Chapter 9
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: A Bold Demand
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Chris didn't deny the warning.
“If we were to fight with all our might, of course, I couldn't possibly beat you, Vice-Commander. But will you really go all out? Someone of your stature from the Main House, against a scoundrel like me?”
“...”
“Magi use is limited to 1-Star, and curses are forbidden. Let's fight under those conditions. Or perhaps, if you're not confident you can win with just 1-Star, shall I raise it to 2-Star for you?”
Melin burst out laughing.
The scoundrel was provoking her, suggesting he could win if she only used 1-Star magi.
A full 4-Star.
And not just any 4-Star, but one at the upper level, a Majin of her caliber.
“I don't even need 1-Star. I'll use only half of that. And for my swordsmanship, I'll stick to the basic 'Mud Sword Style'.”
With a sharp tug,
She tied up her hair.
“In return, after the duel is over, I will break both of your legs as payment for insulting me.”
It wasn't an empty threat.
She fully intended to carry it out.
The only reason she'd stop at just breaking his legs was because he was, at least, of the Dark Magic House's bloodline, even if from a branch family. Had anyone else provoked her like this, she wouldn't have let them off so lightly.
But Chris kept sneering until the very end.
“If I lose the duel, then by all means. But you should probably think about what you'll do when you lose, Vice-Commander.”
“!!”
“Because I don't think I'm going to lose.”
Melin let out a hollow laugh, for what felt like the umpteenth time.
She couldn't decide whether to be angry or dumbfounded by the daredevil's insane words.
“If you win, I'll grant any request you have. No matter what it is.”
“That sounds like a rather dangerous condition, don't you think?”
“It's fine. Any condition.”
*Fwoosh!*
Melin's body accelerated in an instant.
She brought her sheathed sword down on Chris.
*Crack!*
Looking at Chris, who had barely managed to defend, she whispered coldly.
“Because you won't be walking out of here today anyway.”
* * *
Arrogant brat.
Melin thought.
She now clearly understood that the boy possessed incredible talent.
Perhaps his talent could even be compared to that of Young Lord Eshid de Baron, one of the candidates for heir of the Main House.
A talent that warranted such arrogance.
But that was as far as it went.
Being arrogant was one thing, but not knowing one's place was a problem.
‘Knowing one's place is the most important virtue for a Majin. If you want to live long, that is.’
Just because Majin society was based on the survival of the fittest didn't mean it lacked order.
On the contrary, it had a strict rule.
To submit to the strong.
By that standard, Christian's current behavior was nothing more than the foolishness of a lost cause, rampaging madly without knowing his front from his back.
‘I'll have to teach him a lesson. I owe Count Cazar a great deal, so I can consider this an opportunity to repay his kindness.’
She planned to thoroughly ‘educate’ Christian today.
So that he would never again act like a monkey, failing to grasp his place as he had today.
That scoundrel would even thank her for it later.
‘I'll have to teach him how to bow his head to the strong.’
The method was simple.
Beat him.
After getting beaten to a pulp, respect for the strong would naturally blossom.
With that in mind, she swung her sheathed sword again.
A considerable amount of time passed.
The duel proceeded with Melin attacking one-sidedly and Chris barely defending.
All the spectating Majin thought the outcome would be decided soon.
‘As expected, he's no match for her.’
‘Still, he's holding on for quite a while against the Vice-Commander.’
‘I guess his talent is the real deal.’
The Majin watched with a mixture of admiration as Chris lasted longer than expected.
But it was all for naught.
That scoundrel would fall soon.
That is, soon.
Any moment now.
And yet... that 'any moment' never seemed to arrive.
“!!”
Melin's expression hardened.
Something was strange.
In terms of skill, he was clearly no match for her, yet strangely, her attacks weren't landing.
Melin felt a sense of déjà vu.
It was like this with TERN... and in the duels just before... wasn't it?
Chris grinned.
“It seems things aren't going quite as you planned.”
“!!”
“And you, Vice-Commander... you're not as impressive as I thought.”
Melin's face flushed crimson.
It was an insult she hadn't heard since reaching a certain level of mastery.
Enraged, she ground her teeth.
She planned to subdue that mosquito-like, irritating scoundrel in one fell swoop.
Magi rising from her core flowed into her sheathed sword.
Mud Strike, one of the stronger attacks in the Mud Sword Style.
It was, as promised, only about half the magi of a 1-Star.
It wasn't a large amount, but it would be more than enough to subdue that scoundrel.
However, her strong intent introduced a problem with her posture.
Her movement had become slightly larger.
A mistake she herself hadn't noticed.
No, perhaps it wasn't a mistake.
The increase in motion was not significant, and it wouldn't normally have been a problem.
But unfortunately for her, Christian—or more precisely, the one dwelling within him—was no ordinary being.
A genius who had even impressed the Hero.
He did not miss that opening.
Above all, he had thoroughly analyzed the Mud Sword Style in just a few days.
He knew exactly what kind of opening the Mud Strike would create.
Chris seized that opening and pushed inward.
“!!”
She was flustered by his unexpected move to close the distance.
The distance between them had changed.
Therefore, the attack had to change as well.
The problem was that her last movement had been too large.
This created a slight delay in changing her motion.
Chris, once again, did not miss that opening.
He knew this was a chance that would never come again. If he missed it, he would never win.
So he moved decisively.
Magi extended from his core and spread through his body.
It was still far too weak to strengthen his entire body.
