Chapter 210: The search, part 3
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Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama
We manoeuvred our way through the dark streets, weaving in between the shadows and avoiding the gentle moonbeams that illuminated the ground in patches. Before long, we reached the rear entrance that we had been aiming for. It was only guarded by two sleepy sentries — a fact which I already knew, for I had sent a ‘Shadow’ to scout the path.
I activated ‘Faint Shadow’, snuck up to the sentries and put them to sleep with a swift karate chop to their necks. Sleep well, I thought, finding a foothold on the outer wall of the mansion. I scaled it with ease and landed on the other side. Making sure that the coast was clear, I opened the door for the others.
I took the lead. We had left Almeria at the main entrance to do what she did best — being loud. Very loud.
「El –! Come out! Now –!」
A commotion came from within Elvi’s mansion, and I knew that their attention had been successfully diverted towards where Almeria was. The princess really stood out just by existing.
「Hey, this Heroine’s noisy as heck!」
「You’d think that she’d act more like a princess.」
Rodje and Dee finally entered through the door that I had opened.
「Her noisiness is exactly what we need. She has their attention.」
「Using the Heroine to create a diversion. You’re like an evil genius, Roland-sama～」
Despite saying what seemed like an insult, the vampire was fascinated by my actions.
「Protecting Lylael-sama is our top priority, human.」
「I wish she made our job easier.」
「We still have to do it regardless! Show some resolve!」
I know, I said to calm the snorting elf down. It was probably rather rare for the Heroine to visit. The guards stationed throughout the mansion, despite not having left their positions, were distracted nonetheless. It allowed me to sneak inside with ease.
I activated my skill once again, silencing each guard I saw to minimise the risk of being caught. One guard, two guards, three… my two allies entered once I had cleared the way.
「…Now that’s a fast game.」
「As expected of Roland-sama.」
「Cut the idle chatter.」
The two of them together somehow dissipated any nervousness I had been feeling. We dampened our presences, sneaking down the corridor and towards the drawing-room.
「We’re here.」
We stopped before the door, and Rodje immediately placed her hand on the doorknob.
「Oi, this could be a trap –」
It was too late. The impulsive elf already had one foot in the room.
「Lylael-sama! I, Rodje Sandsong, have arrived to receive y –」
「Get back, Roland-sama!」
I threw myself backwards the moment Dee spoke. No sooner than I detected magicka in the air, a magic circle unfolded around us.
「Huh? Wait, what –!?」
The elf was unable to finish her sentence before disappearing into thin air.
「‘Trick Room’」, said Dee. 「It’s an extremely advanced, first-order spell that transports the victim to another plane of existence. Lylael-sama’s the only person who can use it as far as I know.」
I had seen it before, albeit only from afar. It had engulfed an entire division, leaving nothing behind.
「Fufufu… she’s really keen on leaving us behind, isn’t she? Fufufu…」
Dee, though vulnerable, was desperately trying to hold back her laughter.
「The victim will come back if the user dispels it」, she continued.
「She really isn’t making it easy for us.」
「True!」
Protecting a cat that had run away from its owner was by no means an easy feat. We entered the room with caution to find that there were no more traps — only Elvi and Lyla waiting inside.
「So you came, Roland」, said the former, making no attempt to sugarcoat her words. 「We wouldn’t have had to resort to stuff like this if you hadn’t.」
「Ara-ara, maa-maa. Listen to the powerless canary chirp. How annoying.」
The vampire summoned her bloodsucking spear, which appeared with a grating noise.
「A vampire… you’re well acquainted with the demonfolk, aren’t you now?」
「To judge others based on their race and not their individual character… your views as a knight have really changed.」
Elvi’s expression remained unchanged. It was her typical reaction when her patience was being thoroughly tested.
「What made you do this, Lyla?」
「Did you go through me before deciding what to do about the whole Aimeé business?」
She’s right, I thought. I had expected her to tell me something, anything about her intentions, and I realised that she had probably felt the same way back then. Lyla stamped her foot on the ground, and the surroundings changed abruptly to a wilderness that stretched for miles and miles.
「The drawing-room’s pretty cramped.」
「How about you return with Roland-sama?」, ventured Dee. 「I like it better when the two of you are together.」
「I’m sorry, Dee.」
「What are you going to do, Elvi?」
「…The Demon King wants to be punished. She told me that her conscience had been eating away at her — that she could not forgive herself for her crimes. Look, I don’t want to fight you, okay? Leave us be, for the greater good.」
「I refuse.」
I knew that we would never come to an agreement at this rate. At that moment, I did not care about what Lyla thought. All I wanted was to reclaim her no matter what.
「I will take her with me」, I said. 「Just try and stop me.」
Dee readied her spear, and Elvi drew her sword.
Magicka emanated from Elvi’s sword in waves like ripples forming on water. So that’s the ‘different’ sword that Almeria had been talking about, I thought. Her usual sword was forged out of sturdy steel, while this one was undoubtedly one of many varieties of magic swords.
The magicka continued to radiate, growing ever stronger. It was said that when a human surpasses the intrinsic limit to their magicka, omniscience was granted to them.
「Beware of that sword, Roland-sama.」
「Ah. I’ll leave Lyla to you, Dee.」
「I don’t think I’m up to the task.」
「Nope, I think it’ll be a good fight.」
「Ara-ara, maa-maa. You believe in me? That makes me happy.」
Not really — my intuition had told me that something was off. Granted, the ‘Lyla’ in front of us was a female demon who looked and spoke like Lyla. But I had a hunch that it was something, or someone, masquerading as Lyla.
I hoped that I was right.
