I Became a Childhood Friend With the Villainous Saintess

13 – The Brink (2)

I felt a sharp pain on my side.

It was the mark left by the enemy’s sword earlier. The wound asserted its presence whenever my muscles contracted or relaxed.

It felt like a hot iron plate was attached to my body. My body screamed in agony, but in return, it moved more agilely. Therefore, I welcomed my pain.

I whipped myself even harder.

To move just a little faster. To be just a bit more sharp.

Ignoring the pain, I moved my body. It seemed like blood oozed from the open wound. It was hot blood.

As my body heated up, my eyes opened wide. I could see every single move of the enemy vividly.

Their shifting weight as they pulled back their foot. The flexing muscles in their arm before they thrust their sword. Their gaze, looking to see where they would strike next.

Everything seemed to move very slowly.

“Rudbeck’s next attack is a thrust. I should dodge to the side. Is that nameless guy doing a horizontal slash? The position of his sword is too obvious; it’ll be easy to block.”

I never stopped thinking for a moment.

Anger is a good driving force, but the power to control it must come from cool-headed reason. I thought about which movements could most efficiently kill the opponent.

The slightest hesitation. I didn’t miss the gap between attacks and counterattacked.

Rudbeck hastily held off my sword. If it wasn’t for his interference, his subordinate would have lost an eye. The subordinate quickly backed off.

“Luckily, the sun hasn’t set yet.”

I was able to track the enemy’s shadow with just a slight movement of my eyes.

This time, I attacked Rudbeck relentlessly. At the same time, I created distance between myself and his subordinate, who was trying to cover my rear.

Both of my opponents were larger than me. It meant that they had more range. This was the limitation of my immature body. To overcome this risk, I had to force close-quarters combat.

More than ten sword strikes came my way. I tried to break the distance, but they came rushing in, and on the other hand, when I gave them space, they tried to grab onto me.

Martial arts are a complicated set of skills. There was no way that someone as young as me, who had learned from a prestigious family, could be on the same level as street fighters.

Rudbeck was wary of my grip.

A slash from bottom to top. Blocked. I changed the direction of my sword to attempt a thrust.

Good. While Rudbeck twisted his body to avoid it, his leg defense became weak. I kicked his shin and struck the back of his hand with my sword.

If I had gone just a bit deeper, I could have seen a little bit of blood. Without any regret, I rolled my body sideways. If I’d been a little late, I would have had a sword in my belly.

Though it didn’t seem like a vital point, I wasn’t sure how much my body could take.

“Heh. I didn’t expect this much from you.”

“Didn’t I tell you to keep your mouth shut? Your breath stinks like a sewer.”

“What a cocky brat. Let’s see how long you can keep it up.”

“With your skills, you won’t be able to last long.”

The sound of clashing swords rang irregularly.

The steel met each other as if to kill, growling with murderous intent.

Yet, it was rare for either of us to be stained with each other’s blood. My attacks kept getting interrupted and their attacks were not sharp enough.

I couldn’t see any opportunity to deal a fatal blow.

It was a stalemate. I coldly made my judgment.

It was not good. The longer the time dragged on, the more I was at a disadvantage.

If Terion killed the two enemies in the cabin and came to support me, it might be different, but objectively, the possibility was slim.

In the cabin were Sirien and Hena. Fights with something to protect are always disadvantageous. If Sirien were to be taken hostage, it would all be over.

I should hurry to help them instead.

‘There is… something that might work.’

As I looked around, I thought of a kind of gambit.

I blocked Ludbeck’s sword, and calculated the possibility while deflecting his footwork.

It seemed worth a try.

If I resolved to do it, there was no reason to hesitate in taking action.

The better target between Ludbeck and his subordinate seemed to be the latter. He had relatively weaker defense.

If I could render just one of them incapable of fighting, I could turn the tables.

I swung my sword widely, forcing Ludbeck to retreat.

However, a big attack comes with a big price. The larger the movement, the larger the gap left in the sword art.

Ludbeck’s subordinate attacked as if it was only natural. It wasn’t fierce. A slight body movement would only result in my left forearm getting stabbed slightly.

‘I’ll let it happen.’

I’m right-handed.

As long as I can move my sword, I can afford such a small wound.

