Volume 8
Chapter 47
The storm of fresh blood was torn apart by a swarm of black and silver arrows. Irisdina, catching Vitora in the range of her rapier, unhesitatingly swung the magically enhanced blade.
"Tch!"
Vitora blocked the
slash with a blade of her own, but Irisdina's rapier instantly tore through the
blood-red blade and flashed, carving a thin wound across the Vampire Princess's chest.
"Too
shallow!"
"You!"
Vitora, panicked by
the closing of the distance, recklessly drew out her elemental essence. She slammed it into Irisdina at point-blank
range and leaped back with all her might. This panic was something she hadn't
shown before. The lingering desire, born from knowing satisfaction, and the
heretical nature of Irisdina, who unilaterally nullified her power. It reminded
her of the death she might face again, bringing Vitora her first taste of
desperation.
"How disgusting!
What is this unpleasant feeling!?"
Vitora raised her
right hand high, creating a giant, crimson sphere of light. The sphere, as if
representing her panic, swelled in an instant—large enough to swallow the
entire leveled grounds of the Francilt mansion.
"Mph!"
But a black and silver
spear, fired from the swirling dust, pierced the crimson sphere, dissipating
it. It was the mid-level magic, 『Abyssal Javelin』. But at the fact that
a spirit's technique was erased by a mere mid-level spell, even more panic was
etched onto Vitora's face.
"Yes... my power and
deployment speed are leagues above what they were. But to think this is the
influence of your blood... it makes things a bit complicated."
"You..."
"Oh? Is it wise
to focus only on me?"
The next moment, an
intense chill ran down Vitora's spine. She reflexively leaped. The instant she
did, a five-colored blade, flying like a flash of light, lopped off both her
legs.
"Guh!?"
Wincing at the searing
pain, she looked in the direction the slash had come from. She saw Nozomu, his
blade at the ready, dashing toward her. He had circled around, avoiding the
barrage, and retrieved his katana.
"Tch! Don't come
near me!"
"I won't let
you!"
Vitora tried to deploy
multiple 『Thin Robe of the
Absolute Ice Demon』 to strike him. But
Irisdina's barrier protected Nozomu, blocking the assault. It was a flimsy
barrier compared to Vitora's magic. And yet, the 『Thin Robe of the Absolute Ice Demon』 could not break through. A stalemate of a few
seconds. In that time, Nozomu, having sheathed his blade, unleashed a
draw-slash.
"Hah!"
The blade flew and
exploded as it was drawn. 『Dust Severance』 tore through the 『Thin Robe of the Absolute Ice Demon』 and the magic barrier, gouging a huge chunk out of
Vitora's body. Vitora, split in two from shoulder to side, stared in shock.
"Gah!? What...
that technique wasn't that powerful before!"
"Yeah. A single 『Dust Severance』 wasn't enough, so I copied Iris's technique and layered ten of
them."
A mere few seconds,
but those few seconds made all the difference. Nozomu had always been able to
unleash techniques like 『Phantom』 in half a second.
With a few seconds, it wasn't impossible for him to layer multiple 『Dust Severance』. Before, he hadn't even had those few seconds. But with Irisdina
joining the fight, he could now create a "charge" time for his
attacks.
"Hah!"
While Vitora
regenerated, Nozomu closed the distance, his fist filled with elemental essence. She reflexively
raised her hand, catching his punch.
"Guh..."
The elemental essence of the Vampire Princess and the Dragon King of Destruction clashed. As
sparks flew, a certainty grew in Nozomu's mind.
"You... You can't
channel my elemental essence into the
Dragon Vein right now, can you?"
"!"
At his words, Vitora's
eyes wavered. She held immense power, but she was a new-born spirit. It was
hard to say she had full control.
(More than that...
ever since I was hit by that silver-haired girl's magic, I can't use my powers
properly. That girl... is she not just nullifying my elemental essence, but my abilities...?)
"Uuooooooh!"
"Guuuuh!?"
Nozomu, seeing her
waver, pushed even more power. The sudden pressure sent Vitora flying, creating
a huge opening. Seeing this, Nozomu lowered his stance, sheathing his blade.
