Chapter 214
Chapter 214
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 214
Chapter Title: Helian Tournament (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The audience's faces turned pale upon hearing Everis's words.
There was no one in the Empire who hadn't heard of Pandemonium's atrocities, so they couldn't help but feel overwhelming fear.
The Empire's archenemy.
Those who desired the Empire's downfall.
A gathering of the most wicked.
Most major crimes in the Empire were tangled up with Pandemonium.
"...How the hell did Pandemonium scum get in here?"
The Helian Tournament, one of the Empire's grandest events, was underway in this Colosseum right now.
With the Emperor himself in attendance, security was ironclad.
"Did they have a traitor?"
Black mages were like tumors—leave them be, and who knew when or where they'd spread.
Black mages were experts at exploiting human desires, after all.
"We should've never left them alone."
Pandemonium wasn't called the Empire's archenemy for nothing.
On paper, their forces and size weren't even comparable, but the Empire had been forced to delay or redirect national policies multiple times due to their interference.
The Empire had dispatched elite pursuit squads time and again to root them out completely, but they'd never achieved satisfactory results.
And even while evading the Empire's hunters, Pandemonium ceaselessly plotted vile schemes and struck at vulnerabilities whenever they could.
"Your Majesty, there's no need for concern. I'll guard your side."
The guard knight whispered softly.
The Imperial Knights were arrayed around the Emperor. Even if Pandemonium's main force showed up, they couldn't threaten him.
Moreover, the Colosseum had the arena and stands thoroughly separated.
Protective great magic enveloped the arena in multiple layers to prevent any mishaps.
"I'll order the Knight Order to subdue the Dark Knight."
"No, hold them back."
A flicker of doubt crossed the guard knight's face.
"Mobilizing the Knight Order would make capturing a Dark Knight like that easy. But wouldn't that bruise our pride?"
They had the gall not only to disrupt the Helian Tournament but to send just one person. It was a blatant provocation from Pandemonium.
-The Empire's nothing—a single one of us is enough.
The Emperor's lips twisted. It had been ages since he'd seen such a transparent taunt.
"But we have no choice but to take the bait, knowing full well."
If they were going to play it that way, he had to respond in kind.
To show that a Dark Knight they'd sent meant nothing.
"For now, we'll trust the tournament participants and wait."
"Understood."
The guard knight bowed his head.
* * *
"Pandemonium trash dares mention the Empire?"
Archibald spat with a furious expression.
"Marlenka, fall back. I'll subdue this woman first and continue the match."
"Look at you, trying to hog all the glory... I'll handle her, so you back off."
The two knights snarled at each other.
"Um, excuse me..."
Everis timidly suggested to the pair.
"You could both come at me at once, if you'd like..."
"You insolent bastard, what did you just say?!"
"Ee, eek!"
"If that's what you want, fine! No regrets!"
"You're right—no need to stand on ceremony with Pandemonium scum."
The two knights charged at Everis, swinging their weapons from both sides.
"U, uwaaah!"
Everis screamed. In the next instant, the two-handed sword's position had changed.
The blade, which had been dangling limply toward the ground, was now soaring into the sky. And not just that—it had shifted to the opposite side.
"...?"
Doubt crossed the knights' faces. When did she move the weapon? Why hadn't they seen it?
It was as if two different pictures had been swapped out.
The scene was that unnatural, that incomprehensible.
"H-Heavy!"
Everis dropped the two-handed sword to the ground, unable to bear its weight.
At that moment, blood spurted from both knights' necks.
Marlenka's head separated from her torso. Archibald clutched his throat wound and collapsed.
"You... bitch..."
With those final words, Archibald's eyes rolled back. His body toppled backward.
Dead.
Two master-class knights—not even lesser ones—dead in the blink of an eye.
An unbelievable sight blanketed the entire Colosseum in heavy silence.
"Huh? I-It got quiet all of a sudden. D-Did they both die?"
Everis glanced around, speaking aloud. Being blind, she hadn't immediately registered their deaths.
"Th-They're dead, right? Heh, heh... N-Not a big deal."
As Everis scratched the back of her head sheepishly,
"U-Uwaaaah!"
Screams erupted from the stands. People tried to flee outside.
With tens of thousands moving at once, the Colosseum plunged into chaos.
-Calm yourselves!
In that moment, a thunderous roar rang out. The sheer shock froze everyone in place.
A massive knight leaped down from the VIP stands. His movements were light, belying his bulk.
"I-It's Bradley Hess!"
The stands erupted in noise again at Bradley's appearance.
"Tyrant's Fist!"
"The Empire's Divine Might!"
"Bradley Hess!"
The imperial citizens cheered his name.
"Pandemonium trash."
"Y-Yes? M-Me?"
Everis stared ahead as she spoke. Bradley scowled.
"Not you—left."
