Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 26 - Chapter 6

Dawn’s Rainbow

Friday, December 31st

Elexis and Maya’s desperate attack opened a large hole in the Type Two’s barrier. And because they pulled away at the last second, the swarms of missiles that were following them went right through the hole they opened up and slammed into the Type Two, causing extensive damage to both it and the space fortress. The Type Two no longer looked anything like it had originally, and there was now a gaping hole in the fortress exposing its core. And that—the core of the space fortress—was Koutarou’s target.

“Hrrraaaaah!”

Koutarou had Blue Knight ready the anti-ship energy sword ready and charge towards the fortress. He was concerned about what had happened to Elexis and Maya, but they’d done what they had to give him this chance. As Vandarion had already lost his physical form, Koutarou didn’t think the Type Two collapsing would be enough to stop it. If he didn’t finish things before Vandarion could recover, he’d waste the opportunity that Elexis and Maya had risked everything to give him. Attacking was his only option.

“C-Curse youuu! Th-This is nothing!”

“Vandariooooon!”

There was no resistance from the half-destroyed fortress. Vandarion still hadn’t recovered from the shock of Elexis and Maya’s attack. Because of that, Koutarou easily made his way into the fortress and continued charging forwards. His targets were the generator and the warp drive in the very center of the fortress.

As long as I can destroy those!

Koutarou’s goal was to attack the warp drive, releasing the energy it was storing for a warp. While that was out of control, he might be able to banish Vandarion somewhere by letting Blue Knight’s stored energy run wild as well. It was a total gamble, but Koutarou thought banishing Vandarion would be better than nothing if he couldn’t defeat him outright. Even if that didn’t work, he could at least keep Vandarion from going anywhere by destroying the generator. Of course, the explosion would take Blue Knight with it. In other words...

“What?! Are you insane, Blue Knight?!”

“Maybe, but you’ll be coming with me! You can be the ruler of an uninhabited world known to none!”

Koutarou was going to keep Vandarion away from Forthorthe with his own life. It was as if the fight from two thousand years ago was repeating itself.

“You’re going to banish me and Granado again?! No way, Blue Knight!”

Realizing the similarity himself only angered Vandarion more. Unable to accept it, Vandarion’s molten hatred pumped through his veins like magma. The gates of hell turned that hostility into raw power, which Vandarion in turn used to attacked Blue Knight and Koutarou.

“Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable! I won’t allow it!”

Fwooosh!

It happened without warning. The Type Two appeared to open its gaping maw and spew out a whirl of flame, despite most of the Type Two—including its entire upper body—having being blown away by Elexis’s attack. Moreover, the flames themselves were abnormal. They were without a doubt flames, but they were dark and stagnant rather than bright and flickering, making it difficult to tell what color they actually were. It was a fire fueled by pure hatred and chaos.

“What is that?!”

The flames in question assaulted Blue Knight just as it was about to pierce the core of the space fortress. The moment they touched Blue Knight, everything they came into contact with simply disappeared.

“Alert: 13 percent of the lower part of the ship is missing.”

“In an instant?! What kind of attack is that?!”

“Details are unknown. Main thrusters are unusable and 28 percent of posture control thrusters are―”

“You don’t need to report! Just hurry up and get us moving again! Close off all partitions and abandon everything unnecessary!”

“As you wish, my lord.”

Rather than saying it had disappeared, it was more accurate to say its existence had been negated. Parts of the blue ship were swallowed whole by the dark flames, making them indistinct and unrecognizable. What they consumed was no longer real, so to Vandarion and Koutarou, it simply looked like the flames annihilated anything they touched.

“You’re too late now, Blue Knight!”

“Vandarion!”

“You will die here! That is your lot! Struggle all you want, but this will be your grave!”

Clash!

Thriving on his overflowing hatred, envy, and lust for vengeance, Vandarion continued to bend reality around him as he closed in on Koutarou. The Type Two reshaped itself according to Vandarion’s will, and the missing parts reappeared even bigger than before. It reached out one of its large hands and grabbed Blue Knight’s neck. Where the Type Two’s fingers closed around Blue Knight, more of it began disappearing. Just like the flames, the Type Two was now wielding the power to negate existences.

“Aaaaahhh!”

And it didn’t just affect the ship. Koutarou’s existence was the object of Vandarion’s contempt. He was the real target, and as Vandarion’s power came for him, Koutarou’s existence began to disappear, little by little, from the edge of his body.

“Urgh...! Aaah!”

“It won’t be a quick death, Blue Knight! I’ll make sure you suffer! You’ll end your miserable life in despair once you’ve lost all hope! You’ll pay! For Granado, you’ll pay!”

