Published at 17th of August 2019 8:26 am

Volume 13, Chapter 6: The Second Coming of the Legend

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Part 1

May 22, Saturday

When Theia's ship, the Blue Knight, arrived at the far side of the moon, the three enemy ships were lined up and waiting for them. Normally being on the dark and far-side of the moon, the ships shouldn't be visible, but thanks to the CG-processed images on the monitor, they were clear as day.

“It was a trap as expected.”

“Yes. Many fighters have been launched from the enemy spaceship carrier.”

“So everything is going as they planned... Activate the automatic interceptor system, hand over the fire-control system and the steering to me. I'll leave the rest to you.”

“As you wish, my princess.”

In order to keep the three ships from supporting the forces on the ground, there was a need to attack using the Blue Knight and jam their communications. That would raise the chances of Theia's allies winning.

Until now, they had sent small fighters to support their soldiers and a dozen or so Motor Knights to support Warlord. If they were allowed to send any more weapons, the ground battle would most definitely end in the coup d'état army's victory.

“Ruth.”

“Yes.”

“Let me apologize beforehand. I'm sorry. We most likely won't return alive.”

In order to protect Elfaria and allow the people on the surface to win their battle, someone would have to attack the enemy fleet. Though Theia and the others had two ships at their disposal, Clan's Hazy Moon couldn't participate in the battle because of the position she was in, which meant that the Blue Knight would have to fight alone. However, it would be difficult for just one ship to come out victorious.

“What are you saying? I made an oath to stay with you through everything.”

“So you did.”

“If anyone were to apologize, it would be the both of us apologizing to Satomi-sama.”

“That's true... then Ruth, if that time comes, let's fall on the moon. If we do that, then we could always watch over him.”

“That is a wonderful idea. By all means, let's do so.”

Theia and Ruth were already prepared for their defeat.

With Theia's ship, they didn't have half a chance of winning. The Blue Knight was a royalty class spaceship, the most powerful class amongst the Forthorthe ships, but it hadn't fully recovered from the damage it had taken before. Moreover, they were losing in numbers as well. The chances of them losing was very high.

“However, I don't believe there is a need to simply let them win.”

“Of course. Since we're going to fight, we should go for the victory. If we don't, I'd feel bad for those who follow behind us.”

But even then, Theia and Ruth were going for the win.

Theia wanted to win, reunite with Koutarou and say something sensible to him. And Ruth wanted to tell Koutarou her wish.

The Blue Knight was the one to make the first move. Since the Blue Knight was the largest class of ships, it also had a larger generator. And making use of that energy allowed for the attacks to reach further. Out of the many weapons at her disposal, Theia chose to begin with the laser cannon.

“Blue Knight! High-concentration laser!”

“As you wish, my princess. Opening the port to the high concentration laser 'Shiny Flower'. Trigger is given to the commander seat.”

Theia was sitting on the bridge's commander seat. There, she steered the ship and at the same time was in charge of the attacks. Though she was steering, there wasn't a rudder like on a ship. Her control system was similar to that of a fighter pilot's, a control stick, and she held her finger over the trigger. Since a spaceship required to be controlled in three dimensions, the control style was similar to that of a fighter.

“Your highness, the defensive ship has taken the front. I'm confirming the existence of a distortion field.”

Ruth was sitting in the operator's seat to the right and slightly below Theia. She was in charge of information processing and managing the ship. Simply put, one could say that Theia was in charge of offense and Ruth was in charge of defense.

“The defensive ship is in the front and the fighters are following it. Behind those is the battleship, and the carrier is in the very back.”

The enemy fleet consisted of a carrier, a battleship and a defensive ship.

The carrier's combat capabilities in itself were weak, however, it carried several fighters within. It would launch those fighters and have them attack. A combined attack by a group of highly mobiles fighters was hard to prevent and had a lot of power behind it. However, there were many cases where a lone fighter couldn't breach a ship's barrier. And for that reason, a carrier practically never operated on its own.

The battleship excelled in attacking. Using ordnance that made use of its large generator, its primary job was to weaken the enemy's barrier. If the battleship weakened the enemy's barrier, then the carrier fighters' attacks would become effective. In other words, the battleship would weaken and the carrier would destroy. So the battleship was an indispensable partner of the aircraft.

Opposite the other two, the defensive ship was in charge of defense. Unlike the battleship, the defensive ship's capabilities were almost solely invested in defense and it came equipped with a robust barrier. At the same time, it's offensive power was next to none. This ship's role was to take the lead in battle and block any attacks. A common feature for this type of ship was that they were unmanned. Since it served as a shield, unless there was a particular reason for it, there was almost no reason to station a crew on it.

The enemy was making effective use of these three ships. The defensive ship was put on the front and protected the fighters launched by the carrier. The battleship followed after the fighters and was in charge of attacking the Blue Knight. The carrier didn't move forward. The battleship would attack and weaken the Blue Knight's barrier, while the defensive ship covered the fighters approach in order for them to destroy their target. It was a strategy faithful to the basics.

“The ships and weapons are probably new models from DKI, but their strategy is orthodox...”

Theia was a little curious about the basic strategy the enemy was using. When they fought in the past, she felt like this formation was a bit too simple for someone as smart as Elexis.

“What shall we do?”

“There's no time to think about that. Let's get around the defensive ship and attack the battleship.”

Theia took defensive maneuvers with the Blue Knight while turning the bow of her ship towards the enemy battleship. The Blue Knight's movements were like a fighter. With Forthorthe's advanced technology, it was possible to control gravity and mass, so even large ships had high mobility. As Theia moved the ship around, she squeezed the trigger.

“A direct hit on the enemy ship! The distortion field's strength has decreased by 30%!”

“We won't hit that many times from this distance! Ruth, I'm going to get a little reckless!”

“Yes! The fighters are leaving the defensive ships distortion field! It looks like the defensive ship is going to devote itself to protecting the battleship!”

“We'll ignore the fighters and focus our attacks on the battleship! Those fighters aren't much of a threat to us right now!”

Theia's bombardment had been a direct hit on the battleship, but it wasn't enough to destroy it. While the laser had a long reach, it had less power when compared to other weapons. That's why Theia wanted to close in and fire more powerful weapons off in order to destroy the ship, but her opponents understood that as well. Since the battleship was needed to weaken the barriers, both sides directed their focus towards it. And because they knew that Theia and Ruth didn't have the time to deal with each individual fighter, they had the defensive warship give up on escorting the fighters, and had it protect the battleship instead.

“Blue Knight! Variable characteristic beam cannon!”

“As you wish, my princess. Opening the port to the variable characteristic beam cannon 'Powder Snow'.”

“This time won't go the same as the last!”

Theia changed her weapon from laser to beam. While the beam didn't have as far of a reach as the laser, it had considerable power. From this distance, the beam was a suitable weapon.

“Your highness, Energy reaction detected in the bow of the enemy battleship! They're firing!”

“Leave it to me! I won't make a slip up like letting them hit us!”

The enemy battleship commenced its bombardment. It fired a beam like the one on the Blue Knight. The enemy was trying to decide this battle through a shootout of their respective main armaments.

“Three fighter formations are pursuing us!”

“Are they trying to harass us?!”

Three fighters formed a formation. And three formations meant a total of nine ships were chasing after the Blue Knight. However, like mentioned before the fighters didn't have the power to break through the Blue Knight's barrier, so Theia ignored them and continued her attack.

“After one volley of the beam cannon, we'll pass by the side of the defensive ship! As we're by its side, throw some missiles at it!”

“As you wish.”

“Your highness, I'll scatter disturbance particles immediately after the missiles have been fired!”

“I'll leave it to you! Now here we go!”

Through some skillful piloting, Theia smoothly turned the Blue Knight and charged towards the battleship being protected by the defensive ship. It wasn't a wise idea to have a shootout with the defensive ship in the way, so Theia was going to challenge the battleship to a close combat battle.

“If I do this, you can't fire either, can you!”

Since there was still some distance between them, Theia placed the defensive ship between her and the battleship. With that, the battleship would be unable to attack and allowed for Theia to easily advance. The defensive ship had far less offensive power than the battleship. The attacks from the defensive ship were sporadic and were unable to score a hit on the Blue Knight. Theia repeatedly fired the beam cannon and charged the defensive ship. As she did, the defensive ship gave up on attacking and focused on defending with its barrier.

“The bombardment has lowered the strength of the enemy ship's distortion field by 56%!”

“Alright!”

“Firing missiles.”

“Scattering disturbance particles!”

The beam cannon directly hit the defensive ship just like Theia had predicted and greatly weakened its barrier. Theia then passed by the defensive ship's side and at the same time fired missiles into it. At the same time, a large amount of particles for defense that disrupted communications and lasers were scattered and blocked the defensive ship's counter attack.

After passing by the defensive ship's side, the enemy warship appeared in front of the Blue Knight. Everything had been playing out like Theia had wanted. If they could destroy this battleship, Theia and Ruth might have a chance.

“Your highness, the enemy fighter group is attacking!”

“Ridiculous. What are they planning?!”

That was when something unexpected happened. The nine fighters following the Blue Knight suddenly began their attack. With the Blue Knight's barrier intact, their attack was completely pointless. There was no way they could harm the ship.

However–

“Your highness, the Blue Knight's distortion field has lost 20% of its strength!”

“What?!”

Going against expectations, the Blue Knight's barrier had taken considerable damage. This was absurd for fighters to do. If they took repeated attacks with this kind of power, their barrier wouldn't last for long. This was something completely unimaginable.

“The beam fired from all nine fighters have all hit the same spot at the same time!”

“I see, so that's their new strategy!”

The fighters that DKI had created worked on the same principle as the Motor Knights sent to Earth. The fighters performed a perfectly synchronized attack on targets that the carrier designated. The fighters’ individual attacks wouldn't be able to affect the Blue Knight's barrier, but if a synchronized attack was made on the same place and at the same time, it was difficult for even a royalty class ship to withstand. Rather than using new weapons that could easily leave behind evidence, Elexis had opted to go for optimizing conventional technology.

“High energy reaction detected from the battleship!”

“Activate the emergency boosters, dodge it at maximum speed!”

“As you wish, my princess.”

Having learned the enemy's plan, Theia didn't force the attack, but rather decided to fall back. Theia attempted to back away from the battleship at the Blue Knight's maximum speed. If she left the fighters be and had a shootout with the battleship, the results were obvious.

