73 - Shining Slash

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Chapter 73: Shining Slash

“Looks like… Luke’s new favorite is that woman, huh…”

“W-What are you talking about… hey, stop! I said stop!”

Luke’s heart was disturbed.

This was surprising. No matter the formidable enemy before him, his heart was always calm and unshaken. He would coldly and ruthlessly stare down his enemy. But now, his heart was disturbed.

With the rattling sound of chains, Mia slowly walked towards Luke.

Feeling a different kind of fear, he took a step back. He immediately scolded himself.

(Don’t be ridiculous! Me, shaken by something like this!? Why should I be afraid!?)

Luke took a step forward.

“I… I want Luke to be happy. This is true, it’s not a lie.”

“…”

“But, you know, why is it… so painful? Your happiness should be my happiness, but… seeing you happy with another woman is so painful, so painful… it hurts so much, so much! I feel like I’m losing my mind… it’s strange, right? It doesn’t make sense, does it? …Why is that?”

“…”

Luke was once again surprised by the fear he clearly felt. No matter who or what stood in his way, he should be able to crush them. That was all there was to it.

In reality, even if Mia challenged him now, he believed there was no way he could lose. With his diverse attack methods of three attributes, numerous strategies, and the ability to use healing magic, the battle might take longer, but no matter how bad it got, he would still win.

(Damn… human emotions!)

In other words, the fear Luke felt had no rational basis. His body, his instincts, were warning him that she was dangerous.

─Despite this, there was no problem at all.

Analyzing the current situation, relying on experience and intuition, Luke reached a conclusion that ordinary people could never arrive at.

All that was left was to execute it. The first move

“─Dark Wave”

Although he had greatly reduced its power, the spell temporarily dispelled all of Mia’s activated magic for just a moment. As expected, the effect was brief. Chains appeared around Mia with lightning, and the light of healing began to shine again.

But this was fine.

Luke’s aim was to crack her emotions. By doing something Mia didn’t expect, he intended to fracture her intense feelings with the new emotion of “surprise.”

“Do you know the creature called ‘Urban Cat’?”

“…Eh?”

Luke followed up with an unexpected question.

Once again, Mia was thrown into confusion, just as Luke intended. He couldn’t help but smile slightly at getting the desired result from the first of his seventeen planned strategies.

“You know it, right? It’s a popular pet among commoners and nobles alike. I’d like to have one, but I’m too busy right now.─So, you become one.”

“…E-Eh?”

Mia couldn’t immediately grasp Luke’s words.

The phrase “so, you become one” echoed in her mind repeatedly. Her intense emotions were being overwhelmed by confusion.

“Hey, why are you standing? Urban Cats walk on all fours.”

“A-ah, ah…”

“Come on, meow. Meow like an Urban Cat.”

Mia’s inherent innocence, along with her submissive and dependent nature, left her with no option but to comply with Luke’s request, unless she was in a state of complete rebellion.

So─

“Meow… meow.”

Before she realized it, Mia was on all fours, meowing.

Watching this scene, Eleonora was also deeply confused. She couldn’t comprehend what she had just witnessed. But she understood one thing: this too was a form of strength. Luke’s strength.

(What is this…!? You really are amazing, Luke!!)

Eleonora trembled without saying a word.

“Meow.”

“Hmm, how cute.”

Luke gently patted Mia’s head. In that moment, an indescribable, overwhelming happiness surged through her entire body.

Mia lacked the beauty of someone like Alice, which made her anxious and insecure, thinking she needed to constantly prove her worth. What she unconsciously craved was unconditional love—like the kind shown to a beloved pet.

This feeling might be fleeting, but she couldn’t help thinking she was born for this moment.

─Bang! Suddenly, the door burst open.

Standing there were Amelia, Freya, and a heavily breathing Alice.

“It’s urgent, Gilbert. Abel’s whereabouts are unknown, we need your power─what is happening here…?”

Chaos descended into even deeper chaos.

“Meow.”

§

A diagonal slash—blocked.

A horizontal sweep—blocked.

A thrust following a feint—dodged.

“Hah… hah…”

“Are you satisfied? It’s time to stop. If you don’t, I will have to hurt you.”

“Shut up…”

“First, Nicole’s location. The kingdom is vast. Is it the capital? If it’s the capital—”

“Shut up!!”

Even Luke couldn’t predict it at first sight, the most powerful strike from Abel. Yet, the horned man called Fortis easily blocked it. Yes, he didn’t dodge but blocked it.

His physical abilities were far beyond those of a human. Amidst his burning anger, Abel thought calmly.

What should he do? How could he defeat the formidable enemy before him?

“Really… one after another…”

Luke genuinely disliked Abel.

No matter how much he pushed him away, Abel would always come back with a smile. His goody-two-shoes nature was incomprehensible, eerie, and repulsive.

But—what he disliked most was Abel speaking from the perspective of a ‘weakling.’

Though Luke would never admit it, he recognized Abel as undeniably strong. Compared to himself, Abel was insignificant. He rarely felt anything special about him—neither in swordsmanship, magic, nor talent.

Yet—Abel possessed an extraordinary ability for ‘effort.’

This was what made Abel a strong person.

Despite lacking talent, he was still someone who could be expected to achieve ‘something.’ Unlike the countless others who evoked nothing, Abel clearly stood out.

Still, Luke would never speak of this.

“Evil keeps appearing endlessly!!”

