Chapter 6: Eli (2)

[You've heard about the coming-of-age party, haven't you, Sir Eli.]

“……Yes.”

Eli's expression hardened as he answered the words spoken by the hazy face in the communication sphere.

[You're the one who stirred up this mess in the first place. You have to clean it up, don't you?]

"I am aware."

[You know. You know……. Really? If you knew, you wouldn't be acting like this, would you?]

“…….”

Eli couldn't easily reply to the sarcastic remark.

He knew better than anyone that the reason Muno's name had spread to the surrounding territories was because he had won their duel even before his awakening.

However.

[His Excellency is keeping an eye on the boy.]

At the following words, he too could not remain calm.

"Yes!?"

[What do you mean, yes!?

Do you think His Excellency would just ignore a talent who awakened at the mere age of sixteen!?

Thanks to you, the fact that you were beaten by him when he was ten is now known in Trian!]

He was thirteen then, not ten…….

Just as he was unable to even utter the pathetic excuse, more shocking news came.

[Now things have gotten even bigger.

His Excellency has commanded the Grand Princess to attend the party of a worthless barony!]

"Yes!? What in the world does that……!?"

[Because he's a talent who awakened even before his coming-of-age party! Moreover, Baron Drasen is a man His Excellency cherishes. The northernmost part of the territory……!]

To Eli, whose mind had gone blank, the words that followed didn't even register.

The Grand Princess. Count Trian's first granddaughter and the object of admiration for all the young knights belonging to the Trian territory.

Wasn't the reason he was dispatched to this harsh Drasen Barony as if he were being chased away because of the 'mistake' of delivering a 'love letter' to that very Grand Princess?

But he still hadn't forgotten the girl from that time.

The girl whose beauty had already fully blossomed at the age of 15.

'She was only a year away from becoming an adult, barely!'

Geudeudeuk.

Those who knew about the incident treated him like a disgusting pervert, but he only felt it was unfair.

In the end, hadn't that girl become the dream of all the knights in the entire County?

- The fact that it ended with just a letter is what saved your life. I cherished you because you seemed to have talent…….

- Disappear to a place where I can't see you. You vile man.

- Go to the Drasen territory. And don't you dare crawl back.

- But if any strange rumors spread in relation to this matter, you……. I don't have to say more, do I?

The words of the Grand Prince, who was originally his lord.

The lord, who still bore the title of Grand Prince even in his forties because of the Count who was still hale and hearty in his sixties, had reacted extremely nervously to his mistake.

'I didn't intend to commit a crime.'

The cold glare of his lord, who would become the next Count Trian, came to mind again, and his body trembled.

He had wanted to go back someday and prove his pure heart.

'I was just the first to recognize the flower of Trian…….'

But that princess is coming to a rural backwater like this, to that dumbass Muno's coming-of-age party?

Knowing the meaning of it, anger bubbled up from the depths of his chest.

In addition, the memory of that cheeky brat's eyes, glaring at him with a glint a while ago, seemed to fan the flames of that anger.

"That brat is just a sick…… who had an evolution that improved his intelligence."

[Silence!]

"No, I……."

[I told you to create an incident that would smear shit on Ryan Drasen's name! And you told me about that adopted son who can't even speak properly!]

“……Yes.”

[But you couldn't even do that one thing and made things like this!? Was it so difficult to make a stupid kid into a cripple or spread a scandal!? Are you even a 2-star knight!?]

He was angry.

Why do I have to listen to this kind of talk?

But he had no choice but to endure.

Because it was an undeniable fact that he had been defeated by that young brat.

Moreover, now.

"Baron Drasen is coddling the boy, so……."

Even if he tried to create a pretext, the boy wouldn't take the bait.

He was about to explain the practical circumstances.

[Silence!! Don't you dare try to sugarcoat your incompetence! Speak with results!]

The person in the communication sphere didn't even give him a chance to make an excuse.

[His Excellency intends to enter the central political stage this time. Then, the Grand Prince will eventually inherit everything in the territory in practice. At that time, the one to stand at his right hand must be me. Not some worthless Baron Drasen who is only strong!]

"……I will, I will take care of it."

[How?]

"Pardon?"

[How do you plan to take care of it?]

As the interrogation continued, a cold sweat trickled down Eli's back.

"F-first, I will somehow pick a fight and have a duel. If I cut off even one arm……."

Having blurted out whatever came to mind out of nervousness, he belatedly thought it was too much of a stretch.

But the other party's reaction was unexpected.

[Is that all?]

'Is that all…… he says?'

Eli's mind became even more complicated.

What does he mean?

[Is that all you can think of?! You idiot!!]

Even under the humiliating interrogation, there was a limit to what Eli could say.

"……Please, give me your orders."

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to bow his head.

And then, unimaginable words followed.

[Bring the boy to me. It's fine if he becomes a cripple, just bring him to me with his life intact! By force, if you must.]

"Yes!?"

His eyes flew wide open without him realizing it.

He wasn't an enemy of a hostile nation or a hostile territory, but the son of another lord under the same Trian County?

