Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World

I place my hand on my neck, twisting it to crack the bones as I think.

That was close. She nearly broke my neck.

I was able to foresee her attack, so I avoided it, but if I hadn’t, I would have been finished.

Now then, it’s time to end this.

All I have to do is kick Raikuya’s head as hard as I can with my iron boot, splattering her brains all over the place.

She’s a powerful superhuman, so it might not kill her with just one kick, but if I keep kicking, eventually she’ll die.

No one can survive being beaten relentlessly with overwhelming force. Not even her.

And not even me.

I know better than anyone that even with my healing ability, it has its limits. This is something I learned well through training with my mother.

Cautiously, I approach her, watching her face for any sign of life.

“――”

She’s not dead yet.

Though Raikuya lies motionless, collapsed on the ground, her eyes haven’t lost their focus. Even now, she’s searching for some kind of opportunity.

Now, what to do?

I don’t fully understand her accumulated skills, especially the “qi-gong” she mentioned. She might still have a technique that could reverse the situation even from this position, so I need to remain cautious.

But as I overthink the situation, I realize I’ve missed the perfect moment to finish her off.

I should have rushed in and kicked her while she was down—whether it was her face or her stomach, it didn’t matter.

『Faust! It’s your time!!』

A voice rang out from behind the cathedral door.

It was the voice of Anastasia-denka, my lord.

I perked up, almost letting out a curse.

—What should I prioritize?

Should I kick down the door where the inquisition is taking place and charge in?

Or should I deal with Raikuya first?

Obviously, the inquisition takes precedence.

Depending on the outcome, I might need to kill the Pope.

“Samurai-dono, watch my back, but don’t interfere with Raikuya!”

“Understood!”

Though Raikuya is wounded, she’s still undoubtedly strong.

The claim that she’s the strongest warrior of the Feilong Dynasty isn’t just for show.

Honestly, Samurai-dono wouldn’t stand a chance against her.

With her round, acorn-like eyes flashing with a hint of frustration, Samurai-dono acknowledged my command as I rushed toward the door.

—Then, in quick succession, Queen Katarina’s voice echoed through the air.

“Faust, don’t lay a hand on the Pope!”

What!?

I couldn’t grasp the situation inside, but I would assess it later.

For now, I kicked down the door.

As I stepped inside, chaos greeted me.

“Sabine!”

Sabine was bleeding, yet standing firm, facing down the enemy in front of her.

—Her right arm was grotesquely twisted.

The broken bone had pierced through her skin, dripping blood.

“Is that the enemy in front of you!?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Through gritted teeth, Sabine answered me, her face contorted in pain.

I recognized the knife the enemy was holding.

It was undoubtedly Sabine’s beloved weapon.

The enemy had likely used some technique to steal it after being attacked by her.

That was the mark of the enemy.

Sabine had fulfilled her mission splendidly.

“Seora!!”

A scream echoed through the air.

It was Raikuya’s voice.

I was certain she had called out the name of the enemy before me—‘Seora’—but without looking back, I began to advance toward this ‘Seora.’

But then…

“I’m abandoning you now!!”

Raikuya’s shout was shocking.

I couldn’t help but turn my head halfway in disbelief.

Raikuya had stood up, her silver hair characteristic of the Feilong people flowing behind her, as she shouted.

“Raikuya, what are you—?”

The black-haired woman called Seora, hearing Raikuya’s words, appeared stunned and tried to speak, but…

“This is it! As of now, I, Raikuya, cannot defeat Faust. However, if I escape here, there will be another chance! But—you will not make it!”

Raikuya flicked her braided hair with her finger.

A sharp sound rang out, and her eyes gleamed as she yelled.

“I see no way to extract you from this chaos without causing further disruption! You’ve already been marked as the enemy, and not only that, you failed to secure the Pope as an ally! I, Raikuya, have seen through you!!”

Is that true?

I glanced at the Pope, but she showed no signs of siding with Seora.

Has she stopped her betrayal?

Though the Pope has crimes to answer for—the inquisition of the Köln faction, the army sent against Valiere-denka—if she’s not our enemy right now, it’s fine.

We’ll deal with her later.

