Episode 101: Thornbush (2)
“Hah.”
Alexander Apple let out a dry laugh, shaking his head in disbelief.
“I don’t even know how to describe how I’m feeling right now.”
—Heh heh, want me to guess? Feels like a dog being ignored by a young pup, doesn’t it?
“Yeah, that’s about right. Just a middle-class brat thinking he can kill me… calling me trash…”
Alexander rubbed the back of his neck, as if trying to ease the tension building there from his anger.
“I’m curious how you managed to use dark magic, but… now’s not the time for that. There’s something else I need to do.”
He raised his cursed sword, pointing its tip at Damian Haxen.
“Let me show you what a high-class warrior really is, you arrogant little brat.”
“High-class?”
A smirk played on Damian’s lips.
“You’re just puffed up because you’ve borrowed the power of that cursed sword to reach high-class status.”
Alexander’s skills weren’t truly his own.
“And even then, you can’t wield it properly. It’s like a child holding a longsword. You don’t know how to use it, and even if you did, you couldn’t swing it right.”
Damian could see it all.
Alexander Apple was merely wearing the facade of a high-class warrior.
“That’s why Sir Liam kept overwhelming you. Why? Because you’re not a true high-class warrior. You don’t know how to use that power.”
Alexander’s eyebrow twitched at the continued provocation.
“Are you blind? Didn’t you see Liam Bluegreen fall to me?”
“That was only because he was caught off guard by the sword’s abilities. Without that, you would have lost to Sir Liam.”
Alexander’s expression twisted, but the cursed sword laughed loudly.
—Heh heh, this kid knows a thing or two. Without me, you’d have been dead meat against Liam or whatever his name is.
“Shut up, will you?”
—Partner, getting angry now just makes you look bad. At least keep your pride intact, right?
“I said shut up.”
Alexander glared at Damian, his eyes burning red with fury.
“I thought you were insufferable from the moment I first saw you.”
“Looks like we’re on the same page. I thought the same about you—insufferable and meddlesome.”
“You insolent brat! I’ll teach you some manners!”
With a roar of anger, Alexander charged, swinging his cursed sword at Damian.
Damian met the attack head-on, easily parrying the blow.
As soon as their swords clashed, Alexander launched a flurry of strikes.
Damian blocked every single one.
“Not bad! Then I’ll get serious too!”
—Heh heh, leave it to me, partner!
The cursed sword poured more dark energy into Alexander.
Veins bulged on his forearm as his movements grew even faster.
“Ha ha ha!”
Alexander laughed maniacally, pressing Damian harder.
The cursed sword sliced through the air relentlessly. Damian’s hands moved swiftly to counter.
Both moved so fast their hands were a blur, the only sign of their battle the sparks flying in the air.
Then, their swords crossed.
The holy sword and the cursed sword aimed for each other’s throats.
Just before the cursed sword could cut him, Damian tilted his head back. The sword only sliced through his collar.
Meanwhile, Damian’s holy sword struck Alexander’s neck, but bounced off with a metallic clang.
Both attacks failed. They stepped back simultaneously.
“First time my clothes have been cut.”
Damian remarked, touching his collar. Since his return, no one had managed to touch his clothes until now.
“The cursed sword’s power is more impressive than I thought.”
Damian glanced at the cursed sword, but Alexander was too preoccupied to respond.
“You…”
Thanks to the dark energy, Alexander’s speed had increased.
His strikes were faster than Damian’s.
Yet Damian blocked every one, as if he could read Alexander’s mind.
And not just that. He even counterattacked, aiming for the most critical spot—Alexander’s neck.
If not for the cursed sword’s power hardening his body to withstand such blows, Alexander would have been dead.
In other words, Alexander was being overwhelmed.
In skill, in experience, he was outmatched.
“How can a mere middle-class… This is impossible… Who are you, really?”
“You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”
Damian replied dismissively.
“I told you, you’re just borrowing someone else’s power.”
What is a high-class warrior?
Is it someone with superhuman physical abilities? Someone with immense magical power?
No. A high-class warrior is someone who has mastered their craft.
“Claiming to be high-class without understanding your own swordsmanship? Even a passing dog would laugh.”
Damian’s skills were far from trivial, certainly not enough to lose to such a fool.
“You brat…!”
Veins popped on Alexander’s face, ready to charge at any moment.
—Partner, calm down. There’s nothing to gain from falling for his taunts.
The cursed sword intervened.
—So what if he’s not ordinary? He still can’t hurt you.
The cursed sword was right. Damian’s sword hadn’t been able to cut Alexander’s neck.
—If this drags on, we’ll win. Besides, his weapon’s broken.
As if on cue, a crack appeared in Damian’s holy sword.
Holy energy seeped out, and the sword quickly turned into an ordinary blade.
”…”
Damian stared at the sword in surprise. He knew the cursed sword was formidable, but he hadn’t expected it to damage the holy sword.
—Heh heh! Look at his face! He’s so shocked his eyes are popping out! If you take me on, you pay the price!
The cursed sword crowed with glee. Seeing Damian caught off guard, Alexander’s mood lifted too.
“Ha ha ha! That precious holy sword is now scrap metal! Serves you right!”
Damian looked at the sword apologetically. It had been a fine weapon. He hadn’t expected it to break so easily.
“Sorry about that. I’ll let you have your revenge.”
Though cracked and devoid of holy energy, the sword was still a fine weapon.
Damian steadied the sword. Alexander and the cursed sword sneered at the sight.
“Looks like he’s planning to take us on again.”
