4
It was a quiet night.
When Luke suddenly looked up at the sky, the starry expanse that usually evoked no particular feeling seemed to shine even brighter. Perhaps it was because he had grown weary of dealing with troublesome nobles.
“I’m sorry, Luke… for calling you out so suddenly.”
“…”
If the man in front of him wasn’t there, he might have just enjoyed gazing at the stars—but fate wouldn’t allow that.
(Really… I’ve rarely seen someone so bad at hiding things.)
At first, he had intended to send him away, but there stood Abel, clearly different from his usual self. This piqued Luke’s curiosity, if only slightly.
“So, how far do you plan to walk? We’ve come to quite a deserted place.”
“…Yes, we have.”
Abel’s face as he turned around seemed normal, yet it was a mess of various emotions.
“Luke, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“If there were two people you wanted to save… but you could only save one… what would you do, Luke?”
“…Heh.”
Hearing Abel’s words, Luke gave a quiet smile.
“What an absurdly foolish question, Abel.”
“…Huh?”
“It’s flawed from the premise. There’s no situation where I, of all people, would be limited by choices.”
Abel thought to himself. The boy in front of him was indeed his opposite. No matter how much he trained, he only realized how far he was from his ideal, unable to muster even a shred of confidence.
Perhaps that’s why the boy in front of him—seemed to shine so brightly.
“…Ah… What…”
The many emotions welling up inside turned into a single tear that rolled down Abel’s cheek. Then, as if something had burst, tears began to flow uncontrollably. He couldn’t clearly answer why he was crying, even to himself. Yet the tears wouldn’t stop.
“…”
Abel is faced with the reality that Lily has been kidnapped and that he cannot save her.
However, Luke didn’t know about this.
(Why did he suddenly start crying?)
He was called out suddenly during the party, and slightly intrigued, he followed along. Then Abel asked an incomprehensible question and suddenly started crying. It was beyond understanding now. Abel and Luke.
At this moment, there was an incredible temperature difference between the two.
“Luke.”
“…What is it?”
Abel raised his tear-stained face and called out, almost clinging to Luke.
Luke, feeling an unpleasant sensation towards something he couldn’t comprehend, reluctantly responded.
“I don’t know anymore… what’s right and what’s wrong…”
He couldn’t be like Luke. He couldn’t save everything.
Even as they spoke, there was a possibility they were being watched, potentially putting Lily’s life in danger. Abel had no time or leeway left. So—
“Luke… I want you to fight me.”
Abel drew his sword while crying.
No, he had no choice but to draw his sword—.
§
“………. ..”
He suddenly started crying, and then suddenly drew his sword and asked for a fight. This was emotional instability to an extreme degree. I don’t understand what situation this guy is in right now, nor do I care.
However—
“— [Sword of Darkness]”
Darkness condensed into a sword in my right hand.
When challenged to a fight, there’s no option to refuse.
“Alright. —Come.”
“…Ugh.”
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Abel didn’t move immediately.
How much time had passed? The more I concentrated, the more unnecessary information fell away.
…Still, this irritation wouldn’t disappear. The reason why this guy in front of me challenged me to a fight. Such things don’t matter. But the fact that he came at me in a state of [hesitation] is thoroughly infuriating.
“…”
Abel moved. A frontal slash with no ingenuity. No spirit. No killing intent.
This isn’t even an attack, it’s just an insult.
“You fool!”
“—Gah!”
I knocked him flying. Just like when we first crossed swords.
“I don’t care about your reasons. Come at me seriously. —After all, you can’t beat me anyway.”
“…Ugh.”
My words, spat out in irritation. I wonder how much meaning he found in them.
“I’m sorry… I… I’m sorry… —Thank you, Luke.”
“…”
For some reason, I received an apology, and for some reason, I was thanked. I don’t understand the meaning at all. I don’t understand, but I’m certain that a fighting spirit has taken residence in Abel’s eyes.
“Heh, I’ll say it again. —Come.”
“— [Body Strengthening]”
A trace of magical power. And then he moved. A slash nothing like before. A serious slash.
—That’s more like it. To twist down an opponent who comes at you with all their heart and soul. That’s good. That’s how it should be. Otherwise, there’s no meaning. Hmm, still an honest sword as always—
“—!”
A sudden stop. That movement of Abel’s was unexpected.
“Haaah!!”
