Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Battle

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

Meanwhile, Julia was so far away that they appeared as small dots. She wanted to get closer, but she couldn’t.

The two people’s mana was creating whirlwinds and splitting the ground just by spewing out.

That’s why Julia activated an armor that completely protected her head and face. It looked like she wouldn’t be able to see ahead, but the armor, made jointly by elves and dwarves, provided an incredibly clear view.

She endured the gusting wind while protecting her whole body. At the same time, she drew out her mana to the maximum to listen to the two people.

But she still couldn’t hear them well, and the conversation was in termittent and choppy. That’s why she didn’t hear Russell’s name properly.

Ludwig nodded.

“Was he a descendant of the Northern Border Count?”

Crackle! Crackle!

The two’s mana collided in the air, creating electrical sparks. Ludwig’s mana, which was rising endlessly, and Russell’s mana, which was descending endlessly, were now creating whirlwinds that surpassed the wind.

“Russell Balthazar von Zahard.”

Ludwig said.

“Please kill me.”

After finishing speaking, Ludwig infused mana into the white axe he held in his right hand. Then, cold air ignited a flame.

Russell also infused mana into his greatsword. A transparent aura rose and distorted the space.

The two of them charged at each other at the same time. The ground they had been standing on sank just from the aftereffects of stamping their feet.

The distance between them closed in the blink of an eye, and the greatsword and the axe’s blades clashed.

Woosh━!

With a low sound, two symmetrical, oblique shockwaves spread out. The ground couldn’t withstand the force, and it cracked.

Russell and Ludwig each overcame the initial shock in different ways and swung their weapons again. The greatsword and the axe clashed, scraped, and bit into each other’s blades countless times every second.

Each time, a shock wave that was weaker than the first but still not negligible shook the ground and the atmosphere. The clouds in the sky circled around the two people.

A huge roar threw someone backward. Surprisingly, it was Russell. In the battle of strength and power, he had met an existence with equal or greater strength than him for the first time.

Russell, who had been flying as low as if he would brush the blades of grass with his back, turned back, supporting himself with his hand on the ground. As soon as his soles touched the ground and he regained his posture, he looked up.

Ludwig, who had jumped into the air, was bringing down his axe with terrifying force. He couldn’t avoid it.

With his hand, Russell held up the great sword’s blade and blocked the axe that was striking down like lightning.

Clang-!

Ludwig had brought down his axe, and Russell was on one knee with his blade held up in a deeply dented, hemispherical area of ground.

Ludwig shouted.

“Didn’t you say you would cut my throat? Where did that arrogant spirit go?”

‘This bastard.’ Russell smiled ferociously. His eyes burned, and his arms, shoulders, and trapezius muscles bulged greatly.

Thwack! Russell, who had forcefully kicked away the axe, swung his greatsword up from below. The long claymore blade swung around, carving a deep scar in the ground, and Ludwig struck down with his axe to meet it.

Thud!

Ludwig soared into the air with an ear-splitting sound. Russell jumped up from below, sinking to the ground.

“Heup!”

Ludwig, who had twisted his body in the air with a short exclamation, swung his axe. Russell did the same.

There was another roar, and the two people flew away in opposite directions, falling to the ground.

Russell and Ludwig, who had each crashed into the ground, immediately stood up and charged at each other. In an instant, the great distance between them became 0.

The greatsword came down from above, but the axe’s handle blocked it. Ludwig pulled the axe handle, causing the greatsword to catch on the axe’s blade and push to the side.

Russell was in danger of dropping his greatsword, but he didn’t resist the force and pulled the claymore towards him. Then, with his long legs, he swept the ground low.

Ludwig jumped back to create some distance, but Russell unleashed an attack that even he hadn’t expected. He grabbed the axe’s handle with both hands and threw it with all his might.

Russell, who had narrowed his eyes, extended his left hand, which wasn’t holding a sword.

Boom!

