The Adler Oath

By the time a faint light began to kindle in the sky.

The castle was completely surrounded.

Leo alone climbed onto the crumbling castle wall. In response, Babette stepped forward as well.

"Thank you for coming all this way, Heroic Prince. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Babette, chief of the Dark Elves."

"I am the Eighth Prince, Leonart Lakes Adler. Should I say it's a pleasure to meet you?"

"It isn't a pleasure meeting you. I was the one who replaced the captain of your escort, after all. I've been watching you and the Saint play house all this time."

"I see... So you were the one who abducted Leticia."

The root of all evil. Having found it, Leo's eyes filled with murderous intent.

Babette, however, remained unfazed.

"It was easy. I borrowed your face, after all."

"..."

"Do you remember the elf who shook hands with you? That was me, too. Your face looked useful, so I touched it. It proved more useful than I expected. As thanks, I'll let you go if you leave the Saint behind."

Leo struggled to suppress the anger swelling inside him.

It was not ordinary anger, but something closer to a pitch-black hatred. He himself did not know how to control it.

Even so, he did not let it show.

Leticia was watching from behind him. He did not want to show her such a pathetic side of himself. That rational thought kept Leo in check. Otherwise, he would have attacked Babette that very instant.

"...Why are you after Leticia?"

"Because that's what the Kingdom wanted. They asked me to use the Saint as an experimental subject for magical experiments within the Empire. The Kingdom went to quite a lot of trouble for that, you know? They pressured the elven villages to obtain the elves' travel routes, found collaborators within the Empire... I honestly wondered how far they were willing to go."

"That's the reason the Demon Lord's Order gave. I'm asking about your reason."

"My personal reason? Isn't it obvious? I want the Demon Lord to appear once more. That's why I joined the Demon Lord's Order. Without a high-quality vessel, you can't summon a Demon Lord-class being. I learned five hundred years ago that directly summoning one would be impossible to control, so a vessel is necessary."

"What good would bringing back the Demon Lord do? Would you plunge the continent into war once more?"

"You may not know this, but elves used to rule the continent. Humans took that rule from us. That's why we Dark Elves helped the Demon Lord. We hated those humans for building nations across the continent as though it belonged to them. The Demon Lord was convenient for us. We would gain power and drive you humans out. Though the Demon Lord proved far more dangerous than we'd imagined, I was relieved when it was defeated. Left unchecked, it might have destroyed everything."

Babette spoke with nostalgia for the past.

Five hundred years ago, the Demon Lord appeared, and the continent fell into crisis.

In that crisis, every living thing across the continent joined forces to oppose the Demon Lord. It was the Hero who defeated it, but the Hero did not defeat the Demon Lord and all its subordinates alone.

The Demon Lord's army, which had numerous demons under its command, was powerful. There was no doubt it was the strongest army in the past five hundred years. People said that defeating it had been nothing short of a miracle.

Babette was a veteran who had lived through that time five hundred years ago. Her experience was so vast that even calling her battle-hardened was an understatement.

Leo felt the difference between them so keenly that he knew he would lose without a doubt if they fought. He wasn't even sure he had a chance.

He would not go so far as to say she rivaled Silver or Elna, but if anything, she was closer to their level. She was the chief of the Dark Elves, a race of powerful elves strengthened by the Demon Lord. It was only natural.

Even so.

"The restoration of the elves and revenge against humanity. How foolish. The balance of power on the continent is always shifting. The elves losing the competition with humanity was simply the natural course of events. Humans merely possessed greater diversity as a species. Why can't you understand that you tried to change that by using the Demon Lord, and failed?"

"How arrogant. As expected of a member of the sinful clan known as the Adlers. Purebred plunderers who can't rest until everything in the world belongs to them. The only thing humans have over elves is their ability to reproduce. Don't act so high and mighty when your species can't even protect itself without the occasional abnormal individual!"

"There are weak humans and strong humans. That is humanity's diversity. Humans evolved by turning that diversity into a weapon, and gained many things as a result. That's why humanity has prospered across the continent. Humanity is immature, and that is precisely why it is overflowing with potential. Elves, on the other hand, are already complete. That is noble in its own way, but it also means their species has reached its limits. The fact that elves as a whole do not seek dominion over the continent is proof enough. They do not seek change. Babette, your wish will never come true."