The pain Koutarou was experiencing was unlike anything he’d ever felt. It was as if his nerves were being directly burned and stabbed simultaneously. That kind of unreal pain was exactly what Vandarion wished for him.

“Your Excellency!”

“Are you okay, Layous-sama?!”

“Everyone, protect His Excellency!”

But suddenly, the pain assailing Koutarou eased up. When he came to, Koutarou could see white lights surrounding him. They were somewhat dim, but it was almost as if their light repelled the darkness trying to consume him. Thanks to them, Koutarou’s existence stabilized, keeping him out of danger of being negated.

“Bah! What are those blasted lights?!”

The white lights, although far from bright, seemed to dazzle Vandarion. In his distraction, the Type Two released Blue Knight.

“Accursed little things! How long are you planning on clinging on to an old relic like the Blue Knight?!”

“Whoa!”

“You guys!”

However, against the power of the gates of hell, the white lights could only buy a little time at best. With a single swing of the Type Two’s arm, the white lights were extinguished like flames in a strong wind.

“Vandarion...!”

“Ha! Wahahaha! Losing something important to you is terrible, isn’t it?! Doesn’t it just make your blood boil?! Well, how do you like it, Blue Knight?! This is what Granado and I have been dying for so, so long to give you a taste of!”

With overwhelming power on his side, Vandarion was convinced of his victory and boasted triumphantly. Koutarou was starting to see the grim situation for what it was. Blue Knight had now lost most of its lower body and left side, leaving it floating in space. It couldn’t move properly anymore, meaning even his plan to sacrifice himself and destroy the generator was a bust. Koutarou too had lost most of his stamina from Vandarion’s last attack. He was only barely even able to stand. This would be end of the road for him. He would lose, and it would cost him his life. That was clear to everyone.

The girls watching on from the Cradle could see exactly how desperate things were getting, but with Elfaria and Ceilēshu in tow, they couldn’t risk going to save him. Things would just end up as they were before they escaped. It was a long, anxious ride to deliver Elfaria and Ceilēshu safely to the rear lines, and by the time they had, Blue Knight was badly damaged and floating helplessly in space.

“We’re going to save Koutarou right now! At this rate, he’ll be killed by that monster!” Theia shouted.

“Wait a minute, Theia-chan! Even if we go like this, we’ll just be killed too! Uncle is still in a weakened state too! We have to think of a good plan first!” Shizuka warned her.

“There’s no time to think!” Clan interjected. “Veltlion will be killed any moment now!”

“Yurika, do something with your magic! I’ll allow it!” Sanae cried.

“I’d love to, but there’s no amazing spell like that!” Yurika whimpered.

Koutarou wouldn’t hold out much longer. Vandarion was going to kill him soon. Everyone agreed on that point, but they couldn’t agree on a way to go about saving him. But it was to be expected. It would take more than a plan to tackle the crisis facing them. It would take a miracle.

“Kiriha-san, can’t we do something?” Maki asked.

“Maki... I wish I could, but in this situation...” Kiriha responded.

Even Kiriha, who had made miracles happen for them before, shook her head. As their chief strategist, she had already done the math. She knew that no matter what they did, there was no way of saving Koutarou now. And with no plan to save the day, she felt like she had failed personally.

“I wanted to spend the last moments together with Master... Why did he leave me behind...?”

Ruth looked at the image of Blue Knight displayed on the monitor, grinding her teeth in frustration. She also knew that there was nothing that could be done and it pained her greatly. Ruth regretted not being there to meet Koutarou’s fate with him, and though she was the only one that said it, the other girls felt the same way.

At this rate, Satomi-kun will... Koutarou-sama will die. Then Forthorthe and the rest of us will be next. In the worst case scenario, even Earth and the neighboring planets might be at risk. In that case...!

As grim as things were, only one of them hadn’t given up hope yet. It was Harumi, the girl with long, silver hair and a glowing crest of a sword on her forehead. With a resolute look on her face, she stepped up to a desk in the corner of the room. On it were two swords, both badly damaged to the point of being unusable. One was Theia’s Saguratin and the other was Harumi’s Signaltin.

“If I use up the rest of my life to revive this sword, then it might just...”

Harumi was thinking of reviving Signaltin. Koutarou had strictly forbidden her from doing so, but that almost seemed inconsequential now. Vandarion’s power far exceeded all expectation. If Koutarou fell, Forthorthe and everyone in it would be next. Once that happened, it would be too late. That’s why she had to act now. Reviving Signaltin might cost her her life, but it might give Koutarou a fighting chance. While there was no guarantee, it was a better option than simply waiting for the end to come.

