Engraved Instincts
"What the? A kid? Did that brat seriously deflect my throwing knife?"
"It was a fluke. Focus on the job."
The assailants looked wary as they saw me standing close to Lunia. However, once they realized there wasn't a single speck of mana in my body, confidence returned to the eyes behind their masks.
One of them stepped forward, subtly flaunting the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"Hey, kid. Hand over the girl, and I'll let you live."
"What a silver-tongued liar. As if you'd willingly leave a witness alive."
I was all too familiar with the ways of bandits. I had absolutely no intention of falling for their sweet talk. I took a step forward.
"Killing a kid always gives me nightmares."
"Make it clean. Don't leave a messy trail."
"Alright, alright, I get it."
Giving up on persuasion, the man in the lead drew his longsword and walked toward me.
He's completely off his guard.
My current body was still that of an unripened boy.
Compared to the body that had been hailed as the Sword God before my regression, it was pitifully weak.
But precisely because of that, there were strategies I could employ.
I raised my sword, mimicking the clumsiest stance I could manage. Seeing this, the man's expression darkened.
"Tsk. Cutting down kids is something I'll never get used to."
"C-Come at me!"
"Sigh..."
As I put on the tense, trembling voice of a child, the man shook his head.
"Don't resent me too much. It's just a job."
Approaching me, the man let out a bitter chuckle and swung his sword downward.
The attack was slow, and his posture was riddled with openings.
"Gah!"
Thrust.
That was his undoing.
My blade had already deflected his sword and pierced his heart.
"Gurgle..."
Bloody foam bubbled from his agape mouth.
He died instantly, still impaled on my blade.
"Utterly pathetic."
To let your guard down before an opponent holding a sword, no matter how young they seemed.
At this point, he wasn't even third-rate.
"W-What the hell?!"
Someone shrieked. It was only natural for them to panic; a kid they had dismissed as a nobody had just effortlessly killed an experienced assassin.
But I had no intention of waiting around for them to process the situation.
Whoosh!
Using the corpse impaled on my blade as a shield, I charged forward.
Slam!
I shoved the corpse onto the giant standing furthest away, then lunged at the scrawny man closer to me.
Blade clashed against blade. A sharp numbness vibrated up my palms.
Fortunately, perhaps because he had drawn his weapon in a rush, my opponent hadn't managed to imbue his sword with mana.
Which meant this was my chance. I pressed on relentlessly, giving him no time to focus.
"Ugh!"
Driven to desperation, the man thrust his sword forward.
Screeech!
But contrary to his expectations, our blades scraped against each other, showering sparks.
"What?!"
Panic flooded the eyes behind his mask. My sword was already firmly blocking the path of his intended strike.
His trajectory had been completely read.
Once could be dismissed as a fluke. But my sword continuously shut down his next moves—sometimes with rigid force, sometimes with fluid grace.
The single blade danced through the air. The man couldn't even swing his sword properly; his only option was to frantically backpedal to protect his vital points.
"Y-You! What the hell are you?!"
the man screamed.
He simply couldn't comprehend the reality unfolding before his eyes.
"What do you think? I'm a mercenary."
"A... mercenary?"
To me, this wasn't some grand display of skill.
It was only natural.
I had spent my entire life walking the line between life and death.
The title of Sword God wasn't given to me for show.
My swordsmanship was forged purely in real combat. In a simple clash of blades without the use of mana, the gap between me and this novice was wider than the heavens and the earth.
"Ack!"
Within a few exchanges, my sword pierced the man's throat.
By now, the others finally realized the gravity of the situation.
"Damn it! Kill him! Kill him by any means necessary!"
The black mage who seemed to be the leader barked orders, and the giant charged. A faint, milky shroud enveloped the axe he raised.
A technique of mana—Aura.
An aura-infused strike could never be blocked unless met with another aura of equal measure. But in this era, I had yet to awaken my mana, meaning I couldn't use aura.
It was an overwhelmingly disadvantageous matchup. Yet, I didn't hesitate.
Whoosh!
The chilling sound of parting air whipped past my ears. The giant's axe failed to touch me.
"He dodged it?"
The brute gasped in shock.
If clashing blades was impossible, then I simply had to avoid getting hit.
