Chapter 84

Harold forced his feet to remain rooted to the spot, watching the fierce clash of blades unfold. Even as a fretful impatience gnawed at him, he offered a silent prayer for Rainer’s safety. Just hold on a little longer, he urged.

It had been five years since Harold last saw Rainer fight. As things stood, the boy was still a step behind Ventus and Lilium. The fact that he was holding his own against the two of them at once was, in truth, an impressive feat.

But Rainer still couldn't win. The gap in their raw stats was gradually beginning to manifest.

The only reason Rainer hadn't been overwhelmed yet was that both his opponents had limited reach: Lilium by her very nature, and Ventus because he was forced to wield a shattered spear.

Rainer seemed to have realized he couldn't win in close quarters; he was maneuvering skillfully, utilizing long-range attacks to keep them at bay. It was a surprisingly technical style of combat, one Harold wouldn't have expected from the boy’s reckless, headstrong behavior in the game. He was clearly squeezing every ounce of utility out of his current kit.

Even so, it wasn't enough. Rainer could put up a fight, but he couldn't seize victory. Even as the Original Protagonist, if he was too weak—if he lacked the necessary pieces—defeat was inevitable.

Conversely, however, if he were strong enough, if he had the piece he lacked, Rainer could win. And Harold knew exactly what that piece was.

That was why he had guided her here. To deliver the final element that would grant Rainer victory.

(She made it!)

Harold’s right hand clenched into a tight, hidden fist as he confirmed the silhouette of the girl—Colette—tearing through the dense fog to charge Lilium at the absolute last second.

◇

It’s over.

That was the thought crossing Rainer’s mind when a voice that shouldn't have been there reached his ears.

"Seeeeeei!"

A sharp cry, the whistle of displaced air, and the harsh ring of metal on metal. It took Rainer several heartbeats to process what had happened. When he finally grasped the situation, his face was the picture of shock.

"Colette!? Why are you here...?"

"I’ve come to help, Rainer!"

Gripping a tonfa in each hand, Colette stood before the two assailants without a hint of hesitation. A sheer intensity—a fighting spirit unlike anything he had ever seen from her—radiated from her back.

It seemed she had used those tonfas to deflect the dual blades that had been closing in on him. Though the strike hadn't dealt significant damage, the enemies were now clearly wary of this sudden intruder.

Rainer managed to find his voice in the brief opening. "You came to help? But you were so scared..."

"Yeah, I’m scared. I still am."

"Then—"

"But the thought of losing you is even worse! That’s why I decided to fight, no matter how scared I am!"

Her voice trembled slightly, yet Rainer felt no wavering in her resolve.

"Rainer... you’ll protect me, right?"

"……Yeah."

The words were a callback to a promise made when they first met. Back then, Colette had been painfully shy, unable to make friends and constantly terrified of the world. Rainer had made that promise to cheer her up, unable to bear seeing her so frightened.

Now, the roles were reversed. Rainer was the one being protected. The realization was as humiliating as it was grounding, making his reply come out awkward and strained.

"I was spoiled by that promise. I thought as long as you were there to protect me, I didn't have to do anything myself... I’m sorry, Rainer."

He couldn't tell if the tremor in her voice was lingering fear of the enemy or regret for her own past. Regardless, Colette made a loud, clear declaration, as if swearing an oath to the heavens.

"That’s why I’m going to protect you too, Rainer! Today, I’m saying goodbye to the girl who did nothing but lean on you!"

Rainer stared at her in bewilderment, wondering if this was truly the same Colette.

In their daily lives, she had recently become quite assertive, often scolding him for his recklessness. But that was simply the flip side of her cowardice—an aversion to the danger his impulsiveness caused. Colette’s nature was to shun change and peril.

He didn't know the exact cause, but it likely stemmed from her childhood, having fled to this village after nearly losing her life. She craved the maintenance of a peaceful status quo and avoided anything that cast a shadow of unrest. That was the Colette he knew.

And yet, here she was, standing tall against armed enemies to shield him.

When he looked closer, he saw that her frame was still vibrating with a faint shiver.

Of course it is, Rainer realized.

Colette had been trained by his parents alongside him as a means of self-defense. She had always been praised for her form; she had undeniable talent. Even now, she was probably the strongest person in the village after Rainer himself.

But that only mattered if she could actually perform in a real fight. While she was formidable in practice and sparring, she usually froze up against monsters, unable to land a proper blow. His mother, Leona, had said that the fear of pain and the looming possibility of death acted as a mental block on her movements.

There was no way a girl that sensitive wasn't terrified of enemies who were clearly stronger than her. And yet, she had strangled that fear to come here and save him.

Power surged through Rainer’s limbs. If he didn't stand up now, he didn't deserve to call himself a man.

"……Alright. My back is yours."

"Yeah!"

"In return, I’m making sure nothing touches yours!"

The tactical situation remained dire. Yet, strangely, simply having Colette by his side made the idea of losing seem impossible. An elation he hadn't felt since his duel with Harold at the tournament welled up within him.

They exchanged a silent nod, and with that signal, Rainer lunged forward.

"『Fire Dragon』!"

The dragon of flames roared forth again. But this time, it wasn't meant to hit.

Rainer aimed the blast directly between the two assailants. The dual-wielder was forced to dodge left, and the spearman right. He had successfully split them up.

Seizing the opening, Rainer and Colette ignored the spearman and charged the dual-wielder in tandem.

The spearman was wielding a broken weapon and carrying the heavy stolen crate; the dual-wielder was at full strength. Logic suggested targeting the weakened foe first, but Rainer’s gut told him otherwise: If we take out the dual-wielder, the fight is over.

On paper, it was now two-on-two. But since both enemies were individually superior, a fair clash would end in their defeat. Their only hope was to create a two-on-one window to eliminate the faster threat.

