Chapter 3: The Elder and the Swordsman
Ding—— ding—— ding——
With every toll of the Golden Bell, my body felt a bit more sluggish. The surrounding Black Smoke instantly transformed from fierce to almost misty.
My sluggish movements made my previously swift and powerful arm swings feel like they were coated in molasses. Finally, a Knight barreled through my defenses, sporting a fierce expression, and leapt up to swing his sword down at me.
Clang——
The sword hit my lower abdomen, clashing with my armor and showering sparks everywhere, leaving a shallow white mark. The attacking Knight stumbled back, pain etched across his face.
Realizing what I had just done, I seized him, hoisting him up in front of me while trying to suppress the discomfort in my body. I stared into his increasingly grimacing expression and whispered, “Why… are you trying to k*ll me…?”
“%￥%#%……” The Knight’s expression was terrifying, and he swung his sword desperately at my hand gripping his right arm.
Without armor on my hand, I received shallow cuts from his strikes, with black mist seeping from the wounds. I figured that was probably my bl**d.
In a matter of moments, three to five more Knights closed in. They lifted their longswords and leapt high, roaring, slashing, or thrusting, their swords clanging against my armor in a continuous rain of sound, but they couldn’t touch me.
In fact, two Knights jumped to strike but lost their balance from the sheer force and fell into the Black Smoke entwining my lower half. In an instant, they were eroded and turned to dust without even a struggle.
Once again absorbing two streams of bluish-white light, my body still felt heavy.
Was that bluish-white light the souls of the Knights?
If yes, then I’m quite the terrifying monster, aren’t I?
I deeply exhaled, the air thick with a metallic, bloody scent.
You guys really hate me, don’t you?
I was starting to feel a bit worn out.
I looked at the Knights surrounding me, poised to strike. Their gazes occasionally darted towards my right hand, as if they were trying to save their comrade.
So, I decided to speak.
“I don’t want to hurt you; you don’t want to hurt me. Let’s just stop fighting, okay?” My voice came out soft, almost pleading.
“……￥￥ Abyss*&…… d*e￥%#!” The Knight shouted angrily, and a tiny part of me began to comprehend—was it because I had devoured so many people?
“Tell me, what am I?” I asked again.
“…Human… Immortal… Sacred… Protection…!” The Knight held in my grasp displayed a look of sheer conviction, mumbling half-comprehensible words, his blade glowing faintly red as it thrust toward my face.
Snap! Crack! Bang! Pop!
The sounds of bones breaking and organs squishing echoed from my grip. The Knight’s eyes turned bl**d-red, bl**d and pieces of his insides dripping onto my hand.
As my gaze swept over the Knights around me, their expressions a blend of fury and despair, I was uncertain what my own face displayed, but it couldn’t have been anything but weakness.
Wasn’t I the one doing the slaughtering, after all?
“Whoosh—” A sudden sound sliced through the air from my right, and I snapped to attention. Before I could even turn my head, an intense force slammed into my right shoulder. My body uncontrollably flew several meters, crashing hard into the ground.
A sharp pain jolted through me as I sat up, looking back to see a giant golden spear with intricate carvings piercing my armor and embedding itself in my shoulder.
I hadn’t spotted the source of my ambush, but as I attempted to move my right arm, the pain made me tremble. This depth of injury must’ve hit the bone.
I dared not pull out the spear. Instead, I swung my left hand, severing the torso of a Knight who had attempted to approach me, forcing myself to stand.
Ding——
The suspended Golden Bell thundered again, the heavy feeling and dizziness intensifying. I gritted my teeth trying to summon the Black Smoke still wreaking havoc on the Knights, only to be struck with despair—I had no idea how.
It seemed I could only release it, but not command it.
Waving my arms didn’t seem to work either, so I vigorously shook my head to clear some of the dizziness.
I first needed to take out that robed Elder; that Golden Bell was causing me serious pain. Without it, the Knights couldn’t harm me at all, and I wouldn’t be worried in the slightest.
Once more, I raised my hand and killed two Knights lunging at me with their longswords. I eyed the Elder’s position, estimating he was about a hundred meters away.
Not too far… Is there a chance?
How would I know unless I tried!
“Roar—!!”
I let out a long roar, sending the Black Smoke racing forth, howling across the fields, sweeping over a long d*ath strip towards the Elder’s position.
At the same time, I lifted my heavy feet, exerting all my strength to draw closer to the Elder.
A hundred-meter distance was but a blink for the Black Smoke, reaching the spot in no time.
With hands clasped together, the Elder radiated brilliant golden light once again, causing the Black Smoke to slam into an invisible wall, pushing it back again and again. No matter how often I tried to charge at him from different angles, it was in vain.
Noticing the futility, I clenched my teeth and quickened my steps while swinging my left arm once again; two black serpents surged towards the Elder, one after the other.
The three streams of Black Smoke formed a canopy, finally surrounding the Elder entirely, dimming the golden light to a mere flicker.
The influence of the Golden Bell didn’t seem to be as extensive as I thought. As the distance widened, my steps became lighter, and I saw the gap between the Elder and me decreasing rapidly.
