Ch.41Opening
by fnovelpia
“Wait a moment. Before we fight, let’s talk first.”
I hurriedly stopped him as he looked ready to charge at me any second.
If we could avoid fighting, that would be the best outcome.
For both the killer and the one to be killed.
“Talk? A Ka’har wanting to talk when facing an enemy? Are you making a joke?”
Knut twitched one eyebrow.
His shoulders even trembled slightly, as if he found it absurd.
“I’m serious. Believe it or not, I’m a pacifist.”
“…Nonsense.”
The axe blade resting on his shoulder gleamed with a dark blue luster in the moonlight.
That was the pure truth without a single lie.
Everything I’ve done has been necessary for me to live peacefully.
“Well, I wouldn’t have believed it either if I were you. But I really hate unnecessary fights.”
“Unnecessary… fights…”
Knut muttered in a low, whispering voice.
“I can guess why you hate me so much… but I had my reasons. I do feel sorry about it. If you want me to apologize to your people, fine. I’m willing to do that.”
I casually placed my right hand on the hilt of my longsword.
It wasn’t Imelia’s sword, but one I’d received from the academy.
If we ended up fighting, I planned to use this one first.
“So, can we resolve this through conversation? Must we shed each other’s blood just to avenge kinsmen whose faces you don’t even know? Answer me, Dane Knut.”
Give me a reason not to kill you.
“Must we… shed blood, you ask?”
Knut glared at me with burning eyes, gritting his teeth.
His murderous intent pressed down on the forest, causing even insects to hold their breath and bow their heads to avoid it.
“Must we shed blood, you ask…!”
The moonlight streaming down became distorted.
“So you really don’t remember me… Of course. It was probably just another unremarkable day for you…!”
Knut trembled, baring his clenched teeth as he pointed his axe at me.
The deep-seated grudge that had been crouching, waiting for its moment, finally rose up.
Hatred, rotted black, rippled like waves.
Damn it.
I suspected as much, but was he a direct victim?
…There seemed to be no chance of resolving this through dialogue.
Is this really unavoidable?
I closed my eyes one last time and took a deep, very deep breath of the cool night air.
I didn’t want to kill you.
Not for your sake, but for mine.
I drew my steel longsword.
—-
– Clang!
The swinging axe leaves a trail of dark afterimages, and the parrying longsword cries out.
The forest stirred, awakened by the violent clash echoing through the midnight air.
I had no intention of showing my full strength from the start.
Just as I had concealed my abilities, there was a good chance Knut hadn’t revealed his true power either.
My thrust left a small nick on the axe handle as it grazed past, while the blocked axe blade dug into the base of my sword.
Indeed, unlike before, each strike was powerful and heavy, suggesting a specially prepared weapon.
Still, not at a level I couldn’t handle.
Because I was stronger.
I swung my longsword sideways to deflect the downward strike of his axe.
The axe blade roughly scraped against the sword, producing an unpleasant noise.
Sparks flew like a waterfall, dousing my armor before fading away.
“Hah!”
Knut rolled sideways to avoid my thrusting foot.
I lifted my leg to dodge the axe swinging at my ankle, then kicked Knut.
He barely blocked it by pulling on the axe handle and was knocked back, sliding.
The dagger I threw in pursuit was deflected by the axe blade.
A thin stream of blood flowed from Knut’s left cheek where the dagger had grazed him.
“Haaah!”
I leaped forward and thrust my sword.
I placed my left palm against the end of the hilt, adding force as if pushing.
I intended to pierce straight through his solar plexus.
Knut kicked up a corpse at his feet.
The half-split Kobold corpse, scattering black dried blood powder, flew toward me.
Gripping the sword hilt with my left hand, I swung the flat of the blade to knock it away like hitting a ball.
The deflected Kobold spun like a top, spraying bits of flesh.
The axe blade came right up to my face.
I brought my sword back to block it.
With a crack, the sword blade began to fracture.
This one won’t last twenty exchanges either.
“Aishan-Gioro!”
“Kaaaah!”
Knut roared, intensifying his momentum.
I responded with a sharp battle cry of my own.
The axe and longsword danced madly.
The metal’s screams, tearing at our eardrums, pounded relentlessly.
Glancing blows tore at each other’s armor, scattering metal fragments.
The sword blade was gradually breaking apart.
I no longer had the luxury of concealing my swordsmanship.
If I didn’t properly deflect these attacks, my sword would shatter immediately.
