The Sword Demon wasn't fleeing; it was being driven back.
It was being pushed by the blinding flash Licia had unleashed, and by the inferno Ren had released while she was unconscious.
Ren heard the grating sound of the creature struggling to its feet.
Another divine statue crumbled from the impact of the Sword Demon’s collision. Even as it knelt, using its greatsword to ward off falling debris, its will to fight remained unbroken. It slowly stood, tending to its body where the light had pierced through its form.
—“...Ren, please... just you... stay safe.”
The memory of the hills beyond the forest resurfaced—the battle against the Mana Eater. Licia had said those words when she was being overwhelmed by the monster after Jelququ had forcibly broken its seal.
He had almost let history repeat itself.
Even though he had vowed to become stronger, the realization of his own inadequacy tasted like ash.
“Licia, please wait here.”
He wasn't arrogantly claiming he could finish the fight alone. He was simply worried about her; she had only just regained consciousness, and he wanted to give her even a few seconds of rest.
That said, the conviction that he could finish this himself wasn't entirely absent. The strength of the Holy Magic coursing through him, more powerful than ever before, emboldened his heart.
Ren chose the Iron Magic Sword over the Flame Magic Sword. It felt the most natural in his hand when executing Strong Sword Arts.
“Will you believe in me and wait there?”
The answer was already written in stone. Since a long, long time ago—ever since the day their flight together began—there hadn't been a single moment where she hadn't trusted him.
Licia spoke to his back, her voice clear and resonant.
“I’ve believed in you with everything I have, for a long, long time.”
Those words gave Ren the courage he needed.
The Time Cage was already failing. The fog had thinned significantly. The moment the seal would shatter was imminent, which meant their path to the outside world was almost open.
“Don’t think a two-on-one is unfair. This is a fight to the death.”
Images of his academy life flickered through Ren’s mind. As expected, his life was destined to be punctuated by these kinds of struggles. He didn't necessarily want to spend his days in constant combat, but unfortunately, he felt most like himself when he was in the middle of a fight like this.
『His Majesty... s... !』
The demon was missing an arm, and its armor was a ruin of jagged metal. However, it was far from finished. As a General of the Demon King’s Army, it possessed a tenacity that matched Ren’s own. As if to prove its resolve, the Sword Demon sprinted. It moved with a divine speed that surpassed all its previous movements, kicking up paving stones in its wake. More ferocious than a dying beast, it poured every remaining drop of its essence into the fluctuations enshrouding its greatsword.
Sparks erupted every time their blades clashed, the dispersed mana creating a brilliant, dazzling spectacle. The Iron Magic Sword showed no signs of breaking now.
—‘I wonder... if the end of my path as a swordsman would be reaching the rank of Sword King.’
He had first spoken of it with Lezard at the Clausel Manor, and later with Radius. On both occasions, Ren had only been able to say it might be nice, never fully committing to the idea. He had been holding himself back, assuming he would eventually hit a ceiling. He had built defensive walls around his heart, using passive language to protect himself from disappointment.
—‘The essence of the Strong Sword, as the Lion King proclaimed on the battlefield, is "Star-Cleaver, Looking Up at the Black." If you wish to become a Sword Saint, see to it that you never, ever forget this.’
Estelle had told him that once.
The greatsword grazed Ren's cheek, drawing blood. He grit his teeth. He pushed his mastery of the Enshroud technique to its absolute limit, wielding the energy as naturally as breathing.
『...!?』
At that moment, Ren began to push the Sword Demon back for the first time.
While the enhancement from the Holy Magic played a part, Ren was evolving in the heat of this life-or-death struggle. He unleashed a flurry of strikes that left the demon no room to breathe. The Iron Magic Sword began to flicker with a faint, black mana.
“I’m going to go as far as I have to. I’m going to get stronger.”
『Ooooooh!』
“That’s why I will win!”
He raised the black-shrouded Iron Magic Sword above his shoulder, leveling the tip at the Sword Demon. Ren turned to face his foe, and the demon froze, stunned.
“Besides, right now, I don't feel like I could lose.”
『...!』
The Sword Demon’s demeanor shifted instantly. The supreme aura of the strong now emanating from the boy—who it had previously deemed beneath its notice—was unmistakable. This awakening was an anomaly. Even for a General of the Demon King's Army, the pressure was undeniable.
