Chapter 61 : Well, Would You Look at That

Ssshhhaa―

I fought with my sword, wedged in the middle of the fiends.

The rain soaked my clothes, weighing me down, but that was the same for everyone else, so it didn’t matter.

Even though I had joined the fray, the fiends didn’t pay me the same attention as before.

I was no longer the “Red-Eyed Devil” who had to be taken down at all costs—just another fiend after the dagger.

Their greed-drenched eyes were fixed solely on the dagger.

So, as one of the many after it, I blended in naturally among them, fighting on equal terms.

It was like a war of all against all.

They killed whoever held the dagger first, but also never forgot to strike down the ones lining up to take it next.

This was a deathmatch that wouldn’t end until only one survivor remained.

“These bastards. Killing the one with the dagger, killing the ones who want it. Busy, busy.”

But I didn’t bother with such logic. I simply cut down the ones who attacked me, the ones I disliked, or the ones whose faces annoyed me.

Before long, I noticed most of the remaining fighters had wrapped their blades in Aura.

And come to think of it, most of those Aura users were swordsmen.

Why was that?

Was it more difficult to channel Aura into other weapons?

I couldn’t say, since I had only ever used a sword myself.

Time passed as the rain poured and the battle raged.

The number of fiends dwindled quickly.

Then, craving some attention, I decided to steal the dagger.

I cut down a fellow who had wrapped his entire body in Protective Qi, sprinted over thirty meters, and set a new record clutching the dagger.

He tried spewing poison before I got him, but after surviving Linda’s tea party, that was nothing to me.

It only stank and felt slimy—annoying at best.

My skin tingled a little, but the rain soon washed it away.

“Not very polite, are you?”

I sliced clean through his filthy mouth as if it had a perforated line and took the dagger.

And just like that, I was back to being the star of the playground.

Clutching the dagger between my teeth, I welcomed the fiends’ enthusiastic attention.

This time, their swords wrapped in Aura came flying at me.

The colors and shapes varied wildly.

I distinguished them by the color of their Aura.

First came a faint blue Aura.

I didn’t meet it head-on. Instead, I slid my blade against its side.

Shifting my back foot slightly, I let his blue-wrapped blade glide past mine.

Kagagang!

Sparks burst out as his Aura scraped against the flat of my blade.

The pure white sword that Fluffy had gifted me was gouged ruthlessly by his Aura.

It hurt, as if I myself had been scratched.

“Does it hurt? Yeah, me too.”

Still, I had no choice.

I had to learn how to cut through raindrops.

I let several of his strikes glance off before spotting an opening and driving my sword into it.

Thunk!

“Guh!”

The blue Aura vanished.

Next came a sickly yellow one—like urine.

I carefully placed my blade against the golden stream spurting from his sword, handling it gingerly as though to avoid splashing. Then, in a flash, I reversed my grip and burst his bladder wide open.

Swiish!

One by one, I dismantled the rainbow of Auras in the same way.

Fighting without Aura against those who wielded it forced me to study their swordsmanship closely.

And as I watched…

Not one of their strikes had a steady tip.

“…Huh?”

It felt like I had stumbled upon a clue.

I looked at my own sword objectively.

The tip, too, wavered faintly with my intent.

“Ah.”

Maybe that was why my blade shattered droplets instead of slicing them—too much trembling at the tip.

So then… how could I steady it?

I pondered while keeping my eyes on the wobbling tips of their swords.

And as I extinguished their Auras one by one…

Only four fiends remained around me.

Ssshhhaa―

We stood locked in a tense standoff.

The rain fell like a wall between us.

Drops stung my eyes, forcing them shut again and again.

They panted, wary of each other as much as me.

It was a battle of nerves.

Alone, none of them could handle me.

Together, they risked betrayal the moment someone struck.

This was why trust was vital in joint assaults.

Why the Reaper Brothers were strong, and why Jack and James had faltered.

I was about to show them how a master of psychological warfare does it—until I remembered the dagger was in my mouth.

So I had to show them with action instead.

“……”

The tension thickened.

Then, the one on the right blinked as rain hit his eyes. He swung at me.

Clang!

He barely parried my sudden strike, and that was the signal. The others charged in at once.

At that very instant, I heard a powerful gust behind me.

Whooosh!

My nape chilled. The Beastly Hammerman was trying to smash my skull.

Enemies before me, a giant hammer from behind.

A desperate crisis.

And yet—I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Heh-heh.”

The sound slipped past the dagger in my teeth.

I shut my eyes.

And suddenly, the tips of their swords became clearer than ever.

I realized then—Aura was nothing more than condensed Mana, sharpened to a keen edge.

I watched them sway closer and closer…

Then I spotted the one wobbling worst of all.

I stepped in with True Footwork.

Kagagang! Slash!

It was over in an instant.

I skimmed along his Aura, slid past—and severed his head.

For that fleeting moment, my sword’s tip hadn’t wavered at all.

A strange sensation.

Thud!

At the same time, the hammer crashed where I had been.

