Re:Zero Ex Light Novel Volume 4/Synopsis

Chapter One: Imperial Diplomacy of Bloodshed

The novel starts off with three Royal Guards standing in front of the Commander of the Royal Guard, Marcos Gildark. He steadily speaks to each of them: Ferris, Julius Juukulius, and Reinhard van Astrea. Following a short banter, Marcos gives the three Knights their orders; they're to escort two members of the Council of Wise Men on their diplomatic mission to the Sacred Vollachia Empire. Furthermore, by the request of His Majesty the 77th emperor of the Vollachia Empire, Vincent Vollachia, the Sword Saint was to be given exception to the so-called "Reinhard Law" which prevented him from crossing the national borders, and was to make an audience with the emperor himself, as he wished to personally meet the famed hero of the Kingdom.

As the three knights left the Commander's quarters, each expressed their anxiety regarding this invitation: The Kingdom and Empire are at a boiling point, and now they oddly want to see the Sword Saint. Historically, the two nations have always had the unfriendliest ties, even before the Witch of Envy terrorized the world. Even with the dragon's protection, there were minor skirmishes. There were rumours that the Vollachia Empire was behind the Subjugation of the Blight Dragon too. Proceeding with the mission, the three knights were in a dragon carriage with two members of the Council of Wise Men, Miklotov McMahon, and Bordeaux Zergev, currently the two most important people in the nation. The Imperial Capital of Lupugana's Crystal Palace was within sight of the carriage passengers. It was a fascinating building constructed entirely of magic stone. Reinhard wore an unfamiliar metal choker around his neck, set with a magical crystal that faintly glowed. It was a Collar of Submission, a compulsory restraint set by Vollachia for the journey. It forced him to surrender his freedom.

The delegates were taken into the audience chamber, where they knelt before Vincent Vollachia on the red carpet. Armored guards were lined up on either side. Vincent and Miklotov both conversed, and Bordeaux interjected, calling the emperor uncouth and arrogant. The slander of their liege leads all of the imperial soldiers to lurch from their positions and press their swords against his neck. The soldier closest to Bordeaux slightly trembled. Moments from Bordeaux being cut down, Vincent orders them to cease and return to their positions. He asked the emperor if his Stargazers told him to be nice to them. The emperor retorted to him, to which Bordeaux got aggravated, risking that everything spiral into violence. However, it changed when Julius interjected, saying that the exchange just now was a reference to the old text, Magrizza's Guillotine, which piqued Vincent's interest. Miklotov then states why they came here: in hopes of establishing a non-aggression pact between the Kingdom and the Empire.

Then, the emperor raises a topic: the death of the royal family. He questions what becomes of the Dragon's covenant now that the royal bloodline is gone, mocking the Lugunican royals as doting fools without its backing. Ferris, who was very close to Fourier Lugunica, levelled at Vincent in a rare fury, and retorted that he cannot remain silent when the royal family is slandered — and that each of them was worthy of loyalty. Vincent then orders a footman to step forward, take his sword, and behead himself. The instant before the soldier fully carried out the order, Reinhard swiftly intercepted it, stopping the guard from killing himself. He said that judgment shall be given later, and ordered them to withdraw. As they were about to leave, they looked back and saw that the soldier from before, with his sword through his neck, had chosen to kill himself. Ferris tried to rush to the collapsed soldier, but the imperial guards barred his path.

The envoys were being escorted through the Palace's halls, and the one guiding them admitted that he was one of the Nine Divine Generals, Balleroy Temeglyph. Regarding what happened in the throne room, the general asserted that the soldier who killed himself was never going to leave the room alive. When he pulled his sword on Bordeaux, he was scared, which went against the ethos of the empire. As Balleroy led them to their chambers, he suggested that Reinhard should consider meeting the Empire's number one.

The envoys were left to themselves to wait in the guest chambers until the emperor made up his mind. As hours passed, a soldier came to the door with a summons from the emperor, for Reinhard alone. Shortly after he left, Julius and Ferris noticed something was off in the Crystal Palace. The two knights left to check on the ruckus. The entire palace was in a panic, and the two arrived at the scene. A crowd of soldiers was trying to break through the entrance of a room. As the door was slammed down, everyone fell dumbstruck. The destroyed room was slick with blood and bodies, including Balleroy Temeglyph. Standing beside was Reinhard van Astrea — the only one in the room without a scratch.

