Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Chapter 18 Birth of the Dragon Sword (5)
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The total amount of energy Azel had used in those three minutes was less than a hundredth of what Sei had expended.
Sei was deploying superhuman physical abilities, hyper-senses accelerated by dragon demon energy, and every technique from the Dragon Spirit Arts he had painstakingly honed to the point of exhaustion just to regain his crumbling balance.
In contrast, Azel's movements were leisurely. He emitted psychic waves with Spirit Order to stimulate Sei's senses and draw out the reactions he desired. As if possessing precognition, he predicted Sei's actions and casually took one or two steps before thrusting his sword.
And yet, that alone had left Sei unable to rise. The techniques for handling mana and senses, the insight to control the flow of battle... Azel was superior in every aspect.
Boom!
At some point, an explosion rang out, and Sei's body shot upward. He spun wildly, losing his balance, before crashing into the ground.
Rolling across the earth, Sei finally staggered to his feet, battered and broken. There were no wounds. But his breath came up to his throat, and sweat poured down like rain.
"Hah, hah, heuk..."
Sei's stamina was like steel. Even clad in heavy armor and swinging a massive sword, he could fight with ferocious momentum for extended periods. But repeatedly tumbling across the ground in a situation where he couldn't even distinguish up from down, left from right—his energy flow constantly interrupted—had drained his stamina at an unbelievable rate.
'He let me go on purpose.'
Sei realized that if Azel had wanted, he could have made him roll until he passed out. Just moments ago, he had clearly left an opening for escape.
He had experienced all sorts of harsh situations while training under Kairen in the past. Yet this was an unknown ordeal.
As he gasped for breath, Azel approached and spoke.
"Is that all you can do after taking this much of a beating—just catch your breath? You've gone soft."
"Ugh!"
The mere sight of Azel now brought an unprecedented terror. Losing his composure, Sei swung his sword instinctively the moment Azel closed the distance.
It was a powerful strike that could split a boulder in two. But Azel didn't dodge.
Swoosh!
'Did I miss?'
Sei's eyes widened. Azel hadn't dodged but had stepped right into his range. Yet the attack sliced through empty air, collapsing Sei's stance.
It was the result of illusion techniques, concealment arts, and sensory stimulation via psychic waves combined. Then, as if by magic, Azel entered his range a beat later. His gait remained unhurried and relaxed, but with his stance broken, Sei couldn't respond.
Thud!
Before Sei could recover, Azel—not with his sword, but his fist—struck Sei's shoulder. It wasn't just a simple hit. The moment Sei forcibly tried to right himself, Azel struck precisely at the timing to sever his energy flow.
Sei nearly toppled again but clenched his teeth and unleashed the superhuman strength of his lower body to hold firm. He swung his sword...
Thwack!
Before the blade could arc halfway, a counter struck his torso. A light tap on the back of his sword hand pierced through his heavy armor, burrowing into his bones.
'Kuhuk...!'
His breath caught, his body folding. This was the end. Judging so, he tried to activate his Dragon Spirit Art...
Thung!
As if anticipating it, the counter landed the instant he focused his mind to unleash mana.
'This... is... impossible...!'
Sei felt like he was trapped in a nightmare. It was as if Azel could see every movement inside his own body.
No mere skill could achieve this. It required hyper-senses that read Sei's every action, plus the reaction speed to counter them.
Repeated situations like this left Sei struggling even to grip his sword. Yet he didn't fall. He staggered back, teeth gritted, enduring...
'Now!'
He deliberately baited a counter, then absorbed it with his shoulder while advancing, flinging it aside. Simultaneously, he leaped back and unleashed a full-power slash.
"Not bad. If you'd pushed five moves ahead, I might have given you a passing grade."
But Azel's amused words sent chills down his spine.
He had endured dizzying blows, gathering scraps of energy to wait for an opening. Was even this part of Azel's plan?
At the same time, Azel met Sei's slash head-on.
Boom!
The explosion hurled Sei away. Flying through the air, Sei realized.
'I dropped my sword...!'
He had been taught never to let go of his sword, no matter the situation, and had followed it like gospel. But the overwhelming impact—the first of its kind—tore open his steel-gloved grip, sending the sword flying.
Crash!
With a clamor, Sei tumbled several times before sprawling on the ground.
Silence fell, and Azel asked.
"Shall we continue?"
"No... that's enough. I admit defeat."
Sei acknowledged his loss in an exhausted voice.
8
That evening, Azel sat obediently before a mirror, letting someone else tend to his hair. Enora had set up a stool behind the chair and was trimming his locks. Seeing his hair grown long after so long apart, she hadn't liked how roughly cut and unkempt it looked, so she insisted on doing it herself.
Suddenly, she asked.
"Why were you so mean to the prince, Sir Azel?"
"Hm?"
"He's the prince, of all people. Wasn't that too much?"
