Volume 4
Chapter 9
"Hey Kevin, is
this really alright?"
One of Kevin's party
members called out to him.
They were making their
way through the forest. Their objective was to subjugate a Mad Bear.
A Mad Bear was, as its
name suggested, a large bear magical beast, equivalent to Rank C. However, his
concern wasn't the Mad Bear.
"Ha?"
"It's about what
they were saying at the guild. About Triclops roaming around."
What he was worried
about was the Triclops that had recently been sighted in the forest. A highly
dangerous magical beast of Rank A might be nearby. Looking closely, the eyes of
the other members were also trembling, showing their unease.
"Oh, that. It'll
be fine. They usually stay deep in the forest, and the one the adventurers saw
was probably a stray that got separated from its pack. Even if it's a Triclops,
if it's just one, I'm here, so no problem."
"…R-right…"
However, unlike the
worried party members, Kevin showed no signs of apprehension. Indeed, he was one
of the most capable individuals at the academy. His ability and confident
demeanor, though sometimes perceived as arrogant, put the members at ease,
seeing that he was acting as usual.
"Heh! What's
wrong? If you're scared, you can go home, you know."
"N-no, I'm not
scared at all!! I-it'll be fine!"
"Hmph! Well, if
you say so."
Kevin chuckled through
his nose at the still-anxious members and continued onward. Kevin never changed
his insolent attitude, but as a strong and capable leader, he maintained a
certain facade, serving as the spiritual pillar for the party members.
*
"Hm?"
Kevin, who was walking
ahead, suddenly stopped and began to narrow his eyes, looking around. His
silver-furred ears, characteristic of the Silver Wolf tribe, moved busily, and
his nose twitched.
"What's wrong,
Kevin?"
"Someone's
coming…………"
When one of the
members, who had been looking at him suspiciously, asked, Kevin announced the
approach of someone.
At that moment, with a
rustling sound from the bushes in front of them, armored soldiers appeared.
The crest of Arcazam
was engraved on their shields and armor. They were undoubtedly Arcazam's
guards.
"Solminati
students...? Haven't you heard the report from the guild? This place is
dangerous. Return to the city immediately."
"Hah! Why should
I listen to what you say?"
The soldiers, upon
seeing Kevin, urged him to return to the city, but Kevin, the party leader,
dismissed their warning, saying it was none of his business.
His insolent attitude
seemed to have annoyed the soldiers, as their tone became stern.
"This matter is
under our jurisdiction. The opponent is Triclops. It's not something students
can handle."
"That's for the
other trash to worry about. It has nothing to do with me."
The soldier warned him
in a sterner tone than before, but Kevin's attitude remained unchanged. This
further irritated the soldiers.
"Even if you
stay, you'll only die in vain. Leave this place to us and go home today!"
"Hmph! There's no
reason to listen to someone who can't get strong without a pack."
"Enough! If you
keep acting like a spoiled child, we'll restrain you and send you to
prison!!"
"Interesting! Go
ahead and try—" "That's enough..." "!!"
"Sir
Jihad..."
Just when it seemed
like a brawl with the soldiers was about to begin, a warrior with a sword
larger than himself strapped to his back stepped between the two. His black
hair, mixed with bleached white strands, and a deep laceration scar on his face
were prominent.
He appeared to be
around 40 years old, but his sharp, piercing gaze and the body visible beneath
his silver armor were further covered in a muscular physique, filled with the
youthful vitality of a man in his twenties.
Jihad Raundel.
A knight belonging to
the Silver Rainbow Knights, one of the continent's foremost swordsmen, and a
master with the title "Jaw Drop."
He also taught at
Solminati Academy and was the strongest knight within Arcazam.
This time, the Silver
Rainbow Knights, having received information from the guild about a Triclops
sighting, dispatched him to assist Arcazam's guard unit, considering the
danger.
"My apologies,
Captain Mauz. My student has caused you trouble."
"N-no. It's not
your fault, Sir Jihad..."
"A disciple's
misbehavior is the master's misbehavior. I will take full responsibility for
supervising these individuals, so please forgive them."
Jihad bowed deeply to
Captain Mauz, the leader of the guard unit, stating that he would take
responsibility no matter what happened.
Captain Mauz was
flustered at being bowed to by a swordsman who had distinguished himself during
the Great Invasion ten years ago and whose name resounded throughout the
continent.
Entering the forest
was permitted, but dying there was ultimately one's own responsibility. That
applied whether one was a student or an ordinary person.
