Dance with the Red Sky (6)
Dance with the Red Sky (6)
#59
The sparring hall had a gray stone floor.
Since I couldn't spar in only a shower gown, I borrowed work pants and a shirt from Risie—the kind worn by the fattest maid in the mansion.
They were tight, but what could I do? The physical differences between men and women weren't something I could change.
Risie, still in her shower gown, spoke up.
"The sparring format will be a one-on-one duel. We'll follow the academy's formal dueling rules. Rubel, explain them to Mr. Do-yun."
"Mom, do I really have to do this?"
"If you don't want to, don't. I understand not wanting to lose to a man. If you lose, you'll be the first mage in history to be defeated by a man."
Oh, classic countess provocation.
She knew exactly how to scratch Rubel's pride. But the more she did that, the worse it was for me... I was the one who didn't want to do this. How the hell was I supposed to beat her?
"...You can use unique magic up to two times after imbuing mana. An activated unique magic can be sustained until the initially imbued mana runs out. Of course, since you're a man, you probably can't use it. Try struggling once. That's the end of the explanation."
"Don't they teach you to exchange courteous greetings before a duel these days?"
"Mom, that's only between mages. I've never acknowledged this bastard as a mage. Anyway, though it'll never happen, if you disarm me, the duel ends."
"What exactly does 'disarm' mean?"
"Exactly what it says. Knock your opponent unconscious, or inflict an injury that makes continuing the duel impossible. For reference, in academy rules, forcing your opponent out of the sparring hall also counts as disarming them."
"Alright, shall we give it a go, then? Mr. Do-yun, fighting~"
Wait, what about what I wanted?
Fuck.
What the hell am I supposed to do?
Earlier, Risie had clearly said she saw evidence that I used unique magic. On top of that, she said I used it to protect some girl named Estelle—or was it Eustelle?—from the countess's house.
Risie must have had some reason to believe in me, or she wouldn't have pushed me into this. Unless she wanted me dead, I surely had some chance of winning.
But there was just one problem.
How exactly did one use this so-called unique magic?
If only I could meet Elysia right now. I'd grab the hem of her skirt if I had to and ask her how the hell it worked.
Just as I was lost in that worry, Rubel's incantation rang out from in front of me.
『—O crimson lotus flame—』
Fuck.
Focus on evasion for now. Judging by the magic she'd shown at our first meeting and the full incantation I was hearing now, Rubel's unique magic was likely related to fire.
Fire isn't exactly slow, is it? If I thought of it like a flamethrower from a movie—maybe, just maybe, I could survive by watching the trajectory of the flames and dodging.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, magic completely different from what I expected unfolded from Rubel's hand.
Fwoosh—
A single-handed sword with a long blade appeared in Rubel's grasp.
That kind of thing was possible too?
The blade of the single-handed sword was, of course, flame—glowing almost pure white, searing the surrounding air and flaunting its power.
Crazy.
Getting hit by that sword meant amputation at minimum, death at maximum. You said you were only going to disarm me earlier.
Shhk—
I shot a glance at Risie, but she didn't even flinch.
What exactly was she expecting from me?
"Subject 601, here I come."
Tap—
Rubel rushed straight at me, holding the blazing fire sword.
Hoo—
A horizontal slash aimed above the neck.
I barely managed to jerk my head back to avoid it.
"Fuck!!!!"
"Don't hit the head. I clearly told you to only disarm him."
"Tch—"
These insane mother and daughter. Were these bastards trying to kill me as a pair? One wrong hit from that and I'd be dead.
Whoosh—
This time, as if determined not to miss, the blazing sword strikes came dancing in.
There was no way I could dodge this head-on.
So, disgraceful as it was, I threw myself backward to evade the sword strike.
Thud—
Fuck. I landed right on my knees and it hurt like a bitch.
But I gained something. What I realized while dodging that last strike: I absolutely must not stay within the range of that blade. I might dodge once by luck, but the next time, some part of my body would definitely get sliced off.
"Trying to run? That's the boundary of the sparring hall in front of you. If you cross that line, it's my victory. Whether you cross it and I win, or I cut you down and win. Either way, I win."
"..."
She was right.
"Just as Mother promised, your disposal will be at my discretion. I'll make you pay for daring to deceive my mother and mock the great House Valenor. Isn't that right, Mother?"
Rubel looked down at me with a cold expression, then shifted her gaze to Risie. But Risie still didn't move a muscle.
In that instant, Risie's lips moved.
"I never taught you to take your eyes off your opponent until the fight is over."
Bwoong—
The moment Rubel's eyes turned to Risie—only then did I see my chance. A desperation tackle—
To be precise, it was a disgraceful, boar-like charge, practically crawling along the ground.
She saw my charge and brought her fire sword down, but she must have swung in haste because the attack lacked sufficient force. The fire sword only grazed my shoulder, leaving a minor burn.
BOOM—!
I drove my shoulder into Rubel's calf. Struck by the unexpected impact, her center of gravity swayed heavily.
CRUNCH.
The instant Rubel gritted her teeth and tried to regain her balance, I didn't hesitate and mounted her, raining punches down on her face.
Thud—
Thud—
Good.
It was working.
Unique magic? I didn't know shit about that. At least right now, there was only one way for me to win.
Disgracefully, mounting her like a pig in heat, giving her not even a moment to swing her sword.
Thud—
Thud—
CRUNCH.
A merciless pounding.
I slammed my fist into her face with enough force to kill Rubel.
Please let this be the end.
Assaulting a daughter in front of her mother—
I felt sorry for Risie, but to survive, I had no choice. Her daughter started this first, so she'd understand.
But the advice about not letting your attention wander during a duel probably wasn't meant only for Rubel.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Beneath the blood that beaded and fell from my fist,
"You son of a bitch—"
The red-eyed apprentice mage was glaring at me, fully intent on murder.
***
***
Who would win in a fight between a dagger and a baseball bat? Honestly, I thought the baseball bat would win. One hit from the bat before the dagger got close would probably knock the fight right out of them.
But if a few conditions were added, the dagger would win.
One, when the person holding the dagger has vastly superior physical ability compared to the person holding the baseball bat. If there's a big gap in size, strength, and reflexes, the person with the dagger could force their way past the bat's trajectory and close in.
Two, when the person with the dagger is already closer than the distance needed to swing the baseball bat. In that case, it goes without saying.
Lastly, when the person holding the bat firmly believed their opponent with the dagger couldn't attack and let their guard down.
So the moment Rubel's eyes shifted to Risie and her guard dropped, I felt as if I'd seized the chance of victory in the unseen darkness.
But that was nothing more than a delusion. Because I'd forgotten the most important fact—namely,
That my fists weren't daggers, and my opponent's bat was a fire sword of burning mana.
***
***
『—O flame of true fire—』
Rubel's fire sword changed its shape, transforming into something like a whip.
"Guuaaaaagh——gwaaaaaaaagh——"
***
What was this? What had I been hit by?
Under pain that exceeded all limits, my consciousness slipped beyond the glass window, and someone else was trapped in that pitiful body in my place, suffering. It felt as if I'd become a spirit, watching the acts being inflicted on my flesh.
Who the hell was trapped in that body?
A thought instinctively flashed through my mind. That thing wasn't me, and yet it was undeniably me. An existence that clearly had nothing to do with me, yet at some point had become one with me—
The consciousness born from half of Florentia's imprint.
It had to be that, no doubt.
Scorching pain.
The greatest pain a human could feel.
Rubel's fire sword had at some point transformed into a long whip-like shape and was coiled around both my arms.
My arms were burning white, and the skin had peeled away entirely, exposing the red muscle to the air.
Ah—so those were the forearm muscles.
Back when I worked as a slave at the Orbis loading dock, an old manual laborer had told me: Work hard on your forearm exercises. Now that I could see the internal structure of those muscles for real, it was quite a novel sensation.
"Grrrk—grrk—"
Anyway, Risie was cold-hearted too. She still didn't so much as flinch. From her perspective, was this level of injury not even worth calling an injury?
An iron-blooded figure befitting Valenor of Martial Might.
—As I watched the suffering inflicted on my flesh with such thoughts, the first anomaly of the duel began to occur.
#60
Thud.
A heavy drumbeat resounded.
Thud.
The growing pulsation pulled my flesh back together.
Thud.
"...?"
A radiant light pulsed from my manhood, spilling out and soon covering my entire body, and an imprint whose meaning I couldn't grasp was engraved onto my back.
Hollow eyes that had lost their original owner were looking this way. As if to show me how to use the power.
Do you desire power?
Then offer something.
A price commensurate with it—
An indescribable enlightenment surged into my mind like a violent wave. Swept up by that wave, I came to, and before I knew it, my consciousness was back in my body. Right in front of me, a young woman wore an expression dyed in astonishment.
But only for a moment; then the sight of her went dark. A deep darkness, where nothing could be seen, veiled my eyes.
『Unique Magic—Equivalent Exchange』
『Dark Perception—dark sense』
Yet I could feel. The myriad things of the world could not only be seen with the eyes. Senses that had begun to develop to an extreme relayed every aspect of the enemy to me.
The form, power, and temperature of the flame she held. Her expression filled with shock, her ragged breathing, even the scent of droplets of sweat beading and falling from her long black hair.
『Arm Sacrifice—abandoned arms』
The sensation in both my arms, where the skin had been peeled off from burns, also drained away. These arms were no longer any use in this duel anyway. I would abandon my arms and strengthen my leg power.
Both arms drooped limply like a corpse's, and at the same time, a formidable strength coiled around my legs.
You said I could use up to two unique magics in a duel, right? For me right now, this was my full power.
I took a step forward.
Crack.
The gray stone floor split, and the mark of immense force was gouged into it.
Crack—
I hunched my body. My target was her abdomen.
This time, I moved first.
"Too slow—!!!!"
Whoosh!
You opened with a horizontal slash back then too.
Predictable.
With my senses now, I could read that easily enough.
Rubel, that's your weak point.
I charged right under the flame whip as it swung horizontally.
The searing flames grazed my hair, but I could feel it. My strike would land squarely on Rubel.
CRUNCH——
"Ghk—!"
Rubel's body bent into a V-shape as my foot drove into her abdomen.
Held aloft, Rubel was flung back several steps and rolled across the floor.
The blazing flames scattered,
and the fiery form she had held in her hand collapsed powerlessly.
And then—
she did not rise.
Silence descended. A complete disarmament.
"Haa... haa.."
In the pitch-black darkness, I still couldn't see a thing.
But I knew it clearly.
Because only my ragged breaths echoing through the sparring hall proved my victory.