Episode 199: The Duel (Part 2)
“I can’t predict how this will end.”
Liam Bluegreen watched the two figures standing in the dueling arena, his mind a whirl of uncertainty. He had no doubts about Damian Haxen’s skills, but his opponent was formidable.
Joshua Silva.
A prodigy who had inherited every bit of his master-class father’s talent.
In his early years, Joshua had been considered slow, lagging behind his peers in learning. But everything changed after his tenth birthday when his latent abilities began to blossom. He ascended the ranks with astonishing speed, reaching the high-class level by the age of twenty—a feat that took Liam himself until his forties.
“With such genius, and under the tutelage of a master-class mentor…”
Years ago, a swarm of wyverns had settled in the mountainous regions of the Duflin Kingdom. These creatures, often called degenerate dragons, were perilous monsters with tough hides that could withstand aura and teeth and claws sharp enough to pierce steel. They could fly and breathe fire, making them a challenge even for mid-class warriors.
The wyverns in Duflin were no ordinary breed; they were the Redwing Wyverns from the Alista Wasteland, a harsh and dangerous land that bred monsters far stronger than their original forms. Even Liam, a high-class warrior, had shuddered at the thought of facing them.
Yet Joshua Silva had eradicated the entire swarm in less than a day.
“Michael, bring me a stick.”
Liam’s musings were interrupted by Damian’s voice. Like everyone else, Liam turned to him in confusion. Michael soon returned with a stick, which Damian took with a calm smile.
“Come on. I’ll face you with this.”
Liam nearly fainted on the spot.
Joshua Silva’s face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and anger.
“Sir Damian?”
He managed to suppress his fury, maintaining a veneer of composure.
“Provocation is unseemly in a friendly match. I’ll overlook it this time. Please, use a proper sword…”
“Who said anything about provocation?”
Damian twirled the stick nonchalantly.
“If you’re catching a chicken, you use a chicken knife, right?”
Joshua’s eyes blazed with indignation.
“Fine, have it your way! But don’t regret it later!”
With a roar, Joshua lunged forward, his sword slicing diagonally toward Damian. The blade shimmered with a clear aura, a testament to his high-class status.
Damian’s eyes tracked Joshua’s movements with precision. He twisted his body slightly, letting the blade pass harmlessly by his face. In the same fluid motion, he tapped Joshua’s neck with the stick.
“One hit.”
Joshua’s expression went blank for a moment before rage surged back.
“Stop playing games!”
He swung his sword again, but Damian leaned back, letting the blade pass just under his nose. He then tapped Joshua’s forearm with the stick.
“Two hits.”
“I told you to stop fooling around!”
Joshua’s face twisted with fury as he launched a flurry of attacks. Yet, Damian evaded them all with ease.
“Does he still not realize the gap between us?”
Damian wondered as he dodged. Joshua’s relentless assault hadn’t even grazed his clothes. Any seasoned knight would have recognized the disparity by now.
“For a genius, he’s quite oblivious.”
Michael had surrendered without even fighting Damian, recognizing the difference in their abilities. Compared to him, Joshua seemed almost dull-witted.
“Perhaps a more direct demonstration is needed.”
Damian moved the stick, for the first time blocking Joshua’s attack with it.
“You’ve made a foolish choice!”
Joshua sneered, confident in his weapon—a rare metal alloy sword imbued with aura. The idea of a mere stick stopping it was laughable.
But reality defied his expectations. Damian twisted the stick slightly, altering the sword’s trajectory. The blade veered off course, slicing through empty air.
“What…?”
Shock spread across Joshua’s face, mirrored by the onlookers, even Javier.
“What did you just do…?”
Despite his confusion, Joshua didn’t halt his attack. His sword arced toward Damian’s neck, but Damian blocked it again with the stick, sending the blade skyward. Joshua’s torso was exposed, and Damian jabbed his chest with the stick.
“Heart. You’re dead once.”
Grinding his teeth, Joshua swung again, but Damian deftly redirected the blade and tapped Joshua’s neck.
“Neck. You’re dead twice.”
Joshua’s face turned crimson. Even with his lack of awareness, he couldn’t deny it any longer—Damian was toying with him.
“Joshua!”
Javier’s voice boomed across the arena.
“How long will you keep playing around? Can’t you do it properly?”
Joshua’s face showed bewilderment. Do it properly? What more could he do here?
“Indeed, that’s a fair point.”
Damian smirked.
