Ch.448Chapter 448 – Bad Blood (4)

Their weapons traced arcs through the air.

Each time they clashed, metal struck metal, sending small sparks flying, and in those moments, I could see Idea’s emotionless eyes.

As we exchanged blows, Idea’s sword would twist into nearly impossible trajectories before flying at me.

Each time, I’d change my weapon to deflect or block, stubbornly staying close to Idea as I fought.

‘I need to end this quickly.’

The battle had devolved into chaos where allies couldn’t help each other.

Our side wasn’t clearly overwhelming them, and they had the numerical advantage.

The situation was especially dangerous where Eve, Sera, and Chris were.

Noah and Lizanis were helping them, but they were facing eight Valkyries.

I couldn’t provide support elsewhere—Beatrice was alone fighting two Valkyries plus Somnus, while Sia was dealing with Phobia, who seemed to have lost her mind again.

I wanted to rely on the lizardmen, but they were busy handling Phobia’s puppets under Lizzy’s command.

No one had the capacity to help anyone else.

In other words, if one side could quickly secure a victory, the tide of battle would immediately turn.

That’s why I needed to hurry.

If I could quickly decide the outcome before my comrades got hurt, we could win.

And beyond that simple reason, I had another motive to end my battle with Idea quickly.

‘I need to finish him before he gets used to that body.’

Whether it was backlash from abandoning his original body for a new one, Idea’s new body wasn’t responding exactly as he wanted.

The difference was subtle.

Simply put, whereas before his body would move before he even thought about it, now it moved simultaneously with his thoughts.

It might seem insignificant, but that tiny delay was more consequential than one might think.

In a battle where every second counts, even a slightly delayed reaction couldn’t be ignored.

Because of this, Idea couldn’t fully display his swordsmanship and had to concentrate all his attention on me.

Unlike before, he couldn’t afford to ignore me and attack my companions to break our formation.

Of course, he was still no easy opponent.

The claim about possessing a hero’s body wasn’t exaggerated—the physical specs were monstrous.

His speed and strength were incomparable to before.

When he swung his sword, the air itself seemed to distort, and each time I blocked, my arms went numb, forcing me to exert strength just to move them.

Despite these overwhelming specs, the fight remained balanced largely because Idea’s reaction speed was slightly slower.

Therefore, the longer the fight dragged on, the more Idea would grow accustomed to his new body and begin to showcase his distinctive swordsmanship.

If that happened, I couldn’t win.

With those physical specs combined with Idea’s swordsmanship, none of our allies could defeat him.

‘If only I could use the dragon’s power.’

If I could don the armor in this situation, I might be able to win.

But now I could only call the armor once more.

And doing so would guarantee my death.

‘That’s not an option.’

I’d finally found the Philosopher’s Stone and gained the conditions to survive.

I’d finally earned the chance to properly face the people I care about.

If I chose death here, I couldn’t face those who had stayed by my side.

So I had to hold back.

I couldn’t make them sad.

Pushing aside my regret about the powerful dragon armor, I stuck to Idea even more tenaciously.

I tried various tactics available to me—changing my weapon to a dagger for thrusting attacks or to a chain to try binding Idea’s body.

The dagger was easily blocked by his armor, and he tore through the chains with brute strength, but the sacred relic maintained its power, continuously transforming into whatever form I needed.

‘Thank you.’

I silently expressed gratitude to the weapon that continued to withstand his attacks.

In response, I felt a warm energy from the sacred relic.

Perhaps it was trying to make up for having been broken by him once before.

It felt like it was conveying a determination to win this time.

Wrapping that warmth around my hand, I deflected Idea’s sword and thrust my own toward his armor.

Taking advantage of his slightly delayed reaction, I landed the attack.

But there was only a slight scraping sound of metal against metal—I failed to penetrate his armor.

‘This is no ordinary armor indeed.’

Like his sword, his armor was truly remarkable.

If it were just an ordinary sturdy armor, it couldn’t withstand multiple attacks from a sacred relic.

Even attacks aimed at the armor’s weakest points had been repelled several times.

Moreover, I occasionally got the impression that the armor was channeling magical power into Idea, giving him some kind of strength.

As I was thinking about finding a way to disable either the armor or the sword, or to compensate for their specs, Idea quietly spoke.

“You seem to think the armor is as extraordinary as the sword.”

