Crepin Subjugation Battle (7)
– Valid! bang!
The sword rolled on the floor.
Ross Taylor Hall on the 3rd floor of the Ross Taylor mansion annex.
Ed is standing upright amidst all the luxurious decorations. He does not yet have a reliable physique and his behavior is immature.
It hasn’t been long since the baptism ceremony, so it’s still young. Even so, it is admirable that he is trying to control his body and show off his sturdy appearance as a member of the Ross Taylor family.
Ross Taylor Hall, which is used as an event hall and as a practice sparring hall between nobles in peacetime, is also a place where many famous duels took place throughout history.
In this space where many famous warriors held duels, young Arwen and Ed would practice sparring.
As they clashed swords, exchanged swords, and sweated profusely, they were able to shake off the stress of the weight of being the heir.
However, their levels are quite different.
– ‘As expected, you are my sister.’
Ed in the memory smiles sheepishly as he looks at the fallen sword.
Arwen swung her sword in the air once and took it away.
And I tell Ed. I said my skills have improved a lot. I think I’ll be able to get into proper posture in just a little while.
– ‘Well, I don’t think I have any talent for swordsmanship. ‘Magic isn’t that good at all, so I’m in a really mixed mood… and I’m worried a lot.’
Arwen encourages him as he puts his greatsword away.
We still have a lot of time left.
And we were born into the blessed status of being descendants of the Ross Taylor family.
There is fertile nourishment, so if you put in the appropriate effort, you will definitely see results.
When Arwen said those words with a kind face, Ed also picked up the knife and cleaned it up, laughing.
― ‘Thank you for saying that.’
Arwen and Ed look at each other and smile.
Ross Taylor Estate has a peaceful and beautiful atmosphere as if blessed by God.
The warm sunlight seeped into Ross Taylor Hall, an annex to the mansion.
As the warmth of the day settles in, I see Ed deep in thought, swinging his sword around.
Arwen gently closed her eyes and felt the peaceful warmth of early spring for a moment.
Almost all of the exterior walls of Ross Taylor Hall have been blown away, so it can no longer be called a ‘hall’. It’s like a terrace.
Strange flesh is writhing and covering the remains of the building, and the sky is filled with the magic circle of Mebula and Lucy.
The sounds of battle between gremlins and spirits filled the grounds of the mansion, and occasionally the screams of people hit by the gremlin’s blade could be heard.
And Ed Rothtaylor is standing in front of Arwen when she opens her eyes.
A tailcoat covered in blood and a dagger held in reverse. A bat spirit and a lion spirit standing around him. A mana quantity that has become so vast that it cannot be compared to before. A body that has become noticeably more muscular and cool-headed eyes.
The energy flowing from his body was enough for Arwen to realize.
Ed has no intention of going back.
It’s a mountain I’m determined to climb through. Therefore, Arwen also took a fighting stance.
-grasp!
Ed kicked the floor and jumped. The distance was narrowed in a straight line towards Arwen.
Arwen uses close combat using two great swords. Arwen, who did not think that she would close the distance, quickly raised the ‘condemnation’ in her left hand.
However, just before entering the intersection… Ed skidded on the ground and came to an abrupt stop. It was just out of range of the sword.
And then, naturally, she dropped the magic bead she had kept in her bosom onto the floor. Arwen reacted quickly and tried to spread the distance, but the orb was not a means of attack.
– Woe!
‘Magical Engineering?!’
‘Rake hand’.
It was a magical engineering product that could temporarily pull surrounding objects towards itself.
Although there was a limit to its output, it was a good tool to confuse opponents in close combat due to its fast activation speed.
Magical power emanated from the orb, and in an instant, the ‘condemnation’ that Arwen was holding began to be dragged away.
Arwen’s posture collapsed and her body was pulled in Ed’s direction.
However, narrowing the distance was also something Arwen was thankful for. As it is, Arwen’s auxiliary magics begin to exert their power in an instant.
A greatsword the size of his body, ‘Day of Dawn’, was given a lightweight magic. Just like that, Arwen picked up the great sword and, with the inertia of being dragged by the claw hand, struck the sword where Ed was.
―Kwaang!
A level where you can turn light weight magic on and off at will while swinging a great sword. Arwen’s use of magical power had already reached a significant level.
As he canceled the lightweight magic and hit the floor with its weight, dust rose up and momentarily obscured his vision.
However, Arwen, who swung the sword, could tell. Ed was already out of range. He caught the moment he swung and took a big leap backwards.