So he strengthened only a part of it.
Only the most necessary part.
And he pushed even deeper into her guard.
“!!”
Melin was even more flustered by his movement.
Coming in even closer? At this range, his opponent couldn't swing his sword properly either.
In that instant, she realized Chris's intention.
‘Don't tell me...?’
But it was too late.
The explanation was long, but it all happened in the blink of an eye, and having been caught off guard, it was impossible for her to change her motion.
As a result,
*Thwack!!*
Chris's forehead slammed squarely into the bridge of her nose.
A headbutt reinforced with magi.
* * *
The arena fell silent.
It was the umpteenth silence of the day.
Unlike before, the Majin couldn't even utter a word.
‘What... what just happened?’
‘Why did the Vice-Commander...?’
From the start of the duel until now.
Chris had been pushed back one-sidedly.
It was only natural.
Even with her magi use limited to half of 1-Star, the difference in their levels was just too great.
But at some point, Chris had pushed in and successfully landed a headbutt.
It was a move that had exquisitely targeted an opening Melin had shown, but the Majin lacked the keen eye to recognize that.
Chris watched Melin, who was staring blankly with blood trickling from her nose, and smiled inwardly with satisfaction.
‘Strictly speaking, this duel is as good as a scam.’
An astonishing thought.
Just as he thought, this duel was, in fact, all part of Chris's plan.
‘No matter how strong a 4-Star Majin is, there's no way she could be my opponent with such restrictions. Especially not a Magic Swordsman.’
Magic Swordsman.
It refers to a knight who uses both sword and magic simultaneously.
The Dark Magic House traditionally specialized in wielding both sword and magic.
They primarily trained with the sword, using various forms of black magic as support.
The Black Swamp Knights were particularly famous for their masterful use of 'curse' magic, a subset of black magic. Forbidding curses was no different from making her fight with one arm and one leg tied behind her back.
If Melin had been a Majin who focused purely on swordsmanship, Chris wouldn't have been able to catch her off guard so easily.
‘In terms of swordsmanship alone, she's probably around 3-Star. Magic Swordsmen tend to have lower individual achievements compared to their overall level.’
Of course, even so, it was still a remarkable feat.
The wide, unbelieving eyes of the crowd proved it.
Gazes mixed with astonishment, shock, confusion, and disbelief were directed at Chris.
Just then, Melin burst into loud laughter.
“Ahahaha!!”
Surprisingly, her face wasn't filled with anger.
Instead, it was a laugh that somehow seemed relieved.
She roughly wiped the blood from her nose with the back of her hand.
“I must apologize for what I said earlier. It seems I underestimated you, Young Master.”
Melin reverted to using formal speech.
She was acknowledging Chris.
A pleasant smile bloomed on her face as well.
She was a Majin to the core.
She was feeling the joy of meeting a worthy opponent after a long time.
‘To think I'd find such enjoyment after being dispatched to a branch family, just killing time day after boring day.’
The thought of teaching him a lesson had vanished without a trace.
In that moment, Melin recognized Chris as her 'rival'.
Of course, strictly speaking, Chris was no match for her.
If she were to use her full power, he wouldn't stand a chance.
But what did that matter?
When her blood was boiling like this.
The moment Chris had exploited her opening and pushed in came to mind.
The insane instinct that didn't miss a fleeting opening.
And the boldness of a wild beast that never lets go of an opportunity.
It was thrilling.
It was the first time she'd felt such excitement in a long while.
“It will be different from now on. I'll be focusing.”
Melin licked her lips.
Her gaze was incomparably more serious than before.
But Chris just shrugged.
“I'm afraid that won't be possible. The match is already over.”
“What?”
“Look at your neck.”
Flustered, Melin touched her neck.
She felt a faint scratch.
“When?”
“I scratched you with my fingernail when I headbutted you. You can imagine what would have happened if my nail... had been coated in poison, can't you?”
Melin was dumbstruck.
Chris was right.
She had lost.
“But... this... this is...”
She bit her lip hard.
Was it because she was careless?
That was an excuse fit for a fool.
But was it really over?
She lost so anticlimactically?
More than anything, she didn't want to let go of this surging excitement.
She wanted to cross swords properly with this genius.
She wanted to feel that thrill again.
In the end, she swallowed her pride.
“...Let's go one more time.”
“Hmm? Are you refusing to admit defeat?”
Melin bit her lip.
After hesitating, she answered.
“No, I admit it. You won.”
As she admitted defeat, a stir went through the arena.
“Then why are you being so pathetic?”
“Well, this is...”
Melin's cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment.
“...A request. Regardless of the outcome, I wish to properly cross swords with you, Young Master. In return, if you agree to the duel, I will grant you an additional request, whatever it may be.”
At her polite request, the Majin wore expressions of disbelief.
To think that proud Vice-Commander would act so humbly.
“So, on top of what you lost in the bet, you'll grant me one more request?”
“Yes, that's correct.”
It was an extraordinary offer.
Two blank checks, including the prize from the previous duel.
Considering she was a Majin who held considerable recognition even within the Main House of the Dark Magic House, its value was even more apparent.
However.
“I'm not particularly interested.”
“!!”
“The right to make you move twice. What kind of great right is that?”
Melin's expression hardened.
Chris lifted the corner of his mouth.
And spoke in a low voice.
So that only Melin, standing before him, could hear.
“Unless the condition is that you'll kneel before me entirely.”