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108th Chapter

“That dirty personality hasn’t changed at all.”

The place where I sensed a presence was slightly away from the path carved long and deep by dark aura. It seemed he had used a teleportation magic.

His voice was still calm and even carried a hint of laughter, which only fueled my anger further.

“Your cowardly mouse-like attitude is still the same.”

Bang!

The black aura exploded, engulfing the sword.

The anger was so intense that I couldn’t calm my mana, but the aura surged with my intent to kill, becoming wild enough to exude a menacing air.

With fury blazing in my eyes, I glared at Zigmund.

“Draw your sword if you want to live, you bastard.”

I growled as I eyed the sword firmly embedded in its sheath.

Knights do not converse with words. Meeting blades is the highest form of communication.

In fact, I didn’t even want to hold a conversation with Zigmund.

I just wanted to unleash the pent-up frustrations of the past.

Zigmund, standing a short distance away, silently stared at me.

Noble violet eyes.

They didn’t suit him at all.

I grit my teeth in frustration.

In a universe that captured the violet sky, there were no stars, only darkened and dead eyes bending with distortion. Accordingly, the tear-shaped mark under his right eye flickered slightly.

It was a clear smirk.

“That dirty mouth of yours is still the same.”

Bang!

I unleashed my aura directly towards the spot where Zigmund stood. A massive explosion occurred, creating a large hole in the ground.

When I closed my eyes briefly from the rising clouds of dust and opened them again, the place was empty.

It seemed Zigmund had once again used teleportation.

‘Thought I wouldn’t notice.’

Gripping the hilt of my sword tightly, I sensed his mana disappearing into thin air. I felt a concentration of mana not far away.

I drew up my mana and leaped forward without hesitation.

As expected, an image materialized out of thin air. His violet eyes widened slightly, perhaps surprised at my sudden approach.

We were now within an arm’s reach, allowing me to see even his individual eyelashes.

He had noticeably grown taller and more muscular than the last time I saw him. No longer could he be called a boy; his mature, sharp appearance was that of an adult. His once stunningly handsome face had transformed into a delicate visage reminiscent of a cold statue.

However, the vitality that used to faintly linger in his eyes had vanished completely, leaving nothing but coldness behind.

It twisted my insides.

Having left, why does he have such a story-laden gaze? I felt resentment and hatred.

‘You bastard.’

Chewing my lips until I tasted blood, I swung my sword just before colliding with Zigmund.

Clang!

The sound of blades meeting pierced the air. Taking a step back, Zigmund finally drew his sword to block mine.

Through the crossed swords, I exchanged fierce glances with him, who regarded me with unwavering intensity.

His unreadable, deep poker face only inflamed my fury further.

Clang.

Zigmund, who had been pushed back slightly, forcefully thrust my sword aside, breaking our standoff. I ruthlessly swung my sword again.

Clang! Clang!

The blades clashed several times. Dodging a fireball that seemingly aimed to singe my hair, I thrust my sword into his shoulder, but Zigmund swiftly dodged and countered.

‘……His skill has grown so much it’s incomparable.’

Proving that I wasn’t the only one to grow over these six years, Zigmund’s abilities had rapidly advanced. The pressure of a powerful fighter was palpable against my skin, making it clear it would be absurd to compare him to the boy he once was.

‘I can’t predict him.’

Remarkably, Zigmund had grown strong enough that I couldn’t foresee a victory against him.

With a swirl of the air!

A magic circle materialized in the air at Zigmund’s gesture. I swiftly dodged to avoid the blue lightning that burst forth from the circle.

Taking advantage of my momentary distraction, Zigmund quickly thrust his sword towards my abdomen. I kicked his thigh and leaned back, soaring into the air as I slashed upward with my sword.

The crescent-shaped blade of black aura was an attack that could not be avoided at human speed.

Whoosh.

Then, once again, his image vanished into thin air. The black aura flew past him in an instant, cleaving the ground open. A massive sinkhole appeared in the alley.

Had I not set up noise, impact, and defensive barriers to block entry into this place as we began fighting, buildings would have surely collapsed, and people would have rushed out, injured by the chaos.

‘Sword Expert, alongside a high-ranking mage.’

Zigmund’s skill level was easy to predict.

From the surging energy of the aura within him to the astonishing magical prowess that allowed him to draw magic circles with merely a few gestures.

‘Both his mastery over swords and magic are absolutely impressive.’

While most mages either focused their attacks on swordsmanship and used magic as an afterthought or vice versa, he excelled at both.

Zigmund had previously paired magic and swordsmanship well, but now he demonstrated an extraordinary level of skill that made him perhaps the strongest among mages in the continent.

‘Furthermore, his teleportation ability is… Is that really possible?’

Currently, Zigmund had not fully revealed his powers. Yet, it was that teleportation ability that compelled me to reckon with him as a formidable opponent.

Teleportation is among the most sophisticated magics.

It requires an immensely complex magic formula, and most mages cannot execute it instantly in the air, needing to draw it on the ground instead.

Moreover, casting it requires a large amount of mana, and most mages struggle to execute it even once, let alone consecutively.

‘But Zigmund…’

In the flash of his attacks, he used teleportation without even an incantation. It was like water flowing. Even after using it five times in quick succession, there were no signs of his mana running out.

No matter how short the distances he was jumping, such teleportation prowess was nearly unthinkable.

‘Has he been practicing teleportation for six years straight?’

With a frown on my face, I deflected the incoming sword.

