Chapter 224 : Chapter 224
Chapter 224 : The Sword Demon, Raman (3)
So, to summarize the situation, it went something like this.
I'd been frantically swinging my sword, pushing forward with a momentum that could kill a bastard at any moment. Just as my vision was turning completely red from the screams and tearing flesh unleashed by that bastard, along with the drops of blood splattering in all directions...
My boiling blood was completing a full circulation through my entire body, and I was in a state of hyper-focus where all my senses were directed toward murderous intent, but..........
As if all of it were a mere dream, when I opened my eyes, I was right in the middle of a quiet, peaceful field.
"……."
A situation where my foot had slipped and I'd tumbled from the edge of a cliff on a storm-ridden battlefield, only for a silent paradise to suddenly appear.
This dreadful sense of incompatibility and solitude made even the embers of struggle that'd been heating up my body until just moments ago cool down helplessly.
"Welcome to the mental world of my sword, Bihen Benkou."
"Crazy."
I let out a bitter chuckle, dumbfounded.
Crow smiled leisurely and held out his empty hands. For a moment, I tilted my head, not knowing what that action meant.
It seemed to mean he harbored no hostility, and it also looked like he was going to surrender.
Whichever it was, it was equally absurd.
SCHWING—!
As soon as I drew Heavenly Demon, I snapped my head up and looked up.
With a cracking sound, the sky that'd been perfectly quiet split open. It was an extremely localized and minuscule change.
It felt like watching cracks form on an eggshell from inside the egg. A part of the sky blanketed by the red sunset crumbled down while splattering fragments as if pierced by a sharp blade, and beyond the small, broken gap lay a pitch-black darkness without a single speck of light.
The murderous intent I'd just shown was a mere handful. Yet, with only that tiny will of a split second, this world shook precariously.
I felt like I could leave whenever I wanted to.
'Is it ridiculously flimsy, or—'
WHOOSH—
Once again, the withered grass bowed all at once.
Crow stood blankly in the midst of it like a scarecrow in that characteristic posture of his.
'……Did he intentionally choose not to block it?'
A guy like me is naturally full of suspicion. Dozens of assumptions already flashed through my head without rest.
It's an obvious trap to anyone, but..........
Why is it? The fact that I can't feel even a single speck of murderous intent from Deganelo.
If it's because his realm far surpasses mine that I can't read his killing intent, then I've nothing to say.
A clever disguise? No, not at all. Rather, it's just clear and quiet like a transparent mirror. That composure of his was instead fueling my suspicion.
"You are more cowardly than you look, Bihen Benkou. You do not need to be so tense."
"Stop talking bullshit."
"Bullshit? Do you not see it even after witnessing it just now? If you wish, you can collapse this mental world at any time and return."
He still had his arms raised near his chest. Come to think of it, he did not possess a weapon anywhere on his body.
"What do you want? There's got to be a reason you're pulling this shit."
Deganelo let out a smirk. In that instant, an urge to sever the bastard's neck surged violently within me.
To think he'd bring the situation to this point and laugh leisurely—it was intolerably detestable.
"This crazy fiend of a bastard has truly gone mad with a desire to die—"
"Even without that, I will soon be annihilated anyway."
His tone was infinitely peaceful. His expression was light, as if he had laid down all his burdens.
"……Annihilated? You mean you're going to disappear forever?"
"That is right."
I blinked. Starting from this current situation, everything was somewhat absurd, and it made no sense to take his words at face value, but perhaps because he acted so shamelessly, I couldn't just brush it off.
'It's not an empty boast.'
Then again, if he were going to do that, there'd be no reason to go this far.
'But it doesn't seem like he's trying to play psychological warfare either.'
Suddenly, my head throbbed. I felt it'd be better if he just attacked me with spite instead.
Since he suddenly came at me prostrating himself like that, I couldn't find my bearings on what word to utter first.
While doing so for a moment, a thought suddenly struck me to ask everything I'd been curious about all this time. Honestly, the things I wanted to ask those bastards were piled high like a mountain.
The Blood Devil, Poison Demon, and Phantom Demon I'd met so far..........
