Eternally Regressing Knight
Chapter 385 - Esther and Rem
"Step aside. If you do, I'll give you everything."
Esther stared at the figure in front of her, which appeared to be an illusion.
She wondered what kind of trick this might be. If they attacked, she would show them that their level was far beneath hers.
The opponent's response was unexpected. They didn't attack.
Instead, they cast a spell from the magic circle they had drawn, and as a result, the figure of a person far away was projected.
It was an illusion.
'Is this a significant trick?'
She thought to herself. If this was a spell to summon an illusion, it must involve some resources.
The spell spanned long distances in space.
There was a difference between showing an illusion and showing the real thing.
Some magicians were said to use mirrors for such tricks, but it wasn't common.
It wasn't Esther's specialty, and she had never seen it done in person.
Despite her thoughts, Esther stood calmly without even blinking.
A breeze blew. They had just left the capital and were now near a nearby forest.
The two magicians who had created the illusion stood respectfully with their hands clasped, waiting beside her.
At that moment, the illusion appeared.
It was someone she had seen before, next to Count Molsan and Enkrid.
"The most important thing for a magician is a world where their will is aligned with the world around them. What I offer is clear. What do you think?"
The opponent's confidence was overflowing. It seemed there was no reason not to accept this offer.
It wasn't a request to help him, betray someone, or do something for Enkrid.
What he wanted was simple.
Step back and just watch.
There was no need to measure the weight of either side. The opponent was a high-level magician. The artifacts and research materials he offered were valuable.
On the other hand, his request was trivial.
The man knew well what was important to a magician.
The two magicians beside her believed Esther would naturally nod in agreement.
Count Molsan probably thought the same.
Esther had stayed by Enkrid's side to break a curse, but now she no longer needed him.
She had opened a new path by utilizing part of the curse.
Things had changed.
Therefore, this offer was indeed attractive. It would allow her to expand her world and acquire more resources.
There was no reason to refuse.
It was annoying that Count Molsan seemed to know this, but it didn't matter.
Even if he had played tricks, she had the power to ignore it.
During her struggle with the curse, the experiences had remained within her world.
Esther silently stared at the figure's eyes, which were watching her intently.
The illusion was colorless.
She stared into the monochrome illusion's eyes. As she watched, a smile spread across her face.
She burst into laughter, "Ha ha ha."
At her laughter, the two magicians standing beside her shifted their gaze toward her.
She could feel their unease. They were ready to take action if things went wrong.
As Esther raised her arm, her coat parted, revealing the clothes beneath.
The two magicians' eyes gleamed with desire.
Watching the illusion and the magicians move like puppets made Esther reflect on who she truly was.
She was a witch who controlled the fire of the black world.
A witch who fought and pioneered her world.
A witch born to pursue the truth through fire.
Therefore, she would not be swayed by others' wills. This was never for Enkrid.
"This is it."
Count Molsan spoke first. A fire-like glint appeared in Esther's eyes.
"I'll burn it just the same."
Esther spoke, and for the first time since the curse, she summoned fire within her world.
It was just before dusk as they had already left the capital.
"Such a pity."
Before the illusion disappeared, Count Molsan spoke in a voice that seemed indifferent, as though he didn't truly care.
"Do you think that person is still alive?"
He referred to someone as "that person."
Esther sneered at him.
"If he were going to die from something like this, he would have died a long time ago."
Could such a great man die from the lack of one magician?
'Is that what you think?'
But was it really right to call it "nothing"?
Esther paused for a moment, but her body moved instinctively. Flames roared. The two magicians cast spells in opposition, but their resistance was futile. It was meaningless.
Their ranks, their possessions, and their paths were all different from hers.
Rem ran, thinking, 'He's hiding something.'
Should he just stand by and wait?
That could be fun, but flipping his opponent's expectations seemed more enjoyable.
He decided to do both.
Running, he took out his sling. He placed a rounded stone on the leather sling, raising the connected string over his head and swinging it.
Whirr—whirr—whirr.
The sling spun lightly before the sound of air splitting filled the air.
It was like carrying a disc above his head while running.
The Infernal Madman didn't look back, charging straight into a narrow alley.
Rem didn't chase but instead jumped off a protruding corner of a nearby shop, leaping upwards.
