172. Festival of the Sword (15)
#172
“Was he alive? “The torrent sword.”
Nabirose muttered after wiping away the nosebleed. She said that the place where she landed was close to the audience so her voice could be heard unintentionally. Ronan’s eyes widened.
“for a moment. “What do you mean a torrent sword?”
“That’s literally it. “I’m sure I made it so that I can never hold a knife again but I don’t know what happened.”
Butterfly Rose answered without turning her head. She was claiming that the guy named Nodrek was the Tortoise Sword himself. Amidst the thick smoke a yellow flash created by Nordrek’s auror was flashing. Schlieffen who seemed shocked and dumbfounded opened his mouth.
“…It’s impossible. “Is there any possibility that he is a disciple or a child?”
“I didn’t live in vain to the point of confusing that…well here it comes again.”
With butterflies I clicked her tongue. At the same time the thick smoke split left and right and Nodrek rushed in. To the eyes of only a very few people his rush only seemed like the wind blowing.
Nabirose did not panic and widened the distance. Gathering her mana she swung her sword sideways and her dark green crescent moon shot towards Nordrek. It was a whopping 100 meters in diameter large enough to completely cover the arena. Exclamations erupted from all over the audience.
“oh my god!”
“As expected Sentai Sword Saint…!”
There was nowhere to escape. Nodrek who was charging stopped in place. The sword energy that flew through the air was about to cut his body into pieces. Nodrek planted his sword in the ground and leapt using it as support. bang! The explosion that erupted from the tip of the sword added momentum to his body. The sword energy that passed under Nodrek’s feet hit the other side of the arena and caused an explosion.
“You’ve lost a lot of momentum. “You little girl.”
His tone of voice was one that did not seem to have any trace of his previous politeness and rationality. In an instant Nodrek arrived right in front of Nabirose and fired a sword strike. It was a vertical slash in which he swung while grasping his hilt with both hands. Nabirose struck back his sword with a smooth fluid motion. Kaaaang-! A roar reminiscent of the roar of a beast shook the arena.
“Thank you for saying that. “It’s been a while since I’ve heard you say anything.”
Nabirose sneered. The two men exchanged sword strikes in place without taking a single step back. yellow and green. Every time the two blades collided the two aurors became entangled creating a fierce storm of mana. Steel thunder exploded one after another. Nabirose who was in the midst of a fight opened his mouth.
“Croden. “How are you alive?”
“I am indebted to a strange group. Miracles actually exist. “They healed me as I was dying on the shore.”
They chatted calmly while they were together. The calm expression on his face felt like watching old friends chatting. Nodrek explained that an unidentified group had brought him back to life. Nabirose shrugged her eyebrows.
“Interesting. “It’s a strange group.”
“okay. They also attached the leg that was cut off by you. “Don’t you believe it’s a prosthetic leg?”
“Oh my. Was it a prosthetic leg?”
Butterfly Rose shrugged her eyebrows as if it was unexpected. As Nordrek said the fact that it moved freely and powerfully was enough to make it look like a real leg. It was at a level that far exceeded the empire’s technological capabilities. He continued.
“But the nerves that were torn off along with the skin could never be put back. “I sacrificed so many insects… Look at my face unable to laugh or cry.”
“What do you mean made as a sacrifice?”
“Legs and skin are not given for free. I had to commit a lot of unintentional killings. “It seems that changing his hair and eyes to a nerd-like color wasn’t enough.”
Nodrek chuckled. Of course since the expression or pitch of the voice did not change it was only heard as a sound of wind leaking rather than laughter.
He explained that countless people were killed to supply materials. The moment Ronan heard those words he could guess what happened to Russell’s colleagues who were captured alive. Butterfly Rose’s brow furrowed.
“If you had survived as long as you could you would have lived quietly. Why did you come to the Sword Festival again? “I guess I still haven’t let go of my attachment to the Holy Sword.”
