Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume16 Chapter8 (section)

===Part 3===

&mdash;At the same time, Kamito was enjoying a leisurely dip in the hot spring at the open-air purification facility.

"Hoo, I feel alive again..."

Kamito placed a wet towel on his forehead and leaned against a mossy rock.

Against a large militarized spirit, even Kamito could not avoid consuming a large quantity of divine power. Even Est, placed against a nearby rock, would have to remain in sword form for the time being.

"But I never expected I'd ever have to be the Demon King..."

Looking up at the foreign sky with twinkling stars, Kamito muttered in a daze.

Originally, his plan was to play the Demon King according to Rubia's script, but before he knew it, some sort of limiter in his subconscious seemed to have lifted, causing him to make a declaration he would never say in normal times&mdash;

(Don't tell me this mask is also imbued with that kind of magic...)

With eyes of suspicion, Kamito glanced at the Demon King's mask floating on the water surface.

&mdash;At that moment.

Splash.

With a faint sound of water, small ripples began to spread on the water surface.

"&mdash;It appears that you have yet to fully control the Darkness Elemental Lord's power, Ren Ashbell."

"...!?"

Hearing the voice, Kamito could not help but stand up.

Only to see appearing behind the steam&mdash;

A princess maiden with crimson hair, dressed in white ritual attire.

"...R-Rubia!?"

Seeing her figure, Kamito instantly gasped. Why did she show up here? Before he could ask, his consciousness was seized by her beauty first.

"W-What are you doing&mdash;"

Ignoring the flustered Kamito, Rubia slowly lowered herself into the hot spring.

Her gorgeous long ruby-like hair began spreading out on the water surface like fallen petals.

Then with ruby eyes just like Claire's, she stared intently at Kamito&mdash;

"You must have consumed plenty of divine power in the battle earlier. I am here to confirm whether you have been corrupted by Ren Ashdoll's power&mdash;"

With slender fingers, she gently touched Kamito's face.

"...!"

Perhaps it was because her skin became visible under her ritual attire after it became wet. Faced with unexpected stimulation, Kamito felt his heart pounding.

Although her younger sister Claire was an amazing beauty so long as she stayed quiet, Rubia's appearance was like a more mature version of Claire, with an additional mysterious melancholic allure that the younger Elstein lacked.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine..."

While shifting his gaze away from her gorgeous body, Kamito replied.

Despite having used the bold move of the Bursting Blossom Spiral Blade Dance, Kamito was still far from going all-out earlier. It should be different from when he was rescuing Fianna at the imperial capital.

"Is that so&mdash;"

However, Rubia narrowed her eyes of ruby&mdash;

"...''The corruption has already reached such an extent, huh?''"

"...? What do you mean&mdash;"

Kamito was interrupted mid-sentence.

Because she suddenly pressed her lips upon his.

"...!?"

The paralyzing sense of pleasure flowed through his brain for an instant.

Faced with her unexpected action, Kamito was unable to react in any way.

While caressing Kamito's cheek gently, Rubia slowly moved her lips away.

"...! ...Y-You, what... the hell..."

Kamito muttered in a daze.

&mdash;No sooner had he spoken...

"...H-Huh?"

He noticed that his body suddenly felt lighter.

Expanding divine power was coursing through his entire body, instantly erasing the fatigue inside him.

"..What did you do?"

"I knew it. Even you are not aware of it."

Rubia looked strictly at Kamito.

"Left alone, you are going to be devoured by the power of darkness at this rate."

She declared.

"...!? The power of darkness? I didn't feel it at all just now."

Kamito objected.

In the previous battle, Kamito had neither felt his divine power depleting nor encountered the feeling of Ren Ashdoll's power corrupting his body, one that he had felt multiple times before. As far as he could tell, he had not heard ''her'' voice, trying to entice him to awaken as the Demon King either.

"It is because your divine power is gradually merging with Ren Ashdoll's power. You are already corrupted by the power of darkness&mdash;"

"...What!?"

Speechless, Kamito stared at his hands.

(...Don't tell me, it was during that time, huh?)

