Clang!

My hastily positioned sword clashed in sparks against the man’s dagger at the very last moment before it would’ve cut me open. I twisted my sword, attempting to guide the dagger’s momentum to slide along to my crossguard. As it slid down my blade, the dagger in the man’s hand instantly changed trajectory midway. Realizing where it was headed, I leaned back before seeing a bloody gash appear right below my left shoulder.

Darting my eyes back up, the man was gone. I scrambled, my eyes scanning around hurriedly until I realized where he had gone.

“” His words rang out from behind me like the gently resonating strings of a harp.

“Aah! H-he’s here!” Farah screamed. The man stood at a distance behind us, looking on calmly as if he had been remaining there this whole time. But his cool stillness turned to movement, dashing forwards with remarkable speed. I turned and stepped forward while pulling Farah back by her hand, getting in between her and the masked man, whose dagger shone through the air like a meteor.

“Grggh!”

Like the clash previous, I only just managed to defend against his unseeable attack, my blade clattering against his dagger just inches away from my face. I pushed back with all the strength in my enhanced arms and readied my estoc to thrust away, but he retreated once more in a flash. I could only clench my jaw as his retreating blade cut open a gash across my stomach.

He was back at his place just before, a sizable gap separating us, his posture neutral.

“” He muttered.

“Farah, run away!”

I nudged her backward, urging her to retreat as I charged forwards at the masked man. Mana gathered at my fingertips and feet.

Double Casting:

“[Icicle]; [Ice Dash]”

Tens of large icicles materialized around me before launching themselves hurriedly at the masked man as I approached with speed rivaling what he displayed. But, the following sequence of events blurred before my eyes. My mind struggled to process what exactly happened as the icicles exploded in mid-air with a flash of golden light. Confused but determined, I continued on, gaining on him rapidly.

Gritting my teeth, I readied myself as I reached him and unleashed endless thrusts. But with each thrust, the man’s dagger blocked each approaching attack, deflecting it away. He only moved the arm carrying the weapon with which he parried each attack. The rest of his body stood still all the while. His stormy gray eyes examined me calmly amidst the chaos.

I kept attacking, continuing on with desperation. A desperation he crushed as his left arm extended out, delivering a heavy punch right on my stomach, knocking the wind out of me.

“Gah!”

He quickly followed up with a deadly attack, bending forward to slash my neck open. I shook myself out of my painful daze to defend, our clashing blades colliding with a resounding clang. His dagger recoiled back, the angle and movement of my sword managing to deflect his attack. Genuine surprise seemed to show in the eyes behind his mask. Hastily, I launched one more thrust with my sword, right at his chest.

There, I think there’s my chan—!

All of a sudden, his posture shifted. He had pivoted his whole body, my attack completely missing him. The dagger had switched from his left hand to his right hand without notice.

His left arm flowed through the air without resistance, attacking me from my left. His dagger thrust forward like an arrow marked at me.

Shit! I can’t block with my sword right in time!

Driven by instinct, I raised my left hand to protect myself, hoping to catch it as I pumped mana into my hand. But I miscalculated. The blade of his dagger appeared through my wrist, piercing right through it.

“Urk!”

“[Fire Lance]”

Ignoring the searing pain, I cast a spell. A large projectile of flame began materializing in the palm of my left hand, but the man quickly retreated away, pulling the blade from my arm, and springing back with calculated steps. I stopped the spell midway, the still-forming fire lance returning to me as mana.

Blood gushed out of my injured wrist, the torn tissues and muscles visible. My left hand dangled helplessly, any attempts to move my fingers in vain.

“<…Why do you fight in this way? Who are you truly?>” the masked man asked, more to himself and less to me.

“Luqa!” Farah screamed. I turned my head towards her voice.

She’s still here! Why?!

The man, his attention directed toward Farah, disappeared, leaving behind only afterimages.

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Damn it, he’s after her!

“[Ice Dash]”

In a reckless charge, I leaped forwards from the ground with all my energy before sliding across frictionlessly. I arrived in front of Farah, interrupting the man’s pursuit, but forced to meet his attack. An idea popped into my head, one born more out of desperation than cleverness.

Mana began to pour into my mystic eye. His indiscernible movements in front of me began to be unnaturally colored with bright auras, the swirling of which centered around a pure white orb located in his chest.

I can see it…

“Agh!” Almost as soon as my mystic eye activated, sharp pains struck me. Inhuman perception beyond what I could handle fought against my thoughts. It took all my willpower not to simply collapse to the ground and clutch at my head in pain. Blood trickled again from my nostrils and then from my left eye.

But amidst the chaotic colors and auras of my sight, the half-madness I was subjected to, I could see… no, rather, more so, sense his attack. Its strength. Its speed. Its trajectory. I could guess at all of it. His incoming assault played itself like a moving album of images. My eyes for the first time followed the rhythmic, beautiful dance of his dagger.

