Chapter 109: Lucille
The Lucille residing within Leor memories was a girl who often smiled.
Bright like a sunflower, warm like the sun itself – that was the kind of girl she was.
“—-Disappear.”
The smile she now shows holds no trace of the former. A twisted, cold expression painted with rejection and hatred.
Parrying Lucille’s attacks with his chipped blade, Leor swings his own half-broken sword, trying to deflect her greatsword – but her figure becomes a miasmic haze vanishing, only to reappear behind him an instant later.
Yet Leor had grasped her reappearance point. Turning around, he deflects Lucille’s strike.
“Cloaking yourself in miasma while using special footwork to deceive one’s vision, making it seem you’ve disappeared… More of a martial art than magic. An effort-borne technique befitting you.”
“To see through this is quite the feat. You’ve improved your skills.”
“I’ve had more than enough time for self-reflection and training.”
“Ah, is that so? You were completely enthralled by me, ending up losing arm!”
Lucille launched an attack from her remaining right arm. Leor instinctively brought his left-hand sword up to guard, but her blade passed through empty air – a feint. Before he realized, a sharp kick slammed into his left side.
“…Ugh!”
The kick was piercing enough to lift his body, heavily impacting. Though blown back, he landed on both feet, maintaining his stance. However, Lucille’s greatsword was brimming with jet-black magical power.
“[Black Lion’s Roar]!”
A flash, and the swung slash became an ebon roar assaulting Leor.
“[Lion’s Roar]!”
His own roaring slash clashed – golden and jet-black magical powers colliding, the impact tearing through the ebon curtain’s interior.
“…Unsatisfactory.”
Amid the billowing dust from the clashing forces, displeasure was etched onto Lucille’s expression.
“Just deflecting my attacks without a real offensive of your own…I’ll admit, through the self-reflection and training you claim, you’ve grown stronger. But looking down on me is overreaching arrogance.”
“I simply don’t want to hurt you. I told you, didn’t I? I came here to convey my unchanging love for the woman I fell for.”
“Ridiculous. I stole everything from you. And yet you still love me? Such utter nonsense is impossible.”
“It’s quite possible. As you can see, there’s a man here still in love with you.”
“–How dare you mock me!”
With quiet outrage, jet-black magical power whipped around Lucille’s entire being like a raging storm. Facing this darkness evoking calamity, Leor’s eyes didn’t waver an inch.
“The love I gave you was but an illusion, a fantasy with no true existence.”
“No, it definitely existed. At the very least, it did for me.”
“On what grounds…?”
“You were always facing me, the person that I am.”
Leor still remembers every word Lucille spoke to him during their days at the academy, down to each phrase. Her expressions, her gaze – even when she betrayed him.
“…Such things were mere acting to ingratiate myself to you. I simply said what you wanted to hear.”
“Could be…but it was the first time for me. You were the only one who truly faced all of me – my pains, my weaknesses. Yet even then, I couldn’t fully entrust everything to you at that time.”
“Hah, indeed. You were enthralled by me, but you were the only one still showing caution, hiding away what truly mattered, cowering in fear…Thanks to that, I had such difficulty obtaining the [Royal Garment Ring] from you, the one I thought would be easiest.”
“I was afraid – of being rejected by you, denied…Yes, I was a coward when it came to love – just like you.”
“—-“
At those words from Leor, Lucille fell silent.
Leor still hadn’t launched any true offensive attacks, doing no more than attempting to deflect Lucille’s weapons. But Lucille was shaken, frozen stiff as if she’d suffered an unparalleled assault.
“Wha…what are you…”
“I’ve felt it since the time we spent together. Crossing blades with you only reinforced my conviction.”
“What are you talking about…!”
“You may be skilled at giving false love, but you’re a coward when it comes to love directed at you.”
“Silence!”
With intense rage and hatred, she unleashed her magical power. Leor realized what spell was coming next, so he deployed the same magic to counter.
“[Black Lion’s Heart]!”
“[Lion’s Heart]!”
A time-limited enhancement spell to temporarily heighten all abilities.
Wreathed in ebony radiance, Lucille kicked off the ground as Leor met her charge enveloped in golden light. The black and gold illuminated the curtain’s interior, scattering myriad sparks like a miraculous spectacle. Eventually, their blades ground together hilt-to-hilt, the intertwined radiance resembling conjoined wings.
“You’re the coward!”
“Yes, I was once! But I won’t run from you any longer! Just as you accepted all of me, I’ll accept your entire being!”
“Liar!”
“Even if you’re the daughter of the Night Witch! No matter what crimes you’ve committed! Even if you tried destroying the world, it doesn’t matter! Even if you turn the entire world against you, I still love you!”
“Liar! Liar! Liar liar liar liar liar!”
“Tell me everything about you! Why are you so afraid of love!”
Their clashing blades wreathed in razor-honed magical power collided again and again, an unknown number of times.
An instant – a flash that engulfed the world between the two roaring lions.
