Lightning Empress was in Yekaterinburg.

Moroha, who learned that from Katya, decided Yekaterinburg as the place for the decisive battle.

At 19:42 he got on board of the railway train「Russia」departing from Novosibirsk and headed there the same day he killed the Dreadnought.

His companions were AJ, Katya and Yuri, those three people.

They spent the night in the train and arrived in Yekaterinburg on the following day, on September 23rd at 15:37 as planned.

The 12th day since he came to Russia.

A four-seater compartment.

Narrow seats that faced each other.

AJ sat in front of Moroha with her hands and feet crossed and with an ill-humored face.

Katya was sitting next to him. She held an arm of Moroha in her arms, more like clinging to him. She had a glamorous body shape, meaning her seductiveness was the best.

Yuri was sitting to the opposite side of hers. She also held an arm of Moroha in her arms, but a shy feeling of distance was felt compared to Katya. She had a cute and lavish body, and the bare legs stretching from the miniskirt were pure white.

– Excuse me… aren’t you troubled by clinging so much to me…?

– This place’s so narrow that it can’t be helped.

Moroha appealed gently, but Katya dismissed it flatly.

She closed her eyes partly like a cat and slid her face on Moroha’s arm.

Then, AJ said with a th.o.r.n.y tone of voice as she looked outside of the window, looking displeasured.

– Who would have wonder that it’s incredibly narrow because three people are forcibly sitting in two seats?

–  I do. Yuri, what if you sit over there?

– … Nope. I’m fine next to Moroha. What if Katya sits there?

– I absolutely refuse to sit next to such a brutal woman. She’ll try to make treacherous teasing on me from the side.

– Who would try to do such a thing!?

When AJ bared her canines and yelled,

– Kyaaa, I’m scared. Save me, Haimurhan.

– … I’m scared too.

Katya and Yuri clung even more to him as they frolicked and giggled.

AJ ended up looking daunted and spat out.

– Isn’t it splendid to be popular, Moroha?

– No, don’t you see that my face is stiffened?

– This womanizer, this is what Urus.h.i.+bara complains about again and again.

– You’re wrong, I’m not like――.

– It’s fine, it’s totally fine. After all, when it comes to men, this degree of dependability is great, isn’t it?

– … Don’t feel shy about it.

– Or more precisely, I would like to hear this from you now, but why do you like me so much? We barely know each other, don’t we?

– Don’t ask a tasteless thing like that, Haimurhan. If you’re a man, be quiet and let women fawn on you as much as they want.

Katya laughed happily and kept sliding her face.

– … If I’m a nuisance, then I will stop, I guess?

On the other hand, Yuri asked moderately with deadly upturned eyes.

Those eyes made an appeal to him, saying「Don’t tell me I’m a nuisance」.

– It’s not that clinging to me is a nuisance, but…

Moroha gave up, mixed with lamentation.

– Kyaa, we got the permission of Haimurhan. We are officially recognized.

– … It’s a bit embarra.s.sing, but I’ll stop holding back.

– Haimurhan has no need to hold back, alright? That’s right… if you’re going to sleep, tell me, alright? You can lay your head in my lap.

Katya, who smiled s.e.xily, rubbed her perfectly fleshed thighs against Moroha’s legs.

– No, that’s too much…

– I said I’d do anything, didn’t I? Tomorrow is the decisive battle, so with this, I’ll get Morohhan to rest at ease and to recover his energy, no?

– … Katya’s thighs feel good? I recommend mine as well.

– Yeah yeah, but when it comes to my thighs, a good sleep is guaranteed, isn’t it?

– No, my energy is okay already, so I don’t need to raise it anymore.

Moroha became overwhelmed and tried to escape from the bewitching thighs, but because Yuri rubbed her pure-white legs against him, he was now at a dead end.

On the other hand, Katya, who heard the shout of Moroha, stared seriously and yet in puzzlement,

– So that was enough?

– More than enough.

Moroha nodded mixed with cold sweat.

After he killed the Dreadnought, and nearly 10 hours while waiting for the train, Moroha was invited to Yuri’s private residence and was warmly welcomed by her subordinates who were also part of the moderate faction.

A lively drinking party, an enthusiastic welcome-ish lead by Katya and Yuri happened there.

The luxurious hospitality was so much for Moroha that he felt all the more awkward, but since AJ demanded him like it was truly natural, thinking (even though he hasn’t done nothing yet), he succ.u.mbed little by little.

Well, putting the fault on AJ was cowardice. Because Moroha also ended up enjoying to his heart’s content the deliciousness of the real caviar he ate for the first time.

It had a devilish flavor that even melt Moroha’s self-control.

And above all, since he took into consideration the feelings of the moderate faction’s people, the ones he had saved, barely escaping alive, and for protecting Novosibirsk, they reconsidered that there was no choice but to make one or two revelries.

Katya had no idea about such feelings of Moroha,

– Haimurhan is an S-Rank, right?

– So a think like that became public, huh…

– To think that level of hospitality was enough… the j.a.panese Division treats Haimurhan so poorly?

– … If you defeat Lightning Empress, then you’ll become the head of the Russian Division?

Moroha, who was sandwiched between the completely conjecturing-looking faces of Katya and Yuri, grimaced.

– No, I’m still a student and I’m happy in j.a.pan. What you said is way too much.

Because he explained in confusion, he peeked at AJ, saying「Aren’t you going to help me in this?」

– If I take a picture of you now and send it to Urus.h.i.+bara, she’ll be even happier, don’t you agree?

AJ readied the camera of her cell phone!

– Guh…. I-I don’t mind? I don’t feel guilty, about it?

– Did you say Ranjou-san? Are you telling me to forward it to your little sister too?

– Please, forgive me! Please, please, forgive me!

The desperate expression of Moroha was so funny that AJ held her sides with laughter.

At last, she cheered up.

After that, the friendly chat never stopped.

AJ joined them, and the four of them talked together, forgetting about sleeping.

The decisive battle would be waiting for them tomorrow, and the feeling that today could be the last day they could fool around raised the anxiety of everyone.

Moroha, who slept as if he collapsed early in the morning, woke up in the afternoon.

As he waited to get near Yekaterinburg, he changed his clothes while looking at the sleeping faces of Katya and Yuri.

With just the two people that joined them, the tedious Siberian railway trip became so bustling to the degree he thought back upon last night together with a smile.

Both of them were sleeping soundly.

As soon as he got up, he induced them to sleep profoundly with Giga Drowse. With this, they would wake up at the last station: Moscow.

It was regrettable to say goodbye, but this would be for a short time.

And so, Moroha b.u.t.toned his collar and straightened it.

He put on the combat uniform of the Russian Division he got from Katya. The design was different, but its defensive ability was no inferior to the one provided by Akane Academy.

– Let’s go.

Moroha told AJ once the railway train arrived at the railway station of Yekaterinburg.

– Sorry, but my preparations are taking a bit longer than expected. You go first.

However, AJ still rummaged around the luggage provided by Katya.

That was something unusual.

She had the tendency to be impatient, but she always did her preparations way before than his during the trip.

– Understood.

Moroha agreed as he c.o.c.ked his head in puzzlement and got down the railway train.

The speedy AJ finally caught up with him right in front of the ticket gate.

They walked side-by-side with a semi-quick pace and left the station.

– Is it really okay to not bring those two along with us? They seem to have a decent fighting power, no?

– I can’t do that. They are necessary for the Russia of tomorrow. Even if by any chance they were needed today, we can’t afford to lose them.

– How can you have the nerve to think even that about another country?

– Why wouldn’t I want to fight feeling good? Motivation is important if I truly want to win. Am I wrong?

– Tch. Good boy.

They went through the streets of the modern Yekaterinburg as they quarreled with each other.

They walked straight to a rental car shop, following the map in AJ’s head with firm steps.

Then, AJ suddenly fell silent.

– Are you okay?

Moroha asked, but he was ignored.

She thought for a moment, putting a face as if she had swallowed a bitter bug,

– Is my sword even necessary?

She whispered.

Moroha fixedly started at her face in profile.

AJ waited for Moroha’s reply without trying to make eye contact with him.

– If something were to happen to Angelsan, how am I going to face Edward?

– I can at least protect myself!

– Let’s stop putting on a brave front. I don’t have the confidence in myself to fully protect someone while fighting against Lightning Empress, alright?

– …

AJ remained silent again, she grinded her teeth, looking vexed.

– If it develops near the palace where Lightning Empress is, then I’ll have to part from Angelsan for a short time.

– d.a.m.n… don’t end up right back where we started! In just two days you ended up going back to your war!

– That’s not true. Thanks to Katysan, I got the whereabouts of Lightning Empress and thanks to the existence of the moderate faction, I’m able to fight without worrying about the postwar. Just because I’m the only one standing on the front line, it doesn’t mean it’s just my war, does it?

– Hmm. My lord agrees with you. He’s not interested in politics, but he understands politics well. I dislike that insolent thing about you.

Moroha stepped firmly on the brick walkway as he listen to AJ’s abusive language.

Their shoulders aligned, they walked in the foreign country for both of them.

Even when the eleventh hour came, their opinions didn’t agree with each other at all.

– A report from the scout. Haimura has appeared.

Lightning Empress listened to the telling of her close aide coolly.

– Moreover, it seems he is alone. It is said he is walking slowly towards the palace.

– Oh? So the traitors aren’t with him?

– It is as you say. Katya and Yuri are not in sight. We are taking into account the possibility of an ambush, so we will not s.h.i.+rk the vigilance around Your Majesty.

Satisfied with the appropriate decision of her close aide, Vasilisa stood up in annoyance.

– In that case, let’s go.

Accompanied by her close aides, she formed a line and came out to the balcony on the third floor of the palace as she dragged along the long skirt of the dress.

Although it was called a balcony, it was so wide that one could even dance waltz there.

