Chapter 299
Chapter 299
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 299
Chapter Title: Missing Each Other (3)
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ With the Northern warriors watching, Lania strode straight toward Kyle. The warriors who had been training halted their movements and turned to look at her. The rumors about that girl were well-known even among them.
"A mage who beat down warriors with her bare hands."
As all eyes converged on one spot, Kyle, who had been swinging his sword, finally glanced back.
"Back again?"
"Yeah."
"You just keep coming without tiring. I told you I have nothing to say to you."
His voice was utterly flat.
Not an act of feigned indifference, but the kind of tone that could only come from genuine disinterest. Lania kept walking until she stopped right in front of him.
They used to be the same height, but not anymore.
Now, Kyle had to look slightly down at her, a situation that grated on Lania. Frowning in irritation, she raised her hand.
"Who said anything about talking?"
She took off her glove and tossed it at Kyle's feet.
It hit the ground with a soft thud and rolled.
"Let's throw down, you little shit."
Her bare, pale, slender fingers were exposed.
She wiggled her index finger with a mischievous grin.
"If you won't listen to words, I'll beat you until you do. Right?"
Kyle's eyebrow twitched.
He wasn't falling for cheap provocation. It was just that he'd heard words like those somewhere before.
"You gonna listen to me? Nah, you little shit?"
"Then what? I'll beat you until you do."
Was that incident something Raniel had told her about too?
He figured she'd spilled everything. Kyle frowned, already growing annoyed at having to deal with this.
"A duel challenge?"
"What if it is?"
"I accept."
Kyle set his sword down with a thud.
"I won't use my sword."
"Bullshit, showing off. I won't use spells either."
Lania sneered.
Kyle stated the duel conditions with a blank expression.
"When it's over, stay out of my face. Dealing with you one by one is getting tiresome."
"Shouldn't that be the victory condition?"
"Fine, victory condition it is."
He showed no doubt about his own victory. Irked by his attitude, Lania clicked her tongue.
"If I win..."
"Do whatever. I'm not losing."
Well, look at this punk.
Lania ground her teeth. He assumed he'd win as a matter of course, but to her, that was Kyle's delusion.
"Mouthy after getting your ass kicked once."
She beckoned with her finger.
"Come at me, you little shit."
As the duel-crazed Northern warriors cheered, Lania took a step forward.
"If you don't come, I'll come to you."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
Raniel couldn't beat Kyle when he held a sword.
More precisely, she couldn't beat Kyle charging across open ground, burning starlight with his holy sword (??).
It was only natural.
No matter how skilled Raniel was in close combat, she couldn't match a swordsman with superior physical prowess. Without fleeing or any obstacles to block even one sword strike, Raniel couldn't win against Kyle.
On flat ground, she'd lose nine times out of ten. That was Raniel's conclusion after clashing with him once.
What if it wasn't flat ground?
Say, deep in a forest with slopes and obstructions blocking Kyle's view?
Her odds still weren't great.
Out of ten fights, she might snag victory two or three times with luck. It had to be that way. No matter how much mana Raniel burned, she couldn't surpass Kyle's physical abilities.
But all that assumed Kyle held his sword (?).
Strip the sword (?) from a swordsman, and all that's left are two hands. Would he punch then? The old superhumans of Galratric did. To prepare for the off chance of a broken blade.
Their hand-to-hand techniques were devastatingly effective, letting sword superhumans subdue multiple experts bare-handed with ease.
But Kyle hadn't learned them.
No need. What he wielded was a holy sword, the star's armament that never broke or got lost. No reason to consider a swordless scenario, so Kyle ignored hand-to-hand combat.
If he ever had to punch, he'd just swing with his superior physical strength. That alone was threatening enough to beat most fist fighters (??), but...
Thwack!
Against someone with comparable physical ability, things changed.
"Whoa, that’s gotta hurt."
Lania jeered with a snort.
Kyle rubbed his jaw, frowning. He'd thought he'd dodged the punch at the last second by turning his head, but somehow it had smashed into his chin.
His head rang a bit, but it didn’t hurt much.
Frowning, Kyle stepped forward. Punching a girl younger than him in front of the watching warriors might not look honorable, but... whatever.
Whoosh.
Kyle threw a punch.
Not full power, but enough to send the girl rolling if it connected. His fist cut through the air.
Lania just grinned at the incoming punch. Only when it was nearly on her nose did she move.
Smack.
She tilted her head aside and slapped his elbow with her palm. Kyle's fist whistled through empty air, his guard opening up.
Thwack!
She shot her leg out, kicking his gut.
Even a pushing kick like that didn’t budge him a step. Perfect. Lania stepped in and swung her tightly clenched fist.
This time with real force.
Thwack. With a harsh sound, Kyle finally staggered back a step. Lania, still rooted in place, sneered.
"What're you doing?"
To embed a major spell at point-blank range, Lania had learned how to close distances and basic punching techniques.
Who taught her?
The sword superhuman Kuntel.
He’d passed down every hand-to-hand technique developed by Galratric's sword superhumans to Raniel without holding back, and she’d managed to pick them up decently.
In her eyes, Kyle without a sword wasn’t much of a threat.