Despite this, when
such a prominent figure spoke to him to this extent, Mauz had no choice but to
concede.
"…Understood. I
will leave them to Sir Jihad."
"I am grateful.
……You all. You may follow, but in a crisis, you must follow my instructions.
Understood?"
After thanking Mauz
again, he turned back to Kevin and the others, reiterating his warning.
The students, perhaps
understanding the situation, nodded obediently, with no one shaking their
heads.
"Kevin, you too.
Understood?"
"Haa... Well,
fine."
Jihad questioned
Kevin, emphasizing his words even more.
Kevin acknowledged
Jihad as a far stronger individual than himself and listened obediently to his
words.
"Then that's
good. Let's go..."
If they would obey his
instructions honestly, there was probably nothing more to say. Jihad began to
walk deeper into the forest, and Kevin and the others, and Mauz and his men,
followed him.
Into the deep, dark
abyss, a darkness that seemed to stretch on forever.
*
Three-eyed and
one-eyed giants charged towards the boy.
A towering wall of
flesh shook the earth, surging forward like a tsunami.
A colossal mass of
violence. It charged forward in numbers that obscured his vision.
Even a high-ranked
individual might be dumbfounded and lose their composure before the
overwhelming power and killing intent unleashed by the approaching giants.
However, Nozomu
watched that scene with cold eyes.
The rage that had been
smoldering within him until now.
Nozomu, whose
emotions, had been constantly suppressed, had exploded like magma. Now, knowing
of existences greater than the giants before him, he no longer felt even a hint
of fear from this level of violence and killing intent.
…3, 4, 5 giants in the lead. The rest are 3 on the
right, 2 on the left. And 3 Triclops at the very rear...
Nozomu calmly assessed
the massive wall approaching him. Despite the fact that he would be turned into
mincemeat in a few seconds if he stayed like this, his mind rapidly thought
about how to cut down the giants before him.
The slight hesitation
he had left completely vanished, and now that he had fully released his power,
his extreme concentration even accelerated his thoughts, stretching his perception
of time to its limit.
In a world where only
his thoughts accelerated, Nozomu mentally constructed various paths to
slaughter the giants. All in a mere few seconds.
An immense amount of
Ki had already been channeled into his katana, compressed to the extreme, and a
single streak of light swirled around the blade.
The distance between
Nozomu and the giants was only a few meters. A distance that giants with
doubled physical abilities would traverse in less than a second.
The giants were
already right before him. Nozomu's death was imminent.
But the next moment,
Nozomu moved.
The ground beneath his
feet exploded, and with an instant acceleration, he covered the several meters
in a mere instant, not even a second. He appeared before the eyes of the giant on
the left.
The Cyclops, surprised
by Nozomu's sudden appearance, hurriedly swung down the club it held.
Muscles, doubled by
the "Evil Eye of the Mad Demon," creaked, and the club swung down
with a roar.
Though inferior to
Triclops's, the club still held excessive power, possessing enough force to
kill a person.
But it was struck down
by Nozomu in an instant.
The club that was
supposed to crush Nozomu's skull was struck down by the katana Nozomu casually
swung with one hand, slamming into the ground in vain.
Nozomu paid no
attention to the struck-down club and instead, in one swift motion, enhanced
the scabbard in his other hand with Ki and unleashed an upward slash.
The raised scabbard
accurately struck the Cyclops's elbow, shattering the giant's joint into
pieces, and the log-like arm bent at an angle from the impact.
Furthermore, the arm,
having lost its support from the joint, sprang upwards, and Nozomu cleaved the
now-open torso with a single flash. The blade, imbued with "Phantom Void -
Clad," bisected the giant's body into upper and lower halves, and then
similarly bisected another giant along with its club.
Nozomu immediately
activated Flash Step, pouring Ki into his feet without pause. He charged
towards the five Cyclopses in the center.
The five giants in the
center, trying to somehow kill Nozomu, repeatedly slammed their clubs, but
Nozomu changed Flash Step to Flash Step - Curving Dance -, deploying high-speed
curved movements. He easily dodged the clubs and dashed between the giants.
Nozomu's objective was
to use the size difference between him and his opponents to launch a mobile
offensive and defeat them one by one.
Creatures rarely
engage in head-on combat against larger creatures alone.
However, that doesn't
mean that smaller beings can't win against larger ones. That was because
smaller beings could more effectively utilize something that surpassed larger
beings.
While the size
difference between him, a human, and the giants was certainly large,
conversely, because of their excessive size, if they were engaged in mobile
combat with an opponent superior in mobility and reaction speed at close
quarters, their bodies and thoughts would fail to keep up.
