“······I opened my eyes.”
Swallowing the unpleasant aftertaste, I gather my thoughts.
Then, before my eyes, I see Mi Jeong waving her hands vigorously.
I’m so irked that I grab her chubby cheeks and stretch them.
“Are you really listening to the words of Transylvania as a fellow Blood Ghoul? Before long, you’ll betray me too.”
“······Uaaaah.”
The feeling of betrayal is overwhelming.
I’m confident that I wouldn’t fall for anyone else’s talisman filled with demonic energy.
But I was caught off guard because it was Mi Jeong.
Because I believed she would never betray me.
I had no idea she’d collude with Transylvania and use a sleep talisman on me······.
“······It looked perilous. Yoo Jin. I hate getting hurt.”
“You little rascal.”
Ruffling Mi Jeong’s hair roughly, I stand up.
And just as I do, Transylvania offers me her hand.
The moment I see her face, an indescribable annoyance washes over me.
But I push down my irritation for a moment, take her hand, and rise.
“You were deep asleep, huh? The match is in 10 minutes. How’s your condition?”
“I’ve completely recovered.”
I hate to admit it, but the effect of 10 hours of sleep was tremendous.
My wrist, which had been swollen from multiple dislocations, is now completely back to normal.
The joints in my body, which had been creaking, feel as if they’ve been oiled.
I have to admit it.
Moments ago, I was overexerting myself out of stubbornness.
But if that scoundrel had taught me properly, that wouldn’t have happened······.
“I couldn’t speak much so as not to disturb you, but it seems you’re nearing understanding of the Martial Arts Secrets. Training in a broken body wouldn’t yield results, and you’d only ruin the match. So I thought it was better to rest well and awaken to the Secrets during the duel.”
“Hah······.”
Transylvania’s words are something else.
Nearing understanding of the Secrets, she says?
It’s laughable.
I had been floundering with messed up basics the whole time.
Seeing Transylvania’s perfectly organized sword, the feeling of deprivation hit me hard.
There’s no way I could do that.
“I’m serious.”
“Yeah, right.”
It seems to be Transylvania’s way of showing gratitude.
Regardless of whether I’ve grasped the Secrets or not, the fact is that I still have to face the duel.
I toss aside my sweat-soaked clothes.
Changing into fresh ones, I equip my gear piece by piece.
“I’ll be entering as the challenger.”
“No way.”
“Yeah. Obviously······ Huh? What? No way?”
Transylvania looks dumbfounded, as if she thought she’d definitely get to join.
Since only one challenger is allowed, it was always set from the beginning.
Of course, it’s Mi Jeong.
Because she’s the only one who can activate the Guardian Knight essence just by being by my side for 24 hours.
“I can’t believe this······. I thought I could witness the Secrets firsthand······.”
“What are you talking about? If you’re there, Rex will be even more agitated, so it’s a no-go. Just wait patiently.”
“That’s a fair reason. I’ll wait here for the result. But hold on. Take this with you.”
“······?”
At that moment, she unbuckles her waist and throws a wooden scabbard at me.
I gently pull the sword from the scabbard, which feels good in my hands.
It’s a nicely sharpened blade.
It’s Transylvania’s sword.
“This is a Dakia sword. It might help.”
“I’m used to dual-edged swords; this might be a bit uncomfortable for me.”
“Just take it. If your sword breaks, you can pull it out and use it.”
“Well······ thanks.”
“You should have said thank you from the start. You’re just lying flat down, asking for a bow. Tsk tsk. Nowadays, kids don’t know manners.”
Leaving behind the clicking tongue of Transylvania.
I step out of the old warehouse and head towards the duel arena.
The duel arena is the eye of the ancient World Tree.
Now, it’s just a collapsed underground cave.
The entrance to the tunnel that was closed on the first day is now wide open.
The guards slightly bow their heads as they guide me inside.
As I step in, I can see a bright light slowly appearing.
It’s not the light from fireflies as before.
It’s the artificial light from lamps.