"I think I did something similar to Boer back then?"
Azel recalled when Boer had challenged him to a duel in the past. Enora thought for a moment before replying.
"...Come to think of it, you did. You really are wild, Sir Azel."
"Hey, wild? In what way?"
"How can you be so shameless? Acting like that toward the prince—anyone else would never dream of it. Do you know how scared I was watching? What if he lost his temper and yelled, 'Cut off that bastard's head!'?"
"I did it because I knew he wasn't the type to be so narrow-minded. Truth be told, I wanted to avoid it if possible."
From Azel's perspective, Sei was someone he saw no need to accommodate. They hadn't shared life-and-death trials together, so it was natural. He was merely Kairen's disciple and Arietta's brother—nothing more, nothing less.
Thus, he had no intention of drawing attention to himself to change the prince's views. The Dragon Demon Worshippers targeting him was unsettling, but after the recent incident, Sei would surely be cautious on his own.
Kairen's subtle push to pit them against each other once had irked him for that reason. Why indulge a stubborn fool who clung to his biases even after witnessing bone-deep experiences firsthand?
Enora said.
"You really don't seem to fear highborns at all, Sir Azel."
"Because I actually don't."
In the past, he might have been more cautious. Clashing with those in power could harm those around him.
'No, was that really the case?'
On second thought, after the Dragon Emperor War, no one in the Nadic Empire dared provoke him. He had powerful allies like Kallos who swayed the imperial court, and the common folk of the world adored him.
'Come to think of it, whether then or now, I've got no defense against claims that I live recklessly.'
From Enora's view as a royal maid, his attitude was shocking enough to make her gasp.
Enora stuck out her tongue.
"Is it because you're a legendary hero?"
"Hm. Do you believe that, Miss Enora?"
"Well?"
When Azel had spoken of his true identity, Enora's eyes had gone wide like a startled rabbit. What had she been thinking then? Azel chuckled softly, pondering.
"What's with that answer?"
"I don't know. Logically, it sounds absurd, right?"
"Isn't it something you could verify with me?"
"Hm. Maybe? Anyway... if it's true, I'd be a bit disappointed."
"Why?"
"I've heard stories of Hero Azel Karzark since I was little—my ears are calloused from them."
History records many heroes. But how many are known and praised by all?
Even in this era, Azel Karzark was the most famous and beloved hero. Countless children grew up on his tales from the Dragon Emperor War, and girls dreamed of a prince on a white steed like him appearing before them. Such is the image of a hero turned icon over time.
"But Sir Azel is, well..."
Enora tilted her head, searching for words. Then she said.
"You somehow feel like the boy next door."
"That's a fresh take."
Azel laughed. Boy next door—first time he'd heard that one.
Enora continued.
"Then again, that boy next door has a mysterious, secretive past and topples dragons single-handedly, so it's already pretty unrealistic. Even bards wouldn't spin tales this wild."
"Reality often outpaces imagination."
"True. If it's real, it's amazing, but somehow... it feels so ordinary?"
"What does that mean?"
Azel could only chuckle.
Suddenly, Enora said.
"Suppose it is true."
"What? That I'm Hero Azel Karzark himself?"
"Yes. Let's assume that."
"Why not just say you don't believe it? What's with the hypotheticals?"
"Don't nitpick. Guys who do that aren't popular with girls."
"I'll shut up and listen, then. Go on, miss."
"In the era when Hero Azel lived, what was it like? People suffered so under the Dragon Demon clan, and there were all those noble souls willingly sacrificing for others—how were the people of that time different from now?"
Azel gave a wry smile at the question.
"Surprisingly, people weren't all that different from today."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"But the old stories make it seem otherwise..."
"After time passes, everyone only remembers the striking moments. The dazzlingly beautiful ones, the hideously unforgettable ones... But that's not the whole era."
Back then, people banded together against a colossal foe threatening their future. Yet even then, they fought while weighing their group's interests, ignored the deaths of those they should have united with, and injustices based on status never ceased.
"That era was just everyone cornered with nowhere left to retreat. A person's true worth shows when pushed to the brink."
Whether one's worth is ugly or noble is unknown until that moment. Even the usually moral and upright might choose basely in extremity, while those seeming like human scum could nobly sacrifice. Azel had seen it too often.
"Highborn or low, young or old, strong or weak... everyone was the same. Only actions proved a person's value back then."
Azel had seen countless people. Some ugly, some noble, others too frail in conviction to stand firm, swaying like reeds in the world's storms.
'Dragon Demon Worshippers.'
The most shocking revelation since awakening in this era was their existence. Not that the Dragon Demon King's followers lingered—it was that humans, neither Dragon Demon clan nor hybrids, worshipped him, deifying the threat of old.
'Why worship him in this era? To them, he's just a distant evil from a bygone age...'