Chapter 81: I Waited for This Day. (4)
“This damn trash!”
Viktor gritted his teeth as he stood up.
His burned face and body were painfully hot and searing.
The armor had heated up to the point that wearing it was more of a hindrance.
Even the sword felt like it would bend with the slightest impact.
He was suppressing the heat with mana, but it wouldn’t last long.
He had to quickly handle this bastard and get out of here.
“I’ll kill you and slice off the heads of all your buddies.”
Viktor glared at Ghislaine and placed his hand on his waist.
Swipe.
He pulled out the dagger without hesitation, cutting the joints of his armor and tossing the pieces aside.
Clang. Clang.
Now that he had removed his armor, Viktor felt much lighter, smirking with his lips twisted.
“Waiting, are we? You’ve got some courtesy, huh?”
“If I just kill you, you’d make excuses in the afterlife. It’s not about skill; it’s because a guy who doesn’t even know honor attacked while I was taking off my armor.”
“You cocky little—”
Viktor unleashed his killing intent, channeling mana into his sword.
A refreshing blue light enveloped his sword, completely at odds with the blood-red surroundings.
The brilliant light spreading out was evidence of just how outstanding Viktor’s skill was.
“Yeah, that’s more like it.”
Seeing this, a blush of red started to blossom in Ghislaine’s eyes.
“That’s the fun of the hunt.”
Vroooom!
As Ghislaine opened three cores simultaneously, a heavy aura spread around, and his sword turned red.
Viktor wore a look of disbelief.
“How do you have that kind of power… What the hell went wrong with the information?”
“Ask your master in hell. Oh, your master will be a bit late, so you’ll have to wait. Must be boring for you.”
“I’ll tear that mouth apart!”
Kwaaaang!
In an instant, the distance between the two narrowed.
The shock of their swords colliding warped the flames around them and pushed outward.
“This is all you’ve got? Put in some more effort, Harold’s dog.”
“Shut it! You piece of trash!”
Grind, grind!
Viktor endured Ghislaine’s mana, which had all three cores opened.
Despite being assaulted by the flames, this much was truly incredible for such a amount of mana.
Burned like that and still holding up? The amount of mana is truly astounding.
Indeed, they had the skill to aim for the North’s top Knight.
While Ghislaine admired this secretly, Viktor was still confused.
‘Unless he was hiding his skills… there must be some other way to wield such power.’
Maintaining a talent of this caliber while fooling the public wasn’t something that could be done in a no-name village territory like Perdium.
Viktor thought Ghislaine must have used some kind of trick to temporarily boost his power, whether through magic or something else.
“What kind of trick did you pull?”
Whoosh!
Ghislaine raised his sword and blocked Viktor’s attack.
Clang!
He momentarily floated as he was shoved aside. His hands tingled from the shock.
‘This guy’s no joke after all.’
Ghislaine had also been training and building up mana whenever he could, but he couldn’t compare to Viktor’s mana.
The amount he wielded was downright astonishing.
To think it was nearly on par with his own power after amplifying it by unlocking all three cores.
Indeed, he was a gem cherished by Harold.
Whoosh!
Before he could regain his stance, Viktor charged in again, swinging his sword.
Clang!
Ghislaine barely managed to lift his sword in time to block.
His feet slid, carving into the ground. The overwhelming pressure made his body ache.
But he laughed it off, revealing no weakness.
“I always thought I had decent strength before.”
“What?”
“I like to rely on strength too.”
Ghislaine quickly pivoted and thrust down his sword.
Clang!
This time, Viktor was in the position of blocking from below.
In a flash, their positions in the workshop had switched.
Ghislaine seized that split second, relentlessly swinging his sword.
The opponent backed off, putting all his might into meeting the blade.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every time their swords clashed, they bounced off toward opposite sides.
Both were struggling to absorb the shock properly.
“You dare!”
Viktor gritted his teeth and poured all his remaining mana into the attack.
He cast aside thoughts of killing the other fighters.
The enemy in front of him was not someone he could afford to leave any strength for.
Grrrrrrr!
As Viktor raised his mana to the limit, the mana infused in his sword shimmered even brighter.
Sizzles!
Ghislaine’s sword energy also turned a deeper red. Red vapor wafted off his body.
It was impossible to maintain the state of unlocking all three cores for long.
He needed to settle this quickly.
Boom!
The sound of their weapons clashing changed.
It was no longer the sound of steel clanging but rather the echoes of mana colliding and bursting forth.
The flames that had been surrounding them were pushed back by their stirring energy, unable to intrude upon their space.
In the completely intertwined mana, the two moved rapidly.
Kaboom!
With each step taken, the ground erupted.
They fell into a trance, swinging their swords solely aimed at each other’s lives.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In a flurry of clashes beyond what an ordinary person could even see, Viktor began to be pushed back gradually.
“W-What is this…?”
“What on earth…”
The speed of movement and the force of impact were equal. However, there was a stark difference in technique.
Every time Ghislaine got a wound, Viktor got two. Soon it escalated to three and then four at a time.
Viktor was struggling to keep up with the bizarre swordsmanship.
“How on earth can a guy like you! I refuse to accept this!”
“You’re a funny little brat. When did I ask for your approval?”
Viktor swung his sword with all his might towards the grinning Ghislaine.
