CHAPTER 13 - III -

 

To be honest, Seirna of the Flame looked like a student of mine from the old world.  She wore an article of rather strange clothing; it’s as if she’s wearing a turtleneck, and her head had a beret on it.  What’s even strange was that she’s in an all-black dress…

 

It’s as if she’s a goth…

 

“Oh, so you still remembered that fashion-style from your own world, Kuro?” Seirna asked, “It’s a pity that I had to eliminate you; you seem to be an interesting person to talk to!”

 

“Are you from my world?” I blurted out.

 

“Kuro?” I heard the Marquise asked me.

 

“Y-Yes?”

 

“What do you mean ‘your world’?”

 

The Saint of the Flame laughed and answered the Marquise’s question, “Oh, you don’t know?  Did your oh-so-lovable saint Madelaine hid it from you?  That man beside you is a human from another world, summoned by your saint just because she’s bored.”

 

The Marquise of Monfort stared at me with surprised eyes, “I never knew about this, Kuro!”

 

“Well, there were ‘complications’…”

 

“And you know what the gods say, right, Dusis Luisa Braunhauer-Monfort?” Seirna kept on taunting her, “The one from the ‘other side’ would bring disaster into this land!  Isn’t it what the holy books say?  I’m here to fix that!”

 

The Marquise of Monfort fell silent, and so did I.  This was the first time I heard of that ‘one from the other side’ thing.  Is that some sick and twisted prophecy that is the staple of fantasy books and stories?

 

A bullet of flame was shot from Seirna’s finger and deliberately missed my head, “Don’t you dare to insult the words of Lord Gaius, blasphemer!”

 

Well, sorry!

 

“Anyway, otherworlder, my apologies as well.”   Though she said those words, I could feel the insincerity from Seirna’s voice, “I had enough talk, it’s time for you to come back to where you came from…or at least your spirit.”

 

“What?  You have the means to get me back to my world?”

 

“No!  Are you an idiot?  Didn’t you hear what I just said?  Your spirit.  It means you’re dead!”

 

“Oh…”

 

“Well, anyway!  Goodbye!” Seirna then created two large balls of fire and didn’t hesitate to throw those at me.

 

“!!!”  Everything happened so fast that I almost had no time to react.  Two concurrent explosions followed.

 

I never thought that I’d be in heaven after those two attacks.  For one, I could still feel my body well.  Second, the stinging sensation of my skin being burned for a bit was painful enough to tell me I’m still alive.

 

What happened?

 

“!!!”

 

The Marquise of Monfort stood before me, with her sword blocking Seirna’s attacks.

 

“Hoh…so are you willing to oppose me, Golden Sword of the Heavens?  I told you before that my quarrel is not with you.”

 

“Well, I don’t care if Kuro’s from another world, or if he’d bring disaster to this land!  I know him!  He’s a good man, and a great friend to me still!  If you’re trying to harm the person who’s important to me, it’s the same as fighting me, black saint!”

 

“Big words…”

 

“I’d like to prove to you how big my words are!” the Marquise, true to her combat philosophy, wasted no time in chatting and attacked Seirna once the opportunity presented itself.

 

 

The Golden Sword of Heaven.  A title that was given on the Marquise of Monfort, and she carried it with pride.  She was called like that because of her skillful swordplay, and indeed, watching her fight was like witnessing a graceful sword dance.

 

“…”

 

The Marquise displayed her proficiency in handling the sword.  Her attacks were quick, and precise; aiming to disarm or injure Seirna so that she could stop from fighting us any further.

 

However, the Seirna would never let herself be defeated.

 

With her razor-thin rapier blade, she blocked the Marquise’s assaults.  Contrary to the latter’s movements, Seirna fought as if she was just doing a pretend sword-fight, with a lot of unnecessary steps and swings, even an untrained eye like mine could see.

 

But I guess she knew what she was doing.  For the Marquise was having difficulty in piercing her defenses even as Seirna played around.

 

“Kuro!  Stay back!” the Marquise called out to me when I tried to fight with her, “Run back to Her Holiness and ask for help.  Let me handle this!”

 

“I couldn’t just turn my back on you!” I answered, “Besides, the other paladins must’ve told her already.”

 

“Then don’t get in my way!” the Marquise roared.  Naturally, I had to step back.

 

The melee between Seirna and the Marquise continued for some time.  I closely watched them as I was looking for an opportunity to strike the Saint of the Flame while her opponent kept her occupied.

 

“…”

 

I could tell that the Marquise was getting tired.  Though she may be a legendary swordswoman, there’s a limit to her body condition.  And to think that we’re continuously fighting for some time now…

 

Seirna unleashed another torrent of magic attacks, which the Marquise evaded or blocked with her sword.  However, the Saint of the Flame wasn’t finished just yet; she immediately followed-up on her offensive with a thrust to the Marquise’s hand, aiming to disarm her.

 

“Lady Monfort!” I almost shouted.  But I didn’t have to worry.  The Marquise moved her hand to catch Seirna’s blade and trapped it between her sword-guard and the handle.

 

“!!!” Of course, Seirna was taken aback by that.

 

With her weapon disabled, the Marquise then went on a counter to finish the battle.  I also sensed the opportunity and joined her to attack the saint.

