Chapter Sixty-Six
It felt like a storm.
A relentless barrage of attacks.
I could barely follow her with my eyes.
With each passing second, the number of wounds increased, and before I could even register the pain, the next attack would come.
It wasn’t that I was being careless. Of course, I wasn’t strong.
Even knowing that, Zenoah Almerida’s combat style, combining ‘Mind Reading’ and ‘Shroud,’ was simply extraordinary.
—I will absolutely stop you. No matter what.
That must be what she was thinking, judging by her readily apparent expression.
There was no carelessness, no openings.
I hadn’t expected any, but despite my childish appearance, she wasn’t looking down on me in the slightest.
However, that’s precisely why I had to be grateful. I had to smile. I felt I had to fight her head-on, instead of resorting to petty tricks.
A skilled swordsman like her was treating me, a mere villager who shouldn’t have even become a swordsman, as an equal.
Could there be anything more gratifying for someone who had decided to live as a swordsman?
“…What’s… so funny?”
Nothing was funny.
I wasn’t laughing because it was strange, but because I was happy.
However, I didn’t even have the time to answer her, and I felt apologetic for not being able to reply. But right now, I wanted to move my hands, not my mouth. Because the constant clash of metal was strangely pleasant.
“…”
Was her silence because she had read my mind? Or because she judged that I didn’t even have the time to reply?
…The truth was unclear, but as if telling me to think about the reason, the clash of swords stopped as Zenoah, who had been relentlessly attacking, created some distance between us, and silence descended.
“…Any more than this, and it will be life-threatening.”
It had been ten minutes.
No, perhaps even less.
But having been subjected to that relentless barrage, I was almost completely battered. I was in a state not unlike a blood-soaked corpse.
I had repeatedly taken her attacks to try and steal ‘Shroud,’ observing it with my own eyes and trying to imitate it, but unfortunately, I couldn’t even grasp the trick, let alone use it.
This must be what they called a hopeless lack of talent. Even the unrelated Knights who had come to observe looked dumbfounded at my state.
“…I don’t know what that is.”
Time was finite.
An ordinary person like me was reaching for a peak that even those blessed with prodigious swordsmanship talent couldn’t reach. If I stopped every time I was on the verge of death, I would never reach it.
“The only outcomes I can accept are reaching it or not reaching it. The fact that I ‘almost reached it’ is the one thing I don’t need.”
So I had to push forward. I had no choice but to push forward.
Even if it was pointed out as a terrible obsession, even if I was looked down upon, pitied, and even if I knew it myself—even so.
“I will slay the stars. Until I achieve that, I have no intention of stopping. Even if everyone laughs at me for being reckless.”
I tightened my grip on the hilt of the sword in my numb right hand and stomped on the ground. Blood spurted slightly from my wounds, and a danger signal, a warning of mortal peril, was transmitted to my brain.
But I forcefully suppressed it with my will and took another step forward.
“—! Why… why are you—!!”
Her words were cut short as I closed the distance again and attacked. Silver trails drawn in the air intersected, and we both narrowed our eyes against the scattering sparks.
Then, a clash of swords.
Clang, clang, clang, clang. A metallic sound, as if the swords themselves were trembling with intent, echoed intermittently. In terms of brute strength, I was at a disadvantage due to the insurmountable wall between adult and child, as well as the difference in gender. Considering the amount of training she had accumulated, I wouldn’t stand a chance in a normal fight. So, putting all my strength into it—
“Wha—!?”
I pushed her back with all my might—!!
This wasn’t just training.
It was a contest of wills.
So I couldn’t afford to lose.
“—!”
The sound of my feet kicking the ground echoed twice.
…No, thrice.
“I’m… getting used to this…”
“…You have frightening talent.”
I couldn’t accept that compliment sincerely.
Thanks to repeatedly taking her attacks to learn ‘Shroud’ firsthand, I had become able to deal with it, not use it. Since I hadn’t achieved the desired result, being told I had talent sounded like sarcasm.
This time, I created distance from Zenoah, who had instantly moved behind me and was attempting a strike with the hilt of her sword.
“…Seriously, give me a break.”
I chuckled wryly.
Not only the considerate strike from earlier, but my vision was also blurring and shaking irregularly.
Was it from blood loss? Or was it the type of damage I had sustained? Or was there some other reason?
I didn’t know the exact reason.
But it was probably also related to the accumulated fatigue from the continuous battles of the past few days. I was nearing my limit.
“…If you think so, then release your sword and give up right now.”
“That’s not an option right now.”
“…You can still talk like that?”
When I gave my usual reply, Zenoah’s gaze, filled with anger, seemed to glow even stronger. I even had that illusion.