If that was the plan from the beginning, then he had been picking pointless fights all this time.

Even if he could really kidnap Muno, he would be the only one suspected if the boy suddenly disappeared.

"Suddenly, why……?"

But the other party seemed to have no intention of clearing up his doubts.

[The situation has changed. Bring him to me, no matter what. Any condition is fine as long as he's alive. Understood?]

Instead, he only spouted more nonsense.

At that moment, Eli couldn't help but snap to his senses.

'Crazy talk! I'll be the one to take all the blame, and moreover, if it's Baron Ryan Drasen, he'll chase me to the ends of the continent.'

Just imagining the 'Knight of Gluttony' chasing him with crazed eyes sent a shiver down his spine.

"That's absurd! I cannot accept that!"

[Are you saying a 2-star knight can't handle a boy who just awakened, and one who, according to you, is presumed to have evolved towards brain development?]

"That's not the problem, is it!? Why all of a sudden……!"

[Hmph. You swore an oath to me. You remember that time, don't you?]

At those words, Eli recalled the promise the man had offered along with the words that he would save him when he had secretly visited on the day he was kicked out of Trian.

And also the moment he had believed it and sworn an oath of allegiance.

"But……."

This was too unreasonable.

He had been trying so hard to refuse.

[It's time to keep that oath, Eli Venon. Bring Muno Drasen to me.]

The moment that voice resonated with a strange wave beyond the crystal sphere, Eli felt his mind go blank and his eyes glaze over.

"What, what did you, do to me……."

The moment he tried to overcome the energy that was clouding his mind like a fog with the mental strength of a 2-star knight.

[Are you just going to stand by and watch that Muno brat get the flower of Trian, Eli?]

'The Grand Princess……. The Grand Princess with Muno?'

The face of the beautiful girl he had kept in a corner of his heart came to mind, and the anger in his chest that he had been forcibly suppressing ignited, rapidly clouding his reason.

In the end.

"……Muno Drasen……."

[Bring him to me. As soon as possible.]

"……I will bring him."

The moment Eli, with his dazed eyes, accepted the command, the person in the communication sphere gave a sinister smile.

[He wasn't a pawn I intended to use like this. Tsk tsk……. Don't blame me.]

A red, smoke-like energy that rose from within the communication sphere seeped directly into Eli's nose.

[If you had just told me from the beginning that he was a test subject brought back from the subjugation 10 years ago, I would have dealt with him long ago.]

The moment those words followed, the red smoke grew even thicker, and cracks began to form on the surface of the communication sphere.

[The sin of not informing me until now of information that even a Drasen maid knows. Atone for it properly.]

If Eli's reason had been intact, he would have retorted how he could have told him something he wasn't asked, but.

This time, too, he only nodded his head with his red eyes wide and blank.

And behind the turning Eli.

The fist-sized communication sphere he had secretly hidden in Drasen crumbled into dust.

* * *

Charrreuk.

The black iron chains writhing in the air moved almost simultaneously with his thoughts.

Paaaaang!

The greatsword he swung couldn't even keep up with the movement of the chains.

Muno, sweating profusely, tried to match the speed of his sword to the speed of the chains.

- It will be a good training indicator.

- Until your sword also moves immediately according to your will like the chains, strive endlessly.

The homework his father had given him since he was young seemed to have gotten a little more difficult with his awakening.

But he was not disappointed.

The movement of the chains had become faster and freer, and even their length had more than doubled, but his physical abilities had also increased by a similar amount.

'It's just that my mind isn't used to my strengthened body yet.'

So, work harder.

KWANG!

Charrreuk.

As he took a step forward, putting heavy weight on his left foot, the chains on his ankle lashed out at the lower body of an imaginary enemy.

And the black iron chain he held in his opposite hand took that recoil and sliced through the enemy's torso from the right.

Paaaaang!

Next, the training greatsword, as tall as a small woman, was swung, bursting the air.

In concert with the moving chains attached to his limbs, he began to mercilessly tear apart the imaginary enemies that existed on all sides.

Pababababang.

Then, at some point, Muno started to swing only the greatsword, having changed the chains on his limbs back into bracers.

- You couldn't hide them before, but now you can, can't you?

- When facing an enemy who doesn't know about you, it will be more effective to hide the chains and use them as a hidden trump card.

Even without using the chains, his combat power did not decrease significantly.

Paaaaang.

The chains, which had turned into bracers on his wrists and shins, would still boast a strength greater than well-tempered steel and block the enemy's attacks.

From then on, Muno continued his training of deflecting or blocking the enemy's attacks with the bracers on his limbs and swinging his sword.

'This could be quite good too?'

A normal steel armor might block an arrow, but if it were to be hit by the powerful blunt weapon of a giant monster or a Corporeal Arts user, the bones and flesh could be crushed together.

But the bracers that were now snug against his forearms and shins were a transformation of the chains that moved according to his will.

Their very feel was soft, unlike any other armor.

A feeling of being metal, yet not like metal.

Woooong.

A 10-meter-long chain that shot out immediately according to his will.

As a bracer with that much metal compressed into a small area, it seemed that it could disperse most impacts by making the surface vibrate.

