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83 Chapter

After Harabana vanished, a thick silence enveloped Rainer and me. I exchanged quick glances with Rainer, whose expression had become seriously stiff.

“Are you saying… it completely disappears?”

“Yes. It doesn’t just become transparent, it wipes its existence completely from this world. Even I can’t sense it. The essence itself is gone, so in this state, swinging a sword won’t land a hit. That’s why Harabana is dangerous.”

I nodded at Rainer, who stood with his sword raised, sharply on alert. This was precisely why I had no choice but to deal with Harabana’s ambush late.

‘No matter how much I try, I can’t sense something that has no physical form.’

If it were in a transparent state, I could at least confirm its existence by throwing something colored at it, but there was no way to respond to a disappearance attack.

“Fortunately, Harabana can’t attack while it’s in this non-physical state. Also, Harabana can only maintain this state for a minute at maximum. After making it disappear once, it needs about 5 minutes to use it again, and maintaining this state consumes a considerable amount of its stamina. The strongest Harabana I’ve faced could never eliminate its physical form more than four times. It seems invincible, but it’s not absolutely invincible.”

With that, I shared the information I’d obtained through constant vigilance with Rainer. Such detailed features of Harabana were known only to me, who had fought against it directly. I could confidently say I possessed more abundant experience and superior skills in battling monsters than anyone else on this continent.

“The most crucial aspect when facing Harabana, which is unpredictable in its ambush, is instant reaction speed.”

“Instant reaction speed?”

“Yes.”

Rainer questioned while still on guard. I smiled at the diligent student-like him, then infused my held sword with aura, making it explode.

“Since Harabana can’t attack while in a non-physical state, it will inevitably reveal its physical form the moment it tries to attack.”

As its physical form appeared, I felt a familiar magical resonance. The unique nauseating scent of a monster. At the moment the aura activated, my vision expanded wider than any beast’s.

“And that moment is the best time to ambush Harabana, which will be defenseless.”

Graaah!

The moment I sensed Harabana’s presence, I swung my sword toward it with all my might.

The wildly swinging sword, drawing an arc, flew towards the Harabana that appeared right behind Rainer. I hoped with all my heart it would enter its mouth wide open, but regrettably, Harabana turned its head at that moment, just delivering a scratch to its cheek. Blood burst forth, and hearing Harabana scream, I shouted,

“Get back!”

Rainer, covered in black blood, rapidly opened his mana and rushed toward me. We aimed our swords together. Before us stood a slightly weary-looking Harabana.

Swish!

With a fierce gust of wind, black aura stained my sword. I unleashed the restrained aura, waiting for Harabana to falter; it became much stronger than before.

‘Last time, it took me three stabs to pierce through Harabana’s skin.’

Relishing the wildly pounding heart fueled by mana, I slowly grinned. My eyes, reflecting off Harabana’s pupils, glistened red.

‘But now I can pierce it within two strikes.’

After joining the House of Crisis, I hadn’t just sat back and done nothing; I had continuously trained, resulting in another level of growth.

‘I’ll finish it before Harabana can disappear again!’

Boom!

The black aura sliced through the air and cleaved into Harabana’s torso. The depth of the wound was unmistakably greater than before. Blood began to spurt violently from Harabana as it howled in agony.

“Rainer! Harabana’s weak point is the roof of its mouth! If we pierce that, it’ll die instantly! We need to slow its movements. I’ll attack the front legs; Rainer, attack the back legs!”

“Understood!”

I quickly charged at Harabana’s front legs and plunged my sword into the muscular area. Though Harabana was a profound, speedy monster, its sheer size made it have many targets to strike. I confirmed Rainer came to hit Harabana’s back leg with golden aura, swinging my sword to inflict a wound on the other front leg.

Creeeak!

Harabana let out a bizarre scream, flailing its feet like mad. It was hard to believe such speed could come from its vast size, but it was definitely slower than before. I easily dodged its attacks, which now felt like light obstacles.

“Rainer! Use your sword skills to pry open Harabana’s mouth! I’m going to jump inside and attack the roof of its mouth!”

To catch a tiger, one must enter its lair. Harabana’s mouth was enormous, so I would need to dive inside to attack the roof.

Rainer’s face hardened upon hearing my seemingly crazy plan.

“That’s too dangerous! I should do it instead; Kashmir…!”

“Rainer!”

I yelled loudly while evading Harabana’s attacks. In that moment, our gazes met, our eyes locking. I gazed unwaveringly into those fluctuating golden eyes.

“The stronger one should take the risk. Please clear the way.”

The strong must take responsibility for their strength. It may seem foolish, but that was my belief.

“You…”

Before Rainer could finish his shocked expression, his attempt was cut off by Harabana’s rear leg coming at him. Rainer quickly dodged, gritting his teeth and nodding with a gruesome expression.

“…Alright. I’ll open its mouth right now, so be ready!”

Rainer, who had been behind Harabana, began running towards me, dodging the wildly swinging tail of the Harabana. Instantly, a small magical whirlwind erupted around him as he gathered strong aura, then leaped into the air, swinging his sword toward the massive mouth.

