"Nicely fried."

I muttered as I looked at the abomination that had stopped moving.

I decided to retrieve the Thunderclap Greatsword later, drew the crystal Star-Sword, and climbed up onto the abomination in front of me.

The corpse monstrosity’s body was as tall as a hill.

Once I spread Bio-radar on top of it, the entire battlefield really felt like a chessboard.

It was a ruined board.

"More are coming!"

"Ten 10-meter-class, spotted!"

"Fall back! Fall back while the lords hold them off! We have to crush the skeleton bastards!"

Even if we had taken down the five medium-to-large abominations, there were small abominations mixed in among the skeleton soldiers, around five to ten meters tall.

They were "small," but still monsters that could lightly smash a shield wall.

I looked back.

Even my Bio-radar, stretching several kilometers, couldn’t catch them at that distance.

A dust cloud wavered on the horizon.

Joi, Frey, and the Blue Knights were probably riding like mad.

Even so, it would take thirty minutes.

Could we hold?

The question raised its head.

I checked Andromeda with Bio-radar.

She was under the protection of the few bodyguard Blue Knights who had remained here.

If I and those Blue Knights joined forces, it would be easy to grab only Andromeda and run.

"..."

I was a realist, full of self-love, and someone who could list endless reasons I absolutely could not die.

I’d hold until the moment I couldn’t.

First, I aimed a dagger at a 7-meter-class abomination that had closed the distance.

I ran the same routine as when I killed the 30-meter-class.

Thoom!

I fired Magnetic Railshot, pierced that hard body, then used Discharge to burn it from the inside.

Thoom! Thoom! Thoom!

Again, and again, I fired Magnetic Railshot.

"Lord Kyrie is fighting for us!"

"Raise the shield wall! The monstrosities will be handled by Lord Kyrie!"

"Fire the old cannons! Use steel arrows as thick as a leg. It doesn’t matter if they don’t bury to the base. If it helps even a little when the lord uses lightning arts, that’s enough!"

The soldiers’ movements grew more rhythmic.

They were soldiers who, even at baseline, could grind down thousands of skeletons.

As the collapsing momentum eased, they recovered their fighting spirit.

No.

My own fighting spirit was collapsing by the second.

Thanks to Bio-radar, I could see it all clearly.

There were too many enemies only I could handle. Far too many.

Now I really should take only Andromeda and run.

Let’s drop one or two more monstrosities that come close, then go.

That much longer, the soldiers would hold against the undead, wouldn’t they?

Thoom!

Just one more.

Thoom!

No. Just one more.

Thoom! Thoom! Thoom! Thoom! Thoom...

One last one.

I fumbled at my waist and realized I was out of daggers.

I was going to charge through the skeletons, kill just one more monstrosity, and run.

"Hoo."

It was never some self-sacrificing struggle.

The gauntlet I was wearing, Traysan’s gauntlet, had an engraving for Impact Reflection, so I was stronger against encirclement than other Blue Knights.

If I struggled as hard as possible, lifted morale, and killed one more monstrosity, the soldiers would hold long enough against the undead, wouldn’t they?

Still, if I died like this and fell into the Abyss, it would feel unbelievably unfair.

I raised the crystal Star-Sword and trembled.

"Huh?"

That was when a group of mounted figures appeared on my Bio-radar, from the front.

Kwoooooosh!

And flames burst out.

A burst that traveled over three hundred meters, something that could never be natural.

"It’s Flammerios!"

A soldier shouted.

"Kyahahahaha!"

"Ah, hahaha!"

Two red-haired riders broke out from among the mounted figures.

Boom! Boom!

The Flammerios with long hair tied into twin tails threw big and small fireballs, triggering explosions.

The Flammerios with short hair covered his mouth with both hands as he gathered fire qi, then pulled his hands away and opened his mouth wide.

Kwakwakwakwa!

"Dragon’s breath" poured out.

A breath that cast an even redder shadow over this red earth, piercing straight through the entire battlefield, kilometers wide from left to right.

