Chapter 533: Jealousy is My Power (33)
Chapter 533: Jealousy is My Power (33)
At a glance, it might have sounded like the ignorant bluster of a lovely young girl.
But to me, knowing her true identity, it was clear.
The vampire was going to die.
There was no way to change this future. In fact, hadn't I been looking forward to it?
This was a monster that had sacrificed dozens of lives.
I had no intention of letting it leave alive. The only reason I had made such an absurd oath was that there was no need for me to dirty my own hands.
The Empire’s strongest warrior.
The Sword Duke was right here.
If I stepped forward, it would be nothing more than overstepping my bounds.
However, the vampire seemed to think differently.
“Heh, hehehe… You, what are you?”
Even as it stumbled backward, the vampire didn't even attempt to hide its killing intent.
Blood vessels were popping in its wide-open eyes. It was a sign that its rage had reached its peak.
“Didn't you hear me? I came here to monitor the ‘slaves’! I know every single person I need to watch out for in this place… Delemore, who drops meteors; Derek, the skull collector; Adriana, the world’s strongest magic bullet user; and even Ian the Mad Dog… But in all the documents I’ve seen, your face was nowhere to be found!”
“And?”
In contrast to the vampire’s heated voice, the girl’s voice remained flat.
It was as if she were telling it to go ahead and speak.
It was a blatant display of looking down on her opponent—the composure that only the truly powerful could afford.
The vampire had already been forced to suppress its temper in front of me. There was no way it could endure such an insult.
The sound of teeth grinding echoed through the air.
It didn't take long for the veins to bulge in the vampire’s neck.
“What do I mean? I mean that someone like you isn't even worth worrying abouuuuut!”
As a sharp scream tore from its throat, the piles of debris scattered around like graves began to react.
It was a sign that the monsters I thought had been crushed to death were still alive.
Thud, thud, thud.
Arms thrust out from between the ruins, their numbers quickly swelling into the dozens. The monsters that rose, pushing aside heavy stones, were truly a sight too gruesome to behold.
One monster had its skull half-crushed.
Countless others had limbs torn and dangling, and it was hard to find a single body with its extremities intact.
Some monsters were so mangled they defied common sense.
A fundamental question arose: How can they even move in that state?
Before I knew it, the vampire was breathing heavily. Its eyes, shimmering with sadism, stared intently at the girl.
“You seem to have… some skill, don't you? Puhuhu… Then let’s see you try to endure this. If you even reach for a weapon or try to manifest Aura?”
The vampire’s hand twitched, flaunting the blood-red threads gathered at its fingertips.
“I’ll kill the hostages one by one. Let’s see how many you end up killing yourself.”
The girl didn't answer.
She simply glanced at me and offered a piece of advice.
“Kid, watch closely.”
Skreeeeeeee!
A screech like metal scraping against metal erupted from all sides. It was like a river bursting through a dam.
“Because this is the blade you must one day wield.”
As the girl’s hand slowly moved toward her waist, the vampire let out a scream bordering on a convulsion.
“How dare you, how dare you, how dare you… I told you, I told you not to touch your sword……!”
“……Not touch it?”
The girl let out a short, mocking snort and stopped her hand.
“You tell quite the funny joke, child. How could I possibly not touch my sword?”
The monsters stumbled closer, and the vampire glared at the girl with bloodshot eyes.
Just as the vampire flew into a rage and raised its voice.
“What kind of nonsense is th—!”
Rupture.
The surrounding space was violently torn apart. A gale swept across the earth, and for a fleeting moment, the world was frozen at a single point in time.
It wasn't just me.
Everyone—no, everything—failed to perceive what was happening.
In that frozen world, the girl exhaled a lone sigh.
“……For this entire world is my blade.”
Immediately after.
Splat! Blood erupted simultaneously like celebratory fireworks. The fountain of blood that soared high into the sky failed to touch even a single drop on the girl.
The head of the woman, her eyes wide with disbelief, fell to the ground.
With every inch it descended, more slashes appeared on her headless body. First one on the neck, then the arms and legs, followed by countless cut lines.
There was no room for life to remain.
