At Ea’s startled voice, Jeanne opened her eyes. Ea, who had been approaching, was now far back, showing strong wariness.
“?”
She had definitely asked, ““What the hell did you do?” It was incomprehensible. Jeanne hadn’t done anything. All she had done was merely closing her eyes, accepting death and awaiting Ea’s final blow. So why ask what she did out of the blue?
With a baffled expression, when she looked at Ea and was about to ask why, Jeanne’s body flinched sharply. The surrounding ground was covered in shadows. The shimmering darkness at her feet moments ago had now spread widely.
“What the…!”
Was what she thought was death not death after all? Yet, standing on the shadow-covered ground, nothing seemed particularly off. Just a slight sense of disgust. Watching her panicked reaction, Watching her panicked reaction, Ea frowned, then abruptly kicked a fragment of brick on the ground. The moment it left the shadowed floor, the blackened brick regained its original color.
A broken fragment of brick flew toward Jeanne. She glanced around in a daze, seemingly unaware of the projectile speeding toward her helmet. Just as it was about to hit, something struck the fragment midair, knocking it to the ground. A moment later, three beams of light shot toward the martial knight.
“!”
It was a surprise attack, but Ea, hearing the air being sliced, narrowed her eyes and swiftly retreated.
Papap!
Ea took four steps back as daggers landed in front of her one after another, spaced at regular intervals. The daggers bore the same color as the shadowed floor, but the moment she glanced at them, they melted like snowflakes, vanishing without a trace.
“Not bad at dodging. Like a squirrel.”
A mocking voice rang out, and a man appeared right in front of Jeanne. Landing softly with a tap, he seemed to have jumped from the building she was leaning against. But more than his sudden appearance, his voice and silhouette felt eerily familiar.
I think I’ve seen you somewhere before?
Wearing her helmet, Jeanne cautiously addressed him.
“…A-are you, Yuda?”
“Oh! You got it, Dame Jeanne. You recognized me! Been well? Though, judging by your current state, don’t look like it.”
She had asked just in case, and Yuda turned to her with a cheerful greeting. Good heavens. That gentle smile of his looked so pure, as if nothing at all were amiss. It only left her more flustered. It did feel like he had helped her somehow, but how on earth was he even here? Her mind was a whirlwind of confusion.
“How did you know I was here?”
“Shh. Let’s talk about that later. After I deal with this martial knight.”
His cheeky gesture, putting a finger to his lips, left her speechless. She clamped her mouth shut, and Yuda, smiling, turned away. She wanted to warn him of the danger, but he didn’t seem like someone who would flee if told. She could only foolishly watch Yuda’s back.
“Hey, martial knight. We’ve got some evil destiny, don’t we? Meeting again in a situation like this.”
Ea gritted her teeth. She’d planned to kill Yuda with glee, but having her knightly battle interrupted soured her mood severely. This guy was thoroughly irritating. With a grimly distorted face, she glared at him.
“You… really want to die, huh? Daring to interfere in a battle of knights’ pride? You’ve lost your damn mind!”
“Weren’t you going to kill her anyway? But… here’s the problem. I can’t let you kill Dame Jeanne, and I’m not planning to die to you either. How is it? Would you be satisfied with winning the battle and leaving it at that?”
“Bullshit!”
Interfering wasn’t enough; now he was trying to negotiate on his terms. Rage surged to her head. Ea exhaled, letting out a sharp chuckle.
“Nonsense comes in all flavors, huh. Fine. This works out. I had a score to settle anyway… I’ll kill you both right here. Draw your sword.”
Yuda shrugged, drawing the bastard sword and dagger from his waist. Holding both weapons and assuming a stance, Ea’s lips curled into a sneer.
“Ha, you. You’re hilarious in so many ways. Daring to wield dual swords against a martial knight?”
“Ever heard of 〈Black Claw〉?”
She probably hadn’t. Yuda grinned, charging at Ea without hesitation. They clashed instantly, exchanging sword strikes. Watching, Jeanne couldn’t hide her admiration. She had thought him skilled when hunting black wolves, but she hadn’t expected him to wield his sword so cleanly and decisively against a human.
“Cocky brat!”
The martial knight scoffed derisively, countering his sword. Sparks flew with each strike, dazzling in their brilliance. Both wielding dual swords, it was hard to know where to focus. Jeanne’s eyes widened in amazement. Not only was he defending, but he was also finding openings to strike, matching the martial knight's attack speed with ease.
Shadow Swordsmanship.