“I’m sorry, Satomi-kun, for breaking our promise...”

Harumi made up her mind after seeing the girls of Darkness Rainbow rushing off in a ship on their own. They didn’t know if Elexis and Maya were safe or even really where exactly they were, but they didn’t hesitate to go rescue them. Harumi thought she should do the same for Koutarou.

“You can’t, Harumi!”

However, the instant Harumi reached out for Signaltin and was about to begin the incantation, Theia grabbed her arm. She had been the first to notice what Harumi was about to do and rushed over to stop her.

“Theiamillis-san...”

“I won’t accept you making a sacrifice of yourself!”

“But if I don’t do this, Koutarou-sama will die! We and all of Forthorthe will be next! We don’t have a choice!”

“This is something we need to solve together! We can’t let you carry a burden like that all on your own again!”

The two girls broke out into a heated dispute. Since neither one of them was actually wrong, there was no compromise in sight. Their debate continued without either one of them backing down. The other girls watched on, sympathetic to how they both felt. Each one of them was willing to sacrifice themselves for Koutarou’s sake, but they couldn’t let that burden fall on just one of them. It only made them feel all the more helpless.

“...”

“Hmm?”

A mysterious whisper reached Sanae’s ear. Perplexed, she looked around the room to see who it was, but all the other girls were equally engrossed in Harumi and Theia’s debate. There was also no one standing next to her, and there weren’t any spirits nearby either. It didn’t seem the whisper had come from anywhere at all.

“Maybe my ears are playing tricks on me...”

Naturally, that was what Sanae thought. While she might have psychic powers, she was human. Mishearing things was a daily occurrence. However, she soon realized that she hadn’t misheard anything at all.

“......”

“There it is again... Who’s there?!”

The second time Sanae heard the whisper, she was quite certain it was someone’s voice. Someone was calling out to her from somewhere very far away.

“......”

“In order to oppose the power of the whirlpool of chaos, the principle of causality dictates that altering reality requires white... I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

The voice seemed somewhat familiar to Sanae. She also felt like she’d had a conversation something like this before, but she couldn’t remember when or where.

“......”

“Huh...? If we do that, Koutarou will be saved? Really?!”

“......”

“Just a chance is good enough! Thank you, I’ll give it a shot!”

“...”

“Yeah, love is all. I don’t know who you are, but you know your stuff!”

“Sanae-chan, what are you talking about?”

Realizing Sanae was mumbling to herself, Yurika cocked her head to the side. Whatever Sanae was up to, it was a welcome distraction from the building tension in the room between Harumi and Theia.

“Um... Huh? What now?”

Sanae looked back at Yurika with her head cocked to the side as well. She suddenly couldn’t remember the last half a minute or so. It was like her mind had gone totally blank when Yurika said something to her. The last thing she could remember was what Theia had said...

“This is something we need to solve together!”

And those words gave Sanae an idea.

“Are you okay?” Yurika asked.

“That’s it! That’s it, Theia! That’s all we need to do! Sorry, Yurika, I’m going for a while!”

“Sanae-chan?!”

There was a method that could satisfy everyone after all. Once Sanae realized that, she took off running, leaving Yurika behind.

We’re idiots! All nine of us!

Thinking about it calmly, the answer seemed awfully simple. So simple, in fact, that arguing about it was stupid. Sanae hurried over to Harumi and Theia. She had to tell them... No, she had to tell everyone. There was still a way to save Koutarou.

Having taken so much damage, Blue Knight was no longer capable of fighting. It could slowly turn and move its right arm, but that was hardly enough to defend itself, much less attack. The Type Two slowly circled around the crippled ship. Vandarion wanted to taunt him. He wanted Koutarou to feel his doom approaching.

“Are you ready, Blue Knight?”

Vandarion’s Type Two had a strange appearance, as did the space fortress behind it. They had taken at least as much damage as Blue Knight, likely considerably more. Yet despite that, they moved as if nothing had happened. From time to time, they even had bursts of power that far exceeded what they should have been capable of. And strangest of all, they were being piloted by a man who had no body left in this world. Nothing about it made sense.

“That’s not a good look for you, Vandarion...”

“Impudent little... Even at the bitter end, you manage to be so very annoying!”

Wham!

Blinded by his own rage and hatred, Vandarion was still oblivious to what had happened to him. He still thought he was in the cockpit of the Type Two. He hadn’t even noticed that the Type Two had grown in size. Though reality around him bent to his will, he only saw what was convenient for him.

Frustrated by Koutarou’s insult, Vandarion used the Type Two to kick at Blue Knight. Everything was Koutarou’s fault. That was Vandarion’s horribly self-centered view of things.

“Ugh!”

