1068. Can you guys rest assured?
Just a little more.
This is what Esther is saying from outside, employing all sorts of tricks. At her gesture, ripples formed in the translucent membrane surrounding her, but a halo of light rose and vanished around Esther’s body again. Encred spoke to Esther in this state.
You don’t have to push yourself too hard.
His tone was indifferent and nonchalant. He was so nonchalant that it was no different from asking someone to throw him an apple placed nearby.
The first time Dunbakel’s blade grazed my side, it was a completely unexpected attack, so I couldn’t dodge it completely.
No one can easily evade a sudden sword strike that flies in without any momentum or murderous intent. This would be even more true if the strike was clearly of a higher caliber than the ones I had faced before.
So, did you let your guard down?
“Still, if it were Saxony, I think he would say something like this.”
Encrid said to Esther, pulling his left foot outward and swinging his club widely horizontally.
Rumble rumble.
A sound resembling thunder followed the passing blade. The blade was so fast that a whirlwind rose around it.
It was just a single horizontal slash, but the opponent must have felt that approaching it would inevitably lead to death.
“You dodged that well. If you hadn’t dodged that, your waist would have been severed.”
Enkrid said. It was a comfortable breathing. Even Dunbakel’s transformation and attacking him did not go beyond the level of a sparring match.
“……If you cut me like that, this body of mine will die. Are you really going to do that?”
Primahild wasn’t flustered, but she replied, thinking that this was an unusual situation far removed from her expectations.
Usually, when a comrade’s body is taken over like this, shouldn’t they hesitate, panic, and try to restore it to its original state somehow?
But why is she swinging her sword without hesitation?
“To think he let his body be taken over by a weak mind and put my fiancée in danger—why should I let such a scoundrel off the hook?”
The fairy, who had been watching the situation unfold from outside the barrier, spoke. The hostility in her tone was vivid.
To think that a fairy, who is learning how to control her emotions, would harbor such hostility.
This is also a rare case.
Since it is a different era from when I lived, is it natural that it is different?
It is sufficient to decide whether to live or kill after cutting off their limbs and subduing them first.
This is what the lemon-haired Yongin said. With his glass-like eyes that were free of even the slightest blemish, he stared directly at the changed Dunbakel. Then, he spoke as if spat it out.
“My mind cannot be read.”
One can read the minds of the living, but the minds of the dead cannot. Fundamentally,
a dragon’s mind-reading ability is merely an extension of the skill of detecting an opponent’s pulse with the eyes and perceiving them through the sense of smell.
Of course, it is not entirely devoid of magical elements, but fundamentally, it is akin to a highly advanced art of keenly capturing visual and auditory signals to trace back the opponent’s psychological state.
Since specters emit almost no such signals, this mind-reading ability does not work on them.
For the same reason, it would not work on a spirit composed of Will.
Encred had guessed the opponent’s identity based on that alone, but he did not dwell on it at this moment.
Primahild, possessing Dunbakel’s body, stomped her two feet down on the ground as if crushing it. Her body condensed downward. She contracted her entire body’s muscles as if being pressed down from above. As she did so, gathering all her strength into a single point, she generated a momentum like a volcano on the verge of eruption. The intimidation created by the condensation of her entire power resonated through the surrounding air with a thrilling sensation. Tension arose naturally.
She spoke through her demeanor and actions.
She was going to charge in right now; kill her if you dared.
Primahild immediately took action without waiting.
hook.
It was a speed fast enough to leave an afterimage even in Encred’s eyes. Dunbakel’s body swelled like a needle, and a crimson light shot out from within, splitting Encred’s forehead.
bang!
Primahilt rolled forward at the end of a blow that unleashed her condensed muscles. As she rolled and stood up, she looked back.
She saw the guy she had just slashed standing there perfectly fine. She had cut through the afterimage, but she hadn’t even touched the substance.
“Are you avoiding that?”
How did I end up becoming such a monster? Ah, I did help myself in a dream. Right, but did I really become this much of a monster?
“It’s not that difficult.”
“You seem to fight better than before.”
There was an awkwardness in his tone. He acted as if he knew himself, but his fighting body was different from before.
Is it because it’s not my body?
However, apart from that, the feeling was different. Encred ruminated on the words spoken by Primahild, who had taken over Dunbakel’s body right in front of him.
Primahild with less experience.
He remembers himself, but clumsily. What is the reason?
