“I need to get there fast… Before anything bad happens.” Under the night sky, Flanne ran towards the hideout that hadn’t been exploded. The streets she ran through were mostly empty, with the few people outside looking up at the sky in fire’s direction, confused about what was going on. Flanne paid them no mind as she passed by.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to buy us time. Reinforcements will come as soon as they can stop the fire from spreading on the other side. Until then, I have to stop the demons here on my own.” That was the result of her earlier conversation with Bea. The princess was on the balcony when the explosion happened. It caught everyone by surprise, and she immediately sent her special elite to the location of the explosion.
By the time Flanne arrived in Bea’s office, the decision had already been made. “Flanne… Did you see the explosion? I sent them…” Flanne recalled Bea’s anxious state. “I sent our trump card to the location of the explosion. Was that a mistake? Was that just to lure us out?”
“You did well, princess. Regardless of what their intention may be, the explosion we saw was very real. Someone had to be sent there.”
“But now we don’t have anyone to deal with the other hideout. If they launch an attack now, it will be devastating.”
“It’s alright. I’ll buy us some time.”
“You want to go there alone? You can’t handle them all on your own. I can’t tell you to do that.”
“It’s fine, princess. My goal is not to defeat them. I just have to buy us time and prevent them from causing too much damage. I can handle that much. Just give me the order.” Flanne smiled as she recalled their earlier interaction. After running all the way from the castle, she had finally arrived at the hideout.
In the end, she never gave me the order. Bea’s clever enough to know this is a suicide mission regardless of how I frame it. She remained silent until I left… “I became the princess’s knight in pursuit of a peaceful life, and now I’m involving myself in human conflict…” Flanne shook her head with a smile. “I think I may be too soft…”
Flanne started sneaking, ready to fight as soon as she reached the hideout. But then she heard something strange. *Clink clank clink* “A fight? Someone’s fighting in there…”
----------------------------------------
Meanwhile, Carol was exchanging blows with the green-haired demon. Getting hit with a chair had her reeling for a bit, but she was more pumped than ever. This was her opportunity to prove to herself and to the world just what she’s capable of. She wasn’t about to lose to anyone.
I see now… He’s a mace user. It’s better than fighting someone with two swords, but he’s skilled. The handle is impossibly tough. It’s made out of wood, but I can’t seem to cut it no matter how hard I hit it. What a strange material. My sword keeps getting stuck… I see what Iroha meant now. Demons can’t be underestimated…
“Not bad for a human.” His downward swing had just gotten blocked when the man opened his mouth. “So you’re the princess’s secret weapon that had everyone quaking in fear. You’re pretty good, but you’re no match for me.”
Secret weapon? Carol was surprised. He’s probably talking about Iroha… How the hell did they learn about us? “Sorry, but that’s not me.” Carol put her strength into her sword and pushed back his mace. “The ‘secret weapon’ went after your boss. She probably cut off his head right about now.” Carol grinned, and the demon laughed in response.
“You serious? Lucky me! She’s just making my ascent that much easier!” That was an unexpected reaction. He swung again, and she blocked. He then tried to grab her with his free hand while their weapons clashed. How annoying.
Carol jumped backwards to escape the man’s grasp. That was exactly what he wanted, and he immediately gave chase. He grabbed another chair as he got closer and swung it down at her. “What a savage…” Carol cut the chair with her sword and got ready for a follow-up attack. The chair practically exploded, then Carol blocked a hit coming in from a bad angle. The weight of the mace knocked her sword away and left her defenseless. “You wanna fight like a savage…” I’ll fight you like a savage!
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Carol used the furniture to her advantage as well and ran behind a table. The demon had no intention of giving her time to recover. He jumped after her and smashed his mace down on the table. Carol ran as the table exploded behind her. I gotta do this! I’m killing this guy no matter what! Carol was getting chased. She tossed a chair to slow his chase, and he smashed it. “Now!” Then she turned around with a sword attack. His mace stopped the blade, and the two exchanged blows once more.
This fucker’s a monster… It’s like I’m fighting Katja or Narumi. His movements are not normal. Is his body enhanced? It’s his stats, isn’t it? I don’t really get it, but what a pain in the ass. Am I still too weak? But I can win… I just need the right opportunity… Even if he’s stronger than me, I’ll kill him!
Their exchange ends with Carol at a disadvantage. Carol gets pushed back until her back is up against a counter. He was ready with a swing aimed at her skull, when she threw a bottle from the counter at his face. “Fuck!” He turned his head and closed eyes. That was all she needed. In that instant, she stepped forward and lunged at his chest. “Guh!” Her attack landed, but the man did not fall. After a few steps backwards, he dislodged the sword. “That hurt… You’re gonna pay for that… Don’t think that’s gonna work on me again.”