His body rose, and he ran along the rooftops. The disc above his head followed in a shape similar to a spear. Once he had a clear view from the roof, he hurled the stone.
It was already difficult to hit while standing still, let alone while running, but Rem was Rem.
The stone, launched in a flash, couldn't even be traced by its trajectory, striking the opponent's thigh from behind.
Bang!
However, Rem didn't hear the expected sound.
Why was there no sound of a burst?
Behind his opponent, a spear snapped in two.
'Cursed?'
That was a high-level curse. Where could he have learned such a thing?
It must have been something obtained by killing his own kind.
"You're really dead now."
Rem muttered to himself, as he made up his mind.
Though his opponent couldn't hear it, his words were a vow.
He fired a few more stone bullets, and the four spears that had been following his opponent from behind shattered, one by one.
Pieces of broken wood scattered through the air.
The Infernal Madman kept running, weaving through the alleyways until he entered an open space, a place that the locals called a square.
It wasn't that large, about half the size of the central square in the capital.
In the center of the capital of Naurilia, there was a fountain, but the square here had a completely different atmosphere, more akin to an open ground.
Still, it was large enough for about twenty men to tangle in a fight.
Wham!
This time, the bullet hit the ground, sending stone dust flying as pieces of rock scattered.
Without his spear, the Infernal Madman tumbled to the ground, barely avoiding the hit.
Nonetheless, the next stone bullet hit him in the back of the thigh.
Had it not been for the layered, special leather armor, his leg would have had a hole in it or even worse, but instead, he just groaned and limped back to his feet.
Rem discarded the sling with its broken leather strap and looked down at the gathering crowd below.
From the roof, he looked down at them, and naturally, they looked up at him.
"Ah, the Western Reunion, huh?"
Rem said with admiration.
As he examined them, he noticed they were all from the western region.
He didn't recognize any faces, but from the atmosphere, Rem could tell. They were all people on the run.
The Immortal Madman held his thigh for a while, then stood up. It seemed like he was in considerable pain.
"This bastard, you're not leaving alive," he muttered.
The Immortal Madman saw Rem as a threat. If he left him alive, Rem would keep attacking until he killed him, so he had decided to intervene in this matter.
His goal was simple: kill Rem.
To achieve this, he had gathered a group of people who were all being hunted in the west. Among them were those he had trained, and others who had come just for the reward, like mercenaries.
The commonality between them was that all twenty were candidates to become heroes in the western region.
"Is that him?"
"Did we gather all of us just to catch one guy?"
"Looks familiar."
"That's Rem, the so-called Immortal. He's famous around the Border Guard."
"Famous? That's a joke. He's the one hiding out in some backwater. Immortal? What kind of nonsense is that?"
They spoke amongst themselves. Despite the noise, it wasn't hard to understand.
There were some who remained silent, eyes glinting with anticipation.
Those were the ones who were ready.
Ready to fire the wind guns strapped to their waists.
"All these runaways have big mouths," Rem muttered as he squatted down, bending his legs. He looked around at the assembled group.
A bunch of trash had gathered.
Watching them, Rem took a sling from his chest, loaded a bullet into it, then tucked it back and pulled another one out, placing it between his legs. Using his legs in place of his hands, he loaded another bullet into it.
As he moved, the sound of round stone bullets clinking together came from the pouches tied to his sides.
Now holding two slings, he stood and spun them.
Whooosh!
Two round discs appeared from Rem's hands, their shapes unfolding diagonally like wings.
Rem kicked off from the roof and jumped into the air, the discs making him look as if he were floating like wings.
But of course, that wasn't the case. It was an illusion.
With a flick of his hands, the bullets shot off at a speed so fast they were almost invisible to the eye.
Thwack! Thwack!
Half of the group of western runaways raised shields.
Some had thick leather shields, while others had smaller ones strapped to their wrists.
Those with the smaller shields were confident in their skills. Their technique of dispersing attacks was exceptional, so they carried tiny shields, barely big enough to cover their faces.
The heads of the two who carried the smaller shields exploded like pumpkins.
Bang! Bang!
The sound was crisp. Blood and brain matter mixed in the air.
The ground, which had turned a dark gray, became a canvas of blood as it splattered.
The bullets were faster than expected, far faster and more powerful than the ones that had struck the Immortal Madman just moments ago.
Two of the western runaways died before they could even resist.
