Chapter 74 : Rescue(4)

When I achieved Unification and shattered Luna’s helmet, I met her eyes within.

“…You did well, Saya.”

With her words, the white world conjured by Invidia dissolved, and light flooded my vision. When the brilliance faded and I opened my eyes, I was back in the dormitory room.

Carne stood there, eyeing us with a dissatisfied expression.

“Hey, when are you going to start?”

“…What do you mean? I’ve been beaten to death until just now.”

“What?”

At my response, she blinked in surprise.

“Only ten seconds have passed…?”

“…?”

I glanced at the clock—indeed, barely any time had elapsed since I’d fallen asleep.

When I questioned Invidia, his reply came swiftly.

[It’s different from real time. No matter how long you linger in the inner world, its impact on time here is minimal.]

…Why didn’t you mention this convenient feature sooner?

He explained that even in the inner world, the brain’s perception of time aligns with reality. Lingering too long, he added, only shortens your brain’s lifespan—abusing it offers no benefit.

“Wake up…!”

Luna, rising from the other side, smacked my forehead as she stood.

“Ouch…!”

Unlike me, wincing in pain, she seemed perfectly fine.

“Saya, unified, is strong…!”

At Luna’s comment, Carne tilted her head.

“Unification…? You managed it in that short time?”

Carne called it brief, but to me, it felt like days of being skewered by Luna’s sword.

“…I’m never fighting Luna again.”

In any scenario, I resolved to avoid even the slightest spat with her.

With our goal achieved, we began preparing for battle, gathering the necessary gear.

“Shall we go?”

None of us could sit idly by while Cled faced execution. Even if it meant defying the empire, neither I nor the others had any intention of backing down.

“…”

I took one last look at the dormitory’s scenery, pulled my hood low, and shut the door.

The prison’s security was tighter than before. Unlike last time, when ordinary soldiers dominated the ranks, most had been replaced by Spirit Masters.

Carne, surveying the scene, clicked her tongue.

“It’s insane. Deploying so many S-ranks just to guard a prison?”

And these weren’t ordinary Spirit Masters—they were elite.

Hesitating would only shrink our window to save Cled.

“Doesn’t matter. Let’s go!”

I leapt down, the others following suit as we descended the hill. Landing hard, I transformed my arm and charged at the soldiers.

“It’s that guy…!”

They reacted to my noisy arrival, rushing forward, but they weren’t pushovers like before. Their armor, far sturdier than expected, made spells a necessity to breach it.

Tsk…

I raised my untransformed hand to cast a spell, but—

“Kuaaaak…!”

I pulled back as vines erupted from the ground, dragging the soldiers beneath. Carne’s handiwork, no doubt.

“Idiot, did you forget to save power for Unification?”

She approached, scolding me.

“Saya, Carne!”

On the other side, Luna emerged, her armor blood-spattered, lifting her helmet after cutting down several foes.

“Leave this to us and run. There are two people to save, aren’t there?”

…Two?

Spotting a Spirit Master observing us from afar, I understood her meaning.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

Entrusting the soldiers to them, I sprinted toward Yuri Freesia, who stood in the distance. As if awaiting me, she planted her sword in the ground, her gaze unwavering.

“You cling to life without knowing its worth, Sarkas woman…!”

As our eyes met and the fight began—

[…Saya. Look at that.]

A jarring incongruity emanated from Yuri.

Eyes…?

One of her eyes was pitch-black, like mine.

[…It’s begun. Violet’s work.]

It was the nightmare scenario I’d feared. Sarkas was already seeping into Yuri’s body. Unfazed by the changes within her, she raised her sword and aimed it at me.

“Why fight so hard to save that man, Cled? He’s a criminal—a treasonous wretch.”

She seemed to have forgotten Cled was once her mentor.

“…You’re mistaken.”

“…?”

I pointed at her.

“The one I’m saving now is you, Freesia!”

She scowled at my words.

“What nonsense…! How dare you speak my name with that filthy mouth—!”

She clutched her head, wincing as if struck by a sudden headache, then roared.

“Gigantas, Unification!”

Yuri invoked her spell, and as before, ice shards fused with her claymore, shaping it into a massive greatsword. Watching her, I drew daggers in both hands.

