Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Deliberately Stirring Up Anger (4)
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"Ugh!"
A groan slipped through my gritted teeth.
I had blocked it, but it was little more than an instinctive defense. It wasn't like when I blocked Liam's sword—piercing through everything with foresight and anticipation.
"-!"
Diego's eyes flashed with surprise, as if he hadn't expected me to block it for real. He immediately pulled his sword back and took a step away.
"Not bad."
His curt words twisted something inside me.
I bit my lip and glared at him.
'The same swordsmanship as Liam's,'
But it was different. Completely different.
Diego's movements were far more refined than Liam's, far more stable, and far heavier.
Monsters don't strike with the promised attacks of a duel between swordsmen. They probe for openings, dig in ruthlessly, and never hold back.
In facing such monsters, Diego had concluded that relying solely on orthodox swordsmanship wouldn't suffice.
Thus, Ovest swordsmanship had evolved into something irregular, branching in diverse directions.
'Bear-like power combined with snake-like cunning and fox-like shrewdness.'
That was how the world described Ovest swordsmanship.
And what Liam had taught me was less than half of half of it.
'I'm screwed.'
I bit my lip anxiously.
'I can't win.'
No angle presented itself.
Just from clashing swords once with Diego, I could tell.
'Our physical conditions are similar,'
But he possessed vast experience and seasoned skill that I lacked. It was a chasm no amount of training over mere weeks could bridge.
'For our physical abilities to even be comparable doesn't make sense in the first place.'
Me, wielding Requiem at a much younger age, matching the level of a man old enough to be my father.
It had to be innate talent, layered with bone-grinding effort and desperate resolve that drew blood.
'Really, what a monstrous guy.'
Truly the world's strongest.
From his twenties, thrown into the extreme frontiers, living on the edge of life and death—such experience was no small feat.
If it had been Diego, not Abel, who gripped Requiem, and if he had been dominated by it?
'The empire would have fallen.'
Even the protagonist Cain from the original story couldn't have stopped that catastrophe.
No, the catastrophe was already bearing down on me.
Diego's sword thrust toward me like lightning.
Clang!
I blocked it for dear life, and a dull sound scattered.
"Urk."
I gritted my teeth and gripped the hilt tightly.
'I won't lose in raw strength!'
I pushed down on the locked blades with force. Or tried to.
"-?!"
A sword is an inanimate object. That's what I'd believed until now.
But suddenly, Diego's sword bent like a snake and surged upward.
"Ugh!"
I hastily disengaged and stumbled back several steps. To avoid those fangs.
'Whoa, what the hell.'
I steadied my breathing, trying not to show my shock. Diego fixed me with cold, sunken eyes.
"You still have no intention of giving up?"
His tone hinted that the attacks would grow even harsher.
'Damn. What to do?'
I calmed my mind and assessed the duel with Diego. Then reached a cold conclusion.
'I can't win, but I can kill him.'
If I drew Requiem and charged desperately, it was possible. By steadily draining his vitality through minor wounds, he'd eventually succumb to death.
But,
'I can't kill him here.'
I had no desire whatsoever to take the lord's seat.
The one ruling Ovest Territory had to stake their life defending the border.
'At my prime age, I don't want to live like that.'
So Diego needed to stay healthy and govern Ovest Territory diligently for a long, long time.
'Then...'
I scanned Diego's entire body carefully.
'Turn crisis into opportunity.'
With defeat inevitable, I had to discard what was discardable and seize everything possible.
Especially now, with the creator of Ovest swordsmanship right before me.
'I can't pass this up.'
I stuck out my tongue to wet my parched lips.
Learning from Diego directly would make me grow several times faster than from Liam. Of course, he had no intention of teaching me.
But "I" could force knowledge from him.
Now, unexpectedly crossing swords with Diego,
'Suck him dry as much as possible.'
I knew exactly what to do.
I hid a lazy smile behind my teeth and straightened my stance.
'Good.'
No need to reveal my full skill excessively or cower too much.
Just show a slight opening to draw out everything he had.
"Is that the end of the lesson?"
And I was a master at this kind of provocation.
"You brat!"
Diego barked and lunged.
Swoosh!
A sharp yet heavy sound cleaved the air. I thrust out my hand to block the oncoming sword.
Clang!
The crash was too immense for mere blades colliding. It meant Diego had swung with full force.
"You want to go all the way?"
Beyond our locked swords, Diego's blue eyes bored into me.
Unlike his voice like raging waves, his gaze was calm like a river, no—like a frozen winter lake.