That chill again. Vitora reflexively looked to the sky. Her elemental essence, reacting to her
thoughts, formed ice pillars that attacked Nozomu from his blind spot.
"Nozomu, above
you!"
"!"
Nozomu reacted to
Irisdina's shout, leaping back. The ice pillars pierced the ground.
"Tch! No more
holding back!"
A Dragonslayer with the power of 'destruction,' and a girl who sealed
her power and abilities. Vitora, judging that half-measures were pointless,
began to convert her entire existence into an attack.
(I must not let them
coordinate. I must close the distance. Considering she can nullify it, rather
than a wide-area attack, a single point-piercing attack, with imperceptible
speed, like Nozomu's, is best.)
Her "Thin Robes"
had been nullified. A wide-area attack would be ineffective. It was clear
Irisdina's ability would just diminish its power.
"Haaaaah..."
The elemental essence in the air, the elemental essence from the Dragon Vein, and the elemental essence of her own body and
soul... she gathered it all, converging it. Vitora's human form collapsed,
becoming a single, blood-colored ice spear. She was no longer a body of flesh.
As a spirit, she could change her form at will. The ice spear was far too large
for a human to hold. It was the length of six men. Its massive tip and barbed
shaft were sinisterly beautiful, a form specialized purely for penetration. Its
tip turned toward Irisdina.
"!"
Zero to max speed in
an instant. Irisdina reflexively threw up a barrier, but the spear, breaking
through the elemental disadvantage with brute force, pierced toward her heart.
"Iris!"
Nozomu dove in from
the side and pushed her down. The spear, having narrowly missed its mark,
instantly pierced the City Isolation Barrier
and soared high into the sky. It then turned its tip and charged once again at them.
"Dammit!"
"Kyah!"
Nozomu, carrying
Irisdina, leaped. The spear slammed into the ground, causing a localized
earthquake. It changed direction underground and charged again.
"You
bastard!"
Nozomu cursed, dodging
the spear that was tearing through the ground. Vitora, bursting into the air,
vanished into the sky. She would, no doubt, attack from above again. And, as
expected, she came at them from the side, skimming the ground. He reflexively
tried to parry, but her speed was too great. His blade was swatted away.
"Nozomu, put me
down!"
"Guh! Iris,
sorry!"
He put her down and
swung with both hands, but was still repelled.
"Kuh..."
Irisdina fired magic
bullets, but they missed. The speed difference was too great. She was fast
enough to leave even massless magic bullets behind.
"Dammit, this is
bad. She's getting faster."
With each charge, the
ice spear's speed increased. Vitora's tactic was the same as Nozomu's: a
single-point breakthrough. Perhaps because she'd focused all her gushing power,
the spear's intensity was now enough to repel even Nozomu's blade. On top of
that, she was attacking from outside his range of vision. For Nozomu and Irisdina,
who specialized in close-to-mid-range combat, this was a nightmare.
"Guh!"
"Kyah..."
Vitora, accelerating
further, was now wreathed in a shockwave. The spear, flying at imperceptible
speeds, pierced and shattered everything in its path. Nozomu and Irisdina kept
moving, avoiding a direct hit, but they were gradually being worn down by the
rain of debris. At this rate, they'd be ground down. Nozomu, deciding this,
leaped to Irisdina's side. Standing back-to-back, he spoke.
"Iris. I'll stop
her charge. You... hit her with your strongest attack."
Nozomu sheathed his
blade. Irisdina, guessing what he was about to do, raised her voice.
"Wait! Even for
you, it's impossible to catch something moving that fast!"
"But you can't
catch it with magic, right? And the spear itself... it's getting thinner,
longer..."
It was true. Vitora
was already moving too fast for Irisdina's naked eye. None of her spells could
restrain an object moving at that speed. On top of that, the spear's thickness,
which had been as wide as an arm, had been compressed to the width of a
fingertip. A hyper-dense spear, attacking from an unseen distance, in the blink
of an eye. It had only been missing because they were moving. To stop and face
it... it seemed impossible.
"It's true... my
magic can't... Wait. You can see the spear?"
