chapter 23
4. Shall we reconcile?
4. Shall we reconcile
It was the moment I thought I had almost got it all.
“Uh…?”
Red took a few steps back, not even knowing why he was being pushed back.
The upper part of the handle of the longsword that was firmly held was missing. The lightness of the weight made Gared’s heart flutter.
‘That was… What was it?’
It was a simple one-handed sword, a move that far exceeded Gared’s battle logic that he had fought so far. He couldn’t stop it even though it was an extremely obvious push up. It was simply because the person who wielded the sword was as fast as a monster.
How on earth did he still have this kind of stamina?
While Gared was standing in a daze, one of his seniors who was watching the fight screamed, almost having a seizure.
“Du, you asshole! Back! Look back, f*ck, back!!”
“Kuh… !”
Gared immediately turned around as he felt his mind wander. However, Alem was no longer there. There were only traces of the monster that left afterimages a couple of times.
And by then it was already too late.
Peruk.
Red suddenly stumbled and knocked his head back.
“Keuk… “
It violently broke his shoulder and the protruding longsword pushed him aside, knocking him down. The mortally wounded giant collapsed, revealing the figure of the man behind it.
“Huh, huh, huh… “
He was holding his breath roughly, half forcibly holding on to the consciousness that was about to break. The feet on the ground trembled, but they never fell.
“…..What is that bastard?”
“Is it a monster… ?”
The seniors, who had been watching the fight with interest in the darkness of the tavern, murmured in bewilderment. The fight was over, but, ironically, there was a feeling that it wasn’t over yet.
Everybody had only one idea.
‘Am I staring this way right now?’
Perhaps the fighting has grown without anyone noticing. He was just a spectator, so much so that he swallowed up even those who didn’t doubt him. It was a belated realization that everyone was putting one foot in the realm of beasts that kill people by biting.
“Huh… “
Clay muttered as he blankly watched the monster wearing a human mask.
“…Blur, write another reminder to that guy. With a much stronger one than before.”
“Yes, yes?”
Then the sorcerer behind him, Blur, was startled.
“No! It’s already the fourth stack… “
“f*ck, if you want to use it, just use it!”
Remind.
A magic that stimulates memories, which the target regards as the greatest stress. The 1st stack stops at the level of simple irritation, but from the 2nd stack, it causes severe post-traumatic stress disorder. It was a dangerous magic that could cause great confusion in the target’s personality the moment it crossed 3 stacks, and it was also a forbidden secret technique.
“He’s a guy who’s been beaten four times and still stands.”
Clay was convinced. That guy wasn’t sane from the start. It was already twisted and wrong somewhere, so it was clear that he had endured the 4 stacks of Remind.
‘Tsk.’
I ended up messing with a strange guy. Clay said he had to admit he stupidly poked the beehive.
“If we don’t break it now, we’ll be screwed later.”
You must never send that guy back unharmed. Killing would be the most comfortable thing to do, but as long as the president of the academia is there, you can’t go that far. Instead, I planned to step on it carefully so that he would never grab the sword again.
At that level, severe punishment could be avoided even by replacing a few subordinates.
“Let’s fly with a more reliable guy than we have ever flown. Got it?”
“…..Yes.”
As soon as Blur answered, he melted into the darkness and immediately chanted. It was not long before a terrible spell began to brew that would end a person’s life.
“Everyone, raise your weapons.”
At Clay’s order, the seniors who had been sipping alcohol at the tavern stood up all at once holding weapons. They were warriors who had passed three years since the placenta was summoned to the academia. And they were the ones who caught Clay’s eyes in their own way and gathered in a special circle.
They were all people who had gained notoriety in the original world. Clay saw through their temperament early on and was able to sympathize with the Circle without difficulty. The circle that was born that way is Phobos. Among the fantasy circles, it is currently a group with considerable authority.
Therefore, none of them hesitated about the atrocity that was about to happen.
“Go.”
Clay instructed.
“Kill but don’t.”
**
I rubbed my eyes clouded with ashes and stood up.
This is the final battlefield. A meaningless land where many lives have died and have been crumbled to nothing.
The war is over, and the head of the demon king was hung at the tip of the flag of a kingdom that had fallen. It was hung by myself.
-……..
The world was quiet enough to be empty. There was no sound except the intermittent rustle of ashes in the wind and the echo of dragon cries from far away.
In the center of the gray world, only I stood alone.
