ch61-ch80 · 061-ch60

Chapter 60: The Fastest Blade

"Shirakawa-san, get behind me. It's dangerous."

Shudo-san stepped forward, still gripping the black-haired woman's arm.

...Huh? Was I being targeted by the black-haired woman?

"Don't get cocky, Limilaru person!"

The woman twisted her body with all her might, throwing off Shudo-san with a spinning motion, and followed through with a spinning kick in the same motion.

"Whoops."

But Shudo-san ducked to dodge, and instead swept the woman's legs to make her fall.

Thinking she would fall, the woman planted one hand at the last moment and cartwheeled away from Shudo-san.

"Wow, just like an anime!"

Kiriko cried out, her eyes sparkling.

Yeah, I thought it was amazing too, but it felt more like "master level" you know?

Kiriko really ties everything to anime right away. Though I get what she means.

"You scum, why can you follow my movements? You don't seem to possess much eiyōso. Are you a Saiū person?"

"I was born and raised Japanese. You people look down on this world's humans way too much, don't you?"

Without waiting for her reply, Shudo-san stepped in sharply and extended his right index finger. Yes, just like in fencing.

"!—What!?"

The woman, who had crossed her arms to block, was lifted into the air and blown backward.

The woman, who I don't know how many meters she flew, fell right into the park's pond.

"Sh-Shudo-san, you..."

Rei-chan pressed both hands to her mouth in a pose like "Wait, my allowance is decreasing way too much!?" showing how surprised she was.

No, not just Rei-chan—everyone was standing there dumbfounded.

"That's amazing! So Kai-senshu's younger brother does martial arts too!"

Kan-na-kun is pure as ever. But I don't think that's at the level of just "martial arts."

"B-But, isn't that a bit excessive toward a lady?"

"Don't worry. She's much stronger than I am. More importantly, let's get away from here while we can."

Y-yeah. Just like with Melkid, knights from that world are pretty tough. She'll probably be back right away.

"—That's true, but things look worse inside there anyway."

Shudo-san gave me a meaningful look as I glared at the pond, and pointed toward the green wall.

　　―　◆　―

"Fuchsia, what on earth are you...?"

Chartreuse was bewildered by the sudden brawl started by her comrade.

　　　　KIIIN!!

Feeling a sudden surge of pressure, she turned back toward the Black Knight again.

"So it was Shudo-kun. I knew he was...no, more importantly than that now!"

Rokuro was trembling.

Not from fear. From anger, welling up from the very depths of his heart.

Thanks to Shudo, disaster had been averted, but just one step more and a strike filled with a knight's killing intent would have exploded against Ai.

The black heat haze rising from his armor grew in proportion to his anger, gradually becoming larger.

'T-Th-This eiyōso...such power, here in Limilaru...how is it possible...'

Rokuro pierced the astonished Chartreuse with his gaze.

Those eyes visible from beneath his helmet were burning black. It was a rage he had never shown once, even in the battles against the Demon King Army in the past.

"...I was mistaken...I thought the Underz bunch intended to kill me and take the 'Egg' and 'Ai'...but I was wrong! Your...the Prime Minister's target is to take Ai's life!! Because Ai is in the way, they changed the cause of the Princess's death to conceal her existence!!"

"W-What are you saying...?"

Even as she was overwhelmed by Rokuro's intensity, Chartreuse didn't take a single step back from that spot. She was indeed one of the Seven Knights. But her head was filled with question marks. She couldn't understand what Rokuro meant.

However, the other party's convenience was of no concern to Rokuro.

Until just now, Chartreuse had been someone he recognized as an old friend even while they fought. But in this moment, she became a member of the enemy group targeting his beloved daughter's life. Instead of showing consideration for his opponent, he unhesitatingly chose to get serious and reach Ai's side as quickly as possible.

"If that is your wish, then I will show you. The strongest blade of this Black Knight!"

The heat haze rising from his armor rapidly converged and solidified in the palm of his extended right hand.

The black color gathered and transformed into deeper jet black, forming a single-edged straight sword in that hand.

Chartreuse shuddered at the torrent of power transmitted from that sword. Still, she raised the Emerald Star Sword in an upper stance and roared.

"GUOOOOOOH!! I am the Green Knight, I will not yield—"

"—'Nurehaba-no-Katana'"

In the instant he pointed the blade tip at Chartreuse and assumed his stance.

—Rokuro's figure vanished.

"Huh?...Ugh!?"

The next moment, a shock ran through her entire body. The Emerald Star Sword was snapped clean in two by that power, the Green Knight's armor broke in multiple places and burst off, and cracks ran through the entire armor.

"Such...speed...too fast..."

Chartreuse, her strength exhausted, began to collapse.

Behind her, the Black Knight, who had charged past at speeds too fast for the eye to follow, released his stance and turned around.

"Light and shadow are two sides of the same coin. If light is the fastest thing in this world, then shadow is the same. 'Nurehaba-no-Katana' is the fastest blade in Saiū."

As if in time with the end of Rokuro's words, the "Emerald Crystal Palace" crumbled, and the fragments fell upon Chartreuse, who lay prostrate on the ground, like green snow crystals.