Chapter 68: Chapter 68 - The First Demon General ( Part 12)
The sky cracked.
Azrakiel swung.
There was no dramatic spell.
No fancy incantation.
Just a single slash.
SHHHHNNNG!
The blade never touched the ground.
However, it caused the world to break.
A wall of dark sword energy several hundreds meters wide, ripped through Gray Hollow. Stone streets turned to dust. Houses were torn from their places. Ancient trees were simply destroyed by the slash that never even reached them.
"DEFEND!"
Headmaster Orion yelled.
All Royal Knights unleashed their auras simultaneously.
Golden barriers appeared one after another.
Hunters summoned earth walls, ice barriers, and sacred barriers.
The slash hit them.
BOOOOOM!!
First barrier broke instantly.
Second barrier held only for a moment.
Third barrier exploded into thousands of fragments that sparkled like broken stars.
Royal Knights were thrown through houses.
Hunters spat out blood as their mana circuits gave in under the shock.
Headmaster Roland crossed his sword with both hands.
His silver aura burst out at maximum power.
The slash attacked.
CRACK!
Legendary sword broke.
Second later.
It snapped in pieces.
Roland was blasted back, crashing through the church wall and vanishing under the rubble.
"...Headmaster!"
Students yelled.
Azrakiel lowered his blade.
"...Disappointing."
He made a step forward.
Earth below his feet crumbled into deep crater.
Every step was powerful enough to make the whole village shake.
Lucas wiped off the blood from his mouth.
He smiled.
Reckless smile.
"So..."
"...now it’s my turn."
Silver aura burst out around him.
Mana power of young man pushed past its regular limits.
He made a step with a thunderous sound and charged forward.
Sword swirled around the air in an insane dance of glowing arcs.
One slash.
Ten slashes.
A hundred.
Every blow was powerful enough to crush the boulder.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Sparks flew through the battle field.
Azrakiel did not move.
After Lucas’ last strike...
The Demon General simply looked down.
"...Good job."
He made a flick of his wrist.
Lucas managed to raise his sword.
BOOM!
Impact threw him across the village.
He crashed into three stone houses and rolled to a halt.
His sword slipped from his hands.
His sight went blurry.
Nevertheless...
He managed to get on his knees.
"...Not..."
"...over yet..."
Jennie clenched her fists.
"Brother..."
Excalibur said inside her head.
"He’s buying some time."
"I know."
In the middle of the battle field everything went crazy.
Hunters rushed in coordinated teams.
Fire burned in the sky.
Ice dragons roared, flying towards the Demon General.
Sacred spears fell from the sky like rain.
Azrakiel responded with one swing.
Attacks vanished.
Not just blocked.
Erased.
Black sword energy absorbed every spell and kept moving.
Following explosion ripped through the village square, destroying half of it.
Dust covered everything.
Screeches were heard from all directions.
Jennie disappeared into the cloud of dust.
Not to attack.
To save.
She grabbed the falling pillar before it could crush two students, turning it away with invisible streams of wind.
Roof, which was on fire, curved and missed healers.
Debris was shifted just enough not to hit scared children.
No one noticed.
Everyone thought it was luck.
Everyone...
Except one.
Crimson eyes of the Demon General followed the impossible movement.
Falling pillar.
Redirected spear.
Debris, which shifted in mid-air.
His gaze slowly scanned the battle field.
"...Someone."
He smiled.
"...you continue to interfere."
No answer was given.
Jennie calmly helped another injured knight to stand.
She wore maid uniform full of dust and blood stains, but her breathing was absolutely normal.
Azrakiel raised his sword again.
"Then..."
"I will make you see the light."
Dark mana burst out of his sword.
This time...
He was aiming past the knights.
Past the hunters.
Right towards the Princess Lilia.
Lilia raised her head.
Wave of black destruction came towards her.
She had the chance to run.
But instead...
She saw five frightened children, buried under the wreckage of a carriage.
Without hesitation, she rushed towards them.
Jennie’s eyes widened.
"Lilia!"
Princess jumped to cover those children from the destruction.
Time froze.
Jennie made a step forward.
Then another.
For the first time after her reincarnation...
She ceased to pretend she was just a maid.
Everything began to slow.
The thunderous collapse of the buildings.
The screams of wounded knights.
The roar of burning timber.
All of this receded into the distant background.
There was one thing which Jennie’s eyes could see.
Lilia.
The princess threw herself above five frightened children and tried to cover them using her own body against the advancing black wave of annihilation.
Never even hesitating.
Not even for a second.
"Lilia...!"
Lucas forced himself to move his battered body.
His muscles screamed from the pain.
His broken ribs grinded into each other.
Blood clouded his vision.
