Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: The Views of Those at the Peak
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[102. The Views of Those at the Peak]
*
The sword slashes forward. Reflecting the blazing sunset over the wasteland, it traces a beautiful arc toward the enemy's throat. Soon, a spear shoots forth. Piercing precisely between the flow of power and force.
-Kwa-duk!!
The spearhead strikes the blade and twists it away. However, Fernandez hadn't expected a decisive blow from the first attack, as if that were natural.
‘Darian Shrike, after all.’
Sun Spear Darian Shrike. The renowned knight of the magpie troupe. Now merely the emperor's hunting dog, but in the future, he would ascend to the ranks of the strongest in civilized society.
Never having imagined he'd wander the wastelands at this time, this encounter was quite thrilling for him too.
Whatever the full story of the incident, Fernandez deflected the spearhead thrusting relentlessly at his vitals and thought.
‘First, win—then!’
If he could break him with the sword. If he could just manage that!
-Kwa-jik!
King Dain's greatsword descends as a flash of inky light. It swings cleanly back at the blade deflected by the spearhead. A savage stroke that doesn't even consider the strain on the wrist.
He could feel his ligaments tearing bit by bit. As a mage, he was always cautious about wrist injuries. But now he was a Demonica!
-Thump, thump, thump.
His heart, heated to the utmost by fierce swordplay, was pumping divinity through his veins. Wrist injured? No—even if this heart were pierced and burst, that alone couldn't stop him!
‘I can win!’
Euphoria, that thrill exploding endorphins in his brain. Breaking mages in magic battles was natural for him. He'd never lost a magic duel at his peak.
At least among combat mages or wildcasts—wandering mages—he had reached the pinnacle. But swordsmanship, this kind of close-quarters combat, was entirely different.
“Impressive strength!”
Darian laughed, sweat streaming down his face. Before he knew it, he'd cast aside the restraint or analysis expected of the emperor's eyes. Now, warrior to warrior, he was fully enjoying the fight.
-Pyuut!
“Huh!”
The spear accelerated in an instant, flying toward Fernandez's head. The sound of air tearing came only after the spearhead had grazed his cheek lightly. A spear faster than sound! A feat born of human flesh that was almost unbelievably masterful!
“Ugh!”
His head rang from the force in the spearhead. Through his momentarily blurred vision, he saw Darian's follow-up attack. The spear danced like a wave through the air.
-Parr...
Even as his vision warped, the Demonica's acute hearing caught the spear's rustle in the wind. The sound drew closer—now aimed at his solar plexus!
-Kwa-duk!
“To block that!”
“Would you have killed me if I hadn't?”
“Haha!”
Darian smoothly withdrew the spear, spinning gracefully backward. The spear fluttered in the wind, his figure like a scene from a heroic epic.
Fernandez smirked and reset his stance. He'd deliberately waited for his condition to recover. As expected of a righteous hero.
Of course, since it wasn't a duel to the death, they'd both hold back some tricks. Still, the match was evenly poised so far.
And he relished that.
“Splendid. Truly. No need to hold back. You seem about my age—what's your name?”
“I'll tell you if I win.”
“Isn't that unfair? You seem to know me already.”
Darian chuckled, spinning his spear back into position. His lips curved into a clear smile.
“Let's get serious now.”
-Hwaruk.
His hair lifted slightly into the air. Regardless of wind direction, his clothes and locks rippled visibly.
A warrior at the peak harbors mana in their body. When they can ignite their accumulated mana with fighting spirit, battles between such warriors unfold on an entirely different plane.
Though Fernandez couldn't use such techniques himself, as a mage more adept at handling mana than anyone, he could share the battlefield perspective of warriors like Darian.
Time slowed. To the point where, in split seconds, one could weep, laugh, and chatter. Dividing the blink of an eye tenfold more.
Breaking the flow into instants for thought and action. In that bizarre temporal sense and heightened state that defied physics, Darian and Fernandez's gazes crossed.
And.
-Kwa-duduk!!!
Spear and sword clash like lightning. Sparks fly between them. Fernandez lightly shed the strain on his wrist and arm, whirling the greatsword counterclockwise in a wide arc.
The basics of greatsword technique lie not in power, but rotation. Gracefully deflecting enemy attacks within that rotational radius—that was the essence of greatsword mastery.
And greatswords were originally war weapons designed to break spears!
-Kwa-jijik!
The spear shaft tangled in the massive arc of the blade, sparks scattering. Joy mingled in Darian's eyes. Fernandez ignored the spear entirely, locking eyes with him as he spun the sword.
Like a salmon ascending a waterfall, the spearhead twisted against that immense force and surged upward. The shaft rebounded elastically, the tip thrusting like an awl toward his heart.
Once more!
-Kwa-duk! Chaeng!
Again, one more time!
-Chaeng! Chaeng! Chaeng!
At least in this moment, time between them became dotted lines. Between clash and clash, the separating actions and stances seemed omitted—pure lightning motion.
