Theo nearly lost his cool. “… This is a ridiculously serious situation!”
The Magic Kingdom, Meltor, was proud of its Tower Masters, and Tower Master Veronica was known as the strongest and most famous. She was a monster who was on the same level as the 1st and 2nd Swords of the empire.
The red dragon blood in her veins meant that Veronica didn’t have the typical physical weakness of a magician. A preemptive attack from the strongest person in Meltor was nothing short of declaring war on the whole empire.
It wouldn’t be strange if a war had started immediately on the spot!
Furthermore, the Andras Empire had also sent their strongest representative, the 1st Sword. If the strongest representatives of Meltor and Andras were to battle, there would be no delaying the war. Either Veronica or the 1st Sword would die, destroying the balance of power that had kept all the kingdoms in check.
“Well, don’t get too excited and listen until the end.” However, Aquilo was still relaxed as she began to relate the story. “It was a fairly good surprise, but neither one of them died. That crown prince wasn’t bad either when he used his strange ability. It is either Distortion, Interference, or Refraction.”
Theo murmured, “Aura Ability…”
“Anyway. Regardless of whether he knew that Red would react or not, he stepped forward and said it. Then―”
***
Kwaang!
Prince Fermut didn’t even see the punch that decked him. If he hadn’t instinctively thrown up a layer of aura, the fist would’ve gone right through his head instead of leaving him with a nosebleed and a disgraceful tumble into the walls.
Space itself had shimmered in the wake of that punch. Someone else would have been proud of surviving a blow from Veronica, but Fermut was clearly not of that opinion.
“You human dragon bitc-! How dare you lay your filthy mongrel hands on this prince’s body?!”
Everyone, with the exception of his father, the emperor, had always acted with extreme respect toward Fermut. He was not only the crown prince, but a warrior who had the power to be the Empire’s 3rd Sword. Only the 1st and 2nd Swords were above him.
He couldn’t even remember the last time he had shed blood. Fermut’s eyes filled with killing intent as he held his nose, which had turned crooked from the blow.
“―You got lucky.” Veronica didn’t pay him any attention as she flicked the blood off her fist. “That was instinctive. You would’ve been halfway across the horizon if I hit you properly. I’m sorry.”
It was true. She had registered Fermut’s mouth moving, and before Veronica realized it, she was already punching him. It was like hitting a fly that had flown right in front of her. ．𝚌ｏ𝚖
As a result, neither Fermut or the 1st Sword had been able to respond in time. Veronica had lacked any intent, and her fist had been the embodiment of ‘absence of self’, which had slipped it past their battle instincts. Then again, she would’ve been blocked if she had tried to kill him.
In any case, it didn’t matter. Veronica regretted that she hadn’t been able to kill Fermut with that blow. Both reason and instinct told her that Fermut had ordered Theo’s assassination.
She decided. “I thought I should leave it to the boy to kill you, but… I can’t endure it anymore. I’ll kill you here.”
A furious Fermut snarled, “What garbage are you spouti- Gah!?”
Huk.
The air three centimeters in front of Fermut’s face suddenly rose to superheated temperatures. If someone hadn’t yanked him backward, his head would’ve been turned to ashes. His instincts started crying out one beat too late. He absolutely shouldn’t fight this monster.
As the heat from the flame sword started to fill the space, the greatest magician of Meltor glared at her enemy. “Do you intend to interrupt, 1st Sword?”
“… I don’t want to be hostile to you here.”
His dark hair fell around his evergreen eyes as Andras’ other representative took a step forward. The Empire’s 1st Sword, Crowd von Russell, looked like he was in mid thirties despite a career that spanned half a century. In the era that lacked grandmasters, he was the only one who could claim to be the strongest swordsman on the continent.
He inclined his head. “This isn’t the place to fight. How about we end today’s talks here since they aren’t working out?”
“What? Sir Russell! This is too shameful!” Fermut beat Veronica out in protest. “This half-breed mongrel threatened a prince of the Andras Empire, this Fermut! This meeting was also agreed upon under the tacit promise of non-aggression! We can’t leave this insult alone!”
“Your Highness,” Crowd von Russell cut off the enraged Fermut firmly. He bowed politely and whispered at a volume inaudible to the Meltor representatives, “If you fight here, both of us will die. If you don’t understand the situation, just follow me.”
Fermut’s eyes widened. “… Huh?”
“You can’t tell?” Crowd von Russell glanced at Aquilo, who was standing next to Veronica.
Aquilo smiled in amusement.
I used a disguise, but I guess my identity came out anyway. Does he think it’s too much to deal with me and Red at the same time?