Vasilisa wearily leant her back on the already prepared throne.

The surveying view from the balcony was so open to the point of being refres.h.i.+ng.

Originally, this was Katya’s residence, as it was an isolated house built on the vast plain on the suburb of Yekaterinburg.

However, the dimensions of the residence weren’t common, it even had 3 heliports on the rooftop.

The surrounding garden was several times larger. The lawn pruned in geometrical patterns continued to the ends of the earth, it could be said it was even magnificent.

Vasilisa, who could have an unbroken view of the landscape from the balcony, was extremely pleased with it.

Katya’s pastime wasn’t bad.

This residence and garden were just like the spirit world――isolated from the land of death, like a paradise.

Now that she was sitting there, she thought “this paradise is mine”, she was immersed in a feeling of satisfaction of being a special person living in a different world, and that tickled the terrible superiority complex she had.

And if that was the case, then the vast plain surrounding the garden and the residence were like h.e.l.l.

And Haimura Moroha came from there.

– Hohohoho, so he certainly didn’t die and crawled up from the realm of the dead, hmm? His whole body took my ninth and survived quite well.

Vasilisa magnified her eyesight with the 1st Rank Dark Art Far Seek and captured the figure of a boy coming from the horizon.

He was clad in prana similar to white flames and walked in Natural Stance as if taking a stroll.

That carefree demeanor and the unrefined sword in his hand looked like a mismatch, creating an eccentric effect.

He was using Clairvoyance as well, so he evidently stared at Vasilisa’s face.

It felt like his gaze and her gaze collided.

In the presence of Lightning Empress, the att.i.tude of Haimura Moroha was bold and arrogant.

At first glance, Vasilisa decided to not forgive him.

– Are the preparations for the welcome ready?

She consulted to her close aids without looking at them as she folded the folding fan.

– Yes, they are. A ma.s.s of troops has already been gathered on the first floor.

– Good.

Actually, Vasilisa, who felt the presence of a crowd of people prepared to flee from downstairs, showed agreement.

– Will really such type of guys be useful?

Then she turned around to the back and glared at one of her close aids.

– O-of course they will!

The one who went down on his knees without a moment’s delay was the man named Darko who covered his whole body with a cloth.

He partic.i.p.ated in the Moroha Interception Network in Krasnoyarsk, but he made a mistake and was slashed by AJ together with the magic mirror before Moroha was finished and scurried home shamelessly as he healed himself.

He did nothing but rub his forehead on the floor and answer the question.

– I do not have the slightest idea about what his reason is, but Haimura seems to terribly hate casualties. Moreover, this goes both for enemies and allies. He hasn’t killed any office branch head from different places, protects the woman that accompanies him and even protected the Beletskaya sisters in Krasnoyarsk by risking his life and dealt with his own wounds. Haimura’s possibility of crus.h.i.+ng us here is but a dream.

Darko showed a flattering smile while still prostrating himself.

– I returned to Your Majesty Lightning Empress’s side not because I was defeated and scurried back to the palace, but to present a report, this useful and reliable information to Your Majesty that I saw with my own eyes. And for that, please, please, I would like you to spare my life――

– I won’t.

Lightning Empress slew the long talk of Darko who explained earnestly with two words.

– To begin with, if you and the mirror hadn’t been cut off in Krasnoyarsk, then I certainly would have killed off Moroha. You’re not going to evade the offense of that mistake. Therefore, you’ll die. There’re no exceptions.

She waved her hand as if driving a dog away.

With that much, two of her close aides walked Darko off who lost his voice in despair.

This was fine. This was the expectation of Lighting Empress’s reign way.

Code of blood and absolute fear raised the quality of her subordinates and stole their willpower to try going against her.

Vasilisa satisfied herself by doing so and proceeded to the next question.

– How are the negotiations with the government going?

– As Your Majesty ordered, it is reported that the Dreadnought left Novosibirsk and is now heading to Yekaterinburg. They didn’t have a suspicious att.i.tude.

– Ho, ho, ho. That’s the good result of making good relations.h.i.+ps habitually, isn’t it?

– They requested and hoped for the immediate extermination of the Dreadnought before the city is trampled down.

– Any kind of means will do it then?

– Yes, that is correct.

Vasilisa raised the corners of her mouth in response to the answer of the polite close aide.

When the Russian government said「Any kind of means will do it」, it implied their approval.

In other words, she had the very last word to decide the use or not use of incantations.

– Hohohohohoho! This Dreadnought, how admirably of it to appear in this country at this moment. I feel obliged to thank it, you know? If it really were here, I’d be glad to pat it and say “good boy, good boy” to it. You know?

Vasilisa hid her mouth with the unfolded folding fan and laughed with a pleasant, high-pitched sound.

Thanks to it, she had the excuse to use incantations freely.

And of course, she would use them against Moroha and not the Dreadnought.

– We’re backing up the will of Heaven and Your Majesty, aren’t we?

– Yes! We have to make him know what a real S-Rank is like and that is the divine heaven-sent child Your Majesty Lightning Empress!

– That is no doubt the heaven’s decree!

Vasilisa continued laughing completely in a good mood due to the adulation of her close aides.

She told haughtily as she squinted, looking down on Moroha in the distance.

– Haimura, it’s no surprise you’re an incomplete S-Rank. Well, you did go all out well. That was truly admirable, you reached my pace, you know? I’ll give you a reward, so why don’t you become one with Yekaterinburg?

Then, she stretched her index finger like an icefish.

She put ancient magic characters into written form and put complicated and mysterious spellings on top of another.

She chanted and recited with a voice full of an unearthly atmosphere.

Dance  dance  soldiers of thunder

Thunderclaps, one thousand lightning, ten thousand lightning, heed my call.

No one lives eternally in this world, crave for moments, instants and pleasures

Abandon everything in the blink of an eye

Those who are late, don’t call for repentance  Tonight is the once in a millennium festival

End, end, end, end

Dissolve and end life and everything  The liberation of the soul is not easy.

Completely take off the weight of the fine feathers  This feeling of soaring the world!

Kill, kill, kill, kill

Share with everyone this easiness, this throb, this freedom, this happiness

Oh death  How delightful it is!

End, end, end, end  Kill, kill, kill, kill

Tonight is the once in a millennium banquet of slaughter.

The spelling ended and the finger of Vasilisa stopped.

The recite ended and the voice of Vasilisa vanished.

Now, the evil ritual was completed.

The greatest and strongest 13th Rank Dark Arts with a plot of land as a compensation.

Therefore, an incantation.

The Origin of “Lightning Empress” Vasilisa, Celestial Crusader.

Moroha, who was on the way on the vast plain, looked up at the sky.

Darkish clouds began to swirl abruptly from everywhere.

They twisted and gathered, covering the air.

Together with that, a heavy air hung over between heaven and earth.

No, was that a killing sensation? Or should it be compared to a bewitching sensation?

Vasilisa’s mana, famous for being the strongest on earth, filled the s.p.a.ce between heaven and earth, creating a shuddering-like atmosphere.

This was the prologue of the battle.

The crash of a thunder reverberated.

Near him.

The shock that made the atmosphere quiver went through Moroha’s body, a burnt smell that heated up the atmosphere hit the nose of Moroha.

But, he couldn’t help but be mixed up with such a thing.

Something was crouching on the scorching remains of the ground that the thunderbolt burned.

At first glance, it was a beast. The subspecies of a tiger or a lion, perhaps?

Its body was made of lightning.

It glared at him and instead of making a sound with its throat, it threatened him with a deep thunder.

Moroha put strength into his hand that held Saratiga.

*TN: Saratiga is the furigana reading for dear sword.

His fingers moved with a twitch.

As soon as the lightning beast brandished its claws, he approached to attack it.

It was swift――but not as fast as Moroha.

He slipped through the claws made of electric heat, mowed down the trunk made of lightning ma.s.s with his sword, remained alert and immediately ran past from behind the armpit and executed a movement called instant flash.

The lightning beast, struck by Moroha’s Venus, scattered behind him and vanished like a mist.

The first of many.

Thunderbolts rained one by one from the dome of clouds covering up the sky.

Each time a thunderbolt fell, a four-legged lightning beast was born.

That number increased endlessly.

As if overwhelming him in swarms.

Every last one of them made thunders resound, those echoes produced a bizarre feeling of oppression.

Moroha, whose path was obstructed, scratched his face. He felt an illusion as if the residence of Lightning Empress, which was about one kilometer away, ended up getting outrageously far away.

It was as he had heard from AJ. This was Vasilisa’s incantation. A tactical cla.s.s magic that gave birth to an army of lightning beasts.

In fact, Moroha, who witnessed this personally, was trembling with excitement.

– I give up, this is out of proportion.

The memory in which he fought with 8 branch office heads just the day before yesterday was rapidly fading.

It was natural, wasn’t it?

The strength of the lightning beasts――which he felt when intersecting with one of them seconds ago――was approximately between a C-Rank and B-Rank s.h.i.+rogane.

Those things completely covered his field of vision; and this meant.

That their numbers were probably between 500 and 1,000?

In short, his calculation exceeded the whole fighting power of one division of the White Knight Organization.

Since incantations ended up being called that way, then that was it, but how nonsensical they were!

Not that the Empire and not the Russian Division were the ones in charge of incantations regarding Vasilisa?

He shook Lightning Empress’s influence foundation and intended to shave it off, but maybe, as a matter of fact, he didn’t damage it at all? Even such an idea ended up sprouting.

– This is bad. I want to escape.

Moroha smiled daringly then tried to jump about 5 meters up with G.o.dlike Movement as an experiment.

Then, and immediately, a lightning hit the ground in front of him, it changed into a beast in the air and approached him, trying to bite at him.

– Oops.

When he cut it down before he was bitten, a thunderbolt fell before him this time and changed into a beast.

