I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages – Chapter 9

“As expected of Sir Hiter!”

The Windsor Knight Order was returning to the capital after completing their subjugation mission.

A knight named Silon spoke to Hiter, who was riding at the front.

“Kuh— that earlier moment. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it for the rest of my life.”

“Don’t make a fuss over something so trivial.”

“How can anyone stay calm after seeing that?! It’s every knight’s dream!”

Nod nod.

The other knights around them, who had been watching the situation, also nodded in agreement.

Hiter, who had discovered a dungeon and, annoyed, used his ultimate technique to blow the entire dungeon away, was the epitome of coolness.

The ultimate technique, a skill only those with a title above “Sword Demon” could use.

However, it was relatively common to see within the Windsor Knight Order.

Hiter felt a bit burdened.

“Why are you acting like it’s your first time seeing someone use an ultimate technique?”

“Now, if only we could see Lady Cecilia, we’d have seen everything!”

“What, you haven’t seen Cecilia yet?”

Hiter immediately understood after saying it himself.

“Well, Cecilia’s the type who doesn’t waste her energy.”

“Do you know about her, Sir Hiter?”

“Why are you asking the obvious? I’ve been on a few missions with her.”

“Ooooh—!”

The surrounding knights’ eyes began to sparkle.

Thirty grown men acting like that was a bit creepy.

But the story of Cecilia, the only woman in the knight order—and an incredibly cute and beautiful one at that—was hard to resist.

“……What was it called again, Wind Shear?”

“Oh! Is it some kind of technique that tears things apart with wind?”

They guessed based on the name, “Blade of Wind.”

But Hiter shook his head.

“No. That’s a domain.”

“A, a domain?”

The knight’s eyes widened.

“There aren’t even a handful of those across the entire Arcadia continent, right?”

“Apparently, she herself isn’t too fond of it.”

Hiter shook his head as if he didn’t understand.

“She keeps saying she’s not a domain-type, that Wind Shear is just an ordinary barrier.”

“Can I ask about its effects?!”

“That? It’s nothing special. If you’re inside it, death is certain.”

“Huh?”

The knight blinked at the absurdly overpowered ability.

Hiter shrugged.

“Please, tell us more!”

“I don’t know much either. Cecilia absolutely refuses to explain. Everyone just speculates. If you stay in the domain for a certain amount of time, death is certain. The stronger the opponent, the longer that time becomes. But you know what? Cecilia has never maintained the domain for more than two minutes.”

“J-just how strong is Lady Cecilia?”

Hiter, who had been speaking proudly, suddenly clamped his mouth shut.

‘……How strong is Cecilia?’

It was the funniest joke he’d ever heard.

Because Hiter had witnessed it.

-“Please forget what you just saw. And stop insisting at drinking parties that my barrier is a domain.”

No matter how you looked at it, Cecilia had slaughtered a high-ranking demon without batting an eye.

-“Otherwise, I’ll get really, really mad.”

And her warning.

Gulp—.

“……What I just said is absolutely a secret, got it? If Cecilia finds out, she’ll be pissed.”

**

A man.

There was a man.

“How interesting.”

His eyes were blood-red—

His skin was so pale it was almost lifeless.

He was now standing next to Cecilia.

As if he had been there all along.

Swoosh—.

Darkness fell over the capital.

Not the natural kind of darkness, but the kind that shouldn’t exist.

The air felt astonishingly cold. And heavy.

This presence was at least on the level of a demon duke.

No— perhaps even a Demon King.

An irregular who shouldn’t exist in the capital at this point in time.

“The power of the Goddess has weakened, hasn’t it.”

‘The others.’

Cecilia glanced around, looking for the knights of Windsor.

They were trembling, their pupils dilated, unable to do anything.

Already consumed by fear, they couldn’t move.

But they were clearly still alive.

Cecilia let out a small sigh of relief.

“I thought it was just the rampage of a foolish underling.”

‘……An underling?’

Was he talking about the demon who had been in front of the flames a few days ago?

There wasn’t enough information to be sure.

“But.”

The demon looked at Cecilia.

Leisurely standing with his hands behind his back, he showed not even a hint of tension, even though he had entered the very heart of the Rianen Kingdom.

“Aren’t you afraid of me?”

That was something Cecilia felt as well.

“……Should I be?”

The demon’s interest shifted from the flames to Cecilia.

After staring at her with those chilling eyes for a while, the demon answered leisurely.

“There’s no need for that.”

The demon turned his head back to the flames.

“Human. What’s your name?”

“Cecilia of the Windsor Knight Order.”

“I am Cain Baltazarion, Duke of the Demon Realm.”

Cecilia tilted her head.

“You’re just a duke? That can’t be right.”

Cain’s red eyes, which had shown no change until now, filled with surprise.

He then chuckled and said.

“For now, I am a duke.”

‘Does that mean he’ll soon become the Demon King? If so, he’ll become even stronger than this. ……This is a bit troublesome. Asking the newbies to kill him would be too harsh.’

