Sky Curtain
["Eek."
He had thought time had stopped, but a whimper was the first thing to break the silence.
Thud. A soft sound, followed by a girl's cry of "Ah!"
In the corner of his frozen field of vision, he could just make out a black-haired woman who had landed on her backside-Shaula sat slumped on the floor, while Meili rolled her eyes beside her.
"Eek, eek..."
Shaula looked so frightened she might wet herself. If she could, she would probably have let instinct carry her straight out of the room. Only her trembling legs kept her from doing so.
"-Ngh."
He sucked in a breath, squeezed shut the eyes he had forgotten to blink, and instantly calmed down.
Then, keeping his eyes on the man, Subaru took a step back.
Holding the Sword of Selection in his right hand and Beatrice's hand in his left, he retreated with her rigid body in tow.
"E-Emilia..."
"I know..."
Unable to leave Emilia behind, Subaru called to her, frozen as she was. Her voice trembled as she nodded in response. Subaru backed away in time with her movements, her legs still shaking.
"-Obtain the permission of the fool who has attained the Heavenly Sword."
Even as the distance widened, the man remained motionless, merely repeating those words.
"-Obtain the permission of the fool who has attained the Heavenly Sword."
Retreating while keeping all his attention on the man, he reached Shaula's side as she sat slumped on the floor.
Her expression was still filled with terror, and Meili clutched her hand, not daring to move.
"-Obtain the permission of the fool who has attained the Heavenly Sword."
Those repeated words were the task for the "trial" on the second floor, "Electra." Subaru did not know what significance the man's repetition held.
The trial instructions he had heard upon drawing the sword, the man repeating them, the fool, permission-
"-Obtain... permission... from the fool who has reached the Heavenly Sword..."
"-Huh?"
As his thoughts accelerated and a terrifying conclusion formed in Subaru's mind, the man's fluid repetition of the question changed.
-And that change alone was enough to shake Subaru and the others.
"Heavenly Sword, the fool's... permission... ah, aaah, oh, oh-oh-aaah-"
"Wh-what? What is it, what is it? What's happening?"
"Ah, ah, aaaaaaah-!!"
"Eeeeek!"
"Dowaaah!?"
The motionless man's words faltered strangely, and then his emotions erupted. The sudden outburst made Shaula shriek and fling herself at Subaru.
Thinking his arm might snap in her embrace, Subaru tumbled to the floor without even managing to break his fall.
"Ow! Shaula, you..."
"Nooooo! Master, Master, Master, save me-! No! Heeelp-!"
"-Shut the hell up!! I've got a hangover and my head hurts! What the hell are you screaming for?!"
"Ahoo..."
Before he could tell her to calm down, Shaula's mental state had already collapsed. After all her wild thrashing, her eyes simply rolled back, and she went motionless with her arms around Subaru's waist.-She had fainted just like that.
"You've got to be kidding..."
"Blub, blub, blub, blub..."
Having made her unconsciousness abundantly clear, Shaula was completely out of the fight.
Given her reactions up to this point, it was honestly entirely unexpected.
After all, everyone had witnessed her combat prowess-and yet she was this terrified.
"One glance is enough to tell that you are no ordinary man."
"Aaah~?"
A sharp footstep rang out, coming from the same source that prompted the man's displeased response.
It was the elegant, splendid knight stepping forward in white leather shoes-his expression stiff, Julius reached down and picked up the sword Subaru had dropped when he fell.
Watching him, the man twisted his mouth irritably.
"Who the hell are you? Actually, where is this? Don't screw around with me."
"No, we are not joking. We are equally confused. You suddenly appeared here, after all.-Please forgive our instinctive wariness."
"What's with you? All that fancy talk is annoying. You sound just like my little brother. Are you my little brother? No, right? Then quit doing things that give people the wrong idea, bastard."
Julius's courteous yet wary gaze made the man click his tongue in irritation. Compared to when he had merely repeated the same sentence, he seemed more human now, but it was still hard to call this a conversation.
"-Fine woman, fine woman, lewd woman, kid, kid, little brother, small fry."
"Unfortunately, I am not your little brother."
"Kaha! That's exactly how my little brother talks. I told you to quit copying him!"
At Julius's objection, the man laughed happily for the first time-his whole mouth splitting wide like a shark's.
His smile finally offered a glimpse of his humanity. Or perhaps it finally confirmed that he was an intelligent life-form capable of conversation.
"Hey, you. Explain. What's going on here? What did you do to me? Not bad. Hurry up and tell me."
"You show up... out of nowhere... and act... awfully important."
