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Theresia nearly fainted when she learned that William's hometown had been destroyed in the war effort and that he had set out to avenge his countrymen alone. She turned so pale that the servants rushed to her, asking what was the matter. She did not answer, and remained silent, with her eyes fixed on the floor.
"Theresia, take the sword."
Again, after many months of silence, the insistent voice rang out. She had stopped hearing it when she met William and feelings for him began to germinate in her.
He had never been friendly to her and she had always ignored him, but now she knew he was right.
I have to do it.
- Theresia, take the sword," she said to herself, straightening up.
She lived her life shifting responsibility to others for what she should have taken care of herself. Her brothers, her uncle.
If I had fought back then, they'd still be alive. I'm not giving up William. That sword... is mine.
- Take the sword, Theresia. This time you'll do it.
The battle was on. The line of the royal army was broken, chaos reigned. The air was permeated with the smell of blood and burning, every now and then someone screamed incoherently.
Theresia found herself in hell again, just like on her first trip. All the horrible memories came back.
Sometimes she saw herself standing among the hopeful knights in bad dreams. Reality, however, surpassed the nightmares. Theresia ran, holding back nausea, searching for Wilhelm among the corpses and fighting survivors. Finally, she saw him far ahead of her, kneeling on a mountain of corpses. A giant non-human stood over him, preparing to strike the fatal blow.
Theresia rushed towards them, choking on the stench of blood, leaping over corpses, amidst the groans of the wounded and dying.
Wilhelm raised his bloodied face. Only now did he see the opponent who wanted to kill him. His lips trembled.
- I don't want to... die... - ...and he whispered.
You're gonna be all right. I'm here.
It became completely quiet all around.
She swung her long sword.
How light he is...
She easily and silently beheaded the non-human. The huge body still with the huge blade in its hand slowly settled to the ground.
The Sword Saint revealed herself. Everyone immediately sensed her presence. All the hostility of the Demihuman army, their hatred and lust for murder descended upon her.
Theresia could sense the moves of each of her enemies. As they rushed at her, their movements were obvious to her, legible. Moreover, she began to see a strange white line, as if someone had tied a thin thread to the end of her sword. Then she realized that the entire battlefield was similarly marked. She felt that they were showing her how to strike a blow. She did so, swift as the wind, and the demihumans who stood in her way fell dead in fountains of blood.
Following the lines, she severed limbs and heads, ripped open bellies, and took lives. She finally had the opportunity to use both of her blessings, and it was as if they were just waiting for the moment when they could fully display all of their power.
Suddenly, amidst the din, she heard a familiar voice:
- Lady Theresia!
Her subordinate, Carol, ran up to her. She was loyal, she didn't abandon her even when Theresia chickened out before a fight or when she became disillusioned with herself and did everything she could to avoid doing her duty as a Sword Saint. Carol believed in her all the time, she didn't abandon her, She believed that there was tremendous strength in Theresia, all she had to do was wait for the right opportunity. Then she would surely show her what she could do. She would prove how powerful she was. The most powerful.
And she was right. Theresia was the most powerful, No one could wield a sword like her.
I wish I had figured it out sooner.
The other knights helped the barely alive William. He resisted, wanting to stay on the battlefield, but they wouldn't let him. She sensed him moving away, and breathed a sigh of relief. Now she could fight in peace, not worrying about anything. She could devote herself to killing.
She heard laughter. Laughing was the same being whose voice she had heard all these years. She realized that it was the Sword God. She tried to drown him out with screams of sacrifice.
There is only one voice I want to hear. William's voice crying out his desire to live. He is the only one that interests me.
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