— Eris Greyrat —
The crunching of dried-up leaves and branches beneath me, as well as the odd crash and boom here and there from the distant battles, continuously entered my ears as I walked through the forest, my eyes lazily sweeping through the treeline, keeping my senses sharp in case of any surprise attacks as I tried to find my opponent.
But I wasn't too concerned.
After all, unlike the others who needed to be sure to find and encounter the right match up… I was sure that he would come to me.
And from how my skin was beginning to tingle… my hunch was proven right.
I stopped walking as a figure appeared from behind a set of trees, his blue hair having been crudely cut short, and an unkempt beard that matched the wrinkles on his face.
Ha… it seems that age hadn't treated him too well.
"There you are… I assumed you would be on the other side once I heard we would be fighting that gold-haired brat," he said, briefly clearing his throat as he came to a stop, his eyes narrowing at me. "So… you've grown quite a bit… guess motherhood does things to a woman, eh? But can you really still call yourself a swordswoman after abandoning the blade like that?"
My frown deepened.
Abandoning the blade?
What an idiot… the whole reason I wanted to get better at the sword was to protect that very family.
But I guess this idiot who only sought out strength would never understand that.
"Shut up," I replied, unsheathing my sword as I held it forward. "I'll be taking you down now, Gal Farion… As the Sword Emperor Eris Greyrat, the wife of Leon Greyrat the Elemental God, I promise this."
"Hahaha! Not even calling me 'Master', huh? I guess that attitude hasn't changed," he said, shaking his head as he also unsheathed his blade. "But you know… even though that Jino might have beaten me, I was still the Sword God. Do you really think you can contend with me?"
I narrowed my eyes.
When I first heard about the gathered opponents as we were preparing for this battle, I knew that I wanted to fight him… no, I needed to fight him.
To see how far I had grown… to fight a strong opponent that only someone of my strength could face in order to truly help my Leon…
It was a stupid reason, one based solely on pride, but that was just who I was… and since Leon loved me like this, I knew it was good enough.
But still, despite my reasoning, I was a bit worried.
After all, this guy was strong… incomparable to those swordsman back in Millishion.
And even if I wanted to fight a worthy opponent to prove myself, I… really didn't want to die.
I had kids to raise, a husband to bed, and a family to spend my time getting older with, enjoying the warmth of love that I had longed for throughout my entire childhood, and had become addicted to once I found it.
But now, after seeing him in person after so long… yeah, I was pretty sure I could contend with him… and more.
While I still couldn't call myself someone who had reached the epitome of swordsmanship, when I was able to watch Leon train and spar with him every day well, I was able to pick up some things.
And if it was for the sake of my family… well, even Orsted would need to take me seriously.
"Hey, why'd you join those apostles?" I asked, remembering how the Dragon God had said it was very unlikely for him to have been an actual apostle.
So… why?
"Not even gonna answer my question… oh well," he said, shrugging. "And as for joining that group… well, when they offered me a chance to fight against the Dragon God, who was I to refuse?"
The Dragon God?
Right… I remember him rambling about getting beaten by that Orsted back when I was training under him, so maybe it was some sort of revenge… but still, why?
"Why do you care about that?" I asked. "You're much too weak to beat him. I think we both know that. Plus, you came out to fight me."
He simply shook his head, as if I had asked a stupid question.
"Look, brat, I know damn well that I can't hold a candle to that monster, but still… I just wanted to see where I stood after all these years," he said, his face turning serious for a moment before he shrugged it off. "And who knows? I might even be able to grow my skills after facing that guy again, compared to how stupid I was before."
Oh… well, even though it was still stupid, that at least made a bit more sense.
But it didn't answer my question of why he was fighting me… I mean, he had sought me out and not Orsted, so that reasoning was flimsy.
Then again, I guess that didn't matter.
"I see… well, unfortunately, old man, that won't be happening," I said, feeling the strength in my body soar. "Because you'll need to get through me first!"
But despite my confident stance, my aura causing the surrounding grass to pulsate, he didn't seem to care, with the same annoying smirk staying on his face.
"Heh… hahaha! Alright then, girlie, try your best," he said, his smirk turning feral. "But just know I'm not gonna go lightly on you like I did back in the Sword Sanctum. I just hope that you'll act as a good warm-up!"
I felt goosebumps instinctually rise at his power, the wind seemingly morphing around his body through his will as I felt his touki crash against me.
So he was taking me seriously… good.
If he wasn't, then there would be no point.