“Well there are many reasons besides the Holy Sword. “I can’t tell you in detail…”
Suddenly Nordrek grabbed the hilt of his sword. The halo of light surrounding the curved sword became more intense and the speed of the sword increased. bang! A slash reminiscent of a thunderbolt struck Daetaedo’s sword stomach. The tight balance collapsed and Nabirose’s body was thrown backwards.
“Gagging…!”
Nabirose flew to the end of the arena and crashed into the wall. Quaaaang! Part of the audience collapsed with an impact sound as if a battering ram had hit. Schlieffen who saw her coughing up blood kicked her out of her seat and stood up. Nordrek’s voice became louder and could be heard clearly.
“Just be careful to look down on people you whore. Why doesn’t she take out the snake?”
Nodrek aimed the tip of his sword at Nabirose. The mana that spread like fog around him wriggled and formed about ten spiral pillars. Exclamations of astonishment erupted from all over the audience. The pillars each measuring up to 10 meters in size were a lump created by condensing the aura of the torrent sword. I staggered and caught his posture almost like he was pulling himself out of the wall. A painful sob escaped from between her lips.
“Keuuu….”
“Are you planning on protecting your pride until the end? “Well then think about who will clean up the torn bodies of four years ago.”
Nodrek growled. Her upright spiral pillars were leveled and aimed at her. Al Login her inferior supervisor spoke hastily.
“This is dangerous. Sword Saint. “We need to stop sparring.”
“no. “Wait.”
Jaifa shook her head. Alogin’s face hardened.
“The winner has already been decided. Moreover if that person is really the explosive sword Croden it is not normal. “We must stop sparring immediately and secure new recruits for Croden!”
“So I’m telling you to wait. “That snake will take care of it.”
“What is that…!”
Alogin protested but Jaifa remained silent. He slowly turned his head and looked at Ronan. A subtle glance was exchanged between the two people who encountered each other.
Is it still?
Not yet.
At that moment the spiral pillars were shot all at once. The wizards who were on standby for safety created a shield between the audience and the arena. A red-yellow flash covered the arena and at the same time an explosion sounded as if the world was turning upside down. The specially treated stone floor flipped and bounced like sand. The five-layer shield was repeatedly broken and regenerated. Gagging! Several wizards unable to handle the mental shock collapsed and coughed up blood.
“Instructor.”
Schlieffen grabbed the hilt of his sword. It was an explosion that could not even find a piece of her flesh let alone remove her bones. Normally you wouldn’t know it but Nabi Rose’s current condition was not normal. He was biting his lower lip and wondering if he should invade right now. A familiar voice came from below.
“You’re so kind too. After all good-looking guys also have kind hearts.”
“you.”
“Don’t worry too much. “The princess will be fine.”
Schlieffen lowered his head. Before she knew it Rin had come over and was standing next to her. It took him quite a while to figure out that the word princess was referring to Butterfly Rose. Ronan also added a word.
“Yeah man. “Please trust me.”
“…Ronan.”
Schlieffen looked away. Ronan was watching the explosion that covered the arena with his arms crossed. There was no sense of tension from his calm expression. He seemed like a person waiting for something.
“Zaifa spoke the other day. “He said it was the first time he had his claws out since he left the North.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Instructor you are almost the only person that strict tiger accepts. Out of curiosity I asked him what it was like as a swordsman and he answered like this. Not only is he violent but his skills are worse than when he was fifteen. “He was lucky enough to last 40 years.”
Ronan recited the exact same conversation he had with Jaifa while drinking early in the morning the day before yesterday. After downing about ten bottles of Permanent Snow Hwadam Geumju Jaipa became sober that he took off his shirt and showed the scar on his chest.
Above his muscles which seemed to have been bulging obsidian was a knife mark almost as long as Ronan’s height. Even among the countless scars what was clearly visible was the cut from Nabi Rose’s great sword.
