Chapter 96
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: The Tarnished Crown (2)
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Kieeeeng!
Haviel's three mana circles rotated.
They spun at different speeds, resonating with one another.
Sometimes they amplified each other's rotation.
Other times they suppressed it, then exploded it outward.
Shifting freely between deceleration and acceleration, they spewed forth mana.
It surged into the candelabrum, ready to thrust and slash.
Kaaang-!
The candelabrum clashed with the sword.
It scattered intense sparks into the air.
At the same time, one branch of the candelabrum was severed.
The sword charged forward.
It flew straight for his throat.
Haviel's response was to tilt his head a mere three centimeters.
Whoosh.
The sword grazed past the tip of his nose.
Not a single strand of hair was cut.
Haviel's icy eyes pierced through the sword's trajectory, locking onto the enemy beyond.
Sir Cherni's eyes—the enemy—widened in shock.
'What the hell?'
The Royal Guard Captain, Sir Cherni, was filled with astonishment.
'He dodged it?'
He had been certain the slash would land.
The timing, the sword's path, the silver-haired kid's off-balance stance—everything had been perfect.
No one had ever survived with their neck intact in such a situation.
But not today.
The silver-haired kid had dodged his sword.
And with just the slightest tilt of his head, barely the width of a finger joint!
'Could he be reading my sword's trajectory?'
A chill ran down his spine, goosebumps rising.
But he quickly shook it off with a scoff.
Who was he?
One of only two Swordmasters in the kingdom.
He wouldn't lose to some no-name punk.
"Brat!"
Kuuung!
Sir Cherni's foot slammed brutally into the floor.
That single stomp shifted his entire center of gravity.
He yanked back the missed sword in an instant.
Loading it with his body weight and mana, he unleashed it with ferocious power.
Kwaaa-!
The horizontal slash roared like a beast, ripping through the air.
Haviel, who had dodged the previous strike, didn't even have time to counter.
"……Tch!"
This time, Haviel's face twisted.
A shockwave born from slicing the air itself.
It battered his entire body.
There was only one way to respond.
Tskagagat!
He swung the candelabrum.
Faster than the wind.
Cleaving through space itself.
He generated a counter shockwave.
Thudak!
The newborn shockwave collided with Sir Cherni's.
They pushed against each other, tangled, then canceled out.
The shockwaves vanished.
Shock filled Sir Cherni's eyes.
"To think a punk like you came from…… Huh?"
Kakakakakang-!
He didn't even have time to finish his sentence.
Haviel charged.
He barreled straight through the dispersing shockwaves and brought the candelabrum crashing down.
He swung wide, hooked, stabbed, and uppercutted.
He pressed Sir Cherni relentlessly with suffocating speed.
'I can't give him a moment's rest.'
Cold, calculated judgment of the situation.
A clear vision of the battle's flow.
Haviel's eyes cooled to a glacial chill.
'I don't know why the Guard Captain is trying to assassinate Her Majesty. No, that doesn't matter for this fight. There's only one thing to focus on now. Overwhelm and pressure him.'
Focus solely on the enemy before him.
Assess the foe's strength, devise a strategy, execute tactics.
'Sir Cherni is a Swordmaster. If I give him breathing room, he'll manifest an Aura Blade right away. Then my chances are gone. I have to keep hammering him, prevent Aura manifestation, and drag this out.'
Haviel's eyes flicked sideways.
Toward the queen and Lloyd.
'Poisoned.'
He pieced together the situation.
The queen, afflicted by poison.
Lloyd trying to draw it out with the Asrahan Heart Method.
That left only one task for him.
Hold Sir Cherni back while Lloyd saved the queen.
He shouted.
"A sword! Over here!"
Kaaang!
At that instant, the candelabrum shattered completely.
He was left empty-handed in a flash.
Sir Cherni's sword exploited the opening.
Swoosh, tsk! Skuk!
It thrust for the heart, slashed the arm, swept the leg.
Haviel retreated, twisted his body, shifted his stance.
He reached back.
"Catch!"
A new sword flew to him.
Lloyd had drawn and tossed the queen's sword, and it landed perfectly in Haviel's grip.
