Chapter 68

Chapter 68. It’s Right Here in Front of You (5)

A handsome silver-haired youth with long eyelashes creates a gust of wind with his fan.

The aura emitted from the fan turns into countless hidden weapons, devastating the ground.

Facing him is a middle-aged man, the epitome of a drunkard.

His flushed face and half-lidded, dazed eyes. The bottle hanging from his waist clearly indicates that he is indeed a ‘drunkard.’

However, the sword in his hand is no ordinary weapon. He wields a massive sword, as long as a grown man’s height, still in its scabbard.

A tremendous wind pressure erupts, destroying the hidden weapons of the silver-haired youth.

Every time the two clash, the air is torn apart, and the ground is overturned. Their skills are evenly matched, and the battle drags on without a clear winner.

Then, the drunkard steps back and speaks.

“I’ll give you one last chance.”

The drunkard raises the massive sword with one hand, pointing it at the youth, and declares with the most serious face.

“Admit that Joyray’s Tavern has the best ‘apple pie’!”

The youth narrows his eyes, covering his mouth with his fan.

“With the money for an apple pie, I’d rather have a warm and hearty lamb stew.”

“Grrr! I can’t take it anymore. I’ll split your head open!”

The drunkard goes berserk again, swinging the massive sword like a wooden stick.

The youth deflects the sword with his fan. A bold yet supremely skilled parry.

The reason for their fight is trivial. Yet, their seriousness is real. It feels like they are willing to stake their lives to uphold their beliefs.

At that moment, Keter arrives on the scene. The drunkard and the youth are so engrossed in their fight that they don’t notice Keter’s arrival.

Soon after, Luke arrives and glances between the drunkard and the youth.

“Keter, should I shoot first?”

Luke, with an arrow nocked, immediately aims at the drunkard.

The eye collector, Marhan!

The boss who proudly holds a territory in the lawless city of Ruquer. Luke thinks his appearance and ferocity truly match his infamous reputation.

Keter grabs Luke’s bow and changes its direction.

“Why are you trying to shoot my subordinate?”

“Huh?”

“That drunk old man over there is my subordinate.”

“……”

Luke looks back and forth between the drunkard and the youth.

The drunkard staggers, swinging the massive sword wildly. It looks more like he’s just drunk rather than impressive.

“The world is spinning—! Hahaha!”

The drunkard babbles nonsense, slashing at random places.

On the other hand, the silver-haired youth is different.

‘Elegant.’

A man with a grace that doesn’t belong in a lawless city. His clothes are neat white robes, and the silver fan he uses as a weapon adds to his mystique.

If seen in high society, one would think he’s a young master from a prestigious family.

“Now that I think about it, in some ways, the drunkard does seem to suit you.”

“Are you starting to darken too?”

“Ah, whatever. I’ll just shoot and see.”

Luke wants to get out of this mess quickly.

So, he immediately shoots an arrow filled with aura at the silver-haired youth, Marhan.

The arrow, fired along the optimal path detected by his misfortune-sensing ability, was something even Jordic couldn’t easily handle.

But—

Ting!

“Huh?”

The arrow shatters feebly before even reaching Marhan. Marhan did nothing. At least, that’s what it looked like to Luke.

“Was it a defective arrow?”

This time, Luke nocks two arrows.

But the result is the same.

By now, Luke senses something is off. He focuses his eyes with aura. This way, he can faintly sense the flow of aura or mana.

Then he realizes.

Around Marhan, aura blades are dancing.

Not only that. The massive sword of Jairo, who he thought was just a brute drunkard, is much larger and longer than it appears.

For the first time, he witnesses a battle between powerhouses that his eyes couldn’t even perceive.

“Such battles exist……?”

For Luke, still a 1-star knight, it’s an entirely unknown realm.

Keter places a hand on Luke’s shoulder and says.

“Don’t be discouraged just because you’re unlucky. You don’t know how much of a cheat it is to have a special ability. If you put your mind to it, you could take on both of them at the same time.”

“Me? Really?!”

“In about ten years.”

“……”

“Watch how I do it.”

Keter strides confidently between the two.

Luke gulps.

Even standing still, Marhan’s aura blades orbit around him, tearing through space. Every time Jairo’s massive sword swings down, its shockwave affects dozens of meters.

