Chapter 99

Here’s the translated passage into English using first-person point of view:

—

His appearance was quite a sight.

Given how clearly I could sense their presence, I figured they hadn’t suffered too badly. Yet, the state of Elshimer and Katarina was something else.

Elshimer was a mess. Though his injuries didn’t seem life-threatening, the torn clothes that covered his armor were marked with deep gashes. Even though such wounds would make any girl cry out, he stood resolutely. Still, I could tell from the way his upper body shook with each breath that he was exhausted.

Katarina, despite her condition being slightly better, was similarly covered in traces of damage that seemed beyond repair on her armor.

When I had set out to retrieve those two, I even thought about giving them a couple of hits on the head with Failord’s blade. But now, seeing them, I felt more relieved than angry.

“What happened to you two?”

Instead of striking them with the flat of my blade, I greeted them with a teasing remark.

Though I didn’t respond to the disgusting presence that pretended to be friendly from afar, their overwhelming aura was still present.

Their reactions to me merely speaking instead of scolding them were peculiar.

“Oh…Young Master.”

Elshimer shrank back, looking like a child caught doing something naughty.

“And tell Miss that Katarina bravely charged forward until she fell like a fool,” Katarina said, her voice drained despite her vitality.

Even though I had been drawn into this desperate struggle, seeing their overflowing energy made me want to laugh uncontrollably, but I held it back.

“I’ve taken care of everything behind us. Retreat. We’ll discuss your reckless entry into the battlefield later.”

With a tone devoid of playfulness, I ordered them to retreat. Both of them bowed and stepped away, their tired bodies trembling.

The barbarian tribes watching us were intimidated by the aura I exuded, staying put instead of moving rashly.

“You’re just as ill-mannered as ever. Even after I spoke to you first, you didn’t answer. It seems I’ve raised you poorly.”

It was because of that disgusting presence that spoke again after the two had disappeared.

But it didn’t matter which it was.

I would ensure those two returned safely, and I’d kill every barbarian that dared attack me.

All I needed to do was stay true to this.

“It’s not that you’ve raised me poorly. You’ve done an excellent job. That’s why I’m repaying you properly.”

With that, I shrugged my shoulders casually and looked around.

Even though the unpleasant voice was clear in my ears, I couldn’t sense its presence through my spiritual sense, making it vague.

“Looks like you’ve gone blind since we last met. You can’t even recognize me standing right in front of you.”

The cold voice, dripping with mockery, echoed in my ears.

I thought I had misheard, but it wasn’t the case.

“Huh. You even greeted me warmly. But you didn’t answer. I don’t recall raising you in such a manner.”

This voice, pretending to be friendly, wasn’t a mishearing.

Despite trying to ignore it, I had to show some reaction, so I turned my head towards where the voice came from.

“…No one’s here.”

There was no sign of the person who had spoken so clearly and unpleasantly.

“If you’re not there, how can I answer you?”

I retorted sarcastically, and instinctively turned around at the sudden surge of killing intent coming from behind me.

Clang!

As I swung Failord, a heavy pressure settled on my right hand gripping the blade.

– Behind!

Before I could react, a dark, unknown force pushed against Failord, and I barely managed to deflect it, readying myself to face my own father…

Wait, no. This was nothing but trash, forged in human form, Dominus. He wielded Failord as if to cleave it in two, but he wasn’t going to let me win easily. Our weapons clashed, and only then did I get a proper look at this trash.

He wore the same armor he favored during the Succession War, yet the damage from swords and blunt objects rendered it incapable of serving its purpose. Given how he always maintained his equipment in top condition, it was evident he had pushed this armor to its limits.

There was no longer room for the extravagance of ordering new armor whenever there was a scratch.

The half-faced helmet revealed his unkempt hair, whipping in the wind, while hiding his gaunt face. Upon seeing him, I felt an urge to stab him in the heart, yet I couldn’t help but want to charge at him with a grin.

Uuuuung-!!

If not for the ominous aura emanating from the strange blade in his hand, I would have rushed forward immediately.

The blade, though来历不详，似乎是我父亲更常使用的无骨之刃。我没想到他最终会再次挥舞这把剑。

– 无骨之刃。

‘…你说什么？’

– 能轻易将触及的生命如无骨般切开的魔剑。它被我抛弃后，我竟然从未想过他会再次挥舞这把剑。

听着Failord的评价，我意识到自己对这把剑的危险性有所警觉是对的……但，他要再次挥舞？

– 这本是你的父亲比我更喜爱的剑。我以为他已经克制住了，结果还是……

看着Failord盯着前家主手中的无骨之刃，带着一种无法分辨是遗憾还是愤怒的表情，我的思绪开始混乱。

Uuuuung-!!

仿佛感应到了我与Failord之间的对话，无骨之刃中那漆黑的气息更加猛烈地涌出。

“哦，我在和你说话，你怎么能在别的地方分心呢？”

前任家主的嘴沉重地张开。他的声音依旧傲慢且无情，但此刻传来的他的声音却毫无生气。

我的注意力一直被刀锋所吸引，直到那一刻我才意识到，那面看起来像是面具的头盔实际上是在掩盖他的憔悴。

“…死亡面具。”

仔细一看，那是一个石膏面具，仿佛死者的面容，上面刻划着濒死之人五官，令人毛骨悚然。

它不是他自己的脸，这让它的怪异程度更甚。

虽然面具只显露出面部特征，使怪异感更为明显，但我能认出这是女性的死亡面具。

…即使戴上自己的死亡面具也会被认为品味低俗，但他却戴着女性的死亡面具。

而且，即使戴着这个面具，也无法完全遮掩他那双凶狠的金色眼眸，它们在脸上重现了生死间的不安平衡。

“你说话轻浮，但眼睛却像要撕裂一切。”

我怒吼一声，替他回答了问题，然后用Failord向另一个方向挥去，试图将他劈成两半。

尽管我想象着他被劈成两半的样子，但这一切都化为泡影。

Clang!

伴随着刺耳的金属碰撞声，一切都变得无力。

尽管我以前所未有的速度挥动刀剑，但仍然被阻挡了。现在不是考虑这些的时候。

Brrr-

当刀剑相交时，握着刀的右手微微颤抖。

而那堆垃圾的眼睛里，丝毫没有退缩的神色。

“比起刚开始只能勉强完成一份任务的时候，你进步了不少。”

即便接下了我的内力攻击，那堆垃圾的眼睛里也没有一丝慌乱。

尽管他的声音依然冰冷，如同吐出寒冰，但偶尔流露出的满足感表明，他似乎享受这种虐待。

“我一直都很出色！”

我怒吼着，用力旋转Failord，向他的侧面挥去，准备斩击。

我和这堆垃圾之间的决斗就这样开始了。

—

I apologize for the incomplete translation at the end. The original text continued with the protagonist’s memories and thoughts, but the provided text ended abruptly.