We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Sword dance on the Flame Stage.
If the Spirit Current Sword is not guided by the flow of the Dragon Vein, it becomes so heavy that merely holding it is a challenge.
Not only that, but if you try to force a technique with it, it has a difficult nature, absorbing not only the power infused into the technique but also any reserve power stored within your body.
However, once you learn how to handle it, it exhibits magnificent performance, drawing out the blessings of the Dragon Vein beyond your own skill.
I have been practicing with the Spirit Current Sword in both hands ever since winter began.
Besides the White Sword and the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword, there are no other paired swords that I have carried and swung continuously for such a long period.
“That’s precisely why I have to become able to wield these twin swords freely soon.”
If I don’t, Lord Reed will lose patience with me.
“Are you saying that Haku Ken and Spirit Tree-chan will also lose patience with you?”
“That would be troublesome!”
I am currently using the Spirit Current Sword for training, but my favorite sword is still my White Sword. Besides, Spirit Tree-chan might get jealous, thinking I’m cheating on her.
“Well then, I shall show you the results of my training.”
My legs move naturally without conscious thought. My body remembers the entire flow.
I perform a sword dance, not the “Dragon Sword Dance” imbued with Dragon Energy, but a “sword dance” that rides the flow of the Dragon Vein with the Spirit Current Sword.
I step forward with my right foot as if gliding across the ground, then, by concentrating power on my toes, I twist my upper body from beneath me. While doing so, I lightly swing the Spirit Current Swords held in both my hands.
“Dancing on the battlefield, have you gone mad!”
A silver-eyed knight, shouting, charged in with a magic-infused shield, but he was repelled with just a light touch of the Spirit Current Sword’s blade, which flowed in a horizontal slash.
“Hk!?”
His full-fledged assault was defeated by what appeared to be a light swordplay. The silver-eyed knight stumbled backward, staring at me with an expression of astonishment.
After letting the silver-eyed knight’s charge pass, I turned my attention to the rebel army people approaching me.
“I cannot agree with the actions of the rebel army, but since demons are pulling the strings from behind the scenes, I want to avoid unnecessary killing, don’t you think?”
It might be a naive thought.
However, I should no longer possess the immaturity that prevents me from holding back against people who were originally slaves. Therefore, I want to go easy on those I can afford to.
Ares-chan, who had read my thoughts, moved without showing herself.
I swung my twin swords in a beautiful arc that captivated the audience. From the path of the swords, the Dragon Vein flowing in the atmosphere rippled like waves.
Ares-chan gently infused Spirit Tree’s magic into the ripple of the Dragon Vein.
The lightly undulating ripples swallowed the approaching rebel army.
“…?”
“Oi, hey!”
“Gyaaaah!”
The man at the forefront of the rebel army suddenly stopped as if stunned. When the followers behind him, unable to stop, rushed in, they all fell as if tripping over the people in front of them.
Screams erupted from the rebel army, causing confusion.
Moreover, those who fell were entangled by vines that suddenly sprouted from the ground, leaving them unable to move.
The subsequent people who narrowly avoided falling were bewildered by the inexplicable situation that suddenly struck the rebel army.
However, even that was not enough to quell the madness that had engulfed the rebel army.
“Get out of the way, you’re a nuisance!”
“Anyone who tries to kill him is also an enemy!”
The people, as if driven mad, shouted and charged at me.
“As expected, this is abnormal, isn’t it?”
Even if I am obstructing the rebel army, it’s impossible to have a murderous intent directed at me like this.
I’m sure that man who disappeared into the crowd knows something about the cause.
The rebel army people, with a war cry, charged towards me.
Not only that, but the silver-eyed knight also persistently targeted me.
The silver-eyed knight discarded his shield, picked up his straight sword that had been sent flying along with his severed right arm, and charged at me.
The attack of a high-ranking demon, and the charge of the rebel army people.
Now, I had become the center of the commotion.
Perhaps targeting this situation, or perhaps by coincidence, the attention of many people was diverted from the mansion, which was protected by a barrier.