“Who do you think you are?! Did you think you were the ruler of this world?! What insolence! That is my title and mine alone, you whelp!”

Wham, wham, wham!

“Guah!”

Vandarion continuously kicked Blue Knight. His desire for Koutarou to suffer manifested in the chaotic energy around him, which psychically caused Koutarou pain.

Why is he the only one they respect?! Why do they only follow him?! He doesn’t even have Signaltin anymore! He’s the man who took my only vassal from me!

Vandarion couldn’t forgive Koutarou, the Blue Knight. His very existence provoked his ire, but what he hated most was how everyone flocked to him. The royal families fawned over him and the citizens worshipped him. Even the spirits of the dead came to his aid. But no one was there for Vandarion. Not one single person was there to support him. Not one single person was there to defend him. The reason why was plain as day, but Vandarion had literally been sucked into his own reality where he only saw what he wanted to. He’d always been like that, but losing Granado had sent him off the deep end. The only solution he could see was killing Koutarou. Everything was Koutarou’s fault, after all. Unable to see the error of his way, that was the course Vandarion was set on.

“Guah, ack...!”

After the umpteenth kick, Koutarou was no longer able to stand. He wasn’t being kicked directly, but the power of the chaotic energy that came with the blows assailed him each time. So even though he wasn’t physically being kicked by Vandarion, it felt like it. His body ached all over. He lost his balance and fell backward. His vision grew dim and he could no longer tell which way was up. But it didn’t much matter. He could hardly move. He tried to stand several times, but to no avail. The best he could do was move the tips of his fingers.

I can’t go to sleep... If I let Vandarion go free...

The only reason Koutarou was still conscious was because of his strong sense of duty. The thought that, should he die, Vandarion’s next target would be the royal families and the citizens of Forthorthe kept him awake, albeit just barely. Even though his body was failing him, his desire to stop Vandarion was unfaltering.

At this rate, Vandarion will go after them... I have to stop that... no matter what...

But what sustained him the most was the thought of the girls who were still in the area. Driven by spite, Vandarion would do everything in his power to make Koutarou suffer as much as possible. He would go after them whether or not Koutarou was alive to see it. For their sake, he tried again to stand, but his body simply refused. His desperation turned into panic. Vandarion was certainly getting what he wanted out of Koutarou. This was torture.

“Looks like you can’t move anymore. But don’t worry. Rabble like you were born to grovel before the supreme ruler! You’ve only fallen into your rightful place!”

Vandarion was thrilled. Blue Knight was heavily damaged and Koutarou had collapsed. He was ruing his own powerlessness, and Vandarion relished every moment. This was what he had been waiting for for so long.

“Time to die, Blue Knight! Your death will usher in a new era! It will be the dawn of the age that belongs to me, for now and evermore!”

Koutarou appeared to be down for the count, so Vandarion decided to move on to the next step. There was no point in attacking Koutarou anymore. From here on, filling the world with chaos would be a much more effective means of torturing him.

Vandarion... I have to... I have to do something...

Thoughts of what would happen next ran through Koutarou’s mind. Vandarion was sure to go after the girls. He didn’t know if they would be killed or captured, but Vandarion would put them through hell first. The thought of that alone made Koutarou feel like his soul was being shredded, but his body was still unresponsive. The pain was one thing, but the powerlessness he felt was nearly enough to drive him mad.

“Looky here... So you were worried about us too, huh, Koutarou?”

Koutarou suddenly heard a familiar voice in his head.

“Sanae?”

There was no mistaking it. It sounded like she was right by his ear like she usually was.

“Yeah. Everyone else is here too.”

“Master, are you okay?!”

“Keep it together, Satomi-san! Maki-chan, you say something too!”

“Satomi-kun... Thank god you’re still alive!”

“What’s this?! You’re a mess! Doctors! Repairmen! Anyone! Just bring a bunch of them! My vassal’s in trouble!”

“You’ve taken quite a beating, Satomi Koutarou... I guess there was no helping it this time.”

“Satomi-kun, say something. Clan-san is about to cry.”

“I’m not crying! Shizuka, stop spreading baseless rumors!”

“K-Koutarou-sama... Y-You’re hurt again...”

When he first heard Sanae’s voice, Koutarou thought he might be hallucinating. But as he heard the voices of the other girls, he realized that wasn’t the case. Through either psychic powers or magic, he really was hearing all of their voices.

“Everyone, why...”

“That’s obvious. We all want to save you, Koutarou-sama.”

In contrast to puzzled Koutarou, Harumi’s was quite calm and her voice reflected that. She almost sounded like she was admonishing him for doubting them.