The man casually scratched his chest, his manner arrogant. When Subaru forced out those words, he responded unhappily.
"Aaah~? What's with you? Why the hell are you sleeping? Pretty high and mighty, huh? Sleeping with a lewd woman for a blanket. Trade with me."
"Unfortunately, out of respect for the wishes of the person involved, I'll have to deny your request..."
Subaru forced his trembling legs to work and hauled himself upright.
In the process, Shaula, who had been clinging to him, toppled headfirst onto the floor, but Subaru had no attention to spare for her.
However-
"-Aaah~? What's with you? So that's it. You've gotta be kidding me."
"What the hell...? What kind of rude thing is that to say while looking at someone's face?"
"Kaha!"
The man made a hard sound, as though clenching his teeth, then grinned ferociously. Ignoring the bewildered Subaru, he surveyed the white room with his one eye, then nodded as though he understood.
"Oh, oh, so that's how it is. Got it, got it.-Let's get started, then."
"Start what... Wait! You've been driving this conversation wherever you please. Aren't you moving too fast!?"
"You're noisy. I explained it in my sleep just now, didn't I? Listen properly when people talk."
"Which part...?"
"-Obtain the permission of the fool who has attained the Heavenly Sword."
Subaru was dumbfounded, unable to keep up. Instead, Emilia recited word for word the sentence the man had repeated so many times.
Apparently, their paralysis was starting to wear off, and Emilia, Beatrice, Anastasia, and Meili had come back to their senses. Shaula aside.
"Kaha! That fine woman over there is different from the small fry. If you were alive, you'd be my partner tonight... Taking a closer look, this is bad! You, that face of yours is way too dazzling!"
"Dazzling...?"
"You! You're the examiner here! Are you allowed to act like this?"
The man's eyes turned lecherous at the sight of Emilia. Subaru stepped between them, pointing at him as he demanded an answer. The man's sharklike grin only widened.
"-Dunno. I'm not interested in titles other people give me. If you want to talk seriously, make me take a single step from this spot."
The man spoke leisurely, standing completely unguarded. They did not laugh it off because the condition he had presented sounded difficult enough to serve as a trial, making it immediately convincing.
-Obtain the permission of the fool who has attained the Heavenly Sword. If the man before them was that "fool who has reached the Heavenly Sword," then he had told them how to obtain his permission. All that remained was whether they could do it.
"Julius Juukulius, a member of the Kingdom of Lugunica's Royal Guard."
Before the battle-no, the trial-began, Julius formally introduced himself. It was an expression of respect toward the opponent with whom he was about to compete, offered as an equal. Receiving it, the man narrowed his blue eyes happily, exuding an extraordinary sword aura.
"I've got no name to give.-I'm just a 'Master Swordsman.'"
The trial on "Electra," the second floor of the Pleiades Great Library. Time allowed: "unlimited." Attempts allowed: "unlimited." Challengers allowed: "unlimited."
-The trial began. The examiner was the red-haired man standing at ease in the room, like a smiling shark. Calling himself a "Master Swordsman," he radiated an extraordinary sword aura from his entire body.
The way he had appeared was strange as well. Shaula, who could be considered the watchtower's administrator, had fainted at the mere sight of him. He was clearly no ordinary man. Therefore-
"Allow me to use my full strength from the outset-!"
Leaning forward, Julius took a step as he spoke. He lightly tossed the Sword of Selection, which had originally been embedded in the second floor's floor, toward the man. Spinning end over end, the sword traced an arc and pierced the floor precisely beside his feet. This would let the man reach down, draw it, and fight.
"What the hell are you doing? Don't throw a sword at me. You wanna die?"
"Unfortunately, I am not so lacking in propriety as to swing my sword at an unarmed opponent. That would disgrace a knight!"
"Kaha! What a joke.-I'm not unarmed. Take a good look."
The man bared his teeth in a vicious grin at Julius. Then he rudely kicked the sword away. The Sword of Selection flew off with a clang.
"-Ngh! Do not regret those words!"
His commitment to fair play tossed aside like worthless trash, Julius tightened his expression and drew his knight's sword. The slender blade became a hammer of judgment, striking straight at the insolent man who had sullied their contest. But that lightning-fast thrust-
"Don't bark so cutely, idiot. With a face that pretty, it'd be trouble if making you cry got me excited, you know?"
"Wha...!"
The thrust that should have pierced the man's body stopped with a thunderous sound. Of course, Julius had not held back.
He had used all the strength within his capabilities. Thus, it was not he who had stopped the attack, but the smiling shark facing him.
"Impossible!"
