Chapter 38: The Wolf Uproar - 8

Knight against knight.

Whether it was a corpse imitating a knight, or a clown imitating a knight.

Words were unnecessary.

If there were only two knights standing, then there was only one thing to do.

That was the thought behind the duel I launched into.

As the lion’s axe and my sword crashed against each other, an enormous shockwave spread through the cavern.

And the only thought that rose in my mind from that first exchange with him was this.

‘Is this bastard out of his mind?’

Judging by the length of the haft, the axe he was carrying was a two-handed axe.

In other words, a weapon that only showed its full power when wielded with both hands.

But.

He had clearly swung it with one hand—with one arm, at that.

And I was getting pushed back?

In battle, being one-armed should be a massive penalty. Both arms handled balance and weight distribution, so if one was missing, it became much harder to keep your footing.

Especially if you were carrying a stupidly heavy axe like that.

And yet, he swung it as if that kind of penalty meant absolutely nothing.

This was seriously some insane bullshit.

With my traits and buffs, I was at the strongest I’d been since falling into this world, and just because he picked up an axe, I was getting overpowered all over again.

And my sword’s durability was hanging by a thread too.

No, maybe I should be impressed it was still intact after taking attacks that absurd without even using sword aura.

If this went wrong, I’d have to fight with Carnwennan.

Its attack power was higher, but its reach was way too short. Against a two-handed axe, that put me at a huge disadvantage.

Still, if there was one saving grace, it wasn’t as bad as before.

I could at least trade blows with him now.

In that case.

"Let’s see you really dance with that blade."

Logres Swordsmanship, [Logres Quick Sword Form].

I reinforced my legs with mana and drove in the fastest sword form I had—the quickest slash among all my skills.

The lion met it head-on.

He pulled the haft far back.

Then, in a grip like he was holding it in reverse, he swung not the axe blade, but the part near the handle.

He must have judged that if he swung with the blade, the center of balance might fail him, so he chose the relatively lighter haft to keep me from closing in...

I answered his attack with a slide.

I deliberately dropped low and used my shield like a board, slipping forward as I drove in.

From the cold seeping up from the floor, it seemed Dante had frozen the ground for a moment.

Now that was some nice support.

And then.

Logres Swordsmanship, [Logres Quick Sword Form].

I unleashed an upward slash aimed at his neck.

But.

Rooooar—!!!

The lion twisted his wrist, blocked my sword with the axe head, trapped the blade between the head and the edge—and then kicked me away just like that.

Boooom—!!!!

"Ghk!"

That single kick didn’t just shove me back. It sent me flying.

I barely blocked it with my shield, but the impact made my hands tremble.

And the metallic taste filling my mouth was a bonus.

This time, the lion charged in to attack and raised his axe overhead.

"Ian!"

I felt cold and heat at the same time from behind me.

Dante or Rocinante were probably about to do something to support me, but—

ROOOOOAR—!!!!!

The lion bellowed.

He wasn’t looking at me. He was staring past me, toward my back, and the cold and heat I’d felt behind me faded away.

Was he trying to say not to interfere?

The lion brought the axe down, and I widened the distance to get out of its reach.

However.

In the middle of that downward swing, the lion loosened his strength just slightly.

Using the acceleration of the swing itself, the axe’s reach abruptly extended.

The blade was trying to reach the distance I’d barely managed to gain.

[Activating [Insight of One Who Has Seen the End].]

[Predicting a thousand possibilities.]

[Discerned possibilities: 6]

Following the possibilities shown to me, I twisted my body.

And barely avoided the axe.

He had brought it down with such force that it buried itself deep into the ground.

Even though I dodged, the aftershock still cut my cheek.

I slammed my shield down onto the axe embedded in the earth.

With a bang, the axe sank even deeper.

Then I stepped on it, pinning it completely to the ground.

Considering his monstrous strength, it wouldn’t hold for long...

But that instant would be enough.

I poured mana into my legs once more and shot toward him like a bolt.

[Mad Orlando].

Once again, I loaded fierce emotion into my sword.