“Evil…? Are you talking about me? Don’t be ridiculous. The real evil is you and your kingdom—”

With a shock that felt like an explosion, Abel kicked off the ground and charged. It was a speed even a top warrior couldn’t follow with their eyes—or at least, it should have been.

(…He can still see me.)

Even Luke had to use magic to enhance his vision to follow Abel’s maximum speed, but this horned man could do it without any enhancement. Shaking off his disbelief, Abel swung his sword.

“Raaah!!”

With a fierce shout, he delivered a diagonal slash. It was Abel’s unconscious favorite move—a powerful strike. Naturally, it was blocked.

But Abel expected that. The slash was a decoy. The real attack was a sharp kick aimed at the now-exposed torso.

“…”

“Your aim isn’t bad.”

Even that was gently caught with the right hand.

The force of the kick would have shattered bones and sent an ordinary person flying like a bullet. However, Abel didn’t panic. He could feel it in his skin. The enemy before him, like Luke, was an absolute powerhouse.

He twisted his body rapidly, freeing his grabbed right leg, and swung his sword as he pulled away, but it was blocked again.

He landed and immediately kicked off the ground. His sword clashed again and again in a storm of attacks against Fortis. In the blink of an eye, countless exchanges of sword blows filled the air with dust and the sound of steel, making the air hot.

─But still, Abel’s sword could not reach him.

“Enough already.”

“─Gah!”

Fortis struck Abel’s torso with the hilt of his sword. The force of the blow was so intense that it felt as if Abel’s body might shatter.

Abel fought to stay conscious, trying to control his posture to brace for the impact, but the damage was too severe, and he couldn’t move as he wanted.

He rolled on the ground painfully and helplessly. Everything hurt, it was hard to breathe, and he gasped desperately for air. His legs wouldn’t support him, and he couldn’t stand.

“This is your final warning. Tell me Nicole’s location and—give me information about the ‘Darkness.'”

“…”

“Lying is pointless. My magical tool will reveal the truth. But if you talk, I will release you. I swear on my honor as a warrior, I won’t take your life.”

Since his days at the academy, people targeting Luke’s life had appeared around him.

Abel didn’t understand why.

He thought it might be destiny—an inescapable fate because of Luke’s power.

“…I’ve decided.”

“Finally ready to talk?”

Even so, that was no excuse for the malice directed at Luke. There was no reason for Luke, his friend, to suffer.

“I—I will face Luke’s destiny alongside him.”

Abel smiled slightly. He was sure Luke would tell him, “It’s none of your business.”

Depending on how you looked at it, one could think that this dire situation was because of Luke. Without Luke, Abel might never have encountered this incredibly strong enemy and might not have had to endure such pain and suffering.

But Abel didn’t think that, not even for a moment.

“…So, you’re not going to talk.”

Gathering his strength, Abel used his sword as a cane to stand up. Every part of his body hurt. He was sure some of his bones were broken. Even so, he readied his sword.

Fortis began to walk slowly. He felt a twinge of guilt, but he had no choice but to take Abel back to his country. The black-haired boy was Nicole’s last report, and he couldn’t let him escape now.

He accepted this as a necessity. He was a warrior of the Holy Kingdom, after all. Everyone had their own roles to play.

“────”

Abel exhaled slowly, keeping his eyes on his enemy. He slightly bent his knees, positioning his left foot forward and holding his sword to his right side. And then, he stopped thinking.

He didn’t have Luke’s variety of attack methods. There was only one thing he could do to win.

(─Faster.)

He needed to swing his sword faster than ever before.

In this desperate situation, at the limit of his physical abilities, and with extreme concentration, Abel experienced explosive growth.

This allowed him to acquire a new skill.

─《Limit Break》

Strength surged from deep within his body. He could still fight.

His resolve took only a moment. Abel kicked off the ground.

“──”

He was fast. Significantly faster. Fortis didn’t feel any surprise or confusion.

Good warriors often experience remarkable growth in desperate situations, and Fortis knew this. He immediately judged that he could handle it without any problem.

“Uooooooo!!”

But then, something unexpected happened for both of them. ──A ‘magical outburst.’

Occasionally, magic manifests beyond the caster’s expectations in scale and power. This phenomenon has sparked various debates among magic scholars, but its cause remains undetermined. However, the most accepted theory is ‘spirit interference.’

─‘Beautiful! So beautiful!’

Even though Abel shouldn’t possess the ‘light’ attribute, the spirits of light smiled upon him for some reason.

Abel, unable to hear the spirits’ voices without means like spirit vision, didn’t notice. But his sword gathered ‘light’ magic, reflecting everything with a unique white glow.

“—!! What is this!!”

‘Why do you have that? I can’t block this. I have to dodge.’ Fortis was clearly disturbed, and as a result, his reaction was just slightly delayed.

“—《Shining Slash》!!”

“Guaaaaah!!”

Without realizing it, Abel shouted as he unleashed the strike that cut through Fortis along with the sword he held.

＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋

Characters from the Holy Kingdom

<b>Pope</b> : A boy with black hair and red eyes, secretly working to overthrow the kingdom.

<b>Nicole</b> : The woman who kidnapped Lily, causing Abel and Luke to fight.

<b>Fortis</b> : A descendant of the now-extinct ‘Oni race.’ Aside from the two horns growing from his forehead and his nearly three-meter-tall body, he looks human. A proud warrior.

<b>Kiril</b> : An elf who cannot use magic. Appears childlike but his age is unknown. Most readers probably don’t remember him.