Thud! Thud!
The two fell to the ground.
Rem, still on the roof, spun the slings again.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
"Stop him!" The Immortal Madman shouted.
"Crazy bastard," Rem thought.
The start of the battle, Rem had already visualized the outcome. He started with the slings and would finish with an axe.
And the Immortal Madman would definitely die here.
It was a given. Time had passed since Rem had faced the Immortal Madman. In that time, he had lost to Ragna, that madman.
The impact that defeat had on him was something even Enkrid didn't fully understand.
That defeat had motivated Rem to train harder, swinging his axe and honing his skills. He even secretly learned some of Enkrid's Isolation techniques, applying them to his training.
Now wasn't the time to care about whether the stew was cold or hot.
It didn't matter whether it was made by goblins or humans. He needed to eat now.
"Damned Ragna."
Even thinking of that bastard made his anger surge.
Fueled by rage, he unleashed his strength, throwing two more stone bullets at the advancing enemies. The ones with large shields moved closer.
Bang! Bang!
The thick leather and inner rubber shields withstood the bullets, but they didn't penetrate.
"You crazy bastard."
One of them, holding a shield, muttered, pale-faced. The stone bullets were far more dangerous than he had imagined. But was that enough to break their spirit?
No.
Once the spirit breaks, magic and martial arts both fail.
It didn't matter whether the enemy was determined or not.
Rem ignored the approaching enemies and let go of the slings, sliding his hands to his waist.
He gripped his axe.
One of the enemies who had seen the axe immediately dashed forward.
His speed was considerable. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Rem.
He was using the thunderstrike technique.
Rem anticipated this and drew his axe at just the right moment.
It wasn't as fast as a lightning strike, but it was perfectly timed.
It looked like the enemy had run right into the blow.
The attacker, moving with speed, became the first victim of Rem's axe.
Thunk.
The flat side of the axe split his head into two.
Of course, with his head cleaved in two, there was no chance of survival.
But the body, unaware it was dead, continued toward Rem.
Its hand grabbed Rem's thigh. The attacker was known for breaking and twisting joints, and he was doing just that.
But he died clutching Rem's thigh.
Rem began swinging his axe with the man still hanging from it.
Swing, snap, crack, thud!
These enemies were nothing compared to Enkrid.
The only one even remotely threatening was the Immortal Madman.
He threw a spear, mimicking a downward strike, then gripped a new spear and charged.
It was threatening, but—
'Far weaker than that damned Ragna.'
Having danced to that bastard's swordplay, this was laughable.
Rem's axe split the heads of five of his enemies in an instant, and as he severed the limbs of the sixth and seventh, the situation flipped.
These were men who never intended to risk their lives. That's why they had become runaways in the first place.
"Monster bastard!" One of them screamed.
The Immortal Madman also realized it now.
The moment he thought about running, he hurled all the spears he had prepared and grabbed the arm of his former disciple, tossing him.
The spell he used combined with the strength of a bear.
"Master!!!"
The disciple's scream was full of sorrow.
Rem swung his axe toward the human projectile.
Whoosh! Thunk!
With the strength of a giant behind his swing, Rem's axe cut through flesh, muscle, and bone.
The impact was felt throughout his entire body. But when it was over, a sense of relief washed over him.
The body split in two, falling to the ground.
The blood that poured out drenched Rem's entire body.
His gray eyes, now stained red with blood, glinted. He saw the back of a fleeing figure.
If someone were to ask Rem what he had learned most from his encounters with the Immortal Madman, he would confidently say one thing:
It was stamina.
That's also why he had secretly learned some of Enkrid's Isolation techniques.
"If I let him go again, my mother will turn into a ghoul."
Rem muttered his habit, instilled by Enkrid, and landed with a thud.
The Immortal Madman quickly fled, and Rem gave chase without hesitation.
Though a few remained alive, they could only blink in confusion.
They were lucky to be alive.
Their eyes focused on Rem and the Immortal Madman.
It had been a chase before, but this time, one side had laid a trap, and the other had walked into it willingly.
This time, however, it was different.
There was no trap, and the pursuers were determined.
There was no reason to remain here.
Within half a day, they would be caught and killed.
They could see the future of the Immortal Madman and began to move.
Staying would only mean death.
Those were the ones who were

Comments

Loading...