—Heh heh, let’s show him what we’re made of this time.
Damian charged. Alexander and the cursed sword rushed to meet him.
“First, I’ll smash that sword to pieces!”
Alexander swung the cursed sword diagonally.
But instead of blocking, Damian sidestepped, dodging the attack. Alexander immediately swung horizontally.
Damian leaned back slightly, and the cursed sword sliced through empty air again.
“You’re good at dodging!”
Alexander swung the cursed sword repeatedly. But Damian evaded each attack with ease.
As his strikes continued to miss, Alexander’s expression began to change.
Something was off.
His attacks were clearly faster and stronger. Yet they never landed.
“Curious how I’m dodging?”
Damian even had the leisure to speak.
“I’ve memorized it all.”
Damian could learn any swordsmanship he saw.
Once with Liam Bluegreen, and again in their recent clash.
He had already seen the cursed sword’s techniques twice, and now he understood them completely.
“Talking nonsense…”
“Whether it’s nonsense or not, I’ll show you now.”
“Fine, let’s see you try!”
Alexander, enraged, swung the cursed sword down. Damian twisted his body slightly.
The cursed sword brushed past him, missing by a hair.
In that moment, Damian thrust his holy sword. The blade grazed Alexander’s shoulder.
“Useless…”
The flesh split open, blood spurting out.
”…What?”
—…Huh?
Alexander and the cursed sword were both taken aback.
Meanwhile, Damian withdrew his sword and swung again. This time, he cut Alexander’s forearm.
Once more, flesh was sliced, blood spraying. Alexander was even more bewildered.
“This is impossible… What trickery is this?”
Veronica Sanchez.
In her past life, she was known as the Grim Reaper, obsessed with killing until she reached the pinnacle of the Death Sword technique and became a master.
After mastering the Death Sword, Veronica Sanchez could slice through a person’s body as if it were water, even with a blunt stick.
The cursed sword rendered any attempt to strengthen the body useless. With the Deathblade, flesh could be cut away effortlessly.
“Aaargh!”
Damian swung his sword repeatedly, slicing into Alexander Apple. Alexander screamed in agony.
“This… this can’t be happening! To me, by a mere Mid-Class… I, the great me!”
Fear slowly seeped into Alexander Apple’s eyes.
He was beginning to realize it—the grim reality that death was looming right before him.
The cursed sword shouted, snapping Alexander Apple back to his senses.
In an instant, Alexander Apple reversed his grip on the cursed sword and drove its tip forcefully into the ground.
Immediately, thorny vines erupted from the earth beneath their feet.
From the start of the battle, Damian had been wary of the cursed sword’s unique abilities.
True to its name, the cursed sword “Thornbush” could summon a vast field of thorny vines to attack its enemies.
Not only was it fast, but its destructive power was formidable enough to shatter weapons imbued with high-class aura.
Facing it head-on was far too dangerous.
Thus, Damian had prepared a countermeasure in advance.
Just before Alexander Apple plunged the cursed sword into the ground, Damian activated his Berserk Elixir.
The magic stored in his muscles surged, heightening his senses to an extreme degree.
As his senses sharpened, the influx of information to his brain increased dramatically.
He could see every movement of Alexander Apple—the twitch of his facial muscles, the direction of his gaze, the sway of his hair.
Alexander Apple’s movements began to slow down. He could see the cursed sword touch the ground, and the dark magic spreading across the earth in detail.
Damian stepped forward. The thorny vines burst through the ground, but he deftly navigated through the gaps, reaching Alexander Apple in an instant.
Even with Damian right in front of him, Alexander Apple failed to recognize him. It was as if the world had come to a standstill.
Damian released the Berserk Elixir. The frozen world resumed its motion, and the thorny vines shot out, covering everything.
”…What?”
Only then did Alexander Apple notice Damian. Even after recognizing him, he stood there, dazed.
The cursed sword cried out, but Damian swung his holy sword.
Alexander Apple’s head flew into the air.
In that moment, Alexander Apple’s hand moved, catching his head and reattaching it to his neck as if nothing had happened.
Simultaneously, he swung the cursed sword wide. Damian dodged, retreating backward.
Black smoke rose from the severed area, and the wound healed instantly.
“Ugh, ugh! I owe you my life! I would’ve been dead without you!”
At that moment, Damian realized it wasn’t Alexander Apple who had moved his body.
The cursed sword had taken control, reattaching the head.
The cursed sword laughed loudly.
“Are you suggesting we run away?”
“Then you have a way to win?”
Alexander Apple’s eyes lit up at the sword’s words.
“If you have something like that, you should’ve used it sooner!”
“Enough! Use it now! Kill him right this…”
Alexander Apple’s body suddenly froze. He looked down in disbelief.
The cursed sword was embedded in his own body, piercing through his chest and protruding from his back.
“W-what is… this… cough.”
Blood trickled from his mouth, making it difficult for Alexander Apple to speak.
The cursed sword transformed into a liquid, absorbing into Alexander Apple’s body.
Immediately, a transformation began. A metal, resembling the cursed sword’s material, started to envelop his entire body.
“You… what have you done to my body…!”
The metal covered his face completely, erasing all his features.
Moments later, a vertical slit appeared in the center. Below it, a horizontal slit formed.
The vertical slit widened, revealing blood-red pupils, as if congealed from blood.
The horizontal slit opened, exposing sharp, shark-like teeth.
The cursed sword, now in control, ran a hand over its new face. Slowly, it spread its arms wide.
It sighed in ecstasy, a look of bliss on its face.