VOLUME 1 - CHILDHOOD Which is more important? NT: Yeah, i have some bad news. I"ll not upload any new chapet this next week. I"m quite busy with a few thing (another novel) and i need to finish like, a huge pack, so… i"ll be not doing this to have more time to do that… that"s all.
Before I could even take a step, Stalin had already begun to move.
He quickly approached me.
Then, swing his great swords with complete freedom.
However, before his swords. .h.i.t me, I had already finished preparing to use my magic.
「Flickering flames...o...b.., penetrate deeply into my enemy―― 『Gun Fire』」
A fireball shot out from the palm of my hand towards Stalin.
He was ready to attack me.
It would be impossible for him to block my attack at this distance.
I was convinced of that…
「… Hot」
Stalin blocked the fireball with the great sword on his left hand.
A little smoke rose to the sky as the fire died down.
His greatsword had been left with a black stain of soot, but he did not appear to have received any damage.
*fumu*, then, he tried to cut me with the sword he was holding in his right hand.
So you can attack and defend at the same time.
「… Do you finally understand why I use two swords?」
He mumble in a sarcastic tone.
He possessed the great ability to attack and defend at the same time with his two swords.
Then, after saying that, he swung his sword at me, while I was still busy trying to prepare my next spell.
At the same time, I could hear the excited voices coming from the audience.
But then, take out my knife.
*Gyiin*, a high-pitched sound could be heard the moment I stopped his sword.
「… Uh!?」
「This is called a block. You can do it with just a little training」
This is the best way to act for a magician full of openings.
After casting magic, it becomes difficult to use the next one immediately.
Casting magic reduces one"s concentration after all.
Meanwhile, we must endure the attacks of enemies capable of attacking at close range.
If you were able to do this kind of thing, you won"t have to be so intimidated against a swordsman.
「… As I thought, you are different from the other n.o.bles」
「Thank you」
「… But, it seems, they haven"t taught you how to defend yourself from magic」
「What?」
At that moment, a large amount of magic power began to be released from Stalin"s body.
He"s about to use magic.
Then, he raised his hands as he cast the spell.
「… Dark thunder from far away, go and lash out into the weakened earth.
Descends, like a brilliant and fierce sword―― 『Electron Abyss』」
When he finished chanting the spell, numerous lightning bolts shot out of his body.
Each swooped down on me like tentacles.
There were too many and I wasn"t going to be able to avoid them all.
I tightly covered my face and neck to protect myself from the lightning bolts that hit me.
「…. Guh, my body, it feels numb」
Some lightning bolts still ran irregularly through my body.
An unpleasant sensation remains in my body.
But, thunder magic is one of the things I"m specialized in.
This is not at a level where it can stop my heart.
When one learns a few spells of a certain attribute, one also begins to acquire resistance against it.
It could have been in trouble if the attribute was water or earth.
However, don"t think you can defeat me with that after having studied master-level magic.
Seeing that I was still standing, even after receiving that attack, Stalin clicked his tongue.
「… Stubborn」
「This is how I am.
Besides, I think I still have to pay you back now」
「… What?」
「This is how electric magic really should be!」
I posed in a way that seemed to be dedicating my entire body to heaven.
Then, I stepped forward as I released my magic power.
「Indomitable lightning, pierces through the earth.
Impose your divine judgment and punish the demons―― 『Bolt Judgment』!」
Countless lightning bolts propagated to the surroundings at an abnormally high speed.
It was an overwhelming sea of lightnings.
「… Tsk, this is…」
Stalin tried to back away to evade it.
However, this magic was not so mild as to be avoided by something like that.
It was a true high-rank magic that is described as a master-level thunder magic.
It was impossible to evade the rays that prided themselves on their speed.
A flash of lightning that could not even be followed by the eyes struck the a.s.sa.s.sin"s body.
「… Guh!」
He manage to protect himself, however, that did not prevent it from flying out by the impact.
Stalin was thrown to the edge of the arena, where he took a defensive stance.
However, his posture is unstable.
「Alright, it"s time!」
I must take the initiative before he recover from the impact.
I ran forward while pointing my knife at one of his vital points.
However, at that moment, Stalin"s body distorted.
It was like smoke.
It was like if whoever was there, was actually a ghost.
And then, before I could reach him, his body disappeared.
「… Impossible!」
I quickly look around me.
I didn"t understand what he had just done.
My heartbeat reached a worrying speed.
I was attentive, but still, suddenly, I had the sensation that something hot spilled on my back.
「… Guh!?」
This is bad, he cut me.
I"m losing blood.
