018. Hunting Competition (6)
Owen, who emerged as a swordmaster after centuries and was the strongest swordsman in history, could not only use his swordsmanship but could also go beyond that and use the ‘energy’ itself.
As a result, Owen, without even drawing his sword once in the hunting competition, could subdue dozens or hundreds of monsters with his sword energy, leading them to their demise.
‘Just using the sword properly is already a relief….’
However, as he barely managed to wield the sword like a swordmaster, he couldn’t handle sword energy like ‘Owen.’
How much effort and practice had he put in to handle this level of sword.
He had to practice extensively because he had to handle it smoothly, not just swing the sword roughly.
As a result, he was able to handle sword energy, aura, and other powerless abilities to a level where he wouldn’t be doubted.
This alone was miraculous and almost impossible.
Something an ordinary person would never be able to achieve.
However, handling sword energy as ‘energy’ was a whole different matter.
It was an act that one couldn’t even dare to practice.
‘I made a mistake in choosing my friends.’
Owen sighed inwardly, regretting.
“…For now, let’s enter the abyss.”
However, regretting alone wouldn’t change anything.
Owen decided to choose the best option available.
Postponing this situation a bit.
Kyle nodded at Owen’s words.
“Alright. Should we tie the horses here and go in?”
“…Let’s do that.”
The abyss was an area where large monsters resided.
True to its name, these creatures boasted a size twice that of a human, and at the same time, they were extremely savage, catching and devouring animals they came across.
Therefore, riding horses into the abyss was not a wise choice.
It could even result in the horses hindering their movements.
Therefore, before entering the abyss, the two tied the horses to the trees in the central area.
Only then did they slowly venture into the depths of the forest.
“It’s still the same here.”
True to its name, the depths of the forest were thick with fog.
Moreover, there were many tall trees towering around.
Owen captured the sight of such a landscape in his eyes when he heard the sound of a massive monster approaching, he turned his gaze.
“Sigh….”
Owen forced a dry laugh.
The medium-sized monsters he had seen earlier were so cute that even the appearance and size of the large monster were extremely threatening.
He had to reconsider the impression that they looked perfectly fine.
Ignoring the loud pounding of his heart due to tension, Owen placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Wait.”
At that moment, Kyle blocked him.
“You said you would show it.”
“….”
Meeting Owen’s eyes filled with curiosity, Kyle fell silent.
It was a mystery where exactly he found the interest.
The opponent was the impressive Marquis, and the only subjects he found interesting were magic and the witch Bella.
But it was hard to understand why he was so eager to see me in such danger.
‘Is it instinctively trying to put me in danger?’
His conclusion was quite convincing.
If it were true to the original, Owen and Kyle should have had a very strained relationship.
They were wary, disliked, and fought each other.
To capture Bella, they would willingly push each other into suffering.
So, if it was a case like the not-so-funny “destiny” in the original, it might be possible.
At least that’s what Owen thought.
‘I’ll manage somehow.’
But anyway, it was clear that they had to somehow deal with the situation at hand.
Owen released a sigh and let go of the sword’s hilt.
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‘At most, I’ll just get hurt.’
If he failed to handle the sword and couldn’t kill the monster, he would undoubtedly get hurt.
It would hurt, but there was no other choice.
Still, he wouldn’t die.
The person standing next to me was an antagonist in the original, but he wasn’t so ruthless as to ignore a person dying in front of him.
If he got hurt, he would probably stay nearby enough to save him.
‘…If I fail, I’ll be suspected, though.’
Whether he tried or not, he would be suspected.
In a somewhat hopeful mood, trying something out wouldn’t hurt.
Owen made that decision and slowly closed his eyes.
And he tried to recall the feeling of raising the energy in the sword.
Like covering the sword’s blade with energy, he had to raise it in the air.
It was easy up to this point.
It was something he was used to, covering the sword’s blade with energy.
But—.
‘Not from the sword, but from the fingertips.’
This time, he had to raise the energy not from the sword but from his fingertips.
To spread it in the air.
Owen reminded himself of that fact and took a deep breath.
Then, the cold energy flowed towards his fingertips.
‘…Still, not working.’
In the end, it seemed like something was missing and dispersed.
Owen narrowed his eyes and opened them again.
Unfortunately, it seemed like he had to give up.
The monsters were already close by.
“Why are you like this?”
Kyle, finding his attitude strange, asked from the side.
As Owen was about to answer.
-My lord, thank you very much.
A voice he didn’t remember echoed in his head.
-If Your Excellency hadn’t helped us, we would have surely perished.
Along with it, the owner of the voice suddenly appeared in his mind like a panorama.
As if watching a playback.
-No.
Then, a familiar voice echoed.
This was his.
No.
It was Owen’s voice.
-It would be better to leave this place. The darkness will soon consume everything here.
And senses were felt.
Unfamiliar yet familiar.
Those unknown senses.
Simultaneously, the sight of the forest engulfed by a new black darkness was revealed.
“…Owen?”
When Owen’s focus blurred, Kyle, sensing something strange, called his name.
But as Owen didn’t respond, Kyle urgently shook his shoulders.
“Hey.”
“…Ah.”
