Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 43 - Chapter 5

Everyone’s Stakes

Friday, November 11th

After Ralgwin and Fasta departed on Gelaurudis II, Koutarou was surprised to see that Grevanas still hadn’t given up his pursuit. It didn’t make any strategic sense.

“Why does Grevanas still try to fight?! Doesn’t he care if they’re wiped out?!” Koutarou asked.

By pulling out now, the old Vandarion faction would be able to escape. Theia was unable to go all out on her attack, so the enemy battleship was still present. Moreover, Koutarou and the others had to pursue Gelaurudis II, and Grevanas and the Gray Knight were present as well. There was a good chance for them to escape, yet they didn’t.

Once Grevanas and the Gray Knight had boarded the battleship, it began chasing after Gelaurudis II. This decision was nonsensical. Thanks to the ship’s hurry to pick up Grevanas and the Gray Knight, a lot of soldiers had been lost and the spacecraft had all but lost its chance to escape. Hidden Leaves, in addition to reinforcing the battleships, had begun pursuing it. They would be wiped out, and Koutarou was struggling to understand why anyone would make that choice.

“Grevanas likely can’t turn back,” Kiriha explained. “If he loses here, he will lose his leadership position, and the old Vandarion faction will fall apart after failing to bring Ralgwin back. It would be difficult for splintered groups to reclaim Ralgwin on their own. This is their only chance, and he can’t pass it up. So he doesn’t have the time to bother with casualties.”

She couldn’t comprehend Grevanas’s decision either, but if Koutarou were on the verge of death and this pursuit was the only chance to save his life, she wasn’t confident that she would handle it any differently.

“Anyway, Kiriha-san, follow them! We will be right behind you!” Koutarou said.

“Understood.”

Even if they didn’t comprehend how Grevanas felt, they couldn’t let him continue. Koutarou had Hidden Leaves go ahead with Kiriha and others on board. Once his group had cleaned up the enemies, they would follow on Clan’s Cradle.

“Veltlion, I will be there in one minute!” Clan announced.

“I hope we make it... before they can catch up...”

Gelaurudis II was a high-spec multipurpose warship. But that was only when comparing it to ships of the same size. It was hard to imagine that it would be able to escape a battleship. As a spaceship meant for a small crew, it couldn’t even warp, and its jamming or stealth technologies wouldn’t be able to beat the battleship’s sensors. It was hard to imagine that Gelaurudis II would be able to shake off Grevanas’s pursuit.

Although Koutarou expected Gelaurudis II to be at a disadvantage, the situation onboard was even worse than he knew.

“El, this is a problem. The generator’s output is unstable,” Maya reported with a frown as she piloted the ship. Much of her body had been replaced with artificial parts, which meant that she could directly connect to the ship’s systems. She could feel the damage it had taken without looking. The sensation of its heart pulsing erratically was a sign that the power was failing.

“I suppose we couldn’t make it out unharmed,” Elexis answered, immediately realizing why. During its escape, Gelaurudis II had taken damage all over. Koutarou and the others had done what they could, but they hadn’t been able to protect the ship perfectly. The damage was serious, and it struggled to accelerate.

Seeing the situation, Fasta made her decision. “I suppose it can’t be helped. Courier, I will leave the rest to you.” She got up from her seat.

Elexis already had an idea of what she was thinking. “Are you sure, Fasta-kun?”

“There’s no other way.”

“Very well. I will do as you wish.”

He used his computer to unlock the hatch leading to the back of the ship, and Fasta quickly made her way to it.

“Hang on, Fasta, what are you planning to do?!” Ralgwin demanded.

“I will become a decoy. Ralgwin-sama, please escape with these two.”

With their speed falling, it was hard to imagine they could make it without a sacrifice, so Fasta would leave Gelaurudis II and serve as a decoy to aid Ralgwin’s escape.

“Stop it! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!” Ralgwin protested. He wanted to stop Fasta, but the drugs in his system kept him from moving freely. In addition, the PAF followed Fasta’s order and wouldn’t move. All Ralgwin could do was try to stop her with words.