But on its way, the Blue Knight shook. It had been hit by the battleships bombardment.

“The third block of the left leg has been hit! Closing the hatches and releasing fire suppressant!”

“We've been had! We knew they were tough yet this is what we get!”

The fighters’ attack had weakened their barrier, and with the emergency retreat taxing the generator, the barrier had been unable to recover before the battleship’s attack. With that, not even the Blue Knight would come out in one piece. It was thanks to Theia's piloting that they had escaped with just some damage in one of the legs. If a different pilot had been at the helm, they would have most likely been in an even worse position.

Part 2

When Elexis returned from Earth to the carrier, the fleet began their actual attack on the Blue Knight. With this, the Blue Knight began taking continuous damage, and was gradually losing its ability to return fire.

“Looks like everything's going according to plan.”

“Yes, Elexis-sama. However, as to be expected from princess Theiamillis.”

“Princess Theiamillis is a genius at battle despite being the daughter of the pacifist empress.”

“It's surprising that we still haven't beaten them despite using RTS.”

RTS, or the Round Table System. The name was borrowed from the round table that knights of old used to discuss strategy. This device was a new type of computer system that DKI had developed for unmanned aircraft. With this system, unmanned craft were able to perfectly synchronize with other unmanned ships. In other words, it was this system that gave the unmanned fighters and the Motor Knights their ability to use synchronized attacks.

“It just means there are exceptions to everything. Koutarou-kun actually went ahead and broke through the round table.”

“I heard the report... but is that true? I can't believe it.”

“Yes. That boy surpasses logic and probability. It's as if a bad joke put on some clothes and is walking around.”

“Then I am impressed you came back safe after going up against something like that...”

“I may have, but I was unable to bring most of my subordinates with me.”

Elexis's showed a hateful expression. He felt like not being able to do anything for his fallen subordinates was a bitter failure. It made him realize how naive he had been. Even for Elexis who had been looking forward for his fight with Koutarou, this was an unsatisfying ending.

“However, a war is not settled through the victory or defeat of one battle. If we manage to capture princess Theiamillis, we can erase the loss on Earth.”

“We won't waste your preparations, Elexis-sama. We will win. Please observe us at ease.”

“I'll do just that.”

The captain gave out orders left and right and gradually narrowed the encirclement around the Blue Knight. Elexis was quietly watching over the situation.

Elexis may have lost on the ground, but he had managed to seal the most dangerous opponent down there. That's why as long as they won in space and captured the isolated princess Theiamillis, then they would not only be able to get their hands on empress Elfaria, but also their men that were left behind.

“...Koutarou-kun, you were stronger than me... but I will win.”

Elexis was convinced of his victory. And that victory was becoming a reality in front of his very eyes.

Part 3

The battle was progressing in the coup d'état army's favor. More accurately speaking, the coup d'état army had the advantage from the start. Things had only gone smoothly for Theia and Ruth because they had fallen for the enemy's plan.

The Blue Knight hadn't been fully repaired in the first place, and now it had suffered additional damage by the fighters and battleship. It was now floating in space, damaged all over. The hull was scorched black and torn up in several places, revealing the insides. It no longer had the beautiful blue appearance it had before.

“...Did the battle on the ground end I wonder...”

Theia mumbled in a quiet voice as she gazed at the moon floating in the center of the monitor. The image of the moon that had gone through image processing was shining beautifully.

“Most likely. And considering that the coup d'état army is not recommending a surrender, then Satomi-sama and the others most likely won.”

Ruth said as she gazed at the moon with Theia.

Apart from the moon, there were several other bits of information floating on the monitor. The damage the ship had taken. The enemies surrounding them. The artificial intelligence that suggested them to immediately retreat. They were all warnings, nothing which would serve as a plus for Theia and Ruth.

Theia and Ruth already knew that they had no chance of winning. Since they could only guess what had happened on the surface, they couldn't stop fighting. That's why they were gazing at the moon, and Earth which should be on the other side.

“That is our only saving grace.”

“Elfaria-sama is safe. Let's leave the rest to Satomi-sama. He will surely protect her majesty.”

“Yes... He is the knight of a legendary princess like myself after all. I am sure he will be able to protect my mother.”

Theia smiled at Ruth, tilted her control stick and made the Blue Knight turn around. As she did, the enemy ships appeared in place of the moon. The fighters protected by the defensive ship, the battleship behind that and the carrier in the very back. Compared to the heavily damaged Blue Knight, the enemy fleet was practically unharmed.

“Ruth, set up automatic control once manual control of the ship is interrupted.”

“Our destination?”

“The moon.”

“...Yes.”

The moment Ruth replied, tears streamed down her cheeks. She knew that Theia was going to make her final attack. And she knew how Theia felt. While fulfilling her duty as a princess until the end, she wanted to indulge in her own emotions in her final moments. Ruth was painfully aware of Theia felt, because she was the same.

“The setup is complete.”

“Then let's go. We'll show them how princess Theiamillis and her guardian knight Ruthkania fights until the end!”

“Yes, let's!”

Theia's and Ruth's expressions changed into that of a princess and a knight. They would fight until the very end.

Part 4

Upon seeing what the Blue Knight was doing on his monitor, Elexis realized that Theia was going to make one last attack. Behind the bridge of the blue knight, a large flag formed from lasers and beams was being displayed. The flower in the center of the flag was Theia's crest. This flag was the sign that Theia was going to the front.

“Oooh... princess Theiamillis flag is...”

“So the princess really was on it...”

As Theia's flag was raised, the personnel in the carrier's bridge were shaken. While they might now be part of the coup d'état army, many of the soldiers still held the royal families in reverence. And as a result, the soldiers on the bridge were unable to hide their unease. The same was true for the battleship.

“Calm down! It's not like we’re are trying to kill her highness! We only wish to stop any useless fighting! Make sure our attacks don't hit the bridge!”

However, as the captain scolded them, the bridge calmed down once more. The captain and the crew were part of the Melcemheim band of knights, which had been around for over 2,000 years. That's why their chain of command was deep, and the captain's authority held a lot of sway with the crew. And the unrest was quickly quelled.

“Splendidly done, captain.”

“I am sorry for having shown you such a shameful display.”

The subordinates’ failure was the captain's failure. Holding a title of knight, the captain didn't want to show the unrest his subordinates had before a battle to others.

“You don't have to worry. That is to be expected considering our opponent. Due to our old customs, common sense and old system of rule, it is only natural for them to become so anxious. If anything, your ability to get them out of it is worthy of praise.”

“...I am honored, Elexis-sama.”

The reason the Melcemheim band of knights were obedient of Elexis was because they trusted in his personality. If they hadn't, they wouldn't obey a civilian, even if they were ordered by the military top brass or if he was a relative of the Melcemheim family. And that was true this time as well, as the captain held Elexis in admiration.

“That aside. Now that she has raised her flag, princess Theiamillis will be making one last attack.”

“She will be prepared to die honorably in battle, so if we let our guard down it will come back to bite us.”

“I'd expect nothing less... Captain, I'll leave it to you. You will be in full control of the weapons.”

“Yes sir, I'll make sure you live up to your expectations.”

Elexis trusted the Melcemheim band of knights as well. As a CEO of a enterprise, he knew that if the boss was too intrusive, it would lead to failure. That's why he left the battle to the captain and sat down in the commander's seat to stare at the Blue Knight being shown on the monitor.

Certainly, fighting this would require quite the resolve..

Though the Blue Knight was heavily damaged, looking at the flag on the ship gave off a very regal presence.

Part 5

Theia quickly moved the Blue Knight around as she took evasive maneuvers and approached the enemy fleet. As she got closer, the fighters that were being protected by the defensive ship left its influence and moved into position to intercept the Blue Knight.

“Your highness, six formations of fighters are approaching!”

“Intercept them with lasers and missiles! Keep firing at them automatically!”

“As you wish, my princess. Entering automatic interception mode with the Laser Gatling and High Maneuver Missiles.”

The fighters moved in three formations, with a total of nine ships each and unleashed synchronized attacks. Since there were six formations, there were two sets of these. In order to correspond to that, Theia activated the Blue Knight's defensive weapons. She left the defenses to the AI and she herself focused on attacking.

“High energy reaction detected on the battleship! An attack is incoming!”

“At this busy time?!”

Theia squeezed the trigger and fired off her beam cannon twice before tilting the control stick to the right. Since she focused on avoiding the enemy's attack, the beams fired from the Blue Knight only grazed the battleship and flew off into the far reaches of space.

“Focusing the deployment of the distortion field on the side of the hull!”

At the same time, Ruth put up a barrier for defense. The next moment, the beam fired from the enemy battleship assaulted the Blue Knight. But thanks to the early evasion and focused barrier, there was no hull damage.

“Ruth, once more!”

“The fighter group is still approaching!”

However, that was when the fighters approached the Blue Knight on the other side of the hull. The Blue Knight intercepted them using lasers and missiles, but only a few of them were shot down. Most of them charged towards the Blue Knight.

“Then I'll just do this!”

Realizing the danger, Theia took a drastic action. She removed her right hand from the control stick and grabbed a hold of another nearby control stick.

“Blue Knight! Anti-Ship Energy Sword, shooting mode!”

“As you wish, my princess. Anti-Ship Energy Sword 'Signaltin' set to shooting mode.”

The control stick that Theia had grabbed onto controlled the Blue Knight's right arm. Since controlling the arm and moving the ship at the same time was difficult, she had refrained from doing so until now.

“Taaakeee thiiiiiss!!”

The Blue Knight's arm, several hundred meters in length began moving. The reaction caused by Theia swinging the giant arm was counteracted by boosters firing. The sounds of the mechanisms moving the arm and the boosters counteracting the reaction reached all the way to the bridge. And that sound conveyed the power from the swing of an arm of a giant over one kilometer in height. At the end of the arm was a beam sword just as huge. Theia used it as a beam cannon and swung towards the oncoming fighter group.

“Three fighters destroyed! Energy reaction detected within the fighters, a synchronized attack is coming!”

Thanks to Theia going against common sense and having a spaceship move its arm, her attack managed to destroy three of the fighters in a single strike. But even then, more than ten fighters remained. The group of fighters attacked at the same time to finish off the damaged Blue Knight.