Thanks to the light beaming down from the ceiling, it has an atmosphere similar to an underground arena.
Inside, Mia and Rex are waiting as the judges.
It seems Rex doesn’t plan to have a separate challenger.
That means he trusts the Priestess of the World Tree.
“I’m sorry for being late; I was sleeping.”
The moment I part my lips, I can see a hint of resentment in Mia’s gaze directed at me.
It feels like she’s asking me if I really had to do this.
I feel bad for Mia, but the moment I heard Yulia’s name come out of that bastard’s mouth, I couldn’t hold back any longer.
“If I win this duel, Transylvania will have to face my next opponent. Since you cowardly set your student against me, you better be ready to lose your head next.”
Rex seems to want to take revenge on Transylvania by trampling over me.
“The condition I have if I win is simple. Kneel and swear to take back your grudge against the former Priestess.”
“Unbelievable. I accept.”
Rex chuckles while accepting it.
His face seems to say he can never imagine a future where he loses.
You have no idea.
What kind of power Yulia holds.
Especially if Yulia retains the memories from the previous cycle.
She could play with the finances of the entire world.
If you think you can kill Yulia for some trivial reason born out of misunderstanding.
And if you’re intent on throwing the world into chaos.
I have no choice but to stop you.
“I’ve confirmed both sides’ conditions. Now, it’s time to proceed with the duel. Please stand facing each other with the weapons you have chosen. The only weapons you can use are your chosen weapon or a weapon snatched from your opponent.”
I check the sword on my waist once again.
One is my usual sword, adorned with a large, shining mana stone.
And the other is the single-edged sword I just received from Transylvania.
The single-edged sword might not come in handy, and it’ll probably just be a nuisance······.
But just in case, I keep it equipped and stand facing Rex.
“This is a genuine sword duel in which you could lose your life by accident, but killing an unarmed opponent or one who has lost their will to fight is not allowed. The pause and judgment of the duel will be entirely decided by the judge. If both sides agree, please swear.”
“I swear.”
“I swear.”
After completing the vow, we prepare for the duel.
Mia silently steps back and raises her hand.
Rex and I quickly draw near, placing our hands on our sword hilts.
And we simply watch the movements of Mia’s lips.
After a brief moment of silence.
Mia finally speaks.
“Begin!”
“Graaaah!!!”
Thud!
Almost simultaneously with the sound of applause.
Rex shouts a powerful battle cry and charges.
In an instant, a boomerang is drawn from his back, slicing through the air.
The reflective blade of the boomerang dazzles and obstructs my line of sight.
At the same time, he rushes in with the single-edged sword drawn from his waist.
It’s an obvious tactic.
He likely intends to catch me off guard while I dodge or deflect the boomerang.
Obvious yet powerful.
In most cases, people can’t deal with this kind of strategy knowing full well what’s coming.
“What the?! The boomerang is bending?!*”
That is, in most cases.
I activate telekinesis, a 5th-tier magic, with a simple flick of my fingers, causing the boomerang to swerve past my head.
“Kagh!”
As Rex, who was closing in, suddenly tumbles to the ground.
He had been charging forward at full speed, so a little push could easily slam him down.
“I can’t win with just swordsmanship. But in terms of overall combat ability, I’ve got the upper hand.”
Even now, I haven’t yet grasped the Secrets.
If we engage in a fair sword fight, I’d likely get wrecked.
But I’m no fool, and I don’t need to spar with someone who’s just swinging a sword for fun.
I’ll drain his stamina using telekinesis.
As cheaply and cowardly as possible.
I plan to exploit his openings to secure my victory.
“What kind of pathetic trickery is this······ Gah?!”
Every time Rex tries to charge, I subtly use telekinesis on his ankles.
He keeps tumbling over himself.
After a few tumbles, Rex can no longer make large movements and begins to approach slowly, hunched over.
His view of me, once seeing me as a stepping stone to Transylvania, now carries caution.
There’s only one thing he fears.
The moment his actions are constrained by my telekinesis.
He’s most wary of my sword reaching out toward him.
