episode_0023

Arden’s mana cultivation technique is, so to speak, a blank canvas.

The mana cultivation technique, not yet stained and newly learned, can be said to be pure itself.

What Arden’s martial arts pursued was the expression of the world.

The world he sees, feels, and realizes. He adds his own color or imbues properties on the foundation of martial arts. That is the essence of Arden’s martial arts.

Therefore, the bloodline of Arden, who has mastered the mana cultivation technique, bestows properties that suit each individual.

His father was imbued with the energy of solid earth, his brother with the energy of tranquil wind. In the past, some family heads even imbued the energy of vibrant life.

And I, too, can bestow properties upon mana.

Moreover, the Scoundrel had mastered martial arts, but he had not imbued any color or property.

The very moment he mastered martial arts, it was pure white. Not even a small stain was on it. In other words, I can imbue it with any property I want.

The property I bestowed is poison. Reacting to my will, the mana in my dantian contained the energy of poison.

Of course, it is difficult for a guy who hasn’t even mastered poison techniques to convert mana into poison. But I have a good ingredient.

The body-melting poison that Bellum gave me. That made it possible to change the properties of mana. And that’s why I’m unharmed even after inhaling the poison.

The sword energy was dyed purple. I lightly swung the sword. Everything in its path melted away.

“W, what the hell is that!!”

At that moment, a terrified shout was heard. I kindly answered.

“What else but a weapon to kill you.”

After that, I kicked off the ground.

“Get lost!”

Bellum ran wildly as if in desperation. Perhaps because he is an assassin, his speed is fast.

-Haste.

As I muttered softly, wind wrapped around my legs. My footwork became lighter. I chased after him.

Bellum threw the few remaining hidden weapons.

“Sorry, but it doesn’t work anymore. Ah, it never worked in the first place.”

With a light wave, the hidden weapons melted away. Something between liquid and gas scattered in all directions.

Nevertheless, Bellum did not stop running. When Bellum had exhausted all his hidden weapons, he stopped in one place.

“Is it over now?”

“Khehehe, Khahaha!!”

At my question, Bellum laughed like a madman.

“Scoundrel, you’re finished too!!”

With that shout, he pressed down on the floor and walls simultaneously.

Around Bellum, a barrier that seemed stronger than a shield was created. And a huge magic circle floated on the ceiling.

At first glance, it looks like fire magic.

“Burn to death!!”

As if to prove it, Bellum shouted that. With a very confident voice.

“Hmm, it’s too big?”

“It’s no use begging now! You will burn to death without leaving a trace!”

There are two ways to break a magic spell.

Reverse calculation, or breaking the magic circle.

But reverse calculation is impossible with such little time, and the magic circle is too big to break. At best, the power will only be slightly reduced.

“Then there’s only one way.”

I get into position. I concentrate all my mana into the sword energy. The purple color becomes even darker.

Whirr─!!

With a deafening roar, the magic circle spewed flames. Flames filled the entire room. Even before touching the fire, the powerful heat was burning my skin.

Concentrate, and concentrate again. And the moment the fire engulfs me. I unleashed the family’s swordsmanship.

Arden Swordsmanship Form 2 Variation – Frenzy

A storm of swords raged. A rapid, swift sword that generates wind around it dominates the space.

Dozens of sword energies cut everything the sword touches. Everything in its path melted away. That was the same for fire. The fire that met the poison disappeared without a trace.

Originally, poison and heat are incompatible. But that’s only when the energies are equal. The sword energy with a stronger energy does not disappear in that mere flame.

Still, opposites are opposites, so the sword energy imbued with poison evaporated. Then all I have to do is unleash even denser mana.

The flames gradually receded. Heat remained, but the fire never touched me even once. Except for a certain area, the room was completely melted by the heat.

Bellum, hidden by the flames, would not know this situation at all. If the magic stops and he sees me… I wonder what kind of funny face he will show.

‘That would be worth seeing.’

Approximately 5 minutes. That was the time I used the swordsmanship.

Around that time, the mana of the magic circle, which had been ceaseless, gradually subsided. I cut down the remaining flames and moved forward.

