WeTried Translations

Translator: Botanica

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Academy's Pure Love Dark Knight ◈

Chapter 96

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Episode 96. Seek Life, Find Love.

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When I came to from the nightmare, something lukewarm was smeared on my helmet.

"..Huh?"

With an ominous feeling, I wiped it off with my hand, and caught the coppery scent of blood. This looked like blood, whose blood could it possibly be...

At that moment, thud. The Glass Knight beside me collapsed slowly, the armor over her chest shattered.

"..Saintess?"

No, should I call her Phine now? She who had hidden her form behind a Masterpiece all this time,

"What in the world is going on."

The person I had always been searching for lay felled by someone's hand.

I saw the blue-haired man collapsed just ahead, Dennis. While I'd been trapped in the trauma, everything had already come to an end.

The Demon King of Omniscience. I saw Head Ache walking steadily toward me from the front.

"No... This can't be happening."

I pressed my hand hard against the center of her chest, trying to stop the blood flowing out, and though a shard of glass drove into the back of my hand, I felt no pain.

Something like that didn't matter. Saving her came first.

"Please... plea-please..."

After everything it took to meet her, to come to know her as someone precious to me. This was too much.

'It's fine. I have Savior Sword.'

Like before, I grabbed the Glass Knight's hand and tried to activate the Holy Knight skill.

"..Why, why isn't it working?!"

But it misfired. Why was this happening?

The heart is the source of mana. Because that was the part injured, it seemed borrowing Phine's mana circuit to use the skill was impossible.

"Her hand is cold. No, don't tell me."

Besides, holy power was a wish shaped by reason. Blocked by reality, I could only imagine an ominous future.

Maybe I had already concluded, on my own, that she was dead. Unlike myself, my mind had gone blank, and I was thrown into confusion by countless dark thoughts.

"Hey, Licht."

That was when it happened. The blond-haired hero, watching the Demon King approach slowly, activated the holy sword.

"Ariel and I will buy some time, so do whatever you can."

"It's already too late, it's all over."

I was there, holding onto her, on the verge of tears. Then came a bang, a sound like fireworks exploding. Anyone would recognize it as magic used by the Mage of Flames.

"Helmet guy, Mardol's not dead yet!"

"What... are you talking about... Ariel...?"

"Think about it, it's a Masterpiece that blocked even Magic Hat's attack!"

Now that she mentioned it, the amount of blood was small. Ariel's single remark brought my composure back.

"..She's right, she's still breathing."

This was glass armor that had withstood even Magic Hat's attack, which had felt stronger than Head's. It seemed the bullet hadn't fully driven in.

'Maybe Professor Dennis protected her too.'

There were traces around us of Dennis's three-dimensional magic circle. It was his ultimate skill, one that could have blunted the bullet's force to some degree.

"Thanks, everyone."

Looking over the fallen Phine carefully once more, I began racking my brain for every method I could think of.

'It's too far to link up with Chartiness... and asking someone else to use healing magic wouldn't be enough either.'

It was the same situation as with the Heavenly Demon. Left as she was, she'd be shot by the Demon King of Omniscience's bullet and forgotten by the world.

Actually, I'd wondered about this before, to some degree. Whether our Saintess had fallen victim to Head's power.

But there was something that didn't add up about that idea. The Heavenly Demon had also been struck by Erasure of knowledge, and yet her combat strength itself remained untouched, didn't it?

The Demon Kings' powers weren't perfect. There had to be a gap in them somewhere.

In the setting materials, her name still appeared exactly as it was. Baek-Mokryeon.

For the seemingly powerful Glass Knight to become a powerless 'Nameless Saintess,' too many puzzle pieces were missing.

If things went on like this, she'd either lose all memory of herself, or be erased from every record in the world. Or else everyone, myself included, would forget Phine Gransia.

"I can't forget this person. Never."

But it was strange for her to instantly lose her name, or become a saintess who couldn't freely use holy power.

Even the element was different. The Saintess was of the light attribute, but Phine was of the earth attribute.

Wasn't it jarring that Phine, who had strength enough to overpower me, would become someone who couldn't catch a single monster?