「I’ll say it once more, Roland. Give it up.」
「You can say it as many times as you like. What did I tell you about fighting?」
「If I have the strength to fight, then I should use it all on protecting my friends?」
「If you truly remember, then show me through your actions.」
All Elvi had with her was her magic sword. Her usual large shield was not with her, possibly because she had been in a rush to meet our sudden infiltration.
「Shall we, then, Lylael-sama?」
「Never thought a day on which I have to fight you would come.」
Dee clutched her spear and charged straight towards her master, who leapt backwards and dodged the attack. Lyla then fashioned a sword out of pure magicka and parried the next jab. Since she knew how her master fought, all of Dee’s attacks were the best against her — multiple attacks in quick succession. She was hoping that Lyla had no time to channel her spells.
She won’t be able to keep it up forever, though.
「Has your arm fully recovered, Roland?」
「I am stronger than you think. You will not have time to regret picking a fight with me.」
If there was anything to worry about, it was the sword she held. There must be a reason why she had forgone the usual preparations about which I had nagged so much.
The sword glowed even more strongly than before.
Elvi’s skill was ‘Impregnable Fortress’. It was a unique skill that exponentiated the user’s defense while attracting all the attacks within its radius. Anyone who knew how her skill worked would first and foremost focus on defending themselves. In that sense, ‘Impregnable Fortress’ was easy to use to the user’s advantage — there were few drawbacks even if the opponent knew her skill well.
Had she had her shield, she would have been able to make the most of her skill.
「I believe in justice, and I will carry it out.」
「The weak have no right to preach.」
I sensed that she had activated her skill the moment I moved. The battle between Dee and Lyla disappeared from the corner of my vision, and the surroundings became foggy. Elvi was all I could see in high definition.
It’s my first time being used as a test subject, I thought. Wish I had more say in my participation.
Elvi swung her sword downwards with a whoosh, its alacrity proof of her rigorous training. I dodged it with ease, of course, activating my skill as I did so. Though she lost sight of me immediately, she whirled around and swiped at the space behind her.
It was a move performed by someone familiar with my style. I’ll give her credit for that. Unfortunately for her, I knew that she knew, and thus avoided using all my usual tricks.
It was already too late when she realised that I had attacked from the front.
My fist sunk into the one part of her body unprotected by armor.
「Uguh…!?」
She grimaced, but recovered quickly. I activated ‘Faint Shadow’ as she brought her sword down on me again, pinching the spare sword that she had hanging by her waist.
「Don’t mind me.」
「Behind!?」
What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? I purposely swung at her knee to eliminate any risk of dealing a fatal blow. Though the kneecaps were typically more brittle than the rest of one’s body, Elvi’s in particular still felt like granite, sending shockwaves through my arm when I made contact.
「Hey –!」
「My legendary skill is different from yours.」
Elvi pointed her sword at the space between my eyes. It crackled with raw magicka, leaving trace amounts of magical dust in the air.
…What is she planning to do?
I knew that she was channeling magicka into her sword — more than she had ever done.
「I don’t want to kill you. Please, dodge it –!」
She swung downwards once again. Powerful waves of magicka were released from her sword as if all of it had been discharged at once. A platinum-coloured beam of it came zigzagging towards me, but I was able to sidestep it with ease. I mean, it’s not like she had created an opening or anything, so there was no way the grandiose attack could have landed.
「How do you like the taste of Horus?」
That’s the name of the sword?
「That magicka isn’t yours alone」, I observed.
I thought about it for a moment, and realised the source of her excess magicka.
Lyla.
Some of the magicka belonged to Elvi, Dee and myself, but most of it belonged to Lyla.
「So it absorbs and releases magicka.」
It was truly a magic sword. But where could she have gotten something like that? I now understood why she had discarded my teachings, and how she had gained the confidence that she could keep Lyla in check on her own.
A massive chasm opened up in the ‘floor’ of the hyperspace that Lyla had created. Dazzling rays of magicka appeared, feeding the sword that was once again accumulating power. It didn’t feel as powerful as before during this dormant phase.
「An interesting plaything it is.」
Panting, the Holy Knight remained silent.
「But I, too, have a weapon you know nothing about.」
I activated ‘Faint Shadow’ and launched my magicka-powered fist in her direction. Even if she had no idea what it was, her instinct had told her that something was coming her way and she raised her sword to cleave it in two.
Just before her sword made contact with my fist, the latter shattered into a myriad pieces, bombarding Elvi with a magical hail.
「So it can fire grapeshot too.」
「W-What was that…!?」
Since her defense had been greatly heightened, she took almost no damage. But I now knew that I had grapeshot in my arsenal — not the most powerful of attacks, but very practical indeed. I took the opportunity to sneak up behind her while she was still cowering. It was only a moment’s weakness, but it was more than enough for me.
If she’s impervious to physical attacks…
I wrapped my arm around her neck and hoisted her upwards.
「Guh…」
She flailed for a while, then slipped into unconsciousness. The effects of her skill were dispelled, allowing me to see how Dee was faring against Lyla.
「Roland-sama.」
Dee looked at me uneasily. Next to her was… something. It resembled a human that had been slow cooked for hours on end. The wilderness around us disappeared, and we found ourselves back in the drawing-room. An unconscious Rodje was lying in the doorway.
「Lylael-sama melted like a block of ice just before that blinding beam of light appeared.」
I glanced at Elvi’s magic sword.
「I think that sword absorbs the magicka around it」, I said. 「It then releases the accumulated magicka as a beam of light.」
「Now that you mention it… I did feel less of my magicka than usual. But I’m still intact, though?」
「Maybe she melted because her form was incomplete.」
My hunch had been correct.
Someone had created a fake copy of Lyla — and I was sure of it, because it had happened to me too.
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