I Tried To Be Her Loyal Sword

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179 Chapter

The arena turned into chaos in an instant. Screams erupted from all directions, and the spectators were flustered, unable to figure out what to do.

“Gah!”

As if my shout signaled something, figures in black began to emerge from the air and swarm the arena.

There were ten of them. All were formidable opponents. They quickly overpowered the guards, taking down the knights who had rushed to the Emperor.

“Your Majesty!”

“Damn it!”

The first to react were, of course, Noah and Caesar. Armed in a flash, they leaped from the stands into the arena.

Bang!

“What the…!”

The two were thrown back by the sudden surge of a violet barrier, their expressions filled with confusion. The ominous aura that permeated the air was all too familiar. I grimaced.

A barrier so powerful that even a Sword Expert couldn’t break it. It was the same one I had seen during the Hunting Tournament.

“…I will break it.”

Caesar raised his sword. His crimson eyes shone menacingly, and a deep red aura surged furiously along his blade. The terrifying killing intent could be felt even from afar.

“No! This barrier reflects attacks! If you channel your aura into it, the audience will all die!”

Noah quickly placed a hand on the barrier, reading its composition rapidly. He was serious, though still calm.

“…Damn it!”

As Caesar lowered his sword and anxiously looked down at the arena, our eyes met. His gaze was flickering. For some reason, he seemed worried about me.

“Get out of the way!”

Aria shouted sharply as she pushed through the crowd and stood in front of the barrier. She, along with her sword, began to decipher the barrier. The mages stationed for safety also joined in.

“We’ll dismantle this barrier. Please guide the people away from here.”

The sword moved swiftly, unfurling countless magic circles. The blood-red glowing glyphs were haunting even to someone like me, who knew little about magic. His fierce crimson eyes appeared filled with rage.

Indeed, it was the mages, not the Sword Masters, who could safely dismantle the barrier. While Noah and Caesar managed the audience, Aria and the sword began dismantling the barrier.

All of this occurred in an instant. Taking in that brief moment, I surveyed the urgent situation in the arena.

‘It’s futile to expect outside help.’

Look at the state of things. All the entrances to the arena were blocked by barriers. Here in the arena, there were only me, Emperor Helios, a few guards, and a few assassins.

Several guards had already been subdued, and the assassins were targeting Helios.

I slowly exhaled and gripped my sword tightly. The first time holding a sword usually took quite a while to get used to, but this sword—being a renowned one—felt familiar, as if I had wielded it for ages.

I had braced myself for this situation. I had to move.

Bang!

As I slammed the sword into the ground, the area shook violently. Screams erupted from everywhere, and the assassins, who had been preparing to attack, stumbled and lost their balance.

I charged like the wind towards Helios. He looked at me with wide eyes as I suddenly appeared before him.

“…Princess?”

“Please forgive me for the treason of throwing my sword at Your Majesty a moment ago. As you can see, there are rats among us.”

“Gah!”

I stomped down on the abdomen of an assassin who had collapsed with my sword embedded in his shoulder, pulling my sword free. The assassin shrieked in pain, blood spraying out.

‘I’ve really gotten used to this.’

After countless hours of training to become accustomed to blood and murder, I could remain unfazed even when someone died right in front of me, even if my insides twisted up.

With both hands on my sword, I turned to Helios.

“Most swords won’t cut through. If anyone charges, just scream.”

Surrounding Helios’ body was a mana shield. I was worried that an assassin’s sword might come flying at him while I wasn’t looking. Before Helios could say anything, I turned around and threw my blood-stained sword at an approaching assassin.

“Gah!”

The assassin fell as the sword sank into his leg. I scanned the advancing assassins with a chilling gaze, adjusting my grip on my other sword.

“You can’t move here!”

With those words, I leaped towards the assassins.

Bang!

“Gah!”

The assassin who clashed swords with me staggered back, trembling. I expressionlessly created a mana shield above my head.

Then I poured it down onto the assassin aiming for my back.

“Gah!”

I felt a slick liquid splash on my back. I generated another mana shield and rained down sharp mana shards on the visible assassins.

Swish! Swish!

Watching the ash-gray blades pouring down like rain, I briefly thought my alias of ‘Calamity’ suited me well.

Everywhere the blades touched, crimson splattered. My murky mana appeared no more beautiful or noble; it resembled grotesque calamity.

Most assassins below collapsed under my assault. I took in their disheveled appearances from the carnage my attacks had wrought.

I couldn’t run away from the lives I had taken. Even if it was painful, I had to face it and remember; it was the way to avoid becoming a monster.

Even among the pouring attacks, the few who persisted managed to fight back with their swords. They were decent fighters, but dealing with them wasn’t all that difficult. As I cut off one assassin’s leg, another launched themselves at me.