Now that his axe was sealed, even if only for a moment, this was my chance.

ROOOOOAR—!!!!

At that moment.

Claaang—!!!

The sound of metal crashing against metal rang out, and sparks flew.

Before [Mad Orlando] could begin, the lion had bitten down on my sword.

But.

[Mad Orlando] wasn’t only in the sword.

‘If you force yourself to match me too much, that technique won’t be able to grow any stronger from there.’

Angelica’s advice.

Her words that I had to find my own madness.

I knew.

I knew [Mad Orlando] wasn’t limited to swordsmanship.

That the real thing was the fighting style itself—using whatever weapon was in your hand, your opponent’s weapon, and even the environment to their utmost limit.

But I hadn’t copied the true [Mad Orlando]. I had copied the [Mad Orlando] Angelica used, which meant I could only use it through a sword.

That was why I didn’t know the real [Mad Orlando].

I didn’t know that contradictory fighting style that told you to dance a frenzy while pouring out your passion, yet also use every weapon in your hand, your enemy’s weapon, and even the battlefield itself to the absolute extreme.

But.

Pouring fierce emotion into a weapon.

That much, I did know.

Because what I had copied was his [Mad Orlando].

Since I had copied his story, what he could do, I could do too.

So the sword was a fake.

My brother would probably chew me out for this, but I’d give up the sword.

Because in the end, the real thing was the shield.

I poured it into the shield.

The madness, every last bit of that fierce emotion, all into a single shield.

And struck.

Boooom—!!!

My shield bash snapped his neck to the side.

Even so, he didn’t let go of my sword with his mouth.

He must have known too.

That if he gave up the sword, a storm of madness unleashed by that blade would follow.

Even if he was a mindless corpse, the memories carved into his body must have been telling him that.

Fine. Then don’t let go of the sword.

I won’t let go of the axe either.

Still stepping on the axe, I loaded the mysteries of madness into my shield and created a storm.

But.

Breaking through that storm, something grazed my cheek and carved a thin red line across it.

It was unmistakably his right hand.

Had he let go of the axe?

Instead of trying to pull the embedded axe free, he had chosen to face the storm of madness with his bare body.

I see.

For a corpse, you’ve got some guts.

Roooar—!!!

The lion roared at point-blank range and threw his right hand again.

I did the same.

Keeping that fierce emotion alive, I continued the dance of madness.

One trying to continue the madness, and one trying to break through it no matter what.

As our two weapons collided, they created yet another storm.

A violent tempest born as fist and shield hammered each other’s bodies.

Neither I nor the lion—no one—gave ground or got pushed back.

We simply fought while taking every attack the other threw with our whole bodies.

The lion’s right arm smashed into my head and snapped it sideways.

My shield whipped the lion’s neck around in turn.

At this point, it wasn’t a duel anymore. It was a street brawl.

It hurt like hell.

So this was what the lion’s blow felt like when I took it properly without defending with my shield.

My insides churned.

And I could feel some metallic-tasting liquid rising in my throat.

Even so, judging by the fact my bones weren’t broken and my organs weren’t completely ruined—

my body really was absurdly tough.

Or maybe it was the effect of [Flower of Chivalry].

Still.

My limits were starting to show.

I had a shield strapped on, while he only had his right arm, yet I was still losing to him in raw strength.

And [Mad Orlando], the only reason I could maintain this deadlock, was running out.

At that moment.

He released the sword from his mouth.

Thinking it was my chance, I grabbed the hilt.

But.

Apparently, the chance wasn’t mine.

Because he had been waiting for that opening, and his foot came flying in.

Oh, for fuck’s sake...

An undead was throwing feints?

Boooom—!!!!

I barely blocked it with my shield.

But the impact that hit me was overwhelming, and from the aftershock, my armor finally reached its limit and shattered to pieces.

"Kuhk!"

I flew back and slammed into the wall, blood bursting from my mouth.

My vision turned red and blurred.

Fuck.

I couldn’t see anything.

I really couldn’t see a damn thing.

