Volume 5 Chapter 22 Swallow
The bird called Swallow flies freely in the sky.
Low-altitude flight, sudden ascent, sudden descent. The Swallow flies as it pleases, and its speed is breathtakingly fast.
This swordsman, "Swallow," is a man who fights in the same way when I take a closer look.
―――Swallow lowered his stance and instantly closed the distance between us.
His speed was similar to that of the soldiers from the Crystal Castle. A bit slower than Eiosnight, but still extremely fast. To be honest, before I reached the gold level, I was almost unable to keep up with such speed.
So, to put it simply.
The speed was so fast that I could only think, "Wow, that's fast!"
"'Brahma'"
I activated my Anahata Chakra, enhanced my physical abilities, and swung my crystal sword. It wasn't a particularly impressive sword technique. But Swallow didn't expect a counterattack.
"!?"
Swallow received my attack and suddenly jumped high. Impressive, I thought. If I lower my stance, I can only attack from that spot. And if I attack from a low trajectory, he can dodge by jumping high.
"You're incredibly fast. But I'll take you on."
Swallow jumped and attacked me from above. I smiled and replied.
"Bring it on. I won't just do one strike, I'll do them all."
I pointed my finger downwards. The swords stuck to the ceiling flew down, aiming for the ground.
"!?"
But Swallow dodged even that. Unbelievable, I thought. His flexible body allowed him to dodge the attack with ease.
"What's with you?"
"Hey, don't forget about me!"
Just then, Kadras intervened, attacking with dual swords. Swallow received the attack with a calm face, using his bare hands to deflect it.
"You're no longer interesting to me."
"Save it! You can't land a hit on me either!"
Kadras tried to counter Swallow's kick with his own speed, but Swallow was slightly faster. As a result, both of them skillfully dodged each other's attacks, creating a stalemate.
At that moment, I felt a sense of unease. That sword Swallow was carrying...
Why wasn't he drawing it?
"..."
I thought about it for a moment, but I realized I didn't have enough information, so I decided to focus on the battle at hand. I knew that trying to catch my opponent off guard wouldn't work against a gold-ranked opponent, so I would fight normally.
In other words, I would use my basic gravity magic-enhanced bare-handed combat, and add iron lump sword and crystal sword floating attacks to my arsenal.
I took my stance, waited for the right timing, took a deep breath...
And, as if to focus my mind, I whispered...
"'Brahma'"
My second heart began to beat. Alright, it's time to strike.
"Are you evil―――?"
Responding to my killing intent, Swallow turned towards me. But it was too late. I had already gotten inside his guard.
"―――Ku!"
Swallow barely dodged my weight Increase uppercut. "You're pretty good at dodging!" I exclaimed, and continued to attack him with my fists and feet.
"Huh, you're a bare-handed combat type who uses swords as a bluff!"
"Hahaha! You underestimate me! Of course, that's not all!"
"?!"
The numerous swords that suddenly appeared began to attack Swallow. But I didn't let up on my own pursuit.
I pressed on.
Uppercut, dodged. Crystal sword, dodged. Straight punch, dodged. Crystal sword, dodged. Hook and crystal sword combo, dodged. Jab feint with crystal sword x2 combo, coming at him. Crystal sword feint with a one-2 combo, coming at him. Iron lump sword kick, landed.
I delivered a kick to Swallow, who was knocked down by the iron lump sword kick. Swallow defended with both arms, but I could feel his hands breaking. He flew back, and I sent crystal sword and iron lump sword attacks raining down on him.
But Swallow still dodged. Multiple swords pierced into the wall. Swallow flipped his body and closed in on me. Then, he jumped, kicking the ceiling, and launched a fierce attack from above.
I shouted,
"Frain, Sylvia, it's your turn!"
The attack aimed at me was blocked by Sylvia's iron shield. Swallow was momentarily stunned, and a gap appeared in his consciousness.
Right after that, the window shattered, and Swallow was blown away horizontally in mid-air. "Ggh...!" he groaned, with a burn mark on his side, as if his flesh was being ripped apart. Frain's long-range snipe had hit him.
"What's with this? We didn't even need Toxy to come out."
"Speaking of which, I didn't even have a chance to bite him since he didn't try to escape or slow down at all!"
Toxy appeared from the entrance. We had prepared for Swallow's escape, but it was excessive preparation.
We looked down at Swallow. Swallow glared back at us, his teeth clenched in frustration.
I had high expectations since he was a gold-ranked opponent, but it seemed Windy was slightly stronger. I felt disappointed and called out to Swallow.
