Episode 24 Midterm Exam (5)
Chloe ran through the bushes.
He advanced forward, cutting through the lush undergrowth with his sword in hand.
There was no destination. I just had to wander around the same area, looking for shadows of people.
The words that the swordsman had asked me while grabbing my shoulder lingered in my mind.
‘Chloe, no matter what, bring people over.’
Those eyes, which were not the usual tired and weary ones, but more serious than ever. The image of him walking towards Mine alone as he spoke flashed through my mind.
A wide and expansive plateau like the ocean. Two sashimi sticks held in each hand.
How did it turn out? No one in the Academy knew as much about the strength of the Kenma Army as she did.
Kang Geum-ma was stronger than anyone she had ever seen in her life. And yet, she was uneasy.
The opponent was a magic-using mine. It was a tough opponent for the sword-wielding Sword Demon Army.
She had to find other groups nearby as soon as possible. Chloe, who had made up her mind, used all the protection she could muster in an instant to apply a load to her legs. Steam mixed with the smell of blood rose from her tautly contracted leg muscles.
In the blind spot of the gaze fixed on one point, the background quickly passes through the field of vision as a hazy afterimage.
A sharp wind, not to mention the cool one, hits my cheek, and even the sound is belatedly chasing after my red hair. My footsteps are faster than ever, but the sound of my footsteps is heavy.
It was about half the speed of the swordsman’s army. Even so, a sharp pain that made me dizzy went up my legs and all the way to my danjeon.
Then, a question suddenly occurred to Chloe. Could it be that the Sword Demon Army always endures this much pain, or even more?
When I thought about it, he always seemed to be uncomfortable with fighting. He tried his best not to fight, and only drew his sword in urgent situations. As I thought about it, tears welled up in Chloe’s eyes.
They were tears of sadness that squeezed my chest, not tears of pain that squeezed my legs.
If only I were just a little stronger.
In order to protect his crew, Kanggeomma burns his own body to fight the enemy. Even if the target is a mine. He faces the enemy without an inch of hesitation.
‘Sir, I’ll be there soon. Please.’
Kwagagagagagagang!
As I was running with my calves about to burst, I heard a tree crack and something burst in the direction of the puddle.
Then, a sudden downpour of rain pours down from the clear sky. Something is clearly going on.
She desperately wanted to go there, but Chloe held back, chewing her lips. The taste of blood lingered on her tongue.
In a situation where she wanted to borrow a pair of bracken fern hands right now, there was no one to be seen. Chloe gritted her teeth, opened her mouth wide, and shouted at the top of her lungs.
“Anyone!!!! No one!!!!”
Have you ever shouted so loudly in your life? I would be willing to tear my vocal cords if it could just reach someone’s ears.
All she can do is cry out desperately for help, her frustration and helplessness washed away by the pouring rain. The little girl’s desperate cries echo through the mountains.
That was when.
Chloe’s eyes shot open wide. A long, dark blue streaked across the corner of her retina. She turned toward the tree, using it as a stepping stone. The movement caused a gust of wind and the skin of the old tree that had been her step burst.
With a thud, the muscle fibers from her calf to her knee snapped in bundles. But Chloe didn’t stop.
Soon Chloe stopped in front of the grayish figures.
“””””uh!?”””””
Then the same sound came out of their mouths. Their expressions of surprise.
Chloe’s mouth smelt of urine as she was pressed for time, and her ragged breathing made her saliva dry.
My vision was also out of focus, and the shadows of people on my retina overlapped and unraveled repeatedly. After all the blessings had been expressed, it felt as if all the strength in my body had been drained out of me, as if water had leaked out of me.
“… Come… Give… … .”
A dry, cracked voice came out between her lips, without any moisture. A small hand trembled as she asked for help. One of them grabbed her hand. It was a hand with calluses all over its palm.
She didn’t even have the strength to raise her head. Chloe staggered violently and fell forward, leaning against someone’s arms, and slowly raised her head from below.
A school girl with long blue hair and sparkling golden eyes. I thought I had seen her face before, but I couldn’t tell who she was because the focus was off. She and the four other members of the group looked at Chloe with faces that seemed to be a mixture of surprise and worry.
With her consciousness fading away, Chloe mustered up her last bit of strength and raised her finger to point in a direction. It seemed like they were saying something, but it was drowned out by the ringing in her ears and could not reach her eardrums.
“… My, foot… Help the Sword Demon Army-.”
With that, Chloe’s memories of her first midterm were cut off.
* * *
Speed Weapon thought. Will there ever be a day in my life that will be as surprising as today? The scene that unfolded just now will never be erased from my mind for the rest of my life. Of that much, I was certain.
Kanggeomma stretched out his sword and drew a diagonal line. There was nothing special about his movements or the process.
However, even Rachel, including the speed weapon, felt a chill more than goosebumps rush through her body as if air was running through her blood vessels.
