Twilight Overture (Premium)

by Yuri Kitayama

  With no strength remaining in the minotaur’s grip, the stone sword was sent flying high through the air.

  “MROOH...?!” The black flash’s astoundingly fast movement came to a screeching halt by kicking the minotaur’s body as a brake. He leapt into the air, twisting his body to catch the minotaur’s greatsword as it soared through the air. Liselotte’s heart, meanwhile, was captivated by the beautiful series of movements.

  There, in the air, was a gray-haired boy clad in a pitch-black coat. He looked to be around Liselotte’s age.

  “Grugh...?” The minotaur was unable to process what had happened, stumbling heavily backwards, then collapsing onto its back, facing upwards.

  “Hah!” The gray-haired boy in the jet black coat swung the stone sword he had grabbed downwards, sending it hurtling towards the minotaur at an incredible speed.

  The thick stone sword easily pierced through the body of its original owner. “AARH, GARRGH?!” The minotaur lay skewered into the ground, roaring in agony.

  One beat later, the boy landed smoothly on the handle of the stone sword. In his right hand was a valuable sword embedded with beautiful jade gemstones.

  Liselotte gazed up at that boy in a daze.

  “Allow me to assist,” the gray-haired boy said in a youthful voice fitting for his age.

  Interlude: Meanwhile, the Hero and Mastermind...

  Shortly before the minotaur and revenants appeared, Rio, Aishia, and Celia were flying above the forest, on their way to Amande, when Aishia pointed in the direction they were heading.

  “Haruto, there’s a big battle happening over there,” Aishia said, pointing in the direction they were heading towards. Rio immediately focused his eyes where Aishia was pointing and nodded.

  “...So it seems. Ode is blowing about all over the place in that area.”

  Carried in Rio’s arms, Celia pouted and strained her eyes too, but was unable to perceive the essence. “I can’t see anything...”

  “One of the groups fighting are monsters.” Aishia noted.

  “How can you tell?” Rio asked.

  “It’s different from spirits. Monsters have their own unique presence that they emit. I don’t like it. I can feel a lot of monster auras in that area,” Aishia explained.

  “I see. So the ones being attacked are people?”

  “Probably.”

  Rio thought for a moment. “...Let’s check out what’s going on. It’s pretty disturbing that it’s happening this close to Amande.”

  “Okay,” Aishia nodded, before the three of them flew closer to the battle from above.

  Rio observed the scene unfolding below him. “Knights? It looks like a noble party is being attacked. They’re surrounded by a tremendous number of monsters...”

  “Augendae Corporis. ...Wow, there really is a lot of them. Will they be okay?” Celia asked.

  “A swarm of goblins and orcs... They’re outnumbered, but they do look like they’ll be able to hold out. It doesn’t seem like there are any deaths, either...” But they still shouldn’t let their guard down, Rio thought.

  Knights that had their physical abilities enchanted by magic shouldn’t be taken down by any individual goblin or orc, but with this many numbers, the fight could get messy.

  “There’s someone really strong there, too,” Aishia said, pointing out a woman on the road who had pushed particularly far into the enemy lines. It was Aria.

  “...You’re right. Maybe she’s using an ancient artifact containing a powerful body-enhancing sorcery?” Rio’s eyes widened, looking at Aria.

  Aria was gracefully and indifferently dropping the heads of the monsters one after another. Raymond and the others were watching her from a little further back in dumbfounded amazement.

  “Do you mean that woman fighting at the front of the road?” Celia asked, straining her eyes harder. Augendae Corporis didn’t enhance vision as much as Rio and Aishia’s spirit arts could, so she couldn’t see the fighters all that well.

  “That’s the uniform attendants and waiting maids wear, right?” Celia doubted her eyes at the sight of the woman in an attendant’s uniform, fighting monsters.

  “Yes,” Rio nodded with a faint smile, when Celia’s eyes suddenly widened.

  “Wait... Huh?”

  “Is something the matter?” Rio asked Celia curiously.

  “Ah, no... She just looked like my friend... Aria...?” Celia tilted her head in doubt.

  “Your friend is down there?” Rio asked in surprise.

