Chapter 64
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: The Attack
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Elise Vlad.
Her relationship with Dion was a complicated one.
The Vlad family, seeking to secure the position of the Unlight family’s future matriarch.
Dion’s mother and her maternal family, seeking an alliance to survive and win the succession war.
It was a political marriage, arranged by the will of their families.
In itself, there was nothing special about it.
Political marriages were a matter of course among nobles who valued bloodlines.
In fact, a noble who married for love was generally treated as a fool.
The problem began when Dion’s mother died and his maternal family was annihilated.
Having lost his support base in the already fierce competition for succession, it became nearly impossible for Dion to become the next head of the Unlight family.
Still, the Vlad family maintained their engagement to Dion and continued to support him.
They figured that even if Dion was eliminated from the succession race, taking him in as a son-in-law to gain the Unlight bloodline was a profitable deal.
But what was the result?
Until his coming-of-age ceremony.
He was trash who couldn’t even awaken.
Not only were the tens, no, hundreds of billions of Krutal invested in supporting Dion lost.
For the Vlad family, who were now saddled with the disgrace of being engaged to the shame of the Unlights, it was an infuriating situation.
Especially for Elise, who had also been pushed back in her own family’s succession race because of it.
In that sense.
Dion could understand.
He understood Elise’s choice to break off their engagement in his first and second lives.
Even though Dion, having lost his last pillar of support, was all but kicked out of the family and sent to the Labyrinth Academy, his life spiraling into a pit.
That was his own problem.
For Elise, cutting him off was the best possible choice.
It was just a shame that, as a result, her life became even more tragically twisted.
In any case, one thing was important.
Perhaps in a previous life, it would be a different story.
But right now, she was still Dion’s fiancée.
Which meant she was unequivocally ‘his.’
“Grrrrrrr! Out of my way, you brat!”
“You’re the one who should shut your trap and die.”
That was why.
Without his usual smile.
Without any playful banter.
Dion swung his sword with chilling words.
Raul was continuously forced back by the sharp sword strikes, but only for a moment.
With the regenerative abilities befitting a werewolf, Raul healed the wound on his chest and his severed wrist, then immediately counterattacked, swiping with his claws.
*Claaang!*
And so.
A fierce battle began.
As the sharp blade swung like a phantom, claws like those of a wild beast shot out from left and right in succession.
Sometimes they clashed.
Sometimes they crossed past each other.
Sometimes they sliced the other’s flesh.
After exchanging dozens of blows in the blink of an eye, it was Raul who had the upper hand.
In terms of power as an Awakened One, Raul was on par with Zemin Kahul.
He was only slightly inferior in technique.
Considering the werewolf’s racial superiority over a goblin, he was clearly the stronger of the two.
But there was another reason why Dion was at a disadvantage.
“Grrr! You can’t even protect yourself, yet you want to protect a girl? You must have a death wish!”
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Veins bulged as if they would burst.
Even his black breath burned hot.
The sunlight still radiating from the bone necklace around Raul’s neck.
That sacred light shook the barrier of darkness Dion had erected to protect Elise.
And every time he squeezed out dark magic to restore the barrier.
The backlash created by the collision of the two energies dealt a massive shock to Dion’s mind and body.
The high-tier class, 【Black Magician】, which had always been a great help since he’d stolen it from Sillan, the young master of Somaseong, was now a weakness holding Dion back.
It couldn’t be helped.
Every class had its penalties along with its advantages.
No matter how powerful an Awakened One was, if that penalty was exploited, they could die in vain.
Of course, if he were to change his 【Black Magician】 class now.
Or at the very least, if he just withdrew the barrier and suppressed his dark magic, the burden would lessen.
But Dion didn’t.
No, he couldn’t.
“It’s the other way around, you stupid mutt.”
“What?”
“—I’d rather just die than live as a loser who can’t even protect what’s his.”
With his back to Elise, who was trembling within the barrier of darkness to escape the burning sunlight.
Dion thought.
After being kicked out of his family, he was betrayed and sold as a slave, a test subject, a piece of prey, suffering all sorts of hardships before finally awakening as a 【Blood Fiend】.
But his mind and body were already broken beyond repair, and he couldn't properly utilize the talent he had finally bloomed.
In the end, he accomplished nothing and met his end as the shame of the Unlight family in his first life.
And then his second life, where he resolved not to lose a single thing of his, to avoid repeating the first.
The Voice had said.
It was obsession and excessive greed.
A scar left by trauma.
That obsession could, in fact, ruin everything.
Indeed, even in his second life, when he thought he had obtained everything, Dion ultimately lost it all by failing to prevent the world’s destruction.
If he had let go of his obsession sooner.
If he had learned to let go.
Perhaps he could have prevented the ruin and reached the end in his second life.
But if someone were to ask if he regretted that decision, Dion could state with certainty.
He had never once regretted it, and he never would.
Just as The Voice had warned him, but never denied that his conviction itself was wrong.
“Have you ever had a dog you raised disappear, only to be served on your birthday table with just its head left?”
“Have you ever seen your mother’s last memento trampled before your very eyes?”
“Have you ever had a friend you finally made after great effort suddenly spit on you and laugh in your face the next day?”
“—I guess not. If you had, you wouldn’t have sent your subordinates to such a dog’s death.”
Survival of the fittest.
The law of the jungle.
Only strength mattered.
Conversely, if you had no strength, you could have everything taken from you, forced to lie low and hold your breath just to survive.
That was the absolute law and common sense of Odobaekryeong, but…
Dion knew.
Such a life was more miserable than death.
And that surviving after abandoning everything held no meaning at all.
