Memories of the Holy Sword Spirit, Durandal.
“You exist solely to protect us, nothing less and nothing more. Fulfill your duty as a sword.”
“You are a sword, my partner. An extension of myself—let’s fight together.”
“I’m sorry, Durandal. You are important to me, but my grandson—Lux is even more important.”
“Is this the Holy Sword? It seems less reliable than I thought.”
“Well, it’s supposed to exist to cut down demons, but after all, it’s just an antique. It doesn’t have the power to defeat a demon dragon, does it?”
“You are—important to me… I’d appreciate it if you could stay with me from now on.”
.
.
.
The body of the Holy Sword Spirit trembles.
The enemy before her, a man dressed in black, is a formidable foe.
He likely has the power to destroy her.
And above all, he has undoubtedly come to this place targeting her.
In that case, there is no escape.
With the ability to sniff out her location like this, no matter how much she flees, she will be caught.
And again—
“No, I don’t want to…!”
“I don’t want to return to that cold, watery depth…!”
Her body shakes.
Fear clouds her thoughts.
And the children are the same, simply overwhelmed by the man before them, unable to do anything—
“What are you…!”
However.
There was one who could move.
…Kevin Knight.
Within him dwells the remnants of the Holy Sword, and he stands up, trembling, glaring at the man in black.
It seemed unexpected to the man, and at the same time, inconvenient.
“Troublesome, that’s why I didn’t expect children to be here.”
After muttering that, the man says, “I don’t intend to do anything to you guys.”
“I’m just looking for something here—right, shopkeeper? Since this shop deals with the ‘Holy Sword Cucumber,’ you must know something about the situation, right?”
“I have nothing to tell you.”
Inspired by Kevin’s courageous stand, the shopkeeper also stands up and confronts the man.
“And I have nothing to give you.”
“Look, I’m trying to settle this peacefully, you know? You seem to understand what I want, so hand it over quickly.”
“I’ll say it as many times as necessary, I have nothing to give you!”
“Is that so.”
The man scratches his head vigorously, then mutters “I hate this” and clenches his fist.
He glances at a small machine in his hand, then at the white-haired girl—the Holy Sword Spirit.
“You?”
“…!”
Time seems to slow down like a slow-motion scene.
First.
The man takes a single step towards the Holy Sword Spirit, trying to close the distance in the shortest path.
But Nein anticipates his move and intercepts, thrusting a tightly clenched fist at the man.
It seemed to hit, but the man acts as if it never happened and flings Nein away.
A scream, and Clay instinctively crouches down, holding his head.
“Stop it!”
Kevin shouts.
And then—everything comes to an end.
Boom!!!
A heatwave erupts around Kevin.
But it doesn’t move anything inside the shop, only aiming to blow away the man in black.
“This is… indeed, this boy is the Holy Sword—no.”
She is momentarily distracted by surprise, but she decides there is something more important to do before that.
The end of being bound by fear.
The answer is already before her.
She has found happiness, and if it is about to be taken away—
She must protect it with her own hands.
“Light!”
The cold metal feels nostalgically familiar.
She swings the silver sword through the air, feeling its weight.
The space she cuts through becomes a layer of air that collides with the man in black, and as a result, he is thrown out of the shop.
“Ugh, ahhhh!”
“I have nothing to give to someone like you!!!”
And then the Holy Sword Spirit approaches the fallen man in black, ready to strike the final blow with her sword—
“Let’s wait a moment.”
When she realizes it.
There stood a man in a black robe.
A white, eerie mask hidden deep under a hood.
What surprised the Holy Sword Spirit the most was not understanding the principle behind the phenomenon that had just occurred, nor the details of the magic.
Yet, she feels a sense of nostalgia.
She feels a causal connection at the soul level.
She is becoming the man’s possession.
Realizing this, she shivers.
“…!”
“I don’t know what this man has done to you. But is that sword meant to harm people?”
“Who are you…!”
“I’m not someone worth naming. I’m just an attendant for this man who came to collect something from this shop.”
Nein, emerging from the shop, launches a surprise attack, but it is easily blocked.
With one hand, effortlessly.
“I don’t intend to harm you guys—those words may be meaningless. At least this man intended to disadvantage you and forced you to choose to use force. At that point, my words might just be noise to you.”
“…”
“However, I still don’t intend to point a weapon at you—well, yes. I would like to take ‘something’ from this shop. It’s something this man wants.”
“No, ugh…”
It’s no use, she can’t beat that man.
The dimensions are too different, too far.
She doesn’t know who he is, or even if he’s human.
There’s no chance of winning, but still, the Holy Sword Spirit shouts.
“I will no longer submit to people like you!”
“…”
“I already have… someone I love!”
“But what does that have to do with now?”
Ah, right.
The “thing” before her is an irredeemable plunderer.
And she probably can’t beat the plunderer anymore.
The future is doomed.
But still.
There’s still a chance.
“No matter what your intentions are. I don’t want to hurt you. Just let go of that sword, and everything here will settle down very peacefully.”
“…Yes, that’s right. No matter how much I wield ‘this,’ it won’t mean anything.”
But the Holy Sword Spirit looks at Nein.
“Nein, use me.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll lend you my power, temporarily. Let’s defeat this guy together.”
“…Yes!”
The two young boys and girls join hands, and auroras burst forth.
And then—there stood the final boss, holding a pure white greatsword.
“Let’s go, monster… I will defeat you here!”
The long-awaited manifestation of the Holy Sword, Durandal.
That sword is truly a blade that cuts everything in half.
But, however.
“■■■■”
It felt like something was muttered.
And then it was all over.
“What…?”
When she realized it—one person and one swing were in an unknown space.
That’s not a problem in itself.
With the power of the Holy Sword Durandal, she could easily break through such a space.
But this power.
The power that the man used earlier.
It’s too similar to the Holy Sword Durandal.
But the man didn’t have the Holy Sword, and she didn’t even feel its presence.
Then, what…
And then.
Kevin, seeing the two disappear, stiffens.
His gaze meets that of the man who did it.
Frozen like a frog stared down by a snake.
That’s why those words were seared into his ears.
“You… you look a lot like him.”
◇
In the car, Lambda was utterly dejected.
“I guess I really don’t have what it takes, huh?”
“Well, no. You were instantly defeated, but those kids were just strong.”
“I can’t raise my hand against children. I work at a theme park, you know?”
“Tell that to the boss.”
After hanging his head in front of me for a while, Lambda seemed to make up his mind, lifted his face, and said, “Alright.”
“I’m going to leave the ‘Thirteen Step.’”
“Eh?”
“And from now on, I’ll work as a civilian at Penguin Land.”
“No, wait.”
“Don’t stop me, Lux. I’ve known all along—I love children, and that’s why I’m suited to work as a staff member at a theme park.”
“Uh…”
But it seems his determination is firm, and perhaps it’s even better for him to leave the ‘Thirteen Step.’
Whether the other side will accept it or not…
Ping♪
At that moment.
His smartphone, which he held in his hand, rang at just the right time.
Lambda, startled, hesitantly opened the smartphone and then brightened his expression.
“I’m allowed to quit!”
“Eh?”
Really?
But who would approve of Lambda’s decision without any report…?
“Ah, and also. Lux.”
“What is it?”
“The ‘King of Light’ would like to speak with you.”
And.
It seems the boss of the ‘Thirteen Step.’
The smartphone that seems to connect to the king who rules this neon-lit city, Lambda casually and comfortably offers it to me.