Were my bones broken?

My organs felt completely wrecked.

I couldn’t hear anything either.

It sounded like those guys were shouting something.

God, I’m dying here.

I was getting sleepier by the second too.

I knew if I fell asleep here, I’d die just like that.

But I was tired as hell.

In that world painted hazy red.

Something was charging toward me.

The lion came running with his axe, batting aside the pumpkin and the horse standing in his way, taking Dante’s frost and frost blades all over his body—even coughing up blood from it—and still charging forward.

Even if I died, I still had the ring.

I could revive anyway, even if I died.

Come on.

I’ll die properly for you—

Just as I was wondering how I could get hit in a way that would let me die with the least pain.

Someone stepped in front of me.

A woman with brown hair streaming behind her.

It was Haede Mercedes.

Was this woman insane?

Fuck, my head was too muddled...

At this rate, Haede would die.

There was no way she could withstand that mad lion’s attack.

Pull yourself together...!

"Kyaaaaah—!!"

Iris Floria’s scream.

That finally snapped me back to my senses.

Before the axe blade could reach Haede, I wrung out the last of my mana, blocked the lion’s charge, and kicked him away.

The lion went flying into the distance once again.

Cough.

I had to throw up again from forcing myself to move...

But gritting my teeth, forgetting even how to speak politely, I shouted at the crazy woman who had barged in.

"Are you insane? Why the hell did you jump in all of a sudden?"

"Are you the insane one?"

What the hell? Why are you the one getting angry?

"There’s a limit to acting cool. If you were going to die now, what exactly were we supposed to do then?"

What else?

Die and revive, obviously.

"And you were going to die instead?"

"You said yourself you’re the only one who can stop that mad lion."

"That doesn’t mean you get to die."

"No?"

Was she crazy?

"Still, I figured I’d put on a little bravado. You were going to save me anyway, weren’t you?"

A sigh escaped me.

"If you die, Iris will be sad. Don’t ever do something like that again."

"Lis wouldn’t want to watch someone die right in front of her, and she’d be sad no matter who died."

Then why—

"But you’re different. There’s one more person who’d cry for you."

Someone who’d cry for me?

Who here could possibly be that kind of saintly person...?

And then I saw it.

"Sancho, Sancho. Please... Ian, Ian..."

"My lord? My lord! My lord?"

I saw Dolnesia de Logres, even at her limit and coughing up blood, pleading with the witless Sancho.

"See? Isn’t that right?"

Then Haede’s legs gave out, and she sank to the floor.

"Yeah. It is."

"Do you know this? The craziest thing a person can do in this world is let someone die right in front of them without killing anyone themselves."

Is that so.

I hadn’t known.

But me...

"But something even crazier than that is knowing perfectly well there are people who’ll grieve if you die, and still letting the person telling you not to die take your place and die instead. So don’t die."

"Doesn’t that apply to you too?"

"I guess it does, doesn’t it?"

I let out a sigh at the words from this lunatic.

But for some reason, thanks to her, my head cleared.

I gave a small laugh and opened my mouth.

"Thanks."

"Say that to Mr. Dante and Lady Dolnesia. I didn’t do anything."

Is that so.

"Or else..."

ROOOOOAR—!!!!

Haede pointed at the roaring lion and said,

"Win and come back. No one here wants you to die."

"Right."

I checked my body.

Thanks to [Dragon Strength] and Rocinante’s blessing, I was recovering to some extent, but...

Several ribs were broken.

My organs were wrecked.

It was a miracle I could still move.

Still.

"I’ll win and return."

I had to win.

One way or another, the life I still had was because of that bastard.

And I knew.

This would be the last exchange.

For me too.

For him too.

This strike would decide everything.

But I wouldn’t be finished.

The [Holy Maiden’s Ring].

I still had one life attached to it.

Which meant I had something left in reserve even if I didn’t go all out.

The only one dying here would be him.

Saying a corpse that had already died once was going to die felt a little strange, but...

one way or another, he would be the only one to fall.

.........