‘This one’s not ordinary.’

I felt a strong instinct, and even their speed was not typical. Just as I steadied my sword in caution…

“You’re still reckless.”

A familiar voice brushed past my ear, and I froze in place, as if struck by ice magic.

The figure was completely wrapped in black cloth, obscuring even their eyes, and yet I knew.

The unsettling and dark aura, a scent that chilled to the bone and turned every season to winter, resonated with that deep tone.

It was all too familiar to me.

Perhaps in that moment of our reunion, I had recognized it. I thought we would walk different paths after seeing those dead eyes.

I had survived by never ignoring my instincts, but sometimes I wished to ignore certain feelings. The sharpness of a Sword Master was both blessing and curse.

As the truth drew closer, I kept denying it deep inside.

Yes. I…

“Didn’t I say you would come to regret saving me?”

I still considered him a friend.

I took a deep breath, staring into the figure approaching before me.

“You fool.”

Zigmund. Zigmund Hyde.

Swish.

“…Ah.”

In a moment of distraction, I reacted a bit slowly to the dagger flying for my shoulder from behind. I avoided the dagger embedding in my shoulder, but its sharp edge grazed past my neck.

“Shush!”

I heard someone call out to me, but I didn’t look back. I couldn’t take my eyes off the figure in front of me.

“…Zigmund Hyde.”

A rough and husky voice escaped my lips as if scraping against metal. The faintly visible red lips under the deep hood drew a line. It was hard to tell if that smile contained joy or some other emotion.

“You told me to show my true self. To draw out my aura.”

Zigmund pointed his sword at me. Even that posture felt too familiar to my eyes.

“This time, I’ll do as you say.”

Whoosh!

A powerful mana coalesced on his blade. It felt ominous and strange, unlike pure aura.

‘So it was dark magic.’

The puzzle pieces finally clicked into place.

The unsettling aura I had always felt from Zigmund. The sensation I couldn’t define before was, without a doubt, the aura of dark magic. He had always exuded the energy of dark magic.

I peered down at his sword with unfocused eyes. The answer he had found.

“Normally, the auras of those who train their swordsmanship and swing their swords with the flow of nature take one form. There’s only one correct answer because that is the natural order. However, when the energy of another mingles with the purest flow of aura in the world, the natural order distorts, perceiving many errors as truths. I had seen a swordsman with two colors of aura. He possessed the most unclean energy of all swordsmen I had ever known.”

It was information I had received when I once asked Rainer about cases of dual auras.

Zigmund must have practiced both dark magic and swordsmanship. Since dark magic and aura were opposites, it wasn’t surprising that his aura had become tainted.

The black and fluorescent pink aura swirled chaotically around his blade.

This was Zigmund’s aura.

“You bastard…”

I spat through my tears. My insides twisted, and my emotions roiled.

I let out a watery laugh, clutching the hilt of my sword tightly.

I had thought of this moment—a dramatic unveiling of my identity that could be etched as a heroic scene. As I hoped that the assassination of the Emperor wouldn’t occur, I had planned like that.

But I never wished for this. I hadn’t wanted Zigmund to stand as the adversary I needed to eliminate.

Though I gritted my teeth in pain, I barely managed to lift the corners of my mouth. I didn’t want to show weakness in front of him.

“I wasn’t going to give you my heart.”

I whispered to myself, summoning vast mana to infuse into my sword.

Swish!

All the mana around me greedily devoured it. A whirlpool of mana erupted around my blade.

It absorbed all the light, creating a stillness.

Crackle.

The pitch-black aura simmered and flickered ominously.

“That’s…!”

“Oh my god, what is that!”

Those who glimpsed my aura beyond the semi-transparent barrier began to murmur in unison.

The black aura.

A symbol of Mir.

“Gah!”

I heard a groan from behind me. The last assassin stood there, and upon trying to approach me, he was bound by the black aura and slammed his head into the ground. The malicious mana bored into his flesh.

“Ugh! You, you are Mir?”

The assassin asked incredulously, as if he couldn’t believe it. Given he might be facing death, it seemed he was quite shocked.

I paused for a moment, glancing around. Everyone wore expressions of pure panic.

One of the three Sword Masters in the Empire and the calamity that had all but monopolized requests regarding monsters—Mir.

No one had been able to unveil Mir’s true identity. Yet amidst all this, who would have guessed that the Princess of Christis would be the mercenary king Mir?

I slowly exhaled a hollow laugh.

“…Yeah.”

As my hood slightly lifted with movement, Zigmund’s violet eyes were faintly revealed, reflecting my eyes as bright crimson began to swirl within them.

I slowly nodded my head.

“I am Mir.”

Mir. The name of the struggle I had carried throughout my life.