Volume 9 Chapter 23 Keirald Savors a Lost Love
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Still, the way Berhardt squirmed just now was priceless. Beating the ‘Black Sword King’ must have made you fall for me all over again, Rakw,” said Keirald, captain of the 3rd Division, known to all as the Iron Arm General. He had repelled Berhardt’s reckless challenge and now sat grinning, throwing back mouthfuls of liquor.
”It felt more like you owed that victory to the little magic you’d hidden up your sleeve. For a warrior, you’re awfully sly, Keirald-sama.”
”Idiot. That’s called being clever. Even Grano caught on and laughed.”
”Kehi—sorry, sorry! I’ll atone with my death!”
”Cut it out. Even in flesh again, you haven’t changed at all,” he muttered, exasperated, gazing at his once-lover, the Clay Witch Rakw. She wore her black hair draped to cover one eye, her outfit deliberately witch-like, modeled after the Eternal Witch Cartera she idolized and studied from old texts.
”But you know, you look nothing like Cartera-sama. She was… blessed with far larger breasts.”
”Ah! That’s not something I could copy even if I wanted to. If only you’d touched me more back then, Keirald-sama, maybe they would’ve grown!”
”Then I failed you. I let you die before they had the chance.”
”Shall I let you try again?” She pressed her chest upward as if offering them.
Keirald burst into laughter. “Too bad. I lost all lust long ago.”
”That’s a shame. You went to such trouble to drag me into flesh, after all… but kisses are still allowed, aren’t they?”
”Of course. Affection, I still have.”
They kissed.
”Mmm… tch. No taste at all.”
”You… truly, you haven’t changed one bit.”
The two lovers, bound by a twisted fate, laughed together like youths again. A young general and a court witch, cousins who once served the empire side by side—they also shared the bitter stain of one of its greatest defeats.
On the reckless Northern Front, Rakw had perished. Keirald, though earning glory and the name Iron Arm General, lived his life almost entirely in the dust of battle until illness struck him down in camp.
”By the way, Keirald-sama, won’t you spar with His Majesty the First Emperor? You love fighting, even if you win in… questionable ways.”
”There you go again. But no—His Majesty doesn’t fight directly.”
”What? Truly?”
”You saw the headless knight, didn’t you? That puppet fights in his stead.”
He drew Rakw closer onto his lap and kissed her again. Witches, regardless of age, were hurled into battlefields. Her first campaign had been at ten years old, when she broke down sobbing from sheer terror. Keirald had sheltered his strange yet endearing cousin ever since.
”Battle is fine, but time with you is better,” he murmured.
”But you prefer giant breasts, don’t you?”
”Don’t hold grudges, you—”
”Kehi—just teasing. I love my time with you most, Keirald-sama.”
She had adored him since childhood. He had spoiled her as one would a younger sister. Another kiss followed—not fleshly pleasure, but enough to fill their hearts.
”Tomorrow, once we march, we won’t head for McGaref. Grano’s orders are to ambush the Witch of Plenty, Clarice, and her ranked guardian. Kill them.”
”You’ll send all ten thousand of the 3rd Division against just two?”
”Exactly. Ten thousand men to crush two—it’s extravagant, and boring besides.”
”Pitiful. But if we don’t kill, we can’t remain in flesh, can we?”
”No. And if His Majesty tires of us, we may vanish anyway. When McGaref falls, make sure you kill as many as you can.”
”Understood. I’ll pile corpses high so we won’t lose to the other divisions.”
She smiled with one eye, and Keirald brushed back her hair to caress the sightless one beneath.
”So even in flesh, this didn’t heal.”
”Yes. I’m sorry you can’t see me as I once was, at my best.”
Keirald had died in his thirties of battlefield illness; Rakw, a mere girl, had died much earlier. For-Elda, captain of the 4th Division, had once said jealously, “Unfair. I wish I’d been reborn in flesh so young, like you.”
”Kehi… I love you, Keirald-sama. Let’s kill them all.”
”I love you too, Rakw. I’ve missed you. Don’t leave me again.”
”Never. This time, even in death, we’ll go together.”
Tomorrow, the 3rd Division, led by two reunited lovers, would hurl itself upon Clarice and Chinatsu.
* * *
When Kanare finished her report and hurried off, face clouded with despair, Gandolf and Anne of the McGaref Council exhaled heavily. They had drawn the curtains, taking every precaution against spies.
