episode_0060

1.

The plan went awry.

If everything went according to plan, the battle with Ban should have ended in my victory a long time ago.

Because during the midterm exam period, I analyzed and attacked strong opponents day and night.

An equation that identifies the other person’s unconscious responses through countless observations and organizes them one by one.

Because I prepared according to Altina’s fighting style of anticipating all of the opponent’s reactions and creating a single battle equation to deal with them.

But are plans just plans?

“Haa, haa, haa…”

I took a deep breath and watched the class’s activities.

It’s not that I didn’t expect this situation, but the odds were extremely low.

‘Damn it. The sudden manifestation of a hidden status is too much.’

A hidden virtue is like a sharp knife.

Because it’s unpredictable and because one’s life depends on it.

-Kaaang!

“Ugh…!”

How to deal with the enemy’s full-scale attack is thanks to previous studies.

Because I have memorized all the basic patterns and attack patterns.

Even in adverse situations, you can choose the lesser of two evils.

-Chaeaeaeaeng!

“Kaaak…!”

Jaw.

Consciousness becomes clouded.

Half of the reason pushes the mind to deal with a single formula that has been ingrained in the body.

And half of the time, instincts guide my body.

-Card grab!!

“Keueugh… Kang…!”

Through my fading consciousness, I can hear the sound of something being unbalanced.

It is already my instinct to deal with the sword of half.

Have I also reached the realm of instinct like Ignis? My vain thoughts flow in the opposite direction of my body.

Instinct makes me rougher and a bursting pulse courses through my body.

Hot blood flows through the body.

-Card!

“Ugh…!”

The valid hit was successful.

When his dizzy mind tries to come back to its starting point.

“…..!!!!!!”

Difficulty.

The tip of the knife casually cuts into me, leaving numerous wounds.

‘it hurts.’

It was no use pushing in the claw to block the sword path.

A crack was revealed in the unknown castle that Ban had been using, and he was left helpless.

‘Ahhh…!!!’

A short gap where you can’t even scream.

‘It hurts, it hurts, it hurts…’

I’m just overwhelmed by the feeling of primal pain.

And pain breeds anger, and anger breeds reason.

When reason has faded, only instinct remains.

“Kaaa …

Screaming like an animal.

‘asleep.’

A single scream vibrated through my body.

‘Die die die.’

Even the single string that was in front of my eyes disappears.

Before the vision becomes pitch black.

“……..No.”

uh.

Kai, brother?

2.

It’s understandable that the duel would become rough.

It’s natural for children in their prime to get emotional during a fight.

Even though the current sparring is somewhat extreme, it is within the category of being recognized as a legitimate sparring.

but.

Taina’s condition is strange.

As the sparring becomes more and more intense, I should say I get caught up in the atmosphere.

His eyes gradually become cloudy, his attacks become more violent, and his stamina decreases but he becomes more ferocious.

‘…Kai, are you okay? You don’t look well.’

I heard Yuli’s soft words and touched the corner of her mouth, and it was clearly frozen.

“It’s okay. It’s nothing.”

He whispered so that only Yuli could hear.

I just quietly stared at Taina’s appearance.

The line hasn’t been crossed yet.

And it’s not for nothing that they say it crosses the line.

If the Shukeros family had crossed the line by using their power for a moment, they would not have been able to become a great hunting family.

‘If. Because there is such a thing as ‘if.’

But the image of the golden Taina keeps coming to my mind.

And the image of Altina comes to mind once again.

The jumbled images of the two float around in a messy manner.

Altina smiling at me.

Tina kicking me.

Altina taking care of my hair.

Tyna with her hair combed.

Altina is sleeping with her braided hair fluttering.

Taina shows off her braided hair.

Although they are different people, they are mixed in the brain as an intersection of the same memories.

I grab my pounding head and take a moment to look back at Taina, whom I had lost sight of.

At the same time, images from past memories continuously come to mind, leaving afterimages.

The sight of Altina, gasping for breath and covered in wounds, but never backing down.

Altina’s orange eyes are filled with vicious murderous intent.

and.

Altina, no, wrapped in a sunset-colored sword.

Taina.

“……..No.”

I moved my body before the words I blurted out without realizing it could reverberate through the world.

In this slow world, only I reached out.

The onlookers who had gathered to watch the prolonged fight also stopped.

The long sword energy extending from the stabbed sword is slowly produced to ripple.

The orange sword that does not back down from the blue sword confronts it.

‘……[Shield].’

He draws up magical power into his body and activates the saintly title he has usurped from the second of the Four Heavenly Kings.

The essence of [shielding] is to block.

Blocking is not limited to light and sound.

I use the absolute concept of blocking this world as my own power.

[Shields] the magical power of the opponent, preventing magical beings from appearing in this world.

Or, you can [shield] the magical power that causes the black energy to rise, preventing it from continuing.

“…!!!”

The black aura that resembled the moonlight that Ban had been emitting went out.

