439 Part 2

The distance between Eliwood and her was about 30 meters. It was well within the effective range.

However, the problem was the group of escorts who stood in that short distance. Not to mention the red-haired man in front of him, but even beyond him, there was a wall of heavy knights, and finally there was another young knight who had never left the girl’s side.

Fortunately for Eliwood, however, her target was the only one on horseback in that enemy camp. Normally, that girl would be surrounded by big men and buried up to the tip of her head, but thanks to that pure-white unicorn she was riding, a portion of her head was popping out of the crowd.

His aim had to be true. From the other side, they might not even have expected that he had gotten so close to them.

Underestimating him like that could prove to be their ruin.

Eliwood launched a deadly throw, aiming at the gap between the soldiers who protected the girl, which was the hole through which the needle had to pass.

“[Elignis Shot] Ooohhh!!”

His spear, wrapped in a rush of crimson flames, darted through the air.

Eliwood’s spear throw, which poured all of the energy he had been mustering into a single attack, was more like an arrow from a fully charged bow –no, it flew even faster than that. More than piercing through the enemy, it was more appropriate to say that such destructive force would be crushing them.

In fact, even if one or two soldiers threw themselves in front of Eliwood’s target, letting their own shields, armor, and bodies to be pierced in her stead, the goal was for his spear to reach that place. Even in the worst-case-scenario, Eliwood’s attack had been imbued with a powerful fire attribute that would cause a big explosion upon contact.

Since his “Vermilion Pilum” had high resistance to both shock and heat, it could still be used as a weapon even after using normal uses of his [Elignis Shot].

However, Eliwood, who saw that he could no longer wield it with his own hands, chose to use his glorious red spear, which had been given by the king’s grace, as a companion to the next world. In other words, it had been charged up with more explosive power that it could normally withstand.

The attack, which had now turned into a fiery blow even more dangerous than any advanced spell cast by a skilled Flame Mage, finally approached his target, just as Eliwood had planned.

The blonde knight, who had been waiting beside the girl, had pulled out his beautiful silver rapier and dashed to intercept it, but it was too late. If the spear touched that guy, he would either not be able to withstand the power of the spear and be skewered on the spot, or the subsequent explosion would engulf both him and the girl together in flames.

Thirty meters in front of him, the explosion happened, and Eliwood was filled with a sense of accomplishment due to a successful operation, and was relieved to know he could now die on the battlefield without any regrets.

“– That was close!? I thought I’d die for sure!!”

That screaming voice belonged to the girl.

Both the roaring sound and the shockwave of the explosion had passed. His attack had to have hit without being disturbed by anyone.

But still, there she was, beyond the breeze that blew through the black smoke. A beautiful girl with black hair and black eyes. As before, she looked completely unburned, unharmed, and unscathed, wearing her pure white robe.

“N-No way…”

The idea that such a thing simply couldn’t have happened was immediately denied by the faint white light that flickered in his field of vision. If you reveal the cause, it was quite simple, really. It had been nothing but a regular protection.

It had been nothing more than them being within the area of effect of  [Sanctuary]. By deploying it anew, Eliwood’s [Elignis Shot] had been completely blocked.

No matter how strong a technique was, not even the wind that could be kicked up by launching an attack would pass as long as that strong barrier stood in the way.

Eliwood instantly recognized the reasoning as she witnessed the girl squealing and making noise about something with the young knight that stood next to her without the slightest hint of tension.

Even after knowing that, the conclusion that it was “impossible” would come back to his mind, realizing that even though she had been putting up such a huge barrier way ahead, she managed to instantly create a new layer in front of her in response to Eliwood’s imminent attack.

It was as if he had been the one underestimating them. With a huge barrier that divides the entirety of the castle walls, and such a large-scale magic activation, she would have to use all of her concentration and magical power to keep it in place, so she couldn’t have been able to cast another spell. Eliwood had made such an assumption, as it was the general rule for the average magic user.

However, in reality, this happened instead. She easily prevented the danger approaching her. Perhaps this big barrier was nothing special for her, and she didn’t have to put that much effort or magical power into it.

Still, it was even more so now that he understood the girl’s unfathomable magical power.

“Hey, you bastard–”

Eliwood had been stunned by the futility of his final attack, but both his knight’s instinct and body reacted to the sharp murderous intent that drifted right in front of him.

“– How dare you try to lay your filthy hands on my Rin!!”

Filled with rage, the red-haired man was fiercely winding up his spear. Perhaps his pure anger was manifested as a high level of magical power, since the red aura wrapped around not only the tip of his spear, but also its handle, and even reached his forearms.

All Eliwood had to defend himself after losing both his spear and shield was his standard double-edged sword “Gladius”. Its sharp, sturdy and practical blade was released with a flowing motion, staving off the approaching red flash.

“Guhh!”

It was no wonder he could manage to react to the red-haired man’s attack, even though it had been delivered with every ounce of strength in his body. An average knight would have been pierced by it there and then.

However, Eliwood no longer had the power to fight back.

“I won’t forgive you! I won’t forgive anyone who tries to hurt Rin!”

Apparently his rage was due to Eliwood having targeted that girl. Was it out of his great respect and affection towards her, or were those feelings merely a young man’s love?

Whether his emotional reason was justified or not, the fact that Eliwood remained powerless before to his torture, fueled by his burning anger, was unchanged. The red-haired man had changed his aloof expression for one of pure rage, barking like a mad dog as she thrusted with his spear towards Eliwood over and over again.

The red armor that protected Eliwood was quickly shattered before the storm of attacks. Every time the spear’s blade, shimmering with a fiery aura, grazed Eliwood’s body, a piece of his armor would come off. His thick breastplate cracked after taking a thrust that was meant for his heart, and even his famous golden right gauntlet “Right Hand Glory” finally gave in as well.

Both his body and armor were on the verge of collapse. Still, the fact that he had managed to prevent a fatal injury using the Gladius on his right hand was a manifestation of the pride of this Knight of Spada, who would never give up until the very end.

Eliwood had hoped to at least be able to take this furious red-haired along with him into the afterlife, but that too seemed to be a wish he wouldn’t be able to fulfill.