Chapter 49: Nightmare (2)

“It’s not true, Anastasia. The Hero supported me when I was about to fall.”

“…Was that so?”

“Yes, yes. The Hero didn’t do anything.”

“…You really didn’t do anything to Her Highness, Hero?”

Anastasia looked at me with squinted eyes.

I nodded without saying anything.

“…Hmph. Then it’s fine. Today, we will test everything you’ve learned so far. So go to the training grounds. And Her Highness. His Majesty is calling for you-“

“No!”

“…Yes?”

“No, no! I don’t like Father! I want to be with the Hero!”

“But…”

“Uuuuuuu…!”

Anastasia, looking at the Princess with puffed-up cheeks, showed a troubled expression for a moment, then sighed and knelt on one knee.

“…I understand. Before I am the knight commander of the kingdom, I am the Princess’s knight. I will follow Her Highness’s orders.”

“Hehe. Good! Then I’ll follow you to the training grounds too!”

“Are you planning to watch again?”

“Yes! The sparring between the Hero and Anastasia is fun!”

The naturally sickly Princess had a fantasy about the sparring of knights.

“Haha. I understand. Then I will give you a piggyback ride.”

“Yes!”

The Princess jumped up and down and stretched out both hands to Anastasia.

Looking at the Princess with satisfaction, Anastasia grabbed the Princess’s waist and lifted her onto her shoulders.

The young Princess’s thin thighs sat on Anastasia’s shoulders.

Anastasia, holding the Princess’s knees to prevent her from falling, glanced at me.

“…What are you staring at? Hurry up and follow.”

Seeing that, I smiled slightly.

The sickly but somewhat mischievous Princess, and Anastasia, who was always blunt and sensitive but sometimes kind.

And me, silently following behind them.

It was a scene I missed so much, a scene I had dreamed of so many times.

“Wh-What are you laughing at! Come quickly! Sparring! Sparring!”

The dream was sweet, unbelievably so for a nightmare.

But knowing the end of the dream, I hid my trembling hands and silently followed them.

If destruction comes in the end, shouldn’t the path to that destination be happy?

It was the calm before the storm.

In the training grounds, designed reminiscent of a coliseum, various people were honing their martial arts.

There were knights practicing by swinging their swords, and knights watching over the swordsmanship of their squires.

But the moment the Princess and Anastasia set foot in the training grounds, they all immediately stopped what they were doing and knelt.

“We greet Her Highness the Princess!”

“Glory to the Knights!”

The two women accepted their greetings casually.

Anastasia brought a chair to the center of the training grounds, sat the Princess down, and beckoned me with her hand.

“Leave that ridiculously large greatsword on your back there, and take out a rapier.”

I put the greatsword aside and drew a rapier from the scabbard at my waist.

Seeing this, the knights, assuming that Anastasia and I would spar, surrounded us widely and watched.

“To be able to see the Commander’s swordsmanship up close… I’m glad I came to the training grounds today.”

“The Commander is the kingdom’s best sword, after all. It’s not easy to see the Commander’s sparring in person.”

“And the Hero is amazing too. To be able to clash swords with the Commander even a little in just three years… If more time passes, he might really be able to defeat the Demon King…”

“Honestly, I’m a little scared of the Hero. The way he calmly tells us to deal with the corpses after going out to battle is a little…”

“Hmph. Don’t speak carelessly, squire. There was no one else in that battlefield who cared for the fallen as much as the Hero.”

“I’m more curious about the Hero than the Commander. The sight of him wielding that huge greatsword and sweeping through the battlefield gave me chills.”

“The way he beheaded those Demon King’s army guys on the front lines was truly worthy of the title of Hero.”

“…But he’s using a rapier now?”

“I heard that the Hero asked the Knight Commander for guidance a few months ago.”

They exchanged various conversations and showed their anticipation for the match between Anastasia and me.

There were a few opinions that I would win, but most of them still favored Anastasia.

It was a natural fact.

Anastasia’s skill was overwhelming enough to be called the kingdom’s best sword, and she was by far the strongest among the knights, who were beyond human, enough to be the knight commander.

At this time, my chances of winning against her were not close to zero, but zero.

“Don’t pay attention to the reactions of those rabble.”

Anastasia, who was tidying her hair with a hair tie in her mouth, said to me.

“I didn’t know you were interested in rapiers, but you absorbed my teachings quite well. It’s not completely satisfactory, but it’s become decent enough to watch.”

“……”

Anastasia touched her neck as if she had said something embarrassing.

