◈ Episode 194. Can You Keep Up? (2)
The Arcana Continent was swarming with demons, after all.
So it wouldn’t be strange for there to be demons in the Zero Mountains.
But you lot have guts hanging out of your bellies even more than Granfell, don’t you? ‘Aren’t you scared?’ Even setting aside the sleeping dragons.
You’re not afraid of the monsters in the Zero Mountains?
Sure, right now, these are just lowland, low-level area mobs.
Scurry—The moment they sensed my presence, they fled.
But it’s common sense that stronger monsters appear the higher you go. Leaving everything else aside, the fact that they live here without being cowed by dragons proves they’re no ordinary monsters.
Anyway.
“Even beasts are this wise.”
Don’t get cocky in the newbie zone, Granfell.
Do you really want to strike a pose even in front of an ordinary rabbit?
And yet, shamelessly, I continued.
“You know not your place, demon.” [Natural Enemy Relationship].
The scent of a demon carried on the wind.
Was it because my level had risen?
Or because I had received special training from the Akshan demon hunters of hell?
Even in the vast Zero Mountains, my senses had not dulled. ‘At this rate, on the Arcana Continent, where demons are overflowing……’
Wouldn’t [Natural Enemy Relationship] be active almost constantly?
Should I be happy about that?
Or should I feel sorry about it?
I had complicated feelings.
However.
“Do not think of running.”
For now, focusing on the demon before me was best. [Natural Enemy Relationship]
was active now.
Even if this was the Zero Mountains, there was no need to shrink back.
No matter how much I had skipped the intermediate process to reach this realm, there were limits. I was someone who had awakened the realm of a transcendent, Circles, and although not quite to that extent, Sword Aura. ‘Even if it’s a realm with its bottom fallen out, it still means my power rises several times over.’
Of course, that didn’t mean I intended to disregard the intermediate process. ‘If I fully awaken it, it might become several dozen times over.’
Well, even if the order gets a little mixed up.
In the end, as long as I master it completely, won’t that solve the problem?
In that sense, I don’t know what kind of fellow it is, but it has sharp instincts.
Did it notice my presence?
Because it was swiftly putting distance between us.
But unfortunately.
“Is this hide-and-seek?”
A cold voice slipped out.
“I am not so idle as to indulge you in play.”
Granfell showed no mercy when it came to demons.
I immediately raised my mana.
Run as much as you like.
It would be even better if you tire yourself out while running.
All I have to do is manifest a portal.
Besides.
Click—I’d really like to avoid mountain climbing in dress shoes, if at all possible……
*
Shegwin climbed the mountain with hollow eyes.
His throat burned.
Only a few minutes ago, he had quenched his thirst at a spring.
Yet his thirst had only grown worse.
He could realize it once more.
He was no longer human.
“……”
Clank—When Shegwin sheathed his sword, the mountain range was covered in blood.
The named monster of the mountain heights, the Seven-Tailed Fox (七尾狐),
had died.
Shegwin recalled his own body from the past, when it had been aged. ‘This strength is incomparable.’
Back then.
Shegwin had climbed the Zero Mountains and encountered a fox with five tails.
As befitted the title of Sword Saint, Shegwin had overwhelmed the Five-Tailed Fox even in those days, but he had not been able to bring the battle to a conclusion. ‘My body has certainly grown stronger.’
But now, he had killed a seven-tailed fox, stronger than that one.
His body, stronger than it had been in its prime, had butchered the Seven-Tailed Fox before it could even use sorcery. ‘Then why?’
Shegwin looked at his sword, Atlas.
Sword Aura was not being emitted.
He could not feel the resonance that connected him to the sword.
Grit—Shegwin ground his teeth in irritation.
“……
Do even you fail to recognize me?”
Foolish thing.
“If only you had been functioning properly, I would never have come to this damned mountain range.”
The reason Shegwin had come to the Zero Mountains was simple.
Sword Aura thickened at the crossroads between life and death.
He had come to awaken Sword Aura once more. ‘It is because I have become far too strong.’
A body that had fallen and regained its youth.
In any ordinary battle, he would not even be able to stand at the crossroads between life and death.
“But there is no need to worry.”
The lord of the Zero Mountains.
A dragon should be able to drive me to the crossroads between life and death.
Atlas, if that is what you desire, then I shall do so.
Shegwin gave a faint laugh.
“You will not simply stand by and watch your master die, either.”
He continued climbing the mountain range.
He could see the peak where the magic circle had been engraved.
