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“How…”

But all I knew was that it hadn’t reached me yet. And until that happens, I’ll have the upper hand against Arjen.

“You truly are the sword’s slave.”

Arjen’s brow furrows as if the blow had stung. I didn’t let my guard down. The fight isn’t over from a single good hit.

(…What a nice thing to say.)

The Holy Sword muttered. His words further convinced me. Even if Arjen had memories of the original, he wouldn’t know the Holy Sword had an ego of its own. As much as I wanted to say that, I spoke moderately irritated.

“Take proper care of your sword before you speak.”

Arjen used his sword as a support to stand up. His eyes, darker than black, stared back.

“HAHAHA. Y-you have no idea what it is. You’re not even afraid of the H-Holy Sword. Have you ever thought it s-strange?”

Arjen shakes his head like a madman. I remained still, my icy gaze fixed on him.

“If you know something I don’t, talk to me or tell me why you’ve suddenly turned and sliced dozens, maybe hundreds of people to death. Answer me, you fucking asshole.”

My words were getting pretty harsh. If I could kill people with just a glance, I would’ve killed him a hundred times from the moment I saw him.

“Why did you attack Daphne and Marianne? Why did you turn your old comrade Georg into what he is? Who the hell did this to you?”

My voice rose with each question. I raised my sword to point at his throat. Aura rose and pressed against him. The corner of Arjen’s mouth twisted as he withstood my pressure. How much I wished to place my sword between his eyes.

“Who did this to me? Urgh…Shit. Are you seriously asking me that? All I’m doing is taking back what you’ve stolen from me. What you’ve done doesn’t matter because I don’t care.”

After what he’s done to Georg, Daphne, and Marianne, he dares to say all that?

“I just have to finish my job.”

Arjen lunged forward, hitting the Holy Sword to the side. Like an arrow of a loaded crossbow, a sword wrapped in a black aura stretches out. However, it was not difficult to see. I read the trajectory with my eyes. I escaped the sharp death that twisted like a snake by jumping over it.

“Tsk-!”

Arjen rolled heavily to the side, dodging my counterattack from above. He knew he didn’t have to block my attacks in the chance I misjudged my strength and destroy a civilian’s house. Against a wall, Arjen looked at me, one corner of his mouth lifting. Stalemate. I could not overpower Arjen because that would cause havoc, while he couldn’t defeat me.

“You could’ve won if you swung your sword properly the last hundred times.”

“You’re thinking about it wrong, Arjen.”

I took a step forward, appearing right before Arjen. My grip tightens on his forearm. Arjen grabs his arm and tries to twist it away. But it was a futile effort.

“What power-!”

Arjen shouted panickedly. I can’t tell if he was using his full strength or not. I picked him up and slammed him into the ground behind me, not giving him time to spread his aura.

Arjen coughed up blood. I kicked him again, grabbed him, and slammed him into the ground. Blood splattered with each movement. I could feel Arjen struggling and resisting. But it didn’t matter. There was only so much left. I threw him to the floor again. This time, however, it didn’t feel the same.

“Son of a bitch, take this…”

He grabbed my wrist and tried to pull me down, but I held steady and calmly pierced Arjen’s arm with the Holy Sword. His eyes burned, engulfed in an unrecognizable darkness. Then, Arjen slowly pushed me away as he rose.

“This is no joke.”

His voice became rougher. Arjen tried to twist my wrist. I didn’t let go. Arjen’s eyes met mine, and he kept turning it more. I seized the moment and let go of his arm without regret.

“Holy shit….”

Before he could say anything else, I grabbed him and took off. Using the wings was a considerable burden, but I couldn’t fight within the Kingdom. I carried Arjen outside the city walls over a vaguely ridged landscape. I released my wings, and we dropped to the ground. He kept holding my arm and refused to let go.

“You shouldn’t be trying to drop me.”

The tug gets stronger. From the beginning, the scales were on my side, but it slowly tipped in Arjen’s favor. Nine to one to eight to two, then to seven to three. It didn’t tip further, but the protagonist has overcome greater odds.

“What you’re about to do, do to me.”

Arjen flipped over. I could feel his foot on my shoulder. This asshole is about to break my arm completely. I couldn’t break free as Arjen dug his fingers into my arm. So, I only had one option.

“?!”

I yanked my arm away. His leg pushed into my side and dislocated my shoulder. I then used my other elbow to smash into his knee. I’m no fool; whatever Arjen learned from the original, I saw too. I knew how this Arjen would act.

