89 – 18. Duel under the stars
‘Is it a trap?’
Hector came to a conclusion. It’s a trap that is clearly visible to anyone.
At the same time, I also realized something.
‘In the first place, all the battles so far…… It was to lead you here.’
Somehow, compared to his abilities and judgment, he insisted on close combat to the point of being ignorant.
It was the most threatening means of attack, but the purpose was to keep running at him and make him focus his mind only on Namgoong Min, so that he would not be able to pay attention to the fact that he was guiding Namgoong Min’s position.
And the place we worked so hard to lead was the annex where we lived in Lane……
Kirik.
Hector, who attached an arrow to the string, pulled the string to the annex without saying a word.
Should I break it?
‘That would be the safest.’
It may be impossible to use an ordinary arrow like this, but with the archer job skill , You can destroy an old annex like a sand castle.
However.
‘There is only one remaining . Other skills…… ‘I won’t be able to use it properly in my current state.’
You can only use Three times a day, and you have already used it twice, so this is the last time.
If Namgoong Min activates the artifact, he cannot deal any real damage other than , So it was a card that Hector wanted to save.
As for other skills, it is impossible to use them properly if you check your physical condition yourself.
More than you think…… The damage inflicted was large.
‘You’re not wrong.’
The brain shakes, the vision shakes.
It is no exaggeration to say that it is fatal for an archer who must aim accurately at the target.
Because he is a veteran and skilled as good as Hector, he is somehow able to shoot arrows. If he were an ordinary archer, he would have been shocked long ago.
Hector lightly spat out the blood rising from inside and narrowed his eyes.
‘As expected, it is right to destroy it. If it’s a trap, it’s best not to go in in the first place.’
Kuddeuk.
Give strength to the protests and slowly build up their strength.
And then the ──
“……………….”
──Do not use.
Even the protest that was briefly aimed at the annex was released, and he took a deep breath.
Hector, who was taking a deep breath, looked down at his hands, which were shaking slightly from shock.
‘How much? Like this…… ‘A sincere struggle to kill and kill each other.’
Hector Arthur was originally a man who did not fit the position of head of the family.
To be precise, I liked the role of a soldier fighting on the front line while receiving instructions more than a leader who leads everyone responsibly.
He was born as a career holder, and from the moment he first picked up the bow, only blood and struggle made his heart beat.
However, it was a dream that could not come true.
Hector Arthur was the only legitimate son of the Arthur family and was destined to become the head of the family.
That’s why his father gave Hector some time off.
A period of time where you can go to the gate, struggle, and fight as much as you want.
At that time, he was quite violent and arrogant.
‘It was the happiest day.’
In the end, the allowed time came to an end, and the archer who broke the star and was called the hero of Europe put down his bow.
And became the head of Arthur’s family.
That’s…… Really………
‘It was terrible.’
…… It was a painful day for Hector.
Not caring about pleasure, desire for power, marriage, or children.
Hector simply focused on the family’s interests and increasing the family’s power. Because it was less boring that way.
That’s why Hector had no intention of apologizing to Lane.
Because it was the best way to grow Arthur.
In his opinion, Hector did not feel any family affection or love for his wife and children.
So I decided to use it as a tool rather than a child.
Lane abused and gaslighted him, and Lucas kicked him out on the streets and raised him.
I am confident that it was ultimately a success.
‘It was a boring day and a terrible place…… ….’
Right now, at this moment.
At this moment, I am more tired, injured, and worse than usual.
My heart is racing and I feel joy.
…… Slowly, smile.
“Only now, I…….”
Rain was challenged to a duel by an agent, and Lucas cast a spell on the agent.
Even though the two children had betrayed their father.
Hector didn’t care about that.
Just.
“I feel alive…!!!”
He just smiled fiercely and took a step forward.
Will I use this happy time, this happy moment, at best by shooting it with one arrow?
It doesn’t matter if it’s a trap or anything else.
I will destroy everything from the front── and confidently kill Namgoong Min.
Trug. Trudging. Trudging.
Enter the dark annex and walk towards the widest central hall.
After reaching the place where only the faintly shining chandelier shines.
Hector could see Namgoong Min sitting on a chair with a smile.
“You came in easier than I thought.”
“I don’t have anything to be afraid of.”
“For something like that…Are you shaking quite a bit?”
“It’s Nam Isa.”
“……………….”
“……………….”
There was no particular signal.
It was at the same time that Hector took out an arrow and fired, and Namgoong Min stood up from his seat.
Even as his vision was shaking, Hector’s arrow, which he shot first, pierced Namgoong Min’s thigh at the same time──
Beep.
“………!!”
── Namgoong Min presses the button she was holding in her hand.
