Volume 9 Chapter 38 Day Two (Coup d’État)
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Keirald-sama, that girl really is incredible,” Rakw whispered.
”Aye… even I’m astonished,” Keirald admitted.
”She’s going toe-to-toe with the Black Sword King Berhardt himself! And without tricks, a straight fight, just like you. Is she even human?”
”…Stop saying unnecessary things.”
”Kehi—! Sorry. But still, she’s terrifyingly strong.”
From the hill, Keirald — commander of the 3rd Division — and his deputy, the Clay Witch Rakw, looked on in mingled awe and unease.
Down below, steel rang.
”Ha ha ha! You’re just a skeleton, but what strength!”
”And you — that slim body, and you strike with that much force? Hah! And what’s this, a slash that flies? That’s cheating!”
”It isn’t cheating. It’s martial arts,” Chinatsu replied, lips curved.
”Martial arts, eh? Then I can’t complain.”
Berhardt, bearer of the Sword Emperor Skill, was a name carved into history. Yet Asakura Chinatsu, ranked merely thirteenth, matched him blow for blow, her expression calm even as battle-joy shimmered in her eyes.
”At rank thirteen? Nonsense. She should be rank one,” Berhardt laughed.
”I didn’t choose it. Don’t ask me,” Chinatsu said lightly.
”Maybe that witch Livia was slacking when she assigned it.”
He raised his enormous greatsword high, the Heavy Sword that had once cleaved through ranks of armored men in a single stroke. Unlike ordinary heavy blades, Berhardt’s mastery of martial arts lent it devastating power. Black sword-aura cracked the earth.
”Take this — Black Emperor Slash!“
”Ehehe. If you show a technique, I’ll answer it,” Chinatsu said.
With graceful motion, she guided her scythe Chisame into alignment, softening and dispersing his mighty strike. Sparks flew, soil burst upward — and then, like mist, the killing edge dissolved.
”Tch… what trick is that?”
”Aiki,” Chinatsu replied with a smile.
”Ha! Makes no sense to me. But the world is full of surprises. Once I kill you, I’ll carry your head to Commander Grano and that brat, and show them what I learned!”
His blade came down again — and his boot flung sand into her eyes.
But Chinatsu was unfazed. She sidestepped the leg sweep, answered with a lightning iai slash, and left a shallow cut across Berhardt’s chest.
”Fun, isn’t it? Almost as fun as when Tak-kun broke my maidenhead, or when he made me his toy ten times without pulling out. Every time with him is burned into me,” she said, laughing.
”…Your man’s a wild one,” Berhardt muttered.
”Mhm. He has the Sexual Champion Skill, after all.”
Berhardt tilted his head, confused, but shrugged. “Whatever. My job is to kill you — and that witch behind you — and mount your heads on the wall.”
”Simple’s best,” Chinatsu said, eyes narrowing.
Steel clashed again. Berhardt now knew the range of her iai, and he blocked with the greatsword — sometimes even tanking glancing blows on his armor — while unleashing strokes that would crush most foes in a single hit.
”Uhyah, ohyah, so lively,” Chinatsu said.
”You’re enjoying this.”
”So are you.”
Their gazes met, and both grinned like predators. Then, in unspoken agreement, they sheathed their weapons.
”Break time. Drink, eat. I want you at full strength when I kill you,” Berhardt said.
”Thanks. You undead are handy — no hunger.”
Chinatsu accepted, drinking a stamina potion and munching sweets passed to her by Clarice.
”Mm. Yawashi-kun’s are tastier… but thank you, Clarice-chan.”
From hill and plain alike, ghostly soldiers and commanders watched in reverent silence. The duel was beautiful, flowing — destined to be remembered in song. Some of the long-dead soldiers of Quvar even began to clap in awe.
”Kehi… Keirald-sama, please, never fight her yourself,” Rakw whispered, clutching his sleeve.
”…Perhaps I should risk my life and aid Berhardt. If we leave her be, the 3rd Division may one day be annihilated,” Keirald muttered.
”You’d join in? But… if you die, I couldn’t bear it…” Rakw’s voice trembled, eyes fixed in fear upon Asakura Chinatsu, the White Wall.
* * *
Half a day before, the palace of Quvar was steeped in silence. Marble floors glimmered with candlelight. Minister of Internal Affairs Gritch sat in the council chamber, poring over reports. His sharp eyes, usually cold, were clouded with irritation.
Opposite him sat a woman in white robes, smiling serenely — Livia, the Witch of the Turning Heavens.
”Well done, Lord Gritch. Maintaining supply lines to McGaref — that was your achievement,” she said.
”Honored to hear your praise, Lady Livia. But why call at this hour?”
”I worry for our nation’s future.”
”Hmph. His Majesty sleeps, drunk again. The disappearance of Princess Sheryl weighs on him.”