"Just... the
outline. Barely..."
"You're as
abnormal as ever..."
The spear, which was
just a flicker of light to her, he could "somehow" see. Irisdina
sighed. A strange, relaxed air, unfitting for a battlefield, flowed between
them.
"But... I'm
happy. To be able to watch your back like this."
"What are you
saying, at a time like...?"
"It's just... I
was always either being protected by you, or protecting you. This feels...
new."
His heart thumped. It
was true. He had almost never fought with her. A warmth spread from his back.
His spirits lifted, and his vision widened.
"Are you two
okay?"
"That
voice..."
"Shina-kun?"
At that moment,
Shina's voice flowed into his ear, like a gentle breeze. A small, green spirit
was floating by his ear, glowing faintly. It seemed that, thanks to Vitora
recalling all her elemental essence,
the spirits Shina had contracted with could now reach this place.
"I'll have the
spirits track her. I'll tell you the timing and direction."
"...Got it. I'm
counting on you."
"Leave it to
me."
Immediately, a flash,
like a shooting star, ran through the night sky.
"She's coming!
Your left, 60 degrees! Elevation 80! Almost right above you!"
"Kuh!"
"Hah!"
The crimson spear,
trailing a tail of light, charged from above. The instant Nozomu and Irisdina
leaped away, it pierced the ground with a roar. The spear reversed direction
underground and shot back into the sky. And then, it charged again.
"She's coming
from right behind you, Nozomu-kun! Skimming the ground!"
"Bastard!"
With Shina's help,
they had a bit more breathing room, but it wasn't enough. Vitora was getting
used to it. Her accuracy was increasing. And then, after a few more passes, she
shot high into the sky, accelerating even more, drawing a spiral.
"She's
accelerating in a high orbit. How fast is she going to... Even the wind spirits
can't keep up."
The ice spear
continued to accelerate, circling. Eventually, Vitora flew out of Shina's
detection range.
"Tch! She's out
of range!"
"Dammit, what
now!?"
"I'll expand the
detection range as far as it can go! But the accuracy...!"
"It's fine! I'm
used to it. As long as I know the direction and timing, I can handle the
rest!"
"...Got it. Don't
you die."
"Mmph. You two
are a little close."
"You're
physically closer to her, so it's fine. More importantly... she's coming!"
Nozomu and Irisdina
stood back-to-back again, readied their weapons, and quietly honed their
blades. Black and silver magic power layered enhancement spells, and
five-colored elemental essence was
layered over 『Mumei』. Irisdina also wreathed her rapier in black-silver
magic power, casting dozens of enhancements in an instant. One second, two
seconds... The scent of clear air drifted by, and only the sound of the wind
rustling echoed in their ears. It was a moment of tranquility. Despite the
situation where a deadly blade would be upon them in a few instants, the hearts
of the two were naturally calm, like a becalmed sea.
"She's here!
Irisdina-san's right, 3 o'clock! Three seconds!"
"!"
Nozomu moved. In that
instant, he poured every last drop of his concentration. The world... stopped.
One second. In a gray world, a single, high-speed, crimson dot... was clearly
visible.
"Fuuuuu!"
Two seconds. He
stepped to Irisdina's side, planted his right foot, and hyper-enhanced his
muscles. Three seconds. He drew his blade. His muscles and enhancements, in
perfect sync, he unleashed the 『Phantom』-layered blade.
『Phantom Flash 』
The ultimate strike of
the awakened Dragonslayer... clashed
with Vitora's supersonic spear.
"!"
"Guuuuuuuh!"
An impact so great as
if every bone in his body would break ran through Nozomu's entire frame. Simultaneously,
the shockwave tore up the ground. The crimson tip... and the five-colored
ultimate blade were holding each
other in check. A sense of astonishment leaked from the ice spear. She likely
never imagined she could be blocked head-on. Or perhaps she was subconsciously
trying not to think that way. In any case, that very turmoil would bring about
the conclusion of this battle.
"It's
over..."
Irisdina, leaping over
Nozomu, raised her blade.