Let’s go too.

[Ready, Saya.]

“…Invidia, Unification!”

Both my arms turned black, consuming the daggers as if devouring them. Sharp, crescent-moon blades sprouted from my Sarkas limbs.

Yuri, eyeing my transformation, raised an eyebrow.

“You achieved Unification…? With Sarkas’ power…!?”

“Did you think this was some exclusive trick?”

My taunt spurred her into action.

“All talk…!”

A blast of frigid air from her greatsword hurtled toward me. Unlike last time, when I’d been defenseless, my twin blades shielded me from her assault.

Yuri excelled at wielding Osteon’s power. But she overlooked one thing: my Unification wasn’t a mere blend of Osteons.

Can I extend this too, Invidia?

[Nothing’s beyond you.]

My transformed arm stretched, striking her greatsword. The attack, infused with Invidia’s might, forced her back, her weapon clashing against my enhanced blade.

“It can’t be…!”

Yuri, parrying my strike, gaped in shock. My power fused Sarkas, Osteons, and humanity—an impossible synergy of incompatible forces.

Cracks spiderwebbed across her greatsword as she was steadily pushed back.

“Don’t get cocky… Don’t—!”

Enraged, Yuri summoned massive ice thorns around her, forcing me to retract my arm reflexively.

“Gigantas, Full Release—!”

Seizing the moment, she channeled cold energy into her greatsword and unleashed a devastating swing. The power dwarfed anything prior.

Full Release…?

Even with my unified weapon, blocking that seemed unsurvivable.

[You can’t dodge it, Saya…!]

I sacrificed my left blade to intercept it, and as expected, it shattered. One remained, though.

“Too bad—I’ve got two weapons…!”

“Ugh…”

Yuri, strained by her attack’s toll, was briefly immobilized. I closed in, aiming to strike.

Where do I hit!?

I needed a non-lethal target.

[Her neck! Stun her, and Unification will collapse!]

Following Invidia’s advice, I slammed my bladeless Sarkas arm into her neck.

“…!”

She staggered, seemingly about to collapse from the vital strike.

“…Ugh…!”

But she didn’t fall. Kneeling on one leg, she clung to her greatsword’s hilt.

Why isn’t she out!?

That wasn’t a normal blow—it was a Sarkas-enhanced strike to a critical point, yet she endured.

…!

Blood poured from her mouth. She’d bitten her gums to stay conscious.

[She’s unhinged, that woman…!]

“Uaaaaa—!”

Regaining her stance, Yuri shrieked and swung her sword fiercely. I barely blocked with my lone blade, but the damage shoved me back.

[You can’t stun her like that, Saya…!]

So be it…

One blade wouldn’t suffice.

Invidia, can we match it?

Full Release—a one-shot technique to push beyond limits by overloading the body.

[Analysis complete!]

With his confident reply, I poured all my strength into the remaining blade. It swelled into a menacing form alongside my arm.

Our weapons clashed—my enlarged blade against Yuri’s greatsword—unleashing a shockwave. Neither yielded, and cracks deepened in both blades.

[Hold on, Saya…!]

What power…!

It felt like a truck bearing down. Yuri’s furious cry rang clear.

“I’ll kill you this time, Sarkas woman—!”

My blade’s cracks reached a breaking point and shattered—just as Yuri’s greatsword fragmented in midair. I exhaled in relief.

With both of us stripped of Unification, Invidia spoke.

[I’ll invade her mind and extract the Sarkas. Grant me access.]

Exhausted from Unification, neither of us could cast spells. My lingering Sarkas power gave me the edge. I lunged, seizing her hair tightly.

Got her…!

Gripping her head with my Sarkas arm, I relinquished control to Invidia. Tentacles extended, latching onto her skull and delivering intense stimuli.

“Aaaagh!”

Yuri clutched her head, screaming in agony.

“Hang on, Yuri…!”

[Ten more seconds…!]

As I focused on purging the Sarkas—

-Poke.

Something pierced me from behind. A searing heat overwhelmed me, and I crumpled, strength fading.

Amid someone’s scream, my consciousness dimmed.