I had pierced through the encirclement in a flash.

The fiends looked startled.

I grinned at them around the dagger clamped in my teeth, then turned and bolted.

I didn’t even know where I was running to.

“He’s fleeing!”

“That bastard!”

“After him!”

They rushed after me.

I shoved the dagger back into my coat.

Keeping it in my mouth was getting troublesome.

Ssshhhaa―

So under the pouring rain, the fiends and I thundered down the muddy road, playing a grotesque game of tag.

“Hahaha! Catch me if you can!”

“If we catch you, you’re dead!”

“That crazy bastard!”

I ran, laughing as the fiends chased me.

Somehow, it reminded me of the times I’d fled with magical beasts snapping at my heels.

And just like back then, my flight ended at the edge of a cliff.

Not that it was much of a coincidence—this was the mountainside, after all, and the terrain here was nothing if not treacherous.

I peered down the sheer drop for a moment, then turned back.

The pursuers were glaring at me, panting heavily.

The hammer brute arrived a beat later than the others, shoulders heaving. No surprise—the heavier the weapon, the harder it is to run.

I clicked my tongue.

“With stamina like that?”

Now there were only three of them left. They must have fought among themselves during the chase. Such fine comrades they were.

I stood with the cliff at my back, sword ready.

“Come.”

“Raaagh!”

They charged at me, faces twisted with rage.

I closed my eyes, focusing.

I tried to recall that fleeting sensation I had tasted earlier, and swung my blade.

By the time the madness subsided, only the hammer brute and I remained.

One had fallen off the cliff, and another lay on the ground with his skull shattered—I couldn’t even recall how.

The brute and I caught our breath, glaring at each other across the distance.

I spoke first.

“Beast. Wait a moment. There’s something I want to try.”

Panting, he replied, “...Go ahead.”

I raised my sword.

The once-pristine white blade Fluffy had given me was now battered and scarred.

The price of pitting steel alone against Aura.

And yet, considering that, it was holding up well.

I twisted my wrist, pointing the edge skyward.

[The blade must not waver.]

I recalled that moment when the sword had fallen into perfect stillness.

[Restrain every motion. Drive the sword forward in one, unwavering line.]

The kind of swordsman who pours his entire being into the blade—that was me.

“Huu...”

Exhaling, I loosened my grip slightly.

Then, I drew the sword upward.

Shhhk.

A raindrop split neatly in two.

“Ah.”

Satisfaction swelled within me, filling my chest.

The foul mood clouding my heart vanished entirely.

Though the sky remained gray and heavy with rain, my mind was clear and bright.

I closed my eyes, savoring that accomplishment—

But the hammer brute ruined the moment, striking without shame.

I deflected the massive hammer with my perfectly still blade, light as a breath.

Then I severed several of his fingers in the same motion.

I had aimed for the wrist, but the brute had quickly released his weapon, pulling back just in time.

The hammer whistled down into the abyss, swallowed by the cliff below.

“Khk!”

Stripped of his hammer, the beast retreated in a panic, snatching up a sword from the ground.

I let him be.

For now, there was something more important than killing him.

Crrrack—

From deep within, I heard that familiar sound.

Another crack spreading across the fortress wall.

I opened my eyes to that coarse, resonant note.

The brute flinched when our gazes met.

“You bastard... your eyes...”

His face was flushed crimson.

So too were the sheets of rain—red, like blood.

It was as if the sky itself bled upon us.

I wondered—what did I look like in his eyes?

My Inner Qi boiled and surged.

Ghosts screamed in my ears.

I smirked, locking eyes with him—

Then exhaled slowly, suppressing the roiling energy.

The ghosts’ shrieks faded.

The world returned from blood-red to its dull, rainy gray.

Calmly, I said, “This is my ultimate technique.”

“...Ultimate technique?”

“But I wouldn’t waste it on the likes of you.”

I swung the blade lightly through the air, then crooked a finger.

“Come.”

“Raaagh!”

The brute swung his sword as though it were still a hammer.

Novel, perhaps—but hardly commendable swordsmanship.

Slash!

I redirected his swing toward the cliff and kicked him hard in the side.

Thud!

He stumbled, teetering—then caught the very edge with his hand.

The rain made everything slick, and with several fingers missing, his grip was pitiful.

A fitting end for a villain, I thought. If only every villain could meet such a fate.

Except me, of course.

I crouched at the edge, watching him dangle.

He looked up at me.

“Spare me.”

“...”

“I’ll never bother you again. I’ll forget the dagger. Just—spare me.”

“Heh.”

I said nothing, only smiling faintly as I watched his desperate face.

The rain beat mercilessly against him.

His strength waned. His fingers slipped further.

“Please...”

“...”

At last, with a curse, his grip failed.

He plummeted, his scream trailing long and thin into the abyss.

Surprisingly thin for a brute of his size.

“Huh?”

I leaned over, watching him fall, and muttered:

“Well, would you look at that?”

(End of Chapter)

Tip: Tap/click the left or right side of the screen to go to previous/next chapter.