Chapter 12: The Sword and the Treaty

I drew breath until my lungs ached and surged forward.

The translucent blue sphere surrounding Sormanzer and him accelerated rapidly toward me.

“Y-You bastard!”

Sormanzer swung his hand in a panic.

A blue sphere that hadn’t completely sealed at the top bobbed up.

I thrust my sword as far forward as I could.

The translucent sphere was directly above my head.

I could see Ribelia limp and unconscious, and Sormanzer grinding his teeth in mortification.

“Get away!”

I drove my left foot into the ground, leaped, and twisted my waist sharply to the right.

Using that rotational force, I swung the sword.

Clang.

Bone grated in my shoulder as my blade described a moon-like arc.

At the same moment the royal half of the sphere finished sealing and the spell began to activate.

A wind magic — a short-range teleportation technique.

With a low whooom of wind, the two silhouettes tried to accelerate.

At that instant my swinging blade sliced the translucent sphere.

Shing, and then thunk!

A rebounding force returned as if an elastic membrane had been struck.

The next moment light flickered, and like a broken dam, a vicious gust of wind burst out.

Whoooooosh!

Shrubs were uprooted to their roots and the tall grasses were flattened.

“Huh?”

“What’s happening?”

The soldiers on both sides called out in bewilderment from afar.

Blown squarely by the wind, I flew backward like a paper doll.

My hairband had come loose and my hair flared before my eyes.

Even collapsing that way, I saw it clearly.

The translucent sphere around Sormanzer wobbled like a deflated balloon and shot up into the sky.

So high I had to crane my neck until it ached to see it.

“Ha—!”

“What…?”

Screams from the imperial soldiers rang out.

Sormanzer’s blue blood dripped down over my head.

Looks like I’d cut him properly before it was too late.

“You damned knight!”

Sormanzer’s shout, unbalanced, thundered across the field.

Then the two of them fell to the ground.

Thud.

They landed several dozen paces to the west.

I dashed straight for Ribelia to rescue her.

Neither army moved.

Both sides were watching anxiously, afraid that a rash move would trigger magic from the other.

I had to get to Ribelia before she was taken away.

“Move.”

As I started to step, a cold sensation grazed the back of my neck.

I reflexively glanced back to where Daiodel had fallen.

All that remained there was one arm.

At that moment a dark, metallic glint flashed among the bushes.

Before I could say “oh no,” Daiodel sprang out of the undergrowth.

He held a dark, bloodied sword in his left hand — not the severed right hand.

Even surprised, my body moved as it had been trained.

I stepped forward and slid Daiodel’s blade off his cuirass.

Kaaang!

Sparks flew as the sword slid free between his armpit and armor.

I pressed my arm tight to my side and held the blade.

Twisting my body to strip the sword from Daiodel, I struck his jaw with my right elbow.

He staggered, losing his balance.

I kicked his cuirass hard with my foot.

Thud. He was shoved backward, but he neither fell nor dropped the sword in his left hand.

I took a step back, leveled my blade at him, and asked.

“How did you get back up? With your bloodline you can’t even close the wound where your arm was cut.”

“You think I died because some brat like you did this to me? My pulse rose and I couldn’t sleep because of that thought.”

Daiodel’s eyes glittered with regret, hatred, and self-reproach.

“You could have lived if you’d stayed lying where you were.”

I glanced at the place where Ribelia had fallen.

My impatience came to the surface.

“You don’t know honor or dignity. Some things are more precious than life.”

“Yeah. That’s exactly what I mean. If I’d lived, I could have trained the next generation and kept serving the house.”

Daiodel contorted his face and shouted.

“I’ll kill you and do exactly that!”

He sprang like a black panther.

His body, which had been wound to the right, spun like a top and drew a line through the air.

Shing!

A shaaak! shaaak!

A lethal diagonal strike that cleaved armor, muscle, and spine traced the air.

Even using his left hand, which should be awkward, the strikes came in a smooth, natural flurry.

A clumsy defense would only get me hurt.

With one arm missing, a gap would inevitably open.

Then cut his leg.

I forced my eyes away from the direction of Ribelia.

If I let my guard down now, we could both die.

“Why do you only run away! Are you afraid to die?”

Yes — I’m reluctant.

I had gripped my sword to live with style, not to die with style.

“You rat!”

Daiodel rushed, using a ferocious diagonal strike.

I calmly stepped back, reading his stride.

Purple drops of blood dripped from his arm; that color wouldn’t stop the bleeding from a severed limb.

So if I just avoided him, he’d soon collapse.

I glanced at the imperial force’s movements.

The officer-mages were still checking each other, but the soldiers were starting to move stealthily.

My suppressed impatience raised its head again.

Better to charge, prepared to die together.

I clenched my teeth and gripped my sword.

Then Dande’s words suddenly came to mind.

‘An opponent knight is not a mountain to be conquered, but one to be passed.’

I stopped retreating and leveled my blade.

I had more to lose, so I couldn’t just fight recklessly.

That bastard who lost his lord would be just as impatient.

Let’s fight so we can actually win.

“Have you finally realized you can’t run any more?”

Daiodel wound his sword to the right and charged.

His dark knightly blade cut the sunlight as he swung full force.

I measured that diagonal exactly.

His motion was large and fast.

I split my pulse and focused my consciousness.

Then the world began to slow, as if a video were playing in slow motion.

