Chapter 43. Don’t stop (1)
Don’t stop.
I look into the darkness.
I confirmed that no one was there.
The boy’s feet moved constantly as he confirmed that no one was alive and breathing.
“I made the wrong order. I did.”
At the end of the blood-soaked hallway, the boy’s voice made a small noise and soon disappeared. It sounded like regret or self-deprecation, but there was actually no emotion in that voice.
I knew very well that if I put my emotions in front of a sword that should be one-sided, the wielder would also get hurt.
“If I had known that I would catch them all in the end, I would have just come here first instead of fighting in the palace.”
They tried to leave behind Brisen’s troops as much as possible.
Didn’t they want to prepare for unknown events that would occur later by leaving behind as many troops as possible? Therefore, even when driving out Silike, Briesen’s body was not touched at all.
If the situation escalates, not only the Marquis of Briesen of Kairisis but also all the troops in the Marquis of Briesen will be killed.
So, if I had known it would end up like this anyway, I would have just hit Evan first instead of Silike.
– Ta-bak-ta-bak.
In that place immersed in complete darkness, not even the moonlight penetrated, but the boy’s feet stepped on the stairs without hesitation.
“Ah… If that were the case, the pea would have smelled Renieri and turned around.”
At that time, I had already reached my limit.
Renieri’s scent would never have faded, so if I had left it alone, he would have eventually turned around too.
“It’s a good thing I put this bastard aside then.”
That’s a good thing.
Thanks to you, I’m doing this again.
“… Well, saving someone’s life is not easy.”
He chuckles and puts his voice down on the stairs in silence.
Talking to myself was also a habit.
Talking to those who will die soon and speaking next to those who are already dead. As I kept passing through places full of people who no longer made a sound, I developed that habit.
– Clap!
Dozens of people appear as if they have been waiting and block the way. The same situation was repeating itself from before. Evan must have felt that the seal of his oath with Plants had moved, so he made preparations in his own way.
As if I wanted you to get tired.
– Shhh!
The dark red blade flew in a smooth curve without any time to tell whether they were knights or soldiers, willing to fight or not. They seemed to be trying to say something to the boy, but couldn’t. Because the boy in front decided not to listen to them anymore.
– Toouk.
Not human voices, not human screams, but the sounds of heavy bodies falling on the floor fill the hallway.
The boy passed by them and looked to see if they had stopped breathing with his sunken red eyes. I was not in a hurry, but my leisurely pace continued without stopping even once.
After passing through that long hallway twice more and climbing the stairs once more, I arrived at a place where there was still light.
“You’re faster than I thought.”
A truly welcome voice was finally heard.
Calian closed his eyes once and did not respond, but walked away with his sword lowered. The sound of footsteps and the tip of a sword cutting across the marble floor followed.
Most of the knights guarding the mansion died.
I left the ones that ran away alone, but I killed the ones that attacked without making a mistake. They all were killed without exception. I climbed over the outer wall of the mansion, entered the main building, walked through the hallway, and walked up the stairs without stopping.
“How did you keep Prince 2 alive?”
Despite this, Evan asked after looking at him for a moment without taking a single breath.
“I’m really curious about why the 3rd prince is so involved in the matter with the 2nd prince. I’m also curious about how this stone is used. I have a lot of questions.”
A black pebble that would have been given to you by Gray.
Calian, who was walking towards Evan, smiled brightly, ignoring the stone in his hand.
“I have a question too.”
I didn’t want to be disturbed while dealing with you, so it took me some time to come up and catch the others first. So let me just ask you one thing.
“If I ask my brother to teach me Brisen swordsmanship, will you listen?”
“Why would you reveal Brisen’s swordsmanship to outsiders?”
“…… okay.”
Ta-bak-ta-bak.
“So for the 3rd prince”
– Taaat!
Calian rushed forward, kicking the floor.
A deadly force that seemed to encroach on the entire mansion burst out together.
The hem of the black robe caught the wind like the wings of a butterfly.
* * *
Arsene put down the magic book he was holding and turned his head.
– It works.
Hina’s voice was heard.
I had received a bracelet from Kirie so that I could communicate the situation more smoothly. They had to respond as soon as Planz’s condition changed, but Hina, who was the first to recognize it, was using healing arts and couldn’t move her hands.
“It was implemented properly.”
I know that the effect Hina mentioned does not mean there is a recovery. Even if I didn’t hear it from Hina, I knew it.
The pale white complexion did not change.
It’s just that I don’t feel any pain anymore.
“It’s my first time doing something like this, so it’s a bit strange.”
I’ve used a lot of magic to end someone’s life, but this is the first time I’ve used a magic that doesn’t hurt someone.
If you die in a fight, the person who died is weak.