‘I was doing something.’
I couldn’t find the whereabouts of the correct answer even when I opened my vague memories. The Ego Sword and Echo, which he always carried around, were nowhere to be seen.
But while rummaging through my pockets, I found something in my hand. I took it out.
“…About?”
Looking at the degree of shine, the degree of transparency, and the color, it was clear that the medicine he had prepared was correct, but somehow it was contained in a container that was unfamiliar to me. The quality of the transparent glass containing the medicine was much more refined and neat than usual.
‘… Did he hire even a skilled potter?’
Without delay, I removed the cap and poured the solution down my throat. The behavior that was pickled in the habit was so natural that I couldn’t even recognize it.
And that moment when the medicine went down your throat.
“…Ugh.”
My vision was greatly staggered, and the sky began to fall.
In the distant landscape, the boundary between the gray sky and the mountains was mixing like loose paint. It was a creepy sight at first glance, but it was nothing else that really caught my attention.
Since when I’ve been at the bar, there are scattered tables, broken bottles, and people falling down and moaning.
“Turn it off… “
“Ugh… “
“…..”
Memories gradually begin to return.
I looked at the empty sample in my hand. This was the diluted medicine Machia gave me. Right after that, we were kidnapped somewhere…
When I looked straight ahead, I saw that the culprit behind all this, Clay, was glaring at me.
“You, you, you bastard… What is the identity… “
His forehead glistened with cold sweat.
“It’s a wheel battle… It was a wheel battle… How can you not get tired of it… !”
Come to think of it, all of the people now down were the spectators who had been flirting with and watching Gared’s workshop until just a while ago. They must all be Clay’s subordinates.
I caught my eye on the weapons that had been thrown randomly on the floor. Did I fight with them while losing my mind? Somehow, my body went beyond throbbing, to the point of feeling numb.
Suddenly, I felt wet, so I wiped my eyes and blood came out.
The world turned red.
“Answer me! Hey, hey!”
“…..”
I ignored Clay and turned around.
“Oh, where are you going! You ask where are you going!”
Even when I showed my back defenselessly, he only yelled at me from afar and couldn’t come any further. It was like a frightened dog barking loudly over a wall. There is no need to worry.
Rather than that, right after I came to my senses, my head hurt so much.
“Medicine, medicine… “
It was only natural that he couldn’t get rid of Shimma with the diluted amount. I still feel like I can hear the dragon’s cries and the clashing of weapons from afar. If they don’t get out of my head, I feel like I’m going crazy forever.
I want to escape from this battlefield.
In a relatively safe corner, Makia lay unconscious. I carefully placed her hand in her arms and looked for the medicine.
But nothing was caught.
I searched all the bags scattered here and there, but the only thing I could find was a canister of oil that Id was trying to use as fuel.
“Tsk… “
It was then.
“Hey, hey, hey! Stupid bastard, you’re done!”
When I turned around, there was a short boy next to Clay who was pouring ominous magic. It was clear that he was sabotaging me when I was cutting with Gared. And the magic the kid was trying to manifest this time was similar to that of that time, but much more ferocious.
Clay confidently shouted, where did the bewildered expression from a moment ago go?
“I never thought I would see a bastard who was beaten five times with reminders! What an honor! Bye!”
At his gesture, the little boy activated his magic, and the black magic rushed towards me at an irresistible speed.
I felt like avoiding it for a moment, but it didn’t seem necessary.
Daat.
Black magic melted right in front of my nose, and soon it turned into acrid smoke and permeated my hair. And I started to have sad thoughts about this and that, but to be honest, it didn’t matter now.
The feeling of discovering that the string that was barely maintained in the image was cut at some point. Something has crossed the threshold.
“Ha ha ha ha!”
Clay came slowly towards me, barely stroking his chest. The way his steps staggered, he must have been quite embarrassed that he had done this.
“To pass out while standing until the end. You are a warrior, a warrior.”
He seems to be convinced that I’ve lost my mind.
“……Uh… uhh… ?”
Unlike that guy, the complexion of the kid who cast the spell on me was getting paler.
“Stand, no way.”
Aha. Did the caster himself notice that the magic didn’t work on me? The kid desperately called out to Clay.
“Hey, Mr. Clay! Get out of there quickly! Quick, fast… !”
“It’s already too late.”
I cut my longsword at an angle.
A solid line appeared on Clay’s stupid expression.