Academy’s Genius Swordmaster Chapter 73

< 73. Balzac >

#73

“huh. “Dominating the world of the night…”

Ophelia was about to say something. Kwaaaaang! The floor exploded and the man covered in her sack landed in front of them. A gloomy voice rang out.

“Where is Jarudin?”

It was an incredible pressure. There was not a single scratch on the body of the man called Balzac. She couldn’t believe it was just after Ophelia’s barrage of magic.

“What the fuck…”

Ronan reflexively threw down the stake he was holding. Balzac dodged by twisting his body at a bizarre angle and swung his hand blade towards Ronan’s neck. His sharp nails flashed like five swords.

“Ugh!”

Ronan arched her back. Her pale palm barely grazed the bridge of her nose. Wedge! A belated sound was heard. Ronan threw down the stake and pulled out La Mancha.

‘Strong.’

It was on a different level from the idiots who thought it was bloody or something. Like the battle with Brigia the only way to win was to find a single gap. While they were exchanging precarious gestures the darkness nearby shuddered and a black wolf jumped out.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Shit.”

I thought it was a pure martial arts family but it turns out it wasn’t. The shadow wolf exposed its black fangs and lunged at Ronan head-on. Balzac was rushing in from the rear which was difficult to respond to. Ronan cursed and grabbed the hilt of his sword.

“Let’s give it a try.”

Ronan spun in Balzac’s direction and swung his sword. It was an ultra-fast slash accelerated by riding the flow of mana. Suddenly! The moment the sword path was drawn the wolf with its upper jaw separated from its head lost its shape and disappeared. For the first time an embarrassed moan came from inside the sack.

“what…!”

Sensing danger Balzac hurriedly pulled his body back. The distance between the two was so far that the tips of their swords could not touch. There was a risk of being counterattacked if he was not careful but Ronan did not stop. It should be successful. Ronan muttered to himself and swung his sword as if he was spraying fire.

“Get lost!”

For a moment a shock as if being electrocuted hit Ronan. Wedge! The sword energy that appeared through the sword body was shot towards Balzac’s head. Unlike before when there was no color at all it was black as red as blood.

“Mmm!”

Balzac hastily shook his head. However it was not a distance that could be completely avoided. Wow! As the sack was torn diagonally blood spurted out. Ronan seeing her exposed face grinned.

“You look better than expected. “I expected it to look like shit.”

“You…are quite interesting.”

Balzac’s appearance was better than he expected. His age is estimated based on his appearance to be in his late twenties at most. His facial features were distinct and his hair was a dull gray like an owl’s.

The only flaws were the left eye that had lost its light and the scars caused by being hit by Ronan’s sword. A deep stab wound was carved from the corner of the right mouth to below the earlobe. Balzac muttered licking the blood flowing from the wound.

“How long has it been since you shed blood intentionally?”

However the second flaw disappeared quickly. After a few seconds Ronan saw that the wound was healing and spat on the floor.

“You fucking monster.”

“It just worked out. “I need you to fill this emptiness.”

A crack-like smile appeared on Balzac’s face. Perfect! When he snapped his fingers in the air the darkness stirred and the same wolves from before appeared one by one. Ronan noticed that growling noises were coming from all over the banquet hall. There were more than twenty pairs of eye lights shining in the darkness.

“Can you become Jardin?”

Balzac chanted in a maniacal voice. In his hand he was holding a long spear made of blood and as expected it was made much better than the ones used by other mosquitoes. Dark magic alone seemed bad enough but he seemed to be good at using blood magic as well.

“Because I’m really unlucky….”

Ronan laughed and straightened his posture. He realized that Balzac was not using even half of his power. Sita sitting on Ronan’s shoulder spread her wings and roared threateningly.

“Bwaaaaaak!”

I thought maybe the story might end here. But there was nothing else that could be done.

bang! Two people grabbed weapons and ran out. It was the moment when black and red blades were shooting at each other. Ophelia appeared out of nowhere and blocked the two.

“stop.”

“Shit!”

Ronan grabbed his wrist and suddenly put on the brakes. It was the same with Balzac. The two people who were staggering as if they were going to fall corrected their posture. Balzac’s eyes widened.

“…Ophelia?”

“Even if you want to stop him there is no one who will intervene. “They are both so rough.”

Ophelia who was looking back and forth between Ronan and Balzac sighed. Balzac was stuttering and unable to speak as if he had encountered a ghost.

The wolves who were preparing to leap sat down all at once. Ronan shouted in bewilderment.

“Hey what are you doing in such a dangerous way? “Don’t run away quickly!”

“are you okay.”

“When will they say we’re not the ones to handle?”

“Yes but…”

Ophelia who had been trailing off her words twisted her lips. Balzac opened his mouth again.

“…Ophelia. “Is it really you?”

“huh. “It’s been a while Balzac.”

Balzac seemed to have finally noticed Ophelia’s presence. Considering how hard it was to notice even in the midst of all the commotion it seemed like he was quite engrossed in the fight against Ronan.

“I see. The magic that just attacked me was yours… If I had known this would happen I would have opened her arms and welcomed her willingly.”

He muttered rubbing his chin. Ophelia’s voice rang in Ronan’s head.

[This is why I tried not to deal with it.]

Ronan’s eyes met hers and she nodded. Ophelia continued her words.

“I’m still crazy. “Can you please stop now because you’ve seen my face?”