Whether in the past or now, the Magic Tower was truly a troublesome existence.
To think they had manifested a magic circle
so that no one could approach the dragon. ‘Had it been in the past, I would have had a hard time.’
And to protect that magic circle,
there had been countless trap spells manifested as well.
Shegwin had touched the sealing magic circle and been struck by a trap spell, suffering rather serious injuries.
Had his body not been closer to that of a demon than a human, it would have been an injury that would have left him unable to walk again.
“……?”
But that hardship had become meaningless.
Shegwin witnessed it.
The peak engraved with the magic circle he had surely destroyed
stood tall,
as if nothing had ever happened.
Am I dreaming right now?
Or am I still unconscious, wandering through my own mind?
His head throbbed as though he had been struck in the back of the skull.
“……
It seems my skull was shaken quite thoroughly.”
It was a mistake he could well have made.
After all, the demonic eyes were no longer visible in the night sky.
That was not all.
The scenery looking down from the Zero Mountains had also changed.
“……
Damn it.”
That surging thing was definitely the sea.
Where had the Arcana Continent gone?
No matter where he looked, all he could see was blue ocean.
The Zero Mountains had fallen into the sea overnight?
More likely than that
was the possibility that his senses had broken down.
Crack!
When Shegwin struck a tree in irritation, the trunk snapped and collapsed. Shegwin admonished himself. Think. From where did things begin to go wrong?
“……”
Things had begun to twist
at the Space-Time Salon.
From the moment he encountered the silver-haired man there.
Yes, the root of all evil was him. ‘If not for him, by now I would have.’
He would have conquered Antonium and obtained the Galaxy Whetstone.
Killing the lords with his own hands,
and because of that, becoming aware of the demon’s power,
none of it would have happened.
It was when he was grinding his teeth like that.
“?”
Thump—His heart.
Thump, thump, thump—It began to beat violently.
“……!”
Even before the great yokai of the Zero Mountains, the Seven-Tailed Fox.
Even before a dragon’s nest.
His heart, which had beaten no differently than usual, began pounding as if it would burst.
Had he lacked experience, he would have mistaken it.
Just like the senses that showed him a sea he should not see
and did not show him the demonic eyes he should have seen,
he might have said there was merely something wrong with his heart.
But Shegwin knew the cause of his heartbeat as well. ‘……
It’s him!’
This time, too, it was the silver-haired man.
The moment he thought of him,
voices rang in his head.
—“You would do well to be grateful for the procedures of the salon.”
—“For I am desperately restraining myself right now.”
—“Sword Saint. No, swordsman uglier than a demon.”
Gulp—His throat burned even more fiercely.
Shegwin swallowed dryly and began to run. ‘I have to flee.’
The Sword Saint.
The only Grand Sword Master on the continent, and I am running away.
It was a situation even he could not accept, but there was no other way.
He was the man who had dropped an upper Demon King into hell and unanimously seized the qualification of a transcendent. Even if Shegwin could emit Sword Aura, he could not be confident of victory.
And now, when Atlas did not respond……. ‘I have no chance of winning.’
The only fortunate thing was that his physical abilities were intact.
Was it because he had crossed the mountain range without rest?
Or because the distance between him and that man had widened?
His heartbeat gradually began to regain stability.
It was then that Shegwin stopped.
Whoooosh—Before Shegwin’s eyes.
A cluster of mana light was drawn in midair.
A portal.
Within the backlight of mana, a shadow appeared.
The shadow gradually drew closer. ……
Thump, thump, thump!
His heart broke down once more....
Seriously, why are you coming out of there?
“Shegwin.”
The very reason and goal for which I had to grow stronger was right before my eyes.
It probably isn’t your fault, but why the hell did it have to be you……?
Because he had been desperately running away, I hadn’t even imagined it. ‘Like a rabbit fleeing.’
At most, I thought it was an imp or a lower demon!
You know how it is—demons grow more cunning the stronger they become.
Do they sense danger and run?
No, it means they don’t create a situation where they’re in danger in the first place. ‘Just look at the Arcana Continent right now.’
Now that the upper Demon King, Gamigin, had fallen into hell.
The Arcana Continent could not be more peaceful.
Only low-rank demon small fry who couldn’t grasp the situation appeared from time to time.
Demon Kings and named demons on their level were lying so low that even if I looked around with [Demon Eye’s Telescope],
not a single nose of theirs showed itself. ‘So why are you showing up here?’
It’s not that I’m worried about you.
But do you know how dangerous the Zero Mountains are?