The two of us remained silent, observing each other for any possible movements that would give away the other's plan, but to no avail.
And then, as if performing a wordless agreement, we both launched forward at the same instant, our blades clashing as we passed each other, quickly reaching the opposite starting points.
To most outside observers, our exchange would have looked like a simple flash of light, accompanied by a crashing boom, before we both appeared across from each other.
A seemingly equal fight.
But they… would be wrong.
"Heh. Guess you aren't there quite yet," he said as I stood up.
Dammit… while it was only small, he had managed to cut my arm as we passed each other… so his speed still a bit faster than mine despite our equal power.
"But still… you've grown quite a bit," he continued as I turned around to face him.
Yeah… he was right.
In terms of pure swordsmanship skills, from that short exchange, I could tell that I was further along than he was, with a more refined and efficient use of touki.
But still… he was faster than me, and in a match like this, against two swordsmen at the pinnacle of the Sword God style… speed was all that mattered.
"Yeah, well… I can't the same," I replied, frowning.
But if I couldn't match him in speed… then I just needed to use my strengths.
The two of us flashed once again, but this time, I loosened my grip on my sword as I raised it to defend, allowing his blade to reach me faster, but simply letting it slide down my sword as I flared my touki, reversing the power of his attack as I lashed out with an attack.
We landed opposite each other again, but this time, I felt just as good as before, and as for him…
"Guh… fucker…" he muttered, bringing his hand up to his shoulder, which had quite the deep gash going across it. "The fuck was that? That was… that was nothing like I taught you!"
Why the fuck was he so mad?
I didn't think he was the type to get his panties in a twist about staying true to the Sword God style.
But still… what was that, he asked?
"Heh… well, you can thank my amazing husband for that one," I replied with a smirk.
A merging of the Sword God and Water God styles… while I couldn't morph them into a technique as perfect as Leon did, I was able to pick up the basics of putting them together thanks to his help, and as a result… well, it was right in front of me.
"Tch… fucking… so you're just weak as well, huh?" he said, his teeth grating in frustration.
…Huh?
This fucker… what was he talking about?
Was he trying to taunt me?
Because if he was… it was working.
"Married to a man, and a womanizer at that, and you say it makes you stronger!? Don't make me laugh, woman!" he shouted, the grip of his sword tightening as his hands began to tremble. "Hey, dumb brat, do you really think he loves you? You think he's worth fighting for, huh!? You think having a bunch of kids makes you stronger, huh!? Bullshit!"
…Oh.
As he rambled on with his sudden burst of rage, I felt my own anger calming down, the frown on my face slackening into an expression of simple disappointment.
I was quite pissed about being called weak.
My strength was one of the few things that I was good for, and while I knew from Leon and the kids that I had other things that made me worthwhile, it was the only thing that was worthwhile to me.
So it was quite important, and I hated having it mocked.
But when he taunted me with Leon and his love… well, I found myself calming down.
Not in the sense of my anger turning calm, no… I was simply not shaken by those words.
Like when a child insults me or when a passing idiot gets angry after I ignored their advances, I simply didn't care because it was so stupid.
Did love me?
Of course, he did.
Ignoring how he always said it to me, I had the marks all over my body from last night to prove that, along with the two kids that were the most amazing physical manifestations of our love.
And as for whether he's worth fighting for… whether our family was worth fighting for… then that wasn't even a question worth giving any time to.
Ars' smile… Alice's giggle… Aria's optimism… Anna's determination… Emilia's yawns… Roana's curiousness… Evelyn's quietness… Athena's kindness and Arthur's resolve…
The sword felt natural in my hands as I crouched down, the feeling of power coursing through my muscles, but this time… it felt slightly different.
Stronger. Faster. More condensed.
This feeling… I liked it.
My eyes narrowed as I stepped forward, the world melting away as I let my instincts take over, my arms raising my sword in the extremely familiar motion as my opponent also readied his blade.
How Sylphy and I often argued good-naturedly. How Roxy would teach me about things I didn't know with a kind voice. How Ariel would tease me good-naturedly…
All of those precious moments with my fellow wives that I had come to view as my close sisters rather than opponents… they were all important.
I briefly felt my blade parry something off to the side as the sound of clashing metal resounded from my left, my body acting on instinct as I twisted my hips in a smooth motion.
And then… there was Leon.
How he held me, kissed me, adored me… how we loved each other, and gave each other the world we always dreamed of.
A beautiful, amazingly wonderful family.
