Chapter 10
–Mind magic [Invincible Knight] .
Magic capable of defeating any enemy and protecting one’s loved ones .
Magic which gets strong admiration from the Sacred Knights
As soon as it activated, a storm-like spell blows through the room with Leo at its center .
“…”
Marx’s breathing stops as he is swallowed by the pure and fierce spirit of Leo, who is standing in the middle of the raging storm .
The wild magic gradually subsided with all of it converging back to Leo .
“… Ha . ”
As soon as the magic subsided, Marx sneered as if to catch his breath .
The reason being that nothing had changed with Leo using mind magic .
The number of confirmed mind magic practitioners in the world is less than ten .
Currently, there is only one master of mind magic in the kingdom, Leo William Disfrender .
Naturally, Marx is aware of the effects of Leo’s mind magic .
“Disfrender . It’s fine to be brash, but do you truly believe I ignore its effects?”
“――――”
[Invincible Knight] . The ability to transfer power between peers .
Magical power, muscular strength, agility .
The ability to transfer strength to someone or receive it from someone in the middle of a fight .
If a Leo recognizes him as a companion, he can receive power even from non-combatants .
Magic with humongous combat application and potential .
In other words, the more friends you have the more of its worth will show .
“It’s a great ability, for sure . But you know what? You don’t have any allies in this house . There’s no point in trying to use mind magic in a place like this . ”
Declaring so, Marx opens the mouths of the worms that grew everywhere on his whole body .
Even though it’s mind magic, it’s still magic .
If I use the power of the worm, I can easily eat it .
“You really are a moron, you know that?”
Marx slashes down towards Leo with ten worms fashioned like a whip .
At the same time, he transmits the use of magic to the worms who opened their mouths .
“Magic ――――”
Then a clicking sound resounded .
Without any foreshadowing, the heads of the ten worms I had released had been cut in two .
Shortly after, the worms, which were bisected as if stuffed with powder, burst out .
“What the–?”
Marx, unable to catch up with the event going on, saw the worms disappear from his sight before he could utter a word .
At that moment, from the remnants of the magic that blew like the wind, I realized that Leo had used some kind of magic .
“-Huh !! . ”
“Oh, oh-oh !? Whoa–? . ”
A blade filled to the brim with magical power was swung down towards Marx .
The only reason why Marx was able to respond to this was that he had dozen of years of field experience and could react instinctively to this threat .
At that moment, he raised his own sword and blocked the incoming blade .
“What !?”
Marx’s massive body had been blown away .
Smashing through the wall of the private room and rolls haphazardly down the long hallway .
Once touching the ground of the passageway, Marx immediately stood up, only to find the blade of his sword shattered from the handle .
“Your actions are unbecoming of a sacred knight . As a citizen, this is something that shouldn’t be tolerated . ”
From the hole in the wall, Leo emerged .
His body entirely covered by a thick layer of magic power .
Its effect, the amount of magic power, far surpasses that of normal strengthening magic .
“Nonsense! How can you have such power?”
As soon as he shouted that, Marx understood .
Leo has only one person on his side in this house .
However, that “only one” is a sorceress capable of sacred magic .
“That woman… Even though I was the one who looked out for her…!”
While Marx was mumbling with indignation, Leo kept getting closer and closer .
Glaring at Marx sharply, Leo declared .
“… more than anything, you dared hurt Kyrie . I will never, ever forgive you . ”
“… Ah . I told you before that there is no need for me to ask an immature brat like you for permission!”
Marx roars as worms sprout from his entire body .
At the same time, he attempts to use [Usurpation of Magic] to strip Leo of his mind magic, but…
“I won’t let you . ”
–The blade flies wild .
The indigo-colored blade flashes leaving even the sound of the wind blowing behind .
The worms that opened their mouths to suck the magic were cut off one after another .
“You… Ahh!”
Marx pulls out his spare sword and moves in sync with the worms .
Skill-wise, an agile and intense attack that boasts the ability to turn strong men into a coordinated fighting force .
However, it doesn’t reach Leo .
The attack from the four sides that seemed to surround him is easily dodged, and a slash aimed at the gap is sent back .
Dodge, dodge, dodge .
Shit, shit, shit . Shit! Shit!!!
On the contrary, he slipped through the attacks and one after another, his counters gouged Marx’s body .
The cheek, the top of the shoulders, the sides, the waist, and various other parts were slashed, and in the blink of an eye, Marx’s feet were stained with his own blood .
