When I opened my eyes, light was streaming through the gaps in the tent.
What I could hear from outside was the sound of our allies still fighting against Banseim's army of dead soldiers. To think they'd been fighting all night — I could only doubt my own sanity.
No, perhaps none of this was ever sane to begin with. If this was what it meant to be captivated by Ceres, then there was no other word for it but truly mad.
I sat up and covered my face with both hands.
"...Monica."
"Yes!"
Monica had entered my tent carrying a bucket of hot water, all ready to help me get ready. Her cheeks were flushed — I wanted to believe it wasn't because she was excited.
"Get me ready. Then, gather everyone. ...I'm heading to the front lines myself."
Monica immediately began preparations. She set the bucket on the wooden box she'd prepared, and it seemed she'd polished them the day before — my armor and weapons were all laid out.
Getting up from the bed, I asked Monica for a report on the situation.
"What's the current situation?"
Monica reported while continuing her preparations. With no time to spare, she'd keep working while briefing me.
"As things stand, there's been no change — we still have the advantage. However, I expect the situation to reverse if several more days pass like this. The casualties have also exceeded our projections. If this continues, it will begin to hinder our plans."
It didn't look like we could just sit back and win. Then I had to act — and I'd already received the power to do so from the Fifth Generation.
Rather than the power, I found myself wishing I'd received advice instead. Was I really that mentally weak?
I shook my head and let out a sigh.
"Is something wrong? Do you have a complaint about me, Monica? What an extravagant Chicken. Tell me! Say it now, and I'll fix it with everything I've got!"
Seeing Monica's desperate expression, I let myself smile a little.
"Nothing. Same as always. You're the best."
Then, Monica silently stared at me.
"...P-please, one more time! It was a sudden surprise, so I couldn't get the recording or video in time — if possible, could you do that smile again? Well, I did save it, but I want to preserve it in an even better state!"
She was saying incomprehensible things again, so I rested my chin in my hand and thought about it. In the end, I decided not to comply with her request.
"Sorry. I'm not telling because it seems more fun that way."
Monica bit down on her white apron, looking frustrated.
"So this is how you like to
toy with
me! How unfortunate! I know it's frustrating, but don't underestimate Monica — someone who can even enjoy a situation like this! Tease me more!"
As always, Monica hadn't changed one bit — high-performance yet still as frustrating as ever.
Early in the morning, I finished getting ready and faced the battlefield. Today, May said she would carry me on her back in the form of a Kirin, so I had a saddle fitted and mounted up.
Around me were Maxim, Aria, Miranda, Gracia, Eliza, and Marina — with Novem, Eva, Clara, and Baldoa positioned for rear support. After the charge, Novem and the others were to handle any magic-related threats and provide cover.
In front of the hastily constructed gate, we finalized our preparations for the charge and waited for the moment to come. Maxim rode up beside me on his horse.
"Lord Laiel, I came today with a personal request."
"Wouldn't it have been better to bring it up during the meeting?"
Maxim wore a serious expression on his face. Then, in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, he spoke.
"I once had a friend with whom I would compete in skill. I fought him many times and lost more often than not. He clad himself in black armor, and his spear-work from horseback was nothing short of magnificent. Man and horse, moving as one — that's what it was. And the one who killed that friend is wearing his armor now."
I kept my gaze forward.
"I know who you mean. Bread Bumper... I'm acquainted with him myself. Slightly — no, quite ambitious, if I recall correctly."
Maxim adjusted the position of his headband.
"Would you let me have him? Of course, only when you judge it's feasible. If the situation is too dire on my end, I can accept that too."
The knights at the front gate unleashed their magic in unison, blasting the enemy soldiers away. I could feel the shockwave reaching us, and through the gate, clouds of dust rose into the air.
Gunfire erupted, and arrow after arrow flew, causing the banner to whip violently.
"It depends on how the situation develops."
"That's perfectly fine!"
As the gate began to open, we readied our weapons and prepared to charge. I clenched the Jewel in my hand and pictured the wakizashi—the silver ornament liquefied and swelled, and a silver blade materialized in my right hand. It was a sinister-looking wakizashi, though the malevolence had faded just slightly. Fine lines ran along the edge, and it was covered in small, hook-like barbs.
"Lyle, what is that sword?"
"A weapon suited for this situation. Now then—shall we go? Charge!"
I raised the silver wakizashi high, and May took off running. She was the first through the gate, and soldiers stumbled out of the dust cloud—wounded but refusing to stop advancing. They thrust their spears and lunged toward me.
"Out of my way."
I swung the wakizashi so it wouldn't touch May's neck. The blade separated into thin segments connected by fine blue threads, slicing through the enemies all around.
It tore through them as if it had a will of its own—the wakizashi looked almost alive. Gripping the hilt, I felt like I could almost hear a voice.
