178. Festival of the Sword (21)
#178
“Don’t you think so? “Little brother.”
Darman’s eyes were fixed on Ronan. The auburn eyes were now completely crimson. The white hair fluttering in the wind looked just like a white bush.
Darman’s expression had completely changed, and sparkling mana was spreading over his shoulders. It was a phenomenon with clear implications. The explosive sword was not the end. Ronan’s face suddenly distorted when he heard that he was her younger brother.
“···what?”
“I was grateful in the forest at that time. I almost got into trouble because the memory seal worked harder than I expected. “Thanks to you, I didn’t get any scars.”
Darman stroked his cheek with the hand that was not holding the knife. Normally, he would have been beaten up by rookie hunters and had scars. Ronan narrowed his brows as he recalled the memory of manually applying potion to his wounds.
“you···.”
He was dumbfounded, forgetting that he was angry for a moment. I couldn’t understand what kind of bullshit that was. Even though changing hair and eye color is a new option for Nebula Clazie, does she suddenly become a younger sibling? Darman, who was laughing while looking at Ronan, continued speaking.
“I’m glad you have a good little brother.”
At that moment, a vein appeared on Ronan’s forehead. As she was contemplating, she felt like an asshole. This will be resolved once we cut off all of her limbs and find out. Ronan’s thighs, filled with her mana, swelled to the point of bursting.
“Who is your brother, you bastard?”
bang! Ronan, who paused for a moment, kicked the ground and rushed forward again. Dirt and snow bounced wildly from where he was standing. Darman raised his sword with a leisurely smile. Kaaaaang-! A roar that could not be believed to be the sound of mere blades colliding echoed through the crater. Darman muttered in a voice filled with admiration.
“You are full of strength. “You haven’t touched the sword spirit at all?”
“what···!”
Ronan gritted his teeth as the shock passed through his bones. The moment he split his first sum, he realized something was wrong.
Unlike when dealing with the explosive sword in the warehouse, Darman was not pushed away even though he was putting all his strength into it from the beginning. The two interlocking blades were swinging with the intention of devouring each other. He continued speaking with a calm expression.
“Don’t be too disappointed if your attitude suddenly changes. “Because he was really the Darman you knew until you met Jaifa.”
Darman chuckled. There was no trace of his former softness in his mean laughter. Ronan suddenly remembered an incident from a few days ago and twisted his lips.
‘···Did this kid also come up with his memories sealed?’
Lin once explained it to me. The Tokuryu Sword also turned into a completely different person after encountering Nabirose. It must have been the same way that Darman broke through Farzan’s security network. Ronan took a deep breath and opened her mouth.
“···Is your goal to kill Jaifa?”
“That was the biggest thing. I got lucky. “If it wasn’t for the ritual of finding the holy sword, it would have been quite difficult.”
Darman explained that he was able to cut down Zaipa in the nick of time. Ronan chewed his lower lip. As he said, if the elders of Zaifana had been in a normal state, they would never have been treated in vain like that. At that time, Darman, who was studying Ronan’s face, spoke with interest.
“But… you really look alike. “You can’t fool blood, right?”
“what?”
“I’m almost confused with the leader’s younger days. “Except for that hair color.”
“What kind of bullshit are you talking about, the religious leader?”
Ronan was about to say something. Suddenly, Darman grew in size and her face began to change. Her round eyes narrowed sharply, and the little bit of breast flesh that still remained was rapidly shrinking. His face, which soon stopped changing, looked very similar to someone Ronan knew. Darman smiled, raising one corner of his mouth.
“Do you believe we are brothers now, little brother?”
****
“What the hell is this…”
Tyr, the vice-captain of the Holy Spear Knights, was in unprecedented confusion. He was truly a lightning bolt. He felt like he would never find the holy sword, so he gave up and lay down, but a boy appeared out of nowhere and killed the two elders and knocked down Jaipa.
The unidentified boy was engaged in a fierce knife fight with participant number 44, Ronan. The metallic sounds of swords clashing with swords rang out in succession.
The fight was so fast and fierce that the other participants didn’t even dare to intervene. Several elders were chasing him, but it didn’t seem easy to catch him.
“Now, Jaifa…”
Tyr’s eyes suddenly turned to Jaifar. He had been stabbed deep in the chest and was kneeling on one knee, struggling to breathe.
Blood was still flowing continuously from the wound on his chest. The pool of blood beneath my feet was quickly expanding. Tyr, unable to accept the unrealistic situation, was just breathing heavily. A familiar voice came from behind her.
“Hello.”
“you are.”
Tyr turned his head. The dark-eyed man we were talking to was standing there. Next to him was a woman holding a badly damaged mace with her arms folded in silence.
Tyr recognized the woman and raised his eyebrows. It was Elena of Mace, a free mercenary with a great reputation in the eastern part of the continent.
“Elena? “Why is that person here…”
“A colleague from Aran Farzan. “It seemed like it would be difficult for the two of us to lift and move Jaifa, but it worked out well.”
“Wait a minute, what you mean is pick it up and move it…”
The dark-eyed man nodded. He explained that he had come to the mountain with the intention of saving Jaifa.