"Hmph. Thanks for the lecture. Unfortunately, restoring elven dominion over the continent is merely a side matter. I want to destroy humanity because I hate humans. I especially despise the Imperial family. Even now, I want to kill you."

"I see... What a coincidence. I want to kill you, too."

With those words, their gazes collided.

Then Babette appeared soundlessly atop the wall where Leo stood.

"I'd love to wipe you out with magic right now, but that might bring this castle down. I can't have the Saint buried under the rubble. So we'll have to fight in close quarters. You chose this place with that in mind, didn't you? I hate that calculating side of the Adlers!"

"You think I'm calculating? It seems you don't know the real Adlers. I'm nothing special."

"Is that so? I agree that you're nothing special. I've lived a long time and seen many people called heroes. You can certainly hold your own. But you're no match for me. Blame those eyes of yours for deciding you could beat me in close combat!"

With that, Babette drew the slender sword at her waist.

Leo drew his sword as well.

And so, their battle began.

Leo faced off against Babette with a level of concentration unlike anything he had ever achieved before.

He had never been so keenly focused.

Even so, Leo was being driven back.

"Ngh...!"

"What is it, Heroic Prince?"

"Gah!"

Leo caught the heavy blow, but he could not stop its momentum and was blasted backward.

By the time he managed to regain his balance, Babette was already inside his guard.

Babette's kick struck him head-on, sending Leo flying as he smashed through part of the castle wall.

"Ugh... Ngh..."

"You're strong, but you can't beat me. Why don't you give up and hand over the Saint?"

"I... won't hand her over..."

Leo rose, covered in blood.

Seeing that the light had not yet died from his eyes, Babette clicked her tongue.

"You Adlers are infuriating! I've watched the Empire expand for five hundred years! A sinful clan that has plundered everything, as though it all belonged in your hands! That's what you Adlers are! Now taste what it's like to be the ones being plundered for once!"

"The Adler plunder has... meaning..."

"Hypocrite! What meaning could plunder possibly have? Among the humans who stole this continent from us elves, you are the greediest clan of all! You have flown the golden eagle and taken everything, making you among the worst of humanity!"

With that, Babette approached the battered Leo and thrust her slender sword toward his chest.

Leo deflected the blade's trajectory with his own sword, but Babette's sword grazed his shoulder.

"Ngh...!"

"You really don't know when to give up! That was another one of your traits!"

With that, Babette swung her slender sword down from overhead.

Leo caught it, but with his battered body, that was all he could do.

The blade slowly drew closer to Leo's neck.

"Tell me in your dying words. What meaning lies behind the Adler plunder?"

Leo did not answer. He concentrated.

The threat of death was unmistakable.

Even so, Leo did not panic. He knew haste would be fatal.

Slowly drawing a breath, Leo put his strength into pushing Babette's slender sword back.

"What!?"

"Here's one for you!"

With that, Leo kicked Babette away.

However, it only sent Babette tumbling away. It was nowhere near enough to offset the damage Leo had suffered.

"How insolent... That's an ugliness worthy of an Adler."

"Yes, that's right... We Adlers are ugly... Even so, we continue to plunder..."

When Leo was still a child, he once grew angry.

His family had been called a clan of plunderers, and Crown Prince Wilhelm was the one who counseled him.

Wilhelm placed a hand on young Leo's head and told him:

'There are two broad kinds of people in this world: those who are robbed, and those who rob. We are the ones who rob. That is why we are called plunderers.'

Leo had grown even more indignant at those words, but Wilhelm smiled and continued to stroke his head.

'That's right. That anger is the origin of the Adlers. Even if you stop a tragedy after it occurs, the tears will still flow. The only way to stop them all was to become the ones who take. Take everything, and gather everything under our control. That is the Adler creed. It is not noble. It is not something to be praised. Even so, we continue to plunder, carrying a single oath in our hearts.'

Leo slowly placed his left hand over his chest.

Those words remained in his heart.

Until now, he had never truly understood them. But now, he finally did.

"The Adler plunder is an oath... Everything we seize with these hands, we will give to no one... Our plunder is an oath to protect everything from every threat! This land is the product of that oath! There is no place for you in this Empire! Until our bloodline ends and our oath fades—the Adlers are the guardians of everything we have plundered!"

Leo slowly assumed a stance.

It was a stance that placed everything on a single strike.

Sensing danger in his eyes, Babette lowered her center of gravity warily.

