Chapter 19

“You have quite the confidence, pal.”

Bear Rooster was gripping his axe and waiting for an opportunity.

‘That man. He is strong. Probably stronger than anyone here.’

He had definitely not held back on that attack.
On top of that, it had been a surprise attack.
That man had blocked such an attack.
And easily, with one hand.

‘If I want to win, I have to defeat this man anyway.’

Bear looked at the dwarf beyond the man.
He had the same thought as Bear.
With a brief exchange of glances, the battle began.

Whoosh!

Bear opened the attack.

Swaek!

Trum aimed for any opening that grew even slightly.

“Uwaaaa!”

The audience cheered at the appearance of a strong fighter.
They no longer cared about the initial three-way battle.
All that mattered to them was the excitement of the moment.

“You are damn strong, pal!”

Kagang!

“……You are weak.”

The double-bladed axe aimed for Lucas’s neck.
Lucas bent his waist back to avoid the attack, and thrust his sword out at the same time as he dodged.

“Ugh!”

Grkk!

Rooster blocked it by laying his blade flat.
But the impact threw his balance off.

Lucas, having created an opening, poured out a series of attacks.

Bear Rooster’s face, belonging to a seasoned warrior, became colored with bewilderment.
How long had it been since he had felt this way?
If he blocked the left, the right came. If he blocked the right, an attack came from above.
Far from counterattacking, he was hard-pressed just to defend.

The biggest problem was that even that desperate defense was not complete.
Every attack from the man swinging the greatsword was building up damage.
Without a single one missing.

“Hey, dwarf!”

Swaek!

Trum’s arrow aimed for the back of Lucas’s head.
Lucas snatched the arrow without even looking, but in that brief opening, Bear regained his balance.

“What is even happening?”

Serpens was struggling to understand the situation unfolding before his eyes.
The cheers of the audience. The announcer shouting passionately. The struggling dwarf and human.
With his surroundings so noisy, he couldn’t focus on their fight.
But the fact that Lucas had the upper hand, as always, seemed obvious.

“Little one. What is your relationship with that man?”
“Uwak!”

A young man’s clear, fine voice came from right beside him.
Serpens swung his fist reflexively.

“Oh my. I startled you.”

Pale blond hair and emerald eyes.
At his dazzling appearance, with pointed ears and snow-white skin, Serpens couldn’t close his mouth.

‘An elf……?’

Serpens could tell even though it was his first time seeing one.
He was definitely an elf.
Even though he was more likely to be an enemy than an ally, his appearance only drew admiration.

“Do not worry. I will not harm you. I am called Viento. As you can see, I am an elf.”

Viento’s ears twitched.
It was unclear whether he was emphasizing that he was an elf or watching the battle taking place in front of him.

“I am Serpens. As you can see…… I am a person.”

Serpens answered calmly. Viento gave a slight smile and took a place beside the boy.

“Are you not curious why I will not harm you?”
“Not particularly.”
“Could it not be a lie?”
“That’s true. Then stab me with that pointy sword in your right hand.”

Serpens glanced at the rapier in Viento’s hand.
Its appearance made him wonder whether it could even be called a sword.
Of course, it was a pretty sword. It was beautiful enough to stir the boy’s desire to own it.

But that was what made it strange.
Wasn’t the blade so thin that it would not be strange if it broke in one strike against Lucas’s greatsword, or even the boy’s own sword?
To Serpens’s eyes, it didn’t look practical at all.

“You are a bold child. What will you do if I suddenly change my mind?”

Viento looked at Serpens as if he found him cute.
Was it the recklessness of youth?
No, it was different from that.
A boldness that didn’t suit his age.
Yes, that was the fitting phrase.

‘Then again, someone connected to that man would not be completely ordinary.’

Viento looked at Lucas, who had taken control of the arena.
An attack loaded with raw strength sent Bear’s axe flying, and immediately after, his fist drove into Bear’s abdomen.

Kudangtang.

Bear, who was sent flying with a loud crash, could no longer stand.

Pacheut.

Lucas disappeared from everyone’s sight for an instant.
He revealed himself again after a span of time no longer than a blink.

Crack!

He reappeared as he broke the dwarf archer’s bow and ribs at the same time.

“The mysterious challenger has defeated both Bear Rooster and Trum!”
“Uwaaaa!”

The cheering audience consisted of some on the human side and a few battle fanatics regardless of race.
The defeated dwarf side and the humans who had bet money on Bear Rooster all had dissatisfied faces.

“Because of that bastard…….”

But this was also a rule of the Apex Tournament.
Even if they shouted in dissatisfaction, there was no possibility the announcer or the organizers would overturn the result.
There was only one thing they could do.
Though it annoyed them, they could cheer for that elf swordsman to win.