– Tch. She’s fully equipped with anti-air counterattacks.

He brushed it off by cutting it off diagonally as he rotated to the back before he was attacked by it and landed in free fall.

If above him was inadequately defended, then advancing to the front, ignoring them with continuous big jumps, or a technique to strafe above ground, spelling a big magic from a safe zone were a possibility, but they didn’t seem to be easy to do.

Be that as it may, Moroha didn’t know about a technique to fly at will in the air and he could hardly move in mid-air.

If he had suffered a concentrated fire of lightning strikes shortly thereafter he had flown even more greatly, then everything would have come to an end.

– I think I have to go seriously.

If so, he strengthened his resolve.

He fixed his gaze on the pack of lightning beasts that closed in in swarms.

He went towards them and started to charge with dauntless courage.

One VS An army.

If he had waited, he would have been surrounded and pulverized.

He absolutely had to take the first move.

He looked to the left and right, searching for lightning beasts within reach and instantly spotted a slightly isolated animal.

He drew near it in a moment with G.o.dlike Movement and slew it with a single stroke.

As Moroha moved, a non-negligible number of lightning beasts were forced to change their course and stopped their legs.*

*TN: Moroha is the furigana reading for target.

Moroha searched for another isolated animal near him from among them, ran up to it and cut it down with a stroke.

Then searched for another animal and killed it.

Since their numbers were to this extent, there was always an animal that didn’t cooperate and that its distance with other lightning beasts was long.

Namely, the weak spot of the enemy line.

Moroha’s tactical eyes selected those instantly. That was why the feat of looking like he crushed them all while being surrounded by a great number of them was possible.

Just when he finally killed 54 of them, another lightning beast ran from a flank and attacked him.

He immediately confirmed this one was alone and cut it down with a counter without feelings in between.

The sword speed of Moroha was like the speed of light. Therefore, he easily attacked depending on the movements of the enemy.

The sword attacks of Moroha were like the might of Heaven. Therefore, he could slaughter animal after animal without difficulties.

He was no longer in the places that got flooded with animal after animal that came late.

Then went to hunt another isolated animal once again.

Without ever stopping, without letting the aim of his opponents exploit a spot.

It became a defense that didn’t allow a perfect encirclement, and coincident with that, since it perturbed their battle formation, making the lightning beasts move about in confusion, the encirclement began to open and weak spots were created in succession.

Moroha took the first move and struck those.

His speed to move, speed to run, speed to slash, speed to kill, speed, speed, speed――

Everything was joined together, the cycle of「always take the lead and hit the weak spots」was accurately constructed.

Now.

When looking down at Moroha’s appearance from above, he looked like the first magnitude star at the center of innumerable piece-of-trash stars.

Moreover, this star kept gulping down the piece-of-trash stars like a black hole.*

*TN: Piece-of-trash stars is the furigana reading for lightning beasts.

Naturally, this was clearly reflected in the eyes of Vasilisa who viewed the battlefield from the third floor of the residence.

She grasped the folding fan tightly and grinded her teeth.

– What’s the meaning of this…?

The close aides trembled violently due to her threatening voice.

– My Celestial Crusader is invincible, isn’t it? When I used it on a Dreadnought before, I slaughtered it in a matter of minutes. Even the Fortress that appeared in j.a.pan last month should follow the same end before my incantation. Don’t you agree?

– I-it is as you say.

Her close aides agreed.

Not particularly because they just pandered to the tyrant. In fact, among the six heads, Vasilisa, Edward and even Charles were deemed as the ones who had the best firepower.

– If that’s the case, then why am I having a hard time with Haimura? What kind of magic trick is this?

The close aides looked at each other’s face because of Vasilisa’s question.

If there’s anyone who knows that, answer fast. Otherwise, we’ll be purged. Then, their gazes flew past each other and as a result, a person who knew the answer stepped forward fearfully.

– Your Majesty, with all due respect. It is not a magic trick, but a war tactic.

– A war tactic, you say?

– Let’s a.s.sume so. If all Your Majesty’s lightning beasts stand in a line and Haimura defeated them one by one, then which one would get the victory in the end?

– In that scenario, then Haimura, I presume? Well, that’s not something that will happen in reality, and actually, Haimura is being surrounded by my lightning beasts, isn’t he?

– It is as you say, this is an impracticable theory. Nevertheless, a perfectly h.o.m.ogeneous and watertight encirclement is nothing but theoretical as well.

– Hmm…. I see, I understand that. So?

– When army and army fight, the fellow generals try to get close to theoretical logic even a little bit by using war tactics. Numerically superior armies aim for perfect encirclements, while numerically inferior armies aim for the perfect dispersion and elimination. In short… that’s what Haimura is doing now.

– Are you saying that this kid has the experience to stand on the battlefield as a general?

– I am not saying that he is a Savior who spearheaded an army in his previous life. However, it feels as if… that thing about Haimura is not to the level of someone like a general…. As if he is used to accompany entire armies by himself…

The close aides gazed at the expected very small boy on the battlefield with eyes filled with fear.

The ones who were there didn’t know.

That Moroha――that him, antagonizing the world and fighting alone――both as Flaga and as Shu Saura, were certainly his everyday occurrence in his previous lives.

However, and even if they didn’t know, there was something they felt when they saw Moroha’s way of being furiously vigorous.

– … This Haimura… he’s stubbornly insolent.

Vasilisa spat out hatefully and,

– … Release them.

She ordered with a threatening voice.

A close aide became ghastly pale and headed to dispatch the order right away.

When the number of the hunted lightning beasts was more than one hundred, Moroha stopped counting them.

At any rate, he hunted them more than what they multiplied, and by disrupting the encirclement, using this pace, he persevered until an opening, a gap resulted from it, as if a breakthrough  was made in one go to the residence where Lightning Empress was.

Was he worried because it took time?

Moroha’s stamina could fight even all night long thanks to Naikatsutsuu, and luckily, the lightning beasts stood out in the dark.

His head aimed for a breakthrough to Lightning Empress’s location with eagle eyes and his body did routine work to「always move first and hit the weak spots」with innocence.

Maya made a dangerous statement before, saying「Human beings are amazing desu. They can drive a car while concentrating on their thoughts desu」, but Moroha was several steps beyond that state of mind.

Even if his body got burned with the heat of the battle, his head was cool-headed and clear.

And his sharpened five senses, the sense of hearing, picked up strange noises.

– HURRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA――

They were numerous shouts.

Voices that seemed to be half desperate, with no braveness in them, rather, they felt pathetic.

When he realized, hundreds of pitiable s.h.i.+roganes surged forward to the battlefield from the mansion.

They seemed to be the Saviors of the Russian Division. However, most of them were young boys and girls of the same age as Moroha. They didn’t look strong at all.

That company mixed with a group of lightning beasts came to attack him, becoming one.

Moroha was pressed to deal with them while slaughtering the lightning beasts.

The first person fell.

A boy in his early teens and who could only open 5 gates came to thrust him, sticking out the sword from the hip.

『Dieeeeeeeeeeeee』

A hysteric cry. Although it was in Russian, Moroha got the meaning of it.

Because the boy spread a strong and blunt feeling.

This didn’t mean he got drunk on murderous impulse. A feeling of tragic heroism that felt like a cornered person snapping back at it.

But Moroha didn’t suffer damage from the greenhorn who lost his cool, he gracefully cleared the sword away.

The sword of the boy was cut right in the middle of the sword blade quietly and with a low resistance.

『Hi, hiiii, hiiiiiiiih』

The boy immediately turned his face pale and ran away as he fell into dyspnea.

A lightning beast attacked his back.

Then two, three animals bit him, and thrust their electric heat fangs into him as if devouring him greedily.

He heard the agonizing death of the pitiable boy who was unable to suppress his emotions and the smell of his flesh burning.

After that, only a partly burned charcoal was left, which was the boy until moments ago.

– Wha…

Moroha was surprised, his sword grew dull, he was on the verge of being bitten by the lightning beasts but cut them down, feeling uneasy.

What the h.e.l.l happened?

The boys and girls who entered the battlefield are the subordinates of Lightning Empress, aren’t they?

Why did they killed him?

Someone raised a loud voice faster than Moroha conjectured.

The adults he rapidly grasped at a glance――a minority blended with the boys and girls――seemed to be the bodyguards of Lightning Empress and said unanimously.

– You people are just greens picked out as splendorous Saviors that joined the Russian Division!

– We’re sure it was explained to you before, weren’t you? The ones who run away will be killed!

– Her Majesty Lightning Empress commanded these beasts to devour him!

– Kill Haimura, unless you want to be eaten alive! Get him with your life!

– Whaaat? You don’t need to worry. Haimura seems to be a gentle Savior, you see? Now that he knows that you’re novices and that you’re only made to go to war with him without opposing the imperial command of Her Majesty Lightning Empress, he’ll have to go easy on you.

They purposely ordered so to the boys and girls in English.

Moroha realized.

The purpose of the bodyguards wasn’t to enforcer the orders to the children thoroughly, they wanted to convey their circ.u.mstances to Moroha himself.

『Die alreadyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy』

Another girl came slas.h.i.+ng while trembling.

Given that the brilliance of her prana wasn’t sufficient, the form of the slash was completely inadequate.

Like the previous one, she was an opponent Moroha could easily deal with.

– Kuh…

However, Moroha escaped with a back step.

He couldn’t counterattack carelessly.

And killing her was out of the question. Then if he mowed her consciousness with Saturn, she wouldn’t「run away」? There was no guarantee that the lightning beasts wouldn’t attack the fallen girl.

That was why Moroha had no choice but to escape.

Another boy came charging with a spear. He ran away.

Another boy came brandis.h.i.+ng an axe. He ran away.

Always turning around reactively. The cycle in which he hit the weak spots of the battle formation was severed.

