The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Shizukuku
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 074 – The End Point of the Sword [B]
…His body might be too hard after all…!
Lenhart felt a mix of joy and bitterness about that fact.
Even as he swung his sword with the intention of cutting into the dragon in front of him, the sword ended up being repelled away.
Without missing that gap, Raizen aimed another stomping attack toward him. While Leonhart tried to gather power in his own legs so he could avoid Raizen’s leg that was trying to crush him,
“You won’t get away…!”
“—!”
As if tracking Leonhart, Raizen turned his face and dove forward to head butt him.
Leonhart immediately turned his sword sideways to defend against the attack. The diamond scales on Raizen’s head collided with Leonhart’s demonic sword, producing sparks and a high-pitched metallic grinding sound.
The cracking sound that came from Leonhart’s arms was the evidence that the strength and weight of the dragon were beyond what his arms could handle. Considering the dragon’s mass and speed, the force could only become stronger.
Leonhart tried to side step and deflect the trajectory of the impact using his sword. I guess I’m no match for his power, thought a disappointed Leonhart, as he felt inexperienced next to the ancient dragon.
When he proceeded to use his skill to vanish from his position again, a voice came from the other side,
“Is that all you got?!”
“You can’t win if you’re just running away!” shouted Raizen. Leonhart felt like there was something weird about him. However, it wasn’t something that was important right now. Leonhart’s eyebrows rose as he received the dragon’s provocation. Then he looked up at Raizen’s face,
“Don’t worry! I’ll show you something special from now on!”
“If so, show me!!”
Raizen rushed at him as he issued the challenge. On the other hand, Leonhart calmly held his sword straight and awaited his attack..
The white giant narrowed the distance between them with a level of speed that should be impossible for his size. Leonhart stared at the dragon, both eyes focused on his movements,
…Concentrate.
Leonhart emptied his mind of everything but the creature in front of him and his own consciousness. It was clear what he had to do.
He could understand what the other party was doing. It was another rush attack, similar to the head butt attack from earlier.
That alone was enough to inflict great damage on Leonhart. Although it wouldn’t render him unable to fight, it would still be a giant lump of diamond scales hitting him straight on. The impact produced could easily be imagined.
While understanding that, Leonhart realized there was something he could still do to come on the top. He had to subdue the dragon with his technique.
Leonhart watched as Raizen’s forehead slowly approached him, as expected.
And at the moment of impact, Leonhart took action.
He slid under Raizen’s head using the tip of his sword for balance.
“—?!”
As Raizen’s attack struck an empty space, his movement stopped for a moment.
So he’s lost sight of me, thought Leonhart. He fixed his posture while looking up at Raizen.
But if he didn’t do something now, Leonhart would soon be found. Leonhart was currently beneath Raizen’s chin, near his feet.
Therefore, before that could happen,
—I’ll finish this battle.
Leonhart focused his consciousness on only his sword and his new target.
Leonhart’s target was the reverse scale under Raizen’s chin. It was that one spot on the body of the dragon, the spot they hated to be touched the most.
What he ought to do was use the new sword technique he learned a few days ago. It was one of the end points for the sword.
It was an attack that would surely be effective against Raizen. Leonhart executed his attack.
It was a series of continuous attacks and slashes. —It was over almost immediately.
…Instantly, execute continuous slashes—
“—”
—The sword seemed to split into two.
It was done in an instant. A huge impact hit the reverse scale.
The dragon screamed.
Everyone who heard the scream looked at the scene before them in astonishment.
Their amazement was directed at the sword technique that Leonhart had just executed. However, the people who were truly surprised by it were those who had knowledge of sword combat.
One of them was Hunty, who watched Leonhart’s attack with wide eyes. She heard a questioning voice from beside her.
Next to her was Galtia who had been silent for some time before, as if trying to confirm it really happened, he asked,
“…Hey, you guys. Did you see that thing just now?”
“…I saw it, but—”
Hunty confirmed it for him. She spoke according to her perception of what had occurred.
“—I couldn’t see it.”
“………I guess so.”
“…”
Kesselring who stood beside them silently nodded at their words. It seemed that Kesselring had also seen it.
And Pale called out, wondering why everyone had suddenly turned silent.
“E-everyone, what happened? What do you mean by that? Saw it but couldn’t see it…?”
As for what that meant, nobody there seemed to have an explanation for it. Everyone turned silent as they wondered how to put it into words.
But eventually, Ssulal attempted to answer Pale. She explained what happened, according to what she had witnessed, with a serious expression.
“…Just now, Leonhart slashed twice, to that dragon.”
As Pale heard Ssulal trying to explain the phenomenon in words, she let out a stupid and admiring voice. Then, out of excitement,
“So he managed to perform two slashes in the same moment! Leonhart-san is amazing…!”
“—It’s not something as cute as what you just said.”
But Pale’s comment was immediately denied by Ssulal. No, strictly speaking, it wasn’t a denial.