It was at that moment.
In my field of vision, I saw people escaping from the mansion.
“Leave this to me!”
I continued my sword dance, drawing the attention of even more people.
With light footwork, my upper body flowed as if sliding, and my twin swords fluttered.
The silver-eyed knight’s swordplay was parried as if he were a co-star enhancing my performance, and the rebel army people, like an enthusiastic audience, were silenced by shouts and fell, their movements restricted.
In contrast to me, who was wildly swinging the Spirit Current Sword, several figures who had burst out of the mansion quietly disappeared towards the city, so as not to draw the attention of the rebel army.
“It seems that Rhys and the others have successfully achieved their objective, don’t you think?”
“They’ve escaped, they’ve escaped.”
The figures that had escaped from the mansion were, of course, Listea and the others.
Listea and Slaton might have been convincing Gordon and the Lord, waiting for an opportunity to escape.
They seized the chance when the silver-eyed knight and the rebel army people focused their attention on me.
“If Rhys and the others have escaped, then I should probably make my exit soon too?”
However, with people who could be called an army pressing in one after another, and on top of that, facing the fierce attack of a high-ranking demon, it would be difficult to escape the battlefield easily.
“In other words, as expected…!”
Not only was the rebel army’s mad charge difficult to deal with, but to escape while also dealing with the silver-eyed knight, a high-ranking demon—!
I steeled myself and faced the silver-eyed knight.
“First, I’ll have you make your exit from the stage.”
I cannot keep fighting a high-ranking demon forever.
Although I am currently overwhelming him, the silver-eyed knight is also a formidable warrior skilled in combat. If I waste time and he calmly analyzes the situation, I might end up at a disadvantage.
Therefore, I will decide the match while he has not yet adapted to my fighting style.
The silver-eyed knight, gripping a straight sword in his left hand, charged in, his body brimming with magic power.
A fierce blow from the straight sword was swung down from above.
I elegantly flowed my upper body to the side and swung the Spirit Current Sword in a crescent-moon trajectory.
Blades clashed against blades.
“How can a mere human defend against my sword!!”
The silver-eyed knight roared, and his straight sword erupted in flames.
The rebel army people, who had been pressing towards me in their madness, faltered from the intense heat wave.
Nevertheless, I danced.
The flames, burning with heat and killing intent, illuminated the night darkness in red and shone brilliantly.
The silver-eyed knight’s rage, carried by magic power, spread out, summoning miasma.
However, all of it only served as an accompaniment to my sword dance.
“Why, why, why, why, why!!”
The silver-eyed knight, shouting madly while repeatedly exchanging blows, cried out.
“Why, despite being a mere human, can you continue to defend against my sword!?”
I deflected his horizontal slash with the flat of the Spirit Current Sword’s blade, causing the trajectory of the straight sword to deviate significantly. I did not miss the opening created by the silver-eyed knight’s forward momentum.
The blade of the Spirit Current Sword, elegantly flipping, deeply pierced the silver-eyed knight’s chest.
The silver-eyed knight grimaced in pain.
At that moment, I finally looked back into his silver eyes, a mixture of anger, humiliation, and confusion.
However, his silver eyes no longer held any special magic power.
Still, with eyes that had not lost their silver sheen, the silver-eyed knight glared at me.
And then, he said.
“A mere human has shown an impudent sword. However, I acknowledge it. Though your swordsmanship was mysterious, you have indeed surpassed my sword, a knight’s. As a reward, take my life!”
Spitting blood, the silver-eyed knight finally admitted defeat.
However, contrary to his words, with his left hand, which had let go of the straight sword, he gripped the blade of the Spirit Current Sword embedded in his chest.
“Hk!”
With the knight’s powerful grip, fitting for a demon, the blade of the Spirit Current Sword moved.
Could he be attempting a counterattack at this late stage?! Fearing this, I found myself facing another problem.
The blade of the Spirit Current Sword grasped by the silver-eyed knight deviated from the flow of the Dragon Vein. Immediately after. An immense weight was placed upon my hand.
