Chapter 90

The Vow (2)

I could barely keep my eyes open.

A screech like the wind being torn to shreds pierced my ears. The crushing force of gravity pressed down on my entire body, so heavy that it was hard to even stay upright.

If I were clinging to the end of a rocket shooting up into the sky, this would probably be expected. Even pouring all my supernatural power into it, all I could do was avoid slipping off and plummeting back to the ground!

[Ahahahaha—! You’re seriously insane!]

It was no wonder such a brutally honest evaluation came flying from Teresa, who was clinging right next to me.

[So! I get that flying was your dream or whatever! But what the hell do you plan to do now?!]

“……I need to stop that thing from spreading.”

Aiden answered as he glared at the Fragment of the Demon God, still pulsing inside the rocket. Whatever mechanism had been installed, it was clearly growing more and more unstable the higher we climbed.

At this rate, it would likely turn completely gaseous and scatter in all directions.

If that happened, the Imperial Capital would become a new Void Zone. A land where nothing could live except beings infused with dark energy.

[Okay, then how?]

“……That’s the problem—I don’t know either!”

The skill Remnant only stated that it revealed the essence of the target. There was no information on how to use it or what effects it had.

[Then let’s brainstorm! What approach do you think might work best?]

As expected of the Warden of the Realm. Like someone truly beyond the ordinary, she asked that question without the slightest disruption to her composure.

Thanks to her, the anxiety that had started to creep into my mind vanished in an instant. Aiden chuckled and replied.

“What do you think your essence is? If we can figure that out properly, I think we’ll be fine!”

It might have sounded absurd, but under the current circumstances, it was clearly the best question he could ask.

And although she’d just heard back-to-back odd questions, Teresa didn’t seem shaken in the slightest.

The speed of her reply made that obvious.

[Steel, Blade, Scales!]

“……Sorry?”

[It’s the Imperial Knights’ motto. You heard it last time too, didn’t you?]

……Come to think of it.

Yes, I remembered.

I am steel.

I am the blade.

I am the scales.

Wasn’t that the chant the Warden of the Realm always recited before battle?

“……That actually meant something?”

I thought it was just a slogan.

To that, Teresa responded with a cackle.

[Of course it does, you idiot!]

I am steel.

[Stand firm, stronger than anyone, like steel.]

I am the blade.

[Repel the enemy with my blade.]

I am the scales.

[As the scales, always protect the weak and uphold justice.]

Soon.

[Protector of the Empire. A sentinel who guards those within from external threats. That’s the Imperial Knights—no, that’s my essence!]

“……”

With that answer flowing out without a hint of hesitation, Aiden closed his eyes and sank into thought.

To protect. Essence. A sentinel who guards those within from external threats.

A clear image began to take shape naturally.

It wasn’t something he consciously summoned. It was more like the explanation gently “flowed” into his mind and solidified on its own.

A barrier.

A shield that tightly surrounds the people, guarding them so no outside force can threaten them.

That was her essence.

If so—

“……Dame Teresa.”

[Yeah?]

“That thing is a fragment of a god. A piece of a god that resides in the heavens.”

Strictly speaking, calling it a “piece” was a stretch—it had long since degraded, leaving behind only a faint trace of its former presence.

Still, whatever the case, that was a fragment of a “god.”

And yet, they were supposed to—

“We need to form a barrier and stop that thing—just the two of us.”

One human, one ghost.

Even if both were remarkable individuals by human standards, this was still a fragment of a god.

An entirely different plane of existence. It wasn’t something people could handle. It was like a bug trying to resist a human.

Utterly absurd. Suicidal. Words like that came to mind all too easily.

[Let’s do it.]

And yet again, Dame Teresa smiled as she said those words.

Whether it would work or not—she didn’t know. In fact, it was probably far more likely to fail. The odds were slim. Despairingly so.

[We can do it! Because we can do it!]

Even so—

They set aside talk of probabilities. There was no meaning in discussing such things.

[Let’s go, Aiden!]

What they needed to do stood right before them.

His father, his little sister, Noel, Katya—they were all down there.

So then, was he supposed to give up?

[Let’s save them all!]

Just because the thing they were facing was some “fragment of a god”?

‘We’re doing it anyway, goddamn it.’

Aiden let out a quiet chuckle and closed his eyes.

Supernatural power flowed through his body.

Pure white qi. He discarded all other abilities, filling himself with the qi that Teresa had developed and Noel had perfected.

He gave form to the image in his mind. He had never done this before, but it happened naturally.

He materialized Teresa’s “essence” into physical form.

-System Message

▶ Using “Remnant: Warden of the Realm – Resolve.”

▶ The target’s essence manifests. The laws are rewritten.

▶ You now defend the Empire from external threats.

▶ The Goddess of War blesses you through her devotee.

And then—

The world was bathed in golden light.

▣

Noel Astrea Simus’s mind was wandering somewhere deep in hell.

She had never actually been to hell, of course, but she’d bet her entire fortune that it must feel exactly like this……

‘……Sir Aiden……!’

Had she ever felt so helpless before?

Right now, there was nothing she could do to help the man within her sight. With a pale face and trembling hands, she stared up at the sky.

