The rescue craft wasn’t so much flying through the sky as it was hovering and using its propellers to move. Like a bullet, it shot right across the ground at a breakneck pace, passing straight by the group of knights.

  However, the slide-out door on its side was open.

  And a figure jumped down from it, landing without mercy in the middle of the knights.

  With a speed of over five hundred kilometers per hour, the rescue craft’s output, it wasn’t a fall from above so much as a projectile landing from the side.

  Any normal human would have been splattered all over the road. Actually, they might have made a crater meters wide, too.

  But this person landed softly in the middle of enemy lines.

  Floating.

  Almost like a feather.

  It wasn’t an easily understood close-combat performance like a martial arts demonstration. But anyone who had above-average skill in martial arts would have naturally known the incredible level of skill shown by each one of the little motions making up the phenomenon before their eyes. That was the kind of movement it was.

  The knights around the person hastily drew their swords on the unexpected assailant, but the figure in their center ignored them and glared at Carissa.

  “The saint?” said Carissa quietly, meeting her gaze. “Which means Amakusa remnants were flying the plane.”

  “…The time for words will be later.”

  Surrounded by many a knight, Kaori Kanzaki reached for her katana sheath.

  “I don’t think this will easily quell all the chaos, but I’ll start by defeating the mastermind.”

  Carissa’s response was disinterested. “I don’t have time for this.”

  At those words, the Knight Leader took a step forward, as if to protect his horsebound princess. “Allow me to take care of her.”

  Carissa snorted, then regripped the war steed’s reins. Slowly, she turned it around, then ran off in pursuit of the third princess. Kanzaki watched her go, her eyes growing more severe.

  But the Knight Leader took a step to the side to block her.

  With her hand on her katana sheath, Kanzaki exhaled slowly and with almost unnatural calmness. “Were you so stubborn in your invitations because you knew how things would turn out?”

  “I was not lying when I said I wanted you to spend some time as a noblewoman.”

  Darkly colored emotions swirled in the Knight Leader’s eyes.

  “But it seems like I was too late for that. Now that you’ve stood before me as an enemy, I will beat you down without mercy.”

  7

  Kaori Kanzaki was a saint.

  Saints possessed talents or physical characteristics shared by less than twenty people in the world. Because they had similar magical signals to the Son of God when they were born, they received a part of that power and could use it freely.

  For most enemies, she would never have to even draw her katana.

  She also had a mid- to long-range combat technique called Seven Glints, which was based on wires, and just swinging the Seven Heavens Sword’s long sheath was enough to blow most sorcerers away.

  …My opponent is the head of the Knight Faction, the Knight Leader. I won’t be able to defeat him that easily.

  Attentive to the Knight Leader’s demeanor, Kanzaki tightened her fingers around the grip.

  It looks like I have no choice but to go all out, but if I can end this without killing him…I’ll knock him out with the sheath, then swiftly apprehend the second princess!! That’s the only way to quickly settle this nonsensical rebellion!!

  However…

  Shudder.

  Suddenly, something she couldn’t see was released from the Knight Leader’s body.

  The man disappeared from Kaori Kanzaki’s sight.

  She needed a moment to realize he’d moved outside her vision with incredible speed.

  By that time, the whooshing of wind was already roaring right behind her.

  “?!”

  She immediately turned around and brought her katana sheath up to defend.

  The Knight Leader’s attack was a simple kick.

  Nevertheless, it rocked Kanzaki’s body along with the sheath that blocked it. As she bent over backward and lost her balance, the man simply threw a punch.

  Whabaaaam!! An enormous roar thundered.

  Kanzaki’s body flew ten meters through the air and rammed into one of the escort carriages. Supposedly protected by several Soul Arms, the carriage shattered into pieces, and Kanzaki’s body slid farther, down to the ground. The horse attached to the carriage began to go crazy.

  “Gah…wh…what…?!”

  I knew he’d be hard to deal with…but what is this power…?!

  Physically, humans—saints included—were supposed to have an upper limit on the amount of power they could use. This man was clearly above that.

  Could he be like Acqua…? The high-speed stabilizing line…?!

  As she struggled for breath, questions arose in her mind, but she had no time to calmly consider them.

  The Knight Leader had already jumped five meters high, his soles ready to crush her.

  “?!”

  Kanzaki immediately rolled aside.

  But even with the physical abilities of a saint, she couldn’t flee to a safety zone.

  She avoided a direct hit, but the asphalt fragments that exploded around her pelted her body. Blood spurted from her as she lay on the ground, and the Knight Leader looked down at her quietly from his landing point. He wasn’t cautiously observing her—his expression said he had no need for haste in a follow-up.

  “Why the surprised face?”

  As her entire body warned her of the danger and her mind focused on her very fingertips and the tips of her hair, the Knight Leader gently spread his arms. It wasn’t composure he showed. It was closer to disappointment.

  “I am the leader of the Knights, one of the three factions. You may be a saint, but you’re nothing more than one member of the Puritans. Did you think you could fight me on equal terms?”

  “!!” Without answering, Kanzaki unleashed her seven wires.