*"Next. Next! Let me cut more! Kill more!"*
This time I thrust it forward. The tip skewered three mounted knights in a straight line, then swept sideways—the wakizashi carried the knights along with it as it carved through the soldiers' necks.
A single swing mowing down multiple targets—the wakizashi was truly the ideal weapon for this situation.
"May—could you charge ahead to a position where you won't involve our allies?"
"Leave it to me!"
May dashed forward, and purple lightning crackled around her. The wakizashi absorbed that lightning and swept through the surroundings. Some were caught in the blast and blown away, others were cut down by the lightning-wreathed blade, and even those grazed were left unable to move.
When May leaped into the air, I jumped off her and stretched the wakizashi to its maximum length before swinging.
With each extension, the blade segments multiplied further, unleashing devastation as if to say no one would escape. It cleaved through armor, flesh, and bone without hesitation.
The sight of blood spraying in every direction was something you wouldn't even find on a real battlefield. How many people had just died from that single swing? How many had I killed?
That thought crossed my mind, but my body still wielded the snake-blade. It felt as though something had possessed me.
One man had been lucky enough to escape with only his arm lost. Laughing, he used his spear as a crutch to push himself back to his feet. Behind him, the next wave of soldiers stood ready with spears at the ready.
"They just keep coming, one after another."
Then lightning rained down from above — May summoning bolts from the sky all around us. Even so, the soldiers aimed their bows and arrows at May while charging at me with spears and swords. They clambered over the corpses of their own comrades, devoid of any trace of fear.
"…I'm sorry, but I don't intend to apologize. If you want to hate someone, go ahead."
As I swung the snake-blade, countless more men were cleaved apart. Rotating on the spot, I swept the blade horizontally, and as it retracted like a blue thread pulling it back to its original length, motionless soldiers lay strewn all around me once more.
Just then, knights on horseback came charging in, trampling over those fallen soldiers.
"Out of our way, move!"
Full-body armor. The enormous hammer in his hands was likely his prized weapon. He reared it back, preparing to bring it crashing down on me.
From the Jewel, the Seventh Generation's voice reached me.
*"Wielding something that massive while controlling a horse with just his lower half? As a knight, he must have trained extensively."*
He was probably an exceptional knight. But —
"Out of my way."
I swung the snake-blade downward from a high stance despite the distance, and it extended, bisecting both the knight and his horse in a single stroke. The knights who had circled around then charged at me from both sides with their spears.
I held the fully extended snake-blade horizontal and waited for it to shrink back —
The heads of the two flanking knights flew off. On its return path, the blade had sheared right through their necks.
"…It's truly reliable on a battlefield. But just like the First Generation's weapon, it consumes a tremendous amount of magical energy."
It did consume energy. However, the snake-blade was siphoning it from every opponent it cut down. That ability —
"That's Mireia's work, isn't it. Ruthless as ever."
— It was dependable, but for some reason, I found myself picturing Mireia's smug expression. Right then, a man clad in black armor appeared, a contingent of knights in his wake.
"Lyle! How dare you show your face before me like some kind of fool!"
Just when I thought I'd stopped the soldiers from swarming in, Bread himself showed up. I understood he was indignant, but he was way too uptight about it.
The Third Generation inside the Jewel was laughing too.
"That's the kid from when we dealt with the Griffon, right? He went and grew up to be the disappointing one again."
The Seventh Generation asked the Third Generation.
"Well, with how he's been acting, it was obvious he'd end up on the wrong side, wasn't it?"
The Third Generation let out a sigh.
"No, the possibility wasn't zero, you know. He could have climbed up from where he was and gotten his act together. But the moment he showed up in front of Lyle, it was over. There was nothing left to do but take him down."
When the Third Generation said "take him down," he meant kill.
"...Quite the fancy armor you've got there. How's it feel to be so important?"
I gave him a little push, and it worked like a charm. He raised his left arm and swung it straight down. The surrounding knights charged at me. Only, those knights had activated their Skills.
"Fools! Charging in alone against these numbers is something only a moron would do! I'll crush you in an instant, then display your head to the enemy—"
I smiled as I watched Bread, who was so sure he'd won. That would get under his skin even more.
"I'm standing here because I believe I can win. And that feeling hasn't wavered a bit."
As I swung the snake-blade, it was siphoning mana from the corpses around us. Mireia had said the Jewel's power was growing, and it seemed that was having an effect on the weapons of the Successive Heads as well.
The ominous tip of the snake-blade transformed, taking on the shape of a serpent's head. A sinister silver snake extended from the hilt, revealing itself—
"Devour them all."
With a single command, it lunged outward. The massive silver blade mimicked the form of a serpent, sweeping up the knights and soldiers who had closed in and cutting them down. It absorbed the blood splattered on its silver body, reducing the mana it needed to consume.
