293 – It’s Time to Collect the Price. (1)
The swords of the two clashed fiercely. Hatred towards each other filled their hearts, making it impossible for either side to take even a step back.
Ka-aang!
Of course, Harold had no chance of enduring Ghislaine’s power unleashed at the third stage. The moment their swords met, Harold’s blade was sent flying backward.
“What!”
Harold thought he had a good grasp of Ghislaine’s strength, but experiencing it firsthand felt entirely different.
Even after pouring everything he had into it, there was this gap!
Before Harold could regain his stance, Ghislaine swung his sword again.
Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!
Ghislaine’s advantage wasn’t just in strength. The trajectory of his sword was so dazzling that Harold couldn’t even track it with his eyes.
A realm that was simply unfathomable for someone of his age.
Harold swallowed his shock and swung his sword. But no matter what tricks he tried, he couldn’t land a hit on Ghislaine. He was too busy just trying to defend himself.
‘So this guy’s talent was at this level all along!’
Ghislaine was like a giant wall. The more they fought, the more Harold felt the disparity. It felt like he was fighting an exceptionally seasoned warrior.
Under that overwhelming gap, Harold ultimately lost his will to fight. And Ghislaine didn’t miss that brief opening.
Swoosh!
“Guh!”
Harold barely avoided it, but it left a long cut across his chest. Gritting his teeth, he staggered a few steps back.
‘Is this guy…… really the North’s Greatest Sword?’
In the Duke Faction, Ghislaine was considered on par with Jurgen, the Greatest Sword of the North. However, Harold believed that appraisal included his combat prowess, command skills, and territory management abilities.
But to still show this level of power despite being exhausted and wounded! Just how strong was he that he could still fight like this?
Even having witnessed it and experienced it, Harold couldn’t believe it. The fact that Ghislaine surpassed him in every aspect only deepened his sense of defeat.
“I can’t accept this!”
Before Harold even had a chance to snarl and strike, Ghislaine’s sword came flying straight at him.
Kwarrrr!
Just swinging his sword felt like tearing through space and making the sky scream. Harold had no confidence in blocking that strike.
As he locked eyes with the demon’s red gaze that approached him, his heart sank with immense terror.
With his reason paralyzed by fear, the only instinctual action he could take was to raise one arm.
Swoosh!
“Ahhh!”
Harold’s left arm was severed from the elbow down. He screamed in agony, blood pouring out.
Seeing that, Ghislaine steadied his core and lowered his opening stage by one level. Having dealt such a decisive blow, there was no need to maintain the third stage any longer.
“Don’t think about dying gracefully, Harold.”
“Ughh….”
Harold just clutched the spot where his arm used to be, only groaning.
There was no sign of the grandeur of a great lord left in him. His once pristine appearance was now a complete mess, and blood-mixed drool streamed from his mouth.
No matter how much he had learned the renowned family’s Mana Circulation Method and swordsmanship, Harold was never someone dedicated to the sword. Rather, he spent most of his time focusing on territory management and politics.
He had been born with great talent and had a privileged environment, allowing him to reach the level of a high-ranking knight, but that was it.
Burning through his life force to unleash Ghislaine’s third-stage power was far beyond his capabilities.
“Ughuhuhuh…”
Before long, his groans turned into a self-deprecating laugh.
“How… how can someone possess such knowledge and power at that age….”
How did the North’s notorious delinquent become such a monster of a man?
Why did he overlook this guy’s information?
Everything was just questions and regrets.
“Kuhuh… even burning my life force, is that not enough to reach you?”
Life force is the foundation of power that, even when used a little, accelerates aging and can never be recovered. Therefore, it’s only used in dire emergencies or life-and-death situations. If used, it must be used briefly and then stopped.
Harold had completely destroyed his core, prepared to sacrifice his life to kill Ghislaine. Yet, with all that overflowing power, he couldn’t even touch a single hair of Ghislaine.
Despair.
The immense despair of not being able to kill his opponent, despite having given up everything, enveloped him.
He had lost everything, yet he was about to die without being able to avenge that resentment.
“Kekekek….”
He couldn’t help it. Humiliation, shame, and a shattered self-esteem continued to torment him.
Harold, whose shoulders had trembled several times, lifted his head to look at Ghislaine. His gaze was dark and heavy.
Ghislaine also looked at Harold and said, “I’ve dreamed every day of killing you and Duke Delphine. Today, one of those dreams is coming true.”
“Kuhuh… why didn’t you just keep dreaming?”
With a cracked voice, Harold continued, “Well, if I’m going to lose everything anyway… I might as well use it…”
“What?”
