novelA Wonderful Enemy Who is Both a Princess and a Queen (1)
| ← Ch.138 | Ch.140 → |
Part 1
3 AM.
Kamijou entered London along with some members of the Anglican Church.
However, this time they did not just travel straight through the city. To head to Buckingham Palace quickly, they split up and rode in over 20 large trucks.
Since they had entered London, they hadn't come across any kind of inspection point, but that only made the situation seem even weirder to Kamijou. The knights were not even using the police or the military anymore. Itsuwa and the other Amakusas had been preparing spells to break through those inspection points, so they frowned.
"I suppose the lack of inspection points means they have gathered all their fighting force around Buckingham Palace, " said Kanzaki expressing her fears, but they stuck to their plan because they weren't going to come up with a solution. They just had to hope they didn't lose many people before making it to the main force.
As he sat in the open back of the truck, the cold autumn wind stung Kamijou's cheek.
Due to the knights' control, there were no other people or vehicles moving along the large London road. This allowed the truck Kamijou was on to completely ignore the speed limit. People must have tried to run off in a hurry during the suppression of the city because abandoned cars remained in the middle of the road. The truck occasionally drove erratically to avoid them causing Kamijou's body to shake back and forth.
Kamijou glanced over at the faces of the Anglicans on the truck with him.
It seemed they did not especially care who held the political power. As long as the British people could live their normal lives, it didn't matter who controlled the country. However, any leader that created a new order that openly allowed the military to publicly slaughter people was not something the church was going to allow. That was why their determination to confront Carissa did not waver.
They were holding out a hand of salvation to a lost lamb.
In that way, the church's goal was quite clear.
"One last check, " said Kanzaki from within the same truck."Our goal is to reach Buckingham Palace as quickly as possible in order to stop the leader of this coup d'etat, Carissa. I propose that destroying Curtana Original is the quickest method to that end."
"... With the loss of Knight Leader and the second princess losing control of Curtana, the knights' confidence in her ability will be shaken, right?"
It wasn't quite coming into focus for Kamijou.
However, Third Princess Villian nodded while sitting elegantly nearby.
"Curtana Original is the symbol of their coup d'etat. If it is destroyed before their eyes, the knights' hearts will break as well. My sister receives her monstrous power from Curtana. Without the sword, she will return to being a normal person."
"Think of them like terrorists planning to change the country with a nuclear missile, " said Kanzaki giving an extremely dangerous allegory."If they lose the nuclear missile at the center of their plan, would any of them really try to continue with that plan?"
"Well, I suppose not, but..." said Kamijou hesitantly.
Then Index spoke up from the side.
"The coup d'etat will end along with Curtana. But that is much easier said than done. Within the All-English Continent, the head of state who possesses Curtana Original can wield power as the leader of the angels, Michael, that is well above the human level."
"It's true that destroying that blade with a frontal attack may be difficult even with all of the remaining resistance forces gathered together." There was a real weight to Kanzaki's words because she was the person who had once fought the angel named Misha Kreutzev."But if we're going to be facing a non-standard enemy, we should rely on non-standard people."
"I-I knew we were gonna end up here." Kamijou winced as she looked over at him."It may be true that my right hand can completely destroy any object that uses magic like Curtana, but, Kanzaki, Carissa might be stronger than both you and Acqua right now. If she's zipping around that fast, I won't be able to touch her."
"Yes, we know that. Normally, I would not ask a normal high school student to take part in a fight against someone above Saint level." Kanzaki nodded."We will use you as a highly powerful but slow moving mobile cannon. If Carissa attacks by playing around with us using her speed, the Amakusas and myself will use our speed to somehow force her in your direction."
The remaining Anglican forces included the Amakusas, the former Agnese Forces, and independent magicians such as Sherry. However, when it came to a matter of speed, the Amakusas who were focused around a Saint would be their best bet.
The battle would be decided by how successful the cooperation was between the Amakusas with their specialty in speed and the other members who would either be firing long distance attacks or using support magic.
"You do not need to think too hard about this, " said Kanzaki to Kamijou who had fallen silent."Please just survive to the end. This is the greatest role you have ever been given."
It was a role he shared with all the others.
If they lacked any one of them, it would all be over.
Kamijou Touma lowered his gaze to his own right hand as he asked a question.
"... But will this really be okay? We're traveling with over 500 people here. It worries me that we haven't seen a single sign of the knights yet. If Carissa notices us..."
"Oh, I'm sure she has noticed us. A large scale battle is going to begin before we make it to Buckingham Palace, " smoothly responded Kanzaki.
Kamijou's expression turned to one of shock as she continued.
"But even if she has detected us, it won't be a problem as long as she cannot carry out a concrete counterattack."
"?"
Kamijou frowned and Kanzaki for some reason made a gesture as if she were sticking her index finger in one of her ears.
"It is about to begin. It would be best if you plugged your ears."
Part 2
The Sky Fortress Coven Compass had moved to a point in the Atlantic Ocean a bit northwest of Islay so that it was just outside the national boundaries of the United Kingdom.
By leaving the country, the fierce attacks by the knights being powered by Curtana and the All-English Continent had temporarily stopped.
Smoke was rising from various points on the giant disk-shaped fortress and the spiritual item in command of attitude control had been damaged, causing the entire fortress to tilt. Even so, Coven Compass still managed to ignore the laws of physics and float through the air. Its main engine was still functioning.
The black late-night sea had what looked like an island made of steel floating in it.
It was a sea fortress prepared by the knights, but it was half sunk because, unlike Coven Compass, its sailing ability had been destroyed. Essentially, the Anglican witches had gotten in a good return blow.
The witches protected Coven Compass as smoke rose from it and glared at the knights who were attempting to bring it down.
