Chapter 411: The New Martial King (4)

Beltia no longer rampaged. She gathered the darkness around her while watching the girl before her with wary eyes. The chaotic black energy that had once surged wildly now sharpened like a blade.

Lapicel also raised her sword and took her stance. Golden aura settled across her entire body, spreading softly.

Serati spoke hesitantly after a moment of careful evaluation. "Are you Sir Lapicel?"

A familiar voice answered. "It's me, sis."

There was no doubt. This was the young Lapicel. Could it be that she had already reached the realm of golden aura at her age? Even if her soul belonged to a future Martial King—already?

Unable to comprehend, Serati murmured softly. "But that aura right now. Are you really not the Martial King of Cyphras?"

The gray-haired girl smiled faintly. "That is also me, Sir Serati."

***

They were memories she could not bear, pain she could not endure. So she fell asleep. Fortunately, the darkness bound her tightly. It allowed her to remain asleep without awakening. Within her dreams, she watched another version of herself grow.

The child looked happy. As a martial king, she carried the duty to save the world. The duty to save people, and the duty to uphold justice.

However, the child was different from her. The child wished to save the world, save people, and uphold justice. But even if she failed, no one would blame her.

The world had loved her because she was a hero, but the child was loved simply because she was a child.

—Would you like to try this food too, Lapicel?

—I would, sis.

Her new teacher was completely different from her former teacher, the martial king. Though it was somewhat unfortunate to admit, her new mentor possessed such ordinary talent in terms of swordsmanship that there was almost nothing to learn.

But she was a good person. Sometimes, the wounds of the soul could be healed simply by being beside a good person. Her new teacher shone a warm light upon the child, like the glow of sunset. It was a light that could change immutable evil and wash away pain that could not otherwise be cleansed.

Thus, her soul, torn into shreds, slowly healed during her second life. As the wounds faded, life itself became gentler. If she could quietly live on as the Lapicel of this era, that would not be a bad fate.

But there was still something left for her to do. There was something that only the martial king of Cyphras, not the Lapicel of this era, could accomplish.

I must be the one to bring her end, she thought.

Perhaps she could no longer call Beltia her teacher. After all, Beltia had long since been deceived by the promise of reviving her dead daughter. Even if Karnak had never intervened, the Beltia of this era would never have accepted the young Lapicel as her disciple.

However, just because the past had vanished did not mean memories disappeared as well. The future embraced the past, and the past also embraced the future. The two became one, and they cast a golden light across her blade.

Facing the black monster before her, Lapicel spoke in a gentle voice. "I will save you, master."

***

The gray-haired girl soared upward above the black monster. A brilliant blade-light extended around her, tracing an elegant arc.

Croterian Sword, Autumn Dance.

The black monster responded in kind, extending a blade of darkness in retaliation.

Croterian Sword, Autumn Dance.

Both sides wielded the same swordsmanship, yet their forms were entirely different. Beltia used not only her arms but also the dark tentacles to execute her technique. She looked less like a human and more like a gigantic insect. Naturally, the swordsmanship she displayed no longer resembled that of a human. And yet, it did not deviate from the principles of the blade in the slightest.

As expected of my master... Lapicel couldn't help but feel admiration for her former master. Meanwhile, Lapicel continued to release streams of golden sword aura. Dozens of flashes collided repeatedly in midair.

From afar, allied aura users began whispering among themselves. "That really is golden aura, isn't it?"

"It's a new martial king? And on our side?"

"How is that even possible?"

Some with sharper eyesight had already begun to grasp the opponent's identity. "Could it be... that child who's said to be the saintess's disciple?"

Over the past few months, Lapicel herself had become quite well known. After all, even across the entire continent, there were only a handful of silver knights. And she had reached that realm while still a teenage girl. It was only natural that she had become famous.

"No matter what, this is unbelievable..."

"She became a martial king at that age?"

"How does that make any sense?"

"Well... being a silver knight at that age didn't make sense either..."

