"NOOOO! MOTHER!" Kira screamed hysterically.
His knees buckled, forcing her to sit down. His head throbbed, his chest felt like it had been crushed.
The red-haired girl growled angrily. "You bastard! Coward!"
No.
This wasn't Kira's fault.
It was their fault.
They must die.
The woman's voice now seemed right behind Kira—as if embracing her, whispering a name in her ear.
"…Aigis."
"…Eigill Aigis."
Kira lifted his head, his eyes wet, filled with rage.
"EIGILL AIGIS! I AM YOUR REPRESENTATIVE!" he shouted, as if the words came not from his mind, but from something guiding his tongue.
Red flames spread throughout Kira's body—not burning, but rather giving his a suffocating warmth. His body felt light, strong.
"With your current level of power, Lord… you can use this weapon…"
Two large knives appeared in Kira's hands. The blade was wide—as large as an axe blade. Yet strangely, the weapon felt almost weightless, like a part of his body.
"…Valiant Blade. The blade of the brave. Use this to vanquish your enemies, my lord."
Kira stared at the knights with a changed gaze.
"Conquer?" his voice was cold. "Aigis… with a blade this big, I want to chop them alive."
The club knight backed away in fear.
"Fool! Why are you so quiet?! Kill the girl first!" shouted the club knight.
The red-haired girl was still in pain. She couldn't move.
"You won't make it, brat! You're too far away!" taunted the club knight.
They were about ten meters away.
But Kira didn't care.
He threw the Valiant Blade in his right hand.
It pierced.
The club knight's chest was pierced. Black blood gushed. The force of the throw threw him about twenty meters away.
Kira dashed forward.
One horizontal slash—decapitation. The club knight's head was severed. His body disintegrated into black sand.
No mercy.
The sword knight attacked with a flurry of rapid slashes. Kira parried with two Valiant Blades.
"CLANG! CLANG!"
Kira's left shoulder was nearly sliced open. He ducked to avoid a horizontal slash, knocking the knight off balance.
Kira retaliated—a horizontal slash to the waist with two blades.
The sword knight's body was split in two. Black blood flowed.
But he still held on.
Kira was about to finish him off—suddenly a searing heat struck him.
A black fire hurtled toward him. Kira parried, but the force was strong, forcing him back.
The source: the purple-robed knight—who also seemed to be able to dispel the girl's blue flames.
Another companion, the knight with the silver staff, slammed his hand on the ground. A star pattern formed. Black flames enveloped the split sword knight.
And… the body reattached itself.
Kira held his breath. If they could heal like that, the fight would be hell.
Kira turned to the red-haired girl beside him.
"Hey… what's your name?"
"…Niezalezny."
"Nieza… whatever it is—I need your help. Any plans?" Kira said firmly.
"I could kill them all alone if my right arm weren't dislocated… and my stomach… ugh… damn…" Nieza replied, holding back the pain.
"Lord Kira… use your power to heal her…" Aigis whispered from behind.
"Healing?"
"We, Engill, are supported by the same source. Sinceritatis. Simply channel your power into her to speed up the restoration."
Kira didn't understand the technicalities. But he grabbed Nieza's hand—recklessly, relying on instinct.
Nieza gasped. "Hey! What are you doing?!"
"Shut up… I'm trying to concentrate…"
Kira's red flames flared again. He forced them into Nieza's body.
It worked. The red flames enveloped the girl. Nieza's face—for the first time—looked a little comfortable.
"…is your pain gone?" Kira asked.
"A-a bit off, but yeah..."
Once Kira had enough, Nieza hurriedly let go of the hold and stood up. Blue flames enveloped his body again.
They are ready to fight again.
Kira took a breath, looking at the two main targets: the purple-robed knight (magic dispel) and the sceptered knight (healer/buff).
"…Nieza. I attacked the one in the purple robe. It seems he was able to dispel your magic. I'll leave the rest to you."
"Just think of it as returning the favor because you healed me. I never thought of this as me asking for help! Keep that in mind!" Nieza snapped, firmly.
Kira refrained from smiling bitterly. "Yes. I asked for your help, Nieza."
Nieza looked away. Her cheeks flushed slightly.
"Wh-what's your name…?"
"Kira Rainhard. Call me Kira."
The white light from the enemy's staff flashed again. The armor of the other knights looked shiny—reinforced.
Nieza flew to attack. "Kira! Let's attack them!"
Kira took off running. But Nieza's blue fireball attack vanished again—extinguished by the purple-robed knight.
Then the purple knight turned to the crowd of stiff humans. He prepared a black fireball—aiming at them.
Kira threw the Valiant Blade, trying to stop it.
The purple knight jumped out of the way—then fired the black fireball.