If you lose a fight and don’t die or get hurt, you’re lucky, even if you’re weak. If the weak person is lucky enough to not die but only gets hurt, the pain is worth it.
There’s no way a crazy wizard who lives with such thoughts would know a magic that reduces pain, right? If I had known such magic, I would have used it on myself when I was injured in the forest. It hurt a lot at that time.
Arsene himself is not a weak person, so he does not belong to the group of people who are cheap when it comes to pain.
– I think you feel a lot more comfortable thanks to you. I’m so glad.
When I was receiving training from a healer in Tensil, I heard that Alan had used magic similar to healing on Calian. Hina remembered that and told Arsene, and Arsene searched through various books and found a magic formula. After reading it, he immediately poured his magic on Plantz.
Luckily it worked well.
I didn’t act in a hurry because it looked like it hurt a lot.
If it works, it’s good, but if it doesn’t work, there’s nothing you can do, so I just decided to let it happen and did it roughly. Turns out, I didn’t rush to find and appear because I was worried that the prince, who was said to be gentle, was seriously ill.
“I’m a wizard too.”
If Hina had known how bold Arsene had been, she would have kicked him out right away, and if Needlen had known, he would have made a fuss, saying he would erect a statue of the genius wizard who perfectly calculated and immediately implemented the magic he had encountered for the first time in his life.
Of course, Arsene had no intention of telling Hina the truth.
I knew very well that the day Calian found out about this reckless act, he would try to either open the confession in the safe or destroy Arsene.
“You can’t be called a wizard if you can’t implement even one of the spells in the book. However, it’s not something to brag about, so just pretend you don’t know.”
Embarrassingly, Hina did not answer.
After briefly informing me of the results of the magic, I focused my attention again and looked at Plants.
In fact, it would be correct to say that he doesn’t have the presence of mind to properly listen to and respond to Arsene’s nonsense as he continues to breathe healing power into Planz’s heart without stopping.
Hina’s face was also becoming quite pale, so Arsene tried to push away the thought that if there was a delay, Hina’s healing power would run out and Plantz would die. And I tried to organize my mind to understand this sudden situation.
The magical energy that Arsene himself felt recently.
And when I looked closely, I noticed another energy that had faded significantly over time.
Arsene let out a deep breath, and the words he had heard from Kirie a moment ago came to mind.
– The two of you signed an oath.
I learned from Alan a little while ago that Plantz had two seals and the blessing power got all tangled up, causing all the chaos.
‘I don’t know what was said to activate the seal of oath, but it has become a very strange situation.’
The Oath Seal is a ‘smart’ magic created by Sispanians. It is the power that tightens your heart by judging whether or not you will keep your promises.
Calian played a trick on the seal of the oath.
Since Plantz betrayed Briesen, a heart-stopping spell must be activated. However, since what Planz said to the knight was that he would keep the second contract, the oath seal decides whether to leave the heart alone, considering Planz to be fulfilling his second promise, or to stop the heart, considering him to have broken the first promise. I couldn’t do it.
For that reason, the magic that tried to bind Plantz’s heart was repeatedly activated and released…
‘Is it because he died and came back to life?’
It was a strange situation, as Arsene reasonably understood.
If it weren’t for Sispanian’s blessing, he wouldn’t have been able to endure the state of his heart stopping and beating again for long, but the blessing was working hard and Hina was also gaining strength, so Plantz was able to breathe somehow.
“I’m sure I’m good at seeing people.”
Arsene said to himself.
What kind of crazy person on earth would talk about cats, make a seal of oath, and put his heart on the line? So, I was definitely good at seeing people.
Arsene, who was thinking like that and letting out a laugh, turned his gaze back to Plantz’s face.
Arsene laughed as he stared at the guy who had collided with the two seals and was lying there.
“Now that I think about it, there was another one here in the world.”
I risked my heart to save one person, and I gave my heart in the belief that I would save the other person.
… They are equally crazy brothers.
* * *
The seal of the oath did not disappear.
So it’s still okay.
‘It wasn’t a contract made to check from time to time that the peas stayed green.’
Calian chuckled at the unexpected effect, took a moment to organize the swordsmanship of Evan he had seen so far in his mind, and took a deep breath. And then he stretched out his sword again.
– Kaaaang! Kaang!
A short battle to explore each other continued.
It was different from the swordsmanship of Plants and the swords used by knights in the royal palace. I couldn’t tell for sure since I had never aimed a sword at him in the first place, but if you look at the way he moves, he is different from Gray as well.
Heavier than Teilan. It is lighter than Slayman.
Slower than Tailan. Faster than Slayman.
Briesen’s real swordsmanship, which I had never heard of, was definitely different.
To put it in a bad way, it is nothing like swordsmanship. To put it nicely, it is a swordsmanship that can deal with both sides.