  Seven Glints.

  “…Long ago, I suffered a terrible surprise attack from an old friend in Dover.”

  But the Knight Leader wasn’t moved. He brought a hand up into the air, grabbed all the wires she’d physically released, and ripped them apart. He didn’t use any tools to do it—he didn’t even use both hands.

  “Even since then, one way or another, I’ve begun to be cautious of such surprise attacks.”

  After speaking, the Knight Leader “threw” the torn wires. They were sharp, but common sense said they were just strings. They shouldn’t have had any power—but when they directly struck Kanzaki’s body, she rocketed backward like a cannonball.

  “Guh…boh…!!”

  This time, Kanzaki only stopped after crashing into one of the forest’s trees.

  Torn wires weren’t wires anymore. He had used his incredible gripping power to crush them, squeezing the metal strings into a single mass, then fired them like a bullet from a handgun.

  “The one who is to stand before me should, at the very least, be an equal—the leader of the Puritan Faction.”

  The Knight Leader cracked his knuckles and spoke quietly.

  “No—in terms of abilities, the Puritan Faction wouldn’t be enough. The Royal Family Faction is worthy of respect, but I am their better when it comes to brute force. I’ll be honest with you. You’re not good enough to play the part.”

  An earsplitting thud!! rang out.

  By the time the Knight Leader’s body had vanished, he was already directly in front of Kanzaki. She jumped to the side, and a moment later, the Knight Leader’s foot knocked away a large tree trunk in one strike. It didn’t break it—it sent it flying. Kanzaki’s hand, trembling at the power, moved unconsciously—and reached for her katana sheath.

  Oh no…?!

  The cause of the chill down Kanzaki’s spine wasn’t a threat to her own life.

  Her hand had moved immediately.

  By the time she realized it, her right hand had already whipped the katana from its sheath. The true teaching, Single Glint. A single strike, certain to kill even angels of monotheism, raged toward the Knight Leader’s neck with perfect aim.

  He was unarmed. He had no actual weapons, and his suit didn’t have any Soul Arm effects.

  But…

  With an earsplitting grrrkkkk…

  …the Knight Leader grabbed hold of Kanzaki’s katana with one hand.

  This time, it was confusion that enveloped her entire being, not fear.

  With the blade stopped, the Knight Leader began speaking. “Do you know why, when we gained control over Britain, the old-timers in Necessarius chose not to offer any large-scale, organized resistance but instead decided to swiftly blend in with the night and watch for a chance?”

  Still gripping the katana’s blade, he brought one foot off the ground.

  “It’s because they knew. They knew that as long as they were in Britain, if they fought us on equal terms, they would never be able to defeat the Knights.”

  Kaboom!! A huge explosion ripped through the air.

  It was the sound of the Knight Leader kicking Kanzaki. The immense power forced Kanzaki to let go of the Seven Heavens Sword and knocked her far, far away.

  “Constructed by the Curtana and four different cultures, our nation—no, the British Continent—is itself bound by specific Crossist rules. In its domain, the sovereign is the angelic leader, and the knights are angels…As long as we are in this country, the simple sum of our strength is different. If you wished to kill me, you should have dragged me outside British borders.”

  “…Urgh…”

  Kanzaki, mind hazy, saw the Knight Leader toss her Seven Heavens Sword to the side.

  “And for the Knights, the English Puritan Church, which Henry the Eighth separated from political matters, is not something to trust—it is merely something to use. Our essence is to combine every path to knighthood, be it Scandinavian, Celtic, Charlemagnian, or Germanic, and make them into one ideal…Your attack just now seemed like one that detours around several spells to wound angels, but such a route cannot even be called a detour.”

  Kanzaki tried to stand.

  But her legs had no energy.

  Despite the unique environment and situation, he was more unfair than any enemy she’d fought before. The archangel known as the POWER OF GOD, which manifested in an incomplete state—Acqua of the Back, who used that angel as his symbol. She’d fought such strong enemies before, but she had at least been able to exchange blows with them.

  But the Knight Leader wouldn’t even allow her that.

  And he didn’t even take pride in that strength.

  “Still willing?”

  The Knight Leader’s eyes narrowed.

  His expression seemed unamused.

  “Either way, a mere saint cannot kill me when I am at my best.”

  As Kanzaki tried to rally her strength, the Knight Leader casually walked up to her.

  While he did, he said:

  “And I haven’t even drawn my ‘sword’ yet.”

  Thud!! He kicked away Kanzaki’s body.

  It wasn’t any kind of martial arts move—it was like kicking a soccer ball.

  Kanzaki’s body floated up into the air, then tumbled back down to the ground.

  Without bothering to look her way, the Knight Leader began giving signaled instructions to his nearby subordinates. They each mounted their carriages and war horses, then pointed them in the direction that the second princess went.

  From atop his own horse, the Knight Leader spared just one glance at Kanzaki.

  Seeing her completely unconscious, he muttered to himself.

  “Is this all there is to a saint?”

  8

  The third princess, Vilian, was in a carriage.