“Win, elf! Crush that damned intruder!”
“Yeah! You should advance to the next match instead of that rootless bastard!”
“Lord Viento, do your best!”

The voices of countless spectators overlapped, and the arena burned hot once more.
Viento answered them by raising his fist.

“Well now. With so many people placing their expectations on me, I cannot very well refuse to try.”

His emerald eyes gleamed.
An overwhelmingly strong fighter was walking toward him.
Lucas’s greatsword began to turn toward him.

‘I wonder if I can do it.’

Viento knew him.
Lucas Liberator, the Sword Saint.
Was it about seven years ago? He had seen him on a battlefield.
Could anyone who walked the path of the sword dare to forget that sight?
The sight of him tearing thousands apart alone.

Even within the same realm called Sword Master, there were grades.
The gap between Lucas and Viento was at least several stages.
Even so, Viento raised his sword proudly.

‘I suppose I have to try.’

It wasn’t because of the audience’s cheers.
Of course, they did give him strength, but…….

“I have trained every day for seven years without missing a single day.”
“You……”

Viento took his stance.
He straightened his waist, placed the right hand holding his sword before his chest, and put his clenched left hand behind his back.
This stance was courtesy toward his opponent.
It was also the will to defeat him no matter what.

“Ever since that day, you have been my goal. How close have I come to that goal? Even if I lose, it is worth trying.”
“…….”

The two figures looked at each other.
Their fight began after a little time passed.
It began when the people’s cheers quietly started to fade.

Pat.

Kang!

The two swords collided at the same time as they leaped.
Though it was a massive greatsword and a thin rapier, the first clash did not push either side back.

Kwagagagak!

Viento’s thrusts rushed in like a storm.
A greatsword was clearly a weapon focused more on power than speed.
Even so, seeing Lucas block all of his attacks, Viento nearly let out a hollow laugh.

Chaekang-!

An attack aimed along a diagonal line.

Takang-!

An attack mixed with a feint.

Keugeugeut.

Even an attack aimed at his back did not work.

‘This is too much.’

By the time Viento had launched three consecutive attacks.
He could tell.
Lucas was not doing his best.
Was that all? This man was, in fact, holding back.

The human warrior and dwarf archer from earlier. Even if they had not reached the realm of Master, they had risen to Expert.
What was different between him and those two, who had been defeated without being able to do much of anything?
Was this not a man who could knock away a rapier like his if he felt like it?
Why was he not doing so?

Viento already knew the answer.

“Is it because of your disciple?”

Tukwang!

Lucas’s strength surged explosively for an instant.
Viento, who blocked the attack as if deflecting it, took several steps back.

He thought he had deflected it properly, but his wrist throbbed.
Was that proof that his thought was wrong?
Or was there a gap so great that deflection wouldn’t work?
Either way was fine.

“After passing eight hundred years of age, I have never been treated like this. Well, I’ll gladly play along.”

Kugugugugugu.

Viento’s momentum changed.
An alien energy that began from his sword and enveloped his body.
The energy, wavering with a faint green light, captured everyone’s gaze.

“I know using Aura is against the rules of the match. Has that changed too?”

Lucas glanced up at the announcer.
Seeing him shouting at the top of his voice, it seemed this rule had not changed.

“What can I do when there is a greater achievement before my eyes than winning the tournament? Besides, I am in a position where I am supporting someone else’s victory.”

Viento’s sword drew a circle in the air.
Then he thrust his sword through it.
Very quickly.

Kwagagang!

At the same time, an explosion occurred.
The place where Lucas had been standing was deeply gouged by a great impact.

Kwagang! Kwagagang! Kwakakang!

Viento repeatedly stabbed the air, and explosions occurred beneath Lucas’s feet.

‘The wind element? Fitting for an elf.’

Lucas looked at Viento’s sword.
Decent speed.
For the dregs. No, for those around Sword Expert, it was speed they surely could not even react to.
The Aura he felt was certainly around Master level.
There was a high chance he was not going all out because this was the Apex Tournament.
Even if he had already broken the rules, showing his full power before races that might become enemies in an instant would be a foolish act.

Swaek!

At that moment, a sharp wind suddenly flew in.
If he had not turned his head, it would surely have struck his face.

“Shall we try just a little more?”

Gooooo-.

The raging momentum gradually found stability.
But the sense of danger instead increased.
As if a brief peace had arrived before a storm swept in, the Apex Tournament grew quiet along with Viento’s momentum.

“Lord Lucas.”

Viento sent a signal subtle enough that only Lucas could notice.
The place his signal pointed toward was one section of the audience seats.
A dozen or so people in white uniforms were descending toward the arena.