“It’s okay. Now that we are this far, there is no need to win,” Fasta said and smiled. Being able to do this much was enough for her. It had been a gamble to begin with, so she had gone in prepared to give her life. On top of that, she had previously opposed Ralgwin and put many of her allies in danger, so she felt it was time to take responsibility.

“This is an order, Fasta! Stop it right now!”

“I can’t follow that order. After all, I am no longer your subordinate.”

Fasta turned her back on Ralgwin and left the cockpit. She would be lying if she said that she had no lingering attachments, but this was something she had to do. She had to buy time, even if it was just enough for Koutarou and the others to come.

As a multipurpose ship, Gelaurudis II had a longer hangar in the rear, which was usually where the crew packed their supplies and flew around the shipping routes. Elexis and Maya being called “courier” wasn’t just a code name, but also because they were genuinely in the transporting business.

But the hangar wasn’t stuffed with supplies today. Instead, it was loaded with a two-seater, four-wheel drive, off-road land vehicle that could also levitate for a short period of time using space distortion technology. Combined with its small size, this made it suitable for driving through mountainous forests.

“Open it up, courier.”

“Understood. Opening the rear hatch,” Elexis answered.

Once Fasta was in the car, the rear hatch began opening. Wind blew in from outside, shaking the car. Blue skies were in front of her, and below was an expansive, mountainous forest.

Gelaurudis II had already left Fornorn and was now in flight. As they passed over the mountain range, the old Vandarion faction battleship temporarily fell out of sight. It was the perfect timing for their departure.

“Deploying spatial distortion field.”

Fasta used the car’s computer and the shaking immediately stopped as a distortion field covered the car and protected it from the wind.

“All right, I’m releasing the fixture,” Elexis announced.

“We haven’t known each other for long, but thank you for this,” Fasta answered. “Please take care of Ralgwin-sama.”

“Leave it to me. I’m the type that doesn’t break a promise.”

“I’m taking off!” After a short farewell, Fasta accelerated the car. It didn’t have all that much power, but it was light, so it flew out of the hangar.

Normally, a car would fall straight down, but because of the distortion field around the vehicle, it slowly descended like a balloon. Before long, the wheels touched down and the car picked up speed.

“All right...”

Fasta had successfully descended. She looked up at Gelaurudis II and saw it slowly depart as its altitude dropped.

Please stay safe, Ralgwin-sama.

Fasta quietly saw it off while turning the car around. She wouldn’t go in the same direction as the ship. Her job was to drive around the forest as a decoy.

Before long, Gelaurudis II descended and landed. Elexis and the others left the ship, knowing that it would be easier to escape on foot through the forest than in the damaged craft. Moreover, the empty ship could be used as a decoy, which should buy them enough time to let Koutarou and the others catch up.

Elexis led the way. “There’s a mountain cottage over here. A safe house we prepared ahead of time. Let’s wait for them inside.”

They walked down a narrow animal trail. About a quarter of an hour had passed since leaving the ship, but there was no sign of their pursuers. The old Vandarion faction had fallen for the decoy and was not yet searching the area they were in. The battleship that Grevanas was chasing them in had passed by once, but all had been quiet since then.

“Courier... what about Fasta?”

“She’s safe. Her signal is still moving.”

Elexis used his computer to display a map with a moving green marker representing the car that Fasta was in.

But she is probably being chased...

Elexis didn’t tell Ralgwin, but the car’s signal was zigzagging slightly, drastically changing direction at times. Based on that, Fasta was likely dodging bullets while on the run. She was likely also gradually being cornered. There were cliffs and valleys—terrain that was hard to pass—in the direction she was heading. The enemy was corralling her there.

So, Koutarou-kun and the others didn’t make it in time...

Elexis figured that if Koutarou and the others had caught up, there was a chance Fasta could escape. Unfortunately, that hadn’t happened. Still, thanks to Fasta’s efforts they were about to reach the safe house. Elexis prayed for her safety, even though the odds were low, as he led the group onward.

