Chapter 95. Stubborn Bastard (1)
In the heart of the Holy City of Althea lies the Sanctum of Rites.
Within its walls, Garot, the high priest dwelling there, pulled back the curtains and shifted his gaze outside.
What met his eyes was the Myriad Arena, one of Althea's cultural landmark.
"The ritual must be in progress, right?"
"Yes, High Priest."
The one who responded to Garot was the last of the three Black Chains.
"I received a report from the priests at the ritual site that they have secured the custody of Prince Eulsis."
Garot, quietly listening, turned his attention from the arena to the Black Chain who spoke.
"Are there any reactions from the other High Priests?"
"No, not yet."
Using his privileges, he had secretly retrieved the 'Inscribed Lie' from the Holy Hall, the place where relics were kept in the Holy Kingdom.
Though it was fine for now, there was a high risk of being caught as time passed, so he felt relieved that there was no reaction from the other High Priests.
Who knows what kind of loophole the other High Priests might exploit with this as an excuse.
But those worries would end today.
"Don't resent me too much, prince Eulsis."
Peace with the Empire had brought him to this position; isn't it only humane to hold onto that lifeline to keep it from disappearing?
Moreover, he could let the 4th Prince hold that lifeline instead, making it necessary for him to do this.
The 4th Prince is anyway far from the line of succession.
Whether he dies this way or that, as long as it benefits him, it doesn't matter.
"Is there any special report?"
"They say the escort accompanying Prince Eulsis is currently in a standoff."
"The Black Chains and that wretch Idel will handle that."
One of the nobles who had defected to the Holy Kingdom from the Empire.
He was said to be a considerable skill, having belonged to an upper knight order, even among the Empire's renowned knights.
"Do you trust that man? He was a guy who shadowed the Sword Saint after receiving his teachings upon defecting."
"I don't trust him. But I do trust the revenge that dwells within him."
"Revenge?"
"Wasn't it for that revenge that he ignored the Sword Saint's advice and headed for the ritual site on my word?"
Sneering at Idel, who wasn't present, Garot again turned his gaze to the arena.
"Even if Idel can't defeat Yulian, it doesn't matter."
What's important is successfully carrying out the 'suggestion spell'. If only that could succeed, the escorts, without mages, wouldn't be able to break the magic.
"From the moment I secured Eulsis and sent him to the ritual site, my plan was already complete."
Garot flashed a sly smile.
The relic known as 'Inscribed Lie' required a large amount of spiritual resources, so it could cast a rapid and definite 'mental spell.'
***
"Why, why is there no reaction!?"
Watching the priests whisper in confusion at the laurel crown on Eulsis' head, I slowly drew my Moonstone Sword.
The effect of the 'Bell of the Silent Night' isn't very long.
Soon the settled demonic energy would begin to stir again.
Before that, I needed to sort out the bothersome ones, and I stomped the ground.
"Should I kill them?"
When I decided to live in this world as 'Yulian', I set my priorities.
First priority is personal safety.
Second priority is mental health.
While avoiding killing was my motto, I could find such acts understandable now.
But before I could approach the priests, Idel, who had drawn his sword, stood to greet me.
Klang──!
As his drawn sword clashed with my Moonstone Sword, sparks flew.
"Aura?"
He might have looked rough, but he seemed to have decent skills.
"Ku, kuuuh..."
But his Strength was pathetic.
As my sword, enveloped in 'Moonlight', emitted a strong light, Idel squinted.
"If you want to keep your life, why don't you back off?"
Though not something Yulian would typically say, it was spoken to safeguard my 'mental health'.
The fewer I have to cut down, the easier it will be to escape from here unscathed, won't it?
"You're amusing."
At that moment, I noticed Idel's smile.
Does he have another trick?
In this situation where his aura, strength, and swordsmanship all fall short against me?
"Mm?"
For a fleeting moment, as Idel released his aura from his sword, a misalignment in the balance of Strength caused my body to stagger toward him.
