Chapter 67: CH 67

67 - The Old Man in the Countryside Cuts Through the Dark Night

“They ran this way,” Thyssel said. “Maybe on this road.”

“Yeah, I got it,” I said.

With Thyssel, I run after Bishop Lebios and Spur, eyes fixed in the direction they fled at.

That said, I don’t know the geography of the North District. Although I can get an idea of the approximate direction, I can’t grasp the concrete steps. In the end, the path I took was relying on Thyssel’s navigation.

“So Lucy ordered you to join up, after all?” I asked as we ran.

“… No,” Thyssel said. “Chance.”

“… I see.”

Yeah, I wonder if I’m just going to keep the “accident” excuse. Well, it would be a lot of trouble in the unlikely event something happened. Even if the other party is just me, I should see that I’m wary of information regulation.

“… I see them.”

I run quickly in the North District on this quiet night.

The visibility is poor because it’s a dark out. However, to put it the other way around, in places where people aren’t walking normally if someone runs past in a hurry, they will stand out badly. At the end of my chase, I saw a figure with a wide figure and someone who was clanking due to his full plate armor. 1

It seems this chase is about to end sooner than I imagined.

Is it possible that Bishop Lebios and Spur were simply slow? It would be impossible to run fast with that heavyset figure and full plate armor on. 2

“Fuh… fuh…!”

“Please stop, Bishop Lebios,” I said.

“…!”

I get close enough to hear Bishop Lebios breathing hard and call on him to halt.

After all, I’m in a bad mood right now. There was an edge in my voice that I only realized after the fact.

This isn’t good, I have to be calm.

In the worst case, there is a possibility of entering another battle as it is. In such a psychological state, the sword hand dulls.

Take a breather in your mind and calm your breath and heart.

It was possible that he could continue to flee, but surprisingly Bishop Lebios obliged after hearing my voice. Maybe he really is exhausted.

“… The Knights of Rebelio,” I said. “They would like to talk to you in the appropriate place, including the magical matter I mentioned earlier.”

“…”

I couldn’t say that I was working for Priest Ibroix’s money.

The Knights of Rebelio who were working to attract witnesses would have had a hard time giving a justification then, but now they have provided solid evidence of a half-hearted miracle of the resurrection of the dead. It would be good to proceed as it is.

After my orders, Thyssel silently holds out her sword. It seems that she will not allow any more escape.

Her sword magic is useful in such cases. Since she can attack remotely, even if they start running at the first opportunity, Thyssel can respond immediately.

“You don’t understand the research value of this miracle…” Lebios said.

“That’s not what I heard,” I snapped, cutting him off.

As I said, I didn’t know if it even was as he claimed. Rather, in terms of personal feelings alone, I am even more negative about the miracle of the resurrection of the dead.

The reason is life cannot be tampered with by human hands. Of course, there may be some who crave it like Miu.

“Please come me, Bishop Lebios,” I said.

“…”

Bishop Lebios is not the type that can fight by any means.

The only trump card of escape left is Spur, who stands beside him. I don’t know how skillful this guy is, but he’s going two-on-one. There is a good chance of winning.

By the way, I left the scene to Kuruni, but I wonder if it’s okay. Well she’s also a member of the Knights, does she know what she should do now?

“… Spur”

“Sir.”

Bishop Lebios relies on his last option. It was Spur, after all.

He nods quietly and pulls out the estoc on his waist.

He’s ready to clash. The air is different from the knights I was dealing with earlier.

“… Tsuo!?”

The next moment.

Spur’s Estoc was coming straight for me.

I parry the approaching sword in a hurry. Perhaps because he wasn’t in the right position, I couldn’t turn his sword away and strike back as I had at the beginning.

This guy is fast!

Even though he’s wearing a full plate, he’s so fast. Cold sweat runs down my back.

“Nhn!”

“Knuu…!”

His estoc parried, Spur still continues to push on without losing his posture.

Hey, hey, hey, you should treat an estoc more delicately! The attempt to push through the tip of the sword with brute force and ridiculous speed continues two or three more times.

Unlike Henblitz and Selena, this sword style is difficult to turn back even if you try to break his posture. He doesn’t put his weight completely in it, he uses his waist, shoulders, and arms as well to get the maximum speed with the minimum effort.