The a.s.sa.s.sin was giving me a cold look.
Somehow, I manage to stay on my feet, preparing for the next attack.
It was nothing more than a superficial wound.
But that seems to be enough to satisfy him.
Stalin began to approach me, who was still reeling.
「… It"s an interesting spell. It"s called 『Confu Body』.
Its rebound is great, but the result is unmatched.
Although I can only use it, without chant once in battle. But――」
*Chakiri*, He raised his odachis over his head.
His swords covered on my blood that he hold over his head made him look like a G.o.d of death.
I had a premonition that in a moment, my head would fly off.
「…… That is enough, to kill you」
Stalin lowered his swords.
I could hear how the crowd of spectators took a deep breath expectantly at what was about to happen.
It is impossible to reverse this situation.
An unexpected event will not bother to interrupt us.
I guess that"s what they think.
I looked towards the audience who let out sighs of relief and smiles at the result.
「… Explode, 『Cross Blast』」
At that moment, everything around me was engulfed in flames.
If he could corner me here with magic without singing, then I can too.
I can defeat him.
Stalin widened his eyes in surprise when he noticed the flames rising before him.
「… Wh!? On yourself!?」
So is.
Activate “Cross Blast” between him and me.
My clothes and even my skin were burned.
Since it was a magic without singing, it was impossible for me to control the intensity of the flames.
But, it was the same for him.
From now on it will be nothing more than a test of our resistance.
「I… was stuck in a sauna some time ago」
「… What are you, talking about?」
「Just listen. One of the cleaners got confused and left it locked while I was still inside」
I think it was around the time that I kept up playing on my computer all night.
I was one of those abnormal people in the modern world who closed in on themselves.
I had spent the night awake playing a game that had received good reviews lately.
It was so much fun that I even shed a few tears when I finish it.
So, early in the morning.
I had decided to go to a sauna by myself to cool off.
At that time, I fell asleep in the sauna.
Even I must say that that must have been one of the biggest stupid things I have ever done.
I was a great idiot.
I can only compare it to a bad suicide attempt.
That"s why I cannot just say that it was entirely the fault of the cleaner.
But at least I would have liked him to confirm that no one was inside before he locked it.
If I had only been a little longer in the sauna, I would have died.
Well, it"s not a story I"d like to tell others either.
「The interior was really hot. Also, shortly before I fell asleep, an old man had entered the sauna.
That old man seemed to like going into the sauna and raising the temperature heat to an almost ridiculous temperature.
After using up all the remaining water, he returned home.
I finally managed to wake up in the afternoon.
By then I felt like I was roasting on an iron plate」
Anyway, that old man… it occurred to him to activate the moxibustion while he was in the sauna.
That is not a temperature that a normal person could bear.
NT: Moxibustion is a therapeutic method in which heat is applied to certain areas of the body, some call it “the healing heat technique”
I end up being afraid of being locked in closed s.p.a.ces.
I don"t need to remember that to start feeling unpleasant feel.
「Eventually I became dehydrated and was taken to a medical center.
How long do you think it took to rescue me?」
「… How am I, supposed to know?」
「It took 38 hours」
「……」
「It seems like the next day was a holiday.
The employee and manager left and left everything off.
Some time after it was discovered that the account book had been tampered with and that the state of the account was not appropriate, so it ended up being closed.
Somehow I was relieved when I heard that――」
The flames kept burning under our feet.
Then, as I stared at him, I said.
「I"ll show you the extent of my resistance」
「… absurd」
He said that, but he didn"t seem very comfortable with this heat.
No matter how much you train for combat, there is no way you can handle this much heat.
I was a parasite who could do nothing in his previous life.
Spend my days as a n.o.body and I died as such.
However, even I have something I can be proud of.
My patience and my tolerance for pain are unmatched.
These flames are no obstacle to me.
When I say that confidently, Stalin snorted with his nose.
And then, he pointed to his own clothes.
「… It"s unfortunate, I must say.
I am equipped with the 『Burning Flame Dragonscale Armor』.
It"s something I got from another House. It is a first cla.s.s item created with high quality materials.
It is able to protect me from fire and thunder attribute attacks」
「Are there such things?」
「… It is just the difference between you and me.
This type of equipment will never be available to a fallen n.o.ble like you」
I see.
It already seemed strange to me that he could endure so much after being hit by my thunder magic.
So he was wearing such super high performance armor.
In other words, even over these flames, he doesn"t feel disadvantaged.
I will definitely be at a disadvantage in an endurance battle.
I guess it was a miscalculation.
Stalin laughs at my under his mask.