Nozomu's current
movements, with his extreme concentration accelerating even his thoughts and
manifesting physical abilities surpassing even giants, could not be caught by
the giants.
Leaving the five
giants behind, Nozomu, with that momentum, charged towards the three Cyclopses
on the right.
The giants, seeing
Nozomu suddenly appear before them, still couldn't react.
Nozomu bisected the
two giants, who were completely frozen in front of him, with two upward
diagonal slashes, then charged into the remaining one.
The giant tried to
ward off Nozomu by swinging its club, but the trajectory of the club appeared
abnormally slow to Nozomu, and his lips curved upward at its slowness, as if he
were meticulously teaching a child.
He read the trajectory
of the club perfectly, parried it flawlessly, and then charged straight at the
Titan from his shoulder.
The giant received
Nozomu's charge with its massive body.
Nozomu crashed with
the giant with tremendous momentum. He pushed the giant, which boasted
overwhelming weight compared to him, with just the force of his charge, carving
two streaks into the ground with the giant's tree-like feet, but the giant
stopped Nozomu's charge with its overwhelming weight difference.
The Cyclops that
stopped Nozomu's charge tried to smash him with its rock-like fist, intending
to turn him into mincemeat. But the next moment, it lost consciousness with a
shockwave that felt like it pierced through him.
With a bursting sound
like the air rupturing, the giant's body was blown away. He, who should have
been stopped by the giant and crushed by its fist, was completely unharmed, and
the chest of the blown-away giant was caved in as if a metal plate had been
hammered.
Vibration
Release
An internal
destruction technique of the same type as the Ki Technique: "Vibration
Strike." A martial art that delivers a blow using only the movements of
the feet, waist, and core from a state of complete close contact.
The blow, which
concentrated all the core's power in an instant, permeated the opponent's body
as a shockwave, destroying their internal organs with that shockwave.
It was a pure martial
art, not a Ki art, and did not use Ki to activate the technique like Vibration
Strike. Also, because it was unleashed in a state of complete close contact, it
was a difficult technique to defend against.
It was originally one
of the techniques for engaging in unarmed combat while holding a katana, and
although more difficult than Vibration Strike, it was a very reliable martial
art in extremely close-quarters combat where one couldn't even swing a katana.
The Cyclops from
earlier took this technique directly to its chest, and its ribs were crushed.
Furthermore, the shock that ran through the giant's body ruptured the
capillaries of its heart and lungs, leading to fatal cardiac arrest.
"!"
Suddenly, blood
spurted from Nozomu's shoulder. New blood was also seeping from under his
clothes, oozing out from various lacerations.
This wasn't caused by
the previous battles with Wild Dogs or Triclops. It was due to Tiamat's power
and his power as a Dragon Slayer, coming loose.
The power of Tiamat
that Nozomu had acquired was extraordinarily immense compared to previous
Dragon Slayers.
Such extraordinary
power, even if he gained some aptitude for it, would not fit into a single
human body, and without ability suppression, Nozomu would have long since been
swallowed by that power.
Until now, when he had
released his ability suppression, Nozomu himself had tried his best to suppress
the power that tried to tear his body apart, so he had somehow managed to
control it for a short time.
However, now that the
suppression had completely come loose, he had forgotten even that, and the
overflowing, excessive power was beginning to devour his body.
Perhaps, only the
survival instinct ingrained within him unconsciously refused complete release,
thereby controlling the Dragon Slayer's power. Otherwise, Nozomu's existence
would have vanished from this world in a mere dozen seconds.
"""""Ooooooooooooooo!!!"""""
The five Cyclopses
that Nozomu had left behind had caught up. Three of the giants each swung their
clubs down at Nozomu from above and from the sides.
Nozomu parried the
club swung down from the front with his bare hand and then struck it against
the giant's club that had swept in from the left.
A tremendous roar
echoed around them from the clash of two immense powers, and shockwaves were
scattered, but Nozomu paid no attention and intercepted the giant attacking
from the right.
The horizontally swung
club was instantly cleaved and separated into left and right halves the moment
it was parried by Nozomu's katana.
Nozomu then cleaved
the giant's body, which was dumbfounded by its bisected club. With that
momentum, he bisected the remaining two Cyclopses, who were stumbling, with a
single strike.
The three giant bodies
split into six, spilling their internal organs as they rolled on the ground.
In a mere dozen
seconds, seven giants had been slaughtered, exposing their corpses.