"Believe it when you see it. Start there. Right there."
Grinning ferociously, the "Master Swordsman" scratched his chest with his right hand, while his left caught the tip of Julius's sword with astonishing precision. And he had done it with-
"-A twig?"
"Nope, chopsticks. Chopsticks. Handy for eating snacks with your booze. That's why I carry them."
Slender wooden sticks painted black-they were unmistakably chopsticks. Subaru had learned in Pristella that chopsticks existed in this world too, but this was his first time seeing someone use them with such dexterity.-No, however perfectly someone handled them, catching a first-rate sword technique with chopsticks was simply not humanly possible.
"Don't make me laugh. Swing with the best angle, the best speed, and the best feel-and even with chopsticks, there's nothing you can't cut."
"Urgh...!"
It was an astonishing sight. Yet the "Master Swordsman" looked ready to yawn. Everyone was struck speechless by it except Julius himself. He poured strength into his hands, trying to retrieve the knight's sword caught between the chopsticks. But the blade did not budge.
"Don't strain, don't strain... Give us a smile. You'd be a beauty if you smiled. Shame you're a man."
The force restraining his sword suddenly slackened. Julius hesitated for only an instant over where to direct his strength, but the man had already spun, driving a long leg into his slender waist and sending him flying.
"Julius-!"
Subaru did not know who had screamed. He only knew that Julius's body flew like a leaf, but it did not end there-
"Kaha!"
The "Master Swordsman" leaped, his tall body catching up to Julius with bulletlike speed. Moving directly above him, he unleashed a storm of violence with his two chopsticks.
Facing the approaching danger, Julius instinctively parried the chopstick strikes with his knight's sword.
But as though mocking him, the man's chopsticks slipped past the blade, thrusting, thrusting, thrusting, thrusting-
"Jiwarld-!!"
At once, a heat ray shot toward the two airborne men.
As simple as its form was, the white light cut straight through the world with equally astonishing force.
That was to say, it burned everything along its path. It was a blade of heat that scorched and severed all things.
Since it traveled in a straight line, it should have been easy to dodge-but the heat ray moved as though at light speed, rushing straight at its prey.
Even the "Master Swordsman" could do nothing against the third party's strike of light-
"-My sword can cut light, too."
Before his roar reached their ears, a chopstick strike had already severed the heat ray head-on.
The unimaginable sight left everyone dumbfounded. But the man smiled as though it were only natural, as if mocking them-no, he continued to toy with Julius while mocking them.
"-Ngh! Jiwarld--!!"
That fact made her eyes bloodshot as she continued to chant-spreading both hands and casting the heat-ray spell was Anastasia, her delicate features set with a readiness to die.
Her outspread fingers-ten in total across both hands-simultaneously emitted heat rays, sending ten lines of death toward the "Master Swordsman" at once.
-Yet the "Master Swordsman" evaded them in an astonishing way.
"Kaha!"
The "Master Swordsman" again cut through the light with his chopsticks, then kicked off the air and plunged straight down-landing with Julius still caught in his chopsticks. With their tips pressed against Julius's solar plexus, he broke into a run, dragging his entire body across the floor.
"Kahahahahaha! Nice aim, woman. You could stop a fly. You won't get the pretty boy back like that. Kahahahahaha!"
"Jiwarld! Jiwarld! Jiwarld-!"
Anastasia's heat rays continuously assailed the man as he raced along, laughing loudly, but however powerful they were, they meant nothing if they failed to hit.
The man's combat prowess, and the persistent Anastasia's-no, Echidna's-lack of experience.
She wanted to save Julius, but her fervor came to nothing, her attacks unable even to graze her opponent.
Before long, time ran out-
"-Ah, ugh."
"Aaah~?"
The "Master Swordsman," who had been merrily dodging the heat rays, raised an eyebrow when the pursuit abruptly stopped.
At the end of his gaze, Anastasia crumpled where she stood, blood flowing from her nose. Seeing that, Subaru remembered.
-Echidna had said that her trump card depleted her life force.
"Lady Anastasia-!"
Seeing his mistress collapse, the knight who had been desperately defending himself rallied.
Sliding on his back across the floor, his whole body enduring the chopstick strikes, Julius twisted and shed his Royal Guard cloak, changing the friction.
Using that momentary opening, he escaped the enemy's continuous attacks. Then he swung his long legs around, kicking toward his opponent's head from his prone position.
The man bent his neck to dodge, but Julius followed up with that breakdance-like movement, managing to put distance between them.
"Now you're more to my taste. You've whetted my appetite."
"I don't have time for your nonsense! Out of my way-!"