The encirclement of lighting beasts and boys and girls was narrowing rapidly.

They got way too cl.u.s.tered together, and as a result, pus.h.i.+ng and shoving sprung forth between the allies. It didn’t matter when lightning beast and lightning beast b.u.mped into each other, but when one of the two was a youngster, then people dying by electrocution appeared one after another.

Moroha, who saw that miserable and disastrous scene, felt as if his stomach became cold.

– Youuuuu…

He bared his fangs, scowled at the bodyguards as if stabbing them and roared fiercely.

– Aren’t these kids your comrades!?

– Well, if they can endure this test, then we’ll openly recognize them as comrades.

The leader, who obviously commanded this force, said bluntly and with arrogance.

– You’re saying that it’s fine that a guy who can’t endure it have to die? How do you have the nerve to think such a thing about human lives!?

– We have more than 700,000. A hundred less, a hundred more, it’s not a big deal.

– !? Even when you’re also orphans!?

– You’re wrong. We’re the worst and most sinister of Russia, chosen by the heaven and polished to endure tests. Neither my worth nor the one of those guys can be established, but I’d rather have this lot dead rather than parasitizing the country.

Even when he was pressed a question, the commanding officer smiled with a grin, without paying attention to him.

The adults, who hurried up and urged the boys and girls forward, never tried to draw near Moroha.

They were proudly sitting upright, seeing off the weak to an extremely dangerous place from a safe place.

The word「disgusting」wasn’t enough to express their wrongdoing.

Moroha roared as if being stimulated by the fury.

– That’s not right!

He cleared away the lightning beast that came jumping from the side without moving his eyes.

– It’ isn’t, it isn’t!

He mowed down a lightning beast that a.s.saulted him from his back without a moment’s delay as if turning around.

He blocked the sword of the boy who came slas.h.i.+ng at him without a moment’s delay with his sword without escaping anymore.

He was a power-type s.h.i.+rogane who had a st.u.r.dy body. And took it into a sword lock, hoping to squash him from above by capitalizing on his tall figure.

– Stop! Why’re you going all out!?

Lightning beasts came leaping upon them from the left and right faster than Moroha’s shout reached the boy, thrusting their claws and fangs of lightning into them, without caring about the boy.

These magical beasts brought forth by incantation.

Their electric heat was tremendous, not even Moroha’s Taimatsuu was of use whatsoever. His body got scorched from both sides, he was tormented by an indescribable sharp pain.

The boy, with whom he was in a sword lock, became a lump of carbon in an instant, just the sword remained, which then fell.

Although Moroha was burned, but alive still, he didn’t let his anguish reveal at all.

– Even though I’m saying “it isn’t”…

This amount of electric heat, compared to the flames of fury he yearned for――was like a gentle breeze.

He quickly spelled Hydro Blast and pulverized the left lightning beast to atoms.

And bisected the right lightning beast with his sword.

Without a moment’s delay, new lightning beasts came swooping down on him, three, four of them at the same time.

– … Even though I’m saying “it isn’t” you dammit!

Moroha slew one with a basic sword stroke, but his body was burned by the remaining three, his right knee that supported him was about to collapse.

During that time, more lightning beasts flooded the place.

The other boys and girls stood stock still, surrounding him at a distance, they weren’t attacking him anymore, probably because of the violent death of the boy that happened in their presence just now.

But their role was over.

More than enough now that they made an encirclement with the lightning beasts to the point of being impregnable, and that made the war tactics of Moroha, which hit the weak spots of their battle formation, collapse.

Now, as Moroha slaughtered an animal, the fangs of the lightning beasts thrust into him and the claws tore him off three, four times.

Be that as it may, unless there was s.p.a.ce to make the best use of his speed, it was impossible to keep evading them while being outnumbered.

He was being driven into a corner.

At last, Moroha, the seventh S-Rank, is going to die――the bodyguards were eagerly waiting for that moment.

For this reason, Moroha didn’t cave in.

He hadn’t to complain of the pain at any cost.

– No, no, where’s your persistence from moments ago, Haimura? Did you go insane due to the pain? Huh?

– I’m pretty sure guys like you don’t get it…

Although Moroha was being showered with blows by the lightning beasts, his eyes weren’t lifeless.

Rather, they had a trace of ghastliness, they were s.h.i.+ning glaringly.

He stared intensely at the commanding officer with those eyes, making him totter with his powers of observation only.

He roared with all his heart.

– I’m saying that there’s no human life in this world that deserves to be treated without respect!

That was why Moroha didn’t collapse.

The pride of Moroha, that wasn’t going to yield to the lot that didn’t get that, wouldn’t tolerate it.

He swung the sword raised overhead with all his body.

A white, s.h.i.+ning long sword-wind blew violently.

However, he didn’t just that. He put all the prana he ama.s.sed, ama.s.sed and ama.s.sed together with his rage into Jupiter.

He blew away the lightning beasts in front of him in one go, a spot similar to a pa.s.sage was made in an instant.

A straight line to the commanding officer.

– Ooooooo.

Moroha dashed.

He charged at the commanding officer faster than the opened way out was completely filled by the lightning beasts flooding it again.

– Hiii.

The man, who treated him with contempt until moments ago, distorted his face in fear.

He tried to escape as he was, but he rapidly stopped doing so.

Probably he remembered on the spurt of the moment――

– If you run away then you’ll die, right!?

When Moroha pointed that out, attacking the weakened enemy,

– S-shut up. Who’s going to run away from you?

The commanding officer caught the attack of Moroha with his sword as his face got red and blue with anger and fear.

Without a moment’s delay, lightning beasts came attacking from the front and rear.

As usual, they didn’t care about the commanding officer.

– Fight.

– Hi, hiiiii.

Moroha and the man turned around at the same time and killed the lightning beasts approaching from their respective backs.

They killed the lightning beasts gathering more and more one after another as if they had divided their roles.

– Is it alright for you to kill the pets of Her Majesty Lightning Empress-sama?

– S-shut up. Shut uuuuuuuuuuup!

The commanding officer, who wholeheartedly wanted to survive, protected Moroha’s back.

Oh yes, he was very reliable.

But, the man didn’t feel alive. Even if he survived here, he would probably be purged for dealing with the lightning beasts approaching in succession.

In reality, his companions thought that possibility, the boys and girls didn’t step in to help even the bodyguards as a matter of course.

The ones who easily let someone die without helping were easily killed without getting help.

– How does that feel now? Are you valuing life a bit now that you know how it is?

– Shut up. You brat, don’t come preaching me. Remember that this doesn’t mean at all that you’ll escape from this dilemma, gyahahahahaha!

The commanding officer became desperate and burst into laughter.

– To begin with, there’s no way you b.a.s.t.a.r.d can win against Her Majesty Lightning Empress! An amateur who can’t kill people while standing on the battlefield. You’re a hypocrite. A fool.

He laughed to scorn him with a completely ridiculous tone of voice.

Moroha was amazed, he had no words to return――

– Moroha is neither a hypocrite nor a fool!

――He heard a voice that objected instead of him from somewhere.

Moroha slaughtered a lightning beast and looked around with surprised eyes.

The wind blew.

A sharp wind that felt as if one would be cut if touched.

She used the chance when all the lightning beasts were facing Moroha with nothing but intent to kill and came running to Moroha’s side, opening up a path as she slashed and slashed and slashed them from their backs――

That was the wind raised by the dual sword wielder female knight.

– I’m Angela Johnson, I belong to the British Division! Under the rules of my ruler, of the well-known “White Knight” Sir Edward Lampard, I join as the a.s.sistant of Moroha from this moment onwards!

AJ wielded the pair of swords like a windmill, slaughtering the lightning beasts surrounding Moroha and declared, raising her voice as she lightened his burden.

– Even though I told you to not come…

– I know! If you’re going to protest, then protest to my lord! Never mind, don’t do that! Shouting objections to my lord is extremely disrespectful!

AJ announced in an impetuous-dash-forward way, exchanging glances with all her strength as she stated like a loyal dog as usual.

Moroha had no choice but to fight and come together while being cautious to not weaken his sword with agitation.

AJ, without stopping her swords, laughed maliciously, looking at his state fleetingly.

– Do you feel responsible because England ended up getting involved?

– T-that’s…

– You idiot! I’ve been telling you that “going to war alone” is like a brat’s delusion, so it turned out like this because you’re showing off!

– Being forthright even at times like these. You’re really making me cry.

– Burn this on your head, Moroha.

Moroha cut the lightning beasts down as he turned his head to AJ whose voice suddenly became serious.

– No matter how much a man like you asks me to leave you alone, no one will leave you alone!

AJ pointed to the other side with her right sword.

To the end of the battlefield.

Way outside the encirclement of the lightning beasts.

On that corner, a large-scale battle was developing.

A group of Saviors that suddenly appeared was fighting, taking on the lightning beasts.

– It’s as Angelsan says, Haimurhan isn’t a hypocrite! We, all the branch office members of Yekaterinburg, will now fight under the flag of Haimurhan! We’re burning with the feeling of living, we’re more than fed up with Lightning Empress’s reign of terror!

The one who took command was Katya.

– … You’re cruel, Moroha. How could you leave us behind?

The one who fought as hard as she could at the head of the group was Yuri.

– How… despite putting you two to sleep satisfactorily…

– Yeah, I woke them up, so what?

AJ said shamelessly as she cut two animals with her two swords at the same time.

– What you did is so unfair! We couldn’t wake up so easily because of Giga Drowse, so she beat us vigorously!

– … My b.u.t.t hurts.

The resentful complains of Katya and Yuri were directed at both Moroha and AJ as was expected.

– At any rate, even if I’m accompanying you, we just argue back and forth, that’s why I did something separately and made their troops gather.

AJ said proudly.

(I see, that time when she let me got off of the railway train first, huh)

Moroha got that right away.