"Is that all? Don't you have anything else?"
"...You're strong. I underestimated you. I didn't think I'd lose to your speed, but you pushed me back with your numbers."
"You came alone, that's why. If it were one-on-one, it would be a different story."
"Ha... maybe so. I didn't expect to face a hero-ranked opponent. ...If it were you, I might be able to draw my sword."
Swallow glared at me, his eyes not yet dead. However, it seemed difficult for him to stand up. Frain's snipe had deeply pierced him.
...I didn't expect anything more, and there was no need to be cautious.
I observed him for over ten seconds, but Swallow didn't move. I let out a sigh and told everyone, "Let's restrain him. He might spill some new information."
Just then, a pure white hand grasped mine.
It was 'Protean'.
"Huh?"
I was stunned for a few seconds, unable to comprehend what was happening. The pale, sickly-looking man I had seen in the portrait was grasping my hand. The absurdity of the situation left me bewildered.
"Thank you, Protean. ———Aphorism."
When I came to, Swallow had already assumed a combat stance. However, the impact of the term "Protean" was so great that no one could react quickly enough.
Swallow began to chant.
"'O king, O hero. You shall meet your demise at the hands of a sl*ve'"
In Swallow's hand, a sword was drawn from its scabbard with an eerie, high-pitched sound. The beautiful, yet unsettling, wave pattern on the sword caught everyone's attention.
"The Cursed Thirteen Blades of Victory. The demonic sword, Muramasa."
Swallow's stance shifted slightly forward.
"With this grudge, I shall usurp your fate."
And then...
Swallow's body suddenly accelerated.
In an instant, Swallow, who should have been exhausted to the point of being unable to move, was closing in on me at an incredible speed. I couldn't dodge. It was as if my fate had been sealed, and Swallow's sword had pierced my heart.
But I had the Anahata Chakra. Being pierced in the heart wouldn't kill me.
———Or so I thought.
"Ah"
I realized.
It wasn't just my physical heart that had been pierced; Swallow's sword had also pierced my Anahata Chakra.
"You were a formidable foe. Originally, you wouldn't have been an opponent I could defeat."
Swallow said.
"But you were a hero. ...The fact that you faced the hero-slaying Muramasa was your downfall."
Swallow swung the sword, and my heart, along with the Anahata Chakra, was cleaved in two.
Blood smoke rose from my body. I collapsed.
"Wade!"
Toxy shouted, clinging to me. Kadras and Sylvia stood between me and Swallow, covering me.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it! I didn't expect this to happen, you bastard! ———Sylvia, provide backup!"
"I already know, no need to tell me!"
"Wade, no! Don't die, don't die!"
I heard Toxy's scream and somehow managed to focus on my Anahata Chakra.
Although my heart was broken, if I could somehow activate my damaged Anahata Chakra, I might be able to hang on to life. But I couldn't spare any attention for anything else. My body was on the brink of death, and all I could do was desperately repeat my breathing.
However, Swallow said,
"...Amazing. What a tremendous amount of fate. With this, Muramasa will probably cooperate with us for a while. Yeah, that's right. So, let's try a test cut with you guys first."
Swallow smiled slyly. At that moment, Frain's long-distance sniper shot hit him, but this time, Swallow didn't even flinch. In fact, it seemed like the wound I had inflicted on him earlier was already healing.
But then, someone stopped him.
"Swa, llow..."
'Protean' tapped Swallow's shoulder and shook his head. Swallow looked at 'Protean' with a surprised expression.
"...Retreat for now?"
"..."
'Protean' nodded, and Swallow closed his eyes and sheathed his demonic sword, Muramasa.
"I understand. I don't know what your intentions are, but I'll follow your judgment as the boss's close aide. I'm just a hired hand, so I'll obey."
"..."
'Protean' nodded again, and then disappeared into the mist. Swallow glanced at us and said, "You've got your life back" before leaving.
"Wade, it's okay, it's okay, I promise...!"
Toxy didn't seem to care about any of this and was crying while preparing a large amount of bandages and medicine from who-knows-where. She approached me, talking nonstop.
"I won't let you die. I absolutely won't let you die. Even if you die, I won't let you die. No matter what happens, I'll keep you alive, Wade."
I coughed up blood and looked up at Toxy, my breathing rough and ragged.
And then, with a blood-stained mouth, I whispered,
"Le...ave... it... to... me..."
My consciousness began to fade into the darkness, surrounded by the darkness of my own broken second heart.
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