Rapid consecutive strikes that kept pace with my sword despite their heavy force.
Plus armor sturdy enough to withstand my attacks.
This was clearly on a different level from what he’d shown in the entrance exam.
“Imperial swordsmanship…! How dare a Ka’har like you!”
Knut grew even more enraged upon recognizing my technique.
His face was distorted with passion and hatred, resembling a frenzied beast.
However, attacks made in anger tend to have many openings.
His emotionally charged, wide swing revealed a clear vulnerability.
I twisted my extended sword to the side, entangling his weapon.
“No…!”
Knut’s upper body faltered, exposing his head.
My instincts bared their fangs.
“Kyaah!”
I shot my fingertips forward like a bullet.
Rippling killing intent extended like a beam of light.
Knut hastily turned his head to avoid it, but blood sprayed from his shoulder as his chain mail tore.
“Kugh!”
I caught the axe handle as it swung upward in counterattack.
My gauntlet, unable to withstand the impact, crumpled slightly. The fingertip section had been completely flattened.
I brought down my longsword.
The sound of splitting air resonated pleasantly.
– Whoosh!
The sword blade bent and the crack widened further from the force of the swing.
It was a powerful strike, even with just one arm.
Knut desperately rolled backward, kicking at my wrist that held his axe.
With a sound like dozens of glass windows shattering simultaneously, blood spurted.
Droplets of blood stained my breastplate.
Knut, who had rolled across the ground and stood up, looked down at his chest.
Through the long tear in his chain mail, a diagonal sword wound was visible.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a fatal wound.
I guess it was too shallow.
I threw away the longsword, now shattered with only the handle remaining.
Knut regained his stance and raised his axe again.
“Inhuman strength, plus Imperial swordsmanship… Yes, I expected this level of difficulty…!”
“If it’s difficult, why not stop now? That’s my final advice.”
I placed my hand on Imelia’s sword hanging at my waist.
With this sword, I could swing with my full strength without worrying about it breaking.
It would probably even cut through that axe.
“A warning… That’s impossible. My oath has not even taken its first step yet.”
Muttering, Knut pulled a spear that had been stuck in the ground.
Like the axe, it was made of a metal with a blackish tint.
“Let me ask one last thing.”
Knut raised his spear and stared at me.
His eyes, clouded with complex emotions beyond anger, seemed to be looking at something other than me.
Like an old man reminiscing about the distant past.
“What do you want to ask?”
“What do you fight for? Why do you swing your sword and commit all those massacres?”
It was an unexpected question.
What do I fight for?
Would knowing that change anything?
…At this point?
There was no reason not to answer.
“…To survive. Yes, to ensure my own survival. Because if I don’t fight and kill, I’ll end up dead.”
That’s all I’ve ever fought for.
In the past when I crawled through gunfire with a rifle, and now as I swim through seas of blood with a sword.
And probably in the future too.
Because there are things I can only accomplish if I’m alive.
“To survive, you say…?”
Knut ground his molars as if to crush them.
His demeanor changed completely.
The anger that had been fluctuating now erupted like a volcano with no end in sight.
“Indeed, you are no warrior… No, you’re not even human…!”
The raised spear trembled, unable to contain his fury.
His killing intent intensified, piercing my body.
I gripped the hilt and slowly drew Imelia’s sword.
The inscription on the blade suddenly caught my eye.
‘One of the Twelve Swords that Protect Humanity’
A sword to protect humans…
How truly unsuited for someone like me.
With a bitter smile, I drew the sword and gripped it with both hands.
Never mind. In the end, a sword is just a sword.
The faded blue blade sharpened its edge.
Then, Knut howled toward the sky.
“Volberg, the time has come to fulfill my oath!”
A storm flashed before my eyes.
Rising gray spiritual energy swirled around his body.
Wait a minute.
Could that be…!
[His spear heralds the beginning of war.]
With this low incantation, gray light coalesced around Knut’s spear, swirling violently.
Nearby pebbles and metal fragments were caught in the wind, spinning and colliding with each other, constantly flashing.
A gray storm discharging lightning.
It was unmistakably something I’d seen a few times on screen before.
The Spear of War’s Beginning.
A combat miracle used by followers of the war god, Volberg.
This bastard…! He was a Crusader…!
My extremely tense nerves sent violent warning signals.
Knut raised his spear and threw it—
A thunderous roar tore through the forest.
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