Then would I really be satisfied?

A fight I could win without going all out.

Even if I beat him in that duel, could I really say I had reached that star...?

This was driving me insane.

Maybe I’d been infected by that voyeuristic bastard up above.

Or maybe this was just what my personality had always been like.

I pulled the [Holy Maiden’s Ring] off my finger.

It was a stupid thought.

Such a foolish act that even those voyeuristic bastards above would have every right to point and call me insane.

But this was my stubbornness.

Even knowing there were people who’d grieve if I died.

Even knowing this ring meant I had one more life.

I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I wouldn’t be able to win this duel like that.

Because if I knew I had one life left in reserve, I wouldn’t be able to give it everything I had.

So, Sister Holy Maiden.

I’ll hand this over to someone else.

"Haede."

"Yes?"

I held out the [Holy Maiden’s Ring] to Haede.

The moment she received it, she recoiled in shock.

"W-why are you giving this to me...?"

"Take it to Iris."

"T-to Lis?"

Yeah.

It was an item infused with holy power.

That meant it was something Iris needed more than I did.

You never knew.

Maybe it would help her awaken the saint’s miracle sooner.

And for now, you keep it.

If you barely survived only to get caught up in this and die, that’d leave a bad taste in my mouth.

I entrusted the ring to the person who had moved for my sake.

Then I raised my sword to challenge him.

This wasn’t for honor.

And it wasn’t for chivalry either.

Even if I had nothing left in reserve.

Even if people pointed at me and called me stupid, foolish, a clown.

That corpse who had once walked the path of a knight.

I, a junior trying to walk that same path.

I wanted to smash him head-on.

That said, I had even less intention of dying.

Because I knew perfectly well that if I died, these people would be next.

So.

I approached him so Haede wouldn’t get hurt.

And when I had moved far enough away from the others.

ROOOOOAR—!!!!

The lion charged, roaring as he tried to unleash his final blow.

Was he trying to call it a last desperate struggle?

Or was he trying to say this was the end?

He came at me swinging his axe wildly over and over.

A corpse swinging so passionately I would have believed he was using [Mad Orlando] with an axe.

An undead with no reason, a puppet that only moved by the memories carved into its flesh, yet still displayed overwhelming martial might.

Every time the axe swung, a storm surged, and the blade wind shaved away the ice pillars Dante had created.

That figure was so fearsome that calling it an undead wasn’t enough. Demon would suit it better.

But even so, I.

Today, I would kill that demon.

I had no [Mad Orlando], no anything.

But I intended to shove that rampaging senior back into his coffin.

So.

I’ll break through you head-on.

Trapped in a corpse, dreaming your dream of battle—I’ll pierce straight through you.

I’ll end that dream and reach that star for you.

With that, I ran at full speed toward that demon.

And then.

[The influence of [the peerless knight] is diminishing.]

[The influence of [the Lionheart Knight] is diminishing.]

Two knights pushed at my back.

[For a brief moment, the story of [the peerless knight] is written upon your sword.]

[Pierce through.]

[Charge forward without hesitation.]

That was no sword.

[The peerless knight pushes you onward.]

Its form was clearly that of a sword, but.

It had become a lance.

A massive lance, the kind one might use in a joust.

[Chivalry is nothing special.]

My legs became a sturdy warhorse.

And my sword became a long lance.

[If all you wish is to protect someone.]

[If all you wish is to move forward for someone.]

And so, toward that storm, I.

[Then that spear of yours]

———Blancart.

Speaking the title of the story the peerless knight had passed on to me.

I leveled the lance.

[can pierce even Satan himself.]

ROOOOOAR—!!!!!

A storm swung by Satan.

And one fine steed charging to prove it could break through it.

The sword became a single meteor and cut across the storms swung by the demon.

Booooom—!!

An explosive tearing sound rang out, and a cloud of dust billowed up.

In that duel where it would have been no surprise for either of us to fall.

Roooa...

The one thing I could be certain of was this.

My sword had reached the star called the lion.

And in the end, it carved a massive hole through his body.

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