“Why don’t you stop reading other people’s minds?”

I swung my weapon, now transformed into a scythe, and Idea created distance between us.

Then, showing me his unblemished armor and still-sharp sword, he said:

“There aren’t many armors and swords capable of withstanding a sacred relic. You should be able to guess their identity by now.”

“Their identity.”

Idea’s words reminded me of something.

Somnus had babbled something about a true hero.

If that was the case, what Idea was using…

“Are these the hero’s armaments?”

“That’s right.”

The very armaments that were stolen long ago from the dwarven kingdom of Ferarius.

Given that Somnus, who usually appears in person for important matters, hadn’t shown himself in Ferarius, I had suspected he had somehow stolen the hero’s armaments.

And if Idea was telling the truth, those armaments were now right before my eyes, worn by him.

“I’m surprised you’re admitting it so readily. Have the dwarves identified the culprit?”

“Not exactly, but whenever something goes wrong, Somnus seems to be behind it.”

Idea nodded slightly at my deduction.

“Somnus has left quite a trail.”

“That’s rich coming from someone who rides his coattails.”

My sarcasm didn’t elicit any visible reaction from Idea.

Instead, he pointed his sword at me and asked:

“A sacred relic is essentially a crude replica of a hero’s weapon. Do you think you, a fake hero, wielding a fake weapon, stand a chance?”

“They say you don’t know until you try.”

Raising my weapon, which had grown slightly warmer as if angered, I transformed it back into a sword and said to Idea:

“Is there a law saying a fake hero with a fake weapon can’t overcome a self-proclaimed real hero with real weapons?”

“You have quite a sharp tongue.”

Idea gripped his sword with both hands.

At the same time, an enormous amount of magical power began to envelop him.

“Let’s see if it’s possible.”

Once again, Idea’s body vanished, and I immediately swung my weapon behind me to block his sword.

Our weapons began to trace arcs through the air again, clashing even more fiercely.

‘Heavier than before.’

Though not as clean as Beatrice’s, the massive amount of magical power had strengthened Idea.

When I dodged his attack, the space around visibly distorted momentarily.

It felt similar in nature to Phobia’s attacks.

At the same time, his attacks began to accelerate.

Idea seemed to be growing more accustomed to his body, starting to display his original skill.

But still.

‘I can still keep up.’

Idea still couldn’t completely overwhelm me.

I was somehow managing to keep pace with him despite his increasing power.

It wasn’t without cost, though.

With each clash, I felt a shock that seemed to chip away at my body.

My heart began to ache, and I felt my strength gradually draining.

Simultaneously, I had the illusion that the surrounding scenery was slowing down.

The air seemed to grow heavier.

Yet I kept up.

I received Idea’s sword with a halberd, counterattacked, and fought tenaciously.

“Despite exerting this much power, you simply refuse to die.”

After our weapons had clashed numerous times in that brief interval, Idea muttered in an emotionless voice.

But having fought and been aware of him for so long, I could detect the irritation underlying that voice.

Deflecting Idea’s swift sword strikes, I smiled slightly and said:

“The hero’s body and strength—turns out they’re not so special after all?”

Preparing to receive Idea’s attack, I quietly added:

“For power you obtained by sacrificing everything, you can’t even kill one dying man.”

Idea’s hand twitched slightly.

Using the clear opening this created, I dodged his attack, changed my weapon to a spear, and immediately thrust it toward his body.

With a dull impact, I finally pierced Idea’s armor, and blood flowed through the gap.

‘Got him.’

I sensed that my words had momentarily disturbed Idea.

But before I could fully register this, he swung his sword at me, forcing me to quickly retreat.

As we created distance again, I saw Idea touching the area where my spear had pierced him.

Blood stained his hand, and after staring at it blankly for a moment, he looked at me and said:

“…You landed a hit.”

Though his voice betrayed no emotion, there was clear displeasure underlying it as he stared at me.

Then he quietly said:

“…To someone who has sacrificed nothing…”

“Getting stabbed once seems to have sharpened your focus.”

I changed my spear to a halberd, pointed it at Idea, and spoke.

Idea looked at me and replied:

“A wound like this is easily healed, Kei.”

Could he use holy magic too?

Light emanated from Idea’s hand, and when it touched the wound, the spot where my spear had pierced him began to heal.

The armor was also repairing itself, which made me inwardly click my tongue.

