I am very grateful for all your support this past year.

I look forward to your continued support next year.

Well then, have a great New Year!

When I stepped out of Avid's cockpit, I was greeted by armed enemy soldiers.

They showed an intent to fight, but I couldn't sense any fighting spirit or killing intent from them.

They were like dolls holding weapons—and what's more, the weapons they held were all things that seemed out of place in this world.

There were knights with swords and shields, but their equipment was made of simple iron.

Compared to the knights of this era, they looked terribly inferior.

Mages holding staves, warriors with axes and blunt weapons—everything about them was antiquated.

"You invite me here, and this is your idea of a welcome?"

I didn't like Falaval's "Come to me!" attitude.

There was gravity inside the ship, and the moment I jumped down from Avid, the enemies attacked all at once.

The first to charge was a man in light armor, holding a sword.

His eyes were black, his pupils red—his skin was cracked, a being that merely maintained its form from when it was alive. I let out a small sigh at the sight.

"This is a pain, so I'll just—"

I was about to end it all in a single flash, but Ellen moved first.

The moment Gerbera landed on the Galn, Ellen leaped from the cockpit and unleashed a flash strike at my surroundings.

She didn't just cut down the man with the sword; she sliced to pieces all the enemies around us.

The enemies fell to the floor in pieces, but there was almost no blood.

A black, sludgy liquid stained the floor slightly.

"Foes of this level aren't even worth our master's time."

Ellen landed in front of me, clutching her treasured red-sheathed katana in her left hand.

"You really like that sword, don't you? Didn't I have a new one made for you to celebrate your mastery?"

I'd had a katana forged to celebrate Ellen growing into a full-fledged swordswoman.

It was a blade made by a swordsmith I had invited to my domain.

It was of better quality than the sword Ellen treasured, but she refused to use it.

"Because it's the precious sword I received from you, Master."

I gave the smiling Ellen a spiteful reply.

"Even though you mistook a tiger for a 'kitty cat.'"

"Please don't bring that up. I didn't even know what a tiger was back then."

Seeing her look so embarrassed, I could still feel a sense of her youthfulness.

Next, as Amaryllis and the others landed in the hangar, Rinho and Fuuka disembarked.

I looked down at the enemies Ellen had cut down.

I thought they would regenerate, but there was no sign of it.

As I was thinking how strange it was, Falaval, who must have sensed my unease, appeared on a monitor.

"To save you the trouble, I've decided that my fallen retainers will not regenerate. I promise not to cause you any unnecessary effort."

"In that case, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me fight you right away."

"That is not possible. We are in the midst of battle—and I have decided to enjoy this fight to the very marrow of my bones!"

What's he talking about when he's nothing but bones?

He seems to think he's being considerate, but from my perspective, it's just a nuisance.

However, Falaval showed no intention of yielding.

"I do so love the sight of a hero advancing through a demon lord's castle. This is a spaceship, not a castle, but I want you to conquer it as if it were one. I have prepared many traps for that purpose! I shall await your arrival in the audience chamber."

When Falaval disappeared from the monitor, Ellen had a bitter expression on her face.

"What an unpleasant fellow, troubling Master like this."

She was probably angry, but it seemed Ellen had also sensed the danger as she got closer to Falaval.

The reason she didn't declare "I'll kill him!" was likely because she recognized him as a formidable enemy.

Rinho and Fuuka approached me.

"It'll be over once we beat him, right? Besides, no matter what happens, we just have to cut him down and it's done."

Rinho tried to move forward, but Fuuka remained silent.

I felt that each of the three had their own issues to overcome and let out a deep sigh.

"Rinho's right. Falaval said he'd enjoy the war, too. That bastard intends to attack my fleet. We don't have much time."

The Banfield family's current fleet probably can't fight Falaval's fleet head-on.

It would be tough even with Tia and Marie; in fact, it'd be impossible even with Klaus.

That was the conclusion my staff officers reached. Apparently, this ship, the Galn, solves all problems of supply and maintenance.

It has an inexhaustible supply and repairs itself no matter how many times you defeat it—truly an immortal fleet.

If we were to engage in a pure fleet battle, it's an enemy even I couldn't defeat.

"If only Klaus were here—but that's asking too much. Let's go, you three."

I led the three of them and headed for Falaval.

◇

Meanwhile, Tia was leading the Banfield fleet in battle against the enemy.

"You've really done it now, Hampson!"

The fleet Tia was fighting was the Imperial army that had been absorbed by Falaval—the fleet led by Hampson.

Hampson's face appeared on the monitor.

"Christiana—with the power of Lord Falaval, I am invincible. I will not lose to the likes of you again."

Black eyes and red pupils.

The smirking Hampson seemed to have retained his living personality even after becoming one of the undead.

He persistently targeted Tia.

"A man who can't even face me without selling his soul to a monster has no right to act so high and mighty."

"Such bravado. But no matter how elite the Banfield fleet may be, it cannot defeat Lord Falaval's immortal fleet. Surely you can understand that much?"

Facing an enemy fleet that charged without regard for damage, Tia did not stop thinking.

(If Lord Liam has charged the enemy flagship, I need to create more distance or we can't fight. I have to draw them in as much as possible—)

◇

At the same time.

The fleet led by Marie was also being pursued by an enemy fleet.

"Retreat in a defensive formation! Do not, under any circumstances, turn your backs to the enemy!"

Looking frustrated, Marie ordered her fleet to fall back.

In contrast, the approaching enemy was—Tryde.

"Don't run, Marie Sera Marian! I want to repay you for chasing me around so much!"

Having become one of the undead, Tryde was chasing Marie to get his revenge.

"Are you scared? Have you lost your nerve? How does it feel to be the one being chased?"

"—Tch."

Marie clicked her tongue, uninterested in the cocky Tryde.