Meanwhile, Fasta was in exactly the situation Elexis was imagining. Being pursued by the old Vandarion faction, the only saving grace was that their battleship wasn’t part of the hunt. It was in the middle of a battle against Hidden Leaves on the other side of the mountain, so they had instead sent a warship detached from the battleship, not unlike Clan’s Cradle. Naturally, this one was better equipped for battle, though, and they’d been attacking her throughout their pursuit. The same kind of ship was likely pursuing Gelaurudis II too.

“It looks like I’m able to fool them...”

Fasta made a sharp turn and looked over at the passenger seat. Ralgwin was sitting there. It wasn’t the real Ralgwin, of course, but a hologram that had been prepared ahead of time. They had predicted that such a thing might be necessary. As a result, the enemy’s attack wasn’t as powerful as it otherwise might have been. They couldn’t attack in a way that would kill Ralgwin, which meant the decoy was working.

Crack.

Then, the frame of the car broke, the part just above Fasta. The pursuing ship was modest with its use of powerful weapons, but there was one that they used freely: the laser cannon. Reined in by a computer, it wouldn’t hit Ralgwin, nor was it likely to cause an explosion. But there had been plenty of attacks so far that had sent chills down Fasta’s spine, and the laser cannon was responsible for most of them. Even worse, the ship’s AI was studying her and how the car moved, and its aim was becoming more accurate. So Fasta was gradually being cornered.

“Why don’t you give up and hand over Ralgwin-dono?” At times, Grevanas’s voice would sound over the comms.

However, Fasta remained quiet. She didn’t want to talk to him, nor did she want a blunder to tip him off that this Ralgwin was a fake. It would have been strange if Fasta were the only one to answer, after all.

“Very well. It’s not like I can’t understand your loyalty,” he continued. There was seemingly no trace of the insanity that Grevanas had been exuding before. There was an intense tenacity in his eyes, but he seemed to have calmed down, likely thanks to him believing that he was gradually cornering Ralgwin.

I only wish I could see the insanity on that face once more...

If they found out that Ralgwin was a fake, Grevanas would be enraged. But Fasta would likely not get to see it, because she would no longer be alive.

“Shoot the car! Some injuries to Ralgwin-dono will be fine! I can heal a wound or two!” Grevanas announced.

Bang! With a shot from the laser cannon, one of the tires popped. It was a mercilessly direct hit.

“Oh no!” Fasta cried.

Having lost a tire, the car was jerked off-balance and thrown up into the air. She deployed the distortion field to try to stabilize the car, but it had too much momentum. It slammed into the ground, the impact shaking Fasta.

“Fuhahahahahaha! I suppose that might have hurt him too much!”

Before her consciousness sank into darkness, the last thing Fasta heard was Grevanas’s annoying laughter.

After thirty minutes of walking, Elexis and the others finally reached the safe house. The cottage had been built in a place where it wouldn’t stand out, so there was no fear of being found right away. It was also stocked with plenty of food and water, so it was possible to live there for a period of time without contacting the outside world.

“Ralgwin, the signal from the car Fasta-kun was in just disappeared.”

“I see... What a shame.”

Ralgwin’s shoulders dropped. Fasta had carried out the duty she had taken on. She had rescued him from the Imperial Army and drawn Grevanas away from him by serving as a decoy. He wished that she was there with them, but he knew very well that was too much to ask.

“For someone who turned their fangs against Forthorthe, you seem quite taken with that girl, Ralgwin,” Elexis observed.

“I was only fighting against Forthorthe to repay a benefactor. But Fasta is the daughter of a different benefactor.”

Ralgwin had been fighting to help his uncle, Vandarion. After Vandarion died, Ralgwin had merely chosen to aim for victory in his place. None of it was for Ralgwin’s sake. And Fasta was the daughter of a man who had saved him when he was a green soldier, so protecting her wasn’t for his own sake either.