With a fierce battle cry, a kick aimed solely at catching me off guard.
I can barely defend, but my posture is bad. I jump back voluntarily to break my fall. —Next.
…Hehehe, you’re doing some quite ill-mannered things, aren’t you? Who are you imitating? No need to think about it. This is something you learned from Sir Alfred… something I would do.
“Ahahahaha! You really are disgusting!”
Techniques are meant to be stolen. You’ve been watching me. No, I should say you’ve been observing me.
“— [Body Strengthening]”
Even faster.
“— [Body Strengthening]”
Even heavier.
“— [Body Strengthening]!! — [Body Strengthening]!!”
But the movements are more complex. That sword, weaving in multiple feints, trying to deceive me.
I’ll admit it. The fact that you’ve grown too. When we first faced each other at Aslan Magic Academy, I thought I could win with my eyes closed—but now I need to keep them open to win. Your moves have become more unorthodox, and your sword more refined.
“—《Slash》!”
A strike aimed at the gaps in my consciousness. It seems you’ve learned to use skills too. An unforgiving first-time kill, taking advantage of the fact that I didn’t have this information.
“—《Dark Slash》”
“Ugh!”
However, there’s nothing you can do that I can’t. Abel interrupted his slash midway and immediately jumped back. A desperate judgment, you could say.
The difference in grade between techniques and skills. If you had met that head-on, the match would have been decided for sure.
“It seems you’ve grown a bit, but in the end, you’re still not even close to my level. After all, it’s just an [imitation] of me.”
“…”
Indeed, this guy who has unleashed five stages of [Body Strengthening] is fast. If he were facing an average elemental mage, considering they’re not used to fighting such an unusual opponent, he might be able to completely overwhelm them. However—
“It won’t work on me.”
I don’t need any special magic or skills. My [eyes], trained through learning swordsmanship, can predict the future even if I can only see a little. No matter how complex the movements become, I can discern habits and preferred patterns after crossing swords a few times.
No matter how fast, no matter how heavy. If I can see it, I can deal with it.
Yes, as long as I can see even a little—.
“Luke. Is it… okay for me to fight seriously…?”
“…Huh?”
Abel looks like he’s about to cry, and I can tell from his expression that these words came after various internal struggles. Understanding this, I still felt like I was going to lose it from the anger welling up inside me.
“…Don’t mess with me!!”
Intense anger spreads through my whole body like a wave, making me tremble slightly. But we’re in the middle of a battle. The rational part of my brain tells me it’s foolish to let emotions run wild.
“This is the first time I’ve been insulted to this extent. …I won’t say it twice, come at me with everything you’ve got.”
“Yeah… I understand, Luke.”
At that moment, my anger subsided as if something had snapped. It was due to an instinctive sense of caution.
“—《Body Enhancement》”
Abel’s figure vanished. This wasn’t a metaphor—in that instant, Abel truly disappeared from my sight. A thunderous sound and the noise of air being sliced followed shortly after.
“—Tch!”
If I could see it, I could handle it. …But it was too fast to see.
“Yaaa!!”
My body reacted to the direction of the voice. The angle was bad. The timing was off too.
An incredible impact traveled through my entire body from my hands. There was no way I could deflect it, and I was blown away all too easily.
“—[Armor of Darkness] [Wings of Darkness]”
I used magic to control my body that had lost all control. With that, I soared into the air.
Looking down at the ground, my eyes met with Abel, who was breathing heavily.
And then, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Ahahahaha!”
…I was forced to use magic. For the first time, I was pushed into a situation where I had to use magic against my will. …Moreover, although [Wings of Darkness] alone would have been enough to control my body, I had reflexively activated [Armor of Darkness] as well. That’s how heavy that single blow was, enough to make even me feel a sense of danger.
—This is incredibly interesting.
When was the last time my heart raced like this?
What Abel did was extremely simple. It was “body enhancement” through both magic and skills. Simple, but extremely powerful. Such straightforward, easy-to-understand strength. Well, it’s not impossible to replicate… but let’s try a new magic for now.
“—[Eyes of Darkness]”
Dark magic resides in my eyes. The effect of this magic is to absorb the magical power of those I see within a certain range. And it dramatically enhances all abilities related to “seeing.”
And minimal [Body Enhancement]. I’ll adjust with [Wings of Darkness] for the rest. This should be enough.
“Now, let’s start over.”
“…Here I come.”
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