Chapter 46

I moved through the darkness without much difficulty. Even though the internal magic power of Shaten had been completely cut off, making it pitch black inside.

My experience navigating in even darker places and my sharpened senses allowed me to move without colliding with anyone within the chaotic crowd, leading both Asulin and me outwards.

Though we managed to avoid the first attempt to target us, hiding in the dense darkness, the overwhelming aura that seemed almost too thick to describe with any other word than ‘dense’ was still finding and projecting towards us.

…

“On comes!”

Without even hearing Asulin’s cry, the owner of that heavy aura didn’t just spew it out but charged towards us with the intent of fulfilling their purpose.

Even though we couldn’t hear their footsteps, their speed was nearly impossible to track visually, closing the distance between them and us in a manner worthy of admiration.

At such speed, they could have inflicted a fatal blow before the opponent even realized it, let alone someone who wasn’t particularly well-trained.

However, it was unfortunate that such a formidable existence was their adversary.

*Whoom!*

Not having drawn the blade from its sheath, I swung the FeeLoad like a club, blocking the dark figure from approaching me.

For a moment, the intense speed halted.

“…!!”

The dark figure, feeling the danger, momentarily stopped. Despite the unbelievable speed, they managed to evade the gap created by my FeeLoad swing, flipping in mid-air.

“…What.”

To suddenly change direction and leap into the air after running so fiercely would impose tremendous strain on the body. Yet, without hesitation, they twisted their body. Had they implanted ogre and troll tendons into their body?

The mysterious dark figure evaded my feinted strike with ease and landed gracefully.

*Croung!*

Though I couldn’t tell what shape their body was under their cloak, judging by the sound upon landing, they seemed to possess a solid physique.

“Brat… Your attacks are even more fierce than before. I nearly got hit there.”

A despicable voice flowed out, unmistakable.

“Huh…”

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly, and the chill in my words was evident even to myself.

“To think you’d come back to die right after barely escaping with your heart unscathed?”

Provoking the assassin, known for eliminating targets no matter what, instantly.

“…”

No immediate response came from Khalid, but the grinding of teeth was heard loudly enough to make one wonder if they were okay.

It was humiliating to nearly allow such a lethal strike, which seemed to have crushed the assassin’s pride.

“Perhaps it’s because I barely survived until my head exploded that I feel regret for not blowing up your head then.”

Khalid’s cheap provocation, expressed in surprisingly refined language for him, was followed by…

“If you can, go ahead.”

I sneered viciously and stretched my left hand to remove the FeeLoad’s sheath.

*Ssssh!*

With a sharp sound that sent shivers down the spine, the pale blade of the FeeLoad emerged after a long time.

“Release it. That cold rage.”

I ordered the FeeLoad, which I had suppressed, to run wild.

*Shhhh*

The FeeLoad responded as if understanding my command, emitting a frigid cold.

The coldness emitted was unlike anything at the auction, so intense that it felt like it was the end of the Succession War in the North, not in the Central Region.

“Kehkehehe.”

Khalid’s laughter, despite the intense cold, remained as sinister as ever.

“Though it might be too grandiose to call it stealing, the fact that I can now kill those I want while taking it makes this a great opportunity to restore honor.”

His sinister laughter and his declaration to take my life sounded arrogant beyond mere bravado.

“Am I crazy…”

I muttered harshly under my breath as I took a step forward.

The moment I did, I intended to end it with a decisive thrust, aiming solely for Khalid’s heart, which I had failed to pierce before.

But before I could even take that first step,

My movement was halted by Asulin extending her hand towards me.

“…Asulin?”

I called her name, filled with puzzlement.

“…Could you leave it to me?”

Asulin’s voice, which I hadn’t heard for a while, emerged from her lips.

That voice, like a boiling ice, was the same as when I spoke on the battlefield, against the monsters trampling human lives and territories. It also carried the resolve to resolve the humiliation of being struck unexpectedly by Khalid before our confrontation here.

There was no reason to hold back.

Recalling Asulin’s determination to repay debts, it was inevitable that she would clash with Khalid.

However, what worried me was—

“Can you do it without a weapon?”

