Chapter 31
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The Path to the Tower
The knight hiding in the shadows, Pereira.
His concealment skills were so flawless that I hadn't noticed him at all.
Even assassins wouldn't hide their presence this thoroughly.
Shuk.
I immediately unleashed my aura and pointed my sword at his throat.
"How did you get in here?"
Pereira raised both hands and took a step back.
"C-calm down. I just came to confirm if you're really a Strange."
"Confirm?"
"Yeah. A guy bearing the Strange name entering the arena? No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't believe it."
He didn't mince words. He plainly stated his reason for being here.
Well, it was only natural to wonder why someone from the Strange family would join the arena.
But right now, he had sneaked into the mansion without permission and spied on me.
This was our family's estate. He had invaded Strange territory.
And the Strange family knew only one way to respond to such incursions.
"Young Master! What happened?!"
Diberi, who had been nearby, rushed over with the knights at the sudden aura burst.
'Whatever the reason, crossing into our territory means paying the price.'
If he had truly come here just to verify my identity, there had to be someone backing him.
"Capture that black knight immediately!"
At Diberi's shout, the Strange knights formed a circle around him.
Pereira, active in the arena's Gold Class, was at least a 4-star knight.
But the Strange knights gathered here matched that level of skill.
And there were dozens of them, not just one or two. Escape was impossible.
Thud.
Pereira dropped to his knees.
"I won't run. Just don't kill me."
He had lorded over the arena like a king, but here he was utterly pathetic.
Well, even the big names on the continent were helpless before the Strange name.
Diberi strode forward, hands clasped behind his back.
Slap!
He struck Pereira's forehead with his palm.
"How dare you target the Young Master! Who sent you?!"
"No, I was just surveilling...!"
"Shut your mouth! I don't care where you crawled from—I'll hunt down whoever sent you and chew their skulls to dust."
"Mercy! Spare me! I had no such intentions!"
Pereira prostrated himself, slamming his forehead to the ground like he was kowtowing.
Thud.
Silence fell.
I hesitated between them for a moment before speaking to Diberi.
"Take that knight to the barracks."
"Young Master, entering Strange territory without permission is utterly unforgivable."
"Yes, I know. But he's a subordinate of Marquis Bourbon, who carries faint royal blood. I have some acquaintance with him, so I want to treat him with the dignity befitting a knight."
"......"
"If any issues arise, I'll take full responsibility. Leave this matter to me."
Diberi fell into deep thought.
Forgiving an intruder went beyond his duties.
If problems arose, he'd bear the full brunt.
No matter how close he was to Roys, this was a life-or-death matter.
"...Understood. I'll place my full trust in you for this, Young Master."
I moved to the Strange mansion's barracks with Pereira.
A massive rectangular arena built of tall red brick walls, covered in ankle-high grass.
It was perfect for the Strange family's emphasis on live combat training.
Step, step, step.
'...So this is the Strange training ground.'
Pereira ran his palm along the grass.
I took a standard-issue Strange sword from butler Diberi and handed it to him.
"I'll give you a chance. If you want to live, defeat me with everything you've got."
"...!"
"Otherwise, you'll die a meaningless death."
"Hoo..."
Pereira drew a deep breath and tossed the sword I gave him to the ground.
Thud.
"...I don't need a sword."
"Why?"
"I'm a martial artist who grows strong through pure physical training. I don't use weapons."
I gripped Misteltein's hilt while observing his movements.
"Aura? Do you know how to use it?"
"Yes."
"Good. I'll permit Aura use. I, on the other hand, won't use Aura at all."
Pereira smirked, then schooled his expression into icy coldness.
"You'll regret that."
"Did I bruise your pride?"
"...No matter the Strange name you bear, I'm a third-line knight of the Bourbon Knight Order. Get cocky like that, and you'll get hurt."
"You're all talk."
"Don't regret it...!"
Pereira hurled his black cloak at me with full force.
Swish.
From the obscured view, he unleashed a powerful burst of aura.
Swoosh!
An attack from the blind spot.
It was an excellent strategy to settle it in one strike.
