Chapter 228: Bell's Today
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 228: Bell's Today
Associate Knight Aisia.
She was a member of the order of knights who had accompanied Frok Luagarne.
The technique she had used was a form of Intimidation.
It was an art based on willpower—and what the swordsman before him was demonstrating now seemed to be the same.
No, it was even superior.
Encrid could see formless blades slashing, thrusting, and cleaving toward his body. They were more numerous and faster than Aisia’s had ever been. Even knowing they were illusions—mere fakes—he could not ignore them.
Though he instinctively knew they stemmed from his opponent's willpower, his Sense of Evasion flared.
He almost retreated reflexively, but Encrid grit his teeth.
His body flinched. His shoulders trembled. To face the oncoming blades without dodging, he had to forge a sword within his heart.
It was just like back then.
If he could not break through, it would mean fleeing—evading. It was just like Aisia's Intimidation. If he could not overcome it, he would be crushed against the wall. It would be admitting defeat without even fighting, without even reaching out a hand.
The Ferryman's laughter came to mind. His sneer would surely ripple across the river.
Encrid suppressed his instincts.
"You could die."
The rapier swordsman spoke as Encrid refused to back down. But Encrid did not listen. Even in the days when death meant the absolute end, he had staked his life.
He wasn't struggling toward death; he was struggling to take a single step forward.
So, should he back down now? Was he supposed to?
"Step back," the rapier swordsman said once more.
In response, Encrid began to swing his sword toward the oncoming blades.
He shifted his Sense of Evasion into an offensive form, exploded his Heart of Monstrous Strength, and flung open the Gate of the Sixth Sense. As Single-Point Focus activated, immersing him entirely in the moment, the oncoming blades—the formless swords—all came into view.
Slowly and clearly.
Encrid swung his sword.
He struck them down one by one, deflecting and shattering them. The shattered blades vanished like phantoms, cracking like glass. Yet, for every one he broke, new blades materialized to take their place.
"Foolish," the rapier swordsman said.
Those were the last words Encrid heard.
He missed a single blade. It curved inward, accelerating like a swift hawk. It was a strike meant to be missed.
Encrid felt the blade slice clean through his neck.
It felt entirely real.
It was horrific, accompanied by a sensation of searing heat. It felt so real he was certain he had died.
Encrid closed his eyes.
But he did not meet the Ferryman. When he opened his eyes again...
"You awake, crazy Captain?"
He heard Rem's voice.
*
Succumbing to the Intimidation, Encrid had swung his sword wildly at empty air like a madman before his eyes rolled back, showing only the whites, and he collapsed face-first.
Yet, even in that state, his sword stance had remained incredibly precise and clean, a testament to his rigorous training. Afterward, without a single groan or scream, he fell like a kite with its string cut—like a puppet that had outlived its usefulness—collapsing in a heap.
Immediately after Encrid collapsed, a heavy thud echoed.
Someone kicked off the ground. No, not just one—several moved at once.
Audin dashed forward as if flying to catch Encrid. Rem drew his axe. Beside him, Ragna stood to block the path between Encrid and the rapier swordsman. Sachsen was already positioned behind the swordsman.
"If I had intended to kill him, he would already be dead," the swordsman said.
Rem knew this too. The opponent before them was someone even he couldn't guarantee a victory against.
Well, if I really set my mind to killing him, I could probably do it alone.
But he wasn't alone here. There was no need to reveal his hidden cards just yet.
"If he had died, I would have cut you down," Ragna said. There was not a shred of doubt in his voice. If he said he would cut someone down, he did. Because of that absolute conviction, Ragna's sword was strong.
Rem, his usual smile completely gone, spoke with a blank expression.
"Let's be careful, shall we? My axe has a habit of moving on its own. It has a mind of its own, you see—an ego axe."
Despite the silly joke, his face was entirely cold, which made it all the more chilling.
