The Final Battle
"Kuk kuk… You sure know how to show up at the perfect time…. Cough, cough!"
I never expected the chance to test my danjeon would come so soon. It still wasn't fully restored, but it was close to completion.
"Kkiru?! Kkirururururu!"
The gryphon spotted me and charged in a frenzy, its rage boiling over. I clutched my trembling legs, which screamed in agony, and slowly rose to my feet. Sheer willpower kept me upright. If I relaxed even a little, I would black out.
"So… you want to finish that second round we never got to?"
"Kkirurururururu-!"
The gryphon lunged, intent on ramming me to death. I gathered every ounce of strength I had left and threw myself to the left.
"Hup!"
—Kwaaaang!
The gryphon smashed into the massive old tree I had been leaning against. The trunk groaned and splintered, then toppled sideways with a thunderous crash. A chill ran down my spine at the thought of what would have happened if I had stayed put.
"As expected, the opening ceremony for the Rogue Prince has to be this intense! Bring it on, you feathered freak!"
"Kkirurururururu!"
The gryphon charged again, even more fiercely. Its right leg still hadn't recovered from the earlier injury, so it limped forward at an awkward angle.
"That's your weak spot, huh!"
Thunder Sword Art, Third Form: Single Stroke Cleave. With the Gangryeon Herb's effects gone, I had no choice but to rely on the mana in my danjeon. This would be the first time I used it since the reconstruction. I would have preferred a safer method, but there was no dodging that charge.
'I have to try!'
I imagined moving the mana in my danjeon the same way I had during meditation. Right, then left. Mana flowed through my bloodstream, following my will.
—Whiriririk!
—Pabat!
—Kwaaaang!
"Kkirurururururu!"
I dodged. I had moved faster than the gryphon's charge. My body reacted on its own, spinning at incredible speed. It was a movement enhanced by mana—far more refined than anything the herb had forced out of me, and the cleanest execution of the Third Form I had ever performed.
"Haha…! This rogue prince's body really is built for real combat!"
"Kkirurururu!"
While the gryphon was still reeling, I chained the next forms together. The final motion was a spinning horizontal slash, but that alone felt insufficient. So I unleashed the First Form's thrust, the Second Form's vertical spinning slash, and the Third Form's horizontal cleave in rapid succession. Every strike spun like lightning, using the momentum to strike with dazzling force. My target was the joint of the gryphon's right leg.
I poured every bit of strength into the swing.
"Die, you trash mob bastard-!"
—Whirik!
—Kwak!
—Chwaaaak!
—Shweeeeeek!
Chwaaaak-!
"Kkiruk?!"
The precise strikes targeted only the joint. The gryphon's flesh tore to ribbons, and blood gushed out in torrents.
"Kkirurururu-!"
The gryphon screamed so loudly it felt like my eardrums would burst.
'This is it!'
If I didn't test it now, I never would. Auror Blade—the technique of wrapping mana around a sword. I imagined mana pouring from the hand gripping the hilt, flowing along the handle and into the blade.
—Wuuuung….
The sword began to change. A faint, hazy blue aura rose from the blade. Mana now coated the weapon.
'No way… it actually worked! Isn't this supposed to require a third-star danjeon?!'
A third-star danjeon was the minimum threshold for a Sword Expert. That meant the reconstructed danjeon already possessed third-star talent. I was relieved. More questions flooded my mind, but there was no time to dwell on them. For now, I was simply grateful to have this power in the middle of a crisis.
"Thanks for becoming my experience points, birdbrain."
"Kkiruru… kkirurururu!"
The gryphon, now missing its right leg, limped and glared at me. I reinforced my legs with mana and launched myself explosively into the air.
"Haap!"
It felt light. Using mana made my body weightless. I wondered how much lighter I would feel once I lost all the excess fat, but I pushed the idle thought aside. Floating in the sky, I aimed the Auror Blade at the gryphon's head and dropped like a meteor, adding the force of gravity to my strike.
—Puuuuk!
The blade sank deep into the gryphon's skull.