He then slanted his sword, aiming the tip at my eye.
'This is...'
I swiftly twisted my body to narrowly avoid it.
It was close. Had I not dodged, I could have been blinded, or worse, killed instantly.
"As expected, you truly are the Sword Saint's disciple, responding immediately."
In truth, the 'response' Idel mentioned wasn't something I did, but rather Yulian's body reacting on its own.
'He must've picked up one of the Sword Saint's teachings.'
One Stroke Flowing Water.
A technique pursuing a natural swordsmanship akin to flowing water.
The peculiarity of this school is based on leveraging the opponent's Strength instead of overpowering them with brute force.
Naturally, it didn't suit Yulian, and the Sword Saint never taught him this technique.
"Unlike you, I didn't waste time idly by his side."
Feeling confident from the previous attack, Idel went on the offensive this time.
It wasn't flashy, but his swift swordsmanship was indeed annoying.
'Smart...'
Unlike before, he avoided direct sword clashes.
As he couldn't match me in Strength, he altered his tactic to coax my attacks and exploit openings.
'Annoying...'
The more I experienced the sword art of One Stroke Flowing Water, the more agitated I became.
My emotions, stirred by impatience, dulled the sword's tip and weighed my steps.
Thunk──!
Consequently, I couldn't even fend off Idel's sword piercing through my clothes.
"Ugh...."
"Finally, that distorted face emerges."
Coupled with a voice drenched in mockery, Idel thrust his sword deeper.
"The Sword Saint's teachings are indeed formidable. To grant someone like me the power to kill a monster within such a short time."
The inside of Idel's sword, driven in, was starting to boil as if activated by aura.
"Seems like you learned nothing staying by his side. I suppose being expelled was due to that appearance."
"Indeed... So, I'm displeased."
The rising anger didn't stem from pain.
Grasping Idel's sword buried in my chest, I raised my gaze to meet his eyes.
"For the so-called Sword Saint to cast away his title and defect to teach swordsmanship to waste like you, it's disappointing."
Though Idel tried applying force to extract his sword.
"It, it won't come out!?"
The sword embedded in my chest refused to budge.
As expected. I let him think he had a chance because I have something to rely on.
==
【Characteristic 'Sombra' has blocked an enemy strike.】
⇒ Emotional intensity has reached its peak.
⇒ Unique characteristic 「Open Eyes」 has manifested.
==
When my eyes met Idel's, the aura of fear began rippling above his head like a mirage.
Ignoring it, I began to put force into Idel's sword, which was embedded in Sombra.
The aura of the 'Moonlit Sword' couldn't be endured by ordinary metal.
Especially since when 'Open Eyes' manifested, the aura's sharpness became even more acute.
Crack──!
Soon enough, Idel's sword shattered like glass.
"My, my sword... Kugh!"
Idel's panicked words trailed off as the Moonstone Sword in my right hand pierced his throat.
"Why do you think the Sword Saint instructed you in a defensive sword art like 'One Stroke Flowing Water'?"
Watching Idel clutching his throat, trying to stop the flow of blood, a strange smile crept onto my lips.
Likely owing to 'Open Eyes', my emotions were heightened.
"A defensive sword art is a weakling's swordsmanship."
Knowing precisely what his learned swordsmanship signified.
"The Sword Saint never intended to teach you anything substantial."
***
Blood continued to gush from Idel's neck.
The uniform he came dressed in, or something similar, was already drenched in red, forming a crimson pool on the ground.
"Seems the Sword Saint has a discerning eye. One Stroke Flowing Water... becoming like flowing water from a single strike."
Looking at Idel in jest, which I normally wouldn't do, his eyes swirled with rage.
Cklrk, cklrt──!
But he couldn't articulate his boiling emotions.
Surging blood choked him.
Soon, he'd succumb to hemorrhagic shock. Not concerning myself with it, I advanced toward the priests.
"Hie, hieekk...!"
