Chapter 28: Hang in there.

The vision in my left eye faded to black. Even my good right eye began to blur, and I could no longer clearly make out Shion’s figure.

Strength drained from my entire body, and I dropped to my knees atop the stone pillar.

"'Poison Spear,' 'Poison Mist,' and the amplification of my magic power through both my spells and my spear. Even so, the fact that you’ve endured all that without losing consciousness is worthy of admiration."

Even as I tried to remain upright, nausea overtook me. The vision in my remaining right eye warped, and my sense of direction collapsed—up and down became indistinguishable.

"Sword King… no, Sword King Toma-dono. You are not the person I thought you were. You are noble—and an extraordinarily powerful warrior. Given how your skill has yet to fully catch up to your spirit, I can understand that you only recently became the 'Sword King.'"

Then I slipped from the top of the pillar and fell headfirst.

"When I become the Spear King, I will respect you above all—and be most wary of you. Your rate of growth is that abnormal."

I couldn’t even pull the knife from my pocket as I fell. With no other choice, I drove the holy sword in my trembling right hand into my left hand to jolt myself awake. The nausea didn’t fade, but at least the haze clouding my mind cleared.

"I acknowledge you, and I apologize for my earlier disrespect. Even so—"

Ah… what a relief.

"This 'King’s Match'—"

I’m just falling headfirst.

"—will be—"

There’s another pillar nearby I can use as footing.

"—my victory."

If that’s the case, then compared to the deadly battle I experienced in that dream, this situation is far more manageable.

"…is what I’d say."

Then I can deal with it. I release the full power of the holy sword’s second ability—the portion I had been holding back until now. The strain on my body might exceed its limits, but that’s something to worry about after this fight is over.

Right now, all I want… is victory in this moment.

"Wha—!?"

I couldn’t tell whether that shout came when I twisted my body midair—using "Black Star" to reduce my falling speed and kick off a pillar hard enough to shatter it—or when I brought my holy sword crashing down on Shion with that same destructive momentum.

My body, ravaged by poison, could barely process anything anymore. My left eye was blind, my body numb and sluggish, and even my hearing struggled to pick up surrounding sounds.

Even so, I knew my strike had been blocked by his spear. I also knew he’d been slammed into a pillar again near the center and injured—my second ability’s "intuition" told me so.

"Wha—what is this power!? You weren’t like this before—!?"

I don’t give him time to think.

Even with the poison resistance I built through Carol’s "poison meal training," Shion’s poison can only be stalled—it can’t be overcome.

So I charge at full speed and thrust my holy sword toward his chest.

He rolls to his left—into my blind spot—to evade. As expected of a seasoned fighter, once he enters my dead angle, I can’t track his movements.

"Why!? How can you see!?"

"I can’t. I just know."

Even so, my "intuition" screams a warning. I instinctively raise my free left hand as a shield, stopping Shion’s poison spear.

It pierces clean through—blood sprays—but I grab hold of the spear anyway. Thankfully, my sense of pain is gone. The magic imbued in the spear accelerates the spread of poison, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve caught him.

With my body fully enhanced by the holy sword’s second ability, I slam Shion—spear and all—into a stone pillar. Again and again, I drive him into it. Blood gushes from my left hand where the spear is embedded, but I ignore it and continue to pummel him.

"E-Enough already!!!"

"Gah…!!"

On the fifth slam, using the momentum of the swing, Shion drives a side kick into my head. I’m sent crashing into a pillar as well, and the consciousness I’ve been forcing to stay awake begins to blur again.

Through that haze, my intuition sounds the alarm—the spear has been pulled from my left hand. I focus on one thing only: not letting him escape, and step forward with everything I have.

Even my right eye is clouded now—I can barely see, even within the reach of my holy sword. Still, I swing. The faint sensation in my right hand tells me it was blocked.

"Hahaha…!!!"

"You monster…!!!"

That sounded like an insult. I can’t even hear his voice properly anymore. My hearing is fading.

My intuition is a byproduct of my enhanced senses. As those senses are stripped away, my intuition will naturally cease to function.

I can’t taste the blood in my mouth—my sense of taste is gone. I can barely make sense of surrounding sounds unless I focus—my hearing is nearly gone.

I can still smell blood and sweat—my sense of smell remains. My left eye is completely black, my right eye blurred—my vision is almost gone. The pain from the spear that pierced my left hand is numb, replaced by a tingling sensation coursing through my body—my sense of touch is weakened, but still alive.

My means of perceiving the outside world are being taken from me.

Even so, with my remaining sense of smell and my blurred right eye, I force my intuition to keep functioning.

I barely manage to keep dodging, but wounds continue to accumulate across my body. Even when I swing the holy sword, he responds—I can only feel the impact of my attacks being blocked.

Anyone watching probably thinks the match is already decided.

That’s only natural. If I were watching from the outside, I’d think the same.

Even so—I won’t give up. Giving up was never an option, and I wouldn’t allow it anyway.

"———re"

I thought I heard a voice.

"———bare"

A girl’s voice… clear, like a bell.

"——n…bare"

The holy sword in my right hand grows hot—so hot it feels like it’s burning. But my intuition tells me it won’t harm me.

"Do your best!!!!!!!"

The moment I hear Alicia’s voice, the darkness clouding my vision shatters—and all my dulled senses come rushing back.

Charging toward me at incredible speed is Shion, his face still refined despite being drenched in blood—but now completely overtaken by shock.