– That’s how it is, Haimurhan!

– … Please take care of us once again.

– What? Are you saying that you might not be able to protect us? That’s no good, no good! Because we have already fell in love with Haimurhan, so take responsibility! You have to absolutely protect us!

– … Show us your guts.

The words of Katya and Yuri went this far! How selfish their remarks were, but they seemed to give vitality to Moroha.

– What do you think? Am I still a nuisance?

– I love you, Angelsan!

They crossed each other; Moroha cut the lightning beasts coming from AJ’s back in half and AJ cut the lightning beasts coming from Moroha’s back in half.

– H-humph. Offer your thanks to my lord. And, to them as well.

– Eh…?

That happened before he asked “who?”.

Moroha opened his eyes wide in surprise.

Excitement ran through his spine.

– This is too much! I… don’t look cool at all now, do I?

He ended up spilling a smile while complaining.

Moroha’s gaze was at the end of the battlefield on the opposite side where Katya and the others were.

*Drops falling* ――

A pale light was born at one point of the ground.

The light gradually became stronger, stretching in a circular shape.

Like a spot that eroded the world, it drew a geometrical pattern that in the end created a pale magic circle with a diameter of nearly 100 meters.

Two girls appeared from within as if jumping out from the bottom of a deep hole.

While one of them disheveled her side tail.

While the other fluttered her long black hair with grace.

How many days have pa.s.sed since then――Moroha said their names.

『Satsuki! s.h.i.+zuno!』

He called out to the two girls who showed up from the Erratic Portal with a loud voice.

『Nii-sama!』

No sooner than Satsuki jumped out from the portal, she ran towards him without looking aside.

『Wait! It’s dangerous!』

She decided to not listen to him, even if Moroha stopped her.

She let a little smallish sabre manifest, made it wear gold prana and came around him at full speed while mowing lightning beasts down.

She spread both hands and jumped at him.

Her eyes had tears running in them.

『You’re alive…』

She threw her sword away, put both arms around Moroha’s back and clung to him as hard as she could.

『You’re alive, you’re alive, you’re alive』

She shouted while sobbing.

『Why wouldn’t I be alive? As if such solid ghosts exist』

Moroha smiled wryly while catching the sabre of Satsuki in the air.

That wasn’t why his happy-feeling wry smile was like this.

『Stupid! Don’t joke about it!』

Satsuki held him so tightly that it hurt.

She came to grope his back as if confirming the safety of Moroha’s body.

『Urus.h.i.+bara is heartless! She kept in touch with Angelsan all this time and knew in detail what Moroha was doing now, and yet, she said nothing to us! Before… when I heard that Moroha was about to die… for the first time, I… I…』

Satsuki rubbed her cheeks as if shaking her head in refusal while still having her head buried in the chest of Moroha.

『I promised it a long time ago, didn’t I? That I’ll always be alive and that I’ll return to your side』

He wanted to make her calm down by patting her head, but unfortunately, his hands were blocked.

However, Satsuki, when she heard the words of Moroha, the trembling of her body calmed down gradually.

『Still, I was very, very worried…. Once we got the news from Angelsan that the decisive battle started now, I unhesitatingly came flying』

『The j.a.panese Division properly sent a permission of use of the Erratic Portal?』

『Urus.h.i.+bara and the board chairman appealed to them, saying「now that it has come to this, we should partic.i.p.ate in the war」. Even Sir Edward from England gave his suggestion, saying「I made up my mind but what are you going to do?」』

As soon as they knew they could get on the winning horse, the back of the j.a.panese Division rapidly became lighter.

The components of the smile and bitterness of Moroha increased.

(Now I get it….  The one with whom Angelsan was stealthily talking on the phone was s.h.i.+zuno)

Moroha gazed at s.h.i.+zuno standing next to the Erratic Portal while Satsuki still clung to him.

(Was I helpful?)

s.h.i.+zuno asked with an eye contact.

(Yeah, you saved me)

Moroha returned with an eye contact as well.

Then,

– How long are you guys going to flirt!?

The angry voice of AJ, that felt like it ruptured their eardrums, hit them from the side.

Satsuki became aware of it and Moroha returned her sword.

AJ, who had been protecting Moroha and company from the lightning beasts all this time,

– Is this the situation to be leisurely delighted for meeting again!? Look around!

She came warning them while being mad.

The battlefield was a living thing――

The bodyguards, who recovered from the surprise, seeing the reinforcements of the British Division, the reinforcements of Katya and the moderate faction and even another Erratic Portal that connected this land and Akane Academy, moved to deal with them.

– Leave Haimura and the British girl to the beasts! Half of you will come with me! The other hall will defeat the traitors! Let’s get rid of them first!

The commanding officer, who was protecting himself from the lightning beasts while shouting so, suddenly became energetic and issued instructions. He started running towards s.h.i.+zuno with a face that looked like he had a narrow escape from death. If he did this, then it wouldn’t be deemed as “he escaped”, meaning the lightning beasts wouldn’t attack him.

He urged forward the dead-looking boys and girls, took half of the bodyguards with him and charged, aiming at the Erratic Portal.

– Dammit…

Moroha tried to run after them,

『We told you already there’s no need to worry, Nii-sama』

He was confidently restrained by Satsuki.

In fact, the momentum of the commanding officer who charged at full speed was so fierce that he was about to come close to s.h.i.+zuno. She was being attacked by lightning beasts now, the restrained Moroha wasn’t in time for helping her.

The commanding officer laughed with a voice wis.h.i.+ng for blood.

– No matter how you try to make me lose my nerve, it’s useless; you get it now that you’ve seen it, right? You, you’re not a regular Savior of the j.a.panese Division, are you? This I will teach you what happens when the likes of you students interfere in my battlefield!

He fanned his fear and wielded his sword overhead to intimidate her.

He showed a pathetic figure moments ago, but he was a rotten tough Russian guy. A s.h.i.+rogane that pretty much was put in charge of a force, of the bodyguards of Lightning Empress.

s.h.i.+zuno, who was flooded with such intense murderous impulse, didn’t get a thing what he was thinking about.

And so, a third person appeared from the magic circle, made bold and composed sound of footsteps in front of s.h.i.+zuno to intercept that murderous impulse.

『You jumped out from inside without being prepared, we’ll just have a hard time unless we stick together guys』

A man with a tall and lean figure and with a serious-looking face.

He stood with an imposing air on front of the Russian tough guy.

His name was Isurugi Jin.

– Did you say “the likes of you students” now, didn’t you?

This was confirmed by the commanding officer with a rusted voice.

– Yeah, I said it! You didn’t hear me? Or maybe your need to study more English?

– I think that’s for sure a thing j.a.pan needs to put more effort into it?

– Huuh!? Cheeky brat, this silly talk will send you to the next wo――

The commanding officer couldn’t say his words to the end.

Isurugi discharged electricity from his whole body to the front while in a motionless stance with both arms hanging down languidly.

The commanding officer completely and directly ate the counter, collapsing on the spot due to the electric shock he received and in the same pose he was, that is, a.s.saulting with a sword.

Only one blow settled it.

– Certainly, we may be students, but we are Strikers――an actual fighting force.

Isurugi said with a voice full of self-confidence, without giving a glance at him.

The bodyguards and the boys and girls who were following the commanding officer stepped on the brakes all at once.

As if an invisible barricade was made in front of Isurugi.

Everyone shuddered before the captain of Akane Academy Strikers Isurugi Jin, they couldn’t draw near him.

In the meantime, reinforcements arrived one after another from the Erratic Portal.

The demon vice-captain Tokiko, the unrivaled strong Sophia, the multi-technique user Taketsuru, the doubly fast Haruka, and 12 senior members of Strikers including Kamekichi lined up.

『All s.h.i.+roganes to the front! Deploy a defensive battle formation in a line! All Kuromas will do fire support from behind!』

13 people, including s.h.i.+zuno, quickly a.s.sembled a battle formation with demon vice-captain’s command.

Their transition speed was splendid, the battle formation was in perfect order. This was the fruit of their daily extrhard training.

Moroha, who looked at them, grasped the meaning of Satsuki’s words he had just heard.

I see, I didn’t need to worry about them.

『The children are only made to go to war! If they run away, they’ll be eaten by these beasts!』

He stopped to get their attention only.

『――Yes, that’s right. Can you deal with them, everyone』

The troops responded, saying in unison to the unashamed question of Isurugi.

We are the “Saviors”!

We are the “Strike” for our people, our peace and our justice!

As if they hit the heavens with their energetic feeling.

Furthermore, s.h.i.+zuno, who didn’t partic.i.p.ate in the cheering, had completed a Dark Art of barrier.

– ――Those without a soul  Prostrate yourself before my power.

She drew magic characters on the ground with the b.u.t.t end of the manifested staff and ultimately planted it in the ground as a pillar.

At that moment, the staff shone brilliantly and released a wave of light in all directions.

The wave of light spread throughout the battlefield widely and finally it fused with the air like an illusion.

The effect was immediate.

It weakened the strength, weakened the agility and quickness and weakened the brightness from the bodies of all the lightning beasts which were less than a thousand.

If they were compared to a s.h.i.+rogane, they were weakened until around between C-Rank and D-Rank.

Ancestral Arts’ Dark Art Suppression Field.

While active, the caster was unable to do the slight movement or use another Dark Art, but in this situation it was a great magic that worth its cost.

Katya, who was on the opposite side of the battlefield, was so amazed that she said「W-what!? How can such an amazing Dark Art of barrier exist!? 」

The girl, s.h.i.+zuno, who completely controlled the battlefield to that degree, while she was unable to do the slight movement in this situation, her standing figure was extremely elegant that she admired her.

On the other hand, the ones who couldn’t tolerate it were the bodyguards.

