80 – Agillem (15)
Pshoo!
Suddenly, blood spurted out like a fountain from the wound cutting across Hamell’s body.
“…What?”
Even as blood poured from his own body, what lingered in Hamell’s eyes was not fear or dread, but rather a question.
It was his secret move.
An attack giving it his all.
However, not only was it easily cut through, but he had also instantly received a fatal wound.
The problem was that Hamel couldn’t figure out exactly what had happened, why it had happened.
He clearly saw the opponent swinging the sword.
However.
It was nothing special, just a simple slash.
A plain strike that didn’t feel as powerful as his own secret techniques.
Yet, the outcome was anything but ordinary.
Hamel couldn’t comprehend the situation at all.
That’s why he could only look at Wade with eyes overflowing with questions.
But Wade didn’t provide any answers to his inquiries.
He simply approached Hamel slowly.
“You…!”
Hamel tried to move his body, his face contorted in frustration, but the movement was not as smooth as before.
It was natural.
No matter how much a non-human reached the realm of a superhuman, in the end, they were still human.
After receiving such a significant wound, complete freedom of movement was impossible.
“How dare you…!”
Knowing this fact, Hamel summoned his magic and willpower as best as he could.
With that effort, the amount of blood spewing from his wound increased, but Hamel paid it no mind.
A force fitting of the term “strength” once again enveloped him and his resolve.
However.
That power did not manifest outwardly.
Because before Hamel could even move, Wade acted first.
“This…!”
Seeing this, Hamel urgently swung his spear, but it did not reach Wade.
Although it came close to grazing, it never quite made contact.
Neither with Wade’s body nor his sword.
Evading Hamel’s spear, Wade reached his close proximity.
“It’s time to end this.”
A solemn declaration of impending death was delivered to the King of Agilram.
“You…!”
Hamel, filled with rage, delivered a strike filled with all his might.
An all-out blow that disregarded the worsening wound.
A strike packed with formidable power that even Wade found hard to evade.
However.
Wade’s sword moved even faster.
Swish!
The sharp blade swiftly cut deep into Hamel’s chest.
“…To the likes of you….”
Leaving behind a brief remark.
Thud─
Hamell lay on the ground.
Seeing that sight, Wade muttered, “…Phew.”
He let out a short breath.
Then, after glancing at the sky once and looking around, he saw a devastated street.
The once dazzling street, filled with buildings, roads, and everything else, was now ruthlessly shattered and worn, exuding a desolate atmosphere.
Despite feeling a twinge of guilt at the sight, Wade turned his body.
If he caused such chaos, he needed to leave promptly.
With that thought in mind, as he was about to move his body,
Stiff.
Wade, who had just taken his first step, froze in his tracks.
And then, his gaze turned.
Behind him.
There, undoubtedly, Hamell, who seemed to have stopped breathing, was slowly rising to his feet.
Emitting an ominous aura that seemed familiar from somewhere.
***
‘This is….’
Frowning at Hamell’s appearance, I felt a sense of unease.
No, it happened naturally, regardless of my will.
While the unsettling impression from his eyes played a part, it wasn’t the main reason.
The problem was the eerie aura stimulating my senses.
‘This aura….’
Familiar.
I’ve seen it somewhere before.
I immediately ransacked my memory and found the answer.
‘…Hayden.’
The aura resembling that of Hayden La Elbrent, the prince of the Elbrent Empire.
Hamell was emitting an aura strikingly similar to his.
There might be slight differences in details, but the essence was undeniably alike.
What is the identity of this aura, and what connection does Hamell have with Hayden?
I stared at Hamell with tense eyes.
“…Oh, really.”
Hamell, who had risen to his feet, spoke for the first time.
His eyes were entirely black, devoid of any white.
“I didn’t plan to reveal myself like this….”
With an irritated and jaded expression, Hamell began to move his body in various directions.
His movements were as natural as those of someone uninjured.
“Well, I guess it’s fortunate.”
Hamell wandered around with an annoyed and weary face.
“It seems there aren’t many witnesses.”
There was no detailed explanation, but I understood the meaning of those words right away.
If there were witnesses, it meant they were all to be eliminated.
As I scrutinized Hamel quietly, I spoke.
“…Not human.”
There was no concrete evidence. It was just a vague intuition.
Yet, I felt a strong conviction.
That being, is not human.
“My apologies. I am human.”