And Keter is walking right into the middle of these monsters?

‘Keter is strong, but compared to these two, he seems outmatched.’

Honestly, the power Luke perceives from Keter is far from pure strength.

Skill, irregularity, foul play…….

These are the words that come to mind with Keter.

‘Should I use Mana Arrow? Or Aura Arrow? Or maybe magic?!’

Keter must have a plan. Luke believes so.

“Alright, everyone, stop fighting.”

Keter is defenseless. He doesn’t protect himself with Aura Armor, showing his back to Marhan, and speaks to Jairo.

Even as both are unleashing their most ferocious attacks, as if delivering the final blow.

“Keter!”

Is it possible to cancel an already executed attack?

Archery is impossible. How can you recall an arrow already fired?

Other weapons are no different.

The sword already swinging down isn’t just powered by brute force. Gravity and acceleration are at play. Stopping the sword mid-swing is impossible.

The same goes for the aura blades created by Marhan’s fan. You can shoot them, but you can’t control them once fired.

Luke leaps belatedly.

He has the ability to reflect attacks.

Though he hasn’t figured out how it works, he leaps now solely to save Keter.

But Luke’s jump is slow, and Marhan and Jairo’s attacks are fast.

* * *

Luke thought it was impossible.

To retract an already launched weapon.

But it is possible. With the power to make the impossible possible, using aura, mana, and special abilities.

Aura enhances human physical abilities. At its peak, you can stop a sword mid-swing with just the strength of your wrist.

It’s generally accepted that aura cannot be controlled, but at the ultimate level, the story changes.

You can control aura like mana.

Whoosh!

Jairo’s massive sword stops above Keter’s head, and Marhan’s aura blade veers upward from the back of Keter’s head.

The aftermath of forcibly canceling the attacks causes space to rupture, and a gale sweeps through.

Keter, with his hands in his pockets, says.

“Refreshing.”

The gale fiercely pushes buildings aside and creates a massive hole in the clouds above.

Keter tidies his disheveled hair.

“Jairo. Respond when I call. I’m your employer, after all. Did you have to make me come find you?”

Usually, canceling an attack mid-execution puts immense strain on the body, often resulting in severe injury.

But Jairo shows no such signs.

“Haha, when the boss calls, I come running. But this guy, he’s dismissing apple pie! He says he’d rather have lamb stew with that money!”

Jairo glares at Marhan.

Marhan folds his fan and says.

“Hmph. With the money for one apple pie, you can have three bowls of lamb stew. Price, nutrition, taste. You can’t deny that apple pie falls short in all aspects.”

“What, you!”

The two growl at each other with Keter in between.

Keter clicks his tongue.

“Are you kids? Fighting over food like this? Let me tell you, roasted whole pig is definitely the best.”

Keter brings up a new dish.

Naturally, Jairo and Marhan aren’t convinced and glare at Keter.

Luke joins the staring contest.

“Uh, can’t we just respect each other’s personal preferences?”

Then all three glare at Luke.

Luke feels suffocated. Just being stared at without any killing intent feels like his soul is being crushed.

“Who’s this brat, boss?”

“My friend, assistant, subordinate, and business partner.”

“Hmm. My sword wants to cut this guy down. Where did you pick him up?”

“He was just lying on the side of the road. So I picked him up.”

“Hey, Keter. Can you not treat me like an object? I’m a proper Knight of Sephira.”

“Knight of Sephira?”

Marhan shows interest in Luke.

“Hmm, those eyes… I sense tremendous power. I’ve never seen such eyes before.”

Under the eye collector Marhan’s gaze, Luke steps back.

“You can’t have my eyes.”

“I wasn’t planning to take them without permission. Ah, how about a trade? If you give me your left eye, I’ll replace it with a better one. Choose.”

Marhan rolls up his right sleeve.

Luke is speechless.

Marhan’s right arm has eyeballs attached at regular intervals. Eyes of all kinds stare at Luke. As if begging for life.

“Ugh, damn! What is that?!”

“Please refrain from calling it grotesque. This silver eye here is from a 4th Circle Freezing Mage, and the green one next to it is from an Elf. I’ll transplant them for you. Don’t you want to use magic? Communicating with spirits is a unique experience.”

“I don’t want it, even if it’s free.”

