Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Child Abandoned by God
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In the Strange Castle, where a tense silence hung in the air, something utterly unexpected occurred.
KABOOM!
A deafening explosion roared, so powerful it shook the ground to its core, making ears ring.
-Uwaaaah!
The guards staggered, losing their footing.
In the midst of the chaos, the commanders leading each platoon and company sharpened their senses and quickly assessed the situation.
What in the world was happening in Strange, the continent's premier swordsmanship household, where incidents cropped up nearly every day?
The infiltration by assassins and the uncovering of traitors among the castle's guardian knights hadn't even been fully resolved yet.
If yet another incident piled on, someone would surely have to answer for it.
The most likely candidate was 'Bess,' the captain of the guardian knights, and the commanders of the units under him.
The moment the roar faded, every commander's gaze turned toward the castle interior.
'Over there.'
The source of the intense energy surging relentlessly after the explosion was the underground beneath Strange Castle.
It was the location surrounded by Gunter's knight order.
"Clear the way."
Bess commanded Gunter's knights.
In response, a gaunt but monstrously tall knight—Gunter's left-hand man, Giselle—stepped forward to block him.
"Lord Gunter said no one enters until the interrogation of the criminal is over."
"I said move."
"......"
Giselle disobeyed the order from his superior, Bess. Not only that, he clamped his mouth shut and maintained silence.
On a battlefield, this insubordination could warrant decapitation.
'Damn it.'
But Bess couldn't act on it.
No matter his position as captain of the castle's guardian knights, mishandling Gunter's left and right hands—the next family head—could lead to unpredictable consequences.
Giselle crossed his arms and refused to budge. Bess gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist and glared at him.
The knights following them adopted stances ready for combat at any moment.
"This is my final order. This isn't Gunter's castle—it's Lord Roys's. If you don't move, I'll have no choice but to judge you under the Strange military code."
"Captain Bess, please consider my position. You know what punishment awaits if I step aside now, don't you?"
"......"
"If I'm to die anyway, what's the difference between now and later?"
"Whether you live or die is none of my concern. What I need to know is whether enemies infiltrated the castle."
"They didn't."
"What?"
"No enemies. We've been guarding this place, and no one entered the castle except Lord Gunter."
Thud, thud, thud.
Gerno, the massive figure in the horned helmet, stood right beside Giselle with a face full of dissatisfaction.
Thump.
"No. Hey, Brother Bess. Lord Gunter said not to let anyone down—why keep pressing?"
"A knight speaking like a barbarian."
"Does it matter if I'm a knight or a barbarian? What matters is we're carrying out Lord Gunter's orders."
"I'm carrying out Lord Roys's orders too. Last warning: if you don't clear the way now, I'll make one by force."
Shing.
Bess drew his sword.
In response, Giselle drew a sword with an absurdly long hilt like a spear, and Gerno hefted his massive two-handed sword with a thick axe-like blade.
"You wanna go?"
Giselle and Gerno pulled their visors down, smirking just enough for their mouths to show.
They advanced slowly toward Bess.
The three radiated killing intent, on the verge of clashing.
The atmosphere screamed for weapons to swing at any second. Yet none made the first move.
There were rules in Strange Castle everyone had to follow, and breaking them meant bearing responsibility.
As the three eyed each other warily,
Thud thud thud—
a little kid, Rox, suddenly darted between the knights straight at Gerno.
"Uwaaaah!"
"Wh-what the hell is this kid?!"
Startled, Gerno swung his sword instinctively. At that range, a direct hit meant not just critical injury, but death.
Crash!
Rox didn't dodge—he took it head-on.
'Damn it!'
Gerno realized his mistake too late.
This strike had just given the castle's guardian knights justification to counterattack.
The moment conflict between Strange Castle's guardian knight order and Gunter's Golden Tiger Knights became inevitable.
Screeech—thud.
Blond Berddin emerged from the mansion, radiating intense aura.
"Everyone, lower your swords. From now on, I won't forgive anyone holding a weapon."
Giselle and Gerno.
They involuntarily stepped back. The pressure from Berddin, who had completed his Descent, was astonishing.
Just five steps away.
'...Dangerous.'
That sword could reach Lord Gunter. Leaving him alive threatened Gunter's throne in the future.
If he could be dealt with, it had to be now.
'Even if it costs my life.'
"Uwaaaah!"
Giselle charged at Berddin. Berddin glanced at him casually and drew a dagger from his waist.
"I clearly said I won't forgive those with weapons."
Clang!
No matter how well branch family knights wielded swords, their limits were set.
Those not direct descendants had diluted Strange blood, making their inherited swordsmanship talent worlds apart.
Clang! Clang clang! Clang!
Giselle's swordsmanship was renowned on the continent. But to Berddin, it was pathetic.
Having faced them in his previous life, Berddin could dodge with eyes closed.
Swish, swish, slash!
After effortlessly evading every attack, he struck Giselle's abdomen hard with the sword's pommel.
Thwack!
"Guhk!"
The aura-infused blow pierced the armor, shocking his internals.
The liver was precisely where he hit, so Giselle couldn't endure the pain and dropped to his knees.
Thud.
"Move."
Giselle spat blood-mixed saliva on the ground with a ptui! and forced a smile in response.