Despite understanding the overwhelming gap in their strength, Julius still shouted at the man.
Even after being battered by a flurry of blows, he had not let go of his knight's sword. It hummed as it struck like a snake.
Driven by righteous indignation and a sense of duty, his swordplay flowed with grace-perhaps the pinnacle of what a single knight could achieve.
No outsider could even know how many years of training, how much painstaking effort, had gone into acquiring such skill.
But-
"What is this? Don't make me laugh. Show me what you've really got. Are you even trying? If this is you trying... then you've let me down."
His thrusts were stopped, his slashes deflected, his combinations knocked aside, his killing blows scorned.
The swordsmanship Julius had accumulated, everything he had honed to become the perfect knight, was crushed by the man calling himself a "Master Swordsman," with bored sighs and chopstick techniques that were terrifyingly vicious yet breathtakingly beautiful.
Just two sticks trampled Julius's "half a lifetime"-
"That's not how you fight, is it? What's this, fighting alone? That's not your style.-That's why you're so boring."
"I...!"
"If you wanna go to your woman, go. Cry and whine on her soft thighs. Useless waste of a swordsman."
For an instant, something crossed Julius's face-anger, pain, resentment, or perhaps despair.
Whatever it was, no one else could see into his heart.
"--"
Julius's slender knight's sword had traced tens of thousands of silver flashes.
But everyone watching could see the uncertainty in his strikes.
The next second, the thin wooden sticks easily snapped the steel knight's sword-with a clear ring, Julius's sword broke in two.
Julius's yellow eyes stared blankly as the broken tip flew away.
For Julius, in that moment, what broke was certainly more than his sword.
"Sleep."
With that spat-out word, a fist drove straight into the side of Julius's face.
It was the world's most primitive violence, utterly divorced from refinement.
Before humans knew how to use tools, they had already known to use their own bodies as their first weapons. This was such a blow.
"--"
The merciless blow knocked Julius's handsome face askew.
Its heavy force instantly reaped his consciousness. Like a puppet with its strings cut, his body obeyed its momentum, flying away, landing, and skidding hard across the floor-before collapsing beside Anastasia.
Laying the unconscious master and servant side by side was this beastlike man's inexplicable act of consideration.
"All right, next..."
As though he had just finished warming up, the man cracked his neck, then looked their way.
In fact, that really had been no more than a warm-up. Julius had rushed into battle, been subjected to a one-sided thrashing, Anastasia had supported him, and both had fallen. All of that had happened in a matter of tens of seconds-during which Subaru had not even spotted an opening to exploit, only standing rooted to the spot.
Not just Subaru. The others had been the same-
"-Icebrand Arts, Icicle Line."
-Of course not. As though to prove that, light danced through the white space.
Silver-white rays whirled wildly, ice particles barely visible to the naked eye-the ice-and-snow barrier "Icicle Line," generated by Emilia's absolute magical power.
"There's just one thing I want to ask."
Spreading mana through her own magical power within a limited area to create crystals, Emilia addressed the man at the center of the barrier, who was clutching his left eye through his eye patch.
"Ahh? Let's hear it, gorgeous."
"My name is Emilia. I don't have a surname.-Didn't you say we only had to make you move one step? You've moved a ve~ry long way."
She gave her name, then asked a perfectly natural question. Before the battle began, the "Master Swordsman" had indeed said it with a laugh.
"Try making me take one step from here."
And he had plainly broken that condition. During his fight with Julius, his movements around the room had gone beyond anything that could be described as freely roaming all over it.
But the man merely shrugged.
"Hey, hey, don't take it seriously. I was just setting the mood. Something I felt like saying, nothing special. Just wanted to say something cool. That's all. Get it? No? Well, you're a woman. A gorgeous one, too. Keep me company tonight, you."
"Sorry, I don't understand what you're saying. And I don't think I can beat you either."
"E-Emilia...?"
Emilia, concentrating fully on deploying her magic and preparing for battle, spoke plainly. Her words made the "Master Swordsman" widen his eyes, and even the rigid Subaru managed to force out his voice.
Hearing Subaru call to her, Emilia apologized to him, then said:
"You're ve~ry strong. I can tell just by looking. But we have to pass the 'trial.' So please give us a way to win."
"--"
"Even just one step. If we can make you move one step, we win. Let's settle it that way... is that all right?"
Emilia offered the silent man a proposal that left Subaru speechless. It was far too brazen.
Faced with that proposal, the "Master Swordsman" should have stayed silent for a while-
"Kaha!"
He bared his teeth in a grin, looking at Emilia with wide blue eyes.
