Chapter 51

Doom Primed looked at me with an amused expression.

Then, he raised his eyebrows and pointed toward Seta, who was standing behind me.

"By yourself, or with that desert goon too?"

"What, you son of a bitch?"

Seta was enraged at suddenly becoming a 'desert goon', but I calmed him down.

"Of course I'm fighting alone. Both of us fighting wouldn't be as cool."

"Talking about being cool in this situation. Why did someone like you attract the Fire King's attention?"

"Always going Fire King this, Fire King that. Aren't you tired? I don't care about his attention. Right now, I'm just trying to protect my teammate."

"I look forward to your effort."

Doom Prime.

He retracted the sword he had pointed toward Irene and put it back in his scabbard.

Then, he loosely grabbed the handle and took a sword drawing stance.

The same feeling of intense pressure I felt when I first saw the mana gate could be felt here.

I lifted my fists and took up a guard.

"Hoo..."

I had played out this situation in my head countless times.

What would I have to do against an enemy with a sword?

The answer to this was found in one of the teachings of Lord Coulter from when he taught me martial arts before.

'Footwork is the basis of everything.'

The feet.

High-ranking knights could gently move their shoulders to hide the trajectory of their slashes.

I could see this in Lord Coulter.

The sword he swung would always leave the path that I saw with my eyes and hit my waist.

However, you couldn't hide the footwork.

If I could predict his strides, I could figure out how Doom would move.

Just like now.

'...He's coming.'

He had instantly narrowed the distance between us and thrust his sword.

At a glance, it may have looked like a thrust, but his left foot was tilted away.

This was a horizontal slash.

Swoosh—!

I moved back diagonally and dodged the blade.

If I had dodged straight back, the Sword of Brilliance may have ripped through my shirt.

This was followed by another horizontal slash and I flowed like water to dodge once more.

Predicting the path of the blade.

Until here, it was as I practiced.

However,

"Did you think I was just attacking up until now?"

"...!"

He wasn't a knight.

He was a magician.

The two slashes.

These preparatory movements were used to make time to cast a spell.

The Sword of Brilliance shot out a huge ray of light before I could even realize what had happened.

Bam!

I punched the ground and flipped up the earth to try and block.

But his attacks hadn't finished.

"People think that magic swordsmen aren't capable because they aren't fully a magician or fully a knight, but that's because they had never met a real magic swordsman."

Doom charged at me and swung his sword again.

The rumour that he had the skills to match a high ranking knight wasn't exaggerated at all.

His sword looked like it was dancing.

"You got cut."

"...Euk."

At that moment, I lost sight of it and the blade lightly scratched my legs.

When I moved back, magic was thrown at me.

And so, this one-sided battle continued.

But the one on the defensive was me.

"Damn it…"

This wasn't something I had felt before.

Most magicians couldn't deal with me when I approached them.

This was because I could destroy them using a magician's fatal weakness of casting time.

However, Doom was different.

Even though he couldn't use sword aura, he was swinging his sword with one hand while casting magic with the other.

He had eliminated the weakness of casting time by wielding his sword.

It wasn't easy to approach him.

This was because he always maintained exactly a blade's length of distance between us.

"This all you can do? After challenging me, all you're doing is dodging."

"You're acting up after scratching my leg a little? Do you always talk this much?"

"I don't think it's just a scratch."

"..."

My gaze shifted downwards.

I was sure the wound that Doom Prime gave me wasn't deep, but the blade mark left behind by the Sword of Brilliance was spewing out an uncomfortable light and my wound was widening considerably.

"Let's say it's the Mark of Brilliance. That wound will continue to gnaw at your movement. Just like what it did to Irene Prius."

Magic swords.

There were many different magic swords that appeared in the world.

As the number of swords was great, so was the variety in their abilities.

I didn't know the full extent of the Sword of Brilliance's ability, but…

Damn it.

My legs were starting to get numb.

I quickly ripped the bandages I had around my hands with my mouth and wrapped the injured area.

But the uncomfortable light that was embedded in my skin didn't go away and it kept widening the wound.

I couldn't even stop the bleeding.

The Mark of Brilliance.

So it was like this...

"This is boring."

"..."

Doom Prime gripped his sword again.

After dodging that strike, I needed to rush into his blind spot to where his sword couldn't reach me.

If I could just rush into that guy.

If I could just land a hit against that arrogant face.

I had a chance of winning.

But how would I do that?

There wasn't time to deeply ponder this question.

"...Let's finish this."

Doom Prime had redoubled his efforts to attack me.

2 horizontal slashes, 1 vertical slash, and continuous casting of spells.

Sphaaaash!

The Sword of Brilliance emitted a building light from the tip of its blade and blocked my sight.

He raised his sword before slicing it down at me.

Damn it.

I couldn't just sit here and take it.

"...Oop!"

Tat!

It was truly by the breadth of a hair.

I kicked off the ground and jumped back.

Then, I used Bend Time to disappear from Doom's sight.

I knew that Doom intended to follow me and attack my back.

'...What?'

But I wasn't speeding up as much as I expected.