Diego controlled himself utterly. And the more he did, the stronger the urge in my chest to provoke him grew.
I twisted my lips.
"You started this."
"......"
"So you should finish it."
"......Ha!"
A disbelieving sigh burst from Diego's teeth. His frozen pupils cracked like dry earth, and clang! Scraaape!
"Kuh."
Sharp strikes rained down in succession.
Despite his fury, no emotion bled into his attacks. Only blades honed to lethal perfection flew at me.
'He's not holding back at all.'
I gritted my teeth, blocking or deflecting his assaults. Either choice was equally grueling.
The former made my arms tremble, impossible to sustain long. The latter saw his sword slither up my arm the instant I parried.
'Damn.'
This wasn't just about strength.
'What kind of swordsmanship is this...'
Developed to bisect monster skulls and sever their breath completely.
Regardless of size, form, or material.
It was a ruthless art that gave no room to breathe, no moment to catch one's breath.
My breathing grew ragged, movements sluggish.
'He's treating me like a full-on monster!'
I swung with all my might to force Diego's sword away. A brief respite was the intent, but,
"Where?!"
Diego gave no quarter, pursuing relentlessly.
Slaaash!
His sword doggedly targeted my forearm.
How was this a father disciplining his son? Even a roadside monster wouldn't get this harsh.
'He's ruthless.'
My lips twitched as I met him head-on.
The situation allowed no leisure, but his movements and techniques were steadily imprinting in my mind.
Reviewing this later to make it fully mine brought a smile unbidden.
'Yes, show me more.'
I didn't hide the smile and taunted boldly.
"I still don't quite get the lesson."
It feigned composure but was also self-encouragement.
Twitch, twitch.
Requiem, quiet for a while, stirred again. Because a foe leagues beyond the small fry stood before it.
Diego's pulsing heart, throbbing muscles, blood coursing vibrantly through his body—it all wafted an intoxicating, mouthwatering aroma.
Requiem whined that this would be the finest taste in the world, untouched until now.
'No.'
I cut it off firmly. Requiem grumbled and flicked its tongue, but I ignored it completely.
'Shut up and behave. How many have you devoured already?'
Today—no, for the foreseeable future—I had no plans for murder. Yet Requiem, having tasted blood once, kept salivating insistently.
Clang!
When blocking Diego's sword,
"Eek."
When rolling aside to dodge,
Thud!
Even when his blade slammed fiercely into the wall.
Requiem tugged at my pant leg incessantly, whispering temptations. Like a child throwing a tantrum, it left me exasperated.
"Shut up."
Then I realized my mistake. Diego shot me a ferocious glare.
"......Did you just say that to me?"
Denying it wasn't feasible in the moment, affirming it would provoke him too much.
'I'm already out of breath as it is.'
I held back a reply, just staring at Diego. He gazed back steadily, then slowly closed his eyes.
"......?"
My bewilderment lasted a moment before he opened them again.
"......"
Meeting his gaze, I knew instinctively.
'I'm screwed.'
Until now, Diego had swung mercilessly but without true killing intent.
"......"
Now his face was emotionless, carved clean. His eyes viewed me like an unrelated object, mechanical.
It meant he was casting everything aside to focus solely on punishing the foe before him.
'That expression...'
I bit my lip with a dizzying chill.
That was the face Diego wore just before executing Abel, who grinned wickedly with Requiem in hand.
A vow to stake his life, drag the bastard down to ruin together.
'Why make that face here!'
I screamed inwardly alone. Scolding Requiem too late changed nothing.
"......"
Creep, creep.
Chilling killing intent pressed in, prickling my spine, raising the hairs on my skin.
Step.
Even his single step felt different. Perfectly restrained, devoted only to subduing the opponent.
Like a divine move in chess. In one step, Diego cut off escape and cornered me utterly.
'S-should I draw Requiem now?'
His killing intent soaked the ground beneath my feet. A sensation like slowly sinking into a cold lake welled up.
"......Hoo."
As his intent thickened, took form, my breath quickened.
Not from being crushed by it. I'd tasted far denser, deeper voids—I wouldn't flinch at this.
The reason for my gasps was,
'Calm down. Calm yourself.'
Requiem growling in response to sensing the opponent's intent.
My senses sharpened unbearably; I could feel every strand of Diego's breath.
An urge surged to draw Requiem and snuff out that killing intent right then.
'......No.'
I bit the soft flesh inside my cheek to steady myself.