NOVEL NEXT chapter 6
6 – The Best Leader (1)
“Oh! You’re here!”
“Uh… please come in…”
“…”
There were three Devil Hunters in the room.
Although they were not as skilled as Ellie, they were all beautiful women.
Each of them showed a different reaction as they looked at me.
In the front,
A woman with brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a red hat, coat, and glasses.
She had the most mature appearance among the group and exuded a bright impression.
A girl with short blonde hair, looking the youngest among them,
She seemed tense and emitted an intense light.
And,
With a disdainful expression, she glanced at me as if she didn’t like me,
A woman with green eyes and a black ponytail, with brown skin giving off a cold impression.
Looking at the three Devil Hunters with various charms,
I spoke with a solemn voice.
“I am Gellard Mura. Nice to meet you.”
“Yes! My name is Jannu Bernadotte. I am 27 years old this year. Nice to meet you.”
“I… I’m Nico… Udir La. I’m 17 years old… Nice to meet you.”
Jannu energetically introduced herself,
Nico spoke in a timid voice.
Quietly, I nodded as I observed them, feeling a mix of conflicting emotions.
But then.
“…As expected…can rumors really not be trusted?”
“…?”
“Gabriel.”
A woman with cold, brown skin spoke in a chilling voice.
With the name Gabriel, she, who seemed unaffected by Eli’s words that seemed like they were trying to provoke her, began to approach me without hesitation.
“I had high expectations when I heard that this great Devil Hunter was coming, but to think that they would be such a pitiful old person… I would rather decline if I have to follow someone like this.”
Gabriel, who seemed disinterested, tried to leave as she spoke those words.
At that moment.
“If that’s really the case, why not test them?”
“…What?”
Eli’s words flowed effortlessly.
With that, Gabriel stopped in her tracks and showed a puzzled expression.
“You should have a duel. If you doubt their abilities, isn’t it the quickest and easiest way to personally confirm?”
“Hmm… That would be interesting, wouldn’t it?”
Upon hearing Eli’s words, Gabriel, as if she had been waiting for this, showed a smile filled with anticipation.
And then.
While observing their appearance,
I could only let out a small sigh inwardly.
“I’d rather have them slice through a hundred devils than make us do this annoying task.”
*
Geralt and Gabriel’s duel.
Seeing that it took place in the courtyard behind the parlor, Niko spoke with a voice filled with anxiety.
“Um… Um… Is that… okay?”
“Well, there’s not much need to worry, right? In a courtyard where no guns are used, at most, one side will be half dead.”
“But… it’s dangerous!”
“heheheh, don’t worry, Niko. If it comes to it, we will intervene and stop them.”
“Well… that’s true, but…”
“Besides, honestly, I wanted to see how good Geralt’s skills are before the mission. Since it turned out like this, let’s leisurely watch it as a good sightseeing opportunity.”
“Uhh…”
At Jannes’ nonchalant words, Niko began to feel an even deeper concern.
It’s no wonder, even though it’s a duel, what they are holding in their hands is not a training sword, but a real steel sword.
They weren’t holding guns, but they could still kill or seriously injure someone.
Furthermore, Gabriel, who is clearly showing a strong smile on his face at this moment.
Niko knew from his past experience that it was an expression that clearly meant he was going to strike and kill his opponent with all his might.
“But… why? Why would Eli sanction this?”
Eli, who was watching them with a burning interest between the two, while wearing a faint smile on his lips.
Considering her typically cautious nature, Nico had no choice but to anxiously observe the unfolding confrontation before her.
*
Gabriel Sis.
With a sword in hand, she stared at the man standing before her,
Gellard Mueller.
The name that she had heard countless times since she first started working as a demon hunter until now.
However, the first impression of the highly esteemed strongest demon hunter was quite different from what she had expected.
Though he had a decent appearance for his age, he did not possess the absolute qualities of a hero.
Of course, there was saying that skilled warriors hid their claws, but Gabriel wanted to confirm it for herself.
She wondered about his capabilities and whether she could trust him with her and her comrades’ lives.
And now,
Taking advantage of the opportunity arranged by Ellie, she wanted to decisively handle the situation.
If he truly was a skilled expert, that would be okay.