Cecilia placed her hand on the hilt of her sword to adjust the difficulty.

-Fwoosh.

At that moment, an intangible energy was released around her.

Cain’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

“A domain-type ultimate technique? Not bad for a human.”

“It’s just a simple barrier. I don’t want to wake people up with noise pollution.”

A dense wall of wind enveloped the area.

At the same time, the four knights of Windsor who weren’t allowed to stay were pushed outside the barrier.

They coughed as if they had been holding their breath for a long time.

After confirming, Cecilia closed the barrier. Now, no one could enter or see inside.

“Are we fighting?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t mind.”

Before the demon could finish speaking, his presence grew even more immense.

Crackle—.

The already precarious flames shook even more violently.

They teetered on the edge of extinguishing but flared up again and again.

But at this point, it was safe to say they were half-extinguished.

“You’re probably not the one.”

“…….”

Crack—.

The entire barrier cracked.

Cain hadn’t used any special technique.

He had simply amplified his presence and pierced through Cecilia’s barrier.

‘Stronger than I thought.’

Cecilia, who had taken a hit, adjusted the difficulty level of the entity named Cain.

‘Probably stronger than the actual Demon King.’

By Another World’s standards, this guy was clearly stronger than a Demon King.

‘Could the entire Windsor Knight Order take him down if they all rushed in?’

The answer came immediately.

It was impossible.

Cecilia calmly lowered her hand.

Cain wore a strange smile, as if amused.

“It seems you’re the one who killed my underling.”

As she pondered how to lure him without it being awkward, a familiar voice was heard.

-‘Damn it, what the hell is going on here?’

-‘I-is this Lady Cecilia’s domain?’

It seemed the subjugation team had returned.

‘Of all times.’

The barrier was half-broken.

Now, it was barely blocking the demon’s aura.

If they wanted to come in, they could easily do so.

But at this point, Cecilia couldn’t take her eyes off Cain.

-‘A high-ranking demon has invaded. Silon! Go and gather the entire Windsor Knight Order! The rest of you, follow me and assist Cecilia!’

-‘Yes!’

“It seems we’ve had quite an enjoyable time, but it looks like uninvited guests have arrived.”

‘Don’t come.’

Cecilia said it in her heart, but there was no way they would listen.

“Gasp.”

The knights collapsed as soon as they entered the barrier, unable to withstand Cain’s presence.

Like dominos.

“Damn it.”

Among them, only Hiter, a high-ranking knight, managed to barely stand by leaning on his sword.

‘Don’t do it.’

Cecilia wanted to shout. But she couldn’t say it out loud.

Then the demon would sense it.

That Cecilia didn’t wish for their deaths.

If he knew that, the demon would move in the direction Cecilia least desired.

Demons were like that.

“Cecilia—! I’ll create an opening!”

Hiter, who had somehow overcome the aura, charged forward at full speed, swinging his sword.

Clang—!

Cecilia blocked Hiter’s sword in an instant and then kicked him back.

“Ugh!”

Hiter’s body flew like an arrow and crashed into the wall from the precise kick to his abdomen.

“Smart.”

The demon was still looking at the flames.

“You just saved a lot of lives.”

“…….”

“But it’s also quite unpleasant.”

Cain reached out toward Cecilia’s head.

Cecilia didn’t move a muscle and simply watched.

His hand passed over Cecilia’s head, reaching for the flower crown.

The moment it touched.

The flower crown, unable to withstand the aura of death, crumbled.

“I’m an uninvited guest, so I’ll leave the price at this.”

Cain, as if he had seen all he needed, began to walk away.

‘Ah.’

Cecilia was blankly staring into the air.

The petals scattering into pieces.

The once vibrant colors turned to ash.

The face of the child who had once smiled brightly while placing the flower crown on her head came to mind.

The calm Cecilia, who hadn’t even blinked in the face of a Demon King-level being, wavered.

Grit—.

‘Hold it in.’

If she fought him here, this city would be finished.

His aura couldn’t be blocked.

If a battle broke out, the entire surrounding area would be devastated.

‘I have to hold it in.’

The child who prepared this flower garden, the knights of Windsor over there—they would all die.

‘No.’

Think realistically.

If they engaged in an all-out war with the demon at this point, the end result would be—

Only herself standing alone in the ruined capital.

“I’m warning you.”

With her sword precisely aimed at Cain’s neck, her silver eyes sank chillingly.

“If you set foot on this land again.”

The demon looked down at the sword resting against his neck.

“You will die.”

As if stating an obvious fact.

The emotionless red gaze brushed past Cecilia.

Cecilia stared back at Cain with cold eyes.

‘What is this?’

Tap tap tap.

Cain’s hand trembled slightly.

Fear.

The survival instinct that all living beings feel.

‘This is the first time I’ve experienced this feeling. What should I call it?’

But unfortunately, he didn’t know the emotion called fear.

He only faintly felt it.

“Cecilia, was it?”

The woman before him was different from the other insignificant humans.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

With those words, Cain disappeared.

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