‘Everyone, hold on a little longer!’ thought Irene, guarding the Princess and Prince from the very back. Three of their number had been unfortunate enough to get hit by spears and had perished. Now, there were only seven Skyknights of the Imperial Guard left. Even if they all died, it was imperative that the Princess and Prince were brought safely to Nerman.
‘Ah!’
Thankfully, the Skyknights attacking them weren’t from the same territory, so they had poor coordination, and Irene’s flight was able to charge through using the special speed of their wyverns. They had already flown through several such encounters and could now see the protruding Rual Mountain peaks far in the distance.
However, it seemed the final crisis was upon them. Instead of just flanking them, groups of wyverns were spread out in front, 100 wyverns in total forming groups of ten.
‘T-The Eastern Defense Corps!’
Elite Skyknights from the empire’s Eastern Defense Corps covert were arrayed before them, bearing the flag of the Corps. There was no way to bypass them. There were just as many Skyknights gathered from various territories eager to show their loyalty coming up behind them.
‘Is this the end…’
If she was alone, she would do everything possible to attempt to flee, but as a guardian knight charged with protecting the non-combatant Princess and Prince, she could not do so. Moreover, the Prince’s wyvern was obviously flagging, looking completely exhausted.
It was too difficult. Countess Irene might be a genius in flight technique and a veteran Skyknight with a brilliant record, but even she could not overcome the aerial law of triple one’s numbers with a formation fight.
‘We were so close…’
Even as she thought that, they drew ever closer to the Eastern Defense Corps wyverns.
Flap, flap flap flap.
Pulling the reins of her wyvern, she rushed to the front with a burst of speed.
Swoooooosh.
Picking up on her intent, Rothello flew to the front with her. As they flew, he looked over and nodded.
‘Thank you, Sir Rothello.’
Viscount Rothello was an old comrade who had served doggedly as a flightmate under the command of Irene, despite the fact that serving a woman might be an insult to his pride as a man. Irene gave a nod of her own, sending what might be the last signal she ever gave.
The Blessed Spear lay heavy in her hand as she raised it.
Kiooooooooo!
At that moment, a clear eagle suddenly appeared in front of Countess Irene. It was a spirit of wind, Shuriel.
The Skyknight cadet who had shared the same room as Kyre, Russell, was recently formally assigned to Kirphone Covert. She had become a Skyknight faster than others, on account of her outstanding summoning abilities.
[TN: Irene knows about Russell being a girl.]
Swooooosh.
They weren’t the only ones to come forth. Besides the Princess and the Prince, all of the Skyknights pushed their wyverns forward, as if going into war. They were Skyknights of the Bajran Imperial Guard, warriors who would never quail in the face of death. The black cloaks they wore over their airplates and their crimson Skyknight scarves flapped wildly in the wind.
‘Thank you!’
Such intense comradery could only be felt in dangerous moments like this. Irene felt her eyes growing moist as she poured mana into her spear. Only 3 kilometers were left between them and the Eastern Corps Skyknights who had become their enemies. After just a few breaths, spears would be fired on each side.
‘Kyre… It seems I won’t be able to see you before I go.’
In the greatest crisis of her life, her last thought was of a certain man. For the revival of her house, she had given up on life as a woman. Kyre was the only person who made her keenly feel like a woman. Whenever he occasionally popped up in her thoughts, she struggled to stamp down the desire to see him. There was a fairly large age gap between Kyre and herself, and it seemed that his ambitions were not something the empire could tolerate and that one day they would clash, making him her enemy, so she tried her best to maintain the attitude of a Bajran knight.
However, that was all useless now. As she raised her spear, Irene smiled under her helmet, thinking of Kyre, that young man who was so playful but carried a serious and reliable side deep within.
‘Goodbye…’
Unable to admit up to the very end that she wanted to see him, Irene silently sent him a final farewell.
Kiooooooooo!
Kyaaaaaaak!
Before she knew it, Shuriel had shot forward, injuring the wings of Eastern Corps wyverns at the front and giving them a moment of opportunity.
“Hup!”
Letting out an energetic cry, Irene hurled the spear in her hand.
Schwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip.
The spear traced a clear line through space, and she saw the imperial Skyknights who were now their enemies raising the spears in their hands as well. In the next moment, not just one or two, but a full score of spears trembling with mana filled the sky with their sparkling light.
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* * *
‘Esteemed Father… I’m sorry.’
