Chapter 294: Chapter 294: 15 year old Inglis, Squire and Knight Commander (4)

「Wh-, what strength!」

「N-, no one should receive that head-on!」

「Your Majesty! YOUR MAJESTY?!!」

Rochefort chuckled at the Knights’ screams.

「Boy oh boy! A single hit and you’re already reduced to powder? How puny…」

A flash of blue rained down on Rochefort right then.

「Where are you looking?!」

「……NUuu?!」

Rochefort’s shield reacted to the overhead blow, producing a loud crashing sound. King Charleas, clad in blue armor and wings, flew into the air to avoid Rochefort’s bash and slashed at him in the cloud of dust.

「Hoo? The same awakening of the artifact as the Holy Knight Raphael! It seems like you’re much different than my royal b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲ who are too busy sitting around in the safety behind the walls, acting self-important and righteous!」

「……No, I’m no different than them. Even now, I’ve left the battle against Prisma to the youngsters who still have their future, while I’m here in the safety of the royal capital. My Rune has been crying this whole time! How it can’t shine to fulfill the duty you fail to see!」

Regardless of his Special Grade Rune, Charleas was a king. He mustn’t abandon his role and fight to die with a Hyrule Menace in his hand. The same could be said during the fight where the Prisma was first encased in ice in the town of Arlman.

In order to fulfill the position he was born to, he couldn’t take the role of fighting hand-in-hand with the Hyrule Menaces, regardless of his strength. He had no choice but to entrust the future to the very people he wanted to protect, people much younger with a brighter future than himself.

「Then rejoice! Your Rune will no longer cry! Since you’ll be dead!」

Rochefort kicked the ground hard and furiously took off. King Charleas was hit by his body slam and was blown away. Should he hit the castle walls or the ground, the damage he suffered would inevitably double.

「HNNNnnn?!」

Twisting himself, he broke free of the inertia of Rochefort’s hurl and flew up vertically with his shining blue wings.

「Too slow!!」

As if anticipating his trajectory, rays of light gushed out from the gems on Rochefort’s shield. Several of them snatched at King Charleas as he flew up at high speed.

「HmmM?!」

The king then diverted from his straight trajectory up and made a sharp left turn. However, rays of light were quickly intervening with him again.

「……?! If so—!」

He then opted for fast and complex flight trajectories with detailed directional changes in between. King Charleas began to fly around at a speed that an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to keep up with.

「NAIVE NAIVE NAAIIIVVEEEE!!!」

However, the rays of light kept following him precisely wherever he went. The blue armor that the Dragon Claw had bestowed him was gradually damaged by the repeated attacks.

「Kgh……! Even using the Dragon Claw isn’t enough to break free! What speed!」

「Get all gung-ho all you want! You’re just a dry old bonebag too far long from the battlefield! For an Artifact of equal power, Raphael the Holy Knight sure wields it better!! You got too heated to finally get into a fight, you made a mistake coming at me, you fossil! Should’ve taken advantage of the cloud of dust and made a run for it! Raphael would’ve done that! A befitting choice concerning your power compared to your opponent’s!」

「A dry old bonebag… maybe you’re right!」

It was true that King Charleas wasn’t as good as he was in his prime, and his sense of combat had since been dulled. But, even then… What made this Rochefort man so elated?

Both in the battle against the Holy Knight Order on the border and now here, he wielded the power of the Hyrule Menace without restraint, showing no sign of change whatsoever.

It was a mystery how he hadn’t burnt out his life already…

「Come on, come on! Run fast or I’ll get a direct hit, you know?!」

「Oh no……!」

Should he fall here, even if Rochefort was defeated and the Prisma was successfully brought down, the country would be…

「UOOOHHHH!!! YOUR MAJEESTTYYY!!!」

Someone shouted and rushed towards Rochefort. With a sword at the ready, Redas brought his entire body’s weight to slash at Rochefort.

But when his sword touched Rochefort’s back, it shattered with a high-pitched clang as though it had hit some mighty wall.

「……you did something?」

Rochefort turned around, a smirk on his lips.

「……! Then how about this!!」

Redas threw his broken sword away and tried to grapple Rochefort. He was ready to buy as much time as he could, regardless of how unsightly he looked.

「Hmph, how sickening. Being embraced by a guy doesn’t bring me any pleasure!」

A flash of a back fist. It struck Redas squarely in the face, sending him flying. Redas, however, quickly rose to his feet and, with blood streaming from his broken nose, pressed forward to once again grapple Rochefort.

「Redas! Stop it, back down!」

「No, I can’t stand to watch my king shield us any longer! UoooOOOHHH!!!」

「R-, RIGHT!! There’s no reason for us to stand idle!」

「After him! FOLLOW AFTER OUR COMMANDER!!!」

「Just buy time! Lady Inglis will be here shortly!」

Dozens of Knights swarmed Rochefort to grapple him at once.

「YOU’RE ALL IRRITATING!!!」

Rochefort swung his shield in a wide arc, sending the Knights swarming at him flying away with a single strike. The Knights were all blown away, crouching with their backs to the ground.

「Very well. If you want to stand in my way, I’ll have you all disappear!」

The gems on the shield glowed, ready to fire rays of light. Rochefort pointed his shield at Redas and the others.

「I won’t let you!」

To stop him, King Charleas rushed at Rochefort and unleashed his blade. Rochefort, however, saw it through. The blade sliced only air, and Rochefort was already behind King Charleas.

「You lack skill! I just told you before! Make a run for it when you see an opening!」

As Rochefort slammed his golden shield on King Charleas, the King was blown furiously toward the castle wall like an arrow. He was struck without even a moment to control his posture in the air.

「「「YOUR MAJESTY?!」」」

「Kggh… I suppose… I’m too old for my rusty skills…」

With blood streaming from his forehead, King Charleas lay with all limbs spread out. The intense pain and numbness that ran through his entire body made it unlikely for him to get up anytime soon.

「Call it a beautiful fealty relationship if you will, if only it wasn’t your downfall! Both the Dragon Fang and the Dragon Claw are meaningless in the face of the Hyrule Menace! So weak, weak, WEAAKKK!! Have a fun trip together to hell!!」

「Fuu……Ku ku ku…」

Still on his back, King Charleas let out an abrupt laugh.

「? What’s so funny!?」

A huge shadow passed over Rochefort’s head.

「How about a Dragon’s Tail, then!?」

「?!」

Quickly looking up, Rochefort’s entire vision was met with the incomprehensible sight of the tail of something giant, dozens of times his height, swinging down towards him.

The person swinging it was a silver-haired girl, and he could see a dark-haired girl clinging to the former’s back, screaming all the while.

「WHAAAAAAAAATTTTT?!!!!!」

「KYAAAAAAAAAAHHHH?!!!!!」

Rochefort’s astonishment coincided with the scream of the dark-haired girl, and then…

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

An ear-splitting roar rumbled through the air, and vibrations much like a massive earthquake shook the entire castle.

Rochefort’s figure disappeared under the tail of the Dragon God Vufailbane that Inglis swung down as she jumped off the battleship of the Ironblood Chain Brigade in the sky above.

「I am sorry for the wait! And good day to you.」

Acting as if nothing ever happened, Inglis smiled and bowed to everyone present.