel suits of armor.
It was a true battlefield where human fought against human.
Looking closer, the carriage was not undamaged.
One of its four wheels was broken causing the carriage to lean unnaturally.
The battle was expanding out around the area of the broken carriage. Actually, it was perhaps wrong to refer to it as a battle. At the very least, it did not look like a battle between people who were evenly matched.
The numerous knights wearing silver armor were attacking from various angles.
In the center stood a man wielding a 3. 5 meter sword.
Something happened, but Kamijou's eyes could not follow it.
He could only tell that attacks and defenses had developed at an overwhelming speed resulting in great showers of sparks exploding from the silver armor and the knights being knocked far, far away.
One of them landed right next to Kamijou.
It hadn't been a coincidence.
Without moving his head, the man standing in the middle stared at Kamijou just by moving his eyes.
A muscular body.
A blue outfit.
A gigantic weapon.
Seeing all those together, a chill ran down Kamijou Touma's spine. The feeling was nothing as vague as a foreboding. Danger signals erupted within Kamijou Touma due to his experience in Academy City's 22nd district when he had been driven to the very brink of death.
The cause of that experience stared Kamijou in the eye and spoke.
"Hm. Now that is a face it annoys me to see again."
"Acqua... of the Back!?" Kamijou yelled without thinking.
That large man wielded an exceptionally great power even for a member of God's Right Seat. He had been repelled once in Academy City, but that had been with the help of every Amakusa member as well as Kanzaki Kaori, a Saint. Even then, they had just barely won.
(He's... alive!? I thought he had blown up in the underground city's lake back then! Don't tell me he survived even that and then escaped Academy City!!)
In his confusion, Kamijou still managed to come up with a number of possibilities.
His stiffened body shook.
(But why is Acqua here? Is God's Right Seat trying to make this pain-in-the-ass coup d'etat even worse!?)
Kamijou didn't know why that man was there, but he definitely wasn't someone Kamijou could deal with on his own.
Kamijou gritted his teeth and muttered to himself not realizing he was doing so out loud.
"(... Dammit. And everything was bad enough with this coup d'etat. Just how much misfortune can be packed into a coincidence!?)"
"This is no coincidence, " Acqua responded to Kamijou's muttering despite standing quite a bit away.
While Kamijou became even more cautious of the sharpness of the man's senses, Acqua casually pointed towards the broken carriage.
"If your long term goal is to resolve this coup d'etat and your short term goal is to recover Index Librorum Prohibitorum, then there are a few points where the actions we must take are the same."
"What?" said Kamijou as he turned his gaze in the direction Acqua was pointing.
Through the half-open door of the carriage, he saw a cloth that looked like the hood to a nun's habit sticking out. It was not a normal hood. It was white with gold embroidery like a teacup.
"Index!!" he yelled, but no response came.
He wanted to run over to the carriage right then, but it was too dangerous to take his focus off of Acqua.
In contrast to Kamijou's intense caution, Acqua seemed not to be all that interested in Kamijou. He indifferently turned his back on Kamijou and started moving from the carriage.
"If your goal is to recover her, you should do so quickly. In a way, this place is more dangerous than a conquered city like London."
"... ?"
Kamijou stared suspiciously at the God's Right Seat member who was oddly lacking in hostility.
However, the situation did not stop there.
"Hm. From the look of things, I suppose Knight Leader was defeated, " said a sudden voice.
Kamijou and Acqua turned in that direction just in time to see a woman walk out from between some trees. She was a member of the Royal Family who wore a basically red dress with red leather covering various areas. In her right hand, she held a sword with no tip or blade.
"I ordered him to bring me two heads while I was having this fit my hand, but he quits just from getting wounded? He does nothing but add to my troubles."
She was Second Princess Carissa.
She was the leader of the coup d'etat.
"!!"
Kamijou put himself on guard, but the second princess was not looking in his direction.
She was staring at Acqua while slightly swinging Curtana Original.
"What a pain in the ass. With him gone, I have to deal with all the small fries myself."
"Your troubles will soon be gone because this coup d'etat ends here."
"Don't underestimate me so much. Did you forget that I hold Curtana Original?"
The second princess smiled faintly while looking at Acqua hold up his giant sword.
He was not aiming for Carissa. He hit a nearby large tree with the side of the sword and used the shockwave to knock Kamijou away.
Meanwhile, Second Princess Carissa raised the strange sword above her head.
"This is a ceremonial sword that was originally used to cut the United Kingdom apart from the planet Earth and control everything within the kingdom. If I apply that special quality, I can even do this."
She curtly swung down the sword.
In the next instant, Kamijou Touma saw a dimension being severed for the first time in his life.
Its range was a little less than 20 meters.
With a strange noise, something passed through along a line that Kamijou and Acqua had been on just a moment before. Something like a belt or a wall that was only about as wide as Curtana Original expanded. It was white and looked a little like a plastic model before it was colored. That object that looked not entirely complete appeared before Kamijou's eyes.