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They did their best, but this was an unavoidable result. It was already a miracle that they had been able to flee like this for a few days. And now, the curtain was closing.
‘Thank you for everything, Imperial Knights… I’ll never forget you.’
As she watched the valiant appearance of the Imperial Skyknights flying ahead and hurling spears, tears ran down Igis’ cheeks. She was an amateur at battle, but she was well aware that the odds were stacked overwhelmingly against them.
‘You brat, you’ve really grown.’
Igis thought he would be a kid forever, but her little brother Razcion had grown up in a flash, enduring the harsh flight in the past few days without complaint. Even now, he was facing the front, flying straight ahead next to his older sister. His posture was proud, as if he did not fear the Blessed Spears that would soon fall upon them like hail.
‘Esteemed Father, I’ll see you soon.’
She had no lingering attachments. That things had turned out like this was all the will of the heavens. Igis accepted death with composure befitting a princess of the empire.
‘Kyre…’
The only regret she had was that she would never again see the bright smile of the person in her thoughts…
* * *
‘Argh! Those little bastards!’
I did my best to look for my guests. After passing the Rual Mountains, the beastmen and I spread out, looking for the Princess and the little Prince, but ended up finding them too late.
‘If only it wasn’t for those damned shitbags!’
After we passed the border, an unknown wyvern flight appeared out of nowhere. It was a flight of 7, made up of Skyknights from some rural territory. Just like how a sparrow can’t fly past seed on the ground and a salaryman can’t pass up a chance to relax with some ladies at a hostess club, a spontaneous round of wyvern hunting ensued.
I couldn’t just leave the bastards who fearlessly charged straight for us, so I took some time out of my schedule to play with them for a round. The result was decided in the blink of an eye, but it took a bit of time to round up the wyverns and all the free presents on their bodies. And then, just as we went back aloft to continue the original mission, burping from that unexpected feast, we spotted wyverns at the very outbreak of an aerial battle far into the distance.
Even from afar, I could see Black Wyverns, their hides gleaming with a black luster. Spears were being fired from that side, and they must have been in range, because I could also see spears sparkling as they were filled up with mana on the other side as well. But the problem was, the battle was simply too far, even for me. Even Homer Simpson could figure out that unless you could travel at the speed of light, the guests were going to be massacred. I was filled with a surge of regret, but there was nothing I could do.
‘Ah!’
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Until… an idea flashed in my head.
“Summon Djinn!”
I summoned the high spirit of wind, Djinn. Because I had a contract with the archspirit Sylphiria, I could summon a high spirit even without a direct contract.
Flash!
At my call, the dimensional door opened, and the wind giant appeared before me. The high spirit, five times bigger than a human, floated in front of Bebeto and me as we flew, fixing me with eyes made of flickering wind.
“I have a request! Please go and block all the Blessed Spears getting fired over there! Until I get there!” I screamed at the top of my throat. Unlike intermediate spirits, from the high level onwards, spirits could think independently and communicate.
Nod.
As soon as I finished speaking, Djinn nodded its transparent head.
Flash!
It disappeared in an instant like a ray of light.
“Ahh!”
As it shot away, my mana, which was like an uncontrollably powerful Hulk(?) was sucked out of my mana core.
‘H-Holy shit!’
I thought I could tell why High Summoners were so rare on the continent. The mana it took to summon a high spirit was on an entirely different level from an intermediate spirit. Plus, my mana was decreasing exponentially in inverse proportion to the distance Djinn traveled.
“F-Fly! Bebeto! Faster!” I urged Bebeto, who was already straining as he did his best. Bebeto might be able to leave this world now with no lingering regrets, but I was still a pure bachelor. I had zero desire to become a virgin ghost, wandering the netherworld in search of a maiden ghost.
CRAAAAAAASH.
At that moment, a heaven-shaking explosion came from the battlefield far in the distance.
“Geh!”
The high spirit, Djinn, was running around so much that my mana core couldn’t handle it. A sharp cry burst from my lips, along with a surge of sweet breath that smelled like acetone.
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‘Shit… these sons of bitches! You’re all dead!’
Hot rage directed at whoever those scumbags were writhed in my chest. I flipped my lid, enraged at those nobodies who were putting me through hell.
They were really in for it now. The other me, the version of me that was so nasty-tempered that even I couldn’t handle it, came raging out into the world, spitting razorblades and looking for blood.