Bread was visibly panicking once his allies around him were gone. I'd been directing the snake-blade to target everyone except Bread, and it moved exactly as I'd commanded.
"Wh-what... What did you doooo?! That's cowardly! You people always have powerful weapons like this! People like me, who were born poor, get used as stepping stones by the likes of you! To come this far... to come this far!!"
When allied soldiers arrived from the rear, Bread tried to fall back. I thought maybe he hadn't been charmed by Ceres, but it was clearly something else. The Seventh Generation was exasperated.
"Good grief. Using your background as an excuse, and this is the result? You're not even worth feeding to Laiel."
I returned the snake-blade to its original form. Seeing that, Bread must have thought I was exhausted, because he stopped retreating.
"Th-that's right! There's no way you can pull off attacks like that over and over! I win! After acting all confident, you're the one who loses!"
Knights and soldiers pressed in from all around. But I didn't swing the snake-blade.
"That's not it. I just didn't need to anymore. Did you really think I was rampaging through the center because I intended to take on everyone by myself? If chaos broke out here, it would affect the front lines where the fighting is. Besides, you're not my opponent."
Lightning struck the area around me. May had been continuing her quiet assault from the sky, and on top of that, flames and ice surged from behind me forward, swallowing up the knights and soldiers.
Then a single mounted knight swept past me. Advancing while kicking up the surrounding sand, he blew knights and soldiers aside while sheathing himself and his horse in armor of sand.
I already knew allies were approaching from behind — the Fifth and Sixth Generation's Skills had told me that. A charge that had lost its momentum meant nothing to us now.
Maxim, who had charged directly at Bread, leaped up in his sand armor and brought his lance crashing down, knocking Bread from his horse.
"...Get up. I'll be your opponent."
Bread fell from his horse and used his sword as a crutch to stand, his black hair disheveled. His helmet had come off, and upon seeing Maxim, he raised his voice to those around him.
"Wh-what are you doing?! Kill this guy!"
He called for help to those nearby, but Maxim didn't flinch even when enemy attacks landed. The sand armor didn't let swords or spears through.
Arms of sand sprouted from his back, cutting down the surrounding soldiers with sand-forged weapons.
"People tend to think I'm nothing but brute force given my appearance, but I'm actually quite skilled with magic too."
It did seem like he was using magic in a rather questionable way, but if he was fine with it, I figured that counted as being good at it.
—Bread was staring at the knight before him.
"Come on. Take your stance."
Maxim was a knight famous even in Banseim. Bread took a hit from Maxim and realized he couldn't win. He had enough strength to understand that much.
Glancing around, he saw his allies fighting other enemies and few available to help him. Even those were being mowed down by Maxim.
"Not yet. Even if you all fight this hard against this many dead soldiers..."
Immediately after, there was movement ahead. A massive Golem had appeared. It had the head of a lion, wore armor, and grew multiple arms from its back. Each hand held a weapon, sweeping them around to clear the area.
"That... that is..."
Seeing Bread with his mouth agape, Maxim thrust his spear. Bread dodged by rolling, only to see knights and soldiers swarm Maxim and be cut down.
Maxim looked straight at Bread.
"I would have preferred to avoid this kind of battle, to be honest. Showing my trump card is unsatisfactory, but above all, we are at war. Our policy was not to pit a small force against a large army."
Bread was sitting on the ground, crawling backward.
"You're kidding... Are you saying you were holding back!"
"No, not at all. It's just that you weren't the opponent I needed to take seriously. Be proud. You forced Lord Laiel and the others to get serious."
Hearing those words, Bread slammed his fist into the ground. Again and again.
"You all... you all look down on people like that! Lineage, talent... Are those with such things really that great?! Then, to beat people like you, it has to be someone like me who has nothing!"
Bread pulled out the potion Ceres had given him from inside his clothes and put the bottle to his lips. After draining it, he looked up at Maxim, laughing. Maxim didn't seize the opening.
"That composure will be your downfall. This [Demonic Potion] is a completed product based on research on something that flowed in from Zayin! You've angered me -- you've mad -- me--!"
As Bread's skin turned purple, veins bulged, and blood spurted out. The red blood turned purple, and then green. His body gradually grew larger, and the clothes and armor he wore tore apart and flew off.
Maxim said just one word, watching Bread.
"So, this is your trump card? What a pathetic sight."
Seeing Maxim's expression through the sand armor, Bread didn't know what he looked like. He looked at his own hands. They were horribly swollen, purple, with thick, pulsing veins.
His body was growing larger and larger. However, that appearance was...
"What is this... What is happening, Lady Ceres?!"
It was the sight of something resembling a human upper body attached to the head of a purple caterpillar. There was the figure of a demon that looked nothing like a successful one——.