episode_0029

I firmly grasp Estelle’s shoulder and infuse it with magical energy.

And at the same time, put your will into it.

call her

In order to bring Estelle, who ran away from the harsh reality and locked herself in her own mind, back to reality, I speak directly to her heart.

With sincerity.

How long has it been since then?

“… … ?”

Light, albeit faint, returned to Estelle’s previously empty eyes.

Soon her eyes moved. And, my reflection was reflected in those sparkling eyes.

“You… Is… ?”

Although she has regained her senses, she still looks at me with puzzled eyes, as if she fully understands the situation.

“You’ve finally woken up.”

I quietly looked into his eyes and said.

“Wade… Why are you here… No, this place… ?”

Estelle’s purple eyes trembled slightly.

She seemed to be in such a state of confusion that she couldn’t think with her usual self.

“This opening is… What is this fire… ?”

Estelle, who was looking around with shaking eyes, soon landed on my arm.

“… … ! You, that arm… ?!”

Estelle seemed to be quite agitated, something that is rarely seen.

Well, it was natural to get that kind of reaction.

My left arm is currently completely burned by the fire.

In addition to that, it was a bit unreasonable to break through the defense shield, so even with empty words, it couldn’t be said to be in good condition.

“Why on earth is it like this… What?!”

Even in the midst of confusion, Estelle, who was worried about me and looked embarrassed, lost her balance while trying to get up.

I immediately tried to grab her, but failed because my left arm did not respond.

In the end, Estelle collapsed into her seat again.

The good news is that it doesn’t look like he’s hurt.

After checking her condition, I swung the sword I was holding in my right hand.

Huh!

The sword created wind.

The flames that were fluttering around me had finally died down.

“… … ?”

Estelle tried to move her body again with a confused look on her face, but it didn’t seem to work as intended.

The reason was clear.

The Gift’s rebound may have finally appeared.

The gift does not consume magical power, but it does consume a lot of energy.

Since that gift went out of control and ran wild, there was no way Estelle had any strength left in her body.

“Please rest.”

I turned my back, leaving Estelle where she was.

Even though she has regained consciousness, her condition is still unstable.

Because the reality that made her escape into dreams still remains.

It seems okay now because of the confusion, but once the confusion subsides, things will get worse again.

Basically, it was a situation where she had to be taken care of properly.

But unfortunately, there was no time for that right now.

Because there were people watching this scene, drooling.

“I don’t know what the situation is.”

The person who appeared to be the leader of the assassins who had come after Estelle opened his mouth.

This is the guy I kicked out a little while ago.

“You did a good job for us.”

The man grinned and laughed.

It’s not that it’s not, but it may seem that way from the other side’s perspective.

It will look like I solved a very tricky fire.

No, it may actually be seen as such.

It wasn’t described in the original work, but seeing as Estelle was alive and well, if I hadn’t intervened, everyone here would probably have died.

“Because I’m not a very conscienceless person.”

The man said as if he was being kind to him.

“If you leave the princess behind even now, I will spare your life.”

If you get something, something has to go, right?

… He added.

“How about it?”

A subtle smile appeared on his face.

“Honestly, you can see it, right? At least they don’t have a chance of winning.”

They continued talking as if they were friendly friends.

“I know that you are quite capable. I admit it.”

but.

“Numbers are different. There’s no way you can handle it on your own.”

As the saying goes, the numbers are overwhelmingly greater over there.

There are a few people who died from Estelle’s flames, but on the contrary, they are only a few.

“This side has the power to deal with even those ‘Ten Swords’. You don’t want to die in a place like this, right?”

Are you confident that you can face the ‘Ten Swords’?

That’s great confidence.

Regardless of whether it is true or not, I know that they are confident in their power.

And that confidence may not be completely unfounded.

Even at first glance, it looks like each and every level is out of the ordinary.

“So, let’s go happily.”

Saying that, the man gave a vaguely friendly smile.

what… If you leave out the fact that the man’s tone of voice and facial expression are not trustworthy at all, the statement itself is not wrong.

The power over there is definitely strong.

I don’t know if it can truly compete with the ‘Ten Swords’, but it is at a level where it is worthy of being called an elite.

In addition, I am currently virtually unable to use my left arm.

It doesn’t even produce power.

So fighting them won’t be easy.

Maybe I should risk my life.

but.

“Because I am also a person with a conscience. I don’t feel comfortable just receiving.”

therefore.

“Let me make a suggestion in reverse.”

Looking straight into the man’s eyes, he spoke calmly.

“If you give up even now and leave here, I will especially save you.”

“… What?”

It is true that the situation is not good.

However. However, I have no intention of giving up on Estelle.

“Khahahahaha!”

The man who heard my declaration widened his eyes for a moment, then leaned back and burst into laughter.

How long did that laughter last?

The man straightened his posture.

“… This was completely crazy.”

The smile on his face had completely disappeared.

The man gestured.

The assassins raised their weapons.

Because the meaning of that posture was clear, I smiled bitterly.

It’s almost like it was decided from the beginning that things would turn out this way.

Well, in the end… … .

“I can’t help it.”

This means that we have no choice but to fight.

***

Creepy!

Zern felt goosebumps growing all over his body.

‘The atmosphere… .’

changed.