A few of the knights had left the national boundary and returned to their normal power. The witches took them out from their brooms. Looking down at the dark ocean surface, a number of losers could be seen waiting for rescue with their strobe light-like emergency signals flashing.
Outside the national boundary, the witches were stronger. Within, the knights were stronger.
The two forces fought while being separated by an invisible line that had been drawn on a map by humans.
One of the witches, Smartvery, kept an eye on a long distance spell that was intermittently firing as she focused on her communications spiritual item.
She could hear the voice of the operator through it.
"... Beginning preparations for a large-scale flash bombardment in the direction of Buckingham palace. The witches in certain areas should avoid the attack and pay close attention to make sure they do not lose control of their brooms due to the violent currents of air created by the preparation and firing of the large scale spell."
Upon hearing the businesslike voice, Smartvery whistled.
"That's a straight shot of over 500 kilometers... That's 1. 5 times the supposed maximum range. And this is a direct attack, so the magic power can't be guided at relay points." Smartvery's voice sounded carefree."And to top it all off, it has to pass by the ruins on the Isle of Man which could provide some interference. Well, I'm sure those hardheaded people are well aware of all that."
A fellow witch spoke up over a different communications line.
"Personally, I can't believe we got permission to fire on Buckingham Palace."
"It seems the third princess used her position as a member of the Royal Family to push right through all the pain-in-the-ass formalities. It's times like this when you can only be thankful for these incredibly influential people."
"... Well, you could also describe the second princess that started this whole coup d'etat in the first place an 'incredibly influential person'."
"I suppose they are quite similar in that regard, but they've shifted in completely opposite directions."
At that point, the witches' conversation was cut off.
Static-like noise came over the connection and Smartvery's broom shook. She frantically brought it back under control and she heard her companion's surprised voice over the spiritual item.
"Kssh... Is it starting... !?"
A light brighter than anything found in the natural world wiped away the darkness over the Atlantic Ocean.
A pure white sphere appeared at a point about 20 meters above the center of the top side of the disk-shaped sky fortress. The powerful energy that had been created by the large scale temple caused the air in the area to expand. This created a change in the air pressure which brought forth violent storm-like winds. Coven Compass was activating its other trump card.
The bottom side functioned as an aircraft carrier for the witches and the top side was a cannon.
The large-scale flash cannon took up half of the giant fortress's power and it was being aimed at the capital of the United Kingdom.
"Kssh... Do you think... the knights will... Ksshhh... try to interfere... with the firing... ?"
"They might try to a bit, but I wonder if any idiotic heroes will appear who try to throw themselves in the way of the blast? If they had the courage to do that, I would have thought they would have just crossed the national boundary and attacked together."
When Knight Leader had still been with them, they may have done so.
When Elizard ruled over them, some would have been glad to do so.
(... It seems this is the limitations of violence, new Queen Carissa. )
As she watched the non-moving knights, Smartvery gave a slightly scornful smile.
She heard the voice of the operator in her ear.
"... Commencing fire. We will destroy Buckingham Palace!!"
Part 3
A loud explosive noise shattered all the windows of the nearby buildings.
A pillar of light with a diameter of over 5 meters shot through the London night sky directly above the quickly moving truck.
Even though he was plugging both his ears, the shockwave seemed to completely flip over his sense of balance and it shook him to the depths of his brain. The giant truck slid sideways unnaturally either because the explosion had surprised Itsuwa as she drove it or because the truck itself had been physically shaken.
The attack did not end with that one blast.
A second and a third blast were fired in the direction of Buckingham Palace with an interval of a few seconds between them.
Despite her being right in front of him, Kamijou yelled in Kanzaki's direction so as not to lose to the explosive noise.
"When you said her detecting us wouldn't be a problem if she couldn't counterattack, is this what you were talking about!?"
"Yes. If Carissa's side is busy defending against these blasts, we have a chance to reach the battlefield. Support from a long distance bombardment is one of the basics of a land battle, " said Kanzaki with a calm expression despite the explosive noise.
Then a blast attacked Buckingham Palace from a different angle. The blast was more like a thin and sharp piece of pitch black darkness slicing through the night sky. However, there were a lot of them. A barrage of somewhere from 100 to 200 of them arced through the sky and into the palace area.
"Is there more than one fortress!?"
"That was from Selkie Aquarium at the bottom of the ocean near Dover. From what I heard, of the one's still functioning after the knights' fierce attacks, only Selkie 1, 2, 4, and 5 were available for this attack because it seems 3 and 8 are tied up battling the knights and the Royal Navy."
It seemed Selkie Aquarium was a submarine-type mother ship for the magicians that carried out underwater activities as if they were mermaids or something. It was usually kept waiting there so it could quickly respond if any definite movements were made on the border between England and France, but it was currently helping with the bombardment.
(Well, I'm glad they're helping us with this huge attack, but... )
"... If we enter Buckingham Palace while this is going on, won't we be killed?"
"You need to bear in mind that even a large scale bombardment like this is not enough to defeat Carissa. That is just how formidable the enemy we are about to clash swords with is."
"Fucking monsters, " Kamijou spat out without thinking.
He knew it was quite reckless for an amateur like him to head into a battlefield with just a fist against someone who could withstand concentrated fire from attacks that were similar to a battleship's main guns.
"But if you fire like crazy like this, won't you damage the surrounding areas?"
"The area around Buckingham Palace is a giant park, so stray shots shouldn't be an issue, " responded Index using the information she recalled using her perfect memory.
Kanzaki showed her agreement with Index's opinion and then continued speaking.
"Also, Carissa and the knights likely led the population to specific places that make them easier to control. The people will have been gathered in hotels, theaters, movie theaters, churches, and other places around the city. Even if a house is accidentally destroyed, it is unlikely anyone will be inside.... However, we still need to be careful, " she said as she seemed to be imagining such an unexpected tragedy.