“The amount of blood loss is enough for a human to die, but since the Sword Saint is a Were Tiger, what do you think will happen? “Follow me.”
“Oh, wait a minute!”
The man and Elena started running towards Jaifa. Tyr suddenly followed them. It was quite a distance, but since all three were skilled warriors, the distance was quickly narrowed.
“Krrrrrrr…”
“Oh, Sword Saint. Please be patient.”
Jaifa was clutching his chest and growling. It looked like a typical wounded beast. A man with dark eyes took out a potion from her arms. Suddenly, a shadow landed blocking their path.
“It’s truly amazing. “I never thought I could organize it all at once this way.”
Tyr’s eyes widened. The identity of the shadow was a woman I had never seen before. She had her hair cut short like a man, and like Darman, she had pure white hair and scarlet eyes. The man with dark eyes tilted his head at her.
“hmm? “It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before…”
At that moment, the woman’s hand blurred and disappeared. A red line appeared across her man’s neck, and then her head fell to the floor. Tyr and Elena’s faces suddenly hardened.
“what···!”
Neither of them noticed what was happening. Before she knew it, the woman was holding two daggers in her hands. She smiled brightly as she licked the blood from her sword body.
“Hmm. After all, human blood tastes better than animal blood.”
“Hey, you bitch!”
It wasn’t that hard to tell that she was the enemy. Tyr and Elena rushed at the same time. The woman, who was licking the blood nonchalantly, only moved her body when they got within a foot of each other.
Elena, who ran first, swung her mace sideways. The sudden acceleration of the blow with mana was a skill that enhanced her reputation along with her reticence to do what she had to do.
However, the woman easily avoided the attack by keeping her legs fixed and only leaning her upper body back. Elena, who had maintained her silence the whole time, opened her mouth for the first time.
“you···!”
“If I hadn’t wasted my energy looking for the Holy Sword, there would have been a chance. “It’s a shame.”
The giggling woman swung her dagger. square! A small arc was drawn on Elena’s chest, and blood spurted out from her chest and mouth.
“Gagging.”
“Okay, bury me.”
The woman quickly crossed the swallow backwards and was bitten. Elena fell to the floor, her heart cut in two. Tyr, seeing her forever silent, was startled and backed away from her. Licking the blood from her dagger, the woman looked at him and said:
“It’s okay to eat or drink it, but I don’t want it on my body. “Why, honey is like that too.”
“Well, what on earth is that person…?”
“You wouldn’t know even if I told you anyway, right? We are Lycopos. “My name is Aziego.”
“Ryu… Corpos?”
A woman named Ajie answered calmly. Tyr stuttered as he heard words for the first time in his life. Ajie laughed and threw the dagger that she had been licking just a moment ago.
“look. “I don’t know.”
“Huh oh oh!”
The dagger flew in a straight line toward Tyr’s head. He predicted a tragic future and let out a deathly scream.
The sharp tip of the sword was about to penetrate Tyr between the eyes. Kang! Something fast and sharp struck the dagger. It was a long and wide blade with a large blade. Tyr’s eyes widened as if they would pop out as he saw the back of a woman running in front of him.
“I, Nabirose!”
“Eek.”
Nabirose deflected the dagger and swung his sword sideways. As Ajie twisted her shoulder in haste, the blade narrowly passed before her eyes. Ajie looked back at Butterfly Rose and said that she was interesting.
“···Are you still fresh?”
“What is it?”
Nabirose shot low. Even though she interacted with dozens of sword spirits during her ritual, her eyes were still alive. Ajie smiled.
“Well, I guess Croden was the one who suffered. “I wasn’t going to send that body alone in the first place.”
“I asked what it was.”
“Lycoforce belonging to Nebula Clage. “If you want to hear more than that, try your best.”
“I will do that.”
Ajie, who made a light leap, quickly rotated her body and dug in. The two daggers moved as sharply as a bee’s sting. Kang! Every time the blade struck, sparks flew out in the air.
“As expected, it’s strong.”
“It’s messy…”
Nabirose, who was competing for a sum, frowned. Nabi Rose had the upper hand in terms of his sword handling skills, but Ajie’s footwork was so quick and irregular that it was difficult to land a decisive blow.
She attacked Nabirose by jumping over swallows, standing on her head, and sometimes shooting out secret stings attached to her shoes. Then there was a moment. As she crossed her lot, she stepped on a rock at her landing point, lost her balance and fell on her back.
“reel.”
Nabi Rose did not miss the opportunity. The great sword, shining dark green, fell on Ajie’s head. The blade was about to split the woman’s skull. Kaaaang! A loud metallic sound rang out. Ajie sighed in relief.
“Whew, that was dangerous.”
“This···.”
Nabirose’s face hardened. The blades of the great sword stopped before her eyes, a gap of about a finger’s length from her. A shimmering curtain like a haze was blocking her sword.
It was clearly the same technique used by the Tortoise Sword. Just like back then, even though I tried to apply force, the curtain did not break. Ajie, who was spinning his dagger as if performing a trick, opened his mouth.