Everything I dreamed of… but it wasn't just my dream.
It was also… my strength.
My sword finished its swing, the world returning to my vision as the fading sound of a thunderclap was met by two wet thunks, causing me to look down to the side, where the former Sword God sat, his eyes wide as blood spread across the ground beneath him.
Ah… and his arms… they were gone.
That was a pretty bad injury, especially for a swordsman.
"F-Fuck… fuck!" he shouted, his body struggling to get up for a moment before he sat down once again, a felled tree supporting him from behind. "Fuck… Shit… Not only did I lose to that Jino, but you as well!? Fucking idiots that chased after love rather than the sword!? You… you fuckers! You don't deserve it!"
So that's what he was mad about… what a dumbass.
Did he think that strength was so important?
Without any reason to use it?
Dumbass.
"Chasing love rather than the sword? I guess that's true… but ultimately, I won because my sword has only grown stronger and more resolute thanks to that love, while you seemingly lost yours the moment you were surpassed," I said, my face twisting in disgust as I looked down at my former master. "Pathetic."
While my sword skills were impressive, they weren't anything special.
Anyone could get to this level with a bit of talent, the right teacher, and a lot of training.
No… it was my love that makes me strong… it was the reason for my constant search for improvement, and the thing that gave me a reason to push past my limits.
I should thank Leon and everyone else when we got back home, and maybe those kids deserved some hugs from their dear mother here too.
My eyes refocused on my former master, his eyes having gone blank as his anger slowly drained from his body alongside his blood.
"You… so… is that it…? Is that 'goal' truly enough…?" he said, his head tilting down in shock as he mumbled to himself. "But if it's more powerful than my own… then what was the point?"
The hell was he on about?
Was it that 'goal' bullshit again? The stuff he tried to preach to Jino, Nina, and me all the way back then?
Anyway, in response to his idiotic rambling, there was only one thing left to say…
"Don't know, don't care." I shrugged.
His head lifted once more, his wide eyes staring at me for a moment, before he suddenly broke out into laughter.
"Ha… hahaha! Gakh-!" He chocked on a mixture of spit and blood. "Yeah… I guess that's just like you, isn't it…? Who the hell would care about the rambling of a dead man…"
Hmph.
What did this loser know about me?
I moved my sword to the side as I gave him one last look.
At least he wouldn't look as pathetic as before in his last moments.
Tch… I guess I could give him this at least.
"Well… goodbye… Master," I said, clicking my tongue at the last word.
A small smirk appeared on his lips as he looked down to the ground.
Not even giving me a response, huh?
I then slashed to the side, cutting off his head in one smooth motion as it toppled to the ground, his body falling limply to the side a moment later.
What a lame final speech… but I guess that wasn't my problem.
I then turned around, my eyes narrowing as the sun shined into my eyes, causing me to raise my hand to block it.
Hmm… Sylphy, Roxy, and the others are still back there, so I guess I should go check how they are doing.
After all, my fight had concluded quite quickly, barely surpassing a minute or two since our first exchange… but that was just like what a battle between Sword God swordsmen should be like.
So let's make sure that my beloved family remained safe.
— Roxy Greyrat —
It had only been a few minutes since everyone else left for their respective battles, and with Orsted quickly breaking off to intercept the Death God, our group set our positions as we waited for the incoming opponents.
Luckily, we didn't have to worry about our targets attacking anyone else, as they would find themselves severely outmatched against monsters like Eris and Leon.
And also… we didn't have to worry about any surprise attacks.
Not with me here, at least.
"They're here," I said, lowering the sensitivity of my demon eye as I spotted the five silhouettes of mana rushing towards us.
"Nice, Roxy," Paul said as he unsheathed his sword, his words carrying the subtle weight of leadership. "Now let's do our part in this, eh? And no dying on me."
When he took things seriously, he was definitely a lot different compared to the man I had come to know… to the point where I could almost understand how he was able to get a woman like Zenith to fall in love with him.
I guess you don't end up leading a legendary S-rank party of misfits without some impressive skills.
With Elinalise and Sylphy at his side, they both prepared their weapons as well, while Sara nocked an arrow as she stood beside me behind the three.
A magician in myself, a swordsman in Paul, a tank in Elinalise, a ranged attacker in Sara, and a general frontline attacker in Sylphy… the perfect party configuration.
Perhaps, this would go quite smoothly.