Unlike me, holding the FeeLoad, Asulin, who maintained her unarmed state while in Shaten, might not be able to properly confront Khalid.

Khalid was an assassin who used his entire body as a weapon, mastering the ultimate form of the Quan Gaoshu martial art.

Asulin, wielding a divine blade of extraordinary strength despite her womanly appearance, was a master swordsman.

If Asulin, who was unarmed, faced off against such an opponent, it would be a serious disadvantage.

I was willing to lend her the FeeLoad if she wanted, but—

“It’s fine.”

As if reading my thoughts, Asulin said immediately and confidently. She took a step forward, raising her right hand and clicking her thumb and index finger together lightly.

*Pak!*

In the quiet New Year’s atmosphere of Blood Haven, the sound rang clearly.

*Uuuuung!*

From Asulin’s right palm, a red dragon’s pattern began to glow as blood trickled down.

Symbolizing the Caladborg Dukedom, which represented the Royal Family and the accomplished Dragon Slayer, I instinctively knew this was a gateway for a sword to be summoned for the weaponless Asulin.

Despite Khalid’s rough and brutish appearance,

“…What?”

The radiant emblem of the Caladborg Dukedom, shining brilliantly in the quiet atmosphere of Blood Haven, caught my eye.

“Stop!”

I quickly moved to stop Asulin, sensing something unusual.

“Manifest.”

Before Khalid could react, Asulin’s words, activating the emblem, came faster.

*Uuuuung!*

With her words, a brilliant light burst from Asulin’s palm, marked by the emblem of the Caladborg Dukedom.

“Kyaaah!!”

Khalid, enveloping his fist in hostility, lunged towards Asulin’s head, but—

*Whoom!*

Asulin swung the light from her palm.

*Swoosh!*

A slicing sound, as if cutting flesh and blood, echoed.

“Gruhh!!”

Khalid, attempting to ambush Asulin, hastily retreated.

Blood and marks of injury stained his right hand.

“Not bad, quite sturdy. I tried to sever your right hand with that strike.”

Asulin calmly commented, and in her right hand, a blade-like light had formed.

This blade looked different from the large sword she usually wielded.

It wasn’t a specially designed large sword but a one-handed sword similar to the FeeLoad in my hand.

However, the difference in appearance didn’t mean the blade was weaker.

Why?

The bluish aura that spread across the blade’s edge, influenced by Asulin’s hostility, was evident.

“And now, I, Asulin, will punish you, Khalid, a member of the League, who instigated chaos and sought unjust gains through assassinations in the Western Continent and beyond. In the name of the Empire and the Caladborg Dukedom, I condemn you.”

The sword in Asulin’s hand was none other than one of the Empire’s finest blades, legendary for slaying the Dragon King Kazarat and, following that, the Earth Dragon Belmag, who had caused turmoil across the Central Continent.

“Damn, this is bad.”

Khalid’s reaction upon recognizing the blade showed he understood its significance, surprising me.

But now was not the time to be surprised by such details.

“As I sense the scent of beasts even behind us, I’ll handle them here. You take care of the ones over there.”

Asulin requested, observing the battlefield calmly, asking me to control factors that might interfere with her hunt.

“I’ll take care of it.”

I had to support Asulin faithfully.

“…Later.”

“Would you like to practice a duel with me holding this sword?”

“You don’t need to push yourself, but…”

“Why would you consider that pushing? We can do it at the villa after this.”

…

Before leaving, I booked a practice duel with Asulin, who held the Caladborg Dukedom sword.

After exchanging glances with Asulin, I quickly moved toward the pack of wolves bustling behind us.

*Crash!*

Seeing the blue lightning flash behind me, I realized Asulin had already engaged Khalid in battle.

Judging by the surge of energy, her situation with Khalid seemed worrisome.

It wasn’t a concern born from humanitarian reasons; it was about whether I could settle the debt I owed to her from the previous battle.

But at that moment, I knew nothing yet.

“…What is this?”

Upon reaching the spot where I intended to intercept the ones targeting Asulin from behind,

“Gr… urgh…”

“…Defeated.”

*Thud!*

Someone else had already swiftly taken care of the threats.

…

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