TN: Thank Zapheniah for the chapter.
My head feels like it’s on fire, and my heart feels like it’s being mauled. Using the awakenings in succession has definitely taken a toll on my body. My vision spun, and my stomach churned. To be honest, I was used to it. The pain didn’t lessen as I steadied my breathing. My body is like a bomb at the end of an ignited tinderbox. I don’t even know how far away the fuse is.
“How…”
But all I knew was that it hadn’t reached yet. And until that happens, I’ll have the upper hand against Arjen.
“You truly are the sword’s slave.”
Arjen’s brow furrows as if the blow had stung. I didn’t let my guard down. The fight isn’t over from a single good hit.
(…What a nice thing to say.)
The Holy Sword muttered. His words further convinced . Even if Arjen had mories of the original, he wouldn’t know the Holy Sword had an ego of its own. As much as I wanted to say that, I spoke moderately irritated.
“Take proper care of your sword before you speak.”
Arjen used his sword as a support to stand up. His eyes, darker than black, stared back.
“HAHAHA. Y-you have no idea what it is. You’re not even afraid of the H-Holy Sword. Have you ever thought it s-strange?”
Arjen shakes his head like a madman. I remained still, my icy gaze fixed on him.
“If you know sothing I don’t, talk to or tell why you’ve suddenly turned and sliced dozens, maybe hundreds of people to death. Answer , you fucking asshole.”
My words were getting pretty harsh. If I could kill people with just a glance, I would’ve killed him a hundred tis from the mont I saw him.
“Why did you attack Daphne and Marianne? Why did you turn your old comrade Georg into what he is? Who the hell did this to you?”
My voice rose with each question. I raised my sword to point at his throat. Aura rose and pressed against him. The corner of Arjen’s mouth twisted as he withstood my pressure. How much I wished to place my sword between his eyes.
“Who did this to ? Urgh…Shit. Are you seriously asking that? All I’m doing is taking back what you’ve stolen from . What you’ve done doesn’t matter because I don’t care.”
After what he’s done to Georg, Daphne, and Marianne, he dares to say all that?
“I just have to finish my job.”
Arjen lunged forward, hitting the Holy Sword to the side. Like an arrow of a loaded crossbow, a sword wrapped in a black aura stretches out. However, it was not difficult to see. I read the trajectory with my eyes. I escaped the sharp death that twisted like a snake by jumping over it.
“Tsk-!”
Arjen rolled heavily to the side, dodging my counterattack from above. He knew he didn’t have to block my attacks in the chance I misjudged my strength and destroy a civilian’s house. Against a wall, Arjen looked at , one corner of his mouth lifting. Stalemate. I could not overpower Arjen because that would cause havoc, while he couldn’t defeat .
“You could’ve won if you swung your sword properly the last hundred tis.”
“You’re thinking about it wrong, Arjen.”
I took a step forward, appearing right before Arjen. My grip tightens on his forearm. Arjen grabs his arm and tries to twist it away. But it was a futile effort.
“What power-!”
Arjen shouted panickedly. I can’t tell if he was using his full strength or not. I picked him up and slamd him into the ground behind , not giving him ti to spread his aura.
Arjen coughed up blood. I kicked him again, grabbed him, and slamd him into the ground. Blood splattered with each movent. I could feel Arjen struggling and resisting. But it didn’t matter. There was only so much left. I threw him to the floor again. This ti, however, it didn’t feel the sa.
“Son of a bitch, take this…”
He grabbed my wrist and tried to pull down, but I held steady and calmly pierced Arjen’s arm with the Holy Sword. His eyes burned, engulfed in an unrecognizable darkness. Then, Arjen slowly pushed away as he rose.
“This is no joke.”
His voice beca rougher. Arjen tried to twist my wrist. I didn’t let go. Arjen’s eyes t mine, and he kept turning it more. I seized the mont and let go of his arm without regret.
“Holy shit….”
Before he could say anything else, I grabbed him and took off. Using the wings was a considerable burden, but I couldn’t fight within the Kingdom. I carried Arjen outside the city walls over a vaguely ridged landscape. I released my wings, and we dropped to the ground. He kept holding my arm and refused to let go.
“You shouldn’t be trying to drop .”
The tug gets stronger. From the beginning, the scales were on my side, but it slowly tipped in Arjen’s favor. Nine to one to eight to two, then to seven to three. It didn’t tip further, but the protagonist has overco greater odds.
“What you’re about to do, do to .”
Arjen flipped over. I could feel his foot on my shoulder. This asshole is about to break my arm completely. I couldn’t break free as Arjen dug his fingers into my arm. So, I only had one option.
