The only reason I did not scream was that I clenched my jaw so tightly that my molars threatened to collapse.
Had it not been for the divine spirit supporting me, I would have fainted long ago or bitten my tongue off.
And then.
It comes.
Something.
From within the darkness, I quickly rolled my body to the side as it reached out for me.
Whoosh!
I could not tell what had passed by.
I had only felt a strong threat and instinctively rolled away.
Something brushed past where I had been. I couldn't tell what it was, but had it struck me, it would have been dangerous for certain.
One thing was clear.
Charlotte was attacking me.
"Your Majesty!"
Reacting to the laughter, Sabiolin Tana had already arrived at the instrument storage in the blink of an eye.
"…Why are you here?"
Slowly adjusting to the darkness, I could see Sabiolin Tana's figure, as well as the figure of the being staring at me from within the darkness. Startled by my presence, Sabiolin Tana's face turned blank as she looked at the entity before her.
"H-how… How did it come to this…?"
It continued to stare at me with an eerie smile. Had Charlotte's condition worsened since before?
"Step back. I will ask questions later."
As if to say that questioning this situation was for later, Sabiolin Tana hid me behind her.
"Do not stray far from me. It is dangerous."
Only then could I see what had been looming over me.
Darkness, like a living, moving blade, was being launched with precision.
Clang! Clang!
In an instant, she unsheathed her sword and deflected the charging darkness with her Aura Blade activated.
With a roar, the shadows dispersed into the air and shattered into pieces.
"Your Majesty! You must regain your senses!"
"…Hehe. Hehehehe."
It did not respond to Tana's words.
Grrr
Darkness boiled, and once more, the solidified blade swooped toward her.
Sabiolin Tana blocked the shadowy blade with her Aura Blade while standing in front of me.
She repelled the blades that came from four, then five directions with her lightning-fast speed. The pressure I felt on my skin when the sword and shadows collided told me that the power within was far from ordinary.
To manipulate darkness, or shadows.
That was Charlotte's ability.
Charlotte's ability was as sharp as it was powerful.
However, Tana had the upper hand. All attacks were blocked, and she even had room to spare.
Only, she could not harm Charlotte.
Unable to attack, she could only focus on defense.
But she had to subdue her.
She stepped through the rain of shadowy blades, one step at a time, closing in on Charlotte.
Almost there.
The moment Sabiolin Tana dared to reach for Charlotte's neck.
Flash!
As the flash of light illuminated the room, Charlotte's figure vanished without a trace.
"…Damn it."
Gritting her teeth, she stared at the spot where Charlotte had disappeared.
It was a brief exchange, but any ordinary person would have died hundreds of times during the conflict. Had I been the one to receive those attacks, I wouldn't have been able to withstand them even three times.
She turned to look at me.
Her eyes were filled with anger as evident as her despair.
Smack!
"Ugh!"
She gripped my collar and pushed me against the wall.
"You foolish oaf! Why didn't you leave when you had the chance? Did you think you could be of any help to Her Majesty here? You naive fool! If I hadn't arrived, you'd already be dead! Don't you value your life?"
Her honest rage seemed like she would sever my neck at any moment. She unsheathed her sword and aimed it at my throat.
"There are things in this world that should not be known or seen. You have ignored Her Majesty's consideration and mine as well. For that sin, you must pay with your life."
She appeared ready to thrust her sword and kill me on the spot.
To anyone who saw her, Charlotte was undoubtedly a demon.
It would be a scandal if the royal family, especially the heir to the throne, were known to be in such a state.
Rumors would spread that she had been kidnapped by the demon king and cursed.
And the reality might not be much different.
That couldn't be a supernatural power.
It was evident that Charlotte had suffered at the hands of the demon king. Whether she knew it or not, it was certain.
That's why the royal family had kept it a secret. There was no reason to spare me, who had witnessed it with my own eyes.
Death was upon me, yet strangely, I wasn't afraid.
The sight of Charlotte just now was more terrifying than Sabiolin Tana's sharp threat.
"Of course, I value my life."