『T-That woman is a caster! Bring her down no matter what it takes!』

A person discovered and pointed at s.h.i.+zuno who couldn’t move and raised h.e.l.l.

– NO! I won’t let you lay a finger on my cute kouhai!

However, the one who constructed a wall in front of s.h.i.+zuno was Sophia.

She made her fists struck against each other, her huge bust shook suddenly.

She was a s.h.i.+rogane endowed with one of the best toughness and the best power in Akane Academy with which she protected what was necessary like the iron gate of a fortress.

And so, the battle situation changed completely.

The Russian battle formation, which was encircling Moroha, was now receiving a pincer attack by the moderate faction and the Strikers.

The bodyguards, who tried to finish her before than the S-Rank, intended to do so but they were struck by an extreme resistance which left them confuse.

*TN: S-Rank is the furigana reading for “the formidable Moroha”.

The brave fighting style of the moderate faction was, in a single word, tremendous.

The level of their morale, which felt as if they vented their anger of being frightened of Lightning Empress’s reign of terror day after day, overwhelmed the bodyguards who could only follow Lightning Empress with terror. To say nothing of the lightning beasts weakened by s.h.i.+zuno’s Supression Field, they were no longer a threat.

The fighting style of Strikers was beyond theirs, it had even more presence.

They were students while not being students.

Because they hunted much more metaphysicals than j.a.panese Division’s established Saviors, the main force the j.a.panese Division was proud of so to speak.

The s.h.i.+rogane forces led by Taketsuru rendered the boys and girls useless using Saturn while protecting their allies by cooperating with each other. The lightning beasts that tried to eat them were cleaned up by the Dark Arts of the Kuroma forces led by Tokiko.

The one who took on the bodyguards was Isurugi.

Curiously, he entrusted the command of the forces to Taketsuru and the others and conducted himself as a lone warrior.

『I shall say with honesty! I, as a senior, as a captain, as a man, was unable to ask Haimurkun for advice, I was pathetic!』

I’m here.

I’m not a drag.

Notice my strength more.

The lightning and gust he spread in such a bloodcurdling state trampled the bodyguards down and scattered the lightning beasts with just the aftermath of those as if they were wood chips. *

*TN: Lighting and gust are the furigana reading for Mars and Jupiter respectively.

Then――one last person arrived on the battlefield.

『Listen, children of Russia…』

The appeal she made in Russian, filled with a painful-like feeling, resounded on the battlefield.

The one who came in sight from the Erratic Portal was Leshya.

She clenched her fists in front of her chest and addressed to the boys and girls who still were forced to fight with a tender expression.

『I’m Elena Arshavina. For you, I’m the woman known as “man-eater”…. But I’m no longer that “man-eater”. That one died when I went to j.a.pan and fought with Haimura Moroha…. I was born again just as Elena…. Moroha told me to make a fresh start in life…』

She was a completely different person from the former Leshya, whose gestures and tone of voice closely resembled a machine.

『So, I’ll share with you those feelings this time. You’ll also make a fresh start in life. You don’t need to worry about anything. Moroha and all the j.a.panese who are here will protect you. I also wish for you to become people who will only fight to protect someone』

Plain, single-minded and direct words. A speech.

But, for this reason, they were moved.

The boys and girls, who were throughout the battlefield, threw their weapons.

Or started fighting with the bodyguards and lighting beasts to protect their fellows.

*TN: Fellows is the furigana reading for boys and girls.

『D-d.a.m.n youu. Even you’re betraying uuuus? Die. You’ll set an example by dyiiiing』

One of the bodyguards went into a frenzy and raised a nata hatchet overhead, turning it towards one of the boys who threw his weapon.

『… I won’t let you』

Yuri turned her opened palm toward that bodyguard.

The man, as if he was instantly squashed by an invisible hand, was put down to the ground having the shape of the character 大.

By means of the gravity user’s Mars.

In fact, Yuri’s real strength couldn’t be conjectured, because she easily swung a sword larger than her stature and mowed down the bodyguards and lightning beasts in one go.

Among the Saviors crowding the battlefield, she particularly stood out alongside Isurugi.

The numbers of bodyguards and lightning beasts decreased steadily.

The boys and girls, all of them, abandoned the battle or joined their side.

Moroha, who took a view of those sights, was overwhelmed with grat.i.tude and great joy.

Thanks to the crowd of people who came running, the siege offensive of Russia weakened drastically and there was even more room for doing so.

– Hey, isn’t time for you to do so?

A scolding, without being soaked in deep emotion, hit him from behind.

There was a warrior here, similar to Isurugi and Yuri, who showed a fighting style similar to a fierce G.o.d――

AJ pointed her chin at him with a sour look.

He understood without being told the thing he had to do.

『s.h.i.+zuno told me to come』

『We also got permission from vice-captain-dono. We’ll cover Moroha』

Fortunately, Haruka and Leshya came to his side.

Moroha winked at Satsuki,

– Let’s go.

He said that line, and AJ said to him.

– Go and punch that woman hard, that heartless one. I have a good feeling you can do it this time.

AJ nodded once.

I leave the rest to you――Moroha advanced first.

To the residence where Lightning Empress was.

He ran, opening and slas.h.i.+ng the completely defenseless encircling battle formation with his sword.

Three girls followed him.

When Leshya did one stroke with her cursed sword, the lightning beasts were eaten by it, then disappeared.

Haruka put her speed to good use and kept the bodyguards in check. She a.s.saulted them with the tip of the tip of the sword, she let her sword be caught on purpose to take them into a sword lock stance and Moroha hit their defenseless torso with Strength, knocking them to their feet. A way made quickly by their combination.

The one he who should be gazing at in wonderment was Satsuki.

Golden prana drifted about from her whole body, put it on her sword and slew the lightning beasts indiscriminately.

Since the enemy was of this degree, he could watch her with no worries.

In what moment did she get that level of sense of stability? Moreover, when did she learn Venus? As far as Moroha knew, the practices she was doing weren’t going smoothly.

– Are you surprised? This girl got suddenly quite stronger in one week.

Haruka, who noticed the dubious-looking gaze of Moroha, said while pouting her lips.

– Foo〜〜fohfoh! That’s because my talent has finally bloomed!

Satsuki got shrewdly c.o.c.ky while running, her nose looked like Pinocchio’s.

– s.h.i.+roganes’ Ancestral Arts is intuitive, isn’t it? Like martial arts, its end is the world of sense. That is to say, getting the hang of it and growing rapidly one day isn’t something that happens often.

Moroha deeply agreed to the depth of meaning of Leshya’s words.

– Because I’ve been fighting with Sophie-senpai all this time〜 I can say that my self-confidence has increased somehow〜

Satsuki put the hand that didn’t have the sword on her face and wriggled her body, cheering herself nimbly.

A lightning beast came to attack her, but Moroha protected her, making his sword flash.

He took back what he had just said. Like he thought, she couldn’t see she was getting in danger.

– But I truly think that the first cue is the main point of Natural Stance that Moroha taught me. Ufu ♥.

– Eh? What’s that!? I want to hear it too, if I become stronger with it, then I want to hear it!

– We’re in the middle of the fight, so leave the chat for later you two.

Satsuki and Haruka, who were scolded by Leshya, had their eyes as an X.

In the meantime, the four of them cut through the encirclement formation and run through to the outside of it.

The lightning beasts turned around to chase them, but they shook free from them with G.o.dlike Movement.

There were no more than 300 meters to the residence where Lightning Empress was.

They signaled each other with their eyes and continued running in unison.

However.

Suddenly, the voice of a slender woman heard from ahead stroke Moroha’s earlobe.

That startled him.

An alluring husky voice. And what was this chill that felt like it crept on him? His whole skin felt something, it got the chills.

Moroha ended up stopping unconsciously. That was the same for the other three.

The voice of the woman became louder and louder.

A song.

They could hear even there the singing voice of Lightning Empress who got up from the throne on the balcony of the mansion.

As her voice became louder, the atmosphere, on the other hand, fell completely silent.

The tumult of the battle went away somewhere.

Even the lightning beasts that were approaching from behind stopped chasing them, they were restless right where they were as if they were scared of something.

A disgusting singing voice. An alluring singing voice. Exactly like the singing voice of a witch.

Only the singing voice of Vasilisa reverberated bewitchingly on the creepy and almost completely silent battleground.

The atmosphere rustled and the clouds floated to match that melody. A cloudy weather swirled above their heads again.

Like a witch slowly stirring a cauldron.

There was a big hole in the dome, the surrounding clouds were swallowed by it.

An extraordinary number of lightning flickered and ran about inside the hole, just like a nest of snakes.

– W-what on earth is that?

Haruka rubbed her arms full of goose b.u.mps while looking up.

– T-that woman, she’s just bluffing!

Satsuki pretended to be tough while trembling.

Leshya stared at it with a gaze full of wariness, without saying anything.

– It’s coming…

Immediately after Moroha warned――a mana equal to even the heaven exploded inside the hole.

Their visibility was burned.

The light that descended from the heaven’s hole and that felt as if burning everything on the ground to nothing, broke the retina of Moroha and the others.

The four of them endured the radiance by making prana run in their eyes and by covering their faces with their arms.

It was such an ardent light that, if they were normal people, they would have probably lost their vision.

Moroha squinted his eyes protected with prana and peeked at the torrent of light.

The light stagnated on the ground as if going against the natural phenomena, then it solidified and began to transform while making countless sparks explode.

Like a thunderbolt that fell from the sky, it transformed into a beast with claws and fangs――

The torrent of light that descended transformed into a giant that surpa.s.sed ten meters in height.

It bent forward and glared at Moroha and company with a face with no eyes or nose from a far height.

「「Hii」」

Satsuki and Haruka embraced each other without enduring it.

They looked up at the giant with intense concentration, their bodies trembled, and their teeth didn’t come together.

*TN: The “teeth didn’t come together” means that they trembled so much due to fear.

