I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

MEA LOOKED UPON the battlefield with her ever-confident grin. Her maid, Quina, sat on Lind’s back behind her as the red dragon descended from the sky. 

“Go, Lind! I don’t think they caught your name the first time!”

“Kuoooooo!” Lind breathed fire across the battlefield again, burning a good twenty monsters to a crisp. 

The Valkyrie drew her bow and aimed directly at Lind, trying to take the dragon down while it was busy with her minions.

“Teacher!” Fran cried. 

Don’t worry, I reassured her. 

I already knew the arrow wouldn’t hit Lind, even if Fran and the Valkyrie didn’t realize it yet. 

“You have a fine way of entering the battlefield,” said the Valkyrie. “But you must leave as quickly as you came!”

She loosed her arrow, but it flew straight through Lind and off into the day after tomorrow. Fran and the Valkyrie blinked upward, shocked. 

“What just—?!” the Valkyrie cried.

An illusion? Fran asked. 

A phantom, to be more exact. One crafted by an expert.

The phantom dragon sailed over us as Fran struggled back to her feet. 

“Come, Fran!” the phantom Mea shouted. “I shall lend you a helping hand!”

“Never mind me!” Fran cried. “You have to stop the other squads!” I felt her heart thump with worry for the other armies closing in on Green Goat.

Mea only laughed. “Ha ha ha! Do not fret! You speak of the forces that came from the east and west, yes? I dealt with one, and the other has fallen!”

“Really?” Fran asked. She couldn’t believe it. 

“Indeed. So, be not afraid! I have turned the Fiends in the west into EXP! I even leveled up. Look how big Lind is now!”

“Kuooooo!”

“I talked to the marquis of Green Goat,” Mea went on. “We dispatched guards to meet the refugees. They are likely already there!”

Even without Essence of Falsehood, I knew that Mea was telling the truth. The girl was strangely persuasive, and Fran heaved a huge sigh of relief. The Valkyrie believed Mea too, although it was less reassuring for her!

“Impossible,” said the Valkyrie. “You defeated Lady Murelia’s Fiend army…? And the western squad? They were led by a demon and a powerful Dullahan!”

“They were pretty strong, I’ll give you that. But not strong enough to take on two of us.”

“Two of you?” The Valkyrie squinted at Mea.

“You heard me. Two of us.”

As Mea grinned, I finally noticed that the figure behind her had vanished. Where had she gone?

“It seems ill advised to leave yourself so defenseless, battlemaiden,” Mea said.

Before the Valkyrie could answer, she let out a shrill cry and twisted with intense pain. A hand stuck out straight through her chest—the hand of a woman who’d blended into the shadows behind her. 

I knew Quina was strong, but this was ridiculous!

“I am Lady Mea’s personal assistant. Pleased to make your acquaintance. How strange that you are unharmed when I have crushed your heart.”

Quina had used Phantom Magic to create the Mea-and-Lind illusion. She was an expert at it, too. It really had fooled everyone. 

Unfortunately, Quina wasn’t fully aware of the Valkyrie’s abilities when she used her killing technique. Her face was as calm as still water, but she must have been surprised. Maybe she was panicking inside? She really was the queen of poker faces. 

“Bwa ha ha!” Mea laughed. “Excellent, Quina! For all your chatter in private, I knew I could count on you on the battlefield!”

Quina bowed politely to the Valkyrie and retreated. I really couldn’t get a read on that woman!

“Damn it all!” the Valkyrie cried. “I didn’t think we’d face so much interference!”

“Bwa ha ha!” Mea laughed. “Unfortunately, I shall not allow the likes of you to kill my rival!”

“She is the closest thing you have to a friend, after all,” Quina observed.

“Silence, you! She is my rival! Not my friend!”

“There you go again,” Quina sighed. “I suppose you must have mixed feelings about Fran, given that she took the Black Lightning nickname before you.”

“Shut up, Quina! I mean, honestly! She’s called the Black Lightning Princess!”

“Yes,” Quina said, “whilst, despite all your best efforts, the best nicknames you’ve gained are the Pale Flame Princess, Pale Mad Beast, and Pale Tantrum Thrower.”

“I…don’t know whether to feel flattered or insulted,” Mea scowled.

“My apologies.”

“Enough!” said Mea. “Fran is my rival! I will destroy anyone who tries to defeat her before me!”

Quina frowned. “It baffles me how you can be so straightforward in battle, and yet so roundabout with your feelings.”

“S-silence! Now, come!” Mea shouted. 

She jumped off Lind’s back and into the thick of the battle.