Immediately after that, Hector urgently looked up at the ceiling and walked away from her.
Click!!!
“It’s a trap after all…!!”
Since when on earth and how many have been prepared?
All kinds of things are flying from everywhere, from the ceiling and walls.
The chandelier that just fell where Hector was standing.
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Furniture and concrete debris flying tied to strings.
Arrows and chains being fired from somewhere.
Numerous traps were targeting him.
But he already predicted it, and saw it right before his eyes.
Hector was smiling.
“hahahaha!!!”
Ping! Ping! Ping!
Dodge the chandelier by rolling, and change the trajectory of furniture and concrete by shooting arrows several times.
Let’s shoot arrows together and hit them.
You can barely avoid the chains by ducking or flying.
There were many traps that fell in unexpected places, as if trying to predict where to avoid them.
With his body condition deteriorating in many ways, a direct hit from anything would result in serious injury.
‘Yes! ‘This is battle!’
A life-threatening battle between each other.
The joy he felt while going to the gate and getting involved in all kinds of conflicts when he was young.
Hector, who felt this for the first time in a long time, laughed like crazy and moved his body and hands like crazy.
Boom! Clink! Thud!! Bang!!! Kwaang!!!!!
“Huh…Heuhuh……Heuhuh…….”
──How much time has passed?
It feels like more than an hour has passed, but in reality, it probably lasts less than a minute.
Hector, who had managed to avoid all the traps, stood up, breathing heavily and using his longbow as a staff.
“……………….”
The face of Namgoong Min, the duelist, and the enemy is visible.
He was slumped against a pillar, desperately trying to stop the bleeding from the arrow stuck in his thigh, with an expression of despair on his face.
‘Yes, I admit it.’
You designed it meticulously and viciously.
I don’t know how on earth they set up this many traps without him noticing.
There is no need to know that.
The winner stands while staggering, and the loser sits down bleeding.
That’s all.
I decided not to think about anything else.
“It was great….”
“……………….”
“Now… Let’s finish this.”
Kwaak.
Instead of shooting an arrow, hold the arrow taken from the quiver strongly.
This is the last arrow I keep using.
‘The arrow that ends the duel is the last arrow.’
Hector laughed bitterly at the irony.
Jeobbuk. Jerk. Jerk.
“……………….”
I’m bleeding, my wounds are painful, my vision is so blurry that it’s hard to even stand properly.
Hector somehow got to the front of Namgoong Min, kicked the nearby chain with his foot, and raised his hand holding the arrow.
A kind of habit that has been practiced since childhood when killing an enemy that has shown respect.
To kill someone by holding them directly in the heart without shooting them with an arrow.
…… Namgoong Min’s complexion turned pale as if he had lost too much blood without being able to properly resist.
That pain will end now.
“You worked hard.”
And.
“Goodbye.”
Hook.
Hector’s arrow pierced Namgoong Min’s heart.
…… Closely.
“Gotcha.”
“……!?”
Namgoong Min, smiling with a pale face, grabs her Hector’s wrist.
Hector was trying to withdraw his hand in a hurry due to resistance that was like a flash of light, but──
.
“…What!”
The situation suddenly takes a turn.
…… The chandelier is being restored again.
The broken furniture and concrete pieces scattered throughout the central hall were assembled and returned to the ceiling as if time were turning.
An arrow fired from a trap also floats in the air and returns somewhere.
And.
“Ugh, ugh!!”
The chain that I had removed with my foot is wrapped around my body.
The chains that had fallen in unexpected places were binding Hector’s whole body as if they had been calculated.
‘Are you saying these locations were all calculated!?’
It is gambling. An obvious gamble!
If I hadn’t shot the arrow in the thigh the first time, I would have suspected Namgoong Min, who was still standing there.
If he, who had avoided all the traps, had not approached and had shot an arrow from afar, that would have been the end of it.
If the arrow had been inserted into the head rather than the heart, he would have died instantly.
You designed this location, excluding all possibilities, and betting everything on the possibility that he would come up to you and pierce your heart with an arrow?
I haven’t even seen my habits or the future, so how can I………
……… For a moment.
“……Dot, Jjaeng.”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s me.”
“Ha, hahahahaha! Fortune teller, fortune teller!”
Information that I already knew but didn’t pay much attention to.
Namgoong Min is a fortune teller.
Even if we say fortune teller, it is synonymous with a trash job and is not a combat job, so it is not even included in the variables.
‘A fortune teller…… ‘Did you read the future and my habits?’
When you come to the end of the end, the only thing you can do is get a fortune or something.
It was truly laughable.
“Off…!!”
…… In the meantime, I’m somehow holding on, but that’s my limit.