“Good.”
Calian laughed.
A sword technique used only by the head of the family.
Tailan also never made any special mention about Brisen’s sword. Was there anything known about Brisen’s sword other than that it was as strong as Siegfried’s?
‘Is there a record somewhere or is there another successor?’
Succession. Lennon Brissen?
‘It is known that Lennon cannot use a sword. Moreover, didn’t Evan imprison Lennon after signing an oath with his teacher?’
Of course, since it was a contract not to disclose the fact of confinement to anyone else, it is possible that he faked the confinement, but Calian had never felt an aura in Lennon. Above all, Lennon was too slow to be considered a swordsman.
‘It is premature to doubt Lennon’s side. If he didn’t hide the succession and it didn’t exist yet, how long was he going to keep it to himself? Did you really intend to live and die without teaching anyone?’
Or is he hiding something else?
– Kaaaang!
I have more thoughts.
If you think too much during a fight, you will die.
Calian first put aside the questions that naturally followed and moved his sword once again. As soon as the attack coming from behind Evan was blocked, it appeared in front of him and aimed at his uvula.
– Kaang! Kang!
The red eyes in the hood glowed.
I saw everything, including Evan’s steps, arm movements, and the bending of his sword. I watched it all, putting it all in my head. I memorized everything.
– Kaga River! Kaang!
Evan’s sword passed in front of Calian’s chin. Immediately after that, Evan quickly raised the sword that was approaching his heart with a flash of dark red light.
– Ugh!
Evan’s sword, filled with sharp auras, made a deep howling sound.
Evan’s auror was blue.
To be precise, only Calian’s aura should be dark red. Non-mages did not need to circulate and use the unique mana and aura contained in the caster’s circle.
– Shhh! Kagang!
The attack and defense for exploration disappeared before we knew it, and the attacks filled with fatal blows continued. Auras of two completely different colors intertwined and fell apart repeatedly.
The sword pointed at Evan scratched the wall, and marble fragments from the floor where Calian had been standing flew everywhere. Someone’s picture hanging on the wall lost its shape due to the power of the two Aurors that stretched out one by one.
Calian raised his sword and blocked Evan’s sword strike from sideways. At the same time, he grabbed the sword that was bouncing in the opposite direction and this time brought it down at an angle towards Evan’s neck. Evan’s quickly recovered sword once again blocked Calian’s move.
Then Calian suddenly lifted up his body and sent the sword from a completely different direction.
– Kaga River!
Evan, who felt Calian leaping towards him, quickly raised his sword and struck back with force. The sword and its power continued to collide to block and repel each other.
That moment when the power struggle continued so many times that it was difficult to count.
– Kaang! Kang!
Calian’s eyes shone sharply.
‘no way.’
Soon Calian’s feet moved as if he was stepping on air.
Apparently, the person standing in front just moved his feet, but the next attack immediately followed from behind.
Evan, with an expression on his face that said he was fed up with the speed that seemed to keep accelerating without slowing down at all, bowed deeply and turned backwards. And then he swung his sword.
– Kaaaaang!
As the sound of tearing the air continued, the chandelier hanging from the ceiling of the hallway seemed to tremble slightly, and the shadows of the two swordsmen on the wall flickered for a moment.
Calian’s shadow, which had been trying to pierce Evan’s right side just now, disappeared as if scattered. At the same time, he appeared in front of Evan.
Evan, who did not miss the move, stretched out his sword, but instead of blocking, Calian dodged it by moving his body backwards.
-Tap!
Calian landed with the sound of something light hitting the floor. The black robe he was still wearing puffed up for a moment and then sank down.
The lips beneath the deeply pressed hood moved.
“Now…”
After standing facing Evan for a while, Calian’s lips contained the next words.
“I think I could show you something else, Marquis.”
“What do you mean?”
“Something hidden.”
Calian’s eyes fell on Evan’s sword.
A long smile appeared on Evan’s lips.
“That’s right.”
Shortened answer.
At the same time, the shadow of Evan’s long, sharp sword on the wall twisted and moved. Slowly, as if splitting a long stick vertically.
It was divided into two thinner and sleeker shadows.
Calian, who was looking at that scene, opened his mouth.
A small, satisfied voice echoed coldly through the long hallway.
“Yeah. That one.”
Calian, who had already lost his sword, swiped the area around his neck with his free hand.
The string of the robe that was fastened in front of the neck was loosened.
There was a sound of something light flowing.
– Slurp tap!
The hem of his robe, which was not wet with blood even though he came here after cutting down so many people, grazed Calian’s back and fell to the floor.
“I thought for a long time trying to figure out what that was.”
The hood that obscured his vision was lifted, revealing red eyes.
Dark red light dripped from the remade sword.