He had learned this from the fate of his first life where he gained nothing, and from the experience of his second life where he lost all his vassals in the fight against the Calamity and was left alone.
This time, too… no, this time more than ever, Dion had no intention of losing what was his.
His failure in the second life was ultimately just because he lacked strength.
He would become stronger.
No matter what risks he had to take.
Until he could grasp everything and obtain it all.
“So, die.”
*Shhhk!*
And so, Dion swung his sword with even greater sharpness.
Even as he felt the excruciating pain of his organs churning and his blood boiling from the clash of dark magic and the holy relic.
Even with the power of 【Black Magician】 tied up in protecting Elise.
And with 【Grotesque】 and 【Aesthete】 concealed to hide his identity.
Relying only on the buffs from 【Ghost Step】, which was still at a beginner’s level and difficult to draw out its full potential, and the 2-star class 【Berserker】.
Without a hint of hesitation.
Only fast and sharp.
He even neglected to defend or evade, aside from attacks aimed at vital spots.
“Grrr! You’re the one who’s going to die!”
*Fwoom!*
Facing Dion, Raul also neglected his defense and fiercely swung his claws.
Werewolves were a race born with swift movements and terrifying regenerative abilities.
Since they could quickly heal most wounds, the more they fought by trading flesh for bone, the more advantageous it was for them.
There was no reason to back down.
His agility.
His vitality.
His combat skills.
In most aspects, Raul, as a high-tier Awakened One who had reached completion, overwhelmed Dion.
However…
*Sh-sh-sh-shk!*
Tearing through clothes.
Slicing through flesh.
As he scraped against bone.
Raul’s expression hardened.
He clearly had the upper hand.
And yet…
No, it was precisely because of this that he couldn't help but feel a grave sense of unease.
Even with his dark magic sealed.
Dion’s ability to parry every claw with an energy that was faint in comparison to his own.
Above all, no matter how wounded he became, his eerie, blood-red eyes remained unwavering, without even a flicker.
It made him feel a primal sense of danger.
“Grrrrrrr!”
Despite using a holy relic to gain the upper hand.
His pride wounded by the momentary feeling of dread, Raul ground his teeth.
“Die!!!”
*Kwwaaang!*
He leaped back.
Crouched low.
Planted all four paws on the ground.
Then kicked off the floor with his hind legs.
Thus began his ultimate charge.
A desperate strike of mutual destruction, made possible by a werewolf’s regenerative power, born from the sole intent to kill his opponent, completely disregarding defense.
Dion’s response to this was simple.
He neither retreated.
Nor dodged.
He simply stood tall.
And pulled his sword back.
The moment Raul’s form, a rushing gale, crossed with Dion’s.
*Shhhhaaaak!!!*
A sharp claw.
The boy’s chest.
—Was pierced.
“Ah…”
“Hahaha, in the end, you were just a brat with a big mouth!”
Perhaps because even while groaning within the barrier of darkness, she could clearly see the claw protruding from the boy’s back.
Seeing Elise’s eyes widen as she froze.
Raul laughed savagely.
He was about to pull his claw from Dion’s chest and lunge at Elise.
*Grab.*
“…?!”
But in the next instant.
Raul’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
The slender hand that had grabbed his arm, which had surely pierced through the boy’s chest and heart.
And the head that slowly lifted.
The bewitching, blood-red eyes.
It gave him a chilling sense of déjà vu.
“You…!”
“I told you.”
Instinctively, Raul tried to swing his other claw to take off Dion’s head.
But before he could even move.
Dion’s sword was already in motion.
*Slice.*
“—That I would kill you.”
Was it because he couldn’t understand what had happened until the very end?
Or was it the humiliation of having the same method he used on Elise turned back on him?
The werewolf’s head, its face twisted in a gruesome grimace, flew into the air.
Dion watched it calmly, and only after the head hit the ground did he release the arm he was holding.
And with a *thud*.
After wiping the blood from his blade on the fallen werewolf’s fur.
He crushed the holy relic underfoot, which, true to a disposable item, was powerful but already losing its light, and sheathed his sword.
‘Good thing I acquired 【Vital Point Shift (Un)】.’
He restored his heart to its original position.
And stemmed the bleeding with his aura.
Dion let out a deep breath.
If he had fought more leisurely, he wouldn’t have needed to resort to such a method.
This was the price of rushing the fight to negate the holy relic’s damage while maintaining his black magic.
In any case, he had won, so it was fine.
Thinking this nonchalantly, Dion turned around.
“Are you all right?”
“Huh? Ah…”
Perhaps because everything had happened so suddenly and chaotically.
The blonde girl stared blankly at Dion’s face, his mask barely intact with his balaclava torn, and at the wound in his chest.
Elise belatedly snapped back to her senses and answered reflexively.
“…H-Hmph. Of course. Something like this is nothing to me, the future heir of the Vlad family.”
Despite having screamed so wretchedly just moments before.
Elise nonchalantly covered the arm still marked with fresh burns and spoke with forced haughtiness.
Of course, she knew.
She knew that putting on such a brave face now only made her look ridiculous.
Especially to the one who had come to warn her of the danger and had saved her.
Nevertheless, as a proud Vlad, she could never show weakness.
Steadfastly maintaining her noble demeanor, she braced herself.
For the ridicule that was sure to come.
Or for a look of disbelief.
“I’m glad you’re all right.”
“……”
But.
Why?
As if he had expected nothing less.
Or as if he were genuinely relieved.
The boy didn't scoff. Instead, the lips visible beneath his mask curved into a gentle arc.
It was a smile so genuine that no one could deny its sincerity.
Elise could only stare blankly at him.