Mana rose, and a distorted space shockwave exploded. He had infused mana with a more stable posture than when he had fought the basilisk, and he let out a powerful shockwave like a bomb had exploded.

When it met that shockwave, the axe, which was flying at a terrifying speed, rose high into the air.

Then, without knowing when he had jumped up, Ludwig grabbed the axe that was spinning around and crashed down faster than it had fallen. Russell narrowly retreated backward.

Boom!

A meteorite-like crater formed, spewing out a massive amount of soil and rock. Russell exploited the obscuration of Ludwig’s vision to dig into the crater. His greatsword pierced the soil and rock, then stabbed forward with fierce momentum.

As he blocked Claymore’s stab with the side of the axe’s blade, a vertical, ring-shaped shockwave spread out. It pushed out the soil in a circle to match it.

Ludwig flew backwards and landed on the ground. With force, he stifled the trembling of his axe and spoke.

“Your strength is great, but your technique is only so-so. Isn’t the future fighting technique lacking?”

“If you keep teasing me like that, I think I’ll regret saying that I should cut your neck cleanly.”

“I wouldn’t have wanted that anyway.”

“Then I’ll pierce your heart.”

Ludwig chuckled and charged at Russell.

Russell didn’t charge forward but stood still. With his feet spread wide apart, he stood as still as a statue and raised his greatsword in a middle stance.

As he ran, Ludwig infused mana into the white axe. Then, the black rune characters densely inscribed on the curve of the axe’s blade began to glow.

Even before reaching Russell, he swung the axe forward. A huge, crescent-shaped frost blade flew forward.

The timing of his attack was exquisite. If Russell dodged, he would unleash the next attack right behind him, and it would be difficult to block properly from the position he had dodged from.

Russell wielded his mana-enshrouded greatsword, piercing through the frigid white atmosphere. And at the same time, he realized that he should have dodged.

Just before it touched the greatsword, the cold air that had condensed on the frost blade exploded with a whoosh.

The cold air that was rushing in from the front froze the greatsword and Russell’s bodies terrifyingly quickly. It didn’t matter if he protected himself with mana. The axe’s frost froze even that mana.

He stood there as he was, swinging his greatsword, with frost and steam rising from his whole body.

He tried to raise his mana to shake off the frost that covered his whole body, but it froze as soon as he raised it, and he couldn’t do anything.

And as he became an ice statue, Ludwig’s axe cleaved through the air in his direction. Russell’s eyes flashed, his waist poised to split in half.

With a clatter, the ice that covered his arms exploded. He forcibly moved his joints and muscles, which had become stiff instead of mana, and raised his greatsword just as the axe struck it.

Clang!

Russell rolled senselessly on the ground with the shattering ice shards. The blades of grass tore and rose into the sky, scattering the soft soil.

“Cough!”

Russell coughed up a mouthful of blood. Russell gazed at the red-stained ground while using his hands to support himself.

‘It’s been a long time since I saw it. It’s redder than I remembered.’

Russell, who was holding the great sword’s handle in reverse, used it as a cane to raise himself.

The terrible frost shards that still remained all over his body hindered him. However, he overcame them with brute strength.

He sighed as he glanced at his greatsword, noticing that the blade and its body had sustained more damage than before. It was almost like a saw blade.

No matter how much he protected it with mana, the difference in their weapons was too great. That white axe hadn’t gotten a single scratch since the first time they had clashed.

‘There’s a huge difference. Damn it.’ He looked up and saw the moving clouds.

The clouds, engrossed in their mana, displayed a variety of expressions. It was like the sky was laughing or crying.

“This is disappointing. Are you giving up already?”

He looked down from the sky and saw Ludwig standing far away. He was far away, but his voice sounded close, as if he were right next to him.

It couldn’t be helped. Ludwig was the master of this space. Furthermore, he would be able to make the situation as advantageous as he wanted.

He could make the air around Russell heavy, suddenly turn the ground beneath his feet into a swamp, or even throw him into the sky. There would be countless ways, but Ludwig had faced him with only his original body and mana.