“Boom! Bang bang bang——”
The rich d*ath-black smoke surrounding the Elder suddenly burst apart, and a streak of golden light shot through the air, heading straight for me!
Oops, can’t dodge that!
In a panic, I raised my left arm high and swung down at the incoming light!
“Boom—”
Dust exploded, instantly clouding my vision as a spear identical to the one embedded in my right shoulder sank deeply into the ground, tilted at my feet. The ground cracked under the force, and my left hand trembled slightly.
I was numb, but still had some sensation. My right hand was unmoving; if my left hand took any more damage, I’d be in trouble.
At least with the dust cover, he shouldn’t be able to see me—an opportunity!
I dashed forward, leaping several meters with a loud “bang,” the Black Smoke wrapped around me thick like liquid, transforming into a fierce black meteor headed straight for the Elder.
“Boom——!!” With no obstructions, it broke through the nearly vanishing golden light, the overwhelming force scattering large clumps of earth in every direction.
Something felt off… Did I miss? Where’d he go?
Suddenly, the familiar heaviness and dizziness enveloped me once more. The Golden Bell, having pushed through the Black Smoke, hovered ominously above me, while the robed Elder had already vanished.
It was a trap! That Elder was clearly a spell caster; spellcasters in games often have similar escape skills!
Could it be that annoying old man could too? I should have seen this coming!
Grimacing against the intense discomfort, I slowly retreated, trying to escape the area enveloped by the Golden Bell while keeping a watchful eye over the battlefield.
Most Knights were still trying to fend off the Black Smoke I had released. Rather than fighting, it looked like they were desperately fleeing. The Elder’s protection didn’t seem to have much decisive impact.
Even a few Knights who escaped the Black Smoke couldn’t match my speed, trailing behind me while consuming dirt.
With rough glances around, I still couldn’t catch sight of the Elder. Where the heck did he go?
At the back of the battlefield, the Knight Leader remained at his original spot, riding a horned beast and glaring intensely.
But he didn’t seem eager to join the fight for now.
Is he just watching from the sidelines?
Or is he waiting for me to tire out before swooping in for a k*ll?
However, the other two beasts beside him had lost their riders.
The robed Elder should still be nearby; the critical question was, where was that swordsman? I’d only caught a distant glimpse of him, but he felt more dangerous than the Elder. When did he go missing?
My body felt way too heavy; I had barely retreated less than twenty meters during this skirmish.
My head throbbed… My right shoulder hurt, and I felt awful overall, gasping for air. I desperately just wanted to collapse and take a nap…
Just as I was lost in my muddled thoughts, a deep bell tolled once again from the heavens.
Buzz——
An even more terrifying weight pressed down, the ground beneath my feet bursting apart, and the Black Smoke around me writhed violently, hinting at an extinguishing possibility.
Above me, another Golden Bell appeared. Can they actually appear together?
Where is that damned Elder?!
The crushing pressure rendered my arms immobile; I could barely keep myself upright, using all my strength just to stay standing.
Suddenly, a flash of silver light darted before me, and a sharply defined face with stubble appeared out of nowhere.
It was the swordsman! My heart leapt; instinct told me this guy was dangerous, and I instinctively wanted to jump away, but my body didn’t respond.
The sheer weight of two Golden Bells made even the slightest movement impossible.
In an instant, with a flash of lightning beneath his feet, the swordsman dashed across the grassy field, a myriad of blue lights trailing behind him, obscuring my vision in a flurry of silver sparks.
I felt a sharp pain in my chest, and my massive body shot backward, tracing an arc through the air before slamming into the ground, sliding several meters back until I finally came to a stop.
It hurt—it felt like I was falling apart. Struggling to lift my head, I discovered a silver sword had been driven deep into my chest.
“Wahh…” I tried to scream, but the pain rendered me utterly voiceless, my body trembling helplessly on the ground, unable to breathe.
With a thunderous crash, the swordsman appeared again, his feet crushing down on my body.
I struggled to open my eyes, looking at his young face. His azure eyes sparkled like the sky, and his gray-white hair was tied back, with scruffy stubble decorating his jaw, giving him an air of wildness.
Residual blue electricity danced on his shiny silver armor while his white cloak fluttered, exuding an aura of outstanding grandeur.
So dazzling… I wanted to be that kind of hero, slaying evil.
Why, when given a chance for rebirth, did I end up as this monster?
One that looked so… ominous.
“Go d*e, monster,” the swordsman commanded in a human tongue, his boot pressing down on my chest as he pulled his blade away, electricity crackling around him, preparing to plunge it down again.
Ah, I finally understood this line.
“Wahh…” I summoned the last of my strength, raising my left hand to grasp the blade, trying to stop it from piercing me again. Black Smoke surged through me, whipping up a storm that enveloped both of us.
“Dying struggles,” he quipped as the electricity rumbled all around, his blade shimmering harshly. My grip on the sword’s blade lost sensation, and it once again sank into my chest.
Black mist poured from my torso. I felt something racing away from me.
Ah, looks like I’m really going to d*e.
Once more.
