◇
I weighed our options.
Five thousand behind us. Five thousand in front.
What was the move? Was a frontal breakthrough our only choice?
No, there was another path—the choice to surrender.
"If you surrender, I will spare your lives," the enemy commander called out. "However... every holder of a Master Emblem will be executed."
"............"
I see. So... I was going to die.
For the first time, the reality of it truly sank in. It was a cruel ultimatum. To save my comrades, I would have to die. Or, I could choose to lead them into a battle that would likely end in all our deaths.
A Knight Commander has to make those kinds of choices.
Yesterday, the commanders I had captured had chosen surrender without a moment's hesitation. But looking back now, I wondered how much inner turmoil they had hidden behind that swift decision.
I looked at Flare. She held a Vassal Emblem granted by Gaia. Because she had been given a capacity nearly equal to a Master, she could operate independently for about a month even if her primary source was gone.
I looked at Senior Deskis.
He showed me his left hand.
"A Master... Emblem."
If we surrendered, Senior Deskis would be spared. But I held a King Emblem. They would kill me without a second thought. Zain and all the other higher-ranking knights would be executed as well.
But... the majority of our soldiers would survive.
What was the right answer? I didn't want to die. But I didn't want to be the reason everyone else died, either.
"I won't do it. I'm not surrendering... I'm fighting until the end."
Flare was the first to speak. She was one of the people who would be spared if we gave up, yet she chose to fight.
"Exactly! Well said, Flare! You really are the best woman I know! Isn't that right, men of Arcadia?!"
"SIR!"
The cry went up from the ranks. It wasn't just a matter of two thousand against a thousand anymore. It was ten thousand against a mere eight hundred. It wasn't about whether we could win or not. Even so, they chose to fight.
"Why would you... ow!?"
A heavy palm slammed into my back.
It was Flare.
"Stop wavering, Leo."
She stood beside me, staring straight into my eyes.
"You're doubting yourself. You can't fight like that."
"Flare... but I... I don't know what to do. I want to save you. I don't want everyone to die."
"Good grief. Honestly, Leo, you're insulting us. I'm starting to get angry."
Flare's expression was more serious than I had ever seen it.
"I am Flare Featherfield, daughter of a Five Star Sword. I didn't come to this battlefield to whine about not wanting to die. Look. Look at them."
I turned to the knights behind me. Every single one of them had their swords drawn. They nodded as one.
"You're a genius, Leo, so you might not get it. From your perspective, maybe we all seem weak and fragile. But even so, we want to fight. Right, everyone?"
"Yes! Let us fight by your side until the end!"
"See? They’re knights, too. They’ve been prepared for death from the moment they received their Emblems."
...I had been looking at this all wrong.
I wanted to keep them from dying. I wanted to protect them. But in doing so, I had subconsciously reduced them to nothing more than objects that needed my protection.
Flare included.
I had assumed that no matter how strong she was, I was the one who had to keep her safe.
But I was wrong.
"I see... Sorry. I was wrong."
I ran my hands through my hair and looked up. My left hand began to glow with a brilliant golden light.
"Senior Deskis, I'm leaving the rear to you. Flare, lead the men at the front. Both of you, buy as much time as you can."
"Got it!"
"Leave it to me. And what about you?"
What would I do? The answer was simple. I just had to find my resolve.
There was only one thing left for me to think about.
"I’m going to take down Abeljan."
"Good. That’s my best friend for you."
My only focus now was how to kill that man.
My Sword Aura overflowed, fueled by a determination unlike anything I had felt before. My heart hammered against my ribs, and my pulse accelerated to a frantic rhythm.
It had been four years since I felt like this.
I was standing at the threshold of death.
If I failed, everyone would die.
Embrace the talent.
Embrace the heart and the will.
Embrace everything that matters.
If there is something worth protecting.
If there is someone worth saving.
If there is a conviction worth upholding.
Then grip your sword and cut down the enemy.
After all...
"Everyone, move out! We are going to win!"
"UOOOOOOH!"
...this was a world governed by swords and Emblems.
◇
Abeljan found himself taking an involuntary step back, startled by the sheer pressure of Leo's Sword Aura.
He could hardly believe it.
Through Valzak, Zeno had informed him that the opponent was a mere twelve-year-old child. But Zeno had insisted the boy was a threat, so Abeljan had reluctantly brought ten thousand troops to execute this pincer maneuver.
Because of this, they would almost certainly lose the Eldoro Plains Castle. It had only been captured recently, so a counter-siege would have been possible, but he had abandoned that chance. Osiris would likely identify the castle's structural weaknesses and spend the day reinforcing and upgrading them. Recapturing it later would require an astronomical amount of effort.
Abeljan had been questioning why he was here instead of reclaiming the castle, but now he understood.
He trusted Zeno implicitly. Zeno was the most senior knight in Odixia and Abeljan's own mentor. Even so, he had been skeptical.
Until now.
"Zeno was right. You are worth more than a dozen castles."
Abeljan's entire aura shifted as he locked eyes with Leo.
In the next instant, Leo’s leg whipped upward. Abeljan watched the movement, confused for a heartbeat.
He blinked.
When his eyes opened—
"—!?"
A sword was already inches from his face.
Abeljan threw himself aside, but a thin red line opened across his cheek. He wiped it with a finger. It was blood.
"Is that the Throwing technique you used to take the castle? That speed is otherworldly... I've never seen anything like it."
Leo already had another sword in his hand, ready to strike again.
Abeljan drew his blade, intending to parry the next one. He had seen the move once now; he could time it. Or so he thought.
"What!?"
The second strike was even faster than the first.
Leo’s concentration was plunging deeper and deeper into the zone. It was only at this extreme limit, where life was being ground away to nothing, that his true nature emerged.
"You are... far too dangerous."
His Gifted Talent accelerated.