“You were probably born into the wrong family. I was kind of the same,” said Elexis.

“Ah, that’s right, you are the scion of DKI.”

“That’s ‘former scion’ now. After all, Koutarou-kun has taken over DKI,” Elexis replied with a shrug.

A beeping sound suddenly rang through the cottage. It was a communicator in a corner of the room, signaling an incoming call.

“Who could that be?” Maya, who had been quiet up until now, approached the communicator with a stern expression. She had a bad feeling about it, since no one should have been able to contact them. She flipped the switch with caution.

“It has been a while, Ralgwin-dono,” came a voice.

“Grevanas?! What do you want?!” cried Ralgwin.

“You already know the answer. Will you return to us?”

“I have no intention of doing that.”

Ralgwin understood the situation. He knew what Grevanas was really after, and he wasn’t reckless enough to return without a plan, knowing that he would be used as a sacrifice.

“Naturally, I won’t ask that you come for nothing. It will be in exchange for her.” Grevanas pointed behind him, and Ralgwin’s eyes opened wide. Fasta lay on the floor behind him.

“Fasta!”

“We chanced upon each other unexpectedly and I invited her back.”

“Release her immediately!”

“If that is what you want... but she would die before reuniting with you. As you can see I haven’t treated her.”

Fasta lay in a red puddle of blood. She had been badly injured when the car was destroyed and her wounds had yet to be tended. Her life was in a precarious situation.

Upon seeing that, Ralgwin was outraged. “How about you protect the rights of your prisoners?!”

“No matter what you say, she is no longer a soldier. Legally, she would be considered a terrorist. You should be grateful she hasn’t been killed already.” Grevanas smiled happily, but he was secretly relieved. As I’d hoped, this girl is special to him. That was a close call...

When Grevanas had fallen for the decoy, he had thought it was all over. So his last gamble had been to use Fasta as a hostage. He knew there was a possibility that it would work, but hadn’t known for sure. It wasn’t until he saw Ralgwin’s reaction that he finally felt the weight lift.

“Very well, I accept your terms,” said Ralgwin. “Where should I go?”

“I will send over the coordinates, and I’ll have her treated as well.”

With that, the call ended, Ralgwin having agreed to his enemy’s demands. He had no other recourse.

“But you can’t, Ralgwin!” Elexis objected. “You know what will happen if you go!”

“If I don’t, Fasta will die.”

“Is she that important to you?!”

“Yes. Just as she risked her life to protect me, I will protect her.”

“Ralgwin... I understand. I’m sure this is a strange twist of fate, but we will accompany you to the end.”

Elexis wondered what he would do if it were Maya, and in the end, he had to help.

The location Grevanas had set for the meeting was a junction on a two-lane road that ran through the forest. With no other roads around, it stood out in the forest.

Grevanas and his men had already arrived, and a warship was anchored there.

“That’s strange. Why did they come in a ship like that?” Ralgwin wondered.

“It seems their battleship is stuck in combat with the Blue Knight,” Elexis replied.

“Is Grevanas planning on sacrificing everything for this?”

“So, how is your body holding up?”

“I can finally move as I want. Not that I am in top form.”

“You should probably keep using the PAF.” Elexis passed a handgun to him.

“Yes, I intend to.” Ralgwin accepted the handgun and checked to make sure it was working before putting it away. He had no intention of keeping to the deal. He would pretend to obey while trying to save Fasta.

“As I’m sure you’re already aware, your chances are low. Especially against that Grand Wizard...” Maya commented. She saw it as next to impossible to save Fasta. If the infamous Grand Wizard had the powers of legend, she couldn’t imagine him being outsmarted here.

“Whatever happens will happen. I simply don’t have the option of running away.”

“It’s not like I don’t know how you feel,” Maya conceded.

“Let’s go, courier.”

“Yeah. Jeez, guess I drew the short straw again...” Elexis murmured.

With Ralgwin in the lead, they slowly approached the junction, where they found Grevanas, the Gray Knight, and an unconscious Fasta laid against a nearby tree.