“Then, let’s try to do it properly.”
Her expression became cold. A murderous spirit that was completely different from what she had seen until now spread across Ajie’s shoulders. Butterfly Rose’s hand holding the hilt of her sword gained strength.
****
“Damn it!”
Kang! The hilt of the sword fell from Ronan’s hand. La Mancha flew in a circle and landed on the ground. Darman said in a voice filled with laughter.
“Why are you doing this, little brother? “The movement has noticeably slowed down.”
“shut up···!”
Darman’s sword strike went deep without giving him time to pick up his sword. Ronan immediately drew his dagger Ymir and took a defensive stance. bang! The sword fell in an arc and struck Ymir’s stomach.
“Ugh!”
“Are you shocked that your brother even existed?”
The shock traveled through my wrists to my knees. Immediately after Darman’s face changed, Ronan continued to be pushed back. He couldn’t concentrate on the battle.
‘Did that really happen?’
Darman’s face was surprisingly similar to his. Although he was slightly uglier, he was at a level that could easily be overlooked if introduced to someone as a twin. That alone was shitty enough, but there was another factor that was shaking Ronan’s heart. He knew the person who was the original version of himself and Darman.
‘I said it was the leader. For sure.’
Darman said that he looked so similar to the religious leader that he was unrecognizable. He was holding that one word to prove a disgusting hypothesis that had been buried deep in his heart. The secret of birth that has been continuously denied.
‘As expected, the cub who will become my father…’
I felt dizzy. It wasn’t enough to deal with him with all my attention, but it shouldn’t have been like this. He was trying to gather his mind again and focus on the battle. Kajangchang! Ymir, who had received Darman’s sword strike, was shattered into pieces.
“What the fuck…!”
“It’s a shame. “The black knife was quite useful.”
Darman, who turned the sword around and held it, dug in with a thrust. It was a distance that could not be avoided or blocked. Ronan, sensing death, took a deep breath. It was the moment when the white blade was about to dig into Ronan’s neck. Something grabbed Ronan’s back and blocked his path.
Sigh! A strangely soft sound was heard. Darman’s sword pierced something and stopped.
“What is this again?”
“Ugh.”
Ronan’s eyes widened. Her little shoulders were twitching. A trembling voice came out of his dazed mouth.
“···Rin?”
The white sword body was growing through Rin’s back. Red blood was spreading over her clothes. Rin, who had been pierced by her sword, turned her head. She purred her mouth and said something, but she couldn’t hear it because her voice wasn’t coming out.
“Wow, I don’t know where this came from all of a sudden.”
Darman frowned. Ronan’s time stopped for a moment. Lin’s face was rapidly turning pale. The blood flowing between her small lips looked even redder in contrast to her pure white hair.
“you.”
Ronan reflexively stretched out his hand and pulled out La Mancha from the ground. As Darman swung his sword, Lin’s body rolled around on the floor. Because it was so light, there was no sound. Ronan lunged at Darman, clutching the hilt of her sword with both hands.
“Have we ever been lovers?”
Darman sneered. He calmly raised his sword and took a defensive stance. Ronan tried to slash with all his might, but he was dominated by anger, and the attack, whose trajectory was obvious, was blocked very easily.
“You still have a lot to learn, little brother. “I have to work now, so let’s finish it quickly.”
Darman laughed. But this time it wasn’t the end. Kang! As the sound of metal rang out, black energy like a spray of water poured out from the red-hot La Mancha. Darman’s face hardened. Sensing danger, he hurriedly got bitten.
“Ugh!”
But avoiding it completely failed. A lump of anticipation tore through every part of his body. Sigh! His left side and right shoulder were torn off as if they had been bitten by a shark. Darman’s face, which had always been relaxed, became distorted with anger.
“dare!”
Suddenly, sparkling mana surged over Darman’s shoulder. It was a scale that far exceeded that of Teranil, who served as bishop. But that didn’t matter to Ronan now. He immediately corrected his posture and rushed towards Darman without a word.
“You… beast…!”
Darman raised his right arm. A pair of huge wings spread over his shoulders, and a strong wind struck Ronan. It was a gale, one of the giant’s powers. Quaaaang! Ronan was blown away by the wind.
“Gagging!”
It was a wind that felt like a compressed typhoon. Ronan flew in a straight line and crashed into the outer wall of the crater. The impact felt as if his entire spine had been shattered, and blood burst out from his mouth. It was the car he was about to pull out of. bang! Darman closed the distance with a single leap and planted a kick into Ronan’s chest.
“······!”
There was no scream. Another small crater was created centered on Ronan. Quagwagwang! Unable to withstand the impact, the outer wall collapsed and Ronan and he fell down the mountain. Darman, who was watching the scene, muttered quietly.
“Whew… just cool your head there.”
He wiped the blood off his knife and turned around. The wounds on his shoulder and side were deep. I really almost got hit.
Darman took out an emergency potion from his pocket and began pouring it into his body. He tilted his head as he looked around his sacred place.
“···hmm?”
Clearly, he couldn’t see the body of the girl he had just stabbed to death.
