Chapter 126: Breaking the Spirit - 13
Chapter 126: Breaking the Spirit - 13
Kamain had no weapon.
Jiha carried only a dagger, a Grade 2 Weapon, but it wasn't one he was especially comfortable with.
In an ordinary fight, Jiha held the advantage.
A high-rank battle that involved Mana was a different matter entirely.
"Uaaaaah!!"
As Kamain let out a battle cry, flames engulfed his right arm.
The stench of burning flesh made Jiha cautious.
Kamain was committed to a fight to the death.
'Meeting him head-on is dangerous....'
When a warrior stakes his life on the line, you don't underestimate him.
Kamain had now completely abandoned any thought of looking down on Jiha.
Crackle.
Reeking of charred meat, Kamain took a long stride forward and hurled a fist at Jiha.
It was a reckless attack that cared for nothing but taking Jiha down with him.
Jiha stepped to the left to dodge and swung his blade.
It wasn't meant to land. It was a threat.
But whether Jiha swung or not, Kamain paid it no mind. He twisted his body and launched another punch.
'When you face an armed opponent with your bare hands, you usually worry about distance. This guy's truly lost his mind.'
Their last bout had a safety net. This time was different.
Jiha retreated, dodging Kamain's relentless fists.
For a man burning his own body to fight, there was an obvious limit to how long he could keep it up.
"Stop running, you bastard!"
When Jiha evaded him again and again, Kamain grew visibly agitated.
The flames blazed even more fiercely, but Jiha only coolly assessed the information.
'He's not even reacting to those burns. Has his sense of pain already died? And he can't set anything but his right arm on fire.'
Every time Kamain swung, sparks scattered everywhere, but they failed to properly catch and died out almost instantly.
The output was indeed weaker than when he had infused his sword.
Jiha attacked Kamain's lower body with a Shadow Hand as a test.
"Khuk!"
Kamain raised his flame output and swung his arm in response.
He managed to break the Shadow Hand on impact as before, but Jiha could see the sweat beading on his forehead.
'Good, then....'
Jiha switched to outfighting.
He evaded Kamain's strikes and kept attacking with Shadow Hand.
Weaponless, Kamain had no choice but to keep carving away his own flesh to deal with the Shadow Hand.
"Huff, haah...."
Once Kamain's breathing became noticeably ragged, Jiha adjusted his grip on his dagger.
Kamain stopped moving his legs and glared at Jiha with blazing eyes.
'He's going all-in this time.'
Since Jiha kept stalling for time, he was planning to gamble his life on a single decisive blow.
Jiha checked the layout of the room and smiled.
"You sure that's fine?"
Asira was collapsed directly behind Jiha.
If Jiha dodged, or if Kamain's attack somehow succeeded, Asira would be caught up in it.
Kamain realized it a moment too late and ground his teeth.
"A filthy bitch like that doesn't matter to me anymore!"
"Is that any way to talk about someone who saved your life and looked after you?"
Provoked by Jiha's quiet remark, Kamain roared.
"What would a Common bastard know!"
"You know Asira took you in despite the burden."
"......."
"No matter how loudly you scream... Asira took you in when she had nothing to gain. She faced down a direct order from Cheonho, the one who splits Blue Seal in two, just to take in a useless brat like you."
Jiha spoke calmly.
"All because she believed every life is precious."
"That's hypocrisy. In the end...."
"Stop your whining."
Jiha's voice cracked like a whip.
"You save a drowning kid, and he screams at you about why you didn't save his mother instead. Are you telling me it would've been better to just let you die?"
"......."
"You're just pathetic. A stupid shit who blames her because she couldn't read a heart you never once honestly confessed."
Kamain's expression went blank for a moment before his teeth clenched.
The flames grew more violent.
"If only you weren't here, if only you weren't...!"
"No. Whether I existed or not, Asira would never have become your woman. Do you know why?"
Kamain hesitated, ears perking up even as he was about to lunge.
Even with his mind on the verge of exploding, he couldn't ignore that subject.
"That's...."
Jiha rushed in while speaking.
Having just fed on Asira, his Mana had swelled even further.
When Jiha, who had done nothing but dodge, suddenly charged first, Kamain belatedly focused all his Mana into his fist.
A flame so powerful it burned through flesh and exposed the bone beneath.
He intended to sacrifice the entire arm to incinerate everything in front of him.
But if he unleashed it now, Asira behind Jiha would be caught as well.
A split-second of hesitation. Just as Kamain gritted his teeth and tried to extend his fist, Jiha circled to Kamain's left and attacked.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
Screaming, Kamain tried to throw his punch, and Jiha's dagger drove into his chest.
A fatal blow, gouging into the heart.
Kamain's body went rigid.
"Kuh, khuuurk...."
He'd lost the timing for a preemptive strike, then lost the timing for a counterattack, and at the very end, he'd been forced to twist his body in an unexpected way.
After having the initiative stolen from him three times, it was only natural that Kamain was so thoroughly overwhelmed.
"Kuaaaak!!"
Kamain squeezed out his last strength and swung his arm, but Jiha had already let go of the blade and retreated.
Once he'd confirmed it was a lethal wound, he abandoned the dagger and withdrew without a trace of regret.
Kamain's flaming arm sliced through empty air.