Whoosh.
Kyle's fist sliced empty air.
Lania struck whenever she saw an opening—extending arms, bending and snapping legs—pummeling Kyle relentlessly. No major damage, but to the watching warriors, it looked like she was toying with him.
And she was.
She pulled her punches at first, then suddenly clenched tight. Her body blurred for an instant. Thwack—right into Kyle’s jaw.
"...!"
Kyle staggered.
The hit landed clean on his chin. As his head shook, he glared wide-eyed. At this point, he couldn’t ignore it.
It was the same.
Just like the old fights with Raniel. She’d toyed with him like this before punching his jaw.
...She’d even told her that much?
Learned from Raniel how to fool him like this? Sneaky bullshit. Now Kyle was truly pissed.
"Enough."
He ground his teeth.
"Cut it out."
He grabbed Lania’s wrist as she punched. Grip crushing with a crackle. As she winced, he yanked her in.
Sure enough, her body was light as it looked.
In a flash, she was nose-to-nose. He seized her collar and dragged her close, snarling through gritted teeth.
"Just how much did she tell you? She spilled everything, huh. What do you get out of fooling me like this? Wanna mess with me?"
"Like she'd tell you shit."
Lania grabbed his wrist on her collar and snapped back.
"Still as oblivious as ever, you fucking asshole."
She jerked her head back. Gray hair fluttered in Kyle’s vision, and sudden pain made him groan.
"Ngh..."
A headbutt.
Aimed right at his nose. The sharp pain made Kyle reel back, but the impacts didn’t stop.
"Hey."
Lania kept rearing back and slamming forward.
"You."
Crack, thwack.
"Fucking little shit."
Even as she hammered headbutts, her own forehead wasn’t unscathed. Kyle had a thick skull. Skin split, blood trickling, but Lania kept shaking her head wildly.
"Spouting all that nonsense proves you're the little shit. Hey, just one question."
She kept at it until he finally released her collar.
"What the hell’s your problem?"
Blood trickled from Kyle’s nose.
"I know I messed up. Feels like I did you wrong, but no matter how I think..."
Mid-headbutt, she slipped—blood now dripped from her nose too. Face a mess, she still tripped Kyle’s legs and toppled him.
"I don’t think I did more wrong than you."
"What the hell, from earlier..."
"Sorry, but shouldn’t you owe me more apologies?"
"What..."
"Don’t you feel sorry toward me?"
With Kyle flat on his back, Lania yanked him up by the collar. Only now did he look straight at the girl before him.
"You fucked up too. You should apologize too. You fucking prick—setting up a tent next to your hometown buddy and just banging away? That human?"
"...You."
"Work on the side, fuck. Ah, blood pressure rising. I’ve got more than a couple grudges against you. Ah, too many, words tangling. Fuck, seriously..."
"Right now."
"Say I fucked up. I’d even apologize. But hey, there’s an order to things. Order."
"What are you..."
"What else?"
Bloodshot eyes.
Blood streaming from her nose.
And disheveled gray hair.
"If you can’t get it even like this, you’re truly fucked. Got it?"
Please don’t make me say it.
Please, you little shit.
Lania muttered under her breath, but Kyle made her say it by asking again.
"What the hell are you?"
"Ugh, you fucking asshole."
Grabbing his collar and lifting, Lania slammed one final headbutt.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 3.
"Jeez, look at that temper."
Sara crossed her arms and clicked her tongue.
The moment Lania started headbutting and opening her mouth, Sara had quickly cast a barrier. At least to keep the conversation from leaking out.
That temper was something else.
Sara knew well the hot-blooded mage’s personality—spilling every thought when emotions ran high. She’d even anticipated things would go this way to some extent.
"...She’s only like that with Kyle."
Raniel was generally cool-headed.
A model mage who always found answers and analyzed situations coldly...
Except in front of Kyle.
On issues involving him, Raniel reacted overly emotionally. She expected much from him specifically, hoped he’d meet those hopes. Sara knew how those hopes had twisted.
"Please."
"Please, hey. Please."
There’d been a day Raniel couldn’t hold back and swung at Kyle. No different from today.
"Please, you little shit."
Sara remembered the tormented expression Raniel wore while getting healed afterward. Lania’s face now matched it.
She couldn’t hear the words.
Watching Lania scream while gripping his collar, Sara just clicked her tongue. She’d seen Kyle’s expression change.
His pupils shook slightly.
A reaction Sara couldn’t draw from Kyle, who’d become an emotionless puppet after facing the Demon King. That’s why she envied Raniel’s ability to provoke it. Admired it. Pitied it.
"Sigh."
Sara shook her head with a sigh.
Then approached Kyle and Lania to separate them. As she stepped forward, nearby warriors blocked her.
"...What?"
"No outsiders interfere in a sacred duel."
The warriors said gravely.
"The duel isn’t over."
"That kids’ scuffle a sacred duel?"
"If blood’s flowing from blows, it’s a duel. A warrior’s pride and honor!"
"Such a... fascinating perspective..."
They were right.
The duel hadn’t ended, and Lania landed a few more headbutts. Sara grimaced as the warriors cheered with every spurt of blood. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