In this battle that started so suddenly, Thyssel cannot move.

The distance between Spur and me is too close, and even if I get help in this state, I may be hit, as well. I didn’t think he could suddenly get this close so quickly!

This knight named Spur is obviously two or three levels different from the other guys. His sword speed and effort are in orders of magnitude away.

Besides, the Estoc I’m dealing with seems to be better than that of a general knight. We clashed swords many times, but I didn’t crush the blade like I did at the beginning.

“–!”

Our wordless exchange continues while our swords clang and ring.

During that, the aim of the battle changed.

I don’t know his line of sight because of the helmet. However, the brunt of Spur’s focus changed.

“…! Thyssel!”

Perhaps he decided that the trades with me would drag too long, Spur suddenly switched the target of his thrusts from me to Thyssel.

Thyssel should be alert.

But from her point of view, Spur’s sword was only aimed at me.

A surprise attack.

The only way to prevent this completely was to move my whole body out of position.

“Hmmn!”

“… Here!”

Clang.

The sound of Spur’s estoc and my longsword striking each other rings out even louder.

We’re close to each other. Fuck, I haven’t experienced this for a long time, this situation.

“Thyssel! Are you okay!”

“I-I’m okay…!”

It was dangerous.

If my judgment was a millisecond later, Spur’s estoc would definitely have reached and stabbed Thyssel.

Yes, Thyssel is a swordsman, a sorcerer, and a woman familiar with the art of war. You could say that she was also a valid target. This is not a duel, but undeniably a live battle.

However, even if I understand it in theory, I can’t be human enough to calmly watch danger befall my ex-disciple.

I don’t think this guy will get away with this.

As I tried to regain my posture, I feel my spirit burning anew.

“How strong. This is quite regrettable.”

“…!”

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I thought that his aim had changed. Spur puts his strength into our linked swords.

I’m a little disadvantaged in respect to pure strength. I wasn’t the type that took the advantage with brute force, so I’m not good at resisting pressure from the front.

“I beseech you, Great One, grant me strength.”

“…!?”

In the middle of locking swords, the metal grinding against each other, Spur utters a prayer.

This is bad, physical strengthening magic is bad in this situation!

I put strength and effort into my arms, but they’re gradually pushed in. Damn it, I was already inferior in raw power even without the strengthening magic, but with the spell, the match-up is extremely skewed.

This is dangerous, I’m being pushed back—!

“I won’t let you.”

“…!”

Thyssel thrust into the side when my arms were about to lose strength. Thyssel’s longsword rises up as if to slice off Spur’s arm from below.

The sound of the back of his hand and her sword colliding with each other echoes.

It didn’t seem like it was cut off, but the impact lifted Spur’s arm. He pulls back and pushes the longsword out of the way.　

“Thyssel…! Thanks, I’m saved!”

I jump back and take a distance.

She was back in a ready stance immediately after helping me. In that respect, she was not just someone to protect, but a fine swordsman.

“… Ah.”

After taking a break and shifting my gaze a little, I see the back of Bishop Lebios as he begins to escape again.

No, no, no. At this rate, he’ll escape.

“Thyssel! Follow Bishop Lebios!”

If we let him go as is, everything we have done so far will be wasted. However, it is too stupid to ignore Spur and chase after him together. If he attacks our backs, that’s it.

In this case, I have no choice but to stop Spur and have Thyssel give chase.

“… Understood. Master, be careful,” Thyssel said.

It seems that a bit of hesitation was in Thyssel, but she still started to move according to my orders.

“… Tch.”

“I won’t let you go!”

This time, I’ll clash with Spur as he’s slightly off-focus.

I bent my arms and made a short sideways sweep, but it was quickly blocked with the estoc.

“Not over yet!” I cried.

I continued to step in and swing my longsword.

But, as if was inevitable, the move was dodged at the last minute. Goddamn it, you’re wearing full-plate, drop your guard a little.

He’s the type that overwhelms his opponents with overwhelming, disproportionate power and effort. It’s not good that he had the initiative. And, combined with the miracle, he’s clearly more powerful than I am. It is also dangerous to bring him into a close range.

“Shi!”

“Nhh…!”

After the cleave, I switch to an angular slash and cut on the return swing. Our swords clash and block each other.

