The Tri-Carver

King Endo lunged towards Kaito to stop him from retrieving the Tri-Carver. Garlan prevented the king from passing by him by blocking his path.

Endo’s blood boiled at the distraction. “Garlan, I order you to move out of my way!”

“My apologies, my king. But you know I can’t do that.”

He attempted to run past the bodyguard, but Garlan persisted in following the king, matching his speed. His anger burst out of him.

“I must stop Kaito before Mr. Satori reclaims the Tri-Carver!” King Endo muttered to himself. “If he gets a hold of it, that means my defeat!”

Garlan persisted in distracting the king, stalling time for the prince. As Endo made distance from him, he slung back to him like they were chained together. After several failed attempts at evading Garlan, King Endo finally directed his attention to the prince’s bodyguard.

The consequences of his excessive use of magic began to show. His breathing was heavier. His fatigue was taking a toll on his body from both the battle and his earlier training. Despite that, he needed to deal with Garlan before he could reach his younger brother.

The king stopped running for a moment and glared at the prince’s bodyguard, giving him his full attention. “Alright, it appears you will not move out of the way.”

Garlan aimed his weapon at Endo, maintaining his defensive stance. “It appears so…”

After they analyzed their opponent for a second, their eyes widened, signaling the start of their attack.

…

The two opponents rushed at each other head-on. Their blades clashed, sending shards of metal flying.

They pressed their weights on one another, showing dominance. Endo groaned with his open mouth, showing his struggle. However, Garlan remained calm and serious as if he were testing his student.

Their test of strength didn't last long before they stepped back. After gaining several feet of space, Endo wasted no time and charged back. He used his magic and quickly darted across the battlefield.

Despite being exhausted, the king swung fierce slashes at Garlan, utilizing all the strength he had left.

When King Endo fought me, he realized the difference in strength, so he didn’t take it too seriously. However, the king was wary of his opponent’s capabilities, so he was forced to take it seriously, regardless of his fatigue.

Garlan rested one hand behind his back, fighting the battle one-handed. With ease, he blocked every one of Endo’s attacks, matching his speed. He began to read Endo’s moves, looking for an opening.

Once he found one, Garlan countered his strike and delivered a powerful slash towards the king, using the back side of his weapon.

I watched their fight near Anojin in the center as they battled towards the wall. Watching how Garlan one-sidedly dominated the fight gave me a sense of relief. I knew he was not the average old man, but I never would have expected that.

King Endo was the one who had control over the battle, but now he’s on the receiving end. Ha, this was karma! How did that feel?!

…

Meanwhile, towards the end of the wall…

Prince Kaito finally made his way to the back wall. He stood in front of the displays, admiring the quality of the items. He examined the golden casket itself. The casket was shielded with bulletproof glass and secured with ten locks. Fortunately, the locks only required pulling a lever.

The battle behind him intensified. He observed the wall until the sound of Garlan’s battle brought him back to his senses.

After wasting time, Kaito immediately began unlocking the casket displaying the Tri-Carver. The sound of Kaito unlocking each lock resonated in the room, perking Endo’s ears.

Endo’s irritation only grew. As Kaito opened the casket, Endo lost his composure. He poured his rage into his attacks, desperately trying to end this fight.

Garlan sensed Endo’s rage and glanced at the prince mid-battle. “Prince Kaito, please do hurry.”

After unlocking all ten locks, Kaito carefully lifted the heavy glass and set it aside. He was now faced with the Tri-Carver.

Upon closer inspection, the blade was extremely tall in length. It was almost twice Kaito’s size. The thickness of the black blade highlighted its heavy weight.

He had no time to admire the sword any longer. Without hesitation, Kaito reached into the casket and carefully lifted the blade. Even with two hands, Kaito’s arms shook due to the weight.

“Good grief, how did Mr. Satori wield this?”

He mustered all of his strength, applying the weight to his legs. After a struggle, the prince finally wielded the Tri-Carver.

…

Everyone in the room diverted their eyes to Kaito, who displayed the Tri-Carver in the air. My group and Garlan looked impressed by Kaito’s plan working.

However, his siblings watched on with puzzled and irritated gazes. His actions confused them due to his mysterious plan.

“Why are you holding that weapon, Kaito?” Princess Kiriko curiously asked.

“Drop that weapon, younger brother!” the king demanded. “You don’t know what you are doing!”

Despite successfully retrieving the weapon, his plan was not yet completed. Kaito gazed down below, observing the distance between us. The gap was massive. He needed to somehow maneuver past his older brother to hand the sword to me.

He could barely hold the weapon, so walking with it would have been extremely difficult for him. Also, the prince did not portray someone with combat abilities.

I did not come here to fight anyone. I came here for the Tri-Carver. I did not ask the prince and his bodyguards to help me out… they offered.

I still did not know how to swing a sword. I had only won my battles with help. I had not accomplished anything on my own. Even so, I had more battle experiences than the prince. Garlan and he had already helped me so much. I needed to return the favor.

With that in mind, I made up my mind. “I’ll be right back, you scrap of metal.”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“…To get my weapon back.”

Before I could regret my decision, my body moved towards Kaito, leaving the crusader behind.

For the first time, my eyes strengthened with resolve as I ran as fast as I could. My speed could not compete with Garlan's or the king's, but my focus was fixated only on Kaito.

The fighters sensed my sudden movement towards the back wall. King Endo sensed the situation, as if he read my mind, and changed his target to me. “I must not allow Satori to get that weapon!”

Unlucky for him, Garlan also responded to my movement and shifted his protection to me. With Garlan guarding me from Endo’s blades, all my remaining worries faded. I removed any distractions and focused on the path ahead, placing my trust in my temporary new bodyguard.

King Endo pressured me with relentless attacks, but his teacher swiftly countered them. His overall image of royalty was shattered. His composure, authority, and power disappeared as he struggled. This was simply the display of an average, angry man.

The king clenched his jaw, exposing his teeth. “No. No. No!”

Thanks to Garlan, after racing towards the Tri-Carver, I arrived at the bottom of the wall. I was only a staircase away from it. The fatigue from the continuous running dwelled inside of me. However, I could not let that stop me.

I fought against the exhaustion and hurried up the steps, each step draining my energy. As I arrived at the top, Kaito greeted me kindly, holding the sword in his hand.

“I told you, I wanted to help you,” reminded Kaito as he showed off the sword.

I kindly replied, “Thank you, Prince Kaito.”

“I believe this is yours.” Kaito supposed, as he extended his hands towards me. He gladly handed me the Tri-Carver. I thanked him as I accepted the blade.

As I felt the weight of the sword in my hands, I felt a sense of satisfaction. After retrieving what was rightfully mine, the battle would come to an end.

…