Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume18 Chapter9 (section)

===Part 1===

Ominous clouds were hanging low in the sky.

Kamito and company were running in the Academy town where thick miasma was swirling.

Going through the Sylph district, a dense residential area, they rushed straight to the main entrance to the Academy's school building&mdash;

This distance was quite short for a well-trained elementalist, but the worry was that more and more demon spirits would surge out from the dimensional gap as time went by.

(...We are in a race against time.)

Looking up at the giant gate in the sky, Kamito muttered to himself.

"The Academy's school building is in sight."

"Charge it in one breath!"

"Yes!"

Claire swung Flametongue in her hand.

With a crimson slash sweeping through the air, demon spirits appearing out of nothing were instantly destroyed.

Noticing the unusual situation, the guards in front of the gate manifested elemental waffen in their hands.

There were five of them. They looked like elite spirit knights.

(...As expected of the Empire's knights. They are well-trained.)

"Charging at us with merely four people... Are they mad!?"

The apparent leader shouted, swinging a mighty hammer.

The shockwave was released radially, tearing up stone tiles on the street.

"O eternal magic ice, turn into a solid castle wall&mdash;Ice Wall!"

Rinslet instantly recited defensive spirit magic.

Rising from the ground, the wall of ice blocked the shockwave and debris completely.

Stepping hard on the ice wall in front of her, Ellis jumped into the air.

Raising Ray Hawk, she launched it at the main entrance.

"Fahrengart style of the spear, secret technique&mdash;Storm Strike!"

BOOM&mdash;

A whirlwind began to swirl, contracting at the spear tip.

The thrown Ray Hawk tore through the air as a flash of light, producing a spiral shockwave.

The Academy entrance was immediately contorted, then blown away in an instant.

The spear turned back into the shape of a demon bird spirit. Circling in the air, Simorgh returned to Ellis' arm.

Standing on the wall of ice, Ellis looked down at the Empire's knights with her blue hair fluttering in the wind.

Seeing her like that&mdash;

"...! Don't tell me it's Lady Ellis!?"

The apparent leader of these knights exclaimed in surprise.

"You are the Fahrengart's flagbearer, Inase-dono of the van Browa family, are you not?"

"Indeed. I am Inase van Browa, Captain of the Imperial Knights!"

Answering Ellis, the captain introduced herself openly. As the Fahrengart's flagbearer, she was supposed to be a knight swearing allegiance to Ellis.

However, Inase continued to keep her elemental waffe raised.

Presumably, she intended to remain loyal to her military position.

"Inase-dono, why would an honorable knight like you oppress students!?"

Ellis hated beating around the bush and true to her usual style, went straight to the point.

"I am a knight serving His Majesty the Emperor. I must complete the assigned mission."

The captain's answer left no room for mercy.

"So the Imperial Knights' methods include the use of demon spirits now?"

This time, it was Claire who shouted.

"...! It was the work of the Holy Kingdom. We have nothing to do with it."

"Did you say the Holy Kingdom!?"

(...As expected, the Holy Kingdom is involved, huh?)

Kamito commented in his thoughts. Naturally, he had thought that possibility highly likely to begin with. However, to summon demon spirits in great numbers was an act that would lead to disaster once the surrounding nations found out. Since such an act received military authorization, it meant that Ordesia's higher-ups currently had no power to resist the Holy Kingdom.

"You have admitted your guilt. If you stand by and allow it, you are complicit!"

"...!"

Hearing Rinslet's harsh and valid criticism, the captain became speechless.

"Inase-dono, you will only bring shame to the van Browa family name if you continue to let the Holy Kingdom do as it wishes."

"Even so, I shall never turn back from my oath of loyalty!"

Inase van Browa replied with determination.

"...! Even though I am in no place to say this, I must call you out on your stubbornness!"

"Ellis, looks like you're actually quite flexible for a knight..."

"Captain, I have revised my opinion of you."

"Sh-Shut up..."

Ellis coughed and readied Ray Hawk.

"It is pointless to continue the discussion. Allow me to break through by force!"

"Break through by force? Do you intend to make enemies out of every spirit knight garrisoned here!?"

Alarms kept sounding all around. The militarized surveillance spirits flying in the sky aimed searchlights at Kamito's group.

Reinforcements were apparently arriving.

(...Fine, it's time to take a gamble.)

Kamito wiped away cold sweat while he reached into his chest pocket.

What he took out was a silver ring carved with High Ancient.

This was the Demon King's Ring for commanding the seventy-two spirits.

Although Kamito could only use this ring to control one spirit at a time&mdash;

If he eschewed control and simply used it to liberate sealed spirits, there was no limit.

Kamito raised the ring and poured divine power into it.

"As the Demon King's successor, I hereby command. Awaken from your thousand-year-long slumber and flaunt your power to your hearts' content!"

The Ring glowed with intense light.

That blinding brightness frightened the Empire's knights.

Rumble, rumble rumble, rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble...!

In the next second, earthquake sounds kept appearing&mdash;

A great explosion happened in the Academy.

"W-What on earth is going on...!?"

The captain of the Imperial Knights sounded confused.

They turned their head to look back&mdash;

Only to see an unbelievable scene before their eyes.

A gigantic dragon spirit with as many as eight heads. A two-headed giant wielding a humongous wooden club. A great serpent shrouded in lightning. An enormous turtle with a weird mountain of rock on its back. A warrior clad in armor of steel&mdash;

Every spirit was powerful enough to rival archdemon-class.

"&mdash;Five, no, six of them. More than I expected."

Restia's voice sounded in Kamito's mind.

What Kamito had liberated were the Demon King's minion spirits that the army had taken from the Demon King's Burial Chamber to safekeep. Although earlier Restia was uncertain whether primordial powerful spirits would heed Kamito's voice, now it was evidently a winning gamble.

Confronted with the sudden appearance of multiple archdemon-class spirits, the Imperial Knights panicked.

"Go wild all you like, servants of the Demon King!"

Kamito continued to pour divine power into the ring and shouted. The Demon King's Ring instantly shattered into fragments.

"Kamito, that was pretty good Demon King style. I award you six Demon King points."

"What kind of stupid points are those..."

Hearing Restia sounding a bit happy, Kamito could not help but retort.

"Anyway, now is the time to charge!"

With dual swords of white and black in his hands, Kamito charged into the knights.