If the other person just a moment ago felt like a cloud that you couldn’t understand.

The current opponent is like… … .

‘knife.’

It felt like a well-forged, infinitely sharp sword.

Zern knew well what kind of people gave off this kind of vibe.

Those who are accustomed to fighting. These people for whom fighting and killing are part of their daily lives.

The atmosphere that those people gave off was felt by the academy students.

‘What on earth is it?’

A person who appears suddenly and appears to be a student at the academy.

However, his skills were not at the level of a single student.

It was close to a surprise attack, and he was unprepared, but his sword and him were thrown away in a matter of days.

That’s not all. The swordsmanship shown when quenching the opponent’s flames.

It was clearly an extraordinary feat.

After watching the whole scene, Zern made a decision.

The opponent is at a level that should never be underestimated.

Therefore, Zern tried to avoid the fight, but his opponent rejected his offer.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, but it didn’t really matter.

I didn’t try to avoid the fight in the first place because I thought I would lose.

I was just trying to reduce the damage.

The assassins gathered here are elites who form the core of Prince Lee’s forces.

Considering the future, it is best to minimize damage as much as possible.

However, if the opponent appears like that, it cannot be done.

A few of my subordinates may die, but there is no chance of losing.

That’s what I thought.

but.

Gulp─

Facing those cold, sharp-knife-like eyes, Zern swallowed his saliva without realizing it.

The thought that perhaps the calculation was wrong suddenly occurred to me.

However, Zern quickly shook his head to shake off his negative thoughts.

It’s just that the momentum is a little sharper than expected.

The fact that you win never changes.

That’s how Zern organized his mind.

“Kill.”

Zern said.

As soon as the order was issued, his subordinates rushed towards the opponent at once.

The momentum of each one was unbelievably fierce, and the number reached dozens.

Zern had no doubt that his opponent would quickly turn into a hive and fall.

For sure.

“… Huh?”

It should have been so.

However, the scene that actually unfolded was different.

bang!

“Quaaaagh!”

Suddenly!

“Wow… !”

It was not the man who fell, but his subordinates.

The man, who should have turned into a dead body in an instant and lay there in the cold, was instead ruthlessly chopping up his subordinates.

The man’s sword mercilessly cut down one of his subordinates, and the magical power emanating from the sword exploded another one in a cruel way.

Such scenes continued in succession.

The man who thought he was prey did not look like helpless prey being hunted, but rather like a wild beast running rampant into a flock of sheep.

‘how… … .’

How did this happen?

It is the power of elites gathered together.

It is absolutely not a lie to say that you can deal with ‘Ten Swords’.

Even if it was impossible to kill the ‘Ten Swords’, he was confident that it was possible to deal with him and tie him up.

You could say why you’re so proud of not winning but just holding on, but that’s because you don’t know what it is.

‘Ten Swords’ are monsters that have escaped the human mold to begin with. Just being able to endure against such people is more than enough to be labeled as elite.

But that kind of power.

He is unable to finish off just one student at the academy in one go, and is facing the reverse.

then.

‘That guy… It is said to be at the same level as the ‘Ten Swords’… ?’

Just a first year academy student?

that… It was something that made no common sense.

A young boy who just turned 18, and who would be better described as young rather than young, is standing shoulder to shoulder with the so-called ‘Sipgeom’, a superman.

It was an impossible story. It shouldn’t have happened.

‘That can’t be possible.’

Zern shook his head.

He took great pains to deny the suspicions that arose.

It makes no sense for a kid like that to be at the level of the ‘Ten Swords’.

This is true even if you just look at the scene unfolding before your eyes.

It was true that the opponent was struggling, but it could not be said that he was fine.

Even as he was fighting back, wounds began to form on his body one by one, some of them quite large.

And now that those injuries had accumulated, it was fair to say that significant damage had already been done.

If it had been a real ‘Ten Swords’, it would not have suffered such injuries.

Even if it took some time, the situation would have been resolved without major damage.

From that perspective, it should be seen that the opponent’s skills do not reach the ‘Ten Swords’ level.

‘… but.’

Considering that, the opponent wasn’t at his best to begin with.

That’s right, because the author can’t use his left arm at all right now.

Not being able to use one arm hinders combat more than you might think.

Beyond simply not being able to use both hands, a situation where one arm cannot move at all changes the very balance of the body.

If one arm suddenly stops moving when you have been acting in a situation where you can use both hands your whole life, your sense of balance will be impaired, and naturally, all movements will be creaky.

Of course, in normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be a big problem, but in a situation like this where life is at stake in an instant, it becomes a fatal difference.

However, despite being in such a state, the opponent goes beyond just holding on and is counterattacking.

That too, against a force like this.

‘then… really… ?’

What if the impossible happened?

What if something that shouldn’t exist exists right in front of you?

Zern looked at the other person with trembling eyes.

It was miserable. The body was already a mess of wounds and blood.

However, even if it gets hurt or bleeds, its strength does not diminish at all.

It doesn’t flinch from the pain, nor is it scared by the blade coming right in front of it.

He just swung his sword with cold eyes the entire time.

At that sight, Zern felt a cold fear creep up his spine for the first time in a long time.

Anxiety that he might lose sprouted in his heart.