Chapter 90
Chapter 90
“…….”
Chris seemed to have felt that hostility as well, as she narrowed her brow.
I did not know why the Sword Saint was showing such a reaction, but this was not a normal situation.
The strong were drawn to the strong.
In the original work, the two of them had held a reasonable degree of goodwill toward each other upon their first meeting.
However, what floated in the Sword Saint’s eyes right now was far from ordinary.
“This is different from what I heard.”
Chris spoke toward us while still locking eyes with him.
Unlike the Sword Saint, who looked as though he might draw his sword at any moment, she seemed to be maintaining her reason for now.
The Sword Saint was a powerhouse on a level similar to Chris.
If a fight were to break out, whoever took the initiative would gain the advantage in victory or defeat.
She showed that kind of composure because she did not doubt her own victory, but her voice said that this was the very limit of what she was willing to concede.
“Master.”
I hurriedly called out to the Sword Saint.
Despite using a form of address I rarely used, he maintained his silence.
At last, after a long silence, the Sword Saint slowly subdued his momentum.
“Explain.”
But his voice was not his usual one.
The Sword Saint’s eyes were filled with the will to draw his sword at once if he was not satisfied.
‘What in the world…….’
Was there any reason for him to oppose an Elf? But explanation took priority over thinking right now, so I calmed my thoughts and opened my mouth.
“She is a survivor of the Elf clan. And she has agreed to assist me.”
“Agreed to assist you?”
The corners of the Sword Saint’s mouth thinned.
What emerged there was unmistakable hostility.
“A few months ago, a group of suspicious individuals came to my castle.”
And then he calmly began to recount the story.
There were five assailants in total, all of them highly skilled.
Every one of the five had reached the level of Sword Master, and among them, the Elf man was at the very extreme even among Sword Masters.
“…There was an Elf?”
At those words, Chris’s eyes wavered.
She must have believed all along that she alone was the sole surviving Elf.
Of course, the same had been true for me.
In the original work, it was clearly stated that she was the last remaining Elf survivor.
In the stories that followed, no other Elves ever appeared, only showing up occasionally in her memories.
‘An unfamiliar flow at this timing, of all things.’
But because of my existence, changes had occurred in this world.
Even if there had been another surviving Elf, it would not have been all that strange.
“They went on about how they would make me Emperor. Naturally, I rejected them outright, but instead of backing down, they took hostages and tried to threaten me.”
“That’s…….”
It was an act of remarkable audacity.
No matter how much of a Sword Master one was, he was a Sword Saint who even wielded mind-sword.
If the mind was cut, if the spirit was destroyed, then no matter how renowned a Sword Master might be, they would become nothing more than a fool with a sturdy body.
“But they came thoroughly prepared.
As a result, quite a few of my trusted retainers lost their lives or were injured.”
“…….”
At those words, memories from when I had visited the Sword Saint’s territory surfaced faintly.
Among the graves on one side of the land, there had been several relatively new mounds.
There were quite a few of them, so I had found it a bit strange at first, but since this was a world where people died frequently, I had soon erased it from my mind.
‘To think that was foreshadowing.’
“…Th-then, what happened to him?”
Chris asked in a trembling voice.
To that, the Sword Saint replied with icy eyes.
“I severed his limbs and threw him to wild dogs, mage who has realized the truth. It was fortunate that I hurried here to see my disciple. To think that someone of this caliber had approached my disciple. Naturally, it would have been easy for you to be completely deceived.”
“Ah…….”
At that answer, I let out a hollow sigh.
The situation before and after connected roughly in my mind.
That was why the Sword Saint had been wary of her as an Elf, and upon hearing that she was assisting me, he had inferred a connection to them.
‘Damn it, why did things turn out like this……!’
From his perspective, suspecting Chris was reasonable.
There had been precedent, and someone of the same purpose and same kind had indeed approached me.
But that was a groundless misjudgment, and a fatal rift.
Still, it was not too late.
I stepped forward to correct it, but immediately a massive sense of floating swept over my body.
“Ugh?!”
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuung-.
Unprecedented mana began to swirl around Chris.
I shouted desperately at that.
That it was all a misunderstanding.
That your thoughts were wrong.
But the resonance created as Chris’s aura and the Sword Saint’s momentum collided swallowed my voice, and soon produced a massive shockwave.
As a mere Sword Master, all I could do was endure it.
With a vacant expression, I could do nothing but watch the two of them face off.
Sssss-.
Chris’s body rose into the air.
She looked down at the Sword Saint with eyes cold beyond measure.
“Sword Saint Yohanel.”
Her voice was as cold as her gaze.
I could sympathize with it, if only a little.
Chris had always been plagued by guilt over being the sole survivor of the Demonic Dragon.
That had been the driving force behind her growth, but conversely, it was also the chain that bound her under the name of the Elf clan.
“You have made an erroneous choice. Regret it and die.”
When she raised her hand, the mana erupting from her entire body surged and formed dozens of magic circles.
The Sword Saint saw that and let out a soft chuckle as he slowly drew his sword.
“An inferior subspecies that merely imitates the appearance of humans dares to speak of choice. How utterly laughable.”
Swoooooosh-!
Upon hearing his reply, Chris seemed to have reached the limit of her patience.
With an indifferent expression, she lightly flicked her hand, and soon countless spells began to pour down from the magic circles covering the sky.
It was a dazzling feast where every kind of magic imaginable unfolded, save for what did not exist.
Of course, the Sword Saint was not simply taking it lying down.
“The sin of carelessly placing my name upon your lips. You too shall repent as you die.”
