Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Warning (3)
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“You’re Demian Haksen?”
Geric asked Demian. His tone was calm, but his eyes gleamed coldly.
Demian didn’t answer Geric’s question. He didn’t even show any interest.
“Hey, Victor.”
Victor, who had collapsed on the ground, slightly lifted his head.
He looked like he could pass out any moment.
“You okay?”
At Demian’s question, Victor silently raised his thumb.
Demian let out a chuckle at the gesture.
What a ridiculous guy.
“You three, don’t you usually hear how lucky you are?”
The knights wore baffled expressions at the out-of-left-field question.
“If Victor’s body hadn’t been tougher than most, he would’ve died from the beating. If that had happened, I would’ve beaten you three to death too…”
Demian said, staring straight at the knights.
“But luckily, Victor’s alive, so I won’t kill you either.”
Lavender and Olfys let out hollow laughs at his words.
Geric didn’t make a sound, but his face twisted in displeasure.
“I was wondering what scum dared tarnish the marquis family’s reputation… Turns out it’s just a madman.”
Geric ordered Lavender and Olfys as if there was no need to hear more.
“Crush his leg bones and drag him in front of me. That’ll snap him out of it.”
“Understood.”
“Even if he used dirty tricks, don’t get careless since he took down the Second Son.”
Despite Geric’s advice, the two knights showed no caution toward Demian.
Demian sneered at the sight of them.
“Perfect timing.”
He’d been wanting to properly test the mana he’d accumulated with the Tyrant’s Power Accumulation Technique.
And here were opponents blatantly exposing their openings.
“What did that guy just babble?”
“Looks like he’s lost his mind from fear.”
As the two knights exchanged words, Demian drew up his mana.
Objectively speaking, the mana Demian had wasn’t much.
If the quasi-knight in front of him had 100 mana, Demian Haksen had a mere 3.
Even with the Tyrant’s Power Accumulation Technique’s fast accumulation, this was all he’d managed in just 3-4 hours.
But the same tool could vary in utility and power depending on the user.
“Check out his eyes? He really thinks he can take us?”
“Guess we need to teach him his place.”
Demian Haksen recalled the Azure Flame Brigandine.
Brigandine was a man who had risen to one of the church’s Five Saints with nothing but his fists. He was unmatched in martial arts.
Demian had defeated Brigandine in battle and absorbed all his techniques and realms.
But right now, he didn’t even need Brigandine’s realm.
His techniques alone would suffice.
“Huh?”
“Hm?”
Demian moved.
The moment he pushed off the ground with his feet, he released his mana.
The roughly 3-meter distance closed in an instant.
The two couldn’t even react to Demian’s speed.
Only when he was right in front of them did they realize something was wrong.
“Y-You bastard!”
In his panic, Lavender thrust out with his fist instead of his sword.
Demian casually deflected the punch with his forearm.
At the same time, he drove his fist toward the chestplate.
In that instant, mana surged through his meridians. Explosive power spread through his body.
The thrust fist accelerated and slammed dead center into the chestplate.
The chestplate shattered, crushing Lavender’s ribs.
Blood sprayed from Lavender’s mouth like a fountain.
“L-Lavender!”
Olfys shouted urgently and swung his sword.
But before he could, Demian seized Olfys’s wrist.
“You bastard!”
Olfys tried to shake off the gripped wrist.
Demian twisted the wrist first and kicked out at the ankle.
Olfys’s body floated into the air.
Olfys experienced the bizarre sensation of sky and earth flipping.
“…Huh?”
Before he could grasp the situation in his confusion, his head slammed into the ground.
His brain rattled, and the agony of his neck vertebrae creaking made Olfys scream.
“Gah… Ack!”
Demian stomped hard on Olfys’s face.
The kick, reinforced by mana, easily shattered his jawbone.
“…”
Geric stared at the scene in a daze.
As the mission leader, Geric had a duty to protect Lavender and Olfys.
But he couldn’t intervene. More precisely, there was no opening to do so. Both had gone down in a single blow each.
“This… impossible…”
Even a quasi-knight was recognized as a force capable of shining on the battlefield.
To take down not one, but two quasi-knights this quickly?
“Lord Erwin didn’t lose to cowardly tactics after all…!”
When he’d heard Erwin Ryanbloom had lost, Geric had been furious.
He was certain the Haksen Viscountcy had used vile methods.
But seeing it firsthand, he understood. Erwin Ryanbloom hadn’t fallen to dirty tricks.
He had simply lost because Demian was stronger.
“But no matter how I think about it, I can’t understand! How does a wastrel like you have this kind of skill?!”
“Being stronger than some green kid—what’s the big deal?”
He acknowledged Erwin Ryanbloom had talent.
But the world was vast. Such talent was more common than one might think.
“…I see.”
Then suddenly, Geric’s expression changed.
He spoke with the face of someone who had realized something.
“You’re… not Demian Haksen.”
Now it was Demian’s turn to be baffled.