“Gk, what do you intend to do!?”
The silver-eyed knight does not know the nature of the Spirit Current Sword. Nevertheless, he must have acutely sensed that my movements had dulled.
The silver-eyed knight grinned cruelly.
“I will give you my life. But I will also take yours! Hahaha! Die by the hands of the rebel army, driven mad. We go together!!”
“W-what are you doing!!”
To immobilize me, the silver-eyed knight is not letting go of the Spirit Current Sword stuck in his chest!
Not only that, but he’s using the rebel army to try and take my life until the very end.
The rebel army people, weapons in hand, are rushing towards me, whose movements have stopped!
If this continues, it will be exactly as the silver-eyed knight planned.
Should I temporarily release the Spirit Current Sword and escape?
Or is there another way…?
A split second of hesitation.
However, before I could reach a conclusion, the situation changed.
Several glints, reflecting flames, shone in the night darkness.
And then, blood splattered vividly.
The movements of the rebel army people approaching me stopped.
The next moment, a scene Spread out where the stopped people were cut into pieces and sank into a pool of blood.
Furthermore, the silver-eyed knight’s movements also stopped.
Before my breathless eyes, the head of the silver-eyed knight suddenly fell to the ground.
What happened…
I understood.
“Srain!”
My eyes caught the figure of the mercenary man standing against the backdrop of flames in the still burning city.
“Yo, Eruru. Made it in time, huh?”
Srain, with a villainous grin like Slaton’s, waved his right hand.
Immediately after.
Even more people were sliced and sank into a pool of blood!
“W-what are you doing!”
I moved instinctively.
I pulled the blade of the Spirit Current Sword from the chest of the now-deceased silver-eyed knight and swung it towards Srain, who was wielding his lethal blade.
Srain showed a surprised expression at my sudden appearance and sword swing.
However, he blocked the blow of the Spirit Current Sword with the slight remaining blade at the base of his flexible sword’s guard.
“What did you just do?”
Srain asked me, still with a surprised expression.
However, he wasn’t asking about me attacking him after he rescued me.
He was asking about something he couldn’t understand about my movements.
“Never mind me. More importantly, Srain, you shouldn’t be causing any more unnecessary bloodshed.”
From the perspective of demons, annihilating the rebel army composed of human slaves might not be considered unnecessary bloodshed.
However, there are times when even the strong need to act in a certain way.
There is no one among the rebel army who can contend with Srain here. Even if hundreds or thousands of them attacked, Srain would likely be able to kill them all.
That’s precisely why I want Srain to exercise restraint.
Even if the opponent is a rebel army driven mad.
Perhaps understanding my feelings, or perhaps finding pointless slaughter uninteresting, Srain lowered his sword.
As the blades of his flexible sword, which had been flying around, returned to the guard, they formed into a single black magic sword.
Srain sheathed the black magic sword and looked around. Then, he gazed at the remains of the silver-eyed knight.
“Not bad, Eruru. To defeat a silver-eyed viscount; even if he was of the lowest rank, he was still nobility.”
“Eh, a silver-eyed viscount!?”
That’s a demon with a title I’ve heard of somewhere… ?
“And besides, the finishing blow was yours, Srain!”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You finished him before I could.”
Laughing heartily, Srain said, “Be honest and proud of your achievements,” and looked around again.
“You made quite a mess. So, what was the result?”
Personally, I wanted to hear about Srain’s situation.
How he arrived here and why he helped me.
However, in the current situation, there was no time for leisurely conversation.
With Srain having stopped the slaughter, the rebel army was beginning to gather from all over the city again.
We had to get out of here quickly.
Moreover, I was still curious about the whereabouts of the man chased by the Wind Spirit.
“Well then, I’ll explain as we run!”
I pointed in the direction where the Wind Spirit had flown.
“A suspicious fellow escaped that way. He must know the inner workings of this rebellion, so let’s chase him!”
With that, I headed deeper into the burning city.
