The Aftermath of Karon (3)
Count Kelrn, intoxicated by the overwhelming mana flooding his body, had deluded himself into believing he had become a Sword Master.
"Krrrgh...!"
The mana granted by the Seed of Greed was also tearing away his reason.
His blood vessels and muscles writhed and expanded abnormally amidst anguish and excruciating pain.
His body swelled, becoming more like an ogre or a magical beast than a man.
Crackle.
Even the last shred of his sanity was devoured by the beast's mana.
Human thought that once filled his mind vanished without a trace.
Only the instinct to slaughter the enemy before him remained.
The one who insulted me.
The one with black hair, looking like a damn parasite.
The one riding a horse and charging right at him!
He couldn't remember anything else, but the urge to kill that bastard burned fiercely in his mind.
"I'll kill you...!!"
Count Kelrn roared and kicked off the ground.
'What's wrong with him?'
Count Kelrn, who had been charging, suddenly bellowed, locked his murderous gaze on me, and accelerated.
So this is what a bullfighter feels like.
He looked exactly like a raging bull bearing down on me.
'Since he's only focused on me, I should dodge.'
The moment I pulled hard on the reins and turned my horse away—
BOOM!
His greatsword, cloaked in black aura, smashed down on the spot where I'd been moments ago with brute force.
Then he kept charging after me like a madman.
'First, I need to harass him.'
I aimed my musket at the bridge of his nose and fired.
Click. Bang! Click. Bang!
I didn't land a single shot.
'Shooting from horseback is harder than I thought.'
Not that it would've done any damage anyway.
Without hesitation, I tossed the musket to the ground.
I spurred my horse's flanks and picked up speed.
Neeeigh!
My direction wasn't toward our formation of soldiers and knights, but off to the side.
Toward the forest.
"Kyaaaah!"
The count shattered the ground as he chased me like a man possessed.
'Can't let him fall too far behind.'
If I lost his line of sight, he might switch targets to someone else.
He channeled aura into his sword and slashed the empty air.
KWAANG!
A condensed ranged slash—the exclusive domain of Sword Experts—flew at me.
'I have to dodge this.'
Every time an aura slash came flying, I pulled the reins and narrowly avoided it.
The dangerous chase continued as I lured him toward the outskirts of the forest, where no one else was.
Count Kelrn in the original novel had displayed strength on a completely different level from what he showed now.
Even Aila, the original protagonist, and Crown Prince Kallian had barely defeated him after nearly dying several times when he became a Sword Master.
And Kallian was a Sword Master himself.
'Thankfully, he's not a Sword Master right now.'
The reason I could be sure he wasn't a Sword Master?
'Because I'm still alive.'
If he were a Sword Master, that last slash would have cut through space itself.
As I was thinking that, I rode for a while longer.
'This should be far enough.'
We'd put enough distance between us that our allied formation was completely out of sight.
No one else would get caught in the crossfire now.
I yanked hard on the reins, stopping my horse.
Without delay, I leaped from its back.
"Krrrr... Die...!!"
Seeing his target stop, the count radiated a menacing aura and charged.
My hands trembled—perhaps from tension at facing my first real combat.
'Let's do this.'
A few months ago.
"Are you comfortable, Master?"
"Yeah... That feels amazing..."
I was lying face down on a sunbed as usual, getting a massage from Elisa.
"Ian! What are you doing!"
"Roxanna? Elisa's giving me a massage."
"...Since when is walking on someone's back a massage?"
"It's actually quite relaxing."
Roxanna opened the terrace door, stepped out, and looked down at me with an incredulous expression.
"Must be nice to be you."
"A prince needs to conserve his stamina for what's coming."
"Stop talking nonsense and get up. I'm going to train you."
"Training? Out of nowhere?"
"Are you going to rely on Elisa to protect you forever? You need to learn to defend yourself! The Empire's been acting strange lately... You never know what might happen!"
"Ugh... I hate exercise."
"Get up. Now."
Unable to withstand her relentless pressure, I finally got up from the sunbed.
Roxanna dragged me to the training grounds inside the castle.
As soon as we arrived, she handed me two sandbags.
'Sandbags? No way...'
"Don't tell me—"
"Tie these around each ankle. Then run twenty laps around the training ground."
"...I can't even use Physical Enhancement yet."
"That's exactly why you need this. When you're trying to survive against a knight cloaked in aura, running away is the best option. Stamina is the most important thing for running. And you've got a special constitution—you can train in both Circles and aura."