『Magic Sword: Lunar Eclipse Night』
Her trump card, magic
sword layered with enhancement magic. The blade, woven with countless strands
of black-silver magic power, swung down, and shattered the crimson spear's
hyper-thin shaft into four pieces.
"Gah!?"
"Fuuuuu!"
A pained groan. The 『Phantom Flash』, its resistance gone, tore through the spear. The shattered spear
dissolved... and Vitora appeared. She was no longer a spirit. Her crimson skin
had returned to white. Her body of elemental
essence... was now a body of flesh.
"I...
lose..."
"Her spirit form...
is broken?"
"Yes. It's
because of the Francilt's daughter... Irisdina's power. I...
can't move a finger."
Vitora, collapsed on
her back, couldn't move. She was physically unharmed, but her magic was
abnormally weak. Like a person long sick in bed.
"Now... kill me.
And it will be over."
Vitora looked at
Nozomu and Irisdina and smiled, satisfied, telling them to kill her. Irisdina
slowly pressed "Lunar Eclipse Night" to Vitora's chest... but then dispelled
the magic and sheathed her blade.
"You won't kill
me?"
"Your original
'pretext' for coming here... was to establish relations with the Francilt
family, and by extension, the Kingdom of Forsina. You will... fulfill that
duty."
The establishment of
relations. Irisdina was forcing her to honor the agreement.
"Right. And...
you destroyed this much of the city. You're going to have to take
responsibility for that, too. We're going to fleece you for all you're
worth."
And they wouldn't forget
to bill her for the things she broke. Including emotional damages, they intended
to forcibly take as much as possible from her.
"...Very well. It
is the victor's right. I will accept... all your terms. And, Nozomu Bountis.
What do you wish of me?"
Vitora, having
accepted Irisdina's terms, turned to Nozomu. Her eyes smoldered... with a heat
of expectation.
"Me? I don't
really..."
"Nozomu, that's
not right. This victory... is without a doubt, thanks to you. And you were the
one most inconvenienced. You should demand suitable compensation."
Irisdina, though
suspicious of Vitora's gaze, stopped Nozomu from declining. She liked his innocent
nature, but... she wanted him to accept a reward. Above all, Vitora prioritized
her own desires and forced unnecessary hardship upon Nozomu. Her way of thinking
was that she should properly make amends for her actions.
"Even if you say
that... Then... I want you to become one of my 'backers.' When I need it... I
want you to lend me your strength."
At first glance, it
was a perfectly ordinary request. But for Nozomu, it was the best, most
convenient one. This was because the content of the compensation was wide open
and could be taken as an utterly outrageous demand, as neither the details nor
the limits had been specified. Nevertheless, as far as he was concerned, it
would serve as a 'pretext' for the outside world and a good excuse for those
who had suffered various damages due to this incident. Furthermore, Nozomu's
identity as a Dragonslayer was
completely exposed because of this affair. It was a request he made based on
the belief that he needed to gather every kind of power to protect himself and
the important people around him. Vitora, however, upon hearing Nozomu's
request, wore a somewhat astonished expression.
"...Are you
serious? You would seek the backing of us vampires?"
"My identity as a
Dragonslayer will become public
knowledge now anyway... Besides, Iris and the others will continue to be
involved with you all from now on, won't they? If so... it's not a bad thing
for me to continue holding influence over you all. Right?"
"Even so, there should
be a slightly different way to make that request..."
"I... have the
least political power here. I have my limits."
Nozomu... tried to
look imposing. Vitora thought for a moment... then gave a small nod.
"Very well.
Besides what Irisdina Francilt has asked... I shall support you... with
everything I have."
"Huh? No, I don't
need everything. Just a little help when I need it..."
"What are you
saying? You need political power, do you not? Then I must show this level of
magnanimity. If it's known you defeated me, no fool will dare lay a hand on
you. Am I wrong?"
However, an
unexpectedly heavy remark was casually returned, and Nozomu's thin veneer of
confidence was easily stripped away. Beside him, Irisdina was staring at the
collapsed Vitora with half-lidded stare. stare. That gaze was filled with a
certain skepticism. While a strangely tepid atmosphere hung in the air despite
the fight being over, the City Isolation
Barrier began to dissipate. Then, Shina, who had been supporting them from
the rear with the spirits, as well as Mars and the others, and Rugato, who had
witnessed the conclusion, rushed over.