'It's definitely useful.'

Paaaaang!

PANG.

KWANG!

It felt like his stress was flying away as he moved his sword frantically while testing his new weapon.

'Right, this is it.'

The burden he had been receiving from the unexpected events that had suddenly occurred, such as holding a coming-of-age party and having to choose a fiancée from among the invited young ladies, gradually faded away.

Because of the fuss the people around him were making, he had been dragged around for etiquette practice and party preparations, and in the end, wasn't it only at this time of night that he was able to train?

'As expected, a person has to move their body.'

As his head cleared, the sense of disconnect he had felt between his past and present lives seemed to lessen a bit.

And the frustration over the terrible experiences he had in his childhood in his present life, and the memories that had not yet fully returned, seemed to be resolving.

"Hap!"

Thud.

Paaaaang.

Muno, who was gradually concentrating his mind, soon shook off even those foolish idle thoughts and became completely absorbed in the swinging sword.

It had already been 10 years since he had started learning this Drasen Greatswordmanship.

But for him, this was the first time he was purely swinging a sword without the cumbersome chains attached to his body.

- This is fun.

As a smile naturally formed on Muno's face.

Suddenly, a lightning-like inspiration flashed through his mind.

And it was put into action in an instant.

Thud.

Jjeojeojeojeok.

Cracks spread across the floor of the training hall from the strongest foot plant he had made so far.

Hoo-eup.

His body temperature rose sharply and his skin flushed red, and then that boiling energy gathered in one place.

Udeudeudeudeuk.

His waist, which was holding the greatsword tightly with both hands behind his back, bent like a bow, and all the muscles and bones in his body produced a painful noise as if they were being squeezed.

At the same time, an enormous amount of calories was consumed in an instant, and that power was fully released forward.

Flash.

Sgak.

The silver blade, unlike before, only made a sharp noise as it bisected the empty air like lightning.

And right after that.

KWAAAAANG!

With a deafening roar of the air bursting, a rough wind raged in all directions.

Kwakwakwakwa.

Wooooong.

"Hooooo……."

The moment he calmed the violently vibrating greatsword and his trembling muscles with a deep breath, a smile naturally formed on Muno's face.

Heh.

'So this works…….'

Drasen Greatswordmanship secret technique, Wind Slicer.

One of the family's secret techniques, which he should have been able to use only after achieving the 2nd star or higher evolution with the Corporeal Arts of Gluttony, was unleashed from his hands for the first time.

'I don't even feel that hungry.'

- The secret techniques of Drasen Greatswordmanship all consume an enormous amount of energy.

- If you don't accumulate energy by mastering the Corporeal Arts of Gluttony, you will break your joints or muscles, or even dry up and die, just by using it once or twice.

- Unfortunately, you…….

- I will teach it to you, but even if you become able to use it, never use it indiscriminately.

His father's words were wrong for the first time.

No, rather, the calories consumed by his body were smaller than expected.

It felt as if something else had been consumed instead of calories.

He had a rough idea of what it was just by feeling.

'I have one more thing to report to Father.'

And a very good thing at that.

He couldn't help but be satisfied, but it was a fact that it strained his body, even if it was less than expected.

'I should stop for today.'

The fatigue from training rushed in all at once.

'I am an adopted son who will have to leave this place someday.

The fact that my body is my only asset is the same here. I have to train while keeping an eye on my condition.'

However, if there was one thing better than his past life, it was that in this world, there was a path to success through physical strength alone.

After building up his strength and repaying his parents' kindness, he will carve out a life of his own.

The moment he reaffirmed his future resolve, he suddenly felt an eerie sensation.

'Hm!?'

He instinctively twisted his body, but.

Puuuk.

Before he knew it, a silver longsword was sticking out of his left side.

"Keuk……!"

His gaze naturally turned and met the eyes of an assailant who had appeared from the darkness wearing a mask.

"Die!!"

This bastard?

Charrrreuk.

Before the guy, whose eyes were wide open, could move his sword any further, Muno wrapped his chains around the longsword and the guy's hand and neck in an instant and pulled him up.

Kwadeudeudeuk.

"Keo, keoheuk!"

Seeing the screaming enemy, Muno gritted his teeth.

"This, f*cking bastard……!"

Pyusuk.

A stream of blood spurted out the moment he pulled out the sword embedded in his side.

"So annoying……."

The body that had evolved by eating a demon made its muscles contract on their own and quickly stopped the bleeding, but a wound that big couldn't possibly heal with just that.

"……That hurts. Heh?"

Muno's anger shot up to the top of his head at the injury he had sustained in an unimaginable situation.

"You've lost your mind. You bastard."

There was no need to ask who it was.

Kwadeuk.

"Kkeureureuk."

Because the struggling masked man's red eyes were all too familiar.

Seeing the guy's pupils dilate as if in disbelief, Muno bared his teeth.

"I told you I wouldn't let you off anymore, Eli!"

The more Muno's black eyes filled with a chilling killing intent.

Udeudeudeudeuk.

The power contained in the black iron chains only grew stronger.

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