“Ghislaine… you’ve never seen this kind of power before. It’s unfortunate that I can’t feel the will to kill you entirely by my own volition… but it’s better than dying after being defeated by you. Just watch. I’ll show you my hidden final strength.”
Gggggggg……
Suddenly, Harold’s body began to swell more than usual. His muscles bulged, and his tendons appeared ready to burst.
A storm of mana surged intensely outward. Unable to withstand that power, blood erupted from various parts of Harold’s body.
Seeing this, Ghislaine’s eyebrows twitched.
‘This is….’
“Graaaah!”
The light of reason disappeared from Harold’s eyes. He transformed into a bleeding monster.
Kuuuuuuung!
All the mana Harold had accumulated throughout his life erupted from his body along with his life force in a massive explosion.
It was similar to the Mana Circulation Method used by Ghislaine and the Knights of Penris. The difference was that the user’s mind had completely snapped.
“Graaaah!”
Letting out another monstrous roar, as Harold swung his sword, a tremendous gale swept through.
Kwaaaang!
Even Ghislaine was momentarily pushed back by the force.
‘Look at this?’
As Harold approached again, Ghislaine replied with a chilling smile.
Kwang!
The dynamics of the battle were unlike before. Instead, now Harold began to overpower Ghislaine.
With an enormous increase in strength and speed, Harold moved without caring about his own injuries.
He was truly a beast gone mad.
Kaaang!
Ghislaine defended against Harold’s sword and sneered.
“Have you given up dying as a human, Harold?”
“Graaaah!”
Harold only continued to roar without providing a proper answer.
Kaaang! Kaaang! Kaaang!
Even while fighting against him, Ghislaine felt a strange sense of unease.
‘I’ve seen this power before.’
Having encountered this Mana Circulation Method in his past life while occupying Desmond, he was well aware of it. That method never had such a effect.
No matter how much one was willing to face death, this level of violent power could not be summoned. The mana methods of noble families never employed such methods.
But now Harold appeared to be unleashing his original power multiplied several times over.
Just like Ghislaine himself.
‘It’s similar to that time.’
In his previous life, there were occasionally those who would explode their life force to draw forth power beyond their limits.
At that time, he had thought little of it, too busy basking in his own superiority, indifferent to whether his opponent exploded their life force or not. Such mana methods were not entirely absent from the continent.
However, it was strange for Harold, a noble among nobles, to use this kind of Mana Circulation Method. In his past life, he might not have known at all that Harold had learned this by chopping people down in a single blow.
It was strange that Harold, the highest-ranking noble, was using such a Mana Circulation Method. In his past life, he would have just cleaved someone in half without a second thought, totally oblivious to the fact that he was honing such techniques.
‘This is just like…’
It oddly resembled the ridiculous Mana Circulation Method that Vanessa had mastered in his previous life. She had gone insane learning it.
Thinking back, some of the ruffians who had come at him were similar.
‘Going insane… or turning into monsters. Could it be that they were all practicing a Mana Circulation Method similar to this guy’s?’
Each opponent used Mana in slightly different ways, so he had just thought they were exploding with potential during fights. Since he used a similar method, he never considered it seriously.
He had easily knocked down every challenger without a thought.
But when even a high-ranking noble like Harold used such power, it was hard not to be suspicious.
Ghislaine recalled the opponents he had fought in his previous life. They all shared one characteristic: those who exploded with strength like Harold would inevitably die.
Those who learned his improved Mana Circulation Method could extend their time limit through continuous training. If they could just stop at the right moment, there was no issue with releasing such strength.
However, the guys he faced in his past life never could stop using their powers once they started. They would literally rampage until they dropped dead.
It was a side effect of desperately pursuing power in his Mana Circulation Method while throwing stability out the window.
The monster he saw in his past life and the current Harold were eerily similar.
“GRAAAAAAH!”
Harold could no longer be called human; he had become a monster driven only by the instinct to kill everything in sight.
Buuuuuum!
Kwaaaang!
Ghislaine, who blocked Harold’s violently swung sword, was being pushed back little by little.
The strength kept increasing. The force emanating from his sword was enough to turn the ground upside down. Harold himself seemed unable to control his own strength.
Ghislaine gritted his teeth and smiled, reopening the third stage of his core.
“Yeah, let’s see how far you can go.”
Drdrdrdrdr!
Kwaaaang!
The clash of their swords, wrapped in intense Mana, erupted with power. Unlike before, Ghislaine held his ground instead of getting pushed back.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Every time their swords collided, Mana waves erupted, smashing everything around them to pieces.
Desmond’s remaining staff and guards, who were a little further away, quickly moved back to widen the distance.
If they got caught in that storm of power, their bodies would be torn apart in an instant.
