Chapter 74: In the End

The clang of metal striking metal echoed across a plateau on the outskirts of town—a place where no one should have been.

Had anyone looked in that direction, they would have seen two young kings locked in combat, their weapons colliding again and again.

Both wore serious expressions, their teeth clenched as they poured strength into every movement. Each time sword and spear met, sparks burst into the air, leaving no doubt that neither of them was holding back.

"Haah!!!"

"Kh!?"

Refusing to let even the slightest opening slip away, Julia thrust her spear forward.

Toma instinctively leaned back to evade it, but the tip still grazed his chin. A small spray of blood scattered through the air.

Ignoring the wound, he reached for the spear, trying to seize it before it could return to Julia's hand. At that moment, a second spear came crashing down from above, forcing him to avoid it with a backward flip.

"Right there!!!"

Having anticipated that movement, Julia immediately closed the distance, intending to overwhelm him with a relentless follow-up assault.

Then she noticed dirt kicked up by Toma flying toward her eyes.

Reflexively, she shut them.

It lasted only an instant, but that brief loss of vision was all the opportunity Toma needed.

"Guh!?"

Judging that there wasn't enough time to swing his sword—and that the attack would simply be blocked anyway—Toma drove a kick into Julia's exposed abdomen.

Her arms had risen instinctively to protect her eyes, leaving her midsection completely open.

Enhanced by "Kures the Strong," the kick struck with tremendous force, sending Julia flying.

(He reduced the impact of that too!?)

The sensation traveling up his leg was far too light.

Realizing his attack hadn't fully succeeded, Toma immediately sprinted after her.

He had already figured out what had happened. The moment she was struck, Julia had instinctively jumped backward, bleeding off much of the impact while creating distance.

(That much power from a simple kick... No wonder he can fight Laila head-on...!!)

Meanwhile, Julia was equally shocked by the damage from Toma's kick.

The strongest body she knew belonged to her best friend, one half of a pair of twins: Laila Kate.

Laila wielded a spear larger than herself with effortless ease. The weapon's true weight far exceeded what its size suggested, and a casual swing could gouge the earth itself.

Even the legendary "Spear King" had acknowledged her as a threat, claiming she possessed physical strength beyond even the dragon-god race.

Julia had heard that the "Sword King" standing before her had crossed weapons with that same Laila.

At first, she hadn't believed it.

But Laila—normally so quiet—had talked about it endlessly, to the point of annoyance, and openly wished to fight him again.

That was what finally convinced Julia it was true.

Yet experiencing it firsthand surpassed all expectations.

Physical strength inferior to Laila's.

Explosive speed superior to Laila's.

And instincts sharpened through enhanced senses.

The combination of all those factors bearing down on her sent a chill through Julia's body.

(Half-hearted attacks won't hit him. If he dodges, even for an instant, an opening appears. And this guy never misses an opening.)

There was no choice but to acknowledge how troublesome he was.

At the same time, she became convinced that this boy's strength was something assembled in haste.

His movements were fast, but each carried a faint sense of disconnect, as though the links between his actions weren't fully natural yet.

His enhanced body forcibly compensated for those flaws, but that only highlighted his lack of experience.

This wasn't strength forged over more than a decade, like hers.

(And the fact that he's this strong anyway is incredible.)

She genuinely thought so.

She remembered how long it had taken before she could calmly swing a spear and receive an opponent's attack.

If everything Toma had said was true, he hadn't even spent two months becoming capable of fighting.

Julia knew exactly how terrifying it was to cross weapons with another person.

And because she knew that fear, she admired his resolve and strength of will more than anything else.

Their weapons collided again, locking them into a contest of strength.

Using her spear, Julia redirected his power and suppressed his overwhelming force.

In response, Toma calmly pressed his Holy Sword against both spears without showing even the slightest sign of panic.

(I can't win fighting normally. If I truly want victory...)

Her gaze fell upon the spear she carried.

The proof of the Spear King's legacy.

The weapon she still wielded.

To win, she would have to draw out its true power.