Finding clarity for the first time in this battle, I focused as I moved my estoc intently, keeping track of the dagger, which was getting closer and closer.

In one sweeping movement, I deflected the attack. If my eyes weren’t tricking me, it seemed as if I almost caught the masked man out of balance. My sword still moving, I turned off my mystic eye and put all of my power into one desperate attack, charging it with as much mana as it could handle.

My estoc’s sharp point directed at the man’s head… bounced off his mask. All my attack did was leave a crack across his white mask. The man backstepped calmly while stroking his mask along the mark I made.

“” The man almost seemed baffled by the preceding sequence of events, for whatever reason. “”

“” I asked.

The masked man sighed in response. “” The man’s black hair began shining in a radiant light, turning ethereal gold. His wings of light came into being again, and he started ascending into the air.

“L-luqa, w-what’s going on?” Farah whimpered from behind me.

“Stay… close to me… Be… careful…” I drew her close.

Winds began gathering around him. An aura of sun-gold light bathed his very being as a divine bow of light materialized in his left hand. In his right, he held a magical arrow, its appearance like lightning materialized. He nocked the arrow into his bow, which he pointed not at us but up at the air. Letting go, the arrow flew up into the skies before splitting up into countless other arrows of light, descending down like rain. Their luminescence filled and dominated the sky, its intensity not incomparable to the sun.

“[Barrier]”

I conjured a barrier over me and Farah to the best of my abilities. Each arrow that collided with the barrier threatened to break it. And with each incoming arrow dispersed into sparks passing through the barrier, shocking my muscles stiff. The ground boomed over and over as the light rained down from the heavens. No matter how much mana I put into erecting each barrier, each was barely enough to withstand the offensive power of one arrow. And while I was struggling to survive, the masked man was motionless, suspended still in the air, watching me intently as he had been this entire fight.

“L-Luqa!”

“W… we’ll be fine, Farah!” Even to me, the statement sounded like the lie it was. I could feel a sensation I haven’t felt in a long time. My mana running out.

I might actually lose this. I might actually die. Even if I try to fly away with Farah, I’ll just get shot down by one of those damned arrows…

My barrier cracked into pieces and broke away before I erected another one. My body was beginning to feel numb due to the sparks transmitted by his lightning arrows, my injuries, and the extensive use of magic all at once.

I’m running out of mana… Wait…

Hopelessly cornered, an idea presented itself to me. One I usually wouldn’t resort to.

I can use demonic magic… I can absorb mana in the air for my spells as well. It’s faint, but there is mana here.

And yet another barrier shattered into pieces. An arrow came scarily close to us before I conjured another barrier to block it.

And if I use Black Flame, I might be able to get out of this. Is that what he meant when he said he was confused by how I fought?

“Luqa! Y-you can win! I-I know you can!” Farah cried behind me. It seemed less encouragement and more naive self-assurance.

But if I want to win, I can’t keep defending. It’ll have to be a quick, reckless offensive. My best chance will come from… abandoning Farah. If I abandon her, I can go all out with my magic without restraint.

I tilted my head to look at Farah. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she sobbed.

Yes. That’s it. If I abandon Farah, I can surprise this asshole. I’ll fly as fast as I can and unleash black flames. If they make it, even he won’t survive. But she’ll die for sure. There’s no doubt about it. If I do that, if I really abandon her, she’ll be killed by those arrows of light.

“Y… yes, Farah, I can… win this.”

Logically, it makes sense. If I die here, it all comes to an end. I won’t be able to do what I planned. Everything, absolutely everything will be for nothing. I won’t be able to live on as Clara wanted. Yes, it makes sense for me to leave her here.

“L-Luqa…” Farah seemed surprised that I responded to her.

“Grgh!” I groaned instinctively as another barrier broke. A stray arrow passed through before I could erect another barrier, piercing through my right thigh.

“Aaaagh!” Even through the pain, the mind-numbing shocks delivered, I cast [Barrier] once more.

I can’t keep dallying around… I can’t keep being indecisive… That’s why I lost last time as Malachi, right? What was it, again? To live a life without regrets? I should be decisive, damn it!

“Luqa!” Farah started crying once more. But the anguish in her expression seemed not of fear, but simply out of worry. Worry for me. “D-don’t die!”

Yes! If I die, monsters who inherited part of my soul might keep on rampaging! It’s my responsibility to kill those damned things. And what about the other tailed demons? I can’t fucking die here! It’s not my fault I have to leave her here. To leave her… to die… here. It’s not… my fault. It’s not.

More blood flowed from the wound on my leg, trickling down to the ground. But all the pain I should’ve been feeling disappeared into the background as all attention, all efforts turned within. For the sake of convincing myself.

I’m not wrong… I have to live on… I’m not wrong…

My black wings appeared from my back as I readied myself for the hasty plan I concocted in my head. I stared at the still-flying masked man, burning the very location he was in my head, imagining the path I would take to reach the bastard as soon as I abandoned defending.

I’m not wrong… This is for everyone else's sake...