Chapter 5: The Spring of Seventeen (3)
TL: Jonny16
Abel’s armor was dented in the shape of a fist.
He reflexively stepped aside to absorb the shock, but
“Keuk━.”
The blow had already connected.
His waist bent involuntarily from the suffocating pain in his chest.
Cain gazed down at Abel and chuckled.
‘He said he was a fake, but I think he deserves to be a hero.’
Most mercenaries would have passed out from that punch, but fifteen-year-old Abel endured.
His battle skills, persistence, and sheer talent considerably outweighed his age.
He definitely was a prodigy!
It was no surprise that everyone who had seen Abel lauded him as a hero without hesitation.
However,
“One to zero.”
Cain won the first victory.
Nod.
Abel acknowledged.
He would have died from that sneak attack if Cain had used a sword instead of his fist.
“Just do as you always do!”
Philip raised his voice.
Philip Ross Francis had raised the current Abel.
He had the right to do so because he had brought Abel into the kingdom, which Ethelred had failed to achieve.
“…… Yes.”
Abel’s face was clouded.
Cain in the past hadn’t cared why Abel obeyed Philip so much.
━ The northern elves are scumbags.
That was what Abel stated, alluding to the Elven Forest, which was located in the Kingdom’s north and was home to those who cursed his mother.
Abel and Arna arrived from there.
━Philip came looking for me. He claimed he could help me live happily in human society and remove my mother’s curse.
Abel had never enjoyed taking another’s life.
He also despised violence.
But he took up a sword.
Not for himself, but to protect his sick mother.
That is why the present Abel trusted Philip’s claims and did everything he could, but
━After holding the holy sword ‘Summer’ and traveling to the Holy See, I understood Philip’s claims about saving my mother were complete lie.
Abel in the future wanted to tear Philip to shreds.
However, by the time he had the ability to exact revenge, Philip had died.
Cain chuckled cruelly as he shifted his gaze between Philip and Abel.
He understood once again how much he didn’t know about the past.
He talked to Abel, who was observing Philip’s reaction.
“Don’t look away.”
Cain raised his fist again.
He’d change it.
He would not back down or be defeated.
‘That was how I planned to transform the world I lived in!’
“I …… don’t.”
Abel denied it with difficulty.
The ache in his abdomen made it difficult to breathe, and the remorse of having to harm the innocent Cain tore at his heart.
Abel gritted his teeth and lifted his sword.
“I won’t hold back anymor━.”
He spoke as if he were stalling for time.
Shweet━!
Cain charged in, cutting him off.
Abel stiffened his resolve as he met Philip’s harsh look.
There was no going back now.
Cain proceeded to swing his sword, which he had previously struggled to wield, with ease.
Ssit━! Shhhit━!
Thrusts are flying through the raindrops.
Graceful cuts encircled his opponent.
The next stage is to carve a path through the space.
Cain’s purple eyes gleamed.
‘He taught him the En Zauer, of all things.’
The sword technique was originally meant to kill humans.
Among them, the En Zauer that Philip had taught him was especially cruel.
Cain, who had battled as a mercenary, recognized it at first glance.
‘Philip, you bastard, you were trying to screw him from the beginning.’
Abel was meant to study Ethelred’s swordsmanship, known as ‘Ardvark’, which was distinguished by its direct approach.
‘En Sauer’ was so ingrained in Abel’s style, there was no way he could learn ‘Ardvark’ anymore.
Swish━.
Every path Abel took conveyed the determination to save his mother.
Cain evaded his desperation like a reed bending in the breeze.
When he couldn’t dodge,
Thud━.
He countered with a punch.
It was a basic maneuver, but the old Cain would never have been able to respond with such quickness and audacity.
“Tsk.”
Philip’s expression darkened as he realized Cain was putting up more of a struggle than he had expected.
Cain had changed too much.
And the bigger problem was that the atmosphere he had deliberately tilted towards Abel was changing.
Shhhhit━.
Blood splattered.
If Abel’s moves were filled with desperation.