It felt strangely unpleasant. Of course, it had something to do with seeing Zigmund’s face, but there was a more fundamental, oddly unsettling discomfort that grazed my instincts.

It was the aura radiating from Zigmund’s body.

“For six years, and this is all you could manage. That talk of being a hero or the strongest in the continent; it seems the reputation of Mir was all for naught.”

While I momentarily lost myself in other thoughts, his sharp blade sliced through the air with mockery. I soon regained my focus, realizing I had let my guard down, exposing my robe.

“If you’ve deteriorated since then, shut up. I didn’t even hear your name. Were you recuperating in some rural village for the past six years?”

With a casual shrug, he responded unaffectedly to my sarcastic jab.

“Well, perhaps. That’s why I wanted to see you.”

His sly tone, devoid of any honesty, still betrayed none of his feelings.

Bang!

Everything about him sent me reeling with rage.

“What kind of bastard has a tongue so long? Is it because you’re a mixed-blood mage?”

I looked down at Zigmund, staggering under my aura explosion.

I didn’t genuinely think of hybrid mages as inferior. I didn’t dismiss their efforts.

However, for the sake of stirring him up, I found myself ready to say anything.

A low and cold tone, which I hadn’t anticipated coming from myself, slipped through my lips. Having lived as a noble, I had suppressed such a rough demeanor, but it felt like it was awakening, roaring back to life.

“You’re quite impressive for a quiet swordsman.”

Regaining my composure, Zigmund spat a mix of blood and saliva at me, sneering. Seeing him unchanged yet somehow different stirred something within me.

Zigmund was exactly the same as before.

Nothing charming or eloquent came from that mouth of his, just a twisted smile gracing those crimson lips, his poker face remaining completely devoid of any disclosure of emotions.

The only thing that had changed since we were friends was perhaps just my feelings towards him.

‘Why is it that you…’

Even while I thought of him as an enemy, a subtle affection lingered, replaced now only by boiling rage.

Why didn’t you come that day?

“That day, even if you didn’t think of me as a friend, you should have come for Master’s sake. Even if it was unavoidable, you should have searched for him at least once!”

I tried not to raise my voice. It felt like losing if I got angry; I just wanted to speak without elevation. Yet, in the end, those were words steeped in pent-up resentment.

I wanted to throw dirt into Zigmund’s eyes, who still looked at me with indifference.

I could understand that he didn’t consider me a friend.

Yeah. Perhaps it was a bit heart-wrenching to think that I alone had been a friend. But still, it was fine. I was accustomed to resignation.

“You’d better be grateful, how could you treat someone who is your benefactor, Karasho, like that?”

But having trained under Karasho together, being his student just like me!

Moreover, having relied on Karasho more than I ever did!

Not even being able to seek her out after her passing was absolutely unforgivable.

“Are you even human?”

Flames of fury consumed my entire being.

A ripple coursed through Zigmund’s violet eyes. It was just a moment, but it was unmistakable.

His long eyelashes briefly concealed the lifeless gem of his azure eyes.

His short, jet-black hair fluttered in the wind. Because of its color, people often mistook us for siblings when we were out together. A pair of siblings who weren’t on particularly good terms.

Underneath his tightly shut eyelids, my tear-shaped birthmark mirrored his own, a key factor in persuading people that we were related.

‘Zigmund, a brother? If it turns out I shared blood with this wretch, I would have killed myself out of shame.’

‘I would have dealt with Mir. Removing this bastard would be the end of it, and there would be no need for me to take my precious life.’

‘This bastard…

‘What?’

While it would be unreasonable to say that Zigmund and I were as close as typical friends, we were definitely close. Despite hating each other on sight, we shared the same master, learned about the same world, and fought alongside each other.

Zigmund and I were close friends; perhaps we were even more than friends, comrades sharing life and death together.

At least, that’s how I felt.

“Ha, ha!”

A bright, cheerful laugh that clashed with the situation filled my ears. It was bizarre that I only saw this joyful laughter now, a sight so rare even when we were friends.

Looking at Zigmund, who suddenly burst into laughter, I narrowed my gaze at him.

The remnants of laughter on his face held no sincerity whatsoever. His eyes didn’t even smile.

His laughter was like a frozen lake. So solidly frozen that it didn’t reveal what lay beneath nor how deep it was.

Yet, even laced with lies, Zigmund was still beautiful.

“How foolish, Kashmir.”

Gone was the juvenile voice of that prepubescent boy; now he spoke with a deep and resounding man’s voice, full of charisma and presence.

What remained was that captivating aura.

Even as a child, he radiated the charm of a ruler.

“You still haven’t let go of those trivial emotions and attachments.”

A low voice whispered softly.

My grip tightened involuntarily around the sword I held.

With a sly smile, Zigmund lifted the corners of his eyes in a sharp manner.

“You really thought a worthless mercenary’s demise would matter to me?”

He mercilessly shattered the last tether of my reason.

Whissh!

The sound of fierce winds. No, perhaps it was more akin to the roar of storms—the harsh air enveloped the surroundings.

“I once thought you were an okay guy. I considered you a friend.”

His confession sliced through the silence with a calmness that astonished even me. Neither cold nor hot, it struck exactly at zero degrees.

With his temperatureless gaze, I stared at Zigmund.

And I laughed. I laughed dryly, without a pause. I kept laughing until the thoughts faded away, and then I finally stopped.

“But looking at you now, it turns out you’re nothing but a beast.”

Bang!

And then.

The world was cloaked in darkness.

 

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