The remaining two
Cyclopses charged towards Nozomu. Seeing them, Nozomu concentrated a vast
amount of Ki into the hand holding the scabbard.
The infused Ki tore
his arm from the inside, and blood spurted from the wound, but Nozomu ignored
it and slammed his fist into the ground.
Ki Technique:
"Annihilation Light Impact"
The ground before the
giants exploded, and a torrent of Ki erupted. The Cyclopses, with the momentum
of their charge, could not stop, and their bodies were incinerated in the
light, meeting their end.
*
(With this, all the
Cyclopses are eliminated. Only the Triclopses remain...)
All the Cyclopses were
annihilated, and Nozomu regulated his breathing. Despite the lacerations
running across his entire body and the ceaseless flow of blood, he felt no pain
at all.
All Nozomu could feel
was the crimson scene spread out before him, and Tiamat raging within him,
along with his own rage.
Surrender.
Release me. Burn away everything before you!
Nozomu and
"it" were synchronized as never before, and the voice echoing in his
mind was so fused that he no longer knew if it was his own or "its."
His heart beat faster
and stronger than ever before. Each heartbeat caused Nozomu's life force to
leak from his wounds, but the inscribed wounds were hot and feverish, and he
felt only comfort from it.
Nozomu glared at the
remaining three Triclopses.
The Triclopses, who
should have been immersed in madness, had completely cowered, and their crimson
eyes trembled with confusion.
But he didn't care
what his opponents felt. Creating new wounds on his own legs, Nozomu charged
with Flash Step.
Two of the three
Triclopses hurriedly stepped forward, but it was already too late.
Nozomu was faster than
the Triclops could swing its club. He slipped into its range and severed both
of its arms, which were holding the club, with a Ki-infused blade. The giant's
arms, still holding the club, flew into the air, and with a returning strike,
Nozomu cleaved the giant's chest.
Nozomu's slash cut
through the giant's thick, iron-plate-like chest, but it was slightly shallow
and not fatal. But for him, that was enough.
The slash Nozomu
unleashed. The Ki blade that had cut through the giant's chest suddenly
expanded. At the same time, the surface of the Ki blade reversed, becoming
countless needles, and exploded along his sword path.
Ki Technique:
"Dust Severance"
If "Phantom
Void" was a slash that bisected the opponent, this technique was a slash
that gouged out the opponent's flesh. The Ki blade released along the sword
path expanded into countless needle-like forms. A Ki art that grinds away the
opponent's flesh like a file.
The Triclops, whose
chest had been cleaved, had all its chest muscles and ribs gouged out by
"Dust Severance."
The giant's lungs and
heart, having lost their support, spilled out, and the Triclops collapsed
forward, spewing bloody foam.
Nozomu immediately
leaped onto another Triclops. He grabbed the giant's face and, while flipping
over its head and feet upside down, snapped its neck bone.
Landing behind the
giant, Nozomu sheathed his katana while delivering a "Vibration
Strike" to the Triclops's back.
The infused Ki and
impact propagated directly into the Triclops's internal organs. As the giant's
stomach exploded, its internal organs burst out and splattered onto the ground.
(Only one left now…………)
Nozomu, his entire
body stained crimson with splashed blood and blood from his self-inflicted
wounds, faced the last remaining giant.
"Guaaaaaaaaa!
Guooooooo!"
The last giant's roar
echoed uselessly in the star-filled sky. Was it madness from the terror of the
monster-like existence before it? Or was it desperately trying to encourage
itself, fearing it would be swallowed by that fear? Or perhaps it was grieving
for its kin who had fallen before it?
But Nozomu didn't
understand the giant's heart. All he could do now was slaughter the entity
before him.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
With an exceptionally
loud roar, the Triclops charged at Nozomu. So many of its comrades had been
defeated without any means of resistance. Even if it was consumed by madness,
the giant knew that it couldn't possibly win against the being before it.
But even so, the giant
didn't back down. Was the reason revenge, madness, or instinct?
No one knew the
reason.
Nozomu himself didn't
know, and this was a battlefield. In this place where life and death crossed by
a hair's breadth, he didn't care about the opponent's reasons.
Nozomu's hand rested
on the hilt of the katana sheathed at his waist. The next moment, one of the
giant's arms was severed by the Ki Technique "Phantom Void."
"Oooooooooooooo!!!!"
But the giant didn't
care about its lost arm. It tried to charge at Nozomu, spewing blood from its
wound.
However, the moment
the giant took another step, its other arm was severed by "Phantom Void -
Return -."