“Khehehe, by now, not even bone fragments would be left. Stupid bastard. Who told him to… .”

“Hello?”

“Eueheok!”

Bellum fell back in surprise. As expected, his face was worth seeing.

“H, how… .”

“Well.”

After a short answer, I raised my sword.

“A, no matter how strong you are, you won’t be able to break this shield!”

Nevertheless, he said that, believing in the magic that protected him.

I snorted and swung my sword.

Crackle-

The shield melted away, emitting smoke along the trajectory. After three more cuts, a square hole appeared in the center.

Bellum shouted urgently.

“Negotiate! Let’s negotiate!”

“You should have said that sooner.”

“Money, I’ll give you money! All my assets…!”

“Fuck off.”

I retorted and took a stance. And thrust it in. A scream burst from Bellum’s mouth.

“Noooo!!!”

“Why not.”

The sword pierces his heart. Bellum’s face contorted in pain. But soon the reaction disappeared. His upper body slumped down. A futile death for a mid-boss.

I said one word to him.

“And what’s with those lines? You’re not even a third-rate villain.”

When the bottom is revealed, it becomes ugly, but Bellum is beyond that. The word mid-boss is wasted on him. No, wasn’t it like that in novels in the end?

“Ah, this is not the time.”

I quickly took out some of the highest-grade magic stones. I engraved necromancy and preservation magic for the corpse on it. I planted it in Bellum’s heart.

If I do this, I can wake him up whenever I want. First, I had to show Ellaim his dead appearance.

Also, the magic stone will replenish the mana for maintaining the magic. I’ll have to come and check the condition from time to time, but this will do for now.

“Ugh, the smell is no joke.”

As soon as I got up, I covered my nose. The smell of burning and poison filled the space. Moreover, the wood was still burning, so the scene in front of me was hazy with smoke. I ventilated the room with wind magic.

A moment later, Ellaim ran in, panting.

“Master!”

Ellaim came covered in blood. Her armor, face, and even her silver hair were stained with blood. I thought I was seeing a ghost.

“Where, where are you hurt…!”

She ignored the scene and smell of the room and ran to me, looking me over. She checked very carefully and thoroughly to see if I had any injuries or serious wounds.

“I, I’m okay… .”

I resisted, but it was no use. Only after checking everything did she let go of me with a sigh of relief.

“Huu, I’m glad you’re safe. More than that, is that him?”

Her gaze turns to Bellum. Her eyes were fierce, and her voice was savage.

“Yeah, he just died.”

Ellaim approaches the corpse. She puts her hand on his neck and checks. Realizing that he was indeed dead, she nodded and said.

“Yes, he’s dead.”

A faint smile bloomed on her face. Although stained with blood, her beauty was still there.

“Thank you for your hard work, Master. I’ll take care of the cleanup, so please go back and rest.”

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Yes. I’ve already called the guards, so it’s fine.”

“If you say so. Ah, before that.”

-Clean

I used clean magic, setting the range to my whole body. I felt a little sorry to leave her dirty like this.

The blood, sweat, and dust on her body are neatly cleaned. She regains her silver hair, and her skin becomes soft and fluffy.

“This is, magic… .”

“Yeah, it’s magic.”

“But Master is… . Who on earth did you learn from?”

“I’m not going to tell you.”

“…….”

At those words, Ellaim made a sulky face.

“Sis. You’ll keep it a secret, right?”

She was startled again. That reaction she shows every time I say this is quite funny.

“W, well… I’ll keep it for you.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

And it was very effective.

I was about to leave after telling her some simple things, but an important thing came to mind.

I rummaged through the charred remains. As expected, the gold coins had all melted. There was no need to be sad. I headed to the location where Bellum had taken out the gold coins earlier.

“This side is fine.”

Only the lock had melted, and the money inside was intact.

“There should be about 10 million gold coins.”

I asked her to bring it later and left the real hideout.

“I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Ellaim, come safely too.”

“Yes.”

That’s how the Cantia subjugation operation ended.

***

Ellaim looked at the room where almost everything had been burned. The furniture and objects that had been in this place had turned to ashes without leaving a trace.

Nevertheless, the traces of battle remained. The dozens, no, hundreds of cuts in the walls did not disappear due to the fire.

