7DP 183.2
１８３． The Final Reckoning
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
R1: [1-3], R2[4-7]
Part 4
―― He startled immediately upon recalling his trainer.
「K-Kvirtal-san?」
Until now, there hadn’t been a moment to think.
What happened to everyone?
He turned around in a hurry.
And saw that part of the city had turned into a mountain of rubble, blue blood seeping into the ground.
「A... Aaa...!!」
Then he recalled the dream he had seen―― Right before he woke up a while ago.
Why was he so carefree in that dream? It was obviously an eerie dream no matter how he thought about it now.
And there was also the fact that―― His little brothers’ figures appeared in that dream.
「OKKE! SEYREY!」
He ran forward, screaming at the top of his lungs, calling the names of his little brothers, yet his feet came to a halt almost immediately.
――At first, he thought the ground had swallowed everything below the chest.
But he was wrong. There was nothing below his chest. Seyréy had been transformed into a bust, staring down with wide-open eyes.
「A-AAAAH!!!」
And not that far ahead, Okke lay with his upper body severed in the same manner, sinking into a pool of blood. A bit further, Kvirtal’s right and left halves were cleanly split apart.
This time, his legs finally gave out, and he collapsed on the ground, sitting helplessly.
「NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!」
Alvar struck the ground weakly as he raised a despaired wail. The dream he saw a while ago—it had been real. His younger brothers had been desperately telling him, “Don’t come this way!” all along…
「AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!」
By now, he had long forgotten any caution, tears and snot streaming freely, when suddenly, the sound of footsteps approached from behind.
When he turned around slowly, there stood the figure of Jilbagias, his neck and shoulders stained with his own blood.
「... Your Highness」
「... Everyone died.」
Jilbagias spoke faintly with a ghastly look, as if he too had died.
「Good job in surviving, Alvar.」
「... It's thanks to them.」
Alvar, weeping, held the still faintly warm half of Okke close to him.
「By chance… He stood before me… And because of that, I…」
―― Managed to minimize the killing power of that Sword Saint's sweep, albeit just a little bit.
「And... There's the charm from my big sister and mother....」
As he stroked Okke’s hair, he reached into his own chest. Even though Okke had acted as a shield, both of Alvar’s arms had been severed, yet his chest had only been deeply slashed, sparing him from the worst situation.
... As expected.
It was thanks to the handkerchief in his breast pocket, imbued with protective magic.
That handkerchief had already been torn apart, its magical power spent.
「This charm... Protected me...」
The handkerchief’s blessing had protected him to its bitter end… Barely sparing his torso from being severed.
「Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!」
The guilt of having survived at the cost of Okke’s life.
And yet, the relief of having somehow survived.
He felt a deep sense of gratitude toward his sister and mother.
It all came at once, leaving his mind in utter turmoil.
「Is Kvirtal-san... And everyone else also... Dead?」
「... Yes.」
「... I see.」
The harsh days of training flashed through his mind, and his chest tightened with a familiar ache. Kvirtal, and his subordinates too—at first, their polished elitism grated on him—but their skill was the real deal, and despite his grumblings, they taught him so much; in fact, they were fine, even admirable, mentors…
「DAMMIT!」
Alvar punched the ground again in frustration, however――
Kvirtal's caution replayed in his mind 『On the battlefield, a single moment of carelessness can be fatal. So never let your guard down, no matter the circumstance.』.
I can’t afford to brood over it forever.
There will be time enough to mourn once we’ve returned.
Alvar rubbed at his tears and forced a smile onto his face.
「…But Your Highness, I’m glad you’re sa――」
A sudden, crushing impact hit his chest.
Looking down, he saw a blade protruding from his own left chest.
「... Eh?」
An ambush? Are there still enemies?
Oh no, I’ve to counter immediately.
Yet, astonishingly, he couldn’t summon any more strength.
With a slurrrp, the blade slid free—and Alvar's body collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Able only to move his eyes, he caught sight of the night sky, the moon set against it—
…and towering above, looking down on him, was Jilbagias.
In his hand, he held a sword, slick with blue blood.
「Your... Highness?」
――Those were his final words, and with them, Alvar fell still.
His face remained frozen in utter disbelief.
His eyes no longer reflected anything at all――
†††
「...」
An eerie silence fell on the battlefield, Jilbagias turning his back on Alvar.
One step at a time, each step set with deliberate weight.
What he lifted was—a severed head, its hair black as midnight.
「...」
A face twisted in anguish and regret—lifeless now, yet its eyes still glistened with unshed tears.
Surely, her end had been steeped in bitter regret. One needed only to look to sense it beyond all doubt――
「...」
Still cradling the woman’s severed head, Jilbagias slowly forced his way into a nearby house.
Darkness. Silence. No trace of human presence—yet…
「【――Taboo to Silence】 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA――」
He spread a field of magic wide enough to envelop the entire house, letting out a faint murmur as he strained his ears to listen.