”Pitiful. Already, the world whispers of his folly — that his abuse of magic stones has bled the veins dry. Quvar teeters on the brink, Gritch.”
Her voice was unusually soft, slipping into the cracks of his heart.
”…Magic stones, yes. Summoning wraiths drained them. Now even our reserves wane. We may face every nation as foe.”
”Exactly. And His Majesty grows paranoid, mistrusting even the capable. He spurns talents like yours.”
At that, Gritch’s temper flared. “Spurn me? I doubled revenues. I raised war funds. I sacrificed the best of Internal Affairs to hinder Clarice’s movements in Seron!”
”Just so. You are the pillar of this empire. Only your brilliance sustains it. But His Majesty hides your glory beneath his incompetence.”
She stepped close, took his hand gently.
”Hidden… you say?”
”Yes. His folly will ruin us. The stones are gone, foreign powers stir. Only you, Gritch, can save Quvar.”
”…Save it? What are you implying?”
”The future. Sheryl is missing. If His Majesty dies, the throne passes to young Prince Castor. You would be regent. With your hand, Quvar would rise again.”
Her words dripped like poison honey. Gritch’s eyes gleamed in the candlelight.
”…You mean… kill His Majesty?”
”It cannot be helped. His idiocy only drags us down. You alone can rule. And I will stand with you, Gritch — you will be hailed as a hero.”
She pressed a dagger into his hand, its blade gleaming with toxin.
”…Prepared, are you? And this poison?”
”Not instantly fatal — but agony beyond endurance. He will beg for release. And in seeking it, take his own life. Resurrection will be impossible.”
”…Yes. With my rank, I can approach him even now. Guards won’t search me. Hm… only Roshima’s reaction is a concern.”
”They know the truth: as things stand, Quvar dies. But you will save it. I, Livia, will lend you my support. You are our savior.”
”Hero…” Gritch muttered. His ambition surged. “Very well.”
* * *
That night, he strode to the emperor’s chamber. Guards saluted and let him pass. Inside, the emperor scowled, cup in hand.
”Gritch? What business at this hour?”
”News, Your Majesty.”
”From McGaref? Or complaints from abroad? Or… word of Sheryl?”
”No… news concerning you, sire.”
The emperor frowned, gulping wine.
”Speak.”
”Foreign nations have lodged formal protests regarding the depletion of magic stones. They threaten war, aiding Gonan if need be.”
”What!? Then it is war already!”
”Yes. And the blame lies in your reckless use of stones, reviving wraiths beyond measure.”
The emperor’s face twisted. “Lies! The fault is yours, incompetent ministers! You failed me! Traitors all!”
”No, Majesty. It is you who failed the nation.”
Coldly, Gritch drew the poisoned dagger. Candlelight caught the venomous sheen.
”You… what are you doing?”
”For Quvar’s future. Forgive me.”
Without hesitation, he plunged the blade into the emperor’s chest. Blood welled, and the poison began its grisly work. The emperor’s eyes bulged, throat clawing in silent torment. He collapsed, thrashing, soiling himself, sanity fleeing.
”Such pain, sire? Then here — end it swiftly.”
He handed the emperor a second blade. In desperation, the ruler seized it and, without pause, drove it into his own throat. Again and again, until crimson stained the marble. Thus ended the reign of Quvar’s emperor, pitiful and abrupt.
Gritch calmly wiped the blade.
”Farewell, Majesty. I shall lead Quvar to glory. My daughter will wed Prince Castor, and my line endure. Or perhaps Princess Sheryl, if she lives — to pluck her purity with these very hands…”
Drunk on triumph, he gathered his vassals at dawn and proclaimed the emperor’s death.
But Livia struck first. Declaring loyalty to the royal blood, she denounced Gritch as a usurper. With the same poison, she wounded him; unable even to name her as accomplice, he writhed and perished by his own hand. His kin were executed.
The daughter he dreamed of wedding to royalty was instead abused, then forced to hang herself.
Thus Quvar plunged deeper into chaos. The emperor dead, succession passed automatically to the Second Princess — Sheryl — and destiny took a most unexpected turn.
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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Clarice – The ‘Witch of Abundance’ from Lesta Kingdom.
• McGaref – Fortress city, adventurer hub.
• Sheryl – Second Princess of the Quvarian Empire, a striking beauty with red hair. Initially appears as a diplomatic envoy, but she is a reformer within the empire, seeking to atone for Quvar’s past betrayals, particularly the destruction of the Northern Kingdom. Sheryl is highly intelligent and politically savvy, using her position to gather secrets and undermine the empire’s plans to destroy McGaref. She is also a slave to Takumi, bound by enslavement magic, and tasked with sowing chaos within Quvar. Despite her circumstances, she maintains a sense of duty and hopes to bring about change. First appears in v6c26.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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