"BOOM!"
An explosion erupted in the crowd. Lots of green light emerge from the explosion, getting drained into the mysterious giant eyeball in the sky.
Kira froze, can't expect those damn Monster are cruel.
Nieza stepped back to avoid the sword knight who was pressing on.
"This bastard!" Nieza shouted, annoyed.
"Wait, Nieza!" Kira grabbed her arm.
"What else, Kira?! Our strategy is clear!"
"Calm down… the same strategy will yield the same results. Please… I need your help."
"…Tch. Then what are you thinking?!"
"Aren't you surprised they aren't chasing us now?" Kira asked quickly.
"…no. What do you mean?"
"They're waiting for us to attack first. If we keep pushing, your magic will be extinguished, my attacks will be blocked—they're too agile." Kira swallowed. "I have a plan. Do you see those thirteen large bags behind the purple knight?"
"…yes. The loot?"
"Good. Here's our plan…"
The purple knight provoked, readying another black fireball, targeting the stiff victims.
"…I hope this strategy works," Nieza muttered.
"Calm down. We're basically stronger," Kira replied.
Nieza didn't reply. But his eyes grew more focused.
"Let's go, Nieza!"
"Okay!"
Nieza floated ten meters away, preparing a blue fireball. Kira threw a Valiant Blade at the staff knight—but the sword knight quickly deflected it.
Simultaneously, Nieza threw a blue fireball at the bag of stolen money.
"He's after our money! Protect our money!" the sword knight shouted in panic.
The purple knight immediately ran to the bag and extinguished Nieza's magic—just in time.
But while he was busy extinguishing it…
Kira's second Valiant Blade flew.
The purple knight was pierced through the stomach.
The force of the throw slammed him into the wall, black blood spurting.
"What?!" the other knight gasped.
Nieza took advantage of the opening—he attacked both the sword and staff knights simultaneously with a blue fireball.
Kira ran up to the dying purple knight, drew his blade—then raised it and sliced through the enemy's body and head vertically.
The purple knight disintegrated into black sand.
On the other side, Nieza's burst of blue flames rocked the first floor. The staffed knight burned to the ground, scattering into black sand. The sword knight managed to dodge, but one leg was burnt—he was limping, frightened.
"W-wait! Spare me!" he crept towards the Ranger's car.
Nieza was about to kill him, but Kira held back.
"…let me handle it," Kira said, his voice flat.
Kira walked over with two Valiant Blades. One thing filled his head: no mercy.
"Mercy! I would give anything! Please!" the knight wailed.
The knight tried to catch Kira off guard by throwing his sword. Guessing that his parrying is strong enough for blocking Kira's attack.
But it's a damn wrong.
Kira swung the blade—cutting off both of the enemy's arms. Black blood spurted out. His scream broke out.
"...I don't need your looted money," said Kira briefly.
"This magical world stops time in the real world!" the enemy babbled, desperate. "We can take anything… or kill anyone—"
Kira stared at him with almost cold hatred.
"…so my mother was bothering you?"
"N-no! That's not it—"
Kira cut open his stomach again, horizontally. The enemy continued to crawl until it was blocked by his own car. Cornered.
"W-wait! I'm sorry!"
"Tell that to the people you killed! Tell that to my mother you made victim of!"
Kira chopped him alive—slashing, stabbing, decapitating, smashing the Valiant Blade over and over until the Ranger's car was partially torn apart.
"…Kira! Stop!" Nieza shouted from behind.
The sound jolted Kira's nearly lost sanity.
Kira's breathing was labored. He fell to his knees.
"Congratulations, Lord Kira. You have purified two Slave-class Monsters and one Vice-class Monster. You now have access to the 'Valhalla Boots,'" Aigis said flatly.
Kira didn't understand. He knew only one thing: his mother wasn't coming back.
The giant eyeball on the dome's ceiling slowly closed and disappeared. The black dome shrank, then vanished.
Kira's Valiant Blade vanished. Nieza's gloves and boots vanished too.
The extensive damage to the bank—the blast hole, the heaved floor, the split car—was all gone. It was as if it had never happened.
The people who had been incinerated by the black fireball were simply unconscious, their bodies pale.
The same was true of the armed robbers.
Kira… was sure he had cut them apart.
Kira ignored the confusion. He ran toward his mother, who lay unconscious.
Just the sight of her pale face made his chest constrict.
Then a terrible dizziness hit him. The world spun. Kira collapsed unconscious right next to his mother.
The last thing he saw before total darkness was his mother's face—pale—and Nieza's screams, calling his name over and over again.
Kira was lost in the single sentence he hadn't had time to say aloud: I'm sorry, Mother…