I dodged his next strike by stomping my foot and shifting my weight. Without missing the split second his body faltered, I lunged inward from my lowered stance.
In the process, I tilted my head back to avoid the giant's swinging axe, but my body couldn't keep up perfectly.
Slash!
A thin red line opened across my cheek.
But thanks to that sharp pain, my senses began to awaken.
The combat experience I had forged through tens of thousands of battles was guiding my body on instinct.
This familiar movement, this memory engraved deep within my bones.
In the end, it was this very sensation that had kept me alive and brought me to where I was.
I have been given another chance to fight.
This was neither a blessing from a god nor a destiny ordained by an absolute being.
It was a mission handed to me by Lunia, one that I had to fulfill at all costs.
Then I have no choice but to see it through.
I had a purpose.
The grand goal of slaying the Archduke of Demonic Magic.
"..."
Just then, my eyes met Lunia's, who was watching from a distance.
Her iris-colored eyes crinkled.
In the end, whether in my past life or this one, it's always because of you.
This second chance granted by Lunia.
I intended to live this second life to fulfill my mercenary contract with her.
It wasn't solely for someone else's sake. This life was for me as well.
I didn't want to see the young Lunia, who was staring at me right now, ever wear that desperate, tragic smile again.
Before my regression and even now, Lunia von Benheim was the largest piece of my life. The Archduke of Demonic Magic had stolen that piece away.
My hatred for the Archduke.
I drew upon just a tiny sliver of that hatred.
Thrust!
My sword buried itself deep into the giant's abdomen.
Without even a chance to scream, his body went limp, collapsing into a lifeless heap.
"Damn it! Magic! Use magic!"
The leader of the black mages shrieked in a panic.
The two remaining mages began chanting their spells.
With my current body, dealing with magic was a bit tricky.
"They're casting black magic. Dispel it for me."
At my words, Lunia replied in a flustered voice.
"W-What are you talking about?! Dispel? How am I supposed to do that?!"
"...You can't?"
"Forcefully dispel someone else's magic? I'm not some Archmage, how could I possibly do that?!"
I messed up.
I had unconsciously assumed I was fighting alongside the Lunia of my past life.
Just like me, she was still an unripened fruit. She wouldn't be accustomed to this kind of combat yet.
"Die!"
Having finished his chant, one of the black mages hurled a massive sphere of darkness. I used the giant's corpse, which I had just impaled, as a shield to block the spell.
But there were two mages. Another black orb flew in from my flank.
It was at least a 3rd-circle black magic spell. A direct hit from that ominous magic would mean instant death.
Yet, I didn't care. I swung my sword horizontally.
My blade—
—sliced right through.
It cut the magic clean in half.
The surroundings fell into a sudden, dead silence.
Through the cleared space, the black mage stared at me, his eyes wide with sheer disbelief.
And for good reason. A sword cutting through magic without even an aura was an absolute impossibility.
"That is an incredible talent."
"Do you have any idea how absurd it is to be able to perceive the fluctuating core of a spell in real-time with the naked eye, Raygan?"
"Is it that impressive?"
"Incredibly so. It's a realm that even Archmages cannot reach. Neither I nor the Archduke of Demonic Magic could ever do it. It's a transcendent vision that anyone would envy. That's also why I recommended you learn magic, Raygan."
I could see it.
Even before seeing it, I could feel it instinctively.
Where to cut.
Where to pierce to make the magical structure collapse.
Having managed to cut through even the magic of the Archduke of Demonic Magic, there was no way I couldn't slice a spell cast by a mere 3rd-circle novice.
"He cut through magic? How?!"
The black mage blinked in disbelief behind his mask. He immediately turned his fury on his subordinate.
"Y-You idiot! Did you mess up the chant?! Do you want to die?!"
"N-No, I chanted it perfectly! I swear! You saw the spell manifest properly just now!"
"Shut up! Is this the time for excuses?!"
Meanwhile, my blade was already rushing toward them. *Thrust.* Another one rolled on the ground, his eyes wide with shock.
Only one black mage remained.
"Aaaaargh! Stay back!"
In a desperate frenzy, the black mage hurled orb after orb, but they lacked their previous force. I skillfully deflected them all with my blade.
With his final struggle rendered futile, the black mage let his hands drop in defeat.
