Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Egosword
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The ancient dwarves possessed many secret arts. Weapons that could think and move on their own were one such art. Egosword. A perfect companion that advised its owner at their side and occasionally took action on its own.
A technique lost alongside that glorious era. Yet Vinskar had not forgotten the sight of swords forged by that secret art springing to life, just as he remembered the old glory. Now, centuries later, he had succeeded in recreating it.
Of course, it wasn't achieved through technique alone. To perfect it, he had crossed a bone-deep taboo—one the dwarves of that once-glorious age would never have touched—but even so...
"—Your reputation is well-deserved. Knight Enri."
Vinskar said this as he glared at Enri. The Black Rose's Mad Dog. The green-haired knight. By all accounts, not only had he earned his knighthood at the youngest age possible, but at such a tender age, he wielded skills equal to Sir Theodor—known as the kingdom's greatest swordsman.
Exaggerated rumors couldn't all be taken at face value, but even if only half were true, he was more than sufficient as a test subject for today.
As a stand-in for a knight—one impervious to mere bullets—an animated suit of armor.
"Blame your fate for leading you to Alpenheim at a time like this."
Clang—.
At Vinskar's gesture, dozens of suits of armor stepped forward in unison. An oppressive pressure filled the cavern, as if facing scores of fully armored knights.
"—This guy and that guy."
Enri muttered in a voice laced with faint irritation.
"Why do they always act like they know me?"
Despite knowing nothing about him.
Every time he encountered someone blathering on like they had him all figured out,
Enri felt his temper flare.
This time was no different.
"You wanna die for real?"
Vinskar let out a hollow chuckle at the weightless tone, then waved his hand dismissively, as if there was nothing more to see.
A knight without proper armament was just a man in rags. Knights weren't invincible superhumans who could shrug off blind arrows. What made knights fearsome was when they charged on horseback in full plate armor. A knight stripped bare was little different from an ordinary soldier.
That confidence wouldn't last long. With a sneer, Vinskar watched Enri's impending doom.
However.
"......What."
No matter how much time passed.
"What in the world is this!"
Enri did not fall.
They call someone a knight when they claim victory in a one-on-one fight.
Or put differently,
it means even a knight can't guarantee victory in a one-against-many. It was only natural. Knights didn't have ten arms sprouting from their bodies, after all.
'These guys.'
Thus, the most crucial thing in a fight against numbers was always maintaining a one-on-one situation. Once surrounded on all sides, it was over. You couldn't block attacks flying in from outside your vision. You couldn't fend off two or more strikes at once.
Face only one opponent at a time.
As long as you followed that ironclad rule, you could fell ten or a hundred foes.
And right now, the dozens of armors Enri faced
'...feel kinda half-assed.'
were somehow lacking. It was almost like fighting a single person instead of dozens of suits. Normally, you'd use that phrase to praise an enemy skilled in group combat, but here it was the exact opposite.
They didn't move like dozens acting as one. It felt crude, like one person clumsily puppeteering dozens at once. Thanks to that, Enri dismantled them one by one with ease.
"—What is this! How in the hell!"
Far off, the dwarf seemingly controlling these armors flew into a rage. Enri smirked, drew his sword, and swung. The insides of the armors were hollow. They weren't piloted by people. Targeting vitals and stabbing wouldn't work.
But disabling the armors themselves seemed entirely feasible. Enri jammed his dagger into the gaps under the armpits and other voids, twisted it to sever the joints, then yanked the dangling arm free like filleting crab meat. The severed arm clattered to the ground.
The control core appeared to be at the armor's center. The detached arm didn't wriggle back up to throttle its own neck or anything absurd like that. Good. Safe to proceed.
Slipping his arm into the armor's sleeve, Enri thrust a punch forward, catching an incoming sword blade with the gauntlet and wrenching it. He stomped the unbalanced suit flat and vaulted over it, eyes scanning every direction.
'Three, four, five.'
His madly spinning vision locked onto the spot with the fewest incoming attacks, and every muscle and nerve propelled his body there in a flash. As he moved, the weapons hurtling toward him tangled and clashed. Amid the chaos, Enri took apart suit after suit.
One, two, three, five, seven, eleven.
Like a seasoned chef deboning a fish in the blink of an eye. Enri stripped away the armors' plates with deft dagger work.
Every few blinks, another suit hit the floor. To Vinskar, watching, it felt like not a single one remained upright on its own before he knew it—so swift was the pace.
The moment Enri finished dismantling them all and slotted his dagger back into its sheath with a flourish, Vinskar bellowed in fury.
"Breach of contract! Marcus!"
And at that instant.
From amid the fallen armors on the ground, a dark shadow began to creep upward.
Soon, the coalescing mass took the form of a horned demon.
Demon.
Beings dwelling beyond the northern mountain ranges.
Horrific creatures said to bring annihilation to this world.
Enri stared at Vinskar in disbelief, having laid eyes on a demon that would send the entire kingdom into uproar if even a glimpse were reported.
"This bastard... made a contract with a demon...?"
"Ha! A body that's already bowed to mere humans! What's wrong with contracting a demon!"
"No, that's not—."
Why were contracts with demons so alluring? They were acts that could see one's entire house exterminated as public enemies of the continent, leaving no room for excuses—yet why risk it?
Because a demon's pact granted power so immense.
Power so vast it made one think they could take on the whole world for a moment. However.
"Wow—losing even after a demon contract."
Vinskar had lost to Enri despite his demon pact. Sure, he'd sought animated armors rather than raw power, but still.
Enri shot him a pitiful look, as if to say, Then why bother with the demon? Realizing the meaning, Vinskar bit his lip hard.
"......If that demon had just honored the contract! You'd be on your way to the afterlife by now!"
The manifested demon shrugged innocently.
"What nonsense! If it had been proper living armor, it'd crush a single knight without effort! The ancient records and my memories prove it!"
The demon eyed Enri.
The green-haired knight.
"What? What does that—."
"Ha! I knew it! Demon scum! That was your goal from the start, wasn't it!?"
Vinskar pulled out a pre-prepared contract, claiming he'd expected as much. It was his lifeline from his comrades—a pact staked on his very life.
"Fine! Take as much as you want! Just give me the secret art to defeat that damned human—Gahk!?"
"Are all demon contractors brain-dead or what?"
And then.
Enri hurled the dagger from his bosom, piercing Vinskar's hand, and let out a hollow laugh.
"You think I'm just gonna stand here and watch you renew your contract? Right in front of me? First no transformation, now I have to wait for you to sign a new deal?"
"Damn... human...!"
"The lady I serve might be a villainess, but there's levels to villains. She doesn't stoop to demon contractors."
Having subdued Vinskar in an instant, Enri slowly picked up his sword and pointed it at the demon. Seeing the blade gleam, the demon chuckled amusedly and raised both hands.
"Beat it, demon brat."
With those words, the demon truly vanished. Vinskar blinked furiously in disbelief at the sight. But no matter how many times he closed and opened his eyes, reality didn't change.
Abandoned by his demon, the contractor stood alone before the wrathful knight.
"Never thought I'd catch a demon contractor today..."
"Ah, the demon's bailing on the contract...?"
"First things first—."
Thwack—!
Enri knocked Vinskar out cold with the flat of his blade in a flash, then glanced around with a sigh.
"......How do I get out of here?"
For now,
escaping the collapsed mine took priority.