"I could feel it when I was practicing before. This spiritual item is quite old, but its disposition seems to change a bit when someone wields it based on modern military knowledge.... Well, I'm sure my mother would be able to do something similar because she has the same nature." A tone of enjoyment could be heard in Carissa's voice."Did you know that the cross section you get by slicing a 3 dimensional object is 2 dimensional? And slicing a 2 dimensional object creates a 1 dimensional cross section."
With a clunk, the mysterious belt-shaped object that had been irrationally floating in the air fell to the ground right next to Kamijou.
It felt something like pottery, but it was actually extremely heavy despite how it looked. Even after it fell, it continued to sink into the black soil.
"Similarly, when a dimension higher than our 3 dimensions is sliced, the cross section appears in this world in a 3 dimensional form. As a result, the ruins of a cross section appears like this."
The second princess rested Curtana Original on her shoulder.
She was not attacking.
Even so, the dimension was sliced apart in the trajectory of her sword and a colorless belt-shaped object fell to her feet.
"This simultaneously severs every dimension at the coordinates whether they are higher dimensions or lower dimensions. It seems the only cross section objects created that we can perceive are the ones that can appear in a 3 dimensional world."
(What... ?)
Kamijou was completely dumbfounded.
If what she was saying was true, that sword was a monstrous weapon that could cut right through dimensions which did exist but were more of a concept than anything. No matter how much steel someone used to protect his body, Curtana Original could cut right through the dimension to cleave him in two.
Even so, Kamijou did not feel any fear. The scale was simply too great. Apparently the universe was constantly expanding due to the big bang, but no one could concretely feel the universe expanding with their 5 senses. Second Princess Carissa was using a power on that level.
"All Dimensions Severing Spell."
Carissa spun Curtana Original around with a snap of her wrist and a smile slowly spread across her face as the ruins of the world that were the cross section objects spilled about.
"This is the first I've used this, but it's much easier to use than I expected. If it has a flaw, it's that it makes things too easy which takes some of the fun out of it."
Finally, Kamijou brought his brain out of its state of shock.
Second Princess Carissa was the leader of the coup d'etat.
He had had a proper conversation with her in Buckingham Palace and even laughed with her. He didn't want to get in a fist fight with her if he could help it, but it looked as if it would be difficult to end things with just a discussion. And if he screwed up, Index, who was unconscious in the carriage, would be in danger.
(... Dammit. I guess we'll have the discussion after we fight!!)
Carissa held up her sword that could slice through not just a manmade nuclear shelter but the earth and the universe itself.
Kamijou glanced over at Acqua.
Could he trust him?
Whatever anyone said, it didn't change the fact that Acqua was a member of the Roman Catholic Church's God's Right Seat. But he had been fighting the knights led by Knight Leader before.
It seemed they had a common enemy.
Kamijou hesitated a bit, but it seemed he didn't have time to think about it.
"Hey, can you buy me some time?"
"..."
Acqua frowned like usual when Kamijou spoke to him without taking his eyes off Carissa.
He ignored Kamijou, but the boy continued to speak.
"It looks like that dangerous cutting ability is only on the edges of the sword. The sides must be normal steel. You just need to hit that part with your sword to make her stagger for even a second. Then I'll destroy that spiritual item with my right hand."
"Oh, how scary, " Carissa said in a clearly mocking tone of voice."If I remember correctly, that's your patented Imagine Breaker."
She stopped spinning Curtana Original around.
The flat end with no tip was pointed down.
With the sword completely frozen in place, she spoke.
"So allow me to show you how I deal with that."
Carissa stabbed the end of Curtana Original into the ground.
The great noise of a shockwave pounded on Kamijou's ears.
With the second princess in the center, a dome-shaped storm of destruction with a radius of 500 meters erupted.
She had most likely taken the flow of magic power focused on the all dimension severing spell and changed it to a different route. Although the created destructive power was not as high as the power needed to slice through other dimensions, shockwaves were scattered evenly in all directions in the 3 dimensional world.
It was basically an explosion.
The ground was torn up, trees were knocked down, and the large wall of destruction reached Kamijou in an instant.
"Oooooooooooooooohhhhhh!?"
As he yelled, Kamijou held up his right hand.
However, that failed.
The power was both too great and too continuous, so Kamijou's right hand was not enough to completely negate it. He had lost his memories, so he only had the knowledge, but he was forcibly reminded of Innocentius and Dragon Breath.
A terrible pressure attacked his right hand, he heard the unpleasant noise of his bones creaking, and pain ran up his arm.
Pushed by that power, it took less than 2 seconds for his feet to be lifted from the ground.
Once he was in the air, the rest was simple.
Kamijou's body flew further up into the air.
The dome-shaped explosion had a radius of 500 meters.
Kamijou's body was fired diagonally up by its force until he was 200 meters up in the night sky. In the instant when the force pushing him up and gravity were in equilibrium, Kamijou Touma floated motionless in the air and looked at the sparse night view of Folkestone.