Then why did you narrow the distance in the first place? The moment that question arose, a dagger stuck in the ground caught my eye through the dust.
It is a ceremonial dagger used at Ross Taylor Mansion. On the surface of the sword that Ed had been using ever since the day he was first kicked out of Ofilis Hall… there was a spirit symbol engraved in neat handwriting.
‘This is…’
―Bang!
Before the spirit formula could be deciphered, a large explosion occurred first.
I succeeded in protecting my body by quickly manifesting the defensive magic imprinted on ‘Day of Dawn’, but…
―Quaang!
Next, the mid-level fire magic ‘one-point explosion’ hit Arwen’s solar plexus.
Arwen, who was hit directly and fell, barely managed to support herself by sticking her great sword into the floor. A stream of fresh blood flowed out.
When the smoke clears, Ed, covered in blood, stands silently beyond it.
“You have become much more skilled…”
Arwen stood up again, supporting the weight of her body with her great sword.
It is suicidal for a wizard to close the distance to a warrior as soon as the battle begins. However, Ed casually narrowed the distance, embarrassed the opponent, brought him back into the area, and then widened the distance again.
He looked like an expert who took the fight at his own pace, completely trampling on the sense of distance that ordinary warriors have.
With just one sum, Arwen recognized that Ed had grown incomparably compared to before.
The Ed of those days of sword sparring at Ross Taylor Hall is no longer there.
-grasp!
This time, Arwen kicked the floor and leapt.
The weight reduction magic that appeared momentarily eliminated the weight of the great sword. Just like that, Arwen kicked the handle of the sword of ‘Condemnation’ and sent it flying into the sky.
Then, he picks up the ‘Day of Dawn’ with both hands and lunges at it, cutting a large horizontal cut and removing the lightening magic.
A female warrior with a great sword who freely wields the weight of her sword. Watching that battle feels like watching a dancer dancing under the weight of a great sword.
– Woe!
Ed managed to avoid it by leaping backwards, but Arwen was pulled by the weight of the sword handle, which moved widely horizontally, and spun around and kicked the floor.
Arwen narrowed the distance once more and this time plunged her greatsword vertically. Ed tried to use basic defensive magic to receive it, but ‘Day of Dawn’ was imprinted with a penetrating magic that had an advantage over all defensive magic.
―Kaang!
―Changerang!
In an instant, Ed’s defensive magic shattered and the blade struck him. I barely avoided the blade, but the tip of the blade grazed my shoulder, causing blood to spray out.
Ed let out a shallow groan and narrowed his eyes. However, it is important that the injury was not fatal.
―Quaak!
Ed stomped on the great sword that was stuck in the ground. Arwen’s pupils widened for an instant.
Arwen’s strength is not strong enough to freely handle such a large sword.
Arwen’s swordsmanship ultimately focuses on using the inertia of weight that occurs when she lifts the great sword using lightweight magic, swings it, and releases the magic in between. Therefore, each movement feels as if it is dancing under the weight of the sword.
Rather than increasing the force itself, these movements develop a sense of identifying the center point of the force that has already occurred and twisting it to break it.
It allows you to use much greater destructive power than your strength, but there is a blind spot in that method.
A greatsword that is not lightweight is heavy and difficult to handle.
The lighter the greatsword, the more affected it is by external forces.
In other words, if the great sword itself is weighed down by external pressure, the sword will not be able to be lifted even if lightening magic is used. Then, Arwen’s power will no longer be able to handle the sword.
‘In just two sums…?’
It is a fatal blind spot, but it is not easy to see through it.
This is because the great sword itself looks extremely heavy and dull. Humans are affected by visual information more than we think.
When you see such a large and heavy sword, you don’t think about dodging or blocking it in any way… but you never think about pressing down on the sword itself with its weight. Usually, it takes a long time to realize the law of destruction, or you never realize it until your head falls off.
However, after exchanging only two sums, Ed quickly figured out the law of destruction.
While Ed is trampling ‘Day of Dawn’, Arwen cannot use the sword.
‘It’s amazing agility, but…!’
However, just because Arwen did not assume this situation. Arwen let go of the handle of the great sword, turned around, and escaped to the side.
The hem of the frayed skirt flutters open and it seems as if a flower is blooming. Arwen, who had just spun around coolly, held another sword, ‘Condemnation’, in her hand.
It is easy to hold down one sword with its own weight, but it is difficult to suppress two swords at the same time. This is why Arwen uses two swords.
In preparation for times like this, a sword had just been thrown into the sky. Arwen’s body movements, which neatly caught the sword, were almost like a stunt.
