Volume 9 Chapter 49 Day Three (The Broken Blade)
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
It had already been three days since Keirald’s Third Army clashed with Asakura Chinatsu.
”Ahahaha! The skeletons are thinning out, huh!”
Chinatsu laughed wildly, swinging her blade, Chisame. Having learned how to devour life itself in her duel with Berhardt, Chisame had grown even more fearsome. Each swing cut down three lives, draining the vitality of all nearby.
The cries of the dead filled the field, yet only Chinatsu laughed. Life wept, magic scattered, and still the Third Army pressed its attack through the night. Their spirit was remarkable, but not enough to match the night-demon princess, Asakura Chinatsu.
”How many remain?”
”Less than five hundred.”
”I see… not enough time to summon Cartera. No, it would be useless anyway—she is being kept in reserve.”
Keirald smiled bitterly, watching Chinatsu’s dreadful martial arts. Her focus never wavered, even after fighting so long. She had slain nearly ten thousand soldiers and the world’s strongest man, Berhardt—and grown even more terrifying.
”Rakw… forgive me. We only just reunited, and now it is already time to part.”
”Keih… won’t you run away with me?”
”I am a general. I must answer for my soldiers’ deaths.”
Rakw clung to the man she loved. She had first seen battle at ten, a young witch of promise, and lost an eye in her first fight. From then, her cousin Keirald had kept her close in his army.
”I remember… the time of my death.”
”Yes, I remember too.”
”We were retreating through the mountains.”
”That’s right…”
In that war, already lost, Keirald had gathered the defeated and tried to escape. But reinforcements came they could not withstand. Rakw’s unit became the decoy that let them live.
”This time, I decided I will die with you.”
”Forgive me. Then die with me.”
”You men… always so proud. But I love you for it.”
Their lips touched. They had no fleshly desires when reborn, yet their hearts still joined.
”When three hundred remain, we strike.”
Keirald gave the order. He had kept his elites in reserve until now. His guards nodded—just as Chinatsu’s mocking laughter rang out again.
”Hurry up, skeletons! Clarice’s delivery is late! Back in old Japan, the soba shops would say ‘we’ve just left,’ and pizza shops would give it free and go bankrupt!”
Even while butchering her foes, Chinatsu prattled. Keirald sighed, but prepared to act. Too late—Chinatsu moved like she flew, rushing straight at him.
”Ahahaha! Too slow, so I came myself! Now die!”
Her strike barely deflected, his soldiers’ lives vanished instead.
”Damn monster—!”
”Not a monster! Just Chinatsu-chan, your classic black-haired beauty swordswoman!”
Keirald glimpsed Clarice racing for McGaref. He could not stop her. Chinatsu had achieved her purpose, and grew fiercer still.
”Pity you lost your left arm. You looked the strongest.”
”Because you meddled with Berhardt…!”
”Ehehe, praise makes me blush! Now, everyone, become Chisame’s dinner!”
A misstep sent Keirald tumbling down a slope. He scrambled back up—only to see Rakw collapse, her belly cut open.
”Rakw! Rakw!!”
”Ah, was she your lover? Too bad. This is a battlefield.”
Chisame drained her, glowing again. Chinatsu smiled, poised for the killing stroke.
”Full again already. Then let’s finish this.”
Scarlet light burst from the blade.
”Thousand Souls Severed – Annihilation Blade Dance.”
The thousand lives taken from Rakw slashed all around. The Ghost Army vanished. Keirald’s elites were shredded. Chinatsu smiled at him.
”Looks like I win. You’ll die anyway, but I’ll give you an honorable end… Hm? What’s this?”
Brown clay bound her limbs. Rakw, still alive, had cast her spell.
”Keih… damn woman. Die with me.”
”Oh… you still lived?”
Her witch’s magic was clay—useless in war, mocked by others. Yet as a snare, it was deadly, buying moments that killed even Berhardt.
”Used all I had. It won’t come off for a day.”
”Really… I never imagined this.”
Chinatsu laughed weakly, sitting down. Keirald dragged himself closer, bleeding but alive.
”Do it. Take my head. We die together now.”
”Thank you, Keirald-sama.”
”I won’t let her kill you. I’ll give the final blow.”
”I’m glad… but I can’t see anymore. Kiss me.”
”I love you, Rakw.”
”Of course. I love you too, Keirald.”
They kissed. Keirald’s dagger pierced her chest, then his own throat. Thus fell Keirald the Iron Arm General, and Rakw the Clay Witch. The Third Army perished utterly.
Asakura Chinatsu alone had destroyed them. Bound hand and foot, she sat watching as the ghosts dissolved into stones.
”I can’t even kill myself. Well, Clarice’s delivery got through. Maybe Takumi-kun will pat me on the head in the afterlife?”
Grano’s First Army arrived soon. Only Chinatsu remained, seated amid the carnage. Even he gasped.
”You alone did this? I thought only Cartera could.”
”Yep! I’m Asakura Chinatsu. Kill me if you like.”
She remembered Berhardt’s words.
”Oh, he said, ‘I want a drink at York Inn.’ That message was for you, maybe?”
”Yes… so he died happy then.”
Grano’s doubts pressed him to ask.
”Tell me, little lady—your commander. What is his name?”
”Takumi-kun.”
”…I knew it. I have many questions for you.”
”Torture me if you want, I won’t talk ♡”
”Heh. Don’t look so eager. It won’t be that kind of interrogation.”
So Asakura Chinatsu was spared, captured by Grano’s men, and sent to the Second Army. There, with Kito Ginga, she would face a shocking truth.
Notes:
• 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.
• 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.
• Berhardt – ‘Black Sword King,’ 1st Division vice-commander, once hailed as the empire’s strongest swordsman. Simple-minded, straightforward, often teased as everyone’s toy, but unmatched in battle. Slaughtered Sheryl’s guards, captured her, later fought Chinatsu. First appears v9c11. Reminder: Muscle-headed swordsman who laughs through bloodshed.
• 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.
• Rakw – ‘Clay Witch,’ 3rd Division vice-commander and Keirald’s cousin-lover, died shielding him on the Northern Front and was reborn at his side. One-eyed, Cartera-inspired, sly yet devoted, she teases Keirald while backing his schemes and joins him in slaughter. First appears v9c11. Reminder: Loyal clay witch bound by love and death to Keirald.
• Clarice – The ‘Witch of Abundance’ from Lesta Kingdom.
• McGaref – Fortress city, adventurer hub.
• 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.
• Kito Ginga – 1st Division leader. Modest, respected.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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