“Generator output to maximum! Focus the distortion field! And pour the rest of the energy into the Energy Sword!”

Theia moved the Blue Knight's arms and brought the hull of the ship to face the fighters. Since the fighters focused their attacks on a single point, she placed the beam sword in their path and used it as a shield. Thanks to the barrier and beam sword, the Blue Knight somehow managed to survive the attack.

“The generator has overheated and is currently under emergency cooling! The barrier has collapsed due to it being overloaded! The Anti-Ship Energy Sword's system is down! And the energy pool has been almost fully expended! 163 seconds required until systems can be restored!”

However, the price for that was far too expensive. The generator shut down, the barrier was lost, the beam sword turned off. All of the conserved energy had been used up. Because of that, the Blue Knight was simply floating in space.

“So this is it, huh...”

“Yes... sadly...”

If they were fighting with their bodies, they might have been able to keep moving through sheer force of will. However, since the Blue Knight was a machine, that was not possible. It would take another two minutes and a half for it to recover, and their opponents weren't foolish enough to stand idle for that long. Theia and Ruth's fight ended here.

“Say, Ruth. Do you think we fought a fight we could be proud of it?”

“Yes, your highness. You fought splendidly as a princess. I guarantee it.”

The enemy fighter group slowly approached the Blue Knight. Behind them were three spaceships. However, neither Theia nor Ruth were looking at that any more. What they were looking at was the moon floating far away.

“However, I might not have been of much help.”

“That's not true. It is because of you that we could get this far. You have nothing to be ashamed of, Ruthkania Pardomshiha fought valiantly as a guardian knight. I guarantee it.”

“Thank you very much, you highness. I am honored.”

As Theia and Ruth exchanged smiles, they thought of what would happen.

If they were taken by the enemies, they would be used as cards to threaten Elfaria. And after that, they would be imprisoned at best. The worst outcome would be if they were executed. If that was the case, then they would get in the way of Elfaria and Koutarou and the others. That wasn't something that Theia wanted. So she had made up her mind.

“...Sorry, Ruth.”

“No, your judgment is correct your highness. There was no other way.”

“Thank you... you've done well serving me until today. I can only think of thanks towards you.”

“What are you saying? It was a fulfilling life.”

The two took each other’s hand and tightly grasped them. They were both smiling, but large tears were spilling out of their eyes. The time the two had spent together was anything but short. Simply calling them childhood friends would do them a disservice, and now that their lives were reaching the end, there were so many things they wanted to say. However, they didn't have the time to say it. They simply held each other's hands and shed tears.

After a short amount of time had passed, and before the Blue Knight was about to fall into the enemy's hands, Theia gave it one final order.

“Blue Knight, we can't fall into the enemy's hands. Blow up the bridge and us with it.”

Theia's final order to the Blue Knight was one meant to kill them.

The difference in risk between Theia and Ruth dying here and being captured by the enemy was too big. This was the only method that Theia could think of. She didn't want those important to her to be put in danger.

“In order to execute that order, an authentication is required.”

“My name is Theiamillis Gre Mastir Sagurada von Forthorthe.”

“Authentication completed. Confirmed that the order is from princess Theiamillis herself. The order is accepted. As you wish, my princess. The bridge will detonate in one minute.”

“Phew... that should do it.”

“Thank you for your hard work, your highness.”

Having finished giving her order, Theia lightly dropped her shoulders and let out a lovely sigh, and Ruth who was showing her appreciation had a somewhat liberated expression. Their time as princess and knight was over, and they returned to being childhood friends.

“You too. Now my only regret is...”

“Your highness?”

“As expected, I do have regrets. Fufu, it seems I wasn't able to play the role of a saint.”

“Actually, I have a regret too. I wasn't able to tell Satomi-sama my wish...”

“Ohh... now you have my interest. Tell me.”

“It would be a long story, so I'll tell you later. I can't tell you in a place like this. It's a bit of a girly wish after all.”

“If you've said this much, I don't think saying what it is would make much of a difference... Oh well, like you said, it would be a waste to say it in a place like this.”

“I'll peacefully tell you over some tea and snacks.”

A countdown for the self-destruct was being displayed on the edge of the monitor. The timer had just passed 30 seconds, so little time remained. However, neither Theia nor Ruth were looking at the clock, instead they care freely chatted away. What they were looking at was the large and round moon. Once the countdown had finished, the Blue Knight would head towards it, to deliver them to the moon.

“That's right, your highness, when we talk I'll reveal another thing as well.”

“What? That sounds interesting.”

The countdown continued, and only ten seconds remained. The two ignored it and continued to talk. It was as if they were saying that it didn't matter at all.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six.

Instead, they held each other's hands. In order to support one another at their final moments, to show their gratitude towards one another and promise to stay the same in the future.

“Yes. It's an important secret regarding your highness's knight.”

“Fufufu, I look forward to it...”

Five, four, three, two, one.

With that the last ten seconds passed. For the last seconds they kept their eyes closed. They didn't want to see each other torn apart in the explosion. As they held hands, they waited for the sound of the explosion to come.

“I'll be troubled if that secret gets exposed though.”

However, what they heard wasn't the sound of an explosion, but the jestering voice of a young man.

Part 6

When that appeared in front of the coup d'état soldiers, everyone without exception fell into panic. That included the commander, Elexis, as he stared at the monitor in astonishment.

“What is that?! Impossible, something like that couldn't exist!!”

The thing that existed in front of him was something his reason denied with all of its might.

In front of him was a single reptile. It was covered in crimson scales, had large wings on its back and a horn growing out from its forehead. That alone was strange, but what made it all the more surreal was its size. Even with a very conservative guess it would have to be at least 25 meters. Compared to this reptile, the fighters flying nearby were far smaller. And the strangest of all was that this reptile was flying around freely in space. The reptile flapped its large wings dashed towards the center of the fleet gradually approaching the Blue Knight.

“Uwaaaaaaa, it's a monster!!”

“It's a hallucination! We're hallucinating because we're deprived of oxygen!!”

The soldiers had lived in a world with common sense up until now. The common sense on Forthorthe with its advanced science was very different from that of Earth's. But even then, they had never seen a creature flying around in space. Then there was that overwhelming size. Even in space where everything looked small, that overwhelming presence could not be concealed.

ROOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAARR

The lizard dealt the final blow to the soldiers by opening its mouth and roaring loudly. Even though sound shouldn't be able to travel through space, and there was a large distance between the ships, they all heard the voice at the same time. Since they didn't know that was due to magic, they practically began doubting their own sanity. And those who didn't were those who believed in old superstition. Even though they were in the space age, the sailors’ superstition ran deep.

As a result, the soldiers panic grew deeper. By now, almost all soldiers had lost their calm and the chain of command aboard the ships had been thrown into disarray, to the point where the ships and fighters might crash into one another.

“Calm down! That enemy might be incredibly bizarre, but it's not like it has attacked us!”

The only one who had managed to remain somewhat calm was Elexis. Since he had seen a bizarre enemy on the surface, he had developed some tolerance to the scene taking place in front of him.

What is this?! This is almost like a fairy tale!

But not even he could fully hide his surprise. That was just how impossible this situation was. That's why his voice didn't reach the soldiers on board. The time the soldiers spent in this panicked state proved to be life changing for Theia and Ruth.

Part 7

Clan's jaw dropped as she watched the giant red lizard, Alunaya, dash towards the enemy fleet.

“...Really, you are so reckless...”

She was dumbfounded to the point where she couldn't say anything.

“...If something like that just suddenly charges towards you, you'd forget all about the war...”

Clan then sympathized with her enemy. She knew how they must feel. Even Clan who knew the circumstances behind that sight felt it was simply surreal.

Accepting Alunaya's proposal, Koutarou decided to head out into space, and asked Harumi to heal the magicians Maki and Yurika. This was to protect Elfaria and heal the remaining injured people. Once Maki and Yurika were treated, Alunaya transformed from half-man half-dragon into his original form as a giant dragon. Alunaya then had Koutarou and Harumi get up on his back and rose up into space.

But ascending into space wasn't easy, not even for the legendary dragon, the Fire Dragon Emperor, Alunaya. It was especially true on Earth, where he had no actual form and consisted of solely magical power and soul. The power Alunaya was able to use while in Shizuka's body was severely limited. That was why Alunaya charging towards the fleet was just a bluff. Even if he reached the ship, he couldn't actually do anything to it. If he had been counterattacked, he would have been in danger. And though this was a necessary act to buy enough time for Koutarou and Harumi to board the Blue Knight, it could only be described as reckless, just as Clan had said.

“But even for a legendary elder dragon, this is as far as he can go. The rest is up to you...”

Clan closed her mouth and adjusted her glasses as she thought of Koutarou. As she did, images of Koutarou popped into her mind, but strangely enough, they weren't images of him fighting. Rather, they were images of him messily sleeping, him forcing Clan out of her laboratory and cleaning it, his back in the kitchen as he made dinner for Clan, him smiling at Clan with a carefree expression, and finally him grieving over his own powerlessness.

Bring forth a splendid victory and bring Theiamillis-san and Pardomshiha back home. If you do, you will surely be able to return to that life...

Koutarou wasn't someone who liked fighting. However, he had no choice but to fight right now. In that case, Clan should do whatever she could to support him. She pushed out of her mind the things she was thinking about and began busily working. Gathering information, analyzing, etc. There were a ton of things for Clan to do even if she was far away.

“That red one is definitely Alunaya!”

There was one more person on the bridge as busy as Clan was. That was the young boy who stood amongst the adults, watching the progress of the battle.

“Did everyone see it?! The Silver Princess was with him!! The sword was shining and stuff too!!”

The boy made exaggerated gestures as he emphasized what he was saying. Only figures and graphs were shown on the monitor right now, but until just a moment ago, it was displaying a lone knight.

It was a strange knight wearing blue armor and holding a silvery-white sword. Despite going up against the coup d'état army who outnumbered him, he didn't take a single step back. And by the knight was a girl with bright silver hair. The girl's hair was black, but the light around it was silver. That girl used mysterious powers to protect the knight and lead him to victory. The knight and girl then got on the back of the giant red-scaled dragon and headed towards princess Theiamillis in order to save her.

“It's the Blue Knight! That person really is the Blue Knight! Her majesty Elfaria and princess Theiamillis are in danger so he came to save them! That's definitely it!”