The vampire’s body, turned into minced meat, flowed away as a puddle of blood.
That was the end.
Dozens of monsters perished. Without any warning, without any sign.
It was truly an overwhelming display of martial prowess.
If I had been standing in the middle of that, would I have survived?
The girl’s indifferent voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“What are you standing there dazed for?”
Having approached me before I realized it, the girl stood on her tiptoes and patted my shoulder.
“This is the secret art you must learn… I personally call it the Sword Soul.”
“As expected of the Sword Duke’s secret art…….”
Unable to contain my admiration, I looked down at the girl with a fresh sense of awe.
“That was incredible, Elder Sword Duke! How could you do that without Aura?! And that body is supposed to be a prosthetic……!”
“Hmph, you brat. A Master’s body is not merely physical, but conceptual. As long as I can transfer my consciousness, I can fully exert the power of my body through anything.”
“That’s amazing!”
Overcome with respect, I immediately tucked my hands under the girl’s armpits. The girl’s body was hoisted high, far off the ground.
It wasn't something I did while in my right mind.
But am I not also a man walking the path of the sword? Having witnessed the pinnacle of swordsmanship I had only dreamed of, there was no way I could maintain my rationality.
The girl’s eyes went wide, and she looked visibly flustered.
“Wh-what… what are you doing…….”
“I truly respect you! As expected of the continent’s greatest swordsman… I want to be just like you!”
The Sword Duke struggled at first, but it seemed she had no defense against the continuous stream of my genuine praise.
After a few seconds, the Sword Duke let out a "Hmph," a smirk playing on her lips as she put on a boastful expression.
“Yes, praise me more! For I am the Sword Duke!”
“You’re magnificent, Elder Sword Duke……!”
As I was lifting the girl up like a child playing airplane.
A sudden sense of crisis flashed through my mind.
For some reason, I felt like I was forgetting someone…….
It didn't take long for that question to be answered.
“G-Great-grandfather……?”
A voice that sounded not just dazed, but completely lost.
Only then did the Sword Duke and I realize the presence of our companion, and our bodies froze stiff.
Swallowing hard, I slowly turned around.
There stood Cien, her face pale. Her unfocused pupils were shaking violently. The shock must have been severe, as faint tears were welling in her eyes.
The Sword Duke’s face and mine also turned pale.
“H-how… this is a lie, right? But, this level of swordsmanship… no one but my Great-grandfather could……”
“……Ci-Cien.”
Still dangling from my hands, the Sword Duke swallowed hard and spoke.
“I, I can explain everything… Actually, this was unavoidable……”
“Great-grandfather is a girl, Great-grandfather is a love rival, Great-grandfather is a bitch, Great-grandfather is being held in Sir Ian’s arms… Ugh, uuuuh…. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
But before the Sword Duke could make any excuse.
The broken scream of a young girl erupted. That endless wailing was closer to a death rattle.
I tried to fix the situation somehow, but it was impossible.
“Uh, Princess Cien……?”
“Aaaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaaaaaah! Ugh… ack.”
And then, she fainted.
After a long silence, I eventually closed my eyes tight.
‘……What a mess.’
It was a night that made me miss Senior Elsie once again.
After entrusting the unconscious Cien to the temple, I returned to the dormitory with a sigh.
Even after collapsing, Cien had been mumbling for a long time, unable to overcome her Heart Demon. At least until I brought her to the temple, her face had remained deathly pale.
I wondered what kind of reaction she would have once she regained consciousness.
It was when I pulled the door handle and entered my room with a heavy heart.
An unfamiliar sight greeted my retinas.
“Sniff, sniff… Ah, Brother’s scent… Hmm?”
A girl clad in robes of black and red was burying her face in my bed, diligently sniffing it.
It was such an unimaginable encounter that my body froze on the spot.
On the other hand, the girl didn't seem particularly flustered even when our eyes met. Instead, she looked delighted, hopping off the bed and trotting toward me.
“Hi, Brother! You’re back? What should we do first today? Dinner? A bath? Or… could it be, me? Kyaaa!”
“Murder.”
I immediately drew my hand axe and lunged at her.
It was the sudden appearance of ‘Greed.’