Episode 209
A cascade of violet light enveloped Saxen’s greatsword, releasing a fragrant aura into the air.
”……!”
Dale gasped, momentarily stunned by the sight.
“How did you get that sword…?”
“I swore to become stronger for you.”
Charlotte replied, her sword slicing through the air.
Flowers bloomed along the path of her blade.
The sword’s blossoms, the legendary Sword of Plum Blossoms.
Countless petals, imbued with a violet aura, surged toward Dale, each one a reminder of a sword once wielded by the greatest knight of the Teutonia Order, the legendary Baddel Orhart.
When Dale defeated him long ago, the empire feared the reappearance of the sword’s successor and burned all records of the Plum Blossom Sword. But Sir Baddel was not one to let his life’s work vanish so easily.
And so, the sword found its way back, now wielded by Baddel’s daughter, Charlotte Orhart.
“The Plum Blossom Sword…!”
The moment they saw it, the expressions of the Seven Swords, including the keen-eyed Sephilia, froze. They understood its significance all too well.
“How did you come to possess that sword?”
“Hey, lady, have you forgotten we’re in the middle of a duel?”
Baro, the master of the Killing Sword, extended his blade to stop Sephilia from interrogating Charlotte further.
Sephilia turned her gaze to the silent observer of the duel, the continent’s greatest swordsman and Charlotte’s mentor, the Grand Duke Lancaster.
“Was it you, Your Grace?”
Sephilia’s cold question hung in the air, but the Grand Duke remained silent.
“The esteemed head of the Lancaster family, loyal to the empire above all, secretly spirited away Baddel Orhart’s forbidden sword.”
“I was loyal to the empire.”
The Grand Duke’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
“Look at me now.”
He continued, his tone even.
“My eldest son, Richard, was driven mad by the Red Tower’s enforcers, and my second son, Michael, was killed on the battlefield by the ‘Black Prince.’ Even knowing he had defected to York, what warning did the imperial family give me? None. This is the reward for my loyalty.”
“So you betrayed the empire?”
Sephilia’s hand returned to her sword hilt as she asked icily.
“Betrayal? I only sought to protect the Lancaster family.”
“Is that so.”
With that, Sephilia turned away, her eyes on the petals cascading from Charlotte’s sword.
The violet leaves began to scatter, filling the air like plum blossoms caught in a spring breeze.
“I’m coming, Dale.”
Charlotte whispered softly. Dale steeled himself, adjusting his grip on his sword.
“With pleasure.”
The duel for the title of the Celestial Sword was underway. The two most talented swordsmen of the empire were finally unleashing their full power.
Whoosh!
The petals surged toward Dale, not as a simple barrage but as a chaotic storm, each petal sharp enough to slice through flesh.
At this level, a sword is indistinguishable from magic.
Just as knights once harnessed the power of avatars to wield supernatural abilities akin to mages.
And now, before Dale stood the pinnacle of such a knight’s creation.
The petals, imbued with aura, transformed the landscape around them, creating a world reminiscent of a mage’s domain. The Seven Swords watched as the arena faded, leaving only a world for the two combatants.
A spring breeze blew, and countless plum branches bloomed endlessly around them.
Blood-red blossoms swirled in the air.
An inescapable field of plum blossoms, their meaning clear.
“Could it really be this powerful…?”
“Do you recognize this level?”
Dale murmured, and Charlotte asked in return.
“Who wouldn’t know of Sir Baddel Orhart’s Plum Blossom Sword?”
Dale lied nonchalantly, sheathing his black magic sword, ‘Kia,’ and drawing another.
”……!”
Charlotte’s expression tightened, understanding its significance.
The beloved sword of the hero who defeated Baddel Orhart, the Peacemaker.
The Arbiter of Peace.
“How ironic.”
Charlotte smiled bitterly at the sight.
“What is?”
“It feels like we’re reenacting the battle between the hero and my father, Sir Baddel.”
Dale wielded the hero’s sword, while Charlotte wielded the Plum Blossom Sword. It was indeed as she said.
There was a hero, and the daughter of the man he defeated.
“You are my most precious knight.”
“And you are my most cherished lord.”
Dale said, and Charlotte replied.
““So I can’t afford to lose here.””
Their resolve intertwined, and Dale launched himself forward.
