100 – The Sword of Dakia (4)
It’s commonly said.
An elf’s weapon is their long life.
This phrase is generally used metaphorically.
Implying one can accomplish much over a long lifespan.
But there are lunatics who literally use their lifespan as a weapon.
And such a man is standing before me now.
A vivid red light spreads across the dark cavern.
Burning away at Rex’s lifespan, the light radiates around him.
The hue of the light gradually turns orange.
A sign his lifespan is dwindling in real time.
Finally, when the last cold blue flame flickers out.
That’s when Rex dies.
“I’ve staked everything on my revenge! What have you risked?”
Rex has literally staked everything.
Risking both his life and lifespan to accomplish his revenge.
But that wouldn’t be an issue if it was only directed at Transylvania.
The problem is he’s lashing out at everyone else as well.
“I’ll say it again! If you’re not prepared for death, forfeit!”
“What a foolish man to be so grimly resolute…”
This is truly a no-win situation.
While the technique of burning one’s lifespan into power is considered taboo, it’s not illegal.
“Ah…”
A quick glance at Mia reveals she also appears taken aback.
There’s nothing in the duel rules against it.
As long as it doesn’t violate Elven Guard laws, there’s no justifiable means for her to stop this duel as a referee.
Hence, the duel must proceed as it is.
His plans are to defeat me in an instant.
And then he’ll summon Transylvania to the dueling field for his revenge.
Next would be Yulia.
The damned scoundrel is intent on burning his life to kill Yulia.
Rex is clearly losing his rationality and raging.
He’s trying to commit a crime on the razor’s edge of legality.
He must be stopped.
It has to be me, of all people, who stops Rex here.
The first method that comes to mind is buying time.
Stall until Rex’s flames turn blue.
Just endure by any means until his life ends.
However, even the foolish Rex would think of such a simple method.
“You filthy rat! You think I can’t see through your scheme?!”
“Damn it…!”
With a bang!
As Rex stomped onto the ground, dust burst in all directions.
Rex, covered with flames, charged towards me.
I gave up facing his sword and dodged to the side.
But his sword immediately changed direction and chased after me.
I barely escaped from his sword’s reach after losing my footing and disgracefully running away.
“How long do you think you can run away?”
But that was only a temporary effect.
The price of losing my stance.
As Rex immediately pursued, the price I had to pay was massive.
Running and running, and running again.
But even this ruse has its limits.
Ultimately, Rex is superior in speed and strength.
All I’m doing is using my large amount of energy as a sacrifice for prolonging my life.
As my stamina decreases, so does my retreat speed.
The number of scratches on my body increase.
A single mistake here, and instead of a scratch, a fatal wound would pierce my abdomen.
My breath quickly rises to my throat in an instant.
Moreover, I had already been cornered against the wall.
There was nowhere to run or any strength left to spare.
All there was left to do was fight face to face.
If I was to escape, I had to cross swords with them.
And I certainly hadn’t planned on dealing with things in a fair and square manner.
“What?!”
Pretending to turn my back.
I immediately spin around with a roundhouse kick, blocking the Rex’s sword with the sole of my shoe and simultaneously.
Aiming at the enemies’ waist with the sword blade, I cast a low slash attack.
“I’ve figured out that you’re using two sword techniques!”
However, as if he had anticipated this, Rex, who was subtly maintaining distance, stepped back and blocked the attack.
He tried countering while deflecting my flying sword blade with his solid steel ring but was swiftly overpowered once again.
I mixed Dakia-ryu and Frost-ryu to cause confusion, but Rex responded calmly and blocked the attack.
‘This is the moment.’
A gap had appeared due to the confusion.
Dakia-ryu and Frost-ryu.
One sword technique prioritizes attack, The other prioritizes defense so they are naturally antagonistic to each other.
Guarding against both at once.
Meant to become completely vulnerable to a different sword technique.
“Huh?!”
My final card, the Merida-ryu, was drawn from the sheath, and I penetrated by swinging the sword.
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The movement was completely different from the big swings and thrusts I had been using.
Contrary to Dakia-ryu, which was aiming for a clean hit.
It was an attack that penetrated the enemies’ defenses, like the flow of water, puncturing through them with the tip of the sword.
As the wrists of the enemy, a member of the In-tribe, twisted at an impossible angle.
Rex’s eyes widened as he saw the sword blade riding along the curve of his sword and flew towards him.
There was no avoiding it.
Even if Rex’s reflexes were quick, the best thing he could do was to pull his head back as far as possible.
Even then, his skull is still within the range of my sword tip.
Gotcha.
“Scream!!!”
“······?!”
In that moment of thought, an unbelievable thing happened.
The tip of the sword touched his forehead.
I felt the taste of my hand penetrating through the skin and even the inside.
However, what I soon felt was not the sensation of the skull cracking and breaking apart.
It was just the sensation of scraping the skull and passing by.
I hit his head, but I didn’t kill him.
