Academy’s Genius Swordmaster - Chapter 165

165. The Festival of Swords (8)

#165

“I came to Farjan in pursuit of him in the first place. If we continue like this, all participants are at risk.”

Russell’s expression was serious. Ronan just stared at him dumbfounded. My head was confused because of the continuous pouring of unfamiliar information. He looked Ronan up and down and shook his head.

“You pass. To be honest, it exceeded my expectations. A few more talented people like you might be able to stop him.”

“…pass?”

“okay. As you can see earlier, Saetbyeol of the Empire and Nabi Rose are also there. If you are close, please persuade me. Shouldn’t we be saving people?”

It was an attitude that seemed to matter. It seemed that it was not enough to drag people out and talk about incomprehensible things. Ronan let out a laugh as if he was stunned.

‘I can’t do it. You bastard.’

I didn’t like almost every aspect of it, but the thing that pissed me off the most was that it kept emphasizing the need to save people. Regardless of the authenticity of the information, it seemed that the habit had to be corrected first. Ronan spat on the floor and moved towards Russell.

“Because I’m fucking stupid.”

“hmm? you?”

Ronan tugged at the hilt. He took a stride, aiming the tip of his sword at Russell. As the embarrassed Russell was about to draw his sword, Ronan shot low.

“If you want to lose, pull it out. I’ll drop your head on the spot.”

“What is this all of a sudden…”

“Shut up.”

Eventually, overwhelmed by the momentum, Russell let go of the hilt. With each step Ronan took, Russell had to take one step back. Eventually they came to the edge of a cliff. Russell, who had nowhere else to retreat, stuttered and asked.

“Why the hell are you even doing this?”

“Let’s listen, let’s listen, so there is no end to believing. devil? Are the participants at risk? Yes, all of them say so.”

“Gagging!”

It was an instant. Ronan reached out and grabbed Russell’s neck. Russell’s legs lifted off the ground as he slowly lifted his arm. Ronan took two more steps in that state. Russell, feeling the emptiness beneath his feet, exclaimed in fright.

“Huh! Wait a minute…!”

“But isn’t it a bit too much to do something like that and make it a justification for saving people? Do you know how many people will be fucked because of what you did at the arena. “

I am…”

“It is fortunate that no one was killed or injured? Where are you trying to cross over?”

Ronan raised his face and growled. Even if everything Russell said was true, his actions were hard to understand. If Ronan had made a small mistake, many of the twenty-four would have died or become idiots. A bastard who said he had to save people would do such a thing just because he wanted to see his skills. The contradiction was not such a contradiction.

“I will explain everything! Let’s get this…!”

Russell struggled with all his might, but Ronan’s strong forearms did not budge. It was as if a steel python was choking me. Upon hearing this, Ronan’s lips smirked.

“Oh yeah. Do you want me to let you go?”

“omg…!”

Ronan let go of the power in his hands. Russell’s body plunged downward. Ronan’s appearance quickly began to fade. In an instant, two words, death, flickered before his eyes.

“Quaaaaaagh!”

The wind roared in my ears. Russell let out a mortal scream with his eyes tightly closed. For a moment, the fall stopped with the feeling of something wrapping around my body.

“This is…?”

Russell slowly opened his eyes and sighed. Something like a shiny tree root was supporting his body. The roots that grew along the wall reached the top of the cliff where Ronan was. Right. Ronan snapped his fingers, and the roots wriggled as if they were alive, carrying Russell over the cliff. Russell, who was crushed at Ronan’s feet, kicked off the fight.

“Huh…Huhhhh…!”

“Have you come to your senses now?”

Russell’s face, which had been brought to the threshold of death, had turned white like blank paper. Ronan squatted in front of him. In the setting sun, Ronan’s face was stained red like a demon from hell. Russell nodded quickly. He knew instinctively that there would be no second chances.

“mi. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I made a mistake. Stop being blinded by vengeance…”

“That’s right. There has to be a good motive for that.”

“…I won’t hide that I tried to use you for personal purposes. It’s my fault for putting many people at risk because I wanted to see my skills properly… I will definitely take responsibility for them.”

With his head on the ground as if in a bow, Russell began confessing his sins. Again, fear was the best confession. He shuddered and shrugged, then suddenly raised his head.

“But everything I told you is the truth! That the devil would be a threat to all participants!”

“Oh Mr. It’s a surprise.”

There was only sincerity in his crying voice. The tears flowing down his cheeks also proved him. It seemed like they were ready to start a conversation. After retracting the sword, Ronan opened his mouth.

“Now tell me, sir. Who is that demon and why do you hate him so much?”

“…it would be quicker to see for yourself. look at this.”

Suddenly, Russell undid his hood. Ronan’s eyes widened. I could see why he didn’t take off his hood even when he was covered in blood. Russell said in an apologetic tone.

“Please bear with me even if it’s ugly. I can’t even take it off for a long time because the wound has healed anyway.”

“This is…”

Ronan twitched his lips. It was a terrible wound. One corner of his head was shaved off at an angle. A pure white skull was exposed under the dark red dying scalp.

Ronan noticed that some letters were written on the inside of the hood. I remembered seeing it several times in the magic books that Asher often reads. Perhaps it was to prevent the wound from getting worse while wearing the hood. At that time, Ronan’s eyes, which were examining the wound, narrowed slightly.