He retraces his memories and grasps the situation. Apart from the fight, his mind arbitrarily gathered a few pieces to complete a single picture.
Tutor and Aker.
Haven’t I seen something similar before?
Thoughts based on will.
It is the identity of the opponent I suspected. Did they take over the body of a beastman who became a knight based on the Will they left behind after death? Just how pure and extraordinary must their Will be to be able to do something like this?
“Where did you leave the admonishment?”
Encred asked. Her weapon was originally a long club. Encred lowered her sword. At first glance, her attitude seemed as though she had still cast aside any fighting spirit.
“I don’t know.”
Dunbakel’s answer comes back with a cheerful smile.
“How’s your body odor?”
Then Enkrid asked.
“I’ve been wanting to ask this for a while. Why doesn’t this guy go around washing? And why is his hair so long?”
If you’re not going to wash, you have to cut your hair short. If you ask why, it’s because Primahild lived in such an era.
Long hair that reeks of body odor is of no help in battle.
Because she had to do whatever it took to survive.
The monster, having transcended that era, snapped its neck left and right.
Crunch crunch.
The sound of bones meshing echoed.
“That’s a lovely sound.”
“I’m slowly getting used to this body now.”
Dunbakel wore a broad smile. Esther spoke again between the two.
I’ll break through quickly.
Primahild, who was possessing Dunbakel’s body, shook her head.
It’s a barrier that uses divine power.
Do you think that could be pierced by a mere witch’s magic? Not a chance. Just as I licked my lips with my saliva-moistened tongue to focus on the fight again with peace of mind, a strange sound came from behind me.
Zzzzz.
It sounded like the cracking of tree fruit.
Primahild turned around, leaving Encred behind. What is this now? A crack had appeared in a part of the translucent curtain. The surprised beastman’s reddish-gold eyes widened.
“Hey, what kind of witch breaks through a holy barrier? That’s cheating.”
“Times have really changed.”
When Encred’s reply came back, Primahild let out a hollow laugh.
“Well, this is something.”
As she spoke, she turned her wrist and drew a circle with the sword in her hand.
“I’ve roughly got the hang of the sword’s weight, and I’ve got the feel for how to use my body. And yet, you’re saying it still won’t work? Well, I guess there’s nothing I can do. ”
“Give up?”
“Nooo.”
Dunbakel’s mouth stretched out to the sides, forming a smiling face. Should I call it a playful smile? Then she opened her mouth to finish.
“I’m your senior, having lived longer than you. Do you think I’d give up easily? I have no choice but to—yap, break through the limit.”
Is that something that can be done with words alone?
As Encred watched silently, something resembling a shimmer rose from Dunbakel’s entire body .
It was a manifestation of Will. Since he was a beastman, it would have been fine to call it a manifestation of vitality.
A crimson light enveloped his body like a faint mist. White fur sprouted from his entire body, then fluttered and fell to the ground.
How to fight without transforming into a beast.
Primahild told me that. However, if she were truly terribly weaker than before the transformation, there would be no reason to fight like that.
In conclusion, Beastmen are a transforming race, and while her appearance does not change, she does undergo Beastman transformation.
Thump.
The air splits. Encred also struck Oneul toward the blade that flew through the gap.
Bang! Pop!
The blades clash and shift positions. They enter a world of silence and escape in an instant. Air is compressed between the two and bursts, pushing wind outward.
Crunch crunch.
The sarcophagus shook from the wind pressure.
Is your dead body inside there?
Encred asked with his back turned and only his head turned.
“No, there is no such thing. That isn’t something I use; it’s a crown worn by the Goddess of Kriemhart.”
Primahild, possessing the golden eyes that had taken over Dunbakel’s body, answered in the same posture.
The two turned their bodies. Encred adjusted his posture and spoke.
“Dunbakel, listen up if you’re inside. You can get by just fine even without an arm or a leg, right?”
“Hey, your comrade who was listening is going to be disappointed.”
Primahild was still overflowing with composure. However, the same was true for Encred.
Since leaving the Empire, he had not yet unleashed his full power. It was the same now. Encred slightly loosened the bolt that imprisoned Will. Pure Will flowed through his entire body.
Yet, he had not even considered the alternative of ending it by killing him.
“If you just let me go, I’m fully determined not to fight you guys, just go out and slice up those crazy beastkin bastards, and get out. What do you think?”
“Do I have to answer?”
“No.”
It looks like I’m making a silly joke. Primahild repeated it with the same smiling face.
