“Do you still intend to go after those children?” D asked in return, as if that were the only thing that interested him.
“Five thousand years ago, their ancestor helped exile me into space. Five millennia is a long time. It would appear you’ve entered into an agreement with a client, and you’ll risk your life to uphold it. But I, too, swore an oath: that I would visit my wrath on that dog’s descendants.” A gaze burning with hatred locked on the figure in black gliding closer. Even as he leaped toward Valcua’s chest, D was gorgeous. His sword came out through the back of the cape. Without a second’s delay, D leaped backward. Still standing stock still, Valcua grinned sharply.
“Lousy fake,” the hoarse voice spat.
The resistance the sword blade had encountered wasn’t that of a living creature.
“I still haven’t gotten my answer.” The voice that fell from the black space above him seemed to be that of a god inhabiting the heavens. “Now demonstrate your gratitude for being allowed to come here. If not...”
A golden light connected heaven and earth . . . but it wasn’t lightning. Rather, it was a blistering stream of charged particles. Heaven and earth alike dissolved into gold, and within the light, D’s form wavered like a fleeting heat shimmer.
The hundred-million-degree torrent suddenly vanished. Particles of light burned here and there in the black clearing, but D stood in the same spot as before with his left hand raised high. A tiny mouth in his palm had swallowed the blistering stream.
“Truly it was worthwhile calling you here. That particle beam was fired from a cannon I have on Mars, and it burned through half the asteroid belt. It could effortlessly punch through a planet two or three times the size of this one.”
Once, when the Nobles had gone out to battle the fleet of alien invaders from the blackest depths of space, no one won more renown than the Ultimate Noble. But that was before his fall. Refusing to fight alongside the other Nobles, he not only devoted his own resources to building military outposts on every planet in the solar system, but he also captained a great battleship that was considered a hundred years more advanced than the science of the Nobility at the time, bringing the fight to the enemy in the very front lines.
The encounter between these two life forms fundamentally different in their ethics and way of thinking—particularly when one side was clearly intent on invading—could only end with the utter annihilation of one faction or the other. Unfortunately for the aliens, the rulers of their tiny planet were imbued with a love of battle and an undying animosity unmatched by any other living creature. After nearly a thousand years of fighting, the Nobility’s forces finally defeated the invading army, following the survivors as they fled home and wiping their home world from the cosmos. It was Valcua who stood at the fore, and his team of scientists had developed the secret weapon that reduced the enemy’s planet to dust. For someone like him, it was child’s play to make a particle beam that could penetrate the Earth.
“No Noble could ever withstand that weapon without using a force field. D, could it be that you’re—”
The voice wavered, as if the words had stagnated.
“Oh, D! I, too, am—”
Now that he was back, Sue didn’t know what to do with Matthew. This was the same brother who’d tried to violate her. It hadn’t been some sudden fit of insanity; rather, it had clearly been an all-too-intentional act. If she’d been entirely the victim, it would’ve simply been a matter of forgiving him. Checking her anger and hatred, she might’ve been able to make it appear that things were back to normal. However, Sue had stabbed Matthew. Her intention of killing him had been obvious. And to say that it’d been because her brother was crazy would only be lying to herself.
Soon after returning to his senses, Matthew had gone into the room he’d been given and hadn’t come out since. Did he regret his own actions, or was he feeling a black anger over Sue’s murderous intent? Sue couldn’t stand not knowing which it was.
Apparently the count didn’t know what to do, either, merely telling her, “Be careful of your brother.” He then ordered his computer to wait one day for D’s return and elected to ignore the situation entirely.
Sue decided she’d simply let things run their course for a while. Everything had gone topsy-turvy since they’d started out on this trip. No matter what ending lay in store, when they reached it, she and Matthew might be able to look at each other again in a fresh state of mind. Though she realized she was counting her chickens before they hatched, Sue had no choice but to believe the situation would improve if she was to find any peace of mind.
Not feeling particularly sleepy, the girl walked to her room to try to get some sleep anyway, and there she found Matthew standing in front of her door.
“Matt. . . I...” was all Sue said, and then she couldn’t continue. “Come here, Sue,” Matthew said with a smile. It was the kind of smile that sent a chill through a person’s heart. “I wanna show you something good. Something I learned to do while I was there.” “Matt. . . You’re not...”
“Not still under Valcua’s spell? Don’t worry. I’m the same person you know better than anyone.”
Matthew opened the door to his room, which was across the hall from hers.
“Come on. This is something we’re gonna need to stay alive.”
Sue remained hesitant, but then she suddenly remembered that Count Braujou had surveillance cameras sweeping through the vehicle, and Matthew didn’t seem to be able to control the computer. Matthew’s left hand touched his side—it was the spot where Sue had stabbed him. The second she saw his features contort in pain, Sue stepped forward and laid a hand on her brother’s shoulder to support him. And with that, the siblings stepped through the doorway without another word.
The door closed.
If the car’s computer had been operating correctly at that point, it would’ve recorded the following conversation. However, from the moment Sue spotted her brother, the computer witnessed a different scene and heard other words.
“What did you want to show me, Matt?”