Leaving the stunned murmurs behind them, Lapicel and Beltia exchanged fierce blows. Beltia attacked Lapicel with ferocious chains of attacks, akin to a storm, and Lapicel responded by redirecting the attacks, flowing around them like water, while delivering devastating counterstrikes.

However, even after reclaiming the realm of a martial king, facing Beltia was still no easy task. After all, Beltia too was the Martial King of Cyphras. And now, the darkness of Tesranach had taken root within her, elevating her power beyond all common sense in every regard.

At this rate, defeat was inevitable. That was, if only Lapicel and Beltia had been here alone. The pure white cat, which had been waiting for an opening, suddenly cried out sharply.

Lightning raced across the ground while a bird of fire shot into the sky. Electricity and flames pierced in from both sides of the black monster without leaving a single gap. The purpose of the spell was not to crush the enemy with concentrated power, but to entangle the opponent and restrict her movements.

Karnak did not miss the opportunity either. "Necromantic Magic, Streaking Ashen Meteor!"

It was chaos magic that fired dozens of seventh circle Arcane Strikes simultaneously. Moreover, Karnak was now a ninth circle mage, so the time it took to cast the spell was dramatically shorter than before.

Twelve magic circles spewed a meteor shower, instantly engulfing the black monster completely. Explosions erupted continuously around Beltia as clouds of dust billowed everywhere.

Taking advantage of the opening, Serati also launched herself forward. She focused her mind and gathered Grace into a single point. Then, she let it scatter outward in a long stream.

Twilight Sword, Wandering Star!

A long cluster of light fluttered toward Beltia before swirling around her form. It was an extraordinarily dazzling attack, even more so than those of Lapicel and Beltia. Priests of the church gasped in admiration.

"Light and darkness are in harmony!"

"Truly the Goddess of Twilight herself!"

It was easy to understand why they had come to a misunderstanding. Grateria's magic was brilliant and flamboyant overall. Meanwhile, Karnak's spell had originated from necromancy, so it was hardly bright. Simply put, it looked rather dull.

With the two of them flanking her on either side, it naturally created that impression. Serati wore an uneasy expression while dodging Beltia's counterattack and retreating.

—Is it really okay for us to deceive people like this?

Karnak replied boldly.

—Highly advanced deception is indistinguishable from truth!

Surprisingly, even Grateria sided with Karnak.

—If you think about it, it's not entirely a deception, is it?

After all, the Saintess of Twilight was fighting with the Divine Beast of Twilight and the Pope of Twilight at her sides.

—That still doesn't make it true.

—Which is why we're working this hard to make it true right now, aren't we?

They had a point. It was somewhat convincing.

—Is that so?

Meanwhile, Lapicel and Beltia continued their fierce battle. The black monster charged forward, shaking the earth. Blade-like claws of darkness slashed wildly through the air.

Lapicel matched her, repeating evasions and counterattacks without pause. She continuously unleashed aura blades, but they dealt little damage to Beltia. The darkness around her was like an indestructible suit of armor. Mere glancing blows did nothing at all.

It seemed she would need to get closer. Lapicel accepted the risk she needed to take and dove towards Beltia, thrusting herself into the lower range of her attacks. At last, her opponent's neck entered striking distance.

Just as she was about to thrust her blade, she paused. The decades of experience she had lived as a martial king sounded an alarm in her mind. It's a trap!

In an instant, Beltia's attacks lunged in from both sides like the fangs of a beast. Facing the onrushing blades of darkness, Lapicel spread her aura shield as wide as possible.

A hasty attempt at dodging would end badly for her. The correct choice was to take the hit head-on, even if it meant sustaining injury. In the next instant, the black fangs bit hard into the golden shell.

Dozens of flaming orbs flew in from afar at that exact moment, leaving behind long streaks of light. "Necromantic magic, Searing Soulfire!"

Karnak, having anticipated the situation, created an opening with chaos magic. The attack struck Beltia and exploded. The crushing pressure bearing down on the aura shield weakened as well.

Now! thought Karnak. Through the billowing smoke, the gray-haired girl barely slipped free.

