We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Black Curse Swordsman: Baltnowar
The blade, etched with intricate patterns, lunged towards my neck.
I barely managed to evade Baltnowar’s ruthless initial strike by leaping backward.
“Don’t tell me you can’t discern my techniques even now?”
Baltnowar provocatively swung his longsword two or three times.
It was a longsword, adorned with decorations similar to a cursed tool, which I’d seen at Creacio’s house. Difficult-to-decipher patterns were densely engraved on its blade.
As expected, it was a tool for sorcery, and Baltnowar’s techniques were likely derived from it.
There are many unknown arts in the world, so assuming I understand it could lead to unforeseen dangers.
However, the weapon Baltnowar wielded certainly resembled a cursed tool.
“I imagine you wouldn’t have come here unless you had a chance of winning?”
“…Of course, that’s right. So, please give up.”
“Hahaha, whether you give up depends on Elnea and the others’ efforts?”
“Is that true?”
“What do you mean?”
What was that fleeting smile Baltnowar showed just now? I wanted to know its reason. Surely, Baltnowar’s true intentions were hidden within it.
However, Baltnowar wouldn’t easily reveal my thoughts.
So, I searched for an opening.
“You said it yourself, didn’t you? That you were tired. If you’re tired, you’d normally sit down, right? Yet you’re doing the opposite. Do you think anyone would believe your words?”
“That’s true, you might be right. In that case, it’s up to you to discover what is true and what is false in your own way.”
Baltnowar concluded our brief exchange and pointed the tip of his longsword at me.
I also readied my white sword and Spirit Tree Wooden Sword.
We infiltrated the enemy’s base, but we still couldn’t fathom Baltnowar’s true intentions.
However, this is no longer the time for leisurely conversation with Baltnowar.
We faced each other, weapons in hand.
Baltnowar moved first.
I thought I had maintained sufficient distance, but in the next moment after our eyes met, Baltnowar was upon me from the flank.
I deflected Baltnowar’s slash with my white sword and, letting the flow guide me, struck with my Spirit Tree Wooden Sword.
Baltnowar dodged my horizontal sweep by tilting his upper body. He then neatly backflipped backward, regaining his stance with solid footing.
I fluttered my swordplay, as if inviting Baltnowar to engage in the Dragon Sword Dance.
With agile footwork, I closed the distance to Baltnowar and launched a flurry of attacks.
Baltnowar exchanged blows with me only a few times.
However, he was a man who had survived numerous battlefields and been chosen as a Transcendent. He wouldn’t easily fall for my invitation.
He gracefully parried my kick and quickly created distance.
I kicked off the ground, trying to pursue him.
If I allowed Baltnowar to gain distance here, that instantaneous attack would come again.
But, I jumped, and yet, Baltnowar was supposed to be showing signs of fleeing.
In the next moment, Baltnowar closed the distance with me and unleashed a downward slash!
“Kuh!”
I had no choice but to escape using Spatial Jump.
As expected, if I give him even a moment’s opening, I’ll fall into Baltnowar’s technique.
And even in this moment of evading with Spatial Jump, I was caught in Baltnowar’s attack.
Baltnowar instantly sensed my teleportation destination.
He had probably fought against Mimicho Race members who utilized Spatial Jump countless times before.
He must be predicting the range and destination of Spatial Jumps based on the sorcerer’s power and slight quirks.
Immediately after I jumped, Baltnowar’s gaze locked onto me.
And it wasn’t just his gaze that came at me.
Faster than I could regain my footing.
Baltnowar, longsword in hand bearing intricate patterns, lunged into my range.
“What’s wrong? Is this all the power of the Eight Dragon Kings?”
Just like in our previous fight, I was being toyed with by Baltnowar’s techniques.
Indeed, Baltnowar’s combat strategy is extremely troublesome.
When I try to close the distance and attack, he retreats. Yet, when the distance opens up, he instantly switches to offense and catches me off guard.
The sword tip rushed at me!
I responded to his question as I followed Baltnowar’s movements with my eyes.
“Hmm, I wonder?”
Saying that, I twisted my body to evade Baltnowar’s attack.