“Sit right there. It’s okay. Now, watch closely. If you go there, this is what you’ll be able to do!”
Silence.
And then the girl screamed.
CHAPTER I
I
I too, am—
, What had Valcua been about to say? Before anyone could figure that out, the black-garbed vision of beauty hung in the air above his head. This young man gave no consideration to the inner workings of those to whom he must deal death. The wind swirling in his wake, the Hunter brought his sword down hard enough to sever this very same wind. However, the Ultimate Noble was able to stop it in a shower of sparks that turned night into stark day.
But look! D’s blade and Valcua’s longsword—neither one pushed forward nor was driven back, but as D came back down to earth, his trim form seemed to take on the weight of a boulder, driving one of the Ultimate Noble’s knees to the ground. Gripped with the Hunter’s right hand alone, the blade was slowly but surely driving Valcua’s longsword down with its overwhelming might.
However, while their blades locked together in the form of a cross, the Ultimate Noble smirked beneath them. Stretching from ear to ear, his smile was a malevolent one.
“Although it’s not like me, I seem to have been too occupied by my thoughts. D, you’re the first one to ever drive me down on one knee through sheer force.”
Valcua’s smile grew deeper. His blade had stopped moving.
“And you shall be the last!”
Not only did the longsword come shooting up, but as D was thrown into the air he saw that Valcua was now standing tall like one of a temple’s guardian deities.
Was the Ultimate Noble really that powerful?
As soon as the figure in black landed, however, he broke into a run. The deadly thrust that would’ve sunk into Valcua’s chest was batted aside by the Nobleman’s blade, but D maintained his stance and made a second slash—a horizontal swipe th
at left the Ultimate Noble staggering even as he parried it.
It was Valcua who had to fly away with the swiftness of a swallow to escape yet another thrust. The golden robe clung lovingly to his body. His shoulders heaved as he caught his breath.
“I should’ve expected as much from a man who would enter Valcua’s castle alone. I’m sure the Sacred Ancestor must be quite satisfied. I haven’t begun yet in earnest, either. D, see if I don’t accomplish my goals elsewhere. We shall settle this then.”
And with these words, he retreated.
D followed him, his footsteps equally silent.
As he was on the move, Valcua shut his eyes.
“O magical sword, Glencalibur! You must send a truly fitting opponent into another world now without first getting to spill his blood. Make that portal for me, my blade!” he murmured as if in prayer, and then he swung the sword in his right hand down with a sharp whistle.
“Uh-oh—fall back!” the hoarse voice exclaimed, its cry streaming forward like water. And D’s body did the same. A second later, as if ensnared in the snarls of the howling wind, the figure in black was sucked into empty space—into a dimension slashed open by Glencalibur.
As he listened to the jagged wind whistling into the gap like a lullaby, Valcua raised his longsword once more.
“If left unchecked, it would suck all the air out of the world. D, keep yourself alive until we meet again.”
He made a cut in precisely the same spot. The first slash had cut it open, while the second sealed it—and the wind died out immediately.
The Ultimate Noble, Lawrence Valcua, wore a daunting smile as the wind that whipped across the steely world howled at the top of its lungs about how the living dead had proved victorious.
Sue left Matthew’s room after about ten minutes. But what had transpired in the room, and what had she seen? Sue had screamed. And though tinges of exhaustion and terror remained on her face, she also seemed to have a bit of a rapturous glow.
“Do you see now, Sue? You understand what kind of place I went?” Matthew said, and although his tone was calm, his eyes blazed mysteriously—with flames of expectation. They were fueled by a dangerous self-confidence.
Sue shook her head. The indecent flush had faded from her.
“But that’s . . . not right. Letting them give you the power of a Noble ... Whispering honeyed words ... It’s no good, Matt... It’s just not right.”
“That’s not what your head’s saying, Sue,” Matthew said, laughing weirdly. His tone never got rough. Its calmness only made his words that much stranger.
“It’s no good . .. Matt... Don’t show me that again.”
“No, you’ll see it again tomorrow. You’ve gotta understand. Accept the fate Lord Valcua has chosen for us.”
Taking his sister by the chin, he made her look up. Sue didn’t fight him. The way her pink lips trembled was rather cute. Matthew sucked them up. It was a long, strange kiss.
As Sue shut her eyes and her breath grew ragged, he told her, “See you tomorrow, Sue.”
And with that, he went back into his own room and closed the door.
It was then that the surveillance cameras inside the car began recording the scene properly.
Sue went back to her room, too.
“Nothing out of the ordinary, eh?” Count Braujou murmured, never taking his eyes off the image of Sue that was projected in midair.
And then he asked that electron image, “Anything wrong?” “Nothing, sir,” a female voice responded from thin air. It was the synthesized voice of the computer, of course.
“Hmm,” the count said, folding his arms on his huge bed.
“Do you suspect something, sir?” the voice inquired.
“From what I’ve seen, the two of them have made up. Sue and Matthew were chatting about old times in his room, holding hands and forgiving each other for everything that happened. Isn’t that right?”
“Indeed it is.” Before the computer gave this response, it had run a check of those events.
