T/N: I set the timer for this chapter to be published on 11:59am Sunday June 3rd, though I’m not too sure if the clock’s on the same UTC-5 time zone as me. Hopefully it is and this chapter gets published on the right time.
It was frustrating.
The inside of his heart boiled like mad and the inside of his head was solidly hardened like a stone.
His heart and head played separately, and he couldn’t do any to his will.
That was the very plight of Simon Rinse.
‘Seeing, hearing, sensing…… I could feel everything the same, but there was nothing I could do as I will.’
Like that, he fell to a marionette doll.
He had realized a step late that he had fallen into the hexers’ scheme, but he couldn’t destroy the hex that chained his mind with the abilities he had.
He thought that he would merely live and die like that as a doll.
But at that moment, a very minute change happened inside his body.
The evil mana within his body that he abhorrently resented and wanted to suppress at any cost had begun to attack the hex that controlled his mind.
The devil’s mana technique Pienville was much fouler than he had thought.
The evil mana that accumulated in his body slowly grew its size, then soon began to create cracks on the solid hex.
The crack soon became a small gap, the gap soon became a hole, and the hole soon became a door.
Like that, the hex that was solid was destroyed.
It wasn’t something that happened long ago.
These were events that were reached the very day they went out of the Longfort Castle to face Roan.
The thing Hex Master Hesul had worried to the end, the worry that Simon slowly became hard to control with hex as the time passed had came to reality.
Hesul, that man recognized that the Pienville Mana Technique’s evil mana was strong, but tragically still underestimated its degree.
Pienvillle Mana Technique.
That clearly wasn’t a human’s mana technique.
A horrifying smile hanged on Simon’s mouth.
‘My head would have fallen off here if I was just a little late.’
If he didn’t have his mind, he would have fought without any thought with Roan following the hexers’ orders and would have had his neck cut by Roan’s spear.
His gaze naturally turned towards Roan.
At Simon’s clear actions and speech, only Roan while numerous hexers including Michel were shocked agape was still keeping a calm expression.
“You aren’t surprised.”
“I expected it.”
Roan answered shortly.
It was the truth.
Roan had thought that Simon might have recovered his mind.
‘When we were facing each other……’
When he looked with the Kalian’s Tears at Simon far away, at that moment, a clear and bright light was shining in his two eyes.
Simon absolutely didn’t think that Roan, who was incredibly far away, could possibly observe the light in his eyes.
‘Furthermore……’
Roan formed a faint smile.
When he pierced through the Legion of Dark and stood in front of Simon.
‘I confirmed that the evil mana within his body was reaching all the way to his head.’
Observing the energy within a body too was one of the abilities the Kalian’s Tears had.
The evil mana that stormed his head and body without any impediment.
Roan was confident.
That Simon had broken the hex and recovered his mind.
Roan and Simon, the two people, with their spearhead and blade meshed, glared at each other.
The lights in the eyes were cold and sharp.
“I knew it would be like this.”
Simon threw up the words with a thick voice as if to growl.
Roan, instead of answering, stared straight at his face.
Simon’s words continued on.
“You are excessively outstanding. You aren’t a bastard who would be below anyone.”
Words spat out as if to conclude.
Roan faintly smiled and answered.
“Wrong. I would have served however much if there was someone worth serving.”
A voice much too full of certainty.
Instantly, Simon’s face twisted.
“Do those words mean that I wasn’t a man worth serving?”
The tip of his voice slightly shook.
Roan did not hesitate.
“Of course.”
Immediately, Simon’s face brightly flushed.
Roan’s eyes flashed and shone a light.
A situation where he was currently flowing mana into the Kalian’s Tears.
He was clearly observing the sight of how the evil mana with Simon’s body was boiling.
‘The hex has been released, but the inside of his head is instead full of evil mana because of it.’
Now, the mind would soon disappear and only madness would be left.
Roan placed strength into both his hands.
Kkdddck.
The Travias Spear twisted and pressed into Simon’s blade.
Although Simon’s sword too was a noted sword amongst the best, it wasn’t comparable to the Travias Spear that was godly amongst godly artifacts.
The edge helplessly wore out.
‘It won’t do like this.’
Simon glared at Roan and gritted his teeth.
“I will make you regret betraying me.”
Roan lightly smiled at those words and shook his head.
“Sorry, but……”
A quiet voice.
A leisurely expression and manner.
“I don’t do such thing as regret. Instead……”
More strength slowly entered his grip.
Roan directly pressed down on Simon.
“I only reflect!”
With a shout, mana exploded out.
“Hmph!”
Simon quickly lowered his sword and twisted his body.
Simultaneously, he exploded the evil mana he had forcibly suppressed.
“Kuk!”
An intense pain assaulted.
