Chapter 11

– Kaaaang!

The Randenburg training hall.

Since the two sons of Marquis Ludwig lost their lives, the golden-brown land, which had been lying in silence as if dead, finally stretched itself.

The walls, startled by the sharp cracking sound, spewed sand through their cracks.

Two streaks of silver light collided in succession, scattering dazzling sparks.

—-

“Back off—!”

With a large diagonal swing of the longsword, I barely managed to shake Nigel off.

Nigel, flung backward as if thrown, lightly twisted her body and landed on the ground, then pointed her sword at me again.

Her sharp, emotionless gaze, radiating only a fierce killing intent, made my fingertips tremble.

Damn it.

Beads of sweat rolled down my neck.

We must have clashed swords about ten times. The longsword in my hand was already chipped in several places.

Just blocking her attacks felt like a miracle.

…She was way too strong.

I had guessed this might happen when I heard she was known as the “Sword of Randenburg.”

After all, I had read about her name in the story’s setting.

The Sword of Randenburg.

A group of ten knights who have reached the pinnacle of human limits, the realm of masters—the strongest force in the east.

They were the guardians of the eastern border, the pride of the Margrave of Randenburg, his finest knights.

Yeah, something to be proud of.

In the current Empire, there are probably only about forty master-level knights, and he has ten of them under his command.

In other words, the woman I’m facing now…

Is among the top forty strongest in the Empire, out of thousands of knights!

…Still, I didn’t expect the skill gap to be this huge.

In terms of strength and speed, I’m clearly ahead, yet I can’t even cut her clothes.

Every strike I make just slides off her sword as if it were a lie.

It felt like walking through water.

No matter how much I moved, I couldn’t advance, just flailing and sinking endlessly.

Is it because Hersela’s skills haven’t reached their peak yet?

Or is it because I’m not fully utilizing this body’s strength?

A sense of helplessness gripped me.

—

“Quite different from what I heard.”

Nigel, who had slightly lowered her sword, spoke softly.

“Or are you just playing with me?”

Well, the Ha-shal-leur you knew was the berserker of Ai-shan Gi-or, but the one standing here is just an ordinary soldier from the Republic of Korea!

And a soldier without even a gun at that. If only I had a gun, seriously…!

“Hmm. Which one do you think it is? Take a guess.”

I forced a smirk, putting on a pathetic show of bravado.

—

You can laugh at my pitiful struggle.

But since I vowed to live as Ha-shal-leur, I can’t show weakness.

A gilded ornament, once stripped of its gold, is just thrown away.

“……”

Nigel didn’t respond.

In the blink of an eye, dust rose sharply, and Nigel’s figure rapidly enlarged.

Damn it…!

– Kaaang!

I barely managed to block the thrust aimed at my neck.

The chipped blade let out a horrifying screech, and pieces of metal flew into the air.

Sparks landed on my cheek, burning out and leaving a searing heat.

“Your reaction speed is fast—”

There was no chance to counterattack.

Nigel, having thrust her sword deep, twisted my longsword under hers and wrenched my wrist.

My arms flailed uncontrollably, and my body leaned forward.

Is this… swordsmanship?

– Thud.

I barely managed to block the hilt of her sword as it came down toward my temple.

The pain felt like my arm was being crushed, and I gritted my teeth.

“Ugh!”

Nigel, having let go of her sword, struck my arm aside, and the back of her hand slammed into my jaw.

My head snapped to the side, and my legs gave out.

“—That’s all.”

Her knee shot up, crushing my lower jaw.

“Guh…!”

For a moment, my hearing went out.

The impact felt like being hit by a hammer, and my vision flickered.

My brain, shaken, spat out chaos.

My vision was a jumbled mess.

No, this is bad. Danger. Consciousness…!

Beyond my fading consciousness, I faintly saw Nigel swinging her sword at me.

– Kaaang!

Huh?

My body moved on its own.

The longsword, swung like lightning, deflected Nigel’s attack, and my right foot, thrust out, slammed into her lower abdomen.

“Ugh!”

Nigel’s body flew backward, her waist folding from the impact.