Damn, I’m not getting the upper hand here. However, considering the nature of my opponent, I would like to refrain from going around and behind him.

Continue to attack in this position and focus on a gap in his defense. Normally, if you wear full plate armor, you should be a little less wary of attacks. I would like to think that

“What nonsense!”

The estoc was waved around to ward me off, perhaps because Spur was bothered by my series of attacks. Compared to the precise continuous attacks up to this point, this behavior is a little rough.

I usually dodge back half a step, but… do I put my faith in the power of Valder and the potential of this longsword?

All that aside, I’m in a bad mood right now.

I wasn’t so agitated that I couldn’t think of taking a step back and repositioning.

Above all, the situation is different from when I was surrounded by knights.

Now it’s a genuine one-on-one. There are no enemies other than this one!

“Hmm!!”

A flash of fighting spirit.

With all the power and force, the estoc is struck.

This is not an interception to deflect or dodge. It’s a move taken to destroy the weapon completely for my benefit.

Normally, if you do that, you may be able to destroy your opponent’s weapon, but yours will also be destroyed. Aside from blunt weapons such as maces and hammers, swords that mainly use their edges can slash, but they are not suitable for destruction.

The sword has been forged to the utmost thinness and length in order to increase its slashing power. It’s not a weapon suitable for fighting brute force.

""

However, this longsword should be able to withstand such usage.

It’s a move close to a gamble, but it’s difficult to get rid of Spur without somehow dealing with this imbalance. It was a weapon clash decided from such a thought.

“Huh…?!”

As a result: apparently, I won the bet.

Clang, the estoc breaks from the middle with an ominous noise. I couldn’t tell his expression for his helmet, but I could easily feel that Spur would have been astonished.

“I’ve got you!!”

I made a backswing immediately, in a flash a diagonal line was cut on the torso of Spur, he stiffened for a moment from the pain.

I can feel the recoil running down the sword into my hands.

At the same time, red blood gushes into the darkness.

“Guh… forgive me…!”

No matter how much spell strengthens your physical ability, it doesn’t seem to raise your physical defense. The slash that cut through the full plate didn’t stop there, it definitely cut into Spur’s body.

Damn, I was frustrated and couldn’t control my strength well. In the first place, it wasn’t a fair opponent who I could win against by adjusting my strength.

I look down at Spur, who has fallen forward limply. Gradually, blood began to cover the ground.

“… I have to chase after Thyssel…”

I’m worried about Spur’s condition.

I’m curious, but I’m sorry to say that chasing Thyssel and Bishop Lebios is a higher priority now.

“… Still got far to go, me,” I said.

My sword hand has dulled due to anger and resentment, I was forced to struggle unexpectedly.

I was even saved by a former disciple. It is proof that there is still not enough mastery to my art.

However, I can’t help but regret it now. I have to keep in mind that I will not forget today’s ugliness so that I can make use of it next time.

“… Alright.”

I take a breather and raise my gaze.

It’s not that far from the church to this point.

I kicked off the ground, hoping that the Knights of Rebelio would find Spur, somehow.

T/N: Do you guys think Beryl was inconsistently powerful in this chapter, compared to the rest? One reviewer lambasted the series for Beryl’s power level jumping around at this battle, but I feel it’s justified that Spur got the upper hand for the beginning because:

A) Beryl was intentionally holding back as to not lethally injure his opponents.

B) He didn’t know the full capabilities of his new sword and was breaking it in that night. That it can cut through plate armor so easily was a shock to everyone.

C) The body strengthening miracle was an unknown value. Beryl had never fought mages before Lucy, after all.

D) Spur surprised Beryl by attacking Thyssel while he seemed to be engaged with Beryl, forcing him to move out of position and hastily block. Spur tried to take advantage of Beryl’s bad position, then Thyssel saved Beryl, too.

E) The last strike that was probably lethal was Beryl realizing he can’t hold back anymore against Spur. He wasn’t firing on all cylinders for everything but the zombies, so it’s not like he got a mysterious power boost, he just decided to stop holding back against his philosophy.

To me, it doesn’t feel like he’s inconsistent, more that he was holding back every other time because, as he said earlier, he doesn’t want to be a murderer if he doesn’t have to.

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