Crimson 2

“I cannot fight while protecting you, Your Majesty.”

Those words caused the Lion King’s eyes to widen.

On the battlefield where they had fought together, he was now advised to withdraw to avoid protecting Doyun. In other words, the Vanguard Commander before them was such a formidable adversary.

‘That puppet-like being…?’

He eyed the crimson armored, four-armed puppet-like opponent.

Having just witnessed Doyun singlehandedly ravage the battlefield, the Lion King was acutely aware of the gravity behind Doyun’s warning.

Sensing the severity of the situation, he retreated two steps back.

“…I shall keep Oz at bay then.”

“Please do.”

The Lion King took flight towards Oz’s location.

The Vanguard Commander before them made no move to stop the Lion King’s withdrawal.

From the war’s start until now, it had only observed Doyun, behaving as if he were its sole opponent.

Doyun met the being’s emerald eyes as he readied his stance, carefully assessing his opponent and his own condition.

‘Now that I look again, that being…’

He had initially misjudged due to the overwhelming pressure it exuded.

‘Is not quite that powerful.’

Far stronger than the other Vanguard Commanders, certainly. But not nearly potent enough to warrant comparison to the Saint herself.

However, Doyun sensed an ominous familiarity about it. That foreboding had likely led him to overestimate his opponent through sheer guesswork.

His senses rang an alarm.

‘Something…’

Beyond sheer power, it possessed some unknown trait.

Dangerous.

Doyun drew the sword from his waist.

Shhhhing—

“What is your name?”

[Crimson.]

An artificial, mechanical-sounding voice.

The Vanguard Commander ‘Crimson’ pulled the four long spears it had sheathed across its back with its four arms.

Creak creak creak—

“You wield spears?”

[Indeed.]

Its synthetic puppet-like appearance already seemed somewhat unsettling. With four spears gripped in its four arms, it emanated an eerie, insect-like quality.

“Quite the troublesome weapons.”

Weapons had inherent strengths and weaknesses against each other. Conventionally, spears held an advantage over swords. Their long reach and piercing destructive power provided a decisive edge against equal swordsmen.

Crimson nodded, as if acknowledging this.

[Hence, the spears.]

Doyun furrowed his brow slightly at those words.

“…So that was it.”

[Your instincts are too keen. As per the data.]

From their brief exchange, Doyun discerned the source of that ominous feeling Crimson had exuded.

[The most efficient weapons to gain the upper hand against your sword. Hence, the spears.]

“You stole the martial arts of my comrades one by one… and now you’re a custom puppet tailored for me?”

[A puppet? Do not be mistaken.]

One of Crimson’s long spears pointed towards Doyun.

[I am your bane.]

Doyun could not simply dismiss Crimson’s words with a scoff.

The Vanguard Commander Crimson – its very existence was solely as an anti-Războlnic weapon born after the Muspelheim war.

Following their devastating losses at Muspelheim, the Demon Lord’s forces had made no moves against the Alliance. They remained inert even as the Alliance solidified its forces, advancing right to their doorstep.

They had focused solely on devising countermeasures to kill Războlnic.

[I was created with all your combat data. I know you better than anyone.]

“…”

[You cannot defeat me, Războlnic.]

Crimson declared this in a mechanical tone devoid of any confidence – as if simply stating an obvious fact.

However, Doyun was more concerned about something else than Crimson itself.

‘Not quite on par with the Saint, but still a peer of hers. But how?’

The title of ‘Saint’ was not to be taken lightly. Long before becoming a Vanguard Commander, she had etched her name in human history as the Death Goddess. And that was when she had been a secretive assassin.

If another being of the Saint’s caliber existed on the continent, it would have been recorded in human history in some manner, like her. But this was entirely new to Doyun.

It certainly gave off an artificial life form vibe. And it had undoubtedly been created with Enoch’s data, implying the Demon Lord’s involvement.

‘The Demon Lord created a Vanguard Commander on par with the Saint?’

If such peerless beings could be so easily manufactured, would the Demon Lord have ultimately yielded and offered his neck after being pushed back?

Even with the might Doyun knew the Demon Lord possessed, achieving such a feat was difficult. How then had the current Demon army, having paid immense costs from the previous war, accomplished this?

‘…For now, I have no choice but to fight.’