– It’s very unlikely I can devour that with my cursed sword.

Leshya concluded quickly because she kept her cool.

– It’s completely equipped with anti-encirclement and anti-aerial counterattacks, it’s completely equipped just like the boss of a game. It has no flaws at all.

Moroha once again realized the atrociousness and the worst of what was called “incantation”, he was disconcerted.

This area should be just barely within the effect range of s.h.i.+zuno’s Suppression Field¸ but it didn’t look like it was showing any effect on the lightning giant. Or maybe its fighting strength weakened from 10,000 to 9,990.

The giant of the incantation began to move without caring about the feelings or consternation of Moroha and the others as if there were no humans who were worried about each and every thing like ants that moved about in confusion on the bare earth.

There was no sound of footsteps going their way, maybe its body had no weight because it was made of lightning?

Even though it was so big.

Apart from that, they didn’t know what it was thinking about due to its featureless face.

Those things produced a bizarre impressiveness, they had a strong impact on them, even on Moroha who had steeled himself by seeing many Metaphysicals.

The faceless giant, instead of howling, made a thunderclap reverberate to tear off their eardrums.

Suddenly, it mowed down the empty sky with its thick right arm.

That was enough to cause a storm, to shower them with a fast gust of several tens of meters; Moroha and the others had to stand firm using even Strength.

Moreover, this was no more than a mere bonus!

The giant waved its arm easily, a colossal amount of thunders and lightning surged from it, which barely ran straight through the ground like a straight ball thrown by the underhand throw of a pitcher. Those were thrown in the opposite direction with a roughness suited for a giant, and a storm blew violently around Moroha with just the after-effects of that.

The sh.e.l.l of the thunders and lightning soared even more vigorously, the side where the moderate faction was lined up became hazy, Katya and the others fell down noisily even though they weren’t hit by it. Their battle formation collapsed.

If they were hit directly by it, how much powerful would that be…?

The momentum of the sh.e.l.l, without knowing when to stop, pierced and trampled down, acting as if it owned the place to the other distant side.

Everything on its way was burned to nothing.

The taiga, which spread out on the outskirts of Yekaterinburg, was easily cut open, it made the lakes and marshes evaporate, and when it directly hit the Ural mountain range, it finally stopped.

Some of the mountains were cleanly pierced, creating tunnels.

If by chance the extraordinary wall of ma.s.s of nature called Ural mountain range weren’t there, how much damage would that thing have spread? He couldn’t get to imagine that.

Moroha decided――while shuddering.

He couldn’t leave this thing as is.

He must not postpone it any minute longer.

Then, something like it cheered his will, like a spark in the depths of his head, burst open many times.

– I’ll deal with that guy. Can I leave the rest to you?

Moroha asked the girls with an overbearing voice.

He fleetingly peeked at the back, the lightning beasts livened up and rushed around as if the blow of the giant of moments ago struck them with a whip. They resumed their pursuit towards them.

Satsuki and Haruka quickly realized and stopped embracing each other.

– O-o-of course, leave it to me!

– I-I’ll give it a try.

– Understood.

Satsuki and the others gave answers different from the other two and engaged the lightning beasts chasing them from behind.

Moroha relied on them because he believed in them.

No, Satsuki and the others weren’t the only ones who deserved to be believed in.

AJ, s.h.i.+zuno, the people of Strikers and the guys of the moderate faction who started to recover their posture, they attracted almost all of the remaining lightning beasts.

Moroha thanked the men and women, all of them, once again and――

Concentrated on what he ought to do.

He devoted himself to what only he could do.

– You’re the one who used it first. I’m not going to accept a complaint, alright?

He thrust his left index finger at someone.

At Vasilisa who continued singing bewitchingly beyond the giant on the throne of the balcony.

That fingertip drew a line of pale light in the empty sky.

– Write――

The fingertip of Moroha drew ancient magic characters accurately.

One line increased to two lines in the blink of an eye.

With each new line, the difficulty level of the Dark Arts increased in a factorial-like manner.

Extreme powers of concentration, extreme skill and extreme mana.

Moroha now harmonized all that he possessed.

Something like sparks sparkled intermittently in the depths of his head and combined like a synapse.

He breathed in and spat out together with a well-projected voice.

To squeeze his concentration more, to make free use of his skill more, to refine his mana more.

He sang,

Everything started from water

Everything returns to water

That is, water is life and yet death

A mother that gives birth, a snake that swallows deeply

All things keep changing  Not even time can go against the current

Like a large river trifling with a floating boat  In the end is nothing but equally gulped down

Yes  The divine providence that is called heartlessness

But that heartlessness, that transiency, have already forgotten

The face of their beloved mother

This body becomes a snake and I open my mouth  I shall eat up completely billions and billions of lands*

An unsatisfied eternal emptiness

A tireless eternal pleasure

All things keep changing  They shall return to my belly

*TN: The kanji for “billions and billions of lands”, if reordered, means “paradise”.

There was an enormous formullike magic characters spreading out in front of Moroha.

And swung it downward as if throwing it violently.

Together with that――an enormous deafening sound reverberated in all directions like a cascade.

The ground-splitting water current gushed out, hitting the heavens like a spear in all directions.

Some of them kept gus.h.i.+ng out copiously like a solemn pillar that supported the heavens.

Furthermore, the surrounding area submerged all of a sudden.

While the ground sank.

A natural disaster that surpa.s.sed the limits of natural disasters.

One would get that if seen from above. There were dozens of pillar-like reversed waterfalls standing towering over the surroundings, concentrated around Moroha. The area around the water current that gushed out became ponds, spreading as a lake. At an abnormal speed like a fast forward video. On top of that, the dots connected to each other, forming a line, becoming a ring-shaped river that also eroded the inside and outside, appearing the same to an inland sea.

The legs of Satsuki, who was confused about something, were submerged near to their knees in the twinkling of an eye.

Moroha stood on the water surface using Mongyoku.

The waves were noisy, and stood upright calmly while wriggling like a living thing.

Neither the sunken ground nor the newborn ocean were something to be concerned about.

He fixed his gaze on the faceless giant as if he faced a transcendental G.o.dly enemy like Wadatsumi who ruled the oceans.

The giant headed towards Moroha while rising sea spray with every step.

And once again, it tried to throw a sh.e.l.l of thunder and lightning with his thick arms.

The shriek of Satsuki and Haruka. The gasp of Leshya.

Moroha in Natural Stance to the end.

He lightly tapped the surface of the water at his feet with an aloof att.i.tude with the tips of the toes as if knocking it twice.

That, was it.

A part of the water surface swelled heartily and stretched like a snake made of water.

It twined around the arm of the giant like a tentacle and restrained it. He didn’t make it mow it down.

Then again, another tentacle made of water twined around the neck of the giant.

Then two, three, four tentacles stretched from the water surface in succession――wrapping around the giant many times.

The giant struggled without enduring it, but the tentacles restrained it firmly.

On the contrary, they tried to drag it into the water.

The resistance of the giant became much more violent.

The living water multiplied the tentacles to restrain it indifferently like a mollusk.

Just like a scene of a monster movie. A faceless giant and living water fought each other.

That essence was a tug-o-war done by Moroha’s mana and Vasilisa’s mana.

Lightning Empress sang, disheveling her hair on the balcony.

She tried to squeeze out as much mana as possible, she was already at her limit.

Moroha only gazed at such expression of the demoness detachedly.

The situation gradually became clearer.

Like the water flowing from high to low――

As the amount of tentacles restraining it increased, the resistance of the giant weakened steadily; the giant sunk into the water while making sad thundering sounds as a subst.i.tute of an agonizing death.

There was more, yes, there was more.

As if the living water wasn’t satisfied yet, the tentacles extended even more towards the sky. The dome of thunder clouds, which was supposed to eternally close this place by Vasilisa’s incantation, was thoroughly gulped down like eating a cotton candy with one’s fingers.

On the balcony, Vasilisa sat down on the throne as if sitting down hard on it.

A fight between a grimoire holder and grimoire holder,

13th Rank Dark Art and 13th Rank Dark Art clashed, none of the contenders suffered damage, but one of them was clearly defeated,

A historical case regarding Saviors.

The incantation of water was declared the winner.

Namely, the second The Origin of Haimura Moroha.

Later on, the White Knight Organization would call it――

The demon-water creation Uroboros.

Vasilisa let out a few words with a husky voice.

– No way…

She threw her heavy body on the throne and stared at the battlefield with stiffened eyes.

She trembled as if having the shakes.

Her retainers, who were supposed to be the worst and most sinister.

Her incantation, which was supposed to be the strongest among the strongest.

In order to win, she prepared even a plan to sacrifice greenhorns.

And yet, what were the results?

What was this unsightly scenery spreading before her eyes?

Both the bodyguards and the greenhorns surrendered to the traitors and the lowly students.

All the monsters brought forth by the incantation were engulfed by the sea of incantation created by Haimura Moroha.

The landscape seen from there, and that she liked, ended up turning into a hideous ocean.

If anything, even this mansion would drown due to land subsidence.

Vasilisa realized.

Just about everything――yes, just about everything ended up being suppressed by just one person, by Haimura Moroha….

– R-run away.

– This is beyond salvation…

– The empire is done for!

Vasilisa came to her senses, listening to the voices of the confused close aides. She straightened her own mind and body,

– Wait! Where do you think you’re going!?

It was a raging roar, but not a single person answered the question of Her Majesty Lightning Empress.

They escaped like baby spiders scattering in all directions.

– What riot is this!? Don’t you value your life!?

– Shut up! Stay quiet!

One of the close aides shouted back, Vasilisa was startled.

Her thought couldn’t catch up with what she was told for a moment.

She was suddenly and roughly verbally abused by a mouth that talked any kind of excessive flattery to put Her Majesty Lightning Empress in good humor until just now.