It seemed he would split him in half from head to toe.
The power was quite impressive, but Ghislaine wouldn’t fall for such a simple attack.
Swoosh!
Seizing the moment, Ghislaine extended his sword.
The strangely wavering tip of the sword pierced around the opponent’s heart area.
“Gah!”
Viktor staggered back, clutching his chest.
Ghislaine’s expression was also hardening.
‘Guess it’s a failure.’
The aftermath of opening the core to the third level was starting to creep in.
His muscles were tearing, and his bones began to twist under the pressure of the swirling mana.
At this rate, he would collapse before he could take down the enemy.
Feeling something flow, Ghislaine wiped under his nose with his finger. It was smeared with blood.
It seemed to have reached his limit.
If things continued like this, blood would soon flow from his ears, mouth, and eyes.
Viktor quickly sensed Ghislaine’s condition too. A triumphant laugh escaped his lips.
“Ha, I see. No wonder I thought your strength was off. It must have been a trick. Drawing on life force to the limit. Is this black magic or something?”
“You’ve got a keen eye, huh? So, planning to run around and buy time this time?”
“No way, then you could conserve your strength, right? It’s better to push a bit more.”
Viktor, with his exceptional talent as a martial artist, quickly assessed Ghislaine’s state and found the best way to respond.
The wound in his chest was shallow, but he could still endure and fight.
“Now I understand. You were the variable. Was Frank behind this too? Hah, there’s no way someone like Frank could handle you.”
Viktor couldn’t stop laughing.
Finally, he had found the cause of his unease.
Harold, the staff officers, the spies—none had known of this true variable.
With someone like this around, it was no wonder the plans continued to fail.
“I’ll take your head and present it to the Count. Then I might get another chance.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. What do you think you’re going to do with whose neck? Do you think you can even go back?”
Boom!
This time, Ghislaine was the one to strike at Viktor first.
“Ha! Go ahead, try to kill me!”
Though he clearly was outmatched in skill compared to Ghislaine, Viktor wasn’t worried.
Soon, when Ghislaine’s strength dwindled, he would overwhelm him with sheer speed and power.
Boom!
Once again, the swords clashed.
Unlike Ghislaine, who attacked relentlessly, Viktor focused solely on defense.
As wounds began to accumulate, he managed to avoid any vital ones.
If it seemed he couldn’t evade, he would simply allow a non-lethal area to be hit.
He offered a place that wouldn’t hinder their lives.
“Khahaha! You foolish idiot! How long do you think you can hold out like this?”
Despite being drenched in blood, Viktor couldn’t hide his laughter.
In stark contrast, Ghislaine had long lost the smile on his face.
Crack!
Ghislaine gritted his teeth.
‘Is this it?’
The tip of his sword began to shake uncontrollably.
His opponent wouldn’t miss this opening.
“You’re finished now!”
Boom!
Viktor’s counterattack began.
Ghislaine hurriedly pulled his body back, but his limit was reached, and he couldn’t fully absorb the shock.
Blood started to seep from his eyes and ears.
“It’s over! You trash!”
Boom!
As their swords clashed again, Ghislaine staggered and retreated, unable to withstand the force.
He ended up half-collapsed on the ground.
“Ugh!”
Blood gushed from his mouth.
“Dieee!”
Whoosh!
Viktor’s sword flew toward Ghislaine’s neck.
That was when it happened.
Ghislaine stretched out his left hand, which wasn’t holding a sword.
Clank!
“Huh?”
Viktor, swinging his sword, suddenly froze. He felt an inexplicable force binding his body.
“Play tricks, will you!”
Thud-thud-thud!
As Ghislaine drew upon Mana to resist, the threads of Mana that were restraining Viktor snapped and disappeared.
Whoosh!
The sword tore through the air again.
It was a move that couldn’t have been more perfect.
At that moment, Ghislaine’s left hand twisted about three-quarters of a turn.
Boom!
Viktor’s sword hit the ground emptily.
“Huh?”
He had aimed for Ghislaine’s head, but an unknown force disrupted his stance.
It was nothing more than a feeble shift in direction.
But because of that interference, Viktor’s sword couldn’t even touch Ghislaine’s body.
“Damn it!”
Viktor hurriedly tried to correct his posture and pull his sword from the ground.
Whoosh!
The cold metal pierced his thick neck.
“Gurk, grr!”
Blood and foam spewed out from the wound and blade.
Viktor’s eyes were filled only with confusion.
Swish!
As Ghislaine pulled out the sword, Viktor collapsed to the ground, face down, blood gushing from his neck.
Ghislaine kicked his trembling body over.
“Gurk, huh, how…”
Whether it was an obsession with life or resentment, Viktor continued drawing in those thin breaths.
Ghislaine staggered to his feet, looking down at Viktor’s face.
“Did you really think you’d win for the rest of your life? You didn’t even know who I was. That’s why you’re losing, you little brat.”
Covered in blood, Ghislaine bared his teeth and laughed.
Every muscle in his body screamed in agony, but the ecstasy of victory overwhelmed the pain.
“I’ll keep winning from now on. Come at me as many times as you want. I’ll eat you all up.”
“……”
“Consider yourself lucky. You’re dying gently.”
Ghislaine gripped the sword tighter with his bloodied hand and swung it down in one swift motion.
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