  “Y-Yeah. That woman wearing the attendant clothes and swinging the sword — she’s a friend of mine that serves the Ricca Guild, or rather, Duke Cretia’s daughter, I think. I couldn’t see clearly, though...” Celia nodded in confusion.

  “Your friend who serves Duke Cretia’s daughter...” Which meant that the master she served could also be within that group of people, Rio thought. If so, it made sense for there to be so many knights escorting her.

  Which makes her master Liselotte Cretia... Rio surmised.

  “Haruto, something’s weird. Those are the same monsters that attacked us before,” Aishia said, pointing at the swarm of monsters Aria was fighting. There was a cluster of revenants.

  “...You’re right. Those are strong... Will she be okay?” Combat skills aside, their incredible sturdiness and physical abilities meant that even a magic-enhanced knight would have trouble taking one down.

  “There are several more strong monsters in the woods too,” Aishia said with a strangely stern voice.

  “MROOOH!” The roar of the minotaur echoed all the way up to the sky as it leaped out onto the road.

  “That’s... That’s here too?” Rio’s eyes widened greatly.

  “H-Hey, is that...?” Celia asked Rio worriedly.

  “The monster I defeated after it attacked us during the outdoor drill while I was at the Academy.”

  “That’s a minotaur, right...? Ah, Aria!” Celia cried out; Aria had started running towards the minotaur and group of revenants below.

  “...Wow, she’s going against that swarm of monsters,” Rio muttered in awe. Aria was in the middle of a hard fight. She couldn’t eliminate them instantly like goblins and orcs and was forced to go on the defensive, making it hard for her to fight properly.

  “Aria...” Celia looked down at Aria in frustration.

  “Professor...” Rio glanced at Celia’s face uneasily. “Aishia,” he said, but Aishia was paying no attention to Rio’s voice, staring fixedly on the forest below instead.

  “Aishia?”

  “...Sorry, what was that?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. It was just my imagination. What is it?” Aishia shook her head, but her words still bothered Rio a little.

  “I have an idea, so I’m going to join the fight below. Can you take the Professor somewhere safe?” Rio asked.

  Aishia hesitated for a moment before agreeing. “...Got it.”

  Flustered, Celia spoke up with a conflicted expression. “Huh?! Ah, no, you can’t! It’s dangerous!” Her feelings of hoping that Rio could save her friend and reluctance to let Rio head into danger were causing quite a conflict in Celia’s heart.

  “Professor, your friend is struggling down there...”

  “Another one,” Aishia’s voice said sharply. Her gaze was locked on the new minotaur that had landed right in the middle of the party’s formation.

  “That looks bad. I need to hurry — I’m counting on you, Aishia!” With that, Rio rapidly descended to the ground.

  Meanwhile, as Rio approached the battle —

  Whoa, that was close. Phew. How unlike me to nearly slip up like that... Reiss lurked in the forest, concealing his presence. Covered by the trees of the forest, he couldn’t see the skies above, but his awareness was turned far overhead.

  While I may have noticed belatedly, I somehow managed to finish sending out the pawns. I should refrain from using my powers anymore from here on out. Otherwise, someone will notice me. A col
d sweat ran down his back.

  However, this spirit aura... Does it really mean what I think it means? And after I finally came so far, too. What an unfortunate series of events. Now, let’s see how things turn out... His face, hidden under the cloak, carried a rare expression of thought. He pondered worriedly.

  Chapter 9: A Heroic Tale

  No sooner than Rio had arrived to help had he taken down one of the minotaurs. “Allow me to assist,” he said to Liselotte. The dead minotaur dissolved into ash, leaving behind the greatsword and spirit stone as it vanished without a trace. Rio jumped down from the sword handle he was using as a foothold and gently landed beside Liselotte.

  “Eh? Ah...” Liselotte looked up at Rio after he landed before her, speechless. She knew she should be saying something, but she couldn’t seem to find her words. Chloe also gulped from where she was clinging to Liselotte as she looked up at Rio’s face.

  “Lady Liselotte!” Cosette and Natalie came running. They had done away with the revenants chasing them as fast as possible to join their master.

