The Hero King, Reincarnate to Master the Art of War ~And Thus, I Became The Strongest Knight Disciple (♀) in The World~

Chapter 444: 16 Year Old Inglis and the Highland on Distance Sea (53)

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“It’s not working at all!”

“So, this is Hyrule Menace Weaponization…”

“Rafinha! Lieselotte! Are you okay!?”

Leone, her voice trembling with concern, glanced back at them.

“Fufu. While you’re indeed worthy of the Special Grade Rune, the fact remains that you’re inexperienced… I’ll make good use of your body and life if you don’t mind?”

Tiffany’s voice echoed from within the golden armor, cold and taunting, loud enough for Rafinha and Lieselotte to hear.

“That’s unacceptable!”

“We won’t let you do that!”

Despite their words, Rafinha and Lieselotte could only manage to stand unsteadily, bruised and battered from their earlier clash. Leone, however, seemed entirely under Tiffany’s control. Without another glance at them, she dashed toward the evacuation facility where Vilma and the other evacuees were, retracing her steps.

Her movements were impossibly fast—faster than the usual Leone and even surpassing Tiffany’s own speed in battle.

“She’s so fast! We can’t catch up to her!”

“I—I’ll chase after her! Hold on!”

With Lieselotte carrying her, Rafinha followed in pursuit, though Leone was already pulling farther ahead.

“Rafinha, this is your chance! Start preparing your arrows—gather as much strength as you can!” Lieselotte’s firm voice steadied Rafinha as she supported her, keeping her arms free to aim.

“Okay…!” However, no matter how much strength Rafinha gathered, she couldn't bring herself to believe it would get through to the current Leone.

After all, even when Tiffany fought alone, Rafinha could barely manage to disrupt her stance. Now that Tiffany had merged with a Special Grade Rune wielder, albeit forcibly, what chance did Rafinha have?

After all, the gap between a Special Grade Rune and a High Grade Rune was massive. Lieselotte still had room for progress in her potential for weaponization if she were to become a Hyrule Menace, even if she hadn’t yet acted on it.

But… what about me? Since receiving the miracle of healing with the Flowing Radiance from Special Envoy Theodore, I feel like I haven’t made any particular progress.

Of course, Rafinha has been trying her best in her own way. She hasn't been slacking off. But still—

“…!?”

Suddenly realizing how self-defeating her thoughts were, Rafinha shook her head vigorously. Now wasn’t the time for this. She needed to focus on doing everything she could.

After all, hadn’t she managed to assist Leone effectively earlier, when Leone attacked Tiffany with the black iron dragons? Rafinha had come up with a clever tactic, and it worked. She could contribute; she had to believe that.

But then—Leone’s figure disappeared from her view.

The evacuation route connected to the large hole created by the faceless giant earlier. Leone had gone that way. A moment later, Lieselotte, still carrying Rafinha, leaped out into the large hole to follow her.

“Wait! Stop it!” Vilma’s voice, desperate and loud, reached their ears.

“P-please, run away! I’m begging you!” Leone’s voice, trembling and almost shrieking, followed immediately after.

Right as Rafinha and Lieselotte arrived, they saw Leone, clad in the golden armor of the Hyrule Menace weaponization, preparing to swing down her black greatsword Artifact toward one of the mechanical dragons heading toward the evacuation route above.

“No—! That can’t happen!”

If the mechanical dragon were cut down, it would crash to the bottom of the large hole along with the evacuees it carried. They wouldn’t survive such a fall. And then, Rafinha saw Mais clinging to the arm of the mechanical dragon, his eyes wide with fear, staring directly at her.

No, this can’t go on—! If I don’t stop this, Mais and the others will lose their lives. And Leone… she’ll never forgive herself, even if her body is being controlled by Tiffany and this isn’t her own will. She’ll carry the guilt forever.

Leone had blamed herself when the undead attacked her hometown. Even though it was she who had been targeted and attacked, she cried, believing she had harmed the residents who had come to see her.

Before entering the Knight Academy, Leone endured relentless bullying for being the sister of a supposed traitor—her brother, Leon, who abandoned his status as a Holy Knight to join the Ironblood Chain Brigade.

Leone had faced so many hardships that Rafinha couldn’t even begin to fathom. No, it might be precisely because of those hardships that Leone was so kind, enduring them with strength and compassion.

I can’t let my precious, gentle friend suffer any more than this. The only one who can act in time now is me. I already have an arrow nocked in my bow. I must stop this! No matter what…!!

“NOOOO! LEONEEEEE!!”

The sharpened focus pushed Rafinha to an extreme state, creating an unusual sensation in her hands. It felt as though a mysterious power was welling up from deep within her body—an overwhelming force urging her forward with a confidence she had never experienced before. This newfound energy was clearly reflected in her glowing appearance.

Vwhooooooom!!

The light arrow released by Rafinha emitted a brilliant blue glow, radiating with power similar to the Ether Strike unleashed by Inglis.

“What… what is this?!” Though Rafinha didn’t fully understand what was happening, the arrow raced toward Leone, who was possessed by Tiffany, at an unimaginable speed.

Then, just as the black blade was about to strike the mechanical dragon—

“KYAAHHHH!?”

“AAAARRGGHHHHH!?”

With an intensity that left no room for resistance, the arrow violently repelled Leone and the golden armor, sending them crashing down to the bottom of the large hole.

“Th-that was amazing, Rafinha! It’s completely different from before! I’m so surprised you could do something like this!”

“Eh? Um…?”

Rafinha agreed she felt different, but she had no idea she could produce such power. What was happening? Did she really just do that? She wasn’t sure.

“You did well! That could’ve gone horribly wrong!” Vilma’s face lit up with admiration as she praised Rafinha.

“Thank you, Rafinha!” Mais, who was aboard the lifeboat carried by the mechanical dragon, called out to her, his voice filled with relief and gratitude.

“ “ “Thank you!” ” ”

“ “ “You saved us! What an amazing young lady…!” ” ”

Following Mais’ lead, the other Highlander refugees also chimed in with their gratitude.

“Ah… hahaha… Y-you’re welcome…”

Rafinha felt her face flush with embarrassment under all the praise, especially since the power she had displayed didn’t even feel real to her yet. But more importantly, her thoughts were focused on Leone. What had happened to her? Hopefully, she had only managed to strike Tiffany.

“Liselotte, down below! We need to check on Leone!”

“Yes, on it!”

At Rafinha’s urging, Liselotte nodded and prepared to descend.

“Vilma! Now’s the time to evacuate…!”

“Yes, I got it! All mechanical dragon units, retreat through the evacuation route!”

Just as Vilma leaped onto one of the dragons and began issuing her commands— A bright red glow appeared above them, beyond the massive ice block that Inglis had sealed over the large hole.

“!?”

Boom!

Before the sound of the explosion could fully register, the ice block shattered into countless shards, raining down into the large hole.

The falling ice wasn’t the only danger. Along with it came debris from the surface above, cascading down like a deadly torrent. A massive explosion had erupted on the surface where Inglis remained.

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