"…This is… incredible…"
The first to speak was Safran, the former assassin."Truly... such an incredible killing intent..."
"Yes, it's definitely killing intent..."
The battle-hardened Katores voiced her agreement with Safran's observation.
Iris, trembling slightly, remained silent.
I, sweating profusely, leaned out of the carriage window to see what was happening.
What I saw was nothing short of carnage.
The beaters, all collapsed, with the hunting ground reduced to a scorched wasteland. In the midst of this, King Daria had collapsed to his knees, while Heath stood with his thunder sword drawn, confronting what must be the perpetrator of the assassination attempt – a wielder of the Saintly Sword, the Demon God Sword.
Upon seeing the figure, even Holly, who usually remained silent and almost forgotten at my side, gasped in shock. Holly, who had always been by my side, generously sharing her vast knowledge and calmly explaining the functions of every Saintly Sword we encountered, was now utterly speechless at the sight of this individual.
"Holly! What's wrong? That's the Demon God Sword's wielder, right? They can only use their sword once, correct?"
Indeed, the Demon God Sword was known for its high performance, which came at the cost of exhausting its wielder's magical power in a single use – a highly inefficient, failed creation. Meaning, if we could withstand the initial strike, we would surely win. Heath should be able to defeat this opponent, and if not, Iris and Safran were ready to assist. Victory was certain.
Yet, Holly stood with her eyes wide, her hand covering her mouth, looking as if she had seen something unbelievable.
"Holly! What's going on? Who is that person in the armor?"
Indeed, the figure confronting Heath, presumably wielding the Demon God Sword, was clad in black armor. Emanating from the armor were dark, mist-like tendrils, swirling around the wearer as if darkness itself had taken on the form of armor and enveloped a human."Holly, that armor... it's the Rakshasa Sword, Talonkappe!"
"What!? So the sword that person is holding isn't a Saintly Sword?"
"No, no! That giant sword is indeed the Demon God Sword, Gram! That person... they are wielding both the Demon God Sword and the Rakshasa Sword simultaneously!"
"Is there even anyone who can handle multiple Saintly Swords at once?"
"No, there isn't... there shouldn't be...! Throughout history, there has never been anyone like that!"
The ability to simultaneously wield multiple Saintly Swords was unprecedented. Holly, who had accompanied heroes in battles against the Demon Lord throughout history, confirmed that such a being had never appeared before.
Moreover, this new perpetrator was recognized as the owner by both the Demon God Sword, known for its overwhelming destructive power but incapable of enhancing physical abilities, and the Rakshasa Sword, which provided maximum physical enhancement but lacked any magical or special abilities.
The identity of this new perpetrator was unthinkable.
"I remember what Holly told me about these swords..."
The Demon God Sword offered immense destructive power but couldn't enhance physical abilities. The Rakshasa Sword could maximize physical enhancement but lacked any magical or special abilities.
An opponent capable of using both simultaneously – what should we do?
"Ah... Prince Heath is down."
Safran, looking out the carriage window, commented indifferently.
I checked as well. Heath was lying some hundred meters away from the armored assailant, his body contorted unnaturally, twitching.
"How did Heath get defeated?"
"It looked like he swung his sword but was repelled by the armor, then got punched and sent flying."
The situation seemed similar to Heath's encounter with Shion – the wielder of the Demon God Sword and Rakshasa Sword was as powerful as Shion.
"Holly, I have a suggestion. We need to return to the royal capital immediately and bring Shion here. There's no other way to turn this situation around."
"Alright. Let's do that. Time to retreat."
I moved to the driver's seat of the carriage, ready to take the reins of Sleipnir."Wait, Crow! Are you planning to run away!?" Katrea-sensei grabbed me from behind as I was about to take the reins of Sleipnir.
"Yes, we're escaping before we're noticed."
"Don't be ridiculous! If we leave them like this, both King Dalia and Heath will die!"
"There's nothing we can do. My judgment was too optimistic. If we all go down now, we'll all be annihilated."
"You...! Are you okay with people dying because of your suggestion?"
"It's unavoidable."
At that moment, Katrea-sensei, seemingly shocked, staggered and fell onto her seat in the carriage.
Indeed, it was I who had proposed using King Dalia as bait. The emergence of such a powerful Saintly Sword user was unexpected, but even without that, there was a decent chance the assassination would have been successful. Even Heath, assigned as the guard, was at risk.
But to me, it didn't matter. Whether royalty lived or died had nothing to do with me.
"I agree with Crow. I don't want to risk my life just to protect King Dalia," said Iris.
"I'd like to fight that person down there, but it looks like we don't stand a chance, so I'm okay with running away," added Safran.
With both Iris and Safran agreeing to my proposal, Katrea-sensei seemed even more shocked.
"You all... why...?"
"Katrea-sensei, you taught us 'kill before being killed,' right? If a similar assassination attempt happens again, I'll be the suspect. I'm done dealing with those people," Iris stated emotionlessly.
Iris's words surprised me. I hadn't realized she harbored such animosity towards the royal order that had sentenced Katrea-sensei to execution.
"Anyway, we need to get out of here now," I insisted.
Finally, I firmly grasped Sleipnir's reins. Reluctantly relying on Shion's strength went against my principles, but this was more than just a human conflict or war. It was an unforeseen situation where someone was using Saintly Swords for personal gain and not attempting to cooperate with the hero.I felt as if I should leave these matters involving Saintly Sword users to Shion, who works together with Holly. That's just my excuse for not wanting to die.
At that moment, I truly forgot my own place.
I was suddenly reminded of my own position when I saw the Saintly Sword user in armor before my eyes.
"What!?" I exclaimed in shock. The Saintly Sword user had approached Sleipnir, hovering high in the sky. How?
As I was thrown into utter confushion, the Saintly Sword user in armor, holding the Demon Sword overhead, swung it down without hesitation.
"Uooooh!?" I cried.
A flash of light, far more intense than anything from Heath's Thunder Sword, shot from the tip of the Demon Sword. It was on par with the light emitted by Shion's Holy Sword.
I managed to dodge the blade of light by manipulating Sleipnir's reins. It wasn't because I was an expert horseman, but because Holly, who had possessed my body, was controlling Sleipnir.
Even then, I couldn't completely avoid it. Merciless lightning struck me and the three others in the carriage.
All of us were hit with such force that we couldn't even scream. The carriage, pulled by Sleipnir, lost control and spiraled downwards.
The lightning we suffered was probably just the aftermath flowing around the main body of the Demon Sword's light. We were barely grazed by it, not directly hit by the blade of light. Just its passing nearby caused us significant damage.
"Crap!" I cursed, clenching my teeth while operating Sleipnir amidst the lightning strike.
I didn't care about King Dalia or Prince Heath. Frankly, ever since they tried to execute me, I considered them expendable.
But the three people in the carriage behind me were different. Iris, Katrea-sensei, and Safran, I absolutely cannot let them die.
Even if I died, those three couldn't be allowed to. There are plenty of replacements for me, but the loss of those three would be immeasurable."These three are indispensable comrades to Shion."
With great effort, I managed to control Sleipnir, slowing down just before crashing to the ground. Thanks to that, we were able to avoid a catastrophic impact. However, as soon as Sleipnir landed, it collapsed, the carriage toppled over, and I was thrown to the ground from the driver's seat.