The Legendary Spearman Returns

-A prince who stands up... for a slave...! I can’t believe it... I risked my life for you...!

After becoming a death knight, the haze of death surrounding Paulman only grew. Before long, a dark aura of demonic power coalesced on his sword..

-Fine. I hear our baby prince... thinks that eight fucking slaves... are better than a knight who can fight like a hundred men!

“That is not what I meant. How can you measure a person’s value on a scale?”

-Shut... your mouth! You cut my head off without even listening to me, so I’m done listening to you...!

As expected from a Master, Paulman’s power weighed heavily on his surroundings; not many gathered there were on the same level as him.

-Everyone, listen! You people can try all you want to help Kireua Sanders claim the throne... but there will be no place for us afterward!

Before Kireua could protest, Paulman closed in on him and swung his sword.

The clash between their two swords threw sparks of aura around the forest floor. Paulman’s demonic power was undeniably powerful, but Kireua didn’t yield an inch. Their neck-to-neck fight astounded the knights.

“What...?”

“Oh, I was wondering why Sir Cain wasn’t stepping in, but His Highness Kireua is already a Master if he can fight like that!”

“Was the news true then? I thought it was just a rumor.”

Not many people in this place agreed to enter the forest and battlefield because of Kireua.

Notoriety was a scary thing. Not long ago, the Second Prince was the ugly duckling of the Imperial Family. Despite being the Martial God’s son, the prince tragically couldn’t use a spear properly and so had left for another country.

The only reason these people had decided to follow Kiruea into the forest was because Cain was accompanying the Second Prince for some reason. Had Kireua been there alone and there wasn’t a mass disappearance to be investigated, all of them would have headed to the battlefield where the First Prince was.

-So you have... an ace up your sleeve, huh? Second Prince... you should have realized on your own... how betrayed the knights feel... After all your grand words... you treat us as less than slaves... Pay for your sins with your life!

“...Yes, I would sacrifice my life if that is what it takes to change the world.

-What...? Are you saying... that you would die... for a slave?

“It’s not like they wanted to be born as slaves. Your caste is a matter of luck, not a crime,” Kireua calmly answered.

-Don’t change the topic! If you truly feel that way, then why don’t you complete that portal for them using your life!

Kireua quietly shook his head, prompting Jack to sneer.

-Heh... Hehehe. Yeah, I knew it. It doesn’t matter what you say. Everyone... values their own life most in the end...

“History repeats itself. Even if there is such a thing as another dimension, people with or without power will establish themselves, merely in a different way. Inequality will only deepen further in your contradictory world.”

-A world where a slave and a talented knight are equal... I reject that world. You aren’t worthy to be an emperor!

Paulman released more aura which shone brighter than ever.

-Only after my death... do I get to use my family’s ultimate technique...

Cain felt an uneasy premonition strike him.

“Your Highness!” he yelled. He wanted to step into the fight, but the fact that he could damage Kireua’s reputation stopped him.

-You should... die too!

Demonic power traveled up Paulman’s sword and massed at the tip. Paulman’s father had been one of Avalon’s few Masters and had created this supreme technique just before his death. Only after reaching A-Class could he use the family’s first ultimate technique at full power.

Kireua frowned. Paulman was pushing fiercely against his sword, and in a contest of physical strength, it was definitely hard to beat a death knight, so Kireua tried to distance himself. However, he couldn’t move, as if his sword was glued to Paulman’s.

-Joshua Sanders, your father, earned his honored title by achieving many great feats across the continent. One of them was mastering the ability to draw his enemy close and hold them down.

Just as Paulman described, Kireua’s sword was locked in place.

-And then to pierce their heart with aura on the tip of your blade.

Paulman’s sword slid down the length of Kireua’s blade, the tip drawn inexorably toward Kireua’s chest. When Kireua desperately tried to twist his body aside, Paulman launched the aura on the tip of his sword like an arrow.

-Go forth and pierce my enemy!

“Your Highness!”

“Kireua!”