"Kkiru, kkiruu…."
The gryphon's eyes rolled back, whites showing, before it finally closed them.
"Huk, heok…."
I collapsed, using the dead gryphon's body as a makeshift pillow. The battle was over.
"Haha, ha…. Damn it…."
The adrenaline faded. Pain I had ignored during the fight crashed over me all at once—the backlash from overdosing on Gangryeon Herb, the strain of forcing the poison and elixir through my system, and the damage from drawing mana before my danjeon was fully healed. My entire body burned with agony. Unable to endure it any longer, I went into shock and lost consciousness, still slumped against the gryphon.
A soft sensation enveloped my entire body. Was it a blanket made of goose down and a cotton bed? The fluffiness felt like it would swallow me whole. That was the first thing I noticed upon waking.
'…What?'
I slowly opened my eyes. A familiar ceiling came into view.
'The Brace Duchy?'
Looking around, I realized I was in my own bedroom. …What happened? The gryphon? While I was still dazed and confused, the door burst open.
—Bang.
A maid entered, took one look at me, and gasped.
"…Hik!"
She spun around and sprinted down the hallway, shouting at the top of her lungs.
"Your Grace! The young master has awakened-!!"
Deja vu. This scene… I felt like I had experienced something exactly like it before. Moments later, Pablo and Sara entered the room. Pablo remained as stoic as ever, while Sara wore an unmistakably displeased expression. She looked like she had plenty to say to me.
Sara marched straight to the bed where I lay and glared down at me, fuming.
"You! What kind of mess did you cause this time?!"
Mess? I had only gone to fix my danjeon.
"You snuck out with the family's escort knights and coachman to go play around in Taipan. Are you out of your mind?!"
I felt a spark of irritation. Was this really the first thing she said to a patient who had just woken up? And based on nothing but assumptions? I could tell more than a day had passed since I blacked out. Yet instead of showing concern for someone who had been unconscious that long, she started scolding me. Shouldn't she at least explain the situation first? What was she even expecting from me…?
"I didn't go to play around."
"What?"
"I said I didn't go to play around."
"Then why did you go?"
"To fix my danjeon."
"Huh?"
Sara stared down at me with a mixture of contempt and disbelief. I met her gaze calmly, my expression blank. Pablo then spoke up.
"…A reward has arrived for slaying the gryphon."
It hadn't even been a week, yet the reward was already here. The kingdom worked fast. Or perhaps they had rushed the process because we were a ducal house.
"That's good. You should use it to supplement your allowance, Father."
"Was the gryphon slain by you?"
"Yes."
"Don't lie!"
Sara cut in, her voice dripping with incredulity.
"You killed the gryphon? A gryphon is a high-ranking magical beast that only a third-star swordsman can defeat! How could someone as fat and talentless as you possibly kill one?!"
I was speechless at how quickly she dismissed everything I said. At this point, I was starting to get genuinely angry. Had she not been listening earlier?
"Bad memory? I told you I went to fix my danjeon."
"Wh-what…?! Even your nonsense has to make some sense…!"
This time Pablo intervened.
"So the rumor that you received private swordsmanship lessons from Lady Iris was true after all."
Sara's eyes widened in shock.
"F-Father… what are you saying…?"
"Exactly what I said. There have been rumors lately. The maids have frequently spotted you and Lady Iris alone together at night."
"……."
Sara stared at me as if she had been struck by lightning. What? What was she going to do about it? I had only received sword training. I had nothing to feel guilty about. Pablo's words were technically true in context, but Sara seemed to have twisted them into something completely different.
"Th-then… does that mean the ridiculous rumor about Lady Iris having secret meetings with that guy outside the duchy at night is…"
Tears began to well up in Sara's eyes.
…That rumor had been wildly exaggerated. It had only been a light walk, not some clandestine rendezvous. This misunderstanding was troublesome. No matter how much I denied it, the maids would keep embellishing the story. A headache was already forming. I would have to clear things up soon—for Iris's sake as well as everyone else's.