Despair clouded his face as he realized his final strike meant nothing, and he collapsed limply to his knees.
"Huff, haaah...."
The dying Kamain stared blankly at Jiha.
Knowing his death was near, he asked desperately.
"......Why?"
"Because you distorted your own feelings."
Jiha's reply was sharp.
"If you truly loved Asira, you would've confessed to her. You would've tried everything to be seen as a man. But instead, you were a fool. You pretended to be Asira's loyal subordinate on the outside, and behind her back, you raped women who had nothing to do with any of it."
"......."
"Incubus. You imagined Asira while violating those other women, didn't you? And the more you did, the more you denied yourself. That's why you've ended up like this."
Kamain shook his head, gasping for breath.
"If I could just become a Unique, I planned to face her with pride. I'd face her proudly...."
"You knew perfectly well that Asira doesn't discriminate against people by grade."
Jiha pointed out.
"You were just afraid to face her, so you made pathetic excuses. Everything burned away while you rationalized your dirty deeds behind her back."
If she had ever learned Kamain's true nature, Asira would have reached for her sword, not considered him a romantic partner.
As the flames on Kamain's body died out, Jiha approached slowly.
"That dragon told me. If only I could become a Unique...."
"Dragon?"
Kamain didn't answer. He turned his head toward Asira.
Asira, still collapsed, looked back at him.
Kamain spoke with resentment.
"You should've just let me die back then...."
"......."
Asira's face was anguished. She couldn't utter a word.
"If you had, this...."
Kamain's head drooped mid-sentence.
His stiffened body toppled sideways, slowly consumed by its own dying heat.
He was dead.
"It's over."
Jiha dusted off his hands without emotion.
He looked away from the corpse and walked toward Asira.
"Ah...."
Asira stared at Kamain's body in despair.
Her face was that of a woman whose entire life had just been negated.
Her aroused body trembled faintly, unable to be suppressed, but as Jiha stood over her, silent screams tore through her.
"Got something to say?"
"......Kill me."
Her mind was completely shattered.
To be fair, even a reasonably tough person wouldn't have kept their sanity in this situation.
To Asira, Kamain had been proof of her own justice and values.
A life she had protected even against Cheonho, a merciless Legend. That life had grown into a fine knight, following her teachings.
Asira must have felt deep pride watching Kamain grow.
She must have been convinced her choice back then had been the right one.
Yet not only had that same Kamain concealed a wicked heart—
—she had also been forced to witness firsthand how much he resented and hated her. There was no way her mind could be intact.
Jiha tsked and lifted her into his arms.
"Well, we can think about that later."
With Asira held against his side, Jiha moved immediately.
To Asira's bedroom.
She lay on the bed, blinking vacantly, but the moment she realized Jiha was undressing, her face went rigid.
"What in the world are you...."
"You said you wanted to die."
Jiha said it calmly.
"Don't you think dying as a virgin would be unfair?"
"Wh, what...."
Anger flickered in Asira's eyes.
Someone trying to sate his lust by exploiting her moment of weakness was unforgivable according to her principles.
Reflexively, she tried to summon her Mana, but her eyes flew wide open and her body trembled.
"Ah, aht.... Ha, haah...."
After being bitten by Jiha, her body was in heat. Summoning Mana was impossible.
While Asira floundered, unable to understand the change that had come over her, Jiha finished removing his clothes.
Terrified, she pushed herself backward with her elbows, trying to flee.
She was a knight who had never retreated from any foe on the battlefield, but the sight of a naked man filled her with fear.
Because she understood what awaited her next.
Jiha didn't chase hastily. He approached at his leisure.
Fitting a VIP suite, the bed was large enough that Asira had plenty of space to pull away.
"Wh, what exactly are you planning to do?"
"What is there to do when a man and a woman undress? I doubt you're ignorant."
"You're Yura's lover! How could you try to do something like this with another woman!"
"We already finished that talk."
Jiha deflected, implying that Yura had already given her permission.
"I told you I've held back for a long time."
He meant he had waited a long time for the opportunity to claim Asira.
But Asira, looking at his erect length between his legs, seemed to interpret it purely as sexual desire.
She shook her head frantically.
"N, no matter what, this is wrong. This is betraying Yura. Absolutely not!"
"You asked me to kill you. Trying it once before you die isn't a bad experience."
As Jiha climbed onto the bed, Asira tried to flee further, but her back hit the wall.
Her hands flailed desperately, searching for anything that could be used as a weapon, but the bed held nothing.
Ultimately, all she could do was cover her body with the blanket.
Jiha crawled forward on his knees and stopped in front of her. Asira bit her lip.
"J, just kill me instead...."
"If you still want to die after we do it, I'll oblige."
At Jiha's cold reply, Asira forced strength into her gaze.
Her body was growing hot too, but she absolutely could not accept this situation.
"Y, you can't do this. No matter the excuse, this is betraying Yura...."
Jiha didn't answer. He snatched the blanket away.
Asira couldn't resist at all as her body was exposed.
She still wore her clothes, but the leotard bared every line of her figure and carried a certain Mana that drew a man's eyes.
Asira curled her body inward, terrified by Jiha's stare.
Her instincts told her that no matter what she said, Jiha would not change his mind.
"Then I'll help you betray her properly."
It was time to reap the harvest.