His sword was drawn amid a brilliant cluster of light.
It radiated a brilliance incomparable to when I wielded it at full power.
Slash-!
Just a single strike.
With a single strike, dozens of spells were cleaved apart and lost their form.
The fact that he had cut through the magic of a Grand Mage was enough to leave my mouth agape, but the sheer scope of it was staggering.
Kwaaaaaaaaang-!
The magic circles destroyed by the Sword Saint’s attack detonated in a chain reaction, kicking up thick clouds of dust.
Yet Chris, still wearing a cold expression, merely waved her hand lightly and created magic circles that looked twice as numerous as before.
Hummmm-.
In response, the glow clinging to the Sword Saint’s blade deepened further.
Soon, an edge capable of cleaving the world itself was honed atop it.
Since both were fighting in earnest, the battle would only end when one of them fell.
And that would mean the death of the one who fell.
The Sword Saint and the Grand Mage—neither could be lost.
They were both indispensable forces.
I absolutely could not allow either of them to fall here.
“Come, Excalibur.”
I summoned the holy sword.
Then, gripping it in my hand, I drew up all my strength and poured it into the blade.
Tremble tremble tremble-.
The energy drawn out to its limit flowed through my trembling hand and into Excalibur.
It was a skill often used in the mid to late stages, but for someone like me who had only just entered the realm of Sword Master, it was slightly overwhelming.
Even so, I clenched my teeth and swung the sword through sheer grit.
[SYSTEM: Excalibur-exclusive extra skill ‘Last Stardust’ is activated.]
Pababababat-!
The power I had squeezed out and infused to the limit passed through Excalibur and transformed into a new nature.
The pure white aura soon shifted into a bluish dusk, becoming a wave that covered the world and swept over the two who had been aiming for each other’s throats.
“…….”
Of course, they were not the kind of people to be taken down by something like that.
Still, they looked at me with expressions of surprise at an attack into which I had poured my entire strength.
“Have you both cooled your heads a bit now.”
With that, I let out a long sigh and lowered my sword.
The hand gripping Excalibur throbbed as if it were being burned away, but now was not the time to show it.
“…….”
At that, the two of them awkwardly withdrew their momentum.
Despite my words, they had exchanged attacks without a single preface, so they likely had nothing to say.
“Let’s clear up the misunderstanding first.”
This was merely a temporary lull.
To prevent another fight like this from breaking out, the root cause had to be removed.
First, I asked him again for the full details.
Whether there truly had been an Elf among those who had come to see him.
The Sword Saint nodded firmly and replied.
“Yes. It was an Elf with dark brown skin.
He clearly called himself a Dark Elf.”
“…A Dark Elf?”
At those words, Chris and I looked at each other with drained expressions.
In a typical fantasy setting, Dark Elves were treated as the same kind—Elves who had fallen or accepted demonic energy into their bodies.
But this world was different.
“…Well, humans wouldn’t really know, so it would’ve been an understandable misunderstanding.”
To Elves, Dark Elves were an entirely different race.
Compared to humans, it would be similar to how they viewed Orcs or Ogres.
But with the Elves having gone extinct, few knew that distinction.
The Sword Saint must have misunderstood for that reason as well.
Dark Elves or Elves alike were not something one commonly encountered.
Chris had no surviving kin, and she had truly decided to help me.
Once both misunderstandings were resolved, they apologized to each other with expressions that said it was understandable, and forgave one another.
From my perspective as a bystander, it was utterly absurd, but what could I do.
I truly wanted to avoid another fight like the one just now.
“Still, you really did have something to rely on. Having a monster like this as your master.”
Chris looked at the Sword Saint with a curious gaze.
It made sense—among humans, someone who had transcended the limits of their species was, at this point in time, likely unique to him alone.
In the several hundred years of her life, this must have been the first time she had seen such a thing.
“The monster who’s hearing that doesn’t feel very good.”
“Don’t get cocky, kid. I’ve lived at least five times longer than you.”
At Chris’s words, the Sword Saint burst into hearty laughter and shrugged his shoulders.
They bickered back and forth, but the atmosphere was not bad.
Though there was a hint of regret in their words.
“If we were swordsmen walking the same path, we could have at least crossed blades to build camaraderie. It’s a shame.”
“I agree. If you were walking the same path of magic, it would’ve been even more fun.”
“…From my standpoint, that’s a relief to hear.”
At their exchange, I wiped my brow in relief.
Even from that brief clash, my stamina had been completely drained.
If they had casually exchanged a few more blows here, the surroundings would have been reduced to scorched earth.
Bayern Academy would probably have vanished without a trace in an instant.
“So, why did you wish to introduce her to me?”
“I haven’t told you yet?”
At the Sword Saint’s question, Chris replied with a puzzled expression.
It was a reasonable doubt.
The Sword Saint was, first and foremost, my master.
He would have met me earlier than her, and from his perspective, we must have seemed closer.
But I had told him nothing about myself or the future that was to come.
‘For this very moment.’
The words of the powerless carried no weight.
Chris and others bore the name of Imperial Prince, but the Sword Saint was someone who transcended such things.
That was why I had put off related discussions until the proper time arrived.
“There is something I have kept hidden.”
“Speak.”
With his permission, I calmly began to tell my story.
I had glimpsed the future, and a great calamity would soon sweep across the continent.
And in order to stop it, I had been moving in secret, and what had happened in the Kingdom of Demedrio this time was also an incident related to that.
The Demon Realm, the Demonic Race, Majin.
And forces beneath the surface that sought the overthrow of this world.
At those words, Yohanel’s eyebrow twitched.