"Well, well, well… look what we have here, huh? Fancy seeing you two around these parts," a slightly familiar voice rang past the treeline as the other group revealed themselves. "It's been a while… hasn't it, Paul? Or should I call you 'leader'?"
Geese… the former party member of Elinalise and Paul's, and someone I had also been temporarily in a team with during our time in the Begaritt Continent.
And also… he was the one who had brought together over half of our opponents, many of which were next to him right now.
Four swordsmen, with one of them using dual short swords… North God style, perhaps?
And he seemed like the strongest one too, at least from what his presence and my demon eye were telling me.
Luckily, Paul was an instinctual fighter, so he could survive against most attacks that relied on trickery, and Sylphy was practically a North God swordswoman herself with her magic swordsmanship and skills gained from protecting Ariel from assassins.
"You don't get to call me that, Geese…" Paul said, narrowing his eyes. "I had hoped in the smallest part of my head that your letter was a ruse, but I guess that was just wishful thinking, huh? And what was with that anyway?"
The man shook his head.
"Yeah, yeah… well, I didn't expect that the threat would work, but I thought I might as well try to make things easier for me. That guy didn't have any advice for me with that side of things," Geese replied with a shrug.
By 'that guy'… he must have meant the Man-God.
"No… it didn't. But what's with this? A head-on attack? You're usually shrewder with things, but you lacked craftiness with this plan," Paul replied.
"Hey! I'm no tactician, I'm a trickster! And just so you know, I convinced the Death God, the Ogre God, the former Sword God, and these four beside me, so I did pretty well for myself!" Geese said, nodding his head with a confident smirk. "Of course, I didn't expect the current North God to be on your side… but things should still be fine."
He then slowly opened his narrowed eyes, his fingers twitching over his belt that seemed to hold a few tools and weapons.
"So, Paul, as your friend, I'll give you one last chance to run away, along with the rest of you girls," he said, gesturing with his head to the four men beside him, all of them slowly taking out their swords. "While my strength isn't anything to write home about, I got two Sword Saints, a Water Saint, and even a North King here with me… so won't you give it up? I know thanks to Ghislaine that I shouldn't underestimate a woman's strength… but come on."
I watched as Sara, Elinalise, and Sylphy all twitched at the minor provocation.
While not to the level of Eris, I suppose they were quite proud of their strength, but unfortunately for Geese, those taunts wouldn't work on me.
"You already know the answer, don't you?" Paul replied, taking out his magic sword from Begaritt in his other hand, his body crouching down as he prepared for combat.
"Ha… yeah, I do." Geese's hand shot forth, producing a flash of light to blind us as his allies moved in tandem, marking the start of the battle.
I struck my staff against the ground, spreading snakes of ice across the ground before sprouting into a wall in front of my allies as I stepped back, the surrounding air getting a bit colder at my magic.
Of course, despite the impressive speed, such a haphazard defence in front of three Saint-ranked and one King-ranked opponent wouldn't act as more than a slight annoyance, and proving my point, my barricade was shattered but a moment later.
But that was enough, as our team had used the time to recover from the momentary blindness, with Sylphy unleashing a gust of wind towards the North King, causing him to dodge to the side.
His instincts must have been quite good, as the seemingly unassuming wind had the power to slice him in half.
"Hmph. To think I would be fighting not only a woman, but four of them… quite disappointing," one of the Water God swordsman said, his blade locked with Elinalise's.
"Well, sorry to disappoint you boys," she replied, parrying him to the side as she attempted to strike back, only for her blade to slide alongside his.
Befitting the skill of a Water Saint, his sword twisted around the air, bypassing Elinalise's shield as the edge neared her neck.
But…
Clang!
She wasn't alone.
"Like I'll let you," Paul said, his eyes narrowed as he blocked his sword, moving out of the way a moment later as a pair of arrows shot past him, causing the Water Saint to move away once more.
With Paul returning to defend against one of the Sword Saints while dodging the knives that Geese was throwing his way, and Sylphy engaging in combat with the other Sword Saint, I tried to find an opening to use my magic.
I… really hadn't fought against other humans much, as I was more accustomed to fighting monsters in dungeons, and whenever I did fight humans, it was against bandits, none of which being people this skilled.
And unfortunately, training with Sylphy for the past few months wouldn't mitigate the lack of real experience.
"Tch. And aside from this woman, what's with you two? A young woman and a child… what are you doing in a battlefield like this?" the Water Saint spoke up after an exchange with Elinalise, his words causing me to frown.
Was he talking about Sylphy and I?