His eyes bloodshot, his teeth clenched to the point of shattering, and yet his desperate attacks still don’t reach Leo .
He didn’t have time to deprive him of magic nor the time to heal his wounds .
The assault from all directions, the movements tempered through years of training, feints that make use of one’s own combat experience, sword techniques at the height of their might, and the hero’s power gained through the use of George and Lily . All of these are useless .
“Such a thing . ”
Marx realized .
With the power he obtained just for one woman .
To protect only one woman .
That the man he is fighting is indeed becoming an invincible knight .
“Ughh!!!!”
Countless slashes shimmering indigo in his vision .
Marx is hunted down helplessly .
All the worms were cut off .
Barely realizing the approaching strike, Marx takes a defensive posture .
And the result was the same as the first .
The last sword in his possession shatters and he himself is blown senselessly off the wall .
“Ugh… Aaah . ”
Crawling on the ground, Marx desperately passes through a hole in the wall into a private room .
The sound of Kyrie and Leo’s footsteps approaching from behind .
Eventually, he was cornered against the wall, and when he turned around, Leo was just a few steps ahead of him .
“M…wait…wait…wait…wait! You’re going to kill me !? Think again! I’m about to be assigned to the first squadron! As the captain what’s more! I can get into the heart of the Order! Mr . Disfrender . You want to be a captain, don’t you? It’s easy for me to make you a captain with my position! Yes, even being the captain of the first squad is easily possible!
Leo’s eyes went cold as Marx desperately spilled out words .
Kyrie, leaning against the wall, watched wordlessly .
“Even if I became a captain that way, my dreams would never come true . I’m going to take the captaincy with my own hands . ”
“Hey, the connection you’ve made with me here is one of your strengths! Don’t you think you should make the most of it!”
“I don’t think so . You’re not a knight anymore,… just, you know, outrageous . ”
I don’t understand . It’s too immature . Stupid .
He had a chance to make his dream come true, but he just had cut it off .
There’s no such thing as pride, just a sense of purpose .
“… … I’m not going to kill you . You will pay for your sins . ”
“It’s the same . ” Marx exhales inwardly .
If he gets caught here, everything he’s done will come to light .
If that happens, no matter how much he tries to get involved, he won’t be spared from the death penalty .
In the end, Marx was going to die .
“Mmh… That’s right . I wonder if you remember your former captain!”
“…!”
“The former captain, I’m talking about her, Luna!”
The former captain of the Second Squadron .
Before Marx took office, a woman named Luna served there .
She was the one who saw through Leo’s abilities and recommended him as the second-in-command of the second squad .
She had gone missing in the line of duty and had already been pronounced dead .
“Wouldn’t you like to see her?”
“Do you know where Captain Luna is…?”
At Leo’s wide-eyed gaze, Marx nodded .
“She’s in my custody . ”
“…”
“I’m the only one who knows where she is! Eh, I’m going to take you to see her now!”
Marx told him as he swallowed his breath faced with Leo’s anger .
As he pulls Marx to his feet, Leo puts his sword around his neck .
Today’s Leo would be able to instantly bisect Marx if he tried to grow a worm from his entire body .
“Don’t make any funny moves . ………… Where is Captain Luna?”
“She is in a hidden room in the basement . The keys are inside the desk there . ”
“… Take them . ”
With Leo’s sword still pointed at him, Marx reaches for the desk shelf .
Opening the shelf on which the bottom seal hung, Marx took out an object .
“Let me see…”
Seeing that, Leo was shaken .
It was a single hand with a wrist that fit in Marx’s hand .
“What’s…”
It was still white and supple as if it had been cast with preservation magic and was still alive .
It’s a small, solid hand from which can be seen how much training it has gone through .
Long fingers with five well-shaped fingernails .
And the deep scar of a single letter on the back .
“What?”
Leo became aware of the painful truth .
During the training to use mind magic, he accidentally wounded the former captain .
She said to Leo, who rushed over to her hurriedly, as he immediately tried to heal her with healing magic .
–Idiot . Being so afraid like that, you think I can’t handle that?
–This is proof of your growth .
–I won’t let you erase the proof of my subordinate’s growth .
Saying that the former captain laughed .
She was delighted and genuinely pleased with Leo’s growth .
“Luna, Captain . ”
Her wrist is thrown to the ground with a ‘pop’ .
The moment Leo tried to move to catch it .
“I’m not immature, you are!”
