episode_0099

“······I opened my eyes.”

I shake off the unpleasant aftertaste and regain my senses.

In front of me, I see Mijeong waving her hand.

Feeling irritated, I grab her chubby cheeks.

“Do you believe Trancillvia’s words just because we’re both vampires? You might betray me in the end.”

“······Ugh.”

The sense of betrayal is overwhelming.

I never thought I would fall for someone bringing a talisman emitting a strong magical aura.

Especially someone like Mijeong, whom I trusted not to betray me.

I never thought she would collude with Trancillvia and know how to attach a sleep talisman······.

“······It seemed dangerous. I didn’t want you to get hurt, Yujin.”

“This brat.”

I rough up Mijeong’s head and stand up.

As if waiting for me, Trancillvia extends her hand to me.

Looking at her face, I feel a surge of indescribable annoyance.

Suppressing my irritation, I take her hand and stand up.

“You seemed completely unconscious. The duel is in 10 minutes. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fully recovered.”

Reluctantly admitting it, the effects of the 10-hour deep sleep were remarkable.

The swelling in my wrist, which had been dislocated several times, had completely subsided.

And the joints that had been stiff and creaky felt lubricated and comfortable.

I have to admit it.

I was being stubborn and reckless earlier.

But if that bastard of a master had taught me properly, this wouldn’t have happened······.

“I didn’t say anything to avoid causing interference, but it seems you were quite close to losing consciousness. With a ruined body, your training efficiency would be compromised, and you might ruin the duel as well. So, I decided it would be better for you to rest deeply and awaken your consciousness during the duel.”

“Ha······.”

Trancillvia’s words are ridiculous.

Close to losing consciousness?

That’s a laugh.

I was just flailing around with basic moves and couldn’t even keep up.

Seeing Trancillvia’s perfectly polished sword, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of inadequacy.

I just couldn’t see myself measuring up.

“Seriously.”

“Damn.”

Trancillvia’s way of showing respect, it seems.

Whether I’ve mastered my consciousness or not, I still have to participate in the duel.

I discard my sweat-soaked clothes.

Put on new ones, and equip myself one by one.

“I will enter as a participant.”

“No.”

“Okay. Of course······ What? No?”

Seemingly thinking she would be the one to enter, Trancillvia looks surprised.

Since the entry of participants is limited to one, it was decided from the beginning that it would be Mijeong.

Because only Mijeong can activate the guardian knight just by being by my side 24/7.

“This can’t be happening······. I thought I could witness your consciousness firsthand······.”

“What are you saying? If you were there, there would be a risk of Lex getting more excited. So, you wait quietly.”

“It’s a reasonable reason. I’ll wait here for the results. But, wait. Take this with you.”

“······?”

With that, Trancillvia unties her waist and throws me a wooden scabbard.

I pull out the sword slightly from the well-forged blade.

A well-balanced sword.

It’s the sword Trancillvia used.

“It’s Dakiya’s sword. It might come in handy.”

“I’m more accustomed to using a double-edged sword, so it might be a bit uncomfortable for me.”

“Still, take it with you. If your usual sword breaks, you can use this one.”

“Um······. Thank you.”

“You should have said thank you from the beginning. Just bowing down like that. Tsk tsk. Nowadays, people don’t know manners.”

Ignoring Trancillvia’s sarcastic remarks.

I leave the old warehouse and head towards the duel arena.

The duel arena is the eye of the ancient tree.

Now, it’s a collapsed underground cave.

On the first day, the entrance to the tunnel that was closed when I arrived was now open.

The security guards nodded slightly and guided me inside.

As I entered, a faint light could be seen.

It wasn’t the light emitted by fireflies like before.

It was artificial light emitted by the lighting.

Perhaps due to the light shining down from the ceiling, it felt like an underground arena.

Inside, Mia and Rex, who would be in charge of judgment, were waiting.

Rex was alone, indicating his trust in the priestess of the World Tree.

