62
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 62
Gideon had fought 162 official duels.
His unofficial duels numbered even more than twice that.
Through this process, he had encountered many different types of knights.
Those who belonged to the genius category but lacked effort.
Those who were slow but overcame through effort.
Those who had bad habits remaining from not finding a good teacher.
Those naturally gifted with superior physique.
Those who lacked experience in actual duels.
But in his life, Gideon had never seen someone like Caesar.
Caesar belonged to the category of those naturally gifted but lacking in duel experience.
From the technique of swinging his axe that sent multiple bursts of heavy wind to attack,
To his surprisingly quick reaction speed,
It wouldn't be wrong to say he ranked among the top three geniuses Gideon had ever met.
But Caesar lacked experience.
Perhaps from fighting demons on the battlefield, his attacks were deeply infused with killing intent, and his attack patterns were simple.
So Gideon thought if he could slowly learn about his techniques, he could definitely find a way to counter them.
Clang!
"Kuuuuugh!"
Caesar's Thunder dented Gideon's armor.
Simultaneously, the lightning flowing from Thunder paralyzed Gideon's muscles.
Caesar's indifferent axe aimed for Gideon's pelvis.
Gideon gritted his teeth and rolled backward to dodge.
"Oh? You dodged that?"
Gideon threw off his helmet and loosened his tattered armor.
He looked at the boasting Caesar.
If he had to categorize this Caesar...
Monster.
As if reading Gideon's thoughts, Caesar would instantly correct his weaknesses the moment Gideon discovered them.
The moment Gideon tried to target a bad habit he noticed, Caesar immediately corrected it and defended.
Gideon had never seen such a monster in his life.
A knight who improves during the duel itself.
To think such a monster existed within House Silvatil?
This made no sense.
"Are you really Sir Caesar?"
"What do you mean?"
"No matter how I look at it, you're not the Sir Caesar I knew."
Caesar snorted.
"Why? Was the Caesar you knew not this strong?"
"If I had known Sir Caesar possessed such talent, I wouldn't have failed to recognize it."
"True. Maybe I was stupid back then."
Caesar charged again.
Gideon quickly blocked with his sword.
"A timid, stupid bastard son who only watched his brothers' faces."
Caesar's wind whirled again.
Gideon scattered the sharp winds and deflected the left strike.
However, he couldn't possibly deflect the miniaturized thunder flying toward the back of his head.
"But war changes people."
Gideon gritted his teeth.
Whoosh!
Gideon disappeared like a ghost, leaving only afterimages.
Instead of receiving the thunder rushing at him, Caesar twisted his body to dodge.
Clang!
Then Gideon, who was swinging his sword from behind, suddenly changed his sword path to dodge.
Caesar kicked at Gideon's chest as his balance crumbled.
"Kuhk!"
Gideon collapsed with the crushing pain of his chest bone being dented.
However, Gideon's eyes remained fixed on Caesar.
Instead of counterattacking, Caesar picked up the deflected Thunder.
'Impossible.'
Not only did he dodge the hidden technique 'Ghost Step', but he also completely countered it in one go.
Gideon couldn't believe it.
"That was definitely House Springfield's Ghost Step, wasn't it? I never dreamed you would have learned it."
"...How did you know?"
"You meet various people on the battlefield. I had the chance to fight alongside knights from House Springfield."
Of course, Caesar hadn't seen it himself, Barre had.
When using Ghost Step, a unique afterimage appears at the tips of the feet first, and if you can spot that, you can anticipate when they're about to use Ghost Step.
"But how did you learn it? It should be impossible to learn unless you're a knight of House Springfield."
"I received private instruction from the Count in exchange for fighting as his proxy in duels."
"You've lived quite a colorful life."
Caesar charged again.
Gideon barely blocked it.
But the sharp wind grazed Gideon's forearm as it passed.
He clearly saw it and swung his sword.
But Gideon's hand couldn't keep up.
"It seems you've finally run out of stamina, Sir Gideon."
Only then did Gideon realize what Caesar had been aiming for.
Though Caesar was growing quickly, he wasn't technically superior enough to completely overwhelm Gideon.
Then there was only one way to victory.
An endurance battle.
Gideon was 54 years old this year.
To extend a knight's lifespan as a war machine, they needed to take elixirs regularly, but Gideon hadn't been able to do so.
Yes.
This is what a young genius was.
House Silvatil had embraced such a genius only to let him slip away.
"Huff... Huff..."
Gideon's breathing grew increasingly labored and his muscles responded more slowly.
Meanwhile, Caesar's breathing remained steady.