However, it seemed there was a good chance Buckingham Palace would be destroyed. Kamijou didn't know how much the building itself and the art within were worth, but he was pretty sure there were mountains of national treasures inside.
Thinking about that, he glanced over at Third Princess Villian.
"... I do not mind, " she said in a steady voice."With all the people around the country sharing the pain, we of the Royal Family cannot be so selfish as to hope to make it out unscathed.... If it will end the disturbance that has overcome this country, I say we blow that palace to smithereens."
(... ?)
To Kamijou, something seemed off between Villian's words and her expression.
He had only just met her, so he couldn't be sure, but he had a feeling something about her had changed since he had seen her cowering timidly in Buckingham Palace.
"I have realized something, " said Villian as she accepted the boy's gaze and checked various parts of the bowgun in her hands.
The bowgun was not an unrefined one made of metal. Instead, it seemed to be custom made for the Royal Family and was made of the polished amber-colored wood that was used in bar counters. The scope attached to it seemed like an antique and Kamijou would have believed it if someone had told him it had been used by da Vinci.
"Those servants and cooks who cannot use magic stood to fight despite their fear just so I could escape. And that mercenary fought a group of knights to protect me."
The bowgun was over a meter long and it looked like it would be difficult to pull back the string with her slender feminine arms. However, a slide similar to that on a pump-action shotgun was installed on the bottom of the bowgun possibly for that very reason. Gears and pulleys were probably used to make the string easy to pull.
"If I can protect them by fleeing, I am willing to hide anywhere. However, if their plight will not change if I do that, then I have no choice left but to fight."
Over her green dress, Villian was wearing the kind of quiver belts ancient hunters had worn and she returned Kamijou's gaze with a strong but reserved gaze of her own.
"What about you? You have no duty to risk your life for England and you have managed to rescue your friend who got wrapped up in all this. No one would blame you if you escaped to a safe area with her, so why are you still heading to possible death?"
"... I don't have any major reason, " Kamijou said while looking up at the pure white flashes cutting through the night sky above."If I can avoid it, I'd rather not go anywhere dangerous. If it's something I can just abandon, I'd go ahead and abandon it. If everyone wrapped up in this coup d'etat were the enemy characters in a shooting game that existed solely to be shot, then I'd have already abandoned all this and been trying to find a way back to Academy City."
Unlike Villian, he had nothing he needed to prepare.
His preparations would be complete the instant he clenched his right fist.
"But they aren't." Villian might not have been able to hear Kamijou's words due to the continuing explosions, but he continued regardless."That kind of convenient person doesn't exist. Everyone carries something important enough to die for and they are running around so as not to lose it. So how am I supposed to abandon this? This isn't an issue of duty or important-sounding reasons. If you want to stand up and fight, I say you should stand up and fight."
Villian stared at Kamijou for a bit.
Finally, she spoke.
"No matter the principles or thoughts you have within yourself, you listen to the voices of everyone at each place you go and do everything you can to go with the best option for that situation..."
"?"
"You are... yet a different kind of mercenary from William."
Kamijou was about to ask "William?", but something happened before he could.
The sound of the air being repeatedly sliced resounded above their heads.
(A helicopter... !?)
However, Kamijou's initial thought was wrong.
It was white.
A large object without color like an unfinished plastic model was there. The large fan-shaped object was floating by rotating at high speed.
It had a radius of 50 meters and the angle of the fan was about 90 degrees.
Kamijou recognized the color of the ridiculously huge construction.
"That's the wreckage created when Curtana Original slices through all dimensions... !!"
Immediately after his yell, the giant rotating fan that had been maintaining its horizontal position suddenly tilted down diagonally. The spiraling object immediately lost its ability to float and fell much like a crashing helicopter.
Its fall seemed to be aimed directly at the truck Kamijou and the others were on.
It was like a giant rotating blade that could cut straight through lumber.
"Dammit. Is this why there were no inspection points!?"
"... Ksshh... Hold on everyone... !!" said Itsuwa's voice from the radio stuck on the back of the truck.
Immediately afterwards, the large truck changed lanes in a reckless manner that swung the back wildly all in order to avoid the giant 100 diameter rotating blade attacking from the sky. The rotating blade sank 20 meters into the ground digging up and scattering not just the asphalt but the constructions for the subway station under the ground as well.
They had just barely managed to avoid a direct hit.
However, a shock hit the large truck from the side.
The impact with the ground had altered the trajectory of the giant rotating blade causing it to hit the side of a building, hop up from the ground, and unsteadily writhe around. This random changing of the rotating blade's axis had caused one corner to strike the side of the truck.
It was side blow.
With that one strike, the 10-ton truck was knocked from the road, over the sidewalk, and into the side of a building.
"Gwaaaahhh!?"
The severe shock running across his body caused Kamijou to yell out.
He hadn't been thrown from the back of the truck, but the truck itself had been bent almost into a V-shape. The truck simply wasn't going to run anymore.
That was when more bad news came.
Kamijou heard that helicopter rotor-like noise again.
And this time it wasn't just one.
His body stiffened and he fearfully looked up to see 4 or 5 of those spinning fan-shaped blades that exceeded 100 meters flying through the air like frisbees.
"Oh, fuck!! Run!!"
Kamijou's yell had been rather pointless because the various Anglican members on the back of the truck had already jumped down to the broken road and were running as far away as they could. Kamijou forced his hurting body along, grabbed Index's hand as she hadn't left yet, and jumped down from the truck.
That was when the closely flying rotating blades struck. The rotating blades had looked like they were trying to repel each other in midair which made them fall to the ground in random but hard to avoid trajectories.