“Tch!”
It was Baltnowar who let out a short gasp immediately after.
A Dragon Lance had passed by my side, mere inches from where I twisted.
The Dragon Art “Dragon Lance” whizzed past me at incredible speed and closed in on Baltnowar.
Even Baltnowar must have been surprised by the Dragon Lance that flew at him at high speed from my blind spot, as he leaped sideways with all his might to evade it.
But there were several more Dragon Lances coming at him!
In fact, Dragon Arts were being unleashed indiscriminately in the surrounding area.
“What kind of fighting style is this, twins!”
Baltnowar’s face contorted as he looked at Yufilia and Nina holding hands behind me.
“This is how those twins fight!”
“Is that so? So that’s why you are familiar with the twins’ indiscriminate combat and can respond to it.”
It wasn’t just me.
The Dragon Lances were flying relentlessly towards the battlefield where Ruiseine and Rugah were fighting, the area where Sefina and Ryzen clashed, and even the location where Mistral and Charlotte were locked in a death match.
But my kin all recognized the flying Dragon Lances and other Dragon Arts and avoided them without issue. Even better, they were using them as opportunities for their own attacks, just like I was.
“This is just the beginning!”
And with that, I also seized the opportunity to attack.
Using Spatial Jump, I struck at Baltnowar’s back.
Faster than Baltnowar could react, I swung my white sword, slashing through the figure before me.
“What!?”
But this time, it was I who was surprised.
Baltnowar’s back, which I should have cut.
Yet, my right hand holding the white sword felt no resistance. Moreover, Baltnowar’s figure, which should have been cut, flickered like a heat haze.
“An afterimage!?”
“No, that’s what you think, Elnea-kun.”
“Elnea!”
Ares, who had merged with me while I was riding on Revalia’s back, issued a sharp warning from within me.
“Ugh!”
Baltnowar’s voice came from right beside my ear.
I instinctively activated Spatial Jump.
However, my reaction was slightly delayed.
Intense pain struck my side.
I didn’t need to see it.
If I had reacted even a fraction of a second later, I would have been impaled by Baltnowar’s longsword.
Without even a moment to catch my breath, Baltnowar moved to my destination to press his advantage.
And then it happened.
Even on the battlefield where Baltnowar and I were fighting, Yufilia and Nina’s Dragon Arts continued to fly relentlessly.
Suddenly, their speed accelerated.
The Dragon Lance flew at terrifying speed.
Without time to think why the Dragon Lance’s speed had suddenly increased, in the next moment Baltnowar lunged at me and unleashed a slash.
“Ngh!”
I deflected Baltnowar’s attack with my Spirit Tree Wooden Sword and, in a flowing motion, swung my white sword horizontally.
And then I saw it.
The Dragon Lance that had passed by me and Baltnowar had returned to its usual speed.
“So that’s how it is,” I recalled what happened at Creacio’s house.
Creacio had taught me various basics of sorcery.
What sorcery is. How it affects the target. What happens to those affected, which I experienced firsthand.
I still couldn’t definitively say whether Baltnowar’s techniques were sorcery.
However, what I learned then was not in vain.
Baltnowar, disliking engaging in swordplay with me, briefly created distance. In that small interval, I took a deep breath.
The air was dusty, blowing in the ruins, but it was enough to clear my head.
Even while I was breathing, Baltnowar moved without holding back. The battle had started the moment we raised our weapons and directed our killing intent at each other, and whoever let down their guard or showed an opening for even a moment would die.
Baltnowar’s eyes glared at me, as if questioning my seemingly leisurely thoughts.
I met Baltnowar’s gaze squarely. While doing so, I expanded my consciousness to encompass not just Baltnowar, but everything around me.
Just before Baltnowar moved.
The world accelerated. Or rather, my senses dulled.
Everyone was fighting. Mistral struggling. Ruiseine fighting well. The Twin Princesses and Madrine engaged in an back-and-forth battle. Sefina, holding firm despite being on the defensive.
By expanding my consciousness to my surroundings, I could sense everyone’s presence.
However, for some reason, everyone began to move at super speed.