‘Come to think of it, they say a hero recovers quickly no matter how badly injured.’

According to Lumen, the secret of this recovery ability was that the dragon’s regenerative power had been bestowed upon the hero.

The current Idea was clearly replicating this recovery ability as well.

But the fact that I could wound him meant I could also kill him.

If I could precisely target a vital point rather than an area that would immediately heal, there was a possibility I could kill him.

Idea seemed to have reached the same conclusion, as he narrowed his eyes and looked at me.

“Do you think you can injure me further—you who have sacrificed nothing and given up nothing?”

“You’re still harping on about that? You’re quite persistent.”

I narrowed my eyes at Idea, who was still saying the same thing.

“At this point, doesn’t it occur to you that your supposed answer might be wrong?”

“It doesn’t.”

Idea replied in a cold voice.

“I denied it for many years, but it was ultimately proven. The statement that one cannot reach perfection without sacrifice.”

“Yet this supposedly perfect being just took a hit from an imperfect one.”

That alone made me think that what he was pursuing might be a mirage.

But Idea seemed unwilling to concede the point.

“It was the answer that came after countless losses and countless regrets.”

Idea narrowed his eyes.

Sensing a hint of sadness and regret beneath his expressionless face, I tightened my grip on the halberd.

Idea also tightened his grip on his sword, pointing it at me as he spoke:

“My answer will not change.”

Our views would likely remain parallel forever.

There was no room for my thoughts to penetrate Idea’s already hardened resolve.

Discussing ideals with him was meaningless.

In the end, I sensed there was only one way to determine who was right as I raised my weapon.

Then Idea spoke again:

“The correctness of my answer will be proven when I kill you, who has sacrificed nothing.”

“Is that so.”

I have no idea what that would prove.

But one thing was clear.

At least to Idea, I appeared as someone who had gained much without sacrificing anything.

‘Is he jealous?’

If he saw himself as someone who had lost everything, perhaps that’s how I might appear to him.

‘How ridiculous.’

Did someone who had lost their precious past and even their original name see me as having gained much without losing anything?

I felt a surge of anger.

I wanted to demand what nonsense he was spouting.

But as I had realized earlier, he and I would never understand each other.

No matter how much I argued that he knew nothing about me, Idea would never understand.

My mind cooled.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was not weak.

If I lost my composure, I would be the one to lose.

And my defeat would mean the death of my comrades.

That was absolutely unacceptable.

‘Focus.’

I swung the halberd again, correcting my stance.

Suppressing my anger, I concentrated all my attention on Idea.

Idea also seemed to be focusing all his attention on me.

‘Come to think of it, he said something like that.’

I remembered what Idea had said.

I voiced the intuition I’d had since first encountering him today:

“Today, one of us dies.”

The same words Idea had just spoken now came from my mouth.

Our anger, embodied in our weapons, began to trace arcs through the air once more.

+

While Kei and Idea were evenly matched, Sera and Eve were gradually being pushed back in their fight against eight Valkyries.

‘There are just too many of them.’

It wasn’t that Lizanis, Noah, or Eve were weak.

Nor was Chris’s support inadequate.

The problem was that these winged warriors resembling Kara were not only strong but numerous.

With eight of them attacking, five defenders were naturally insufficient, especially when each opponent was not easily subdued.

If they were facing just one, Sera and Eve could have managed somehow.

But with eight, the situation was entirely different.

Therefore, Eve, who was currently acting as commander, had given up on victory.

Now they needed to hold out until either Kei, Sia, or Beatrice could join them.

Sera had made the same assessment, so she too was using her tools to maintain a defensive battle.

“Miss Sera, to your left!”

“Yes!”

Following Eve’s direction, Sera used an appropriate tool to forcibly repel one of the Valkyries.

Thinking that she would certainly have been caught without Eve’s precise instructions, Sera immediately prepared her next tool.

In that moment, Chris created a shield to block a Valkyrie attacking from above.

When the Valkyrie finally gave up and retreated, Chris landed beside Sera and muttered:

“These Valkyries feel empty somehow. They might not be complete yet…”

“If this is incomplete, I’d hate to see the finished product!”

That implied they could become even stronger, which was concerning.

But Sera had sensed something similar.

She just didn’t know what was meant to be added, so she kept her thoughts to herself.

‘We have to hold out somehow.’

