Chapter 198 : Chapter 198
Chapter 198 : My Friend (3)
Suddenly, McRay felt that time was flowing slowly.
As light filled his vision, a chill simultaneously seized his entire body.
At that moment, the light stopped abruptly.
Clang―!
“H, heu-eok!”
McRay collapsed right there while exhaling his breath.
He didn't know what on earth had happened.
Anyway, it was certain that he had died and come back to life.
Ting―
A metal spike about the length of a finger fell between his legs.
He was so surprised that not even a scream came out.
Only then did McRay realize the fact that he had wet his pants.
“Are you okay, McRay?”
“Hurry and get up.”
McRay raised his head abruptly.
Above his head, the blades extended by Masa and Roxy were crossed.
It was also the two of them who had blocked the metal spike flying just now.
“Th, thank…….”
“But isn't that kid Tiaro?”
Roxy muttered. Only then did McRay look ahead.
It really was Tiaro.
He was collapsed next to some man just like himself.
Even the surprised expression was the same.
“Who is that person?”
At that time, as if answering the question, the man lowered the arm he had extended forward and spoke.
“Good, we met quickly. No need to waste time.”
Of course, it was Deganelo.
He looked alternately at Masa and Roxy.
The corners of his mouth went up in a grin.
“Listen well, brats. I intend to take only one and kill the remaining one here.”
Tiaro and McRay's heads snapped around simultaneously.
Their eyes looking at Deganelo grew large as if they would pop out.
“Well, it doesn't matter to me who it is. I will give you the choice.”
Whoosh― Whoosh―
Deganelo cut the empty air a few times as if warming up.
Every time the sound of wind being split was heard, Tiaro and McRay's eyelids trembled.
“Decide quickly. I'm busy because I still have more work left.”
Deganelo rested his sword on his shoulder where the tattoos were revealed.
In the midst of that, Masa and Roxy were indifferent to the point of being callous.
As if they had known in advance that a moment like this would come.
“But who is he? He's not someone from our family.”
“I'm seeing him for the first time too.”
As Roxy and Masa spat out words one by one, Deganelo giggled.
“Cute punks. Daring to compare me with those lowly things?”
“Who are you? Mister.”
“Nothing changes just because you know who I am. Shut up and just decide quickly.”
Tiaro jumped up. His face filled with rage was red as if it would burst.
“You fuuuuuck! Hey, you son of a bitch! What the hell are you doing! After I went to the trouble of guiding you―”
Thud!
Deganelo extended his other hand and grabbed Tiaro's neck.
A hoarse scream leaked out.
It was the moment Tiaro's toes left the ground.
Ki-ing!
McRay gripped hand axes in both hands.
His eyes, with only whites remaining, blazed with fury.
“Iyaaaaah!”
McRay rushed in.
From behind his back, a long blade rushed toward Deganelo like a tentacle.
It was Roxy's whip sword.
“Haha, cute things.”
When Deganelo loosened the strength in his grip, Tiaro's body dropped with a thud.
Clang!
Deganelo lightly struck away the whip sword with his scabbard.
Before the recoil could even fade, he twisted his wrist just like that and extended the hilt of his sword forward.
Thwack!
It struck accurately into the abdomen of McRay, who was rushing frontally.
Staggering, McRay vomited gastric juices.
“Hahahaha.”
Deganelo laughed as if watching an entertaining spectacle.
Since they were guys with ties to Luke, murderous intent did not surge.
‘Hm.’
However, that did not mean Deganelo was by any means a merciful person.
If the bugs he was playing with suddenly bared their teeth, whims could arise as much as one pleased.
Now was like that.
“Doing useless things―”
As soon as he muttered that, Deganelo's hair swayed.
It was the wind caused by Masa, who had rushed into the interval before anyone knew.
Deganelo's leisurely and languid gaze and Masa's emotionless gaze crossed each other from above and below respectively.
Clang!