Still, Daiodel’s blade surged toward me at tremendous speed.

He probably couldn’t even see his own sword.

I focused not on his blade, but on his stride and the movement of his shoulder.

Now one span.

Now half a span.

Soon, a finger’s width.

At the very last instant I twisted my body to the left.

The diagonal strike grazed my right flank.

Klang!

With a loud metallic ring and sparks, the thick cuirass was deeply gouged, but not a drop of blood flowed from me.

Daiodel’s diagonal cut flowed past to the left with all its force.

He gritted his teeth and tried to sheathe his sword.

I moved a beat faster and slashed beside his right leg.

Normally that move would be perfect for a gauntleted fist to intercept, but he had no right arm left to punch me with.

I swung my sword and cut deeply into his calf.

Daiodel staggered and dropped to one knee.

“You coward!”

“You’re the coward.”

I looked toward the fallen Sormanzer.

“The half-blood I saw had pride even in that half. But to plan something like this? That means someone actively pushed this kidnapping plan forward.”

Daiodel gritted his teeth.

He planted one foot to steady himself and tried to rise.

I raised my sword sharply to the left.

“After you killed the officer-mage, did you think you were the officer-mage?”

“……!”

I swung my sword with the force of a rope snapping taut.

I eased my shoulder so the cartilage wouldn’t grind.

So that was the knack of the diagonal strike.

After confirming Daiodel’s head had hit the ground, I ran toward Ribelia.

The imperial soldiers who had watched our duel finally started moving like their feet were on fire.

“The Intezeruto knight is moving!”

“Fire the crossbows. Protect the Haj—”

“No! They’re gathering mana already. We can’t let this escalate into an all-out battle.”

The imperial officer-mages panicked.

The soldiers who’d rushed out awkwardly couldn’t get close to me, nor stop, and followed at an awkward distance.

I pushed through brambles and tall grass near the crash site and searched for Ribelia.

Among the dry grasses I spotted the sheen of her splendid dress.

And glowing blue blood.

“No.”

Please be alive.

I feverishly swept aside the grass.

Her left leg was bent in a horrific direction.

Blue mana could stop the bleeding and make the flesh swell, but it couldn’t straighten the broken bone.

“Brother?”

Ribelia opened her eyes slightly and murmured faintly.

“Yes. I’m here. For now, let’s return to the camp. You’re badly hurt.”

I expected her to nod.

But Ribelia shook her head firmly.

“No. Help me support Sormanzer to the negotiation table.”

“This isn’t the time. We don’t know when magic will fly again.”

“That’s why it must end now.”

Her face was contorted from mental fatigue and physical pain, but her voice was clearer than ever.

“All right. Just watch whether they fire crossbows.”

Holding her, I looked for Sormanzer who had likely fallen nearby.

The imperial soldiers and knights who saw me raised their voices.

“Give us orders of some kind!”

“The officer-mage isn’t saying a word — what do you expect us to do?”

Of course our soldiers and knights were in the same boat.

“Shouldn’t we help?”

“Don’t provoke them; wait.”

Worthless mercenaries.

“Brother. Over there.”

Ribelia pointed.

Between the bushes a blue-tinged figure crawled.

Sormanzer dragged himself on the ground, bleeding from his foot.

So I’d cut his foot earlier.

“Sormanzer, my lord. We’ll find the missing piece of your foot later. For now, please follow me.”

Taking hold of his back, I suggested in an exaggerated theatrical tone.

He gathered mana frantically, but my pommel struck his temple first.

Sormanzer staggered as if about to faint, his eyes half-rolled.

Holding Sormanzer with my right arm and supporting Ribelia with my left, I walked toward the negotiation table.

“M-My lord. What should we do?”

“Wait. Isn’t His Grace being held hostage?”

“But if we wait like this, we’ll lose the land.”

“I told you to wait!”

An imperial officer-mage snapped irritably.

The imperial crossbowmen aimed their crossbows at Ribelia and me.

I used Sormanzer as a shield so they had to point the crossbow bolts skyward.

Ribelia carefully lifted her bent leg and sat in a chair.

I put the sword to Sormanzer’s throat and sat him down.

Ribelia slammed the treaty paper she’d drawn lines on toward Sormanzer.

“Sign and stamp your seal.”

Sormanzer, splashing a little water on his face and blinking to regain clarity, contorted his features and fell silent.

Then Ribelia spoke with a chill that left no room for the passive, intimidated image anyone might have imagined.

“Lord Anplus. Cut off his other foot.”

I prepared to carry out the order with joy.

They dared to attempt to kidnap the heir of our house in broad daylight?

Seeing the purple-stained blood on my sword, Sormanzer squeezed his eyes shut.

“I will sign.”

“What did you say?”

“Tell them to withdraw their swords; I will sign!”

Sormanzer blurted desperately.

If only he’d decided that quickly. How many soldiers on both sides spilled innocent blood and shed sweat for nothing?

Ribelia said, her face suddenly pale yet wearing a clear victor’s smile.

Under the long treaty, the signatures of the two representatives were placed and both houses’ seals pressed.

Ribelia and Sormanzer each received identical copies of the agreement.

Sormanzer sighed.

He looked resigned, as if to say it would end this way.

Rising on his right leg alone, Ribelia whispered in my ear.

“Brother. Can you set my leg? Prepare now.”

“Prepare to attack?”

“No. Prepare to run.”