His pupils slowly enlarged and soon completely filled his eyes.
Eyes completely filled by black pupils without the whites.
It was truly a monstrous sight.
The good thing was that he still hadn’t let go of the ropes to his mind.
“Roan. I will kill you today and let the world know of my endurance.”
Roan bitterly smiled and shook his head.
“How small.”
“What?”
Simon scowled.
Roan, without minding it, pointed at Simon with his spear tip.
“I will kill you today and calm the world.”
The smile hanging on his mouth turned even deeper.
“It has to be this much……”
The final words, barely inaudibly, turned quiet
“To be called a monarch’s ambition.”
A silence flowed for a moment.
Roan and Simon, the two people posed a salute and collected their breaths.
An explosive moment.
At that moment, an uncommonly large ember flutteringly danced and appeared between the two people.
That was the starting signal.
Taat!
Roan and Simon each kicked off the ground and pounced towards each other.
Spat! Pabat!
Spear and sword split the air.
Spear and swords that brilliantly moved as if drawing a painting.
Chang! Chazang! Chang!
Sparks flew together with metallic clash.
A tempest-like pressures exploded out each time.
Pressures, they were almost like the wind.
“Kuk!”
“Keep your balance!”
“Move back!”
The Amaranth Troop’s soldiers who were circling nearby and decimating the hex dolls couldn’t endure the wind pressure exploding out from Roan and Simon and retreated back.
Woosh! Woosh! Wuuuung!
The sound of wind struck the ears.
Kkang! Kkakang! Kkang!
Even the metallic din of spear and sword clashing turned blunt.
Roan glared at the tens, hundreds of images of the sword raining down towards him and inwardly clicked his tongue.
‘His swordsmanship certainly is incredible.’
Even in the last life, Simon’s skill in swordsmanship was recognized to be excellent.
It was brilliant and had many changes that even chasing it with one’s eyes were difficult unless one were a considerable expert.
‘I would already have fallen down if I hadn’t met Flamdor and Travias in the Vertex.’
It was true that he was overwhelming to oppose with only the spearmanship from experience that he originally had familiarized with.
But the Roan right now was definitely different than merely few months before, no, days before.
[One step to left! Half step back!]
Within his head, Travias’s advices roared like a storm.
Roan, who was sensing Simon’s swordsmanship clearly through the Kalian’s Tears, moved his body along Travias’s voice without a single error.
Swuung! Swuung!
Each time, Simon’s blade precariously cut through the empty space and passed by.
But it was only to that point.
Roan too couldn’t capture any advantage beyond that.
The tense even fight continued.
‘Troublesome.’
Roan creased his forehead.
The one who was disadvantageous the more the time flowed was Roan.
Even now, Mills Voisa and the Estia Imperial Army in the North, and Kallum Rinse and the Diez Kingdom Army in the South were spreading their arms.
Furthermore, Simon’s evil mana was slowly becoming more powerful the longer the duel extended.
As if raging at having been suppressed until now, it was increasing its size with a violent speed.
‘I must hurry. I have to find some way.’
His contemplation turned deeper.
Suddenly.
[What are you pondering of! You have that thing!]
Travias’s voice echoed in his head.
‘That thing?’
Roan creased his forehead.
[Uaah. Annoying. Listen well!]
Traivas laid out one plan with a completely heated voice.
On Roan’s creased face, a strand of bright light brushed across.
‘That’s quite a good method.’
[The chance is only once. You have to grasp the advantage here.]
‘Got it.’
Roan answered shortly and then powerfully gripped the Travias Spear.
Chajang! Chang! Chang!
He cleanly parried off the strikes that rained down.
Roan’s skill too did not fall behind greatly compared to Simon.
No, if speaking only with the skill, Roan was instead half a step above Simon.
The Travias’s advices chattering inside his head were that amazingly powerful and excellent.
If Roan’s mana level was just slightly higher, the result of the battle would already have more than ended.
Kkaaaang!
The spearhead’s flame erupted and bounced Simon’s swords overhead.
The Travias Spear, taking on the opposing force, snapped its neck towards the ground.
For an instant, Simon’s face and body openly appeared.
Travias’s voice, seemingly having awaited this, loudly rang.
[Right! Flick the spearhead up here and bend your elbow!]
Suddenly, the Travias Spear pointing at the ground soared up towards the sky.
The spearhead moved very adroitly and aimed at Simon’s chin.
“You dare!”
Simon, rather than moving back and with a shout, instead pierced into Roan’s chest.
A short distance that a sword was more advantageous than a spear.
The situation that was favorable to Roan turned into an unfavorable situation in an instant.
No, it seemed as if it had turned into an unfavorable situation.
Roan faintly smiled as if he had been awaiting.
“I knew you will come like that.”
Calmly flowing out voice.
“What does……?”