However, I can also laugh at him even.
「So? I didn"t create this sea of flames just to turn the arena into a sauna」
「… *fun*, what are you planning――?」
Stalin asked me that in a sarcastic way.
However, he still looked around cautiously.
He"s surrounded by a sea of flames that did not let him turn back.
When he looked behind him, he could see how the flames covered every escape route.
On the other hand, I was in front of him, preparing to chant my next spell.
Stalin finally noticed the true reason for this sea of flame.
So is. The real reason for this suicidal act was to limit your movements.
「Flickering flames...o...b.., penetrate deeply into my enemy―― 『Gun Fire』!!」
Point my palm at Stalin and shoot a fireball.
He tried to protect himself with his sword, but was unable to block my projectile.
It is impossible to distinguish a small fireball among all this sea of flames.
If a forest is the beat place to hide a tree.
Then the this sea of flames id the beast place to hide my fireb.a.l.l.s.
Therefore, the fireball, charged with a large amount of my magic power hit him.
Also, it was in a place that wasn"t protected by his armor.
It hit an area near his face that was exposed.
「… Gu-Guooooooooooh!」
Then he cry out in pain.
Unlike last time, this time I shoot towards a vital point.
In addition, thanks to the fact that it hit directly, it caused critical damage.
I began to chant the spell of the next spell.
「Flickering flames...o...b..――」
At that moment, Stalin began to run around the arena.
I was barely halfway through the spell.
He manage to recover quite quickly.
I thought he would be stunned for a while, but I must say he recovered too quickly.
I couldn"t hide my surprise at this super fast recovery.
「Uwa, that was fast!…」
「… I can cover my face with one hand and murder you with the other.
As long as you don"t hit me here again, you can"t hurt me」
I see.
So he was ready to take damage before he could kill me.
As expected of an a.s.sa.s.sin with a lot of experience, he is capable of making instant decisions without problems.
「penetrate deeply into my enemy――」
My magic will be activated with the next word.
But he can bear it.
As expected of a renowned a.s.sa.s.sin working in the Kingdom"s shadows.
It"s possible that I made the mistake before, and I"m not sure I can defend myself against him while preparing my next spell.
What"s more, I am usually the type of person who ends up repeating the same mistakes.
Then what should I do?
How can I defeat such a cautious enemy?
No, how can I defeat this hungry beast?
I must think of something quick.
I broke my stance to launch 『Gun Fire』 and adopt a new pose.
At that moment, Stalin"s face twitched.
You seem to have noticed my intention.
「――Cancel」
「… Hey, brat. What are you trying to do?」
「Demon blood that overflows from my body.
Become a flame and burn everything at my will!」
This spell was an incredibly powerful fire magic.
Stalin kept covering his face with his hand.
If it had been just a small fireball like before, that would have been enough.
However, don"t think that you can protect yourself from this spell with just that.
I will allow you to learn it with your body.
Receiving this super compressed h.e.l.lish flame!
「――Devour him, 『Astral Fire』!」
The flames rushed into Stalin"s face.
The violent flames were too powerful.
There is no way he can continue fighting after receiving this.
「…. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah」
Stalin let out an incredible scream from the bottom of his throat without worrying about the opinion that the public might have.
Then he threw himself on the floor, trying to put out the flames.
However, it is impossible for those flames to be extinguished by just that.
It is that kind of magic after all.
It"s a magic that consumes a stupidly large amount of magic power.
However, in return you get 『a flame that can never be extinguished』.
It is one of the first magic that I learned and a trauma that has tormented me for a long time because of its rebound.
Even now I feel intense headaches and nausea.
However, this is not enough to make me budge.
I have to endure it to the end.
Hold my knife tightly and move closer to Stalin, who was dying on the ground.
It was then that…
(… Listen, Son of the Fallen Ones)
A voice rang out directly in my brain.
Mysteriously, he sounded just like the man dying in front of me.
However, it is impossible that this is this Stalin.
I immediately found out who it was.
「… You are the other Stalin, right?」
Who attacked Shadiberga and infected him with a dangerous poison.
Still, I was able to hit him with my magic and force him to retreat.
So you appeared again, just as I expected.
(… Immediately, remove those flames. That"s it, an order)
(Ha~a? Don"t talk nonsense)
I tried to answer, but I didn"t get any answer from the other side.
Apparently, it is impossible to answer him.
It seems that it is just 『Telepath』.
I thought about reconnecting with Mega Telepath.
However, it seems that it is not over yet.
The Stalin in front of me doesn"t seem to be able to do anything anyway.
While I"m going to listen to what the other has to say.