Kkaang!
Sword met sword.
Haviel's blue eyes.
Sir Cherni's contorted glare.
The two beasts' gazes locked across their blades.
A balance of power.
Probing and gauging.
It was a silent, ferocious standoff.
Every exhaled breath.
Every subtle eye movement.
Every action brimmed with killing intent and deception.
Sir Cherni's words to Haviel dripped with the same venom.
"So the rumors about you facing a Gigatitan in Creemo weren't exaggerated."
"……"
"But it's strange. You're not a Swordmaster yet. How are you holding off my sword?"
"……"
"Hah. Not gonna answer? Or do you not have the luxury?"
"……"
Kaaang!
Haviel's sword shoved Sir Cherni back roughly.
In that fleeting gap he created.
Haviel glanced at Lloyd.
He signaled with his eyes.
'I'll buy you time.'
'Got it. Be careful.'
The two men's gazes intertwined briefly, then parted.
Haviel pressed Sir Cherni.
Kieeeeng!
He slammed two circles together.
The collision birthed immense power.
He erupted it explosively.
Thudak-!
A ferocious Blasting shot toward Sir Cherni.
Sir Cherni's eyes bulged.
"……!"
Kwaang!
His sword swung desperately to meet it.
He barely deflected the Blasting.
His body flew seven meters, slamming back-first into the corridor wall outside the king's lounge.
Thud!
"Urk!"
The unresolved shock jolted his shoulder, forearm, and sword.
'What kind of barbaric……'
Thudak!
A second Blasting hurtled in.
This time, Sir Cherni didn't dare block.
He ducked his head and dodged sideways.
Thukwaang-!
It cratered the spot where he'd stood, carving a deep fifty-centimeter hole in the wall.
"……"
He'd never heard of such an attack, let alone experienced it.
He'd never even imagined a sword could do that.
'Dangerous bastard.'
Alarms blared in Sir Cherni's senses.
The foe no longer felt like a mere brat.
And the battlefield was turning against him.
Thudak! Thudihak-!
"Grra!"
Blasts came in rapid succession.
Each time, Sir Cherni barely evaded.
'The space is too tight!'
A narrow, elongated corridor.
In such confines, Blasts with a range of dozens of paces kept flying.
And him?
He had no way to counter.
The distance was too great even to hold ground.
If he could use an Aura Blade, he'd slice those attacks effortlessly.
But manifesting Aura required focus and time.
The silver-haired brat gave him no such luxury.
Impatience crept in.
'I hesitated to use Aura on the queen because traces would linger on the corpse. Now that choice is biting me.'
Grit!
Sir Cherni recalled his mission.
Cut off the queen's breath for good.
To complete it, he needed to return to that lounge.
Yet this silver-haired punk had jumped in, matching him blow for blow—no, pinning him with unheard-of techniques.
'A ploy to drag me away from the queen.'
Sir Cherni's brow furrowed.
Haviel advanced.
Firing Blasts nonstop in the narrow corridor, he pushed forward.
Each time, Sir Cherni was forced back.
Haviel pressed; Sir Cherni yielded.
Blasts flew; he dodged by a hair.
Haviel tired; Sir Cherni's venom grew.
How far had they gone like this?
Finally, Sir Cherni emerged from the corridor, backpedaling.
Thudihak-!
He leaped back to dodge yet another Blast.
He landed on the vast banquet hall's red carpet.
Clang, crash, tables toppled; glasses shattered.
Kwaaang, shriek, a chandelier fell; screams rang out.
And Haviel planted himself at the corridor entrance.
Sring.
The queen's sword in his hand gleamed coldly.
Its shine declared silently.
No one would set foot in that corridor from now on.
"Hah. Cocky bastard."
Drip, drip. Sweat fell, framing Sir Cherni's savage grin.
Now he got it.
The intent behind luring him this far.
'Even if it kills you, you're buying time.'
That corridor to the queen's lounge was a straight shot.
Block the end, and you're done.
If pushed back bit by bit?
'Even then, as long as you survive, the corridor's length buys more time. That's your calculation.'
Sir Cherni's lips curled.