It was reconnaissance, confirming, beyond doubt, that no one lurked within the house.
「...」
He set the woman’s severed head upon the nearby table.
A shiver rippled through the air as the Demon Prince unleashed a ghastly surge of magical power of darkness.
「【Aorat Teihos Po Horizui Ton Kozumo, Anixite――】」
Resonant and unyielding, he chanted the incantation, a spell to pierce a hole through the very boundary of the world.
The gate to the spirit realm opened up before Jilbagias.
「【Come, Kvirtal Reiju】」
He spoke the name. A viscous hand of magic slipped into the gate of the spirit realm.
A soul summoned forth from beyond the gate along with an eerie wail.
『... Where is this? What happened to me... Your Highness!?』
A soul of shadowed hue, a demon’s essence, gazed in stunned bewilderment upon Jilbagias.
『What… what has befallen me? What has become... Of me?』
Yet to that trembling question, Jilbagias gave no reply.
Instead, he raised his dull holy sword, holding it before their eyes.
「【Wake Up, Adamas】」
His remark was followed by a moment of silence.
The holy sword let out a quiet hum, as though it stirred of its own accord.
It flared with a dazzling brilliance, as though dawn itself had broken, and reclaimed its true and noble form.
『This brilliance!? Your Highness, what happened here!?』
Kvirtal's soul instinctively recoiled in fear, drifting backward. Yet Jilbagias’s magical power of darkness coiled around it like chains, ensnaring, unyielding, granting no escape.
『What is this!? What in the abyss is happening!? Answer me just what are y—!』
Jilbagias gave no answer to the shrieking soul of Kvirtal—only silence, cold and unyielding.
Jilbagias swung the holy sword down without hesitation.
『――GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!』
Enveloped in silver flames, the soul writhed in agony, its death throes echoing in a final, desperate scream.
Jilbagias struck again without a moment’s delay, and the soul, no longer even able to cry out, shattered into countless fragments.
And finally, the soul...
Completely obliterated in the truest sense.
「【Come, Seyrey Night Reiju】」
Again, Jilbagias spoke the words, his tone grave but steady.
『…Huh? Y-Your Highness? Eh? Why am I--』
Slash.
『Aaaahhh! Eh, eh?! What!? It hurts—help me, Your Highne-ss!』
Slash.
――Annihilated.
「【Come, Okke Night Reiju】」
That ritual unfolded with quiet, unflinching precision.
Relentless, mechanical, and merciless.
「【Come, Tristan Reiju】」
「【Come, Aslios Reiju】」
「【Come―― Come――】」
The demons who were once his subordinates, those who were once his comrades.
He summoned their souls, one after another, and annihilated them.
And then, after he annihilated seven souls in total, the last soul he summoned was――
「【Come, Alvar Auril Reiju】」
Finally, the time had come for him to face the person killed by his own hand.
「Your... Highness」
The young demon, dragged forth from the gate of the spirit realm,
『Why... Tell me why, Your Highness!?』
―― Jilbagias kept his silence.
Instead, he raised the holy sword in his hands overhead.
『TELL ME WHYYYYYYYYY!!』
The young demon's soul raised a bitter cry――
And then was chopped in half by the silvery blade.
『Tell... m=Me... W』
With a rasping sigh, his soul shattered and faded into nothingness.
「... Why you ask?」
Only then did Jilbagias reply with a parched voice.
「... Because everyone is dead.」
After muttering those words, he cast his gaze upon the woman’s head resting upon the desk.
―― And just like that, opened up the gate of the spirit realm again.
「【Come...」
Jilbagias was about to say "Barbara", but he stopped right at the last moment.
His ears caught the sound of clashing swords from afar, which elevated his vigilance again.
It was not near, yet neither was it truly far.
「……【Sleep, Adamas】」
Jilbagias sealed the radiant glow of the holy sword while closing the gate of the spirit realm at the same time.
Once more, he fixed his gaze upon the woman’s head resting upon the desk.
Her eyes were wide open, still glistening with moisture from her tears.
Gently, he closed her eyelids—and wiped a single tear tracing down her cheek.
Is it anger? Sorrow? Or maybe a lament?
Well, knowing her... It must be vexation.
「... I'll come for you later.」
Jilbagias turned around after he spoke.
He adjusted his helmet and wiped the blood from his neck.
Though the wound had fully healed, a scar remained—vivid proof of the corruption inflicted by the holy attribute.
When he stepped out of the house, the sky was blazed red.
Naturally, it was not a breaking dawn. It was because several of the fortresses were set ablaze, the flames licking the sky.
The barrier formed by the 【Great Sacred Tree】 flickered one by one before vanishing.
―― Yes.
This was a battlefield.
The battle in the royal capital Evaloti had only just begun.
And Jilbagias' duty,
―― Had yet to end.