novelraw Chapter 179 : Chapter 179
Chapter 179 : Chapter 179
Chapter 179 - The Executioner's Dilemma(3)
Kwang-!
With a single gunshot, the sound of Grændal's body, which had been in a standoff, flying far away and crashing into a wall was heard.
And at the same time, the Origin Magic 『Fixation』 that I had cast was also released.
‘Since I had him fixed to space itself, I expected his arm to be torn off when Grændal went flying, but I guess not.’
That was the first thought that came to mind. Although I had heard from Arien that the magic could be released if the caster directly or indirectly exerted a physical influence on the object.
‘This is no time for that.’
I was about to rush at Grændal without losing momentum, but I couldn't actually carry out that thought.
Thud.
I tried to kick off the ground to run, but instead of exerting any force, my legs gave way and I collapsed.
“Keoheok…”
Soon after, a disgraceful sound and a dry heave were an added bonus.
The cause was, of course, the punch Grændal had thrown in retaliation.
“…Damn it.”
I couldn't breathe properly, and it wasn't just because of the pain; it seemed I had been struck precisely in a vital spot.
‘In that short moment, he aimed for a vital spot with this much power?’
『Knight Robe - Senior』
- Grade : Unique
- Durability : 0/100
- Defense : 400
- Traits : Magic Durability, Lightweight, Small Internal Subspace, Camouflage, Temperature Control
: A protective robe used by knights in actual combat. It is light yet has excellent protective capabilities, and its performance increases exponentially as its grade rises.
To think that the durability of the Knight Robe I had worn as insurance was already shattered.
Drip, drip.
The damage I took wasn't just that. My left hand, which I had sacrificed to cast the Origin Magic, was half-crushed and bleeding profusely.
“Keok…”
I tried my best to get up, but the only response from my body was a blood-tinged cough.
‘Pathetic.’
I had planned so diligently and fought so desperately to win somehow, yet the difference in skill was this overwhelming.
Both the plan and the quantitatively inflicted damage were superior on my side.
‘…No. Let's cast aside these useless thoughts.’
A sense of skepticism momentarily arose, but I quickly shifted my thinking. That wasn't what I needed to be thinking about right now.
How to make the most of this fleeting moment.
What is the next move.
Those were the things I needed to think about.
Drip, drip.
As I shifted my thoughts, what came into my perception was my left hand, half-smashed and crushed by Grændal's executioner's sword.
Paat-!
I quickly used the healing magic I had been taught by Arien, and as a result, I was able to stop the bleeding.
Healing magic wasn't a panacea, so if it took even a little more shock, the wound would quickly reopen, and it would probably leave a scar, but in the current situation, even this much was something to be grateful for.
Just as I finished casting the healing magic and was about to catch my breath and stand up.
“…Haha, so you prepared such a move using your own hand as bait.”
From the opposite wall where Grændal had crashed and was engulfed in dust, a dumbfounded laugh was heard.
“…”
That alien voice, so hoarse it would give the listener chills.
“I don't know what method you used to stop me… but the idea itself is even more absurd.”
From the Executioner's voice, I could feel that he was still going strong.
“To endure the pain of one's own hand being torn apart, the risk of completely losing one's hand with even a slight mistake, in a moment where life and death hang in the balance.”
No, in the first place, I didn't think I could finish him with this.
Rather, if he died here, I would be the one in trouble.
“Anyone in my position would have acted the same way.”
To Grændal's words, I retorted while raising my sword again.
And that answer was sincere, without a hint of pretense.
I was, after all, a commoner who fell short of being a genius. Making this judgment was simply a matter of my circumstances.
But Grændal merely scoffed at my words.
“No, you're wrong.”
The Executioner pointed a finger at me.
“You lack the fear of death and pain that a human should naturally have.”
“…”
“That's an innate domain. You were born with something lacking, and thus, you are broken as a human.”
Just like us, Grændal would have added in a whisper.
“Broken, he says.”
To be honest, I just thought it was nonsense.
The claim that I lacked the fear of pain and death was just something he was spouting because he didn't know about my ability.
To me, death was not the end, and therefore, the fear of death could not be established in the first place.
The fear of death is, after all, the fear of the end.
There was no need to even talk about pain.
Even now, I am vividly feeling pain. The bleeding has only stopped; the sensation of the wound throbbing under the forcefully adhered flesh is vivid.
Not to mention the days before. The sensations of being cut, torn, and exploding to death were still painful, and things I wanted to avoid.
