Chapter 205
"... Kuhahat! Mik, you told me to get a hold of myself, so why are you goofing off?"
Looking at the severed head of Mik, Rectol suddenly burst out laughing.
At this, Kryphi tilted his head.
"Are you so terrified you've gone mad? My apologies. I should have been more considerate."
"Hey~. Listen to what that guy's saying. He says it's boring. Let's stop there."
"Hm?"
Rectol kept saying odd things.
Kryphi looked at Mik's head in his hands with a puzzled expression.
At that moment, black mist suddenly spewed out from Mik's head.
"!"
Whoosh!
In an instant, Kryphi was engulfed in black mist.
Mik's severed head, which exhaled the black mist on him, floated up into the air on its own, frowned at Rectol, and scolded him.
"Rectol, you idiot! I was planning to attack while you were distracted, so what are you doing ruining it like that!"
"Kuhat! Sorry, sorry! Your acting was so obvious, I just... reacted."
"Still, that human over there had no idea! Ugh, it's a relief it all worked out."
Mik's head finished speaking and floated back to her body.
Churrrrk!
Black, tentacle-like appendages writhed out from the severed part and tangled together, instantly repairing the once-severed neck.
"Alright, then let's hurry up. I don't want to lose the prize to the other teams."
"Haha! Got it."
Rectol approached her while laughing, then suddenly swung his sword at the black mist.
Clang!
A blade that was about to shoot out of the black mist was stopped by his sword, and a clear ringing resounded.
"Huh?"
Mik stepped back, startled.
Rectol stood in front of her and spoke.
"What, that's pretty sturdy."
"Whoa~ That really surprised me. I was sure I'd cut that head off properly."
The black mist dispersed, and Kryphi's figure appeared.
His top was gone, as if it had melted away, though apparently his pants were intact.
"No way! How did you shrug off my ink...?"
"Ho, ink, is it? Are you some kind of octopus devil?"
"!"
At Kryphi's words, Mik flinched.
And Rectol commented, intrigued.
"You seem to know a bit about devils? Did you hear about them from that woman, Eltima Cross?"
"Well~ I did hear a bit here and there. I even fought one myself."
"You fought one? A devil?"
Rectol looked genuinely surprised.
Kryphi just shrugged.
"I had help, but I did defeat it. The dust devil—someone called Hagen, if I recall."
"!"
The dust devil, Hagen.
That was a name they had heard before.
Rectol and Mik exchanged glances in an instant.
'This guy's not normal, is he?'
'We need backup. It's dangerous for just the two of us to fight him.'
After their rapid exchange, the two promptly took action.
"Haha! Good! I'll take care of you myself!"
Their plan was for Rectol, who could take a lot of punishment, to hold out while Mik brought reinforcements.
Rectol immediately drew upon his devilish power.
"The devil I made a contract with is the rock devil! Let's see if it's really true that you defeated the dust devil!"
At that moment, a myriad of sword shadows swept by.
― Kryphi Style Secret: Myriadsword
Simultaneously, while Mik was blending into the environment, she was sliced into tens of thousands of fragments and vanished in a red mist of blood.
"...?"
Rectol couldn't even process what had happened.
In front of him, Kryphi, his yellow eyes wide open, calmly flicked blood off his sword.
"There's no need to check further. What's important is, there's something I want to hear from you."
"...!"
At that very moment, Rectol instinctively realized Mik was dead.
'He killed Mik this easily? Not even if that guy was really a Grandmaster, that shouldn't be possible!'
Both of them were subordinates of the third prince, Mekinz Tora Hernan.
Originally, each possessed master-level prowess, and with Demonz's help, they had gained special abilities by contracting with devils.
Mik, who possessed the power of the octopus devil, and Rectol, who had the power of the rock devil.
Mik had become nearly immortal against regular attacks and had obtained lethal poisonous ink as well as the power to blend into her surroundings.
For Mik to be killed in an instant like this was impossible, even against a true Grandmaster.
'Could it be that Herote Marcato set a trap?'
That thought crossed his mind.
Maybe her absence was a lie, and she had set a deadly trap to kill those who might interfere.
'I have to let Mahtra know!'
Rectol bit his lip and unleashed his devilish power.
With Mik dead, defeating Kryphi alone was out of the question.
Instead, he resolved to alert his captain, Mahtra, of the crisis and hold out until help arrived.
"I see what you're aiming for, but you'd best give up. People have already been sent to intercept those who went to the other locations."
"!"
Kryphi spoke softly, eyes on Rectol.
Their gazes met—and Rectol was unable to breathe.
'Wh-what is with those eyes...!'
He felt no other emotion.
All he sensed was a murderous intent to kill his opponent.
It was so suffocating, it felt as if his neck would be severed dozens of times in an instant.
"... Looks like there's nothing to gain by questioning you."
Kryphi spoke indifferently as he adjusted his grip on his sword.
"I'll ask someone else. Farewell, then."
"Wait..."
― Myriadsword
Once more, ten thousand sword shadows swept past, and nothing was left in their wake.
* * *
The Third Prince Mekinz's special unit: Darkness.