“Sorry for being late, I was napping.”

The moment I opened my mouth.

There was a hint of reproach in Mia’s eyes as she approached me.

It seemed like she was asking if it was necessary to go this far.

Although I felt sorry for Mia.

The moment Julia’s name came out of his mouth.

I couldn’t bear it anymore.

“If I win this duel, then Tran Silvia will have to face me next. Since you shamelessly brought your disciple, you must be prepared to lose your own life next, right?”

Rex’s victory condition was a request for a duel against Tran Silvia.

It seemed like he wanted to step on me and then fulfill his revenge against Tran Silvia.

“My victory condition is simple. Kneel down and swear to let go of your grudge against the former priestess.”

“Unbelievable. I accept.”

Rex agreed with a chuckle.

His face seemed to say that there was no future where he would lose.

You can’t even imagine.

What kind of power Julia possesses.

Especially if she retained all her memories from the previous round.

She could literally play with the world’s finances.

If he were to kill Julia for a trivial reason like a misunderstanding.

If he were to plunge the world into chaos.

I had to stop him.

“I have confirmed both parties’ conditions. Now that the time has come, let’s proceed with the duel. Please hold up the weapons you have chosen and face each other. The only weapons you can use are the ones you have chosen and taken from your opponent.”

I checked the sword at my waist once again.

One was my original sword, a large and shiny double-edged sword with a bright gem.

And the other was the foreign sword I had just received from Tran Silvia.

I probably wouldn’t need the foreign sword, but I kept it equipped just in case.

I faced Rex with both swords in hand.

“Although this is a life-threatening duel, I will not allow actions that kill or incapacitate a defeated opponent. The decision to stop the duel and determine the winner will be solely up to the judge. If you both agree, please pledge.”

“I pledge.”

“I will pledge.”

After the pledge was completed.

Everyone was ready to start the duel.

Mia silently stepped back and raised her hand slightly.

Rex and I also raised our hands on the sword handles, keeping a distance.

And I followed Mia’s lips movements closely.

After a moment of silence.

Mia finally opened her lips.

“Begin!”

“Argh!”

Clap.

Almost simultaneously with the applause.

Rex unleashed a fierce attack and charged towards me.

In an instant, a boomerang flew out from his back, cutting through the air.

The gleaming blade of the boomerang reflected light, disturbing my vision.

At the same time, he drew a curved sword from his waist and rushed towards me.

It was a predictable scheme.

To take advantage of the distraction caused by dodging or deflecting the boomerang to stab me.

Predictable but powerful trick.

In most cases, even if you know, you can’t deal with it.

“What?! The boomerang curved?”

I meant in ‘most cases’.

Non-attribute 5th-rank magic, Yeomdong.

With a light gesture, the boomerang passed by my head.

“Argh!”

Rex, who was charging towards me, froze on the ground in an instant.

Running at full speed.

Even with weak strength, I can still slam the guy into the ground.

“I can’t handle him with swordsmanship alone. But in terms of overall combat ability, I have the upper hand.”

At this moment, when I still haven’t realized my true intentions.

If we were to have a fair sword fight, I would most likely lose.

Of course, I’m not an idiot, and there’s no reason for me to just clash swords with a kid swinging a sword after eating.

Exhaust his stamina with Yeomdong.

As vicious and cowardly as possible.

I plan to exploit his weaknesses to secure victory.

“What a despicable act… Ugh?!”

Every time I lean in to charge, I subtly target Yeomdong around his ankles.

He falls quite easily on his own like that.

After a few falls, Rex can no longer make big movements.

He crouches down and slowly begins to approach.

Even in Rex’s eyes, which see me as a stepping stone to Trancilvia, caution is evident.

The only thing he fears is the moment when his actions are restricted by Yeomdong.

He must be most wary of my sword reaching out.

Of course, that’s impossible.

Yeomdong consumes an immense amount of concentration.

While using a Yeomdong with strong output that restricts his movements, I cannot swing my sword.

