The Witch's Sword

Translated by SoundDestiny

Edited by Zil

The king, Granard Zain, appeared in front of her with a shining sword in his hand.

She gulped nervously as she readied her sword.

From the holy sword in his grip comes a stinging signal of danger. The tension in the air is even greater than it was when we faced Raidorl at the Blaine Fortress.

“King Granard....”

“The little girl from the Empire of Alsatian. You’ve been working with Raidorl, haven’t you? He was a traitor, after all. The foxes of the enemy will be made to rust on my sword!”

“What is that sword?　From the looks of it, I don’t think it’s a holy sword.”

Célia asked, carefully watching her opponent’s movements.

Granard’s lips lifted in anticipation of the question.

“As you can see, it’s a holy sword!　It’s the same as the one you have....no, it’s the sword of kings, which only a true king is allowed to have in his hand!”

“A holy sword....? never knew there was a holy sword in this country other than the Dáinsleif.....”

“No, Célia, it’s not. That’s not a holy sword.”

Neimilia, who was standing behind Célia, murmured to her.

“That is the sword from the Witch of Light – a magic sword Brionac. It seems he has been enchanted by that witch and turned into an apostle. The master’s brother..”

“A magic sword?”

Célia tilted her head without looking away from Granard. She never heard of such a thing.

“It’s no wonder you don’t know. It’s been 300 years since the last great disaster. The magic sword was created by the Witch of Doom to fight against the Holy Sword. You can call it a weapon of war against the Holy Sword.”

“I didn’t know that existed.....even papa didn’t? know that existed either....”

Célia’s father, Emperor Zacharias, was obsessed with the “Six Witches of Doom”, monsters of legend, and collected old legends and books from all over the world.

His father had often told her about the witches, but she had never heard of a magical sword.

“We call them ‘magic swords’, but some of them are not swords at all.”

“I don’t know what’s happening, all I know now is that, what’s in front of us is a fake holy sword. That’s all I need to know.”

“Fake? Did you say it was fake?!!”

Granard, who was listening to their conversation, twisted his face in rage.

“My holy sword, my champion, is a fake!? Come on, you little bitches, stop messing around!”

“Gya?!!”

Granard flashes his sword. As soon as he does, a beam of light shoots out from the tip of his sword and hits Célia.

A moment’s delay in evading would have caused the ray to blow a hole in her torso.

“Kh..you..!”

Celia’s body streaks with lightning. The next moment, she appears behind Granard.

She tried to swing her sword down on Granard’s neck, but.... someone hit her and blew her thin body away.

“Kahwa!”

“Miss Célia!”

She was blown up and rolled on the ground, and Neimilia ran to her.

She felt a dull ache in her abdomen. It seems she’s been punched in the stomach.

“Kh..what..”

“You’re so slow. You’re missing out, aren’t you? Holy Sword Master of the Empire.”

Granard, standing on the rubble, looks down at her.

As Neimilia helped her to her feet, she told Célia.

“No, you can’t fight. King Granard is now under the protection of the Witch of Light. He can move at the speed of light. If you try to follow him with your eyes, you’ll never catch up with him.”

“The speed of light....?”

“Yes. In a few seconds you could pass over the moon.”

“............”

Celia’s eyes cloud over in confusion. She doesn’t know what Neimilia means by the speed of light, and she doesn’t know what Neimilia means by crossing the moon.

But she does understand that the Granard now has a speed that is comparable to that of Célia, who can move at the speed of lightning.

She once outstripped Raidorl in speed, but she has never fought an opponent as fast or faster than her.

“....Tell me, Neimilia. How can I beat him?”

“That’s.....”

“How long are you chatting for?　You’re leaving a lot of openings.”

“....!”

Célia and Neimilia rolled on the ground at the same time. In a moment, a shining sword swung down to where they had been.

“Khh..bastard!”

A thunderbolt shoots out from the Claíomh Solas, but by then Granard is already gone.

Granard appears a little further away, and turns to her with a grimace and a look of contempt for the weak.

“Too late. Too slow!　Hahahahahaha!　With that kind of power, you claim to be a real holy sword!?”

“Making a fool out of me....!”

Celia’s face is twisted in humiliation as she squeezes Claíomh Solas tightly.

“How can I fight an enemy like this? “

The cold realization that stroked her spine made her neat face contort.