Chapter 31 : Now There’s No Mistaking It

Swaaang!

A crescent-shaped blade of sword energy flew toward me.

Clang!

The instant I deflected it, two sickles wreathed in eerie blue aura came slashing for my arms and legs.

Their sharp trajectories tore through the air like a raging storm.

Cha-cha-cha-cha-chang!

The two sickles twisted together, like a pair of serpents entwining as they attacked.

They moved as though they shared one body, honed by years of fighting side by side.

Slash!

A red line streaked across my wrist.

I yanked my arm back just in time. A heartbeat slower and my hand would have been lopped off.

“Tch!”

I swallowed my groan.

I couldn’t afford to simply deflect their strikes aside. If I tried, their blades would slip through and sink into my wrist.

I had to block like a wall or repel them completely.

These were not easy opponents.

How could men who looked like they’d spend their days foraging herbs in a village be this strong? The title “Reaper Brothers” was no empty boast.

By now, our fight had spilled from the narrow path into the depths of the forest.

Their coordinated assault was fiercer than I’d expected.

One plus one did not equal two—it felt more like three, even four.

A moment ago, I thought I could handle them. But once the brothers truly synchronized, the tide changed completely.

Their sickles came at me from every angle—high, low, left, right—forcing me onto the defensive, scrambling to block and evade.

Most vexing of all was that strange technique that kept curving for my wrists. It was like a serpent slithering down my blade, fangs bared to sink into my veins.

[Tsk, tsk… pitiful. What are you doing?]

The Heavenly Demon’s voice rang in my head as sweat ran down my temple.

[You can’t even break through the cheap tricks of these two nobodies? And you dare call yourself my disciple?]

Swaang!

I knocked aside another strike aimed at my wrist and gritted my teeth.

“Damn it, Master! They’re way stronger than I thought!”

[Stronger? That pitiful excuse for a coordinated attack?]

I’d heard the Reaper Brothers’ teamwork was formidable. That was why I’d boldly chosen a two-on-one fight. But the taste of their blades was more bitter than I’d imagined—enough to overwhelm me.

These two were true powerhouses. No wonder their names carried across the kingdom.

They were no easy foes.

Yes… this was a real crisis.

And yet… why was my heart pounding with exhilaration?

The Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue.

[Their joint assault is beyond you right now.]

“So what do I do?”

[Separate them. If their combined attacks are dangerous, then break their formation.]

“Oh. That makes sense.”

[…Don’t act like you just thought of that.]

“I was weighing my options.”

[That’s what I was afraid of.]

The Reaper Brothers shouted at me.

“What are you muttering to yourself for?!”

“He’s lost his mind!”

The solution was simple.

If their strength came from fighting as one, I only needed to tear them apart.

Once separated, I could take them down one by one.

Was it a bit shameful to avoid a fair fight and resort to tricks? Maybe.

But who was I?

I was Ashuban, born of the filthy back alleys.

Something this minor couldn’t scratch my pride.

I was a man always ready to run for his life at full speed.

It isn’t the strong who survive—it’s the survivors who are strong.

Victory isn’t about glory. To live on is victory.

Pride? That’s just a luxury, nothing more.

To claw my way through and survive—that’s who I am.

[…Impressive philosophy.]

The real challenge was figuring out how to split them.

But once my mind fixed on the goal, a method flashed across it like lightning.

It was time to act.

I infused my blade with the power of the Night Sky Star Moon Art.

Wooong—

My sword hummed, its edge darkening to pitch black as I swung it, scattering Black Heaven energy in every direction.

“Careful!”

“Black magic?!”

The brothers instantly stopped their attack and leapt back.

I had planned to throw starlight afterward to shake them off, but these cautious bastards retreated just from the Night Sky alone.

Fine. Either way, they were separated.

I activated the Floating Step.

Whooosh!

A ghostly wind howled in my ears.

Wrapping myself in the gale, I turned and bolted.

“He’s running!”

As I fled, I slashed down trees with my aura-wreathed blade.

“Catch me if you can!”

The brothers shouted as they dodged the falling trunks, scrambling after me.

“Stop right there!”

“Don’t lose him!”

They were fast, but not faster than me with the wind at my back.

Still, I couldn’t let them fall too far behind. I carefully kept just enough distance to bait them on.

“Get him!”

“Keheheh!”

I led them deeper and deeper into the deserted forest, weaving through the trees with them at my heels.

After some time, I glanced back.

Heven was chasing in the lead, with Regarde a bit farther behind. Or was it the other way around? Didn’t matter.

The key was that the two were now separated.

I slowed slightly, letting Heven draw within reach.

Then I hurled a Night Sky Bomb at the ground.

Boom!

A thick cloud of darkness billowed out, swelling like a night sky across the forest floor.

“Tricks!”

Heven slashed through the cloud with his sickle, bursting out of the gloom.

But I was already waiting.

I had planted both feet against a nearby tree and launched myself forward like a spring, propelled by Floating Step’s sudden burst.

In that moment, I too became the fickle wind, twisting direction in a heartbeat.

The hunter became the hunted.

Heven’s eyes widened in shock as I came streaking at him.

The starlight on my blade ripped through his midnight sky.

