Episode 214: The Helian Tournament (3)
The crowd’s faces turned ashen at Everis’s words.
Everyone in the Empire had heard of Pandemonium’s atrocities, and the mere mention of them filled people with dread.
The Empire’s nemesis.
Those who wished for its downfall.
A gathering of the most malevolent beings.
Pandemonium was so entangled in the Empire’s major crimes that it was hard to find one without their involvement.
“How did Pandemonium’s scum get in here?”
The Helian Tournament, one of the Empire’s grandest events, was taking place in the coliseum.
With the Emperor present, security was naturally tight.
“Could there be a traitor among us?”
Dark sorcerers were like cancer, spreading unpredictably if left unchecked. They were masters at manipulating human desires.
“Indeed, they can’t be left alone.”
Pandemonium wasn’t called the Empire’s nemesis for nothing. Despite the Empire’s superior strength and size, Pandemonium’s interference had forced the Empire to retract or change its policies multiple times.
The Empire had dispatched elite pursuit teams to root out Pandemonium, but satisfactory results were elusive. Meanwhile, Pandemonium continued to plot heinous schemes and exploit any weaknesses they found.
“Your Majesty, there’s no need to worry. I will stand by your side.”
A royal guard whispered softly. The Emperor was surrounded by the Imperial Knights, making it impossible for Pandemonium’s forces to pose a threat.
Moreover, the coliseum was designed with strict separation between the arena and the audience. Multiple layers of protective magic encased the arena to prevent any unforeseen disasters.
“I’ll order the knights to subdue the dark knight.”
“No, hold your ground.”
The guard looked puzzled.
“Deploying the knights to capture a single dark knight would be easy, but wouldn’t that hurt our pride?”
To disrupt the Helian Tournament and send just one knight was a blatant provocation from Pandemonium.
The Emperor’s lips curled into a wry smile. It had been a while since he’d seen such a transparent provocation.
“But we have no choice but to respond.”
If that’s how they wanted to play, then they would get a response in kind.
“Let’s trust the tournament participants for now.”
“Understood.”
The guard bowed his head.
“How dare Pandemonium’s trash even mention the Empire?”
Archibald’s face was twisted with anger.
“Malenka, step back. I’ll deal with this woman and continue the match.”
“Look at you, trying to hog all the glory… I’ll handle her, you step aside.”
The two knights growled at each other.
“Um, excuse me…”
Everis cautiously interjected.
“I don’t mind if you both come at me at once…”
“What did that insolent brat just say?”
“Eek!”
“If that’s what you want, so be it! Don’t regret it!”
“Come to think of it, there’s no need to show courtesy to the likes of Pandemonium.”
The two knights charged at Everis, weapons swinging from both sides.
“Ahh!”
Everis screamed. In the next moment, the position of the two-handed sword had changed.
The sword, which had been resting on the ground, was now raised high in the air, and it had shifted to the opposite side.
”…?”
The knights were bewildered. When had the weapon moved? Why hadn’t they seen it?
It was as if two different pictures had been swapped in an instant.
It was an unnatural, incomprehensible scene.
“So… so heavy!”
Unable to bear the weight, Everis dropped the two-handed sword to the ground.
At that moment, blood spurted from the knights’ necks.
Malenka’s head and body were severed. Archibald clutched his neck wound and collapsed.
“You… you…”
With those words, Archibald’s eyes rolled back, and he fell backward.
Dead.
In the blink of an eye, two master-class knights were dead.
The coliseum fell into a heavy silence, stunned by the unbelievable sight.
“Oh? It’s suddenly quiet. Are they both dead?”
Everis looked around, unable to immediately grasp the knights’ deaths due to blindness.
“They’re dead, right? Heh… that was nothing.”
Everis scratched the back of their head, feeling awkward.
“Aaah!”
Screams erupted from the audience. People scrambled to escape.
With tens of thousands moving at once, chaos ensued in the coliseum.
A booming voice rang out, halting the panicked crowd in their tracks.
A massive knight leaped from the VIP section, moving with surprising agility for his size.
“Br-Bradley Heath!”
The audience buzzed with excitement at Bradley’s appearance.
“The Powerhouse!”
“The Empire’s Saint!”
“Bradley Heath!”
The citizens chanted Bradley’s name in admiration.
“Pandemonium’s trash.”
“Y-Yes? Me?”
Everis looked ahead, confused. Bradley spoke with a displeased expression.
“Not there, to your left.”
“Oh, th-thank you.”
“Enough with the nonsense.”
Bradley cracked his knuckles, sending a heavy wave of energy outward.
“Not only did you ruin the Empire’s event, but you also harmed our knights?”
A murderous intent flared in Bradley’s eyes.