The swordsman’s judgment had evaluated Aquilo as a dangerous monster in her own right. Her strength didn’t pursue the peak of violence like Veronica, but rather, depth. In her own way, despite not being a duelist like Veronica, Aquilo was a wild card capable of killing a giant.
If Veronica were here alone or with the White Tower Master, Crowd would’ve chosen to fight. However, he couldn’t win against both Veronica and Aquilo. He might have evaluated things differently if the 2nd Sword had accompanied them, since Prince Fermut wasn’t quite at the same level yet. However, fortunately, Crowd saw that Aquilo had no plans of being proactive, so there was room to retreat.
Indeed, Crowd’s judgment was correct.
“… Tch,” Veronica clicked her tongue when she realized the situation.
Aquilo enjoyed seeing Veronica’s frustrated expression and whispered in her ear, “I have no intention of attacking people who are running away. What will you do? I might consider something if the boy was in my arms, but of course, I will refuse if you ask me.”
“Shut up, you damn pirate.”
It was a delicate situation. Meltor would dominate if Aquilo joined in, but it would be disadvantageous if she didn’t. Veronica didn’t know what to do; however, she didn’t want to just let them go. She looked at Fermut murderously as she came up with a compromise.
“Hey, number 1.”
Crowd replied, “What is it?”
She growled, “Get that piece of shit away from me before I change my mind. I won’t chase you.”
“I will do so.” Crowd immediately turned to retreat.
In some ways, this could be called his victory. Andras was in a disadvantageous situation, yet Meltor couldn’t kill them despite their superior firepower. It was also a bonus that they identified the wild card known as Aquilo.
“… Huh?”
But Crowd had missed something, and that moment of carelessness caused his reaction to be one beat too late. Veronica had said she wouldn’t chase them, but she never said anything about not attacking. ―――――――――――!!!
The Infernal Blade struck the ground, causing a massive explosion. The swordmasters, who were wide open targets, were subjected to a merciless magical bombardment as a firestorm hounded the Infernal Blade’s heels, melting the ground away. The explosion burst outward before disappearing.
Clouds in the distant sky were torn apart, while a few unlucky, sleeping sandworms ended up dying without so much as a chance to escape. The few birds in the sky were blinded instantly. If they were lucky, they would die before struggling with the pain.
It was truly a transcendent level of destruction. The grassy plains now looked like a scene from hell. It would take a few centuries for the scorched earth, burned to a depth of a few hundred meters, to heal. The name of the most destructive of the magic attributes was not for show.
And it had all come from a single magician.
“Sigh, couldn’t you have warned me first? You savage,” Aquilo, who had instantly leaped into the sky, grumbled as she looked at the distant horizon. “Those guys avoided it surprisingly well.”
A dragon’s eyes were naturally sharp. As such, Aquilo noticed that the two swordmasters didn’t seem injured as they fled.
Veronica’s robes flapped in the aftermath. “I can’t kill them anyway. If the 1st Sword could be taken out with this level of a surprise attack , the war would’ve long since ended. It would be more strange if it was effective.”
Aquilo glanced at her. “Then why did you attack?”
Veronica huffed. “I just wanted to vent. I didn’t want to just sit down and do nothing like you.”
She sighed as she stared into the distance. She had wanted to bury him here, but the 1st Sword had been too fast.
As such, the talks ended without any conclusions.
***
“Crazy.” Theo held his head in both hands as Aquilo finished the story.
It was fortunate that Veronica hadn’t gotten hurt in the talks, but it couldn’t be called a positive outcome. The northern powers had taken a step toward a war. No, this had happened a month ago, so there was a chance that war had already begun. Theo’s mind went blank.
Aquilo smiled at him as she enjoyed the funny sight. She might not always show it, but Aquilo was essentially an evil dragon. She enjoyed watching mortals agonize and struggle. So, despite her goodwill toward him, she enjoyed the sight of Theo’s agitation.
A few minutes of silence passed by before he spoke. “… Aquilo.”
Theo raised his head. Aquilo saw his determined eyes and laughed, “Yes. Do you have something to ask this evil dragon, boy?”
For her, Theo was a hero. He had used Aquilo’s power to dismantle the Pirate Archipelago, instead of fulfilling his desires. He should have been standing against Aquilo, who existed as an evil dragon. Yet, a just hero was currently asking an evil dragon for help. This situation caused a thrill to run down Aquilo’s spine.
Unaware of her wicked thoughts, Theo said, “I will pay anything. Please let me borrow your strength and take me back to Meltor via the shortest path.”
“Any… thing?” Aquilo bit the pipe in her hand in delight as she licked her lips.