Julius instantly told Ferris to tend to Balleroy, however, the soldiers prevented him from doing so. The emperor then entered the scene. Before Reinhard could explain things, one of the soldiers reported that the envoys were insurgents who subsequently called for Lugunica's declaration of war. Then, Reinhard took hold of Vincent — ostensibly, he was taking the emperor hostage. The emperor shouted another reference to Magrizza's Guillotine and stared at Julius, the only person present who could understand the meaning of his words. Julius instantly told Reinhard to escape out through the window with the emperor. Julius also grabbed Ferris and followed suit. Following the events of the grave crimes of the Lugunican knights, Divine General Goz Ralfon informed Miklotov and Bordeaux that they would be taken into custody. The runaway knights silently ran out far away into a forest within the boundaries of the Imperial Capital, where no one was present. The three knights stopped there to make sense of what was going on as they talked with Vincent. Reinhard said that he had no idea what happened, claiming he blacked out for a few seconds and he found himself there.

Julius was abruptly met with a surprise attack by Groovy Gumlet, one of the Nine Divine Generals. Julius attempted to talk his way out, but the infuriated Groovy didn't bother to listen. Julius turned around to see Ferris unexpectedly being picked up by another new opponent who snuck in from the underground. The member of the steelfolk was another Divine General, Moguro Hagane. The two generals had sought to retrieve the emperor, and the hyenaman was intent on killing them. Julius and Reinhard both clashed with the Generals, and Reinhard tore Moguro's arm off to free Ferris. As the generals readied to fight more, Reinhard told Julius to leave Moguro and Groovy to him. The two knights ran deeper into the forest, pulling the emperor behind them. As they ran, Julius suddenly froze. The man who was naturally concealed in the forest excitedly came out before the knight. He was Cecilus Segmunt, the empire's unparalleled strongest.

The man claimed to be the world's leading actor, and told Vincent he was going to be rescued. Cecilus began engaging in combat, and Julius barely deflected the impossibly fast attacks rained on him by using his trump card at the beginning. As the heavily one-sided duel continued, Julius managed to shatter the general's 5th best katana with his Al Clarista. Cecilus then took his other sword to go all out. The knight was unsure how much longer he could last. Before going at it again, Moguro's torso fell from the sky and clanked down onto the ground between the two of them, and Groovy followed suit. The Sword Saint emerged, and Cecilus faced off against him instead. As the two superhumans intertwined, Reinhard was able to keep up with the general's lethal speed, parrying all of his attacks, as the general pushed his speed to go even faster. As Reinhard finally counterattacked, he swung his leg in a sharp arc, feinting before striking the general in the neck and knocking him unconscious.

As they shook off the Divine Generals, they stopped by an empty guardhouse somewhere in the woods, and the envoys sought to unravel everything. As Vincent brought up the Vollachia's core doctrine, they deduce that someone from the Empire may be attempting a rebellion to kill the emperor. It was openly accepted for anyone to seize honour and position through their might, especially the throne. Furthermore, the envoys may have been framed for Balleroy's death to intentionally provoke war between the Empire and the Kingdom — a feat grand enough to make the conspirator worthy of being a sovereign. However, things didn't add up as Julius thought back to the Divine General's death in the chamber. If the conspirator intended to lead the two nations towards war, they could've simply targeted Reinhard while he was blacked out and unable to act, since his existence served as a deterrent to war. Yet only Balleroy, an accomplished warrior and Divine General, was felled. This led Julius to hypothesize that Balleroy faked his own death and was in league with the conspirators.

Somewhere in a mansion away from the Crystal Palace, Balleroy and another man conferred about how their schemes had been faring. Determining that Vincent had likely caught on to his survival by now and noting that he needed to be located, Balleroy then announced his departure to the other man, claiming he needed some air. Though told that he should not make any decisions of his own, the traitorous Divine General responded, saying he never would have spoken with his co-conspirator if he had only planned on sitting around, causing the man's throat to tighten in fear. Exiting the building, he welcomed the cry of his flying dragon, Carillon, with a grin, cryptically remarking that they were going to do what they were really here to do.