(... !!!???)
He hadn't been able to let out a yell that time.
The multiple blades tore into the asphalt and mercilessly destroyed building walls. Just when Kamijou realized Index's hand had slipped from his grip, his body was thrown into the air. He had managed to avoid being directly hit, but his body had been lifted up along with the torn up asphalt.
He didn't even have time to brace for the impact.
When he struck the hard ground, Kamijou thought his breathing was going to stop.
(Agh!? Shit... )
"Index... ? Kanzaki... Itsuwa!! Dammit, where is everyone!?"
The shock of the impact had blown dust up into the air preventing Kamijou from seeing anything. He coughed as he attempted to call his comrades' names.
Only the explosive noises returned his calls.
Those noises belonged to the rotating blades floating through the night sky at a set speed and to the giant beams of light attacking from afar.
In that hopeless situation, Kamijou heard a frail voice.
The voice was familiar.
"Over... here."
"Itsuwa!?"
"Y-yes."
Kamijou tried to run over, but he came to a dead end. No, more accurately, he came to the entrance to a back alley that was blocked by a crumbled building wall. Itsuwa's voice was coming from the gaps in the wreckage.
"Can you go after Lady Villian? Just after we all split up, I saw her heading off towards Buckingham Palace on her own."
"!?"
Kamijou looked around, but he saw no sign of Villian. Had she really gone on ahead on her own?
(Dammit!!)
Kamijou looked in the direction of Buckingham Palace, but he then looked back towards Itsuwa seeming to have realized something. Itsuwa was on the other side of the wall, so she must have heard some small noise or simply noticed the gap between his words.
"Ah ha ha. Don't worry. I'm not buried alive or anything. We'll be heading along the alleyways on a different route to Buckingham Palace. It looks like it would be difficult to meet up with you right away, so let's regroup at the palace."
"But... are you all right? Are you really all right!?"
"Everyone split up and is taking their own route to the palace.... Anyway, you need to get going. Staying in one place will just get you hit."
Kamijou then heard the sound of someone running off into the distance on the other side of the rubble. It seemed Itsuwa really was heading for Buckingham Palace by heading along the alleyway.
(Where's everyone else... !?)
Kamijou looked around the area.
He saw a few figures running ahead along the main road. He saw someone, Kanzaki, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. She was holding Index and yelled something at him, but he couldn't hear what it was.
Just seeing that familiar face was enough to relieve Kamijou momentarily, but then something else made him stiffen again. A nearby broken piece of concrete must have at least scraped against Villian because it had a scrap of green cloth caught on it. The piece of cloth had been torn off violently and it seemed to be an ominous metaphor. Kamijou frantically shook his head to rid himself of the baseless presentiment.
According to Itsuwa, Villian had gone on ahead alone.
He had no choice but to run to Buckingham Palace.
He was pretty sure it was only 2 kilometers away.
However, those 2000 meters had become a hellish path of hardships.
He heard a loud dull noise.
He looked up and saw a sphere with a diameter of over 20 meters falling. The sphere was a blank colorless white. It landed about 100 meters ahead of him as if to block his path and sank an unnatural amount into the ground. It had probably sunk far enough down to crush the subway line down below.
However, the sphere still floated back up as if it had bounced.
It crushed a vehicle that had been abandoned on the road which exploded, struck the side of a building, and rolled in the opposite direction. Its random movements seemed almost like the movements of a living being as it headed in Kamijou's direction.
"Shit!!"
Kamijou immediately pressed himself up against the wall of one of the buildings along the sidewalk.
The giant 20 meter sphere plowed that way on a straight course that would smash Kamijou onto the ground like a roller.
However, Kamijou avoided an instant death.
When a sphere was put inside a square box that's sides were the same length as the sphere's diameter, gaps would exist in the corners. By pressing up against the building, Kamijou had entered one of those gaps.
However, the destruction did not end there.
The giant sphere sank into the wall above Kamijou's head causing it to collapse. Kamijou ran forward as quickly as he could to avoid being caught in the large amount of collapsing rubble. He heard what sounded like a tremor of the earth and dust chased after him as if it were trying to attack his back.
He had no time to rest.
More fan-like rotating blades attacked.
Perhaps due to their center of gravity, giant pillars seemed to stand unnaturally after falling over destroying the road.
A great number of buildings were destroyed which blocked Kamijou's path.
(Each individual construction isn't all that complex... )
As he ran recklessly forward, Kamijou gritted his teeth.
(But their size is just too much! These things really are like a bombardment from a battleship!!)
Even after going all out and avoiding one or two of them, he could not relax. As long as the "bombardment" continued, Kamijou and the others that had split up would continue to be in danger.
It was possible the lack of knights within London and the confinement of the people elsewhere had been in preparation for this kind of attack.
Kamijou cut through a gap between piles of rubble, ran through a curtain of dust, jumped over a crack through which he could see the collapsed subway tunnel, and simply ran across London.
Itsuwa had said Villian had gone on ahead, but he didn't see anyone no matter how far he ran. He started to wonder if she had really made it through that harsh battlefield.
Finally, the Buckingham Palace grounds came into view.
Perhaps due to the magic bombardments from Coven Compass and Selkie Aquarium, the large fence around the park had been twisted apart and partially blown away and the short green lawn looked as if it had been torn up by a giant missing a shot with a giant golf club because the black soil had been torn up creating a crater.
Cutting between a gap in the remains of the destroyed fence, Kamijou unhesitatingly headed into the palace grounds.
As soon as he did, a chill ran down his spine.
For no reason, his legs seemed like they would stop moving.