Rather, it was more like she was approving Pale’s words. Leonhart performed two slashes in an instant. Those words were correct. But, if it was only that, they wouldn’t be so surprised. After all, Leonhart could easily perform more than two slashes in an instant.
If the thing they were talking about was merely the number of slashes — it was possible to do, even if it wasn’t Leonhart.
However,
“Just now, Leonhart only swung his sword once. — At least, that was how it appeared to us…”
“? W-what do you mean?”
“Yes,” Ssulal nodded,
“That is basically what I meant — despite only swinging his sword once, there were two slashes executed at that moment.”
“………Eh? How is that possible?”
Pale finally understood what they were trying to say and she tilted her head in wonder.
“Besides,” said Galtia as he took over the explanation,
“There was no time lag at all, between the first and second slashes.”
“The two slashes happened at the exact same moment, moreover each slash had its own trajectory… and it was done with a single swing.”
Kesselring added her thoughts. Everyone had finally come to terms with the situation and began talking again.
Pale was still astonished as she heard the explanation and shouted out loud,
“I-isn’t that just messed up?!”
“Oh, it’s definitely messed up… really, that guy… What is the mechanism behind it? It’s something spectacular to see, but it would be unbearable to be on the receiving end of that, even during mock combat.”
Galtia said that as he took a bite of the meat he brought with him. Hunty replied with a whisper,
“No, that’s—”
There’s no mechanism behind it. Before Hunty could finish saying that,
Something happened to Raizen, who was now screaming, and everyone focused their attention on him.
And they could see,
“There’s blood…!”
A little blood spilled from Raizen’s mouth.
That could only mean a single fact. It was something unbelievable for Hunty, who was aware of Raizen’s true strength, but,
“He actually managed to damage Raizen…”
That attack just now had exceeded the defense power of the Great Saint Dragon Raizen, who was known for his hardness.
The blood was clear proof of that.
Raizen realized he had been injured for the first time in hundreds of years.
It wasn’t an attack that pierced through his hard scales. However, without a doubt,
…I received an attack…?!
Raizen managed to barely perceive what had happened during their last exchange. It happened in an instant and at the last possible moment.
But, by the time he knew what was happening, the attack was already launched, and he could no longer avoid it. He sensed that the majin was attacking his reverse scale, but Raizen never thought the attack would actually damage him.
But, as a matter of fact, the attack did do damage to him.
—Nay, he forcefully made it happen.
At the moment of attack, Raizen felt a tremendous impact hit him from under his chin.
Although the impact wasn’t comparable to those who managed to damage him before — like Magiihoa and Avel, it was still enough to damage him.
It was a powerful impact that couldn’t be fully absorbed by the scale, one that managed to make a wound on his powerful body.
Raizen called out to the majin that stood below him. With the incomprehensible thought that the majin had already become wary of the possible counter attack, and would be moving some distance away,
“You…! What the hell did you do…?!”
The response he received began with the majin lifting the corner of his mouth. The majin revealed a fearless smile as he answered,
“Hah, don’t you get it? About my attack just now?!”
“…I can tell that the impact managed to penetrate my defense! However, I don’t understand how you managed to pull it off?!”
He said it. The sword attack that he received just now was,
“It was two attacks…! To my reverse scale, it happened in an instant – no, at the exact same moment! What kind of mechanism did you use for that?!”
It wasn’t that Raizen expected an answer. There was no guarantee that an enemy would be willing to explain how they just attacked him.
However, Raizen just couldn’t help but ask. The attack he received just now was something he couldn’t comprehend, despite his two thousand years of life.
However the majin aimed his sword downward, swinging it to check his condition, and gave his answer.
It wasn’t just for Raizen. The people behind the majin were also paying attention to the answer.
Meanwhile, with a casual tone,
“—I don’t know.”
So said the majin.
The people there were astonished by his casual remark. The only exception was the blond girl, who was looking at the majin with a hot gaze.
Ignoring the reactions happening around him, the majin continued,
“It is simply the result of my desire to land an effective blow to you. I merely thought that I had to develop a more amazing technique. As a result—”
The majin continued.
“I taught myself how to slash twice in a single swing. I merely tried to pile multiple slashes on top of one another to cut you… In the end, I’m feeling dissatisfied with it since it still isn’t enough to cut you down.”
That’s an idiotic story, thought Raizen. It was messed up logic. This was absurd.
It wasn’t a move that a human body could perform. While enduring his pain, Raizen expressed his heartfelt resentment.
“Like hell such an idiotic story is possible, you monster! To slash twice in a single swing, isn’t that totally ignoring the law of physics?! Learn physics properly, damn it!”
Raizen could see that several of the people below him were also nodding. Being supported by that, Raizen complained. “What an absurd fellow, eat my Breath,” said Raizen.
However, the majin continued to argue against him, all while deflecting the breath away,
“You also don’t follow the laws of physics! If you say that, you’re the weirder one, since your diamond scales didn’t break from the impact! You’re not the one to say such a thing! There, I broke your argument—!!”