Simon creased his brows.
At that moment, the Travias Spear that slashed empty space and soared towards the empty air rapidly shrank and soon changed to an arm-length stick.
Simultaneously, Roan twisted his left hand holding the end of the spear and grasped Simon’s neck.
Like a flash of lightning!
It was a ghost-like skill.
[Right! That’s it!]
Travias loudly cheered as if it was his work.
[Just please use the Reid Art of Fighting!]
Nagging voice echoed in his head.
Reid Art of Fighting.
The one move that grasped Simon’s neck just before was a move of the Reid Art of Fighting that was strongest amongst the many fighting techniques Roan knew of.
Clench.
The tips of his finger pressed into Simon’s neck when he inserted strength into his grip.
“Ggeuukk.”
Simon clenched his teeth and creased his brows.
‘I got careless.’
He hadn’t thought that a body martial art would possibly jump out in an exchange of spear and sword.
But even so, it wasn’t as if he was hopeless or had been driven into a corner.
The Pienville Mana Technique’s evil mana boiled even more the more he was in peril, and grew its force even more.
“Kukuku.”
Simon burst out a monstrous laugher.
His neck turned harder and slowly pushed out Roan’s grip.
“Now let it go. Because that has no effect on me.”
Simon snorted with an arrogant expression and voice.
Roan shook his head while still clenching his neck.
“Who knows, is that really so?”
The second his words ended, Roan pulled up the heat in his body in an instant and sent it to his left hand.
The back of the hand and the palm clenching Simon’s neck dyed red.
Roan balefully smiled and murmured as if to whisper.
“Explode.”
Suddenly.
Boom!
An incredible burst of flame exploded out from his entire left hand.
The flame was so scarlet that it wavered with a blue light.
“Kkuuaaack!”
Simon screamed out a monstrous shout at the unexpected attack.
His head was entirely wrapped in flame.
“Uuuuu!”
He wrapped his head with both hands and widely stumbled.
His entire body was full of gaps.
Roan didn’t miss the chance.
“Goodbye.”
A short farewell.
Simultaneously, the Travias Spear that turned into an arm-sized stick longly extended again.
The Spearhead split the air and slashed Simon’s neck.
At that moment.
‘Um?’
Roan creased his forehead.
Simon’s evil mana storming with an incredible speed was seen clearly through the Kalian’s Tears.
‘Is he rampaging? But it’s too late!’
Roan clenched his teeth.
The spearhead was already right before touching Simon’s neck.
At that very instant.
Boooooooooom!
Black smoke burst out from Simon’s body.
That was different than the chilling killing intent or a powerful pressure.
It softly flowed out like a winter breath.
The black smoke, like a cloud riding a wind, spread out in an instant in every direction.
“Kuuk!”
Roan clenched his teeth at the freezing killing intent assaulting his entire body.
His entire body sharply shook.
It wasn’t only Roan.
A silence fell down on the battlefield.
At the intense evil mana, not only the bodies of humans but even hex dolls had momentarily froze.
Even the Travias Spear that was fiercely cutting through the air as if to split the sky and earth stopped dead.
Shockingly, the spearhead was touching Simon’s neck.
That was all.
Let alone cutting, it couldn’t even leave a single scratch.
“Kuuuk!”
Roan pushed the spear with all of his strength.
But the spearhead, still touching Simon’s neck, did not move at all.
‘Ridiculous!’
Roan raised his head and glared at Simon.
“Uum.”
A quiet groan instantly flowed out.
‘It’s black.’
Simon seen through the Kalian’s Tears.
He was completely black from his head to toe.
The Pienville Mana Technique had finally swallowed Simon completely.
That appearance too was not usual.
Not only the hair, eyebrows, and eyes, even his teeth and nails had dyed black.
The look of fully smiling without a word was even nightmarish.
‘Mad Monarch.’
The memories of the last life spread before his eyes.
The appearance of Simon right now exactly paralleled the Mad Monarch’s appearance he had heard in the rumors and had seen with his eyes.
‘I have to kill him.’
Roan bit his lower lip.
If he can’t kill him here, a hellscape would unfold.
Roan deeply breathed in and pulled the Travias Spear to his chest.
The moment before the duel betting life and death would unfold again.
‘Hm?’
Roan creased his forehead at the small and weak voice echoing through the edge of his ears.
A voice that pierced and heard through the battleground’s silence.
That was certainly.
‘A girl?’
Roan widen the distance between Simon and turned his head towards the place the sound was heard from.
On the hill that was abruptly jutted up beyond the battlefield.
There was no need to specially use the Kalian’s Tears.
The ones who brashly showed up on the battlefield were one woman and a number of knights.
Roan’s eyes widely opened up.
‘Princess Katy?’
< Amaranth (20) > End.