"This is our last chance. We’re out of room to maneuver, and the Knights are tapped out too."
Unless AE can handle the mass-produced units pouring in, the Knights won’t be able to deal with the higher monsters.
And if the Knights can’t hold back the higher monsters, AE won’t be able to handle the mass-produced units either.
If either side gives ground, the battle against Cross Eye cannot be sustained, and this front will collapse. In other words, humanity is finished.
"A-Admiral Norton! A new Heroic Spirit has appeared! Estimated minimum rank: A!"
"W-What?!"
The battlefield, already uncertain to begin with, had just been dealt another blow.
"Damn it!!"
++++
What the hell. The white-haired knight, Rain, thought to himself.
"No way. In the original story, weren’t there only those two Cross Eyes?"
That much was certain. Yes, absolutely certain. Then... had the future changed?
A new higher monster, resembling a black Type-5, had entered Rain’s field of vision. A Heroic Spirit. It had to be a Heroic Spirit. And at the very least...
"A+ rank, no, higher than that!"
He could tell at a glance. That monster was not far behind Cross Eye at all. And somehow, he was even carrying Barisada. Where it had gotten the resources for that, he had no idea.
His mind raced. In the original story, Anne and Frai had been able to take on Alpha and Beta and win. Then...
[Tch. No helping it. Hey, Anne. Frai.]
"What is it, annoying junior?"
[Hey... no, forget it. That’s not the important part. Anyway, I’m going to call the black one Gamma for now. I’ll handle Gamma. You two take Alpha and Beta. I’ll keep them separated.]
At least Frai had been given the Top Sword position after having his sword taken away, so he was technically a junior. Rain let out a snort. No, but these damn Knights really had no flexibility. If you’re going to a battlefield to fight, at least let people carry swords. What kind of nonsense was it to send someone against an SS-rank Heroic Spirit with a trainee’s sword? They could just reclaim it after the battle was over.
"What?! Rain, are you serious?!"
[I am serious, but...]
"Are you trying to die?!"
[Don’t talk nonsense. Do I look like I’m going to die before I even lose my virginity?]
Yes. Tragically, even after reincarnating, he was still a virgin. And he was a Top Sword, no less. A man who had lived more than fifty years combined between his past and present lives.
"Is this really the time for jokes?!"
[I’m serious, but... well, I can’t exactly say don’t worry, but anyway, I’m not planning to die. I’ll buy as much time as I can, so finish them off quickly and come help.]
"Hey, you...!"
It was a lie. Anne thought so. Judging by the aura he gave off, he was at least S-rank. No, forget the aura—once he was carrying Barisada, the S-rank judgment was almost laughable. This was not an enemy Rain could handle alone.
"You idiot..."
[Well, somehow survive after beating those two Cross Eyes and then come ask me to save you.]
"Hey."
[Hm? Frai? What’s got into you?]
"If you die, I’ll kill you myself."
[...Are you sick or something?]
Rain wore a dumbfounded expression for a moment. Anne did too. And for good reason—that was Frai’s own version of concern.
"Want to die?"
[...You’ve grown up. This older brother is moved!]
"What?!"
Maybe he had forgotten the situation, because Frai looked ready to charge Rain. Anne held him back, and fortunately, the now-calm Frai offered his own farewell.
"Anyway, don’t die."
[Roger that~.]
With a grin, Rain drew his two AB Swords. At the same time, a red energy rose and wrapped around his body.
Colored Wave Force, specifically Red Wave. In response to thought-force, the red wave split into two colors and enveloped his body, forcibly boosting his physical abilities.
"All right then. Ready... and fire!"
Despite the playful tone, what happened next was terrifying.
"As they say... the first strike wins the fight!"
Frai-style Charge Technique
Red Meteor Sword
赤色 流星劍
Kwaaaang! A red line was carved across the earth, splitting the valley open.
Frai-style Secret Art
Solar Sword, Twin Swords True Fang
太陽劍 二劍 眞牙
Immediately after, a crimson sphere formed and swallowed Cross Eye Gamma whole. As if that were the signal, the Myer sisters and the two Cross Eyes collided at the same time.
++++
Knight Rain.
What defined him was that he was the young man who rose to become the next Top Sword after Frai Myer was stripped of his knighthood and title of Top Sword for murder. He was a twin-sword user, trusted as one of the "Unfallen." And because he was a descendant of the "Red Woman," he possessed a spirit-type psychic ability, though in battle it was little more than something he could use like telepathy, so his combat power relied entirely on swordsmanship.
And, of course, he was also a reincarnator.
++++
"Hup!"
With a short shout, he joined the hilts of the two swords, Sword 1001 Saturday and Sword 1002 Sunday. Kkrrk. With a grinding sound, the two blades locked together in parallel.
Frai-style Twin-Sword Style
Revolving Heaven Second Form
廻天 二式
"Ha!"
He shouted again and spun the sword, batting away Barisada as it shot toward him in a dozen separate fragments.
Immediately after, he split the two swords apart, held one in each hand, crossed them in an X, and slashed with all his strength.
Frai-style Twin-Sword Style
Nameless Twin-Sword Full-Force Slash
Rumble! As the red-wave-wreathed sword turned hot and red, the mountain behind Gamma was cut cleanly away. But Gamma’s body itself was unharmed.
"Absolute Barrier!"
Was that the ability Peer had used in Frai’s route? It had definitely been something like a conceptual barrier.
Still, because he had wrapped himself in Red Wave, cracks had appeared in the barrier. A moment later, the barrier dropped and Gamma charged in. Barisada, which had been split into fragments, came together again, then split slightly once more, releasing light through the gap.