"-Nice, I don't hate that. Still daring to talk big in front of me. I like it."
"Then have we passed the 'trial'?"
"I'm not planning to roll out that much hospitality! But sure. How could I not show off in front of a fine woman?-We'll do it your way."
"The condition for passing..."
"If you make me move one step, you win!"
Faced with Emilia's persistence, the "Master Swordsman" loudly declared it, looking somewhat dumbfounded.
Emilia nodded her acceptance and exchanged a look with Subaru.
"Please take care of Miss Anastasia and Julius. Help heal them."
"W-wait! You saw what just happened, right!? Charging in recklessly isn't..."
"Don't worry. He doesn't seem to intend to kill us... I'll try getting serious, too."
Firmly rejecting Subaru's attempt to stop her, Emilia stepped forward.
Then, looking resolute, she raised both hands toward the "Master Swordsman."
With distance between them, her magic could snipe at him from afar.
"You're gorgeous, but you're a tough one, aren't you?"
"My knight taught me to give everything I can do my all!"
The man folded his arms, still grinning ferociously despite his overwhelmingly disadvantageous position.
Emilia shouted at that smile-and within the field of whirling silver-white rays, the air cracked repeatedly, forming one ice weapon after another.
Swords, lances, axes, spears, arrows-countless weapons.
Icebrand Arts, Icicle Line-a bounded space of absolute destruction made with Emilia's enormous magical power. The ultimate move Subaru had devised was about to unleash.
"Hey, yah!!"
Her voice sounded easygoing, but the sight that followed was anything but.
As Emilia cried out, the ice weapons, their sharp tips already aimed at the man, shot toward the "Master Swordsman" from every direction.
Facing them, the man unleashed countless sword flashes from his hands-no, overwhelming force wielded through chopsticks.
"Uh, Emilia...!"
Meanwhile, following Emilia's instructions, Subaru hurried to Julius and Anastasia.
As Echidna had feared, it appeared Anastasia had collapsed from excessive physical and mental exhaustion.
Her nosebleed had stopped, and she had no obvious external injuries. Julius, despite his one-sided thrashing, had suffered no life-threatening wounds either.
Being struck a hundred times meant that, had his opponent used a sword, he would have been killed a hundred times.
"They're both all right. But..."
"I know."
Subaru interrupted Beatrice, who was checking their condition alongside him.
They had confirmed the pair were safe, but Emilia was facing the beast responsible head-on-
"Kaha!"
Ice weapons shattered and scattered as the man bit through a chunk of ice, swinging his chopsticks gleefully.
That strike cut an ice sword and ice axe attacking simultaneously in half.
The destroyed ice weapons instantly reverted to faint light. It scattered around the beautiful savage dealing out crude violence, the fantastical spectacle continuing without end.
But throughout it all-
"-He hasn't moved."
"If I've decided to show off, of course I'll see it through. How tasteless. If you don't prove your manliness on the brink of death, where else are you gonna charge?"
Mocking Subaru, the "Master Swordsman" hummed as he intercepted the magic.
Unlike his upper body, which rampaged wildly throughout, his feet remained as steady as mountains, not budging an inch.
This could not go on. Emilia reached the same conclusion as Subaru.
"-Ngh, yaah!!"
And so, to break the stalemate, Emilia boldly charged.
Her supple body leaped, and a long, enormous ice battle-axe formed in her raised hands.
Then she spun boldly head over heels, chopping down at the man from directly above.
"Kakaha!"
Facing the battle-axe, the man simply extended his chopsticks. They nudged the vertically falling axe slightly off course, so it merely grazed past him and slammed into the floor.
A violent impact and gust of wind erupted, and the ice battle-axe shattered to powder. But Emilia immediately let go, thrusting forward with a spear approaching from behind to form a combination.
"Hey! Yah! Hah! Orah! Orah, orah! Uryah-!"
A spear thrust, a flash of twin swords, a longsword slash, a draw slash, a sonic whip strike, an axe blow-every attack she unleashed was easily blocked by the man.
Of course, Emilia's combat skills were by no means poor. To Subaru, who had conceived it, Icebrand Arts, combining her enormous magical power and fighting ability, was a fighting technique that fully utilized Emilia's abilities.
Yet now she could not touch her enemy, and Subaru badly wanted to help.
But-
"-Subaru."
Beatrice gripped his hand tightly. She felt the same way he did.
There was not a single opening for them to intervene.
Fluidly switching weapons and exploiting her strengths, Emilia repeatedly delivered carpet bombardments through magic and martial skill.
