Episode 51: The End of the World, The End of the Story ④ ~The Evil Sword and the Holy Sword~
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I couldn't help but smile wryly at the words that came out of my own mouth. At the end of the journey, only now, at this very moment, have I finally understood. So what you really wanted wasn't to see the revenge through to the end, was it?
……You entrusted your legacy to me so I could live on.
To prevent me from being slain at the end of my rebellion, consumed by rage, or ending my life in regret and self-reproach, you entrusted me with seeing this through to the end—thus preserving my life.
In the end, I was the fool. I am the great sinner who took many lives through my own self-righteousness and delusions.
Even as the world crumbled around us, even as everything rotted away, Al believed in the hope that lived within the people he cherished――― So that I wouldn't die in vain, even in that world facing destruction.
In the end, you and I were two peas in a pod at our core. That's why we must have really hit it off.
Neither Falty, nor Irene, nor even the “ Devil” — there are people I don’t want to lose right now.
That's why――― I'll kill the Goddess.
"Hey, Raoul! ! Let me go, Devil! ! If you're doing that, I'm joining in—―― Mmmph."
"My sister will destroy anything that stands against her, without exception. Therefore, I cannot let you fight."
Hearing the words spoken over my shoulder, I felt renewed gratitude toward the Devil.
"……I don't understand. Either way, the surface was to be destroyed the moment the calamities manifested. Even if defeating me were to slightly curb the scale of it, what meaning would that possibly have? "
Furrowing her brow as if utterly baffled, light gathered in the goddess's hand, and a familiar sword appeared. The “Holy Sword” held by Al, not the empty shell handed over to the foolish prince, but the genuine sword imbued with radiant power.
"Stop spouting nonsense and just die, Goddess."
With my right hand still gripping the sword, I raised my middle finger toward the goddess, who responded with a clearly displeased click of her tongue.
"I am disappointed, Celestial Knight. Humans are truly beyond redemption; they should be wiped out once and for all―――"
Sorry to play tricks, but I'll throw my shield mid-sentence. The goddess raised her eyebrows in annoyance at being attacked mid-sentence, yet swung her holy sword to cleave the shield in two. ……Even a well-forged shield is as good as paper when faced with the true Holy Sword. ……If only I had a shield made of some special mineral like the ones superheroes use, but it can't be helped.
"In the middle of a conversation, how rude―――"
"Rude? Fine, I'm desperate too."
I'm in no position to be concerned about appearances. If you're facing the Holy Sword, you must close the distance and strike before it fires, or you'll be the one struck down.
Closing the distance while channeling all my strength, I lunged at the goddess――—but every strike from both my beloved sword in my right hand and the evil sword in my left was blocked by her.
I continued slashing relentlessly from left and right, from above and below, but the Goddess remained rooted to the spot. With graceful ease, she parried my attacks while sighing with undisguised complacency.
"I hate wasting my time on pointless things. "This time spent entertaining you is a waste, truly foolish—―― Above all, it's so effortless."
The Goddess Kick had sunk deep into my lower abdomen. ……The fact that it didn't penetrate beyond the Goddess's ankle is pure luck; likely, some organs inside my abdomen have been damaged. Spitting blood, I was blown back, but regained my balance in the shockwave, planting my sword into the ground and bracing myself in a crouch.
"Haa……If it were just you and Falty, I could have used my power to reincarnate you both into another world. I just don't get it."
Even as she spoke, light gathered upon the holy sword held by the Goddess. ――I've seen it happen countless times before, so I know what's coming—the activation of the Sacred Sword. As the goddess's holy sword swept sideways, a torrent of light followed its path, rushing toward me. If you just stand there and take it, you'll get sliced in half at best and vaporized at worst—either way, you're dead.
"―――Celestial Sword! ! "
I tried to counter the holy sword with a barrier at full power, but it was shattered effortlessly, so I immediately re-cast the barrier as it was being split apart. Even as unstoppable light surged toward me, I activated the evil sword in my left arm and swung upward from below.
"―――The Evil Sword…… Dammit, not enough! ! "
In that instant, I felt darkness seeping from my clenched left hand—dark emotions, the resentment I had vomited forth, the negative feelings residing within myself—creeping into my very being. ……If I'd kept carrying this burden, my heart would have died. By reforging it into an evil sword, it became my weapon, and my own heart could be protected until the end of my journey... Truly a brilliant plan that killed two birds with one stone. I was guarded and watched over by the Devil.
Of course, the emotions I unleashed would inevitably return to haunt me, yet they endured until the end of this journey because they were forged into the evil sword―— You really were right about eventually understanding.
……But even the darkness of the evil sword cannot contain it. The holy sword should have been swung with almost no motion, yet its power rivaled Al's full strength. My counterattack with the evil sword lacked sufficient force to activate, so it was defeated in the clash—―― Was every option exhausted? No, I thought, as my mind raced. In that instant, as I was about to be swallowed by the blinding light, a voice unlike any I'd heard before echoed.
"―――Celestial Knight, leave this to me! ! "
With palms pressed together before his chest, the man leapt forward from behind with light, nimble steps. ……Is that the Archbishop? ! After guiding us to the cave entrance, he was sealed away by the Devil... but now he's emerged? Come to think of it, I didn't tell the Devil to protect the Archbishop either.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? ! "
I shouted at the unexpected intruder, frozen with my evil sword drawn, but the archbishop stepped forward before me, turned around――—and grinned.
"I might just get one over on the goddess. It's worth trying, right? "
The archbishop glared at the goddess after saying that, his body brimming with magic power as if it might burst at any moment—―― No way, no way... this guy! !
"Were there still humans here? ……Who do you think you are?"
"The archbishop! ! ……I am, I am, I am the Archbishop! ! Archbishop Enrico Maximilian Ballan Maxwell Bannings! ! ! ! "
While the startled goddess listened leisurely to the sudden intruder, the archbishop dutifully shouted that long name in a loud voice. With my barely functioning body, I moved into the shadow of the archbishop's form while thrusting my right hand forward to activate the Celestial Sword.
"―――Go, Raoul! ! ! ! "
With those words, the archbishop's body exploded…… I had seen it before on my travels—he had used the self-destruction magic possessed by clergy. A forbidden great magic that unleashes an explosion of immense power commensurate with the caster's magical energy, in exchange for the caster's life.
Though it was the goddess's holy sword wielded at its fullest power, its might had already begun to wane, and both were blown away. ……I never thought I'd be saved by the church in this final hour…… You saved me, Enrico Maximilian Ballan Maxwell Bannings.
Truly, one never knows what will become of human bonds――― yet thanks to that, I was able to block the Goddess's holy sword. This moment is literally a miracle, a lifesaving hope for me.
Spitting blood, I put every ounce of strength I had left into the evil sword in my left arm. My insides are already a mess anyway, so I've got nothing left to lose. ……Just for this moment, just for the little time left before I die— I want to muster my willpower, my courage, just like Al……! !
"―――Pierce through, Evil Sword! ! "
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Sousaku - 創作 - We Create! 