Like shattering glass, the darkness covering my vision broke apart.

A fierce burning sensation rose from my toes, racing through my nerves like lightning, striking my brain.

My wavering consciousness suddenly sharpened, as if forcibly held together.

It was a strange sensation, like being drunk on wine and dreams, then thrown into icy water while on fire.

The flow of blood through my veins felt vividly clear, and my heart pounded more intensely than ever.

The pain in my arm and jaw had already dulled into a faint ache.

“……You should’ve been on the verge of losing consciousness.”

Nigel, having regained her stance, muttered as if she couldn’t understand.

“Your pupils were completely dilated. It wasn’t a conscious reaction. Then, was it instinct engraved in your body?”

Ah. I see.

I get it now. I was fighting the wrong way from the start.

This body belongs to Ka`har’s warrior, Ai-shan Gi-or Ha-shal-leur.

Trying to control a monster’s body with the consciousness of an ordinary person was never going to work.

Letting instinct take over was the answer.

I emptied my mind. Sharpened only my senses.

Thinking of nothing, repeating only the thought of killing my enemy.

My curled lips revealed a beastly smile.

The hunger-driven impulse finally bared its fangs.

The liberated body roared with joy.

—-

– Kwaaaang!

The chipped longsword bit into Nigel’s sword.

The steel blade was roughly torn apart, and fragments of metal flew up, shredding her clothes.

Nigel, glancing at her trapped sword, whipped her left leg like a lash.

I leaned back sharply, letting her attack pass, then darted into the gap on her left.

I caught her elbow, aimed at my skull, with my left hand.

“Back off!”

Nigel spun her sword in her right hand, gripping it backward, and slashed downward.

I leaped back to evade.

The ground, unable to withstand the impact, cracked and surged.

Nigel, covered in dust, roughly shook off her clothes.

—

“…You’re a completely different person from before. Strength, speed, movement.”

I ignored her and charged.

I’m half out of my mind anyway, so I wouldn’t understand even if I tried.

– Kaaaaaang!

The two swords clashed, screaming in agony.

Not yet.

“Kyaaaaah!!”

The longsword gripped in both hands unleashed a storm of strikes.

Deafening cracks rang out one after another, and dust scattered in all directions.

The blade of the longsword, swung wildly like the claws of a beast, twisted and distorted as if reaching its limit.

Nigel calmly parried the flurry of longsword strikes, occasionally countering, but he seemed unable to fully absorb the impact, gradually and surely being pushed back.

Blood began to flow.

The piercing strike that grazed my cheek left a searing heat, and Nigel’s thigh, torn by my blade, turned crimson.

The endless clash of steel waltzed through the air, embroidering it with droplets of blood.

Pleasure stained my brain.

Ha-shal-leur’s body, with each wound, spewed out even more ferocious joy, and the flowing blood burned with heat.

– Pakaaang!

Finally, the weapon gave out before the person did.

With a sharp death cry, the broken longsword bid farewell to the world.

As if waiting for this moment, Nigel’s eyes flashed, twisting his torso and pulling the sword to his shoulder.

The tip of her sword, propelled by the tension of her entire body, pierced through the air like an awl.

Ha-shal-leur’s instincts cheered.

She thrust forward as if facing the broken longsword.

Skimming Nigel’s sword between the blade and the edge, she twisted her wrist.

The thrust, with its trajectory greatly twisted, dug into the ground in vain.

“Empire, swordsmanship…?!”

Nigel, astonished, hesitated for a moment.

Full of openings.

“Kyaaah-!”

The left hand, raised like a raptor’s claw, shot towards Nigel’s nape like a snake.

“Kut!”

Nigel hastily reacted, pulling the hilt to shield his neck with the blade.

Scattering metal fragments, Nigel was slammed into the training room wall.

—-

“Grrrr…”

Gasping for breath, I stared at the fallen Nigel.

The rising dust slowly settled, revealing Nigel staggering to his feet.

Clumps of dirt clung to the blood, making for a pitiful sight.

I must be in a similar state.

As the burning heat subsided, a wave of painful aches surged from all over my body.