"..Don't tell me every Demon King of the Heroic Cult is behind this?"

Only now did I instinctively realize it. This was an act of malice not one Demon King had interfered with, but several.

Left as things were, she would fall to the Demon Kings' scheme and become the 'Nameless Saintess.'

It was obvious without even seeing it. First erase every memory of her from the world, then quietly spirit her away without anyone noticing.

"Sons of bitches."

What had this endlessly kind, innocent person ever done wrong?

For what reason had they made her name vanish, turned her body into one that couldn't catch a single monster, crippled her holy power, and made everyone forget her?

There wasn't time to think that through right now. It was a moment for choosing.

"This person I finally found... I don't want to just let that happen to her."

I'd be fine never seeing the Saintess I remembered ever again. Because it wasn't her outward appearance that had saved me.

"Even if she looks different, our Saintess is still our Saintess."

I had been moved by an inner warmth and gentleness like no one else's.

I had just seen that same quality in Mardol, who had come to save me from the nightmare, and it would be fine if she stayed a princess forever instead of a saintess.

"It's right for her to go on living this way, with Emperor Rook as her father and as an older sister to her younger brother Lupus."

That would be Phine's happiness. I couldn't change the person I loved for the sake of my own personal greed.

Even if this choice meant she ended up not liking me.

If I could just save the Phine Gransia in front of me, that alone would be enough.

"Ariel, let's use the combo skill."

"Got it, Kai!"

Besides, right now I had friends behind me, buying time to save Phine. It was different from <Black Heart>, back when I faced Magic Hat alone.

"..A skill like this wasn't in my 'omniscience.' Kainel!!"

"Hah, looks like it landed!"

"Kai, be careful!"

Shine Fireworks flew toward the Demon King of Omniscience. Explosions rang out from every direction, and Head, revolver in hand, lost his balance.

Bang. The bullet fired at me went wide.

An opening had opened up. But what should I do? I'd already tried lacing my fingers with hers and using holy power, tried casting magic, and both had failed.

Wait, magic?

Those two words surfacing in my mind brought back something Dennis had once said, advice he'd given me when I first joined the club.

"If you use a medium to borrow a circuit in its place, it'll probably work."

A vivid memory flashed through my mind. That 'medium' was right there in my arms, right now.

'The Mana Rose...!!'

A rose that had soaked up mana so deeply it glowed blue, a Legendary-grade flower I'd kept aside for our Saintess.

It seemed like the time had come to use it. Some kid had once told me to keep it safe, too.

"Savior Sword."

I pulled out the Mana Rose and tried to use holy power, but there was no response.

"It's okay... everything's going to be okay. Phine."

Drip. Blood dropped onto the Glass Knight's armor. Not caring whether the thorns pricked me, I gripped the stem tightly,

"There won't be any more hard times."

and let the blood flowing from my hand and the rose become one.

"..Because I'll make sure of it."

The mana circuit had become one, and the base of the Mana Rose had turned red, no longer quite fitting to be called a 'blue rose' anymore.

「Savior Sword.」

Beside her, I gripped the rose hard enough to crush it, knelt down, and took the posture of a prayer to the sky.

What did it matter if a blue rose became a red one?

As long as I could save this one person, that was enough. I didn't care if I died, take as much blood as you need.

─Drip.

A clear sound of falling water droplets rang out just like before, and ripples of white light spread through the air,

"It's done. The bleeding's stopped."

This time, perhaps because it had been strengthened by the Mana Rose, an intensely bright light spread out around us.

It soon split into several small sword-shaped fragments that melted like snow into the wounds, healing everyone who was hurt.

It looked just like a scene of snow scattering in the wind. Snowflakes falling in midsummer.

The white Christmas she and I had seen inside the trauma was playing out again, here and now.

"..Licht?"

Soon, I saw glinting golden eyes inside the glass helmet.

"Hey there, Phine."

I smiled with relief at her opened eyes. Inside my own helmet was already a mess of tears, I couldn't even tell if I was laughing or crying.

"Do you remember me..?"

"Of course I do, you pervert Licht... aren't you..."

