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Liz, can you still move?

Yes... It's bright over there.

It's Nearl.

Let us go then?

Yes.

...Really, what's going on today...

That Sarkaz just now... Does she know Margaret? What's happening?

It's really Margaret! V! Margaret's back!

...Don't yell.

Then... What about us? Do we keep going?

Don't stare at me like that... You get to live.

They cancelled the mission. I don't have a reason to stop you anymore.

You get to live.

You gonna leave, just like that? Halt!

V! Don't bother with them, let's get to the arena!

Tch...damned Armorless Union.

Margaret Nearl... The Radiant Knight!

Where's the arena security?

S-Security...? That was the Radiant Knight charging at full power, we'd probably have to raise the city's barrier to stop her...

Radiant Knight...

Haha... Radiant Knight... With things as they are now, why did you even return? To look at the knights' epitaph?

Mr. Czarny! We've received word from the General Chamber of Commerce... You...

Mr. Malkiewicz.

Yes?

No matter what happens next, even if I don't return, you must not leave this room.

O-Okay...

Yes, I've already prepared everything beforehand... Yes, Czarny, you have already done everything you could, so just wait for the curtain call.

How amusing... Pfft, hahaha...

Sir...?

Ah, excuse me...

Mr. Czarny? Your phone...?

...I know, I know.

Please excuse me... for a moment.

...Knight techniques.

But drug overdose and signs of overreliance on Arts. Also...

Guh——

I will suppress her! Kill the target!

The mentally crippled Sarkaz warrior brandishes his weapon, Arts and the smell of a grave.

But the Radiant Knight does not move.

——Kill her!

Hmm, the explosive energy has been dissipated——

——Die!

Guh....! You...still have strength?!

Maria, your wounds——

Margaret! You once said a knight raises her shield to protect others... right?

But, now, on this battlefield——

——There is no one that you need to protect!

I will become your shield, so——

Move aside, I will blast them both to death!

——I'll do my best!

Guh... She abandoned her shield! But your Arts!

...This, impossible... That warhammer is her staff, she...

Are you ready, Maria?

Yes!

To be a knight...

Is to be the noble light that illuminates the land!

The Radiant Knight who charged onto the field has abandoned her shield after just a few short exchanges! Hold on! Wait!

Remember the two-handed warhammer craze that followed the Radiant Knight?! Watch her swing that hammer, her shield long forgotten! This is the old school Radiant Knight!

She's out there, against all odds! The return of the legend! The National Council could drag her away right after this match. This could be our only chance to witness the glory of the Radiant Knight!

This... these Arts, this glow...

Why are you allowed to give off that kind of light so impassively...? You arrogant little——Do you really think yourself the sun?! Radiant Knight!

How long has it been since we saw Margaret put her shield down?

Her light... It's hot.

She will be fine, right?

I've never seen her fail, after looking like that.

The girl is a lot like Nearl.

Yes, that's her sister.

Hehe... What a cute little knight. I can see the resemblance.

...Arrows... ran out!

Gaa——! Your Arts!

He's forming arrows using his Arts... I'll block them!

Leave the rest to me.

Can't penetrate——this damned light!

...The audience is quiet.

Margaret doesn't have an advantage. Those two Sarkaz are strong... and work well together.

But I don't feel like Margaret will lose... I don't even think she is disadvantaged...

Her techniques are mesmerizing... Her demeanor is so calm, yet her light burns so brightly...

It reminds me of Old Nearl, when he was young.

Un-unbelievable! Totally unbelievable!

The radiance from every swing of Margaret's warhammer completely dispels her opponent's Arts! Even the cracks the Radiant Knight steps on are filled with light!

What amazingly brilliant Arts! Combat techniques of this level!

This is definitely befitting of a champion! The true strength of a knight——!

Haa... My wounds aren't hurting as much anymore... Is this Margaret's Arts too?

(Caring about me even during a battle like this——)

Gaa——! My hammer...!

No weapon, then, with my hands, I'll tear you apart——!

Kill her!

Margaret has a strange expression on her face. It's...pity?

For these two Sarkaz? Because they are called knights? Or is it... because of their circumstances?

...Maria.

Ah, I'm here!

I'll leave the support to you.

——Yes!

Do it!

Yes!

Repent.

At this moment, the entire arena descends into silence.

No one has realized that the match has ended. There aren't any knights boasting about their victory, nor are there the defiant howls of the losers.

The corrupted Sarkaz kneel on the ground——They have not fallen over, and the Radiant Knight does not strike.

She looks down upon the two Sarkaz, then takes a knee and extends her hand.