(I don't know what kind of dark arts this is, but the Empire is as ugly a nation as ever. I'm also worried about Lord Liam's safety after he charged in—)

Even in this difficult situation, Marie was concerned for Liam's well-being.

She wanted to save Liam—and to do that, she had to deal with the enemy before her.

"Now then—how should I kill you?"

"It's useless. I have now obtained an immortal body. I have overcome the fear of death! I am afraid of nothing now!"

"—Oh?"

Marie narrowed her eyes, but her lips were curled into a smile.

◇

As we ran through the interior of the Galn, we cut down the waiting enemies one after another with a single flash.

We cut them down the instant we spotted them, so to an outside observer, it would probably look like we were just running down a corridor.

Honestly, it was so easy I was about to yawn—but the problem was time.

"A battleship this huge is a problem in itself."

When a battleship is several thousand meters long, its interior is vast.

Because of that, finding Falaval's audience chamber was a real pain.

Ellen picked up on my muttering and offered her opinion as a commander.

"I'm worried about the situation outside. If we take too long, losing the Banfield fleet will have repercussions for the future."

"I brought our elite forces. I think they can hold out for a while, but we can't be too optimistic."

Rinho, who apparently didn't like our conversation, was sulking a little.

"Big Brother, Ellen, don't talk about the war in a situation like this. For us, the most important thing is to defeat the enemies of the One Flash Style, right?"

I wanted to agree with Rinho's opinion, but I have a position to uphold.

And for the sake of the future, I cannot accept the loss of my fleet.

"I'm a swordsman of the One Flash Style, but at the same time, I'm a lord."

"That's impure. Both of you, Big Brother and Ellen, are bringing too many impurities into this fight. You think so too, right?"

Rinho looked at Fuuka, but there was no reply.

"Huh? Um..."

Rinho grew even more irritated.

"Fine, whatever!"

We ran in silence for several tens of minutes—when I, running in the lead, came to a stop, the other three stopped as well.

Immediately after, a shockwave passed in front of us.

Looking to the side, I saw swordsmen emerging one after another from the far end of the corridor—apparently, they were inhabitants of this world.

"I take it you are Lord Liam of the One Flash Style. I am Dustin of Roman Swordsmanship. Shall we have a match?"

The smirking swordsmen held rapiers, swords specialized for thrusting.

I searched my memory and recalled a swordsman named Dustin.

"The last Sword Saint of the Empire, was it? I'd heard you were part of the subjugation force, but seeing you serving Falaval, I guess you're not much of a big deal after all."

Dustin, acting all cocky after becoming undead, was unfazed by my words.

"Your foul mouth is just as the rumors say, I see. —But to me now, it sounds like nothing more than the chirping of a small bird."

Dustin took a stance, and a thrust so fast it was—as the saying goes—invisible to the naked eye, shot towards us.

As I wondered what to do, Ellen leaped forward first.

"Master, I will handle this. Please proceed without wasting any more time here."

Seeing Ellen, Fuuka, who had been hesitating on whether to jump in, flinched.

"!"

She seemed ashamed of her late start, but we didn't have time to spare, so we went on ahead.

I called out to Ellen.

"I'm going ahead. Catch up to me before the fight with Falaval."

"Yes, sir."

◇

After Liam and the others left, Ellen's expression turned cold.

"To equate our master's words with the chirping of a small bird is far too disrespectful."

Dustin and his disciples—the undead—were laughing at Ellen, who remained alone.

"Your devotion, sacrificing your life to let your master go on ahead, is admirable. But you've picked the wrong opponent."

A thrust from Dustin made Ellen's hair sway.

"A godspeed thrust—if you of the One Flash Style are about slashing, then we are about thrusting. Though different, our sword styles are similar."

Hearing Dustin's words, Ellen didn't even twitch an eyebrow.

Dustin, interpreting this as tension, deliberately took a stance.

"I have killed many enemies up until now, and some swordsmen didn't even realize their stomachs had been pierced. That was before I became undead—now..."

When Dustin unleashed his thrusts, several holes appeared in the wall around Ellen—behind her back.

"Reborn as a powerful undead, my godspeed thrust—Roman Swordsmanship—is now complete! There is no need to fear the One Flash Style. Roman Swordsmanship is the ultimate sword style!"

Ellen said nothing in response to Dustin's declaration.

—It was then that Dustin noticed something was wrong.

Why couldn't he hear the voices of his disciples?

While still in his stance, he tried to sense his disciples, and something fell to the floor with a thud.

Dustin's gaze remained fixed on Ellen.

However, at some point, Ellen had drawn her katana.

"The moment you relied on the power of dark arts, your swordsmanship became unworthy of even being compared to the One Flash Style. And what was that about the enemy not noticing they've been cut? What's the point of that?"

At this point, terror began to well up inside Dustin.

The beloved sword Dustin had been holding—fell to the floor.

Not just his beloved sword, but his hand, his arm—as Dustin buckled at the knees, he realized his legs had been cut as well.

"I-Impossible!? I never took my eyes off you. What did you—"

Ellen stated coldly.

"Don't you dare lump your swordsmanship in with the One Flash Style. The One Flash Style is, in the first place, an inhuman sword art for slaying monsters. It's a sword art for fighting the very monster you cling to, Falaval. I wondered what to expect from someone calling himself a Sword Saint—but you were just the worst kind of swordsman, one who debased his own art."

As if to say they were never even in her sights to begin with, Ellen took off after Liam.

She seemed to have no interest in Dustin whatsoever.

"Was I defeated from the very beginning? If it was going to be like this—I wish I could have died—an ordinary death as a swordsman."

He felt utterly pathetic for having been intoxicated by the power of a monster.

Dustin, as a swordsman and as a person—had been defeated by Ellen.