Just a simple swordplay.
I saw that physical movement transformed into an abstract concept.
Speed Weapon, who loves to explain things in his head, wanted to capture that moment in his mouth.
It was a moment I couldn’t dare to understand, but still, couldn’t I explain it somehow?
Let’s try to put it into words somehow.
If you cut it, it will be cut.
It was difficult to explain further than this. To begin with, the swordplay that Kanggeomma showed was on a different level than metaphors and words. If I were to explain further, it would only be a pain in the mouth.
Even the large group of mermaids, seeing the swordsman’s swordsmanship, all at once began to run away as if they had made a promise. It seems that even fish with extremely low intelligence cannot avoid their survival instinct.
Speed Weapon turned his gaze slightly and looked at Rachel. His heart-shaped eyes were wide open and he had a dazed expression. Soon, Rachel collapsed with a face that seemed to have lost its soul.
It was a face I had never seen before, even though I had known her for over ten years. Perhaps from the perspective of a person handling the same blade, I had seen a different side of her than Speed Weapon himself.
Well, even if he was the successor of the Changseong family, he would never have heard or seen anything like this. Speed Weapon opened his eyes and looked at Kanggeomma’s back.
He cut down a water ball that was shot like a torpedo.
As it was a magic that gathered and condensed all the water in the surrounding area with magical power, rain began to pour down from the clear sky as an aftereffect of the impact.
‘What the hell are you… … .’
It didn’t just cut through the water, it cut through the magic. At this point, I can’t help but laugh.
It was something that was far beyond common sense. I don’t know how many common senses were shattered in less than a minute.
Even though it was scary, the shiver would not stop. Instead of a groan of exhaustion, a laugh escaped through my teeth. Maybe my mind had gone a little crazy.
Some say that mine is an object of fear.
That’s understandable, since they are creatures that threaten billions of people with a population of only a few tens of millions.
There were no specific guidelines for when humans encountered a mine. All they could do was pray for a peaceful death.
“Ah… right right right… right.”
But ironically, the man who had been the object of fear was trembling in fear right before my eyes. The positions of the born strong and the born weak were reversed.
I felt my stuffy chest being relieved at the sight. I felt like something was slowly filling my insides.
Damn it.
The sound of footsteps moving forward. At the same time, the mermaid tries to take a step back. However, with only one leg left, she falls backwards.
“Ah, ah, ah-!”
I couldn’t understand a word he was saying. But what I could tell for sure was that it was a last-ditch effort to survive.
I tried to push my body backwards with my scaled arms, but of course, the strong swordsman was faster.
The mermaid kept snapping her fingers in frustration. However, as if she had no more magic left, nothing happened except for a spark the size of a fingernail.
Damn it.
As the swordsman approaches, he crawls like a fish swimming in a pool, trying to increase the distance between them.
“Ah …
The moment when the mermaid twists her body and goes crazy with the murderous intent rising from the sashimi.
months-
Short, concise sounds, intricate diagonal lines drawn on the mermaid’s neck.
A sword that is lighter than air and passes by without resistance.
The mermaid’s head slipped from her shoulder and fell into the pool with a splash. Her body twitched briefly before falling limply like a bowling pin.
At the same time, the rain that had been wetting the ground stopped and even the shallow fog cleared.
Kang Geum-ma stood there with his back to him, without moving an inch.
‘I won.’
He defeated Mine, and he was short, and a first-year student at that.
The blinking speed weapon and Rachel’s pupils slowly began to open.
I just felt it. I could clearly determine it with just one blow. It wasn’t a petty issue like who was stronger or weaker.
As Speed Weapon was blankly watching the scene that still didn’t feel real, Kanggeomma dropped the hilts of his swords in both hands, blood gushed out, and then thud- hit his knees on the floor.
“Sword Demon!”
Rachel, who had finally come to her senses due to the sudden change, ran to him. Leon was barely able to keep his upper body upright and catch his breath.
Speed Weapon also had all of his energy drained from his body, but he held onto his trembling legs.
He moved towards the puddle, chewing on the groans that were escaping, determined to save that child at all costs.
The recoil from hitting Leon with a healing spell doesn’t even send the amount of force as much as a truckload into his joints.
Ta-da-dak, ta-da-dak, ta-da-dak
At that moment, I heard the sound of several footsteps coming from behind.
Could it be that the merman group that we thought had escaped has returned? There can be no situation more desperate than that.
Something was flowing down his stiff spine. Speed Weapon tilted his head back slightly, feeling dizzy.
Abel and her crew run towards them in a hurry, holding Chloe in their arms.
You’re finally here.
“under.”
A sudden sense of relief washed over me, and I lost all strength in my body and buried my back in the muddy dirt.
The eyes of the speed weapon lying in the mud turned towards the sky.
Between the gaps in the finely chopped clouds,
