Chapter 550: 550

A veil of red covers my vision, and an urge to destroy assails me. The curse of Bandersnatch is compelling me into madness.

I fix my gaze on Howgrey. The entire area around him appears covered in danger. My mouth curves into a smile. Charging at him is near certain death? I already prepared myself for that much when I assaulted the castle in Alban.

I’ll fight with my fury and instincts. Even if I am beheaded before my blade reaches, I’ll tear his throat with my teeth.

“Howgreyyyyy!”

Roaring, I swing [Frumious Fang Bandersnatch]. Howgrey readies his shortsword and lunges forward.

No, the danger zone around him has faded. He’s going to step back to wait for an opening.

In that case, I’ll cut through everything including his evasion. I kick off the ground hard, leaping as I swing my longsword down.

The sword tip just barely skims past him. He jumped back further than I was expecting.

“I thought you’d lost your reason, but… That was well intuited. But, it’s still not enough.”

He plunges forward through the gap caused by my swing.

I kick my leg out to stop him. But, he slips below to cuts my abdomen with his shortsword. Sharp pain runs through me. I’d thought he’d fight a bit more reserved, but it seems I read him wrong.

I jump backwards to lessen the damage, twisting my body to avoid the second slash. But… Before I know it, his shortsword is in the path of my body.

“Did you think I’d let you get away with the same escape twice?”

His shortsword stabs towards me. I block it with my hand, and the blade pierces through the back of my hand. But, a little pain is nothing to me now. I close my fingers around it, holding it tight.

“I have you now, Howgreyyyy!”

I swing my longsword towards him hard, aiming to cut him in two. But, holding the handle of his shortsword, he flips through the air to cleanly avoid my blow. He then forcefully pulls his shortsword out of my hand and lands on the ground.

I immediately close the distance, swinging at him before he can regain his stance. If he avoids this strike, I’ll launch a second right away.

He leaps around lightfooted, parrying my blows with his shortsword while searching for an opening.

“It looked like your reason had left you, but… It seems you’ve incorporated what you learned in our previous exchange of blows into your swordsmanship, and are compensating for your lack of experience through instinct. I didn’t expect you to hold this much potential. Perhaps Saint-sama was mistaken, and you are the most troublesome of all.”

Cut. Cut. Cut. But, no matter how I strike, none of my blows land. I need to move faster, more precisely.

I ignore his shallow strikes. It doesn’t matter how many hits I take. If I can just get one blow in, it’ll be my victory.

The sound of sword against sword rings out for some time, neither of us able to land a decisive blow.

“Sorry for not fighting as a swordsman… It’s unfortunate that I have to use such underhanded means. I have a job to do, after all. Besides, I also decided that this had to be done.”

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Howgrey’s stance breaks. I swing my longsword. His appearance blurs, and he easily dodges the blow that should have been inescapable, coming to stand next to me with his shortsword ready.

But, I won’t let him continue.

“I can see you, Howgreyyyy!”

I change the course of my sword, swinging it in the opposite direction with all my might. In its path… Howgrey has disappeared.

He’s using his strange movement twice in a row. I see him jumping up towards me from the front.

My sword won’t make it time, so I block with my arm. I’ll take a heavy wound, but I can keep fighting by switching to my other hand.

Howgrey lowers his shortsword, slipping below my arm to knee me in my chest. I read him wrong. But, I can endure this without being forced back. From this position, I should be able to hit him.

Howgrey’s movement blurs again. It seems he had been refraining from using it in quick succession earlier, but now that I’ve come to be able to see it, he’s using it relentlessly. He slips past my chest, moving to grapple my longsword. Does he want to steal [Frumious Fang Bandersnatch]?

“As if I would let go!”

I slam my arm against the ground. As I do, a sharp pain runs through my fingers.

Howgrey lands a short distance away. In his right hand is his shortsword… And, in his left hand is [Frumious Fang Bandersnatch].

Having released [Frumious Fang Bandersnatch], my thoughts become clearer.

I look at my arm. My ring finger has been cut off. The rest of my fingers are twisted, as though they were peeled away by Howgrey.

“Surprisingly, there were no openings against your body. That was some splendid fighting. However, I must go to assist Saint-sama soon, so I took the liberty of disarming you.”

…In that tiny span of time, he precisely cut off my finger and twisted my sword out of my grip.

“Do not feel ashamed that I have taken your sword. You are the first I have seen to hold on to it so tightly. Your bent fingers are proof of that.”

Howgrey speaks, holding both swords ready. I leap backwards, desperately restoring my fingers with [Autoregeneration]. If I can’t use a sword, I have no hope of winning.

But… What does this mean? Howgrey is holding on to [Frumious Fang Bandersnatch]. And yet… Why is he so calm?

“You look surprised. I learnt how to restrain violent emotions in my travels. You are also capable of holding it back to some extent, no?”

Howgrey lightly swings the longsword to test it. He’s still showing off more differences in our abilities… It’s true that I can retain some ability to think, but he looks to be entirely unaffected. I don’t think I could reach that level of control even after centuries of training.

“Killing an opponent who has lost the will to fight doesn’t suit me, but… It would be the second time for you. Besides, you haven’t given up yet, have you? Come, then.”

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