Looking at them, Ellaim could roughly guess how this battle had unfolded.

“Master won unilaterally?”

There were more wounds on the walls caused by hidden weapons than by swords. This means that the assassin lying there was throwing hidden weapons non-stop. And that means he was desperate.

Moreover, Master, whom she had examined, had no wounds, and Bellum only had a stab wound in his heart.

But considering Bellum’s level that Master had told her, it was absurd. The leader of Cantia was a top-tier Expert, while Master had barely reached the lower ranks of Expert.

“How on earth… . And this is.”

Traces of Arden Swordsmanship. Master must have used it.

Form 2 of the 4 forms existing in Arden Swordsmanship. Moreover, it was a technique called ‘Frenzy’ among the countless variations that had been passed down through the family.

“To be so precise and complete.”

Even she had not reached this level. If this was unleashed from Master’s hands, it means that his understanding and mastery of swordsmanship is more outstanding than she thought.

“Magic was the same.”

Clean Magic.

It is a basic magic that even a 1st circle mage can use right away.

But Master has never learned magic. He hasn’t even tried it in the first place.

She is ignorant of magic, but she knows that it takes a lot of time and effort like a knight. Then when did Master learn magic?

Judging from the casting speed, it wasn’t at the level of learning it for a day or two.

‘Sis. You’ll keep it a secret, right?’

At that time, Master’s words came to mind for no reason. Because of that, Ellaim couldn’t continue her worries.

“I have to keep my promise.”

There was no need to find out the secret he wanted to hide right away. She could ask later.

Ellaim left the room and headed to the tavern.

Then she saw a total of 139 corpses.

A river of blood flowed on the floor, and the state of the corpses was unbelievably gruesome.

It was basic to have no arms and legs, and some corpses had their heads cut off or were split in half, with their entrails scattered everywhere.

A scene that even an Imperial knight would have vomited at in disgust.

But Ellaim cleaned up the corpses as if nothing was wrong. She was used to such scenes because she had done various missions in the family.

Of course, she couldn’t stand the smell, so she frowned throughout the cleanup.

“I made it all, didn’t I… .”

Ellaim muttered.

Ellaim was a little shocked by the horrific sight she had created. It was because she didn’t know that she herself would be so merciless.

She never lost her composure in everything she did. She had learned that knights should always be like that. Therefore, she did not waver and dealt with whatever happened.

But today, her emotions exploded because of her single-minded determination to save Master. She threw away her composure and committed a massacre.

“I have to reflect.”

It was a figure too far from her usual self. It also meant that she had lost control of herself.

“Still, I’m glad he wasn’t hurt.”

Ellaim’s heart trembled with anxiety until she saw Master’s unharmed appearance. If she had seen him seriously injured, she would have surely lost her mind.

She knows very well what this feeling means. It’s one of the emotions she felt when she first met him as a child.

“And, he called me Sis… .”

That longed-for and longed-for resonance. It’s been almost 8 years since she heard it.

Ellaim couldn’t stop her cheeks from turning red. Moreover, the way he looked when he called her was exactly the same as Master when he was young.

The way he looks at her with sparkling eyes. To be honest, she was very happy. Because the figure she thought she had lost was still in him.

It still comes to mind. The way he called her Sis, the way he apologized. The emotions at that time were definitely sincere.

“As expected, I have to protect him.”

Ellaim decided. She had to take care of her cute younger brother. By becoming his knight.

Ellaim’s dream was to become Kyle’s knight. It was a thought she had given up on recently because their relationship had become so twisted, but it was a thought she had continued to cherish until he changed.

“I definitely will… .”

A change occurs within Ellaim. Her talent reacts to that will and determination. Her body heats up, and her mana core rotates fiercely.

Ellaim was clearly aware of the changes happening to her now.

It was just a simple opportunity, but an opportunity that was more important than anything else in the world to someone.

“I’ll become Kyle’s knight and protect him.”

That was the decisive reason that allowed Ellaim to move on to the next level.

“Not right now, but definitely later.”

Top-tier Sword Expert.

An awakening 5 months faster than the predetermined future.

The cause was, of course, obvious.