It was past 3 in the morning, but the palace showed up brightly in the darkness due to the decorative lights washing over it. Due to the bombardment from afar, about a third of the right side of the palace had turned to rubble leaving the luxurious interior visible from where Kamijou was. The almost unreal splendor of the building prevented the scene from appearing too tragic. It looked like a giant dollhouse with its roof and wall removed.
Yet, for Kamijou Touma, the half-destroyed palace was not the pivotal point of the scene.
He was looking at the garden at the front of the palace.
A great number of mysterious large white objects had been created as a side effect of Curtana Original slicing through every dimension. Due to those objects slicing into the ground and falling over, the lawn and asphalt had been torn to pieces.
Two women stood amid all of it.
One was Third Princess Villian.
She looked like a princess from a picture book with her blonde hair, white skin, and green dress with a spread out skirt. She held a rather large bowgun in her hands, but a shotgun-like slide had been attached to the bottom so that even that delicate woman could pull back the string.
The other was Second Princess Carissa.
She wore a red dress with leather covering it in various places. In her hand, she held a sword with no tip or blade. Perhaps due to the method she used to defend against the bombardment, she had black soil and mud covering her cheeks. However, it did not look shameful in the slightest. The mud mixed in with her own sweat added to her dreadfulness.
"..."
"..."
The two of them were arguing over something. Or more accurately, Villian was snapping at Carissa, while Carissa lightly deflected her words.
Villian held the bowgun in her hands, but she had not pulled back the string yet and she wasn't even holding it up at the ready. She held it like someone holding a trophy at an award ceremony instead of as a weapon she intended to use.
On the other hand, Carissa held her sword so that it hung down loosely, but there was no trembling in her hand. Her muscles were prepared and it looked as if she could jump forward to attack that very instant.
Perhaps their physical stances represented their ideological stances.
At any rate, Villian was pushing the conversation forward and neglecting her weapon while Carissa was roughly going on with the conversation while focusing everything on her weapon.
It was clear what would happen.
Kamijou couldn't tell what they were talking about from where he was, but he didn't have time to find out.
(That idiot... !!)
Kamijou ran as fast as he could and jumped towards Villian's back to cover her.
Immediately afterwards, Carissa moved Curtana Original unhesitatingly.
With a tremendous noise, every dimension in the space Villian had just been was severed.
A white belt-like object that was over 100 meters long was created. A few seconds later, that three dimensional object that was the cross section of the severed dimensions that could manifest in the three dimensional world fell to the ground with a thud.
Villian looked completely surprised at the sudden occurrence while Kamijou stood up from lying on top of her and glared at their powerful enemy.
She was the second princess of England.
She was the leader of the coup d'etat and the one who held the most talent in military matters of the three sisters.
And by using Curtana Original and the All-English Continent, she wielded the power of the leader of the angels.
"Carissa!!"
Carissa responded to Kamijou's yell with a calm expression.
"Congratulations. That was a commendably nice play. That's the kind of example my weak minded knights need to see. I really can't take my sister's benevolence lightly. It continues to manifest itself in unexpected ways."
The countless lights that were intended to illuminate the exterior of the luxurious palace were bathing the second princess in light. She stood within that light as if it were made for her.
Kamijou Touma could not remove his eyes from her.
That was not due to her beauty. It was due to the fact that he didn't know what would happen if he lowered his guard even slightly.
Even an amateur like him could sense that.
"By the way, where are the others? Are the rest of your troops buried under rubble?"
"!!"
Kamijou's expression stiffened, but he shook that terrible image from his mind.
They were fine. They would surely be there soon. He had no choice but to act with that thought in mind. Turning Carissa's attention his way would bring an end to her "bombardment" and make their journey less dangerous.
However, as if to wipe that optimistic hope from Kamijou's mind, a villainous smile spread across Carissa's face as she rested Curtana Original on her shoulder.
"If so, the church will have betrayed my expectations as well. I'll end up looking like an idiot for having made so many preparations."
"Preparations... ?" Villian muttered as if a very bad feeling had gushed up within her chest and leaked out of her mouth.
Immediately afterwards, an incredibly huge object passed by over their heads.
The object had a similar form to a hang glider.
However, it was huge. It was almost 80 meters across making the giant object around the same size as the large passenger plane Sky Bus 365. After passing over their heads once, it flew in a giant arc turning its nose back towards them.
"Don't look so shocked. Did you think Coven Compass and Selkie Aquarium were the only types of mobile fortresses? Surely you knew that we control most of the major facilities within the United Kingdom. We have an almost limitless number of spiritual items at our disposal. And especially the ones the knights directly use for battle. I doubt you're going to be bored."
Carissa started laughing, but a few more roars and explosions cut through the air drowning her out. Almost 20 of those 80 meter hang glider-like "fortresses" circled around in the air above Buckingham Palace. The silver metal parts reinforcing them at important points looked like armor.
The second princess spoke while looking up at the fortresses that were dyed the same red as her dress.
"Allow me to introduce you to the mobile siege fortresses known as Griffin Sky."
Having no idea what kind of attacks they could send his way, Kamijou looked up in shock at the mobile fortresses with only Carissa's voice getting through to him.
"They are used to attack strongholds on the surface, so they cannot fly as high as the Sky Bus 365 and they are not as flexible or practical as Coven Compass because they are unmanned spiritual items, but they are the country's best at linked attacks. They are stupid but obedient which makes them the perfect military tools."
(These are all like that... ?)
Kamijou stared speechless up at that scene that exceeded the scale of a personal battle.
(There are 20 mobile fortresses like Coven Compass here... !?)
His gaze moved from the night sky back to the scene directly in front of him.
On top of those fortresses, Carissa had overwhelming power with Curtana Original and a force of knights had to be waiting somewhere.
Even if he did manage to destroy the sword with his right fist, would he and Villian really be able to fight in that situation?