"Ah, th-thank you."
"Enough chatter."
Bradley clashed his fists together. A heavy shockwave rippled out.
"You dare ruin the Empire's event and slaughter knights on top of it?"
Killing intent poured from Bradley's eyes.
"I'll cut you down right here."
* * *
Unlike his savage intent, Bradley didn't charge straight at Everis.
He circled around her, tracing an arc.
'Frontal assault is too risky.'
To his shame, even Bradley Hess hadn't caught Everis's swift sword from moments ago.
It had been shockingly fast, staggeringly sharp.
Even Archibald, a swift sword master, had been helpless.
Facing that swift sword head-on would be idiotic.
'I need to wait for an opening.'
Bradley concentrated mana into his fist. His Aurablade thickened.
"Haat!"
He thrust his fist at empty air. The Aurablade shot forth toward Everis.
"Kyaa!"
Everis twisted away with a scream. The Aurablade grazed past into the void.
"Th-That's cheating—attacking from afar!"
Bradley ignored her protest.
His opponent was a Pandemonium Dark Knight. No mercy needed.
More importantly, analyzing Everis took priority now.
'She's blind, so how did she dodge? Faking it? Or heightened other senses?'
It happened sometimes.
Losing one sense caused the others to sharpen extraordinarily.
Like blind musicians hypersensitive to sound despite their sightlessness.
It wouldn't be odd if Everis had that.
'I need to probe more.'
Bradley prowled her perimeter, relentlessly firing Aurablades.
"Kyaa! Kyaak!"
Each time, Everis dodged. Holes punched into the spots where she'd stood.
'She can't see. Purely sensory evasion.'
Even when he fired from behind, she evaded. Reaction speed identical.
Definitely blind. Other senses compensated.
'Hard to find an opening. Guess I'll have to take the risk.'
Bradley crouched. Muscles across his body contracted.
'The swift sword's dangerous, but no issue. Cloak myself in Aurablade to block.'
He planned to reuse the method from yesterday's match, where he'd blocked a barrage of Aurablades.
Bradley tensed his legs. Straight-line charge...
In that split second, strength entered Everis's arm. The next instant, the two-handed sword's position shifted.
From ground to sky. The moment he registered it, Bradley's gut burned.
His abdomen split open, blood gushing. Intestines spilled out.
"Guh!"
Pain and confusion hit Bradley's face simultaneously.
What just happened?
Why was he the one slashed?
"Y-You idiot, my s-slashes have a h-huge range. B-But do you know why I l-let you be?"
Everis let out a strange giggle.
"B-Because watching you act like a fool was f-funny."
Bradley crumpled like a puppet with cut strings.
"D-Dodge..."
His mind knew to evade, but his body wouldn't move.
"N-Now, I'll t-take your head."
Everis gripped the two-handed sword again.
Perhaps because death loomed, Bradley could scrutinize her slash in detail.
As Everis twisted her waist, her muscles swelled. The massive two-handed sword cleaved the air in one motion.
Simultaneously, the Aurablade coating it extended.
The stretched Aurablade severed Bradley's neck.
* * *
Just before, something yanked Bradley's nape.
His body jerked back, the Aurablade grazing his nose tip. A chill pierced his marrow.
"Wh-Who..."
He looked up to see Demian Haksen's face.
"Th-Thanks..."
"Michael, take this guy and treat him."
Demian ignored Bradley entirely.
All his attention fixed on Everis.
"Ah, aaaah!"
Everis's eyes widened upon seeing Demian.
"D-Demian Haksen! I k-know you! The guy who b-bullied Sla-nim, right? Y-You're super famous..."
"Strange."
Demian cut off Everis curtly. Disgust laced his voice.
"Who the hell are you?"
"I-I introduced myself earlier... Everis."
"Never heard that name."
"O-Of course not. I've always stayed by Master's side. Never had a chance to—"
"A pseudonym? No, even so, I wouldn't forget a master-class like this."
Demian Haksen didn't know every master-class in the world. The world was vast, hidden experts plentiful.
But it wasn't an exaggeration to say he knew most on Dorgo's side.
Especially this woman—Everis's swift sword was impressive enough to astonish even Demian Haksen.
He couldn't not know a master-class wielding such elite swift swordplay.
"Did you die in the Helian Tournament and I missed it? No, that's not it."
From what Demian knew, Bradley Hess won the previous life's Helian Tournament. The Sword Empress took the next.
He'd never heard of a Pandemonium Dark Knight ruining the Helian Tournament.
Which meant this Everis was an unknown in Demian's memories, yet causing an event that never happened in the future.
"Who's this 'Master' you mentioned? Whose orders made you do this?"
"I-I can't say too much..."
"Is that so? Can't be helped."
Demian drew Dawn. Vicious killing intent permeated the Colosseum.
"I'll twist your heart until you spill everything."