KRAAANG!!
Daike’s sword collided with Luna’s.
The ground beneath Luna’s feet caved in.
Cracks spread across the surrounding earth, which trembled as though it might explode apart at any moment.
Now, hold on! Why was Daike this strong?
Zero knew perfectly well how powerful Daike was. That was why he had deployed not only the main cast, but four useful supporting characters as well.
Under normal circumstances, the battle should have ended much earlier with the protagonists’ victory.
Instead, Daike had overwhelmed them.
There was one thing Zero had failed to account for.
‘Daike’s growth.’
Zero, Luna, and Rezé.
The emergence of a powerful rival faction known as the Zero Faction.
Their presence had inevitably spurred Daike on, causing him to double his already excessive training regimen.
As a result, his stats had risen far beyond what they had been in the game.
A fatal miscalculation on Zero’s part.
And the result of that mistake was…
“Ghk…!”
Luna’s death.
At least, that was how things would have ended ‘originally.’
Hummm—!
“…!”
A brilliant light erupted from the pendant around Luna’s neck.
[Spirit’s Breath].
An endgame artifact imbued with a mysterious power that allowed its wearer to overcome death once.
It was also an artifact exclusively meant for Luna, secretly given to her by Caron.
Daike’s body was blasted backward.
“I don’t know what that was… but all I have to do is attack you one more time!”
That was true. Daike was strong, and now that he had found the motivation to grow, he had become even stronger.
However…
“You’re not the only one who’s been growing.”
Luna placed her right hand on the hilt of her sword.
She lowered her waist slightly and charged forward.
When she came within ten paces of Daike, she took one powerful step, accelerating as she entered her stance.
Her left knee bent slightly, and her scabbard rose at a right angle to match.
The rotational force began at her ankle, then flowed through her leg, waist, arm, and wrist as she drew her blade.
The first secret technique of Luna’s family, the Lester family—[One Flash].
Up to that point, it was no different from her usual [One Flash].
The change came the moment Luna began drawing her sword from its scabbard.
Kiiiiing—!
Pink mana erupted from Luna’s blade.
No, it was somehow different from mana.
It was something of a higher order.
And Daike knew exactly what it was.
He had lived among knights since childhood, but more importantly, it was something he had always dreamed of attaining.
Yes. What was now flowing from Luna’s sword was…
“Aura…?”
Daike was not the only one who had grown.
Luna had also undergone tremendous growth.
Enough growth to embrace even a friend’s mistakes.
First Secret Technique of the Lester Family Style.
One Flash.
A dazzling flash of pink light…
Engulfed Daike’s entire body.
“That was truly an incredible fight. As expected of Miss Luna!”
“I-I’m sorry. I-I’m sorry I ran awaaaay!”
By the time Daike regained consciousness…
Yuridia’s fervent praise of Luna and Rezé’s tearful spectacle were both in full swing.
“That’s right! How could you possibly run away? Come here! As a member of Love Aid!”
“L-Love Aid? I-I don’t remember ever joining a c-club like that…”
“It isn’t a club. It’s a religion! It appears you require proper education!”
“S-Squeeeeeak!”
Yuridia dragged Rezé away somewhere.
Meanwhile, Daike felt something warm flowing across various parts of his body.
‘…Divine power?’
With his wealth of experience, Daike immediately understood.
Someone was healing him.
“Phew… This should be sufficient for now. Perhaps because your body is naturally so sturdy, none of your injuries seem severe enough to cause lasting problems.”
“Thank you for agreeing to such a difficult request.”
“Oh~ Hohoho! How could I refuse a request from Miss Luna of all people? Besides, as a priestess, it is only natural that I tend to the injured.”
After finishing Daike’s treatment, Victoria left.
Several children had broken or fractured limbs, though she had only administered first aid to them.
‘I had to account for the possibility that Miss Luna might be injured.’
Victoria had examined Luna’s condition, but found no wounds serious enough to cause concern.
She had achieved a flawless victory against Daike, the strongest student in the academy.
‘Perfect in love! Perfect in battle! As expected of Miss Luna!’
In any case, Victoria could now use her remaining divine power on the children who had received only emergency treatment.
Once Victoria had left, Daike quietly opened his eyes.
He saw Luna standing with her back to him, staring toward the deeper part of the forest.
In the direction where Zero, Alex, and Teron were.
‘She must be worried.’
He wondered why she had not gone there immediately, but there was something else he was even more curious about.
“You aren’t going to kill me?”
“The fight’s already over. Why would I?”
“…You’re soft. One day, you’ll regret that.”
“Say whatever you want. I’m not the sort who takes orders from someone weaker than me.”
Daike unconsciously let out a small laugh.
He knew perfectly well that Luna did not take orders from anyone stronger than her either.
She simply refused to do anything she disliked.
Daike suddenly remembered what had happened before he lost consciousness.
That pink mana.
It had undoubtedly been aura.
Luna had reached the level of a Five-Star Knight.
At only fifteen years old.
“Congratulations.”
“For what?”
“Your aura.”
“Oh, that? What’s there to congratulate me for?”
Her tone made it sound like nothing special.
But Daike could tell.
She was barely containing her delight.
“You should work harder too. Then maybe you’ll be able to use aura like your big sister here.”
“…I have no desire to take advice from someone who used it for the first time today.”
“T-That’s not true! I’ve been able to use it since last week… N-No! Since last month! I was only keeping it hidden as my secret weapon!”
Luna shouted with a bright-red face.
She truly was terrible at lying.