‘This…?’

The cross section of the blade was somehow familiar. I’m sure I’ve seen it somewhere. At that moment, a bitter voice came out of Russell’s mouth.

“It’s a wound from that demon. It’s been more than three years, but it’s still there and haunting me. On the day I received this wound, I lost my mercenaries, who were like family.”

“Mercenaries? Were you a mercenary?”

“okay. It’s called the Blue Arch Mercenary Corps… It was quite famous in the kingdom of Daran and its vicinity. It is a story that has already passed.”

Russell continued his explanation in a calm voice. The Blue Arch he led was a mercenary group that specialized in exploring unexplored ruins and dungeons. The fact that they were annihilated by demons was also a ruin unknown to the world.

“I still remember it clearly. It was a white forest. The grass and trees, even the soil, were pale white. The cursed ruins were gaping in the middle of the forest.”

“Did you meet him there?”

“Yes. It was not long after I entered the ruins. We were walking down a hallway covered in sleek metal. All the members were admiring it because they had never seen such a style.”

Ronan shrugged his eyebrows. The metal-covered corridor reminded me of the heart of Dainhar in the desert. Russell took a deep breath and continued.

“Suddenly, a young man approached me from far away in the hallway. She was naked without a single thread on, but her appearance was horrific. The skin on the whole body, including the face, was almost ripped off, and judging from the limp, it seemed that even one leg was uncomfortable. In the meantime, he was holding a sword. We ran to the young man to ask if he was okay… and that was the end.”

Russell briefly explained the situation at the time. The young man’s figure disappeared from sight for an instant, and the limbs of his comrades shot up into the air. There was not even a chance to scream. Russell bit his lip as he described the strewn corpses.

“It wasn’t a fight. It was a one-sided slaughter. It took less than 3 minutes for the mercenaries to be wiped out. Everyone is dead except me.”

“Then how did you get out of there alive?”

“That… ah.”

Suddenly, Russell clutched his head in agony. It was probably the darkest part of the nightmare at the time. He licked his lips several times before shaking his head.

“…He didn’t kill all of his comrades. For some reason, about half of them were holding their breath. I used my aura on them. I escaped the ruins while my friends who lost their reason were wasting time.”

“Fuck.”

Ronan’s brow narrowed. It was a more terrifying story than I thought. I felt like I knew why I was blindly obsessed with killing the devil.

“I’ve dedicated my life to chasing him since that day. I found it again about a year ago, and to my surprise, my skin and legs were intact.”

“To the legs?”

“okay. I was not in any better condition.”

After that, Russell began to enumerate the evils committed by the man called the devil. All of them were just horrible. It was more like a hobby to visit a remote village pretending to be a stranger and slaughter all the villagers before sunrise the next day. Ronan, who was listening to the story, salivated. Murder was a habit, and he was a very dangerous type among bastards.

“The last thing I saw was hunting monsters on the road to Parzan. He cut down a mountain ogre with a single knife. He’s incomparably stronger than when he threw me into hell.”

“…How did you try to catch him?”

“They tried to ambush the night before the final exam. In order to take the final exam to the Holy Land, I have to join the passers-by from Aran Farjan. There’s no way a strong person like you will fail the test, and I’m confident that I can go up there too.”

Russell said that the final test of the Festival of Swords is fixed. The passers-by from the two villages of Gran Farzan and Aran Farzan, built on the north and south sides of the mountain, were fighting each other. Ronan nodded. Clearly, it was the right time.

“Anyway…my story ends here. I’m sorry for bothering you in many ways.”

Russell sighed after finishing his story. He carefully wrapped the magic-engraved hood around his head again. Suddenly, Ronan stopped him.

“wait for a sec.”

“hmm? Why but?”

“Take off your hood again. And are there any other wounds?”

“Hmm…?”

“I mean what happened to him. Is that all in your head?”

Russell tilted his head. Ronan’s gaze was still on his head. Thinking back, it was a sword scar that I had seen before.

“There is, but…”

“Show me.”

Ronan’s voice was firm. Russell took off his top without knowing why. His well-trained body was covered with dozens of scars. They were traces of the wind and waves of a long mercenary life.

“Now, if you look here, on the back…”

“I know even if you don’t say anything, so wait.”

Ronan stopped Russell from revealing his wounds from the demon. I could tell without explaining. It was rare to see a sword scar that didn’t feel like this. Before long, Ronan identified a stab wound extending from his left scapula to his waist. Touching the scar with his index finger, he twisted his mouth.

“As expected…”

“Why why but?”

Russell asked in an embarrassed voice, but Ronan did not answer. He had to remember where he had seen this sword mark. A forest with drizzling rain. Blood mixed with rainwater. A Wear Lion shivering while hiding in a pit.

I had a memory of seeing the corpses of the members of the Dawning Corps who were massacred not long ago. It was definitely one of the three types of sword scars. Recalling what the terrified Major had said, Ronan opened his mouth.

“Hey uncle.”

“Yes?”

“What’s the impression of that demon?”

“Impressive…? Hmmm… so the face is normal…”

Russell drooled. I’ve been struggling with how to summarize this. Suddenly, the features that had been there before his skin returned to normal flashed through his mind. His mouth fell open.

“…his hair was white and his eyes were a reddish yellow. I remembered it because it was a rare color combination. Come to think of it, my eyes are similar to yours.”