Ch.115Chapter 115 – God Created His Adversary

Hakan pulled out a watch-like object from his pocket.

It was a tool for detecting sacred relics, supposedly made by Somnus long ago.

“That old geezer, I really can’t stand him.”

Still, he muttered that it was helpful at times like this as he activated the watch.

An arrow made of light appeared, guiding him in a specific direction.

The arrow split in two directions.

One pointed behind him, the other in front.

The one behind surely belonged to the Holy Maiden of the Hati Order who was fighting Idea.

‘So they’re together.’

An unfamiliar sacred relic, plus Rudger’s sacred relic.

Today seemed to be his lucky day.

With a smile on his face, he deliberately tapped the wall with his greatsword.

“Now where might you be hiding?”

He walked while deliberately making loud noises, simply to taunt his enemies.

The most dangerous one, Rudger, had already lost an arm to Idea earlier.

His companions consisted of a man who seemed barely recovered from near death and two women who didn’t look like they knew how to fight properly.

Aside from one sacred relic with unknown abilities, they didn’t even have proper weapons, so he thought this would be easy.

‘But which order does that sacred relic belong to?’

Walking slowly, he pondered this minor question.

Among sacred relics, there were certainly many that had been lost long ago.

Or many that were too broken to use even after being found.

Once, the Emiris Order had searched through ancient ruins and documents, using tools like the one he was using now to track and recover sacred relics, but he had never seen any records about that stone tablet.

‘Well, I’ll just take it and figure it out later.’

Perhaps that was the item the Regent wanted.

After walking for a while deliberately making noise with his greatsword, he stopped.

‘There they are.’

Seeing the arrow pointing to behind a door, he smiled slightly.

Deciding to tease them until the end, he shouted loudly.

“Where could you be~?”

He sensed a slight flinch from inside, and if he listened carefully, he could hear labored breathing.

Then he slightly raised his greatsword.

“Where are you!”

With all his might, he thrust the greatsword toward the door.

The thrust tore the door off its hinges, and he looked around the room with a satisfied smile.

And then.

“Whoa!”

A mud hammer fell right beside him, and he quickly dodged.

It seemed to be the woman who had trapped him in a mud ball earlier.

‘…Pretty face. Nice chest too.’

Looking at the girl with auburn hair, Hakan unconsciously wanted to whistle.

The priestess with the stone tablet from earlier was quite attractive too.

Thinking he could take both of them after this was over and enjoy them for quite a while, he quickly twisted his greatsword upward.

-Clang!

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

He laughed as he saw the sword swung by a man whose armor was completely shattered and whose face was half burned.

It seemed their plan was to attack from behind while he was dealing with the girl’s surprise attack.

Still, it was sloppy.

‘Half his face is gone.’

Though he seemed to have recovered somewhat, his face showed signs of severe burns.

‘Makes me angry for some reason.’

With a face like that, he was going around with two beauties.

No, including the magician who attacked Somnus earlier, it was three.

“Alright, decided!”

While I’m at it.

If he survives, I’ll have some fun with him.

He’s the enemy of all men.

‘If I’m lucky, the bonus prizes might come along too.’

Thinking this, Hakan deflected the sword upward with his greatsword and swung sideways.

The man’s sword rose helplessly, and he aimed for the man’s abdomen.

And at that moment.

-Clang!

“Huh?”

A weapon that wasn’t there a moment ago appeared.

While his mind was still catching up, he saw the man deflecting his greatsword upward.

His arm went up, and suddenly the man was swinging a spear with one hand-

-Slash!

“Argh?!”

Quickly turning his face, he felt the dagger in the man’s hand graze his cheek.

Then he blocked a mace that was suddenly thrust at him with his greatsword.

‘What the hell?’

Did he have multiple weapons?

If so, there was no reason for him to rush in empty-handed earlier.

Moreover, while swords, daggers, and maces were one thing, a spear was difficult to conceal.

And to switch weapons so quickly?

It was possible.

In only one case.

“No way!”

Looking at the weapon in the hand of the man with shattered armor and a pathetic appearance, Hakan could understand the situation.

“How, when the previous owner is still alive…”

While Hakan was confused, this time an axe was coming down in his field of vision.

It was clear.

He had to admit it.