“Then you’re a fool! You’re like a child fallen on the battlefield, crying helplessly! There’s no way out for you!!”

Seora looked aghast.

She had likely planned to escape from here with Raikuya’s help.

But now, there was no room for me to step in.

Seora was already surrounded by Anastasia-denka, Queen Katarina, and Eugen-denka.

Escape was no longer possible.

And as for Raikuya, I wouldn’t let her get through.

“If you have any gratitude for all I’ve fed you, be thankful that I’m at least telling you this before I leave!!”

“You’re abandoning me and fleeing back to Mongolia?!”

“I’ll at least report to the rest of the superhuman brigade.”

Raikuya spat on the ground as she shouted.

“Seora fought bravely and met her end! Surely, your mother will be proud!!”

“Raikuya!”

“This is where it ends for you! You’ve lost!!”

Though Seora shouted in frustration, it didn’t matter now.

What was important was Raikuya’s behavior.

“Faust von Polydoro!!”

She clasped her right hand over her left, a gesture aligning the four fingers of both hands—the index, middle, ring, and pinky—placing one palm on the back of the other.

It was the gesture of “gongshou.”

“Remember this face, Faust von Polydoro! I, Raikuya, will attack you again and again! I may not stoop to something as crude as attacking while you sleep, but I will challenge you until I win!!”

It was her declaration of war—or so it seemed.

Laughing loudly, Raikuya shouted her warning.

“You’ll regret not finishing me off here!!”

I probably will regret it.

Ignoring Anastasia-denka’s orders—or rather, before I even heard them—I should have made the decision and ended it.

I had misjudged the situation.

Admitting my mistake, I resolved not to make the same one again and shouted in return.

“Farewell, Raikuya. Until we meet again!”

I performed the “gongshou” gesture in return.

It was an acknowledgment of our next battle.

“Magnificent! You are a magnificent man, Faust! I’d love to embrace you before killing you!!”

Though Raikuya was an attractive woman, I certainly had no desire to engage in that sort of behavior before being killed.

I thought about mumbling that, but stopped myself.

Raikuya swiftly turned and left the scene.

“Now then…”

Seora remained.

Raikuya, the ally she had counted on, was gone. The Pope, who she had hoped to turn against us, had refused to side with her.

Now, she stood alone.

There was no one left to save her.

In her hand, she clutched Sabine’s knife, the one she had taken after breaking her arm. But she was surrounded by Anastasia-denka, the three Electors, and the rest of us.

The clergy she might have hoped to use as shields were cowering behind the Pope, fleeing in panic.

The Pope, however, stood strong.

So, at this point—Seora had no escape.

“What will you do?”

I asked her plainly.

Seora answered.

“…Raikuya.”

For a moment, she appeared dumbfounded, but soon regained her composure.

With a bitter smile, she glanced around and spoke.

“…Yes, I’ve lost. I have lost. Like a child who has tripped and fallen on the battlefield, crying with no way to save myself. Raikuya certainly had an interesting way of putting it.”

Her words were resigned.

Seora threw the knife to the ground, raising her hands in surrender.

“Yes, that’s right. This is the end. The dream of the one called Seora ends here. My mother told me before I came here, ‘You’ll fall and cry eventually.’ She was right, after all.”

What could I say to that?

“I truly believed I could create a better country. But that dream was nothing more than an illusion. I thought if I could persuade the Pope, depose the Emperor with a promise, and build something from all my efforts, the nation I envisioned would take shape. But I stumbled here. Someone like me, who couldn’t even keep the loyalty of a single superhuman subordinate, could never build something like that.”

After her somewhat melancholy confession, Seora muttered a single word.

“Kill me.”

I was about to respond, but I hesitated, tilting my head as I considered what to do.

“Hmm.”

I slowly approached her, prepared to act if necessary.

I had no idea what was going through her mind.

Perhaps, since she had managed to briefly turn the Pope against us, she was more rational than I had thought.

But there was no use in speculating about the enemy.

“Anastasia-denka, your command, please.”

I called out to my lord.

Since Seora wasn’t resisting, even if we were to kill her, it would be best to get permission first.

“Hmm. Well, if she’s not resisting, there’s no need to kill her right away.”