The boy's excitement was reaching its peak.

The knight that had appeared on the monitor was just like the fairy tale the boy had heard from his parents. Since it was his favorite story, the boy could read the picture book by heart all by himself. A blue armor and silver sword, his left hand controlled fire and lightning and he could fly in the sky. With a beautiful silver haired girl at his side, he defeated and befriended a red dragon.

Since the boy was still young, he couldn't understand the details surrounding the coup d'état. However, he could tell from the appearances of the adults around him that Elfaria and Theia, the empress and princess, were in danger. When a princess was in danger, a knight would appear. There was no longer any doubt in the boy.

He believed that the knight he had seen was the legendary hero. The Blue Knight, Reios.

“Could it... really be...?”

“There's no way. The Blue Knight lived 2,000 years ago.”

“But aren't there too many things that match?”

“It's just someone who's pretending to be the Blue Knight right? He's just an eccentric.”

“Can you win by just pretending though? He was up against the elite troops of the Melcemheim band of knights and the latest weapons from DKI.”

“That's...”

“And what about that sword, the girl and the giant dragon. How do you explain that?”

“...N-No, even if you ask me... I don't know...”

Just like the boy that believed, the adults began believing, little by little.

But because it was so unrealistic, the adults were still dubious. However, it was impossible to explain it all using science. That's why the adults all agreed that the knight that had appeared had powers beyond their understanding.

“It's the Blue Knight! Why don't you all get it! No matter how you look at it, it's the Blue Knight!”

“... If that really is the Blue Knight, then wouldn’t that be great?”

“Yeah. If that was the case, we could still remain hopeful in this situation...”

The only thing they couldn't accept was who it was. They had been chased out of their country and were in an awkward position, so they very well aware of what reality was like. Only a legendary knight could overturn this predicament, but somebody like that wouldn't just conveniently appear. There was no way. This wasn't some fairy tale; this was reality.

“Geez, adults really are suspicious... I won't help if the Blue Knight gets angry at you later.”

That's why even now, only the young boy truly believed.

Part 8

“I'll be troubled if that secret gets exposed though.”

As a voice echoed in the bridge, the Blue Knight's artificial intelligence began speaking.

“Top priority code acknowledged. Discontinuing self-destruct. Your excellency, Blue Knight, this ship is very pleased to see your return.”

That was what the owner of the voice had ordered, but this was strange. The one who held the highest rank was the princess, Theia. Yet, the Blue Knight had obeyed the orders of the owner of that voice.

“Koutarou?!”

“Satomi-sama?!”

However, neither Theia nor Ruth were listening to the artificial intelligence's voice. They raised their heads and looked for the owner of that voice. Just as they did, the door to the bridge opened.

“... And Theia, why the hell are you trying to self-destruct? Easily admitting defeat like that isn't like you. And you call yourself my princess?”

A boy wearing blue armor appeared from behind the door. He was staring at Theia and Ruth with dissatisfaction, as if he wasn't aware of the situation.

“But Koutarou! There was no other way!”

“You've gotten a bit too sensible lately. Like I told you, you should be a little more selfish like you were before.”

The boy, Satomi Koutarou, said that to them with a stern look. He ran up to the highest point of the bridge where Theia and Ruth were. Because of the difference in height, Koutarou temporarily became unable to see them. During that timing, Koutarou gave the artificial intelligence another order as he glanced at a monitor.

“Blue Knight, prioritize the restoration of functions. There aren't any humans other than near the bridge. Leave life support to other areas until later.”

“In that case, we can shorten the time required to restoration by 14 seconds.”

“Good boy. Continue like that and omit what you can. I don't care if you push it a little. We're not trying to get the ship into tip-top shape. This is a battle against time.”

“As you wish, my lord. 42 seconds until functions have been restored, 52 seconds until the energy pool has recovered.”

Just as he finished giving out orders, Koutarou finished climbing up to Theia and Ruth, and the conversation that had temporarily stopped started up again.

“If I am selfish, those important to me will die! That includes you too! Why did you come, Koutarou?! I was trying to die so that this wouldn't happen!”

Theia criticized Koutarou for coming. He had somehow managed to board the Blue Knight without her knowing about it, but Theia hadn't wished for that. If she had known about it beforehand, she would have sent him back.

“Carry out your duty to recapture our mother country... those were your orders.”

“Wha?!”

“...Satomi-kun, that's a little cold. If you don't say it properly, I'd feel bad for Theiamillis-san.”

As Theia was at a loss for words from what Koutarou had just said, Harumi appeared from behind Koutarou. Since she had run up like Koutarou had, she was slightly out of breath.

“Harumi?! Why are even you here?!”

“Why, well... Theiamillis-san and Ruth-san are my precious friends.”

As Theia showed her surprise, Harumi looked at her with a smile filled with affection. To Harumi, being in this place was something obvious. She now had more than enough of a reason to stake her life for Theia and Ruth.

“But―”

“Theia, is that hand of yours only for holding onto Ruth's?”

Koutarou said as he looked at Theia's hand. She was still holding hands with Ruth.

“What do you mean?”

“That hand of yours is connected with so many people, you just can't see it right now.”

Theia was planning on dying with Ruth. It was because they had always been together, because Ruth had promised that they would live together, that she felt that way.

However, Koutarou didn't think that was the case. To Theia, Ruth shouldn't be the only one she felt that way for anymore. The only difference was if they were here or not, and that didn't matter at all.

Isn't that right, Yurika...?

Yurika had said in the past that even though they might not always be together, her feelings would always be with the residents of room 106. That's why Theia's hand was connected with everyone even now. She simply couldn't see it. That's why there wasn't any need to think of living and dying together. Ruth wasn't the only one Theia had anymore.

“...Koutarou, is your hand connected to mine too?”

Having understood what Koutarou was saying, tears filled Theia's eyes as she looked up to Koutarou. She was so happy, she just might breakdown where she stood. She had so many friends that were willing to stake their lives to protect her, friends she would stake her lives to protect. Theia believed that her beloved person felt the same.

“Of course. If I didn't, I wouldn't have become your vassal.”

“You mean I am worth that much to you?”

“Worth doesn't matter. Me and everyone else are staking our lives because our hands have been connected for so long.”

“Koutarou...”

What she got back was a clear and powerful answer. Once she heard that, a warm something spread through Theia's chest, before soon turning into an intense joy and a throbbing pulse. Her tears wouldn't stop. Her body was so hot, it was as if she was burning. Theia was convinced that it was for this very moment that she had come to Earth.

“Isn't that great, your highness?”

Ruth, who had been watching over everything until now, smiled at Theia. Even though she didn't say it, she felt the same way Theia did. A burning hot emotion resided in her body and large tears fell from her eyes.

“Ruth...”

The two unconsciously strengthened the grasp on each other’s hands. But by now, they already knew that those hands weren't just connected to each other. Supported by that conviction, Theia wiped away her tears, and determination returned to her eyes. They were the strong willed eyes of a princess before a battle. But something was different now, as a deep love that covered everything resided in her eyes.

“Koutarou, Harumi.”

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

“Ruth.”

“Your highness...”

“And those who are not here―”

Theia would no longer hesitate.

The path which she must take was clear, now all that was left was take the first step.

“―please live together with me. Let's walk down the same path, hand in hand.”

“Yeah.”

“Yes, of course!”

“As you wish, my princess.”

Theia had true friends who supported each other. Knowing that, Theia was strong. She was about to burst free from the frame of a princess and grow into something greater.

This moment was without a doubt the moment when Theia truly cleared her trial and demonstrated her potential to become an empress.

Part 9

The time Alunaya had bought them hadn't been all that much. However, that small amount of time was enough to change Theia and the others’ fate. The Blue Knight's generator that had shut down was now back online, and the ship's functions were reviving one after another. The places that had taken damage were given up on. Ten seconds after the generator started up, the energy pool filled up, and it became possible to use their weapons and barrier again. Thanks to Alunaya, the Blue Knight had regained some of its power.

“Koutarou, you control the hull! I will be in charge of attacking!”

“Got it!! What should I do?!”

“Ruth!”

“Yes! Satomi-sama, please stand on top of the glowing floor over there!”

Koutarou followed Ruth's directions and headed towards the circle glowing on the floor. It was the place where the armor had been stored before Koutarou wore it.

“Maneuver suit, mode change! From attack mode to control mode!”

As Koutarou stood above the glowing floor, Ruth operated the panel by her seat. As she did, several holograms appeared around Koutarou. They all contained various information needed to control the ship.

“Satomi-sama, your body is going to float!”

Next, Koutarou floated up from the floor by about ten centimeters. At the same time, Koutarou's limbs moved on their own and changed position.

“Ruth-san, what is this?”

“The posture you're in right now is the posture the Blue Knight is in! Now all you have to do is move, and the Blue Knight will copy!”

“Alright!”

Koutarou tried moving his limbs a little as a test. As he did, the hologram of the Blue Knight moved in the same way.

“So that's how it works... but the movement is kind of slow. Can't we do something about this, Ruth-san?!”

However, his body didn't move as fast as he wanted. It felt like he was moving his body inside a pool of water. As Koutarou confirmed his dull movements, he turned to face the enemy fleet. The enemy was gradually recovering from the panic of Alunaya's appearance. The decisive battle would soon begin.

“We can't do anything about that. This ship can't move at such speeds.”

Ruth showed an apologetic expression. The reason for the problem was that the ship couldn't move as fast as Koutarou could, and with their movements linked, his moments felt sluggish.

But the next moment, Ruth found something abnormal in her computer.

“...Wait a moment, some kind of code is being executed in the Blue Knight's main system without permission... This is?!”

“Damage has exceeded the set threshold. Confirmed the ID of the maneuver suit wearer, Reios Fatra Bertorion. Verifying combat data. Voice-print confirmed. Welcome back, your excellency Blue Knight.”

Surprisingly, the Blue Knight's system was changing its settings right in front of Ruth.

This is a program that's been installed into the Blue Knight from the very beginning!! Having Satomi-sama come into contact with the ship during control mode must have activated it!! Then, this is―

Just as Ruth understood what had happened, Elfaria appeared on the front monitor. In comparison to Ruth who was surprised, she had a somewhat happy smile.

“Long time no see, Reios-sama. This message has been set to activate if you are in danger even after entering control mode.”

“It really was her majesty's doing!”