Kamijou recalled the spiritual item known as Robin Hood that had been used to snipe the New Light magician Lessar. He looked towards the surrounding darkness and raised his guard even further.
However, Carissa said something he did not expect.
"There are no hidden troops. I just gave a bit of a live broadcast."
"... ?"
"With Knight Leader's defeat and Curtana Original being sent out of control, the knights have started to doubt whether I am fit to be the head of state. You all may have been saved due to coincidence after coincidence, but I will admit that you used some excellent psychological warfare."
Carissa had been spinning Curtana Original around, but she now brought it back to rest on her shoulder.
"As such, it was necessary that I brought the knights' battle spirit back together. Although, I ended up using a rather crude method."
A live broadcast. A crude method.
Kamijou had a bad feeling about what that meant and looked over. The sword with no blade or tip that was Curtana Original had a few drops of a dark red liquid on it.
"You don't mean you..."
"Oh, I just gave a bit of a punishment. It led to the level of security around Buckingham Palace falling, but that's still better than having the knights as a whole fall and consequently losing control of the country. Also, as the head of state I can use the power of the leader of the angels. I really don't need any guards."
"Did you kill them!? Those were your comrades!!" Kamijou yelled still in a state of utter shock.
Perhaps because she was picturing the event, Villian's shoulders started to tremble.
"Don't worry about that. If I simply killed them, it would leave too much to the imagination. In order to give the best performance with the least expenditure, I had to make things a little more fun."
A fate worse than death.
He could not properly imagine the meaning behind those words, so Kamijou just gritted his teeth.
"The knights followed you this far because they trusted you in their own way. What's wrong with your brain for you to view the loss of the comrades that fought alongside you like that as an 'expenditure'!?"
A strained sound could be heard.
It was the sound of Kamijou Touma tightly clenching his right hand without him even knowing.
"Tell me, " responded Carissa without a single change to her expression."Why do you think they are given such a high position and paid so much out of the taxes we collect? It is because they work themselves to the bone during national emergencies in order to rescue the country from its crises. That is the desire of any knight."
"Why you..."
"They carried that duty out. They prevented the cowards who were prepared to flee from betraying me."
Carissa slowly raised Curtana Original up from her shoulder.
She then spoke in a tone that sounded like she was speaking to a difficult child.
"However, they are really nothing more than a collection of chickens who refuse to head to their possible deaths. I just had to smooth things over a bit and create another situation where they can be certain that the coup d'etat will succeed!!" proclaimed Second Princess Carissa with a legendary sword in hand and the numerous giant fortresses flying through the ether and the half-destroyed palace to her back.
That signaled the beginning of the battle.
Part 4
If they could defeat Second Princess Carissa, the coup d'etat would be over.
Kamijou Touma was once again convinced of that.
With Knight Leader gone, the knights were unsure whether they should continue with the coup d'etat or end it. The main thing keeping them on the side of the coup d'etat was Carissa's "punishment". That meant that it would all fall apart if Carissa lost her power and thus lost her hold over them.
Compared to defeating each and every group of knights across the United Kingdom, simply defeating the overall boss seemed much easier.
Kamijou forced himself to think along that positive line of thinking in an attempt to lessen his body's tension.
"You will die."
When he heard that voice directly behind him, the sound of the wind being sliced accompanied it.
She hadn't just circled around behind him in that instant.
Curtana Original was already moving horizontally for Kamijou's neck.
"... !?"
He didn't have time to turn around. Kamijou dropped his waist down and just barely managed to avoid the strike. Or at least he thought he had. He felt a hot pain near his ear. Seeing what happened, Villian let out a short scream.
Then Kamijou heard an odd noise.
Following the trajectory of the horizontally swung sword, an unnaturally blank object appeared. It was the wreckage created as a side effect of severing dimensions. It naturally started to fall straight down towards Kamijou with a weight greater than a mass of steel the same size.
(Shit... !!)
Kamijou rolled out of the way of the falling object. An unpleasant vibration reached Kamijou's gut.
"Too slow, pig. That's just going to get you sliced to pieces."
With a roar, she swung Curtana Original.
The vertical swing from top to bottom created a giant dimensional slicing attack stretching in a straight line 20 meters from Curtana.
It was a route that would separate the top half of Kamijou's body from the bottom half.
"!?"
He immediately held out his right hand.
With what sounded like a whip, the created slicing attack disappeared partway.
(It... disappeared?)
Kamijou jumped back up to his feet and ran towards Carissa.
If he could get just one hit in with his clenched fist, Curtana Original would be destroyed.
However, the second princess swung the sword before he could.
With the end of the sword pointing up, she moved it from right to left in a similar motion to opening a window. A shutter-like white wall of wreckage was created stopping Kamijou's fist.
A dull pain ran across his fist as if he had punched a steel wall.
He frowned as his hand throbbed slightly.
(It didn't work this time!? Dammit, I can't figure out what the conditions for negating it are!!)
A chill ran down his spine. After all, his opponent attacked with a strike that could slice through all dimensions that could be represented with whole numbers. If he misread the situation, he wouldn't just lose his right arm. His entire body would be sliced in two.
However, he didn't have time to worry too much about that.
He didn't have time to slowly put together a strategy.
"Heh, " breathed Carissa.
At the same time, an explosive sound resounded.
The white wall separating the two of them had been kicked straight up into the air by the second princess.
Carissa did not lower her leg.
Her second kick mercilessly struck Kamijou's gut. The attack was more like a machine gun than human martial arts.
With a thunderous noise, Kamijou's body easily flew a few meters before hitting the ground and bouncing a few times.
"Gh... bhaaaaahhh!!!???"
He couldn't suppress the urge to vomit and a surprisingly red mass came out.