“I’ll end you right here.”
Despite his fierce intent, Bradley didn’t charge at Everis immediately.
He circled Everis, moving cautiously.
‘Facing them head-on is dangerous.’
Embarrassingly, even Bradley Heath hadn’t caught the swift strike Everis had just displayed.
It was shockingly fast and incredibly sharp.
Even Archibald, a master of quick strikes, had been caught off guard.
Facing such a strike head-on would be foolish.
‘I need to find an opening.’
Bradley focused his energy into his fists. The aura blade grew denser.
“Hah!”
He punched the air, sending the aura blade flying toward Everis.
“Kyaa!”
Everis twisted away with a scream, the aura blade slicing through empty space.
“How can you attack from afar like that? That’s unfair!”
Bradley ignored Everis’s protest.
The opponent was a dark knight from Pandemonium. There was no need for mercy.
Analyzing Everis was more important now.
‘How did they dodge that attack while blind? Are they pretending, or have their other senses developed?’
Sometimes, losing one sense heightens the others.
Like blind musicians who can’t see but have an acute sense of sound.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Everis had developed such heightened senses.
‘I need to learn more.’
Bradley continued to circle Everis, relentlessly sending aura blades their way.
“Kyaa! Kyaa!”
Each time, Everis dodged the attacks, leaving holes where they had stood.
‘They can’t see. They’re dodging purely by sense.’
Even when Bradley attacked from behind, Everis evaded with the same speed.
They were definitely blind, but their other senses were heightened.
‘Finding an opening will be tough. I’ll have to take a risk.’
Bradley tensed his body, muscles coiling.
‘The quick strike is dangerous, but I can block it with the aura blade.’
He planned to use the same technique he had employed in yesterday’s match to block the barrage of aura blades.
Bradley braced his legs, ready to charge straight ahead…
In that instant, Everis’s arm tensed. The next moment, the two-handed sword’s position shifted.
What had been on the ground was now soaring skyward. As soon as Bradley realized this, his abdomen burned.
His stomach split open, blood gushing out, his insides spilling.
“Ugh!”
Pain and confusion flashed across Bradley’s face.
What had just happened?
Why had he been struck?
“You… you fool, my slash has a… a wide range. Do you know why I… I left you alone?”
Everis chuckled oddly.
“Because watching you act like a fool was… was amusing.”
Bradley collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
“I… I have to dodge…”
He knew he needed to move, but his body wouldn’t respond.
“This time, I’ll… I’ll take your head.”
Everis gripped the two-handed sword again.
Perhaps because he was facing death, Bradley could finally see Everis’s strike in detail.
As Everlis twisted her waist, her entire body seemed to swell with power. Her massive two-handed sword sliced through the air in an instant.
At the same time, the aura blade extending from the sword grew longer.
The extended aura blade slashed toward Bradley’s neck.
Just before it struck, something yanked Bradley backward.
His body jerked away, and the aura blade grazed the tip of his nose. A shiver ran down his spine.
“Wh-who…?”
When he looked up, he saw the face of Damian Haxen.
“Th-thank you…”
“Michael, take this guy and get him treated.”
Damian wasn’t listening to Bradley at all. His focus was entirely on Everlis.
“Ah, ah!”
Everlis’s eyes widened as she saw Damian.
“Da-Damian Haxen! I know you! You’re the one who troubled Sir Sla, right? You’re really famous…”
“Strange.”
Damian cut her off sharply, his voice laced with irritation.
“Who exactly are you?”
“I-I introduced myself earlier… I’m Everlis.”
“Never heard of that name.”
“Of course not. I’ve always been by my master’s side. Never had a chance to make a name for myself…”
“Is it an alias? No, even so, I would remember a master of your caliber.”
Damian Haxen didn’t claim to know every master in the world. The world was vast, and hidden experts were plentiful.
However, he was familiar with most of the master classes on the Dorogo side.
Especially this woman, Everlis, whose swift swordsmanship was impressive even to Damian.
There was no way Damian wouldn’t know a master of such high-level swordsmanship.
“Could it be you died in the Helian Tournament, and that’s why I don’t know you? No, that can’t be it.”
According to what Damian knew, Bradley Heath won the Helian Tournament in his previous life. The next tournament was won by the Sword Queen.
He had never heard of a dark knight from Pandemonium ruining the Helian Tournament.
In other words, this Everlis was an anomaly, causing events that hadn’t occurred in the future he remembered.
“Who is this master you speak of? Under whose orders are you doing this?”
“I-I can’t tell you too much…”
“Is that so? Then I have no choice.”
Damian drew his sword, Dawn. A menacing aura filled the coliseum.
“I’ll make you spill everything, even if I have to twist your heart to do it.”