“-I see. So this is the warrior of Ka`har.”

Nigel, catching his breath, brushed the dust from his hair and nonchalantly dropped the hilt of the longsword.

“Not refined, but that strength and speed. A ferocity akin to a beast.”

Walking towards the weapons scattered on the floor by the wall-shaking impact, Nigel bent down.

Picking up a longsword and a spear, he tucked a dagger into his waist, a chilling sight.

“Yes. Ka`har was originally a horse-riding tribe, where the strength and speed of the sword swung while galloping were more important than skill.”

I caught the longsword thrown towards me.

Nigel pointed his spear at me, slightly bending his knee.

“That can’t be the limit, right? Let’s get serious.”

A thick killing intent surged once more.

—-

Nigel, wielding the spear, had become a completely different being from before.

The orderly and graceful swordsmanship was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a chaotic and disorderly onslaught.

A dynamic movement, mixing charges, retreats, and leaps, dancing around in all directions.

Utilizing all limbs to thrust and throw the spear and dagger, relentlessly pouring attacks from unpredictable angles.

I pushed my senses to the limit, barely managing to counter.

-Kaang!

I deflected Nigel’s thrust, charging in as if throwing his body, with a swing of my longsword.

Nigel let go of the spear and, like lightning, drew the dagger from his waist, slashing down at my shoulder.

Twisting my torso, I dodged the dagger aimed at my shoulder.

Nigel sharply twisted his wrist, releasing the dagger.

The dagger, shot from point-blank range with just a wrist snap, embedded itself in my shoulder before I could react.

“Gaaaaah-!”

Roaring fiercely, I swung the longsword at Nigel’s waist.

Nigel reached for the dagger in my shoulder, holding on, and leaped over my back.

The longsword sliced through empty air.

Flesh fell from my torn shoulder, spurting blood.

Without a moment to groan, I hastily twisted my torso to the side, feeling an intense sense of danger from behind.

A chilling sound of air being cut as Nigel’s right foot grazed past my ear.

Half of my earlobe was cut off, sticking to the training room wall.

I swung my elbow towards my back.

With a sensation akin to splitting wood, a dull crushing sound echoed.

“Ugh..!”

Nigel, floating upside down in the air, raised his left arm to block my elbow, gritting his teeth against the surging pain.

I thrust the longsword towards Nigel, whose movement had halted.

Nigel stretched out his right hand, pressing on my shoulder, and like an acrobat, spun to evade the sword.

The spear, which had bounced off into the air, met Nigel’s toes.

Nigel, firmly gripping my shoulder, wrapped his toes around the spear and kicked it down as if stomping.

The spear tip pierced through my thigh.

“Kyahaaak-!”

Desperately, I swung the longsword, deeply grazing Nigel’s arm.

Nigel grabbed the end of the spear shaft and leaped back.

The spear blade pulled out, deeply tearing my thigh.

Blood spurted violently.

I poured all my strength into my buckling knee to hold on.

Swollen muscles strongly compressed the blood vessels, suppressing the bleeding.

My body, nearing its limit, screamed in agony.

It hurts.

My torn shoulder spasmed intermittently, and my tattered clothes were soaked in a dark red, unrecognizable from their original color.

Having lost too much blood, even my body, boiling with fighting spirit, was gradually cooling.

It’s hard.

Nigel, across from me, was also significantly injured.

His left arm hung limply, possibly fractured, and his deeply cut right arm continuously oozed a vivid red.

His once elegant face was now dirty with a mix of dust and sweat, and bright red blood seeped out between his rough breaths.

Ha-shal-leur’s instincts gnashed their teeth and whispered.

Not yet.

I can still fight.

Bare your fangs.

Unsheath your claws.

Unconsciously, I glanced at my right side.

Through the torn leather, the silver armor tempted with its cool, chilling aura.

Yes, this is it.

My trembling left arm reached towards my side.

My fingertips touched.

“-That’s enough.”

A firm voice cut through the impulse.

My consciousness, intoxicated by the heat, returned.

I weakly let go of the longsword in my right hand.

---