The man who stood motionless at the center of those explosions, dismantling every attack, called himself merely a "Master Swordsman," but he was truly an abnormal monster.
Interfering carelessly might only distract Emilia.
Frustrating as it was, they could not change the situation before Emilia's stamina ran out.
While they stood helpless, an unexpected change occurred. And it came suddenly.
"Hmph! Hey! Orah!"
Wielding twin swords, Emilia attacked the man's neck from both sides.
The man ducked beneath them, and the blades turned back to stab toward his body-
"Wah!"
Unexpectedly, the man bent his knees and arched backward, dodging the twin swords with his back nearly touching the floor.
The strength of his ankles alone was enough to support his body. Emilia, her attacks missing, could not halt her momentum, and her footing faltered.
This was the first fatal opening Emilia had shown in the fight-at that moment, the man's body seemed to spring upward, and he raised his chopsticks to attack the wide-open Emilia.
For an instant, he wore his most ferocious expression yet, leaning forward with a sharklike grin.
"You're open."
The chopsticks in his hand stroked Emilia's breasts from below.
"Wha-"
She had already taken off the cloak she wore in the sand sea, and was now in her usual white clothes. Stroking her chest with his chopsticks, the man laughed lewdly, enjoying the sensation of her full flesh.
"Lucky me, lucky me. Don't get angry over a little thing like..."
"Hah!"
"Owah-!?"
Clasping her hands above his head, Emilia formed ice gloves around them and brought them straight down, striking the leering man squarely on the crown.
With enough power to shatter ice in one blow, the hard impact rang through the room. The man wailed, clutching his head and rolling across the floor.
"Gwooooh! That hurts! What were you thinking!? A normal woman would slow down when her breasts got touched! How come you didn't even hesitate!?"
"-? You only touched my body, didn't you? You're the one who was wide open."
"Are you kidding me!? How were you raised!? What were your parents teaching you!?"
Rubbing his battered head, the "Master Swordsman" sat cross-legged on the floor and protested loudly. Emilia looked nonplussed and touched the chest his chopsticks had stroked.
"...Did I say something strange?"
"Hey! What's with this gorgeous woman!? Don't let her walk around outside! Lackey! You're her attendant, right!? Do your job, teach her some manners! Damn it, that hurts...!"
"You're the one who needs to stop kidding around! Doing that to Emilia-tan! You pervert! You rotten bastard! Sin Archbishop!"
Subaru denounced the "Master Swordsman" who had just molested Emilia.
Only then did his agitation make him forget his dread and fear of the man.
"Subaru, calm down! Betty knows how you feel, but just look!"
"Huh!? Look at what..."
"Look at that man's feet."
Beatrice tugged his sleeve, bringing the furious Subaru back to his senses. He looked toward the man's feet as instructed, then widened his eyes.
"Ah, never mind one step. His whole body's moved."
"Ah! You're right! Hooray! I won!"
Subaru's reproach silenced the man. In his place, Emilia pressed her palms together, brimming with excitement.
The ice mana around her responded to her mood, turning into flowers that bloomed everywhere, showing just how delighted she was with her victory.
The man had promised that making him move even one step would count as passing. And Emilia had met that condition.
Anyone could see that.
-as long as the man did not go back on his word.
"Whatever happened along the way, a win's a win... Well? What do you say?"
He felt bad for Emilia, who was immersed in the joy of victory, but Subaru had no expectations of the man's character. His behavior so far hardly inspired confidence.
But Subaru's misgivings-
"Ahh, can't be helped. I already said it. Made a fool of myself by tripping over my own lust. Nothing to be done about that."
"Y-you admit you lost...!?"
"Who do you think I am? If I stubbornly denied it now, it'd ruin the cool impression I worked so hard to make. No coming back from that. You gonna take responsibility if that happens? Women won't come anywhere near me."
"You only lost just now because you did something that ruined your impression..."
"Shut up, small fry! Small fry, or small frybaby? Quit yapping, frybaby! Anyway, the gorgeous babe wins. I'll let you pass. That was the deal. Tch-"
Scratching his head roughly, the "Master Swordsman" openly admitted his defeat.
Subaru could not tell whether he had good character or bad, but with him saying that, there was little point pressing him further.
Julius and Anastasia collapsing after fighting him were the only two casualties, but they should recover once they were taken to the "green room."
The second "trial"-though the victory had felt rather baffling-
"-So, is frybaby up next? Or is it one of those two brats?"
"Huh?"
They could go upstairs now. Subaru had barely had that thought when the man's words left him stunned.
-The next second, the air smelled scorched.