The runaways seemingly figured out their schemes. With their goal being to return Vincent to the Crystal Palace and reveal the true identity of their enemies, they realized they were encircled by no less than 50 assassins from the Insect Cage Clan as they exited the guardhouse. As Reinhard decided to hold off the onslaught, he told Julius and Ferris to go on with Vincent. As they kept crossing the forest, Julius believed the hustle to the palace would go smoothly. That was, until Vincent’s right arm abruptly cleaved apart, flying off from his shoulder. A sniper seemed to have fired a long-range magical attack. Ferris and Julius, carrying the emperor, ran as the destructive shots followed them. Vincent was on the brink of death, and Ferris hid behind a tree to heal his mortal wounds. Julius decided to keep the source of the attacks busy. He called for his quasi-spirits to go all out, and he evaded the projectiles aimed at him. The inhuman speed and skill led Julius to conclude the attacker was Balleroy Temeglyph, with whom he was now engaged with in a true duel. He desperately needed to determine the location of the sniper, so he riskily emerged from the woods into the grassland plains.

Ferris desperately healed Vincent, who slowly regained consciousness. Vincent needled at Ferris's regrets of his inability to save the Royal Family, despite his considerable healing ability. The angry Ferris rebuked the emperor's notion that the healer didn't want to save him. He emotionally expressed how Prince Fourier never would've thought that way. Just like the kind prince, who would've indiscriminately made no distinction when saving people, Ferris would admiringly be committed to doing the same. Vincent fell silent for a moment, then remarked that unless Balleroy's trick was unraveled, one will die by his missiles, also adding that two people would be needed to bring him down, compelling Ferris to take action.

The Spirit Knight continued to deflect the light spheres, and Balleroy was genuinely impressed by his ability. However, he remarked that Julius was too chivalrous. Contrarily, the formidable general embraced victory by any means, shooting from the back of his flying dragon, moving faster than sound. Furthermore, he used yang magic to bend light around him and wind magic to diffuse his aura, making him and his flying dragon invisible and undetectable. This threateningly unique combination and his exceptional magic capability earned him his revered position. Everything Balleroy conspired that day was in mourning over his sworn brother, Miles, his true enemy being none other than the Sword Saint Reinhard.

He noticed another small figure suddenly emerging towards Julius. Although Balleroy saw the seemingly vulnerable girl as a non-combatant, he would show no mercy, needing any chance to break the current stalemate. He sent his partner dragon in a nosedive, unleashing a shot at Ferris, which brutally tore him apart. However, Ferris’s body was then engulfed in a blue-white light, which was healing magic beyond all comprehension. Balleroy tried to regain altitude, but Carillon unexpectedly threw its partner off and started flailing. It was struggling to escape after being enveloped by a wall of a rainbow aurora, as the sky that they had been heading to was awash in it. The dragon crashed upon the earth shortly after Balleroy. In retrospect, Julius spotted a ripple in the air as soon as Ferris was shot and instantly realized the General's invisibility trick. Julius shot an Al Clauzeria, which could repel any sort of magic against it, leading to the duo’s downfall.

Balleroy was beside his dying companion during its final moments, and Julius nobly waited for him to see Carillon off. Although heavily wounded, he rose and resolved to fight till the bitter end, remarking his aim to be Reinhard. The warriors announced their names, and the intense duel between the general and the knight began. As they raced across the plain, the flurry of clashes took a heavy toll on both of them. Balleroy shot a lethal missile with his spear, and it was narrowly deflected. Cunningly, there was a hidden second and third shot, bound to kill him. And yet, Julius withstood it with another line of defense: earth attribute armor on his body. Balleroy would instantly try to follow with a decisive spear-thrust to the head, however, his strike felt unusually slow, and he was outpaced by the knight's Al Clarista. Balleroy lay defeated with the left side of his chest scorched. He admiringly realized that Julius used yin magic to weaken Balleroy's body while using yang magic to strengthen his own. In his last moments, the two shared a small conversation, and Balleroy clarified he wanted revenge on Reinhard. The knight wished they could talk more.