“Too bad. If it weren’t for Keter, I would’ve plucked those beautiful eyes right here.”

Keter waves his hand at Marhan.

“I’m busy today, so scram. Or we can end it right here.”

“Hohoho…. I’m not afraid of Jairo, the master of the Demon Sword. But Keter. You’re a monster. Where have you been for the past four days? Your presence itself has changed. I’ll retreat for now. I don’t have the confidence to take your two eyes intact yet.”

“Bring me 100 million gold if you want them.”

“That might be faster…….”

With those words, Marhan suddenly turns into smoke and disappears.

“What, what just happened? Was that magic too?”

At Luke’s fuss, Jairo laughs while drinking.

“Kekeke. Boss. Are you planning to raise this kid? You’re in for a lot of trouble.”

“I’m worried if I can even break even.”

“Hey, kid. What’s your name? As you heard, I’m Jairo.”

“Ahem, I’m Luke, Holy Knight of Sephira.”

“A Knight of Sephira coming to Ruquer, that’s unusual. Anyway, nice to meet you, let’s have a drink.”

Jairo offers a drink, just like someone else.

Luke declines similarly.

“Jairo, you look incredibly strong. Why are you Keter’s subordinate?”

Jairo drinks and answers.

“Keha-! See this? This is why I became his subordinate.”

Jairo offers the bottle.

Luke is dumbfounded.

“You became Keter’s subordinate for just a bottle of alcohol?”

“Hoho, to you, this might just be alcohol. But to me, it’s the elixir of life. Without it, I can’t handle this.”

Jairo casually shows the massive sword.

Luke already sensed something from the sword.

“Earlier, Marhan called you the master of the Demon Sword… Is this really a Demon Sword?”

“They call it Obelisk.”

Demon Sword. An artifact imbued with the power of an Evil God.

It grants immense power at a cost, but most users meet a tragic end.

Luke has heard the rumors, so Jairo seems unreliable.

“Hohoho, everyone looks at me like that. No need to worry. As long as I don’t draw this sword, it won’t go berserk.”

“So that’s why you didn’t draw it when fighting Marhan.”

“Huh? Oh, I was confident I could win without drawing it.”

“Ah, I see… But Keter.”

Luke turns to Keter.

“We found Jairo. What now? Do we go to the Ruvan family together and meet Knight Commander Jerpy?”

Luke thought they found Jairo to persuade Jerpy, the Southern Sword, believing Jairo had some connection to Jerpy. At his words, Jairo and Keter exchange glances.

“So that’s why you came looking for me? That’s really unexpected.”

At Jairo’s reaction, Luke sees hope.

“So, Jairo, you know Knight Commander Jerpy? Can we get a recommendation from him? You’re not planning to cause a scene like Keter or threaten him with that Demon Sword, right?”

If that happens, Luke feels his mental strength won’t hold out more than his physical strength.

“Kukukuku.”

“Haha, hahaha!”

Then, Jairo and Keter start laughing.

“What, what’s so funny? Keter?”

Luke is confused. The two are laughing like madmen.

‘Ah, right. Keter is crazy.’

Luke, regaining some composure, gets angry.

“Hey, stop laughing and tell me! What do we do now?”

“Ahaha, nothing? It’s over?”

“What do you mean, it’s over! We haven’t even met the Southern Sword yet!”

“No, he’s right here. The Southern Sword.”

Keter points at Jairo with his finger.

In this situation, the drunkard is still drinking. Spilling alcohol as he drinks.

How is that the Southern Sword, Jerpy?

“Keter. Stop joking. I’m serious!”

“Jairo. Introduce yourself again. The kid’s skeptical and doesn’t believe.”

“Ahem, ah. Let me put on a serious voice for once.”

“Stop joking… huh…?!”

Jairo’s demeanor changes drastically.

From a sloppy, defenseless middle-aged drunkard to a conqueror who dominates the battlefield.

Under the immense pressure, Luke’s limbs tremble. If he lets his guard down even a little, he feels he’ll wet himself.

Even Jairo’s dazed eyes now shine like the blazing sun as he introduces himself.

“My name is Jairo. Royal Guard Knight, eldest son and last survivor of the fallen Shuvel family. Master of the Demon Sword Obelisk and…….”

Whoosh.

“The 7th Southern Sword.”