Thud!
Then came the fist that knocked the sword aside.
The blade had grazed the cheek and the arm.
The blood that flew was Cain’s scream.
Cain Ethelred was a man who was deficient but determined.
Anyone who had seen Cain now, felt his frantic fist, was a man who had once risked his life for a single sword, it was a fight that would stir their heart.
Tiing━!
Abel’s sword broke against Cain’s fist.
Kwaaarrrrung━!
Lightning strikes the far ocean.
Thunder rumbles through the atmosphere.
Cain and Abel.
No, it’s two brothers.
They both felt that this was the end of the fight.
“Uwaaaaah━!”
Abel howled.
A sense of impending defeat.
He had to retrieve the medicine from Philip and save his mother, who was slowly dying.
He flung his shattered sword at Cain’s fist, which was rushing toward him and about to smash his skull.
Zzhuh━.
The sword stabbed into Cain’s shoulder.
Tender flesh.
Spouting blood.
Grinding a bone.
Abel felt everything vividly in his hands.
He froze at the unfamiliar sensation.
It was one thing if it was a sparring match that ended in laughter, but it was a bad idea in a battle where their lives were in danger.
“G, Give up?”
A beast does not quit simply because it has been hurt.
And Cain was the worst type of beast.
His purple eyes blazed before Abel’s nose, mocking the young fighter.
“It’s not over until I say it is.”
Paang━!
Cain’s fist flew toward his jaw, cutting through the rain.
Whizz.
Abel’s combative instincts stirred.
He avoided the punch by turning his head back.
Cain clicked his tongue inside.
‘As expected, freakish talent.’
If such a guy had been granted the holy sword, he could have severed the Demon King’s head and had some left over.
‘But he is still… too young!’
Cain’s fist launched into the air.
As if expecting it, he spread his fingers like a blade and seized Abel’s stiffened neck with his other hand.
Ssiiit━.
It fell, as if to slice his neck off.
No matter how skilled Abel was, he couldn’t avoid this at such close range.
But it was possible for someone to intervene.
Fwooosh.
The sound of skin striking flesh.
Philip’s calloused hand gripped Cain’s.
He said with his customary pungent smile:
“Today’s battle is already decided, Master Cain.”
Even if he loses today.
Abel’s talent was real, and the intention was to not waste it anymore and aim for the next one.
“No.”
Cain said, gripping Abel’s neck again.
“This is where it ends.”
Cain’s persistent resolve to complete tasks.
Philip’s eyes narrowed slightly.
His hand was numb.
Furthermore, Cain’s mind was performing better than he had expected.
He had a lot of guts.
Philip opened his mouth and revised his opinion of Cain.
“If you keep fighting, one of you might get seriously hurt…… Ah! Are you trying to kill Abel while you have the chance?”
Cain replied curtly, seeing through his wicked trick.
“Screw off.”
Nobody anticipated him to respond this way.
“How dare you, a mere hunting dog of the Ross Marquis, speak the name of Ethelred?”
Philip’s forehead twitched as he was mocked, calling him a hunting hound sent by the marquis to the count’s territory.
“You are overstepping your bounds━.”
“Overstepping my bounds? Abel uses En Zauer. You were trying to stop him from learning Ethelred’s swordsmanship in case he ever inherited the family, weren’t you?”
In fact, given Abel’s talent and current level, he could learn Ethelred’s swordplay.
However, this would necessitate a significant amount of effort.
Uproar.
Whispers circulated among Ethelred’s knights.
They had all noticed the odd point of Abel’s blade, but they had no idea it was the En Zauer, a sword they had only heard of on the continent.
Airian is an island nation located far west of the continent.
It seemed understandable that Ethelred, who is in a remote area, would be unaware of the situation.
Philip responded calmly.
“It was for his own good.”
“His own good, my ass. It’s for your own selfish interests.”
When Cain became hostile, Philip looked around.
Ethelred’s knights and his subordinates were all watching his reaction.
