Pullum’s treatment could be left to Rafinha, thinking so, Inglis turned her attention to Leone and the fallen Ian.
「How about you Leone?」
Leone affirmed Inglis’ and Liselotte’s questions.
「I’m fine, somehow…I panicked when we were dragged into a Highlander’s 『Mana Sealing Cage』, though…」
「……! You did well to come out uninjured!」 ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖑~𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖾~𝖓𝖊𝖙
「I recall that is the subspace that seals the power of Artifacts, right? Miss Inglis is right, you did great to escape there unharmed!」
「I don’t really understand it myself……Somehow, my sword became weird, so…it’s much sharper than usual, and its shape even changed……」
Leone pointed to the tip of her sword and, sure enough, the shape was intricate, like a dragon’s claw.
「Not to mention, when I swung it down as hard as I could, a Phantom Dragon came out of it…」
「EEeeehh?! How could that happen?!」
「I see, Vufailbane’s Dragon Roar must have dwelled in your sword, that must be also why the shape of your sword changed. Dragon Roar is a different kind of power from Mana that Artifacts use, that power couldn’t be sealed since 『Mana Sealing Cage』 has no effect on it.」
「A dragon’s power, Dragon Roar? How did it get into my sword?」
「You cut a lot of dragon meat, didn’t you? In a manner of speaking, that means you cut down a lot of dragons, which must be why its power dwells in your sword.」
Leone used this sword as a meat cleaver and spent hours every day cutting Vufailbane’s meat. It was simple and hard labor, but it was a necessary job to deliver the meat to the surrounding settlements.
A hard work that benefited the people. With how earnest Leone was, she would never cut corners on this work, and she continued to do it without as much as a complaint even though she was drenched in sweat every day.
Could this result be considered a reward for Leone’s hard work?
「…Is that how it is?」
「……So it seems. Well, this is the first time I’ve seen it too, though.」
In Inglis’ case, the power of the Dragon Roar was placed within her body, and perhaps the same applied to Lahti, but in Leone’s case, it seemed like it was placed not in her body but her black greatsword Artifact.
If a god or a goddess put his or her power in a person, that person became a Divine Knight, and if a Divine Knight put that power in a sword, that sword became a Holy Sword. And then, it was said that a sword that slew a god became a Demon Sword or an Evil Sword.
Dragons might be similar in comparison. In the end, dragons were beings close to gods.
「……It saved our lives, so I won’t complain. I should be grateful.」
「Yup yup. Getting stronger is good, right? Use it the next time we train together, okay? I want to experience it myself! Okay? Okay?」
「E-, eeh… Fine by me, but……Hahaha, don’t get too excited, you.」
「P-, putting that aside! Why would Mr. Ian do something ?」
Liselotte addressed the elephant in the room.
「That’s right! Ian was probably manipulated! I don’t know for sure, but he started suffering out of nowhere and said something about Lord Abel’s consciousness! Apparently, that is also why he kidnapped Pullum on our way to Lekrea! He said it was preparation for something that has been finalized! I don't know anything else about it, though…」
「Lord Abel's consciousness?! Preparation?」
「It-, it doesn't sound very peaceful, does it…」
「It doesn't. Fufufu… What trouble……」
Inglis’ expression slacked before she knew it. Abel. Ploy. Preparation… The conclusion drawn from those collective words was that something no good was brewing.
But, that was a mere generalized conclusion. For Inglis personally, that meant that she could look forward to the possibility of a new sparring partner. That was why she was a little bit excited about it.
「Th-, that face doesn't look very peaceful either…」
「W-, well, that's just Inglis being Inglis ……More importantly, Ian was suffering and wanted me to finish him off quickly, but I couldn’t, so……he attacked me again, and we fought, and this happened…」
Leone looked a bit dejected.
「Th-, there is nothing to lament……Thank you very much for stopping me, I didn’t want to hurt my friends……hurt Pullum any more than I already have…」
「Don’t come closer! I don’t know when his consciousness will make me self-destruct! I am no longer of any use to him, after all! All the preparations have been finalized, all that was left was to make a scene and garner all the attention on me even for the briefest of moments……it could have been anything…so, please don’t take what I said to heart. There is no need for anyone else to get hurt!」
「……What is this preparation for, Mr. Ian? What is Lord Abel planning……?」
When Inglis asked him, Ian turned to look at her. His gaze was cold and sharp, an aura that was not Ian’s. This ruthlessness and arrogance must surely belong to Abel.
「You’ll know soon enough! Inglis! It’s something the likes of you will be overjoyed with! So stay out of my way and just watch!」
「I will do just that, then.」
Only if Rafinha didn’t say no to it, that is.
In order to hone her martial arts, Inglis would seek to fight powerful enemies, be it for justice or evil, but Rafinha’s wishes alone were something she wouldn’t ignore. If anything, she put it as her top priority.
Keeping an eye on the journey of her growth into a full-fledged adult was another major pillar of her life as one Inglis Eux.
「Well, enough of this blabbermouth toy! Why don’t I get rid of it properly! It’s not my taste to keep too many toys, you see!」
Ian’s body glowed intensely, swelling up so quickly.
「Don’t come any closer! Get as far as possible!」
Inglis warned the people all around. What Ian had warned was about to happen, and anyone who got too close would get hurt.
「……Everything was set up from the very beginning! I should have shared my fate with Lekrea that day……Everything I’ve done since then has been a mistake……And finally… I am happy that I’m finally back here……Miss Inglis, everyone. I leave the rest to all of you……Lahti, Pullum, please make good of this country!」
Ian returned to his calm self, showing them his last smile.
「IAN!! I don’t know what the future has in store, but……! I will make sure that Lekrea will be back to the town it used to be! That’s why…that’s why……!」
Following Pullum, Lahti couldn’t bear to look away and raised his voice.
「Of course, Lahti! I’m looking forward to it!」
The light burst open and caused an explosion, making loud noises and smoke. Everyone closed their eyes from the blinding dazzle, and when they opened them again, there was no more trace of Ian. The ground was smoldering and scorched. All that was left were pieces of machine parts scattered apart on the ground.