“?!”
I yanked my arm away. His leg pushed into my side and dislocated my shoulder. I then used my other elbow to smash into his knee. I’m no fool; whatever Arjen learned from the original, I saw too. I knew how this Arjen would act.
“Don’t look so surprised.”
A snapping sound resounded. You break my arm, and I’ll turn your leg into a hunk of at attached to your body. Trades are ant to be equal.
“You son of a bitch-!”
An explosion blew up the ground along with the trees. Vast amounts of silt shot into the sky, then turned to rain, pouring down the slopes. The collision between and Arjen had destroyed a cliff. I checked my left arm. It throbbed and tingled, but it wouldn’t affect much. ‘Where’s Arjen? No. If I’m okay, surely he’s okay.’
“Tsk.”
Arjen spat blood and dirt out of his mouth.
“Good. Good.”
Skill-wise, it’s four to six. I’m four, of course. Seven to three in strength. That was the gap between and Arjen. If Arjen could make up the difference in power between us, I just had to make it bigger.
“When did you learn to use your head? I thought you’d just use brute force.”
Brute force? That’s ridiculous. I’ve never had the upper hand in any battles I’ve fought, not in strength or skill. Hell, even the first ti I fought a talking spider, I had put everything on the line. I’ve always been expected to lose.
What overca to the point I hadn’t been able to think.
It was like soone was putting a mask on .
(You seem to have cald down a bit.)
It was only then that I heard Holy Sword’s voice again. Had she not been speaking to , or had he been speaking to all along, and I hadn’t heard her?
(I did not speak to you; it would have only distracted you.)
Holy Sword answered my question with a sigh.
(He’s not normal now. He seems to be a mixture of things; he’s no longer just the rcenary you know.)
“You’re saying that Arjen didn’t just see sothing and turn into that?”
“[Yes. It seems that there is more than one soul in that body.]”
I felt a surge of displeasure and a strange sense of relief. If so, what invaded his body, and what are its intentions? Why does it act as if it has the mories of the original?
(It would be best not to ponder its existence for now, Elroy.)
“You’re right. I’ll knock him out first, then ponder it later.”
Arjen cleared his throat and glared at . With the help of the Holy Sword, I could now tell that his mind was only occupied with killing . No thoughts of life, goals, or whatever else.
“I have an idea of how to deal with you.”
Arjen said and took a stance. He shouldn’t have much mana left, but that mysterious thing assisted him. Actually, it was not that mysterious because I could make a few guesses of its identity. A remnant of an evil god. No, it was more than that.
“There will be no next ti, Hero.”
“For all your talk, you’ve been on the receiving end of my sword plenty.”
The blades clashed. The sparks weren’t red or orange. Black and white aura scattered, spreading like flower seeds. It split into thousands of threads again as the black and white clashed.
Arjen’s body was growing stronger by the second. Every ti his blade touched the Holy Sword, I felt my hand growing number. I stared at Arjen, his eyes glowing with desire, the darkness glowing darker than ever. But power always cos at a cost.
tal rang. For the first ti, I was knocked back slightly. Arjen looked dissatisfied. Sotis, the balance would change; other tis, it didn’t. But not changing against surmounting odds was also a change.
“….”
I focused on his every movent. I didn’t try to counterattack but followed his pace, carefully moving the sword. I read the aning of the blade and applied it to my sword. Relax. His blade will never penetrate . As soon as Arjen catches up to my power, I’ll catch up to his skill.
Loud bangs like those of a cannon squad constantly resounded throughout the razed mountains. Monsters that had curiously approached were torn to shreds, and what had been towering landforms were chiseled away with each impact, turning into hills, then dunes, then plains. Rocks flew, disintegrating and scattering about.
I kept my heartbeat under control. Arjen’s expression showed impatience. He looked at as if asking how I was keeping up. I was slowly becoming more accurate as he grew stronger. The third awakening opened my eyes. Swordsmanship, movent, and use of magic. I could see and read it all now.
(You’ve improved.)
I learned it in battle.
“Hah–”
Arjen gasped for air. The fight was getting close to even. It was clear that this was not what Arjen had hoped for. The look of dissatisfaction on his face proved it. With no ti to hide it, he and I clashed. We closed the sa distance, and then we clashed again.
A gap.
My eyes recognized it, and I swung. For the first ti, Arjen couldn’t block it. The blade grazed him at an angle. Landing a scratch in an equal battle was all that was needed. I accelerated my sword using wind magic, and then it beca one.
“Did you really reach the stars?”
I muttered.
A gale erupted from my sword.
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