The sacred relic of the Jeolei Order had recognized this man as its new owner.

+

It was when I grabbed Rudger’s sword.

The last time I held it, I thought I couldn’t use it.

‘I can use it.’

I didn’t know the exact principle, but I was certain.

And Rudger smiled as he saw me pick up his sword.

“…Since my body can no longer fight, it must have recognized you as its owner.”

“But how?”

“You mean how is it possible without defeating the previous owner?”

Rudger laughed weakly and said.

“I might have mentioned that winning isn’t always necessary.”

Still, it was just a hunch, Rudger added.

And then the sound of someone knocking on the wall was heard from far away.

‘No time to question further.’

At least I have a weapon now, so I can fight.

“Sera. Christina.”

After quickly explaining the plan, we prepared.

As Christina was slightly frightened by the hastily made plan, the greatsword broke through the door, and we acted according to the plan.

And against the surprised Hakan, I could feel the power of the sacred relic.

I changed the weapon to a spear and thrust it, and when he tried to twist his greatsword upward, I changed it to a mace and aimed for his waist.

As he quickly retreated, I changed the mace to an axe and threw it at him.

When he deflected the axe with his greatsword, the axe suddenly disappeared in mid-air and reappeared in my hand.

Then I changed it to a sword and stabbed at him.

“You, cowardly bastard!”

“Yeah, I’m a coward, what are you going to do about it!”

I changed the weapon to a greatsword, just like his, and entered a test of strength.

I could feel him putting all his strength into it, and the weapons made a creaking sound.

But you know what?

“You’re weaker than Sera!”

“Who’s that?!”

“Who? You ask?”

I put more strength into it and pushed his sword back.

I shouted at him as his face turned pale.

“That’s the girl you were eyeing lustfully!”

It was all over his face, this sleazy bastard.

He must not have expected his lustful thoughts to be exposed, as the strength in his arms faltered slightly.

Seizing that opportunity, I changed my weapon to a dagger and ran it up along his greatsword.

Then I punched him in the stomach.

-Thud!

“Ugh!”

His body bent over with a strange sound, and I kicked him away.

His body was pushed back further than I expected and rolled on the ground.

“What the hell, a dying man…!”

Hakan couldn’t finish his sentence.

He had to quickly roll away to avoid the axe flying toward him.

I thrust a spear at him as he rolled again.

“This…!”

Hakan gritted his teeth and began swinging his greatsword.

I countered by changing weapons to match his attacks.

At first, Hakan managed to parry and counterattack a few times, but gradually he began to be pushed back.

“How can you handle each weapon so…!”

“You’re asking how I can use them all well?”

The answer is simple.

The weapon techniques of the Emiris Order that they implanted in my head long ago.

The combat methods I learned and embodied while training with Rudger afterward.

Thanks to these two things, I could handle any weapon freely.

‘Until now, there was a limit to how many weapons I could carry, so I couldn’t use them all.’

But not anymore.

The restriction on the number of weapons I could carry was gone.

It was a weapon that even automatically returned to me.

I had obtained a weapon that maximized my combat abilities.

I lifted his greatsword with a halberd and grabbed him by the collar.

Then I threw him away.

-Crash!

His body flew through the wall.

+

At the sudden noise, Idea momentarily stopped his sword.

In front of him, Aria was kneeling, having exhausted herself desperately trying to block him.

The armor protecting her had mostly fallen off.

Though he no longer had interest in collecting sacred relics, he had planned to take her head and recover the sacred relic.

‘What was that?’

He looked at the dust rising from the fortress wall.

And he discovered a man rolling on the ground in front of it.

“Hakan.”

“Cough!”

Instead of answering, Hakan got up coughing.

Looking beyond him, Idea could understand the situation.

‘Number 13.’

The one who had been rampaging in dragon armor earlier came out of the hole.

Though his armor was completely shattered, the weapon in his hand…

Idea could tell that another unexpected situation had occurred.

“…You tried to recover the sacred relic but got reversed instead.”

“Tch…”

Hakan didn’t answer.

Looking at him, Idea quietly organized his thoughts.

‘That damn Regent.’

He must have put Hakan up to something.

Guessing this, Idea pointed his sword.

And he immediately jumped in and swung his sword.

-Clang!