 

“!!!”

 

This time the Marquise was caught off-guard by my sudden entrance, and she received the full brunt of the Saint of the Flame’s magic attack.  Because of that, she had to let go of her sword to avoid the offensive spells, despite that, she was thrown away by the blast.

 

“Monfort!”

 

“Oh?  Ganging up on a lady isn’t nice!” Seirna jested, “Didn’t your teachers back on your world teach you that, Kuro?”  

 

“Well, my world’s onto equality, so yeah…” I thrust my sword towards her, with a feint attack and follow-up with the real one.

 

“Too bad, I could see your mind as well, Kuro!” she quickly caught my hand, which I aimed to punch her.  Seirna then burned it, “You have forgotten that we saints could read thoughts.”

 

“AGH!” I retreated.

 

However, the Saint of the Flame immediately resumed her attack.  She raised her rapier and pushed it towards my heart.  

 

Oh shit, this is bad!  She’s aiming for the kill!

 

“Kuro!” the Marquise rushed towards me.  

 

The Saint didn’t wait for her to arrive.  My death came quick and painless…

 

 

“K-Kuh…gaah…”

 

I froze in my spot when I realized the Marquise took the Saint’s finishing blow for me.  She was hit on her neck, just as she was about to protect me from Seirna’s sword.  Blood was already coming from her mouth, and her breaths were labored.

 

“M-Monfort!” I didn’t care for the Saint of the Flame anymore.  I caught the Marquise just as Seirna pulled her rapier from her body and aimed for another finishing blow to me.

 

“!!!”

 

At that moment, the rest of the Paladin Corps arrived, and they drove Seirna away from me with their relentless magic attacks.  Never meant to let herself be defeated, the Saint of the Flame fought back.  Soon, there were noises of battle once again, drowning us with explosions, screams, and chaos.  But I didn’t notice the other events happening around me, I was just focused on the Marquise of Monfort.

 

“K-Kuro…” the Marquise took hold of my hand.

 

“Lady Monfort…please don’t die on me!”

 

“K-Kuro…m-my name…p-please…”

 

“L-Luisa…don’t die on me!” I pleaded; tears were welling up in my eyes.

 

“Eris…”

 

“I’ll protect her!  Please, get well!  I’ll get you to Maddie!  She’d treat you!  Please hold on!”

 

“T-Thanks!” the Marquise coughed blood, and smiled weakly, “A-Ad astra per aspera!”

 

With that, she momentarily convulsed and then breathed her last.  It was fast, and it didn’t even sink to me at first.  I tried to wake her, but the Marquise never moved.  Her lifeless eyes stared at the blue sky as if trying to reach for the stars she had never even seen.

 

“…”

 

My bloodied hands trembled as I closed her eyes and hugged her limp body for one last time.

 

So ends the life of Dusis Luisa, the Marquise of Monfort…and a great friend of mine.

 

 

Maddie and the rest of the paladins stood around me and Luisa’s corpse while I mourned for her.  Apparently, the Human Saint arrived with the paladins and battled Seirna ‘till they forced her to retreat, unintentionally leaving the Marquise of Monfort to her fate.

 

“…”

 

The Human Saint could only heal sickness and injuries; she can never bring back the life that gave up on itself…

 

“…”

 

I’m angry.  No, not towards Maddie and the other paladins…I’m angry at myself.  If I did not intervene, then the Marquise would still be alive!

 

“Kuro…” I felt Maddie’s hand on my shoulder, and then she held me tight from behind.

 

“She’s a good friend to me, Maddie…” I told her, “Almost like a sister I never had.”

 

“I understand…”

 

“I should’ve been the one who’s dead, not her!”

 

Maddie said nothing in response to that.  She knew how I felt; the sadness of witnessing the death of your friend, and unable to do anything about it…

 

I never let the Marquise’s body go, “Maddie, if I may request you one thing…please…can you talk to God to resurrect her once again?”

 

“…”

 

“Maddie…” there was desperation in my voice, “Please, talk to God to resurrect her!”

 

“Kuro, while I understand your sorrow…” Maddie patted my head, “Losing equipment to an enemy isn’t something worthy to ask the gods for help.”

 

“Huh?  What are you saying?” I could feel myself getting agitated, “Equipment?  What equipment?  Luisa’s here—”

 

Much to my utter shock, Luisa’s body had disappeared from my arms and was replaced by her broken sword instead.

 

“Luisa?  The Marquise of Monfort?” I panicked, “Maddie, she was here with me!  She protected me with her life!  Where’s her body?”

 

“Sir Kuro, are you fine?” a paladin took my body temperature, “You’ve been shouting about a certain ‘Luisa’.  Do you know her?”

 

“What?  She’s the Marquise of Monfort!  She’s your captain, for god’s sake!” I’m getting hysterical, “How can you fucking forget her?”

 

Seeing that I’m enraged, Maddie intervened to calm me down, “Kuro, please take a rest.  The heat of the battle must’ve gone through your head.”

 

I couldn’t keep my shock to myself.  I asked, “Maddie!  Who’s your Paladin Corps Captain?”

 

“Huh?”  There was an air of confusion on Maddie, “What are you saying?  Aren’t you the one who’s the captain of the paladin corps, Kuro?”