Gideon glanced at Aldo.
Aldo was watching Gideon with intense tension.
'I cannot lose.'
Then there was only one strategy left.
To use a technique capable of winning with a single strike.
Gideon's sword smoothly altered Thunder's path.
Caesar's left-handed axe responded.
Once again, Gideon changed the axe's path.
The axe barely missed Gideon.
Thanks to this, his body was completely exposed, and Gideon was able to enter Caesar's embrace.
Thump!
With a thunderous boom resonating from Gideon's toes, his feet completely adhered to the ground.
Then his sword scattered.
Gideon had served four lords over 30 years and learned techniques from four houses.
Among the swordsmanship he had learned, he knew the fastest and hardest technique to counter.
That technique was House Vex's 'Falling Flower'.
It was a technique personally taught by Count Vex, one of the original 12 knights, as gratitude for Gideon's martial prowess and sacrifice.
In Gideon's life, not a single person had survived after seeing this technique.
Gideon's sword moved 14 times in a single breath.
Even Gideon couldn't see the sword's path.
The sword simply moved along the path Gideon remembered.
Fourteen rippling blue lines painted a single canvas.
Caesar's body should be cut to pieces like scattered flower petals.
But Gideon witnessed an unbelievable sight.
Whoosh!
Caesar's axe flew in.
Proof that Caesar was still alive.
To dodge all of Gideon's sword work at such close range.
This wasn't just simple reflexes.
It would have been impossible without knowing in advance how Gideon's sword would move.
Gideon's body stiffened.
A side effect of using Falling Flower.
His breathing became labored and both arms trembled, refusing to move.
But Caesar's axe flew mercilessly toward Gideon.
Slash!
"Aaaaaargh!"
Gideon's right arm spurted blood.
Moreover, the sharp winds emanating from the axe shredded Gideon's wrinkled skin.
Caesar kicked the screaming Gideon's body.
Though Gideon rolled on the ground, he didn't let go of his sword like a true knight and quickly recovered his stance.
The tide of battle had already turned decisively.
What could a knight who lost his right arm do?
Gideon glared at Caesar, gritting his teeth until they might break.
Preparing for the next attack.
But Caesar didn't attack.
"That technique you showed just now. It's Falling Flower, right?"
Caesar's upper garment fell apart in tatters.
Then 14 red lines appeared on Caesar's skin as blood trickled down.
"...Yes. It's House Vex's technique."
"An impressive technique. I could have died if I wasn't careful."
Gideon staggered as he took a fighting stance.
"You still want to fight? The winner is already clear."
"Have you forgotten the victory conditions of this duel? It's a duel to the death."
"I know. But fighting more will only lead to a more painful death. Wouldn't it be easier to have your head taken off by me in one strike?"
"If I had given up on life so easily, I wouldn't have made it to this position."
Gideon charged again.
He had never learned sword techniques using only the left arm.
Therefore, no sword energy manifested.
Caesar deflected Gideon's sword with his axe.
It wasn't difficult to deflect since neither strength nor technique was behind it.
"I am a knight who stands here to gift victory to my lord. Even if it's a dishonorable and dirty victory, I am a fighting dog who must fight."
Clang! Clang!
Gideon's sword grows progressively slower and more desperate.
When emotions fill the sword, its path becomes simple.
Despite knowing this, Gideon filled his sword with emotion.
It was because he had to move, even if he had to use desperation as a driving force since his stamina was completely depleted.
"I will win today and bring victory to my lord."
"No."
Caesar struck Gideon's sword hard.
As his body opened up, Caesar kicked Gideon again.
Even so, Gideon didn't let go of his sword.
Caesar charged again.
Clang!
Gideon barely blocked Caesar's axe, but it was almost impossible to compete in strength with Caesar using just his left hand.
Though he tried to break free somehow, Caesar pushed against Gideon instead.
And whispered.
"You want to give victory to your son, don't you?"
"!!!"
Gideon was so surprised he couldn't control his expression.
"...What nonsense are you talking about?"
Caesar pushed even harder.
"Though nobles typically have quite diverse hair colors, that green hair is impossible to come from House Silvatil."
"That's not true!"
Gideon twisted his body to dodge Caesar and kicked.
Caesar was pushed back slightly but charged again.
Caesar entered another contest of strength.
Gideon couldn't shake off Caesar who clung like a leech.
"House Syllvatil's hair colors were traditionally either brown or blonde. Well, in my case, since my mother had red hair and red eyes..."
Caesar looked at Aldo, who was watching anxiously from afar.