Cain and Anna watched in horror as the gleaming, powerful mass of demonic power shot through Kireua and disappeared into the distance.

Both combatants dropped their swords and Paulman’s arms crushed Kireua in the death knight’s grasp as the prince staggered.

-I’ll... crush every bone in your body!

With Paulman’s arms ever tightening around Kireua, Anna was left with no choice.

“Fuck! What in the world is he doing after all that big talk?”

A storm raged around her as her elemental spirits gathered.

“Wait.” Cain stopped Anna.

“What are you doing?”

“Just wait a little longer.”

“Are you out of your mind? Your prince is going to die at this rate!” Anna shrieked.

“I trust His Highness.”

“Trust, my ass—!” Anna realized that Cain’s worry was etched even deeper into his face than hers and almost bit her tongue.

His words were forced through gritted teeth:

“I trust... His Highness.”

“...Phew.” Anna sagged. Of course, she still enveloped her hands in the power of potent elemental spirits so that she could break into the fight if necessary.

But then, an almost inaudible whisper wafted through the forest.

“I’m... sorry that I failed to protect you.”

Despite the volume, it was clear where the voice was coming from. freeweb(n)ovel

“Kireua...?”

“I should have helped you... but I didn’t even try to change this broken world. I convinced myself that I didn’t have enough power. As prince, I have no excuses,” Kireua muttered.

It didn’t take long for everyone there to realize who Kireua’s words were meant for. The survivor’s eyes widened with wonder, followed by the other survivors clustered around the portal.

“I hope... you won’t give up on your lives or hate this world. I know how shameless a request this is... but I want you to give this world another chance.”

“Why are you still fighting?” the girl cried. “You’re a prince, who grew up with all the luxury in the world! You can be happy all you want!”

“Status is certainly a convenient way to lead an easy life... Yet that doesn’t guarantee happiness.”

“You’re complaining about your blessings! The only reason you can say that is because you already have everything. You’re disgusting! I lost my entire family and was raped over and over just because of my birth!”

Kireua bit his lip. “It was the same for... my grandmother.”

The girl gaped at him in shock. Most of Avalon didn’t know the details of the life of the empress mother, Lucia, because the Imperial Family had been keeping it under wraps.

There was a good reason for that—her story would grant the Imperial Family greater legitimacy, but it would deeply scar Lucia’s heart. Lucia had been raped and impregnated by the former Duke of Agnus for the sake of revenge, eventually giving birth to Joshua, the current Emperor of Avalon.

“...Despite the noble blood she was born with, she lived as a maid for decades without her memory. While living as a maid, she was also violated in indescribable ways...”

“You’re lying!”

“...I’m not so shameless as to lie in a situation like this,” Kireua bitterly replied.

The girl looked into Kireua’s eyes and found them as clear as the sky. As someone who had been forced to walk on eggshells for most of her life, the girl could tell with certainty that there were no lies to be found in those eyes.

“No...” The girl’s legs gave out, and she collapsed to her knees with her head bowed.

If anyone in the continent could be subjected to such horrors, that meant that social class wasn’t the problem and that the same tragedy would occur in a new world, too.

“As you would already know... the hierarchy isn’t important,” Kireua began, his voice quiet. “What matters are the people, especially the people in power like me. It’ll be hard and we’ll face all kinds of opposition...”

The prince’s voice swelled.

“Nevertheless, we should be courageous, resolved, and tenacious. We will never look away from the unfairness in the world nor ever stop endeavoring to change it. So... give me a chance to change this world and build a country where powerless children like you won’t experience tragedy like you did.”

The girl slowly looked up.

“...Then do it,” she said, her face covered in tears, “but take care of that awful monster first. If you die right now, none of what you said will mean anything.”

“Thank you.” Kireua smiled faintly.

Paulman’s unholy fortitude abruptly vanished, dumping the reanimated knight onto the ground. The group could only stare in shock because not even Cain could understand what had just happened.

“What?”

“Wh-When...?”

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