It was the sword aura erupting from the man-a completely different aura, one that made everything before seem like mere play.
A beat too late, Subaru instinctively grasped the drastic change.
"Seven people wanting to climb the tower... The one who passed was that woman just now."
"--"
"So, who's getting past me next? -Hey, you?"
Pleiades Great Library, second floor, "Electra," trial. Challenge duration: "unlimited." Number of attempts: "unlimited." Number of challengers: "unlimited."
-Passed: Emilia.
-Not yet passed: Subaru, Beatrice, Julius, Anastasia, Meili, Ram.
-The "trial" was still continuing.]
Within the Sky Curtain, the scarlet figure's gaze passed over everyone and settled on Subaru.
In that instant, the air grew heavier than before, as though some invisible force were compressing it from every direction.
In this segment, however, everyone paid more attention to the battles that the knight Julius and the royal selection candidate Emilia fought against Reid.
"Julius really had it rough... Everyone had already forgotten he existed because of 'Gluttony'-the boss said he used to be a spirit knight, too. But back then, he couldn't even use the spirits' power. He had to fight with nothing but swordsmanship."
"Then he immediately ran into an opponent like the 'Sword Saint,' Reid. Who could take that...?"
"Just didn't expect the first Sword Saint's moral standards to be so..."
Normally fiercely competitive, Garfiel no longer had that single-minded desire to fight. The strength of a Sword Saint who had "attained the heavenly sword" was no joke. However brave he was, he still had to think carefully about his actual strength. Even among the strong, there were differences in their level.
Even so, a fire kept smoldering inside Garfiel. His desire to charge into the Sky Curtain and fight alongside the boss was so intense, and his furious urge to land a punch on that Sword Saint only kept growing.
Those feelings reached their peak as he watched Emilia fight Reid.
Especially when he saw Reid take the opportunity to grope his lady. As a military officer of Emilia's camp, Garfiel felt exactly as Subaru did within the Sky Curtain-utter shock, followed by sustained anger.
In the hall, Garfiel clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides, his knuckles making faint cracking sounds.
He could not help speaking up:
"That redheaded bastard actually used a dirty trick like that!"
His voice carried suppressed anger.
"He could've won fair and square, but he went and did that instead. It's like he was deliberately trying to rile up his opponent-to see what openings they'd show when they got angry."
"You're right, but that's his style."
Al's voice came from beside the wall, calm but with a faint rasp. That lecherous display angered him too, partly, of course, because of the half-elf girl; he was indignant on her behalf.
"That man-Reid Astrea-was born that way. He doesn't seek a 'perfect' victory. He seeks an 'interesting' one. He wants to see his opponents expose openings, to see their faces as they struggle at their limits. To him, fighting isn't about winning or losing. It's a performance. Whoever they fight, the strong are always like bullies picking on the weak. After all, to that lot, nobody can be stronger than them, so they turn to finding amusement beyond the fighting itself."
Aboard the secret dragon carriage traveling from Kararagi to the Vollachian Empire, Halibel seemed to linger at the edge of the shadows, and nobody knew what he was thinking. He had seen the instant Julius's sword was caught by the chopstick, and he had watched Anastasia collapse from exhaustion from beginning to end.
His voice was quiet, but it carried a caution he rarely displayed:
"That man calling himself the 'Master Swordsman' was using a chopstick."
"An ordinary chopstick is just a piece of cutlery in an ordinary person's hand. In that man's hand, it can catch a first-rate knight's sword, cut through heat rays, and tear apart half a knight's lifetime-everything he spent half his life honing-in those few minutes. This isn't a gap in technique. Their very levels are different."
"He is the 'Sword Saint,' Reid, after all..."
Julius could not help sighing. Back then, he truly had not possessed the ability to challenge someone so powerful. Fortunately, with Natsuki Subaru's help, he had managed to break through all those obstacles.
"So the opponent you fought was someone that ancient and powerful, Mr. Julius?"
There was clear surprise in Halibel's voice, but it soon gave way to greater curiosity. Since this "Finest Knight," Julius, could stand here safe and sound now, presumably he had defeated that mythical figure in the end.
"After that, I suppose I did... defeat that predecessor. Though, physically and in other respects, the one I defeated wasn't truly him, I really did come to understand a great deal. That, too, was thanks to Subaru-kun..."
"In that case, I'm really looking forward to the stories about you all that this Sky Curtain will show next. You've certainly been through an extraordinary adventure."
"Ju~lius~ I'm a little surprised you can't say a sentence without thanking Subaru, but I really do admire him quite a bit now, too. Natsuki Subaru-kun must have such a hard time, carrying so much."
