Chapter 106: Whip (4)

‘What am I dealing with now?’

Was this really the same foolish demon sword Agaia that had been in front of me moments ago?

When Agaia, who had suddenly stopped moving, started again, it felt as if I was alternating between facing two different people.

If Agaia’s swordsmanship from earlier had been like a massive, steadfast castle wall, the style she was displaying now was like a snake.

Cunning… Like a snake, she’d slither into gaps to close in instantly, but when I approached, she’d tauntingly widen the distance.

I couldn’t help but be surprised by this completely different fighting style.

‘Something’s off…’

Even for a swordsman who’s reached the level of Swordmaster, it’s not easy to spontaneously change ingrained sword techniques.

While it’s possible she learned two styles to cause confusion, the swordsmanship just displayed wasn’t at that level.

If asked which was her true skill, I’d answer the latter without hesitation – the difference in skill between the two styles was clear.

Rather than alternating between the two styles to confuse predictions, simply using the latter style alone would be far stronger.

“Wolffang, do you sense anything?” I asked.

[Yeah… Something’s weird about that one. It’s a demon sword, but it smells human…]

If even Wolffang was saying this, there was no doubt that some change was occurring in the body or mind of that bastard.

‘She said it smells human, so it must be the body?’

For a body as strong as that, it wouldn’t be strange if the mind hadn’t completely died and remained even in that state.

Moreover, considering the relationship between Ganryu’s group and the Sword Demon Society, it’s highly likely they predicted this situation and gave this body to Agaia.

‘The frequency of the latter swordsmanship is gradually increasing.’

The struggle for control between Agaia and the body’s original owner was gradually tilting towards the original owner.

But Agaia wasn’t just losing either, as traces of her sword occasionally caught my eye.

As I continued clashing swords and fighting with the bastard, suddenly Agaia’s blade curved, avoiding Wolffang and aiming for my neck.

I barely dodged that strike by twisting my body, and Agaia’s blade returned to its original size.

‘Not just the body, but control of the sword is shifting to the original owner too.’

As evidence, Agaia’s blade, which had returned to normal, began to writhe and transform as if alive.

Probably changing into the form that the body’s original owner frequently used in life.

While I was thinking this, the bastard grinned and rushed towards me, lowering her stance.

Agaia’s blade bent at impossible angles like the tentacles of an octopus, aimed at me.

It was a vulgar and obscene sword, but separate from that impression, it was far more threatening than Agaia’s swordsmanship.

However, perhaps due to the unstable control of the body, the precision had dropped, allowing me to narrowly dodge despite the opponent’s superior physical abilities.

‘Should I use the drug now?’

Although the bastard was still showing several openings, if he completely took control of the body, things wouldn’t go like they had so far.

No matter how fast the injection method, the opponent was superior to me in both stamina and physical abilities.

‘Moreover, with skills like that, it’s possible she can handle ley line power like me…’

I thought about injecting it now to end this in one go, but I couldn’t do such a petty thing if I wanted to prove the power of Baldo.

To preemptively block any excuses about winning because the enemy was weakened, if we fought, the enemy had to be in peak condition.

“Ugh, urgh…!!” the bastard groaned.

As I continued fighting, parrying the bastard’s sword, she suddenly stopped her sword, froze in place, and clutched her head.

Then her body started trembling, and she began screaming in a way that sent chills down my spine just from hearing it.

“Kyaaaaaah!!”

The cacophony, as if forcibly combining two voices, made me instinctively furrow my brow.

‘Is the struggle for control between the two reaching its climax?’

Right now the original owner seemed to have the upper hand, but since Agaia was fiercely resisting, the outcome was still uncertain.

[…Master, why not attack during this opening?]

“What?”

[We could easily kill her now. Plus, if the human side takes control, things might get out of hand– Keeeng!!]

My hand reflexively rose at this unbelievably stupid suggestion from my sword.

Since ancient times, it’s been customary courtesy not to interfere when an enemy is in the midst of transforming, doping, or any other power-up.

[Master’s not even a dog, so why the dog talk? Is it really courteous to just leave her be like that?]

“Hey!!” I shouted.

Fitting for a former beast, Wolffang initially rebelled, not understanding, but when I raised my fist high, she kept grumbling before finally shutting up.

“Kuuuurgh…!!!” the bastard continued to groan.

While Wolffang and I were having this conversation, the struggle for control between the original owner and Agaia was still ongoing.