But tricks like that didn't work on knights of my caliber.
Obscured vision only fixed the attack's trajectory.
'I see it.'
Using aura revealed its flow, rendering the cover pointless.
I raised Misteltein high and swung horizontally.
Clang!
The blackened blade blocked Pereira's fist.
'Oh ho?'
The blade had turned black once more.
I was starting to get a feel for what triggered the color change.
"Not bad."
"Not yet...!"
"Good. Don't die too easily."
With that, I demonstrated a few Strange sword techniques on him.
No need to use secret moves against him. The basic three were more than enough to subdue him.
"Right upper to left lower—slash."
"You bastard...!"
I announced it aloud like instructing a novice.
Pereira hurriedly channeled aura into his fist to block the blade.
Swoosh, thud!
"Guh!"
"Ah, sorry. My right is your left."
"Y-you son of a...!"
I pressed the attack without pause.
"Left upper—thrust."
The moment I swung, Pereira oddly planted his foot to create distance, but...
Shuk—
Kwajik!
The black blade pierced his left collarbone.
"Kuhuk...!"
"Oops. Looks like your left arm's out of commission now."
To him, the blade must have looked like a living serpent writhing.
I'd shaken the hilt on the thrust to confuse his eyes.
"Now a smash."
"Sh-shut up...!"
I eyed his stance and gripped the blade itself with both hands, not the hilt.
Then I twisted my body like swinging a bat, using the momentum for a powerful strike.
Whoosh—!
Pereira poured aura into his palm and seized the blade near the hilt.
Thud!
He blocked it, but the shock forced his hand downward.
Puk!
My sword's hilt smashed into his crown.
"Euk!"
He let out a shallow groan and collapsed.
Thud.
"Kuk..."
"Looks like Aura alone won't cut it against me. Why not try your Guardian Spirit?"
I suggested he summon his Guardian Spirit. Pereira clutched his head with both hands, glancing around warily.
"Use your Guardian Spirit?"
"Yes."
"And you?"
"Won't."
I had no intention of showing mine.
Pereira hesitated. Could he even win with it?
And regardless of victory, could he leave this place alive?
If using it hurt Berddin even slightly...
'Those knights over there won't let me off.'
But he had no choice.
Ssssh.
Pure white smoke began rising behind Pereira's back.
If he was going to die anyway, he wouldn't go quietly.
He'd show exactly who he was.
"No matter the Strange name, blocking my Guardian Spirit is impossible."
The white smoke coalesced into an elderly man clad in familiar garb.
That orange attire was unmistakably an Eastern martial artist's dobok.
'That explains his focus on body conditioning.'
I had no idea how this man became a Guardian Spirit, but if he'd earned godhood, his skills were undoubtedly real.
'Well, whatever.'
He was just my test subject now.
"Berddin, behold my true power."
Pereira glared at me with grim resolve.
I gathered aura and mana in one hand and soared above his head.
This scene would be the last etched in his memory.
Boom! A purple explosion shrouded the surroundings, and the shockwave distorted Pereira's Guardian Spirit.
"Just what I wanted."
I swung Misteltein without hesitation.
Shuk—!
The black blade cleaved the distorted Guardian Spirit vertically.
The voice of an uncontracted Guardian Spirit didn't reach me.
But I could tell it was screaming.
The Eastern martial artist, split perfectly in half, gaped its mouth in agony like a hippopotamus.
'As expected.'
This sword could cut souls too.
'That's why it only reacts when the wielder harbors killing intent.'
"Kraaaak!"
Sorry, Pereira, but now I understood.
How to wield my sword—and what its hidden power truly was.
Splat!
Late that night, a wooden box was delivered to the Gold Class waiting room of the arena. A Strange cross symbol was etched on top.
"...No way."
The massive man—captain of the Bourbon Knight Order—cautiously pried open the lid.
What met his eyes was the severed head of his subordinate, Pereira.
The captain squeezed his eyes shut.
He raised his left arm, traced the holy sign, murmured a brief prayer, then slammed to his feet.
Thud!
"Pereira... I won't let that little brat get away with this."