“……Imperial knights?”
“It seems I cannot drag this out for long. Even so……. Will you indulge me?”

Lucas put strength into the tips of his feet.
A leap in place of an answer.

Viento responded by unleashing a single thrust with his strength condensed.

The greatsword drew a heavy trajectory, and the rapier moved as if piercing a single point.

Daeng-.

A strange noise that made one frown.
When the two opened their eyes at the strangeness, a massive defensive array was floating before them.

Judging by its form, it was magic.
It was sturdy magic that didn’t receive a single scratch even from the attacks of two Sword Masters.

“Look at these gentlemen. You are really determined to rot in prison, aren’t you?”

Lucas silently turned his head toward the one who had cast the magic.
He saw a dark-red-haired magician leisurely descending from the sky.

“What is it, Lars?”

Viento also looked at Lars.
The energy he felt was extraordinary.
And the defensive magic array that had only now begun to disappear.
It had been an attack with a fair amount of power behind it, yet it had not even left a scratch.
That man was surely also an expert comparable to Lucas.

“Tsk. I helped you, bro. You have always been like this. You make a mess and never think about cleaning it up afterward.”
“I can easily shake off something like the imperial knight order.”
“Of course you can. But do you know this? Kerum is here too!”
“Kerum?”

The conversation between the two contained statements that were rather shocking to others.
Kerum.
There was only one Kerum they could be speaking of.
Kerum de Evgenia.
The emperor of the Oratio Empire, and a person who was by law, in a higher position than them.
Speaking his name carelessly was itself something that could be punished severely.

“…….”
“If things are to go according to your plan, I believe you still shouldn’t show yourself to Kerum yet.”
“……I owe you.”

However, there were only two people who could hear their conversation.
Viento, who roughly understood the situation, and Serpens, who was half out of his mind.

Serpens staggered toward them.
His steps were so unsteady that he looked as if he would collapse if tapped.

“You crazy people. You were supposed to have a swordfight, and now you’re casting magic.”

Serpens’s whole body ached.
The audience and announcer were quiet. They seemed to have completely stopped, as if frozen.
But that was none of his concern.
Because of the fight between the two monsters, there was not a single place on his body that did not ache.

“All you had to do was stand still and watch. There was no reason for your back to hurt.”

Lucas said this while looking at Serpens holding his waist.
At those words, Serpens’s face twisted.

‘All I had to do was stand still and watch, you say?’

Serpens wanted to point out to the three people looking at him exactly what he had gone through.
He had dodged fragments of the broken arena as they flew at him.
He had endured nearly losing consciousness from strange shockwaves.
He had also withstood the feeling of his entire body being crushed when Viento used that strange power.
And yet there was no reason for his back to hurt?
It felt like every muscle in his body was screaming.

“I had a seriously hard time in my own-”
“Enough.”
“Ah, damn it!”

Lucas, who cut off Serpens’s words, looked at Lars again.
He had stopped the time of nearly tens of thousands of people.
Even so, he showed no sign of strain.
Certainly, if not for that restriction, he might have been close to the finest magician.

“I’ll alter everyone’s memories, so hurry up and get out of here.”
“……Understood.”

Lucas grabbed the grumbling Serpens by the nape and lifted him.
The way he kicked noisily looked like an angry dog.

“Wait a moment, Lord Lucas!”

Just before he leaped toward the broken ceiling.
Viento stopped Lucas.

“……?”
“How was my sword?”

Viento swallowed.
How long had it been since he had felt a moment this tense?
It was certain there had been none in the last hundred years.

“Assuming you go all out. It is not a bad sword.”

Viento could not decide whether he should laugh or be disappointed.
Even so, he bowed his head.

“Thank you for the good sparring.”
“…….”
“Lucas. At times like this, you’re supposed to say, ‘Good wor-’”

Crack.

“Ah! Damn human!”

Pung.

Lucas lightly crossed over the ceiling and disappeared.
Viento merely stared blankly at the sky where he had left.

“Now then, Mister Elf?”

Lars lightly tapped Viento on the shoulder.
His fresh smile carried an unknowable wickedness.

“Good luck.”

With a light farewell, Lars snapped his fingers.

Snap.

Lars disappeared with a brief flash of light.
Viento quietly blinked.
Then, after a moment.
He understood what Lars had meant by “good luck.”

“No, what is this! In an instant so brief we couldn’t even perceive it! The elf swordsman Viento has defeated two enemies!”
“What?”

Viento looked around with his eyes wide open.

The cheering audience.
The shouting announcer.

“Haha……. I don’t know whether to thank him or curse him.”

With the label of “incredible powerhouse” attached to him, Viento moved closer to the finals.