14
“Lady Dorothea. The scouts have made visual contact with ‘Red Broad’s’ forces.”
Inside the weapons depot, the atmosphere grew frantic, with people moving everywhere.
“It’s finally beginning.”
Princess Valtrune squeezed my hand, hard. In response, I gently squeezed her pale, beautiful hand back.
“It’s fine. We’ll win this, too.”
“I’m counting on you.”
The ‘Lizards’ were already in position. Within our line of sight, just under twenty of them were in formation, ready to meet the enemy. All that was left was us…
“Dorothea. So, what do we do?”
“You’re the rear guard. Form up around me. If things go bad, you’re the last line of defense.”
Dorothea crossed her arms, her sharp gaze fixed on the massive double doors in the distance.
Fadi looked away from Dorothea’s serious expression and waved Flegel over.
“Okay, Flegel. Let’s get on standby over there.”
“Ah. Right.”
They deftly climbed the depot’s inner framework, positioning themselves up high.
From that perch, they could watch the whole battle and provide support as needed. Since they both use magic, they could also act as a deterrent to the enemy’s advance.
“…What should we do?”
Princess Valtrune could provide ranged support with her magic, but as a pure close-combat fighter, I’d be useless up high.
“I’ll join the ‘White Smoke Lizards’ on the ground, but…”
“Then, so will I.”
“Rune-sama, you don’t need to take such a risk…”
“Al? You’re forbidden from fighting alone.”
“But there are other people here this time…”
“No. I’m fighting at your side. Understood?”
“…Understood.”
Defeated by her words, I could only nod.
“…In that case, Rune-sama. Do not leave my side for an instant.”
“I won’t. I’ll be right by your side.”
It almost sounded like a love confession, but I was sure I was imagining it.
I was watching her long white hair sway, but a shout of “They’re here!” snapped my full attention to the battle.
15
The weapons depot was a maze of jumbled, rusted iron containers.
‘Red Broad’ couldn’t just charge in a straight line. They stood, weapons in hand, glaring at us from a distance.
“Well, well! If it isn’t the ‘White Smoke Lizards’! …You had a lot of nerve refusing our offer, didn’t you? HUH?”
As their leader roared, Dorothea stepped forward, the click-clack of her boots echoing. Her long gray hair swayed as she radiated a quiet fury.
“Offer? Hah. You mean that nonsense about becoming your puppets? How absurd. We’re smart. We have no interest in working for idiots.”
“You bitch… I’ll kill you!”
“Know your place, you brainless thug. Trash.”
The vile insults flew, and the mutual hatred between them peaked.
“Fine… We’ll kill you all. It’s too late to beg.”
“We’ll slaughter every one of you. Show no mercy.”
With those final words from their leaders, the battle began.
‘Red Broad’s’ numbers were far greater than expected. A quick glance showed well over three hundred. With the advantage in numbers, ‘Red Broad’ naturally began to push forward with overwhelming force.
“Uraaa!”
“Die!”
But Dorothea just stood there, watching them approach, her expression cool. And then, she slowly lowered her hand.
“Just like always. In the fog… kill every last one of them.”
In an instant, the entire interior of the weapons depot was enveloped in a thick, white fog. And then, a heavy thud… like a massive lock being thrown.
“Wh-What…?”
“Huh?”
I heard the confused shouts from ‘Red Broad’s’ side, followed by Dorothea’s demonic laughter echoing through the warehouse.
“Fufu. There’s no exit, you muscle-bound morons. This is your grave.”
“Wha—!”
Her taunt was met with enraged roars. ‘Red Broad,’ completely enraged, accelerated their charge. But that, too, was part of her plan.
“—Go.”
At her low, husky command, the ‘White Smoke Lizards’ near us, unfazed by the fog, rushed forward.
“Gaaah!”
“Ugh…”
There was no clang of steel on steel. Just the screams of men, caught defenseless, being cut down from all directions.
“What’s going on?”
I felt the same as Princess Valtrune, and called up to the rafters.
“Flegel! What’s the situation?”
I heard a faint, sharp intake of breath.
“It’s… a one-sided slaughter.”
“…Huh?”
“The ‘Lizards’ are just… tearing them apart! ‘Red Broad’ is blind and stumbling around, but the ‘Lizards’ are moving like they can see everything!”
The fog should have blinded both sides. I’d thought the fog was just a way to neutralize the numbers and turn it into a game of chance. So why were the ‘Lizards’ able to attack so decisively?
The fog was clearly Dorothea’s magic, but I couldn’t understand what was allowing them to bypass it. In fact, Valtrune and I were just as blind as the enemy, reduced to just listening to the sounds of the massacre.