☆
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Around two hundred years after the existence known as the [Night Witch] brought calamity to the world…
The curse left behind by the Night Witch – the miasma-born monstrosities [Ragments]. The royal families of kingdoms like the Leuville Kingdom, who fought the [Ragments] with golden magic power, were the hope for all people across the world.
However, by this time, the world had seen the emergence of new threats labeled as enemies of mankind besides the [Ragments].
They were the demonic tribes. These ancient races led the Demon Lord’s army in declaring war on humanity, invading their territories and sparking conflicts across various regions.
Lucille was born into this era rife with new flames of war, in a small village of a certain country.
Her mother passed away shortly after giving birth, and around the same time, her father was killed by the demonic tribes. The village chief took Lucille in, but showed no affection, treating her at a distance.
And while Lucille did not possess the [Fifth Attribute] magical power, her very being harbored extraordinary magic power unthinkable for a child. Her raw magic quantity alone surpassed even the royals of the five great kingdoms at the time.
Perhaps if she had been born into any of the great five kingdoms, or anywhere but this village, her fate might have differed. But to the narrow-minded villagers, Lucille with her abnormal power was seen as an eerie existence.
Concluding that this power was a gift from the divine to confront the new demonic threat, in exchange for her parents’ lives – the young Lucille began her own self-taught training regimen. The villagers called her an oddity, keeping their distance…
“If you’re training, let me join in.”
Except for the boy named Theo. The village chief’s only son and Lucille’s childhood friend.
“I want to defeat the Demon Lord too someday, to protect everyone.”
He was the first comrade Lucille gained.
Time passed, and when the two turned twelve, Lucille and Theo set out from the village together.
To aid those suffering under the Demon Lord’s forces, they wielded their blades across the lands, saving people without asking for anything in return. Before long, Lucille came to be called the [Hero].
“The Hero Lucille, huh…then I guess I’m the Swordsman Theo!”
Theo always smiled by Lucille’s side. She loved that smile of his.
Their journey wasn’t always smooth sailing;
the Demon Lord’s fierce attacks often pushed them into dire straits where they were forced into disadvantageous positions.
But Lucille never gave up. Drawn to her unyielding spirit, more people began following in her footsteps.
The Swordsman Theo. An elven mage. A dwarven warrior. Kingdom knights.
Traveling the world, forging bonds – they came to be called the [Hero’s Party], a beacon of hope for mankind.
Victory after victory, Lucille grew stronger with each battle, repelling adversity again and again until finally facing the decisive battle against the Demon Lord.
The fight against the Demon Lord raged intensely – dodging blades, trading spells – until at last Lucille had him cornered.
“…Why do you not kill me?”
To the Demon Lord’s question, Lucille set down her sword.
What she extended was an empty, bladeless palm.
“…What is your intention?”
“Demon Lord, I want to become your friend.”
“You jest. I am the Demon Lord, your enemy as mankind’s foe.”
“But there are also reasons on humanity’s side, you know.”
The demonic tribes were once demi-humans persecuted by mankind themselves.
Revenge against humanity was the Demon Lord’s lamentable cause and sovereign duty.
“Foolish…I am the Demon Lord! Sovereign of the demonic tribes! Your enemy as a human!”
“Even so, we can still forge bonds.”
“Why can you say that with such certainty?!”
“I’ve been to all sorts of places – elven villages, dwarven settlements, kingdoms…Good and bad things happened, it wasn’t all fun times. At first some were even my enemies. But now we’ve bonded and become comrades.”
“You think bonds can form between humans and demons too? Just idealistic drivel, pretty words.”
“I don’t want to abandon my ideals or pretty words. Deep down, you don’t want to abandon them either, do you?”
“…Why would you think that?”
“Because you fought with all your might. Your blade, your eyes, conveyed that much to me. If pretty words can come true, that’s the best outcome, isn’t it?”
“…………………….”
After a brief silence, the Demon Lord took Lucille’s offered hand.
“Hero Lucille, I shall place my trust in you for now.”
Thus the war against the Demon Lord’s forces ended in an unforeseen peace.
“We did it, Theo! Our dream came true!”
“Yeah, thanks to you, Hero Lucille.”
“Oh come on, having that title still kinda tickles, you know?”
More than anything, she just wanted to be [Lucille] in front of Theo.
By then, she had already fallen in love with him – the only one who never shied away from her in that village where everyone else avoided and feared her.
“…But you’ll keep being a hero, won’t you?”
“Yeah. We forged peace, but there’s still hatred and conflict leftover between humans and demons. I want to eliminate that.”
“Sheesh, there you go spouting your pretty ideals again.”
“But you’ll be with me, won’t you?”
“Of course. I’m Theo, the swordsman and Lucille the hero’s closest companion. But…it’s not just that.”
“Theo? Mmm–“
It was a surprise attack. Theo was right in front of her. Theo’s lips sealed over Lucille’s.
“I want to stay by your side, to protect you.”
“….Theo”
“Because I love you.”
“…..Yeah. Me too.”
Lucille confessed her love, blushing a little shyly.
“Theo. I love you.”
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