Normally, I would be able to move fast enough to leave behind afterimages, but my current movements were slow enough for Doom to track me with his eyes.

"I'm pretty sure I warned you that it would gnaw at your movement."

"..."

My gaze landed on the leg wound once again.

It was because of this.

Boom!

Doom thrust the sword into the ground as if everything was calculated and started to cast magic with both his hands.

And soon enough, there were two gigantic wings that unfurled above his head, and after circling around a bit, it started to cover him.

5th Class Nature Magic

Kitan's Wings.

Bang—!

Whoooosh!

A huge typhoon followed the explosion of mana and Kitan's Wings leveled the surroundings in an instant.

As winds strong enough to uproot trees started to flow about, Seta was lifted off the ground and flung backwards.

"Kugh!"

I tried to resist it by holding onto a boulder.

The boulder started to shake as it was stuck between me pulling it and the pushing strength of the wind.

But it was manageable.

However, my body had become vulnerable to attacks.

"...This is the end."

And Doom seized this moment.

He had lifted the blade from the ground and jumped at me.

"Ruin! Get out of there!"

Seta's shouts echoed in my mind.

I instinctively moved and dodged his first strike, but the follow-up had broken through.

Shaek!

"Euk!"

In that moment, my forearm had been cut.

Dark red blood was seeping out of me.

If I had to guess, the defensive item that was protecting me was probably nearly out of durability.

Damn it.

I couldn't land any attacks.

At that moment, Doom felt like an unbreakable wall.

However,

"Ruin Ardell. I had some expectations… I'm disappointed."

"..."

That arrogance.

As I heard that arrogant attitude that spoke as if he were king of the world, my dying fighting spirit reignited.

Seta Malkiri.

Irene Prius.

And all the students of the academy.

I couldn't just give up here while everyone was believing in me.

"..."

Shing.

Doom, having thought that this was the end, took a stance to end it in a single blow.

I looked at him and ripped another bandage with my mouth.

"Fine. I'll admit it. You're strong. Enough to make me think for a moment that you were a wall."

"...Are you surrendering?"

"Surrender?"

I shook my head and weakly smiled.

"No. I can't do that."

The bandages that were wrapped around my hand all fell away.

And then, something could be seen.

A ring that had been hidden tightly under those bandages.

'Ring of Invulnerability'.

An artifact I had found in that antique shop that could stop physical attacks.

"I want to destroy you even more."

"..."

Maybe he felt my will to struggle one last time.

The Doom Prime that was always calm and emotionless couldn't help but laugh.

"...With that body?"

He was right.

It was really messed up.

There were two wounds that were the result of being directly cut by the Sword of Brilliance.

And there were hundreds more from the sticks and stones that were flung around by Kitan's Wings.

But I dusted myself off like it was nothing.

"Are you done warming up?"

"...What?"

"Let's start round 2."

The start of round 2.

I lifted my fists towards my face and guarded.

"…You're out of your mind."

And Doom Prime sheathed his blade again ,taking a sword drawing stance while looking baffled at my decision.

"I'll teach you properly so that you can never flap that mouth of yours again."

"..."

It was still scary.

It still felt like a wall.

Above all, that Sword of Brilliance.

Even though I had resolved myself to expect the unexpected when I started dreaming of becoming a magician, being cut by a sword was a terrifying thing that I didn't want to experience ever again.

That was why I changed my strategy.

"What are you thinking of doing?"

As Straang asked that on my shoulders, filled with curiosity, I replied in a quiet voice,

"I won't aim at Doom Prime."

"Then?"

"That Sword of Brilliance."

Right.

If I couldn't hit Doom because of the Sword of Brilliance,

I would destroy the sword.

Having heard this, Straang replied in an excited tone,

"Right! Now you understand. This was how Draka fought."

"...What?"

"Draka didn't aim at an opponent when he fought. He just destroyed everything he saw."

"Hey! If you knew it you should've told me earlier..."

"For my master to finally realize this. Now I feel more at ease. Ehm! Now, shall I enjoy the show?"

"..."

This damned incarnation.

Then, Doom spoke up.

"What are you muttering on about?"

"Eh? It's nothing."

My actions were set.

My heart became lighter, and with it, so did my body.

Now, the real round 2.

Shall we begin?

Skill.

'The Ogre's Fury'.

Strength exploded out into my veins in an instant.

I hopped on the spot a few times and cracked my neck while I said,

"Doom Prime."

"...?"

"Be careful of your chin."

I kicked off the ground and charged toward Doom Prime.

He still believed in his sword.

The Sword of Brilliance was fully blooming with blinding light, as if he was going to blast me away when I got close.

However, I didn't dodge it.

"If you don't dodge, you might really die."

Even with Doom's shallow warning, I didn't hesitate.

My explosively expanding strength...

Was aimed at Doom.

No. It was aimed at the Sword of Brilliance that Doom was swinging around.

And these two forces met.

Then…

[The effects of the Ring of Invulnerability are activating.]

Kakakakang!

"..."

Victory was mine.

Undoubtedly mine.

——