They walked back to the Crystal Palace, showing themselves in the Imperial Capital, with Vincent fully healed. He declared victory: proclaiming that Balleroy Temeglyph had fallen and the rebellion ended in failure. The Prime Minister of the Empire, Berstetz Fondalfon, entered the palace and presented to Vincent the head of High Count Gramdart Holstoy. The traitor had confessed to masterminding the coup in a note before committing suicide. Unsettled by multiple things in this mission and the exchanges that followed, Julius was about to ask the emperor something before he was interrupted by Cecilus waltzing in.

With everything resolved and the non-aggression pact granted as recompense, the envoys were on the carriage back home. Still skeptical, Julius asked Miklotov if it was possible that Vincent had orchestrated everything that transpired on the trip. Ferris doubted it, as Vincent would've died without his healing. Miklotov, however, didn't deny it. He remarked that the non-aggression pact was in the emperor's best interest, but given the empire's ethos, he couldn't agree to it too readily. Unless, there was a scenario where they would be made to accept the treaty. With everything meticulously calculated and the envoys entangled in the coup, the outcome would have been vastly different had anything gone slightly astray. Hence, they determined that Vincent had planted a mole among the rebels to steer events towards the intended result, whom Julius concluded to be Balleroy Temeglyph. The skillful general must have intentionally shot Vincent's arm, since he could've easily gone for the head. Furthermore, Balleroy's grudge against Reinhard may have been his incentive for working with Vincent. Miklotov indirectly affirmed Julius's conclusion, and the three knights' mission to the empire would be a formative experience for the days to come.

At the exact same time, in the Crystal Palace, the emperor on the throne commended the Nine Divine Generals for their work, who all knelt before him. He held the Collar of Submission worn by Reinhard, which supposedly drank in a fragment of his great power. Turning his gaze towards the Crystal Palace itself, Vincent asked Moguro how much he could fill as he managed to "drink in the Sword Saint's nectar", to which he replied 2 or 3 shots worth. Another man, Chisha Gold, chimed in on the conversation, and Goz lashed out at him for not having traded places with Vincent as his body double while his life was at risk. Vincent rebuked the two, as he made the decision himself and told Balleroy not to aim for his head or heart. Groovy asked Vincent if he was the only one who knew of everything that transpired, to which Vincent said that he and Moguro knew 20%, Chisha knew 50%, Goz knew 10%, and the unsummoned Cecilus knew naught. However, this answer to Groovy was not the whole truth, as he silently praised his late co-conspirator Balleroy who honored his trust till the very end and took all of the blame upon himself.

Chapter Two: The Silver Flower Dance of the Sword Saint and the Lightning

The story starts with a short overview of the Dragon Sword Reid and the lore and legends surrounding the famed weapon which was originally wielded by Reid Astrea. The mentioned lore can be found here.

Roughly six months before before the start of the Royal Selections, at the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica and the Sacred Vollachia Empire's border, a member of the Kingdom's guards was tasked with noting reports of people crossing the border. Suddenly, the guard noticed something moving towards the border's checkpoint with speeds surpassing that of an Earth Dragon. Before he knew, the "thing" crossed the border and carried on into the depths of Lugunica. Another guard rushed to see what's the commotion about, and asked what happened, but the guard–after a bit of thinking–responded that nothing happened, as he didn't want to be punished for slacking off on duty.

Some time later, Ferris and Julius were walking down the Royal Capital's streets, diligently carrying out their duties as members of the Royal Guard and bantering in the meantime. The two continued to light-heartedly argue back and forth about their duties as Royal Guards being rather boring, until Julius suddenly notices a familiar face loudly and merrily talking with the shop keeper–a face he hasn't seen since he had left the Capital of the Empire, roughly a month prior. The First ranking Divine General of the Vollachia Empire—Cecilus Segmunt—stood just across the street from him, nonchalantly conversing with a shop keeper, deep inside the Kingdom's territory, unannounced and unsupervised. When Cecilus left the restaurant–after gifting the restaurant owner with a generous tip–the two Knights immediately walked up to him, inquiring about his way of entry into the Kingdom and his business, however, Cecilus simply claimed that he had ran past the guards without filling out any of the paperwork. This, in turn, made both Julius and Ferris very suspicious and nervous, as Cecilus posed a major threat to the Kingdom, and his arrival to the Capital should be treated as a major problem, considering his status as the First ranking Divine General and Vollachia's strongest.