“One down.”

Schraaak!

He was split diagonally in an instant.

Blood sprayed as his body collapsed mid-charge.

“Heven!”

A voice shrieked from behind. Only then did I realize the one I’d slain was Heven.

I lowered my dripping sword, smiling coldly as I turned to meet Regarde’s gaze.

“Now there’s no mistaking it.”

“You bastard! You killed Heven!”

His sickle flared with fierce blue aura as he rushed me.

I answered with scarlet sword light.

Blue and crimson blades clashed again and again.

Clang! Clang! Cha-cha-chang!

I parried, dodged, and studied every line his weapon carved through the air.

The sickle’s strange, sweeping arc—like it was clawing at empty air—caught my eye.

Even the slightest lapse in focus and the blade would slither up my sword like ivy climbing a wall, snapping for my wrist. I had to stay razor sharp.

Ah… so that’s how it works.

Once my eyes grew accustomed to it, I struck back.

I shifted my wrist slightly, angling my blade to catch his sickle.

Clang!

Then I dragged my sword edge against the flat of his sickle, sliding down with a serpentine twist.

Screeeech!

Steel rasped against steel—then a spray of blood burst forth.

His wrist was half-severed, the sickle slipping from his grasp as he glared at me, eyes bloodshot.

“…You copied our martial art? In such a short time?”

“I rather liked it.”

Regarde stared at me, stunned.

The will to fight had already drained from him.

“A genius… no, a monster.”

“Calling a man a monster, now?”

The look of disbelief on his face was so absurd that I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hahaha…”

So this was why the Heavenly Demon had called it a delicacy.

I grinned at Regarde, whose blood poured freely from his half-severed wrist.

“You look pitiful, Master Regarde.”

“…A trap. From the very beginning. I lunged at the bait without a second thought.”

Thud.

Murmuring faintly, Regarde sank to his knees and bowed his head in surrender.

“…Kill me.”

“As you wish.”

I raised my sword.

Just before I struck, curiosity stopped me.

“You said you once fought the Knight of Frost, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“That Knight of Frost… compared to me, how do I fare?”

“You would die in a single stroke.”

His answer came without hesitation.

“Though you are strong, with a talent terrifying beyond reason, it isn’t enough. That one is a calamity wearing human skin.”

…That strong?

I couldn’t even imagine such strength.

Could he really be stronger than Captain?

In all my life, I had never met anyone stronger than Captain.

“But… a few years from now, who can say?”

Regarde looked at me with a strange expression. It was as though he had glimpsed hope—or perhaps the reflection of some long, unfulfilled wish.

But that was none of my concern.

In a flat tone, I gave him my farewell.

“Safe travels.”

Regarde closed his eyes. I swung.

My blade curved like a serpent, and his neck parted cleanly.

I stared at the sword in my hand.

Its white steel was dyed crimson with blood.

For a moment, I wondered idly—had I, too, once been so pure at birth?

I wiped the blade against a tree, when the whisper of wind announced Shushruta’s arrival.

She landed lightly, her face calm.

“It’s done?”

I nodded.

“As you see.”

I examined the blade. Despite the fierce battle, not a single nick marred the edge.

Of course, my inner power reinforced it—but even so, it was a finely made weapon.

Who knew how long it would last? Still, even if it broke, it wouldn’t matter. I could always earn another gift.

Satisfied that the blood was gone, I sheathed it.

Shushruta’s gaze lingered on my wrist.

“Ashuban. You’re hurt?”

Blood dripped freely from the cut the sickle had left.

I wiped it lazily against my clothes.

“Nothing serious. Just a little scratch from that nasty blade. Leave it as is and maybe I’ll bleed to death.”

“…So are you saying you’re fine, or not?”

She dug into the small pack on her back and pulled something out.

“Hold still.”

She opened a flat, cylindrical tin, revealing green ointment inside.

“Hand.”

“….”

I obediently offered it.

She studied the wound, then carefully smeared the cool green salve over it, wrapping a bandage tight.

The scent of herbs filled the air.

Whether it came from the ointment, or from Shushruta herself—or both—I couldn’t tell.

The strange intimacy made me restless, so I asked, “What is it?”

“An ointment made from crushed baby-silkwort mixed with other herbs. It eases pain, prevents festering, and speeds recovery.”

In other words: a miracle salve for wounds.

Whatever its effects, the cool balm soothing the burn of my cut felt wonderful.

I watched her silently as she bound my wrist.

Sensing my stare, she glanced up, meeting my eyes with a sharp look.

“What are you staring at?”

“I was just thinking… you’re surprisingly deft with this sort of thing.”

With shameless confidence, she replied, “I’ve always been deft. The deft and legendary Shadow Phantom Thief—that’s me.”

“You mean the one who read the map upside down?”

“….”

She glared at me, then yanked the knot on the bandage tight.

“Argh!”

“Such a baby.”

She shot me a look, then strode off ahead.

“The road is long. We must hurry. Besides, it’s nearly lunchtime.”

“Wait.”

I gathered the brothers’ corpses in one place and bowed my head in brief silence.

Only then did I rejoin her.

“Let’s go.”

“…Alright.”

(End of Chapter)

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