With a sneer, Marx’s blow was unleashed .
A blow by a huge worm that was several times longer than the precedent ones .
“Shut up!!!”
That fluke was easily stopped .
Leo blocked the blow with the sword he held with one hand .
In his other hand, he held the former captain’s wrist .
“… Hmm, that’s good! You could even see a part of the previous captain!”
“Shut the fuck up!”
The ensuing words of Marx, naturally, did not get through to Leo .
He didn’t even give him time to use [Usurpation of Magic] and cut him down in an instant .
But .
“I wasn’t aiming at you . ”
“Ugh . ”
Kyrie’s breath caught in her throat .
He turned around and saw that the worm that he had first slashed off was making its way towards Kyrie .
“I never said that simply cutting the worms would kill them did I ?”
The bodies of countless worms swelled up .
“Make the magic they’ve eaten run amok and each and every last one of them will cause a small explosion . ”
With the [Invincible Knight] taking all of Kyrie’s power to grant it to Leo, she no longer has any means to protect herself .
“Kyrie!”
Leo turned and rushed over to Kyrie .
A moment later, the worms that were lying on the floor exploded in unison .
◆
The flames and smoke cleared up .
The private room now stained in the green of the worms’ blood, with their flesh splattered everywhere .
There stood Leo, with his whole body burned down .
“… Hoh . Did you make it in time?”
Behind Leo, Kyrie was leaning against the wall in disbelief .
Leo used his magic to protect Kyrie .
But because of this, he neglected his own protection and took the explosion head-on as well .
The damage taken had canceled [Invincible Knight] .
“Fuhahahaha! If you can’t make it happen by playing it fair and square, then just play it dirty! Did you think you could beat me at the age of two, blue?”
The damage from the explosion had left Leo with life-threatening wounds .
Even now, he’s just barely standing still .
“Oh, yeah . You can rest assured that your former commander, Ms . Luna, is long dead . She was worried about you and told me to leave you alone until the end . Well, you’ve got a good boss, Disfrender!”
“…”
“And you know what, Mr . Disfrender?”
Marx laughs .
Then he spat out the words, painted with malice .
“Did you know? It’s really great, so nice and tight when you fuck them while strangling them!”
“―――”
“What’s the matter, are you speechless?”
Leo didn’t say anything .
Just one step .
He stepped towards Marx .
“Well, okay . What can you do with a body like that? Die, Disfrender!
Marx unleashes a huge worm .
With wounds all over his body, Leo didn’t have the strength to even dodge it .
He sneered, and just as Marx’s worm, it’s mouth wide open, was about to swallow Leo whole…
“[God’s Lightning]”
A white lightning spear .
An unbridled spear of thunder pierced the worm and scorched it .
And not stopping, piercing through the worm, the lightning blows up Marx’s flanks .
“Ughhhhhhhhhh!!!?”
Marx rolls around, holding his lightning-blackened flank .
“You… slut…” (TN: Ki-sama)
In front of Leo’s eyes as he stands there .
Kyrie, who had been leaning against the wall until then, stood in front of Leo with a rough exhale of breath .
“I won’t let you hurt Leo…!”
–I’ve been protected by Leo for a long time .
That’s how it was in that forest .
That’s what happened when he came to the Holy City and I was almost assassinated because my power was in the way .
Even when I had trouble with people, Leo was there to help .
Whenever I was scared, lonely, sad, pained .
During all hard times, he’s always been there for me .
He laughed, even though he was wounded, just because I was safe .
–All this time, I’ve been a nuisance to you, Leo .
Always complaining to you, relying on you, being helped by you .
I’ve always been protected .
So, in order not to ruin his dream at least, I agreed to be engaged to Marx .
In the end, I ended up troubling him again .
If only I could be more patient, more attentive .
I can’t just go straight on relying only on what I think .
I’m sorry, Leo .
I should have talked to you more properly .
I was so happy that Leo was so protective of me .
You might say that you don’t want this anymore…
Kyrie took a step forward .
–I want you to live, Leo .
“I’ll be the one to protect you this time . ”
I shoot out white lightning towards Marx .
Followed by a white flame .
I unleash all the sacred magic I can muster, and…
“Ahhhhhhh”
It didn’t reach him .
No matter what kind of attack I unleash, I can’t get through to Marx .
Faced with a worm that eats magic, Kyrie’s magic is nothing more than food .