Those fellows were either madmen with whom conversation itself was impossible, or the situation was so urgent that they weren't even in a position to open their mouths.
'If I could at least know where the remaining four bastards are……'
It was then.
The faces of two people suddenly came to mind.
'…….'
I raised my head and stared at the bastard in front of me. My eyes burned hot.
"Why did you do that to Masa and Noser?"
"……."
"You didn't have to go that far."
"That is my job."
I've gone soft in the meantime too. What kind of answer was I even expecting? Even to me, it was a foolish question.
If it'd been me, I would've scoffed upon hearing it...... but Deganelo's face remained frozen without expression.
I should be grateful, dammit.
"So what do you want to do?"
"For now, just listen to my story. It is roughly an old tale. A story from a very long time ago."
It was right at the moment a sigh leaked out from my dumbfoundedness.
'……!'
In a single moment, my vision wavered. The field blanketed by the red sunset instantly lost its color and crumbled away, and a new scenery rushed in like an incoming tide. It felt as if a painting on a massive canvas was being swapped out entirely.
In the blink of an eye, the space that'd been full of quiet and silence transformed into a venue crowded with countless people.
While looking around in bewilderment, the voices of people entered my ears.
"Is that young noble Luke Springeus? I'm looking forward to seeing if his skill matches the rumors. They say his talent is outstanding."
"His talent might be unrivaled, but Raman Windermere is no ordinary fellow either. No, rather, if we're talking about rank, that side is much higher, isn't it? Apparently, he's already personally visited the prominent powerhouses of the Central Region and defeated them all."
"Puhaha! Hey, you sure picked up some rumors made up by sewer rat bastards somewhere. Make some sense. Look at that fair face. What could a young master who grew up without getting a single drop of muddy water on his hands possibly do after coming out here with skills honed from merely cutting dolls in a training ground?"
"Uh-uh, lower your voice! Has this fellow gone mad with a desire to face punishment? No matter what, Springeus and Windermere are among the most prestigious families in the West. It's accepted as a fact that a significant number of people from those two families have already been appointed to core positions in the Imperial Capital Knight Order being established this time."
I immediately turned around and reached my hand out toward them. I intended to press them with questions. However, my hand passed through them in vain.
It's a familiar sensation. I've experienced something similar a few times before.
'The Phantom Demon's sorcery and Manuan's diary.'
Compared to back then, however, there's no sense of restriction. It feels noticeably more free, as if swimming through someone else's dream.
'Someone else's dream…….'
At the place I unconsciously turned my head toward, Deganelo stood waiting as if on cue.
In that moment, the surrounding noise grew slightly distant, and I felt the presence of the crowd thinning out as well. As if only Deganelo and I were existences possessing density.
"Oh! There they come!"
My senses returned at the sudden shout.
From both ends straight ahead, two men clad in plate armor walked out and faced each other.
I stared at them as well.
......Yes, I thought it obviously wouldn't be a coincidence, but I became certain once more.
"Er, first of all, I would like to thank everyone who has traveled from afar to come here."
Some middle-aged man stood between the two and spoke. He had a balding head and a plain impression, but for some reason, he also looked familiar.
"Our village's specialties are the mountains, the lake, and the autumn leaves, so since you've come, please make sure to look around and……"
"Shut up and just start already!"
"Why does an innkeeper have so much to say?!"
As the people showered him with jeers, only then did the middle-aged man retreat as if fleeing. Come to think of it, the building he was backing against was also familiar somehow.
I looked around above the heads of the surrounding crowd for a long while.
'……Ha.'
Now everything's clear.
The innkeeper who just retreated was a distant ancestor of that Pretoria Lord I know.
And this place is Pretoria before it was even called a territory.
A distant past where even the Imperial Capital Knight Order didn't exist.
Around that time—the memory of the Sword Demon.
Coincidentally, Luke Springeus and Raman Windermere were around the same age as the current me.
The reason those two clashed swords with each other was none other than because they were romantic rivals.
I couldn't help but feel drained. To think some people are desperately struggling and swinging their swords like this just to save lives.
'…….'
Meanwhile, Deganelo stood side by side with me at a distance and quietly watched the duel between the two.