Courier... Ralgwin looked back and signaled Elexis with his eyes. He was going to leave Fasta up to them.

Elexis wordlessly nodded back.

“I am glad you returned of your own accord, Ralgwin-dono.” Grevanas smiled as Ralgwin approached, although it was hard to tell what constituted a smile on his dried-out face.

“To think I’d ever lay eyes on your ugly face again, Grevanas...” In fact, Ralgwin didn’t think it even was a smile. All he felt was Grevanas’s joy at having cornered his prey.

“How harsh.”

“Fasta better be alive.”

“Of course. Those are the terms of the deal.”

Grevanas turned around and snapped his fingers. It was a dry sound, like slapping two sticks together.

“Ugh... uuuh...” As that sound rang out, Fasta started moving. With a quiet groan her head started swaying. The spell that had stolen her consciousness had been released.

“Fasta...”

“R-Ralgwin-sama? Where am... What was I...”

Fasta’s last memories were of her car being hit and destroyed. Yet she was still alive and Ralgwin was now in front of her. Fasta was confused, unable to process the situation.

“We can leave the details for later. Can you stand?”

“Y-Yes...” She pushed against the tree she was leaning against and stood up. Intense pain shot through her body as she did, and her face twisted into a grimace. She had been treated but was still covered in wounds.

“That’s quite enough. I have held up my end of the deal. Now it is your turn,” Grevanas told them.

“I know. Courier, they haven’t tampered with Fasta, have they?”

“She has been treated, but it doesn’t look like they have done anything else,” Maya answered, referring to magic. With much of her body having been replaced with machinery, her magic abilities had been greatly decreased, but she was still able to see mana just as well as before.

“I see...” said Ralgwin. “Grevanas, I’m coming to you. Have Fasta walk over.”

“Go ahead, you are free now, girl,” Grevanas announced.

Hearing that, Fasta finally understood the situation. Ralgwin was sacrificing himself to save her.

“You can’t, Ralgwin-sama! Their goal is to—”

“Leave the details for later. You will go to the courier.”

“Ral—”

Fasta attempted to object further, but halfway through, she realized that he didn’t have the eyes of someone who was planning to sacrifice himself. His eyes were calm and strong-willed.

Ralgwin-sama is trying to do something... in which case...

“I understand.” Fasta gave up on objecting and started walking like she was told. She didn’t want to make a fuss and end up getting in his way. If there was even a slight chance for them to walk out of there together, she would desperately hold back her concern for him and continue walking.

“They’re planning something,” the Gray Knight warned Grevanas.

“I can imagine. They would be incompetent otherwise. Now, what exactly will you do?”

The Gray Knight and Grevanas had both realized that Ralgwin was trying to escape. They would have done the same if their roles were reversed, so the pair remained focused on their surroundings.

With many people looking on, Ralgwin and Fasta slowly closed the distance between them. Because of her injuries, Fasta was walking slowly, so Ralgwin was the first to reach the middle point.

When Fasta arrived soon after, he whispered to her, “No matter what happens next, keep walking straight forward and don’t look behind you...”

“Ralgwin-sama?”

“Do you understand?”

“Yes...”

With that, Fasta and Ralgwin passed by one another, and the distance between them began to grow once more.

Something’s wrong... I thought he would take the girl and retreat... Grevanas had been sure that whatever Ralgwin was planning would happen when he and Fasta passed each other. He’d been prepared to cast a spell at that instant. But the moment had passed without anything of note occurring.

Just as he was musing over the situation...

“Grevanas, you are indeed a Grand Wizard with an abundance of experience. You will do anything to win. But you don’t understand—this is how you truly do anything to win!”

Ralgwin pulled his handgun out. Grevanas scoffed when he saw that.

“You call that a means to victory?! I am disappointed in you, Ralgwi— Impossible?!”

His confidence soon changed to despair. The gun that Ralgwin had pulled out wasn’t pointed at Grevanas, but at his own head.