Of course, that’s impossible.
Telekinesis consumes an absurd amount of concentration.
I can’t swing my sword while also using enough output to bind his actions with telekinesis.
“Rex doesn’t know that.”
But Rex doesn’t know this fact.
If he had known, he wouldn’t have slowed his approach.
His stamina would run out before mine.
But due to the gap in information, he has no choice but to be conscious of both my sword and telekinesis.
If he becomes cautious and has to pay more attention.
His stamina will drain even faster.
“You’ve got quite the knack for irritating people! If you don’t wanna end up dead, just concede!”
“If you swear to retract your insult to the former Priestess and vow not to harm her, then I won’t concede.”
“I can’t do that. The former Priestess, the witch of Petenburg, is also a target of revenge I have to settle someday.”
“So you won’t concede either. If you let fools rampage based on their beliefs, the world will fall apart.”
“What?!”
If he has no intention of changing his mind······.
I have no choice but to beat him down and force him to take an oath.
Since the vow is being made inside the World Tree, he can’t break it.
If a beggar on the street were to badmouth Yulia, I might feel a bit upset.
But with a high-ranking warrior acting this way, I can’t just stand by.
He’s someone who could realistically kill Yulia······.
“Just like a disciple of Transylvania! You even protect a witch who’s in the same camp!”
“Think whatever you want.”
I have no intention of persuading him that Yulia isn’t allied with a murderous Blood Ghoul.
It’s impossible to persuade him anyway.
I’m just satisfied if I can make him swear that he won’t touch Yulia.
······Or kill him here.
“Just fight fairly!”
Even in spite of my telekinesis interference.
Rex finally manages to close the distance and thrusts his sword at me.
A hint of relief crosses his face.
It seems he believes victory is in the bag now that he’s come this close.
But that’s an illusion.
I won’t lose to someone who’s so tense and has drained stamina.
“F-fast?!”
Opening with the Dakia-style technique, I plunge into his openings.
Rex looks stunned as his eyes widen.
But he calmly retreats and counters.
Well, for now.
“Graah! This is so annoying!”
As I keep up with quick attacks, I disrupt his center with light telekinesis.
Rex finds himself entirely on the defensive.
Merida-style swordsmanship usually excels in offense rather than defense.
By focusing solely on defense like this, he’s throwing away all the advantages of the Merida-style.
‘He’s stronger than I expected.‘
Even considering his strength, Rex is definitely strong.
A rare elf who has trained his body to the extreme.
And unusually for a strong person, he appears cautious and never lets his guard down.
But the problem lies in his lack of experience.
While he might have ample experience facing monsters, when it comes to dueling another human, all he really knows is sparring.
He lacks the skill required for a real-life duel.
Even without grasping the Secrets, I could manage fine.
It would have been perfect if I could learn something before finishing this fight.
But I’m compelled to end it here.
“This can’t end here!”
“Let’s bring this to a close.”
“······?!”
Diving in deep as if to tackle him.
Then switching to Frost-style swordsmanship, I aim for his heart near the edge of my guard.
Having only shown him Dakia-style so far, this was a complete surprise he never expected.
There’s no way he can dodge this.
I thought that victory was mine.
The moment I thought so.
“I cannot kneel until I have avenged my enemies!”
Suddenly, Rex’s body starts to shine.
The moment my guard strikes against his ribs, I feel not the sensation of breaking his ribs, but a violent shock blanket my body.
“Cough?!”
A strong explosion occurs.
My body is flung back, rolling on the ground.
As I hurriedly rise, a sigh escapes my lips unconsciously.
Rex’s body is emanating bright light.
From him, a spirit I have never seen before starts to pour out.
It’s clear.
That’s a forbidden technique bestowed upon elfs.
Dedicating their lifespan as fuel to gain immense power.
“I’ve bet everything on my revenge! What have you bet?”
“Ha······.”
Every second, his lifespan drains away by years.
Blood tears spill from Rex’s eyes, soaking his cheeks.
He is prepared to die here.
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