I… was not a child.
"Hehe. Actually, they're both mothers, believe it or not," Geese commented as he threw a sac towards Paul, a cloud of powder bursting into the air as soon as it hit the ground, with Paul thankfully dodging out of the way.
"A mother? Haha! That's even better!" the Water Saint replied, sending a nod towards the Sword Saint who was frantically blocking Sylphy's thrusts. "Hey! You better not lose to a couple of moms, you got that?"
That guy… he was a Water God swordsman, so he must be trying to make us lose concentration with his provocations.
But unfortunately, Sylphy was much too experienced to let that phase her.
And besides… being mothers didn't make us weak.
In fact, it probably made us stronger.
Shaking my head, I readied my staff as I surveyed the battlefield once more, unleashing a burst of wind to send Geese's projectiles away from Paul as I tried to find an opening in the three swordsmen.
Wait… three?
The Water Saint against Elinalise, the Sword Saint and Geese against Paul, and the other Sword Saint fighting Sylphy… so where was-?
Time crawled to a stop as I felt the coldness of death approach me, the glimmer of steel closing in on my neck from the side as the North King revealed himself.
Where… did he come from?
Dammit… I should have remembered that the North God style was known for being the primary style used for assassinations, so obviously, they had many techniques that used surprise and stealth, even in the heat of battle.
The images of my kids flashed through my mind, both those that I had birthed myself in Aria and Roana, and the others that I was proud to call my children despite coming from a different mother.
And Leon… dammit, and after I had begged him to allow us to join him… was I really about to die and cause him so much grief?
I… promised that we would be happy together… and now… I would be betraying that promise over a stupid mistake.
As I turned my head to meet my impending doom, my eyes widened as a beam of light shot across my vision, the North King being sent flying back as his left arm was cut off at the elbow.
"Roxy!" Sylphy shouted, leaping between me and the North King as I took a hesitant step back, my legs shaky at the close brush with death.
Wait… that beam of light…
I then looked over to the distance, where Orsted was standing firm, his arms dancing in a flurry as he defended the attacks from the Death God.
The Dragon God turned his head towards me after a momentary calm in his battle, his lips thinned in an expression of displeasure.
Ah… I didn't even need him to say what he wanted to, as it was so clear on his face.
'You made me use my mana to save you. Don't make me do it again.'
Right… what the hell was I doing?
I may be a teacher now, and a magician no less, but I was still a former adventurer who was known for clearing dangerous dungeons on my own, and that was before I had learned to cast magic chantlessly.
I needed to focus.
Letting my concentration falter, even for a moment, would prove fatal against these opponents, who would each be one of the strongest parts of a kingdom's forces if they wanted to be.
Find an opening, Roxy… one where your magic could turn the tide of this battle in our favour…
"Why did you do it!" Paul shouted, causing me to look over to see if their side was doing fine. "You're not one to be simply manipulated, so why do you follow that guy?"
With Sylphy switching to fight the injured North King, that meant that Paul and Sara had to fight both of the Sword Saints and Geese.
Luckily, it seemed they were doing just fine despite the added opponent, as one of the Sword Saints had an arrow sticking out of his leg, while the other had a deep gash running across his chest from Sylphy.
"Heh. It's quite simple, Paul. That guy gave me quite a bit of advice in my youth, so I needed to repay my debt. Not doing so would be the biggest 'jinx' around, you know," Geese said with a shrug.
"Repaying a debt… I know your guys' plan. You just want to get that Dragon God involved, don't you? You don't care about winning! Are you really planning for all of you guys to die here!?" Paul shouted back.
"Meh. My life's always been one of danger," Geese replied, shrugging his shoulder as he leaped out of the way of Elinalise's shield bash. "Besides… Orsted already had to use some mana, so we're on the right track, and there's a super strong guy back there that should be able to take out Leon… or at least make Orsted need to intervene."
Damn… so it was my fault that their plan had already worked, although only somewhat.
But Geese… he hadn't seen Leon since we rescued Zenith and Lilia, had he?
No… he must not have, since he could act so confidently.
Honestly… to think there would still be people in this world who would make such an idiotic mistake, which would usually end up being their last.
"Don't… underestimate my husband," I muttered under my breath, pointing my staff forward as I summoned a barrage of icicles to launch towards Geese before turning back to the North King, who Sylphy was thankfully still holding off.
Those three seemed to be doing more than fine, so I could leave them to fight against the three Saint-ranked swordsmen.