The sword flickers into view for an instant, and the spearhead slips through to block it. A brief stillness, then the same from another angle.
The moment when sense of time lost meaning. Fernandez's heightened mind shoved reason aside, thrusting instinct into its place. A warrior's—or knight's—instinct!
The instinct of warriors who navigate life and death relying on a single blade!
-Kwa-duduk!
‘Dain, Dain!’
Occasionally, when reason resurfaced, he was already executing unfamiliar moves to block attacks, shifting to offense. King Dain's karma mingled in his soul pulsed through the swordplay.
During the battle with King Dain, he'd inherited his karma to share his corruption. To restore reason to the dead king. And now, the mingled spirit and nature, soul and vital soul, were fully fusing within him.
‘Is this how you felt!’
-Thump, thump, thump, thump!
His heart pounded. Madly! Cold steel flashed before his eyes, survival instinct blazing to its limit. Muscle fatigue, pulsing hot veins. And this,
Fighting spirit!
Joyful. So joyful. Magic battles were logical puzzles based on reason, knowledge, and intuition. But swordsmanship—clashes reaching and surpassing limits—was pure instinct!
-Kwa-aang!
“Hah!”
“Ha, hahaha!”
The two heroes laughed. Sweat and blood flung from their bodies scattered in the intense motion. They parted for a moment, heaving deep breaths.
Darian lowered his spear slightly, smiling deeply.
“Truly splendid.”
“Not yet.”
“What?”
“You haven't shown everything yet, have you?”
“Same to you. But let's stop here. No need for us to take each other's lives, right?”
“No, I beg you.”
-Fernandez!
At Fernandez's words, Feizashi cried out in shock. What was he saying? Reveal his hand to a potential future foe of the empire?
‘Regain your senses! Fool!’
‘Senses?’
‘Yes, this is foolish. Why that guy? Didn't you want to test yourself? This is enough! If you fought like a warrior to gain his favor, that's sufficient too!’
‘Feizashi. Why did we learn magic?’
‘What?’
Fernandez slowly raised his sword. At that sight, that gaze, Darian laughed heartily and lifted his spear into stance.
“Good. Young hero! Take this one. And don't die!”
“You too.”
“After it's over, we must share a drink!”
-Hoooong.
Mana flowed through his body, mingling with fighting spirit and bursting forth. A peak warrior's body courses with mana. Mana blazed along Darian's spear shaft, radiating like the sun.
Sun Spear Darian Shrike. His signature ultimate technique fully charged beneath his hand. Survivors of this move could be counted on one hand. Yet in this instant, Darian was certain Fernandez wouldn't die to it.
Then he must meet that expectation. Fernandez's inky greatsword stood tall, slicing through the evening glow. Unlike Darian's flashy brilliance, his sword showed no motion at all.
An eerily perfect stillness. Not just freezing gazes, but time itself—a perfect halt. Beneath Fernandez's hand, it fully prepared.
‘The reason we learned magic—to survive? Talent? Luck? No, no. The reason we researched magic until death, endlessly studied. The reason we were so greedy for magic wasn't that.’
-...
‘It was the desire to witness the essence of magecraft. Feizashi. Now, do as I say.’
To behold the essence. Fernandez's heart trembled with excitement. With that man, it felt possible. Transcending the Demonica's muscles, the saint's blood flowing with divinity—reaching beyond the physical!
‘Do as you wish. You've always done so.’
‘Sorry.’
Fernandez's closed eyes opened. Through sweat-matted black curls, his blue eyes blazed fiercely.
That was the signal. The sword tip quivered faintly in its stillness.
-Kwa-jijijik!
His sword cleaved the sky. The atmosphere tore and crushed violently. When its trajectory reached some pinnacle, space itself began to rend.
-Kwa-duduk!
The inky greatsword traced a long arc over Darian's head. Fernandez's wrist gripping it was crumbling moment by moment. Yet, without pause!
-Shaaaak!
The sun swallows the gap. Dazzlingly, blindingly white. Into the darkness carved by the inky greatsword through space—like a sunrise. Like a meteor!
-Kwaaaang!
The two colors mingled, unleashing a shockwave.
*
“Is that guy God's apostle?”
“...Huh?”
Ignoring Batras's admiration, Partak stared at Fernandez in horror. His liege was surely... a mage, wasn't he...?
*
“Benefactor...”
Kirhas Hearttaker always had Fernandez at the center of her vision. Her world pulsed with him at its heart.
In Altbert, she'd sworn not just to follow behind him, but to walk at his side. Yet watching his swordsmanship, Kirhas simply stood silently, letting out a sigh.
Too far. So very far. Kirhas bit her lip, gazing at the long, verdant path between herself and Fernandez.
Could she reach it? That distance. That height.
“No.”
She must. Kirhas wordlessly placed her hand on her sword hilt and gripped it tight.
*
“Splendid, Fernandez.”
And atop the hill, Abel smiled tremulously.