He grasped Haviel's scheme at last.
And a counterplan dawned.
'Then I've got one too.'
He scanned the surroundings swiftly.
The banquet hall, music and chatter silenced in every corner.
Figures with hands on sword hilts, eyes sharp.
Familiar faces.
His Royal Guard knights.
They awaited his command.
'They don't know what happened in the lounge or that I've betrayed. To them, I'm still the captain.'
Sir Cherni's sneer deepened.
He called out in a voice laced with authority.
"Royal Guards, hear me!"
He raised his sword.
Pointing at Haviel blocking the corridor entrance.
"That man dares commit treason. He and his accomplices tried to assassinate Her Majesty, and now he's holding her hostage to seize the corridor. Proud Guards, raise high the blades that protect the queen!"
His order rang out.
Chaaang-!
Dozens of swords unsheathed from scabbards across the hall.
They moved in perfect unison.
Encircling the corridor entrance in a semicircle.
Surrounding Haviel in an instant.
Zzzzzz……!
Each Guard was at least a mid-to-high Sword Expert.
Their blades hummed with sword ki, emitting eerie tones in unison.
Their eyes on Haviel held no mercy.
They trusted their commander, Sir Cherni, implicitly.
'As expected. It's this sword.'
A faint bitter smile tugged at Haviel's lips.
He'd anticipated this.
Ever since driving Sir Cherni to the corridor's end.
Because the sword in his hand was the queen's.
'It just happened this way.'
No one would buy their side of the story.
They'd believe Sir Cherni, still hiding his betrayal.
'Doesn't matter. The Guard Captain betrayed and tried to assassinate the queen. Can't assume none of those Guards are traitors either. From now on, no one gets past.'
Haviel's stance grew immovable as a mountain.
Chilling aura poured from his entire body.
He cast a stern, beastly glare.
"As Haviel Asrahan, by my knightly honor, I ask: any who would break their oath to Her Majesty, step forward."
"……What?"
The Guards faltered.
Their faces hardened.
Daring to attempt regicide and block the lounge corridor, and now this?
That was when.
"Don't waver at a traitor's lies. Attack!"
Sir Cherni's shout echoed.
In that moment, the Guards charged as one.
"Eyaaaah!"
The blades of the queen's protectors moved.
They swung to kill the silver-haired knight who guarded her.
Fangs gleaming to tear apart one of their own.
But Haviel stayed silent.
He offered no excuses amid the ruthless, irrational assault.
Against the flood of suspicion, misunderstanding, and onslaught, he answered only with his sword.
Tsk! Kakakakang!
Three at a time.
He parried, deflected, repelled the synchronized strikes.
He met the pouring killing intent head-on.
Amid it, he raised his piercing gaze.
Fixing on one foe in the distance.
Sir Cherni.
His eyes conveyed the message.
Forget the small fry. Come at me yourself.
I won't go down easy until then.
That gaze ignited fury in Sir Cherni's chest.
'Fine. If that's how you want it.'
Sir Cherni grinned.
The first time he'd caught his breath since the fight began.
A few deep breaths restored his momentum.
At last, the Swordmaster's unique mana circulation flowed.
The sword in his hand resonated.
Then it blazed fiercely.
Woooooong-!
A chilling glow enveloped the silver blade.
The ultimate weapon only Swordmasters could wield.
It took time to activate, but once lit, it cleaved anything.
The Aura Blade bared its savage fangs.
'If you've chosen this as your grave, I'll grant that wish.'
His icy gaze and murderous steps turned toward Haviel.
Step by step, he advanced, raising the malice-filled blade high.
He lunged in a flash.
Closed the distance.
Thupat!
"……!"
At a speed worlds apart from before.
In one breath, within two paces.
Seizing Haviel's opening, Sir Cherni smirked.
"Got you."
Shwaaaaa-!
The mighty Aura Blade crashed down like a tidal wave.
At the same instant, Haviel thrust his sword.
Firing a Blasting.
It collided with the Aura Blade.
And was rent in two by the wave.
"……!"
Seruk!
Cleaving the Blasting apart, the Aura Blade shredded Haviel's chest.