"His body is fine. Though we'll have to wait until he wakes up to see about his mind," Audin said, checking Encrid's breathing. He omitted his usual honorific, "Brother."
Intimidation affected the mind. It was a force that pressured and constricted the opponent. It meant he could wake up as an idiot.
Of course, Audin didn't actually worry about that. Encrid was not that kind of person. He wasn't a man who would break over something like this.
But what if a blade of fear had taken root in his heart?
That was what the opponent had done. He hadn't bound him with physical chains, but he had left a scar on his mindscape. It was an act that left what could easily be called trauma. Once fear was engraved, it was not easily broken.
"We'll see after he wakes up and we check his condition."
Audin's words still lacked the title of "Brother."
And so, the fight ended.
*
Upon waking, Encrid listened to everything that had happened right after he fainted and nodded.
"I see."
Intimidation—a technique based on 'Will.' Which meant his opponent was at least an Associate Knight. And one who knew how to properly wield a sword at that.
"Interesting," Encrid murmured.
Interesting?
Everyone's eyes gathered on him. If he was being serious, there was a problem. His head was broken—everyone knew that. But then again, they also thought that if it was Encrid, it made perfect sense.
He was a total madman, after all. That was the thought that crossed everyone's minds.
A brief silence fell. It was the culmination of various doubts: was he really okay, was he just blustering, or could he really react like that even after facing a real sword?
"He's broken in the exact same way as before, so he seems fine," Rem said, as if reaching a conclusion.
In other words, this was Encrid's normal.
Fearing a sword? It was possible. Rolling through battlefields, one often saw people whose minds had broken. They had even heard of a soldier who, after seeing a Giant on the battlefield, would faint for the rest of his life at the mere mention of the word 'Giant.'
However, that didn't apply to Encrid. He had already died for real, in actuality, enduring every single ounce of pain. A man who hadn't backed down from actual death wouldn't suffer over being slashed and stabbed by imaginary blades.
"Just like when he drew that sword back then, the Captain's head really must be broken," Krais said in relief, spinning his right index finger next to his ear. He seemed to be recalling how Encrid had a similar experience when drawing the magic sword.
Smack!
Seeing this, Rem smacked the back of Krais's head. He hit him so soundly that, fitting his nickname 'Big-Eyes,' it looked as if his eyeballs were about to pop out.
"Ow! Why'd you hit me?"
"That's my thing."
What do you mean, your thing? Encrid shook his head inwardly as he pushed himself up.
"Only I get to do that," Rem grumbled petulantly. Krais pouted but quietly backed away. After all, Rem wasn't someone you could reason with.
"Are you truly alright, Captain Brother?"
"I must have slept too much. My body feels light."
To the question of whether he was okay, he replied that his body felt light. Audin smiled warmly.
"Your mental strength is truly wondrous, Brother."
Audin found himself looking at Encrid in a new light once again. And why wouldn't he? During the long years of honing divine power, the qualities demanded of everyone were endurance and a stable state of mind.
"Only those who do not yield to any hardship or threat shall lift their heads."
Audin muttered a passage from the Holy Scripture. No one paid much attention to it.
Ragna wasn't particularly suspicious by nature, but he still felt a check was necessary.
Shring.
He drew his sword and stopped it a mere finger's joint away from the tip of Encrid's nose.
"...Are you asking to spar?" Encrid said, blankly meeting Ragna's eyes.
A person who feared swords could never hide their anxiety. But how were Encrid's eyes right now? They were the same as always. Straight and steady. They were filled with the exact same gaze that had utterly exhausted the Swallow Blade.
"We can do it next time," Ragna said, sheathing his sword.
Sachsen, as always, simply found Encrid fascinating.
I feel like he wouldn't die even if you killed him.
Not that Sachsen would just stand by and watch if Encrid were in mortal danger, of course. At any rate, Encrid stood up perfectly fine.
The sparring continued after that.