"Nozomu-kun!
Irisdina-san! Are you okay!?"
"Ane-sama! Are
you alright!?"
"You guys! You
scared us to death!"
Shina ran to Nozomu,
and Somia to Irisdina. And Mars spread his arms, pulling all four into a group
hug. Victor, Mena, and Lisa... watched from a short distance.
"Mistress... are
you unharmed?"
Meanwhile, Rugato ran
to Vitora. He looked tense as he lifted his mistress, but seeing she was safe,
he smiled in relief.
"Pardon me."
Rugato drew a circle,
creating an umbrella of darkness. The sun was beginning to rise. Sunlight is
poison to a vampire. Normally, it wouldn't matter... but she was completely
weakened.
"Ah... my
apologies, Rugato. I am in your care."
"No... serving
you is my mission. ...You've grown."
The butler, who had
served her for so long... must have had his own thoughts. He whispered, his
voice quiet, but filled with emotion, for her alone. At her only retainer's
words, Vitora smiled, somewhat bashfully.
"Are you...
satisfied?"
"...No. Not yet.
Because now... there is something I want, desperately."
Rugato followed her
gaze, and quietly closed his eyes. Unlike the smile he had shown earlier, he
was smiling with a sigh, a very meaningful smile.
"I see..."
"Well, I will
endure for now. My body won't move, and... I have things I must do."
Staring at the Dragonslayer, the Swordsman of the Dragon Chain, Vitora turned her gaze to the
northern sky.
"Ai!
Everyone!"
In the midst of this,
Tima and Jihad arrived with a large number of soldiers. Tima threw her arms
around the silver-haired Irisdina, overjoyed she was safe. Jihad glanced at
them, then led his soldiers to surround Vitora.
"Lady Vitora. We
are taking you into custody. You understand the reason, yes?"
"Playing the
victor, are we? I lost to the Dragonslayer
and the Daughter of Dawn. Not to
you."
Vitora grinned, a
belligerent smile. The soldiers flinched. Even exhausted... this was the
monster who had almost leveled Arcazam. Even wounded, she was a terrifying
presence. In fact, even Jihad... had a light sweat on his brow.
"Why don't you
leave it at that?"
"Hey. Have you
forgotten our contract?"
In the midst of
this... voices cut through. The ones who spoke... were Nozomu and Irisdina.
"I know. I was
just teasing. For now... I will quietly become your prisoner."
She closed her eyes
and fell asleep. Rugato, still holding the umbrella, lifted his mistress and
bowed to Nozomu and Irisdina. And then, he was led away by Jihad and the
others. Nozomu and Irisdina watched them go. The tension... finally receded,
like the tide. The white chains on Nozomu's body vanished. And Irisdina's
silver hair... slowly returned to its original, glossy black.
"Iris, your
hair..."
"My magic power
must have returned. How is it?"
She scooped up her
hair, which had returned to its original color, showing him.
"It's beautiful.
The silver was beautiful, too. But... black suits you best."
At his honest words,
Irisdina blushed, and smiled. A full, radiant smile. Nozomu, caught by her
smile, felt his heart lighten, and he smiled back. Her white hair... had been a
thorn in his heart. His guilt... his immaturity... It all melted away, like
ice. He looked up. The morning sun was fully risen.
"It's... finally
over..."
"Yes. But for you
and me... there is still much left to do."
Nozomu, who had
effectively become public knowledge as a Dragonslayer.
He would have to explain and prove his future course of action to many people,
including the Ritual of the Blood Pact
with Shina. And Irisdina, who had become something other than human. She, too,
had fundamentally overturned her future life. They would likely be struck by
another major storm, and many times at that, from now on. But for now, bathed
in the morning sun that had risen upon the two of them, they exchanged glances
and broke into relieved smiles at the dawn of their long night.
***
"Oh, right.
Nozomu. When you have a moment... will you hear me out?"
"Eh?"
"...There's
something I need to tell you."
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