Swoosh!

The skin seared under the golden aura, releasing a foul stench. Without a doubt, Rainer was also a powerful Sword Expert. The thick skin of Harabana was cut deeply as it spewed forth dark blood.

Graaah!

And then, Harabana’s mouth opened wide.

It was my turn.

Boom!

A tremendous amount of mana coursed through my veins, concentrating at the tips of my fingers gripping the sword, resulting in a tempest-like explosion of mana around me. My heart, drawn to the limit, thumped madly, and the immense mana concentrated in my fingertips throbbed painfully.

When the black aura, known as the black disaster, burst forth as if piercing the sky, I charged into Harabana’s mouth without hesitation.

Looking at its many yellow teeth, likely numbering over a hundred, all dripping with venom, an unbearable stench bombarded my senses. As I leaped into its mouth, my left arm grazed across the razor-sharp fangs, and I felt the flesh begin to melt from the path of the venom, yet I felt no fear.

Fear, stench, pain—these were far too familiar to me, born from the pit of despair.

I had survived there, and

Phew.

I would survive here too.

Graaah!

Although I should have grown accustomed to it by now, the terrifying sensation of piercing flesh enveloped my sword hand. Dark blood erupted from the pierced roof of Harabana’s mouth, soaking my entire body.

‘My ears hurt.’

Having heard Harabana’s massive howling just before, my ears rang. I thought that if I weren’t a Sword Master, my eardrums might’ve burst, and I desperately struggled to maintain my balance amidst Harabana’s frantic thrashing in its mouth.

Graaah!

‘Now!’

As Harabana howled once more in agony, opening its mouth wide, I took that chance to coat my feet with mana and hurled myself outside at superhuman speed.

“Kashmir!”

An urgent voice calling my name pierced my ears as I soared through the air. Before I could prepare to land, a solid arm wrapped around me tightly as if to crush me.

Boom!

With a crash, Harabana fell. Its huge bulk hitting the ground created a tremor and a whirlwind of dirt that swept in all directions. My ears buzzed, and my vision became dizzy.

Thus, Harabana was dead.

‘Even with such a commotion, none of the people outside came here.’

Unbelievable. The immense sounds of Harabana would have been audible even to an ordinary person a kilometer away.

‘Moreover, among the participants in the hunting tournament, there are two Sword Masters.’

My father, Caesar Crisis, and Rainer’s father, Noah Einhart. They were both substantial Sword Masters. In a normal situation, there’s no way they wouldn’t have felt the commotion here until now.

‘Something must be at play here.’

I lightly concluded.

Clearly, although Harabana had died, the aura of black magic still enveloped the area. Narrowing my brow, I surveyed my surroundings.

“Kashmir, Kashmir…”

And my observation abruptly halted as a warm embrace enveloped me tightly.

Through the disgusting scent of Harabana’s blood, a thick rosewood fragrance wafted in. Firm arms trembled slightly, while silvery hair tickled my eyelashes.

Raising my gaze to see the despair staining his face, I sighed softly.

“…Sir Einhart. If you keep holding me like this, you’ll get blood all over you.”

“Is that what’s important right now?!”

Rainer shouted furiously. Naturally, his clothes were becoming stained with the dark blood covering me. I stared into his golden eyes, tinged with guilt.

“You agreed to my plan, so why are you upset? This was something I insisted on doing.”

“Weren’t you worried about getting hurt?! I thought you suggested the plan because you were confident you would be fine! Why don’t you take better care of yourself?! I should have been the one to do it!”

For the first time today, I saw Rainer raise his voice in anger. I looked at him, startled by his beast-like demeanor, then lowered my eyes slowly and muttered.

This was the best method for me.

What I considered the best method was to minimize the harm others endured through my own sacrifice.

‘That’s how I’ve survived.’

To seize the life of the other, I must also be prepared to accept my own death. This was how I learned to live as the black disaster.

I recalled the time I’d trained with Caesar. Caesar told me not to get hurt, and Aria urged me not to sacrifice myself.

I knew how much they worried about me, how much they loved me to say such things, yet I still couldn’t change. I had lived this way for too long.

I had survived in this manner.

Rainer, looking down at me with a blank expression, bit his lip tightly, his golden eyes glistening with sorrow.

With that gaze piercing me, I found it hard to maintain eye contact and turned my gaze away just as Rainer’s deep sigh permeated into my neck.

Gently,

Rainer, bowing his head slightly, pressed his lips briefly against my forehead, dirtied with mana and dark blood. It felt like a sacred, cautious kiss. I instinctively flinched as if his overwhelming emotions flowed from that brief kiss.

“I wish you’d chosen the path that’s not just the best but the safest, Kashmir.”

Despite his rough voice, that one word seemed tender and heartfelt. Struggling to swallow the lump in my throat, I slowly closed my eyes, contemplating that phrase.

It felt like this one word was comforting my life lived thus far, reassuring me that it was okay now.

“…Cartel.”

The name buried beneath memories resurfaced on my tongue after a long time.

Rainer’s shoulders trembled slightly.

 

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