Kwaang!
Once again, after deflecting Harold’s sword, Ghislaine slammed his feet into the ground.
In that moment, he vanished from sight and reappeared behind Harold, swinging his sword.
Slash!
Buuuum!
Harold immediately turned around and swung his sword. Ghislaine quickly ducked to avoid it and retreated.
‘As expected…’
This wasn’t someone bearing pain. There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation or slight muscle rigidity. It was as if all sensation was gone, leaving his body unresponsive.
Moreover, the wounds were minuscule. He was wrapped in a massive amount of Mana.
Kwaang!
As Ghislaine dodged Harold’s next attack, the ground was left in tatters. He stomped on the ground with one foot.
Kwaang!
The shockwave caused Harold to wobble and briefly lose his balance. Ghislaine seized the opportunity to swing his sword again.
Slash!
Even though he had sliced at his neck, there was only a slight line left on the outer skin. Despite opening the core up to the third stage, he managed to withstand such force; it was incredible defense.
“GRAAAAAAH!”
Buuuum!
Once again, Ghislaine easily avoided Harold’s swing.
While Harold’s strength had grown, his swordsmanship had actually deteriorated. He had lost his sanity and was merely swinging wildly based on instinct.
‘There’s definitely something different about this.’
Although there had been similar creatures in his past life, the levels of their power varied widely.
There were ones among them, but their levels varied.
There were definitely those who could unleash all their abilities even in madness. Vanessa was also crazy, but she could cast 7th circle magic as it was.
There were also those whose bodies transformed into monsters but maintained a sane mind.
Compared to those, Harold seemed a bit lacking.
“Raaaar!”
When his attacks didn’t work, Harold let out a furious primal roar. His reasoning had truly fallen to a beast’s level.
“Fuuu…”
If this kept up, it wouldn’t end well. Ghislaine’s gaze grew heavy.
After all, these kinds of beings would definitely be encountered again in the future. There was no need to overthink or worry right now.
Clatter.
His own body was also starting to break down, surpassing its limits.
Grrrrr!
Ghislaine circulated his mana even faster. His core heated up rapidly. Each nerve was warning him of danger.
Boom!
Ghislaine faced Harold’s attack without dodging.
Crunch.
He gritted his teeth and bore the pain, swinging his sword relentlessly. It might seem reckless at a glance, but he wasn’t about to miss an opportunity just because it was dangerous.
There are still many enemies. Even more powerful foes are waiting beyond Harold.
When faced with an opponent like this, he must grow even further.
Splat!
“Just a bit more.”
With just ordinary training, there’s a limit to physical growth. Nothing is as effective for growth as life-threatening training.
Thud thud thud!
His bones and flesh had long since twisted and torn. If he fought any longer, it wouldn’t be training but a path to ruin his body.
But…
Thud thud thud!
The new ability he gained from ingesting the Blood Python’s venom.
He was trying to recover his body by squeezing out the meager remaining mana. In moments like this, one could surpass the limits of the body.
Shhhhhh!
The blood soaking his entire body instantly turned into red smoke, enveloping Ghislaine.
“More!”
Boom!
At some point, Harold started to be overwhelmed by Ghislaine’s power.
Ghislaine unleashed a stream of red light and mercilessly brought down his sword.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Raaaaar!”
Harold roared. Each clash of their swords sent tremendous shockwaves through his body.
His eyes, transformed into a monster, started to panic.
Boom!
Unable to withstand the sudden surge of power, Harold dropped his sword.
Ghislaine didn’t stop and split Harold’s body right open.
Boom!
He gripped his sword tightly with his numb hand again. His body was so tough that it didn’t cut properly. It felt like he was being hit with a blunt object.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Raaaaaaar!”
Harold waved his remaining hand wildly to resist. But Ghislaine kept swinging his sword like a blunt weapon at an astonishing speed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The powerful mana Ghislaine unleashed continuously shocked Harold’s body. At some point, Harold couldn’t even counter properly and kept being pushed back.
The fierce waves of mana turned Harold’s insides upside down like a storm. It created even greater shocks by clashing with Harold’s exploding mana.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Harold took a beating that would make anyone’s stomach churn. With each shake of his body, the mana surrounding him began to scatter and vanish.
Crack.
Ghislaine’s bones were twisting and cracking; they were even starting to break. But he endured the pain with superhuman patience and spoke.
“It’s over.”
Thud!
Ghislaine stomped the ground hard and swung his sword down onto Harold’s head as if wielding a club.
Boom!
Suddenly, a shock reverberated through, and instead of a monster’s roar, a human voice came from Harold’s mouth.
“What… is this…?”
Reason was returning to his gaze.
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