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"Get moving! It's not over yet!"
The Logner commander's roar seemed to snap some sense back into the panicked soldiers, but it wasn't enough to restore the shattered battle line. Understandably so.
The inferno from Setsuna's spear had incinerated the right wing of Logner's army, claiming over five hundred lives by Lux's estimate. Yet the flames' impact went beyond mere numbers, striking a deeper blow. Hundreds of comrades reduced to ash in an instant, unable to resist or flee. Even those just out of the fire's reach found no relief, and the left wing surely shared their dread.
Another blaze, and they could be next.
"Nah, it's over," Lux Vain muttered, brushing back his silver hair and casually adjusting his grip on his sword. Over 170 centimeters long, the blade was absurdly unwieldy for one-handed use by any normal measure. Lux, with his average build, didn't seem particularly strong. Yet the azure blade, shimmering like a clear lake, was an extension of his arm weightless, tracing infinite arcs through the air with unconscious grace.
Ahead lay a field of corpses, the air thick with the stench of scorched flesh and lingering heat.
Beyond, Logner's infantry struggled to regroup. Their heavy armor could shrug off standard weapons, but not high-rank summoned arms, which tore through steel like paper.
"Target the one with the black spear!" the commander's furious cry pierced the chaos, loud enough to reach Lux but too weak to rally the crumbling ranks. The man, astride his horse, likely had no intention of holding the line. He and his cavalry archers formed up, bows drawn, arrows nocked, aiming solely at Setsuna.
"Setsuna's our precious guest," Lux said, kicking off the ground. He shot forward, brushing past the motionless Setsuna, accelerating. The enemy was about a hundred meters away a distance Lux could close in seconds with his sword.
But arrows were faster.
(Still, I go!) Lux leaped over the mound of corpses, a flash sparking in his mind.
"Setsuna's first real battle, huh?"
"Sounds like trouble."
"Don't call it that."
"C'mon, it's trouble! Some nobody with zero combat experience?"
"We're nobodies too, Lux."
"Not denying that."
"So, I'm counting on you."
"Ugh, always stuck with the messy jobs…"
"And yet, you can't say no to the captain, can you, Lux?"
"Vice-captain—"
Lux had reluctantly taken on Setsuna's protection. Once committed, he gave his all, keeping a watchful eye. But Setsuna had a formidable ally in Faria, and with his summoned weapon's power, he might not need watching.
Wishful thinking, Lux realized with a wry smile. Setsuna, despite his massive impact, stood dazed, likely shocked by his own destruction. He couldn't dodge arrows or even move.
The situation was dire. His charge (if you could call him that) was out of it, and the enemy had him in their sights. Lux was the only one close enough to act, but the distance was too great. Behind, Sigurd's mercenaries approached, but they had no reason to shield Setsuna with their lives—and they wouldn't arrive in time.
"Loose!"
The enemy's command jolted Lux, just a breath from reaching the archers. One more leap, and he could've cut them down. Not overconfidence Lux and his sword could do it.
But it was too late. A dozen arrows flew.
"—!"
The arrows sliced through the air, passing Lux in a blur too fast to track. Even his sword-enhanced senses couldn't stop them. They surged toward Setsuna.
Lux, swallowing his frustration, made his final leap, landing among the cavalry and archers.
"Late arrival, huh!" the commander sneered, certain of victory.
Lux felt nothing no stir of emotion. The archers' terrified cries as he landed meant little. All he felt was rage at himself, despair at his failure to protect an Armed Summoner.
He raised his sword. Then
"Captain Dores!?"
An archer's panicked shout made the commander turn, eyes glinting through his visor with smug confidence.
"What?"
"The arrows aimed at the target they were all shot down!"
"—!"
Even Lux froze, stunned. The commander trembled with disbelief.
"Impossible! That can't—"
"Oh, right. She's here," Lux said, leaping. In one motion, he cleaved through Captain Dores and his heavy armor, landing to slash an archer diagonally. Both died instantly, without a scream.
The commander's horse, realizing its rider's fate, let out a shrill cry.
"Goddamn ridiculous. We didn't need to worry at all," Lux muttered, flicking his sword. Blood sprayed onto the scorched earth no bodies here, it seemed.
"Where do I even aim this anger…?" Lux's face twisted, forgetting his rage stemmed from his own failure. The archers had vanished, their resolve shattered by their captain's death. Fleeing was natural.
Still, soldiers should shoot or fight the enemy before them.
"Whatever," Lux shrugged, finally glancing back. Beyond the pile of charred corpses, Setsuna stood unharmed, surrounded by mercenaries. Farther back, Faria Belferia held her monstrous bird-shaped bow, Aurora Storm.
Her arrows had downed every enemy shot.
"Aurora Storm…" Lux murmured. The weapon, revered even by Gandia's late king, was a force of its own.
"You're not outdone, though," Lux said, raising his sword, gazing fondly at its azure blade, now a symbol of the Blue Wind. His exploits, owed to this blade, fueled its legend.
"Right, Gravestone?"
The blue sword didn't answer.