*Tap.*
In the next instant, I used a tombstone as a springboard and lunged forward.
The distance closed. The black mage's face, now right in front of mine, was filled with sheer panic.
"Just... how..."
Those were his last words.
My blade pierced straight through the center of his forehead.
"...Wow."
Lunia watched blankly as I dispatched the five assailants.
It was a scene as if a tempest had swept through. I gasped for air, standing amidst the messy pile of bodies.
"Tsk."
Every joint in my body screamed, and my heart felt like it was about to burst. Blood trickled from the cut on my cheek, leaving a metallic taste in my mouth.
It was the consequence of pushing an unconditioned body far past its limits.
To think I'd be this exhausted. I need to build up this body as soon as possible.
Spitting out bloody saliva, I turned around.
My eyes met Lunia's. Her iris-colored eyes were filled with bewilderment.
"Are you alright? Any injuries?"
"Oh, y-yeah. I'm fine, but..."
"Is that so? Good."
I offered her a grin, and Lunia returned an awkward, hesitant smile.
"Um... are you sure you're okay?"
Lunia tried to carefully check on me, but before she could finish, someone shouted from the entrance of the graveyard.
"My lady!"
Fortunately, they weren't with the attackers.
"Lady Lunia, are you unharmed?!"
It was a group of mages wearing pure white robes embroidered with the crest of House Benheim. Their eyes widened as they took in the carnage.
The golden-haired mage leading them quickly took in the scene.
The lingering trace of black magic.
Five masked corpses scattered across the ground.
And one suspicious boy holding a blood-stained blade.
...Which was me.
"You vile bastard! How dare you target Lady Lunia!"
The mages simultaneously pointed their staves at me.
It was a reasonable suspicion. By all appearances, I looked exactly like the assassin who had attacked the daughter of House Benheim.
"A-Ah! It's a misunderstanding! This person is...!"
The family mages acted faster than Lunia could speak.
They were all highly skilled mages—sentries of the family who had reached the 5th-circle.
"Damn it."
I couldn't even move. It was the aftermath of the battle. For my current, untrained body, this was the absolute limit.
*Flash.*
A crimson light flashed before my eyes.
It was a stun spell.
*Drip. Drip.*
I opened my eyes to the rhythmic sound of dripping water.
The room was pitch-black, with only a faint sliver of light filtering through iron bars. I instinctively assessed the situation.
A dungeon.
It seemed the Benheim mages had thrown me into this cell. Talk about an aggressive way of handling things.
I raised my head. An elderly mage was standing right outside the bars.
"The boy is awake."
As our eyes met, the mage turned back to report.
I struggled to sit up and spoke to the mage.
"It's all a misunderstanding. I wasn't with those men."
"I know."
The one who answered wasn't the elderly mage. A middle-aged man with sharp features stepped out from behind his shoulder.
"You are..."
"I have heard the full story from Lunia. It seems there was indeed a misunderstanding. My family's mages were discourteous. As the head of House Benheim, I sincerely apologize."
The man bowed his head in apology.
Setting aside the sincerity of his apology, his words echoed in my mind. He had referred to himself as the head of the family.
At the same time, the torchlight illuminated his features in detail. Golden hair and purple eyes—the distinct genetic traits of the Benheim family, just like Lunia's.
Which meant...
"Father-in-law."
"What?"
The expression of my father-in-law—no, the head of House Benheim—stiffened.
"Ah, no... a slip of the tongue."
It was a blunder.
I quickly shook my head.
Regardless, the man before me was the head of the prestigious magic family, House Benheim.
I even remembered his name: Stern von Benheim.
In other words, he was Lunia's father.
"I have much to say about this incident. However, I shall postpone my gratitude for saving my daughter for now. Aside from that, there was a reason I had to lock you in this cell. Do you have any idea why?"
"I'm not sure."
"Do you intend to say the same even after seeing this?"
Stern pulled up a chair, sat down, and drew a small pendant from his breast pocket. Only then did I realize my chest felt light. The pendant Lunia had given me was now dangling from Stern's fingers.
"This was found among your belongings. It also happens to be an item that should be resting inside our family's treasury."
Stern's gaze was filled with deep suspicion.
"Where did you obtain this?"