That day marked the beginning of my hellish physical training.
My body, used to nothing more than breathing exercises, felt like it was dying after just five laps—my breath burned in my throat and my legs wobbled.
I wanted to collapse right then and there.
But Roxanna kept forcing me up and making me run again.
After the running, there was endless strength training—carrying heavy logs back and forth across the training ground.
"Huff... huff... Save... save me..."
"You won't die. Elisa's healing magic took care of you, didn't it?"
"Kyaaaaah..."
A few weeks after training had started.
A question came to mind during one of our usual sessions, so I asked Roxanna.
"Roxanna. If you and Elisa fought together, could you beat a Sword Master?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Elisa's strong, sure, but you're still just a 4th Circle mage and a low-tier Aura User at best."
"But even a Sword Master would die if you stabbed them in the heart, wouldn't they?"
"Hmm... Probably not."
What.
Her words frightened me enough to take a step back, but a glare from her made me step forward again.
'Still... saying they wouldn't die even if you stabbed them in the heart...'
That's terrifying.
Roxanna looked at me, a pathetic sight, and continued.
"A Sword Master is out of the question. But the two of you might be able to handle a high-tier Sword Expert."
"What if I use Transmutation Magic on their armor?"
"Wouldn't work if they've cloaked their armor in aura. It wouldn't even work if you were an Aura User."
"Then how should we fight?"
"First, you'd run around shooting magic at the enemy and kiting them. It'd be better if Elisa could use a sword, but..."
"Elisa's physically hopeless."
"...I am not."
I heard Elisa's timid denial.
She had incredible physical capabilities, but her athletic coordination was hopeless—she just couldn't do physical activities.
"Anyway. The best option is for you to tie the enemy down by running around, and for Elisa to finish them with magic."
Unfortunately, I couldn't use the method Roxanna had suggested...
But there was still a way to win.
"Alright. Here I go."
My opponent had lost all reason and was raging uncontrollably.
'If he still had his wits, I'd never win.'
An opponent who's lost their reason makes very large, telegraphed movements.
Which means—
KWAANG!
—I can dodge.
"Kyaaaaah!!"
The count's roar accompanied his greatsword as it split the air once more.
BOOM! CRACK!
The ground where I'd stood moments before shattered deeply like a spiderweb.
The sheer pressure of the passing blade stung my cheek as if it had been cut.
'I can't take my eyes off him.'
The trajectory of the crazed count's attacks was honest and straightforward.
'If I get hit, I'm dead.'
KWAANG! BOOM!
Aura-laden slashes poured down without pause.
Trees exploded from the strikes flying past.
I kept moving, narrowly dodging the count's attacks.
'Thank God I trained.'
If I hadn't built up this stamina from running around the training ground with Roxanna, my legs would have given out long ago, and I'd be mincemeat.
"I'll kill you...!!"
The count's rage reached its peak with each missed attack.
Then, he raised his greatsword high above his head with both hands and began gathering mana.
'This is my chance.'
With his greatsword raised and preparing a heavy strike, this was the moment of greatest vulnerability.
This would likely be my last opportunity.
I shifted my foot's direction—I had been about to step back to dodge—and instead pushed hard off the ground, charging straight into his embrace.
"Kyaaaaah!!"
The greatsword, cloaked in aura, descended from above as if the very sky were falling.
'I'm not dodging.'
The greatsword plummeted, seemingly about to cleave my body in two.
Instead of avoiding it, I drove myself into the count's chest—just as the attack was about to hit the crown of my head—
VWOOM.
Red mana burst from Roxanna's pendant, hidden in my pocket, wrapping around my body.
KWAANG!
The count's aura and Roxanna's mana collided, sending vibrations through the air with a thunderous explosion.
But thanks to the mana Roxanna had left behind, I didn't have a single scratch.
"Krrgh..."
The recoil from having his full-powered attack blocked overwhelmed the count.
I steadied my body against the shockwave.
I reached out, pressing my palm against the count's armor, and shouted.
"ELISA!"
"Long-distance, Disintegration, Curse"
⟨ Mana of Disintegration ⟩
In response to my call, Elisa, who had been waiting at a distance, activated her magic.
Fshh.
Her magic stripped all the aura from his armor.
Which meant—
'My magic can reach him now.'
"Krrgh... This is—witch—"
"Shut up."
After silencing the count, I poured all my magical power into completing the spell.
"Sharply, Transform, Become, Pierce through"
⟨ Transmutation ⟩