If she did, she could fight on equal footing—or perhaps even surpass him.

And yet fear welled up inside her.

Even now, Julia vividly remembered the time the Spear King had possessed her body.

The sensation of being swallowed by endless darkness still clung to her.

At night, she hesitated to turn off the lights.

Darkness terrified her.

The fear of losing herself completely felt inseparable from carrying the Royal Spear.

It was as though the long-dead Spear King had left behind a curse.

"—Come at me seriously."

"Huh?"

Whether he understood her hesitation or not, Toma spoke the words that severed the Spear King's curse.

They were close enough to feel each other's breath.

Julia's eyes shifted from the Royal Spear to Toma's black eyes.

Their color resembled the darkness that had once swallowed her.

And yet she could say with absolute certainty that they were different.

They held warmth.

"If you use that spear's power and the Spear King somehow comes back... then this time I'll cut him down for good."

His words burned with conviction.

The kind of conviction that made it obvious he meant every word.

"If you're afraid of losing yourself, then I'll pull you back out."

Strength filled his eyes.

The strength of unwavering determination.

"I can say for certain it won't happen. I know you're stronger than that."

His voice carried absolute certainty.

Absolute faith that the girl before him wasn't weak enough to lose to a curse.

"I'll accept all of it. So give me everything you've got. You're going to become the Spear King, aren't you?"

It was the highest praise a boy who had become the Sword King could offer a girl striving to become the Spear King.

Proof that he understood Julia and accepted everything about her.

"I see."

Julia disengaged from their clash and jumped backward, raising her spears.

As she did, she remembered Ace during their battle.

The darkness that emerged from the Royal Spear had unquestionably trapped her.

And yet Ace's false mother had appeared and saved Shion from it.

Julia had always wondered why.

Hadn't Shion felt guilty about the deception?

Hadn't she feared being killed?

Questions she had never been able to ask lingered within her.

Now she was certain of the answer.

The boy standing before her had changed those two.

She could no longer call him merely a weirdo.

A mere weirdo couldn't accomplish something like this.

The man called Toma Swordria was such an extraordinary idiot that calling him a weirdo almost felt insulting.

"If some stranger called him an idiot, I can see why that silver-haired maid would lose her temper."

That insult came from people who judged Toma at a glance.

Now Julia understood why his childhood friend, who knew him better than anyone, could never tolerate it.

His words were always sincere.

His actions were always sincere.

Everything he did was sincere.

That was the kind of boy Toma was.

And those words reached Julia.

The weight she had always felt in her spears vanished without her noticing.

The weapons she had merely carried and swung until now suddenly fit her hands as though they truly belonged there.

The two spears that once felt heavy no matter what she did now felt light enough to juggle.

"So you've finally acknowledged me."

Perhaps the Royal Spear truly possessed a will.

Julia had always dismissed stories about powerful magical artifacts having consciousness as superstition.

Now she had no choice but to reconsider.

Until now, it had obeyed because she possessed the right to wield it.

Now it was different.

It had acknowledged her heart and her skill.

And it had granted her permission to unleash its power.

"Sword King... No. Toma."

"Yeah."

"I'm going all out. Everything I can do."

"Good. Give me everything."

"—Thank you."

The twin spears in her hands changed from red to blue.

Toma suddenly grew enormous in Julia's field of vision.

Not because he had changed.

Because she had instantly closed the distance.

She had used the Spear King's spell, Distance Nullification.

Shock flashed across Toma's face, but his body reacted instinctively.

He blocked one spear.

Only one.

The second spear shot toward his side, seeking to tear into him.

Toma instantly shifted to a one-handed grip and slammed the shaft aside with the Holy Sword.

The attack was deflected, but not completely.

The spear still grazed his side, drawing blood.

He frowned slightly at the pain but never made the foolish mistake of stopping.

"Then how about this?"

The Royal Spear shifted from blue to yellow.

Julia poured mana into it and drew out another power.

In that instant, Toma's future movements appeared before her eyes.