“So, what I mean is… um… Don’t be intimidated wherever you go. You are Anastasia Raines’ first and last disciple.”

“…I understand. Master.”

“…!”

Anastasia looked surprised at the word “Master.”

I had never called her “Master” before.

I always said her name, or used informal speech, or called her “Commander.”

Hearing the word “Master,” Anastasia smiled slightly, then lowered her head to hide her expression.

After a moment, she raised her head, and her face was similar to usual, but her red eyes were burning more intensely than before.

We faced each other at a certain distance.

And we pointed our rapiers at each other.

Anastasia’s smiling expression was reflected in the sharp blade.

“Her Highness is watching! Give it your all! I will also give it my all!”

Soon, the sound of clashing swords echoed through the training grounds.

The sharp blade was pointing at the center of my forehead, as I lay on the dirt floor.

“…It’s my defeat.”

Anastasia’s appearance, looking down at me, was like the sharpest sword in the world.

I couldn’t imagine that woman losing.

“…I’m surprised. When did your skills improve so much? It wasn’t at this level just a few days ago.”

“…I worked hard.”

“Hmph. Worked hard… Right. You’ve become quite decent now. Her Highness is watching. Strive even harder in the future.”

“Yes. Master.”

“……”

Anastasia smiled strangely, sheathed her rapier, and held out her hand to me.

I took her hand and stood up.

“Waaaah! Anastasia! Hero-nim! Both of you were really cool!”

The Princess, who had been sitting in the chair, jumped up and hugged both of us.

“Haha. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

Anastasia quickly stepped forward and hugged the Princess.

Clap clap clap clap clap!

The surrounding knights sent all sorts of praise and applause, saying they had seen a good duel.

Clap clap clap clap clap!

The applause continued.

“That’s enough. Stop watching now and get back to what you were doing.”

Clap clap clap clap clap!

“…?”

Anastasia, the Princess, and the surrounding knights all expressed their doubts.

It was because the sound of applause continued to echo in the training grounds even though no one was clapping.

While everyone was expressing their doubts, only I looked up at the sky.

A black crack was opening in the clear blue sky without a single cloud.

The crack gradually split and widened, and eventually it grew large enough to cover the entire sky above the training grounds.

Clap clap clap clap clap!

A being appeared from within the crack, clapping.

The first thing that was seen was a single horn protruding above the forehead and a pure white monastic robe.

The two hands attached to the center of the woman’s shoulders were held together demurely as if praying to God.

Another pair of hands above them held a mace and a scripture, respectively.

And the pair of hands at the bottom were moving busily, clapping.

A woman with a horn on her forehead, a symbol of demons, and six arms, too bizarre to even be called a demon, appeared from within the crack.

“Excellent. Excellent. Amazing. Amazing.”

The bizarre-looking woman looked at Anastasia and me and expressed her sincere admiration.

“As expected of the kingdom’s best sword. Your swordsmanship is truly amazing. And… the Hero who opposes my god, the Demon King. You are also truly amazing. Such growth in just three years. I’m amazed by both of you. Really, really amazing.”

Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!!

The woman’s hands began to move faster and clap louder.

The woman’s hands, which had collided at an incredible speed, had long been bright red, and gradually the skin began to peel off, splattering red blood.

Nevertheless, the woman continued to clap, and the pure white monastic robe gradually began to be stained with red blood.

“…Protect Her Highness. Hero.”

Anastasia handed the Princess, whom she was hugging, to me.

“Wh-What is… that thing, Hero-nim…?”

The Princess, who hid behind me, grabbed my hand tightly.

The Princess’s hand, trembling with fear, shook.

Anastasia, who drew two rapiers from the scabbard, raised her right hand and pointed the rapier at the woman floating in the sky.

It was a distance of at least a few hundred meters, and the opponent was floating in the air, but even that was within Anastasia’s range.

The knights also drew their swords at the woman who suddenly appeared and exuded a clearly ominous presence.

They didn’t know exactly who she was, but they all seemed to judge her as a demon based on the horn on her head.

Right. At this time, that b*tch’s appearance was not yet known.

“Who am I? The cute Princess was also curious about me? If you’re that curious, I should tell you.”

Black magic began to flow from the scripture held by the woman.

“I am a believer who follows the Demon King-nim, and one who shares the same happiness as me with all humans.”

One of the Four Heavenly Kings who received the power of the Demon King.

A monster that destroyed a kingdom in just three days.

“I am Terminus, the Evangelist.”

Black magic covered the kingdom.