"Haa!"

Rainer unleashed a horizontal sweep. The dual-wielder hopped back to evade, but Colette had already overtaken Rainer. Using the centrifugal force of her spin to build momentum, she swung her twin tonfas in a blurring arc.

A sharp clang rang out. The dual-wielder crossed his blades to block the impact.

The force of the blow lifted the man off his feet. Realizing that taking the hit head-on would shatter his swords, the dual-wielder had intentionally jumped backward to dissipate the kinetic energy.

However, once he was airborne, he could no longer use his superior speed to maneuver. Seizing the moment the dual-wielder was robbed of his evasion, Rainer unleashed his most powerful technique.

"『Soaring Roar』!"

The sword swung with such velocity that it left a trail of afterimages. The impact shattered the dual-wielder's weapons instantly, but the true devastation followed. A shockwave generated by the high-speed swing struck with a physical roar, overwhelming the man’s resistance. He was sent flying into a rock face, collapsing in a heap as he slid to the ground.

From the look of it, he was either unconscious or too broken to rejoin the fray.

"Rainer, look out!"

Before he could even catch his breath, Colette’s warning pierced the air. The spearman was closing in from behind with a ferocious thrust from his broken shaft.

Rainer knew instantly he couldn't dodge in time. He barely had time to bring his sword up to guard when Colette intercepted. She slammed the side of the spear with her tonfa, knocking the weapon off-course. The thrust roared past Rainer’s ear, narrowly missing him. Without flinching, Rainer closed the distance and circled behind the spearman.

"I’m taking this back!"

Balance broken by the redirected thrust, the spearman couldn't stop Rainer from snatching the crate containing the Sacred Sword from his back.

Rainer felt the solid weight in his hands. This sword was the proof that his parents—who were notoriously strict regarding his training—had finally acknowledged his growth. To Rainer, it was worth more than the metal it was made of; it was his pride.

He had been desperate to reclaim it. But in the moment of his triumph, a fatal lapse in concentration occurred.

Suddenly, the weight vanished from his hands.

It happened so fast that Rainer’s mind blanked. He thought for a split second that he’d dropped it, but there had been no sound, no impact.

Then, a crushing pressure washed over his back—a presence that hadn't been there a second ago.

Rainer spun around. Standing there was another figure in a black robe, face hidden. This newcomer, clearly an ally of the thieves, now held the sword crate Rainer had just reclaimed.

"Wh-Who are you!? Give that back!"

"……"

The figure didn't even acknowledge Rainer’s threat. Instead, as if Rainer weren't even there, he handed the crate back to the spearman. The spearman dropped his broken weapon, shouldered the crate and his fallen comrade, and vanished into the thick fog.

"Wait!"

Rainer tried to give chase, but the third man stepped into his path.

With agonizing slowness, the man drew a sword from his waist. It was a plain longsword, the kind found in any common armory.

And yet, to the two teenagers, it looked like a weapon of pure malice. They realized instinctively that the terror didn't come from the blade, but from the man holding it.

Even without crossing swords, they knew they were outclassed. This man radiated a pressure that made the previous two seem like children.

(Can we even touch this guy?)

The sense of empowerment Rainer had felt earlier was still there, but even with Colette by his side, he couldn't visualize a single path to victory.

Cold sweat drenched his skin. In that moment of hesitation, the man moved.

In the blink of an eye, the longsword-user was standing behind them.

"Wha—!?"

Rainer and Colette scrambled to put distance between them.

The man didn't follow up, despite the opening. He simply stood where he was, his posture screaming that he could end their lives whenever he felt like it.

It was an insurmountable wall of strength. Rainer fought to keep his spirit from breaking, but in the face of a genuine threat to his life, his body refused to obey.

If they wanted to live, they had to run. But running meant losing the sword forever, and there was no guarantee they could even get away. Rainer gritted his teeth and made the only choice he could.

"Colette, run."

"What!? What about you!?"

"I’ll hold him off!"

It was the only way to ensure she survived, though he had no delusions about how long he could last.

"I’m not leaving you!"

"Just go!"

"No!"

As they argued, the longsword-user finally took action.

As if pulled by invisible wires, his body floated into the air. He leapt backward onto a high rock, then vanished again.

Is he behind us? They spun around, but the man was gone. Suddenly, the sound of crumbling stone echoed from the mist. It was a rhythmic, repeating sound that grew faster and faster.

The fog was thick, yes, but even so, the man’s speed was beyond the limit of human sight.

It was exactly like facing Harold.

For a heartbeat, a wild theory flashed through Rainer’s mind, but he buried it instantly. There was no logic to it—only the emotional certainty that Harold, his friend, would never do this.

As he struggled with his thoughts, the man’s presence vanished entirely. The rhythmic sounds stopped.

A silence so heavy it made his own heartbeat sound like a drum took its place. Rainer and Colette strained every sense to find him.

Seconds stretched into an eternity of silence.

Then, the click of a pebble hitting stone came from behind. Reflexively, they both turned.

The pebble rolled weakly to Rainer’s feet.

A distraction! The thought hit him at the same time as the killing intent from behind. Rainer closed his eyes, certain his life was over.

But instead of the cold bite of steel, there was a sharp, metallic ring, a muffled groan, and then—

"Know your place, you small fry."

The voice was lower than he remembered, but hauntingly familiar.

Dazed, Rainer could only stare at the back of the man who had stepped in to shield them.

He was tall—nearly 180 centimeters—with black hair that stood out sharply against the white mist. He gripped a sword in each hand.

"Do not presume to stand in my way."

Above all, it was the tone—haughty, biting, and looking down on the world from an unreachable height.

Rainer had spent years chasing this man. His friend, his rival, and the milestone he had spent his life trying to reach was standing right there.