Thud
It was just a step.
Grrk…!
My body was pulled back.
“Sis!”
I could hear Claire yelling in panic.
Rustle, rustle, it felt like something was being sliced, and a few drops of blood splattered towards me. No, was it really just a few drops? That blood touching my face was just that, but in reality, much more blood must have sprayed.
It wasn’t my blood.
It was the Emperor’s blood.
As I was yanked from behind, I was dragged back. Even with the power from my enhanced armor, I couldn’t match the Emperor’s strength.
Maybe I got so flustered running that I lost my posture the moment I was caught by the Emperor.
I flew backward and slid onto the ground.
Bang!
If I hadn’t spread my legs to dodge, my legs would have been sliced into pieces right there. The Emperor’s blade struck the exact spot where my legs used to be.
…Does he really not intend to kill me?
The Emperor was bleeding from various parts of his body. It seemed he had sturdy armor on, but that didn’t matter when getting hit by strikes from all directions.
“Hmm.”
But it seemed the blood flowing from the Emperor’s body was still insufficient to take him down.
“You think holding back your abilities will lead to your potential being sealed?”
Well, obviously.
Even with just the fragment of the Guardian, I had received a shock so great I lost consciousness for days. Would I do something reckless in front of a completed Guardian?
I thought it would be better to trust in the others who had come with me instead.
Click.
I emptied the revolver’s cylinder. The empty bullets inside flew out as the gun tilted forward.
Seeing that I didn’t respond, it seemed the Emperor thought there was no need to talk anymore and lunged at me.
The sound of swords clashing.
Ugh!
Alice, who had arrived in a rush, caught the Emperor’s sword in front of me and let out a groan. The tip of Alice’s sword was trembling.
“Hmm.”
Seeing Alice barely blocking with both hands, the Emperor made a sound of slight disappointment and withdrew his sword—
No, he didn’t really withdraw; he just lifted it.
Before Alice could follow up with her next move, the Emperor struck down again. It wasn’t even with all his strength, but Alice staggered.
“I’m not doubting your abilities, but you still fall short of expectations.”
“……”
I could see Alice’s back shuddering.
Fall short of expectations, huh?
Alice was way more talented than I was. In both swordsmanship and studies. While I had to keep going back in time just to barely understand, Alice could always grasp things in one go. I had given up on swordsmanship anyway.
Expecting her and then excluding her based on those expectations… Well, the Emperor was a selfish man who knew only himself. Though he could love someone else, he wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice them for what he wanted.
Bam!
I fired a shot next to Alice, and the Emperor recoiled.
Yeah, no matter how good his sword skills were, in the end, if you get shot, you get hurt and bleed like anyone else.
Clang!
As the Emperor stepped back, a serpent-like wave of sword energy flew at the same spot, but he waved his sword as if it were a nuisance to block it. But it wasn’t something he could easily handle. Even if he was talking big about expectations, Claire’s swordsmanship was not something to be taken lightly.
In the original story, he was depicted as not particularly inferior among the Emperor’s children. If you were to rank, he might not match Lucas, but you couldn’t just disregard the sharpness of his attacks.
But that wasn’t the end.
Swish, another quick thrust came in succession.
Charlotte.
Charlotte, who had joined Claire, was glaring at the Emperor with a terrifying expression. …I guess I could understand that, but thankfully, those eyes weren’t aimed at me.
Charlotte’s sword was already stained with blood. She must have taken down a few people on her way here.
“We’ll buy some time.”
Alice said quietly.
Some knights were stealthily approaching from the front.
“Roti is keeping an eye on this side. Mia and the teacher are coming this way too… so, we’ll go for the device as soon as we get the chance.”
“Understood.”
I nodded at Alice’s words.
I still didn’t know exactly what the power of the Goddess was and how it worked.
But even so, I couldn’t give up just because I didn’t know. At the very least, it would be better to try to resolve what was right in front of me, something I could grasp.
“Alright then.”
In that moment, Alice’s and Charlotte’s eyes met.
“Let’s go!”
Alice said that and charged ahead.