"Green hair is absolutely impossible."
"Kuuugh!"
Blood gushed from Gideon's right arm.
"Sir Gideon, you met Lady Lily before."
"Uwaaaaah!"
Gideon pushed Caesar away with superhuman strength.
Too much blood had been lost and everything was blurry.
Perhaps that's why?
Gideon suddenly remembered the moment he first met her.
-I'm getting married.
Lily.
Her name was as pure as a lily.
She was the first lord Gideon served after becoming a knight.
While stories of knights and princesses in fairy tales end in happy endings, it wasn't so for Gideon and Lily.
Lily was a member of a Viscount's family, and like most noble families at the time, arranged marriages were more common than love marriages.
So when he heard the news of Lily's marriage, it wasn't that shocking.
His chest just felt very heavy.
"Does it not affect you at all?"
"I don't know."
"Me neither."
Lily's hand brushes against Gideon's rough hand.
"That's why I want to know."
Gideon was young.
Lily was also young.
Someone once said mistakes are the rights of the young.
Gideon and Lily made a clear mistake and parted ways.
"I will become a champion."
Gideon, who buried Lily in his heart, swore loyalty to various nobles and volunteered as a champion.
Because during life-and-death duels, he didn't think of her.
But after every duel, when looking down at fallen opponents, he always thought of Lily.
He missed her.
He wanted to feel her touch once more.
Around the time that base yet inexplicable desire stirred in Gideon's chest, he met her again.
However, she wasn't alone.
Next to her was a brightly smiling child with the same green hair as Gideon.
Whose child was it?
He didn't need to ask Lily to know.
My child.
His name was Aldo.
After that, as if enchanted, Gideon went to Baron Silvatil and knelt on one knee.
*"I wish to become a knight of House Silvatil."*
Gideon became Baron Sylvatil's champion and served Lily and Aldo up close.
Though he could never call them wife and son, having to address them as 'Lady Lily' and 'Young Master Aldo', Gideon decided to be content with just that.
He would never be greedy.
He would be satisfied just watching them from nearby.
Though he surely made that promise...
Gideon looked at Caesar, who had made him kneel.
"Did you want to make Aldo a baron that badly?"
Gideon looked at his limp left hand.
Though he held a sword, he couldn't move it.
He had lost too much blood.
"...I beg of you."
-Please save my son.
-At least my son...
-Please, at least my son...
"Do you desire such an undeserved happiness even while knowing it's undeserved?"
"...I'll do anything. So please."
Gideon pressed his head to the ground.
"I beg of you."
Caesar looked around.
The spectators and Joseph were all holding their breath, waiting for Caesar's judgment.
Those who didn't know the situation would all think Gideon was begging for his life.
Caesar looked at Aldo.
Aldo's face was red as if he might rush out at any moment.
Caesar called for Joseph.
"Lord Joseph."
"What are you thinking of doing?"
"How could I kill someone who shared meals with me when they're begging for their life like this?"
"...Lord Caesar, you are truly benevolent."
"Of course, this isn't for me to decide. Please call Gloria."
"Understood."
When Joseph gestured toward Gloria, she entered the dueling ground.
"What's going on?"
"Sir Gideon has acknowledged defeat. But he's begging me for his life."
Gideon trembled as he endured the humiliation.
"If Aldo pays an appropriate price for his life, I think we could spare Gideon. What do you think?"
"Why are you trying to save him? Even with his right arm cut off, he could still seek revenge."
"No, this one absolutely won't."
"...There must be something?"
"I'll tell you later."
Gloria looked down at Gideon and spoke.
"I don't think I could understand no matter what reason I hear."
Gloria looked back at Caesar.
"But if the master wishes it, do as you please."
"Yes. Thank you."
Then Joseph called for Aldo.
Despite his red face, Aldo entered the dueling ground rather calmly.
"Brother Aldo."
"...What are you planning to do?"
"I have a proposal for you, brother."
"You'll spare Gideon's life, is that it?"
"Yes."
Aldo's hands trembled.
"The conditions?"
"Cleanly acknowledge defeat and prepare a price for Sir Gideon's life."
Caesar approached Aldo.
"Will you accept?"
Aldo looked down at Gideon with cold eyes and said,
"I don't have money to save a defeated knight."
Gideon's body flinched.
Caesar used psychometry.
-If you're going to die, die honorably.
-How can I face this when you're begging for your life so shamefully?
Caesar let out a deep sigh.
"Fucking brother."
"What? How dare you..."
Thwack!
Caesar threw a straight punch at Aldo's face.