Unlike Nabirose Jaipa treated the scar as its own monument. Perhaps it was because he lived so long but his mental power was extraordinary. He then boasted that he could defeat a guy like the Takuryu Sword with just one hand. Of course Ronan thought that Zaifa and Nabirose were geniuses who exceeded the standards and that they were also skilled enough to use the Tortoise Sword.
“I know because I had a fight this morning. That guy whether it’s Nodrek or Burst Sword is definitely strong. “Maybe I’m stronger than you and I right now.”
“Then what you’re saying is….”
“okay. Why would someone who has more sensitivity than me do that? “Look closely.”
Suddenly Ronan who was shoulder to shoulder with Schlieffen pointed to the spot where Butterfly Rose was. Schlieffen who was quietly staring at that place widened his eyes. Ronan raised one corner of his mouth and blurted out a word.
“You can’t beat our instructor like that.”
It was a confident tone. Soon the explosion stopped. The smoke completely covering the other half of the arena looked like a black wall. No one in the audience opened their mouths so everyone could hear Nodrek’s muttering.
“…I should have had some fun and killed him. “It was already ripe.”
Nodrek quenched his appetite. There was no pitch in the sound so it sounded even more creepy. He said to himself with his eyes focused on the wall of smoke.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have been baptized. “He was useless anyway.”
It was a car where Nordrek was reminiscing about what had happened over the past few decades. Suddenly a green crescent moon flew out of the smoke. It was a vain sword technique that seemed as if it would go out at any moment. The size was ridiculously small compared to what Nabirose had shot a while ago.
“Why are you still alive?”
Nodrek snorted. It seemed to embody the futile resistance of a dying person. As he lightly twisted his shoulder a feeble sword energy passed before his eyes in vain.
“I hope your face and body are healthy.”
It would have been perfect if only the limbs had been blown off. It was the moment when Nordrek who had turned his sword around took a step toward confirming the kill. Hwaaaaaaa! Suddenly the wall of smoke exploded and a cloud of green light poured out. Huge swords appeared.
“what…!”
Nordrek raised his sword in confusion. It was an unrealistic sight. Horizontal and vertical diagonal lines. The sword energy flying in different directions looked like a net to catch a divine being.
It was nearly impossible to find a gap in the deluge of sword energy that filled the entire field of vision. In the end a blade of sword energy that could not be completely avoided passed by Nodrek’s cheek.
“Huh!”
Tuk. Nodrek’s right ear fell to the floor. His blood was rushing like a fountain but he couldn’t afford to be in pain. Nodrek with clenched teeth rushed forward with the intention of breaking his teeth. Rather than turning his back and running away and dying he had to break through head on and find a way out.
It was the moment when he dramatically broke through the net of sword energy. Nabi Rose appeared from behind the sword which was unusually wide. His clothes were torn here and there perhaps as a result of being caught in an explosion but he didn’t appear to be seriously injured. The muscles of the arms and legs are swollen to the fullest. Sharp eyes. She coldly exhaled having already prepared to swing her sword.
“I was a little worried. As the disciple said you may not be Croden.”
“You damn bitch!”
Nodrek reflexively swung his sword. Nabi Rose’s great posture disappeared from sight. The blades aimed at each other crossed each other. Paang! A hole the size of a fist was created in the center of Nabirose’s hair which rose like fire. At the same time a red line appeared on Nodrek’s chest.
“Gagging…!”
“But it was still true.”
Blood gushed out from Nodrek’s nose and mouth. As the butterfly spun his body around I kicked him hard in the stomach. Quaaaang! Nordrek flew in a straight line and landed on the other side of his arena. A cobweb-like crack arose around him. His body slid down the wall and fell to the floor.
“It was still trash that deserved to be cut down.”
With a butterfly I brushed his blood off his knife. Nodrek didn’t move. A dense silence fell over the arena. Al Login barely came to his senses and opened his mouth.
“…Exam ended.”