“This is it!”
I seized the moment the world accelerated and activated Spatial Jump.
Instantly, the scenery reflected in my eyes changed.
Without stepping into Baltnowar’s range, I deliberately jumped to a completely unrelated location.
And then, I observed.
Baltnowar had leaped to where I had been standing just before.
At normal speed.
Not teleportation, nor imperceptible super speed. It was a speed that, while perhaps not top-tier, was still reactable. Baltnowar was jumping at a reactable speed. And he stopped, reacting to me disappearing from his sight using Spatial Jump.
Baltnowar, as before, instantaneously located me.
But his stopped feet didn’t move.
Looking at me, Baltnowar’s lips curled slightly beneath his black mustache.
“Well, it seems you noticed before I could reveal my trick, didn’t you?”
“I have a top-tier sorcerer among my acquaintances who taught me many beneficial things!”
In other words, I had unknowingly fallen victim to a spell cast by Baltnowar.
Baltnowar casts a spell on his opponent just before he moves.
It was a spell that dulled the senses or consciousness.
Furthermore, by casting an acceleration spell on himself, he was able to replicate instantaneous movements.
Once I understood the trick, I was no longer afraid!
The moment I thought I was caught in his technique, I just had to escape from the range of Baltnowar’s spell.
Baltnowar’s spell was so delicate that it didn’t give the target any sense of discomfort. But that became its undoing; when I heightened my awareness or moved rapidly, the spell would break.
Therefore, even though he could lunge into my guard, it wouldn’t lead to a fatal blow.
No matter how deeply I fell into his trap, my instincts reacted strongly to the danger to my life.
Having understood Baltnowar’s technique, I took another deep breath.
I wouldn’t let Baltnowar dictate the pace of the fight anymore. Now, it was time for my counterattack!
Just then.
With a loud rumbling sound, Sefina tumbled at my feet.
“…Phew.”
However, Sefina stood up with an air that suggested she hadn’t been blown away at all, exhaling softly.
Sefina brushed the dust from her clothes with a cool gesture.
While keeping an eye on Baltnowar, I checked on Sefina.
Her clothes appeared quite damaged, but she didn’t seem to have any visible injuries.
I, having been stabbed in the side, was more seriously injured.
“Elnea-kun?”
“Yes, Sefina-san?”
“I have one request.”
“What is it?” I asked, tilting my head.
But Sefina didn’t say anything further.
No, there was no need for her to say it.
Ares, who was merged with me, seemed to have perfectly read Sefina’s thoughts.
“Haa!”
With a determined cry, Sefina moved away from my side.
Well then, I should return to my role.
I once again readied my white sword and Spirit Tree Wooden Sword.
The opening move of the Dragon Sword Dance.
Spreading both hands wide, I extended the two swords straight forward.
Now, it was my turn to let you taste my Dragon Sword Dance!
Starting slowly. And meticulously. Then, gradually increasing speed and power, I began to perform the Dragon Sword Dance.
Whether Baltnowar was within range was irrelevant. What mattered was how correctly I could perform the Dragon Sword Dance.
Baltnowar showed wariness at the change in my fighting style.
Baltnowar wielded his longsword, but I was certain his expertise wasn’t limited to swordsmanship alone. Without a doubt, Baltnowar would also change his tactics.
However, that was now a trivial matter.
I performed the Dragon Sword Dance.
Sensing the Dragon Vein, I drew power and diffused it into a swirling storm.
Dragon energy spread, carrying my emotions.
But it wasn’t the same as usual.
Until now, I had also expanded my consciousness along with the dragon energy.
However, this time was different. From now on, it would be different.
I had learned.
About the state of the world.
The world I currently see is not the only reality.
The world Baltnowar sees. The world everyone sees. The world the spirits see. The world the Spirit Tree senses.
The state of many worlds.
However, even though they seem like entirely different dimensions, the world is actually one.
Therefore, I couldn’t be fixated on dragon energy alone.
I delved deeply into the world with my spirit, aiming to perceive all worlds as one.
Then, the desolate world, covered in dust, transformed into a vibrant landscape.
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