While Kamijou writhed on the ground, Carissa smiled while spinning her sword around like a baton causing thin pieces of dimensional wreckage to fall to the ground. Villian finally started bringing her bowgun up, but the situation was changing so quickly she didn't seem able to aim properly.
(Gh... Dammit... Cough... I just can't keep up with her speed... !!)
Kamijou could tell he had completely lost strength from the very core of his body, but he still tried to stand up. He didn't notice, but his fingertips were trembling unnaturally.
"Oh, come on. What's wrong? And I was going easy on you."
Carissa's expression did not change.
It was as if she were saying that he could not change the situation if he couldn't even stand up.
"It seems there are side effects to carelessly putting a large amount of Telesma in your body. I'll have to eventually put together a spell to remove that restraint."
(She's going easy on me... ?)
Kamijou looked over at her as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Seeing that, Carissa swung Curtana Original over to point in a certain direction with its tip-less end.
"It's dangerous to just sit there, you know?"
In that instant, Kamijou did not realize what it was that was approaching him.
It was one of the Griffin Skies flying above. There was no change in the red 80 meter wide hang glider itself, but there was a change in the giant shadow created by the moonlight. Its form changed as if it were rotating. It took on the form and weight of a knights' lance, turned deep red, and floated just off the ground.
It seemed the fortress in the sky and the red lance on the ground were moving in unison.
In that state, the Griffin Sky flew across the sky above Buckingham Palace.
Of course, the linked 20 meter lance cut across just above the ground with tremendous speed.
And what did this do?
Kamijou Touma received a direct blow, doubled over, and flew into the air.
"Dbh.... !?"
The pain assaulting his upper body was so great that his sense of pain failed and he merely went numb. The boy flew over 15 meters before landing and rolling along the ground.
Afterwards, the numbness left and the pain returned.
"Ghaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!?"
Kamijou writhed around on the ground from the intense pain, but he saw a different lance approaching from a different direction causing him to frantically roll out of the way. He was gritting his teeth, but a red liquid still flowed from his mouth.
However, Carissa looked dissatisfied despite being the one causing all the damage.
"Tch. I guess that's the spiritual item's automatic decision making. Those things are meant to destroy a fortress wall, so that strike should have torn your body in two. I guess the unmanned spiritual item's decision to use the least amount of force necessary to destroy something based on its automatic calculations can backfire."
After saying that, a sadistic grin spread across her face.
"Heh heh... Ha ha ha!! But you won't be saved by anymore ridiculous glitches! I'll manually set all of them to anti-Windsor Castle levels. That way I'll have offensive spiritual items that will blow a human body to smithereens with just a light touch!!"
An intense chill ran down Kamijou's back at Carissa's words.
She had been going easy on him.
Now that the sky fortresses' limiters had been released, his body would be turned to mincemeat if he received the same attack again.
(Dammit. Even with just Carissa, I can't find a way to defeat her!)
Kamijou coughed up more blood, clenched his fist, and glared at her.
(Not to mention, that 20 of those fortress destroying spiritual items are flying around up there. How am I supposed to find a way to win this!?)
That was when an intense pillar of light from the distant Coven Compass flew towards Carissa. Only one strike flew through the air, but that one strike held enough destructive power to shatter every window in London.
However, Carissa did not even bother looking at it.
She merely held her arm out to the side and spun Curtana Original around once like a baton.
Every dimension was severed along the path of the sword. It created a disk with a radius of about 20 meters. The dimensional wreckage in the form of a cross section bored deep into the ground creating a giant disk-shaped shield.
The large-scale flash spell struck it.
A loud explosion rang out, but the shield was not destroyed. The pillar of light scattered in all directions as it was not able to continue on its original path. Large trees within the garden were torn from the ground, streetlights were twisted, and the asphalt was torn up. The multiple Griffin Skies temporarily raised their altitude to avoid the effects of the blast.
That was all.
Second Princess Carissa herself was completely unharmed.
(Seriously... ?)
Kamijou stared on in shock.
(Even with a bombardment like that, you can't even scratch her. Is the head of state holding Curtana really that much of a monster... ?)
"Does this really shock you that much?" Carissa said cutting off his thoughts.
With a snap of her wrist, she spun Curtana Original around again.
"What human can kill the leader of the angels?"
The second princess thrust the end of Curtana Original into the disk-shaped shield.
Perhaps it was the result of slicing the dimensions located at the wreckage created from dimensions being sliced, but the sword sunk into the shield like a fork stabbed into a giant potato. Carissa then swung Curtana Original horizontally.
The giant disk-shaped shield with a radius of 20 meters moved with the sword.
"Oh, shit... !"
Kamijou instinctively held his hands up to protect his face, but it was a meaningless action.
Carissa was almost forcing Curtana Original along because the disk-shaped shield was half buried in the ground. The ground crumbled all at once like it was being dug up with a giant piece of machinery. The black soil, the concrete, the asphalt, the trees, the underground water pipes, and the underground gas pipes all became a single mass. It all moved in Kamijou's direction like a landslide or like a tsunami.
He could not evade it.
Kamijou Touma's body was simply blown away by the overwhelmingly giant mass.
He was easily knocked back 10 meters by the front edge of the great amount of earth and sand. Then the earth and sand bit at Kamijou's lower half like the jaws of a living being. He yelled out at the tremendous pressure and saw out of the corner of his eye that Curtana Original had been pulled from the disk-shaped shield. The giant construction flew through the air, struck Buckingham Palace, and further damaged the already crumbling building.
"Ghaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!"
Kamijou's legs had been buried up to the thighs and he forcibly pulled them out. There was a terrible hot feeling in his right thigh. He looked down and saw a broken piece of a tree branch about as thick as a ball-point pen sticking into it.