The weapon in Number 13’s hand had changed to a halberd.

They began exchanging blows.

One exchange, two exchanges.

After ten, then twenty exchanges of sword strikes, Idea realized one thing.

‘This is more troublesome now.’

In terms of strength and speed, he was much better when wearing the dragon armor.

However, now was more troublesome than when he was wielding the dragon’s power.

Having regained his senses and wielding his weapon with a strength not seen in other test subjects, he was keeping up with Idea’s sword strikes to some extent.

Still, it wasn’t enough, but Idea definitely felt this was more troublesome.

“Kuk!”

He withdrew his sword and then struck upward, cutting the opponent’s shoulder.

However, the opponent ignored it and swung a weapon that had changed into a mace.

He blocked it with his sword.

-Clang!

“Seems like you were trying to break my sword.”

“…Damn.”

He deflected the mace and delivered a kick.

And just as he was about to follow up with another attack, the opponent blocked his attack with a sword again.

He was standing firm on both feet.

Unlike earlier when he moved almost instinctively, relying only on power and speed, now he stood with clear intent.

Just as he was about to continue his next action, arrows of light and magic missiles were flying toward him.

“Those women from earlier.”

Those women who had come out to protect Number 13 earlier.

They were interfering with him.

And in that moment when his eyes were diverted.

Number 13’s sword was flying toward his head.

He immediately deflected it with his sword.

Just as he was about to strike down with his sword.

-Thud!

Number 13’s fist connected with his face.

Because of that, the sword he was about to bring down didn’t strike properly, and Number 13 dodged the sword and tried to drive another fist into his abdomen.

He caught that fist with his remaining hand.

“Damn it!”

The man twisted his body in that position and delivered a kick.

Seeing it immediately, he dodged, and Number 13 rolled on the ground a few times before standing in front of him.

“……”

He gently touched his cheek where he had been hit.

“Hmm.”

For these past few years.

He had no memory of allowing an attack to land on his body.

‘That test subject managed to do it.’

He felt a tingling sensation inside.

The man tried to forcibly suppress the emotion that he had forgotten, or rather abandoned, which was trying to rise again.

But unable to contain it after the brief fight, a question unconsciously came from his mouth.

“Name.”

Looking straight at Number 13, he said.

“What is your name?”

Number 13 seemed slightly taken aback.

But after a moment.

Number 13 held his sword and opened his mouth.

“Kei.”

Idea nodded upon hearing this.

If the opponent had revealed his name, it was now his turn to reveal his.

“Idea.”

Why he had asked for his name.

Why he had spoken his own name directly, he didn’t know.

It was an action close to instinct.

‘I still have a long way to go.’

Idea thought to himself as he pointed his sword.

For some reason he couldn’t understand.

He felt that this man named Kei needed to be killed here.

He felt that he was his enemy.

Perhaps he was his adversary, created by God without God’s intention.

“Here I come.”

With that, he took a step toward his enemy.

The opponent also didn’t lose his fighting spirit and pointed his sword.

No more words were needed.

He took one step toward Kei.

[ROOOOOAAAARRR!!!!!!]

At that moment, the black dragon, which they thought was dead, began to roar.

+

Everyone stopped at the sudden roar of the dragon.

They were shocked to see Yuto with his armor shattered, his bare body exposed.

“He’s not dead?”

[ROOOAAAARRR!!]

His wings regenerated.

And immediately he flew at me.

“Kuk!”

I was caught by him again, just like before.

This time, instead of grabbing my head, he wrapped around my body and took off.

And in the direction Yuto was flying were Sera and Christina.

“Huh? Kyaaah!!”

With screams, the two jumped to the side, and he flew between them.

Then the dragon threw me.

‘Damn it all!’

As I hit the wall, part of the fortress wall crumbled slightly.

It happened to be where a room was located, so I was thrown into the room.

“Cough!”

Just as I was trying to get up.

Yuto grabbed my face.

“Let go!”

[Stay still.]

Just as I was about to resist him.

A strange feeling of something scanning my body.

A bizarre feeling of nausea and blood flowing backward.

And right after that, a feeling as if something was forcibly making my blood flow.

“Kuk!!”

As if his business was done, Yuto threw me again.

I tried to get up, but a slight dizziness prevented me from doing so.