(… From your position, look up to the upper seats of the audience, to the right. There I am)
Look into the stands of the arena after hearing those words.
Then, I found a man dressed in black who was hidden in the shadow of a pillar.
There"s no doubt, he is the a.s.sa.s.sin who tried to kill Shadiberga at that time.
My lips twitched the moment I sighted that guy.
I reacted that way because, he was holding――
(… This is proof of the Jirginus House inheritance.
Besides, it also seems to represent union with the Din House.
It"s a good knife, too good for a Fallen n.o.ble to keep it. It would be best for me to use it)
After hearing that, I press the handle of my knife harder.
Though the craftsmanship of the knife might be excellent, it is not something meant to be used in combat.
If you use it, it will surely break.
I felt the temperature of my entire body begin to rise dramatically.
(… If you don"t release those flames, I"ll break it right here)
「What!?」
(… Choose.
If you win, I will break the tie that unites that filth dead household and your fallen n.o.bles" House)
Such despicable means.
I turned my gaze to Durf.
Then Durf looked back at me and laughed.
He pointed his finger at me, as if trying to ridicule me.
As I thought, that guy is despicable.
He doesn"t know how to do anything but belittle me without even showing a bit of shame.
「Regis, what"s up?! Something happened to you?!」
At that moment, Shadiberga started calling me.
It"s not a good time.
I have to choose between both options.
Wokins, who was next to Shadiberga, seemed to be muttering something as she watched with some anxiety.
――A~h, right.
I can"t depend always on her.
I began to chant a spell as I observed Shadiberga.
(… Magic circuit deploy)
I set Shadiberga as the target to connect with.
Then, imagine my magic power reaching out to him.
In the meantime, I then finished the spell on my head.
(… From my body, appears, magic circuit――『MegTelepath』)
A few noises were heard before I finally managed to connect to Shadiberga.
It seems that he also noticed that something was happening.
He covered his ears so as not to miss any of my words.
Although, that doesn"t make much sense since I"m talking to you with magic. Well it doesn"t matter.
(Hey, Father)
(… Ooh, so you can speak with me like this. Magic is really convenient, right?
So what is it, Regis? Why did you stop?)
(Well, first I would like you to answer me something)
( … What is it about?)
Shadiberga got a little tense when I said that to him.
I wouldn"t want to have to ask you this question, but it is necessary.
Is something really important.
(――Me or the Jirgenus House"s Knife. Which is more important to you?)
(You)
(…… Eh?)
It was an immediate response.
Before I could say anything else, Shadiberga had already replied with confidence.
I was surprised.
My jaw dropped.
To think that Shadiberga would respond so easily.
(Didn"t you hear me? You are more important.
To me, you are much more important than Sefina"s knife)
(But, it is the symbol of the union between the Din House and the Jirginus House, isn"t it?)
( That"s right. But, let me tell you something Regis.
I"m sure that both I and Sefina think the same)
(… What do you mean)
(Any father who sacrifices his children for a simple knife is not a father that his children can be proud)
(……)
I was silent.
I see.
So that"s why he was able to say it immediately without any hesitation.
While letting out a small smile, Shadiberga continued.
His voice was kind, yet overflowing with parental pride.
(That"s not all. The real symbol of the union between our two houses is you)
(Eh?)
(The child born of the love between me and Sefina. Regis Din.
No matter what others say, aren"t you the one and greatest symbol of the union between Jirginus House and Din House)
(… Seriously)
I feel happy.
Even I would be ashamed if he tell me something like that.
While meditating on Shadiberga"s words, he began to give me words of encouragement.
(That"s all. So no matter what you do, I"ll forgive you.
… I"m sure Sefina would agree too―― Win this, Regis!)
(Yes. Thank you, Father)
I stopped Mega Telepath.
Those words rea.s.sured me.
Seriously, I"m glad to be that man"s son.
I have no doubts.
Now I can only show my answer in this place.
「… Now」
I look at the killer among the spectators.
Did you think I would succ.u.mb to such blackmail?
Also, now that you offered me that, I have been able to complete all my preparations.
I just need to put everything in order.
Then everything will be decided.
I took one last look at Shadiberga.
He was smiling as he showed me his thumbs up.
Yes, I understand.
I will respond to your expectations.
Please just watch.
See how your son wins.
I took a deep breath.
Then, in a voice loud enough to be heard in every corner of the arena, I say.
「―― 『Astral Fire』, Cancel!」
At that moment, I could see Shadiberga falling on his back in the auditorium.
NT: As always, if you find something weird, whatever, just tell me in the comments.