ch61-ch80 · 065-ch64

Chapter 64: A Knight's Pride, and the Battlefield

"Equisetum Funeral Lance"... Grasping the lance with both hands at his center, Berdigri envelops his entire body in overflowing green eiyōso, turning himself into a single giant lance—his ultimate technique.

And rather than simply diving straight down, he continues to accelerate repeatedly, moving rapidly right and left in an irregular pattern as he falls.

This would make it difficult for his target to predict his movements. But for the attacker, the extreme changes in gravity place a great burden on the body.

"Gah, gahhhh!"

Gritting his teeth, Berdigri maintains his core stability as he continues his descent.

The tip of his lance was certainly aimed at the Black Knight on the ground. From the eiyōso, he could tell his opponent was moving too. But compared to the high-speed "Equisetum Funeral Lance," those movements seemed far too slow.

"Take this! Die!!"

Even in this world of split seconds, Berdigri was certain of victory and laughed inwardly.

THUD!!

"---What!?"

The lance tip had certainly pierced the Black Knight's chest. ...But that was all.

Normally, the momentum from such a strike would have continued to the ground, creating an even larger crater. That should have been the case, yet Berdigri remained motionless, stopped with his lance still thrust into the chest.

"Don't be ridiculous, what's happening!? If that was a direct hit, the destructive power should have been enough to turn him into pulp... Ugh, n-no, it won't pull out!?"

At that moment, Berdigri finally realized.

The eyes of the Black Knight he had pierced had no light in them. ...No, it wasn't just the eyes. Looking closely, it was merely a jet-black silhouette shaped like the Black Knight's armor.

"...Black Familiar"

"Black Knight!"

The black line-shaped shadow extending from the silhouette's feet connected to Rokuro's right hand, standing a short distance away.

What Berdigri had stabbed was a humanoid shadow familiar created by Rokuro, containing a large amount of eiyōso.

"Black Net"

Rokuro raised his right hand connected to the shadow and swung it down sharply. The shadow familiar transformed into a net shape, wrapping around and restraining Berdigri.

"Gwah!"

Tightened by the black net, Berdigri fell heavily to the ground, collapsing onto his side.

"Me, wearing my Eiyō-Armor... unable to move... Wh, why...?"

"Because you're weak, I suppose."

Hearing that cold voice, Berdigri somehow managed to lift his face to see Rokuro standing beside him, looking down.

"K-Black Knight... there shouldn't be enough eiyōso left to create something like a shadow decoy! Besides, why haven't you reached the time limit!?"

"Time limit? ...Ah, so you actually believed that random 696-second nonsense? How fortunate. It's been so long since I last performed Unison—there's no way I'd know the exact number of seconds like 696."

Eiyōso consumption varies depending on how one fights.

There's no way the Unison duration could constantly be a constant like 696 seconds. Thinking about it normally, that's obvious, but even so.

"Y-You lied? Even though you're a knight..."

Berdigri couldn't believe it.

As a knight of the kingdom, he couldn't imagine doing something like deceiving an opponent in battle.

But Rokuro dismissed it with a laugh.

"I see, so you all don't know what a real battlefield is like. ...You'd rather keep your knight's pride and choose to lose? Good grief, you've gotten soft from peace. The battlefield we fought on was one where defeat wasn't permitted."

"!"

The battle against the Demon King Army—our defeat would have meant humanity's extinction.

If we could win by abandoning our pride. If we could protect our comrades' lives.

The Black Knight Rock would gladly abandon his pride. Even if his comrades feared his way of fighting.

"W-Well then, just how long can you stay in Unison anyway..."

"Who knows. Do you really think I'd tell you even if I knew?"

While 696 seconds was a random number, the time he can remain as the Black Knight is indeed finite.

In fact, the time when his Unison should normally have ended has already passed.

However, this time, the first half of the battle took place inside the "Emerald Crystal Palace" created by Chartreuse, so the sealed space was filled with dense eiyōso without it dissipating into the air.

Therefore, he was able to suppress eiyōso consumption and, conversely, absorb a substantial amount of it.

But of course, he had no obligation to tell that to his enemy.

"...Either way, this is the end for you here anyway. There's no need to tell you."

Rokuro folded his right middle finger, strengthening the black net's restraints one level further.