In the meantime, everyone gathered around covered their ears at the sudden roar.
Suddenly, light also flashed as if exploding.
“Ah…….”
Masa's eyes widened slightly. Her head was blank.
It was blocked as if to show off.
It was truly an Ethereal strike put forth with all her soul.
“……Who is it. The guy who taught you to use that sword like that.”
“Huh?”
Masa's Ethereal Sword, which was clashing with Deganelo's sword, revealed a silvery outline.
It looked like a translucent crystal gradually surfacing from underwater.
“Formless Sword at merely a First-Rate level……. Well, if it's the Springeus bloodline, something like that isn't even a problem. Well, what would a young kid like you know.”
Deganelo twisted the corners of his mouth slightly. It was a somewhat fierce smile.
“Since this is my mission, it can't be helped, flesh and blood of Luke.”
“……!”
“Don't resent me too much.”
When a person stands before the crossroads of life and death, they look back first.
What came into such Masa's eyes was Roxy.
‘I love you.’
It only hovered inside her mouth.
Because it was words she vowed to whisper affectionately― someday under the night sky where stars poured down.
Pu-uk!
The blade that pierced through the nape of her neck stuck out.
At the same time, Masa's pupils also lost their color.
‘Masa…….’
Roxy opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Only a tinnitus that seemed to tear apart was ringing loudly.
Her vision shook, and all forms in front of her shimmered like waves.
With the ray of light that cut in between herself and Masa as the last thing…….
Soon, the world became distant.
“Ellen―!”
“It's Ellen!”
The whole area was uproarious.
Before anyone knew it, Ellen, who appeared driving the light, was facing Deganelo.
Ellen clenched his teeth.
He looked ready to pour out all the results of the training he had polished so far.
“Are you Ellen?”
Deganelo looked pleased.
With Masa resting on one shoulder, he was leisurely receiving Ellen's sword.
“What the hell are you?”
“No need for you to know who I am. I heard you are special to Luke. Is that correct?”
Ellen's eyes snapped open.
Soon he bit down hard as if to crush his molars.
Intuition, omitting complex causality, flashed through his mind.
“It was you?”
“Hm?”
“Luke disappearing, it was all because of you bastard!”
“……Ha.”
There was no need to argue.
Ellen was convinced that Luke's sudden disappearance was connected to the man in front of him.
For Deganelo, who just purely intended to see the face of the boy who had a connection with Luke, it was inevitably somewhat absurd.
“Right well, living is all like this.”
Deganelo shrugged his shoulders.
He quickly regained his composure.
“It's not bad to teach the scariness of the world either.”
“Shut up, you son of a bitch!”
“The guys here all have foul mouths without exception.”
Even while saying that, the smile did not leave.
Just watching Ellen's crude swordsmanship was fun.
“Did Luke teach you like that? The basics aren't there at all?”
Why is it?
If it's a guy Luke kept an eye on, there must be a reason.
As he traced that, a strange interest suddenly arose.
“That child's teacher is me.”
Deganelo's eyes twitched.
The voice pierced like a dagger.
Behind.
Simultaneously with turning his head, Deganelo bent his waist backward.
It was to the point where his back touched the ground.
Kiiiing!
Above Deganelo's field of view, a sword passed leaving multiple layers of afterimages.
It was the spot where his neck was just a moment ago.
“A guy called a knight, and even the leader of the Sharon Faction at that, does a surprise attack from behind?”
“……!”
“I wondered where and what you were doing wandering around―”
Deganelo raised his body.
The movement of regaining balance while keeping Masa on his shoulder was hard to see as human.
Everyone watching the fight doubted their own eyes.
Even Noser, who delivered the blow just before, was silently astonished.
“You were hanging out with guys of bad quality here, Noser.”
“Y, You―”
“I'll have to scold you stingingly.”
Deganelo bent his knees slightly.
With Masa on one shoulder, he was holding the middle part of the scabbard in his other hand.