“Of course. “Because the fake Jardin is unexpectedly interesting.”

Suddenly Balzac snapped his fingers. The wolves lurking in the dark have disappeared. It was a very meaningless conclusion. Ophelia opened her mouth letting out a sigh of relief.

“how have you been doing? “It’s been almost 80 years since I last saw you.”

“To be exact it’s 1983. “But what is that cute look?”

“I had to go to a human school so I made a temporary adjustment. “I don’t want to stand out for no reason.”

“I see. It reminds me of the time I lived in your castle. “It was fun.”

“huh. “There were times like that.”

“Anyway you called my name….”

Balzac put down her long spear and walked towards Ophelia. She shook her head and held up her palm.

“sorry. “Please don’t come any closer than that.”

“Have you not forgiven me yet?”

“huh.”

“okay. “Let’s do that.”

Balzac obediently stopped. Ronan frowned at his obedient attitude. He couldn’t believe that this was the person he was fighting with just moments ago.

‘Can we even be childhood friends?’

However it bothered me that even though they seemed friendly they were drawing a certain line. Ophelia continued her words.

“So Balzac. Why are you in a place like this? “Your level is not high enough to play with these kids.”

“I came to compete with Jaradin Stonesong. “It all went wrong though.”

“You also fought with Jarodin. “Thank goodness they’re both alive.”

“He was a great wizard. You have no idea how devastated I was when this faker drew his sword instead of reciting a spell. ”

Balzac’s explanation continued. He had quite unusual ideas for a vampire wanting to become stronger than anyone else. Balzac’s reason for living was to travel the world compete with the strong and drink their blood.

It is said that the match with Jaradin took place in the western outskirts of the continent. It is said that the battle which began around dusk did not end until the next morning.

“With the abominable sun rising we had no choice but to end in a draw. “It’s been a long time since we had such a close rival.”

It is said that mountains of strangely shaped rocks still protrude from the place where the fight took place. It was a trace of Jaradin’s earth magic. Balzac continued in a bitter voice.

“I couldn’t find his whereabouts at all but then I heard that these little guys have a secret plan to not only lure him out but also make him one of their relatives. “He said he was looking for the essence of fresh blood so I lent him one of mine.”

“what?”

Ronan’s eyes widened as he listened to the conversation. What did you lend me?

“What do you mean lending it out? Was that something you could lend?”

“Who said it was okay to join in on the conversation? Fake Jaradin.”

“Don’t do that Balzac. “This is a new friend I made after hundreds of years.”

“Come and sit here. “Because it’s hard to hear words from far away.”

Balzac tapped the stone chair. Ronan muttered quietly and approached him.

“You damn bastard….”

“Shouldn’t I have told you earlier? “If he’d known you were friends with Ophelia he wouldn’t have treated you so harshly.”

“The sword qi should have blown off the lower jaw exactly.”

He was a guy who reminded me of Schlieffen in many ways including his desire to win in proportion to his strength and his relish in the presence of certain people. Balzac said.

“That’s literally it. “I have three integers.”

“Why are there so many diseases? Ophelia didn’t you say there was only one?”

“huh. In most cases there is none or just one. “Balzac is strange.”

The essence of fresh blood was a type of core created in the body by condensing the power of a vampire. Unlike regular mana cores which can be made with just a few years of training they had the characteristic of taking tens or hundreds of years just to become established. Balzac grumbled.

“These days kids don’t even have a place let alone an essence. “I completed my first core when I was 30.”

“Because you’re weird.”

“My brother has seven.”

“Then you and the Archduke are strange.”

There may be natural talent but in order to increase the number or size constant training and the struggle to overcome limitations were more important than anything else. Balzac was a vampire who met all the conditions.

“Now that I think about it I almost forgot to retrieve it.”

Perfect! Suddenly Balzac snapped his fingers. A wolf came out of the darkness and bit the back of Zwei’s neck as he lay in the corner.

“Huh huh!”

He tried to resist with his severed limbs but it was in vain. The wolf threw him at Balzac’s feet and disappeared. Balzac said lifting Zwei by the collar.

“The plan has failed so I need my essence back.”

“Now wait a minute! Wait you can still do it!”

Balzac did not respond. Sigh! His hand pierced Zwei’s chest. A blood-curdling scream echoed through the banquet hall.

“Kwaaaaaak!”

Balzac was pulled out again and his heart still beating was held in his hands. The bright red mana I had seen before was surrounding my heart and blinking softly. Zwei was looking at his own heart which had been pulled out of his chest.

“Save me…”

Kwasik! Balzac mercilessly grabbed his heart. His accumulated blood splashed everywhere and at the same time his struggling body began to droop. The essence of fresh blood was absorbed into Balzac’s body as if returning to its original place.

“What a piece of trash.”

Balzac threw away Zwei’s body as if it were a poopy diaper. Ronan who was thinking about something opened his mouth.

“Hey let’s make a bet with me.”

“bet?”

“okay. At stake the essence of fresh blood. “Isn’t it worth trying if there are three?”

Balzac and Ophelia’s eyes widened. Ronan took out the items he had packed earlier and placed them on the table. Parchment made from the skin of a male goat. It was a piece of paper used when making a blood oath.

Silence fell. There was a tension in the air that was unique to gambling circles. Balzac finally snorted and said:

“Why should I do that?”

“What a fucking mosquito.”