Only after Kyle shook him did Owen finally snap out of the strange panorama.
He blinked for a moment, then stared blankly at his own hand.
Soon, a black aura emanated from there.
It was none other than darkness.
The black aura rising from Owen’s hand quickly grew thick enough to seem like it would engulf the surroundings.
It was so dense that it was hard to compare with fog.
As dense as to devour all life.
With astonishment in his eyes, Kyle quickly cast a protective shield using magic.
In the short moment he took shelter behind the shield, all life around was suffocated by the black aura, except for the one who caused it.
“….”
At some point when Owen casually raised the darkness, he finally looked at his fingertips in astonishment.
‘How on earth…’
Just a moment ago, it was an endless puzzle.
As if in a lie, black darkness rose from his fingertips.
‘Was it because of earlier?’
Owen recalled the strange vision he had just seen, probing his memory.
It was not something from the original novel.
Having read the original work dozens of times to memorize it, there was nothing he couldn’t remember.
So he could say with certainty.
It wasn’t a part of the original work.
Then-.
‘…A memory?’
There was only one remaining possibility.
Owen’s memory.
For some reason, it suddenly resurfaced.
‘Why now…’
If it had been like this since the first possession, it would have made sense.
But now it had been a month since the possession.
To have Owen’s memory suddenly at a time like this was immensely confusing.
While Owen looked bewildered, Kyle, who had been hiding next to him behind the shield, spoke up.
“…Incredible.”
Looking quite surprised, Kyle then quickly took in the surrounding scenery.
“But using it anywhere would be quite problematic.”
What was engulfed by the black darkness was not just the approaching monsters or those hiding around.
All the trees, grass, and animals hiding from the monsters in the vicinity had lost their breath.
“…True.”
In response to Kyle, Owen agreed as if in consent.
He was also quite taken aback.
Not only the fact that he handled darkness like Owen, but also the fact that he recalled Owen’s memories…
He didn’t know this ability could be so cruel.
Even though this ability appeared several times in the novel, it seemed lacking in description.
‘Isn’t this almost like a disaster…?’
If one wished, this ability seemed capable of wiping out a whole city in an instant.
After witnessing this spectacle, Owen finally understood why the royal family feared Duke Verdin so much.
This realization of Owen’s continued even after witnessing Kyle’s rampage.
“….”
It was a winter day, and the forest had a decent amount of snow, but not everything was frozen solid.
At Kyle’s gesture, everything in sight was covered in ice.
Plants, creatures, everything.
‘He could probably wipe out an entire city.’
Owen finally grasped why the royal family rejected the Marquis and Duke Verdin as enemies.
Perhaps out of concern.
If such monstrous humans were to be brought into the capital and the Grand Assembly.
Could it be that the capital might vanish overnight?
Or that they might usurp power?
Such thoughts.
Upon seeing this spectacle, such thoughts seemed entirely plausible.
It would have been strange not to have them.
This was truly an overwhelmingly dominant force.
Of course, neither Kyle nor Owen were serious enough to be interested in toppling the throne or the capital.
And perhaps, if either of them had been interested in toppling the throne or the capital.
It would have happened long ago.
Even without bringing Duke Verdin to the Grand Assembly, without bringing the Marquis to the capital.
Within those limited conditions, there was enough superhuman power to achieve results.
“…Should I do it?”
Owen quickly dispelled his complex thoughts.
In the end, these thoughts were not that important to either of them.
Having cleared his mind of unnecessary thoughts, he watched Kyle, who roamed through the depths of the forest alone, and suddenly asked a question.
In response, Kyle turned to Owen, narrowing his eyes.
“If you’re going to use that ability to wipe everything out, wouldn’t it be better if I did it?”
“Because you might end up killing everything that’s alive?”
“Yeah. Keres Marquis might start looking a bit pitiful.”
In response to Kyle’s statement about Keres Marquis looking pitiful, Owen slowly replied.
“…We’ve been doing this every year.”
After all, they had been hunting down creatures like this every year.
Skipping it this year wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Even though it wasn’t ‘me’ but ‘Owen’ who did it.
Anyway, they shared the same body.
At Owen’s words, Kyle clicked his tongue in annoyance.
He genuinely seemed to pity Keres Marquis.
“Keres Marquis seems pitiful. How much money do you think it took to restore the forest?”
“He’s a magician, after all.”
“Yeah. Do you know how much magical power it takes to restore a forest?”
Upon hearing Owen’s brazen words, Kyle seemed incredulous.
As Kyle himself was a magician, he found Owen’s ignorance about magical power frustrating.
It seemed like he was trying to explain that magical power doesn’t just fall from the sky.
“You have to pour dozens, hundreds of magic stones. Do you know how much that would cost?”
“Is that so?”
Upon hearing Kyle’s added comment, Owen felt slightly apologetic.
It was probably because of the space he had conjured earlier.
“…But aren’t you freezing everything around you right now?”
Suddenly, Kyle’s actions came to mind.
While Owen used his ability to make all nearby life disappear, Kyle was freezing everything around him.
As if an ice age had descended.
“It seems like both creatures and plants are freezing to death together, right?”
And naturally, no living being could survive in an ice age.
At Owen’s retort, Kyle fell silent.