Nina broke into a sprint.
To settle things once and for all. To seize upon the one and only fatal opening of the formidable enemy who had tormented her for so long—Archbishop Johann—and bring the northern rebellion to an end.
Her condition was, frankly, terrible.
Days of psychological torment had taken a toll on her body, and being continuously deployed on mission after mission had pushed her fatigue to its peak—if she were to judge on form alone, she was close to her absolute worst.
—But.
Her body felt so impossibly light that none of that even mattered. Her feet moved with such effortless ease, it felt as though she could do anything at all.
The reason for that was—
"..."
Nina pressed a hand to her chest.
Deep within—the magic he had placed at the very bottom of her heart. The spell he had cast to protect Nina: the '
Dream Palace of the Fairy
'. Keenly aware that it still wrapped her heart in warmth, Nina whispered—
"...You're making this really difficult, you know."
Her chest tightened with a sweet ache. She felt her cheeks flush. Joy—happiness—she couldn't hold it back.
Because the '
Dream Palace of the Fairy
' possessed a nature in which its effect was proportional to the target's favorability toward the caster.
And—because of that. The magic residing within her, though crude, still wielded tremendous power, and it had not permitted the slightest interference from the Archbishop. Alongside shielding her heart, it had been conveying a truth to Nina herself—a truth that only she could perceive.
Yes, that truth was—
"—You love me, don't you, El?"
That fact, more than anything else, was enough to put Nina in the best form imaginable.
…Well, she did understand.
She was aware that what he felt was something commonly called affection or camaraderie—not the emotion she wanted most from him. She could recognize that much, at least.
But, right now—
All the failures, the hostility (however superficial), the terrible things she had done—
And yet he had never given up on her—that he had felt this strongly about her, all the same.
That alone was enough to make her feet move powerfully forward.
Come on. Let's go. Back to him. This time for certain.
With that resolve burning inside her, she took another step forward.
"You've got to be—kidding me!"
Archbishop Johann pulled yet another Magical tool from his robes, his face twisted with fury.
In an instant, a barrage of varied magical attacks resumed. They formed a tremendous curtain of destruction, this time bearing down on Nina.
…Perhaps befitting of the Church's number two.
Even after being pushed this far, he still had this many cards left to play.
Years of experience manipulating this country, and the myriad Magical tools he had collected from across the land. The seat of Archbishop was no empty title.
He likely hadn't predicted this exact situation, but he had kept reserves on hand—just in case Nina turned her fangs against him, just in case the barrier's
Ancient Magical tool
—was destroyed.
In truth, that barrage would have been more than enough to overwhelm her as she had been before, without her former offensive magic. Gaining his feelings didn't make her invincible—things weren't that sweet.
──But.
"What─ what──!? Why, why won't my attacks land!?"
The Archbishop's miscalculation in this moment was──
──That he had estimated Niina's physical abilities and magical power based on "before she met Ermes."
Why won't they land, why can she dodge them, why──
is she that fast
.
Having caught the unspoken question behind his words, Niina smiled fearlessly and answered.
──Because he praised me.
Eru-kun told me I was amazing. About my sword.
That's right.
It wasn't just about her feelings. She had been diligently honing her skills, too.
After enduring such brutal verbal abuse from her family, it would have been perfectly understandable if she had grown to hate holding a sword, yet──
even so──
she never stopped.
That day at the academy, she had met him, received his praise, and resolved to try once more. She resumed her training in earnest, and that was what had catapulted her abilities to an entirely different level. Because she had been deliberately holding back under the Archbishop's orders, he had failed to notice.
Archbishop Johann had forgotten.
That she, too, had once possessed extraordinary sword talent──that she had been a Prodigy on an entirely different vector from Ermes.
As he was made to understand this, and felt the fear he should never have felt toward Niina as she closed in──steady, relentless──
the Archbishop screamed, trying to mask it.
"Don't mess with me! That's impossible—it can't be possible! In this country, something like that!"
With a desperate expression, he continues speaking, carrying something an Archbishop could not concede.
"If you trace back the history, it's obvious—what has always driven this country has been unselfish hypocrites and bottomless villains! In a country like that, now of all times! It's impossible that people like you wouldn't be crushed! Just submit, and obey God!"
……Johann's words were, in parts, somewhat lacking in clarity.
It was likely a conclusion reached after seeing things they didn't know. And his statement that it had been that way up until now wasn't untrue.
And—now, it simply wasn't that way anymore.
……However.
Understanding the reasoning that led him to believe so, Niina answers.
"—I don't care about that."
What Johann spoke of might be what they'd have to face next. It might be what they'd have to confront and consider in the future.
Even so, she declares this now.
"The country up until now doesn't matter. I don't know or care about the way you preach the country should be."
The shape of Niina von Frodoit's wish wasn't something like that. Her battlefield was never there from the start.
Yes, she.
"I'll just… move forward for the sake of the person I love."