Speaking of which, during the battle against Greyworth, the moment just as he was about to be devoured by the power of darkness&mdash;

There had been a feeling like some kind of shackles being lifted.

Suppose what Rubia just said was true, then the power of darkness might devour him in the future before his divine power reached depletion.

"This is my oversight. I failed to realize the possibility that you might have been corrupted this much, and even asked you to fight that militarized spirit&mdash;"

Withdrawing her hand from Kamito's cheek, Rubia slowly stood up.

Water droplets were slowly falling from the tips of her wet crimson hair.

"W-What&mdash;"

"From now on, whenever you are about to be devoured by the power of darkness&mdash;Use me, Ren Ashbell."

"...? What does that mean&mdash;"

Hearing her declaration, Kamito responded in puzzlement.

Then&mdash;

"In other words, use my body as you please&mdash;"

Rubia spoke in a calm tone of voice.

"I can serve you as Queen, to become a sacrifice for swallowing the power of darkness&mdash;"

Saying that, she lightly slid off her wet ritual attire.

"...!?"

In that instant, Kamito widened his eyes.

Under the moonlight, her gorgeous body, covered with glistening water droplets, was in full display.

Two bulges, tracing out beautiful curves. Long slender legs evocative of a doe's. Crimson hair, draping over her pale skin. She looked like a goddess.

However&mdash;

"&mdash;''An ugly body, wouldn't you agree?''"

She spoke with self-derision.

Her beautiful naked body&mdash;

Was marked by numerous patterns resembling countless intertwined snakes.

"Cursed armament seals were implanted all over my body in order to summon the Sacred Maiden's power and the ultimate flame spirit Laevateinn. This body is now the farthest thing away from a pure princess maiden. It is merely a poisonous vessel covered with filthy curses. I care not how you violate it. Just do with it as you please, whenever you desire it. I can be the venting target for suppressing your power of darkness. It is the only contribution I am capable of now that I have lost my powers as an elementalist&mdash;"
[[image:STnBD V16 178.jpg|thumb]]

"...!"

Kamito was at a loss for words, facing Rubia who had delivered such words seriously.

Clenching his trembling fist, he stared into her eyes squarely.

Staring at those ruby eyes with crimson flames within them&mdash;

"You are always acting like that&mdash;"

"...What?"

"Foisting everything on yourself, trying to handle everything alone. That's why four years ago, you vanished without telling your true thoughts and feelings to Fianna or your one and only little sister&mdash;"

"I am simply atoning for my sin."

Hearing what he said, Rubia shook her head.

"It's not your fault that the land of Elstein was ravaged by fire."

"It is my sin. Because I was the Queen serving the Fire Elemental Lord&mdash;"

Stubbornly set in her ways, she remained unconvinced.

For the sake of atoning for that sin, she had carved innumerable cursed armament seals onto her body.

...What massive resolve she must have committed. 

She had been fighting bravely alone.

Suppressing all her emotions under that crimson mask&mdash;

And now, she still intends to sacrifice herself alone.

"..."

Kamito and Rubia stared at each other for a few seconds.

The first to look away was Rubia.

She slowly turned her body and told Kamito in her usual voice, cold as ever.

"In a few days, the rebel forces will be rallied to attack Zohar. Recuperate and rest as much as possible for now, Demon King&mdash;"

While Rubia was preparing to leave, Kamito spoke to her from behind:

"...I went to your study in the flying ship."

Kamito said to her.

Rubia halted.

"By chance, I found them. The letters Claire wrote to you."

Yes, kept between the books in the study were Claire's letters. Written in childish handwriting, they had been sent to the elder sister who had separated from her to enter the Divine Ritual Institute.

Rubia must have read them too many times to count. Left on the letters were signs of repeated reading.

"Claire always wanted to talk to you&mdash;"

"I am not her elder sister. I have already lost that right&mdash;"

"...Are you happy with things being like that!?"

"Yes. The person named Rubia Elstein was rendered ash the day of that fire. Standing before you right now is merely a corpse left behind by the crimson blaze."

Saying that, she disappeared into the darkness of the night.