“Mother?! And, Reios-sama?!”

Ruth and Theia let out cries of surprise. Though they were surprised by different things, their surprises were equal in measure. Amongst them, only Koutarou had a dumbfounded expression on him.

“...Elle, you haven't changed your way even after 20 years. Seriously... So, what did you do?”

“This ship was constructed using the combat data on Reios-sama that I received from Clan-sama 20 years ago. But because your way of fighting is so offbeat, a normal person wouldn't be able to control it. This should be true for you when you first met Theia as well. So I've held back the Blue Knight's true power by using a large amount of safety devices.”

The image of Elfaria explained as if she was answering Koutarou.

The way he's talking... There's no mistaking it! Koutarou and mother must have met in the distant past! It was probably when he and Clan vanished!!

Theia had felt that something had been out of place, but her common sense had always gotten in the way of the truth. But she was now about to reach that truth. Leaving Theia aside, Elfaria continued explaining.

“But the one standing here right now is Reios-sama. The Reios-sama I met 20 years ago. And this is the ship I made for you. That's why I will unlock this ship's true power.”

The moment Elfaria said that, the monitor was filled with red words of warning.

“Changing preset control mode. From common mode one to Reios Fatra Bertorion. Warning. Control of the ship now requires high amounts of skill. Please refrain from having anyone other than his excellency Blue Knight control the ship.”

In that moment, Koutarou could feel the weight disappear from his body. Up until now, it had felt like he was in a pool of water, but now he could move freely, as if he was flying in the air.

“So this is it!”

“Satomi-sama, a bombardment is coming from the enemy battleship!”

Ruth reported that the enemy fleet was about to attack. Seeing the Blue Knight move, they had almost completely recovered from their panic. The encirclement of fighters were gradually closing in, and the enemy battleship beyond the fighters had its cannon pointed towards the Blue Knight.

“Leave it to me!”

Koutarou swung his limbs around and used that momentum to spin the Blue Knight's hull. At the same time, the boosters on the Blue Knight's legs activated at full power. The Blue Knight demonstrated mobility unthinkable of a spaceship and forcibly changed its flight route. As a result, the beam fired from the enemy battleship completely missed.

“We can do this!”

“Be careful, Reios-sama. The ship can now move as you wish, but all safeties have been removed so there is no consideration for the safety of the ship's hull. The mass exceeds two million tons, so if the hull comes into contact with itself even a little, it'll be blown apart. Please be careful when you control the ship.”

“Don't make something so hard sound easy, Elle!”

Koutarou irregularly shook the Blue Knight's hull as he closed in on the enemy. The feeling he felt when maneuvering was almost exactly the same as his armor. But since he wasn't allowed to let his arms and legs make contact, he had to be more careful than when just using the armor. If it wasn't for Koutarou who had his senses strengthened from the use of spiritual energy, controlling this ship would be next to impossible.

However, Koutarou's efforts were rewarded. The enemy was unable to lock onto the ship's unbelievable movements. The highly mobile fighters were barely able to keep up, but they were unable to unleash their synchronized attack, and the fighters attacks could individually be blocked by the Blue Knight's barrier. Thanks to Koutarou, the Blue Knight's defenses were greatly increased.

“Theia, you focus on attacking. You will open the path and your knight will walk down it. You are his master after all.”

“Mother... Koutarou... just what is going on?”

Theia was still confused.

There were so many things Theia wanted to know, like Koutarou's secret, his relationship with Elfaria, and most of all, the reason why her mother was calling him Reios. Yet at the same time she felt anxious. She worried that something that might completely alter their relationship was hidden beneath the surface.

Noticing Theia's appearance, Ruth called out to her.

“Your highness, I understand how you must feel! However, please focus on the battle for now! That person right there is without a doubt our Satomi-sama! I guarantee it!”

“Ruth... You're right. I got it!”

Her hesitation and anxiety were still around, however, Theia decided to temporarily put them away. Right now she had a battle to focus on, a battle which she had to win. If she didn't win, she wouldn't be able to ask what she wanted to ask. Besides, Ruth had guaranteed it. Because of that, Theia was barely able to focus on the battle.

“Blue Knight! Give me control of only the fire-control system!”

“As you wish, my princess.”

Complying to Theia's orders, the devices around her changed positions. Up until now, she had been in control of both attacking and maneuvering, which was why her seat had been arranged like a fighter's. But now that Koutarou was taking care of the controls, her only role was attacking. The ship moved the control panels around her in order to make the role as efficient as possible. As a result, Theia was now able to use a wider variety of weapons and at the same time.

“Here we go, Koutarou! I will make a path! You take the ship straight down it!”

“Don't mess up!”

Theia began her bombardment. Though Koutarou's movements were irregular and difficult to predict, Theia matched Koutarou and skillfully attacked when she could. Theia's target was the fighter group between the Blue Knight and the enemy battleship. She used lasers for distant enemies, beams for nearby ones, and missiles for the ones retreating as she eliminated the fighters that stood in their way.

“Are you implying I could mess up?! Just who do you think you're talking too?!”

“My princess who has been quite pessimistic lately.”

“Idiot! I'll punch you later! Definitely!”

“Just make sure it doesn't hurt too much.”

“Of course it will hurt!”

As the force of the words increased, they sped up their movements. Seeing them like this reminded Ruth of how they were when playing games.

Satomi-sama... your highness... This is what the two of you should be like...

Ruth felt something warm fill her chest. However, she did her best to endure it. Now wasn't the time to cry. Ruth took action to support the two, and a message for that Ruth had been left by Elfaria.

“Ruth, please cover for Reios-sama and Theia. If those two get serious, this ship will demonstrate its full might. That's how I made it after all.”

“Your majesty...”

“However, the generator's output is still the same, so the power control will be much harder than before. There may also be times where the gravity and inertia controls can't keep up with Reios-sama. In order to control all of that, your power will be needed.”

“Then this ship was designed with the three of us in mind...”

Ruth was surprised by Elfaria's words, but she altered the parameters to support the two who were fighting. Just like Elfaria had said, there was a lot Ruth had to do.

Not only were there the distribution of energy from the generator, the energy pool and the management of the barrier, but she also had to assist the ship to deal with Koutarou's movements and deliver information about the enemy to Theia. She would need to see through their habits and thoughts and control the ship before they took action. This wasn't something anyone other than Ruth, who had always been watching those two, could do.

“I understand, your majesty, I will make sure those two will win!”

When Ruth's assistance was added to Koutarou's and Theia's movements, the two began moving even faster and fiercer. The three were as one. Thanks to the strong bond between the three, they were able to take the Blue Knight’s powers to new heights. As a result, the struggle from before seemed like a lie, and they were pushing back the enemy fleet. This wasn't because one of them was special, but because the three of them shared something special.

“And... is there anyone else there? I leave this message to you in hopes that there is.”

“Your majesty...”

Finally, Elfaria left a message to Harumi as well. Surprised, Harumi looked at Elfaria being shown on the monitor.

“Theia is an awkward child. I'm sure she's had to go through a lot being the empress's daughter. She only fully trusts Ruth. And now she has gotten a lot of friends. There is nothing that makes me as happy as this.”

Elfaria had learned of the fate her child would go through from her meeting with Koutarou. She also learned that Theia would greatly mature on Earth and find irreplaceable friends. That's why Elfaria had been able to fulfill her own duty, supported by her strong feelings.

“I ask this of you, aware that it is a very impudent thing to ask. Please, be of Theia's help. That girl is very stubborn, so she wouldn't be able to honestly rely on others when she is suffering. But that is not true.”

A tear streamed down Elfaria's cheek. That was something Elfaria herself should have done. But her responsibility as the empress made that difficult, and as a mother, that reality made her incredibly sad.

“So please, take care of Theia. Please let her know that she can rely on those important to her. Please give that girl a very normal happiness...”

Elfaria bowed as she spoke those words and that was where the video ended. Having seen that video, Harumi could feel the strong emotions Elfaria had.

“Please be at ease, your majesty. That was what Theiamillis-san did for me. I had shut myself in, but she showed me to the outside world. That's why it's my turn now. As long as I'm playing the role of the Silver Princess on Earth, I will forever be Theiamillis-san's ally!”

Harumi showed a determined expression and began incanting a spell in ancient Forthorthe. Harumi was trying to add a fourth into the Blue Knight that was being moved by the bond of three. That would create a powerful force that would greatly exceed Elfaria's expectations.

Part 10

The coup d'état army had temporarily been thrown into disarray by the appearance of the gigantic reptile, but they had regained their calm after the lizard withdrew without doing anything and when the Blue Knight began moving once more. However, they would only remain calm for a few moments. That was because the Blue Knight had turned into something that completely overturned common sense in space battles.

“Elexis-sama, the Blue Knight is moving too fast for the cannon to lock onto it!”

“Calm down! Have the fighters deal with it!”

“About that... They are being thrown around by the Blue Knight's movements and are unable to get into a proper attack formation! And the fighters are being shot down one after another! At this rate, we will eventually be unable to do anything!”

The bridge of the carrier that Elexis was onboard was no exception, and it was wrapped in a noisy atmosphere. They had never heard of a royalty class spaceship with mobility comparable to a fighter. On top of those quick maneuvers, it was also accurately shooting down the fighters. That was impossible. The Blue Knight was heading towards the battleship, and at this rate, the battleship would get destroyed once the Blue Knight got closer. They had to stop the Blue Knight in some way.

“Then use RTS missiles! If you use high maneuverability type missiles, they should be able to keep up with that speed!”

“Understood! All ships, launch high maneuverability missiles! Set the tracking to RTS!”

RTS missiles tracked targets the same way robots and fighters did. Several missiles worked together to corner the enemy and detonated at the same time if possible Evading high maneuverability missiles was difficult, and the force behind several missiles detonating at the same time was very high. It was a very effective weapon, but it had a major flaw. Controlling many missiles and fighters at the same time placed a major load on the computer controlling them. As a result, control of the fighters had to be temporarily abandoned, dropping their defensive power considerably. They hadn't refrained from using these missiles because it wasn't necessary, but because of the above described problem.

“The Blue Knight has drawn its Anti-Ship Energy Sword, Signaltin!”

“What can they do with that?! There's no use, princess Theiamillis!! The only one who could knock the missiles down with that sword would be Koutarou-kun― wait?!”