“I’m honestly happy, but there’s no way. You guys need to get away! Vandarion is too powerful!”

“Yeah, we think it’s impossible with normal methods too.”

Sanae sounded calmer than usual too. Her voice didn’t have its usual energetic quirk to it. Even though she was normally quite carefree, even she seemed to understand the gravity of the situation.

“Then hurry up and run! Once Vandarion kills me, he’ll be coming after all of you!”

“That’s why we’re thinking of being a little reckless... like someone we know. Actually, it might be more than just a little.”

Theia was revealing a certain cuteness underneath her normally stubborn side. She almost sounded like a mischievous child.

“Reckless?”

“Yes, quite reckless indeed. There’s no guarantee it’ll work, so we at least wanted to hear your voice one last time.”

The only one that was the same as ever was Kiriha. She talked to Koutarou the same way she always did, although perhaps with less teasing than normal. She was still keeping part of her emotions locked up deep inside.

“There’s something we wanted to ask you too, Satomi-san.”

“Wait, what are you guys planning on doing?!”

Koutarou had a bad feeling about what was about to happen. If even Yurika was taking this seriously, then it could only mean that the girls really were about to do something dangerous. Koutarou’s anxiety increased tenfold.

“Master, do you love us?”

“And not just because we all live at home... I mean at Corona House.”

“Even discounting any sympathy for me being a former member of Darkness Rainbow or Sanae-san for being a former ghost...”

“Do you love us as... you know... women?”

Ruth, Shizuka, Maki, and Clan all chimed in too. Because they all knew Koutarou’s circumstances and they were being considerate of each other, they had always avoided asking that question directly. But no longer. They couldn’t take the last step until they had his answer.

“Of course I do! That’s why I want you all to hurry up and get out of here! I couldn’t bear to lose any one of you! I’d grieve a loss like that for eternity, no matter how many times I’m reincarnated! I don’t know what you’re planning on doing, but stop it right now!”

Koutarou spoke from the heart and without hesitation. He didn’t want to lose even one of them. He wanted to see them all live their lives out happily. He wanted to be with all of them. Those were his true feelings. Feelings he’d kept hidden deep within him. Feelings he could only confess after being so cornered.

“...”

The moment Koutarou revealed how he felt, the girls responded not with words, but with intense emotion. It was an explosion of emotional power from all nine girls. All kinds of positive emotions flooded into Koutarou at incredible speed. It filled him and his heart like it was reinforcing their existence. It was a sign of all of their feelings come together. A blip of love in what seemed like a very dark world right now.

“Satomi-kun, ah... Koutarou-sama... We want to give it a try exactly because of what you just said. We just have to do it! Because we all love you from the bottom of our hearts too!”

“Hey, stop it, you idiots! Can’t you understand I’m telling you to run?!”

“You’re the idiot! These feelings mean the world to us! That’s why we’re willing to risk our lives for them! What else are we supposed to do?! The man we love is in trouble!”

Harumi and Theia tried to make it as clear as they could be to Koutarou. Having confirmed Koutarou’s feelings, the girls no longer felt any hesitation. They were going to bet it all on the warm feeling each of them felt in their chest. Their lives. The future. Everything. Even knowing they might lose it all, not one of them had any regret in their heart. The man they loved so much had said that he loved them too. In they end, they were all girls in love. Nothing a man, not even Koutarou, could say would change their resolve.

The nine girls stood together in a circle. In between them were two swords. Both of them were shattered with pieces missing. Neither could be used in this condition. Facing the swords, the girls clasped their hands together as if to pray. They would be performing a ritual in order to revive the two swords. By pouring in as much of their life force as they could muster, they would revive a sword that surpassed even the original Signaltin.

Of course, there were no guarantees that the ritual would succeed or that the sword it created would be able to defeat Vandarion. And since they’d be pouring their own life energy into the ritual, there was no telling if they would make it through safely either. But this was their last resort to protect their beloved and defeat the evil that threatened them. Even if it cost them everything, it was a worthy cause.

Standing around the swords, the girls looked at each other one last time. Each of them nodded in turn as if to confirm they were prepared for what was to come. Not a single one of them showed any reservation. And so they began the ritual. There was no longer any time to spare. Everything would come down to this moment.

“I am the infinite power that precedes all things.”

Harumi began the ritual. With her hands clasped together, she recited an incantation in Higher Ancient Forthorthian, the ritual language of Forthorthe two thousand years ago. As she did, a white, sword-shaped crest appeared on her forehead. A matching white light began pouring out from her body, stretching overhead. It was as she was being lit up by a spotlight from above.

“The eternal wanderer, watching over the end of the world...”