“What… is this.”

[I just looked into your memories.]

The dragon stated calmly.

And then he lifted my body again.

“This…”

[Listen, otherworlder.]

As the dizziness subsided a bit, I realized one thing.

I didn’t feel hostility from the dragon.

No, I felt hostility but not killing intent.

“You, what…”

[You must have heard the basics from Pia’s residual thoughts.]

Yuto looked up at me and said.

[There’s no need for lengthy explanations. The rest, I’ve poured into you.]

“What did you do to me…”

At that moment, the dragon threw me.

I was thrown toward the wall again, and just as I was about to position myself.

-Crack

“What the?”

I saw space distorting behind me.

It was a warp gate, something I had seen many times.

“What are you doing!”

Unlike the usual warp gates, this one was different.

It felt like it was forcibly sucking me in.

While all the previous warp gates felt like doorways or passages in empty space, this one was sucking in its surroundings.

As I tried to hold my ground, I saw people approaching me.

“Kei!”

“Don’t come!”

I quickly shouted to Sera and Christina.

However, after a moment, they too began to be sucked in.

“Damn it, what is this now?!!”

From a distance, another sound was heard.

Quickly turning around, I saw Beatrice being sucked into a warp gate from afar.

And looking around the battlefield, I realized that warp gates had formed here and there.

“Somnus! You son of a biiiiitch!!! Such a cheap trick…!”

Beatrice was shouting with a face like a demon.

But shortly after, she disappeared beyond the warp gate.

She wasn’t the only one who disappeared.

“Whoa, what is this?!”

“What…”

I saw Rudger and Aria unable to resist for long and disappearing beyond warp gates.

People everywhere were being sucked into warp gates and disappearing somewhere.

“You bastard, what are you…!”

I quickly glared at the dragon.

And Yuto was already standing beside Sera and Christina.

He rolled his foot between the two who were lying on the ground trying not to be sucked in.

“Kyaaah?!”

“Kei!!!”

As the ground crumbled slightly and they lost their support, Sera and Christina also disappeared beyond the warp gate.

“Sera!! Christina!!”

Of course, there was no response from the two.

After Beatrice, now those two had disappeared as well.

“You, where did you send them!!”

I shouted as Yuto suddenly approached me.

I tried to lunge at him, but the force of the warp gate sucking me in grew stronger.

I thought it was because he was controlling it.

Forcibly resisting the stronger pull, I approached him and grabbed his collar.

“You bastard! I’ll kill you right…”

But Yuto calmly knocked my arm away.

Thanks to that, as I was about to be blown away by the wind, he caught me with one arm.

[Unfortunately.]

Yuto looked at me.

His face seemed somewhat mocking.

[You won’t have the chance to kill me.]

“Right now…!”

At that moment, he let go.

In the end, my body was helplessly sucked into the warp gate.

[Go.]

With that voice as the last thing I heard.

Nothing more was visible to my eyes.

+

The black dragon briefly reminisced.

About his old friend.

And about a man who was using his friend’s power.

[It’s fortunate I looked at his memories briefly.]

Thanks to that.

He could engrave her image once more.

Turning around, he began to hear the sounds of humans from all around.

“The damage report! Right now!”

From a distance, an old woman who seemed to be a commander had apparently not been dragged away and was urgently shouting here and there.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

He looked at the platinum-haired man in front of him.

“……”

After looking around emptily for a moment, he began to look at him.

“You’ve set up quite a scheme, dragon.”

An expressionless face and a calm tone.

But somehow, he could tell there was a hint of anger in it.

Though he didn’t know the reason for the anger, he felt pleased for some reason.

[Seems I’ve landed a blow on you.]

That was enough.

He had landed a blow on the man who killed Pia.

He had evacuated the man with Pia’s residual thoughts.

He had also made one more arrangement just in case, so there was nothing more to worry about.

Yes.

Now he had no regrets.

[Come.]

Generating armor once more, Yuto entered a combat stance.

[I will engrave upon you the power of a dragon prepared for death.]

Spreading his wings, he took his stance.

He glanced slightly at the man called Somnus earlier approaching the old woman who seemed to be the commander, then focused on the man in front of him.

Yuto and Idea.

The two warriors simultaneously kicked off the ground and rushed at each other.