“Don’t look so surprised.”

A snapping sound resounded. You break my arm, and I’ll turn your leg into a hunk of meat attached to your body. Trades are meant to be equal.

“You son of a bitch-!”

An explosion blew up the ground along with the trees. Vast amounts of silt shot into the sky, then turned to rain, pouring down the slopes. The collision between me and Arjen had destroyed a cliff. I checked my left arm. It throbbed and tingled, but it wouldn’t affect me much. ‘Where’s Arjen? No. If I’m okay, surely he’s okay.’

“Tsk.”

Arjen spat blood and dirt out of his mouth.

“Good. Good.”

Skill-wise, it’s four to six. I’m four, of course. Seven to three in strength. That was the gap between me and Arjen. If Arjen could make up the difference in power between us, I just had to make it bigger.

“When did you learn to use your head? I thought you’d just use brute force.”

Brute force? That’s ridiculous. I’ve never had the upper hand in any battles I’ve fought, not in strength or skill. Hell, even the first time I fought a talking spider, I had put everything on the line. I’ve always been expected to lose.

What overcame me to the point I hadn’t been able to think.

It was like someone was putting a mask on me.

(You seem to have calmed down a bit.)

It was only then that I heard Holy Sword’s voice again. Had she not been speaking to me, or had he been speaking to me all along, and I hadn’t heard her?

(I did not speak to you; it would have only distracted you.)

Holy Sword answered my question with a sigh.

(He’s not normal now. He seems to be a mixture of things; he’s no longer just the Mercenary you know.)

“You’re saying that Arjen didn’t just see something and turn into that?”

“[Yes. It seems that there is more than one soul in that body.]”

I felt a surge of displeasure and a strange sense of relief. If so, what invaded his body, and what are its intentions? Why does it act as if it has the memories of the original?

(It would be best not to ponder its existence for now, Elroy.)

“You’re right. I’ll knock him out first, then ponder it later.”

Arjen cleared his throat and glared at me. With the help of the Holy Sword, I could now tell that his mind was only occupied with killing me. No thoughts of life, goals, or whatever else.

“I have an idea of how to deal with you.”

Arjen said and took a stance. He shouldn’t have much mana left, but that mysterious thing assisted him. Actually, it was not that mysterious because I could make a few guesses of its identity. A remnant of an evil god. No, it was more than that.

“There will be no next time, Hero.”

“For all your talk, you’ve been on the receiving end of my sword plenty.”

The blades clashed. The sparks weren’t red or orange. Black and white aura scattered, spreading like flower seeds. It split into thousands of threads again as the black and white clashed.

Arjen’s body was growing stronger by the second. Every time his blade touched the Holy Sword, I felt my hand growing number. I stared at Arjen, his eyes glowing with desire, the darkness glowing darker than ever. But power always comes at a cost.

Metal rang. For the first time, I was knocked back slightly. Arjen looked dissatisfied. Sometimes, the balance would change; other times, it didn’t. But not changing against surmounting odds was also a change.

“….”

I focused on his every movement. I didn’t try to counterattack but followed his pace, carefully moving the sword. I read the meaning of the blade and applied it to my sword. Relax. His blade will never penetrate me. As soon as Arjen catches up to my power, I’ll catch up to his skill.

Loud bangs like those of a cannon squad constantly resounded throughout the razed mountains. Monsters that had curiously approached were torn to shreds, and what had been towering landforms were chiseled away with each impact, turning into hills, then dunes, then plains. Rocks flew, disintegrating and scattering about.

I kept my heartbeat under control. Arjen’s expression showed impatience. He looked at me as if asking me how I was keeping up. I was slowly becoming more accurate as he grew stronger. The third awakening opened my eyes. Swordsmanship, movement, and use of magic. I could see and read it all now.

(You’ve improved.)

I learned it in battle.

“Hah–”

Arjen gasped for air. The fight was getting close to even. It was clear that this was not what Arjen had hoped for. The look of dissatisfaction on his face proved it. With no time to hide it, he and I clashed. We closed the same distance, and then we clashed again.

A gap.

My eyes recognized it, and I swung. For the first time, Arjen couldn’t block it. The blade grazed him at an angle. Landing a scratch in an equal battle was all that was needed. I accelerated my sword using wind magic, and then it became one.

“Did you really reach the stars?”

I muttered.

A gale erupted from my sword.