"My apologies, Lady Anastasia..."
Vincent's gaze fell on that scarlet figure through the gaps in his demon mask. His quiet voice carried a thoughtful note:
"That 'Master Swordsman'—what he said to Julius, 'This isn't how you fight, is it? Fighting alone isn't your way of fighting, is it?'—was not mere mockery. He was pointing out the weakness Julius exposed in battle: having lost all his bonds, he could only fight alone."
"And Anastasia's support failed to turn the situation around not because her attacks lacked strength-but because Reid had seen through their uncoordinated teamwork from the very beginning."
Otto fell silent for a moment, as though sorting through every detail he had just observed. Then he spoke:
"The way Reid moved in combat, the angle and interval of every strike, all happened to prevent Lady Anastasia's ranged support from locking onto him. Not only did he maintain his own rhythm while under attack from multiple opponents, he also adjusted his position to sever the cooperation between his two opponents."
"He knows how to render a team completely ineffective-all the more so when that team isn't particularly well coordinated."
After watching Emilia frankly discuss the condition of "making him move one step to pass" with Reid, then seize the moment of his smugness to strike him on the head and win, Otto froze for a moment before he could not help laughing.
"In a sense, Lady Emilia's honesty is itself a weapon. Because Reid-he isn't the type to bully someone who admits they're weak. He mocks opponents who put on a brave front. But he has a strange respect for honest people."
In the hall, as Emilia watched herself speak those words back in the tower, she unconsciously revisited her state of mind at the time-that resolve that had instead become clear after she was pushed to her limit.
She knew she could not beat that man, but she knew she did not need to beat him. She only needed to make him move one step. And that way of thinking had been honed in the Sanctuary's "trials": not every obstacle needed to be overcome head-on. Some only required finding the smallest opening, then walking through it.
She said softly:
"...Back then, I was actually scared the whole time. Scared I'd make the wrong decision, scared I'd hold everyone back."
Her gaze settled on her own clenched, ice-gauntleted fist within the Sky Curtain.
"But when I saw Subaru was there too, it suddenly felt like I didn't need to be scared anymore."
Garfiel laughed aloud as well:
"Hahahaha! That bastard thought he'd gotten something out of it, only for Lady Emilia to smash him on the head with an ice fist-serves him right!"
He slapped his knee.
"That 'first Sword Saint'-he probably thought he was great at riling people up, but Lady Emilia caught him off guard instead. When he got carried away was exactly when he left his biggest opening. Lady Emilia didn't hesitate at all-she used up all her hesitation elsewhere. In a real fight, she won't stop."
Al stood leaning against the wall, and an extremely quiet breath came from beneath his iron mask, as though he had finally relaxed.
"Her only advantage was the unexpected, and she certainly used it."
"These powerhouses are too used to controlling the situation in a fight, too used to making opponents follow their rhythm. So once they meet someone who doesn't play by the rules, these so-called powerhouses suddenly don't know what to do. The wheelchair character really does end up in a wheelchair... And Reid paid the price for underestimating her. Even if that price was only one step, it was enough for everyone."
"Why are they all acting as though they're playing house? An ill-mannered Sword Saint and a childish half-devil. Truly an ace against an ace. Still, since the half-devil won't shrink back before a powerful foe, it seems the 'child' has grown somewhat. I suppose I must offer a little praise."
Priscilla opened her folding fan and waved it gently, a trace of the approval she rarely showed flashing in her red eyes.
Vincent gently folded the map in his hands, his voice carrying the certainty of someone forming a judgment:
"That man-he seems crude and absurd, but he has a standard of his own. He can admit defeat because he is not protecting 'himself,' but his 'style.' A loss is a loss, and he is willing to acknowledge it-not because of moral restraint, but because refusing to honor the outcome would damage his 'persona.'"
"In the Empire, this way of thinking is sometimes called 'heroic individualism.' Admit a loss, then turn the page, bearing no grudges and going back on no promises-ironically, this lets him retain his dignity even after conceding defeat."
Priscilla gently closed her folding fan with a crisp snap.
Her gaze fell on the Sky Curtain, which had gone completely dark:
"That 'Master Swordsman' defeated Julius and Anastasia, then Emilia forced him back one step in an unexpected way. But he did not truly 'lose'—he merely acknowledged that condition. The challengers who follow will not be so fortunate."
She tilted her head, a meaningful smile appearing on her alluring face.
"Natsuki Subaru~ Will he be the last person to face the 'Master Swordsman'? Or will he find some other way around Reid? I truly look forward to the story ahead."