Chapter 26
Chapter 26
A cold sensation burrowed into my skin. At the same time, I took a deep breath in.
Soon, along with a familiar sense of déjà vu, the world slowed down.
Without a moment to hesitate, I reversed the grip on the sword I was holding, barely managing to block the greatsword that was cutting toward my neck.
Ggrrk—
The greatsword trying to dig in and my sword trying to push it away bared vicious fangs at each other, locked in a deadlock without yielding even an inch.
At the same time, blood flowing down from my neck soaked my upper garment. The greatsword had sunk about half a finger’s depth into my neck.
Whether I was lucky or not, it seemed to have missed any vital spots, but judging by the amount of bleeding, if time dragged on like this, it could become dangerous.
‘But if I show an opening, she’ll push in all at once.’
The force coming from the greatsword was no joke.
No matter how much of a protagonist one was, it was impossible to build up this level of strength at such an early introductory stage.
‘It seems what changed wasn’t just the gender.’
Now, she was neither the protagonist nor anything else.
She was an ‘unknown enemy’ fighting against me.
I flicked my gaze toward Alice.
The gentle expression she had shown at the Academy was nowhere to be seen; in its place was a cold-blooded figure who looked like not even a drop of blood would come out if pricked with a needle.
“…You’ve got some strength, huh?”
Thinking I might glean even a bit of information, I casually opened my mouth.
Alice seemed to think it was a ploy to escape the crisis, and spoke back with a chilling smile.
“Stop your pointless struggle. You’ll only die in pain.”
“…So that’s your true self. You weren’t bad earlier, but you’re more attractive now.”
“If that’s your last will, it’s a bit boring.”
“Unfortunately, I’ll live a long life until I’m smearing shit on the walls, so—!”
Taking advantage of the exchange, I put strength into the hand gripping my sword.
Veins bulged on the back of my hand, and at the same time, a dazzling aura bloomed along the blade and wrapped around the sword.
“Aura isn’t something only you can use.”
As if mocking me, golden aura also gathered on Alice’s sword.
‘This part’s the same as the original.’
Golden aura was a sacred blessing that only a hero chosen by the goddess could wield.
The process was different, but in any case, it meant she had properly followed the protagonist’s route.
Pajijijik—
Aura collided with aura, spraying sparks.
Alice calmly poured strength into her greatsword as if she had already predicted the outcome, but that was exactly what I wanted.
“…Ugh?!”
The aura rising from my sword began to gnaw into her greatsword little by little.
Cracks formed at the point of contact, soon spreading across it like a spider’s web, and with a sharp shriek, it lost its form.
Kang!
Half of the greatsword shot high up into the air. Without even checking where it landed, I kicked off the ground hard and twisted my body.
“……!”
The sword strike, loaded with the rotation of my waist, lashed at her like a whip. Perhaps shocked by her sword breaking, Alice reacted a beat too late, and the end of her sleeve, which she failed to evade, was torn long and wide.
Tadat-!
She quickly moved her feet and retreated, as if trying to recompose herself, but I had no intention of giving her that leeway.
A protagonist awakened at moments of crisis. If I decided the match before she even realized the crisis, she wouldn’t have time to awaken.
Sswaeaeaeik-!
With mana throughout my entire body activated, I hurled myself at Alice.
Seeing me burrow into her personal space in an instant, panic was clearly visible on her face.
I exhaled a single breath and swung my sword with all my might.
Kang-!
“…Ugh!”
But at the decisive moment, she played an unexpected move. She threw away the greatsword she was holding without a shred of hesitation.
When I knocked aside the half-broken greatsword that had surged toward my chest, in that brief interval Alice steadied herself and pulled something from her bosom, hurling it to the ground.
Koom-!
Pitch-black smoke instantly filled the clearing.
Smoke that would have been swept away quickly by the wind soon covered the surroundings so thickly that I couldn’t see an inch ahead.
‘Petty tricks.’
In case there was poison, I held my breath and used mana to raise my body’s resistance.
At the same time, I scanned the surroundings with a sharp gaze, focusing my senses to detect Alice’s presence.
‘She didn’t run away. It’s probably the same technique she used earlier when she took my back. Judging by her use of assassins, she either learned stealth-related skills or has a special artifact.’
Usually, that kind of stealth broke the moment it emitted any presence. In other words, the instant she moved was my chance.
Chrak—
I sheathed my sword and quietly took a stance with my body lowered. This entire clearing fell within my effective range.
After the recent exchange, Alice must have grasped my ability to some extent as well. Which meant the outcome would be decided by the next move.
‘Come.’
She was the protagonist of this world. What would happen if I defeated her? But regardless, the fact that I had to make her mine did not change.
For this world to move forward, the protagonist was an indispensable existence.
Sswaeaeaeaeik-!
When the black smoke reached its peak, blocking all sight, a sharp sound of air tearing brushed past my ears.
However, it wasn’t just one.
‘Front, left, right.’
As if trying to deceive my senses, killing intent surged in from three directions, stabbing toward me.
