Chapter 560: Jealousy is My Power (60)
Chapter 560: Jealousy is My Power (60)
The Great Witch opened her eyes with a long, low groan.
It felt as though she had just woken from a deep slumber. For a moment, her sense of reality vanished; it was only after catching the scent of damp earth that she realized she was sprawled facedown on the ground.
Naturally, a single question surfaced.
What happened?
The confusion didn't last long.
The memory of the opponent she had been fighting in a life-or-death struggle just before losing consciousness flashed through her mind.
The Vampire.
A calamity that must never be unleashed upon the world.
At the thought of that being, the Great Witch’s body jolted upright as if spring-loaded. She was so flustered that her pupils trembled uncontrollably.
That was how desperate she felt.
"Second child! O-Older sister... no, where did the Vampire go...!"
However, her resolute voice trailed off before she could finish.
The reason was simple.
She couldn't sense a single presence nearby.
If that was the case, there was no point in speaking. Furthermore, she found herself unable to understand the words that had just left her own mouth.
'Second child'?
It had been a long time since she had taken a disciple, let alone had a child. There was no one in this world she should be calling by such a name.
And yet, what was this?
The Great Witch fell silent as a sudden, lonely emptiness filled her chest. Strange memories, overflowing like a tidal wave, remained like a lingering scent, hazily coloring her mind.
Once again, dream and reality overlapped.
As a headache assailed her once more, she couldn't help but stagger and groan.
That was, until she caught a certain anomaly.
No, perhaps saying she 'caught' it was a misnomer.
It was like a waterspout appearing before a fisherman in a small boat.
Even if she didn't want to perceive it, her entire body was screaming at the presence. Her body stiffened, and her gaze slowly turned toward a specific point.
A typhoon.
Its true scale couldn't even be measured. For the pressure exuded by one or more beings to reach such a level, one condition was necessary.
A Master had to be among them.
Thus, the Great Witch had no choice but to start walking. She desperately hoped that it was simply the Sword Duke acting out in a fit of excitement.
Because there was only one other possibility she could think of.
The Vampire had appeared with her main body.
That would be a tragedy that must never happen. Recalling the horrors of the past, the Great Witch’s body shuddered, and her footsteps became heavy with anxiety and impatience.
But even this lasted only a moment.
Before long, the Great Witch witnessed an unbelievable sight.
"What in the..."
Sword was leveled against sword.
The momentum of a trained swordsman is like a sharpened blade. When a skilled warrior focuses their mind, it is meaningless to distinguish between the sword and the flesh.
It was a state where the body moved solely for the sake of the sword.
However, the greatest swordsman on the continent had once said:
The union of body and sword is merely the beginning.
A true swordsman tempers even their soul into a single blade. Upon reaching this threshold, the master's soul becomes so vast and intense that it could swallow the entire world.
Thus, the Sword Soul.
It was the stage where one reaches the ultimate height of the sword and subsequently discards the weapon. The entire world became their hilt and their blade.
Some considered this a mere metaphor or exaggeration.
But not the Great Witch.
She herself had already reached the pinnacle of the magical arts. Did she not know better than anyone what kind of miracles a being who had reached the level of 'Master' could perform?
Nevertheless, the Great Witch remained speechless for a long time, her eyes wide with shock.
Two swords.
This meant that, aside from the Sword Duke, another 'blade' existed.
It was an eerie sensation.
If the Sword Duke’s presence turned the entire world into a blade, the man standing opposite her was causing the world itself to fracture. Between the gradually distorting spacetime, a silver galaxy seeped out like crimson blood.
The starlight, lacking a clear form, looked like an amorphous monster. From beyond the boundary, she felt an unprecedented power reaching out toward this earth.
That was why she was even more puzzled.
How can such a distorted mental imagery exist?
Mental imagery was the landscape of the heart. Regardless of whether they followed the martial way or the magical arts, masters who reached high levels usually achieved a state of serene tranquility—a clear, still mirror.
Only then could their mental imagery overwhelm reality.
But look at that struggling mist of light.
It looked as if an uncontrollable beast had been bound in iron chains. An avatar of violence that could trample the entire continent if a single mistake were made was standing right there.
He must be killed.
The Great Witch instinctively came to that conclusion. Cold sweat was already beading on her forehead.
She didn't know why.
But the more she looked at that power, the more an uncontrollable urge surged within her.
As if she were facing an ancient nemesis.
It was then.
"...Enough."