Next to speak was Sanae. As she continued the incantation, a purple sword-shaped crest appeared on her forehead and a matching purple light poured out from her body.

“Answer the plea of the nine. Now is the time to release the final seal!”

Third was Yurika. Her color was blue. The same sword-shaped crest appeared on her forehead and light poured out from her body too. Once she recited her line, the two swords in the center of the circle began giving off a faint glow. The energy from the three different colors of light seemed to give them power.

“Guider of creation, messenger of balance!”

Fourth was Kiriha. A green light wrapped around her. Under its calming glow, the two swords started floating in the air despite no one touching them.

“With the light of the nine, take form!”

Next was Theia. She was radiating a red light. Its powerful glow shone on everything around her, and when it hit the swords, they began to change shape. It was like watching them being broken in reverse.

“Draw close to that one life and protect all things!”

After Theia was Ruth. The color surrounding her was yellow. As the modest light—seemingly representative of her personality—hit the swords, it filled in the gaps where pieces had been missing.

“My name is Invader!”

The orange light flowing out of Clan was surprisingly clear and beautiful. As it filled the room, the once shattered swords fully reformed, becoming whole again in the image of their original, graceful appearances.

“We make but a modest prayer in this small world!”

The eighth light to appear was indigo. Its source was Maki. In the past, the indigo light she wielded was dark, but the light she shed now was vivid and bright. And as if reflecting that change, the swords began emitting a bright glow of their own. Signaltin shone silver and Saguratin shone gold. And with that, they had regained their former glory.

“Treasured swords of fate, engrave my name within you and release the seal!”

Last was Shizuka. Her color was black, normally the color of destruction. But here, with the white and colorful lights of the other girls, Shizuka’s black light represented balance.

As the girls all reached out in front of them towards the two swords, the nine lights they projected shot upward, joined, and then spiraled down into the swords. It was a fantastic spectacle, just like a swirling rainbow.

Two swords suddenly appeared in front of Koutarou, a gold one and a silver one. Both emitted a powerful light as they floated right in front of his eyes. But oddly enough, the light they shone was different from the color of the swords themselves. Rather than shining silver and gold, they scintillated the colors of the rainbow with black and white mixed in. All perceivable colors could be seen in the glow at any given moment.

“Signaltin and Saguratin...? But what’s going on...? They’re much stronger than before...”

They showered their multi-faceted light on Koutarou, and he felt the pain leave his body. He could move again. Signaltin had a similar power before it was destroyed, but it wasn’t this strong. Yet seeing it and its power now, Koutarou realized that what the girls were trying to do had succeeded.

“Is that what the princess and the others were doing?! They reformed Signaltin in an act of desperation?! No, that’s not it! This is something completely different!”

The two swords had appeared within the bridge of Blue Knight, so Vandarion couldn’t see them directly, but he could clearly feel the power concentrated there. As if reacting to their appearance, the gates of hell began spewing out a frightening amount of energy. The gates of hell, the whirlpool of chaos itself, knew what those swords were. It could tell that it would need much, much more power in order to defeat them. The whirlpool of chaos was scared of the two swords.

“Those idiots... They went ahead and did it anyway...”

Unlike the astonished Vandarion, Koutarou stared at the two swords with a calm expression. He could feel familiar presences from both swords. It was similar to what he felt when he’d return home to Corona House room 106 after a long day. That’s why, no matter how much power the swords had, he was unintimidated. There was no danger in room 106. Just family, comfort, and love. And that’s what Koutarou felt now. A small smile crept over his lips and he casually reached out for the two swords. As he did, he could hear the voices of the nine girls from beyond the rainbow of light. It was the final part of the incantation where they named the sword they had forged together.

“Come from between the light and darkness! Come from beyond an endless time and immeasurable distance! Nalfalaren!”

The nine girls speaking as one gave the sword the fitting name of Nalfalaren. In Ancient Forthorthian, it was the word for the rainbow that formed before dawn. Looking at the sword shimmering the full spectrum of color, it was easy to see why they’d chosen it.

“What?! The swords are...!”

As the sword was given a name, something shocking happened. The gold and silver swords before Koutarou began to merge into one. The new, merged sword had inherited features of both Signaltin and Saguratin. Gold inlay ran down the beautiful silver blade, and the golden hilt was decorated with silver embellishments. The crest engraved on the blade was neither Theia’s golden flower nor Alaia’s snowflake. It was a mysterious flower with petals like crystals of snow that Koutarou had never seen before.

“I see... So this is Nalfalaren...”

Koutarou grasped the sword and held it firmly. It fit perfectly in his hand. Even though this was the first time he’d ever held it, it felt like he’d always been using it.

