Chapter 26: Isn’t This a Bit Much? (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 26: Isn’t This a Bit Much? (2)
Delman, a Master Knight of Calliban and the man known as the Third Sword among the Five Great Swords, was in an exceptionally good mood.
It was because, during this expedition, he had killed Klkan—one of the eight chieftains and a man rumored to be among the strongest of them.
Of course, the method he used to kill Klkan was an act that would be recognized as honorable neither in Calliban nor among the barbarians.
After challenging Klkan to a duel, Delman had used pre-hidden troops, various traps, and poison to kill him when he showed up alone.
Though Calliban and the barbarians were at war, they had always maintained a level of mutual respect for each other's honor; in such a conflict, his actions were absurdly despicable.
However, rather than dwelling on his cowardice, Delman smiled at the thought that he wouldn't have to yield his position as the Third Sword to Deus—one of the newly appointed Five Swords. With that thought, he slaughtered every barbarian present.
He killed them all, ensuring not a single soul escaped the battlefield alive.
It would have been an impossible feat for him alone, but the numerous soldiers he had stationed outside to prevent anyone from witnessing the duel made it possible.
Having successfully secured his achievement, all that remained was to return and report it. Thus, Delman arrived back at one of Calliban’s outposts.
“…….”
And there, he saw it.
Possessing crimson hair that matched his symbolic ability to manipulate flames, he stared at the outpost situated on the dark grey earth with a look of intense tension, his Crimson Flame knight order behind him.
He looked at what used to be an outpost.
On the grey earth, red bloodstains, a few ruins, and thousands of corpses lay scattered about as if they were nothing.
But their gaze was drawn not to the ruins, but to a single man standing at the center.
Clad in the leather clothing characteristic of the barbarians, he stood arrogantly amidst the ruined outpost. Soon, he turned his gaze toward Delman and began walking toward them.
At a glance, it looked like he was rushing to his death.
Unlike the lone barbarian, Delman was accompanied by a hundred knights and countless soldiers.
Even if the man were one of the eight chieftains, he was facing a massive force that no one could handle alone.
Yet, despite clearly recognizing this, Delman’s expression was fraught with tension.
The first reason was the ruins, which were so utterly destroyed they could no longer even be called an outpost.
The second reason was the man’s aura.
Even if he had committed a despicable act, Delman was still a Sword Master.
As a superhuman who could slice off a mountain peak with a single strike and reap dozens of barbarian lives with a single swing, he could clearly feel it.
The ominous, extraordinary pressure radiating from that man.
And then.
[Are you Delman?]
The man’s voice echoed.
It was a voice that didn't sound human—one that made one's mind waver just by hearing it. After a moment of shock, Delman spoke.
“Who... who are you?”
Delman instinctively drew upon his Aura Blade as he replied.
[Then tell me, Delman. Why did you defile the great and sacred duel?]
“……What?”
[Answer me. Why did you defile the great and sacred duel, the struggle where two men stake their honor?]
[Speak.]
At the barbarian’s subsequent words, Delman realized this formidable opponent was referring to the duel with Klkan. He scoffed.
“Ha! This is a battlefield. Isn't it the fault of the one who believed in the word 'duel' in such a place?”
As if he had nothing to be ashamed of, he dismissed the concept of a duel as nothing more than a fool’s errand. The barbarian stared intently at Delman and spoke.
[You dare describe the great duel in such a manner?]
His tone was thick with blatant displeasure.
“……I told you, didn't I? This is a battlefield.”
[This is your last chance, warrior who has reached a high realm for a human. Duel me. If you win, I shall let you go.]
Delman did not answer the man’s offer of a final chance.
Instead.
“Everyone, prepare for battle.”
He gave the order to his knights.
As soon as the command fell, the knights and soldiers drew their weapons in perfect unison.
The knights of the Crimson Flame, who had fought alongside Delman in the northern wars and emerged victorious in dozens of battles, drew their swords and deployed their Aura with resolute expressions.
Watching this scene, the barbarian spoke.
[As I thought... does honor not exist among those called ‘knights’?]
Along with that murmur, spat out in lamentation and contempt—
Creeeak— Craaaack!
The surrounding corpses began to rise.
“W-What is—?!”
The knights were horrified by the sudden change, but the phenomenon continued regardless of their feelings.
A knight whose head had been split in half.
A soldier whose body was half-gone.
A standard-bearer whose upper torso was missing a significant portion.
Slowly, they awakened.
And—
“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts—!”
“Kill me... kill me, please... gurgle...”
“Ghek, krrrk, ghek, ghek.”
As the screams of the deceased filled the grey land.
[……Mortals who do not even possess honor have no place in this world.]
No, he—vanished.
“!?”
It was a speed that even Delman, who had stepped into the realm of superhumans, could not momentarily track.
However.
[But—]
At the voice that suddenly sounded nearby, Delman turned his head. The barbarian was already striking the ground.
BOOOOOOM—!!!
The earth exploded the moment he struck it.
Boulders and gravel scattered into the sky, and simultaneously, the soldiers and knights who had been holding their stances were swept up into the air.
Then, with a single swing of the barbarian’s foot through the empty air—
CRACK-CRUNCH!
The soldiers and knights suspended in the air were struck by the flying boulders and stone fragments, turning into lumps of meat.
Before they could even scream, they were reduced to mere flesh, splattering across the ground like countless blooming red spider lilies.
“!”
Delman, who was belatedly trying to swing his sword, suddenly realized something.
His arm was gone.
“AAAAAAAGH—!!!”
As Delman’s scream rang out, the soldiers who had failed to comprehend the situation finally grasped what was happening.
In a single instant, the Master Knight and most of the knight order he led had been annihilated.
Instantaneous terror seized the soldiers.