Doyun set aside his musings. His immediate focus had to be the enemy before him.

Crimson was not an opponent he could face with a divided mind. Moreover, Doyun had already expended most of his power.

‘Though not an ideal situation, that skill will aid me.’

Doyun activated the skill he had acquired during the previous Muspelheim war.

[Undying]

(Lv.- Rank A)

(A superior version of ‘Unyielding’.

If you desire life, you shall die. If you desire death, you shall live. When a warrior has an ardent wish they are willing to sacrifice their life to fulfill, they can battle beyond death itself. This is an intense experience that may occur once in a warrior’s lifetime, bestowing the enlightenment of the unyielding spirit.

However, to you who have walked the path of war, this is mere routine. As long as you possess a fervent desire and the resolute will to realize it, you shall never yield before death. You will fight until your dying breath.

Your condition is unaffected by injuries or harmful effects until you suffer wounds that cannot be healed.)

A sublime skill that had previously allowed him to defeat Satan despite being depleted of strength.

Not a convenient skill that drew forth infinite mana, but at the very least, it would prevent his sword arm from faltering.

And above all else, Enoch Războlnic’s essence did not lie in mana reserves.

The pinnacle of martial skill, honed through two hundred years of hardship – that was Enoch’s identity as a warrior.

‘As long as I can grip a sword.’

There was no ordeal he could not overcome. His journey had proven as much.

Doyun’s hand tightened around his sword’s hilt.

Sensing his fighting spirit, Crimson crossed two spears in an X-shape while extending the other two outward, assuming its stance.

[Come, Războlnic.]

Its eyes shone emerald green.

The sound of Doyun’s foot striking the ground signaled the battle’s start.

Trailing a golden sword aura, Doyun closed the distance while drawing his blade back, leaving afterimages in its wake.

[Războlnic’s Style Swordsmanship – Criss-Cross Slash]

Two sword strikes of such speed that no mortal eye could track crisscrossed the space before him into four quadrants. Though a single sword, the slashes were effectively simultaneous.

However, Doyun furrowed his brow as he moved his blade.

Crimson’s eyeless emerald gaze had clearly tracked his criss-cross slash accurately.

Two of Crimson’s four arms moved.

It crossed its spears in an X at the center to intercept the vertically and horizontally converging sword strikes. Then, like a windmill, it rotated the spears clockwise.

The spear shafts gently deflected both sword trajectories.

Its movements flowed so naturally, as if this defensive technique had been created solely to counter this [Criss-Cross Slash].

[Crossed-Spears Four-Armed Style – Criss-Cross Deflection]

The forces behind Doyun’s sword strikes were disrupted, their paths deviating.

As Crimson forcefully extended the crossed spears in opposite directions, Doyun’s blade was flung aside.

Clang!

Doyun’s arm and sword arced upward, leaving his front completely exposed.

However, Crimson still had two unswung arms remaining.

The two long spearheads thrust viciously towards Doyun’s unguarded torso and chest, skewering him in an instant.

Yet no blood spilled. The areas impaled rippled like mirages – Doyun’s signature evasion technique.

As his phantasmal afterimage scattered, Crimson’s eyes flashed emerald.

Sweeping the two impaling spears in opposite directions, it tore through Doyun’s dissipating afterimage.

Shhrrrip—!

The slowly dispersing afterimage was instantly shredded by the spears, vanishing completely.

In the wake of that afterimage, Doyun’s real form appeared two steps behind, stumbling back as blood sprayed forth.

Gashes marred his chest and side – his evasion had been nullified.

Doyun looked down at the blood staining his clothes.

“…”

Crimson’s inherent might was indeed inferior to the Saint’s. However, its unique movements that penetrated Doyun’s martial arts, the combat data it possessed – those proved troublesome.

As a result, subjectively, it felt as formidable an opponent as the Saint herself.

Even at Enoch’s peak, the Saint had been a foe against whom victory could only be attained after a protracted struggle – not one to be underestimated.

Moreover, that had been at Level 9 Mana. For Doyun’s current depleted state, she would have been an arduous battle.

Yet Doyun’s gaze remained calm, as if scrutinizing something.

His eyes had not yet turned golden.

[My turn.]

Crimson took the initiative, charging straight at Doyun.