“Stop that, Ralgwin! Your life belongs to more than just you!”

“Too bad, Grevanas! Your wish will never come true!”

Bang! The trigger was pulled and a bullet was fired. Red blood shot out, and Ralgwin’s body slowly collapsed.

When Grevanas saw that, he started running. “Maxfern-sama!!! Aaaaahhhhh, Maxfern-samaaaa!!!”

Grevanas’s greatest weakness was clear: the destruction of Ralgwin’s body, which was supposed to be a sacrifice for Maxfern. If the head was damaged, then it would be impossible to affix Maxfern’s soul to the body. Not even the waste that Grevanas had developed could regenerate the complex structure of the brain. It was fundamentally different from regenerating an arm, which only needed its shape replicated. So to Grevanas, Ralgwin’s death felt like Maxfern’s. Half mad, all he could think of was running over to the body.

“Yurika, now!” came Koutarou’s voice.

“Recall Precast—Teleport!” Yurika cried.

Koutarou had been waiting for the moment when Grevanas wasn’t acting like a Grand Wizard. Using Yurika’s spell to close the distance in an instant, he swung Signaltin at his foe with a yell.

Ralgwin had been the one to come up with this plan, and Elexis had used the court magicians to pass the information along. The only problem was whether or not Koutarou and the others could reach them in time. If they had been too focused on fighting the battleship, everything would have been ruined, given how big of a gamble it was for Ralgwin.

“The Blue Knight?!” screamed Grevanas.

Ralgwin’s gamble had been successful. When Koutarou and the others had realized that Grevanas wasn’t aboard the battleship, they had given chase. And Koutarou’s timing for the attack had been perfect. Grevanas’s attention had been fully on Ralgwin, so he’d been caught completely off guard and was unable to defend himself.

As the slash came his way, Grevanas raised his left arm to protect himself, and it was promptly cut off, falling to the ground and disintegrating as if nothing had ever been there.

Koutarou didn’t hesitate. He swung his sword once more to cut down Grevanas himself. But before the lethal attack could connect, the Gray Knight’s sword blocked it. Unlike Grevanas, the Gray Knight hadn’t been shaken by Ralgwin’s actions. The death of somebody he didn’t care about was of no importance to him, so he had the composure to think ahead. Having known that it might be a diversion, he was able to block Koutarou’s second strike.

“Agh, the Gray Knight! Hey, you help out too, young master!” Koutarou called to Elexis.

“Don’t call me that, Koutarou-kun!” The rifle in Elexis’s hands was fired repeatedly at their enemies.

Even the Gray Knight had his hands full trying to protect himself and Grevanas. He increased the power of chaos and repelled the bullets while Maya collected Fasta and retreated. The remaining problem was the fallen Ralgwin.

“How long are you going to pretend to be sleeping, Ralgwin?!” said Koutarou, grabbing hold of the man’s hand while Elexis kept the enemy in check. And, of all things, the hand grabbed him back.

“Well, come, Blue Knight!” Ralgwin answered.

“Your kind really is the most dangerous type.”

“Y-You were alive, Ralgwin!” Grevanas stammered.

“You can’t call suicide a decent plan. You slipped up, Grevanas.”

“D-Damn youuu!!!”

It was then that Grevanas finally realized he had been tricked. Ralgwin hadn’t killed himself; the bullet in the gun had been a paintball. It was a toy to make it look like he had committed suicide. Grevanas would normally not have been fooled, but with this being the grand finale, there had been a slight opening in his mind. He was a Grand Wizard who struck fear into many. Moreover, he had been turned undead, but he still had some slight human weaknesses.

“If this is your decision, I have an idea of my own!” Grevanas said.

His humiliation and anger at Ralgwin destroyed the last shred of humanity left in him. He slowly stood up and raised the staff in his hand up high.

“Kyaaaaaaa!” screamed Fasta. In that moment, her body was stained crimson. The wounds closed by Grevanas’s spell had opened all at once. Unable to withstand the pain and blood loss, she fell on the spot, and a pool of blood formed on the ground once more.

