episode_0063

A dark night as day approaches night.

Suddenly, a loud noise and shockwave as if a bomb had exploded echoed through the Academy Square, which had been filled with silence.

Oh my god!

The displaced air creates a gust of wind, shattering the bricks on the floor and sending flying pebbles flying in all directions.

The insects all held their breath and flew through the sky, feeling an instinctive sense of threat and running away from the epicenter.

Phew―

With the sound of a heavy wind, the bent tree branches returned to their original positions, and the fallen leaves fluttered and fell to the ground all at once.

The commotion that had occurred for a short moment died down―

The two men, swords crossed, glared at each other from close range.

“Aaang… ?”

Kelg Durakal, the large man who had swung his greatsword, raised his eyebrows and questioned the boy before him.

Erto, a boy who was glaring at her with a magical light shining from his eyes right in front of her nose.

Because the boy who was supposed to kill him in one blow was blocking his own sword.

Crap-

A loud friction sound occurs at the point where the swords meet.

“… ”

Kelg sensed something odd and put strength into the hand holding his sword.

Kaang―!

The bodies of the two people who had deflected each other’s swords moved away again.

‘what?’

Kelg felt a great sense of discomfort in the impossible situation.

And to make sure of it, I injected magic into my entire body.

Gooo―!

An enormous magical power that was hard to believe a single human could possess was compressed into his body, causing the air to vibrate heavily.

and,

‘One more shot―’

Phew!

Kelg, who had moved as if to disappear, burst into a sound that tore through the air and appeared behind Erto the next moment.

The great sword swung horizontally was sucked into Erto’s neck with the momentum of splitting the space,

Oh my god!

The sword strike that was expected to hit the target was once again blocked by the longsword of the boy who turned around.

Once again, a shockwave like an explosion erupted in the center of the square, causing the night sky to tremble.

Kookookookook…

“Huh?”

After the loud cracking sound subsided, Kelg let out a short groan as if he truly could not understand.

‘how?’

No matter how much I thought about it, it was something that couldn’t happen.

How could the boy in front of him, that weak commoner, Naburang, block his sword twice?

‘I guess I’m lucky… huh?’

In front of Kelg, who was guessing the possibility with his eyebrows furrowed, Erto smiled faintly beyond his crossed swords.

“Kahaha! You little shit!”

Kaang!

Kelg, who had pushed him away with force, ducked down and stepped on a large spur on the ground.

Boom!

“Kill me!”

Kelg, who had charged forward with a shockwave, now began to unleash a torrent of attacks without stopping.

Tsk tsk tsk tsk!

However, Erto, although gradually pushed back by his momentum, calmly received each and every sword strike without missing a single one.

“Kaaah!”

Kagagagagagagak!

Swords dance with swords.

Numerous fireworks brightly lit up the square as darkness fell.

Kookookookook!

The air shook violently, and shock waves erupted in succession as the two men moved, tore through the ground in a haphazard manner.

The bricks that made up the sidewalk were cut, shattered, turned into gravel, and scattered in all directions.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

The sword energy that bounced off between the two clashing blades roughly scratched the ground, and the trees in the vicinity were cut down along with their trunks, falling down with a heavy sound.

The road that students pass by every day to go to the academy was quickly transformed into a battlefield, with everything destroyed to the point of being reminiscent of a war zone.

“Euraaa!”

As the boy parried all of his attacks without allowing a single blow, Kelg let out a roar of evil and swung his greatsword with both hands.

Kwakwang!

The boy’s body, which had received the blow by laying down the longsword, sank to the square floor, creating a large crater.

Crap!

Between the sparks created by the iron blocks reinforced with magical power, two yellow eyes shone with the light of magical power.

and,

“Haaap!”

Kaang―!

The boy’s thin sword deflected the huge greatsword, and Kelg’s center collapsed.

“… Tsk!”

Thud!

Kelg clicked his tongue for a moment and kicked the air to put some distance between himself and Erto.

The heat between the two men died down for a moment, and Kelg, with his greatsword slung over his shoulder, asked the boy with a noticeably stiff expression compared to before.

“What happened to you?”

“What is it?”