"…What?"
My life is not insignificant.
I don't want to die.
But I was more afraid that Charlotte, in her current state, would not return.
"That's why I'm here, because Charlotte's life is as precious as mine. I thought maybe there's something I could do."
"You overestimate your abilities."
Her cold, piercing gaze seemed to skewer me.
"It's not arrogance."
"Then what is it? If your actions aren't arrogant, then what are they?"
"It's desperation."
Charlotte's life.
It was a reason in itself for me.
That's why I entered the palace with an odd sense of unease, disobeying the orders of the Her Majesty and the Knight Captain of Shanafel, and sneaking into the Spring Palace.
For the first time, I risked my life for something.
I couldn't bear to see Charlotte's life vanish in vain.
She looked deep into my eyes, seemingly searching for any hint of doubt, arrogance, or impetuousness.
Her sword, aimed at my throat, wavered.
How much time had passed?
Her sword slowly lowered.
She released my collar but still glared at me.
"Her Majesty will decide your fate when the day breaks."
But her gaze was one of certainty that no harsh punishment would befall me.
"May I ask what is going on?"
"No one knows."
"…No one knows?"
"Nobody knows the situation, not a soul. No one knows why the Crown Princess has come to possess such power or why she is gradually being consumed by it. Why, when night falls, that power takes over the Crown Princess's body."
Tana's desperate expression mirrored the current state of the royal family's emotions.
"Nobody knows anything. All we can do is speculate that some event that occurred in the Demon's Castle is the cause."
She watched the darkness and gripped my shoulder.
"One thing is clear; the situation has worsened. Don't stray too far from me. The Crown Princess, or rather, 'that thing' that has taken over her body, moves through the shadows. It can appear from the front, from behind, or even from the ceiling."
It seemed that, having already witnessed the situation, she had no choice but to divulge what she knew.
Indeed, it suddenly appeared before my eyes.
It moved through the darkness.
So binding Charlotte would be pointless, and even if watched, she could suddenly vanish.
That's why she illuminated the entire palace. With no darkness, there would be no shadows for it to travel.
Every night, Sabiolin Tana filled the palace with light, which seemed to work.
But that method failed tonight.
Now it can extinguish even the magic lamps at will.
The night belongs to it.
"Does this happen every night?"
"Not every night. But the frequency is increasing. And this is the first time it has extinguished all the lanterns. Moreover, the Crown Princess's eyes… Last time I saw them, only one was affected…"
Her eyes wavered, frustrated and indignant by the situation.
"Its aggression is growing. At first, it was said to wander the palace at night like someone suffering from sleepwalking… But recently…"
She trailed off.
She seemed unable to mention the murder cases.
"Anyway, you must leave the palace. It's dangerous here. Any punishment you face can only be dealt with while you're alive. If you overstep again, I will genuinely take your life."
"I understand."
Sabiolin Tana, tense and cautious, took one step at a time, her senses heightened.
In the darkness, I enhanced my sight to see through the shadows. My vision was more accurate in the dark than that of ordinary people. The distracting flash of light in my mind was also subsiding.
-sssss
Tana moved cautiously through the Spring Palace's corridor, where only the chilling sound of rain echoed. We had to go down to the hall on the first floor and leave the palace. She intended to send me away first.
"What will you do?"
"I'll have to subdue it. It's what I've been doing until now."
She had no choice but to resort to violent methods, like knocking it unconscious before it could disappear into the darkness.
It must have worked so far.
Considering her reaction and the warning from my intuition, there was only one conclusion.
Tonight marks a turning point.
One eye, which had only been partially consumed, was now entirely engulfed, as were both of her eyes.
The power that consumed Charlotte had grown even stronger today.
Would Tana ultimately fail to suppress Charlotte and end up killing her?
If so, how could I possibly stop that?
The Demon King is involved. Charlotte's power is a byproduct of his influence.
There was nothing else I could discern.
Some sort of scheme involving the Demon King.
But now was not the time for contemplation.
Tana moved cautiously, paying attention to all directions—front, back, left, right, up, and down.