“…Fadi, do you know what’s going on?”
“…”
“Fadi?”
“…Hm? Oh, sorry! I was focusing on the ‘sight-share.’ What’s up?”
His voice was relaxed, but his words were… intriguing.
“‘Sight-share’? Explain.”
After a mutter of “…Oops, forgot,” Fadi cleared his throat.
“Uh, right. ‘Sight-Share’ is a unique magic Dorothea taught me! It lets us share our vision with allies, so we can see the battle from different angles. It’s awesome. You two wanna see?”
Before I could answer, a high-angle view of the weapons depot flooded my mind. The battlefield, which should have been shrouded in fog, was crystal clear. The sight-share must cancel the fog’s effects as well. This was…
“The ‘White Smoke Lizards” ultimate trump card… a way to create a completely one-sided battle.”
“A powerful magic.”
The fog magic and the sight-share. The two of them, used together, allowed for this one-sided slaughter in a confined space.
“Awesome, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Buuut, since Dorothea kinda forced this magic into existence, it has downsides. The sight-share eats magic, and the fog… well, it actually blinds the caster, too, and messes with their vision.”
Those were major drawbacks, but the effect was undeniable. Just one person with this magic could elevate an entire organization’s combat strength. If this way of fighting became common, it would change the very nature of warfare.
“…With this, we can…”
“…We can fight.”
The high perch gave a view of the entire battle. It was unaffected by the fog. Therefore, we could unilaterally track the position of every enemy and ally.
“Haah!”
Princess Valtrune unleashed a spell forward.
“Ugah!”
“A direct hit… This is incredible.”
The disconnect in perspective—our viewpoint being so far from our bodies—would take getting used to, but the magic was extremely powerful.
…With this, I can go, too.
“Rune-sama. I’m moving in.”
“I’m with you!”
We moved past Dorothea on either side and entered the heart of the melee. We had been told to be the rear guard, but this was our chance to push, and we should take it. We slipped past our allies, taking the shortest route to the thickest concentration of enemies.
“Hey, wait! Even with the advantage, you’re going too deep—”
“We don’t need cover. Just follow Dorothea’s orders.”
“Tch… just two of them… Are they insane?”
The ‘Lizard’ tried to stop us, but it was pointless. Unlike them, who fought in tight, coordinated formations, we were a last-minute addition. Being near allies would just restrict our movements and keep us from fighting at our full potential.
“Al, left!”
“—!”
I swung my sword in the direction she pointed. It pierced an enemy’s heart, sending a gruesome spray of blood and gore.
“Rune-sama, behind you!”
“Right!”
The fireball she launched blasted several enemies at once. We were in the heart of the enemy line, no allies nearby, and certainly no hope of support.
“…Fufu. It’s been a while since we’ve done this.”
“It’s nothing compared to the old days.”
In this white, misty space, it was just the two of us, back-to-back. We parried countless attacks, striking back instantly. She unleashed spells in the openings my swordplay created.
The roar of explosions. Agonized cries and the weak moans of the dying, crawling on the ground for help.
We moved lightly over the blood-soaked ground, our strikes and her magic in perfect, deadly sync, without a fraction of a second’s delay.
“Hehe… What are those two? They’re… just too strong.”
“Aldia and Lady Valtrune… they’re moving as one.”
In this second life, we knew each other’s every move. We had, after all, guided the great war between the Kingdom and the Empire with our own hands.
“Al!”
“Rune-sama!”
The enemy numbers weren’t thinning, but their assault was definitely slowing.
Princess Valtrune’s transcendent magic turned them to ash, and my sharp blade pierced them.
“The Princess and her Knight… Their level is just… different. Alone, they’re destroyers. Together, a cataclysm… So that’s the ‘makings of a King.'”
Even under that sharp, appraising gaze, we continued to cut them down. We fought like that, lost in the battle, for over ten minutes. We’d killed dozens, but our pace never faltered. At this rate, we’d win. Easily.
A hope born in the white fog… But in the next instant, we learned just how fragile that hope was.
“Everyone, pull back! The fog is clearing!”
The shout came from Fadi, who was watching from above. Looking around, I could see the fog was much thinner than before.
“We’re pulling back.”
I took Valtrune’s hand, and we fell back from the front line.
“Tch. Out of gas.”
“Sorry. The sight-share just hit its limit.”
Both the fog and the mass sight-share consumed massive amounts of magic. As the fog vanished, the overhead view in my mind disappeared completely.
16
Fadi and Dorothea were out of magic. Which meant our huge advantage was gone.
“…Alright. How much did we even the odds?”