“What bullshit is that?”
“Don’t play dumb! Who doesn’t know this is a trap laid by mongrels fearing the Ryanbloom Marquis Family’s prosperity?!”
Geric pointed accusingly and yelled.
“You’re not the ‘real’ Demian Haksen! You’re a stand-in they brought in to defeat Lord Erwin and tarnish the Ryanblooms’ reputation!”
Rage began to frost over Geric’s face.
“You filthy wretches dare target the Ryanbloom Marquis Family? You think I’ll stand by and watch?!”
They said people lost words when something was too absurd.
That was exactly Demian right now.
“Think whatever you want.”
That said, he had no intention of clearing up the misunderstanding.
Whether Geric misunderstood or not, the fact remained that he needed to be dealt with.
“You scum! As long as Geric Howd is here, fat chance! I’ll thwart your vile plot right here!”
Geric Howd gripped the greatsword slung on his back.
It was a zweihänder, a two-handed sword infamous for its size matching that of an adult man.
When the already massive Geric hefted the zweihänder, an overwhelming pressure emanated.
“I’ll cut you down here and let the whole world know! How unshakeable the Ryanbloom Marquis Family is!”
“Do whatever.”
“After I execute you, I’ll hold the Haksen Viscountcy accountable! As punishment for their involvement, I’ll burn their entire territory to the ground!”
At those words, Demian’s body stiffened. The annoyed expression vanished, replaced by cold eyes glaring at Geric.
“My family… what?”
To Demian, family was like his reverse scale. A treasure to atone for and protect his whole life.
“You’re dead.”
Demian gripped his sword hilt.
* * *
Geric charged first.
It wasn’t from any calculation that striking first gave the advantage.
“Glory to the Ryanbloom Marquis Family!”
It was the fury of wanting to punish the one who mocked the marquis family as soon as possible.
Geric’s momentum was ferocious.
It felt like dozens of bison charging at once.
‘As expected of a full knight.’
Demian thought as he observed the onrushing Geric.
To become a full knight, one had to wield aura freely.
Simply increasing aura proficiency wasn’t enough.
One had to grasp the profound essence of their techniques.
‘Grasping the essence opens a new world. Nothing like quasi-knights.’
Full knights surpassed quasi-knights not just in physical abilities but in mana comprehension as well.
‘Universal Flow Insight won’t cut it.’
The Sword Saint realm of Universal Flow Insight let one see the flow of any attack.
Seeing the flow allowed one to deflect trajectories.
But the stronger the opponent’s attack, the greater the burden when deflecting.
With his current mana, Demian couldn’t even deflect a full knight’s attack once.
‘Just use something else.’
Demian thought nonchalantly.
Universal Flow Insight was excellent, but Demian had mastered many other realms besides it.
“I’ll kill you in one stroke!”
Geric swung down his greatsword. A lightning-like strike fell toward Demian’s head.
As if to prove his skill, clear aura clung to the blade.
Demian didn’t dodge. Instead, he swung his longsword at the incoming slash.
Geric’s lips curled up at the sight.
Unlike Geric’s vividly shining aura, Demian’s was faint.
Meaning he had little mana and poor proficiency.
“Fool! You dare face me head-on?!”
He could shatter that pathetic aura in one go. Geric put more strength into his arms.
The two blades clashed. Immediately after, a sharp sound rang out as both blades bounced off.
“…Hm?”
The sneer vanished from Geric’s face. The situation differed from his expectations.
“Your aura quality is higher than it looks!”
Geric swung the zweihänder repeatedly. He wielded the massive greatsword as lightly as a twig.
Demian countered right away, deflecting every attack.
“I wonder how long you can hold out!”
By Geric’s judgment, Demian Haksen’s resistance wouldn’t last.
Weapon quality, stamina difference, mana intensity, aura level.
Considering everything, Demian’s longsword would snap soon.
“Hm?”
But contrary to Geric’s judgment, Demian’s longsword remained intact no matter how much time passed.
That wasn’t all.
Even clashing head-on with Geric, Demian hadn’t taken a single step back.
“After clashing a few times, I’ve got your level figured out.”
He even spoke in this situation.
“Not bad for low-class, but nothing to worry about.”
Geric’s face twisted savagely at the words.
Being looked down on by an opponent he’d deemed inferior fueled unbearable rage.
“You dare… belittle me, a knight of the Ryanbloom Marquis Family?!”
Geric drew up more mana. A greater amount flowed into his muscles.
“If that was to provoke me, it worked brilliantly!”
Geric’s attacks sped up.
Now, even the sword swings were hard to see clearly.
The slashes were so fast they looked like a storm.
In the midst of it, Demian tossed out a line.
“I’m the one annoyed at being treated like low-class by trash like you.”
Demian’s hand moved swiftly. The next moment, something grazed Geric’s cheek.
A burning sensation spread across his entire face.
Something trickled down and reached his mouth.
A metallic taste filled it.