At that moment, everything Elexis up until now rushed through his mind. The girl on the ground who had red scales, the giant red dragon that had appeared out of nowhere, the Blue Knight's movements that got better immediately after, and now the Blue Knight that drew a sword against incoming missiles. All of that led Elexis to a single conclusion.

“You're onboard that ship, aren't you Koutarou-kun!!”

The red-scaled dragon had brought Koutarou into space. It had charged them in order to buy time for Koutarou to get onboard the Blue Knight. The ship’s movements had gotten better because Koutarou was controlling it. Finally, the Blue Knight had drawn its sword because Koutarou, who was now in control of the ship, could cut them down.

“Undo the RTS on the missiles! Restart control of the fighters right away!”

“But if we undo the RTS now, the tracking will―”

“Even if they keep tracking, they won't beat them!! Don't you get it?!”

Elexis's decision was swift and precise, but because the captain had hesitated, they didn't make it in time.

“I've been had... I should have realized from the time I saw him using the Blue Knight's maneuver suit... That ship has been designed with Koutarou in mind!”

Elexis frustratingly bashed on the armrest of his seat.

“Just who is he?! How can he have this much power?! Why is he supporting the royal families?! Why has the Blue Knight been designed with his power as its premise?!”

Elexis stared at the Blue Knight swinging its giant sword of light. The sword was being swung using an ancient Forthorthe sword style. The beautiful swordsmanship enchanted all those who saw it and cut off the incoming group of missiles.

Part 11

The missiles had been blocked thanks to more than just Koutarou.

Koutarou had been aware of all the missiles approaching thanks to Harumi's spell used to detect metal. If it wasn't for this spell, Koutarou wouldn't have been able to get a grasp on the amount of missiles or their rough location. On top of that, Theia had shot down the missiles that Koutarou had missed using lasers. Despite that, a few missiles still hit the Blue Knight, but this was completely blocked by the barrier. Ruth's energy distribution had been perfect and they hadn't run low on energy from the first sword strike all the way to the barriers deploying.

In other words, this result was because all four had demonstrated their powers.

“Satomi-sama, keep charging forward! Because of those missiles, their system has been overloaded and their ships barely function at all!”

“Let's go Theia!”

“Leave it to me!! But what will you do, the defensive ship will get in the way!”

“Ruth-san, can't this sword break through?!”

“It's possible. But considering that ship’s characteristics, it would be difficult if we didn't use full power!”

Koutarou and the others were going to attack the battleship. Currently, only that ship had the potential to take down the Blue Knight with a single attack. If the battleship got off a single lucky hit, and the fighter group followed up on the attack, the Blue Knight's barrier wouldn't last.

However, there was a risk involved with their plan. Since the defensive ship was protecting the battleship, it would be difficult to attack directly. They would need to use their mobility to circle around the defensive ship, or use the energy sword to destroy it. The former might give the fighters the time they needed to restart, while the latter would leave them defenseless as the sword drained all the energy. Both options had their own risks.

“Uhm, Ruth-san. Does that, uhm, barrier was it? Does the barrier protecting the spaceship work the same way Satomi-kun's armor does?”

That was when Harumi, who had focused on supporting with magic, joined the conversation. Her expression was quite different from her usual timid one. She reminded everyone of what she had been like on top of the stage.

“Yes! Though the output is on a completely different level, they work on the same basis!”

“Then I will do something about it. Satomi-kun, please attack with the big Signaltin.”

“Alright! Let's go Theia!”

“Yeah!”

Koutarou or Theia didn't even listen to any of the details of Harumi's plan as they decided to attack with the energy sword. They believed in her and they didn't have the time to hesitate. Koutarou set the course for the defensive ship and Theia destroyed any fighters in the way.

“Harumi-sama, what are you going to do?”

Instead, Ruth asked Harumi for the details. Considering their roles, Ruth needed to know what Harumi was planning.

“We will attack with two Signaltin. Using the small Signaltin's magical power, I'll convert the large Signaltin's power into something else.”

“Is something like that even possible?!”

“If it's just the tip, it should be possible.”

“I see, so that's what you mean. That's a good idea!”

Having guessed what Harumi was planning, Ruth began making adjustments to the Blue Knight. Harumi took a deep breath to prepare herself and held her hands together in front of her chest.

“Satomi-kun, use Signaltin.”

“Okay.”

Koutarou obeyed Harumi and drew Signaltin, which was hanging down his waist, from its sheath. As he did, the Blue Knight recreated the anti-ship energy sword to match his movements. The big and small Blue Knights held their own Signaltin and charged towards the defensive ship.

“Here I go!”

Harumi closed her eyes shut and focused. She was trying to draw out all of the power from Signaltin. That much power was necessary if she wanted to affect something as big as a spaceship. Adhering to Harumi's will, Signaltin began emitting a massive amount of magical power. The light and overflowing magical power was enough to make the bridge they were in to shake.

Sakuraba-senpai's hair is...

When Harumi had used magical power before, her hair had glowed silver. However, now when she was drawing out all of the power from Signaltin, it didn't just stop there. Her hair wasn't just glowing, it was now changing into a silver color.

Your majesty Alaia...?

Koutarou was instinctively drawn towards her. With her hair colored silver, Harumi now looked exactly like Alaia, the Silver Princess he had met 2,000 years in the past. He could also feel presence the same as Alaia's from the magical power surging up. If he hadn't know it belonged to Harumi from the very start, he wouldn't have been able to tell them apart.

“Past, present and future, oh mother of all things, goddess of dawn.”

Then there were the words of prayer flowing out from Harumi's mouth. Those too were the same as Alaia's. At this point, even Koutarou who knew the Alaia from 2,000 years ago had trouble telling them apart.

“A descendant of Forthorthe, your faithful servant asks of thee. Now is the time to unleash your true power and bestow us the power to dispel this national crisis.”

As Harumi continued with her prayer, the Blue Knight's anti-ship energy sword was wrapped in a pure-white light, and began glowing just like the Signaltin in Koutarou's hands.

“Wind of the heavens. Green of the ground. Water of the sea. Fire of the mountain. Using my life as provision, reveal the power to unify all things!”

The light enveloping the two swords pulsed, as if it was a pulse from a living being. The two pulses lined up perfectly with Harumi's.

“My name is Alaia! The silvery white snow of Mastir! Oh holy sword of the temple, answer my call and cut open the path to our future!”

Harumi finished her prayer and all of Signaltin's power flowed into the energy sword. That gigantic sword was now Signaltin. It didn't matter if it didn't have a physical form or not. The anti-ship energy sword was now glowing as the true Signaltin.

“Now, Satomi-kun!”

With her prayer over, Harumi looked up at Koutarou. Because she looked so much like Alaia, Koutarou forgot where he was for a moment.

Not good. Keep it together! Now isn't the time to space out!

However, that was just for an instant. Koutarou quickly remembered his battle, and readied the Blue Knight's sword. They were now right on top of the defensive ship. There was no time to lose focus. As if scolding himself, he shouted out in a loud voice.

“Here I go, everyone!”

“Go all out!”

“The Anti-Ship Energy Sword, Signaltin, has been charged to 100%!”

“I'll leave it to you, Koutarou!”

Theia's bombardment and Ruth's barrier control protected the Blue Knight. Harumi's power had made the energy sword grow bright white. And Koutarou firmly held Signaltin in both hands and thrust it forwards with all his might.

Matching Koutarou's movements, the Blue Knight's hull roared as the giant sword thrust forward. The target was the generator of the defensive ship in front of it. The defensive ship responded by raising its barrier to block the sword. In exchange for near non-existent weaponry, the defensive ship was equipped with a very potent barrier. That's why not even an anti-ship energy sword should be able to pierce through it.

“Gooooooooo!!”

But as Koutarou roared, the energy sword pierced through the defensive ship's barrier. The defensive ship's barrier let out a scream in the form of violent blinking before shattering like glass and disappearing.

This was the result of the power that Harumi had given to the energy sword. Using Signaltin's power, she replaced the tip of the energy sword with spiritual energy. Since Forthorthe's barriers couldn't block spiritual energy, the tip easily break through, and once the sword was in, the rest was easy. Breaking something with a crack in it was an easy task. The energy blade naturally poured through the crack and smashed the barrier.

“Open up all ports!! Keep firing until you're out of energy!!”

“As you wish, my princess.”

Once the barrier fell, Theia used almost all of the Blue Knight's anti-ship weaponry to attack. Beams, lasers, missiles. All imaginable types of weapons were used to attack the defenseless ship. The defensive ship's hull was torn through like paper, proving that a royalty class spaceship's firepower isn't just for show. The defensive ship was instantly destroyed, and only the escape pod encompassing the bridge lonesomely floated around in space.

Part 12

Koutarou and the others had been able to destroy the defensive ship partly because the fighters were unable to move. Knowing that, they didn't let their guard down even after destroying it and moved on to attack the battleship. The enemy's attack power was still present, so going on the defensive would only increase the risk to them.

“Koutarou! We're focusing on the main armament turret!”

“Got it!”

Theia and Koutarou's target was the main armament sticking out from the upper part of the battleship's hull that was capable of turning on its own.

Because the main armament was capable of rotating, it could fire in every direction regardless of what way the battleship was facing. In return, it stuck out from the ship, had a weaker construction and was an easier target. It was a powerful weapon once an adequate defense was prepared.

So now that the defensive ship in charge of protecting the battleship has been destroyed, going after the main armament was the most effective strategy. Once it was removed, the battleship wouldn't be much of a threat.

“Your highness, the fighter group has reactivated! They are chasing after us!”

“Koutarou, I'll leave the battleship to you! Do something about it!”

“What do you mean with something?!”

Theia began her bombardment to keep the reactivated fighters from closing in, leaving the attack on the battleship to Koutarou. Since he had planned on letting Theia do the attacking, Koutarou himself didn't have any method of attack planned.

“Damnit, in that case! Ruth-san, change the sword to shooting mode!”

“As you wish, my lord!”

Koutarou readied the anti-ship energy sword. As he did, a beam was fired from the tip of it. Since beam swords and beam cannons functioned very similarly, the anti-ship energy swords worked both ways.

“Uooooooooo!!”

Koutarou shot off beams repeatedly as he closed in on the coup d'état army's battleship. Of course, the enemy didn't just sit still and take it. The main armament took aim and repeatedly fired at the Blue Knight.

