NOVEL NEXT
Book 13: Chapter 12: Growth
Fuuka could only watch as Liam fought against Farabar.
The evil skeleton was like the embodiment of violence, each of his blows backed by power and speed that were out of the world.
Despite having undergone physical enhancement to the level of a well-trained knight, she was stunned to witness Farabar’s otherworldly strength.
However, Liam wasn’t one to be outdone. From time to time, Fuuka could see the afterimages of Liam and Farabar as they fought.
Occasionally, their slashes would damage the surrounding area, destroying pillars and making the floor cave in.
Wouldn’t Garun fall apart at this rate?
Fortunately, such worries were proven unfounded, as the ship was capable of regeneration.
The moment an area got damaged, Garun would start repairing itself.
(Senior Brother is amazing…We learned the same techniques, so why am I not as strong as him?)
Fuuka’s movements were restricted, but as she watched Liam battle Farabar, she felt as if he was moving further away, somewhere she could never reach.
Yasushi, their Master, had reached even greater heights as a swordsman.
(Am I… a failure? Forget Master, even Senior Brother’s out of reach for me. As things stand―)
Just as her heart was about to be devoured by her sense of helplessness, she heard laughter coming from Rinho, who was also spectating the battle.
“Hahaha! Give us a chance, will you? How far ahead do you intend to go before you’re satisfied?”
Seeing Rinho, who was still burning with the desire to catch up with Liam, she felt like an imposter.
“How can you keep laughing after witnessing their fight? Rinho, how could you―”
“Huh? What kind of dumb question is that? All we gotta do is catch up to them one day.”
After giving a curt response, Rinho sighed in annoyance.
“What, you plan on giving up? You thought to inherit the will of One Flash with just that bit of determination? You disgust me. After this is over, I’ll kill you.”
Fuuka felt clear murderous intent radiating from Rinho. She wasn’t surprised by what this sister of hers said.
If she had been in Rinho’s shoes, she would’ve said the same to her.
―The One Flash that they had inherited from Yasushi was the only thing that bound those two together despite not sharing a drop of blood.
Defiling the name of One Flash was equivalent to desecrating the warm memories they had with Yasushi.
This was why she knew Rinho was serious when she made that threat.
“I―”
Just as she was trying to get her words out, Farabar flew right past her.
A loud bang was soon heard behind her.
Turning her head around, she noticed that her restraints had come loose.
Farabar had crashed into the wall and was sitting down on the floor.
With the help of his great sword, he slowly stood up.
His skull seemed to have cracks on it, but he appeared genuinely happy.
“This is it. This is what I’ve been waiting for! Liam-dono, you've rekindled the fire in my heart that had long grown cold! The feeling of fear, forgotten all this time, is awakened once more!”
The monster trembled with joy, having regained his sense of fear.
His eerie appearance gave Fuuka the goosebumps. Before she knew it, Liam was standing next to her.
“I won’t let you die before you answer my question.”
Liam had gained the upper hand in his battle against Farabar, but he hadn’t come out of it unscathed.
His pilot suit was in tatters, and his breathing was uneven.
Ignoring her presence, Liam walked right past her, which saddened her.
(Senior Brother must have given up on me already.)
Just as she was feeling depressed, Rinho made her move, having been freed from her restraints.
“One Flash!”
She had struck before Liam could stop her.
The One Flash that she unleashed was without a doubt a powerful one, but it wasn’t able to leave even a scratch on Farabar.
In fact, it only served to enrage him.
“HOW DARE YOU INTERFERE IN OUR FIGHT!!!”
He swung his great sword, blowing Rinho and Fuuka away.
“UNFORGIVABLE!! UNFORGIVABLE!!!”
Unlike before, he allowed his anger to overtake him.
Fuuka and Rinho were blown away several hundred meters, only to crash into the walls. The pressure unleashed by Farabar had them pinned, unable to move.
“Kaha!”
Blood spurted out of Fuuka’s mouth, and before she could react, Farabar had already arrived in front of her, his sword raised and about to be brought down.
Despite the imminent danger, Fuuka found herself looking at the scene with surprising calmness.
(What a terrible way to go. Sorry, Master. I’ve stained the school’s reputation.)
News of her defeat would tarnish the name of One Flash.
Just as that thought appeared in her mind, Liam stepped in between the two to block Farabar’s blow.
Unlike his usual self, Liam didn’t seem to have much leeway.
“That’s why I told you guys to leave it to me.”
He spoke without looking at the two as he continued to fend off the attacks delivered by the rampaging Farabar.
Fuuka found this situation difficult to understand.
“Why are you protecting us? You could have won if you had abandoned us!”
“―Heh.”
Liam let out a small sigh, sounding slightly happy.
“Because I was told to take care of my stupid juniors. But you’re in for one hell of a scolding once we return.”
“I-I thought you’d given up on me!?”
Fuuka had been under the impression that Liam had abandoned her.
“When did I say that? Even if you don’t like it, I’ll be training you both until you’ve become full-fledged. You better prepare yourselves.”
Liam then proceeded to kick the rampaging Farabar, sending him flying.
Farabar’s behavior was anything but normal; he’d even lost his ability to interact with others.
Soon, she felt the force pressing them against the wall disappear.
Rinho apologized to Liam while trying to steady herself.
“That was my bad.”