『For His Majesty—』
It had its pride. Its loyalty to the Demon King was a stubborn, unyielding force.
『—In His Presence!』
It roared the words it had repeated throughout the battle, enshrouding its entire greatsword in a violent surge of energy. It abandoned the reinforcement of its armor, pouring every scrap of power into a final attack. It no longer looked like a mere monster; it possessed the dignity of a fallen knight.
Ren, too, was no longer just a boy.
(Let’s go, Ren.)
He took a sharp breath and lunged.
The two combatants crossed paths—and in the next heartbeat, the scene shifted.
With a heavy metallic clatter, an armored arm and a shattered greatsword fell to the paving stones. In that split second of intersection, the Iron Magic Sword had sliced through them like paper.
The Iron Magic Sword remained intact in Ren’s hand.
“...Still not enough power, huh?”
He had manifested that strength by focusing the image in his heart. Of all the Arts Ren knew, this one boasted an offensive power that stood alone. It was the sheer, brutal irrationality of the Strong Sword. It had no special effects like Star-Cleaver; it was built on the single, foundational concept of being strong. What a Sword Saint demonstrated was absolute, undeniable destruction.
It was the Sword Saint’s Proof.
Ren couldn't fully control it yet, but he had manifested a fragment of its power for a fleeting moment. Though he couldn't replicate the feat immediately and the black mana had vanished from his blade, it had done its job.
Looking at the Sword Demon, the outcome was certain. An end was finally coming to the creature that had seemed immortal.
『—I shall... offer my body...』
Maimed and broken, the Sword Demon gripped its greatsword with its remaining two arms. With a guttural scream, it plunged the blade deep into the ground.
Light erupted from beneath the shattered stones, and the earth began to tear apart. Roses Kaitas was collapsing. Ren sprinted toward Licia just as the ground beneath them disintegrated.
“Licia! Take my hand!”
“...Yes!”
He grabbed her hand, but the entire plaza was falling into an abyss. The Sword Demon’s final exertion was destroying the terrain itself, sending them plummeting into the depths. The demon remained kneeling above, watching them fall.
Even as they tumbled through the air, the Sword Demon manipulated the surrounding rocks to crush them—the same power that had blocked their escape earlier.
As Ren sliced through the falling debris and the lightning dancing in the air, Licia spoke.
“I’m okay now. Let me fight with you.”
“...Are you sure?”
“I am. I won't lie to you and cause trouble, not now.”
Ren looked into her eyes and nodded.
“...Understood. But don't push yourself too far.”
“I promise.”
There was no time to think about the aftermath. The only thing that mattered was ending this. As they prepared for the final exchange—
『Ash... ton...』
“What... what did you just say!?”
Ren hadn't given his name. Both of them were stunned to hear the Sword Demon utter "Ashton."
But there was no time for questions. Ren tightened his grip on his sword. Using the falling rubble as footholds, he closed the distance. The Sword Demon abandoned its blade, lashing out with raw, desperate surges of mana.
They reached the creature. When it tried to strike with its massive arm, Licia blocked the blow. Just before the demon could swing its other limb, Ren roared.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
He drove his blade through the Sword Demon’s chest. The sound of a Mana Stone shattering echoed from within the black armor.
Despite the destruction of its core, the demon used its remaining strength to pull the rocks toward Ren in a final attempt to take him with it.
“It’s still moving!?”
“It’s at its limit! This is the end!”
“—Right!”
Suddenly, the sword in Ren’s hand was bathed in a brilliant radiance. He had been too focused to notice, but particles of light had been streaming into his bracelet from the moment the Mana Stone shattered.
- Mithril Magic Sword (Level 4: 1900/6500)
By absorbing the Sword Demon’s stone, the weapon had reached its next evolution. It transformed in his hand, its name and shape shifting. The light from above illuminated the blade; the dark iron had been replaced by a stunning azure, the color of lapis lazuli.
“Ren! With me!”
The General of the Demon King’s Army was finally cornered by the boy and the girl.
“This is the end, Sword Demon!” Ren cried.
“This is the end!” Licia echoed.
Ren swung his evolved Magic Sword, and Licia leveled Byakuen.
In its final moment, the Sword Demon reached out with a trembling hand, its voice a faint rasp.
『O... Descendant... of the... Divine Child...』
The Sword Demon vanished into nothingness, leaving only its shattered armor behind and its final words a mystery.
The battle of Roses Kaitas was over.