He crossed his swords and deflected it. He had tried to attack through the opening, but Gamma had already pulled back after releasing Barisada. The weapon was recalled again, and in that brief gap, both sides caught their breath.
Kwaaang! Looks like things were getting pretty flashy over there too.
The battle, which had briefly entered a lull, flared up again. He combined Saturday and Sunday into one sword, took it in one hand, and lunged forward. Gamma charged with Barisada in hand.
He thrust out his empty right hand and fired off a blast packed with Red Wave.
Frai-style Hand-to-Hand Combat
Red Wave Energy Strike: Sixfold Mountain Breaker
赤波氣攻 六合 壞山
Kwaaang!
++++
"What? Evacuate this area? What are you ta—"
Kurrrumble! In one soldier’s view, a perfectly intact mountain was cleanly split into four pieces and collapsed. His pupils shook violently.
"...Get out now!"
And that quick decision saved his life. The moment he climbed into the armored vehicle, started it, and fled, a blue beam pierced straight through the spot where he had been. Considering the ground around it had been gouged nearly a meter deep as well, it was easy to see just how wise his judgment had been. Well, the armored vehicle did get caught in the shockwave, lifted into the air, and rolled a few times.
"Ghk!"
What in the world had they done to make a perfectly fine mountain not just break, but split apart, and send an armored vehicle flying from the shockwave? He was stunned in disbelief.
"...Crazy!"
Exactly one second later, a beam of light pierced the spot he had been standing in again. Hah. This time it was red. Half resigned to his fate, he muttered to himself.
++++
"Ghk!"
The battle had been going on for hours. Damn it, at this rate I’m really going to die! No, not exaggerating—literally!
I was barely holding on, but my body was already badly worn down. On the other hand, those guys were still going strong. Heh. Youth really is nice.
"Damn it all!"
I’d already burned through nearly half my Red Wave. My Blue Wave was still full since I hadn’t used it yet, but Red Wave is what I’m used to! I can use Blue Wave too, sure! But I still can’t handle second-stage dual wave yet!
The difference between what you’re used to and what you aren’t is huge in battle! And switching from Red Wave to Blue Wave takes about 0.1 seconds! Damn it! 0.1 seconds sounds short, but in combat that’s a goddamn eternity! Enough time to get cut to pieces dozens of times over!
++++
"What’s this? You’re not evacuating?"
"Look at this... look."
"Huh? Isn’t that drone footage? Holy crap!"
"What’s going on?"
"They’re... still fighting!"
"What?! Weren’t they all supposed to die...?"
"I’ve seen him on Knight... that knight is definitely... the Top Sword..."
"But... why are they fighting separately?"
"Wait. There are six lights total? Weren’t there supposed to be three knights?"
"No way... another Heroic Spirit showed up?!"
"No, but they’re still fighting!"
++++
"This is..."
"We’ll have to redraw the map. The number of troops already caught in the battle’s shockwaves is substantial."
"Well... we’re not really in a position to complain, though...."
"True enough."
++++
Huff. Taking a short breath, he drew Red Wave up into both swords and swung. Kakakakakang! When deflecting fragments, this was actually better than Revolving Heaven, he thought.
"Red Wave is down to... about one-third now. And those guys are still fighting like maniacs."
He dodged Gamma’s attack, which was fired from an outstretched hand and looked vaguely like a beam.
"At this rate... I’m dead."
His wave force was running low, and his body was badly worn down too. He had at least been able to use his lack of experience as a weapon and keep the fight going somehow, but Gamma was learning at a ridiculous pace from their battle, to the point that his movements were visibly improving in real time. The enemy was getting stronger, while he was losing stamina and wave force. He had already been getting pushed back little by little from the start, and now he was barely managing to block attacks.
"Damn talent freak. How is a dullard supposed to live like this?"
It was a vile remark that would make any other knight hearing it clutch the back of their neck and collapse. But for him, it was sincere. After all, the people around him were the once-in-a-generation geniuses Anne and Frai, and his own sense of combat standards had been skewed by the "original story" he had seen in his previous life.
++++
He drew up Red Wave, wrapped it around his sword, and swung horizontally.
Frai-style
Red Flying Sword: Crimson Blossom
Gamma raised Barisada to block it. In a battle that had been steadily going against him, this was the brief opening he had finally earned. He straightened his stance, joined the two swords together, took them in his left hand, and at the same time stepped onto a shattered chunk of earth as he thrust his right hand toward Gamma.
If he could use Crescent Moon, it would have been much easier, but even knowing the principle, he had failed every time he tried. He had succeeded in refining the wave force into a thinner form, but he still had no clue how to compress it into a cutting body.
Star Breaker? If I used that, I’d die. That’s first-stage dual wave, and the principle is basically to brutally force Red Wave and Blue Wave into the sword, make them repel each other, and fire that off to convert it into destructive power. But there’s startup time before you can use it. About 0.5 seconds. I’d be sliced a hundred times over in that gap.
First stage is stronger by nature, but it’s hard to control. So what if the power is stronger? I can’t even land that stronger power, and I’d get cut down before I could use it.
He concentrated Red Wave into his right hand as it approached Gamma, forming three spheres, then clenched his fist.
Frai-style
Triple Red Wave Fusion Sphere
三重 赤波 融陳球
The technique, which pushed the wave force’s unique matter-dissolving effect to the limit, erupted and destroyed the surroundings. Tsk. Gamma had hurriedly deployed an Absolute Barrier, but he had been a little too late, and the armor around his chest had cracked.
Damn it. Of all places... if it’s the chest area, his combat ability won’t drop right away.
"Kyaaaa!!"
Ah, damn it!
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