The most vulnerable time for a swordsman is right after an attack.

The fact that he stabbed my arm meant that his sword was stuck. I felt acute pain in my forearm as it moved dramatically. The wound must have been torn open.

My counterattack was blocked with a clear sound. The guy wasn’t a fool either, as he quickly pulled out his sword and focused on defense.

But the position in which he blocked was good. The next move was a stab. In this position, I could push in and stab his neck if only the distance weren’t slightly short due to my small frame.

It didn’t matter. I had aimed for this from the start.

I put all my strength into thrusting my sword like a spear, and let go of it at the right moment.

“Kuhuk!”

The sword hovered briefly in the air before embedding itself in the opponent’s throat.

A fatal wound. He wouldn’t last much longer, let alone fight.

There was no need to further confirm the adversary’s condition.

I did not forget that there were two enemies. I saw the shadow of Rudbeck under my foot.

Having thrown the sword, I was ill-equipped to respond to his attack. I sprinted for a few strides then dove to the ground.

My target was the corpse of the first one I killed.

Pulling a sword from the dead man’s waist, I swung in a blind arc.

Clang! Something blocked the tip of my sword. A successful defense.

Rudbeck’s expression twisted.

“Now it’s one-on-one?”

* * *

“Haa. Haa…”

My heart pounded as if it would burst.

Apparently, a lot of blood had been lost from my body. The physical drain was severe. Vision grew blurry at the edges.

My hands didn’t have much strength.

Desperate attempts to recover my balance caused a lot of injuries. I’d avoided a fatal wound, but the blood from various places didn’t stop.

If not treated soon, it was dangerous. But the time to do that is not now.

My legs felt weak and I used the sword as a cane. Just caught my breath and moved again. My legs felt unusually heavy.

Step. Step. The sound of weary feet echoed countless times.

A miserable voice rang out.

“Please… Save me.”

It was Rudbeck.

The man whose ankle I broke was sprawled under my feet.

It was a pitiful sight. Just as I sustained many injuries, so did he. We were both covered in blood.

If there’s any difference, it’s that I could still fight.

Rudbeck seemed to have tried to escape. Long, bloody streaks remained in his wake. I regretted not seeing him crawl like a bug on the ground.

I should have captured such a sight. Yet, my foot stepped on his waist.

Initially, I planned to make Rudbeck suffer to death.

First, I would tear his mouth, then slowly consider the next steps.

The wind had not dispersed yet. If I could, I would have preferred to torture him here. However, it didn’t seem like there was that kind of luxury.

“Stay still. You’re shaking.”

“Please, please, save me. Don’t you want to know something from me? I’ll tell you everything. Anything!”

“Information?”

“Yes. Anything, just save my life. It’s all my fault!”

No. I don’t need it.

I was tempted for a moment.

Keeping him alive for the information wouldn’t be a bad idea.

But it didn’t seem likely that the Marquis Roksen would have spilled important information to a man like him.

Even if this guy had succeeded in killing us all, he would have been disposed of in the hands of the Marquis soon, right?

There’s no reason to keep used consumables alive – at least I would have done so.

After all, it was when we found out that he had betrayed us. There was nothing more to find out.

“I’m not interested. I have a lot to do. Let’s stick to the promise and end this.”

I grabbed Rudbeck’s hair and lifted his head.

He shot desperate looks. It seemed like he was yelling something with his mouth too. It sounded like pleas but also curses. I couldn’t hear them clearly – my head was ringing and I understood none of it.

Whatever he was saying, it was none of my concern. What was he expecting? If he wanted to live that badly, he should have watched his mouth.

I opened his mouth and slowly thrust in the blade.

Into the mouth. From the mouth to the throat. From the throat to the esophagus. From the esophagus to the heart.

As the blade went deep, blood backflowed from his mouth. His breath stopped when the sword pierced his heart. Only when I saw his vision completely fade away did I pull out the sword.

I wiped the sword with his cloak.

‘I have to go to help Therion now.’

The sword was so heavy that it was dragging on the ground. It felt like all my strength was draining away.

But as I wandered mindlessly, I found myself near the hut.

“Kaaah!”

Would it have been better if I had come a little sooner?

Hena’s scream resounded.