  It wasn’t the royal family’s carriage she’d been riding in before now. But there was no doubt the carriage was extravagant, and it was covered with multitudes of practical little functions. It was meant for escort.

  There was no driver.

  This carriage had integrated magical devices. All you had to do was set your destination, and it would automatically send commands to the two horses, which meant you could make them run by themselves.

  In any case, she’d been in a hurry and feeling more impatient than she’d needed to be, so Vilian hadn’t even had the time to light a lantern. Only the faint lights from the autopilot Soul Arms illuminated the dark carriage interior.

  To the Canterbury Cathedral…Vilian thought about the majestic cathedral about ten kilometers away from her location. For now, I have to escape there. If there are still Puritans left, I need to at least have them rescue the servants who let me escape…!!

  But such wishes couldn’t be granted.

  Suddenly, the two horses pulling the carriage began to act up. They each tried to go in the wrong direction, violently twisting the carriage on its path and toppling it over. With a loud craaaaash, the third princess nearly lost consciousness.

  “Ugh…”

  At the weak neighing of one of the horses, Vilian managed to open her eyes.

  Inside the sideways carriage, the autopilot Soul Arms had scattered. Unlike before, red warning lights were dancing.

  Then she heard a voice from the communicator Soul Arm fixed to the inside of the carriage.

  “Oh, give up already. Come out like a good girl or hide in there. I don’t care—you’ll die either way. If you still have regrets, then get rid of them yourself. If you want to pray, be my guest.”

  “…!!”

  Vilian’s spine froze at the familiar voice of her sister.

  The only sounds she could hear from the communicator Soul Arm were Carissa’s cruel words.

  “Three.”

  It was a countdown.

  But she wasn’t trying to get anything out of Vilian.

  “Two.”

  She’d kill her either way.

  In other words, it was just to scare her little sister and make her suffer.

  “One.”

  Vilian was pressed for a decision.

  Logically, the carriage may have been on its side, but it was still protected by some of its Soul Arms, so staying in it would be safer. After all, unlike her older sister, Vilian couldn’t use any offensive magic.

  “Zero.”

  But Vilian immediately reached for the door.

  From inside the flipped carriage, she threw open the door above her like a submarine hatch and used all the strength she had to lean out of it.

  Just then, some kind of magnificent power grew from outside the carriage.

  The destructive force mercilessly tore the carriage apart along with its defensive Soul Arms. The third princess, who had barely gotten her body up out of it, fell to the ground. She didn’t even have time to make sure she was safe and sound.

  “It’s no use relying on the Canterbury Cathedral. You know that, right?”

  Carissa’s voice.

  When she looked, she saw a war steed right next to her. Carissa looked down at Vilian, sunken into the ground, from atop it.

  In her hand was a sword.

  Upon seeing the bladeless, tipless sword, Vilian’s expression took on the color of doubt.

  …That isn’t…the Curtana Second…?

  “That escort carriage didn’t lose its autopilot control because of anything we did. Your destination in Canterbury jammed you to make you lose their position…You understand why, right? You’ve been abandoned.”

  “…?! That’s…That can’t…!!”

  “The Royal Family and the Knights are in my hands. The Puritans don’t seem to have any plans to protect you, either. It looks like this wraps things up. You no longer have any allies. Not one.”

  Several light sources drew near the second princess from behind. Carriages and war horses with lanterns on them. A dozen or so knights who had been protecting Vilian before. All of them were no more than “power” the second princess controlled.

  Crumpled on the ground, unable to move out of terror, the third princess was immediately surrounded.

  One of them, the Knight Leader, gave a report. “The saint has been dealt with. No obstacles are present.”

  “I see. Then can I get you to do something else for me?”

  At Carissa’s words, the third princess’s shoulders gave a jolt of surprise.

  The Knight Leader returned Carissa’s gaze, his expression seeming to question her true intent.

  The second princess said, “I told you before. I won’t listen to any selfish requests when it comes to the third princess.”

  “…Understood,” answered the Knight Leader, dismounting.

  Vilian couldn’t believe it.

  He may have been assigned directly to the second princess. His decision was appropriate—if he was simply accepting an order. But the Knight Leader wasn’t someone Vilian had just met yesterday. She’d known him for over ten years, more or less.

  She couldn’t count all the times she’d trusted him with something.

  He’d always protected her from the shadows at evening parties. The fact that all those political marriages had ended in the planning phase and never come about was probably because he’d been doing his best for her from a place history would never see.

  She couldn’t think he’d kill her that easily. Because the third princess was neither the brains nor the military might but the paragon of virtuosity, she found herself strongly believing that fact.

  It could be that the Knight Leader was only putting on an act.

  Maybe his plan was to make it look like he killed her to deceive the second princess and let her escape.

  The fact that she thought this way was less optimism and more escapism.

  That was when an undeniable hopelessness instantaneously shattered any ideas she had.

  “…If I behead her with a sword, it will crush the cut section. Bring the ax used for executing royalty. Preferably the heaviest, cleanest-cutting one. A princess remains a princess in death. We cannot show anything sloppy when we display her head to the masses, or it would shame her in front of the people.”

 

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