Why didn’t that work? This really is like fighting a monster. How can he still stand after being stabbed in the chest? Carol threw a second bottle and dashed forward. Just like he had said, that didn’t work. The bottle was hit with the mace, splashing both parties. Carol closed her eyes and stopped in a hurry, but she was left unable to react. “Aaagh!” A heavy impact hit her right shoulder, and she almost dropped her sword. Just like Iroha, her clothes protected her against the worst, but she could barely move her arm to swing her sword.
“Ahahahaha! I got you now! Still trying to resist? Where did all that vigor from before go?” The demon swung his mace down repeatedly, and Carol did whatever she could to hold on. It wasn’t good enough. Her back was up against the wall, and she had no strength left. She fell to the floor. Her right arm was limping at her side, and she weakly held up her sword with her non-dominant hand. “Goodbye!” The demon raised his mace high above his head. He was about to swing when her limp arm moved again. Something was flying straight at his face. “You had another bottle?!” He was surprised but not worried. Smashing the bottle then smashing her head was pretty much a guarantee.
“Dumbass~!” Instead of shattering, the bottle vanished like smoke as it was hit. Before the man could react, Carol was already lunging at him. “Die!” She stabs his chest again, but even that was not enough. He pulled back before the sword pierced all the way through and tried to hit her. “I’m not gonna lose! No way!” With her last bit of strength, Carol dodged and slashed his arm. The mace fell to the floor, and she followed up with another cut to the chest.
“You fucker…” The demon finally falls to the floor, clutching his chest. “The bottle… Was just an illusion… You could use magic all along? You were just playing with us!” He looks up at her while grinding his teeth.
Magic… That’s right… That was magic. I pulled it off… “That’s right… An illusion spell…” Carol could barely talk from the exhaustion. She needed to rest soon. “Though to be fair, that was my first time trying something like that.” She had been training, practicing, ever since she heard it might be possible for her to learn magic. But she had never gotten that far. She caught glimpses of success before, but they were always out of reach. Until today. “I finally did it…”
“*Cough cough!*” A puddle of blood formed on the floor near the man’s mouth. “Just my damn luck…” And his remaining strength left his body.
Carol hazily looked around the room. It was filled with scratches and debris. She was happy to see the results of her hard work. She wiped her forehead again before looking towards the door. After gulping, she raised her sword once more. “Who’s there? You can come out of hiding already!”
“You can put your sword down, Carol. It’s just me.” Flanne shows herself at the door and slowly enters the room. Carol doesn’t lower her sword just yet. The sight of Flanne worries her.
“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you dealing with the explosion? My whole plan’s gonna fall apart if no one’s there to take care of the demons.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m here on my own. Most of the soldiers were sent to the explosion.” Carol hadn’t lowered her guard, but Flanne didn’t really care. She stopped a few steps away from her, far enough that the sword wouldn’t reach her. “Was the explosion your doing?”
“Yeah… It was the only way to take down both bases at the same time. I couldn’t be at both places at the same time, so I used something flashy to make Bea send her forces there.”
“So that’s what you were thinking… You used us to solve half of the problem and took on the other half yourselves. With this base cleared, the problem is officially solved with minimal damages. Bea will be very happy about these results.” After a second of silence, Carol lowered her sword with a sigh. It was obvious at this point that Flanne had no bad intentions. “Is Iroha here too?”
“No…”
“Did she leave already? The mansion was her real goal after all. That was fast of her.”
“Iroha went straight for the mansion. I came here on my own. I didn’t even tell her what my plan was.” Flanne was surprised.
“Wait a second. This is one of their hideouts, isn’t it? You did all this on your own?” Flanne’s gaze turned to the various bodies. Carol nodded in response, with a smug grin almost showing on her face.
…
“Fufufu… You’re a lot stronger than we thought. You’re a lot more like Iroha than you let on.” Flanne giggled while smiling. “Also, didn’t you ask me how to use magic? I saw that last bottle you threw. That was an illusion, wasn’t it? Don’t tell me you actually learned a magic skill in such a short amount of time.”
Carol lavished in Flanne’s surprise and failed to contain her excitement. “What can I say? Don’t underestimate.” She spread her arms in a boastful shrug. Her right shoulder still hurt, but this joy was more important to her. “I told Iroha she could count on me, so there’s no way I’d fail. Whether it’s magic or a savage demon with a mace… It’s all nothing to me.” This is just a starting point. After dragging down the others for such a long time, I finally did it. But I need more. I need to get much stronger. Strong enough that I can be there for Hecate, Narumi and Katja. And strong enough that I can stay by Iroha’s side… The one who trusted me despite my weakness.
Exhaustion washes over her, and the excitement dies down. But that more is for another day… Carol takes a deep breath and looks at the night sky through window, with a wishful look.
I’ve done my part, Iroha. Just like I promised. The rest is up to you.
----------------------------------------
“What the!?” While on top of a tree, a sudden explosion in the city almost made me fall off. “An explosion? Did Carol do that?”
A burst of excitement sent an intense chill down my spine. “If that’s the case…” It’s time to go. “That’s the signal!” Thank you, Carol. I knew you could do it. It’s time to finish this!