Mana gathered on Yuda’s bastard sword’s blade. Seeing the black particles converge, Ea flinched and stepped back. But that distance could be closed quickly. He pulled the bastard sword back.
‘Form 3, Single Point.’
Eyes wide, he activated the skill. The black aura around the blade enveloped it, transforming it into a thick lance in an instant.
“What the!?”
Ea was shocked. A sword turning into a lance out of nowhere, it wasn’t even magic.
Or was it magic? Whatever it was, she had to either block or dodge. Her sword, once again cloaked in red mana, screamed. Lowering her stance to avoid vital points, she raised her sword to deflect.
The moment the red mana touched the black lance, it spiraled around it like a burst of flames, peeling off the lance as easily as peeling the skin off a fruit. The mana that had formed the lance scattered, revealing the original blade. Thanks to that, a gap appeared. Eah didn’t miss the opportunity and thrust her sword toward Yuda.
But Yuda had already read her actions. The effects of 〈Shadow Spread〉 on the ground and 〈Magic Eye〉 predicted her movements. Naturally lowering his stance to dodge, he rose, spinning his body to prepare the next skill.
‘Form 2, Slash!’
The silver blade turned black once more.
“Damn it!”
Letting out an irritated scream, Ea quickly thought.
Should I block it? Can I block it? How can I block it?
It was too late to retract her sword, and too late to retreat. Her feet didn’t move, yet Yuda’s sword drew closer. Her eyes were locked on it. Time seemed to slow. Swearing inside, she dropped to the ground. Because she was already exhausted, this was easier.
‘Huh?’
Yuda, slashing at the air, looked deflated. Eah, who had dodged the sword and collapsed to the ground, was now getting back on her feet. He saw her cross her dual longswords upward from both sides. He could even see the red mana coiling around the blade.. The swords left a red trail arc in the air, forming an X from below. Reacting instinctively, Yuda thrust the dagger he was holding in his left hand to defend, but it was a mistake. He realized too late that a common blacksmith dagger couldn’t withstand it. His strength could endure her attack, but the dagger couldn’t. He could see the blade of the longsword slowly grinding into the dagger.
‘Am I going to die?’
Time seemed to slow down for a moment. A single misjudgment flipped the situation. Before Yuda could even think about what to do, he instinctively hit 〈Save〉.
[Saving revival point based on current location and time.]
[Save completed.]
Time seemed to pause briefly, then the save completed. The dagger held for about three seconds before breaking into three pieces. Simultaneously, a sharp pain hit as blood gushed from his body. He stared blankly at the spurting blood.
“Yuda!”
Jeanne’s shocked cry came from behind. But instead of turning to her, Yuda looked down at his body.
He was deeply cut.
His body was splitting open. Experiencing such a severe wound for the first time, he was rattled. Blood sprayed vigorously, soaking Ea in front, but she didn’t seem bothered, instead snorting.
“Hmph, you had skill, but that’s your limit.”
He tried to stay standing, but his strength drained away.
He hesitated for a moment, then finally kneeled down. With a thud, intense pain suddenly overwhelmed his mind, but he gritted his teeth and endured it. It wasn’t pain that he couldn’t bear. As if some restraint had been placed on him, no pain beyond a certain threshold reached him. But beyond that…
Yuda curled his lips into a sneer, looking up at Ea.
He knew the technique that cut through his body with the sword.
“…It’s called… A..byss.”
"!?"
Her red eyes widened instantly, as if asking how he knew, but he couldn’t answer. In his fading consciousness, Yuda continued in a strained, rage-filled voice.
“You’re… dead.”
“…”
She looked down at Yuda, kneeling with his head bowed, facing death.
She hadn’t misheard him say “Abyss.”
‘How does he know about Abyss?’
If a blue lance knight knew, it would make sense since they had fought the empire for ages, witnessing and experiencing it multiple times. She wondered if Kaseun Sabnak had taught him, but since he couldn’t use martial knight techniques, any teaching would’ve been verbal. Yet, to recognize the skill after seeing it once?
Ea’s mind was in turmoil, but she couldn’t ask a dead opponent how he knew.
“Tch.”
Clicking her tongue, Ea turned. The thrill of unleashing ‘Abyss’ on him turned to unease. With Yuda’s blood on her longsword, she turned to face the blue lance knight. Taking her life would finish her business here.
But then, she saw the world turn gray.
And then.
The world stopped.
…….
…….
…….
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***Author’s Note***
It’s August 1st.
September should be more bearable, right? Just need to survive one more month.
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