In order to avoid as many prying eyes as possible, Julius, Ferris and Cecilus sat down inside of a tea-house, away from the main street, and started conversing about numerous things mostly connected about Cecilus' visit to the Capital. Cecilus revealed that he had visited the Kingdom in order to meet with Reinhard and have a proxy match with, as he felt like he owes the Sword Saint a proper duel. However, due to Cecilus illegally trespassing the borders and concealing his presence in the Kingdom, Julius was obliged to promptly report him to his higher-ups. As that would end up with Cecilus cutting both of them down and darting off after the Sword Saint all alone, Julius suggested a different approach: He'd help the Divine General arrange a proxy match between him and Reinhard, if he'd follow three conditions–he is to not harm a single Lugunican citizen save for Reinhard, he is to peacefully surrender to the guards and be transported back home if he is to be discovered, and he is not allowed to die, as his death would surely spark a war between the two nations. Cecilus immediately agreed to the conditions and started thanking Julius, however, the Spirit Knight then informed him of the Sword Saint's absence, as he was accompanying an expedition to the northern part of the Kingdom–an assignment that would take over a week to complete.

As part of their deal, Cecilus then proceeded to obey Julius' orders and followed the Finest of Knights back to his family mansion, located in the Noble Quarters–the Capital's quarters reserved for different kinds of nobles. The two swordsmen and Ferris arrived to Julius' mansion, where they were almost immediately greeted by Julius' younger brother–Joshua Juukulius. Joshua immediately inquires about Cecilus, and the two engage in a short banter which soon takes a turn for the better, as Cecilus expresses his respects for Julius' kindness, stating he's quite jealous of Joshua for having such a fine older brother. Naturally, this sat very will with Joshua, and he immediately accepted Cecilus as an honoured guest, inquiring about the nature of his attire. The overly-excited Joshua was quickly calmed down by Julius, prompting his little brother to apologise and merrily walk off into the his room. Upon observing him walk off, Cecilus noted about Joshua's way of walking and carrying himself, correctly guessing about Joshua's various illnesses and his physical weakness. Julius confirmed Cecilus' observations and asked him if he'd be willing to share some stories about the Vollachia Empire with him, as Joshua rarely leaves the house and is largely unfamiliar with the outer world–Cecilus gladly accepts the request and the two enter the house, and Julius took him to his room.

Several days after Cecilus' arrival to the Kingdom, both Ferris and Julius were summoned to Commander Marcos' quarters, as the Commander wanted to speak with them. Upon reporting in, Marcos passed a task onto them; to assist the two Imperial ambassadors–who had just entered the Kingdom–with as little complications as possible. Seconds after, a new voice filled the room–the Fourth ranking Divine General Chisha Gold. The Divine General introduced himself and swiftly explained the reason he came to the Kingdom–to retrieve or dispose of a person who illegally trespassed from the Empire to the Kingdom.

At the same time as Chisha announced his presence to the two Royal Guards, Cecilus stood outside of the Juukulius mansion–this time, without the knowledge of any of the house's residents. Armed with two of the most deadly swords of this world, the First ranking Divine General slowly but surely lost himself amidst the crowd of the Royal Capital of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica, as he had a job to do, before he could cross swords with the famed Sword Saint once more.

In order to ease Chisha's search, Julius decided to indirectly reveal the location of the man Chisha was looking for, and invited the second Divine General to his house, implying the man he's after is residing at his residence. Chisha of course agreed, and the three started walking towards Julius' mansion. However, just before entering the mansion, Joshua–in shock and despair–burst through the door, apologizing to his brother, and explaining that Cecilus left the mansion the moment Joshua averted his eyes away from him. Chisha quickly caught on what's happening, and Julius explained the situation–though, he refrained from revealing the man's name. And so, the trio once again turned around and marched into the Capital in search of the escapee.