Hundreds of skeletons and dozens of monstrosities turned to ash.

The flames did not go out where they struck the ground, but flared up again.

I didn’t know how that was possible without kindling or oil.

I could only take in what was happening before my eyes.

The surging fire became a long wall.

Whoooosh!

Those who had died once knew no fear, so they kept advancing.

Tuk, tuduk!

As skeletons passed through the wall of flame, their bodies caught fire and blazed.

Small joints at fingertips and toes fell away first, large joints like shoulders and pelvises falling after.

["...!"]

Monstrosities, too, writhed in the fire and thrashed.

They were dead bodies, so they didn’t respond to electric stimulation, but it seemed they couldn’t stop their muscles from shrinking under flame.

The corpse army’s advance slowed dramatically.

The two riders turned this way.

Screeeek!

Other riders following them fired two flaming arrows toward us.

I frowned.

From what Bio-radar showed, it wasn’t a trajectory meant to hit me.

But I couldn’t understand why they were making that kind of threat.

Just as I was about to feed electric arcs into the crystal Star-Sword—

Boom!

The flaming arrows exploded.

It wasn’t just the fire burning a bit stronger. It was a massive explosion on the level of the fireballs from earlier.

The heat blast was strong enough to whip my hair.

Right after, I doubted my eyes.

"Are you Kyrie of Astrion Astreos? Brave, just like the rumors. To not take a single step back even before that great host."

"Hee, hee, hee, hee! We, beautiful as flame, have arrived!"

Two figures walked out of the explosion.

Hair wrapped in flame—no, hair that had become flame—returned to ordinary hair.

A teleportation that turned the body into fire: Descent Through Crimson Flame.

I knew that the direct line of Flammerios could use such an Authority, blessed by the Burning Supergiant.

I just hadn’t expected to see it with my own eyes.

In the end, we annihilated all 5,000 undead.

Thanks to Flammerios joining the fight, we bought time until the Astreos Blue Knights returned.

Dududududu!

Dozens of Blue Knights, and nearly a thousand heavy cavalry of knights, Navigator-rank, and Retainer-rank, swept away all remaining skeleton soldiers and monstrosities.

"Long live Young Lord Kyrie!"

"Lightning Blade! Lightning Blade! Lightning Blade!"

"Like lightning, forever. Glory to the house!"

When the battle ended, our infantry chanted my name.

Honestly, it was embarrassing.

Even if I had killed a few monstrosities, inside I had been thinking only about running.

If the Flammerios direct line hadn’t joined at the end, we wouldn’t even have won.

But the soldiers needed allies worth praising.

I raised one hand high and fired electric arcs into the sky.

"Waaaaaah!"

The soldiers lifted their weapons and cheered.

Andromeda, gradually recovering her strength, approached.

"Kyrie of Astrion Astreos."

Before she arrived, I offered thanks and apology to the Flammerios nobles.

"Thank you for helping us. This victory is entirely the two of you."

You don’t make your superiors bow their heads.

"I am Vicher of Flammerion Flammerios. It is an honor to meet the famed Young Lord Kyrie. This is my twin younger sister, Vichera."

The two greeted me.

Neither of them had an ordinary look.

The man, Vicher, had cut his red hair so short you could see his scalp, and had even scratched it in places, carving geometric shapes.

"I am Vichera of Flammerion Flammerios. You are the new Senior Adopted Heir of Astreos, yes? A pleasure to meet you. This is my twin older brother, Vicher."

The woman, Vichera, had grown her hair long and tied it into twin tails from the middle-lower length, which oddly suited her gentle, drooping eyes.

Both wore glossy leather masks studded with metal rivets, and coats of similarly studded leather.

It wasn’t typical noble attire.

I didn’t know if it was part of some Planetary Seat oath or just their taste.

Either way, it was frightening.

Their bright yet somehow twisted smiles, their archaic yet theatrical tone, reminded me of classmates from the academy days—ones with complicated family lives who lived drunk every day.