“Rex probably doesn’t know that.”

But Rex is unaware of this fact.

If he did, he would continue to charge at me.

Because my magic power running out would happen before his stamina runs out.

However, due to the information gap, Rex can only focus on both my sword and Yeomdong.

If he becomes more cautious and has more to worry about.

Naturally, his stamina consumption will accelerate.

“You have a talent for making people very annoyed! If you don’t want to die, surrender quietly!”

“If you also retract your insults against the former priestess and swear not to harm her, I will surrender.”

“I can’t do that. The former priestess, the witch of Petenbourg, is also a target of revenge for me.”

“That’s why I can’t surrender. If stupid kids like you are allowed to rampage according to their beliefs, the world will go crazy.”

“What?!”

If there is no intention to change one’s mind…

One must force an oath through coercion.

An oath made within the World Tree cannot be broken.

If a beggar on the street was insulting Yuria, it would be a bit annoying.

But when someone who is becoming a high-ranking warrior does it, one cannot just stand by.

He is someone who could actually kill Yuria if he wanted to…

“Seems like you’re a disciple of Trancilvia. You’re protecting even a lowly witch.”

“Think what you want.”

There is no intention to convince him that Yuria is not a bloodthirsty vampire or a lowly witch.

It’s impossible to convince him.

If I can just make him swear not to attack Yuria, I’ll be satisfied.

…Or kill him here.

“Stand up and face me fair and square!”

Despite my Yeomdong’s interference.

Rex closes the distance and extends his sword towards me.

There’s a hint of satisfaction on his face.

He must think that victory is within his grasp now that we’re this close.

But that’s a misconception.

With tension building in my body and facing a guy who’s quite tired, I won’t be pushed back.

“He’s… fast?!”

Opening the gate with Dakiaryu 0th First Bite, I dive into his opening.

Rex’s eyes widen in surprise.

But he calmly steps back to counter.

For now, at least.

“Aaargh! You’re really getting on my nerves!”

As I continue my attacks.

Intermittently, I use light Yeomdong magic to shake his center.

Rex is completely overwhelmed.

Meridaryu is originally advantageous in swordsmanship for offense rather than defense.

If he focuses solely on defense, he might as well throw away all of Meridaryu’s strengths.

“More powerful than I thought.”

Even considering that, Rex is clearly strong.

Among the elves, he has rare dedication to pushing his body to the limit.

Moreover, he appears cautious, not like a typical strong person, never letting his guard down.

The only problem is his lack of experience.

While he may have plenty of experience facing monsters, his experience dealing with people seems to be limited to training matches at best.

He lacks the finesse needed in real combat situations.

It was enough even without malice.

If he had gained enlightenment here and finished with malice, that would have been the best outcome.

But he has no choice but to finish the fight here.

“I can’t end it here, not here!”

“Let’s end it here.”

“······?!”

Diving deep, pretending to charge in with wrestling.

Then switching to Frost-style swordsmanship.

Aiming for the area near the heart with the tip of his guard.

A move that was never expected due to his strict adherence to Dakiya-style.

This cannot be avoided.

The match is over.

Just as I thought that.

“I will not kneel until I have avenged all my enemies! That’s a promise!”

His body suddenly begins to glow.

The moment the tip of his guard strikes my ribs.

Instead of the sensation of ribs cracking and breaking, a strong impact overwhelms my body.

“Argh?!”

A powerful explosion occurs.

My body is thrown back and the ground is churned up.

As I quickly get up.

I find myself gasping for breath involuntarily.

Rex’s body emitting a bright light.

A completely different aura emanates from him compared to before.

It’s certain.

That’s the forbidden technique given to the elves.

A magic that burns life as fuel to gain immense power.

“I have staked everything on my revenge! What have you staked?”

“Uh······.”

With each passing second, years of life are being consumed.

Tears of blood flow from Rex’s eyes, staining his cheeks.

He is prepared to face death here.