Somewhere along the main street, the kimono-wearing swordsman grandiosely walked amidst the crowd, causing many pairs of eyes to turn around and inspect him. Turning into a dark alley, Cecilus was greeted by fourteen thugs. After making light of the situation, he asked them if they were acting on their own accord, or if they've been told not to touch him; to which, they replied they've been told to keep their hands off him and simply tail, however, they found no fun in simply tailing a man. As the thugs lunged at him, Cecilus smiled and sprung forth like a lightning bolt.

During their search throughout the Capital, Julius, Ferris and Chisha heard of the incident that took place in a dark alleyway, and immediately set foot to the nearest guard post. There, the guard stationed in that area pointed them towards three of the thugs they found. Though none of the thugs have been killed, they were all shocked and beyond scared straight. After a bit of bantering and dealing, Julius managed to struck a deal with the three thugs—Ton, Chin and Kan: in return for information, they'd be released from custody and be allowed to leave. And so, the Vollachian ambassador and the two Royal Guards were given further information which would aid them in their search: The coins given to the thugs were Imperial currency, and were therefore used by a Vollachian citizen. With this new realisation, Julius quickly caught up on the full picture. Namely, that Chisha wasn't tasked with retrieving Cecilus, but rather, someone else. Furthermore, Cecilus was the second Imperial envoy sent to Lugunica in order to bring back the fugitive.

Not long after the incident in the alleyway, Cecilus successfully located his target–Gramdart Holstoy, the national traitor who wanted to take the Imperial Throne for himself, about a month prior to the incident. Easily cutting down the two guards and painting the floor red, Cecilus entered the High Count's hiding room. After kicking him to the ground, the Divine General informed him of his crimes, and raised his sword, ready to cut his head clean off. Just as the Enchanted Blade descended upon the traitor and sever the ringleader's thread of life, Chisha and the two knights entered the room, stopping the slash mid-way. Uncharacteristically for him, Cecilus listened to his fellow envoy, and the two Divine General restrained the now-unconscious High Count, and prepared him for the travel back to the Empire, where he was to receive his trial for treason against Vincent Vollachia and the Vollachia Empire itself.

The group–now armed with the "most awful killer in the world" and the fugitive traitor–returned to Commander Marcos Gildark's quarters to carry out the necessary paperwork for returning back home and a necessary interview detailing the two Generals' business in the Kingdom's Capital. After the formalities were dealt with, Cecilus addressed Marcos, acknowledging him with respect and indirectly asking for an opportunity to duel one of the Kingdom's finest soldiers. Marcos politely turned down the offer, however, informed the disappointed Cecilus about a different opportunity–Lugunica's Sword Saint had made his return, and was open to the idea of a duel.

Entering the training ground adjacent to the Royal Castle–which was filled to the brim with knights and officials–Cecilus was awaited by Reinhard, who had just returned from the long expedition along Lugunica's border with Gusteko. After greeting each other and exchanging formalities, Cecilus took off his zori and unsheathed his two Enchanted Blades–his first sword Murasame, and his second sword Masayume. Adopting a serious fighting stance, Cecilus readied himself for the fight. Julius, noticing Reinhard was unarmed, set off to get the Finest of Knights a proper sword, however, he was swiftly brought to a stop by the Sword Saint's gentle yet serious words. In his hand, the Dragon Sword Reid, sparked in all its legendary glory, sending shivers down everyone's spines. Cecilus, deeply moved by being one of the few to have ever been chosen by the Dragon Sword, expressed his gratitude for being given the opportunity to test the blade's near-mythical sharpness, to which, Reinhard replied he's only the third person who forced him to draw the blade. Both the Sword Saint and the Blue Lightning then announced their names and titles, and the very next instant, the two strongest swordsmen in the world clashed their legendary blades.

Although the outcome of the battle remained unclear, Cecilus left the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica shortly after, covered in various minor injuries such as cuts, all over his face. Both warriors felt a sense of fulfilment after their duel, as they had discovered that they did not stand alone at the pinnacle of power. The story concludes with Reinhard joining Julius and Ferris for drinks in Julius's home, where the trio of dear friends talk and laugh until the early hours of the morning.