“Blue Knight, what is that sword?!” Vandarion demanded.

“It’s Signaltin and Saguratin reborn as one.”

“Don’t lie to me! That sword is far more powerful than either of those ever were!”

Koutarou didn’t really know the specifics. All he knew was that the nine girls had revived the two swords and turned them into one—Nalfalaren.

There’s no way that it was just revived like that! And the Type Two’s power has been increasing ever since it appeared! It knows it needs even more power to beat that thing!

Vandarion, who was in the process of merging with the gates of hell, knew that Koutarou’s new sword was incredibly dangerous. The Type Two and the space fortress were automatically preparing for a fight. The generator’s output had increased and all unnecessary systems were cut off to concentrate as much power as possible. The Blue Knight had only gotten a new sword, but the gates of hell were panicking. There was no way that it was any normal sword.

“Regardless, I am the man who will stand above all else! I won’t fall back just because these machines are scared! That’s not what a supreme ruler does!”

Even the machines that Granado had crafted could recognize the danger, but Vandarion wouldn’t stand for feeling even a tingle of fear. Vandarion was a natural-born supreme ruler. A king among kings who ruled all with an iron fist. He was going to kill Koutarou to prove that this fear was unfounded and reaffirm his dominance as a supreme ruler.

“I’ll kill you! This time I will definitely kill you, Blue Knight!”

Vandarion closed in on Blue Knight as he fed vast amounts of hatred into the gates of hell, which in turn pumped power into the Type Two. The Type Two had already been mostly destroyed, so there was barely anything left of its original body. However, given shape by the energy from the gates of hell, the Type Two looked like it was still intact. Its combat capability in this strange, semi-real form far outstripped its original physical form. The energy it had accumulated now was easily threefold what it had had before.

“Theia, I’m counting on you.”

“Perfect! Leave it to me!”

Koutarou’s sword started to glow red. The next moment, the anti-ship energy sword in Blue Knight’s hand began to automatically fire beam after beam. Its aim was incredibly accurate, and the beams scored hit after hit on the approaching Type Two.

“Aaaghhh, impossible! I’m the most powerful! The world is mine! How could this be?!”

After its transformation, the Type Two was now as large as Blue Knight. The strength of its body and of its barrier had increased accordingly. Yet in spite of all that, Theia’s beams easily pierced through both.

“I won’t accept this! This won’t do! Give me more! Give me more power! Enough to kill the Blue Knight!”

Rrrumble...

After Theia’s bombardment, the Type Two drained even more power from the space fortress—or more accurately, the gates of hell—in order to repair itself. But the damage was considerable, and repairing it wouldn’t be a simple task. To accomplish it, the Type Two didn’t just absorb energy—it began absorbing the space fortress itself.

“Kiriha-san, what’s going on with that?”

When Koutarou called out to Kiriha, the glow of the sword changed from red to green.

“It looks like they’re trying to fuse together completely. Because Vandarion has been exposed to the chaos for too long, he’s starting to lose his sense of self.”

It was a strange sight to watch. The Type Two pulled the fortress closer and sucked it in like it was made of clay. The Type Two first repaired its damaged parts, and then used the excess energy and material to reinforce its body and grow bigger. By the time the entire space fortress had been absorbed, the Type Two had turned into a gigantic dragon over ten kilometers long.

“But Koutarou, that body is a bluff. In the end, the source of the power is the same. It’s that gross whirly thing.”

“Master, the whirly thing that Sanae-sama is talking about is located here.”

“This is our chance, Satomi-kun! That area is still compromised from Maya-sama’s attack earlier! We can still attack it directly!”

The sword shone purple, yellow, and indigo in turn, conveying the girls’ voices to Koutarou. It was as if they were all right there with him.

“So that’s it, huh?”

“Do you think you still have a chance despite our difference in size, Blue Knight?!”

“You know what, Vandarion? If this had just been between the two of us, it probably would be impossible.”

Koutarou held the sword in both hands and readied it. Mimicking him, Blue Knight did the same with the anti-ship energy sword. When it did, the color of the energy surrounding the massive sword changed. It now gleamed like a rainbow, just like Nalfalaren did. And the glow grew brighter and brighter. As the light grew stronger, it shot out from the tip of the sword like a beam.

“But because you broadcasted this fight to all of Forthorthe, everyone is praying for you to be defeated and for peace to be returned to this world.”

“It can’t be... That light is...”

The light extending from the energy sword reached over ten kilometers in length. It was the manifestation of the collective desires that had been poured into Nalfalaren. Not just from the nine girls and Koutarou, but all of Forthorthe.

“That’s right, Vandarion! I’m not alone! I have more than ten billion people behind me!”

