171. Festival of the Sword (14)
#171
Ronan pulled at the hilt of his sword. For a moment, the devil’s hand turned blurry. The rough sound of metal shattered the silence of the early morning.
“this···!”
Ronan gritted his teeth after confirming that the slash was blocked. The devil’s sword was much faster than expected. However, it seemed like he was also surprised. After settling into his stance, he swung his sword like someone who was in a hurry to finish the job.
Ronan was not embarrassed and responded. Kaaaang! The slashes, fired at a speed the criminal could never perceive, collided in the air. Sparks bloomed one after another in the dark food warehouse. The crash sound was always one step late and irregular.
They stopped after competing about twenty times. The blades that came to rest while facing each other were growling like wild beasts fighting over territory. The demon staring at Ronan opened his mouth.
“It’s fast.”
“이 개새끼야, 무슨 짓을 한 거야?”
Ronan shot back fiercely. In the devil’s hand was a smooth, single-edged sword. The sword body was long and gently curved, making it specialized for swinging quickly.
Judging by the fact that the blade was not damaged when it collided with La Mancha, it was an extremely well-made sword. When there was no answer even after waiting for a while, Ronan gripped the hilt of the sword more tightly.
“You asked. “What have you done?”
“······!”
Then, the tight balance collapsed and the curved path began to slide away. The devil followed suit and gave his strength, but it was nowhere near Ronan’s strength. In the end, he took a step back and muttered in admiration.
“···You’re quite capable. “I don’t seem to be an accomplice with these bugs.”
“Accomplice?”
“okay. “I think there is a misunderstanding between us, so why not put away your sword first?”
His tone was so calm that it was embarrassing. Only then did my vision, which had been blurred by anger, become clear and the man’s face came into view. Contrary to expectations, he was an ordinary-looking young man. His blood-soaked hair was a slightly dull white, and his eyes were a reddish-yellow color.
‘betrayer? No, it’s different.’
I couldn’t feel any sparkling mana. Only her hair and eye color were similar, and her face didn’t even look that much like the guy in the robe. However, the inexplicable sense of déjà vu and some features that were difficult to see as ordinary confused Ronan. The representative expression was an expression and attitude that showed no emotion at all.
The pitchless voice also added to the strangeness. There was no sense of joy or sorrow in the eyes, which were only blinking slowly. According to Russell, he had had his skin completely removed once in the past, and it seemed to be a side effect.
Overall, I felt like I wasn’t human. The devil first slowly lowered his sword. Ronan did not let down his guard and aimed the tip of his sword at his neck.
“Explain.”
“All the corpses lying around here are the ones who tried to kill me. “They expected me to come here to eat raw meat and ambushed me at the same time.”
“what?”
“You can tell just by looking at the outfits of these bugs. “I guess he wasn’t confident that he could win with a sword, so he brought all kinds of miscellaneous things with him.”
The devil claimed that he was the victim and that killing them was in self-defense. An additional explanation was added that the reason for the torture, including cutting off the wrists, was to find out who was behind it.
Ronan heard those words and looked at the corpses. As he said, all six people were fully armed with armor and weapons. Secondary weapons and scrolls that were prohibited from being brought in were often seen, so it seemed undeniable that they had come here with all possible precautions.
‘···really?’
All the circumstances supported the devil’s claim. It was a moment when Ronan was momentarily dumbfounded by the unexpected situation. The demon suddenly lowered his posture and quickly grabbed his body backwards.
“Holy shit…!”
Ronan’s eyes widened. Unfamiliar mana, presumed to be auror, was gathering around his curved sword.
Ronan instinctively sensed danger and raised his sword. At the same time, the crouching body of the man was shot like an arrow. It was a distance that could not be avoided. Ronan quickly assessed the situation and slashed in the air as if to intercept. The moment the two swords collided again, the mana wrapped around the curved sword radiated and exploded. Quang! Ronan’s body flew out with a loud noise, breaking the wall of the warehouse.
“Ugh!”
It was so powerful that my limbs would have been torn apart if I had not received it. Ronan, who was flying as if he had been hit by a battering ram, stuck his sword in the ground. Let’s go! His body stopped as a long knife mark was carved into the ground.
‘Damn, you showed me a loophole.’
It was a clear oversight. My back hurt like hell, but I didn’t have time to worry about that right now. Ronan raised his head. I saw corpses thrown out by the explosion and a food warehouse with one wall completely blown away. The wind that blew just in time blew away the smoke, revealing the devil standing blankly. As he looked down at Ronan, he muttered in frustration.
“… That’s amazing.”