"Sorry, but it seems she’s wishing for my victory."

That alone is enough.

Now, there’s no reason for me to lose.

"This ends here."

His spear pierces my shoulder. I don’t block it—I accept it, locking it in place.

He releases the spear immediately and tries to retreat—but his reaction is too slow.

My holy sword cleaves deep into Shion. With a diagonal slash, his blood bursts forth, staining me red.

At that moment, the match is decided—the buzzer sounds, and cheers erupt. I catch sight of a girl rushing to Shion’s side, and for some reason, I think—he must be deeply cared for.

Even when they say I’ve won, it doesn’t feel real.

Only relief—that it’s over—wraps around my body. The strain from pushing my physical enhancement beyond its limits pulls my consciousness away.

The last thing I see before collapsing is Hikari and Alicia running toward me.

==========================

That battle was truly incredible. The fight between the Sword King and the Spear King candidate—one surpassed the other in physical ability, while the other excelled in technique. To my eyes, they seemed evenly matched.

And yet, as if to shatter that impression, Toma fought in a completely outrageous way—free, unrestrained, unlike anything I’d ever seen before.

"That’s the Sword King!?"

"That speed is insane—what even is that!?"

"Shion-sama can only defend!!?"

"He dodged the counter just now!?!?"

Using dark magic—the complete opposite of my light magic—he increased his speed, and his attacks began overwhelming the Spear King candidate, leaving him with numerous wounds.

Even so, his fighting spirit didn’t waver—as expected of the top candidate for Spear King.

Still, the advantage shouldn’t have shifted.

And yet, what Toma said next made the entire flow of the battle irrelevant to me.

"I just want to help a girl who’s carrying a heavy burden and still doing her best. If she’s important to someone… then I want to help her even more."

That weight… is something only we can understand.

Because we had the aptitude, we were forced onto this path—only the two of us understand that pain. The burden of responsibility constantly weighs down my steps.

Even though he’s surely the same, I couldn’t understand—deep down—why he could focus so much on me.

"That’s exactly why he wanted to help you, Alicia. Because you’re the kind of person who worries about him even at a time like this."

"Hikari-san."

"He’s an idiot. He says whatever comes to mind, can’t keep secrets, and always charges straight ahead. He’s about as far from ‘clever’ as you can get."

As she spoke to me, Hikari kept her gaze fixed on Toma. Her eyes felt distant—like she was looking back on some moment in the past, not the present.

At last, I understood.

This is how he’s always lived.

"To Toma, it probably isn’t anything special at all. But it saved me. It made me want to stay by his side forever."

"I…"

"It’s up to you, Alicia. Whether you carry that responsibility—or throw it away. No matter which you choose, Toma and I will still be your friends. We’ll still be on your side."

I’m afraid to throw away that responsibility. I don’t believe I have any worth if I’m no longer the 'Saintess.' And yet, Toma told me that simply being myself already has value.

He’s covered in wounds, his body poisoned—he could collapse at any moment.

And yet, he’s fighting more wildly than ever.

That desperation… just thinking about who it’s for makes my heart pound faster, and hot tears spill from my eyes.

Even though he’s drenched in blood, even though he shouldn’t be able to see anything anymore—he still keeps his eyes forward.

Even though his body must be stiff with fear and numbness, he keeps moving through sheer will.

The same figure that once frightened me…

Now, it just looks like he’s trying so hard.

Just the fact that he’s fighting for someone—for me, for others—makes that image feel precious.

"It’s what you always do, Alicia."

"………………"

"That’s how Toma and I see you."

"………………"

"Doesn’t it make you want to help?"

…It does.

It makes me want to help. I can’t just stand by.

But there’s nothing I can do right now—and that frustration makes me clench my fists so tightly that blood seeps out.

"If you want to help, then cheer him on. Right now, the one Toma’s waiting for… probably isn’t me."

I don’t know what I can do.

I don’t think mere words can change anything.

"………………re"

And yet—I couldn’t stop myself from shouting.

"…………bare"

Believing my voice would reach him.

Wishing that it would.

"……n…bare"

Just wanting him to grasp the ending he desires.

"Do your best!!!!!!!"

I poured everything in my heart into that single cry.

I believed those words reached him.

And Toma won.

I rushed to his side as he stood there in a daze, on the verge of losing consciousness. Our eyes met, and he gave that usual soft, carefree smile—before collapsing.

I barely managed to catch him.

In my arms, he looked completely at ease. His body was heavy—I could feel how solidly built he was.

I couldn’t even move him from that spot, so I placed his head on my lap and began healing him, hoping to mend his injuries even a little faster.

I remembered—far too late—that I hadn’t kept the promise I made during that marathon.

It’s embarrassing… so I’ll only do this while he’s unconscious.

Toma’s sleeping face looks so peaceful—so happy.

Seeing him, wounded as he is, still wearing such an expression… makes me happy too.

As if pushed forward by the warmth in my chest, I press my lips to his.

I feel like Hikari has gone completely speechless—but please, just this once, forgive me.

Because what I should say when he’s awake—I want to say it now.

I’ll say it as many times as it takes. So just this once… please let me.

"—Thank you for finding me."

I’m sure it didn’t reach him.

But when the time comes, I’ll say it again. As many times as needed.

Because the time he won for me… now belongs to me.

Not as the 'Saintess' standing beside the 'Sword King'—

But by my own will, I’ll stand by his side.

That is something I will never, ever give up.