His gaze, which used to resemble a ferocious beast, had settled low. He wore an expression that was hard to describe. Should I say he looked like someone opening a book he'd already read countless times until it was worn out, to the point of memorizing it word for word? Yet, a strange madness could be felt, as if he were not bored at all.
"They are indeed both incredible. The rumors were not an exaggeration."
"It is the first time in my life seeing such profound swordsmanship."
The onlookers tightly surrounding the building—which is currently the Pretoria mansion but was the Pretoria inn at this time—all watched the duel between the two swordsmen in a completely entranced state.
And for good reason, as Luke Springeus and Raman Windermere were skillfully unleashing their respective families' hidden arts, Ethereal and Whip Sword.
'It's crude.'
As someone who's personally witnessed and faced outstanding figures of later generations employing them, it's my honest impression.
Coming this far, I've reached a single conclusion.
'These two were the beginning.'
The namesake ancestor of the individual who'd later be called Sword Saint Luke, and a man named Raman Windermere whose name is still unfamiliar.
In other words, though it's a bit petty, this lover's quarrel was ultimately a historic showdown between two titans who could be considered the root of the Kingdom's knight lineage.
'They're truly evenly matched.'
The duel was tight. Lethal moves were exchanged without rest, and a brilliant counterattack unfolded every single time.
Considering that age group, it's certainly no exaggeration to say they're both geniuses born with natural gifts.
'……Fellows are different from me.'
I know it well. Because the main culprits who made me feel a wall countless times in my past life were exactly that kind of breed.
'An infinite potential whose end is hard to gauge.'
Raw gemstones that shine even before being polished.
'It's annoying.'
Turning my head away as if looking aside, I stared at Deganelo's profile.
The bastard still couldn't take his eyes off the duel.
"How long do we have to keep watching this?"
The moment I asked that, the background changed again.
The change wasn't major this time.
The wind grew a bit colder, and the surrounding people became slightly more numerous than before.
In front of the Pretoria inn, the two were facing each other once again.
"Last month's duel was a draw, wasn't it?"
"They say they're definitely settling the score this time."
"There's a rumor that Young Master Luke's desire to win has flared up."
The gathered people whispered. It wasn't an illusion. Deganelo smirked at what a few of them were spouting.
My brow furrowed despite myself.
·
·
·
The duels between the two young nobles were held consecutively once a month.
Before long, the autumn leaves that used to grow thick around the Pretoria inn vanished without a trace, and snow fell softly in their place.
The onlookers, whose numbers had increased up until the third or fourth time, gradually thinned out until ultimately only a small number of family members remained, and even they gradually disappeared one by one.
Within the countless shifting sceneries, the only ones remaining unchanged were……
Luke Springeus, Raman Windermere, along with Deganelo and me.
'Relentless.'
A victor hadn't been decided yet.
The amazing thing was that through the successive duels, the skills of the two were noticeably improving.
'……They're similar to the current me.'
Let alone a year, barely half a year had passed. It wasn't as if there was some special event within their respective skipped periods of time either.
'What, is he telling me to just admire them?'
I glanced at Deganelo. Since when had the distance between the two of us visibly narrowed? It felt like we'd drawn as close as the space vacated by the onlookers.
"Ah, now I get it."
My head snapped around at the voice heard from the front. Come to think of it, this was the first time hearing a voice.
Luke Springeus, who had removed his helmet, shook out his sweat-soaked hair and spoke toward Raman Windermere's back.
"You don't have any friends, do you?"
Raman Windermere halted in his tracks and merely turned his head slightly.
Just like that, a strange silence hung between the two. It was right at the moment I wondered if this world constructed from the Sword Demon's memories had temporarily paused.
"Haha."
The laughter belonged to Deganelo beside me. He was smiling exactly like someone who'd opened a book just to read this scene again.
It wasn't particularly detestable this time.
"No, I do."
"You do? You? It seems like you don't even know what the word 'friend' means."
"Do you want to have a bout right now instead of waiting until next month?"
"Sure, whatever."
A day when sunlight rippled between snow-covered branches.
The first conversation exchanged between the two geniuses was drainingly trivial.