A dragon lives at the summit, a dragon!
I wanted to at least lose my temper at this encounter I had never imagined. ‘Wait.’
Soon, the pieces clicked together in my head.
I opened my mouth.
“So it was you. The one who destroyed the Magic Tower’s magic circle.”
I’d wondered what kind of bold bastard had destroyed the Magic Tower’s magic circle.
If it was Shegwin, I could understand.
It seemed I had hit the mark.
One step—Shegwin stepped back, then spoke.
“So it was you after all. The one who restored the magic circle.”
Naturally, I did not reply.
To Granfell, Shegwin was a demon—no, an existence worse than a demon. The fact that he had addressed him even once had been possible only because he had exercised considerable patience.
Suddenly.
“……
Khehehehe.”
Shegwin laughed as if sobbing.
What’s wrong with him now?
Why so creepy all of a sudden?
While I flinched, Shegwin continued.
“Things have truly gone damnably wrong.” ……
Excuse me, but who do you think should be saying that?
I wanted to retort, but Shegwin did not seem to have the leisure to listen to me. Because he immediately raised his sword. But something felt missing.
I can’t see Sword Aura……?
“Look, Atlas. Your master is in danger of dying.”
Atlas. Is that the sword’s name?
By the way, danger of dying?
That’s what I want to say, you know? ‘Honestly, I’m scared.’
[Natural Enemy Relationship]
was active.
And on top of that.
The stronger the demon,
the higher Granfell’s pride soared—and seeing how it had risen as high as it could go……
Shegwin was definitely a burdensome opponent.
Even if he could not emit Sword Aura.
It wasn’t as though his swift swordsmanship had gone anywhere.
“Atlas, if you truly do not intend to kill me.”
“……”
“It would be best to quietly abandon your stubbornness.”
Flash!
As expected, ominous premonitions are never wrong.
Why is he that fast?
He is more agile than any monster I’ve seen so far. ‘And his combat sense, too.’
Shegwin had fallen into a demon.
His appearance was that of a young man, but in his human days, he had been a Sword Saint far past his prime. He must have that much experience. Indeed, it seemed he had an abundance of experience fighting mages as well.
Shegwin concealed himself among the terrain. ‘Is this the power of a transcendent?’
It was a speed my eyes could not possibly capture.
It occurred to me anew that if Shegwin had not been a demon,
I really would have been shattered at first contact.
But now that he had fallen into a demon.
“There.” [Natural Enemy Relationship]
was not a radius he could evade.
In other words, the foul stench of a demon is wafting from you, Shegwin.
I repeated to myself. ‘Don’t look with your eyes.’
……
Track him by scent.
The most important thing was not letting it show.
If it was Shegwin.
The moment he realized I had lost track of his movements,
he would come rushing at me with his sword to cut off my breath.
Unfortunately, I had no confidence I could block that strike.
But I had a brazen face.
“You may hide, but there are things that cannot be concealed.”
Yes, my usual posture.
I guarantee it.
Not the slightest agitation, not the slightest opening would show from me.
Thump, thump, thump—A moment of silence.
Thanks to that, even Shegwin’s rough heartbeat reached me.
That was definitely the heartbeat of a frightened demon. ‘I don’t know why he’s been so scared since earlier.’
Good.
I needed to use that misunderstanding.
Only then would I not sink beneath the weight of my heavy pride. ‘Turning misunderstanding and overestimation into reality?’
It was something I was as confident in as hiding my emotions.
Just as I had done until now.
I was confident I could brazenly pull it off.
So I raised my arm with discipline.
“That heart of yours seems almost like an instrument.”
What I drew from my breast was the trophy of the Demon King, Amducias.
“In that case.” [Conductor’s Baton Tainted by Evil].
No, now it was [Baton of Rhythm].
I raised the Demon King’s trophy and continued.
“A duet with screams added to it would not be bad.” ……
A duet with what added?
No, forget it. Considering the situation.
Right now, I don’t have the leisure to nitpick whatever nonsense you spout, Granfell.
Only one thing is certain.
There was a reason I had taken out the baton.
It’s a little unfair for you to be the only one that fast, isn’t it, Shegwin?
Swoosh—As I raised the baton.
Float—Countless spheres of light rose from all over the Zero Mountains.
Yes, they were the Lights I had manifested.
Swoosh—Floating—
As the baton moved,
the pure masses of mana moved with it.
Then, before long.
“?!”
They accelerated at a speed even Shegwin could not evade.
“Vivace.”
—Brightly and quickly.
As I conducted.