“I don’t care! I won’t let you get away with this!”

Swinging the Type Two’s over three kilometer long arm, Vandarion made a desperate move to destroy Blue Knight. He had to settle things before Koutarou could use that sword.

“Theia! Clan!”

“I got it!”

“Gosh, you’re still treating me like a slave...”

The color of Koutarou’s sword rapidly changed between red and orange, and Blue Knight’s beams and lasers focused their fire on the hulking Type Two. However, their target wasn’t the approaching arm. It was the Type Two’s head past the arm. Blue Knight scored hit after hit in the Type Two’s face, temporarily robbing it of its vision.

“Landlord-san! Yurika!”

“Uncle, give all of our remaining mana to Yurika-chan!”

“Recall Precast Teleport!”

The Type Two was far too big. A bit of bombardment wouldn’t be enough to stop the swing of its massive arm, and Blue Knight was still too damaged to move properly. Instead, Yurika would use her magic to get Blue Knight out of the way. Normally she didn’t have enough mana to teleport a whole ship, but right now Yurika had the support of Nalfalaren and Shizuka, who was also supplying her with the mana of the Fire Dragon Emperor. Thanks to that, Yurika was able to move Blue Knight back, even if only just a little. Between that and the Type Two no longer being able to aim properly after being blinded, the swing only shaved off a couple of Blue Knight’s mounted cannons.

“Impossible! How could this happen?! I even have the Blue Knight cornered!”

“You would never understand! Not when you’re so intent on conquering everything for yourself and by yourself!”

The moment Koutarou had been waiting for finally arrived. He knew it when the sword began to emit a pure white light. It was Harumi.

“Koutarou-sama, now’s the time!”

Harumi had been waiting all this time for an opening as she channeled the will of the people with Nalfalaren.

A vast amount of energy was required to even move the Type Two, especially at its increased size. It required even more to attack, and that was just normally. A desperate, panicked attack like what Vandarion had just pulled used exponentially more still. Because of that, the Type Two had almost no power left for defense. Even though it would only last for a few seconds, he was wide open now.

“Unlike you, I’m not on my own! And we will be victorious—together!”

Koutarou didn’t miss the opportunity. He swung his sword with all his might, and not missing a beat, Blue Knight copied the movement with the anti-ship energy sword. The blade of the sword, over ten kilometers long, moved at speeds too fast to see. Its target was the left section of the Type Two’s chest that was still weakened from Elexis and Maya’s attack. The gates of hell should be whirling just inside. Blue Knight’s glowing blade entered through the Type Two’s right shoulder, passed through its chest, and exited through the left side of its chest. It all happened so fast, however, that Vandarion didn’t even know he’d been cut down until the Type Two began exploding.

BOOOOOM!

With a single strike of the energy sword, the gates of hell had been cut in half. When they collapsed, the supply of energy to the Type Two was cut off. And since it had already lost its physical form, that meant the end of the monstrosity that the Type Two had become.

“What is this?! Why can’t I win?! Why do I always lose?! Why is it that the world only recognizes the Blue Knight and not me?!”

While the Type Two lacked physical form, it had sucked in the space fortress and manipulated its shape through magical energy. But now that that energy was dissipating, it too was breaking down like a sandcastle being washed away in the waves.

“That’s because you don’t see the world for what it is, Vandarion. If only you had only shown the world a fraction of the recognition you gave Granado, this wouldn’t have happened.”

The world would never smile at someone who scorned it so. Having learned that as a child, Koutarou knew it better than anyone. It was only when he smiled despite his wounded heart that the world smiled back at him. All nine girls had done the same thing.

“Ridiculous! I’m the supreme ruler! Why would I need to show consideration for anyone else?! They should be bowing to me!”

The collapse of the Type Two reached the cockpit where Vandarion was. As he too had already lost his physical form, it was only a matter of time before he met the same fate as the Type Two.

“What?! My body is collapsing?! Why?! Why do such unjust things happen to me?! What is the meaning of this?!”

“...So you really didn’t notice that you’d been stripped down to your soul?”

“No! I don’t want to disappear! I’m the supreme ruler! The man who stands atop this world! I can’t disappear in a place like this! I still haven’t done anything! I have to kill the Blue Knight, destroy the royal families, and conquer Forthorthe! The world will suffer a massive loss if I disappear! I don’t care who, just save your king! Give me your life! Where are you, Gra―”

Even in the bitter end, Vandarion understood nothing. Just like Maxfern two thousand years in the past. And it was because he didn’t understand that that there was no one there to reach out a hand to save him. Not even Granado, who had faithfully kept his promise and watched over Vandarion as he became just a soul.