“Brat, brat, brat… Hey, how many times do you want to mess with me? Huh? A nobody like you, you should just shut up and let me hold you, you little lump of meat!”
“…”
The worm’s blow closes in on Kyrie .
Fresh blood scattered .
The worm was slashed off, green blood seeping into the carpet .
“―――”
Leo, who should be wounded all over, had cut off the worm .
“You’re a dead man…”
Changing his target into Leo, Marx launch a worm .
Leo shows no interest in the oncoming attack .
He just keeps glaring at Marx and continues approaching .
“[God’s Torch] . ”
The worm was consumed by Kyrie’s fire .
“Shit…”
Marx instructed the remaining worms that were lying on the ground to attack Kyrie .
Kyrie, who is already nearly out of magic, can’t afford to deal with the worms .
“―――”
The indigo-colored sword shimmered .
All the worms that were about to pounce on Kyrie disappeared without a trace .
“Dis…frender…”
Leo doesn’t say anything .
He just keeps going .
“[Magic Usurpation] . ”
He takes away Kyrie’s magic and interrupts her support for Leo .
The worm’s launch themselves in Leo’s flesh .
Blood spurted out, spilling out in terrific amounts at Leo’s feet .
“What?”
Nearly slipping in his own blood, Leo takes a step forward with an unsteady gait .
His eyes were already unfocused .
However, what those eyes stare at is Marx .
No matter what kind of attack he unleashes, Leo will catch it with his body .
No matter what, the attacks he unleashes on Kyrie won’t pass, torn apart by his sword .
He can’t use mind magic anymore, and Leo has wounds all over his body .
What he’s holding is just an ordinary, powerless knight’s sword .
There is no reason why he should be able to beat Marx, no matter how he does it .
“――――”
It’s just that .
His gaze did not dull and his spirit did not wane .
With his burnt body, dripping with overflowing blood, he comes closer and closer to Marx, step by step .
“――――”
No words .
He just has to step forward .
Kyrie is protecting Leo, and Leo is protecting Kyrie .
“Ugh…………… . ”
A wounded Leo wouldn’t be able to react to an attack from all four directions .
First, kill Kyrie who tries to support Leo .
If she dies, it will be easy to kill Leo .
It should be easy .
Leo has wounds all over his body .
He can’t use enhancement magic anymore .
I can win .
It would be weird for it to end any other way .
That’s what Marx told himself and while he kept staring forward…
“―――”
Before he knew it, there was Leo standing in front of him, just a step away .
A scary, unfocused pair of eyes shooting through Marx .
His drooping arms were slowly lifted .
His blade, just like a ghost, glowed in a dull, ephemeral white light .
“Hiii!”
Rolling over, Marx began to run away .
With the worms, he should be able to kill Leo even without using his magic .
But he had a hunch .
Just one more step, if Leo takes one more step forward…
The moment that sword is swung down…
I will die .
“Hiaaaaaahhhh!!!
Die .
Killed .
Murdered .
With a scream, Marx started running down the hallway .
◆
“Huh … hah …”
Marx runs down the long corridor, holding his side gouged out by Kyrie .
He fled aimlessly and helplessly, finally realizing that Leo wasn’t following him from behind .
“… Why am I running away?”
It’s crazy to be scared to death by such an imbecile .
Let’s go back to the room and kill those two right now .
“… No . ”
Denying the idea, Marx ran again .
If he’s come this far, he should bring that thing with him .
That way, he can kill them both for sure .
What he’s headed for is the stairs leading to the basement .
At the far end of the trap room that dropped the two intruders is a worm that Marx had spawned over time .
It was made to be like a nine-headed dragon, a mighty weapon that Marx was proud of .
If he brings it in, he can definitely kill Leo and Kyrie .
They should have devoured the two intruders by now, looking for food .
“Fuck… I exhausted myself too much, I have to eat… . ”
The power of Amatsu implanted in his body is beginning to run amok in search of magic .
Even the subhumans that were captured have to be eaten in order to recover .
He muttered that, and the moment Marx was about to turn around the hallway
–His four limbs made a weird noise and fell to the ground
“What… huh?”
Immediately after letting out a surprised shout:
“Aaaaaaahhhhhh! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!”
Fresh blood spurted from the wounds .
Rolling on the ground like a caterpillar, Marx looked up .
“I’ve been looking for you, Marx . ”
Iori Amatsuki stood there with a wide smile on his face .
A blood-soaked, jade-colored sword in his hands .
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