Karnak sent a message.

—Are you alright, Lapicel?

Steadying her breathing, Lapicel replied through the transmission.

—Yes, Lord Karnak.

After nodding with the pure innocence of a child, she turned again with a seasoned smile.

—Truly, even immutable evil can change.

Watching her charge at Beltia once more, Karnak made a strange expression. This is seriously confusing... Which Lapicel is that supposed to be?

***

The fallen Martial King of Cyphras continued to spew darkness. The returned Martial King of Cyphras shone with light as she struck back. I will save you, master!

Golden light cleaved through the darkness, while the darkness spread outward, trying to swallow the light.

Watching Beltia continue to pour out immense currents of shadow, Serati asked cautiously.

—Shouldn't she be running out of strength by now?

Earlier, Karnak had clearly said that if they kept fleeing, Beltia would eventually collapse from exhaustion. Yet there was no sign of her tiring. Karnak took on an awkward expression.

—Well, there was something I left out.

Why had Beltia accepted that horrifying darkness without resistance? Because to her, it was not horrifying at all. She perceived it only as the soul of her beloved daughter.

That was why Karnak had been calculating a way to dispel Beltia's delusion from the very beginning. If she were shown the truth, her mind would collapse, and she would fall apart on her own.

That had also been one of the reasons he told Serati to buy time. It was something he had always done, and he had been confident it would succeed. But Lapicel's intervention had complicated the situation.

—Doing that to Beltia in front of Lapicel. That doesn't feel quite right, does it?

Besides, now that she had recovered the level of a martial king, there was no longer any need to stall for time in order to win. A faint smile touched Serati's lips.

—I don't think you need to ask me for confirmation.

She launched herself forward once more, moving to assist Lapicel. A message followed from Serati as she sped away.

—You already knew the answer, Lord Karnak.

The sunset-colored blade struck against the shell of darkness. With Serati joining the assault, Beltia's movements slowed for a moment. Even she was burdened by facing both a martial king and the Saintess of Twilight at the same time.

Lapicel did not miss that opening. She adjusted her posture midair, then began to unleash, one after another, the sword techniques of every martial king she had encountered.

Delphiad Swordsmanship, Sovereign's Lament!

A powerful strike aimed at Beltia's shoulder. With a pained groan, black blood sprayed outward.

Kretas Swordsmanship, Eclipse Slash!

Golden brilliance traced a massive arc. For an instant, her speed overwhelmed the black monster, and the slash drove deep. Shrieking, Beltia thrashed even more violently.

Serati felt admiration as she circled around the black monster. Wow... a true genius really is a genius.

She herself could not even comprehend how such feats were possible, yet Lapicel displayed mastery rivaling the very creators of those techniques simply from having experienced them. Such were near-divine techniques that someone ordinary like Serati could neither imitate nor attempt to imitate.

But there were things only she could do as well. I will do what I can, and do it to the best of my ability!

She gathered Grace while hurling herself into the air. Then she thrust her sword into the heavens.

Twilight Swordsmanship, Sunset!

A massive sun rose into existence, then immediately began to set. Dozens, hundreds of pale, orange blades rained down like falling light.

Allied soldiers burst into cheers, marvelling at the demonstration of the goddess's power. Of course, that was only how it appeared on the surface. Though it looked incredibly dazzling, in reality the power was not properly concentrated and scattered wildly in every direction. But that did not matter.

After all, the real attack will come from Lapicel, she thought.

Lapicel felt a flicker of admiration. The countless bombardments had distracted Beltia, and for a moment, she lost track of Lapicel's position.

As expected of sister Serati.

It was not a perfect technique, but it was undeniably a necessary thing. Following the opportunity Serati had created, Lapicel drove forward until she was directly before Beltia. Then, calmly, she thrust her blade.

Croterian Sword, Last Leaf.

Very quietly, something fell. Light spread in every direction amid absolute silence. The following roar was so immense that it seemed to swallow all sound. That cold strike twisted space itself as it pierced the fallen martial king's heart.