Nothing mattered, not even the huge difference or the mastery over the space. ‘When has there ever been a better situation than this?’ Russell chuckled.

Unexpected events give rise to the name ‘sudden situations’. There is no such thing as the best battle environment. It’s always the worst, or a little better.

He took a deep breath and exhaled, then patted his chest and legs. Then, the ice that still remained here and there fell off, scattering white powder.

The cold air chilled his body, so he moved it in various directions, circulating the twisted flow of mana throughout his entire body. Heat arose, causing the frozen clothes to become wet and then dry instantly. In clumps, steam rose up.

He had received a considerable amount of internal injuries from coughing up blood, but he didn’t back down. He could feel life precisely because there were slimy hands that would drag him straight into the abyss of death if he took one wrong step.

He took a step. He was moving in the direction of the enemy, who was now attempting to kill him. It was light, as if he were going for a walk, but it gradually began to speed up.

Rumble, rumble, rumble. . .

Ludwig smiled as he watched his approach. Behind Russell, an abyss was sinking down again.

“That’s how you should be.”

His steps were now crushing the ground. Ludwig also stamped on the ground. Another flash. And a shock.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

“. . .My goodness.”

Julia was holding out her longsword. It was meant to block the shockwaves.

Her mana had strengthened her vision, but the battle was so far away that she couldn’t dare relax.

A single sword strike tore the ground apart, and the air cried out with a tearing sound as an axe swung. Just like the clash of mana, shockwaves bloomed like transparent flower petals here and there before withering away.

She thought she knew why Ludwig had told her to move far away. It was a battle on a scale that she couldn’t dare to interfere with, like a fight between whales and shrimp.

Then Julia, who saw another flash of light, held her sword with one hand and supported the blade’s back with the other, blocking the front.

Whoosh!

A typhoon-like gust of wind blew in, pushing her upper body back even as she leaned forward as if she would fall. Her feet, which were wearing steel boots, dug into the soft soil of the meadow and created a trench.

“Ugh!”

She leaned forward with all her might. Mana and the sword cut through the shockwaves and winds. Julia, who had barely managed to cut through the wind waves and let them flow sideways, gasped for breath and looked at the distant horizon.

It was just one of the huge shockwaves that exploded at that great distance and reached her after a delay. It must have had incomparable power at close range.

Even if it was Russell, how could Ludwig be that strong? Did he have to accumulate that much strength to become the dragon’s husband?

“. . .Huh?”

Julia, who had been gasping for breath, let out a question. For some reason, the two people fighting seemed to be getting closer. And it wasn’t an illusion, but a fact.

Rumble!

As the fight’s aftermath drew near, a tremendous noise began to envelop her and her surroundings.

“Uh-huh?”

Now, Russell and Ludwig were clear enough for Julia to see with her naked eye. Again, the two people, the great sword vs the axe, mana vs mana, clashed. And at that same moment, Ludwig’s gaze met hers.

Julia raised her sword in resignation.

. . . . . .

Silence.

She slowly opened her eyes, which she had closed because the shock didn’t come.

“Huh?”

The two people had disappeared. The wind had stopped, and the blades of grass weren’t fluttering.

“. . .Russell? Ludwig-nim?”

As she stood there in confusion, a dull echo sounded, and the air in front of Julia was distorted.

And Julia opened her eyes wide to see what popped out from there.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

A huge noise echoed through the forest as a cloud of dust rose up. And in an instant, a powerful explosion of force erupted from one place with a brilliant flash.

Trees flew up, their roots torn from the ground. Russell and Ludwig stood up, shaking away the dust from the center of a deeply dented, hemispherical crater.

Russell realized that the meadow from before had changed into a forest. However, he glared at Ludwig with a single-minded gaze.

Ludwig raised his axe and said,

“Aren’t you going to ask? Why did we suddenly fall into a forest when it was a meadow before?”