"Young Master Din, I'm carrying out Lord Gunter's orders. Can you bear the consequences of all this later?"
Shing—
Berddin's blade flashed coldly.
Giselle couldn't even react—he could only watch the strike.
Before his body moved, Berddin's blade was already swinging back to the hilt.
Click.
"Why wouldn't I? I'm a Strange too."
Giselle's mouth opened to reply, but suddenly the world flipped, his gaze plummeting to the ground.
In his sideways-tilting vision, in that fleeting moment, Giselle thought: the legendary Sword God had finally been born.
Thud.
KABOOM!
Deep underground in Strange Castle, two massive auras clashed.
The protagonists: Gunter with his yellow aura, and Hysteria with his blue.
"Hey, Gunter. Finally got to face you without the trash in the way?"
Hysteria said with arms crossed and a grin.
Gunter steadied his breathing.
Sip—exhale.
He suppressed his rage and replied.
"I told you I wouldn't hold back if we fought again."
"Hold back? You, on me? Hahaha!"
"I'm not joking. Cut the games and go home. You can't beat me."
"Is that so?"
"You've never beaten me once."
Hysteria snapped his fingers overhead.
Snap!
"...True, never have—which is why I'm winning today. I've prepared thoroughly."
The prisoners in the underground dungeon stirred at the signal.
Thud, thud, thud.
Most were those who rebelled against the Strange family or from opposing factions.
None were weak—all mid-level knights or mages.
"A few here even know how to use aura, you know?"
"...Hysteria."
"Gunter, this is no joke—I'm serious. Fight me at your best. I'm here to kill you for real today."
Hysteria exchanged a meaningful glance with his Guardian Spirit, then fell back.
At once, the prisoners—eyes vacant like they'd lost their minds—let out eerie cries and charged Gunter.
-Kraaaah!
Gunter drew his two-handed sword from behind his back, preparing a wide swing.
"Do you truly seek death?"
"Kuk, kuhehe..."
Gunter swung his sword in a full circle around himself.
Whoosh!
Dozens of prisoners flew back from the single blow.
"Kraaaah!"
Those shredded by the sword aura rose again, bodies trembling. Their mangled forms should have been dead, yet they lunged at Gunter as if possessed.
Tat tat tat!
"Kieeeek!"
As Gunter fended off the prisoners, he shouted to his Guardian Spirit.
"Light!"
He gathered aura in both hands, slammed his sword into the ground.
Boom!
Intense light poured from the spiderweb cracks in the floor.
Shwaaaa!
The light's heat severed the threads connected above the prisoners' heads.
Tat tat!
Simultaneously, the prisoners controlled by Hysteria's clown Guardian Spirit collapsed, powerless.
Thud, thud thud.
"I'll say it again: you can't beat me. Your Guardian Spirit, that spent its life as a mere clown, can't handle a true knight's weight."
Hysteria, watching the fight from behind the prisoners, shrugged.
"Yeah? I think I'll win."
Hysteria drew his dual swords. Blue aura like smoke billowed as he charged Gunter.
Swish—
The twin blades sliced through the air.
"Not today."
Gunter yanked his sword from the ground.
Clang—!
The light from the floor ceased. The fallen prisoners stirred again.
"Pick up the pace."
"...Fine. Let's end this tiresome fight today."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
They exchanged countless blows.
Early on, Hysteria pressed Gunter with numerical superiority.
But his momentum didn't last. As time passed, most prisoners puppeted by the clown Guardian Spirit couldn't rise due to bodily destruction.
The few aura users barely clung on with limbs attached.
"No matter how many of those trashes you gather, they can't beat me. Trash is trash, even in piles."
Hysteria smirked at him and nodded.
"True, trash stays trash. But you know what? You're about to die to that trash."
Clang!
"Don't spout nonsense."
Clang!
"Is it nonsense?"
Clang!
As Gunter and Hysteria kept clashing swords,
Thwack.
A decisive blow ended it. Hysteria's twins grazed Gunter's cheeks,
and Gunter's two-handed sword plunged into Hysteria's abdomen.
"...Guhk!"
Hysteria spat blood.
Gunter stared down coldly, unblinking.
"It's over."
Hysteria glanced down at his soaked shirt and Gunter's blade, smirking.
"Fun."
"Fun? Even as you die, your mouth runs."
"Gunter, you know what?"
"What?"
"When we first met."
Gunter fell silent at Hysteria's random remark, then met his dying eyes and answered.
"When else? The year I turned seven, you came to the castle."
"Right, yeah. I did come that day. But that wasn't our first meeting."
"What?"
"Think back."
Hysteria's eyes slowly closed. Blood dripped from his gut, soaking the floor.
Gunter rolled his eyes, pondering.
"In my memory, that was the first."
"Liar. I remember everything."
"Remember what?"
"The day mystery bandits came and killed my mom."
"......"
"I saw you clearly... among the black-masked men, giving orders..."
With that, Hysteria closed his eyes for good.
Gunter pressed a hand to his chest, confirmed no breath, released the sword hilt, and wiped blood from his face.
Exhale—
"You're right. I killed your mother. But that was her fault."
Gunter pulled the sword from Hysteria's chest.
Thwack.
"If you wanted to live, she never should have dared attach the Strange name to lowly blood."