However, as my mind strongly denied Grændal's words, one thought flashed through my brain.
Is that truly pain, or is it merely the sensation of pain?
But I couldn't hold on to that thought for long.
Kaang-!
After a brief standoff, the battle had resumed.
Yes. And in the first place, the things that just came to mind probably weren't very important thoughts.
Let's forget it.
***
Anyway, the earlier move using the Origin Magic 『Fixation』 had tilted the scales of the battle slightly.
Of course, Grændal's skill still far surpassed mine, so it wasn't that the scales had tipped in my favor.
‘If we were both at full strength, I would have fought a thousand times and lost a thousand times.’
Combat, especially hand-to-hand and close-quarters combat, is essentially a domain of instinct and talent rather than reason and training.
A world of irrationality where life and death are decided by fleeting, minor hand and body movements.
Deriving the optimal conclusion every moment in that world was far beyond the realm of thought.
And I know. That I lack talent.
It's not enough to lament that it's absolutely lacking, but it's not something to boast about either.
I'm pushing through somehow with an amount of combat experience that cannot be compared to others, but against real monsters like Grændal, I could never match them in a conventional fight.
Therefore, I couldn't let this battle remain in the inherent world of combat.
It meant I had to pull the battle out from the domain of senses, instinct, and momentary judgment, and bring it into the domain of calculation, reason, and repetition.
How?
The method was very simple and clear.
And it was also something that I, with this shabby talent, was more confident in than anyone else in this world.
First move, first strike. Swing the sword in my right hand horizontally.
Vwoong-!
Here, the optimal response for Grændal is to swing his sword along the same path, to cut me down along with my sword strike, as I have relatively less destructive power.
The enemy would undoubtedly make the optimal judgment in that fleeting moment, so this kind of move-reading was like solving a problem with the answer sheet in hand.
Therefore, what I had to do was to overcome the optimal move the opponent chose.
‘I must perfectly parry Grændal's counter-strike, the mass of that executioner's sword.’
Parrying itself is not as easy as it sounds, but the important thing is to minimize the impact on my sword and my body.
Being close to perfect won't do. Even an impact of just 10% could be fatal to me if it accumulates.
If that happened, all the subsequent strategies would fall apart.
Eujijik-!
The impact came in stronger than I thought.
Again.
[ System : You have overcome deaths. ]
Kaang-!
I got a feel for it, but that was all.
Again.
[ System : You have overcome deaths. ]
Chaeng-!
Somewhat successful.
But not enough.
Again.
[ System : You have overcome deaths. ]
In terms of simply evading that one blow, the first attempt might have been fine. It might not have been necessary to repeat death so many times.
But that's not enough.
In that one blow, I must overwhelm him.
Unlike when we first clashed, what was needed now was a situation where I was driving him into a corner.
It might seem like a foolish waste of deaths, and perhaps that was true… but I died, and died, and died, and died again.
It wasn't just that one blow that was repeated.
The entire sequence of deceiving the enemy, offering my hand, and then counterattacking was also repeated.
Following that, after repeatedly hearing the words that I am broken as a human…
I take the blow again.
I gradually increase the precision of my attacks and counterattacks.
And finally.
[ System : You have overcome deaths. ]
Swish—
Twenty attempts, and a perfect parry.
‘Good.’
Considering that The One's influence on this world had grown stronger than before, and that Grændal had received even more immense power from The One.
“…!”
Grændal's pupils contracted in surprise. Perhaps what allowed me to endure that time of pain was his changing reaction as time passed.
But that was only the end of the first strike.
Death repeats itself again.
Second strike. I dig in towards him while his posture is broken, but before I can land any effective attack, his elbow, which he quickly judged to use, flies at me.
Third strike. I evade the elbow, but Grændal, who quickly regains his posture, thrusts at me, and I dodge it by a paper-thin margin.
Fourth strike. After dodging, without killing the momentum, I increase the distance and land a hit with 『Desperado』.
And the following fifth strike, sixth strike, seventh strike….
The deaths that occurred in that process were the epitome of absurdity, a repetition of irrationality.
No matter how I found and executed the optimal move, he was always one step ahead, so no name could be more fitting.
Can I really reach the point where I overwhelm him?
Is this just an irony, like a tortoise struggling to catch up to Achilles?
Skepticism always followed in a corner of my mind, but what preceded it was action.
And, I knew.
That when these seemingly meaningless deaths piled up and up….
Chaeng-!
At some point, the time would come when they would rise higher than a great tower.