Dorothea, panting, wiped the sweat from her forehead and counted the remaining ‘Red Broad’ forces. A moment later, she let out a long sigh.
“Damn. We didn’t thin them out enough…”
“Looks like… there’s still about one-fifty. This is bad.”
“The original plan was to wipe out their numbers completely. That… failed.”
Dorothea ground her teeth, her eyes narrowing in regret.
They’d expected two hundred. ‘Red Broad’ had brought over three hundred. The fog strategy was sound, but it had been based on a fatal miscalculation of the enemy’s numbers.
“Lady Dorothea. We’ve lost four. And the scouts we posted outside haven’t returned… I’m assuming they’re all dead.”
“—!”
Our losses were small, but they were still losses. They had wanted a quick, decisive battle. Reality was not so kind.
“Rune-sama. From here on…”
“I know it’s dangerous… But we have no path of retreat, do we?”
I couldn’t deny it. The weapons depot was completely sealed. It was a trap set by the ‘White Smoke Lizards,’ and now it had become a noose, strangling its own creators.
“Is there a way to open the doors?”
I asked Dorothea, wanting an escape route, any escape route. But she just stared at the ground, clenching her trembling fist.
“…There’s one way. The magic breaks when I die.”
“Then—!”
“The only path left… is to fight against these overwhelming numbers. You understand. If you don’t want to die, then fight with all your strength.”
The ‘Red Broad’ forces were closing in. Slowly, they advanced, a shrinking circle, eating up the space within the depot.
There was no time to think. As I stared, my eyes wide, Dorothea roared at me.
“You knew this was a possibility, didn’t you!? Knight! If you don’t want your Princess to die, then kill all one-fifty of them! That’s your job! If you can’t… then die here with the rest of us!”
…That’s right. We knew the risks when we agreed to this.
It’s too late to think about running. I don’t need to taste the bitter sting of defeat. It doesn’t matter if it’s ugly or ‘un-knightly.’ I will cling to the victory that glitters before me. That is my duty.
“…Understood. But from now on… I’m taking charge.”
“Hmph. You’ve been the center of attention from the start. …Your fight is our lifeline. If you die, and the front line collapses… that’s the end for all of us.”
That was… a heavy responsibility. So many lives, all on my shoulders. A relentless battle where defeat is not an option. The pressure and tension were crushing. But…
“Aah. A total, exhausting war. Guess we gotta try…”
“…I refuse to die here. I can’t die until I see Mariana again!”
I had my comrades at my back. And right next to me, my strongest, noblest, and most beautiful liege.
“Al. Just like before… In fact, let’s aim to wipe them all out.”
My beloved Princess Valtrune was with me.
I closed my eyes, and I could hear our allies rallying around us.
“They won’t lay a finger on Lady Dorothea…!”
“We’re not losing to ‘Red Broad’!”
“Crush them!”
Our morale was high. The odds were low, but victory was still possible.
“…I’ll lead the vanguard.”
I gripped my black sword and glared at the roiling, vicious mass of enemies.
‘Red Broad’ was still pushing, stepping over the bodies of their own fallen, aiming to crush us with numbers. There were no obvious openings, but… I could see weak points in their formation.
“We’ll break them from the weakest flank.”
“Then I’ll be the decoy in the center!”
Fadi shot his hand up. Beside him, Flegel shook his soft, blond hair.
“Then I’ll provide magic support, so Fadi doesn’t die.”
“Right. Don’t overdo it, you two.”
The plan was set. We split up and began the charge.
Fadi’s decoy unit took the center. The right flank was a skeleton crew, just to hold them back. And the left… that was us. Our target. A wall of flesh and steel that promised only death. Our survival lay on the other side of that wall.
“All units, form up… GO!”
The warriors of ‘The White Smoke Lizards’ roared, and plunged into the kill zone. The clash of steel. The world shook.
“Kill them all! The ‘Lizards’ are finished!”
“Shut up! You’re the ones who are gonna die!”
“We will win!”
“We won’t lose!”
Blood sprayed. In an instant, so many lives, so many wills… extinguished.
We were splattered with blood, but no one cared. We were all focused on one thing… burning our lives in the heat of battle.
“Haah…!”
My sword tore through flesh.
“Fuh!”
Her magic flashed, ending them.
We pushed off the ground, flowing into the next move.
The Personal Knight of the Princess: Aldia Graetz.
The Imperial Princess of Valugan: Valtrune von Felsdorf.
Two souls, tossed by a cruel fate… now resisting that torrent with all their might.
“We will absolutely—!”
“We will, without fail—!”
“—Return to the capital alive!”
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