“…You dared meddle in our plan again, Saya.”

A man’s voice came from behind.

Violet, his form far from normal, retracted a rotting arm.

“…How much must you thwart me before you’re satisfied?”

He’d struck with a Thanatos spell—guaranteed death for its target.

“I nearly lost my hold on Yuri’s body.”

Approaching my fallen form, Violet stomped on my head.

“Well, I’ve won in the end…!”

Grinning maniacally, he pressed down lightly at first.

-Poke. Poke.

As the pressure grew ominous, he lifted his gaze to his beloved Yuri.

“Yuri…! My lovely Yuri…!”

He addressed her with adoration.

“Now, accept us…! To become perfect, you must shed your past.”

The seed he’d planted in Yuri had nearly overtaken her. Only her mind remained to be broken.

“If you wish, I’ll assist.”

Raising a hand to her vacant-staring head, he infused her with power.

“…”

“…?”

Violet sensed something amiss.

The presence of his subordinate within her, which should’ve been palpable, was absent.

“This can’t be… Did something go wrong?”

Leaning closer to investigate, Yuri spoke.

“What are you doing, you bastard…?”

Her harsh words startled him. Thinking he’d misheard, he stammered.

“Yuri…? What do you—”

A grotesque sound emanated from her.

“Didn’t understand…?”

Her fury wasn’t about me, her fallen comrade, or some noble cause.

“You’re meddling in someone else’s hunt and pissing me off—!”

“Kuhuk…!?”

Her uppercut slammed into Violet’s jaw, flooring him.

Yuri Freesia couldn’t tolerate her duel being interrupted above all else.

Violet’s plan should’ve been flawless.

Had his target been anyone but her, he might’ve succeeded.

But he couldn’t have foreseen—

Yuri Freesia’s fighting spirit surpassed that of all humanity combined…!

Something gnawed at Yuri. The wound near her neck pulsed, voices murmuring in her mind, driving her mad.

“And this constant muttering since earlier…”

She clawed at the wound.

“It’s noisy—!”

With a fierce yank, she tore something from her flesh.

She’d ripped the Sarkas out of her body.

“A human, by herself…!?”

Violet gawked, incredulous.

A mere human had resisted his brainwashing and excised the implanted Sarkas.

Stunned by the spectacle, he whirled at a new voice.

“…You should’ve vetted your successor’s personality first, huh?”

Seeing the speaker’s face, he recoiled.

“You, you…”

It was me—Saya—the girl he’d just killed.

“How are you alive…!?”

Moments before extracting Yuri’s Sarkas, Violet’s Thanatos spell had struck me.

More precisely, it hit one transformed arm.

That Sarkas limb disintegrated, and with it, half of Invidia perished.

[Thought I was done for this time, Saya.]

As Envy’s Invidia, capable of splitting his core, he’d discarded the dying tissue and fled.

“Good thing it was you who took the hit, Invidia.”

[Good? Losing 50% isn’t ‘good’… I’ll need ten thousand minor Sarkas to recover.]

Violet, sweating, pointed at me.

“Invidia…? That was destroyed ages ago…!”

Invidia, silent until then, materialized before him.

[Destroyed? I’m quite alive, aren’t I?]

Violet’s face stiffened.

“How can this be…?”

Yuri, now lucid, approached me.

“…Awful. I never want to feel that again.”

Describing the sensation, I teased.

“Didn’t enjoy it? Thought you were hamming it up.”

“…Wait till this is over—we’ll finish our fight, Saya.”

Soon, Luna and Carne joined us, standing together. Luna beamed at Yuri.

“You’re back?”

Carne, beside me, answered for her.

“Of course. Who do you think Yuri is?”

I capped off Carne’s rhetorical question.

“Well, the craziest b*tch alive.”

“…You’re all just figuring that out?”

With Yuri leading, the four of us—reunited from our academy days—encircled Violet. He glared at us, his face shadowed.

“…This is amusing.”

[Instead of refunding coins, buy a beer for Violet, slandered by the wicked Saya gang. No way a principal who funds club trips could be a villain.]
(Message from the Dark Hero Violet faction.)
Surprisingly convincing.