"And there is no need to be so humble. Is it not natural for allies to help one another? I am only ashamed we could not send a guide ahead and convey the situation in this area first."

"What did we even do? We just threw a few fireballs. You were the one who waited for us, even though we were late."

Even so, their words were far more friendly than I expected.

One after the other, they held out their hands.

"You may call me Vicher."

"And you may call me Vichera."

I removed my gauntlet and shook their hands.

"Kyrie."

"Ah, you have arrived."

By the time the twins and I finished exchanging greetings, Andromeda reached us.

She shot me a look as if my politeness displeased her.

"Her Highness Andromeda of Pellaeusnata Astrion Astreos, Sub-patriarch of the main family."

Of course, I introduced her properly.

In front of blood of another house, this was correct.

"Andromeda."

She held out her hand to the two.

"It is an honor to meet Your Highness."

"I heard you captured Erica. Impressive."

The three exchanged handshakes as well.

Comparing Andromeda to Vichera and Vicher, I could feel the difference between houses.

Andromeda was a fox wrapped in sharp lightning.

Dangerous to anyone’s eyes, yet so vivid you couldn’t look away.

Vicher and Vichera were cats holding flame.

Extremely alluring, but the moment you slipped, you’d get burned.

I sighed inwardly.

Normally, I would have only watched from far away.

How had I ended up tangled with people this dangerous?

"Then, Your Highness. I will go check on the soldiers."

Even standing still was exhausting, so I tried to slip away.

"Where are you going?"

"Are you saying you will leave only the Sub-patriarch behind, before us?"

The Flammerios twins grabbed me immediately.

"You’re abandoning me?"

Andromeda, too, said something I couldn’t argue with.

"Your Highness. We are before the direct line of another house. Please uphold the dignity of the main family."

"Speak comfortably. Right now you’re making me look like a cruel older sister who uses her little brother like a servant in front of another house’s direct line."

"Your Highness!"

"I’ll introduce him again. This is Kyrie. Kyrie of Pellaeusnata Astrion Astreos. My little brother. He’s a bit humble, so earlier he acted like an ordinary Blue Knight, but from now on, treat him as Astreos direct line as well."

It was both deeply grateful and deeply burdensome.

"So we shall."

"Understood."

The Flammerios twins answered as if they had been waiting for it.

Unbelievable.

I stared hard at Andromeda.

"You’re grateful, right? Say you’re grateful."

Maybe because I only had one eye, it seemed I couldn’t send her that strong a glare.

Joi’s true worth showed itself more before and after battle than during it.

Even after that battle, we were able to reorganize the column and depart for the city within the same day.

In the distance, I could see a red wall encircling the city.

"...The messengers came and said they would convey Scipio’s words. They said the main force was under attack and asked for reinforcements. So my brother and I rode here at once."

Vichera of Flammerios, with red twin tails, continued softly.

I decided to acknowledge that Scipio had, in his own way, achieved merit.

But Andromeda would never want to acknowledge it, so I would keep it to myself and end it with a personal thanks.

"As I said earlier, it is entirely thanks to the two of you."

"You are strangely humble. Is it because you are adopted? But with such a humble temperament, it would have been difficult to become an adopted heir of Astreos, wouldn’t it?"

Vichera tilted her head.

What?

I didn’t know how to respond, so I just rolled my eyes.

Even the most thoughtless Blue Knights didn’t bring up something like that two hours after meeting.

"You."

Crackle!

Andromeda snapped electric sparks between us.

"You and your brother are not Sub-patriarchs either. Just direct line. No—calling you direct line makes it sound too grand. You’re simply the Patriarch’s son and daughter. Something you obtained merely by being born, without any effort. But he rose by ability. Shouldn’t he be prouder of his place?"

Those electric sparks faded in only a few seconds.

"Leaving aside that Lady Andromeda is a Sub-patriarch even to us who have not received investiture, we mean that among ourselves we can speak comfortably. What do you think? Older brother, is that fine with you?"

Chapter 141

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