But...
Lucas swung.
"Silver Crescent!"
The dazzling slash of silver energy collided with the blow of Azrakiel.
BOOOOOOM!
The impact shifted slightly.
But it was enough.
The black wave no longer crashed against Lilia in full force.
It sliced her left shoulder and exploded against the pavement in her back.
CRASH!
Pieces of stone flew up into the sky.
The kids were blown aside.
Lilia crashed through a demolished fountain, rolled on the broken pieces of marble, and finally stopped at the foot of the broken monument.
Silence.
A small trickle of red liquid ran down from Lilia’s body staining the white fabric of her academy uniform.
"...Your... Highness..."
Lucas fell to one knee.
He had nothing more to give.
Jennie froze on her spot.
A drop of blood ran down from Lilia’s fingertips to the fractured pavement.
Drip.
The sound reverberated inside Jennie’s head.
Drip.
A second droplet followed.
Then...
The memories.
Not of Gray Hollow.
But of another battlefield.
Five hundred years ago.
A knight laughing while holding the gates falling down.
A mage smiling as her mana was drained out of her body.
A healer whispering: "Win... for us..."
Blood.
Fire.
Countless fallen comrades after one another.
Comrades whom she had sworn to protect.
Comrades whom she had failed to save.
"No..."
Jennie whispered.
"...Not again."
The wind spirits around her fell silent.
Not a single one laughed.
Not a single one flew around her playfully.
The spirits gathered around Jennie, trembling.
Excalibur’s voice became even softer.
"Master..."
"You have been carrying this burden long enough."
Jennie’s hands trembled.
"I failed them once."
"But I..."
Her fingers slowly reached to her silver hair.
"...will not..."
"...fail again."
Click.
The dragon-shaped hairpin came off of her.
For a second...
Nothing happened.
Then—
One golden spark flared from the jewelry.
Another one.
And then hundreds, thousands.
A bright golden light exploded towards the skies like a newly-born star.
BOOOOOOM!
The column of golden light smashed through the crimson clouds.
The suffocating demonic energy which covered Gray Hollow recoiled as if it met its arch-nemesis.
The wind appeared.
Not violent.
Magnificent.
It encircled Jennie in countless spiral forms, spreading glowing pieces of light above the battlefield.
Everybody turned.
Hunters.
Knights.
Students.
Even those who were injured lifted their heads.
The small hairpin opened.
Metals began to flow like liquid sunlight.
The shape stretched.
Its guard unfolded like graceful wings.
Ancient symbols ignited one by one.
An incredible golden sword appeared in Jennie’s hand.
Excalibur.
Not hidden.
Not diminished.
Its true glory lit up the devastated village.
The atmosphere became lighter.
Several injured knights felt that the crushing pressure which pressed their bodies became lighter.
The black miasma which surrounded Azrakiel hissed when it touched the holy light.
Demon General’s smile faded away.
His crimson eyes widened.
"...Impossible."
Jennie slowly raised the sword.
Golden flames started dancing along its edge.
Her silver hair was floating behind her back even though there was no ordinary wind.
When she opened her eyes...
Their warmth was gone.
She didn’t look angry.
She looked determined.
Determined like someone who had already survived many wars.
Azrakiel took a step back.
A step which happened unconsciously.
The first retreat he had done since leaving his seal.
"...That sword..."
His voice was nothing more than a whisper now.
"I destroyed kingdoms to hide its legend."
"I witnessed it disappearance with its master."
His gaze was fixed on Jennie.
"No..."
"...It can’t be."
Jennie pointed Excalibur at him.
"You have hurt enough people."
Azrakiel slowly raised his cursed weapon into the fighting position.
For the first time...
He did not stand casually anymore.
His position became disciplined, balanced.
The position of an experienced warrior who stands facing his equal.
Hunters around him were watching him in amazement.
"He..."
"...He changed his position."
Headmaster Orion, who struggled to get up from the pile of the rubble, felt his heart beat faster.
"The Demon General..."
"...is recognizing her as an equal."
Azrakiel inhaled deeply.
His voice sounded with a mix of astonishment and excitement.
"If you really are who I think you are..."
"Then show me."
"The sword which used to cut down an army of demons."
Golden lightning split the skies.
Black miasma poured out of the abyss.
Two auras clashed even before their owners moved, tearing the clouds apart and shaking the ground below Gray Hollow.
Jennie tightened her grip on the hilt.
Excalibur’s blade sang with joy.
At last...
Master and sword were reunited.
And then both warriors disappeared.
BOOM!
Two explosions erupted simultaneously as golden and black lines clashed in the middle of the devastated village, leveling everything within hundreds of meters radius.
The battle was about to begin.
