Chapter 173
It gave me away.
That thought ran round and round in my head. Erna's voice was that familiar.
It was a voice she never used with Silver.
Why had she figured it out? Was it the way she addressed me, or something else?
Even as I wondered, I steeled myself and turned around. Even if she'd figured it out, I would stick to my lie. Somehow, I'd bluff my way through this for now.
But that resolve quickly vanished.
When I turned around, Erna was standing there. Her eyes weren't focused.
"You don't have to sound so worried... I'm all right... I won't lose..."
Was she dazed?
Did she think I was here, even though I shouldn't have been?
Erna continued speaking to that imaginary version of me.
"I'll protect... the Al you are now..."
Swaying unsteadily, Erna raised the Holy Sword.
Her appearance and words almost made me call out her name.
I wanted to tear off my mask right then and tell her I was here. I was Silver, so she didn't have to fight anymore. I wanted to tell her she'd done enough.
But that wouldn't be fair.
My knight, who had shown such determination, would never ask for something so half-hearted.
Once you made a decision, you had to see it through to the end. Sebastian had told me that was what it meant to stand by your principles.
At last, I felt I understood what he meant.
I was lying to someone who cared this much about me. Revealing the truth on the strength of my own feelings would be the height of rudeness.
I had no right to be so selfish.
"How unexpected. Were you fighting for the sake of the has-been prince?"
I asked Erna in a clear voice, as Silver would.
Erna stared blankly at me, then her eyes slowly came into focus.
And when she realized I was Silver, she conspicuously grimaced.
"...How humiliating... For a moment, you looked like Al."
"I'm the one who's humiliated. Don't lump me in with the has-been prince."
"You... Didn't I tell you not to say that in front of me...?"
As she spoke, Erna pressed her left hand against her right side.
The reason she wasn't getting angry as usual was probably that she couldn't.
"You sure are talkative for someone with broken ribs."
"...Could you stop acting like you see through everything? It makes me want to cut you down with the Holy Sword."
"How frightening. Even I couldn't stop a Holy Sword, I'm afraid."
I shrugged and turned my gaze toward the Spirit Turtle.
The Spirit Turtle, its shell slashed wide open, was directing its scales at Egor.
As a result, it had stopped watching us.
This time, the decoy and the real target had switched places.
Erna must have realized that too. But she didn't move.
She could easily move with just one broken rib, so perhaps several were broken and her internal organs had been damaged as well.
I began to worry, but Erna slowly opened her mouth.
"Before I lost consciousness... I heard Al's voice."
"Perhaps you were seeing your life flash before your eyes."
"You aren't exactly popular with the ladies, are you...? Al must have been worried about me. I can tell."
"That's unlike you—a girlish notion like that."
"You really are awful... I only know because I'm Al's childhood friend. Al is a worrier, so... I'm sure he's still worried about me. That's why I have to finish this quickly... It's my duty to resolve this before Al does something reckless."
With that, Erna slowly raised the Holy Sword in both hands.
At that moment, she grimaced in pain. But after taking several breaths to steady her breathing, she glared at the Spirit Turtle with a piercing gaze.
Had she switched into battle mode and temporarily shut out the pain?
"So that's how it is. Silver, lend me a hand."
"I have no idea what you mean by 'so that's how it is.' I don't see why I should help you for your own personal reasons."
"I called you the has-been prince, didn't I? Help me, and I'll consider us even."
"What a terrifying woman. I only said it to fire you up, you know."
"Yes, and thanks to you, I was fired up. I'm grateful for that much."
"You don't sound grateful. Just so you know, I pushed myself quite hard protecting you while you were unconscious."
That wasn't a lie.
I had fought the Spirit Turtle alone to protect Erna.
I hadn't run out of magical power, but casting a grand spell was quite taxing. At the very least, it took time.
But Erna ignored my circumstances and said,
"Enough with the excuses. You have a trump card, don't you? Use it now."
"Good grief... You should be the one to deliver the finishing blow, yet you're making me help you. This favor will cost you dearly."
"Don't be ridiculous. You owe me far more."
After that exchange, I slowly raised one hand above my head.
As Erna had said, I had a trump card.
I had already laid the groundwork in case Erna didn't wake up. But I hadn't expected to have to use it despite her being here.
Erna clearly intended to erase the Spirit Turtle here and now.
≪I am one who knows the laws of silver; I am the one chosen by true silver≫
Silver Annihilation Magic was a special form of ancient magic.
It possessed a silver radiance, and all magical power transformed into what could be called the silver attribute.
≪Divine Silver filling the azure heavens; True Silver scattered across the green earth≫
The magical power of that silver attribute remained scattered around the area even after Silver Annihilation Magic was used.
Because the magical power had transformed into a special attribute, it normally couldn't be used.
But.
≪That silver sometimes bursts forth like lightning; that silver sometimes becomes a light that illuminates the dark night≫
By using the same Silver Annihilation Magic, I could use that silver-attribute magical power.
That didn't mean I could use it for just anything, though.
The spell had to gather up the magical power scattered around the area.
That was my trump card.
≪Noble Heavenly Silver; Immaculate White Silver≫
A Silver Annihilation spell that gathered the silver-attribute magical power scattered across the battlefield and shaped it into a single sword.
≪True Silver, gather in my hand; so that I may annihilate that enemy with silver—≫
The silver magical power gathered from the surroundings flowed into my hand and formed a single sword.
The sword shone with a dazzling silver light, formed from a tremendous concentration of magical power. Its power varied depending on the Silver Annihilation Magic I had used up to that point.
Its strength was nowhere near full, since it was formed from the magical power scattered by the Silvery Lightning I had cast at roughly eighty percent power, combined with the magic I was using now.
Even so, it was powerful enough to deliver the finishing blow to the Spirit Turtle. After all, unlike most Silver Annihilation Magic, which consisted of area attacks, this was a rare single-target spell. Its power was among the best even within Silver Annihilation Magic.
That spell was called.
≪Silvery End Saber≫
The Silver End Sword.
It was my Holy Sword.
Erna's Holy Sword was shining with a brilliance that rivaled my sword.
If I was silver, Erna's Holy Sword was gold.
The Holy Sword shone so brightly I couldn't look directly at it, and it was somehow different from before.
"Hear my voice and awaken! Shining Star Sword of Life! The Hero needs a miracle now!!"
As if responding to Erna's cry, golden light erupted from the Holy Sword all at once.
The force was enough to make my silver light seem dim.
"Holy Sword: Aurora, Second Release..."
She must have released one of its seals herself.
Though incomplete, this brought it closer to the form of the Holy Sword wielded by the Hero who slew the Demon Lord.
"Are you ready, Silver?"
"Of course. It seems they've finished preparing as well."
Saying that, I looked beyond the Spirit Turtle.
A huge barrier was unfolding there in layer after layer. More and more kept appearing.
Seeing us prepare a serious attack, Orihime must have deployed all those barriers to absorb the backlash.
She certainly knew how to be helpful.
"Trying to defend against us with something like that...? How insulting."
"The barrier isn't the target, you know. Just so we're clear."
"I know. The target is that cowardly turtle."
With that, Erna fixed her gaze on the Spirit Turtle.
It must have sensed the obvious danger; it began shifting into its super-hardening mode.
But it was already too late. Once we'd finished preparing, it was checkmate.
"Know this. This is the Empire..."
"The country where the Hero and the Silver Mage reside."
"You..."
"You..."
"You picked the wrong place to make a move."
At the same time, Erna and I swung our arms.
The silver and gold light swords rushed at the Spirit Turtle.