The deathly petals of the plum blossoms, driven by the spring breeze, rushed toward him.
At the same time, the light of peace from the hero’s sword scattered, nullifying the oncoming attack with the 《Enforcement of Peace》.
A power that could render all physical attacks ineffective, though not absolute. It had been the same in the battle against Sir Baddel.
Clang!
But for a fleeting moment, it served as a shield against the onslaught of deadly petals.
Shatter!
‘Already…!’
Amidst the relentless storm of blood-red petals, the light of peace surrounding Dale shattered like glass, and the petals closed in on his flesh.
‘Her growth is astonishing.’
Swoosh!
But before they could reach him, he enveloped himself in the Shadow Lord’s avatar.
The black blades from the armor of the Abyss deflected each of Charlotte’s petals.
The distance closed, and the petals redirected toward their master, Charlotte Orhart.
The petals wrapped around her, and a burst of violet aura erupted, revealing Charlotte at the pinnacle of her swordsmanship.
A knight of flowers.
On the endless expanse of the lake, the empire’s first prince, Lancelot, finally donned his avatar.
But when Sir Baddel fell, and during the empire’s unification war, Aurelia was merely the daughter of a country bumpkin. She couldn’t have known what the most noble knight in the world looked like.
“This form is that of Sir Baddel Orhart, who fell to the hero’s sword.”
”……!”
But even she couldn’t be ignorant of his renown.
“Is Sir Baddel Orhart the endpoint of your pursuit?”
Thus asked Aurelia, the Seraph with six wings, whose pursuit of ideals mirrored that of a divine executor.
“Ideals? Hardly.”
Lancelot laughed coldly.
“After the unification war, Sir Baddel Orhart’s body was officially declared missing on that winter night.”
”…….”
“But in truth, his body never disappeared.”
And it was obvious where that body ended up.
“The empire wouldn’t let such a resource go to waste.”
“Indeed. Under the emperor’s orders, the Red Tower acquired his body. A knight of his caliber has many uses.”
Lancelot, wearing Baddel Orhart’s skin, smirked bitterly.
“An unforgivable atrocity.”
“Could it be that you can’t stand the insult to his nobility?”
“His nobility? No, you’re mistaken.”
Lancelot replied without hesitation.
“──The empire insulted ‘my’ nobility.”
“What did you just say…?”
“When the empire seized Sir Baddel’s body, parts of it, including the aura heart, were transplanted into the first prince, Lancelot. Even the empire didn’t anticipate that fragments of his consciousness would remain.”
“Are you saying you’re not the empire’s prince, but Sir Baddel?”
Sir Baddel Orhart shook his head.
“I am, strictly speaking, neither the Empire’s prince nor the divine sword. I am merely a fusion of the two, something that exists between them. Or perhaps you could say I am ‘both of them.’”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I trust in your nobility.”
Lancelot spoke.
“Please, take up the sword, Knight of the Goddess.”
And then Sir Vadel spoke.
With those words, the false saint Aurelia hesitated no longer. It was the same for her. The being before her was not the real Vadel Orhart either.
Those who, despite knowing they are false, strive to be truer than the truth.
“Prepare yourself.”
Thus, the six-winged seraph had no room for hesitation.
She was the Knight of Blossom.
Strictly speaking, it was somewhat different from the avatar of the divine sword Vadel Orhart. But that didn’t matter. The Plum Blossom Sword that Charlotte wielded now had reached a level where it could create ‘a world of its own.’
All around was a field of swirling plum blossoms, and within it stood the Shadow Lord, deploying his avatar.
And it was clear. With his current skill, he could never defeat Charlotte.
“Show me.”
The Knight of Blossom surely knew this as well.
“Show me the landscape of your heart.”
”…”
Thus, Charlotte Orhart spoke. Dale hesitated for a moment. But the hesitation was brief.
Whoosh!
Simultaneously, the scene of a white and dark winter night began to spread from beneath Dale’s feet.
With the darkness of the end and the ancient chill, the obsidian fortress he had built as the Shadow Lord rose high.
For a mage to reveal their world carries two meanings.
Either they acknowledge and reveal their entirety to someone, or they must completely deny and eliminate an enemy.
So, as a mage unveiling his world, which side did the Knight of Blossom stand on before him?