It’s like I’ve turned back time and I’m holding on against the chains that are trying to return to their original positions, but I don’t have the energy to do anything else.
In front of Hector, who was struggling, Namgoong Min, who had an arrow pierced through his heart, stood up.
“The arrow was blocked. Coincidentally, the heart area was blocked by this necklace.”
“Arty…Fact…!!”
“Because of how much force you applied, this expensive thing broke… But it doesn’t really matter now.”
The positions change in an instant.
He who could have been the winner was driven to the brink of defeat.
Namgoong Min, who was quietly watching Hector holding on to avoid being dragged away, waved his hand in the air.
Then.
“A week ago, now?”
“……………….”
There was no answer from Namgoong Min.
I just hold a glass jug filled with some kind of flowing liquid in my hand.
Then tilt the kettle towards the floor──
.
Click!!!
“………!!”
──Immediately afterwards, the glass teapot shatters.
Nam Goong Min, with his eyes wide open in shock, looked at Hector who was chained up.
“K…Sigh…!!”
Clink.
…… Hector, whose left arm is twisted in a strange direction, drops his longbow.
I forcefully moved my chained left arm, risking a fracture, so I raised my longbow and shot the last remaining
.
Even though my left arm was completely small, I was able to blow away the opponent’s means.
‘If I just endure this, I will…… !’
Hector, sensing a reversal, shakes his body to free himself from the chains.
“…It’s meaningless.”
“What…!!”
Namgoong Min, who had a momentary look of embarrassment, soon looked down at the water spilling on the floor as the kettle broke.
He catches the blood flowing from his thigh with his hand and drops it into the water.
Hector was dumbfounded for a moment by this unknown act.
The puddle of water that remained transparent despite being mixed with blood shines.
Special skill .
And the world changes.
*
“…What, what?”
At some point, Hector opened his eyes and looked around.
A mountain full of trees and grass. Even there, there is only ankle-length grass.
This is the top of the mountain where the duel first started.
Why am I here?
Before I realize that, I hear a voice coming from somewhere.
“You said you once destroyed a meteorite.”
“…! Where are you!”
I hurriedly point my arrow and look around, but there is no place where I feel like I am popular.
But Hector did not look like he would lose.
My body was in good condition with no injuries, and I was full of energy as if I was younger.
As if it were in its heyday.
“Come out! I, Hector Arthur, will not avoid a fight on foot!”
“Hector Arthur, a European hero who even lost stars, one of the greatest archers.”
“Yes! I am Hector Arthur!”
Are we enemies again?
Hector smiled at the overwhelming joy.
Anyway, after just one year, he will have to return to his family and take over as the head of the family. Fighting for one’s life is always welcome.
That unknown enemy will pierce your entire body with arrows and directly pierce your heart!
So take a moment to find the origin of the voice.
I hear the voice again.
“But at best, a meteorite cannot be called a star…”
“What are you saying!!”
“Try it yourself.”
…… What? What are you talking about?
Hector’s expression twisted as if he was dumbfounded by the strange words.
“…Hmm?”
Is it because of my mood?
Looks like one of the stars in the night sky has moved……
“Mi, chin?”
…… No, it’s not my fault.
The stars are really moving.
One of the countless stars in the night sky, a star that must have been far away, moved noticeably.
Ggggg—─!!!!
It’s flying this way.
Hector was at a loss for words for a moment at that strange sight.
“Yes, that’s how it comes out…!!”
Whether the opponent is a meteorite, a star, or anything else, just fight to the death!
Job skill .
Job skill .
General skill .
General skill .
So, a shot full of power──
“Search!!!”
──Shoot.
The intangible arrow flies and pierces the stars falling this way.
This one shot of Hector’s conversion will shatter even the stars!
“Ha, hahahahaha! How are you, how are you? This is me! This is me!!”
Looking at the shattering star, he lets out a shout of pride, but there is no answer to the unidentified voice.
Of course. You probably didn’t know that Hector Arthur’s skills were this high.
Hector looked up at the night sky with a wild smile.
“……Huh?”
Soon, he had no choice but to lose that smile.
…… Star.
Numerous stars decorate the night sky.
Because everything was falling.
“……………….”
So many stars are falling that we cannot dare to count them.
I urgently try to protest, but the pride and confidence that had dominated my body until now are gone, and only a feeling of helplessness surrounds me.
“aaah!!!”
, .
The two Fired in a desperate manner just disappear without meaning.
Soon the entire field of view is filled with stars.
Tuk.
“……………….”
For the last time, he dropped his longbow with a devastated expression on his face.
The star fell.
*
“……………….”
“…It’s over.”
And.
Hector, who seemed to be dreaming, lowered his head.
It was a signal signaling the end of the duel.