“Didn’t you say that you were the master of this space, the dream? Then it should be possible to change the location.

To be precise, we’ve gone a little deeper.”

Russell thought. ‘We’ve gone deeper. Did we even enter Limbo?’

“The time here and outside. . .

Time outside must have slowed down. Unlike here. This is like a dream within a dream.”

Ludwig made a blank expression.

“How?”

“In dreams, the perceived time feels longer. A dream that seemed like several hours when you woke up was only a few minutes. It’s like a few seconds passing.”

Ludwig chuckled and said,

“Oh, really. Did that eye tell you the same thing?”

Russell shook his head.

“No. Nolan showed it to me in a movie.”

“Nolan? Who’s that?”

“There is, such a person.”

Of course, he didn’t exist in this world, but Ludwig couldn’t guess that, so he nodded.

“A wizard? He’s a great person. I didn’t realize it until I became the master of this space. I’d like to meet him, but I can’t, can I?”

Russell chuckled and raised his greatsword. He directed the blade towards Ludwig and uttered the words.

“When you meet God, tell him. Maybe. You might actually meet him.”

Ludwig also smiled slyly.

He raised his axe in the same way and suddenly extended it towards Russell like a cane. Then, from the pointed tip at the end of the axe’s handle, cold air shot out like a beam and flew towards him.

Russell cursed inwardly and dodged.

He couldn’t clash directly with that cold air. Russell, who had had an unpleasant experience with the frost blade before (anyone would if they coughed up blood), focused more on dodging than on crushing the cold air that the axe emitted.

The cold air from that white axe had the power to freeze even mana, though he was unsure of its composition.

Of course, it didn’t seem like he could emit it all the time, but just the fact that he had such a means was threatening. He had to concentrate on all his nerves because he didn’t know when the cold air would strike.

‘Damn it.’ Russell cursed again. Why? He was rolling around on the ground to avoid the cold air.

Ludwig could change the trajectory simply by twisting his wrist, but he had to run here and there to avoid the beam of light’s attack.

So? Was there any other way to deal with an unprecedented attack that even froze his mana?

“. . . . . .”

Russell stopped rolling. He had only delayed for about 5 seconds, and the beam of light would have ended, but he didn’t dodge any further. Then, the beam of cold air that had been continuing struck him without fail.

Kwaaaahhhh. . .!

Ludwig couldn’t bring down his axe. He couldn’t stop the emission of cold air by gathering mana. The dragon had made him the master of this dream space, and his own magic made such an action impossible.

Soon, the attack from the white axe subsided. The cold air beam remained stationary, and the shot spot transformed into a frozen expanse of pure white.

Ice covered the exposed soil of the ground, the weeds that had rolled down, and the broken trees.

Ludwig approached Russell, who must have become an ice statue. The white axe’s blade flared up.

Then, with a whoosh, fierce purple mana burned in the ice space. Ludwig stopped and looked at the flame without realizing it.

Something black and long, trailing a comet-like afterimage, charged at him from within. Ludwig could only pull out his axe’s long handle because he couldn’t recognize its speed.

With a roar, Ludwig flew out of the forest and into the distance, breaking countless trees with his back.

“Cough, keuk!”

Ludwig coughed up blood from the wreckage of the trees he had broken. And he couldn’t help but be surprised that he had coughed up blood.

When he quickly raised his head, there was a man standing on the other side. The man was a massive warrior, clad in a black shirt and leather pants.

‘What was that?’

The dark-colored object that had charged at Ludwig had vanished without a trace.

Russell ripped the tattered sleeve from his upper arm to his wrist. Russell’s arm revealed muscles as tough and hard as steel wire.

Unlike before, when the cold air had frozen him solid, he was now infinitely free. There was no trace of frost anywhere on his body.

Russell slung the great sword, which was even more damaged than before, over his shoulder. A third of the blade’s body had flown off, leaving the blade dented. Russell smiled faintly and said,

“Let’s do it again.”

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