The end of the hilt was facing Noser in front.
“Got you!”
Ellen, who was behind Deganelo, grabbed the end of the scabbard with both hands.
His hand went out abruptly because his mind was urgent to seal the movement.
Ki-ing!
Deganelo immediately drew the sword with a reverse grip.
It was as if Ellen held the scabbard for him.
Cla― ang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sounds rang out several times, but in everyone's eyes, the movements of the two people were not visible.
When the dust settled…….
The gap between the two people had widened.
Drip.
A stream of blood flowed down over Noser's eyebrow.
It looked like bloody tears that burst after being held back.
“……What happened, Elder Right Camp Leader.”
It was slowly getting hard to endure.
Noser staggered slightly. Even his gaze fixed on Deganelo shook for an instant.
“Master!”
Ellen shouted. Needless guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders.
Deganelo looked back at such Ellen and grinned.
He was overflowing with composure.
“Did you know, Noser? That that child had a connection with Luke.”
“I don't know what you are saying out of the blue. Is the name Luke unique?”
“I mean the Sword Saint. Sword Saint Luke.”
Noser glanced at Ellen visible behind Deganelo. A snort inevitably came out.
“It seems your body has somehow become young, but I guess nothing could be done about your senility.”
“Giggle, dull guy. That's why you can't make it.”
“Well, forget it―”
The waist that had been straightened to catch breath slowly loosened.
The sword tip harboring sharpness and the chin were pulled inward simultaneously.
“Put down Masa. I will hear the explanation after that.”
“Hahahaha…….”
Deganelo's laughter continued long, harboring a metallic sound.
It also seemed like he was dragging it out on purpose.
As if he waited for the time when attention was focused to the peak, Deganelo slowly opened his mouth.
“The Imperial Capital Knight Order was next after Springeus and Windermere disappeared. I mean your death is not yet, Noser.”
One corner of Deganelo's mouth went up in a sneer.
“In other words, only the order has changed; eventually, it means you were destined to die.”
“…….”
“Still, I cherished you quite a lot. This is sincere.”
Looking at Deganelo's expression that was similar to a smile, Noser retraced the recent past days.
The time he faced Dayron's endless swarm of demonic beasts with only Bolero in Tarnholt, and the time he fought alone against the machine doll army in Grimlok came to mind vividly.
Clearly, there was an achievement.
Even the advice Deganelo gave him someday overlapped with the person right in front of him.
―If you devote yourself, someday you will inevitably face a wall.
That wall, in other words, was said to be the fruit only for those who made an effort.
―You will feel that the hard times and bloody training meanwhile were all in vain.
Because it is just a natural premise.
Knowing with words and feeling with the body are as different as heaven and earth.
But Noser had to ask. Even knowing how foolish it was.
―Then what should I do?
At that time, Deganelo curled up the corners of his mouth as if sneering.
Like now.
It was the same then and now.
―You must realize.
Now he knew.
‘Sword's Will.’
Noser pulled his body deeply to the lower left.
The tip of the scabbard hanging on his waist rose slowly.
Wu-ung.
The blade inside the scabbard caused a minute vibration.
It seemed like it would explode at any moment.
Kiiiing―!
A silver thread formed in the void.
For an instant, the scenery distorted strangely as if the entire space was cut.
Crack―
Thud.
Deganelo's sword broke in two.
Following the cut trajectory, the sleeve of the right arm holding the sword also tore.
“Heo-uh―”
Deganelo admired while looking at his fluttering hem.
“You have grown, Noser.”
Something invisible like a transparent flame soared above the cut section of the sword.
Deganelo swung his arm just like that.
Pu-hwa-a-ak!
Blood soared above Noser's body.
Deganelo's eyebrows twitched.
It definitely missed.
It didn't match the direction he slashed.
It seemed like something else intervened instantaneously and twisted it.
“Ghost Manor.”
Along with the voice, Deganelo's vision became pitch black as if he fell into darkness.