‘This is taking too long…’

As it showed no signs of ending no matter how much time passed, I called out to her, wondering if some encouragement might end it faster.

“Come on!! Don’t lose to some outdated demon sword!!” I yelled.

[Master… What are you doing?]

“Can’t you see? I’m cheering! Come on, cheer with me!! You can do it!! You can definitely overcome this!! Don’t lose to a demon sword’s power!!!”

[…You can do it.]

Wolffang said halfheartedly.

Was our cheering effective?

The demonic energy emanating from Agaia’s blade gradually subsided, and at the same time, the trembling in the body slowly stopped.

As I stayed quiet, unable to tell from appearances which side had taken control, she suddenly raised her head and shouted loud enough to shake the entire forest.

“Yaaaasssss!!!”

“…Yas?” I repeated, confused.

Yas? Did I hear that right?

—Raei  Translations—

‘What a spectacle…’

While not unheard of in times of war, a battle between Archwizards was extremely rare in these peaceful times.

Although both were restraining their power to avoid damaging the academy, it didn’t diminish the brilliance of high-level magic unfolding before us.

Despite it being midsummer, snow poured from the sky, gathering to form the shape of a bird before showering down on the doctor.

As the doctor calmly watched this, he swung his staff once, and flames reminiscent of a dragon’s breath intercepted the snow bird.

The shockwave from the collision of the opposing fire and ice magic engulfed the two, but whatever magic they used to block it only caused their hair to flutter.

Just as I was about to involuntarily applaud this impressive battle, I heard the sound of clapping from beside me, a beat faster than mine.

“Chief, this is unusual… I thought you’d watch it separately later as usual.”

“This is a battle between fellow possessed. I can’t miss this. How are things with Baldojae and the whip?”

“That side seems to be progressing slowly.”

Skillfully manipulating the magic tool as the doctor usually did, I switched the screen to show Baldojae and Agaia clashing swords in a dark forest without a single light.

While the battle between Archwizards was visually pleasing, the static swordfight had its own charm.

Watching Baldojae’s sword techniques overcome his physical disadvantage through skill brought an involuntary smile to my face.

The sight seemed quite satisfactory, as even the chief rarely smiled.

As I absent-mindedly watched the red blade and black blade collide, a sudden change occurred on Agaia’s side.

“…It seems to have begun,” the chief observed.

Originally, when creating puppet bodies, the original owner’s ego is completely destroyed to prevent situations like this where they try to take control.

But in the case of the whip’s possessed, we deliberately sealed the ego instead of destroying it for this very situation.

The sealed ego in the body weakens its bonds the more they fight, freeing the mind and leading to the current situation where it’s trying to dominate even Agaia’s main body.

“But what’s that guy doing?” I asked, confused.

While I expected him not to attack during the struggle for control, is it normal to cheer in that situation?

“By the way, Chief, who exactly is the whip’s possessed?”

“Hm?”

“I was in training when the doctor retrieved him, so I don’t know the details.”

“…His name in life was Wheel B. Disem. Probably died the most disgracefully among the possessed.”

It was truly a surprising statement, considering there was a man among the possessed who cried and died of dehydration just because he lost a woman.

Like other possessed, he had undergone endless training since his ego sprouted, reaching the realm of Swordmaster at a young age and creating numerous heroic tales.

But unable to accept the defeat that every swordsman eventually faces, he chose escape rather than more intense training out of frustration.

“I still regret what happened then. If I had been a little more patient with the procedure, there might have been a different outcome…” the chief mused.

Whether he had such tendencies since his time on Earth or not, he indulged in womanizing with the fortune he had amassed.

Not stopping there, he engaged in all sorts of obscene acts to taste even greater pleasures, and his ultimate end was a venereal disease.

A venereal disease – the worst possible death that not just swordsmen, but anyone with a sense of honor would avoid.

Even I, who had abandoned my family name and left, frowned with shame at the thought of such an end.

“We, who had been watching him, hurriedly retrieved and turned him into a puppet before he died weakened. But unable to bear witnessing such a pathetic end, I imposed one punishment.”

“Punishment? What was it?”

“…Though I’m ashamed to say it with my own mouth, I instructed the doctor not to create genitals when making his body. He became a body that can never have intercourse again.”

“…Huh.”

That’s certainly the worst punishment for someone who died of a venereal disease.

—