Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume10 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 4===

"...Kami... to...?"

Waking up from a long dream, the first thing that entered Claire's view was a shining magic circle beneath her feet.

"This place is...?"

She saw a vast space around her.

Numerous stone pillars supported a tall ceiling. Candlesticks were lit up, illuminating walls with strangely designed sculptures carved upon them.

(Looks like the ruins of some historical site...)

Claire surveyed the surroundings with unease&mdash;

At this time, she finally remembered.

(Right... Nee-sama took me&mdash;)

The cruel truth she did not want to face.

&mdash;The fake Ren Ashbell turned out to be her own elder sister Rubia.

She had captured Claire and brought her here.

...If only I could simply treat this all as just a dream.

However, her right hand, with its missing spirit seal, pointed out the cold hard truth.

(...How much time has passed since I was brought here?)

Claire sighed in her mind.

Could night have already arrived? Since light did not reach the interior of the ruins, there was no way to tell the passage of time.

(Looks like my clothes have been changed to a priestess' garb...)

Claire gripped the long hem that dangled all the way down to the floor.

She was currently dressed in high-ranking ritual attire that only Queens wore.

Her twintails had been untied and carefully combed. A golden jeweled crown had been placed upon her head.

The last time she ever dressed like this was back when she was invited to participate in the Grand Spirit Festival at the imperial capital during her childhood.

(...Nee-sama mentioned she was going to make me the Darkness Queen for serving the Demon King.)

&mdash;In that case, this ritual attire must be part of the preparations.

(&mdash;Screw that. How could I let Kamito become the Demon King!?)

She had to escape as quickly as possible&mdash;

Just as she stood up, intending to run&mdash;

"...Yah!"

Claire felt intense pain in her fingers.

"...Oh well, of course."

Claire frowned painfully and groaned.

The magic circle carved on the ground seemed to be a barrier for imprisoning Claire.

"Given some time, maybe I can dispel it."

Just as Claire bent over to decipher the spell&mdash;

"I constructed this barrier. No one can dispel it other than Queens equal in rank to me."

The gates to the room were slowly being pushed open.

"...Nee-sama!"

Claire held her breath.

The one who appeared was her elder sister in a scarlet mask.

Accompanied by the sound of heavy military boots, the elder sister approached. Claire glared back defiantly.

For the past four years, she had survived desperately for the sake of meeting her sister again.

&mdash;To see her and ask about the truth.

However, even though she was now clearly before her, Claire did not know what to say.

To cry, to hate or to scold&mdash;Or to express some other words. The thousands of words she had prepared for this very moment disappeared without a trace like a puff of smoke.

(...''I miss you''. All this time, I wanted to see you.)

Those ruby eyes filled with silent flames were identical to Claire's.

Except with one decisive difference.

Not simply the result of four years' passage, but an even more absolute difference.

(&mdash;Nee-sama has changed. Changed into a Nee-sama I don't recognize.)

First of all, she had to confirm this fact.

(...However, I am the same in this regard.)

Claire had already bid her young self goodbye.

Given Claire's earlier self, she would have submitted long ago.

She was only able to stand before her sister now because she was no longer the same.

(...I, as well as Kamito. And everyone else in the team.)

Hence, she was not going to shift her gaze away from the truth before her eyes.

"Nee-sama!"

&mdash;Claire finally squeezed out a voice.

Next&mdash;

"...Nee-sama, why did you betray the Elemental Lords?"

Claire asked as she stared straight into the eyes behind the mask.

Rubia returned her gaze head on.

"Because it is necessary. To save this world."

"...Save this world?"

Hearing her sister's unexpected reply, Claire became confused.

"Indeed, to save this world, I must vanquish&mdash;Those Elemental Lords."

"&mdash;Are you serious, Nee-sama?"

Claire shut her mouth in astonishment.

Has she gone mad, driven by a sense of vengeance&mdash;?

"Without the grace and blessings of the Five Great Elemental Lords, the people living on this continent cannot start fires, cultivate the land, or even benefit from wind and water!"

"&mdash;Indeed. Hence, this world must be destroyed once."

"...!"

This time&mdash;Claire was rendered completely speechless.

Rubia's speech did not display any sense of falsehood or confusion. Her words carried relentless resolve.

Those eyes, the same color as Claire's, what on earth have they seen&mdash;

"Standing on equal footing with the Elemental Lords is the power of the Demon King&mdash;So long as that power is obtained, destroying the Elemental Lords is not impossible."

"B-But in that case, many spirits will be destroyed!"

The Elemental Lords were not only powerful spirits but also beings who ruled spirits of the natural world.

Destroying them meant that the power of spirits would disappear completely from the entire continent.

Once this happened, who knew what terrifying chaos would result in this world that was built using the power of spirits&mdash;

(...No, surely it was not only limited to chaos.)

Chaos brought distrust, distrust brought terror&mdash;Very likely, a great tragedy completely surpassing the Ranbal War in the past would result.

"Nee-sama, you are saying that causing that kind of war is necessary?"

"In order to liberate humans from the spirits, sacrifice cannot be avoided, no matter how large."

"How could that be... Nee-sama!"

Claire's fingertips touched the barrier, causing an intense eruption of sparks.

"...I have already abandoned the name of Elstein. I am no longer your elder sister!"

Rubia ended the conversation on her own and turned away.

"The ritual will start after the preparations are complete. Before that, stay there obediently."

"Nee-sama... Wait up, Nee-samaaaaaaaa!"

Claire's screams were drowned out by the shutting sound of the stone doors.


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