And as for me… I would need to help Sylphy fight off the North King.
Under normal circumstances, Sylphy would have already been long dead against him, and even with my help, we would probably be outmatched against such an opponent.
But now that he had lost an arm… well, there was certainly a chance.
And seeing how Sylphy was holding him off on her own…
I unleashed my spell, sending my mana into the ground beneath our opponent as I rapidly changed its form, destabilizing his footing as he took a step back… right into the small puddle of water that had remained from my previous spells.
I acted in an instant, sending another burst of mana faster than I had ever done before, causing the water to quickly turn to ice, encasing both of the soles of his feet and leaving him trapped.
Of course, against a North King, such an entrapment would be no better than a weak string, as he could easily leap out of the ice in but a moment.
But… for Sylphy, who was an Advanced-rank swordswoman with chantless magic, giving her the strength to stand at the pinnacle of Saint-rank warriors… it was more than enough of an opening.
The wind around her blade wailed, and with one single slash, the man's legs were cut off at the knee, only for Sylphy to unleash an explosion with her outstretched hand, the concentrated blast of fire launching point-blank at the man's face, a destroying the top half of his head in a shower of blood that flew backward.
A disgusting sight… this is why I hated fighting people.
"Huu… thank you for the support, Roxy," Sylphy said, taking a moment to breathe as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, before turning to me with a smile. "Even if we're not at Eris and Leon's level, it's nice to know we can still hold our own, right?"
That cheerful smile of hers would feel a lot more adorable if she wasn't holding a sword covered in blood, and there wasn't the mangled corpse of her opponent just behind her.
Honestly… the kids always called Sylphy the 'kind' and 'gentle' one of us mothers, and while that was generally true… just what would they think if they saw their beloved white-haired mother right now?
"Roxy?" she questioned, tilting her head.
"It's… nothing," I said, turning away towards the others. "And as for them… well, I guess we both ended at the same time."
The battle on their side was all but finished.
Two of them had died from arrows, with one sticking out of the Water Saint's eye, and another lodged deep into the Sword Saint's chest, having seemingly pierced his heart.
And as for the last Sword Saint, his throat had been seemingly slashed by Paul's sword, his head dangling by his spine as his corpse remained on its knees.
And as for the last opponent of theirs…
"Ha. Shit… I didn't expect things to go great, but I thought I could at least take out one of you… mess up the morale and all," Geese said, his body pressed against the ground by Paul's knee as Elinalise and Sara stood next to him. "Honestly, aside from these three, shouldn't you two only be good at laundry and cooking? You're making a normal guy like me feel even more pathetic here."
Ah, he was talking about us.
I guess he forgot that Sara was a mother too.
"Unfortunately, once you fall in love with Leon, you can't be content with being normal," Sylphy replied, shaking her head.
"Haha! I guess that's true," Geese said, turning his gaze to Paul. "And what about you, eh? I know you got another son, but yet, you still got it. In fact, Lina there got a family now too… how the hell did that happen, huh? Haha!"
"Shut up," Paul said, rolling him over as I rested his sword against his neck. "Just cut the bullshit and tell me one thing. Is there a chance… no, will you let go of this shit and not be our enemy?"
Geese's playful attitude faded away as he narrowed his eyes at Paul.
"Planning to let me go? You know that wouldn't be the smart thing to do," he said, causing Paul's frown to deepen. "You're an idiot, but not when it comes to this type of thing… so you know what you need to do. And I don't need any pity… I expected this, after all… and with this, I will definitely have repaid my debt."
I watched as Paul's jaw clenched, his sword wavering as it pressed against Geese's neck.
Even Elinalise was wearing a frown as she looked away.
"Paul… he was your party member, right? Do you want me to do it?" Sara asked, her hand reaching down to her short sword as she walked up to them.
"No… you're right that I was his party member, but that is exactly why I have to do it," Paul said, taking a breath as his sword steadied. "As the leader of the Fangs of the Black Wolf."
Geese didn't say anything, not even resisting, as he simply smiled up at Paul.
"Then… goodbye… friend." Geese slowly closed his eyes as Paul raised his blade.
Paul's sword cut through the air, a faint line of light following the tip as it tore through Geese's neck, cutting off his head in a single slash.
To think that the reunification of the Fangs of the Black Wolf, the legendary S-rank adventurer party, would come to such an unfortunate end… and for the final time at that.
But at least, with this… our side of the battle had been won.
Now, Leon… just survive, so we can all go back home.