Without stopping the rotation of the body, this time, using the weight of the ‘condemnation’, he makes a large horizontal cut. As Ed leans back to avoid the sword, he leaps forward again… and kicks up the now free ‘Day of Dawn’.
The moment Arwen kicked up the ‘Daybreak’ and spun several times in the air with its weight removed, Arwen’s next attack was already flying towards Ed. A clean and sure sword strike is aimed at Ed’s shoulder.
When the large diagonal sword slash was thrown away with the ‘wind blade’, Arwen was once again drawn by the weight of the sword and spun around. With his empty hand, he picked up the ‘Day of Dawn’ that had just been kicked up, maintained the spinning inertia, and launched his next attack.
-evil!
Ed succeeded in deflecting ‘Day of Dawn’ by manifesting the wind blade again, but the recoil caused him to fall heavily.
―Kwadangtang!
“As soon as you realized that defensive magic wouldn’t work, you started using elemental magic to defend yourself.”
Looking at Ed, who had fallen out, Arwen sharpened the blade of her greatsword.
“It’s truly incredible agility, but it can’t stop physical force itself.”
Ed took a deep breath and stood up again. The eyes are still intense.
Arwen swallowed her saliva when she saw those eyes.
Ed Rothtaylor’s battles were always based on ‘prior information’.
No matter who he was dealing with, in his eyes, the way a character from
However, Arwen Rothtaylor is a character completely outside the scenario.
There is no prior information and you have to face everything first time.
That’s why he widens his eyes and imprints the other person’s information into his mind.
From small body movements to magical principles and behavioral habits… All information is captured and retrieved in an instant.
In just the first match, he embarrassed Arwen by controlling the distance freely, in the second match, he identified the blind spot of the lightweight magic and dug into it, and in the third match, he realized the defense-ignoring attribute imprinted in ‘Day of Dawn’ and even managed to deal with it.
The speed of adaptation is not only fast, but it feels like you are becoming a completely different person, step by step.
When Arwen saw that, she had a new intuition.
He barely managed to get up after falling, and while covered in blood, he observed Arwen with his eyes wide open.
The opponent is a master of improvisation.
If you drag it into a long game, you will definitely lose.
Once Arwen’s battle style is fully established, he will completely come up with a way to deal with it in an instant.
“Ed.”
When Arwen quietly calls the name, Ed answers.
“Do you have anything else to say now?”
“Can’t you just quit now?”
“Whew…”
Ed slowly straightened his body, grabbed the dagger again, and gathered his magic power.
I didn’t want to summon a high-ranking spirit. Because he still has a battle left.
High-ranking spirits consume an absurd amount of magical power just by summoning them. Although it has only now become manageable, the fact that it is practically a decisive battle weapon does not change.
Nevertheless, Arwen is more picky than you think.
The great sword has strong destructive power, but is heavy and slow.
I realized once again how senseless it was to use a fighting method that breaks the obvious principles and quickly fires attacks with the destructive power of a great sword like a dagger…
If necessary, even high-ranking spirits must be brought out.
“Maybe we won’t understand each other until we die.”
Arwen lowered her head as she looked at Ed, who no longer even treated her with respect.
“Then we have no choice but to cross swords.”
What do you mean by family? In the end, Ed only goes to finish off Crepin in order to survive.
Be it a wife who is unable to break the family bond even after being beaten by her drunken husband, a dutiful son who does his duty until the end even under parents who treat their children like insects, or a parent who devotes his entire life to taking care of even a child who is not even a child. Whatever.
Ed lived a few steps away from him.
We have already come too far to bind him with the ties of blood ties.
Since that day when they parted ways on the terrace, all Ed’s respect for the Ross-Taylor family has burned away.
Now all that’s left is a wizard who is bloodied and goes to catch Crepin.
There is no benefit in dragging it out for a long time. This should be the last sum.
Arwen was so confident that she raised her sword. Ed had already jumped out of his seat and rushed towards me.
The passage of time is slow.
The image of Ed roaring and closing the distance is imprinted in Arwen’s eyes.
The sight reflected in Ed’s eyes is also the same.
There is no longer any hesitation left in Arwen’s appearance as she wields the great sword and makes one final move.
A bat flies behind Ed, who is slowly closing the distance. Before Arwen can react, it bursts into flames.
The slowly flying flames are heading straight for Arwen.
Arwen lowers her posture, avoids the fire, and grants lightweight magic to ‘Day of Dawn’.
However, at that moment, the lioness Lacia snatches Arwen’s sword.