With a low sigh, the suffocating storm of mana vanished without a trace.
It was a change in attitude so dramatic it left her dazed. A slight furrow appeared between the young girl's brows at the man's whim.
Her gaze was overtly dissatisfied.
Even so, the man seemed to have no intention of withdrawing his decision.
"Let's stop here. My identity aside, isn't it clear that I'm not an enemy?"
The Sword Duke did not answer the man's question immediately.
She stared intently at him for a while, then simply snorted and withdrew her momentum.
A sullen retort leaked from her small lips.
"Ha, you're a funny one... Just as you said, how am I supposed to trust the words of someone whose identity I don't even know?"
"If you didn't trust me, wouldn't you have shown your true strength long ago?"
Did those words please her?
The Sword Duke let out a small "Hmph," a smile playing on her lips as she shook her head.
"Hmph, you're not wrong. If I had been serious, I would have already...!"
The girl made a gesture of slashing her own throat with her fingertip.
Even seeing this, the man didn't say much. He simply took a quiet step forward, sending a silent signal.
He wanted to leave this place immediately.
No one blocked the sound of his steady footsteps echoing through the air.
The Sword Duke watched the man pass by her with an unreadable look in her eyes, and the Great Witch was merely fluttering her lips, unsure of what to say.
For a split second, it felt as if the man and the Sword Duke’s eyes met.
Immediately after, with a sharp clack, a gale swept through the area.
The aftereffect was so intense that the Great Witch had to shield her eyes with her sleeve. When she lowered her arm with a faint groan, the two swordsmen's blades were locked together, spitting sparks.
"...You're quite something after all, Mr. Monster."
"I learned from a good master. And, also..."
With a sharp thwack, the man parried the blade aimed at his throat and murmured in an indifferent voice.
"I wasn't being serious either."
With that, the man began to walk away again.
Glancing at his retreating back, the Sword Duke let out a hollow laugh. She looked utterly exasperated.
"Honestly, what a temper..."
Whether the Sword Duke clicked her tongue or not, the man's stride was unwavering. He looked ready to leave this place and disappear in an instant.
That was why.
The Great Witch found herself grabbing the man's sleeve before she knew it.
Startled, the man stiffened and turned his eyes toward her.
In those golden eyes, a faint lingering scent of emotion was spreading. The Great Witch herself didn't even know why she had grabbed him, so she simply hesitated and looked away.
The man also remained silent for a while.
An awkward silence hung in the air for several seconds.
Just as the Sword Duke, sensing something strange, was about to speak—
"What is it?"
His voice was cold enough to bring to mind the freezing winds of the North.
His tone, filtered of all emotion, was instead clear and distinct. At that cold reception, the Great Witch momentarily couldn't suppress a surge of resentment.
But the moment she met those golden eyes, where not even a lingering ember remained—
The Great Witch’s body flinched and trembled.
They were the eyes of a human who had truly burned everything away. In that gaze, which conveyed only exhaustion, she could even sense a desire for death.
Why did that fact feel so sorrowful to her?
It was a question even the Great Witch couldn't answer.
"Ah, that..."
"If you have no business with me, then excuse me."
Now, she truly had no means to hold him back.
The man would leave now, and she might never see him again.
It was the natural course of events.
After all, the man's identity remained a complete mystery. Based on what she had seen, he seemed to be a powerhouse who had reached the level of 'Master,' but she couldn't even guess where such a strong individual had suddenly appeared from.
Only one thing was certain.
That man was an exceptional existence.
So, it wouldn't be strange if they never crossed paths again.
Never again, for all eternity.
I feel like there's something I haven't said yet.
The Great Witch groaned, struggling with her own incomprehensible feelings. It was around the time the Sword Duke crossed her arms and watched with a peculiar look in her eyes.
Rustle.
The sound of someone treading on leaves echoed from somewhere.
It was inevitable that everyone's gaze turned toward the source.
Standing there was a beautiful woman with silver hair.
The woman, whose seductive crimson eyes were her most striking feature, had her eyes wide open as if surprised by the sound she had made herself.
Soon, the woman's gaze met the group's.
No barrier, and three Masters present.
The Vampire’s judgment was swift.
"Kya, kyaaaaaaaaak!"
She turned tail and fled so fast her shadow couldn't keep up. The group, never imagining such an exit, stood there with blank expressions. Of course, it was only for a split second.
"...Get that bitch!"
As the Sword Duke shouted at the top of her lungs, three figures immediately kicked off the ground and shot forward.