Drops of blood fell at the devil’s feet. A long stab wound was running diagonally across his chest. It was a trace left by La Mancha just before it flew away in the explosion. Ronan, seeing the relatively shallow wound, cursed. Damn, if I had gone a little deeper I could have ripped my heart out.
“Because it’s unlucky.”
“You are dangerous. “I have to kill him regardless of whether he has accomplices or not.”
said the devil. Ronan got up, spitting out the blood that had accumulated in his mouth. It seemed like they had no intention of backing down either. He slowly raised his sword and adjusted his stance. A haze-like anticipation was blooming over the sword body of La Mancha, who drank the devil’s blood.
As he concentrated his mind, the black blade turned a bright crimson color. The devil lowered his body again. He was in the same prepared posture as he showed a moment ago.
‘I plan to finish it all at once.’
It was still dark outside. I guess my sense of smell got used to it and I couldn’t smell blood anymore. From somewhere, I heard the sound of a door opening and closing in the wind. The two figures disappeared from sight. It was the moment when the two people, who had narrowed the distance for an instant, were about to clash at the midpoint.
“Enough of that.”
“What the fuck?!”
Ronan and the demon stopped at the same time. Because I applied the brakes suddenly, I almost fell. As she lowered her gaze, her eyes caught the sight of a blade hanging almost close to her neck. A grumpy old man was holding a sword in each hand, aiming it at Ronan and the demon’s neck.
“you are···.”
Ronan’s eyes widened. It was clearly an old man named Alogin whom I had seen in Gran Farzan. Nabirose introduced him as a sword saint from the past and one of the elders who presided over the sword festival. Alogin, who was looking at Ronan, his corpses, and the demon in turn, opened his mouth.
“Please explain, Nordrek. “What have you done again?”
“I just suffered an assassination attempt while I was eating. “I can present enough evidence.”
“It’s an assassination attempt… So are you saying that participant number 44 here is an assassin?”
“no. The only corpses lying around here are assassins. “I thought this person was an accomplice and was trying to kill him.”
The demon said, pointing the tip of his sword at Ronan. Nodrek seemed to be his real name.
“I said earlier that I don’t think he was an accomplice.”
“It was meant to catch you off guard. But now I’m sure he’s not an accomplice. “It’s different from this trash.”
Nodrek’s gaze turned to the corpses lying around. I almost burst out laughing at his overly sly appearance. Didn’t you say a little while ago that you would kill him because it was clearly dangerous? Alogin narrowed his eyes and looked back at Ronan.
“Do you have anything to say?”
The shining eyes within the wrinkled eyelids had not yet lost their shine. Ronan, who was thinking about something for a moment, nodded at her.
“···no.”
“Right. Just follow me. “No matter what, I think you two need to be investigated.”
Alogin turned his back and walked away. The devil obediently followed him. Suddenly, Ronan realized that Alogin was not the only one there. On the roof of the warehouse, in the corner of the alley, behind the tree… three or four old men whom they had not seen were stationed around them as if they were watching them.
‘Elders.’
A chill went up my spine. I didn’t feel any presence at all until I approached like this. Even though his senses were scattered because he was in the middle of a battle, it was an incredible skill.
Suddenly, Ronan’s eyes landed on the head that was rolling around on the floor. Russell’s head was caught in the explosion and the area below his chin was completely blown off. In the end, he was not enough of a mercenary group and he himself was under the devil’s control.
I told you not to fool around like that. Ronan, who was chewing her lips, closed Russell’s eyes, which were still wide open.
“Stupid bastard.”
Riley’s body was scattered in pieces, with no head to cover his eyes. After a brief moment of silence, Ronan followed Alogin.
The elders did not stop watching until they were out of sight. Soon the managers rushed over and began to remove the body. When the participants who woke up after hearing the commotion arrived at the scene, all traces of the tragedy had disappeared.
****
“You look tired. “What happened?”
“···no.”
The morning dawned. In response to Lin’s question, Ronan waved her hand. They were moving to the place where the final exam was taking place.
Ronan returned to base just in time for breakfast. It took a long time because Farzan asked more questions than she expected.
Because the matter was carried out so secretly, the other participants except Ronan and Nodrek did not know what happened at dawn. Seeing Ronan not resisting when he touched her buttocks, Rin narrowed her eyes.
“Hmm. “I don’t think so.”
To conclude, the devil. So Nordrek was recognized as self-defense. The evidence that he had been ambushed by other participants was very clear.
After investigating the deceased, including Russell, it was revealed that they all had a bitter grudge against Nordrek. Some have family, some have friends. Laila, a female knight who wanted to see Butterfly Rose, had the background that her lover, who also participated in her festival, had his wrists cut by Nordrek during her first test.
