A Former Child Soldier Who Uses a Magic Sword Wants to Live with an Older Sister of a Former Enemy E

A vortex of energy akin to a lightning bolt surged from the glowing red magic sword.

Using the great power of the magic sword bearing the name of “Baal Zebul”, Seto intended to face the threat before him with everything he had.

He had unleashed his magic sword several times in the past to cut his way through many difficulties.

However, the power he was displaying right now was incomparable to those past times.

The strong determination to overcome the powerful enemy standing in front of him was reflected in the deep red spark on his sword and in his eyes.

[What is this energy…!? …No matter. It is no use. Destruction will never clear your sorrow away! May your soul vanish in this world of desolation as well!] (Dry Sorrow)

When the wraith and his doubles raised their lanterns at the same time, a sandstorm with enough force to swallow everything in its wake closed in on Seto.

This attack, which was imbued with power and heat of a higher order than before, mercilessly swallowed everything aboveground.

With a thunderous roar, the wind gusts collided with each other, shattering the earth and sending fragments of it high into the air.

The high-heat shockwave it generated covered and dominated everything in sight.

Even on the off-chance that he had escaped from there, there was no way he could have survived an attack of this magnitude. …At least, that is what the wraith was convinced of.

[────Nuooohh!?] (Dry Sorrow)

The wraith instinctively sensed something.

It was the sight of his future self.

—The wraith had a vision of himself getting his head sliced off and disappearing while screaming.

The wraith instantly twisted himself backwards while flipping his cloak.

A cold flash ran through the hot air.

It was right where the wraith was standing just a second before, and the blow was delivered at a height equivalent to where his neck was.

This was the work of Seto, who had further strengthened his physical abilities by unleashing his magic sword.

As they passed each other at high speed, the wraith confirmed his presence.

Seto bent down, hit the brakes by rubbing the soles of his shoes against the ground, and turned to face the wraith at the same time.

He moved like a thunderbolt.

Seto was coating himself in the lightning-like energy emanating from his magic sword Baal Zebul.

When the wraith surmised that this was how the boy managed to evade his attack and sneak up on him all at once, he grinned behind his mask as he faced Seto with his lantern and ax at the ready.

[You are fast… But if your speed is all you have, then I can still deal with you. Tremble in fear… as I wield my power… to—!?] (Dry Sorrow)

He heard the sound of several things tumbling down behind him.

When he turned around to check, he saw that the doubles he was so proud of had been chopped into pieces.

The doubles did not realize that they had been sliced apart like three-dimensional puzzles breaking down, nor even that they were about to vanish.

The speed of his slashes was so fast that he skipped the whole process of “cutting” them, and simply exhibited the results of “having cut” them, which could only be defined as belonging to the physical realm of a devil.

The wraith once again turned his gaze to Seto and gave him a sharp glare.

However, when he saw him, the boy looked mesmerizing.

The light of the scorching sun made Seto’s power glow shine even brighter.

As if acting in concert with Seto’s fighting spirit, the earth rumbled lightly, and the wind caressed the blade of his magic sword as if to bless it, gently swaying the red lightning it was emitting.

—Seto was looking straight at the wraith.

There was no anger or hatred in his expression, nor even the sorrow that evil spirit spoke of.

The harsh reality was that the boy, clad in the light of destruction and the severity of the earth, was now facing him.

The wraith involuntarily took a step back.

[……] (Seto)

Without saying anything, he assumed a one-handed, unspecified sword stance.

His drive to wield his sword without the slightest hesitation was palpable to the wraith.

The tables had turned completely.

This time, Seto was about to charge at the wraith very furiously.

[Ha… Hahaha… So this is the boy… favored by death? He is on a whole different level… So this is a magic swordsman…?] (Dry Sorrow)

The wraith let out a dry laugh.

He gripped the handle of the ax in his left hand, and creepily shook the lantern in his right one.

No petty tricks like raising the local temperature or dehydrating the boy would work at this point.

Because he knew that the boy would kill him with a single slash in the meantime.

That was why he was shaking his lantern so creepily to draw his attention.

To make Seto believe that he was going to try something else with it.

That way, the boy might rush to cut down the lantern and stop whatever he was attempting.

Meanwhile, the wraith would look for the right moment to drive his ax into Seto’s skull.

He had managed to instinctively see through his speed earlier.

Which meant he could do it again, or so the wraith thought to himself.

Honestly speaking, this was sort of a gamble.

But for the wraith, it was worth it.

This duel would be settled in an instant— Nay, before the fight even started.

So whose side would Lady Luck be on…?

The time for the decisive battle had come.

Seto approached the wraith using a technique that looked like instantaneous movement.

The evil spirit sharpened his senses to determine how Seto would act and what sort of sword slash he would attack him with.

While both were moving like no ordinary people ever could, the first to seize the opportunity was…

Now is my chance! My senses are telling me so! (Dry Sorrow)

The wraith tried to match Seto’s movement and swing his ax at him.

If everything went as planned and he kept bringing it down, he could destroy Seto’s cranium, but…

────*Clonk*!

Something hit his lantern, causing the wraith to divert his attention, and lose some of his killing intent.

What? What did he do? (Dry Sorrow)

It was then that he slowed down.

[I don’t know if I’m one to talk, but you suck at diversionary action.] Seto said.

It was his knife.

Seto instantly sensed that the wraith was trying to distract him with his lantern, and used his own strategy against him.

[B-Blast—!?] (Dry Sorrow)

By the time the wraith realized what he did, Seto had vanished from his line of sight.

In an instant, he jumped high above the evil spirit’s head, got behind him, and thrusted his magic sword straight into his neck.

[GUAAAAHHH…!?] (Dry Sorrow)

When Seto pulled out his sword as he landed, the wraith swung his ax around in a frenzy, so the boy evaded it by turning around and putting his back against the evil spirit’s, and stabbed him from behind.

[────Sorry for cutting you down.] (Seto)

The tip of his blade ran through the wraith with great force, and even hit the lantern he was holding.

At the same moment it made a hard sound, the lantern shattered into pieces.

The wraith dropped his ax, looked up at the sky, and fell forward.

At the same time, Seto deactivated his magic sword power discharge, and perhaps as a reaction to that; he fell to his knees, gasping for air.

It seemed that this technique put an incredible burden on his body, as he thrust his blade into the ground and used it as a cane.

[So this was… the power of… your magic sword… But I wonder… Can you beat the remaining three…?] (Dry Sorrow)

[I will. I have someone waiting for me to come home. If I don’t make it back, she’ll be sad and cry.] (Seto)

[……I… see…] (Dry Sorrow)

After hearing Seto’s answer, the wraith nodded quietly while speaking in a somewhat gentle voice.

Then, he turned into black particles and disappeared in the hot, dry, dusty wind that blew across this world of desolation.

[……] (Seto)

As he saw the departing wraith off, Seto suddenly had a thought.

He was wondering when was the last time he shed a tear.

How many times he mourned the deaths of his many friends on the battlefields he was dispatched to.

And how many times he stopped mourning them… how many times his heart stopped aching when he saw them dying.

He tried to search for the answers, but his train of thought was hindered by the wind and dust.

It was as if someone was rudely telling him “Don’t think about it, just shut up and walk”.

[Let’s go, then. To the next one…] (Seto)

Seto picked up the knife he had thrown, and marched into the wind.

Somehow, he intuitively knew where he was going.

He had a feeling there was a gate to the next wraith in that direction.

He fought such a heated battle, yet he could tell that his body was healing.

It seemed that this trial had indeed taken measures to ensure recovery after the fight.

Grateful to the kindliness of the trial, Seto moved forward again.