(What do I do... ?)
The countdown for his fall began.
And Kamijou's right hand did not have a convenient power that would allow him to land safely from a fall of 200 meters.
(What do I do!?)
The always present force of gravity bared its fangs towards Kamijou Touma.
Between the lines 3
Queen Elizard was riding a horse.
She was not riding along an elegantly maintained dirt course meant for horse riding. Instead, she was on a narrow paved road heading from Windsor to London. Just a bit before, she had been travelling through a dark forest, but now gentle pastures stretched out before her all the way to the horizon.
(... Really. The British flag is a fusion of the flags of England, Scotland, and the others as a symbol of our union and yet we're completely scattered. It looks like I really have to recover that from London to bring us all together again... )
She had travelled about 50 kilometers.
Compared to the previous forest and hills, the path was not all that complex. (If she ignored the speed limit) she might have been able to arrive in London in only 30 minutes using a car.
But...
(It looks like this is the limit for a horse even if it is militarily trained. )
Elizard sighed as she held the reins.
Some of the thoroughbreds that appeared in horse races could run faster than a car, but that speed was only possible on a soft surface like dirt or a lawn. If a horse dashed at full speed atop hard asphalt, its hooves would break.
Also, horse tracks were like short or medium length races to the horses, so they couldn't keep those speeds up for a longer distance of 50 kilometers.
As a result, the queen was moving along at about 20 to 30 kph while taking occasional short breaks to ensure she didn't wear out the horse.
(The horse is wearing special horseshoes for public roads and I could increase its physical strength and stamina with one of my spells... but I suppose I shouldn't force it. This would go much faster if I could use the large scale magic circles placed occasionally along the old road that increase the horse's horse power, but I can't exactly do that. )
The magic circles along the old road were under the jurisdiction of the British government, so people under the influence of the second princess would be able to tell she was using them. If that happened, things were sure to get much more troublesome.
Her slow progress did not bring an irritated expression to the queen's face.
Instead, Elizard's gaze held pity for the horse she was overusing.
"Sorry for having you come along with me in such a dangerous situation."
The horse did not understand human language of course, but the queen spoke to it regardless. The horse did not respond, but there was no dissatisfaction, fear, or confusion in its strong movements. As she watched the mass of muscles propelling her ever forward, the queen decided that she had been blessed with a truly excellent subordinate.
A car's headlights then came shining from behind.
Thinking it might be pursuit from the knights or the Royal Family, she focused on Curtana Second as it hung from her hip, but that was not who it was.
A gaudy youth riding in a gaudy convertible drove right up next to Elizard and the military horse. The man in the driver's seat was gaudy, but so was the woman in the passenger seat.
Actually, looking closer....
"Yaaay! The hitchhiking was a success!"
"Y-you're kidding, right!? You really stayed there in the forest waiting for a car to come by!?"
Sitting in the passenger seat, Laura Stuart smiled and nodded towards Elizard who was sitting atop the horse in shock.
The edges of the gaudy youth's lips bent up.
"At first I was afraid because I thought she was some kind of hitchhiking ghost, but it turned out she was just an annoying pervert. I was just going to throw her out somewhere around here, but if you know her, can you take her?"
"Sorry about that. I'll take that other-worldly idiot."
Elizard sincerely apologized, grabbed the woman in the passenger seat with an arm, and pulled her over onto the back of the horse.
At that point, the man holding the convertible's steering wheel finally got around to noticing something.
"Huh? Is that a horse? That's a horse!"
"... Of course it is."
"Gyah ha ha! That horse just said brrr! It said brr! Oh, wow! I don't think I've ever seen a horse this up close before! Let me get a picture!"
"No, don't take out your cell phone, you idiot! The flash will scare the horse! And you shouldn't use your cell phone while driving!!"
"Okay, here goes."
Ching-a-ling-a-ling! With a ridiculous electronic noise, he took the picture.
Elizard reflexively made her perfect queen's smile that she used for photos.
"Aw, shit. The horse is all blurry. You can't tell what it is at all. It looks like the old woman on top is ascending into heaven or something. Wait... ? I think I've seen you before. Are you one of my aunts or something?"
"..."
Still smiling, Queen Elizard reached for Curtana Second.
The ceremonial sword may have only had a fifth of its power left, but it could still slice something as trifling as a dimension.
With a slicing noise, the convertible's radiator was cut clean off and the coolant leaking out led to the engine burning out.
The queen gave a "hmph" of triumph in the direction of the convertible that had stalled and would no longer start.
"Aww. You ruined the car I waited so long for."
"Kh! Oh, no! I could have saved a lot of time by taking that car and heading to London!!"
Hearing Laura's words, Elizard now regretted what she had done, but she turned her thoughts back in a positive direction.
She grabbed the horse's reins again.
"Well, I suppose I can't just leave you behind here."
Elizard and Laura Stuart headed off in the direction of London.
| ← Ch. 135 | Ch. 137 → |