Hamel replied, still furrowing his brow.
I pointed my finger at him.
“Ordinary humans don’t heal wounds like that in an instant.”
“…”
Hamel opened his eyes slightly.
It wasn’t that there was no wound; just a moment ago, deep wounds that had crossed his body were now gone, replaced by smooth skin.
Even if a saint had treated him, it was not the case. It could be asserted that a human capable of such miraculous regeneration through natural means would be nowhere to be found across the continent.
In other words, that being cannot be considered human.
“…No matter what you say, I am human.”
“You might just be a monster who thinks of themselves as human.”
“…Are you trying my patience again?”
With a stern expression, Hamel gripped his sword firmly once more.
As I raised my sword to meet his, I organized my thoughts in my mind.
There was undoubtedly some connection between Hamel and Hayden when considering the situation.
It couldn’t be dismissed as mere coincidence, for the aura Hamel was emitting right now was too alien.
If my guess was correct.
‘I need to extract information.’
For now, hiding from the Empire was a temporary goal, but in the long run, my objective was to thwart the plans of the ‘organization.’
However, there were too many obstacles to sprint towards that goal.
Above all, I knew too little about the ‘organization.’
Except for the fact that they aimed to start a war and had the power to move even the Imperial Prince under their control, I knew nothing else.
To stand against them, and to thwart their plans, I needed to know more about them.
And now, this link had appeared right in front of me.
‘I must extract as much information as possible.’
With that in mind, I gazed intently at Hamel.
Finally, Hamel began to move.
Although my purpose was to extract information, I remained vigilant.
I didn’t know what abilities Hamel possessed in that state.
But.
“…!”
I had to take a deep breath and twist my body immediately.
And in that moment, a spear of dusk brushed past my body.
“To dodge that was quite impressive. However…”
Slowly.
Hamell spoke quietly.
Without even a moment to counterattack the assault, I had to swing my sword immediately.
The spear that had missed me was now back, aiming at me once more.
Kwang!
From Noble mtl dot com
*Clang…!*
I managed to successfully block it, but I had to stifle a groan.
The impact coming from the sword was incomparable to anything before.
“Do you like it?”
Looking at me like that, Hamell had a fierce smile on his face.
“What’s wrong? Where did that earlier arrogance go? You were so confident just a moment ago.”
Perhaps my expression was a bit stiff, as I had felt the clash just a moment before.
How Hamell had become faster. And how unbelievably stronger he had become.
“hahahaha. Good, good. Yes. That expression suits you very well.”
As if unable to contain his amusement, Hamell burst into laughter.
“Yes. You need to know your place. Trying to defeat me, a nobody who crawled out from who knows where.”
Muttering to himself, Hamell nodded consistently.
“Ah… I can’t remember when was the last time I felt like this. Probably… about 10 years ago.”
Suddenly, Hamell began reminiscing about the past.
“He was a tough opponent. I couldn’t even lift a finger. I may not be as good as I am now, but back then, I had confidence in my skills, yet I couldn’t do anything and was defeated. That was the first time I felt the wall.”
With eyes that seemed to be looking into the distance, like a person under the influence of a drug, he rambled on about an unasked-for story.
“But it seems I didn’t expect to survive. I ended up fatally wounded due to my surprise attack. I did put up a fight in my own way… Well, in the end, I couldn’t avoid death.”
“…”
I listened quietly to his story.
Hoping to glean some information from his trivial past anecdotes.
“Aren’t you curious about who that person was?”
But suddenly, Hamell threw a question at me.
“…Well.”
Honestly, I wasn’t curious.
But to avoid abruptly cutting him off, I gave a lukewarm response.
“Hmm… Not very enthusiastic, huh? Nevertheless, you should know. Because…”
Snickering, a deep smile settled on Hamell’s face.
“That man’s name is ‘Miguel Leblus.'”
Miguel Leblus.
It was definitely an unfamiliar name, but a sense of unease crept in.
I searched my memory to find the cause of that unease.
The sound of a thud─
I turned my head towards the noise, and there, in a pitiful state with a familiar face crumbling down, I saw someone.
It was Belle.
And in that moment, I sensed the source of my unease.
My head whipped back towards Hamel.
Hamel was chuckling as he gazed down at the fallen Belle.
“Well, well. The father of Belle La Rebluse is right there.”
Truly, with a hint of amusement.