CH 188

The hatch was quickly repaired and we were ready to go. As soon as it was, Rafishal gave the order to attack the enemy.

“All magicrafts go out and battle that ride carrier’s forces. You don’t have to win, just go and fight them with flair.”

“What do you mean? What is the point of going into battle when you don’t have to win?”

Mary’s question was valid, there was no point in risking our lives in a battle we didn’t have to win.

“The battle has its own meaning, that’s all I’m saying.”

“So you’re saying the battle is a decoy?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I’m going to undo the seal while you guys are distracting them.”

“How are you going to do that……when they’re blocking the entrance to the ruins?”

“You don’t have to think about that. Go fight as ordered.”

Mary and I boarded our magicrafts while being bewildered. Enrique and the other riders had sworn absolute loyalty to Rafishal and were willing to follow his orders.

“Yuki, it’s foolish to put our lives on the line in a fight like this, let’s just pretend we fought properly and get through it.”

Mary says to me in a private message. I fully agreed with her suggestion.

As we charged out, the other side’s ride carrier sent out magicrafts as well. They numbered five, fewer than ours.

But it wasn’t the number or quality of the enemies that caught my eye…….Among the enemies; I spotted a magicraft floating in the air. It resembled the blue magicraft that was in the Iron Knights. Thinking that it might be the one, I immediately looked for the golden magicraft.

There is no……golden magicraft that killed Emina, is it not part of the Iron Knights……?

“It looks like the people we fought at the last ruins haven’t joined them yet, they’re all new, but that might help, those guys were pretty strong, it would have been troublesome if they were here.”

Mary unexpectedly said this over the comm. This means that there are still friends from the other side who are not here…….

“Mary, what kind of body color was the one you fought in the ruins?”

“Well, it was an unusual color. There were three of them: a red one, a white one, and a flashy gold one.”

When I was convinced that it was the Iron Knights, I was vividly reminded of the moment when Emina was killed by being pierced through the cockpit. I was filled with sadness and anger.

Letting my emotions take over, I rapidly approach the isolated green magicraft. Then, in a fit of rage, I launch an attack.

Iron Knights…Emina’s revenge! I’ll never forgive you!

I was fighting with this in mind, but I was caught off guard and was hit by a bow gun attack with perfect timing. The arrow from the bow gun seemed to be special, and my magicraft froze. While I was distracted by the freezing, I lost sight of the enemy.

I looked around, but I couldn’t find him anywhere, as if he had disappeared.

“Yuki, look out!”

I heard Valiente’s voice and turned around. I couldn’t see the enemy, but I could see some kind of shimmer in the air. The shimmer was blown away and fell to the ground, revealing the enemy magicraft that was hidden.

Valiente approaches the fallen enemy to give chase, but lightning strikes right in front of him, interrupting him. More lightning rained down on us. We were prepared to be hit, but the lightning was repelled just in time. It seemed that Valiente had done something. The new enemy did not slow down its attack. Three thunderbolts came at us. Valiente blocked them again, but one of them hit him.

“Guh!”

“Valiente!”

“It’s alright. It’s all right.”

My anger was rekindled when Emina’s killers, the Iron Knights, hurt Valiente. I started attacking the green magicraft again. In anger, I unleash my rapier. As expected of the Iron Knights, I admit that they are quite strong, but……I will not lose!

As I was fighting, I suddenly felt a strange sense of unease. It was the first time I met an enemy, the first time I fought this magicraft, and yet……I had felt this sensation somewhere before.

I recall a mock battle with Emina when I was still new to piloting magicrafts – she fought me carefully, teaching me how to fight. She taught me how to fight most of the time, and my fighting style and Emina’s are very similar…….Well……this enemy is similar to Emina……I realized the true nature of my discomfort.

Memories of Emina came to mind, and even more vividly, her last moments. The anger that poured out of me was reflected in my fighting. In a fit of rage, I attacked selflessly and hunted down my opponent.

The next thing I knew, the enemy magicraft could no longer move. As your companion had done to her, so will I……

Just as I was about to unleash my rapier with all my strength, the enemy magicraft and Emina’s figure overlapped – was it because the enemy’s fighting style was similar to Emina’s?

I don’t know if Emina is trying to stop me or not, but one thing is for sure, I can’t pierce the cockpit of this enemy magicraft with my rapier anymore. I slowly released my stance and lowered my rapier.