True Power
Akitō's town.
Standing atop the outer wall, gazing into the distance.
There, about a kilometer away, the massive army of Maxim is visible.
At the front, cavalry riding bipedal horses. Behind them, a vast number of spear soldiers.
"Two thousand...?"
Not confirmed, but even a rough estimate makes it clear it's about that many.
Coming straight at us like that—this is no bluff.
"Master."
Risha spoke from behind.
"Preparations are complete."
"Ah."
He nodded, glancing back briefly.
Twenty Neetka cannons lined up along Akitō's outer wall. One hundred townsfolk, each wielding a Gradiak.
Mira commands the Neetka. Yuria leads the Gradiak unit.
Even from here, it's clear. The townspeople are tense. Or afraid. Pressured by two thousand.
"Master, they're moving!"
Risha’s panicked voice cut through the air.
There, cavalry surged forward, churning up a cloud of sand.
“Fire at the Neetka. No need to aim—just keep shooting, whatever you do.”
“Yes!”
Risha sprinted toward Mira. Immediately after, the battery fired in unison.
Rock fragments arced through the sky—wildly scattered, most missing entirely, crashing into the ground far off. A few struck dead center among the cavalry.
“Don’t stop firing. Keep it up. Keep firing.”
Rocks flew one after another.
The cavalry’s charge visibly slowed. Even if the aim was nonsense, the sheer size of the rocks—hurled again and again—would slow anyone down.
Still, they didn’t stop. The cavalry dodged through the barrage, accelerating now, charging straight in.
Within bow range.
“Gradyk unit—pour every arrow you’ve got into them!”
The instant the order was given, Yuria moved her hundred archers.
Arrows flew in unison.
A hundred archers, unleashing five hundred arrows.
The cavalry was pierced one after another by the rain of arrows, thrown from their mounts.
Long range: Neetka’s bombardment. Medium range: Gradyk’s concentrated fire.
The concentrated barrage of arrows and rocks held back Maxim’s army, keeping them at bay.
“Looks like we’ll manage.”
“Yeah.”
I nodded, watching the battle unfold.
“Um… my lord?”
“What?”
I looked at Risha.
“You’re not fighting, are you? I mean, if it’s just this sort of enemy, you could beat them without breaking a sweat.”
“Winning’s easy enough.”
“?”
Risha tilted her head.
Honestly, wiping them out completely wouldn’t be that hard.
If I channel Risha into the Eternal Slave Flame, I could probably beat two thousand of them.
After fighting so many monsters, I know I can handle regular troops—barely, but I can.
But winning alone doesn’t matter.
What if, while I’m busy with a thousand, the other thousand pour into the town?
That little settlement we’ve been building up—just starting to breathe again—gets wiped out in an instant.
So I had to fight as a group.
Not just win. Win with the least possible loss.
Maxim’s soldiers kept charging.
But they were pinned down by Neetka and Graddick’s concentrated fire—couldn’t advance past a certain line.
Soldiers fell one after another.
“Mmm.”
The tide turned.
The repeated charges suddenly stopped.
Instead, a man charged forward.
Riding a two-legged horse that glittered gold, he advanced with two swords held in either hand.
“Concentrated fire—target him!”
Rocks, arrows, fell on him like a hailstorm.
The two swords spun wildly. Arrows were swept aside. Rocks shattered into dust.
“Stop shooting!”
A shout. The barrage ceased instantly.
The man pressed forward. Probably wouldn’t matter how much they fired.
“Master?”
“Let’s go, Risha.”
“—Yes!”
Not an ordinary opponent. I’d known that from the start. I grabbed Risha and launched ourselves forward.
Charging toward him. He accelerated too, barreling in.
Clash. Sword met blade.
“You’re Maxim?”
“Akito, right?”
“That’s right. Let’s stop this. We’re better off joining hands. This world’s still too harsh for humans to fight each other.”
“Exactly why we take it—by force. A world of limited resources. Survival of the fittest. That’s what we’re in now.”
“Resources aren’t limited! The ones I hold are nearly infinite.”
“Fantasy!”
“Damn it!”
We shouted at each other, swords clashing.
Words didn’t work. Attacks didn’t land.
The strength of the Flame Slave Sword (Risha) was its firepower.
But that firepower was useless against Maxim—blocked, parried, always deflected.
“Yuria!”
I called out the name of the other slave. Touching the white gem, I switched from Risha to Yuria.
Slipping inside the blade, connected to me.
“Cover me!”
(Yes.)
I lowered my fire, shifting into the Light Slave Sword (Yuria)—ready for tracking, for foresight.
Yuria expanded my senses.
I parried Maxim’s blade, slipped the tip into the tiny gap it left.
No resistance—nothing.
“Hmph.”
Should’ve cut straight through the skin. But the blade didn’t go in at all.
“Ooooh!”
Only after pouring in a flood of magic did the tip finally sink in—just enough to draw a scratch.
Maxim urged his golden horse back, distancing himself.
He traced the shallow cut with a finger, licked the blood off with a wet flick.
“Not bad. What’s that?”
“Eternal Slave. A sword that fights by fusing with its slave.”
“Eternal Slave… hehehe… hahaha!”
Maxim threw his head back and laughed.
“Ah, I see. So that’s how it is. Hmm. Then I’m at a disadvantage. Whether it’s a battlefield or a duel.”
……
I stayed silent. I had the upper hand. But it didn’t feel like it.
Maxim pulled the reins, turning his horse toward his own forces.
"Today you win. I’ll admit it—you’re not the kind of man who can be taken down with such half-hearted attacks."
"……"
"Next time, I’ll come at you for real. Be ready."
Maxim spurred his horse forward, vanishing with a flourish.
He gathered his troops and led them away in orderly retreat.
The townspeople of Akito erupted in cheers, watching from the sidelines.
I stared at them.
The battle between the soldiers had been a clear victory. The duel between the commanders—slightly in my favor.
But Maxim’s words stuck in my mind.
Not the kind of man who bluffing. There was something about him—something that said, *Next time, he’ll do something different.*
The troops could stay as they were. But I couldn’t.
I looked at the sword in my hand.
If Risha’s firepower had matched Yuria’s abilities—maybe I could’ve won.
Yeah, I’d thought it before—had I been able to absorb multiple slaves at once, I might’ve won.
Red, blue, white.
I touched the three gems in order.
If I could’ve taken them all at once…
The next instant, my chest flared with light.
DORECA—source of all power.
Something new had joined what was within.
True Eternal Slave.
A new goal had formed.