Maybe because she'd only just come to, the Glass Knight looked utterly exhausted. Thankfully, she didn't seem to have fallen to Erasure of knowledge. I pulled her into a hug right away.

"Thank god... really... thank god..."

"Licht... I can't breathe..."

The warmth of her body, felt again. Her heartbeat, audible at this close distance. Every proof that she was alive felt wonderful.

"Sorry. I'm just so happy you're alive..."

"Just don't hug too hard. If it's you, Licht, I'm fine with it..."

Now that I thought about it, I'd just hugged our Saintess without asking. My face felt like it was burning, so I put some distance between us, and with even my neck flushed red, I asked after her well-being.

"You're not hurting anywhere now, are you? Phine."

"Not really... oh, actually, there is one place."

"Where?! Did you get hurt somewhere else..?!"

Was there a part Savior Sword hadn't managed to heal? With a sinking feeling, I immediately started checking her over everywhere.

"..My chest hurts, from where you groped it earlier, Licht."

"..."

Then Phine stroked my helmet and looked at me with softly narrowed eyes. I'd only pressed there because blood had been pouring from her heart, just to stop the bleeding.

"Heh heh, you total pervert..."

Watching her tease me like a fox the instant she woke up, I found myself smiling for no reason. No matter how I looked at it, this was the Saintess I remembered.

"Later... I'm going to scold you... Licht."

"Go ahead. I'm confident I can put up with any amount of your spoiled fussing."

After all, she was someone who loved teasing me, as if there were a fox hiding inside her instead of a wolf.

At that moment, an old man's voice rang out furiously from a distance.

"Hero, do you even understand what you've done?!"

The Demon King of Omniscience, Head Ache, shouted at me even as he took a hit from Kainel's Shine Advance.

Wow, that Yellow Dog's moving fast enough to dodge Head's bullets. Well, I guess light is faster than a bullet.

"Licht, you saved Mardol... Waiting around was rough, you know."

"Just like Helmet guy!"

As Shine Advance's duration ran out, Kainel came back to stand beside Phine and me and looked behind him. Ariel too, seeing the Glass Knight standing again, smiled brightly,

"Huh. I could've sworn... my legs and arms were..."

And in front of us, the blue-haired Dennis, his whole body restored, pushed himself up off the ground with his right arm.

Savior Sword was an area-of-effect skill that healed everyone nearby too.

"You even let Kainel learn Shine Advance, and healed Dennis too..?!"

"Why, got a problem with that, Head?"

It was a skill a tier above ordinary healing magic. This much was only natural.

"This will warp the entire prophecy!!"

Prophecy, is it? Guessing at people's futures however he liked with an omniscience that wasn't even complete, then trying to hurt people like this over his own private conviction?

"If touching our Phine is what your prophecy demands, then let me tell you personally to go fuck yourself, Head."

"..Wait, how do you still remember Phine Gransia?! Hero!!"

Head froze, staring at our Saintess standing there with a stunned expression. Had he actually used the power of Erasure of knowledge?

"This can't be. She should have been hit by the bullet!! You even erased my enhanced Erasure of knowledge?!!"

Now that he mentioned it, he was right. The Phine beside me right now hadn't been forgotten by anyone, and didn't seem to have lost any memory at all.

"Boy, you're no ordinary hero..!!"

"..Hero this, hero that, you keep saying it over and over. Shut up."

I summoned Giyu. I immediately pulled the sword up from where it was planted in the ground and leveled it at Head.

"I'm not a hero, Head."

"Then what in the world are you, someone who can nullify both my Erasure of knowledge and my omniscience?!"

"A Black Knight. A Pure Love Black Knight, at that."

More precisely, the Pure Love Black Knight of Grand Hearts Academy. I had Kainel, Ariel, and Dennis fall back, and stood blocking the Demon King's path.

"..Doesn't the Demon King of Omniscience know even that much?"

"You, you..!!"

I knew it instinctively. For whatever reason, Head Ache's powers didn't work on me. What's more, I was able to undo even Erasure of knowledge that had already taken hold.

"Then again, Head, you were just a son of a bitch from the start."

After all, I was someone who hadn't lost my memory after meeting the Heavenly Demon, and had even received swordsmanship training from her.

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