At the same time, the sunset-like black aura that Altina was emitting goes out.

Magic is the raw material for everything that makes up the mystical things of this world.

Just as cutting the wick of a candle puts out a fire, blocking the magic power and putting out the black energy.

It was good until the blackout was over.

“…!!!”

Taina’s eyes returned to their intelligent state, but she could no longer continue her attack.

I moved my body and used my sword energy based on instinct.

The black smoke died down without reaching the detonator.

At the same time, the power output was cut off and reason returned, but instincts took over.

On the contrary, even if half of the sword energy is extinguished, the momentum of the strike is not extinguished.

The dialogue cannot continue alone.

There is no point in swinging your sword at an opponent who has surrendered, and the duel continues only when you point your swords at each other.

If one of them can’t cross swords.

If the strong force is not counteracted and is only applied to the opponent.

As soon as that thought occurred to me, I did just one thing.

No, from the beginning, there was only one thing I could do as a person of my status.

All I do is physically block the gap between the two.

“ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ!”

The sharp blade digs into the flesh, cutting into the back and leaving a scar.

I look at Taina in front of me before screaming.

Taina, perhaps in a familiar pose, held in my arms.

Her bright eyes, which looked half-asleep, resembled the ones she had when she greeted me.

Thin lips are quivering.

Taina’s mouth with her fangs slightly exposed.

And I desperately, desperately wanted to hear your voice from those lips.

“Oh, oh…brother…? Why are you here…”

A sense of relief welled up in me at those words and I hugged Taina tightly.

now.

A comforting thought comes to mind that it’s okay not to look at that sight.

You don’t have to repeat that time that left you with deep regret.

I couldn’t hold back the pounding in my chest and shed a tear.

“…Uh, uh… Oppa…”

Unable to speak out due to the overwhelming emotions welling up inside him, he hugged Taina.

Her cold eyes and gently trembling body reveal part of the emotions she is feeling right now.

And then Taina patted my back like that.

“Hmm. Zikrato, Cain. Coupe or Deterra do Cajektra.”

Oh, my.

A hot aura rises from the back where hot blood used to flow.

The cool sensation when you put on a cold patch.

I turn my body slightly and see the back of a small head.

Shining purple.

“I’ve completed the simple treatment. I think there will be a scar, so I’ll take off your clothes for a moment…”

for a moment.

“You won’t let that go…”

He expressed his refusal by pulling on the collar of his shirt.

“First aid is important now. I have no choice but to take off my upper body… Huh.”

Fuck.

Did you see it through the torn clothes?

“Why are there so many scars…?”

“Would you please lower your voice…?”

“What, what is this? The wound was temporarily treated, but the scar, the scar is quite severe… Wait, Magi? Come with me right now.”

“Keuk.”

A flustered Yuni said, pulling on my collar.

Of course, it is a force that cannot even move, so it is rather me who is being dragged along.

I got up from my seat awkwardly to follow Uni.

Looking around…

“What, what’s that janitor doing? When did he get in there?”

“Shouldn’t he be outside like the original referee? Did you see when he came in?”

“No… I blinked and it was right there.”

Fortunately, because of my quick movements, no one seemed to have seen me clearly.

If the impression is like this, won’t the foggy quality of my memory gradually make me blurry?

I’ve finished dealing with the audience’s gaze.

“Thank you, student. I fell over, but you picked up the sword in an instant. Thanks to you, I was safe.”

“Yes…? Yes, yes.”

It’s awkward for Ban, but it gives him a decent alibi.

People tend to believe what they want to believe rather than just accepting absurd things as they are… so I guess they’ll just let it go.

It’s okay if you just pass over it without thinking, because no one will notice the use of [Shield].

You would think that instinctively he would turn off the black light.

But Taina, the person involved in this incident, looked up at me with a bewildered expression.

“Brother! What is this…?”

“…I’ll tell you later.”

Uni’s hands that were pulling me away were also sharp.

It’s not a good time to talk right now.

I postponed the explanation because I didn’t think I could make a simple excuse.

So I had to be dragged away by a child as small as Yuli, who was two heads shorter than me.

…

“The wound has been treated for now.”

“Thank you. I am in your debt.”

Yuni finished the treatment one by one.

The wound healed in an instant, and follow-up care was also done perfectly to prevent scarring.

If there’s a problem…

“What is that scar on your back? No, what is the identity of the scars that seem to be all over your body…?”

Did you notice the presence of the scar?

And this scar.

It is said that it is full of magic energy due to the attack by the demons.

Even with the advancement of healing magic, it is a dark and ugly scar that no one can erase.

“I thought it would leave aftereffects rather than just a scar, so I just tried removing one.”

?How did you do it?

3.

When Kai was receiving treatment from Uni.

“…Your defeat. Half.”

“…”

Ignis was holding his greatsword and aiming it at the neck of the already fallen Ban.

With an extremely cold expression.