One frightened cleric tried to retrieve the 'Inscribed Lie', but the laurel crown on Eulsis' head didn't move easily.
It seemed fixed during the ritual.
"Hm?"
While I momentarily turned my attention to the priests, the surrounding atmosphere changed strangely.
A squirming sensation akin to a wriggling bug.
The abandoned blood and mucus of demons left in the arena began to converge on the collapsed Idel.
'Must finish him before it becomes troublesome.'
Determining as such, I redirected my steps from Eulsis to Idel.
His dazed eyes couldn't pinpoint my face.
Thunk.
"Kugh...."
As I drove the Moonstone Sword into his heart, Idel's groaning swiftly fell silent.
There's no guilt here. He sought my life first.
Usually, taking a life would fill me with fear and shaking anxiety, but 'Yulian's' characteristic 〈Poker Face〉 and the heightened emotions from 〈Open Eyes〉 seemingly evened it out.
'... Emblem?'
At the end of the Moonstone Sword, shining on his left breast, was an aristocratic emblem you would only see in the Empire.
Is he a defector like the Sword Saint? If not, there wouldn't be an Empire's nobility emblem.
'What does it matter.'
Yeah, why does it matter?
He's already dead.
His demonification wouldn't proceed.
Unless he possessed an enormous grudge potent enough to draw the residual consciousness of a Demon God.
'Time to finish this...'
Thump──!
At first, I wondered if it might be...
If maybe I misheard.
Thump──!
The second heartbeat was clear enough to strip away my naive thoughts.
Thump──!
Idel was certainly dead. Despite that, his heart distinctly started beating 'again.'
The demon blood pooling around assembled to form a heart, with flesh aligning to create new limbs.
He sprouted horns on his head simultaneously as he resurrected.
Tri-horned.
"Damn..."
This is ridiculous.
Possessing such a potent grudge strong enough to draw the lingering consciousness of the Demon God even after death?
This puzzle resolved itself through Idel's demonized form.
The left breast.
Despite becoming a demon, as if to preserve his family emblem from a clear standpoint, it remained prominent.
A shield with wings and a sword lay emblazoned there.
Seen this emblem a while back.
- 'Come to think of it, I heard some surviving members of the Hyrans family you purged recently defected to the Fernand Holy Kingdom.'
The emblem which dotted the list my brother Herand brought post my transformation into 'Yulian'.
"Heh."
Recognizing it, a chuckle escaped my lips.
"Yulian, you're indeed a son of a b****."
Understanding now that my outburst was akin to spitting on my own face, I couldn't help suppress the laughter.
― H- Hyrans family's..."
With a grinding voice spewing phlegm, the tri-horned demon opened its mouth.
Its eyes flitted in every direction before fixing on me.
― Honor."
Fierce animosity, ready to explode, radiated from the humanoid demon.
==
【Characteristic 'Remarkable Intuition' senses an enemy strike.】
==
'He's coming.'
At the system alert, I preemptively struck with the aura-imbued Moonlit Sword.
The prevalent cutting force of this aura couldn't be contested.
Until now, no force rivaled the 'Moonlit Sword' in might, hence preemptive strikes always led to victory...
Klang──!
However, contrary to expectations, even the aura-infused Moonlit Sword left no mark upon the being.
The reinforced carapace of the tri-horned demon deflected the edge of the 'Moonlit Sword'.
'... Haha.'
The sight made me laugh internally.
From tri-horned onwards, demons, unlike others, are endowed with 'names' and 'traits' through game mechanics' assistance.
Judging from the skirmish, I'd venture its trait is a super-hardening ability.
The capacity to harden its body tougher than steel.
Why had such a trait manifested to confront someone wielding 'cutting force' as a primary weapon?
'Why do you think?'
The traits assigned to tri-horned demons are intricately tied to the grudges held in life.
Simply put.
'Because it f***ing hates me.'
Clacky's Corner:
MC suffering from the karma the original Yulian planted.