The Demon Lord & The Hero(ine)

Chapter XII.II - The First Dance of Seven Swords (Part III)

"... last name?" she asks, her rather stoic countenance slightly tinged with surprise... and fear.

"Mallory," I respond as I pierce the ground with Excalibur.

"Where did you learn that name?" her voice does sound quite calm, but I know... I know what she is guessing.

Yet...

Am I really this foolish? Why did I even ask that question in the first place - yea... it was because my heart wanted to confirm. To wish that the person I love with my entire soul is standing before my eyes.

But...

She is the heroine. In this story-like world, the hero/heroine will kill the demon lord - and in this case - me.

"A... a... friend... told me..." I responded with reluctance. When it comes to her, lying is difficult... even with skills or not.

Dammit! Why must I be a Demon Lord?!

"I see..."

Trying to swallow my sorrow and bury it deep within, I pick up Excalibur and continue the match.

She wields both Lævateinn and Mistileinn, with one of them being shorter than the other.

When it came to combat, it just felt - natural. There were no fancy moves one would see in television shows, simply because this arena might not be able to handle the full strength of either of us.

Within the depths of my heart, I felt warmth - as if I never had encountered such warmth in my life. Like a gentle flame glowing in the darkness, an ember floating through the air, a gentle mother holding her child... yea, this feeling of finally meeting her again...

Nothing could dare make me as happy as this!

With every collision, every parry, every block! She is definitely Charlotte! Even if she does not say it, I do know.

Rejoice, my soul! Even with Fragarach, she counters perfectly; even with Crocea Mors, she quickly defends with all her might; with Caladbolg, it is not enough to surpass my power - only meet it; even Durendal felt like it would shatter; yea, not even Gram could make a significant opening for me to attack; and not even Tyrfing could cut through the swords.

But even so, we both had a smile on our faces as if we were happily dancing.

It was then we had been interrupted by the teacher that we stopped.

"Honestly, it will be tomorrow afternoon when the match ends," the teacher spoke, "but, that match was quite honorably fought."

As Ethel and I were told to head back to change clothing due to the intensity of the fight, the walk was rather... quiet. That is, until we reached the men and women's changing rooms.

"Nobody could fight like Griffith," she says, "and also..."

"Also...?"

She then flicks my forehead and says, "he is never a good liar when he talks to me."

"Ah? What makes you think I am him?" I ask in response, my hands feeling sweaty and chills going down my spine.

"... You really aren't aware of how many signs have been showing that you are lying?" she responds.

"Eh?"

"There you go, you just stopped giving off the signs that you're lying."

"Ah... we better start changing clothes or else the teacher is going to scold us," I say as I begin heading over to the door of the male's locker room.

"True," she says as I hear her walk over to the female's locker room. Just before I entered the male's locker room, she says, "meet me on the academy's rooftop atrium the night after your duel."

"Yeah."

Honestly... I do not want her to know who I am... at the very least, it will help her not feel any sentiment if she does kill me - the Demon Lord.

Haiz... I'm really pathetic, aren't I?

"DAMMIT!" I shout as I punch my locker - but not with enough power to break it.

Ah... I'll just change my clothes and head back, I guess.

[Author's Note]

Yep, this concludes the first fight Griffith has with an equal.

I felt that I couldn't write a true fighting scene using actual techniques used in sword combat, but oh well.

The next fight scene will probably be better?

Ah - the reason why the previous part isn't Chapter XIII and this isn't Chapter XIV is because of how these chapters are technically segments. Instead, I added decimals to make it easier to keep track on the table of contents.

It will be the Narrator's POV next chapter, by the way!

Once I am done, I'll probably find an editor and illustrator so this can be published.

Sorry that the pacing is a bit quick, but eh, this has yet to be edited and the good parts have yet to arrive.

The next chapter is so difficult to make...