The Triclops, having
lost both arms and its means to fight, still didn't give up.
The Triclops started
running again. It charged straight at Nozomu, trying to ram its massive body
into him.
I'll at least
get revenge!!
He seemed to be saying
that, even without human words, as he charged forward with a roar.
But that desire didn't
reach him.
Nozomu pulled back
both hands, taking a low stance. A large amount of Ki gathered in both hands,
compressing.
Just as the giant was
a step away from Nozomu, the technique was unleashed.
Ki Technique:
"Vibration Cannon"
The compressed torrent
of Ki, released in one direction, slammed into the Triclops that was right
before Nozomu, instantly blowing its massive body in the opposite direction.
The Triclops was
slammed to the ground. Having lost both arms, it somehow managed to get up
using its upper body. What it saw was the figure of a monster with a katana.
Nozomu channeled an
immense amount of Ki into the blade of his katana, compressing it to the
extreme.
Taking a thrusting
stance with one hand and aiming with the hand holding the scabbard, his figure
was like a master archer, but the pressure unleashed by the nocked
"arrow" was incomparable even to a siege bow.
The immense power
emanating from Nozomu's own body made the air creak with a grinding sound,
further damaging his body, but Nozomu paid no attention to it.
Nozomu's body sank for
a moment, and the next instant, he vanished with a deafening roar as the ground
exploded, appearing before the Triclops's eyes in an instant.
For a moment, their
gazes crossed. The giant's eyes no longer held the color of madness, but simply
stared at the existence before it, and Nozomu's face twisted slightly when he
saw those eyes.
The killer and the
killed.
A momentary encounter
in a long lifetime.
Ki Technique:
"Core Piercer"
Nozomu unleashed the
nocked "arrow," not knowing what the giant was thinking or feeling.
*
The corpse of the
Triclops lay before me. The "Core Piercer" I unleashed almost
completely penetrated the Triclops's back and then exploded. But even so, it
blew away the giant's spine along with its internal organs, leaving a large
hole.
"Core
Piercer"
A combined technique
of the Ki Technique "Phantom Void" and "Dust Severance." It
involves thrusting an extremely compressed ki blade into the opponent's inside,
and then activating "Dust Severance." The opponent, having been
struck by the ki blade, is then shredded internally by countless scattered ki
blades that stand on end like needles. A highly lethal technique.
Why did this guy
release his "Evil Eye of the Mad Demon" at that time?
Did he give up knowing
he couldn't win? Or was there something else?
I don't know. At least
I would try to resist until the very end. I don't want to die myself, and it
was the same when I fought Tiamat.
But they didn't do
that, they didn't fight to the very end. Why...?
The final appearance
of the giant showed. As I questioned that, my reason began to return to my
head.
"…………Ah…………"
Suddenly, I looked up,
and my vision was dyed crimson. Before my eyes spread the carnage I had caused.
The corpses of the
giants lay scattered before me. Some were bisected into upper and lower halves,
some had their neck bones broken and lay collapsed with their internal organs
spilled out, others were completely burned. There were various others, but all
of them were lying in a gruesome state.
The blood flowing from
the corpses dyed the ground bright red, creating a large pool of blood.
At that sight, the red
dream flashed back.
The ruined Arcazam and
the smell of familiar people burning to ash.
All that spread out
before my eyes was rusty metal and my own body, stained red.
"Guh!!!
Gueeeeeeeeeegh!!"
With an intense urge
to vomit, the contents of my stomach surged up. Unable to bear it, I fell to my
knees and spewed the contents of my stomach into the pool of blood.
A sour taste spread in
my mouth, and stomach acid burned my throat.
"Gweh, ugheeh,
guh, oeh..."
Even after spewing out
everything in my stomach, the nausea wouldn't subside. I even vomited up the
remaining stomach acid, but still, only voiceless sounds escaped my mouth.
"I-I..."
I want to
become stronger.
I certainly thought
so. I wanted to support Lisa's dream, and for that, I tried to become strong.
Since then, it had become a reason to run away, but at that time, I at least
still wanted to be strong.
I looked at my hands.
Hands stained with blood and vomit.
The hands of a
murderer who had ravaged and slaughtered everything in a fit of rage.
But it wasn't like
this. I didn't want to become strong for this.
Even if I was running
away, I certainly didn't want to scatter death like this!!
"I-I... didn't
want to become strong... for something like this…………"
My body collapsed into
the sea of blood before me. Swallowed by the mistake I had made, my
consciousness was consumed by an unfathomably deep darkness.
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