Daike looked up at the sky.
Even a cat like her could use aura, so why could he not?
“As expected… the world is unfair.”
“What are you talking about? You’re the one living with a collar around your own neck. How could someone like that ever grow?”
Daike had no response.
This had not been a simple duel.
They had staked even the ideals they pursued upon its outcome.
“Don’t you have a life of your own? Try walking forward on your own two feet.”
If he was not a hunting dog…
“Then you’re free to run wherever you want.”
Freedom.
Could something like that ever be permitted within the Vyuern family?
No.
The fact that his first thought was whether he would be ‘permitted’ proved Luna was right.
Daike realized he was far more broken than he had believed.
“Decide for yourself. Don’t let anyone order you around or ask it of you. Run because you choose to.”
Luna’s words were directed at herself as much as they were at him.
She had spent ten years roaming the empire as an avenger.
Even when she first entered the academy, she had been a vengeful ghost consumed by revenge.
‘Zero changed me.’
She had not abandoned her revenge.
But Zero had helped her realize something.
This world could be unbearably cruel.
Yet it could also be breathtakingly beautiful.
“That must be why the world keeps turning. I wonder if that friend of yours knows it.”
“…He does.”
“Hmm?”
“He knows. Teron… knew from the very beginning.”
Because more than anyone else, Teron wanted to travel through this beautiful world.
Unable to understand what he meant, Luna tilted her head before speaking.
“Then that makes things simple. Let’s go. You can tell him proudly.”
That he would break his collar and run freely through this beautiful world.
That he would stand beside him not as a servant, but as his friend.
Daike stared blankly at Luna’s outstretched hand.
Ah, yes.
He had wanted to become someone like her.
Someone who never yielded to hardship or adversity and stepped forward for the sake of a friend.
A true friend.
Daike took Luna’s hand and rose to his feet.
“There’s one problem.”
“What problem?”
“Teron made a contract with a Demon. Zero may have already lost.”
Losing would be the better outcome.
In the worst case, he might already be dead.
But upon hearing Daike’s words, Luna merely grinned.
“Are you an idiot?”
That bastard.
Her friend.
“There’s no way he’d lose.”
KABOOM!!
“Gah!”
“Kiyoooooot!”
Teron’s attack sent Alex and me flying through the air.
His fist had clearly struck the ground, yet our bodies had been thrown upward and injured despite standing on top of it.
His strength was completely absurd.
Ow! I’m dying here!
‘Where the hell are they?’
Luna, Rezé, Raymon, Yuridia, Victoria, and even the four extras.
I had assembled a party of nine as a precaution.
A nine-to-one advantage was more than enough.
They should have beaten Daike senseless ages ago, come up here, and taught Teron a lesson.
But…
KABOOM!!
‘Why the hell are they still not here?!’
On top of that, Teron seemed to be attacking me more often for some reason.
Was it because I was handsome?
KABOOOOM!!
“Kiyoooooot!”
After dodging several of the rampaging Teron’s attacks while screaming like Rezé, I finally became certain.
‘Did an unexpected variable appear?’
There had been so many Hidden Pieces I had never encountered before that I had brute-forced my way through most of them, charging in headfirst and figuring things out as I went.
‘That’s why I brought so many people…’
I might have to assume the worst had happened.
‘First, I need to deal with this situation.’
I organized the circumstances in my head.
The only people capable of fighting were Alex and me.
Just the two of us.
We had entered Phase Two, but just like Phase One, we still needed to use ‘parrying.’
The difference was that every failed parry increased Teron’s attack power.
‘It doubles each time, so his attacks become impossible to handle as the turns pass.’
Of course, that would not be a problem as long as we parried successfully.
At least, it would not have been a problem if I were alone.
“Ghk!”
Alex clutched his arm and staggered backward.
The aftermath of another failed parry.
From what I had observed, Alex’s parry success rate was 33.3 percent.
Roughly once every three attempts.
In other words, he was what gamers commonly referred to as a troll.
“Zero! Be careful! Teron’s strength is steadily increasing!”
…That’s because of you!
In any case, that was not the only thing I had to consider.
‘Will defeating Teron really be enough to end this?’
Hidden Pieces had activated one after another.
By now, I had lost count of how many had been triggered.
My original plan had been to wait for the main cast to arrive, then use conversation to identify what had changed and find a way to clear the Hidden Pieces.
But…
‘I don’t even know whether my kids are still alive, let alone whether the main cast is coming.’
The route where Yuridia, Victoria, that bastard Raymon, and the rest of the protagonists arrived to provide clues had to be discarded.
Naturally, the route where Teron died was also discarded.
That left Alex, me, and Teron.
It seemed I would have to solve this by focusing on the episode connecting the three of us.
As always, the best place to begin was with conversation.
“Keke, Mr. Teron? Wouldn’t you care to have a brief conversation? After all, the world is all about love and peace.”
“Graaaaaah!!”
What exactly had offended him?
The demonic energy surrounding Teron’s body grew even denser.
It seemed the Demon had already devoured half his mind.
So he could not be reasoned with.
There was no other choice.
“I suppose we’ll have to start by beating some sense into you.”
“!?”
Perhaps sensing danger, Teron launched a kick at me.
Thump!
I activated my parry with perfect timing and deflected his kick.
Then I answered with a punch of my own.
First Secret Technique of the Vyuern Family Style.
Force Burst.
In the name of love and peace.
–TL Notes–
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A bit similar to Count Kelven and Pjol
Daike will remember Pjol advice and save his friend!