With that defined shape of her heart, Niina states it with a firm resolve.
Finally, having evaded the last spell, she closes the distance to the Archbishop to just a few steps.
If it came to this, victory was certain. Against an opponent like Niina, who had allowed him to enter this close—resistance was nearly impossible, even for Ermes.
With that certainty, Niina steps forward powerfully—
(——
Here it is.
)
There. Archbishop Johann chuckled to himself.
Keeping your trump card hidden until the very end was basic. And the other side had supreme confidence in close-quarters combat... Part of that was likely because they assumed the Archbishop himself wasn't much of a fighter.
But.
(What an idiot! As if that could possibly be the case!)
In his position, assassination and surprise attacks were the things he needed to be most wary of—and to reliably evade them, having combat ability of his own was the greatest insurance.
And Johann had never once neglected his efforts in that regard.
Therefore, he could dodge a single blow. By exploiting the opponent's complacency, he could put up a minimal defense. And on top of that—
(Now it's this thing's turn.)
He would use a card his opponent couldn't anticipate, couldn't even conceive of. The final means to do so now rested in the Archbishop's palm.
The barrier activation—
Ancient Magical Tool.
He would use the Magical Tool that had been "destroyed" by Ermes's strike—the one they believed was destroyed.
Of course, it wasn't unscathed. The damage was severe, and it couldn't perform at its full power... but it wasn't completely broken. One more activation—the barrier could still be triggered.
He would make that single use count to the fullest. Exploiting the gap in their perception, he would activate the barrier in the instant he dodged the opponent's attack, trapping this woman inside the barrier.
The other side had no magical attack power. If he could just trap her, escape would be impossible. Once that happened, the only person threatening him would be gone, and the tables would turn once more.
Even if she realized his aim, it would already be too late. If she had come this close, she wouldn't be able to deactivate the barrier, nor escape it.
You fool, who didn't realize you weren't approaching him—you were lured in. Mocking her for the difference in experience, and ready to turn the tables at the very last moment, the Archbishop moved his hand to activate the Magical Tool—
—
He stopped.
.
"Like I'd let my guard down."
Niina declared.
But the Archbishop's mind had already darted to a different shock — a different suspicion.
(Wha... why did my hand stop? No, not just my hand — my entire body won't move. What the hell is—!)
His body had gone rigid. Though bewildered by this phenomenon that had so abruptly overtaken him... he quickly realized.
Without a doubt — the woman standing before him. She possessed exactly one means of accomplishing this. That is to say,
(You've got to be kidding me.)
"
Fairy's Dream Palace
"
A magic that charms the target and, as a derivative effect, induces body paralysis. And it had — right now — been cast on him?
(Impossible! Why—)
However, there were two major questions.
First, it shouldn't work on someone who wielded the same type of magic. There was no way it could affect the Archbishop, who possessed brainwashing magic... No, wait.
That very restriction was one he himself had broken just the other day. He had pierced through the walls of Niina's mind and sent his brainwashing magic in.
If so, then working backward from that...
The reverse would be—
The Archbishop's
The pattern
of the magic—
analyze it,
and return
the same type
of magic.
.
A magic counter also employed in what's commonly known as curse reversal. He'd never even heard of it, yet—because he possessed the same magic—the Archbishop couldn't help but understand.
(No, but—but!)
But still, there remained one more point—something absolutely incomprehensible.
Because her magic—the activation condition of '
Palace of Fairy Dreams'
'—
"Honestly, I really didn't want to use this. You're strong, so I can't hold back. You were trying to turn things around just now, weren't you?"
Perhaps sensing that he'd arrived at that suspicion, Niina opens her mouth once more.
"—Oh, just so you know, I absolutely despise you. But... well. I'm pretty practical like that."
Gracefully, elegantly. Not allowing his gaze to slip away—as if searing into his mind the existence of the person who was about to defeat him.
And with that, she gave her most radiant smile.
"So... one last thing. Take it as my 'thanks.'"
And so, the Archbishop learns.
He who had thoroughly denounced goodwill. Who had dismissed it as worthless, who had relentlessly destroyed every bond of goodwill—Johann.
Because he misjudged that, the tables were turned—and in the end—
Goodwill
Towards
Himself
Was directed—
Upon
Defeated.
That was the most humiliating end imaginable. He understood that—accepted it, even as terror consumed him.
"Stop..."
"Nope ♪"
His plea was brushed aside by an impossibly adorable refusal.
With a smile that alone could captivate the entire world, Niina turned to the Archbishop—his face twisted in horror—
"—Thank you for introducing me to El, okay? Archbishop."
"You... bastard----!!"
He shrieked, but it was already far too late.
Niina's razor-sharp flash of steel tore through the helpless Archbishop in a single stroke.
That became the blow that settled everything—the strike that shattered all the twisted pillars of the Northern Confederation.
Resolution.
The Northern Rebellion arc is almost over—I hope you'll stick with me!