“Don’t worry about it. Having said that, I had something to ask him. Now, though―”
Before Liam could come to a decision, Fuuka grabbed the hilt of her swords.
“I―”
Faced with her battle intent, Farabar, acting on instinct, locked onto her.
Liam sprung to action immediately, but not before Fuuka unleashed her One Flash.
“I am a swordswoman of the School of One Flash, and I have inherited my skills from Master Yasushi! With the techniques to fall demons, I refuse to be defeated!”
The One Flash unleashed by her twin swords managed to hit Farabar, leaving behind a scratch.
Indeed, her sword had reached him, and the scratch was proof of that.
Rinho’s eyes turned wide in surprise.
“Mine wasn’t able to hurt him. How is this possible!?”
Fuuka’s eyes were gleaming, and her sword was emitting a faint gold glow.
◇
Fuuka has managed to deliver a blow against Farabar.
It’s only a scratch, but her One Flash has unmistakably reached him.
“―I thought it would take you at least another century to reach this realm.”
Having unleashed a One Flash capable of harming otherworldly monsters, Fuuka, drenched in sweat, falters.
“Leave the rest to me.”
“Senior Brother, I― I―!”
“You’ve done more than enough. Now rest.”
“―Okay.”
Her legs give out, and she slumps down on the ground, letting out a sigh of relief, her eyes glued to Farabar.
Staring at the injury that Fuuka has caused, Farabar somehow comes back to his senses.
“I never would’ve thought your attack would reach me. What a great day it is! To encounter two heroes who have the potential to fell me― This must be destiny!! Once you’ve entered my immoral army, I shall have you as my Four Heavenly Kings!”
“Yeah, no. Just answer my question.”
Now that he’s in a good mood again, he seems to be willing to answer my question.
“Very well, I’m feeling quite generous right now. I shall answer any one question that you may have.”
“―Does the name Yasushi ring a bell?”
Farabar falls into deep thought after hearing my question.
“Yasushi, is it? I’ve heard that name several times before. What of him?”
“He’s my master, and he’s the strongest swordsman in this world. He holds the title of Sword God.”
Farabar shows great interest once he hears that he’s the strongest swordsman who taught us how to wield the sword.
“My, oh, my! Then I must meet him and welcome him into our army! Since he was able to raise someone like Liam-dono, he must be extremely powerful. I’m looking forward to seeing him!”
Based on his response, it seems he wasn’t the one that hurt Master.
I should’ve known. Someone like Farabar wouldn’t have been Master’s match.
“That’s enough. Master is even stronger than I am. There’s no way he’d lose to the likes of you.”
Farabar readies his great sword.
“To make Liam-dono speak so highly of him, I must say I’m intrigued, so much so that I’d like to visit this Sword God right this instant. However, I’m currently in the midst of battle. Apologies for being so fickle. I wasn’t lying when I said I was enjoying myself.”
He wishes to meet Master? Fat chance.
His hopes will never be fulfilled.
“You’ll never get to meet Master, ‘cause you’ll be going down here.”
Farabar shivers in ecstasy.
“I’d expect no less from the Chosen Hero!”
―Is it just me, or does he take delight in whatever I say?
◇
In the meantime, outside Garun, a battle between fleets was ongoing.
On the bridge of her ship, Tia stood with her arms crossed, deep in thoughts about a certain matter.
“No matter how many times we defeat them, they keep coming back. Holy magic and anti-undead equipment have proven to be useless as well. ―Now then, how do we defeat them?”
Farabar’s immortal army could revive no matter how many times they were defeated, and Tia was currently facing off against Hampson, who was leading the subjugation force.
Hampson’s face was visible on the bridge’s monitor.
They weren’t sure whether he was using some sort of magic or interference, but his image persisted on the monitor even when they tried to turn it off.
[Cease your pointless struggles. Lord Farabar’s immortal fleet cannot be defeated. Obediently join the ranks of his lordship’s army.]
None of their countermeasures had worked, and Hampson was demanding that they give up. However, Tia wasn’t having any of that.
“We shouldn’t limit our imagination. Let’s try some methods under the assumption that they’re not undead. Have we come up with our next countermeasure?”
Tia’s question was met with a nod from her adjutant.
“It can be fired at any time.”
“Then let’s give it a go.”
Hampson frowned as Tia calmly performed her experiments on the battlefield.
[As I said, it’s futile.]
―Or so he thought.
The missile that the Banfield Family launched struck one of the enemy spaceships. This time, however, its repair was visibly delayed.
Seeing this, the tips of Tia’s mouth rose.
“―Got you.”
Hampson took on an aggressive attitude toward Tia, who had obtained a clue about how to defeat them.
[I don’t know what you’re thinking, but we vastly outnumber you anyway! We’ll crush you with our numbers!]
While ruffling her hair, Tia responded to Hampson for the first time, the latter still confident of his victory.
“Let’s have you prove that right now. You won’t die no matter what we do, correct? ―I’m looking forward to it.”
Hampson’s cheeks twitched as Tia revealed a dark grin in front of the immortal army.
———————————————————————————————————-
Brian (′;ω;｀): “There’s no way Yasushi is stronger than Lord Liam. His blind faith in Yasushi is painful.”
Wakagi-chan (*′艸`*): “Mob Seka was able to rank 20th in AT-X’s anime ranking! We have the AT-X subscribers to thank for this achievement!”
Brian (｀?ω?′) “Thank you very much!”
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