Erto, holding his longsword up with both hands and not letting his guard down towards Kelg, gave a short answer.

The person who was trying to take his life was no longer his senior or anything, so his tone was extremely blunt.

Kelg cracked his neck, made a cracking sound, and asked again with a deliberately leisurely laugh.

“I don’t understand. How can someone like you take my sword?”

“Well, while you were playing around with women, I trained like crazy… right?”

As the boy shrugged, the corners of Kelg’s mouth lowered slightly.

“Ha, training? Only four months… That kid who couldn’t even hold out for a single beat during the Yeonmu Grand Festival, what tricks did he pull to receive hundreds of beats and still stand without a scratch? Did he borrow strength from his ex-girlfriend?”

“You’re the one using Tirisia’s power, right? Why are you bragging when you can’t even fight with your own strength?”

Kelg roughly swept back his dull blond hair as he looked at Erto, who shook his head with a pitiful expression.

“Heh heh, so you’re saying that you achieved this on your own? In just four months?”

“Well, at least I don’t rely on others like some people do.”

“There’s no way that’s possible, you bastard with no special talent!”

“Please don’t judge everything by your own standards that don’t work that hard. There are people in the world who work hard even though they don’t have talent.”

“Bullshit!”

Boom!

Kelg leapt in front of Erto in an instant and swung his greatsword down with ferocious force.

Bam!

The longsword blocked it again, and the dark eyes that had come closer glared at the boy with malice and anger.

“If you could make up for the innate gap with things like effort and passion, why would there be class in the world?! Huh?!”

bang!

Erto’s body flew backwards as he blocked Kelg’s roundhouse kick with his knee.

“Why would there be a loser like you and a winner like me!”

Ppaang-!

The bloody sword energy shot from the greatsword swung by Kelg rushed towards Erto, who was floating in the air.

Erto also swung his longsword and shot out pitch-black sword energy,

Break!

The two swords collided in the air and shattered into pieces with a cracking sound.

At the same time, Kelg, who had dug into Erto’s arms, swung his greatsword that glowed like fresh blood at high speed.

Kagagagagagagak!

“There are things that can’t be done with just guts! Just like I stole the woman you love! Hahahahaha! ”

Erto responded to Kelg’s words by striking back with sword strikes faster than the speed of sound.

“Maybe so. Not everyone gets rewarded for their efforts.”

Sparks flew as countless bombs exploded in the darkness, swords clashing against swords, shockwaves and sword energy flying everywhere they passed, turning the square into a wasteland.

Kelg shouted with a ferocious laugh, exuding a murderous intent to truly kill Erto.

“That means you too! There’s no way you can compete with me, who has absorbed countless human magic powers just by working hard! It’s normal to not even be able to match the magic power of one of your ex-girlfriends!”

Erto also shouted as he continued to endure the fierce attacks that were difficult to follow with his eyes.

“But this is how I’m competing with you! This much is clear!”

“You cheeky brat! You’re going to pretend not to know until the end…! It’s obvious that you’re up to something! Why, did you use some embarrassing method that’s too shameful to even talk about? Did you make a deal with the devil?! Huh?”

“Devil? Yeah, maybe so.”

Kaang―!

The distance between the two people widens for a moment with a great shock,

Erto’s body was engulfed in pitch-black magic, and this time he rushed into Kelg’s gap.

Go go go go go!

The greatsword and longsword, which would have already broken if they had not been strengthened with magic, clashed endlessly, and amidst the storm-like sword dance, Erto shouted at Kelg.

“Maybe! This might not be a power I gained through my own efforts!”

“Khuh!”

In the face of the pouring onslaught, Kelg burst into laughter as if he was getting excited.

Erto looked straight into his face and let out an emotional cry.

“The despair you gave me may have awakened something inside me!”

“Hahahaha! What the hell is that?”

“Maybe I traded the talent that was never given to me from the beginning with the precious person inside me!”

It was simply a realm of possibility and speculation, something that even Erto himself could not be certain of.

The reason he became stronger at an absurd rate.

No matter how much you endure daily, grueling training, there is a limit to the results a person can achieve.