The manifestation of a spirit that was cherished and cherished until the end.
It was a method that had never been used before to catch her off guard.
Arwen’s core weakness is that the moment it is lightened, the sword becomes excessively light.
The sword became so light that it could be bounced off with just a weak physical force, so it only took one kick from Lacia to throw the sword away.
But there is still one bag left.
‘Condemnation’ used by the first swordsman Luden. The sword that was given to him by the imperial family as the glorious successor to Rosstaylor begins to shine.
The sword strike from Arwen’s hand was aimed straight at Ed’s body. If you stab it at the shortest distance, the speed of the attack will be much faster than Ed’s attack.
But Ed knows.
Arwen Rothtaylor… cannot ‘stab’.
Due to her fighting style, which relies on the weight of the sword to draw out destructive power, stabbing, which requires her to withstand the weight of the sword entirely with her own strength, is a technique that cannot be used.
Techniques that only lead to large cuts driven by the weight of the sword are completely neutralized when dug deep.
But Arwen is also not unaware of that fact. Therefore, she unleashes the final magic imprinted on the ‘condemn’ in her hand.
‘Acceleration’ magic. The power that makes the body move instantly faster is not included in Ed’s calculations. This is an ability that Arwen kept hidden until the end.
So fast that it defies the laws of physics. The moment Arwen was about to strike Ed’s chest, she was taken aback by Ed’s response.
-Ed just closed his eyes tightly.
Have you given up everything? Not like that.
At that moment, the wind flowing near Ed’s body swirls around him.
The last move left to each other, but… Ed had slightly more hidden moves during the fight.
‘Blessing of the Storm’ that completely neutralizes attacks beyond recognition.
As the wind rose, Arwen’s sword was thrown away and her body was lifted, leaving Arwen incapacitated.
The moment Ed grabbed the dagger and tried to stab the gap, Arwen also took the optimal action in an instant.
I clenched my teeth as if they were going to break and clenched my hand holding the handle of the great sword tightly.
Using the weight of the great sword with the lightening magic removed, he pulls down the handle and somehow succeeds in blocking Ed’s blow. With this, the final sum that catches each other off guard returns to a completely even state.
Let’s finish now. It feels like that kind of conversation took place.
It was the moment when they struck the final blow against each other in a posture that regained stability in the air.
One-on-one combat.
A variable that destroyed all the major premises struck the two.
―Quaaaaaaaaa!
―Whaaaaaaaa!
The wind blew again.
There is a girl who lands between the two, somehow controlling the unstable wind magic.
The blonde hair fluttering against the background of the night sky is infinitely similar to Arwen’s color, and the sharp eyes are similar to Ed’s.
The girl who landed from the central spire to Rosstaylor Hall, where the ceiling was broken, in one go was a variable that neither Arwen nor Ed could account for.
Tanya’s expression can be seen as time slows down.
It looks like he’s crying, angry, or embarrassed.
Too much information is flooding into the girl’s head.
The Los Taylor estate suddenly went into an uproar. Broken mansion annex. Arwen is alive with a bizarre appearance. Ed climbs the annex after becoming bloodless. And the battle between the two.
Her hand, which appeared between two people exchanging the last word in an urgent situation where they knew nothing and did not know how to judge, still had a slight amount of magic remaining.
Just once, it is possible to create wind magic weakly but reliably.
Arwen and Ed. A single hit from both of them will destroy all defenses.
Between the two, Tanya’s eyes… turn to Arwen, who had always looked after her with kindness.
The image of my older sister, whom I cannot help but love, comes into view.
――I remember the night I was hugged on the terrace.
Tanya just sent Ed, who had been telling him to come this way in the dark, to leave.
I just didn’t know why and was scared, so I cried in Arwen’s arms.
Between the two, Tanya followed Arwen’s path.
So Ed left the terrace and headed to Aken Island, surviving in solitude. Tanya did not stand by his side.
On the day Ed left the mansion, I just hid behind the curtain behind the window and watched the lonely figure from afar.
Tanya Rosstaylor now knows what thorny path he has walked since that day.
―Whaaaaagh!
I don’t know the reason for the situation or the whole story.
In a final agreement where even a hundredth of a second was too precious, Tanya threw wind magic at Arwen’s hand.
―Whaaaaaaaa!
―The
last ‘condemn’ in Arwen’s hand flew out of her hand.
The moment Arwen quickly tried to widen the distance…
-Quaaaak!
Ed dug in and Arwen’s shoulder was pierced with a dagger.
