Who Is the True Enemy?

"Princess Iris..."

Beatrix stared at Iris, her face wearing an expression that practically screamed she had some tragic, heroic monologue prepared.

"I know," Iris said, forced a smile that didn't quite hide how much she was eating dirt. "I know I’m completely outclassed..."

She turned her gaze toward me, her eyes burning with the kind of resolve you only see in protagonists right before a power-up.

"But I can’t just walk away. I can’t let him trash the Bushin Festival and skip town like he owns the place. Not without doing something. I have my pride. For myself, and for the Midgar Kingdom..."

She glared at me, her grip tightening on her sword.

"I’ll stop Shadow’s movements even if it costs me my life. Lady Beatrix, use that opening to finish him!"

"...Understood. I’ll follow your lead," Beatrix replied, syncing her presence with the princess.

The two of them stood before me, their eyes burning with Ki.

Nice. This is the stuff of legends. The desperate two-on-one struggle against the overwhelming final boss.

"Come then," I said, lowering the tip of my blade into a casual defensive stance. "Show me how you struggle."

Iris began to creep forward, inching into my range while looking for a gap. For a while, the only sounds were the steady rhythm of the rain and the occasional crack of thunder.

"At the very least, I’ll take a piece of you with me!"

Iris made her move at the exact moment a massive bolt of lightning illuminated the Arena.

She lunged, aiming that longsword of hers straight for my throat. I took a simple half-step back, putting me just outside her reach. I was already preparing my next move, expecting her to overextend, but then she surprised me.

She let go of her sword.

By tossing the hilt forward, she managed to forcibly extend her reach by a few crucial inches. Oh, clever. I’ll give her points for creativity.

I snapped my movement into a different gear, pulling my blade back from its counter-path to deflect her flying sword. It looked like her little gambit had failed—or so a normal person would think.

Instead, she used her forward momentum to dive low, reaching out for my waist. She was going for a tackle, her Ki flaring with the desperate intent to pin me down no matter the cost. It was a solid move; I didn't really have the space to dodge.

"Splendid," I muttered.

The next second, my knee slammed directly into Iris’s face.

She really should have done her homework. Hand-to-hand Combat is actually my greatest specialty.

Iris’s body went limp as she collapsed, but she’d technically done her job. By throwing that knee, my movement had "stalled" for a fraction of a second.

And for an elite like Beatrix, a fraction of a second was all the invitation she needed.

"Haah!"

Beatrix’s blade came screaming toward me. She slammed her longsword into my Jet-black Blade with every ounce of strength she possessed.

The impact was thunderous. I let the momentum carry my blade, my hand, and my entire arm out of position, making it look like she’d successfully broken my guard. I looked completely wide open—a total sitting duck.

It was the perfect "death blow" window. Beatrix moved for the follow-up with blistering speed.

However, I was just a bit faster at letting go of my sword.

I ditched the blade and vanished from her line of sight.

"Below!?"

I dropped into a low crouch, moving like a shadow across the floor to grab Beatrix around the waist. Compared to Iris’s desperate tackle, my move was a masterpiece of fluid efficiency. We were now way too close for her to use that longsword.

I hoisted the legendary warrior up and slammed her into the ground.

"Kah...!"

The stone paving shattered under her. I heard the air leave her lungs in a sharp gasp. Even so, she managed to find just enough room to swing.

In her hazy consciousness, Beatrix lashed out with her sword. I didn't bother dodging; I just picked her up again, slammed her down a second time, and released her mid-throw.

Beatrix’s sword swung through empty air as she went flying, crashing into the Arena wall with a violent thud. She hit hard enough to leave a human-shaped crater in the masonry.

Then, a sharp whistling sound echoed as something dropped from the sky. I reached out and caught it without looking. It was my Jet-black Blade.

Perfect timing. Just like I calculated.

A flash of lightning illuminated the two of them lying broken on the floor. The sight of the kingdom’s strongest duo being utterly dismantled by a single man was enough to strike pure, unadulterated terror into the hearts of everyone watching.

"...It’s over," I said, glancing at the fallen pair before turning on my heel.

"W-wait..."

I stopped.

"I... I can still fight..."

Iris dragged herself to her feet, her steps shaky and uneven. Following her lead, Beatrix pushed herself out of the rubble.

"Me too..."

The two swordsmen stood their ground, looking like tragic heroines at the end of their ropes. I gave them a brief glance and kept walking.

"Wait! Are you running away!?" Iris shouted.

I stopped again. "...Running away?"

In the next instant, I let my Magic Power explode. A brilliant Bluish-purple Light dyed the entire Arena.

"Wha—!?"

"No..."

An overwhelming Torrent of Magic Power erupted from my body, swirling around me in a massive spiral. The sheer pressure of it vaporized the falling rain instantly.

"No way... Is this... his true power...?"

"This is... impossible..."

Iris and Beatrix just stood there, frozen. They finally realized that if I actually felt like it, I could erase this entire Arena—and everyone in it—from the face of the earth. In the face of this kind of power, they were all equally insignificant.

"Where is the need... to run?" I asked.

No one could stop me. I made sure they understood that fact deep in their marrow.

"Why...?" Iris asked, her voice trembling. "If you had this much power... you could have killed us whenever you wanted."

"I have achieved my objective. I have no interest in your lives," I said, drawing the Bluish-purple Magic Power into my blade for the grand finale. "We only slaughter our enemies..."

I gave Iris one last look.

"Do not lose sight of the True Enemy."

Then, I unleashed the mana into the sky. The dazzling light engulfed the Arena, the Royal Capital, and the heavens themselves, blowing the storm clouds into oblivion.

When the light finally faded, the sky was a clear, perfect blue.

I was gone.

The clouds, the rain, the lightning, and the man called Shadow... it was as if the last few minutes had been nothing more than a fever dream.

"Do not lose sight of the True Enemy... Shadow, who are you, really...?"

Iris looked up at the vast, empty sky, whispering the words I’d left behind. She was probably wondering about my "true" goals and who this "True Enemy" actually was.

"So pretty..."

High above, a massive rainbow arched across the sky.

Yeah, the rainbow was a nice touch. Very cinematic.