But one of her feet had shifted slightly backward.

"What...? I stepped back...? Are you telling me I was frightened by a brat like him!?"

Unable to believe her own instincts, Babette turned her gaze toward Leo once more.

A radiant circle was floating around him.

Babette knew what that circle was.

"No way! He can use the Holy Staff in that condition!?"

"Answer my voice! Holy Staff of the Stars, staff enthroned in the sacred heavens, grant color to this colorless, sorrowful earth! The color I grant is gold!!"

The Holy Staff's effect was to add color.

Its effects varied greatly depending on the color chosen by its user.

Among those colors, gold was a special one.

Its defining trait was possibility: it drew out the target's latent potential.

It had almost no effect on someone without latent potential, but Leticia had deliberately chosen that color.

Using the Holy Staff required physical and mental strength. Leticia was exhausted and could not use it for long. Her physical strength could be managed somehow, but her mental strength could not.

That was why she had no choice but to choose the color with the greatest explosive power.

She needed enough explosive power to defeat the veteran Babette. A simple enhancement would not be enough.

Therefore, Leticia had bet on Leo's latent potential.

And it had worked.

"Who are you...?"

"The Eighth Prince of the Empire... Leonart."

"That's impossible... You had that much power, and that was only a fraction of it? Are you saying you could normally stand shoulder to shoulder with those exceptional monsters!?"

"The Adlers have plundered even blood... Without strength, we cannot plunder, and without strength, we cannot protect what we have taken... This blood is the expression of the Adlers' resolve!"

With that, Leo closed the distance at a speed Babette could not react to, and cut her apart in one fluid motion.

A diagonal slash ran from Babette's chest down across her torso. She coughed up blood, and Leo kicked her outside the castle.

Then he pointed his left hand at Babette as she hung in the air.

A golden circle appeared overhead, and light began to spill from it.

It was the worst possible kind of magic for Babette, who had been strengthened by the Demon Lord.

"Damn you...!!"

"—Holy Glitter!!"

Dispensing with the incantation, Leo activated the highest-level holy magic with only its name.

Purifying golden light engulfed Babette and burned her body.

Eventually, the golden light faded, leaving Babette with half her body burned away. She had narrowly avoided instant death by hastily raising a barrier.

But death was now imminent.

At that moment, Leticia lost consciousness again. She could no longer withstand the Holy Staff's power.

Naturally, Leo returned to his normal state at the same time.

"Ngh..."

"...I can't believe I lost to a pair playing house... But I'm not going down alone."

With that, Babette raised her remaining hand as high as she could.

That served as the signal for the army waiting behind her to move.

Lights began to appear one after another, eventually covering the entire army.

They were all magical light.

"You may be able to capture me now... But what happens after I die is none of my concern... That's more than a thousand spells... Perish with me! You little Adler brat!!"

Babette grinned and swung her arm down.

Leo instinctively raised his sword, while the Griffon Knights watching from behind tried to place Leticia on Noir's back.

But they were too late.

Countless spells came hurtling toward the castle.

It was more than enough to destroy it.

Yet every one of those spells was knocked out of the air before reaching the castle.

Then a white cloak billowed into view before Leo.

"What...!?"

"Fire away, whether thousands or tens of thousands. If you think that will be enough to shoot down the golden eagle, then you are indulging in a foolish dream. We are here to defend this land."

"...The Hero!!"

"That title is outdated. I now belong to House Amsberg, the Empire's shield and sword—the guardian of the Empire and its imperial family."

"Again...! I won't forgive you! How many times must you stand in my way before you're satisfied!?"

"As many as it takes."

With that, Elna suddenly appeared before Babette and raised her sword overhead.

Her death was already certain.

Even so, Elna poured strength into her sword.

"...You monster."

"Call me whatever you like. I have something to say, too. Because of you, my prince had to punch his little brother... That merits a thousand deaths. Atone with your death."

With that, Elna brought down her sword, and Babette was annihilated in an instant.

Then Elna slowly turned her gaze back toward the castle wall.

"You seem to be safe, Leo. Thank goodness."

"Elna... How did you...?"

"You know without asking, don't you? Al persuaded His Majesty the Emperor and the others. That's why we made it in time."

Elna smiled as she said this.

Following Elna, the Third Knight Order, Sebas, and the others arrived at the castle as well.