Vasilisa trembled out of humiliation, dyed her face dark red and grasped the folding fan so tightly that it broke.

– Just… just who do you think I am!? Respond carefully!

– I know who you are! But to be honest, I’m more scared of Haimura than you!

Vasilisa let the folding fan she was grasping tightly fall on her lap.

The anger and the trembling of her body didn’t come to a stop.

– Even though I’ve always supported you! And that I favored you! These ungrateful ones!

The insults didn’t stop.

She abusively ranted and raved to the backs of the fleeing close aids until the last one disappeared.

There――

『The end of the tyrant is a miserable thing, isn’t it?』

She heard the detestable voice of a man.

Vasilisa sternly scowled at the front of the throne.

Haimura Moroha, who still was 20 meters in front of her, came walking to her calmly.

While making small ripples on the water with every step as if he were above ground.

The water level was already nearly the same as the balcony and the height of her gaze hadn’t changed.

『Shut up! This doesn’t mean I have lost yet!』

Vasilisa shouted in anger in English and began to spell a 9th Rank Dark Art, relying on her disfavor.

Moroha saw that but he didn’t disturb his calmed manner of walking.

What an arrogant fool!

It’s good you’ve realized it once again!

Vasilisa created a blue lightning dragon by knitting a Dark Art and released it to Moroha.

Moroha saw that and didn’t try to avoid it.

(No, he can’t avoid it!)

Vasilisa drew a brutal and extremely gruesome smile on her mouth.

She dreamed about Moroha becoming charred and dying gruesomely.

However, the blue lightning dragon was gulped down from the side by a big water snake that suddenly emerged from the surface of the sea before it buried its fangs into Moroha.

The fantastic big snake, whose body was made of water, dissolved into the sea just like that.

After that, just silence remained, as if nothing had happened.

Vasilisa opened her mouth wide, it made her feel free of worries for a second.

Moroha flashed his sword without minding it, cut open the handrail of the balcony and went up from the water to the floor.

With that, Vasilisa regained her sanity and,

『… That was… your incantation, huh? … It’s not insignificant at all, it seems that you took the prize instead of an entrance fee』

She a.s.serted highly and proudly while trembling.

She picked up the folding fan on her lap and tossed it lightly.

The folding fan spread out by itself in the air, then burned and expanded and took the form of a phoenix.

The eerie bird clad in a s.h.i.+mmer of hot air emitted an authority that the atmosphere distorted and got burned with it.

『My The Origin ――is a treasured Golem that is made of and use the soul of a magic bird that destroyed three villages. This is such a great thing to see, isn’t it? Don’t you agree? This is your reward, take this and go to have fun in h.e.l.l!』

Moroha, who got out of the water, had no protection from the incantation of water.

Vasilisa warned herself.

If this wasn’t effective… then nothing else that she had would do it at all.

The phoenix flapped its bright red wings, carrying her feelings as if it was the hope of Vasilisa.

It attacked with a speed no inferior to even G.o.dlike Movement.

Nonetheless, Moroha saw that treasured Golem and didn’t disturb his calmed manner of walking.

Just three living Moroha appeared behind him.

The three swung their swords as if dancing, cutting down the phoenix into three parts, making it burst and scatter abruptly.

Ancestral Arts’ Light Technique Donrou.

His clones disappeared immediately, only the real body, who didn’t stop his walking, remained.

And then, he finally arrived in front of the eyes of Vasilisa.

He crossed over the Sea of j.a.pan, crossed Siberia, surpa.s.sed the counterattack of the lined up branch office heads, was more than all the trump cards of Vasilisa and arrived here.

『Ah, well done…. Well done…』

Vasilisa made even her voice quiver and put on a bold front as much as she could.

『T-take your r-reward…. This time, it’s a real reward…. I can’t give enough praise to the true hero… I-I’m not a narrow-minded monarch, you know?』

She looked up at Moroha with unknowing and toady-looking eyes while still being c.o.c.ky on the throne.

『W-what reward is good? Modesty is unneeded, alright? Hmm…?』

She asked, but Moroha didn’t reply.

He just looked down on her as if despising her.

『Hmm? Excuse me…? Can you say something? I won’t know if you say nothing, don’t you think…?』

Vasilisa behaved modestly while trembling like a little girl on the throne.

She didn’t know when the sword of Moroha would fly.

She didn’t know when he would make her neck fall.

She was desperate already.

She forgot she put on a bold front so much that the coating peeled off and fell.

The thread of tension was cut, she was unable to endure it and burst into tears.

『I swear that I’ll never lay my hands on you. On the contrary, I’ll be happy to become your supporter. So please, don’t go more than this, don’t do it…』

She supplicated while crying, becoming small on the throne.

Moroha, who saw and listened to her, opened his mouth.

『You, who never tolerated the failure of your subordinates, and who ended up purging them, is begging for her life?』

He said with a completely scornful tone of voice.

『……』

Vasilisa was at a loss for words.

She hectically thought of whatever excuse, but without being able to think of anything,

『Y-you’re right. It’s as you say. Everyone but me is innocent…』

She admitted fault, being dejected.

Moroha sighed lightly and turned eyes of even more contempt towards her.

Vasilisa continued supplicating, turning her eyes upward.

『You probably aren’t a demon, are you…? You can understand my feelings, right…?』

n.o.body wanted to lose their life.

No, if one were to name that, it would be the power to be able to behave as much as she liked, the retainers who listened to anything they were told to do, the luxuries she wished for and obtained as many as she wanted, the empire that became the foundation of all that――

Because everything, everything was irreplaceable, she didn’t want to lose it.

Vasilisa alone wasn’t strange.

There was no way a human like that existed, right?

『I beg you… please, understand me…. Forgive me, please…』

That’s why Vasilisa begged, without keeping up appearances.

But,

『Please, don’t steal from me what is important to me…』

That line.

The line that Vasilisa said.

As soon as that was said.

The looks of Moroha changed.

A drastic change.

Vasilisa opened her eyes very wide and shrunk her body so, so much that she couldn’t breathe.

A raging powerful deity manifested where the young of tender years should be standing――

Moroha had such a misreading-looking expression.

Moroha grabbed the armrest of the throne with his right hand.

– Hiii.

Vasilisa became even more suffocated due to the pressure that felt like she was being roasted by the flames of anger.

Then Moroha grabbed the other armrest of the throne with his left hand.

– Uu… uh… uuuhh.

Vasilisa, who lost her refuge, was about to faint.

Moroha bent forward, and his terrifying face, which felt like it was coated with the rage of the world, approached slowly.

『Why?』

The whispering question, scared Vasilisa more than any angry voice.

『Why don’t you guys get such a simple thing?』

Even though she wanted to answer, even though the answer would mean she would be able to escape from this place, Vasilisa didn’t do it because she didn’t get the meaning of the question.

Moroha sighed.

He said as if admonis.h.i.+ng, as if teaching a stupid child who couldn’t understand the obvious reason that anyone could understand.

『If you don’t want to be stolen――then don’t steal』

Vasilisa touched the cold floor with her backside as if slipping down from the throne.

She lost her strength like a dog exposing its belly and sobbed.

『Don’t kill mee… I don’t want to lose my empire…』

She comprehended that the values of this man and that the deeds she had been doing all this time were certainly incompatible like oil and water; she comprehended that if that was the case, then she wasn’t going to be forgiven, and so, no more words came out.

She waited for her last moment while trembling.

How long had she been doing that?

Vasilisa’s consciousness, which became frightened of his judgment, felt like it lasted for a very long time.

But, in reality, that lasted for a moment.

The flames of anger, which even scorched her soul, died away abruptly.

Vasilisa strained her eyes and checked with her soggy visibility due to the tears.

The wide back of Moroha was slowly going away just like when he came.

She couldn’t believe it.

『Are you… forgiving me?』

She really couldn’t believe it.

If she were him, she would have absolutely killed him.

Hope and despair mixed equally, staring at the back of Moroha with servile eyes.

『I don’t feel like there’s anything in particular I have to forgive you about, do I?』

Vasilisa made her body become stiff due to the colder-than-Russian-winter tone of voice of Moroha who kept her back on her.

『I think apologizing to Leshya should be enough, but I guess it’s a waste to expect such good faith from you all? If you don’t do that at least, then I won’t forgive you』

『Is that… all…?』

『Yeah. What will I do if you meddle with what I cherish? If you have sunk deeply that into your mind, then this conversation is all that I need. So, start over』

The words of Moroha, which were said as if being spitted out, were heard by her like there was nothing strange or lies in them.

How sincere was this person to be able to do such a thing?

Vasilisa hadn’t the slightest idea.

『You said that you don’t want your empire to be stolen, right?』

『Y-yeah… that’s right…』

『If so, protect it earnestly. If you really don’t want it to be stolen, then think seriously about what it means to protect your country』

『My reign… you mean that my way is incorrect…?』

『If you don’t get that, then it’s impossible for you』

Moroha declared flatly.

『Throw your obstinacy away and ask Edward to teach you, for instance』

Vasilisa, who was lectured by a boy 12 years younger than her, couldn’t even return a single word.

『Bear in mind. If you don’t change anything and I feel that your empire is simply being harvested like I expected, then I’ll come to steal it next time』

Finally, Moroha stopped his feet only once, turned just his neck around and,

『You’re an S-Rank, aren’t you? Then show me you’ll protect what’s important to you』

He glanced at her with penetrating cold-like eyes and left.

Vasilisa sat down hard where she was.

Even though she had barely escaped alive, she had no energy to be delighted.

Not only her arm was twisted with force by Moroha, even a righteous government was explained to her right after that, she had lost face.

『This is… my utter defeat…』

She had no choice but to admit it.

The exhausted Vasilisa reflected upon the taste of defeat she experienced for the first time while biting her lips.