She could see the future. Either way, Aiden’s chances of survival were slim. He’d either fall to his death from up there, or—

That might even be considered a blessing—he might be swallowed up and killed by whatever unidentified thing was inside that rocket.

And then, just as the revolting presence within the rocket began to surge outward like an explosion, Noel nearly squeezed her eyes shut.

When the rocket reached the peak of its altitude, the black mass inside burst forth, shattering the entire rocket.

More than just dark energy—it was deathly aura.

That was the only way to describe the force that now dispersed into the atmosphere. With a howl sharp enough to tear eardrums, the black mist spread through the sky, radiating the blind hatred of what felt like every malevolent spirit and demon in existence all at once.

And then the aura locked onto its target.

The life force of creatures on the ground. Detestable beings. All of them to be ripped apart, devoured, and erased.

That was the intent behind the deathly aura as it poured down from the sky. A catastrophe descended from above.

And what stood against it—

Was supernatural power emanating from someone’s body. Aiden Kellermain. The qi he had manifested.

The force itself—she recognized it.

Qi. The blessing of Karva, the Goddess of War.

But the color—

‘—Gold?’

She had never seen a color like that in her life.

It was well-known that the color of qi reflected the user's level, and that at the pinnacle, it turned into the purest white.

Essentially, the fewer mixed hues there were, the less “impurity” was present in the energy. And if that process was pushed to the extreme, white was the natural result.

But this golden light—

“—”

Noel’s lips parted slightly.

But no sound came out.

It was as if she had forgotten how to breathe.

That was how awe-inspiring the sight before her was.

It surpassed “pure white.” It went beyond even that.

Not just pure and clean—

But sacred. Sublime.

As if—

As if the Goddess of War herself had descended into the world.

Blood was seeping from Aiden’s lips. This golden qi was never something a human body could handle. The power, which could make even the strongest knight of this generation stare in stunned silence, was applying unbearable pressure on every part of his body.

It was crushing him. Pulverizing him. His innards felt like mush, and every muscle in his body seemed to be tearing apart.

And yet, even so—

His mouth opened.

He vocalized the essence that had manifested in his body—the will sustained by that very essence—projecting it into the world as sound.

“I am steel—”

Hear me, O innocent.

“I am the blade—”

Hear me, O powerless.

“I am the scales—”

May there be protection here.

“Subjects of the Empire, do not be afraid—”

May there be peace here.

“—For I have come!!”

The Warden of the Realm—

Protects the Empire.

[Intruder, fall back——!]

With power enough—

To shake the heavens, boil the oceans, and rend the earth,

The supernatural force that carried the will of a knight who sought to protect his homeland even beyond death,

Repelled the evil that dared to invade the Empire—flinging it away into the sky far beyond reach.

▣

Watching the demonic energy scatter and vanish into the sky, Aiden coughed and hacked up a mouthful of blood.

Even as he plummeted toward the ground, his body wouldn’t respond—he had no strength left. His vision blurred.

And even in that fading consciousness, one clear thought took hold.

‘…That was insane just now.’

He honestly didn’t know what he had used or how it all came together.

But still—

He had just faced a “Fragment of the Demon God,” and he had won.

And the first thought that came to mind—

‘I think I’m allowed to brag to my dad at least a little.’

The father who had constantly warned him to never play in the deep end. Well, your boy just saved the Empire.

So come on, just give me some praise for once, yeah? You never know what a kid’s gonna grow up to be……

‘…Ah, crap.’

His grip on consciousness was slipping so much that even those stray thoughts were getting hard to hold onto.

‘Someone… really hope someone catches me before I go splat—’

After tearing through all that chaos to save the Capital, if he were to die now from something as mundane as falling to his death… that would just be too unfair.

As that thought flickered through Aiden’s mind—

Suddenly, someone appeared in his vision.

“……?”

Actually, calling it “someone” might not be quite right.

It was definitely in the shape of a human, but something about it felt off.

After all, humans don’t come in sizes larger than most buildings.

Even if he compared his entire body to it, he probably wouldn’t even match the size of that thing’s face.

What was this? Was he seeing things from losing consciousness?

A woman so massive she filled his entire field of view hovered in the sky, looking down at his falling form.

And on top of that—

That appearance, without a doubt—

‘—Dame Noel?’

He didn’t know why that thought surfaced.

But the enormous figure that had overtaken his vision—

Undeniably resembled Noel.

That towering Noel looked down and met Aiden’s gaze.

The emotions in her eyes—how could he describe them?

Tenderness, regret, joy, sympathy.

And memories.

Any of those would have been a fitting description.

It was like… the way someone would look at a former lover.

“You’ve done well this time.”

As everything around him moved in slow motion, Aiden clearly saw the woman’s lips move and heard her words.

“Rest well, beloved of all.”

Those words—

“I look forward to the day we meet again.”

Echoed softly in his ears as he fell.

-System Message

▶ Favorability with “Goddess of War,” Karva, has increased.

▶ Bond level has risen!

▶ You may now copy one skill!

▶ The first god to take an interest in you has appeared.

▶ Information about the Unique Trait “Divine Descent” is now unlocked.

That softly glowing system window, barely visible through half-lidded eyes, was the last thing Aiden saw before his consciousness faded away.