Villian ran over to him yelling something, but the pain made him dizzy, so he couldn't tell what she was saying. Villian nervously hesitated not sure how to treat him.
Kamijou bit down on his sleeve to make sure he didn't bite his tongue.
Then he grabbed the branch stuck in his leg, checked how it felt with his trembling fingers, and then pulled it out all at once.
He did not utter an audible scream.
A significant amount of blood flowed out and Kamijou gritted his teeth so hard he thought they would break.
"Weren't you being a bit too naïve?" Carissa looked calmly over at Kamijou as he tried to suppress the pain."You may have a mysterious power in your hand, but it is completely absurd to think that a flesh-and-blood human can even touch the leader of the angels. How do you think you can win this? Even the very first condition you need to meet to do this simply can't happen."
The difference in their strengths was so great that he could not even touch her.
As long as she remained in the United Kingdom, she could wield the power of Michael.
Second Princess Carissa was most likely even more powerful than Acqua of the Back. The exact theories and techniques behind them may have been different, but the strange objects created from the severing of dimensions reminded Kamijou of Misha Kreutzev's water wings.
"Thinking that you can win if you fight is not your mistake."
Carissa lowered the end of Curtana Original once more.
The sound of gas escaping from the black soil that had been destroyed in the previous attack could be heard.
"Your mistake lies in thinking that this is on a level where you can survive by hiding behind a shield or running away. This is what the leader of the angels, what the head of state, is."
No mercy to those who opposed her.
Punishment from heaven was a one-sided rain of destruction. The only option remaining to the people was to earnestly prostrate themselves before her in an attempt to quell her anger.
The scale had reached an area that seemed as if it were from a legend.
Before Kamijou stood a woman who had created a legend of her own.
And she was...
"Second Princess... Carissa..."
"I'm the head of state, you fool."
For an instant, Carissa showed an expression of displeasure and then she lightly tapped the end of Curtana Original onto the already destroyed asphalt.
Immediately afterwards, the sound of gas leaking out stopped.
The sound of the flammable gas leaking from the broken underground gas pipes stopped.
Immediately after that, the night scenery behind Second Princess Carissa turned into a crimson explosion.
The explosion itself did not reach Kamijou. However, the shockwave flew past Carissa and mercilessly struck the boy.
"Gh... bh!?"
Kamijou's breathing stopped like he had run into a wall and his feet left the ground. Villian flew up into the air next to him.
They remained in the air for a second and a half.
Despite Carissa being closer to the blast than Kamijou, she showed no sign of pain. She smiled at her floating targets and kicked the ground sending herself forward as if the explosion were a convenient tailwind.
Yes, the explosion of flames spreading across the entire area had not been an attack for Carissa.
It had been nothing more than a means of reinforcing her movement.
With Carissa's light footstep, came an explosive noise more terrible than the gas explosion.
Crushing the ground underfoot, she flew forwards. It seemed more like she was stabbing through space than just moving forward. After finally landing, Kamijou stumbled a bit and tried to regain his balance. As he did, he was almost completely defenseless.
He immediately brought up his right hand, but it was of no use.
Carissa did not just use her strength. She paid attention to Kamijou's movements and twisted Curtana Original in a diagonal trajectory aiming for his neck through a gap in his defenses.
Every dimension along the path of the sword was sliced.
The belt-shaped cross section object appeared following the sword.
Kamijou thought in his head while he watched the path of that blade that could easily slice right through a scientific nuclear shelter or a magical cathedral.
Curtana Original was not the only threat.
Carissa was the person who had almost perfectly carried out a coup d'etat in a powerful nation like the United Kingdom.
The second princess excelled at military matters and she probably had some knowledge of martial arts.
"Die."
That simple word reached Kamijou's brain.
Immediately afterwards, a dull noise shook his brain.
Kamijou Touma's vision grew hazy.
His feet left the ground and he lost all sense of gravity.
His breathing stopped.
And...
(I'm... alive?)
At the feeling of the clothes on his back being forcefully grabbed, Kamijou returned to his senses.
After a bit of distance, he saw the place he had been standing in just before. Curtana Original had merely sliced through thin air and the second princess clicked her tongue at that result.
That had been something Kamijou Touma simply could not have pulled off on his own.
"... It looks like I finally found a good way to pay you back a bit, " said a clear female voice.
At the same time, the feeling of something grabbing his back disappeared and he was lowered gently to the ground. Looking over, he saw that Villian had been recovered along with him. The third princess looked up at the person who had rescued her with a blank look on her face.
Kamijou turned around.
Standing there was...
"Kanzaki... ?"
"It is not just me. The others will be here soon, " Kanzaki said smoothly as she took her eyes off of Kamijou just once."Index, please carry out a magical analysis. It is possible you will not have the spells related to Curtana in your 103, 000 grimoires due to pressure from the Royal Family, but you can reanalyze it with the magical knowledge you do have, correct?"
"So you want to steal control of it or seal its powers? Understood."
Index had arrived as well because she had been travelling with Kanzaki after the large truck had been destroyed. Kamijou looked at her with a dumbfounded look on his face and she responded with a snort.
One of the world's fewer than 20 Saints and the grimoire library that possessed the knowledge of grimoires from all across the world.
Despite being faced with two people who held great value for the magic side, Carissa did not look at all worried.
"Do you really think some rank and file soldiers who couldn't even arrive to the battle on time can take a leading part?"
"We were held up due to a certain ignorant princess causing a mess in the city. I had to prevent a few theaters from being crushed with civilians still inside."
She had stopped the 100 meter objects with her flesh-and-blood body.
Kanzaki calmly stated this frightening fact and reached for the hilt of her sword.
"... And I do not intend to resolve this all on my own. I have comrades I can trust to watch my back."
| ← Ch. 138 | Ch. 140 → |