Though the palace entrance was not far away, she remained vigilant.
-Clang! Crash!
The sudden shadowy blades flying like daggers in the darkness were the reason Tana could not let her guard down. The black blades darted suddenly, targeting both me and Tana.
She blocked them all on her own.
"Damn it…"
In the darkness, I saw her clench her right hand and grit her teeth.
Standing before the staircase leading to the first floor, Tana gazed across the vast hall at the entrance, her teeth clenched.
The grand palace entrance was blocked by a black barrier.
More accurately, it was obscured by pitch-black darkness.
And before that darkness, Charlotte, still wearing her spine-chilling smile, watched the two of us.
"It seems neither of us will be allowed to leave."
"… It seems that way."
As if daring us to approach, it stood motionless, blocking the entrance.
A being that could move through darkness and attack us with that same darkness.
In this place filled with shadows, the two of us might be nothing more than toys.
Though our opponent was at a distance, it could appear right before us by riding the darkness.
"Until recently, I could subdue it without much difficulty. Due to my carelessness, I sustained some injuries, though."
If it were just a minor injury, she wouldn't even mention it.
Therefore, it must not be a superficial wound.
"…"
"However, I do not know what it is, and I cannot guarantee that I can subdue it safely this time."
The continent's strongest warrior calmly estimated the possibility of defeat.
The unidentified opponent held the best battlefield and environment. And as of today, its power had grown even stronger.
Yet, standing against it was Sabiolin Tana, who had neither rested for more than five days nor received proper treatment for her injuries.
Tana's condition was at its worst.
However, even if her defeat was due to poor condition, it was still a defeat.
Death meant the end of everything. There was no room for excuses about easily subduing the opponent in better conditions.
Could it be that it is not Charlotte, but Sabiolin Tana who will die today?
Was my intuition warning me that Tana's life was in grave danger, not Charlotte's?
Sabiolin Tana is one of the main characters in the latter part of the story.
Her death would be a turning point in history, likely in a very negative direction.
But even if Sabiolin Tana dies today, it doesn't guarantee that Charlotte will live.
If Charlotte were to kill Sabiolin Tana today instead of dying, Charlotte would die tomorrow.
If the power that could kill Tana is dangerous and uncontrollable, then regardless of the wielder being a princess, there would be no choice but to deal with her immediately.
Both Sabiolin Tana and Charlotte would die.
If so, then soon, I too would die today.
I am the only variable in this equation.
I must somehow resolve this situation.
But in these two battles, I was too small a variable.
"Reinhardt, you said you could enhance your magical power on your own."
"…Yes."
There was no room for saying it wasn't enough for actual combat.
"I will fight while protecting you, but I cannot guarantee that I will be able to protect you without fail. Remember that my priority is first to the fight, then to myself, and lastly to you."
She handed me her sword.
"These shadows cannot be countered without magical power. You may not be able to imbue a sword with magic, but with this sword, you should be able to repel them."
She seemed to be planning to fight using her Aura Sword since she could summon it.
Sabiolin Tana's sword.
Though not a sacred relic, it was one of the empire's treasures.
Tempesta, the Gale Sword.
In my hands was the sword that Ludwig, who possessed Alsebringer, had claimed as Tana's legacy and made his second sword.
"I will manage."
Summoning the Aura Sword would consume a lot of stamina.
I must not do anything that would worsen Tana's condition.
"As I said, it may be difficult to protect you…"
-Swoosh
I summoned it.
"I have this black sword as well."
"Soul binding…?"
Her eyes widened as she looked at the sword with the ivory-colored blade in my hand.
"This… how did you get this!"
She stared in astonishment at the Tiamata, the sacred relic of duality, in my hand.
"We can discuss it later."
I hadn't expected to use it in a place like this.
Now, I must face my first real battle using Tiamata.
Not against a bandit, a monster, or a deserving villain.
My first friend.
I must face Charlotte in real combat.
For now, she swallowed all her questions.
"…Fine."
Both she and I understood the gravity of the situation.