  “You’re...” Natalie said to Rio’s back as she supported Liselotte to her feet, when —

  “MROOOOH!” One of the two minotaurs on the road before them roared to interrupt their conversation and started running. It used its momentum to leap high into the air, closing in directly to where Rio and the others stood.

  “Wha—!” As their speed was unfitting for a body of that size, Liselotte and the attendants reacted late. But the minotaur was aiming for Rio.

  “MROGH!” Its overwhelming mass accelerated its fall speed, swinging its stone sword downwards at Rio as it was about to land.

  “Guh...?!” Liselotte and the other girls refrained from screaming, but the incoming impact made them reflexively turn their heads and cover their eyes. Then, after a moment, they opened them again fearfully.

  “Grufugh,” The minotaur sneered with a triumphant smile. And yet —

  “No... way... H-He’s still standing?” The girls, doubting their own eyes, all thought that the scene before them was impossible. In their field of vision, holding his sword up to block the stone sword and still standing on his two legs, was Rio.

  “MROOOGH?! M-MROOOHHH!” The minotaur’s gaze landed on Rio staring back up at it and widened its eyes. Immediately after it did, the madness drained from its eyes and was replaced with a brief look of fear, before it returned to madly striking its greatsword against Rio’s numerous times. An impact strong enough to upturn bedrock surged forth, making Liselotte and the others shriek.

  “Kyah?!”

  Rio silently continued to block the minotaur’s sword in order to protect the girls. After a while, the minotaur’s barrage of attacks stopped.

  “Grufu...gh?!” The minotaur panted, looking down at the place where Rio had been. When it discovered Rio was still going strong with the same pace, the minotaur took a hurried step backwards.

  “If you’re willing to back away on your own, then all the better,” Rio said, starting his pursuit of the retreating minotaur. He kicked off the ground with force, closing in on the minotaur in an instant.

  “MROOGH! MROOOGH!” The minotaur was desperate. It suddenly swung its sword downwards, its looming greatsword aimed for Rio’s body with precision. Rio moved to block the attack with his sword, but their difference in weight meant he was deflected into the ground. Rio, however, had expected that much to happen. Once he landed, he put more strength into his feet and leaped at the minotaur.

  The minotaur roughly swung its sword once more. This time its arm moved horizontally, aiming to send Rio flying sideways into the forest with its precision. Rio braced his sword, and at the moment of impact — “MROOOGH?!” The unexpected resistance left the minotaur in confusion.

  Rio twisted his sword and body at a speed that matched the slash to avoid it cleanly. Then, he gracefully jumped on top of the blade that the minotaur was still swinging.

  “No way!” The fearsome display of combat skills made Liselotte and the other girls gaze in amazement. In the very next moment, Rio completely cut through the wrists of the minotaur holding the sword. The greatsword fell with a dramatic noise, piercing the earth.

  Rio continued up the minotaur’s right arm by speeding up and going for a neck slash, but — “Watch out!” Liselotte and the girls all yelled at once. Three black and gray revenants suddenly jumped out of the forests to the left and right, rushing to attack Rio. They came at him in a pincer attack, leaping high into the air.

  Thankfully, Rio had already taken measures to counter the ambush from both sides at that point, pausing his business with the minotaur to deal with the revenants first.

  These guys are fairly tough. To end them in one blow, I’d have to aim above the neck or for the heart...

  Rio immediately determined his target and, without even a glance, swung his sword sideways at the closest approaching revenant on the right. Moments later, the black revenant that had been charging from the right had its head cleanly separated into the air. All that remained were the two gray revenants.

  Rio led the two furiously attacking revenants on until the last moment, then suddenly pulled back and evaded the attack from both sides.

  “Gruh?!”

  The two revenants had built up too much momentum and collided with great force; Rio then sliced off the two revenants’ heads.

  Only seconds had passed since the ambush, but it was enough time for the minotaur with the dismembered right hand to stand back up.

  “MROOH!” The minotaur picked its sword off the ground with its left hand, shaking Rio off its right arm and retreating. Rio landed on the ground and chased after the minotaur he failed to finish off earlier. He kicked off the ground and approached the minotaur from close to the ground.