“Let’s play, Enki.”
“Do not call me by a nickname, you old, senile ghost.”
A fairy outside scolded her, and upon hearing this, Primahild tilted her head.
“It’s been a long time since I died, but if you look at the days I’ve lived, I’d still be quite young, wouldn’t I? If you just consider my body, isn’t it even younger and more sensual?”
Primahild had no intention of losing a single word.
“Open it immediately, Esther. I must sew that mouth shut or cut off her tongue right now.”
Sinar displayed emotions even more intense than the hostility from earlier. Temares remained silent, staring only at Encred.
Dragonkin possessed an eye for discerning talent, though not quite to the extent of Prok. Among dragonkin, Temares was particularly skilled at gauging a person’s abilities.
What is it, Enki?
As I watched silently, I could not see the depths of the human named Enkrid who had forced me to strip off the cloak of duty before me. It is like a hole in the abyss. It is like a crevice in a cliff with no bottom. It is like roots that have grown endlessly.
An inexhaustible well, a ceaseless river.
That is called Usuke. But is it correct to use it simply to mean “abundant”?
No.
What was the true nature of the awe I felt before?
Because what he possesses is so great, he naturally overwhelms those around him.
Intimidation is not even necessary. His very presence weighs down his surroundings. Will’s naturally unfolding influence creates a sense of intimidation. The viewer is overwhelmed, regardless of the writer’s will.
It is a monster.
Temares muttered. The opponent claimed to have broken through his limits and suddenly become faster, more flexible, and stronger?
Enkrid didn’t need to worry about it. He had been faster, stronger, and more flexible than his opponent from the start. And
if we were to take the realm of tactics into account…
Devil, can you rest assured?
This thought naturally came to mind.
* * *
Dunbakel repeated the fight twelve times.
In the meantime, the beastman standing before him—whether an ancestor or a specter—became increasingly talkative.
“Teaching people is just this hard by nature. So wouldn’t it be easier to just give up?”
King Seonjo spoke.
“You said if I give up, you’ll take over my body and I’ll just sleep for the rest of my life?”
Dunbakel countered.
“Yeah. Isn’t that good?”
“Not good at all.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“Hmm, descendant, was life a joy for you? Was it pleasure? Did you really enjoy surviving even after being abandoned?”
Dunbakel felt a pang in his heart. At one time, his resentment was truly deep. Yet, he was here today because he wanted to live, even while harboring such feelings.
There was no need to waver. So, all he had to do was focus on what needed to be done right now.
“This isn’t fun at all. Someone else snatched up all the fun parts.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Prepare to fight again, descendant.”
“What?”
“Push beyond your limits, and pour everything out.”
“You’re trying to lure me in with weird words, aren’t you?”
“It’s your freedom to listen, you stinky descendant. Don’t forget. Emotions are a beastman’s weapon.”
“Ah, you’re hooking me again.”
Still, I couldn’t help but prick up my ears. It seemed I would have to cut down the guy standing in front to get out of here.
“It’s okay. Pour it all out. There is someone outside who will take you in.”
“Who is it?”
Dunbakel, who was about to unleash a torrent of insults asking if it was your mother or father, frowned and spoke.
“Am I outside fighting by any chance?”
“Yeah. I told you so.”
There was no need to even ask who he was fighting. Would Encred cut off his own head when it was time to die?
Is he that kind of guy?
The Captain? I don’t think he would do that.
He’d probably try to find a way somehow. If things go wrong, wouldn’t he throw away an arm to save his own life? That’s a bit horrifying.
“Do you want to get out even a little bit sooner? Then I said pour it all out.”
“Ah, seriously!”
A few words were irritating. My composure was shattered, and I immediately transformed into a beast.
Phew.
The blade, waiting for an opening, pierces my heart again. My vision went blurry with excitement, and I lost sight of my opponent.
You shouldn’t transform so suddenly like that.
With those words, the lights go out and it is back to the starting point.
This is driving me crazy.
Dunbakel spat on the floor and readjusted his grip on the sword.
“Even if this isn’t the realm of consciousness, this is the Temple of Kriemhart. You’re spitting on the floor? Hmm, let’s just take a beating this time.”
Dunbakel got beaten up again and returned to the starting point.
Fine, let’s die!
And as I did so, I roughly got the hang of what to do. To be precise, since it was correct, should I say I understood?
Yeah, that’s how it should be done.
In the meantime, Seonjo’s words brushed past my ears.