“Kuh… You bastard…!”
“Such a fool,” provoked the majin, which made Raizen even angrier. It felt like something similar had happened to him before.
“Both of them were similar” were the words that came to mind. There was also the term “causal retribution.”
…But this is…
Raizen suddenly became wary of his opponent. Although his scales could stop an attack from the outside, it couldn’t stop the resulting impact completely.
It was possible to minimize the damage by moving his body, making the attack land on a harder part of his body. That would reduce the damage to a negligible amount, but it was hard to do the same for the reverse scale below his chin. Although his other weakness hadn’t been revealed yet, it was only a matter of time.
In other words, the majin in front of Raizen was capable of defeating him.
The first pain he felt in a few hundred years was effective. He wondered if the bone under his jaw was completely crushed. Either way, it wasn’t good to keep receiving the majin’s attacks.
In other words—
“—Well then, what are you going to do?”
“—!”
Raizen heard the majin’s voice. It was the same thing that came to his mind.
“My attack was able to damage you, while your attack isn’t able to touch me yet. That’s a big difference, you know?”
“…”
Raizen went silent. But he nodded inwardly. That’s exactly the case, he thought.
If he was hit with that simultaneous slash multiple times, his internal organs would definitely be injured.
Or, if the majin kept hitting the same spot, the scale might break. If the majin could unleash more than two slashes simultaneously, then Raizen might really end up getting cut down.
That, or it would create a new weak point for him.
Therefore, what the other party told Raizen was,
“You are strong. But this is the end… that’s why—”
That was,
“Acknowledge your defeat. If you do, I will spare your life.”
“!”
Arrogantly, the majin told him to surrender.
Even if his opponent was a majin, he was still a dragon, and that majin dared to say such words to a dragon.
Raizen thought of the meaning behind those words, and found it funny. His eyes narrowed in ridicule,
…Certainly, that is a smarter choice.
Raizen could admit his defeat, chose to surrender, and would get to keep his life. That was one possible choice.
Even from the dragon race’s perspective, dueling to the death wasn’t necessary.
It was alright to admit they were inferior against those who were stronger. Assuming the other party fought fair and square, such a choice wasn’t considered shameful.
In addition, there were also cases where the winner acknowledged the loser’s ability and found it wasteful to kill them.
Somehow, Raizen thought the latter was what the majin meant.
Because he was strong and could provide a challenging battle, the majin wanted to keep Raizen alive. The majin offered that as a warrior.
…Perhaps that might be nice. However—
Raizen denied such a choice from the bottom of his heart.
However, he didn’t deny it out of dignity. The reason was,
—I want to die.
Before Raizen was driven to insanity, while he was still himself, — He wanted to go to where his comrades were.
It was a miserable and unmanly reason, but it was the truth and his honest feelings.
…I guess I’ve grown old now…
2000 years. He had lived that long and was afraid to continue living. Have I become this much of a coward? thought Raizen as he smiled to himself.
If that was the case, then he would end up having the same thoughts, the dragon race’s way of thinking that he hated — nay, it might even be worse than that.
There was no dignity in his choice, and he merely chose it as his salvation, which was nothing but shameful. If his compatriots knew it, they would despise him from the bottom of their hearts.
However, those compatriots were no longer there. None of them could speak anymore. 1
Then, that too—
“…I—”
Raizen chose to continue the fight, and to die here.
He had wished to die in battle up until recently, and that wish was still the same right now.
However, he was disgusted at himself, knowing how he fought with the intent of losing.
But his willpower to resist death had already been destroyed by the darkness of his past.
I will make this land become the place where I die… Raizen was about to open his mouth and declare this.
However, the majin spoke out before he could do that.
“—Wait.” said the majin, preventing Raizen’s words. The majin’s red eyes watched him closely,
…What else is there to talk about…?
As Raizen was in doubt, the majin exhaled and continued,
“I finally realized the nature of this weirdness. All this time — no, I guess I felt it during our last duel too. I’ve been feeling something other than fighting spirit from you while fighting.”
“…That’s…”
The majin nodded. Then he spoke strongly, as if blaming Raizen,
“Are you aware of it…? Then tell me—”
That was,
“—Why do you want to die so much?”
—The words that pierced Raizen’s conviction.
Author Note:
Kesselring : “Leonhart is being absurd in this chapter…”
Ssulal : “Skill LV 3 is not about logic after all. I guess he could do practically anything with sword combat.”
Galtia : “Then does that mean I could do practically anything regarding mushis?”
Hunty : “…And that means I could achieve anything regarding magic?”
Ssulal : “…That’s right (compared to close combat skill, other LV3 abilities seem lacking in comparison somehow… but it will only sadden them, so I’ll just stay silent).”
Carol : “Anyway, I need to think of a name for Leonhart-sama’s technique… but I can’t think of any good names…”
Ssulal : “Ah, I also want to think of some… things like darkness slash of ruin, or space-time fissure ruin swords—”
Everyone : “…”
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