If he faltered here, everything he had worked for would crumble.
He bit his lower lip and then opened his mouth.
“I just taught him a few tricks to pass the time on the long journey from the north to Ethelred.”
“Is that all?”
Cain spoke, lifting the half-conscious Abel with one arm.
“You were the one who made him challenge me to a duel.”
The old Cain would not have been capable of doing it.
But Cain could now state what was wrong and what was right.
Cain was a warrior who fought on the front lines, and drawing his sword meant killing his opponent.
“…… !”
It was impossible to determine how far Cain intended to go.
Philip’s mind was clouded for a moment.
He smirked as he gazed around at Ethelred’s knights, who were just blinking.
He had been hit hard, but ultimately, Cain was alone.
“You mentioned that I would be a good advisor. Yes, I agree. But do you understand why I am a knight?”
Cain is the precarious successor to a rural territory.
He, a knight from Ross Marquis, had no reason to bow down to him.
Hwaaaah━!
Suddenly, Philip’s sharp killing intent began to press down on Cain.
It was the murderous aim of a knight who had advanced to the level of an expert, not merely a mediocre squire.
“Because I have strength. Now, what are you going to do?”
The elderly knight Vanderbilt was going to dash out.
Thud.
But Cloyd, the commander, grasped the outraged elderly knight’s shoulder and stopped him.
He remarked to Vanderbilt, who was staring at him like a beast,
“You are not an Ethelred knight.”
“Because the good-for-nothing Ethelred knights are not moving at all!”
“That’s…….”
Cloyd turned his head away.
The other knights who were watching also averted their gaze.
“Do you think everything will be solved if the Lord Count returns?”
“…… !”
Vanderbilt, Cain’s elderly knight, wounded Cloyd’s feeble heart.
“Don’t you realize that if there is no present, there is no future?”
“…Lord Count’s last order was to ‘stand by’.”
Vanderbilt beat his chest furiously.
When they had Edmund, the outstanding hero, their actions had been quite impressive.
But when he’s gone, they were nothing more than a herd of sheep without a shepherd.
Individually strong, yet harmless if they remained still.
Philip nodded at the sight.
“Master Cain, that is your reality.”
His killing intent intensified.
Cain’s feet dug into the soil beneath him, and his aura pressed down on his entire body.
But Cain straightened his back and met Philip’s gaze with incomprehensible purple eyes.
Philip lifted his eyebrows and continued,
“Just bow down. Or beg them to help you like a coward. Then I will step aside.”
Philip was determined to destroy Cain’s reputation, so he took an aggressive approach.
A successor who couldn’t get help from anyone.
Someone no one looked up to.
A dumb boy who merely talked large and without any strength.
Siik━.
Philip smiled cruelly.
It wasn’t the approach he had planned, but having him driven into a corner by his own hand was the next best option.
However, Cain refused to surrender or seek assistance.
“Abel.”
He selected the third choice.
He called out to Abel, who was still gripped by the neck.
Swoosh━.
Abel gently raised his head.
“There is no medicine for a witch’s curse. You have to get help from the Holy See or kill the witch.”
Abel’s eyes widened instantly.
And Philip, Abel’s guardian, trembled.
“Sir Philip said that if you drink the blessed dew━.”
“A witch is not a stray dog, and she can’t be cured with just a sip of holy water.”
Abel returned Philip’s gaze, his eyes quivering.
There were too many eyes nearby, so deceiving Abel again was too risky.
He said nothing.
Cain opened his mouth in the meantime.
“My brother, Abel Ethelred.”
“……!”
Abel was astonished.
They were half-brothers, and Cain had never acknowledged him previously, making it impossible to add his family name to his own.
However, because Cain had addressed him by name, Abel became ‘Abel Ethelred’.
Cain asked him.
“Who won?”
Victory belongs to the strong.
And defeat belongs to the brave.
Abel responded as the acknowledged Ethelred.
“I lost.”
[『Annihilator of Destruction Ⅰ』 has been successfully completed.]
Leave a Reply