The Sword Saint's Nemesis
Dersian caught his breath, steadying his breathing. Sword Saint. As his skills grew, he had acquired quite a grand title, but it seemed the world was vast indeed. He never expected to be held back in a place like this.
'At this rate, it will be difficult to finish this before Count Bertus arrives.'
The blazing flames showed no sign of dying down. What had once been fertile earth was now charred black and dead, and with every gust of wind, coarse ash scattered through the air. The drifting embers bloomed like flowers in the dawn.
As a massive force surged toward him, Dersian's sword struck back with sharp precision. A silver gleam flashed sharply amidst the ash-gray world.
"Ugh...!"
Thud.
The mighty beastman warrior finally fell to his knees. Blood gushed from the neck he desperately clutched. It was, without a doubt, a fatal wound. Left as he was, he would not last long before dying.
For Dersian, it was a relief. Because this man had stood like an iron wall, dragging out the battle. He was truly a formidable and persistent foe.
"—, —!"
Did the beastman's defeat trigger it? A sound closer to a shriek than language erupted from a woman. A high-pitched voice. A noise that seemed to embody pure rage rang out, and then a hellfire surged. Like a cracking whip—no, like waves crashing over a vast ocean, the flames raged violently.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Dersian chose to evade. It wasn't that he couldn't block it head-on, but there was no need to do so. After all, such firepower wouldn't last long. If she could have unleashed such power from the beginning, she would have done so long ago. She was clearly pushing herself past her limits to raise her output.
As Dersian moved to avoid the disastrous flames, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
'Shallow.'
To be sure, the power of each individual wave was terrifying. But it was nothing compared to the strikes of the 'Shadow Moon'.
How could he ever forget? That sword, eerily silent, its very form seeming hazy and indistinct. A terror so profound that even ten lives would not have been enough to survive it. Yet, a beauty that commanded awe. The memory of that day remained etched in the deepest recesses of Dersian's mind even now.
Thus, he could easily close the distance. Compared to the Shadow Moon, this level of danger was well within tolerable limits.
Dersian slipped beneath the scorching flames. The searing wind felt hot enough to melt his skin. But feeling like it would melt meant, in the end, it did not.
Closing the distance in an instant, he saw the red-haired woman's face contorted with rage. Just as Dersian was about to sever her neck—
Three arrows flew toward him with a sharp whistle. He wasn't hurt, but he had missed a golden opportunity.
'I must deal with the archer first.'
The arrows weren't particularly powerful, but the archer's judgment was excellent. They kept disrupting his rhythm. Glancing slightly to the side, he saw the beastman warrior, whom he had assumed was incapacitated, slowly pushing himself up.
'This is troublesome.'
He could feel the divinity of the evil god, Hybras, emanating from him. A dark, viscous energy. An ominous power enveloped the White Tiger beastman's body. His instincts as a living being screamed of danger.
With this, one of Dersian's questions was answered. He had been half-doubtful when the active Church of Hybras was designated as a heretical cult, but seeing such a sinister divinity, he had no choice but to accept it.
The beastman warrior spoke in a voice that sounded as if it might give out at any moment.
"Not... yet. I, Galedin... will not... die."
"So it seems. But it won't be long."
"You will not... lay a single finger... on my children."
"Those who died by your hand likely felt the same."
Dersian calmly adjusted his stance.
"Haah, haah."
Dersian flicked the blood off his sword. With the woman's dying gasp, the blazing flames vanished as if they had never been. They were far more resilient and powerful foes than he had anticipated. The beastman warrior named Galedin had clung to life, dragging out the fight until his head was severed, and the sniper had tried to hinder him until his final breath. The ability user's flames had momentarily surpassed even the magic of a great mage.
But now, there were only three corpses.
Beneath Ilencia... were there others this strong besides Count Bertus? To possess such power and devote it solely to war. It was a horrific thing. Perhaps it was because they possessed such might that they clamored for war.
'Even as the current era rushes toward peace.'
There was no time to indulge in idle thoughts. The source of Ilencia's military might. Facing him was where the real battle began.
"Dersian Eshque!"
Dark red sword qi tore through space and surged forward. A savage energy, like that of a magical beast, roared, and a sharp greatsword bared its fangs. There was only one human on this continent who could unleash such hideous killing intent. Rajen Bertus. The masterpiece crafted by the evil god. A red glow seemed to gleam from within his demon-like helm.