Instead of his previous soft and amicable swordplay, the rapier swordsman displayed his Intimidation once more. Encrid was slashed and killed again while trying to deflect the formless blades. To be precise, he fainted, so it wasn't actual death. It was merely something akin to death burrowing into and tearing apart his mind and heart.
But that could not change Encrid.
"He's enduring it," the rapier swordsman remarked.
Seeing this, the Swallow Blade grumbled. "Hey, take it easy. If you're going to kill him, just get it over with. Why keep teasing him bit by bit?"
The rapier swordsman ignored him.
The Half-Giant and Edin Molsen's guard voiced a different opinion.
"It might be better to do his turn last from now on. He faints before we even get a chance to step up," the guard said.
The Half-Giant nodded in agreement. They were telling him not to rob them of their own turns. This, too, was a strange development.
The rapier swordsman had seen Encrid's limits, but he gave credit where credit was due.
Is it determination?
None of the people gathered here remained the same as they had been at the start. Without exception, they were all changing the more they faced Encrid.
Before they knew it, the heat had passed, giving way to a dry autumn. The Border Guard was located in northern Pen-Hanil, where autumn was short. Thus, the cold would soon follow. It was already mid-autumn, and thirty days had passed since they arrived at the Border Guard.
"Tell him the next one will be the last," the rapier swordsman said.
"Do as you please," Rem replied.
Encrid, who had woken up after fainting from the Intimidation, nodded. "I want to beat that."
"There is only one way."
As was usually the case when they fought those who visited the territory, advice was offered. This time was no different; Ragna stepped forward.
"If you cannot deflect them all, you must strike back at the illusory blades with your mind."
It was not a vague statement.
'Will.'
It meant that unless he possessed some formless force capable of overcoming the Intimidation, he could never win.
"They say Will is something you realize, but if it were strictly that kind of power, forming an order of knights would be impossible. Associate Knights are those who have forcibly awakened their Will. It is possible for you. Of course, even if you awaken it, immediately countering an Intimidation like that is a different matter entirely."
His final point was that learning to crawl didn't mean one could immediately run. At any rate, drawing a conclusion based on Ragna's words, the opponent was testing him. Whatever the intention, whether good or bad.
Whether it was goodwill or malice, Encrid did not care. He simply...
Intimidation.
Just as he had done whenever he encountered something that bound his body, he merely wanted to overcome it. Though he had absolutely no intention of throwing away his life and repeating today to do so.
*
Another day passed, and it was a night like any other.
Bell, who was on duty in front of the castle gate, spotted someone approaching in the dead of night.
"Who goes there? A merchant?"
Even as Bell asked, he knew the person was no merchant. Rationally speaking, traveling alone was strange, and intuitively, the stranger simply looked formidable.
"Is this where the Soldier Who Ended the War is?"
He wasn't wearing a black cloak, nor was his attire suspicious. The man who stepped into the torchlight was young. His skin was on the darker side, and a sword hung at his waist. An Arming Sword on one side, and three daggers lined up on the other. His bearing was incredibly natural.
In other words, despite carrying weapons, he didn't look like he was armed.
"I was hoping I might be able to see him," the man said again.
Bell tilted his head to the side, then brought it back before speaking.
"We can't let outsiders into the territory at this hour. If you want to see him, you'd better come back tomorrow during the day. And as for meeting him, that'll be tomorrow too. Tomorrow, right?"
His last question was directed at his colleague beside him.
"Yeah, that's right," his colleague replied.
Coincidentally, tomorrow was the day Encrid would recover and come out. Referring, of course, to those days of continuous sparring lately. There were rest days, but he would surely show up tomorrow since he wasn't seriously injured.
"You're in luck. You'll be able to meet him tomorrow," Bell said.
At Bell's words, the man pursed his lips before speaking. "I only have time tonight. Is it not possible to meet him now?"
Bell thought the man was being stubborn, but he possessed a strange aura, didn't he?
I should test him.