“After that, Sue left the room, and Matthew gave her a kiss on the cheek as he saw her off. There’s no mistake about that, is there?” “No, there is not.”
“What happened then?” the Nobleman asked.
“Matthew returned to his room, and Sue immediately retired to her own accommodations.”
“Anything wrong with that?”
“No, sir. All these events played out just as described.”
“Any chance you’ve been deceived?”
“No, sir.”
“Not even an infinitesimally small one?”
“When taken to that degree, anything is possible.”
“Then there is a chance—thank you,” Braujou said appreciatively, unfolding his arms before he began rubbing his chin.
Sue’s face filled his brain. The girl was given to strong emotions, so when her brother kissed her on the cheek, she got a look akin to embarrassment. But the kiss had come just as she was walking out the door. Her expression at that instant—it wasn’t the same one she wore once outside.
Was it the time that was off, or was it the space?
“Her brother’s brain was full of ether for a while. And he spoke with Valcua’s voice. Though her brother’s brain may be back, that doesn’t mean Valcua’s psyche doesn’t still linger,” the Nobleman mused. “Hey!”
“You called, sir?” the female voice responded.
“I’m not entirely sure about this. Are you able to run checks on yourself?”
So long as my power isn’t cut, I do so constantly. The process never ends.”
“Raise the level of your check,” Braujou told the computer.
“I shall have to reconfigure myself.”
“Will that take long?”
“No, it’ll be completed nearly instantaneously.”
“In that case, do it.”
“Understood.” After saying that, the female voice continued, “Very well, then—this is farewell.”
“Excuse me?” the count said, furrowing his brow. “Ah, that’s right—how long have we known each other now?”
“A little over seven thousand years.”
“I shall miss you a bit.”
“Thank you.”
“You have a name, don’t you?”
“Long ago, you dubbed me Eve.”
Closing his eyes, the count nodded. It’d been so long ago, he’d forgotten.
“And now, if you’ll excuse me.”
Silence settled over the vehicle. But only for a moment.
“Pleased to meet you,” a female voice said. It hadn’t changed in the least. “From this day forward, I will be in your service. I believe it might be convenient for you to give me a name.”
“Eve.”
“Thank you. That’s a lovely name.”
“Follow the last instruction I gave you.”
“Understood,” Eve responded. “Some change can be detected in Sue’s expression. Her physical and mental reactions to her brother’s kiss differ from the data we have.”
“I thought as much,” the count said, a thin grin surfacing on his lips. “Good work,” he told the computer. “He’s a danger after all, is he? A viper in our bosom—but we can’t very well kill him. I wonder how to set him right again ...”
A figure in a golden robe was walking down a long, long corridor. The floor, walls, and ceiling were covered with intricate carvings— unicorns sporting graceful horns and other creatures with far more than one, sprites wearing shawls that were like smoke, sphinxes with human faces and beastly bodies. And all of them were gazing at Valcua.
Presently, he halted before a black door. The portal was so lustrous, it didn’t seem that it could be ordinary metal. On its surface danced flames from candles set in the wall to either side of it. He muttered something, and the door slid to the right to welcome him. Behind him, the door closed again. Fifteen feet ahead loomed another door just like it. After making his way through it, he came to a third.
Having passed through the triple doors, he finally reached a vast chamber. The path traced a gentle curve down to the floor about ten feet below. The room was filled with blue light. Thick stone slabs were arranged there, some rectangular, others triangular, square, or trapezoidal. As if in complete disregard of geometrical order, on the edge of one rectangular slab an isosceles triangle was delicately balanced on just one of its points, while a square stone slab set in a circle was supported by nothing save a single rhombus.
Halting on the floor, Valcua turned to the right. A young man in black stood there, basking in the blue light. And as he stood with his elegant longsword in hand, he emanated such murderous intent that anyone hut Valcua would’ve been forced to turn away.
“D!” the Ultimate Noble called out.
II
Glencalibur whistled from its sheath.
Charging forward, D was black and beautiful death incarnate.
The grand duke couldn’t parry the blow. He felt the impact all the way up to his elbow. Keeping his weight behind the blade, he sliced down at his opponent’s shoulder.
Limning an arc that deflected that blow, D made a thrust. Even as he felt something cold on the nape of his neck, Valcua trapped D’s blade under his left arm—only the Ultimate Noble’s reflexes made that possible. Without a second’s pause, Valcua’s body spun around like a top. And with no time to let go, D was also whipped around in a circle. After spinning one hundred eighty degrees, Valcua relaxed his arm.
Even the immovable swordsman couldn’t weather this. Sent flying, D was completely off balance. And when Glencalibur’s blade zipped at his heart, it pierced him to the hilt, poking out through his back. D’s body went flying in the same direction as the longsword, slamming into a stone slab behind him. Pale blue light engulfed his body, and once it had vanished, there was no sign of the vision of beauty.
The look of disappointment never leaving his face, Valcua walked over, grabbed his beloved sword where it was stuck in the stone slab, and pulled it free.
“Kima!” he called out.
“I am here, milord,” the figure in the long crimson robe replied.
Tyrant's Stars: Parts Three and Four Page 14