“Fasta?!”

“Don’t move, Ralgwin! Or I might undo the spells I’ve cast on her organs and bones as well!” Grevanas warned them. The mummy-like face appeared to be laughing. It was impossible to read any emotions in his sunken eyes, but the insanity in them was clear.

“So, this is it...” Ralgwin finally acknowledged defeat. He hadn’t lost his battle; in fact, he’d won it. But this was someone he had to protect no matter what. His defeat came from his inability to discard his humanity.

“Ralgwin!” yelled Koutarou.

“Sorry about this, since you came all this way. But I will return to the old Vandarion faction.”

“If you do that, you—”

“I know. But there are some things I just can’t abandon. Aren’t you the same, Blue Knight?”

“That’s...”

Ralgwin wouldn’t be able to live with it if he simply abandoned Fasta. Could that even be called a victory? What remained if he gave up what was important to him in order to survive? Wouldn’t it be the same as dying? That was why he chose a shorter but more meaningful life over extending it for as long as possible.

“That is a good answer, Ralgwin-dono. I am sure your allies waiting for you back at the stronghold will rejoice too,” Grevanas calmly replied, satisfied with the other’s decision. But everyone understood that a cruel insanity was behind the calm facade.

“Courier, take care of Fasta,” Ralgwin told Elexis.

“Got it.”

“I won’t be able to protect her anymore.”

“Ralgwin...” Koutarou started.

“Don’t turn out like me, Blue Knight.” Ralgwin glanced at the Gray Knight, who said nothing, simply watching events play out.

“Let’s go, Ralgwin-dono. Everyone is awaiting your return.” Grevanas took the lead and started walking. He had no more business there. He had lost his left arm, and provoking the Blue Knight further could be a bad idea, so he preferred to run while they were weakened.

“I know. I’m not going to disobey.” Ralgwin looked at Fasta one last time, then followed Grevanas. “You too, Knight-dono.”

The Gray Knight silently sheathed his sword and followed the other two. Neither Koutarou nor the others moved. If they did, Fasta would be killed. All they could do was see the three off with a strong sense of defeat.

When Fasta woke up, she was inside a spaceship. She was confused at first but soon recalled what had happened. She had failed to save Ralgwin, and he had ended up saving her instead.

Maya filled her in on what had happened while she was unconscious.

“...it seems the Blue Knight was shocked too. He was supposed to catch us, but he just left without saying anything.”

After giving Fasta emergency treatment, Koutarou’s group had entrusted her to Elexis and Maya and then left. The two couriers had brought Fasta to their spaceship and left the Forthorthe system. Whatever their plans, they needed to get Fasta proper treatment first, but since all three of them were fugitives, it would be dangerous to do that near the capital.

“I see... So, what happened to Ralgwin-sama?”

“He is the biggest news in Forthorthe.”

“What do you mean?”

“It would be faster for you to see for yourself...” Maya said and brought up some news footage. Every news channel was filled with a familiar face.

“This is a follow-up report on Ralgwin Vester Vandarion, who declared war on the Holy Forthorthe Galactic Empire. In the Larenzi system, the Forthorthe Liberation army he leads...”

“Ralgwin-sama!” Fasta gasped.

All news contained the same information: Ralgwin had formed a military organization called the Forthorthe Liberation Army and declared war on Forthorthe.

“No... Who is this man? Tell me, courier! Who is this man who looks like Ralgwin-sama?!”

Fasta immediately knew something was wrong. The person the news was referring to as “Ralgwin” was most definitely not him. The light in his eyes was completely different. The Ralgwin she loved didn’t have such violent eyes.

“That man is Violbarum Maxfern, the legendary tyrant resurrected and put into Ralgwin’s body,” said Maya.

Koutarou and the others hadn’t been able to protect him. Grevanas had taken him away and used him to resurrect an evil man from two thousand years ago: Violbarum Maxfern, the nemesis of the legendary princess Alaia and the man defeated by the Blue Knight.