“……Kill me, you say?”
“Aa”
I ready my sword while glaring at Darl. To be honest, this battle is quite tough. There’s a gap between us from the moment it comes down to Darl who can already use「Sword Master」to a certain extent against me who doesn’t quite understand the「Dark Knight」occupation.
What I somewhat know is roughly just what I was taught by Hardt-sama. Me who has never even swung a sword before and, Darl who’s almost undefeated when it comes to a sword. I guess it’s quite tough but, there’s no way I can back down.
“Shit, it shouldn’t have been like this though. If it’s like this then the meaning in betraying you guys is……”
Darl mutters self-deridingly. He then shakes his head multiple times and, glared at me.
“I guess I will be killed anyway so, I’ll take you along with me!”
And then, Darl approaches. He nimbly slashed upwards diagonally at me from the bottom left. I block with my sword somehow but, the impact runs through my arm. Tsk, it hurts.
I was about to move after repelling Darl’s sword and, he’s already swinging his sword sideways at me. I immediately avert my body but my chest was cut shallowly. The blood that slowly but steadily spreads to my shirt.
Until now, I have been punched and whatnot but, when it comes to a battle that has to do with death, this is my first. My heart is beating loudly like it’s about to explode but, there’s no way I can get cold feet and back down here!
It’s no use even if I who knows nothing about a sword complain and make excuses about swordsmanship. I have my way of doing things.
I take out a small sack from my pocket. A relic from the past, I have always hidden a small sack with sand inside my pocket so that I can escape when I’m being chased. I throw that at Darl. However
“How many years do you think I have been with you! It’s plain as day that you’ll do something like that!”
Darl who repels with his sword the small sack I threw. However, you’re not the only one who’s been together all these years and knows what about to be done! The small sack that tears the moment Darl repelled it. And from within, yellow powder fluttered.
It isn’t sand that’s inside. Mylene-san who heard of my fighting style gave me numbness mushrooms and I turned that into a fine powder and placed it inside.
Naturally, Darl who doesn’t know of such thing inhales the fine powder and chokes. Because it has an immediate effect, the effect instantly showed on his body. Albeit just very slightly, his movements became sluggish.
“Uu, Mars, what did you!?”
“Like I’m saying!”
I give a kick to the bewildered Darl. He narrowly blocks my kick with his left arm but, he shakes violently and his balance crumbles. Over there, I swing my sword down. Although I’m just swinging it without a shred of swordplay whatsoever, even this is more than enough against Darl who can’t move his numb body well.
“Sh……it……do, n’t look down on me! Occupation Arts『Sky Ascension Slash』!”
However, it was not Darl to back down there. The sword that suddenly was swung up from below. I, unable to completely avoid the Occupation Arts that I see for the first time, is cut up on my left shoulder like I was cut before. Furthermore
“Occupation Arts『Beheading Slash』!”
The sword that was raised overhead aims for my head and swings downwards at me. I ignore my hurting left shoulder and raise my left arm. And then I receive the sword that was swung down with my left palm.
Tierra who screams my name at the back. As though mixing in with the scream, a ‘kan’ sound can be heard. At that moment, I
“Occupation Arts『Sword Counter』!”
The elementary Occupation Arts that everybody who’s the Knight occupation learns. Although it just repels the sword if it’s activated at the right time with a shield and so forth, it’s the only Occupation Arts that the current me can use.
Darl’s sword that got repelled by my Occupation Arts. Darl who looks at me with his eyes wide open. It’s not something to be that surprised about, right. I too, like you, obtained an occupation. It’s natural that I’m able to use Occupation Arts, right.
And then I approach Darl whose sword got repel and balance crumbles. I ready my sword horizontally and thrusts straight ahead. Darl tries to twists his body somehow but, the tip of my sword stabs into Darl’s flank.
I clash into Darl as it is and push him down onto the ground. Darl who tries to push me aside even as he coughs up blood but, because he’s stabbed in the flank with a sword in addition to being numb, it looks like he doesn’t have the strength left to push me aside.
I immediately stand up and step on his right arm that’s holding the sword with my left leg. I pull the sword that’s stabbed into his flank out and point the tip of the sword downwards at Darl.
“……Haa, to think that I was done in so easily. Come to think of it, even in a fight, I’ve never won against you since the past huh”
“……Why did you betray us? Weren’t we family who lived many years together?”
I ask what’s on my mind. Even after all that’s said and done, Darl has done various things with me until now for the sake of the family. And there were also times when we were close to death but, on the notion of ‘if it’s for the sake of everybody’, we did it together.
I wanted to ask Darl who, despite that, betrayed our precious family, the reason no matter what.
“Sofat has said it, right. It’s because I was told that I can live a life that is unimaginable from the life I had been living until now”
“……Is that so”
I close my eyes for a moment and take a short pause. And then, I raise my sword overhead and thrust violently into Darl’s chest. A stab to the heart. As Darl coughs up blood, he says ‘I’m leaving Tierra in your hands’ at his final moments, and he stopped moving……what’s with his final words?
“Mars, you……”
“Eh? Tierra, what are you?”
As I look at the Darl who no longer moves, Tierra who mounted a dog-style skeleton came over to my side. And then she touched my face. I was surprised by the sudden happening but, because she wipes my eyes many times over, I finally realised the fact that I am shedding tears.
“……Why are my tears”
“It’s natural, isn’t it? Even if we were betrayed, family is family. It’s natural to be sad”
Tierra who says that was also crying. After that, the two of us hug each other and cried.
After hugging for awhile, I saw zombies proceed to gather around Darl. I go to Hardt-sama’s side in a panic and lower my head. Feeding Darl’s corpse to zombies is!
“Hardt-sama! I understand that I am not allowed to request for such a thing as a subordinate! However, can I somehow have you not feed Darl’s corpse to the zombies!?
“Okay”
“I will do whate……eh?”
“No problem. It’s something Mars killed. Do as you like. You can use the zombies freely. Well then shall we head back, Mylene”
“Yes, Hardt-sama”
Mylene-san happily clings to Hardt-sama’s arm and leaves the room. Both Tierra and I were taken aback but, I give instructions to the zombies and transport Darl’s corpse outside.
We who left the noble’s mansion, while travelling along the back lane as though we’re hiding, returned to a certain place. It’s the house that we’d been staying until now. It was left devastated as it is and already in tatters but, I guess here is appropriate to put this fellow to sleep.
I peel off the house’s wooden floor and use a broken table leg to dig the ground. I was thinking it’ll take some time by myself so I testingly try asking the zombies and, the zombies helped out as well.
It naturally advances faster than doing it alone and I put Darl inside the hole that was opened largely.
“I can’t forgive you who have betrayed our family but, I will mourn for you as a family member at the end. Sleep peacefully”
I say just that and cover him with soil. As expected, I was also able to fill this up quickly with the zombies’ help. I guess I won’t come back to this house again.
“Let’s go, Tierra”
“Ee, Mars”
Darl, although it’s not because of what you say, I will protect Tierra. That’s why, you can sleep peacefully.