“As if I'd let you hit me!!”

Koutarou turned and spun the Blue Knight around in an attempt to dodge. Seeing that the maneuver alone wouldn't be enough, Ruth took additional action.

“Releasing a section of the gravity and inertia control!!”

“Uoooooooo?! W-What's this?!”

The moment Ruth inputted a command into the panel, the Blue Knight's rotations sped up. As a result, it allowed the ship to avoid the incoming beam, but the sudden increase in speed startled Koutarou.

“Please get used to it, Master! I'm sure you can do it!”

“You're kidding!!”

Even though Koutarou was panicking, Ruth showed him no mercy. Even now she was speeding up the ship to match Koutarou's movements. Koutarou pointed the front of the ship towards the coup d'état army while desperately struggling to maintain control of the Blue Knight.

“...Even after 2,000 years you're still an amusing lot...”

Having used up most of his magical power, Alunaya watched the Blue Knight move at lightning fast speeds in his half dragon half human form. Since this way of fighting was outside of the common sense of dragons, Alunaya watched over Koutarou and the others with an amused expression.

“Well, if you're going to play like that! Ruth-san, in five seconds focus the barrier around the right leg!”

“Kyaaaa, wait, waiiit!!”

“I'm not waiting!!”

Koutarou repeatedly fired beams from his sword while closing in on the battleship. Having taken several hits, the battleship’s barrier was just about to give out, so Koutarou spun around and kicked his right leg towards it.

“Too fast! You're too fast, Master!!”

“I'm sure you can do it, Ruth-san!!”

“You're kidding!!”

It was now Ruth's turn to panic as she hurriedly made adjustments to the barrier. Without even waiting for her to finish, Koutarou let loose a roundhouse kick. The power of a kick from a machine a kilometer in length and over 2,000 ton was terrifying. Combined with the barrier raised moments just before impact, the kick easily tore through the battleship's barrier and sent the turret with the main armament on it flying.

Part 13

As Koutarou sent his kick flying, Theia bombarded the battleship with everything they had, and as a result, it lost all of its combat potential. Leaving the disabled battleship be, Koutarou and the others headed for the last remaining ship, the carrier. The only things left that could be a threat were the fighters being controlled by it.

“There are nine fighters left, a total of three formations! 27 have been destroyed so far!”

“Though they might be unmanned, they sure are using them like they are disposable.”

“They probably won't be using them anymore... Ruth-san, please open a channel to that ship.”

“That's an illegal fleet of ships. I can't imagine they'd answer...”

“He'll answer. That's the kind of guy he is. Please, Ruth-san.”

“Yes.”

Before he attacked, Koutarou wanted the enemy to surrender. Realizing his intentions, Ruth sent a hail to the carrier. Shortly thereafter, Elexis appeared on the Blue Knight's monitor.

“I was astonished by your way of fighting, Koutarou-kun.”

“I just took a bunch of risks, and somehow managed to make it. Now I'm trying to avoid taking any more risks.”

“Is that a request that I surrender?”

“I don't care if you surrender or retreat. Neither of us have anything to gain from this fight. Am I wrong?”

“Yes. That's what my subordinates believe. That's why I had them leave this ship. You can see them right?”

Elexis had evacuated all of his subordinates using lifeboats. They were headed for the disabled battleship, leaving only Elexis behind on the carrier.

“There's no need to buy time.”

Koutarou figured that Elexis was planning to buy time for his subordinates to escape. Something similar had happened several times already.

“I'm not trying to buy time. This is me being stubborn. I want to fight until the end.”

“Stubborn, huh... then I'll refrain from asking any further.”

Seeing Elexis's smile through the monitor, Koutarou realized he was serious. Koutarou was standing here because he had remained stubborn, and he knew that in this case, there was no way of convincing Elexis to surrender. Koutarou understood that fact very well.

“Thank you, Koutarou-kun. I like that side of you. That might also be why...”

Elexis wanted to give it his all. He had found competition for the first time in his life in the form of a rival, Koutarou. That's why Elexis didn't want to end their fight just yet. He still hadn't given it his all, he wanted to see it through to the end. He was like a child that refused to go home. From that perspective, one could say he wanted to play with Koutarou forever.

“In exchange, can I ask you something?”

“What would that be?”

“Once this fight is over, what will the coup d'état army do?”

“Well... they would probably withdraw for a while. They would officially announce that her majesty Elfaria's condition has turned for the worse, and during that time they would manufacture evidence to turn her into a criminal. After that, once they've made their evidence, they will announce that they had only declared Elfaria as ill because they couldn't treat her like a criminal until they had gathered all the evidence they needed... or something like that.”

“And then they'll attack all out.”

“Probably. Well, until then they might send out a few assassins.”

“I see. Thank you, Elexis.”

“In exchange, can I ask that you take this seriously?”

“I got it, I will.”

“I'm looking forward to it.”

With those words as his last, Elexis cut off the communications. His appearance disappeared from the Blue Knight's monitor, and instead it showed the carrier that had begun moving.

You've started to care for your allies... but you still live life from moment to moment, don't you, Dextro...

Koutarou reminisced about his past enemy and took a stance with the Blue Knight. There might only be one ship left, but he couldn't let his guard down around this enemy.

“Theia, he's going to go all out from the start.”

“I know. I do have some experience with battles.”

“The carrier's missile ports are opening, I believe it's those guided missiles. The battleship is still not moving. It seems that it won't be joining in for the battle.”

“...He might not be suited for fighting, just like me...”

The battleship still had undamaged missile ports as well. However, Elexis wasn't using them. That was because Elexis would hate the results if he did.

“What was that?”

“No, it was nothing... Theia, I'll leave the missiles to you! Let's finish this as quickly as possible!”

“Yeah!”

“As you wish, my lord.”

Elexis was challenging them to a fight, well aware how much of a disadvantage he was in. Koutarou knew that he had to take this seriously in more ways than one, so he activated the Blue Knight's boosters and dashed towards the carrier Elexis was on. But in order to stop him, the remaining nine fighters stood in the way. Meanwhile, the carrier fired its missiles. With the number of fighters reduced, it was possible to deal with both the fighters and missiles at the same time.

“I see, that's an attack that's hard to block!”

Seeing those missiles launched, Koutarou used the Blue Knight's posture control thrusters to make a large evasive maneuver. While the missiles and fighters were low in number, because their weapons’ characteristics were different, an interlaced attack from both would be difficult to block.

“He's probably trying to slow us down with the fighters and defeat us with the missiles! Leave the missiles to me! You shake off the fighters! You can disregard the carrier's bombardment as well!”

“As you wish, my princess!”

Koutarou and Theia stepped up to the plate after dividing their roles. Koutarou would make use of their mobility to keep the fighters from closing in, while Theia would deal with the missiles closing in from a different trajectory. With the decrease in numbers, they would be able to deal with this.

“Your highness, the carrier is still launching missiles! Strangely enough, there are more missiles than before!”

“It's a smokescreen! You've thought this through, Elexis!”

In response, Elexis fired missiles that used the standard guidance system. Since Koutarou and the others couldn't tell the missiles apart, they needed to be equally cautious of all the missiles. Theia busily fired in an attempt to shoot all the missiles down.

“Gather, spirits of earth. Kneel before me and display the power behind your name. Shout, lineage of earth!”

Harumi cast her spell on Theia. As she did, Theia was able to sense the missiles and fighters flying around in space. It was the spell to detect metal.

“Thanks, Harumi!”

“Good luck!”

Even magic that could be useful in almost any situation was helpless against objects flying around at extremely fast speeds. That's why this was all that Harumi could do. Only being able to watch over the battle made Harumi feel frustrated.

“The number of fighters is decreasing! Deal with the carrier!”

With so many missiles flying around and no way to tell them apart, Koutarou and the others were pressed to defeat the carrier. Koutarou evaded the fighters’ attacks and pointed the bow of the Blue Knight towards the carrier. Meanwhile, Theia prioritized shooting down missiles coming from the direction they were traveling. Thanks to that, Koutarou was allowed to focus on just the fighters and the carrier.

“Go, I will make a path!!”

“Uoooooooo!!”

As Theia created a path for Koutarou, he manipulated the Blue Knight to travel down it with the agility of an acrobat. Several explosions occurred around them, making it look like a fireworks festival. However, this wasn't something quite so elegant. This was a matter of life and death.

“The carrier has set its generator output to maximum!”

“Don't let him get away Koutarou! Finish this battle right now! We won't last that long!”

“Leave it to me!”

As Koutarou approached, Elexis drained as much power as he could from the carrier's generator. Theia wouldn't be able to keep up her accurate shooting for long, so she figured that Elexis was going to strengthen his barrier and distance himself from the Blue Knight.

“Oh no, this is?!”

However, the situation developed in an unexpected direction.

“The carrier is charging right towards us! He's not trying to buy time!”

“Is he trying to ram us?!”

“So that's how it is, Elexis!”

The distance between the Blue Knight that had accelerated to keep Elexis from fleeing and the carrier which had decided to charge forward instead of retreating shrunk rapidly. Even if they tried to evade, their escape routes had been cut off by missiles and fighters. Elexis's goal had been to ram them with the carrier from the very start.

“So that's why he had all the soldiers evacuate! He used the missiles and fighters to conceal his true goal and to cut off any escape! Just how far will you go Elexis?!”

Koutarou showed a bitter expression as he spread the Blue Knight's arms open. Theia's attacks had broken through the carrier's barrier, but the ship charged right towards the Blue Knight.

“Ruth-san, focus the―”

“Focusing the distortion field on both the forearms!! Setting generator output to maximum and focusing all available energy into the distortion field!!”

Ruth realized Koutarou's intentions and focused the barrier around the Blue Knight's arms before he could say anything. The carrier was heavy, and whether the Blue Knight could properly catch it or not was difficult to say.

The Blue Knight caught the carrier, and the impact transmitted across the entire ship, causing the bridge to shake. It even surpassed the tolerance of the gravity and inertia control protecting the bridge.

“Kyaaa?!”

The girls instinctively let out cries as the ship suddenly shook. At the same time, many warnings filled the bridge. The monitor was full of damage reports, with red and yellow lights rapidly blinking inside the bridge.

“Nuuuuuooooooo!!”

