kscans

Chapter 264 - The Second Trump Card

The pain of the impact shot through my entire body.

…Back then, it was just my sword, so my body was fine, but this time was different. I was sent flying along with my sword. I pushed myself out of the crater I'd made in the rock and fell to both knees.

I coughed, but I wasn't about to lose consciousness.

This armor possessed the highest level of durability. What's more, just before I was sent flying, I had channeled magic into it to increase its strength even further. That’s why I got away with this much damage.

If I hadn't, that single blow would have been the end of me. …I steadied my breath and stood up.

Sidoor said, "…Hahahaha. Truly magnificent. To take my full-force blow and still stand. Not many humans—or even my own kin—could do that."

He watched me with a grin.

…For a warrior, that was the highest praise. But I’m a hunter. Honestly, it didn't matter to me either way.

I said, "…Thanks. I was determined to withstand that blow no matter what. …If I couldn’t get up after that, all my training would have been for nothing."

I stood up, a grin on my face as well.

Seeing this, Sidoor said, "…As I thought, leaving you alive was the right choice. I felt you would become stronger. …But there’s something that bothers me. That sword. It didn't break or even chip from that blow. What in the world is it made of?"

Looking at my sword, I replied, "…This is made from a mineral called Orichalcum. I obtained it when I resolved a certain incident."

I answered concisely.

Sidoor said, "…Orichalcum? …That stone. A substance similar to dark matter. To think you would come across it. …It was worth letting you be."

He seemed impressed.

…It was a stroke of luck for me, too. …The sudden life-or-death battle with the giant monster in the Empire. The discovery that its skin produced the material when I defeated it.

…It was nothing short of a miracle.

I said, "…I was surprised myself. It’s rare for incidents to happen one after another…"

Sidoor's cryptic words made me think.

It’s common for tasks to pile up at work.

But incidents are different. …Normally, if one occurs, nothing else happens. For them to occur in succession is impossible unless it’s intentional.

If I think about it that way, was that incident also deliberate?

…Sidoor was the one who sent Danmes. So was that giant monster also his doing? …No, if that were the case, it should have appeared before me. There would be no point in it appearing in the royal capital. Not only is it far, but there’s no guarantee I would encounter it. I was severely injured at the time and couldn't move.

I asked, "…Let me ask one more thing. That giant monster that appeared in the Empire. Was that your doing?"

To this, Sidoor replied, "…Ah, that. It’s true we were behind the giant monster. …To be precise, it was my comrades who did it, but I agreed with the decision. …There was someone where that monster was who knew about us. It appeared to silence them."

He answered so casually.

I said, "To silence them, huh. …Well, I have no intention of complaining about your affairs, but why did you go to such large-scale lengths? If you just wanted to kill them, assassination would have been sufficient."

To this, Sidoor replied, "…Because it served another purpose. To corner you. To see how you would act in your battered state. That’s all."

His nonchalant reply made me say, "That’s all? …You caused such a disaster for just that? …Sidoor, I was starting to like you a little. I thought you were a refreshing warrior. …But after hearing those words, I feel nothing. …Come to think of it, you did say you were going to destroy countries."

I readied my stance, my killing intent flaring.

Sidoor said, "…That’s how it should be. I have no intention of being friendly with you either. I merely acknowledge you as a worthy enemy. Don’t get it twisted."

He readied his stance, his own killing intent matching mine.

…He’s right. What was I thinking? …No matter how much of a warrior he is, he is still my enemy.

Maybe I thought that somewhere in our hearts, we could understand each other.

But not anymore. …I will simply hunt him as a hunter.

…The two of us stared each other down. Sidoor was the first to move.

He charged straight at me and swung from the right. I dodged by ducking. As I was about to counter, he came at me with a diagonal downward slash on the return swing. The speed was so immense that I abandoned my counter and dodged with all my might.

…I leaped to the side and rolled on the ground. Then, I immediately got up and headed toward Sidoor. His back was still turned to me. Seeing my chance, I brought my sword down with all my strength.

But Sidoor vanished in an instant, reappearing three meters away.

It was as if he had teleported. But that wasn’t it. It was high-speed movement, like the shukuchi of ancient martial arts.

…As I stood frozen, Sidoor turned around, and with a swing of his greatsword, he created a gale of wind. I braced myself against it, but was still pushed back several meters.

Sidoor started running toward me. Unlike before, I could follow his movements with my eyes.

But with each step he took, the ground caved in. In other words, he was putting that much force into it. I thought about dodging, but if I did now, a follow-up attack would come immediately.

My only choice was to evade at the last possible second. …And to do so without him realizing, by pretending to meet his attack head-on.

Sidoor drew closer. …I steadied my breath. When we were within each other’s sword range, Sidoor swung his blade high.

…His body was wide open. But I knew. This was a trap.

The moment he swung down, I dodged by slipping past his right side.

…The greatsword slammed into the ground, creating a massive fissure. It had enough power to split several houses in two. If I had tried to block it, even my Orichalcum blade wouldn't have come out unscathed, and the shock would have broken several of my bones.

This time, I put all my strength into a downward slash at his wide-open back. I cut him diagonally, and blood flowed.

…The first fatal wound I had dealt Sidoor in our battle. I wanted to celebrate, but we were too close. I decided to retreat immediately.

As I was steadying my ragged breath, Sidoor placed a hand on the wound on his back and looked at the blood.

Sidoor said, "…Hahahaha. Excellent. Truly excellent. To think there is a human who can make me bleed. …I shall respond in kind with my own power. …My second trump card."

Magic erupted from his body, and a small sandstorm kicked up around him.

…This itself wasn't a major threat, but the fact that this phenomenon occurred just by releasing his magic was abnormal. I focused solely on dodging with all my might.

Sidoor’s greatsword began to shine with a white light. Like an aurora.

The brilliance was so intense I almost closed my eyes, but that would be suicide. I kept at least one eye open.

Sidoor held his sword in a high stance.

"…Absolute Excalibur!"

He shouted and swung down.

…I channeled a powerful current of lightning into my legs and dodged with a burst of instantaneous acceleration, like a flash of lightning.

The released beam of light shot forward in a straight line, swallowing everything in its path.