Many came looking for the Soldier Who Ended the War, but few among them could overwhelm him. Quite a few had turned back after defeating him, muttering: "A mere soldier is this strong?"
Bell tapped his colleague's shoulder.
"I'm going to go check him out for a second. If anything happens, ring the emergency bell."
"Don't worry, I'll put an arrow through his forehead before you can even ring it," the colleague guarding with him said, nudging his side. This fellow carried a bow wherever he went. In other words, he was quite the archer. He also belonged to the Vengeance Platoon Leader's unit.
Bell stepped out through the side gate, lost in thought. Three or four sentries watched him. Using the torchlight as a boundary, Bell spoke.
"If you knock me down, I'll pass along the message. Want to give it a try?"
"Hmm, very well."
Soon, even though Bell leveled his spear, the man faced him empty-handed.
"...Aren't you going to draw your sword?" Bell's voice grew heavy.
"If I slash you with this, you'll die. I didn't think there was any need to kill you."
This bastard? Brimming with confidence, are we?
Irritation flared within Bell, and it channeled directly into his thrusting spear.
The fight didn't last long. The opponent caught the thrusting spear shaft. Bell saw the movement, but he was exactly half a beat too slow. Closing the distance, the man slammed his palm into Bell's stomach.
Thud!
The impact felt as if it pierced straight through his abdomen. Bell genuinely thought a hole had been punched through his stomach. As he barely held back the urge to vomit from his rattling innards, the man's voice reached him.
"You have a sturdy build."
"...I have an instructor who gets furious if I collapse from just one blow," Bell replied, catching his breath. His legs trembled from the heavy impact. Still, Audin's fists were twice as heavy as this.
Bell stopped debating. The opponent possessed skills far superior to his own. And he had said he had no intention of waiting until daybreak.
I'll just pass it along.
He decided to simply deliver the message to Encrid. The decision was Encrid's to make. Hadn't Encrid mentioned several times that someone like this might show up? Encrid himself had said he wanted to meet everyone, even those who were just passing through. If their skills were proven, the late hour wouldn't matter. They had already met several people that way.
"I'll be right back," Bell said, stepping back cooperatively. The opponent showed no malice, nor did he act rudely.
When Bell went inside the barracks and delivered the message to Encrid, Encrid immediately stood up. "Hold on, I'll go take a look."
"Are you going alone?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Well, I suppose that's fine."
Bell had been acting as the gatekeeper, dealing with those who came looking for Encrid. To him, the stranger didn't seem as formidable as the ones currently staying at the market. He felt no overwhelming presence or sense of intimidation from him.
When he conveyed this, Encrid decided to go alone with light steps.
"Let's go."
With that, Encrid stepped out. Under the torchlight, the two exchanged a few words and soon crossed swords.
Clang!
And their battle began.
It was fierce, yet lively. It gave the illusion of dawn rising between them—a scene where light seemed to seep in. Then, a strange sight unfolded before Bell's eyes.
The moment the opponent's suddenly drawn blade seemed to graze Encrid's forehead, the stranger shook his head in dismay. Right after, Encrid's body trembled violently, and he collapsed forward. He fell face-first, nose hitting the ground. It was a fall caused by an utter loss of bodily control.
Bell blinked.
He's dead?
Afterward, the world distorted, tore, and changed.
Encrid's death was the pendulum that wound back the day. Because the curse had activated, a day that Bell could not remember had passed.
And once again, on the exact same today, repeating the exact same events, Bell went to find Encrid and said:
"Independent Company Commander, someone is here to see you."
"I see."
Bell tilted his head. Encrid was stepping out immediately without even asking for details. As he walked out, a broad smile spread across Encrid's face. It was a smiling face he rarely showed, looking absolutely thrilled.
"Is it someone you know?" Bell asked.
"No," Encrid replied as he walked.
He said he didn't know him, but behind that answer lay boundless ecstasy and joy. Encrid was failing to hide his emotions so completely that it was palpable.