Paying close attention, Koutarou used his full force in an attempt to push back the carrier. If he made even a slight mistake, the carrier would slam into the Blue Knight and something irreparable would happen. Catching the carrier from the front, and in the worst case, falling straight backwards, was the only method of surviving this situation.

Pieces of the carrier that had been broken off by Theia's bombardment crashed into the Blue Knight, and while that wasn’t enough to destroy the ship, it certainly wasn't looking good. Koutarou chased those crashing sounds out of his mind and focused on controlling the ship. That was more important than anything else right now.

That was when the monitor in the front of the bridge was sent flying into several pieces. In place, a large hole of several meters opened, revealing the black space behind it. The next moment, the air in the bridge began being rapidly sucked out.

While the crew protection systems prevented Koutarou and the others from being sucked out as well or being unable to breathe, the air was sucked out in an instant. Once the flow of air stopped, a giant silhouette appeared on the other side of the hole.

“Surely you can't move in a situation like this! I win, Koutarou-kun!”

Elexis appeared while controlling the giant mobile weapon, Warlord. Using this reserve Warlord that he had been storing in the carrier, he was going to make one final attack.

Elexis had planned everything out to create this one moment. He evacuated his troops and rammed the Blue Knight with the carrier. While the carrier might get caught, the Blue Knight would be unable to move if it did. Which of course meant that Koutarou who was controlling the Blue Knight couldn't move either. All he had to do then was to conceal himself amongst the debris of the carrier and assault the bridge with Warlord. This was his one chance of victory that Elexis had found, and he bet everything on this one moment.

“Farewell, Koutarou-kun! You were really strong!”

Rejoiced that his big bet had paid off, Elexis pointed his beam shotgun at Koutarou.

“Kuh.”

Meanwhile, Koutarou still couldn't move. If he stopped controlling the Blue Knight now, the ships would collide and suffer serious damage. Of course, the crew wouldn't be fine by that either. That said, if he didn't move, he'd be shot. Either way, there was nothing Koutarou could do.

“I won't let you!!”

That was when a small silhouette stood in front of Koutarou. It was the small and delicate girl Theia, with her golden hair and blue eyes.

“I won't let you kill my knight!!”

“What?!”

Theia stood in front of Koutarou, with her arms spread open, placing herself between Koutarou and the beam shotgun. There was no plan. Theia was simply using her small body to protect Koutarou.

“You idiot! Do you know what you're doing?!”

Koutarou threw criticism towards her back. A princess was putting herself in peril for the sake of a knight. That was an unforgivable act for a royalty that had a duty towards her country and citizens.

“I don't! But, I have to do this! Even if I were to be a failure as a princess, you alone are special! I will protect you even if I have to put myself in danger!”

Theia was crying. She knew in her mind that she shouldn't do this. However, despite that, she couldn't sit still. Her body moved on its own. Her mind and body knew that she needed Koutarou as much as she needed to breathe.

“...Koutarou, so you are beloved by her highness....”

Theia's actions came as unexpected to Elexis as well. He hesitated for a moment, pondering what to do. Should he shoot the both of them or capture Theia. He spent a few seconds considering his options, yet those few seconds change the outcome.

“Gather, spirits of water! Dance, spirits of wind! Combine these two powers and appear, spirits of ice! Oh soaring high iceberg, close it off with your ever-expanding glacier! Ice Coffin!”

All of a sudden, Warlord's left arm was covered in a block of ice and lost its functions. This included the beam shotgun built into the arm. This was an offensive spell from Harumi who didn't miss her window.

“What?!”

“Blue Knight! Anti-material machine canon!”

While Elexis was surprised by the sudden development, Ruth who was sitting on the operator seat directly inputted a command to the Blue Knight and summoned a weapon into the bridge. Since an energy weapon would require time to charge up, she chose a large caliber weapon capable of rapid fire.

“Fire right away using automatic aim!”

Since they were in a vacuum, the sound of the machine cannon firing didn't reach anyone. Only the faint sound of the cartridges dropping onto the floor were transmitted to the people around it. However, the power of the canon was far from faint.

“Uoooooooo!!”

With its barrier shattered, and having taken several hits, the Warlord was unable to hang onto the hole it had created itself and was pushed back out into space.

“...You... you tried to kill our precious Koutarou...”

Last was Theia. Theia muttered in a trembling voice as she glared at Warlord flying backwards through the hole on the bridge. Her eyes were burning with rage.

“I won't forgive you... Even if God were to forgive you, I never will! Elexis, you've tried to do something you should never have, may you regret this for the rest of your life!!”

As the Warlord was using various boosters and thrusters to straighten itself up, a long line of light chased after it. The light pierced through Warlord and ended the long drawn out battle.

Part 14

As the carrier was destroyed, the battleship that had lost its weapon warped away. After seeing them off, Clan let out a heavy sigh and leaned back on her seat. Silence returned to the Hazy Moon's bridge, and her sigh could be heard anywhere on the bridge.

“...Geez, what a terrible risk to take...”

While the end result was a victory, the battle was nothing but crises from start to finish. Clan had been compelled to go help the others several times. Fortunately, nothing had gotten far too serious, so she hadn't been needed to provide backup, but Clan couldn't help but feel stressed as she watched the battle. To Clan, she would have felt a lot better if she had been with the others and fought alongside them.

“...Since you'll eventually become my vassal, you have to win more elegantly and overwhelmingly...”

Clan felt like giving Koutarou a few mean remarks out of spite for making her worry so much. So she contacted Koutarou using a direct line.

“Hm? Clan? What's wrong?”

Koutarou appeared on the monitor up front.

“I don't want to hear what's wrong!”

Seeing Koutarou safe and sound, Clan was overcome with an even more intense sense of relief. He looked tired and had dirt all over his face, but he didn't seem to have any serious injuries, and there was power behind his voice. The sense of relief from being able to see the normal Koutarou like this again was anything but small. It was difficult for even Clan herself to figure out if she wanted to confirm that Koutarou was alright or if she wanted to complain.

“Please win in a more elegant fashion next time. I felt like I was the one who was going to die as I watched you.”

“Sorry. I'll try that next time.”

“As long as you understand. Fufu, good work, Bertorion.”

“What, you're awfully kind to―”

Bertorion.

The moment Clan spoke that name, loud roars of joy filled the bridge that had fallen silent.

“W-What?!”

Surprised by the sudden shouts of joy, Clan almost slipped off her seat. She hurriedly grabbed a hold of the armrest of her chair and turned towards the direction of the voices. There she saw men and women of all ages gathered. It wasn't until she saw them that Clan remembered the civilians who had been on the bridge with her, worrying for Theia and Elfaria.

“See! Even princess Clan said Bertorion! It really is the real one!”

“That's right! Seeing how he fought, there's no doubt about it!”

“If not, it wouldn't be possible!”

“To think he could turn the tables in such a situation!”

“Then is that sword really Signaltin?!”

“Alaia's crest was engraved in it! It has to be!”

“It seems like even Alaia-sama is with him!”

The civilians who had been with her had begun to think of Koutarou as the Blue Knight. It was only obvious for them to want to believe that was the case. A princess and the empress were chased out of their country by a coup d'état, and a knight in blue armor had saved them. Not only that, but he had overturned an overwhelming disadvantage and achieved a brilliant victory. On top of that, the items of legend appeared one after another. There was of course the blue armor, and then there was the knight's sword imbued with mysterious powers, and a silver haired girl who controlled those powers. Then there was the red-scaled dragon. Seeing those evidences and Koutarou and the others’ victory, the civilians began wondering if it was really him. That was when their highly esteemed princess, Clan, had addressed the knight in question as Bertorion.

If princess Clan was calling him that, then there were no doubts about it. They were convinced that the knight, the legendary Blue Knight, Reios Fatra Bertorion, had appeared in history once more.

The bridge was filled with cheers for the Blue Knight. Their voices were so loud that even Koutarou who was on the other side of the communications device jumped back a little.

“W-What? What happened?”

Clan couldn't understand why the civilians had suddenly started to break out into cheers. Their cheers were so many that it was no longer possible to make out anything of what they were saying.

“Clan! What is with this ruckus?!”

“I don't really know either! They seem to be rejoicing over something!”

Koutarou and Clan's conversation naturally became louder as well so that their voices wouldn't be drowned out.

“We can't talk when it's this noisy! We'll have to talk later!”

Realizing that it would only be troublesome to continue talking like this, Koutarou decided to put their conversation on hold for later. Since they had come out of the battle in one piece, there was no need to try and continue talking in that kind of situation.

“You're right! Let's talk later!”

Of course, Clan had no objections. However, Clan would regret ending their communication a few seconds later.

The civilians grew even louder.

“E-Eh? What is going on?!”

That's because once she ended her conversation with Koutarou, the civilians swarmed her, full of questions.

Part 15

A few hours after the battle had ended, Elexis was staring up at Earth's sky all alone from a coast near Kitsushouharukaze city. The night sky was getting brighter as the sun's light began peeking out from the horizon.

“Phew, I've completely lost.. To think I couldn't win even after going so far. It's actually rather refreshing...”

While the Warlord had been lost to Theia's attack, Elexis had somehow managed to escape using the built in ejector seat and made it back to Earth. He had suffered a disastrous defeat, lost contact with his allies and was now all alone on Earth. Others would have seen it as a serious situation, but Elexis was satisfied. That was because he realized that even though he had given it his all, he hadn't stood a chance.

“I didn't lose because Koutarou-kun was strong. It was because I am alone. In that last battle, I had let go of my allies. That is the reason.”

While the past couldn't be changed, if Elexis had fought alongside his allies, he might have come out victorious. However, he had chosen not to. In fact, he might have made light of their power in his urge to protect them. Arrogance or distrust was the reason for his defeat.

Despite having fought to achieve his ideal form of society, he had fallen after giving it his all, on top of that the reason for it was clear. And yet, he couldn't complain even in the slightest. There was nothing left for Elexis to do. He was satisfied with this result.

“...Then how about you come with me?”

That was when someone called out to Elexis from behind. It was the voice of a young woman. One might have been able to call her a girl, but her voice carried composure and gave off the atmosphere of a mature woman.

“And who might you be?”

Elexis continued staring out into the ocean while asking for the name of the woman behind him. The sight of the sun rising in front of Elexis was very beautiful.

“I am Maya. Just like you, I fought against that boy alone and lost.”

Thus, Elexis and Maya met.

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