But if he was just a worthless imposter,
She could end it right here as payback for deceiving and toying with numerous people and putting her precious comrades’ lives at risk.
“What are you doing? Are you, the strongest demon hunter, afraid or something?”
“….”
Gabriel smiled as she urged him to attack.
But.
Regarding this, Gellert calmly but with a sense of ease spoke to her.
“I can’t swing my sword at a junior first. Let them come first.”
“!…”
His words expressing willingness to concede as a senior.
Upon hearing this, Gabrielle slightly raised an eyebrow, but soon showed a smile filled with determination.
“Alright… then come at me!”
-Swish!
With those words, Gabrielle ran towards where the fearsome Gellert was.
Since it was a sparring match, she didn’t use any magic, but even so, there was no trace of mercy or hesitation in her sword.
“If he’s just a guy with a high reputation… I’ll definitely cut him down now!”
Gabrielle’s sword, exuding vitality.
With only sheer force and speed, her strike pierced through the demon’s hide, accurately reaching towards Gellert’s heart.
At that moment.
-Clang!
“…?!”
A sudden sharp impact was felt.
Simultaneously, it began to appear in Gabrielle’s eyes.
Her strike, reaching towards his heart, lost its direction and veered off into a wrong place, deflected by Gellert’s swung sword.
“What… what is this?”
The situation where a strike filled with sincerity futilely bounced off.
Because of the aftermath, she lost her balance for a moment.
“Ah!”
Gabriel, caught off guard by the unexpected counterattack, exposed her vulnerability.
At the same time, in her mind, the continuation of Gallad’s counterattack automatically began to unfold.
However,
“Huh?”
“…”
Instead of delivering a blow, Gallad just looked at her with a calm expression.
“Why… why isn’t he counterattacking?”
If it was the person who easily deflected her attack, it would have been enough to strike back even after taking a hit.
Nevertheless, Gabriel felt puzzled and bewildered by his actions of not attacking at all.
“Ugh! Haahh!”
Immediately after correcting her posture, Gabriel once again attacked Gallad.
This time, her strike aimed not for his heart but for his shoulder.
However,
-Clang!
“!!”
Once again, the attack was futilely deflected.
Just when she put strength into blocking his foot instead of his hand, a precise blow struck her body, despite its lack of force, causing a solid impact.
However.
Gerald’s strike was not merely a simple physical blow to her.
“What… What is this? Why… why aren’t you attacking this time?”
A perfect opportunity for a counterattack.
Yet despite this, his action of not taking advantage of it once again was delivering an even greater blow to Gabriel.
“…Damn it!”
A sense of absolute ease, as if he didn’t even need to attack.
Feeling this fact, Gabriel attempted to attack again with a clenched expression.
However.
-Ting!
Gerald lightly deflected the strike that came down from above.
Without even aiming for the exposed vulnerability, he effortlessly sent it away.
As soon as Gabriel corrected her posture, her attack followed immediately.
-Ting!
Once again, her attack was blocked by Gerald’s sword without delivering any impact.
And then.
All subsequent attempts of attack from Gabriel were completely blocked.
Each time, there was an exposed vulnerability.
However, the opponent did not take advantage of it at all, and instead
Ultimately, both parties were without any injuries.
Had magic been used, the situation might have shifted.
However,
At this moment, Gabriel simply couldn’t do it.
Her opponent still had not launched a proper attack,
And not a single wound was on her body.
Using magic under these circumstances was almost like admitting defeat.
Even considering the pride she had as a Devil Hunter up until now, that was something she simply couldn’t bring herself to do,
Therefore, Gabriel was desperate to land a blow on her opponent somehow,
Or, at the very least, provoke them into even considering attacking her.
But.
-Ting!
In spite of her efforts, her attacks never reached the man.
The more she attacked, the greater the sense of helplessness she felt, as if facing an impenetrable fortress.
‘Is the gap this wide?… This overwhelmingly…?’
Even if the reputation of being the strongest was no mere boast, she had some confidence in herself.
She belonged to the Central Devil Hunters Unit 3, under Eli Hellat.
She had every reason to take pride in her position, believing in her own abilities—and indeed, she did.
But,
In this moment, she had no choice but to acknowledge it.
The name “Choi Kang” was much larger than she thought—a massive entity, in fact.