They sought only one thing.
The Sun Stone Kabul.
If they could obtain that legendary divine relic, toppling the First Prince's influence and making Mekinz the crown prince would be only a matter of time.
Their location: the Hernan Academy Memorial Exhibition Hall.
It was where trophies from major events like the Imperial Cup or Continental Cup, as well as treasures donated by famous individuals, were kept and displayed.
The Sun Stone Kabul was hidden in a special vault within that place.
And it was Mahtra's main team, who took the main route, that arrived first.
Chiiiik!
"Tsk, so many pesky spells."
As expected, there were plenty of traps.
Because this was a specially made storage, there were many traps set by the creator.
Some had been set by Herote as well.
Darkness' captain, Mahtra, canceled spells with an annoyed look.
"Can't you just use your authority?"
Brent, his subordinate, asked.
Mahtra twisted his lips in displeasure.
"I have to conserve my authority for unforeseen situations."
"For unforeseen situations...?"
Brent looked puzzled, tilting his head.
Mahtra merely twisted his lips.
"Especially since the moon is bright tonight."
"?"
In the end, the two managed to break through security and enter the special vault.
But someone was already there, waiting.
"Wow... they actually came."
"Y-yeah, they did."
"... Kids?"
Guarding the place were two students.
One was a blonde girl, the other a red-haired boy.
Brent looked puzzled, but Mahtra just sighed.
"What are you doing here, fourth Princess?"
"!"
Fourth Princess Brid Hernan.
But more famous than her title was her nickname—the Undying Princess.
And the reason for that nickname—
"What happened to the Moonlight Knight who's always with you?"
Because she was always accompanied by Lysel Pandriga, the strongest among the members of Night.
But for some reason, she was nowhere in sight.
Milia just shrugged.
"She needs rest too, you know."
"Tsk. Brent, get ready."
"Yes!"
As if not willing to relax, Mahtra issued his orders to Brent, and Milia grinned and brought her palms together.
"You sure know a lot."
― Perfect Control
Vuum!
"!"
Suddenly, the scenery changed.
From within the special vault, beneath a night sky beautifully illuminated by moonlight.
They were now at the athletic field of Hernan Academy.
"T-Transfer?"
At the sudden relocation, Mahtra's eyes widened in shock.
To forcibly move someone like this with such speed was impossible with normal magic.
It was on par with the Transfer magic of Duke Kimberly.
"I've been waiting."
"Lysel Pandriga...!"
And there, waiting in full armor, was Isella.
With an impassive face, she drew her sword.
"It's time I settled my debt from last time."
"... Ha. I always thought I'd fight you one day. Didn't think it'd be today."
"Captain...?"
Mahtra's tone changed.
Brent, puzzled, looked at him.
Mahtra glanced at Brent.
"Brent. I'll handle things here. Go and deal with the situation with the other squad members."
"... Understood!"
Brent immediately withdrew, and Isella didn't move a muscle until he was gone.
After he left, Mahtra looked sidelong at Isella.
"Are you sure it's alright to be away from her? I thought you'd always be right at her side."
"At this distance, I can respond to any threat. Besides, the young lady and I have a contract with the God of Night. More importantly, it's a knight's duty not to interrupt when the lady is with her lover."
"... Lover?!"
Mahtra was taken aback by the word "lover."
'That boy is the princess's lover?'
He faintly recalled Ottbo's face, then clicked his tongue.
'That friend certainly is fond of faces. Both Theodore Partigel and that boy from before.'
At that moment, Isella spoke calmly.
"Do you know why I'm even telling you any of this?"
"?"
Isella's blade shimmered with moonlight.
"Because you die here."
"... Ha. Reminds me of old times."
So saying, Mahtra drew a pair of daggers.
Both his daggers were shrouded in darkness.
"Let's have some fun, shall we!"
"Come!"
It is always a single strand of moonlight that pierces the dark.
* * *
Kryphi was searching the academy for the other squads.
He already knew their location, but he was searching more thoroughly in case someone like Mik, who could hide using the power of a devil, was lurking.
'They should be able to hold out just fine.'
One team was with Isella, and another team, in case Kryphi missed anything, had been asked to defend the academy.
He scanned for any unknown new enemies, but found none.
After finishing his search, Kryphi headed to where his allies were buying time.
Kang! Kang! Kang!
"Hoo."
He heard the sounds of an intense battle.
Kryphi made his way there, a look of interest on his face.
"Damn, why are these guys so strong?"
"Just support! Our monster will win it all!"
"Argh! That weird power again!"
The voices were somewhat childish—there were many.
That's right.
Kryphi had asked the students to defend the academy as a precaution against unforeseen incidents.
'Strictly speaking, it was only one of them.'
Kryphi watched as one in the front of the student group fought with a sword.
He was already brandishing an ether blade imbued with pure will.
He wore a mask.
"I'm not a monster. I'm W, the swordsman with the mask."
"Wouldn't it be better to just be a monster...?"
The swordsman with the mask—no, Wylde.
Having awakened as a Grandmaster, Wylde and his friends were now fighting against the special unit Darkness.