However, their grudge relationship was not taken into account. The reason was simple. This was because Nodrek had never openly broken the rules or committed a crime since participating in the Festival of the Sword.
The assassination ended up being an attempt, and those who attempted it became dishonorable criminals. It was a miserable ending, but I didn’t feel any sympathy. Because their methods were never correct either. However, it was just shit.
“Woah, this is the final gateway to the Holy Land…!”
“I’m thrilled.”
People who finally arrived at their destination were amazed. The testing center where the final exam was held was more beautiful than any building I had ever seen in Farzan. The oval-shaped arena decorated with pure white marble and jewels was reminiscent of a jewelry box offered to the gods.
The people who arrived at the arena were divided into their respective affiliations and lined up. Due to the disaster last night, the number of people was noticeably reduced. While the participants were whispering about what was going on, a familiar old man came and stood in front of them.
“I would like to express my sincere respect to all of you who have come this far. As you all know, the final test will be a one-on-one sparring between participants from Aran Farzan and Gran Farzan. “I, Alogin, and Sword Saint Zaifa will preside over this sacred sparring.”
The supervisor was Elder Alogin. The brutal appearance he showed at dawn had disappeared, and he was back as a kind old man again. Next to him, a black were tiger was standing with an expression that seemed like he had no problem in the world. He glanced at the participants and blurted out.
“It’s Jaifa.”
The participants murmured. Although it was an unprecedented greeting, most of the participants were happy as if they had met the god of their religion. Well, I thought it might be because the Imperial Sword Saint is the idol of everyone who eats swords and rice.
“Instructor, are you okay?”
“Be quite.”
Glancing back, Nabirose was taking a deep breath and desperately trying to suppress her emotions. Looking at the blood vessels on his temples, he seemed to be quite hot. Alogin’s explanation continued.
“Sparring opponents will be randomly assigned. Only the contestant who obtained priority nomination in the third test can nominate an opponent. “The one who neutralizes the opponent within the designated time wins.”
He also added that due to the decrease in the number of players in Aran Farzan for some reason, four members of Gran Farzan will be given a bye. The lottery was held immediately, and three people, including Lin, headed to the sacred place without fighting. Lin threw the winning lot at Ronan.
“Voila.”
“Good.”
“See you later. “If you ask me again at the Holy Land, I will really think about it.”
Ronan responded with a grin. Lin lightly slapped his butt and went up to the stands. Before long, the final test began with the majestic sound of the horn. The first and second matches were decided by the nominees.
“Then, participant number 1, Nodrek. “Nominate your opponent.”
Alogin said. For a moment, silence fell in the hall. Rumors about the devil were already widespread among the participants. People lowered their heads or avoided eye contact to avoid making eye contact with him.
‘He’ll probably choose me.’
Ronan calmly prepared to fight. He was half sure that Nodrek would nominate him. Considering that he had said in the first place that he wanted to kill him now, I could only guess that he was planning to kill him legally during this test.
“I will nominate you.”
As expected, Nordrek had no hesitation. He stretched out his hand as soon as Al Login finished speaking. However, he nominated someone completely unexpected. Ronan frowned when he saw that Nodrek’s index finger was pointing exactly at Nabirose.
“···her?”
“Butterfly rose. “You bitch is my opponent.”
Nodrek said. His voice was still dry, but his tone was harsh, as if he had become a different person. Everyone in the arena was shocked. Jaipa also pricked up his ears as if he was interested. Murmurs of confusion quickly spread among the participants.
“oh my god.”
“Well, haven’t you turned around? No matter how confident you are in your skills…”
Nabi Rose, who was actually nominated, did not show any reaction. She calmly climbed onto her arena, looked at her Nord Rek and opened her mouth.
“Do you know me?”
“I know better than anyone else.”
“I don’t know you. There is a rumor that you are a disciple of Croden, the explosive sword. Are you trying to avenge your teacher?”
“Be a disciple.”
Nodrek laughed. A horn sounded, announcing the start of battle. In an instant, Nordrek’s figure disappeared from sight. Ronan’s eyes widened as he watched.
“uh?”
It was only for a moment, but I missed the action. The speed was incomparable to when he fought himself a moment ago. As Nabirose thrust his sword forward, a collision occurred. Kwaaaaang! Her body was blown away by the explosion accompanied by a loud noise.
“Umm…!”
The power of the explosion was also much stronger. Nabirose, who was balancing by spinning around, landed on the floor. Smoke rising from the place where the explosion occurred was blocking the view. She wiped her nosebleed with her sleeve and muttered softly.
“Was he alive? “The torrent sword.”