“…What the?”
The startled Geric retreated.
He touched his cheek from a distance.
A clear sword cut stung under his fingers. Blood flowed endlessly from the wound.
“…”
Geric stared at Demian in shock.
He couldn’t comprehend what had happened.
“Feel the skill gap now?”
Demian said, resting his longsword on his shoulder.
Geric stared at Demian’s longsword. Blood stained the blade.
“Straighten your stance from now on. Otherwise, you die.”
Suddenly, Demian’s figure vanished.
As the panicked Geric scanned around, Demian appeared right in front of him.
“I said stance.”
Demian swung down his longsword.
Reflexively, Geric raised the zweihänder to block.
In that moment, a heavy impact transmitted through the greatsword.
He nearly dropped it.
“Guh?!”
No time to be surprised. The second attack followed.
Geric hurriedly swung his greatsword. It clashed with the longsword in midair.
A sharp sound rang out, and the greatsword bounced away. Geric’s body was pushed back.
“This impossible nonsense!”
His weapon and build overwhelmingly favored him.
Yet he was being overpowered in strength. An incomprehensible situation.
“What trickery is this?!”
Demian answered calmly to the shout.
“Skill gap.”
Mana efficiency increased with precise control.
In sheer quantity, Geric vastly outmatched Demian.
But in mana control, not so.
Demian’s mana control had already reached divine levels.
In short, Geric was being overwhelmed purely by skill difference.
“Shut your nonsense!”
Geric roared and swung down the zweihänder.
He put everything into it, resolved to bisect Demian in one blow.
Demian casually deflected the sword. And even slashed Geric’s chestplate.
The chestplate Geric wore split like water. The flesh and muscle beneath were sliced.
“Urk!”
The sharp pain sent Geric stumbling back.
But Demian gave no respite.
Demian’s attacks continued. Fast, ferocious slashes poured down endlessly.
Each sword movement carved wounds into Geric’s body. Blood scattered.
“Y-You!”
Geric desperately swung his greatsword. But it was futile.
He couldn’t block Demian’s attacks, let alone read their paths.
“Gaaah!”
Unable to endure, Geric tried to flee backward. But even that was impossible.
Demian stuck to him as he retreated.
Geric’s wounds kept multiplying.
“Hah… Hah!”
In the end, Geric could only kneel on the ground.
Having lost a massive amount of blood in an instant, his mind grew hazy.
Geric looked up at Demian with trembling eyes.
Demian was exactly as at the start. Not a scratch, not even a drop of sweat.
“Y-You… You’re…”
People felt extreme fear toward the incomprehensible.
That was Geric now.
At his level, he couldn’t even gauge what kind of monster Demian was or how strong.
It felt like being adrift in the vast ocean.
How wide the sea was. How deep.
Impossible to fathom from a mere creature’s gaze.
“Y-You… Y-You’re… a being that… c-can’t be left alive…!”
That very fact ignited Geric’s eyes.
Ignorance bred courage. The unknown fueled resistance.
“Someday… you’ll surely bring great disaster to the marquis family!”
Geric’s aura shifted.
His momentum had waned, but an inexpressible ominousness emanated.
Demian sensed the change immediately.
“Going for your secret art?”
Secret arts were techniques devised to reliably kill enemies.
Even ordinary ones were threatening, but aura-based ones were far more so.
Some could split mountains or evaporate lakes.
“It’s been a while since I used the Lion’s Might Sword secret art.”
The Ryanbloom knights trained in the Lion’s Might Sword.
While the direct lineage’s Lion’s Fierce Roar Sword excelled in all aspects, the Lion’s Might Sword specialized in heavy strikes.
Its profound essence: One Strike Must Kill.
Geric wasn’t gathering aura just to show off mana.
He was preparing an attack to definitely kill Demian.
“For the marquis family’s future, I’ll stop you!”
Geric charged forward.
The moment his feet pushed off the ground, the condensed aura exploded.
His whole body accelerated at tremendous speed.
He thrust the greatsword with that momentum.
Not a simple thrust. It carried all of Geric’s mana.
The power was so immense it tore the air, whipping up a gale.
An intangible pressure crushed down on Demian.
“Flashy.”
Before the greatsword reached, Demian’s sword moved.
Demian thrust at Geric the same way. Longsword and greatsword tips aimed at each other.
At the sight, Geric was certain of victory.
Unlike his fully condensed mana, Demian’s was an ordinary thrust.
When they clashed, the outcome was clear.
“For Ryanbloom!”
Geric shouted loudly. Right after, the two tips met.
And Geric’s condensed aura scattered in all directions.
“What?”
It didn’t stop there. The greatsword’s blade shattered into pieces. Fragments flew everywhere.
Geric stared at his sword hilt in dismay.
“I warned you.”
Geric looked up at Demian’s voice.
Demian held his sword high.
“Bad stance means death.”
Demian swung down his longsword.
Geric’s shoulder was severed.