"Yes, you've finally arrived, Count Bertus. Your nemesis is here."
"Nemesis? Ha, arrogant bastard. You dare call yourself my nemesis with your level of skill?"
"But surely I can buy some time."
Silver light blocked the fangs of the magical beast. As expected, Dersian already felt his strength waning. In that case, the tables were turned; it was his turn to wait for reinforcements.
'Please do not be too late, Elis.'
The beastman warrior Galedin. The fire-type ability user Mary. The sniper Hakon.
These three were people we had taken in from the battlefield. At the time, Sirien and I were acting as firefighters of the battlefield near the gateway. We were deployed after receiving an urgent request for support, but by the time we arrived, the situation was already disastrous.
Corpses littered the half-destroyed outpost, and demons were running rampant. The survivors we managed to rescue were mostly beyond saving. At best, Galedin, drenched in blood, was desperately protecting the two children.
Back then, Mary and Hakon were child soldiers, just like us. It was tragic, but not uncommon. Mercenary groups often employed child soldiers just to fill their ranks. After all, the mercenary groups only cared about getting paid per head, and there were plenty of homeless children in this world with nowhere else to go. It wasn't rare for such child soldiers to die alongside their seniors.
Galedin had originally belonged to a different mercenary group, but when he regained his senses, only those kids were left behind him, or something like that. In any case, that day became the catalyst for the three of them to stay together to this day. Though looking at them, it was clearly a case of Galedin raising two children. He was practically their adoptive father.
"Why is it so hard to see your face? I missed you, sister."
"I've been very busy. You've grown so much in the meantime."
"You've gotten even prettier since the last time I saw you, sister!"
"I-is that so?"
Mary looked up to Sirien a lot. Due to the unique nature of ability users, training them was difficult, and they often injured themselves because they couldn't control their own power. Someone who knew how to handle immense power, yet could protect Mary from being harmed by her own strength—Sirien was the only one who could do that. Naturally, Sirien took charge of Mary's training, and they grew close.
In Galedin's case, he was already a seasoned warrior from our very first meeting, so there was nothing to teach him, and Hakon was mostly trained by Galedin. However, whenever Hakon asked me to spar with him, I always made time somehow.
The taciturn Hakon bowed deeply, showing polite respect. Galedin patted Hakon on the back and grinned.
"This kid has improved a lot, too. You'll be surprised when you see him later."
"I look forward to it."
There was no need for long greetings. We hadn't been apart for that long, and we would continue to see each other in the future. Galedin, in particular, was a man who was quite thorough when it came to his duties.
"Well then, we should head out for a patrol. Mary! You can catch up later; let's look around the area first."
"Ah, yes! Sister, see you later!"
"Right."
They set off to scout the surroundings as if they had planned it beforehand. I waved them off.
In the original novel, the three of them didn't have a very significant role. One-time minor characters who blocked Dersian's path until I arrived. A death that occurred within a mere few sentences was their first and last appearance. If Galedin's name hadn't been mentioned, I probably wouldn't have remembered them either.
Still, at that time, Dersian was making a name for himself as the Sword Saint. Even within the female lead's reverse harem, Dersian was on the exceptionally strong side. The fact that they had given such a Dersian a hard time meant they were like a guaranteed winning lottery ticket. Since they were people who would become our strength, I had been taking care of them with extra attention.
If I had to guess, they were probably quite cherished forces in the original novel as well. Since Rajen had been incredibly furious upon witnessing their deaths. Well, in the novel, I was always depicted as being angry, so I couldn't be entirely sure.
The three of them disappeared from sight, and I had finished checking the state of the procession. We no longer had any business here either.
"We should head back to our spots soon, too."
"Yeah. But, Rajen?"
"What is it?"
Sirien smiled brightly. Her small body clung tightly to my side.
"Why aren't you holding my hand today?"
"Ahem. Well, you know, because of other people's eyes."
"Why should we care about what they think? You're mine now. If anything, we should make sure other people don't covet you."
"I don't think anyone is coveting me..."
"No? There definitely are. Like those stray cats. I absolutely won't let them get away with it."
Well, whatever. If she wanted me to hold it, I had to hold it. Only when our hands clasped did Sirien wear a satisfied expression.
"Hehehe. Good, now let's go back."