The power of Future Sight, allowing her to see one second ahead, guided her actions.

"!!?"

"No matter how monstrously strong you are, if I suppress you before you can fully exert that strength, even I can handle you."

The Holy Sword's movements were smothered before they could properly begin.

No matter what action Toma attempted, Julia's spear was already waiting there.

Spears attacked from every direction.

Gradually, wounds accumulated across his body.

When he tried to retreat, Julia simply read his future and stopped him.

She became convinced she could win.

Then she felt a pulling force from above.

Immediately, she realized that belief was mistaken.

"So this eye can't see magic."

Future Sight revealed the future of living beings.

Magic lay outside its scope.

Arriving at that conclusion instantly, Julia once again poured mana into the Royal Spear.

Its color changed from yellow to purple.

"Guaranteed hit. Target confirmed. Pierce."

She hurled the spear infused with the power of Command toward Toma high above.

With a sharp whoosh, it cut through the air.

The spear flew straight toward him.

Toma struck it aside with the Holy Sword.

"This isn't all it does, is it!?"

His prediction proved correct.

Obeying Julia's command, the spear altered its trajectory.

Toma had escaped into the sky using Dark Star, but he wasn't truly flying.

He was merely suspended by its attraction.

The only direction he could move freely was downward.

No matter how many times he knocked the spear away, it returned.

Even if he tried to suppress it, it moved.

Even if he grabbed it, it shook off his hand.

Unable to move freely in the air, he was gradually being cornered.

"Kh...!!"

Yet Julia was being cornered as well.

The Royal Spear's power allowed its wielder to use the magic of previous owners whose bodies had once been possessed.

Julia was the fifth wielder.

Including the Spear King, five spells were embedded within the weapon.

But using magic she had never used before consumed an excessive amount of mana.

A groan escaped her lips.

If her mana ran out, she would lose consciousness.

And after activating the third spell, Command, her reserves were draining rapidly.

"Before that happens...!!"

She launched herself forward.

One spear continued pursuing Toma under the effects of Command.

As long as he was occupied dealing with it, adding herself to the attack would end the battle.

"This ends it!!!!"

Julia thrust her spear.

The commanded spear lunged as well.

Both struck Toma.

The sensation traveling through the shafts convinced Julia she had pierced him—

(Too light?)

The feeling was wrong.

Far too light for piercing a human body.

Her instincts as a warrior sounded an alarm.

She had definitely hit him.

Yet it felt as though she had stabbed a stuffed doll.

"Holy Sword Fifth Ability: Increase."

At those words, the two spears piercing Toma were seized.

Julia immediately tried to pull them back.

But suspended in the air, she couldn't exert enough force.

Before she could even ask what had happened, the answer revealed itself.

"Because you finally came at me seriously, this power awakened. So I'll defeat you seriously too."

Dark Star vanished.

The real Toma emerged from the darkness.

The one she had pierced disappeared.

Like a mirage.

(Unlike mine... this creates physical clones with mass.)

Perhaps because she used a similar ability herself, Julia immediately understood its nature.

And understood that this was the end.

She couldn't move in midair.

Both spears had been restrained.

Her mana was exhausted.

And Toma was right beside her, descending upon her.

No strength remained for a counterattack.

From the bottom of her heart, Julia praised the boy before her.

And thanked him.

"This time I lost. But next time I'll win."

"Sorry, but that's not happening. The tiny bit of pride I have left won't let me lose to a girl."

That sounded exactly like him.

The next moment, she was slammed into the ground and her consciousness faded.

But this was different from being swallowed by darkness.

And so the battle between the new era's Sword King and Spear King came to an end.

The margin was razor-thin.

Had even one thing gone differently, the result could have been reversed.

Even so, the victorious boy picked up the unconscious girl and began walking away.

Despite having been knocked out, there was a faint look of satisfaction on her face.

The girl named Julia had fallen for the boy who saved her.

That, perhaps, was what truly decided the outcome of the match.

In the end—

when it comes to love, the one who falls first is the one who loses.