Although she was suppressing her rage, the quiet anger, or whatever you might call it, that emanated from her voice was unconcealed.
“Stubbornness is the only thing I can be proud of right now.”
…This was just my own conjecture, but I felt that under normal circumstances, Zenoah Almerida would have probably taught me ‘Shroud,’ or whatever it was. Because her swordsmanship, as well as her words, had been consistently considerate of me.
Adults were meant to protect children. It was a display of strong will, unbefitting someone who had once considered accepting the hatred of the ‘Magician Hunter.’
“You don’t have to look at me like that. You’re right. You’re right about everything. Without a doubt. Everything I say is absurd. It’s the nonsense of a naive fool who doesn’t know anything about common sense.”
However, I had witnessed the life of a man who, despite being laughed at by everyone for being reckless, ridiculed for being foolish, continued to strive, remaining a naive fool, and almost reached his goal.
Then—wasn’t this reason enough to keep pushing forward?
I deliberately voiced my thoughts in my mind, exposing them to Zenoah, who was probably reading my mind with ‘Mind Reading.’
“But that’s precisely why there’s meaning in aiming for it. Because I’m aiming for something absurd that no one else would even attempt, I can be serious…! I can feel like devoting everything to it!!”
I was truly grateful for Zenoah’s concern. Her caring heart was exactly what a Knight, who protected the people, should have. It was something to be praised. Her sense of responsibility was also admirable.
But I couldn’t afford to indulge in her concern. I couldn’t afford to stop.
Everything was—for the sake of slaying the stars.
Therefore.
“…Then all the more reason you should know when to back down…!!”
So, so.
“Even if you join us, it will only add another corpse. That would be fine, but if a child dies before my eyes, it will shake everyone. And then—”
So. So. So.
“…Everyone… has their limits…!! Bravery and recklessness are different!!! You, in your current state, can’t even defeat me, let alone Oliver—!!!!”
So, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so—
…I had no choice but to forcefully break through the so-called common sense. I had to bet my life, throw myself into the fray, and fight a life-or-death battle. Only then could I surpass the limit known as a wall.
“…I’ll… end this…!!”
Persuasion through words was impossible.
Convincing me by showing the clear difference in our strength.
That was also impossible.
Then, the only option left was true force.
Soon, the distance I had created was closed in an instant. But I had already seen this countless times. I followed her with my eyes and was covered in wounds.
So I knew exactly how to deal with it.
“—”
I swung my sword to parry the incoming blade. However, I knew it wouldn’t end with just one blow.
I dealt with the second blow, which came at a speed barely visible to the naked eye, with a return slash. I continued to fend off the third and fourth blows.
Perhaps judging that this back-and-forth wasn’t going anywhere, Zenoah leaped back.
Seeing that, I knew what she would do next, thanks to our previous exchanges. I thought, you’ll come at me like that, huh. So, I took a deep breath and lunged towards Zenoah.
It was just a simple charge, not ‘Shroud.’ I didn’t think for a second that I could catch her off guard with this.
“…A short-term decisive battle…!!”
That was correct.
Knowing my physical fatigue, I knew the time limit for how long I could swing my sword properly was fast approaching. …But that wasn’t it.
It was a strange feeling I couldn’t put into words, but I felt like I could use it now.
The high-speed movement technique—‘Shroud.’
And the next moment, my body became lighter, as if I had sprouted wings.
“…!”
It was none other than Zenoah Almerida who was surprised by that strange sensation.
Her face, which hadn’t been within striking distance, was suddenly right before my eyes.
“…Ah, I see. This sensation…”
However, perhaps because I had been battered so much before, my senses were heightened, and I could somewhat understand this strange sensation that I normally couldn’t grasp at all.
I understood the trick to ‘Shrouding’ my body with magic power, very well.
…The reason I was able to achieve this state, which I could only rarely achieve, was undoubtedly due to the woman before me, Zenoah Almerida.
If she hadn’t persistently used ‘Shroud,’ I probably wouldn’t have been able to use it with such speed, and more importantly, unlike Lilea, she had actively inflicted wounds on me to demonstrate the stark difference in our strength. That had worked in my favor, albeit unintentionally.
Eventually, as if to say the reason to fight was gone, I lowered my sword, and Zenoah, following my lead, froze.
“Thank you, Zenoah.”
I could probably use what Ryuuzas called ‘Shroud’ now. Although it was still somewhat vague, I had a feeling I could do it. I said to Zenoah, who was still frozen in surprise, her eyes wide.
“Thanks to you, I think I can return the favor to that ‘Magician Hunter’ guy.”
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[Translator – Vine]
[Proofreader – Lust]
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