“Do it properly. Stop showing such a foolish side.”
That single remark shattered Joshua’s composure.
“Damn it! You bastard! Let’s see if you can handle this!”
Joshua channeled his magic into his sword, the aura around it roiling as if something was about to burst forth.
“Is that…?”
Liam Bluegreen immediately recognized what Joshua was preparing.
“Sir Damian! You must dodge! Get out of the way!”
Liam shouted urgently as Joshua slashed at the air. Something invisible shot toward Damian, who leaped back just in time. The ground where he had stood was riddled with holes.
“My God!”
Liam couldn’t help but exclaim. Joshua had just used a flying sword technique, a method of projecting aura as a weapon. It was powerful and unpredictable but required immense magic and concentration.
As a practitioner of the technique himself, Liam understood its potency and the skill Joshua had demonstrated.
Compressing aura into a needle-like form and launching it was no small feat. Most knights wouldn’t even see it coming.
“Curious.”
Damian tilted his head.
“Is it acceptable to use such dangerous techniques in a friendly match?”
“Don’t worry. If things get truly dangerous, my father will intervene.”
Damian chuckled at that.
“Convenient rules, indeed.”
Joshua didn’t respond, instead launching another attack. Aura needles rained down on Damian, but he swung the stick, erasing them as if painting over the air.
In an instant, the needles vanished. Joshua’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
“You acted like you had something impressive to show, but it was nothing. If that’s all you have, let’s finish this.”
Suddenly, Damian’s demeanor shifted. A sharp, lethal intent radiated toward Joshua, sending a chill down his spine.
If he stayed put, he’d be finished.
A sense of impending doom gripped him. Instinctively, Joshua leaped into the air, releasing aura downward as he passed over Damian’s head. The aura transformed into needles, but Damian erased them with a flick of the stick.
Landing, Joshua moved again, circling Damian and unleashing more aura. Needles rained from all directions.
Demian moved a branch, and a dark barrier unfurled around him, erasing all the spikes in an instant.
It was then that he felt an overwhelming surge of power from straight ahead. Demian turned his gaze in the direction of the energy.
There stood Joshua, channeling aura into his longsword.
“Well, well.”
Demian twisted one corner of his mouth into a smirk.
“That looks quite impressive.”
Impressive?
Joshua cursed inwardly. The technique he was preparing was a secret art, one reserved for moments when the enemy must be vanquished at all costs.
It was a technique passed down through his family, which his father had refined to be even more powerful and devastating.
In other words, Joshua was about to unleash a master-class secret art.
He thrust the tip of his sword forward, releasing the compressed aura.
Secret Art – Amber Light Strike
A radiant beam of light shot toward Demian.
At that moment, Demian raised the branch, and a blue aura erupted from it.
He swung the branch with all his might, unleashing a massive slash.
The aura slash and the beam collided with a deafening roar, and soon the beam split apart, scattering to the sides.
”…What?”
Joshua’s face was a mask of disbelief.
It wasn’t water, so how could it be split so easily…?
While Joshua was still reeling, the aura slash reached him.
With no time to evade, the slash engulfed Joshua’s body.
Just before impact, Javier Silva leaped in front of Joshua.
Javier swung his hand, slicing through the aura slash. The massive attack shattered into pieces.
“Have all your questions been answered now?”
”…Yes, they have.”
Javier replied to Demian’s mocking question with a look as if he’d bitten into something bitter.
Demian tossed the branch to the ground and glanced at Joshua, who lay unconscious behind Javier.
Joshua had fainted, likely from the sheer terror of nearly being cut down.
‘What a peculiar fellow.’
His skill in handling aura was exceptional.
Yet he couldn’t fully harness that ability. One might almost mistake him for a dullard.
‘And what is that sword?’
Demian had accepted the duel to uncover the mystery of Joshua’s sword.
Throughout the duel, the sword’s strange energy had fluctuated, growing stronger and weaker.
But no matter how hard Demian tried, he couldn’t discern the nature of that energy.
“Demian Haxen.”
Javier’s voice drew Demian’s attention.
“You truly possess remarkable talent. The rumors were true.”
“You’re too kind.”
“It’s not flattery. You were… truly extraordinary. Enough to make one envious.”
In that moment, Demian saw it.
Javier Silva’s eyes were filled with greed.
But something was off.
It wasn’t the gaze of someone coveting talent. It was far more base.
Like the eyes of a thief lusting after another’s treasure.