Something that could shatter that set vessel,

It may have been expressed as the loss of a woman named Tirisia, the person he had loved more than anyone else since birth.

A hole so huge that you feel like your soul has disappeared.

The heart that filled that hole may have burned away and the ashes that remained may be the strength he has gained now.

Turning sadness, despair, loss, failure, and emptiness into obsession―

If it is something that can be obtained through an equivalent exchange only by tearing apart the person who has been the biggest part of his life and has taken up the biggest part of his heart,

What else could that be but a pact with the devil?

“But it doesn’t matter! There’s only one thing to do now!”

Kiing!

Erto’s longsword, swallowed by the shadows, split into two.

“Becoming stronger than anyone else!”

Grabbing it in both hands, he increased the speed with which he drove Kelg.

Go go go go go go go go go!

Every time the black wind blows, the trees fall like autumn leaves and the ground is turned upside down.

“Never let something precious be taken away again!”

Kelg took all of Erto’s attacks, his expression gradually hardening.

“This little shit… !”

An explosive magical power gathered in his hand, and a red fireball rose up.

“Don’t be so cheeky!”

Boom!

He fired a fireball from his hand that rivaled a meteor, and Erto’s body was thrown back by the pressure of the fireball that covered the entire area in front of him.

“Ha, I’m so dumbfounded.”

Kelg, who had taken Erto away, tapped the greatsword on his shoulder and raised one corner of his mouth.

“When he had no strength, he would bow his head and keep quiet no matter what was said in front of him, but didn’t his attitude change so much that he got lucky and became strong without knowing why? Huh?”

Kookookookook―

As he asked, looking up at the towering pillar of fire ahead, a black shadow slowly walked out of the scorching heat.

“I am not a weak person who bows down to evil just because of the difference in strength.”

“Hahaha! Why did that guy just stay silent after having his girlfriend stolen? He was like a scared worm, crouching down! Don’t you think his words and actions are different? Aah?”

When Kelg asked with a burst of laughter, Erto shook his head quietly.

“The reason I didn’t do anything in front of you in the past was to quietly watch Tirisia’s ending, not because I was afraid of you.”

In the pitch-black magic, two yellow eyes glowed, and Erto aimed his longsword at Kelg.

“I will not bend to you anymore. I will not break. Now that I have seen with my own eyes the ending I wanted, I am done with you, Kelg Durakal.”

At that attitude that revealed his strong will, Kelg put down his sword for a moment and glared at Erto with a strange smile.

“Hoo… So does that mean you’ll resist and never give in even if the power gap widens?”

Exactly!

As he smiled and snapped his fingers,

Sasa sasa sasa!

There was a noise from all directions, and a group of academy noble students in black robes appeared.

The number of those who follow Kelg Durakal is twenty.

The students surrounding Erto each had a weapon in their hand and were just waiting to follow Kelg’s orders.

“Let’s check if that’s true?”

Kelg shows his fangs and grins like a beast,

The hand he raised was positioned as if he was about to snap his fingers.

“… ”

Erto looked around for a moment and realized that there was no way out.

In a situation where even just one Kelg Durakal would be enough, he had to deal with twenty noble students from the top ranks of the academy on top of that.

It could be seen as a complete disadvantage.

“You only do things that are truly villainous.”

Erto snickered and lowered his head.

I didn’t know what the outcome would be, but one thing was certain.

The gap in power between himself and his enemy is something he has never once cared about in his life.

Erto raised his head again and declared to Kelg without hesitation.

“I’m telling you. I don’t want to lose to you anymore. Come on.”

“Khahahaha! Yeah, it’s pretty good for a will!”

The moment Kelg, who was laughing ferociously, was about to snap his fingers―

hook-

There was a new shadow that had descended next to Erto.

“Ahh?”

All eyes in the square were focused on her.

Kelg and the nobles all couldn’t help but freeze at the sight.

“Ha.”

Stand up from your seat, straightening your bent legs.

“This… ”

A girl with short blue hair and jade-colored eyes shining with magic.

“You damn bastards.”

The Iron-Blooded Swordsman, Perjena, immediately began to curse at the humans in front of him.