Sera was deep in thought as she used her book to create a rope and bind one of the Valkyries.

‘I wonder if Kei is alright.’

The chaos of battle left her no opportunity to check properly.

But Kei was currently facing Idea—the same Idea who had once dealt them a crushing defeat.

Not knowing when he might target them, she had been preparing for that possibility.

But Idea showed no signs of attacking them.

When a brief opening finally allowed her to quickly glance in Idea’s direction, Sera unconsciously exclaimed:

“Wow…”

Even to someone like her, not particularly talented in combat, the fierce battle unfolding was impressive.

The weapons of the two combatants were tracing arcs through the air at speeds almost impossible to follow.

Idea, who now supposedly possessed the true power of a hero.

And Kei, who was matching him blow for blow.

The man she cared for was holding his own against the Dragon Slayer.

‘He’s gotten stronger again in such a short time.’

Considering that Kei’s body possessed draconic characteristics, such an intense battle wasn’t impossible.

But still, facing Idea without the dragon armor, and nearly matching him—even Sera found it somewhat puzzling.

While Idea’s physical condition might not be entirely normal, Sera sensed there was something else at play.

‘Come to think of it, the being from another world…’

Sera recalled what she had heard from the seal both previously and just recently.

‘Wait. If it’s a being from another world…’

Just as she realized something she had overlooked—

Beatrice’s voice, almost a scream, rang out:

“Damn it!! This bastard!! Everyone be careful!!!”

“Miss Sera!”

“Sera!!”

Realizing she had been slow to react due to her distraction, Sera quickly surveyed her surroundings.

Beatrice was rushing toward her, but two Valkyries were impeding her progress.

Eve, with a pale face, was approaching Sera, but a Valkyrie was holding her back as well.

Chris also tried to fly to her, but a Valkyrie blocked his path.

Why were they all desperately trying to reach her?

Sera immediately understood the reason.

“This doesn’t look good.”

“Somnus…!”

Somnus had approached her while she was momentarily distracted.

Almost instinctively, she summoned a stone wall and threw explosives from her hand.

Sera’s counterattack, executed with reflexes that even Sia would admire, flew directly at Somnus, and soon the explosives detonated and the stone wall crushed him.

Then Sera quickly tried to retreat.

Thinking she shouldn’t become a liability, she was about to take out a tool to ensure distance when—

“An alchemist’s preparations are indeed troublesome.”

With Somnus’s voice, something silver was shot.

Holy power formed into a spike-like shape, flying toward Sera and piercing through the tool she had just taken out.

And simultaneously—

The spike also pierced Sera’s hand.

“Kyaaa?!”

“This is payback.”

With a slightly singed face, Somnus spoke coldly.

He must have taken some damage from the recent explosion.

‘A tool…!’

Enduring the pain, Sera tried to counterattack.

She immediately attempted to use a stratagem to repel Somnus.

But before she could use it—

Somnus’s prosthetic hand grabbed Sera’s arm.

“Do you think I’d let you use your tools?”

Somnus said with a smile.

“I’ve faced alchemists before. I know allowing them to use their tools becomes troublesome.”

“Ugh…!”

Sera exerted strength in her arm.

Though she personally disliked it for being unfeminine, her extraordinary strength—which often surprised others and occasionally became a subject of teasing—caused Somnus’s prosthetic hand to creak.

Somnus showed a slightly surprised expression at her resistance.

However, he seemed to have anticipated some level of resistance.

Soon, Somnus smiled kindly and said:

“How defiant.”

Whatever technique Somnus used, Sera felt an impact at the back of her head.

As she felt her consciousness slightly slipping away and nausea rising, Somnus’s cold voice reached her:

“Don’t resist. Stay still. I dislike prolonging this. If the hero’s body gets damaged… that can’t happen. That absolutely cannot happen. What would be the point then?”

As if appraising an object, Somnus looked over Sera’s body.

There was no lust in his gaze.

With a light voice, as if he had found a useful item, Somnus spoke:

“So I think I’ll make use of you.”

“What…”

Knowing that staying in this situation would hinder Kei, Sera twisted her body with all her might.

Along with Sera’s resistance, Somnus’s cold voice was heard:

“I’ll have to make you behave.”

Somnus smiled kindly and said:

“A little bloodletting should make you more docile.”

Immediately after saying that—

Somnus’s sword, made of holy power, pierced Sera’s shoulder.