“Haah… Haahhh… even using the Maryuda clan… those damn thieves…!”
“This is crazy. What kind of trick are you using to catch that thing?”
Rex stepped back, holding his bleeding head and gasping for breath.
I hit his weak point perfectly.
However, Rex was unrealistically tough.
What he gained by burning his lifespan was not only strength.
The durability of his body must have also become stronger.
A shallow cut wouldn’t be a fatal blow.
So the only way to shatter Rex’s skull with certainty is to strike it with a sure blow using the sword’s edge······.
But that’s impossible.
Just now, I barely managed to penetrate him by some miracle.
Against someone who has more strength, speed, and skill than me, such a big movement won’t work.
“This is a big problem.”
There are no more Ace of Spades to show.
I’ve seen the Dacya clan and Frost clan, and even the Maryuda clan.
From now on, Rex will approach me with even more caution and pressure.
I wish he had completely lost his sanity.
If he had gone crazy, I wouldn’t have to worry about fighting someone with overwhelming physical strength while still being intellectually capable.
“An elf who risks their life, so dirty······. Why don’t you just organize a suicide special forces? You could conquer the world.”
“No elf, who wastes the heavens given by the world tree like that! We’re prepared to risk everything for revenge!”
With blood dripping from his forehead, one of Rex’s eyes has already turned red.
Rex regains his breath, lifting his curved sword to ready himself.
Before you know it, the light enveloping his entire body is gradually changing from yellow to blue.
In response to this, I too——
I realign my twisted wrist, and grip my sword.
My stamina has long since reached its limit, visible in the trembling of my swordpoint.
Even so, I cannot back down.
“Why won’t you surrender? Your last desperate attack was in vain! Stop this pointless resistance and give up! This side is fighting with their lives on the line! If you’re not desperate, stop playing with other people’s lives and get out!”
“I might as well be risking my life too.”
Rex bellows, driven to the edge.
But I’m just as desperate.
I’ve been rolling for a full 12 years.
This is the last chance given after rolling for 12 years.
I just can’t let someone who declares he’ll screw up in this last round get away with it.
Absolutely not. I cannot let him aim his sword at Yulia.
“You don’t understand at all, do you? Are you by any chance plotting against the witch? What is the witch that everyone is afraid of and even discarded by Elbengard to you!”
“Plotting·····?”
That’s absurd.
Am I, plotting against Yulia?
At last, I can’t help but let out a bitter laugh.
“Ha. No.”
No, that’s not it.
It’s definitely more than that simple sentiment.
It’s not just the simple kind of emotion where I like and dislike.
“It’s more than that.”
Soon, my swordpoint stops trembling.
Strength fills my body.
Although my physical strength has long since passed its limit, my concentration is at its peak.
The control of magic power that is purified through the sword grip is more perfect than ever.
Needless to say,
at this moment, I am stronger than any previous moment.
But it still cannot match the elves who burn a life of a thousand years.
In about five minutes, Rex will likely flaunt his ultimate-level strength.
The gap in combat experience and technique is meaningless in front of overwhelming power.
Even a properly-aimed piercing blow just bounced off his hard skull.
No technique henceforth will have an effect.
“Ha……”
The impression that comes from looking at the prepared Rex.
It’s like standing in front of a giant wall.
Just a wall that one can easily turn back from, but trying foolishly to cross over, one can’t help but struggle.
In order to break Rex’s bones and inflict a lethal blow, one must absolutely land a clean hit.
That means, having to move close in large motions.
My body will be split in two before my sword can reach him.
Alive, I must land a clean blow on Rex.
My sword must reach a place that seems out of reach.
Beyond the limits of the sword, somehow……
“Ah.”
Just now.
I think I understand the meaning of the cryptic remarks.
It’s not a simple long-range sword thrust.
I think I understand the intention of words too.
The greatest technique of the Dakiaryu is not originally intended to engage a remote enemy.
When the Dakiaryu, which is completely offensive, is blocked and can no longer advance.
To cut a place that the sword cannot reach.
To cut inside a place with no gaps.
Created to escape the limits of the sword.
Essentially, the ultimate technique.
The essence of an attack.
“Huh? Why the sword……?”
Dropping the double-edged sword which has been wrecked,
I grasp the wooden sword at my waist.
With the other hand, I grip the sword hilt, tightly bound in silk threads.
It is the first time I’m holding this ring-pommel sword.
Strange and uncomfortable in my grip.
Lacking a magic stone that helps with controlling magical power, the flow of mana throughout my body soon becomes a mess.
But the sensitivity in my fingertips grows even more refined.
The quivering of the sword’s blade and the spasms in my muscles resonate.
I am ready to draw the sword.
“Don’t you dare…!”
Rex’s face turns ashen, and then he charges straight at me.
As he does, the sword slides out from its scabbard.
With a strange sensation, a system window appears before my eyes.
[Attribute, ‘Dakia-style’ level has increased.]
[Attribute: Dakia-style (lv.11)]