Claire and Charlotte, who were directly confronting the Emperor, did the same.
They weren’t concerned about the knights charging toward them, just focused on the Emperor.
I couldn’t let their efforts be in vain.
I dashed forward once more.
And—
Ah.
Bang, I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder.
“Sylvia!?”
I heard a scream whose voice I couldn’t identify.
My left shoulder was burning. The arm I had been swinging powerfully to run now wouldn’t move properly. I didn’t have time to examine the wound, but I still had a moment to look toward the sound of the gunfire.
The Emperor was holding a gun.
…A gun just like the one I carried around. But it looked a bit older.
Now that I looked closely, the scars that had formed from it rolling around had also been on this gun. Not super visible, but there were a few major scratches.
Ah, right, of course.
No matter how close this world was to the ‘original,’ reality was still reality.
Whether a person swings a sword or pulls a trigger depends on the thoughts of the one wielding that weapon.
It was the Emperor’s choice to pick up the gun his own daughter had used to take her down.
I didn’t aim my gun at him. I didn’t hear any gunshots from his side either, but it seemed we all failed to hit each other.
Should I turn back time?
For a moment, that thought crossed my mind, but—
I could see the three people in my line of sight and the Emperor.
Alice, who had been glaring at me with wide eyes, was now behind the Emperor. The Emperor had been swinging his sword and, in a rush to pull out his gun, took Alice’s attack directly. I could see blood splatter from his arm. A critical wound? I couldn’t say for sure. But at least he seemed to grimace in pain.
Then, as he tried to swing his sword again, he was forced to retreat as two attacks came flying simultaneously. The sharp thrusts aimed at the center of his body were like snakes coiling. The trajectory was dreadfully straight, but responding to both an extremely quick strike and a slow, irregular curve at the same time was no simple task.
The Emperor took a few steps back from the three.
The knights prioritized protecting the Emperor. Alice, Claire, and Charlotte didn’t strike at the knights.
If I were to turn back time—turn back time and be fine myself, would those three be okay?
If I eliminate the cause of the gunfire entirely—
There wasn’t much time to think.
In the meantime, my legs were moving, and the shining device in one corner of my vision was getting closer.
Bang, bang.
Gunfire flew in from behind. Some knights rushing towards me fell, stirred up in a spray of blood. Was that Roti’s shots?
…If I were to turn back time, could I make it here?
Thinking that, I realized I only had one choice left.
Touching the device could be done with one hand.
I ran with everything I had.
And.
I dropped the gun I had been holding right to the ground. It was empty anyway. No point in carrying it since it could only be used for swinging.
I stretched my right hand out and grabbed the rotating gears right in front of me.
I pulled with all my might. While I tried to push the device away with my feet and pulled as hard as I could, it didn’t come out easily. Just as the gears were rotating and about to draw my fingers in, I finally managed to pull them out with a drip noise.
Squeak, the armor made an eerie sound. A few joints around my shoulder must have burst, steam coming out and soaking my underclothes beneath.
My left arm, still dripping with blood, had no sensation left.
Grrk…!
I gritted my teeth and, with all my weight, leaned back as hard as I could.
“Ah…!”
The gears were pulled toward me.
And within that gap, I could see inside.
“…Alice…?”
Inside, there was a face I knew well.
Alice, with her eyes closed, looked as if she were peacefully sleeping.
—Was it truly the case that the blood of a Fanggriffon was needed to complete the device, literally?
“Don’t, Sylvia…!”
Someone shouted that loudly from behind.
A heavy sound was rushing towards me. Thud thud thud, once again, there were a few rustling sounds, but this time too, there was no sign of that sound stopping.
However, faster than the sound that reached me, Alice inside the machinery opened her eyes.
And with her blue shining eyes, she looked at me.
The light flowing from her eyes was the same as that which was radiating from the Guardian I had entrusted to Claire.
For just a moment, the world between us stopped.
I unconsciously stretched my hand out toward Alice.
All the reasons for why I had come this far, the times I had gone back to find my way, all felt like they led me to this moment.
It just felt that way.
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