  “MROOOOOOOOH!” The minotaur swung haphazardly with all its strength at the ground where Rio was. However, Rio firmly placed his feet against the ground and deflected the minotaur’s sword.

  The weapons on both sides clashed together with tremendous speed. Each time the swords struck each other, a roaring sound echoed throughout; the sight of their battle was unimaginable even for this world.

  It was almost like the fight of a hero from the legendary tales of the Divine War era.

  “N-No way, he’s on par with a monster of that size...?!” Cosette shrieked, her voice in a near-scream out of shock.

  “...No, that boy is winning by a mile. He’s pushing it back,” Natalie added in a trembling voice.

  The scales of their give-and-take were clearly in Rio’s favor as he dominated over the minotaur and forced it back outside of the party’s formation.

  Once it was outside, Liselotte’s expression flipped like a switch as she called out to the attendants near her. “T-This is our chance to reorganize ourselves! Chloe, bring the wounded within the formation! Natalie, Cosette, gather the uninjured knights and harden our defenses to the left and right sides! They’ve stopped attacking from the sides for now, but don’t let your guard down! You remaining girls, finish off the rest! Don’t worry about me!”

  “Y-Yes, ma’am!” they all replied in unison, hurrying to their tasks.

  “Princess Flora, great hero, Lady Roanna! Are you hurt anywhere?!” Liselotte ran over to Flora and the others with worry. The three of them were frozen stiff as they watched Rio’s fight with the minotaur.

  “...Yes, I’m completely fine...” Flora confirmed in a daze, watching Rio’s form with a somewhat faraway look in her eyes. Her lips seemed to move to mouth the words “Just like back then,” but no one else had noticed.

  “W-What... is that...?” Roanna muttered, utterly shellshocked.

  “...” As for Hiroaki, he was rendered completely speechless.

  “The three of you seem to be fine, I see. All that’s left is Duke Huguenot’s safety...” Liselotte sighed in relief. When she looked over at the rear carriage, she spotted Duke Huguenot, who had left his carriage at some point, standing stock still.

  “...” Lik
e Hiroaki, he was at a loss for words, captivated by the battle between Rio and the minotaur. However, that battle was mere moments from ending. The beheaded minotaur fell to its knees and collapsed powerlessly.

  “Now the only minotaurs left are the one far down the road that way, and the one on the opposite direction that Aria just finished off! Looks like we’ll be in the clear,” Liselotte said, certain of their victory.

  Out of the minotaurs that had appeared, two were on the road they were heading towards, one leaped into the middle of their formation, and the final one appeared behind them. Of these, Rio and Aria had already taken out three of them, leaving the final minotaur standing still on the road, in their way.

  Aria was currently taking on the remaining revenants, slowly but surely defeating them one by one. It was only a matter of time until all of the enemies had been eliminated. But just then, the remaining minotaur raised its sword and let out a powerful roar.

  “MRGROOOOOOGH!”

  It glared at Rio standing on the road fixatedly. Tension rippled through the atmosphere.

  “?!” Liselotte instinctively cowered. Beside her, Flora let out a quiet squeak and trembled with a flinch.

  “It’ll be okay,” Liselotte said, hugging Flora’s body to herself gently.

  “O-Okay. Thank you...” Flora said in relief, her strength draining.

  However, led by several gray revenants, countless goblins and orcs poured out of the forests to their sides, all swarming to rush at Rio. “Graaagh!”

  T-There are still more?! Liselotte thought, dumbfounded, but Rio took a large step backwards to counter the monsters’ ambush.

  “MROOGH!” The minotaur started running forward at a speed that didn’t match its giant size. Even from afar, its intensity shook the earth.

  “...!” Liselotte’s body stiffened a little. Her protective hold around Flora strengthened. Flora squeezed Liselotte’s body in return as she watched as Rio fought off the incoming monsters.

  “Gufuh.” The minotaur smiled pleasantly as it leapt high into the air. It jumped high enough to clear the monsters’ and Rio’s heads.