Narrowing my eyes and focusing to discern which was real, I caught something else falling from the sky, separate from them.
“Predictable.”
Shaaaak-!
The sword drawn from its scabbard cleaved through what was falling from the sky with a bluish flash. But from the sensation at my fingertips, I instantly realized it was a decoy, and at the same time, a single thread of killing intent—far more covert than anything before—aimed for my heart from behind.
It was too late to react by moving. Yet throwing myself aside was risky, with whatever was flying in from three directions still concerning me.
Still, unable to suppress a leaking chuckle, I murmured softly.
“No one can harm me.”
Woom—
For an instant, light flickered from the Necklace of Achilles hanging around my neck.
At the same time, in less than half a second, a bluish-golden suit of armor covered my entire body.
Tangtatatang!
The things that had charged through the smoke slammed into the armor and lost their force, falling away—perhaps throwing knives.
I paid them no mind at all and turned my body toward Alice, who was aiming for my heart.
Kang-!
“……!”
The short sword imbued with golden aura bounced off without piercing my armor.
As her hand holding the sword drooped limply in midair, I seized that opening and swung my elbow with full force.
Tak-!
Dropping her sword, Alice clenched her teeth and threw her body into the air. It looked like she was trying to retreat and reset her stance, but I kicked off the ground before she could.
Koom.
I mounted her fallen form, clad in heavy armor.
I pinned both of her arms with my legs so she couldn’t move, and with my free left hand, I grabbed Alice by the chin.
“Feeling like talking now?”
“Eek!!!”
But she seemed to have no intention of giving up, struggling desperately to break free from my restraint. But with both arms bound, there was nothing she could do.
She flailed her relatively free legs, but it was nothing more than meaningless thrashing.
“I……”
For a moment, her movements stopped.
Thinking she had given up, I let out a light sigh and slightly loosened the strength in the hand holding my sword, but unfortunately, that was nothing more than a misunderstanding.
“…I can’t lose. Ever.”
Within Alice’s two pupils, distorted golden radiance began to creep upward.
“Tch.”
That warped golden radiance was a precursor to awakening, the hero’s special privilege. I had said it jokingly, but I never imagined awakening would truly occur at this point.
More and more power gathered in her two arms that I had pinned down.
After a brief moment of consideration, I reversed my grip on the sword I was holding. Then, pointing the tip at her neck, I spoke in a low voice.
“Do you think you could still say that with a hole in your neck?”
“…….”
When I glared at Alice with thick killing intent, her golden-lit eyes wavered pitifully. But soon she clenched her teeth and accepted the awakening once more, and I swung my sword without hesitation.
Thud.
“…….”
With a light sound, Alice’s body, which had been struggling, lost its strength and went limp.
Her flailing arms dropped to the ground, and after confirming that her consciousness had clearly been cut off, I finally stood up and threw myself down beside her.
“Hoo…….”
I struck her head with the flat of the blade. Awakening occurred while one was conscious. It was a classic but reliable method—if I knocked her out, awakening would stop no matter what.
And it worked perfectly.
“Good thing I avoided the worst-case scenario.”
If the protagonist died, what would happen to this world? Even if nothing happened, the consequences of her death promised nothing but a bleak future.
“Release.”
When I tapped the necklace and spoke, the golden armor that had covered my body vanished.
The Necklace of Achilles was one of the three treasures I had chosen from the Imperial Palace Treasury, and it was the one I used most frequently.
Elixirs were consumables, so I saved them as spare lives, and Blessing of Invisibility was something I would only use in situations right on the brink of death—but so far, the only time I could call a life-and-death crisis was when I had sparred nonstop with the Sword Saint for seventy-two hours and passed out.
Even so, the Sword Saint had told me to avoid using the Necklace of Achilles whenever possible. When the body’s defense became complete, the senses that guarded against one’s surroundings dulled.
That could lead to fatal results due to unexpected variables.
I agreed with that point as well.
That was why I only used it at decisive moments like now, and used it to induce complacency in opponents who thought they had landed a finishing blow.
“Up we go.”
I couldn’t stay here forever with assassins’ corpses strewn about, so I picked up Alice’s limp body and stood up.
Where had all the strength and momentum from earlier gone—what I felt in my arms now was only the weight of a girl who seemed barely old enough to be a high school student.
‘What she must have gone through all this time.’
It was nothing but heartbreaking.
The original protagonist, Kim Junyoung, had gone through his own share of storms after coming to this world.
The same was true for me, and thanks to that, I had been able to grow this much.
But Alice’s case was different. She was not the originally destined protagonist.
That irrational strength she had shown earlier—it wasn’t purely from her stats, but born from the experiences and toughness she had accumulated until now.
How strong could a Korean high school girl really be.
Which meant she had endured unspeakable hardships after coming to this world and grown again and again.
‘How much must she have suffered alone in this small body.’
A sigh escaped me on its own. If the author were standing in front of me, no matter if it was Oneulnal, I would have thrown a punch at their face.
“I’ll make sure you walk nothing but a flower-strewn path now.”
Just trust this big brother.