Of the five councilors, only three remained: Takumi Nash, Kanare, and the church’s representative, Mafat.
”How likely do you judge Mafat to betray us?”
”Nine in ten. We already know he’s in touch with the Quvarian Empire. Remember Katarina?”
”That scum. He lured others with women and gold, a loathsome man. But Councilor Nas brought him down, didn’t he?”
”Guess what. He lived, and now he’s tied himself to McGaref’s dissidents. Likely Mafat as well.”
”Then kill him.”
”If only. He’s already vanished.”
”Troublesome. He could open the gates.”
”The west gate was under his authority.”
They both foresaw McGaref’s fall by treachery, and Kanare knew it too. That was why they set Weed and Kanare over the defense, while secretly planning for the gates’ inevitable loss.
”The invasion comes tomorrow. Shouldn’t we evacuate civilians while we can?”
”That would be chaos. It’d only create unarmed prey for slaughter.”
”True.”
They studied maps of the underground passages. With over half a million citizens, McGaref’s refugees would overwhelm any nearby lands already stripped of supplies.
”So, street fighting it must be. Bleed them with delay until foreign pressure comes.”
”Yes. McGaref was built for that. Tie knives to broomsticks, blind their vision, drown them in sheer numbers.”
Counting the unregistered poor, nearly a million souls filled the city. They prepared for guerrilla war through alleys and uneven streets, raising leaders and organizing cells. Anne even unleashed her own agents from the shadows.
”At most, one in ten will be usable fighters. But a hundred thousand against forty thousand, with home ground advantage—we may yet turn the tide. If water and food hold.”
”Water we have. Food… scarce, thanks to Takumi-chan’s generosity.”
”He can be ruthless, but at heart, he’s too kind.”
”Well, he is also king of Lesta. That’s just him. And unlike Mafat—or you—that’s his strength.”
”No doubt. Now, about the witches.”
”Only witches can fight witches. Call Ralph. We’ll need defensive barriers placed.”
”Indeed. The Adamantine Witch Beria’s defection was heaven’s blessing.”
They both knew the horror of what lay ahead—street battles after the gates fell, scenes of misery beyond imagining. But McGaref had only two paths: resist or die. And knowing this, they pressed forward, cold and relentless, with their plans for war.
Notes:
• Keirald – Once a commander in the northern wars, now a spectral soldier bound by a magic stone. Massive build, armored in living muscle. His voice thunders like iron against shield. Relationship – Loyal general to the First Emperor. Reminder: -His existence is sustained by the magic stone embedded in his armor. First appearance in v9c8.
• Grano – The Black Flame General, a legendary figure from Quvar’s past, now resurrected as part of the First Emperor’s ghostly host. Known for his ruthless tactics and unwavering loyalty to the Emperor, Grano commands a significant portion of the undead army. He is disdainful of the living, particularly those who oppose the Emperor’s plans, and shows no mercy in battle. His presence, alongside other legendary generals like Belhart, underscores the immense threat posed by the Emperor’s forces. First mentioned in v9c7.
• Cartera – Eternal Witch — The First Emperor’s mistress and a resurrected sorceress of immense power. Cruel and seductive, she takes pleasure in destruction and defilement. Her loyalty to the Emperor is absolute, and she shares his desire to end the world. First appears in v9c3.
• McGaref – Fortress city, adventurer hub.
• Clarice – The ‘Witch of Abundance’ from Lesta Kingdom.
• Chinatsu – White Wall — Black hair, B-cup. Adventurous, masochistic, Takumi’s first slave & lover. Master of Asakura-ryu Iaijutsu, wields cursed sword Chisame (blood-powered). 12th-ranked fighter, close to Hikari. First appears in v1c1 Prologue.
• Kanare – The stern battalion commander, who once led Chinatsu, shares a solemn mission, his eyes reflecting battlefield memories.
• Anne – Grandmother of the councilor representing the Market in McGaref.
• Takumi Nash – Councilor of the McGaref Autonomous Government commanding the Liberation Army.
• Quvarian Empire – Ruling kingdom. Harsh world, restricted freedom.
• Weed – He is a retired knight and martial arts master, appeared as a sword seller, known for his bloodthirsty grin and elite ‘Sword Master’ skill.
• Ralph – Shiori-chan’s foster father; eccentric; treated the mc to the brothel.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply