Duel, Part 2
We headed to the training ground in the imperial princess’s villa.
There, Hate and I stood facing each other.
“I’ll appoint the princess as my witness.”
At his words, Rosalyn nodded.
“I’ll appoint Sir Derick as my witness.”
I named my own witness as well.
Derick gave a silent nod.
With that, both witnesses for this duel were decided.
Now all that remained was the duel between Hate and me.
I steadied my breathing and looked past Hate’s back.
The sun was slipping behind the ridge.
Thanks to that, the training ground was growing darker by the minute.
If the sun fully set like this, the yard would sink into darkness so complete I wouldn’t be able to make out a thing.
For me, someone who perceived the world like a black-and-white hologram, it was the most favorable environment possible.
But there was no way the princess would leave it that way.
“It’s too dark. Light the torches.”
Whoosh!
At Rosalyn’s command, the attendants began lighting the torches around the training ground one by one.
Before long, the yard that had nearly been swallowed by darkness was bright again.
That was when Hate, who had been loosening up, spoke.
“When you first suggested making the duel at night, I thought it was odd. But once I considered that you’re blind, it made sense. If it’s night, when visibility is limited, a blind man who relies on his senses would actually have the advantage.”
“……”
“You set up a favorable environment for yourself. Smart tactic. But darkness like this won’t be much of a hindrance to me. You’d do well not to expect too much.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Hate gave a faint laugh and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Now it’s time to find out with blades what words can’t settle.”
Shing!
Without hesitation, he drew his sword.
Seeing that, Derick stepped forward.
“I’ll confirm the rules of the duel once more. Defeat comes the instant one side surrenders or becomes unable to fight. The duel ends the moment the witness acknowledges it.”
Derick paused and looked between me and Hate.
“Any objections?”
“None.”
“None.”
“Good. Then the duel shall begin the moment this coin hits the ground.”
Clink!
Derick tossed the coin high into the air.
At that moment, I removed my blindfold.
The world I had perceived like a black-and-white hologram vanished in an instant.
And I opened my eyes.
[The sixth sense awakens.]
“That’s strange.”
The duel had barely begun, not even a few seconds in.
Hate did not attack right away, choosing instead to observe Kael’s condition. For some reason, he didn’t feel like rushing in too soon, so he opted to probe first.
“After he took off the blindfold, it feels like he turned into a different person.”
Just moments ago, the presence Kael gave off had felt like that of a novice knight who had only just begun to learn how to use mana.
But the instant he removed the blindfold, that impression vanished without a trace.
An aura he had never felt before.
Hate felt a surge of tension at that unknown presence.
“Ha.”
The thought was absurd.
“Am I seriously getting tense over a mere blind butler?”
Hate had rolled through countless battlefields and earned his share of glory.
Among all those fights, the number of opponents who had truly made him tense could be counted on one hand.
Which only made him all the more cautious now.
“There’s something here.”
There was definitely something hidden inside that blind butler standing before him.
“Let’s test him lightly first.”
Hate’s sword was a swift blade.
His strike shot toward Kael’s throat.
Whish!
The attack was so fast it was nearly impossible to follow with the eye.
And yet it missed, failing to pierce Kael’s throat.
“……!”
It certainly hadn’t been a full-force attack.
But it also wasn’t the kind of strike that could be dodged so easily.
Hate judged it to be his own mistake and swung again.
Whish!
“……!”
But the result was the same.
No matter how many times he attacked, his blade refused to land on Kael.
Watching from the side, Rosalyn frowned in frustration and shouted, “What are you doing, Hate! Why aren’t you bringing him down already?”
Hate did not answer.
It wasn’t the time to indulge Rosalyn’s complaints.
Whish! Whish! Whish!
If one strike wouldn’t do it, then two.
If two wouldn’t do it, then three.
Hate unleashed a relentless flurry of attacks.
“Huh.”
And yet his blade still failed to touch Kael.
Rosalyn’s face twisted.
“Quit fooling around, Hate! It’s not funny, so hurry up and finish him already!”
Even Rosalyn, no matter how slow she was to catch on, had realized something was wrong.
So she kept pressing Hate, but nothing changed.
After several more attacks missed the mark, Hate finally realized that with strikes like these, he wouldn’t so much as scratch Kael.
“I didn’t think I’d have to use mana in a place like this.”
Ordinary attacks wouldn’t work.
He would have to get serious too.
“This is the first time I’ve ever gone all-out against someone who isn’t even a knight.”
Hate decided to stop seeing Kael as merely a butler.
A knight.
No, more than that.
He would regard him as an opponent capable of trading blows with him.
Wuuung!
Mana began to gather in Hate’s sword.
Before long, a blue sheath of power enveloped the blade.
It was aura.
“I hope you don’t go down too easily.”
Hate’s aura-wreathed sword swung toward Kael.
“This is driving me insane.”
Hate’s attacks were vicious.
Every single strike carried enough force to make my blood run cold.
And yet the reason I had been able to evade them was largely thanks to [Evasion (A+)].
But even that had now reached its limit.
Hate had started fighting seriously.
“Aura, huh.”
I could make an aura sword too, but mine wasn’t anywhere near as refined as his.
So rather than waste mana creating aura, it was more efficient to use it to strengthen my body.
Looks like he’s doing both.
By bringing out aura, he’d declared that he was going to use mana in earnest.
While I had abandoned aura and focused my mana on physical enhancement, Hate was using both aura and body strengthening at once.
Because of that, attacks on an entirely different level than before rained down on me.
Whish!
Hate’s blade stabbed straight for my throat.
I twisted my head to evade it.
Slash!
But the speed was on a different level now, and the edge caught my cheek in a shallow cut.
Bright red blood trickled slowly down my face.
I wiped it away with my sleeve and refocused.
Then Hate said, “From here on, it’ll get faster. If you can dodge it, then do it.”
As if to prove he wasn’t lying, his aura began to shine even more fiercely.
I had no idea whether I could avoid the next attack.
But I didn’t despair.
I still had another trump card.
[The sixth sense awakens.]
The moment the message appeared, multicolored lines spread wildly around Hate.
Among them, one red line connected Hate’s sword to the center of my forehead.
The instant I saw it, I twisted my body to avoid the line’s path.
Then Hate’s sword swept through the spot where the red line had been.
“……?!”
Hate’s face was etched with shock, as if he had never expected me to evade that.
At the same time, a blue line came into view.
It was aimed precisely at Hate’s right eye.
I didn’t hesitate and swung my sword along that line.
It was the first counterattack I had attempted after only dodging until now.
Slash!
And that counter left a long wound across Hate’s cheek.
“Hah.”
Hate barely avoided my follow-up and stared at me in shock.
“Unbelievable. How did you do that? You dodge as if you know exactly where my attacks are going, and then counter at the perfect moment……”
Apparently the shock had hit him hard enough.
But—
“Do I look insane enough to tell you that?”
There was no reason for me to explain it.
“Heh. Fair enough. I was so surprised I slipped up. At this rate, I might actually lose.”
At Hate’s words, Rosalyn, who had been watching the match, shouted, “What nonsense are you spouting, Hate! You’ve been weird from the start! Why can’t you even handle one butler? Get serious! I said get serious!”
At Rosalyn’s outburst, Hate shrugged.
“If the princess had been the one standing here, she wouldn’t be saying that. I’m so wronged I could scream.”
I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded by his words.
How could someone claiming to be wronged sound so pleased about it?
“Shall we go again, then?”
Click.
As if announcing he would attack again, Hate suddenly sheathed his sword.
“……?”
I couldn’t understand why he’d done something like that.
But a bad feeling prickled at the back of my neck.
As if to confirm that feeling wasn’t wrong, Derick, who had been silently watching until now, shouted for the first time.
“Move, Kael! That’s dangerous!”
At the same moment, I saw countless red lines pour out from Hate’s scabbard and surge toward me.
“I’m looking forward to seeing whether you can dodge this one too.”
Click.
The sword was drawn from the sheath.