“A-Aaahhh!”
The fear taking root in their hearts spread like a plague in an instant, stripping the soldiers of their will.
And in that scene of carnage turned into a slaughterhouse.
“Who... what on earth are you—?”
Having lost his arm, Delman stared at the barbarian as if he couldn't believe what was happening.
Soon, that barbarian—
No.
The God of all barbarians and the Father of Duels.
[One cannot share an honorable death with a savage who knows no honor.]
Uultultus finished his task by completely crushing Delman’s internal organs with his rugged hand. Only then did he look down at the man beneath him.
A moment later.
“It hurts... it hurts... it hurts... it hurts... it hurts────!”
Despite his organs being completely pulverized, Delman stood up, spilling blood onto the grey snowfield. Seeing him scream in agony like the others, Uultultus smiled with satisfaction.
[All you savages gathered here.]
He looked at the remaining soldiers, their faces pale with terror.
[Prove yourselves through a duel.]
Then.
[Prove that you are not mere savages.]
He proposed a duel.
[If you do, I shall grant you the gift of a glorious death.]
Atop a blood-stained colosseum made of the dead.
* * *
Biran, a disciple of the Fourth Sword and a Master Knight, could not understand the current situation.
The reason he had come out today was simply to do a favor for Carmine—his friend and, in fact, a very important source of income—by teaching a lesson to a certain noble of the Asteria Kingdom.
Of course, since the six kingdoms were bound together under the framework of the United Kingdoms, it was normally right to show a certain level of courtesy even to a foreign noble.
If a conflict broke out by mistake, it could instantly escalate into a national issue.
Nevertheless, the reason Biran had accepted Carmine’s proposal without hesitation was partly because of the item he offered, but also because, considering the circumstances, there seemed to be zero chance of the matter blowing up.
Biran had judged so for three reasons.
First, among the six kingdoms of the United Kingdoms, the one that held the most practical influence was Calliban, as it was always the one blocking the barbarians coming from the north.
Second, rumors about Count Palatio had not yet spread, so his reputation remained that of a spoiled brat who had become a count by sheer luck, and he had no connections whatsoever in Calliban.
Third, even if things got a bit complicated, he believed his master, Piola—who stood at the peak of Calliban—would somehow smooth things over.
Though not as much as Deus, Biran possessed overflowing talent for the sword and had always been protected under his master’s shadow.
For those three reasons, Biran had intended to "discipline" Count Palatio, believing there would be no harm to himself. Normally, his judgment would have been correct.
However, there was one thing Biran did not know.
And that was.
CRACK!
“Gah!”
That Count Palatio was the benefactor of Deus Macallian—the Master Knight currently hailed as a hero in Calliban.
“Urgh—!”
And that Deus had earned the epithet "Formless Sword" after killing Kurga of the Snowfield, one of the eight chieftains, in a duel.
“Aaaagh!”
Biran, who had been sent crashing into a tree while letting out a pathetic scream, opened his mouth with an expression full of fear and defiance—
“W-Wait! Lord Deus—! Why are you doing this to m— Gwak!”
—But he couldn't finish.
Before Biran could speak, Deus’s foot slammed into his stomach.
At the same time, the Knights of Existence, who had been showing respect just moments ago, instinctively tried to draw their swords.
“The moment you draw your swords, I’ll leave what happens next to your imagination.”
“……!”
With just those words and a slight glance, the knights fell silent, holding their breath in spite of themselves.
From then on, a one-sided beating began.
Watching this, Alon maintained a stoic expression on the outside as he watched Deus suddenly appear and start pummeling Biran, but inside, he was wearing a very satisfied smile.
‘He grew up so well……!’
Alon looked at Deus with an expression like a father watching a son who had turned out perfectly.
……Though what kind of father would think that while watching his son mercilessly beat someone else is a mystery, Alon felt this emotion was something akin to fatherly pride.
No, honestly, beyond fatherly pride, he even felt a strange sense of gratitude.
Alon had been thinking about it constantly on the way to Calliban, but he had assumed Deus wouldn't be particularly glad to see him.
He thought Deus might be welcoming, but that it would end there—that he would never harbor deeper feelings.
Alon had never had a personal conversation with Deus, and above all, Deus had never once sent him a letter.
That was why, when the word "benefactor" came out of Deus’s mouth earlier, Alon felt as if he were being rewarded for raising his son all this time. A look of gratification touched his face.
“He’s a good hitter.”
“Indeed.”
He watched with a gentle smile as Deus dismantled Biran in real-time. After about three minutes, he felt a sense of catharsis, as if a weight had been lifted from his chest.
Alon felt grateful to Deus for going this far for him.
But five minutes after that.
“Count.”
“……Yes?”
“Isn't that guy... going to die?”
Alon felt something was amiss as he watched Deus continue to mercilessly beat Biran, who was now pathetically clutching Deus’s pant leg and sobbing for forgiveness.
“Surely not. Would he?”
“I suppose so……”
But still, with the thought ‘Surely he won't kill him?’, he watched the beating continue for another five minutes.
“…….”
Seeing that Biran’s face was now so mangled that the despicable look he had ten minutes ago was unrecognizable, Alon broke into a cold sweat and suddenly remembered.
That the man before his eyes, Deus,
‘Oh……’
Was one of the Five Great Sins.
Of course, that didn't mean his feeling of gratitude vanished.
It hadn't vanished, but.
‘I appreciate him doing all this for me, but……’
Alon watched Deus, who was now walking toward him after leaving the half-dead Biran behind.
“I shall escort you.”
Seeing the soldiers and knights buzzing as Deus bowed his head deeply as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Alon looked at the bloody mess that was Biran and thought:
‘Isn't that a bit…… excessive?’