Chapter 575 - 575 - Between an Imperfect Tomorrow and a Perfect Today
Chapter 575 - Between an Imperfect Tomorrow and a Perfect Today
Sinar also stepped forward but lost again.
Of course, she didn't fight with his life on the line or in a fierce manner.
It was something like, well, there was a very bad compatibility between them, or you could say there was a difference in skill level.
Moreover, the opponent didn't even try to kill him, so he had no choice but to admit defeat.
Overdier defeated both of them, but no one was severely injured.
Afterward, Overdier's gaze turned to Audin.
His eyes resembled those of a fairy—expressionless and indifferent, like eyes painted in monochrome.
"I've heard of this heretic Audin," Oberdiar said.
As a disciple of the War God, with his divine abilities, his name couldn't possibly be unknown.
Even Oberdiar, who had inherited the name of one of the Seven Martyrs of the Church, knew it.
A short silence fell, blending with the sunset, muffling any sound.
The distant sounds of beasts also stopped, leaving only the rustle of the wind and the chirping of insects.
Caw—!
For some reason, Rem, Ragna, and Jaxen were all gathered in front of the barracks training ground when crows flew above their heads.
Caw!
Behind them, magpies followed like a chase.
The birds seemed to be having a coordinated training session, causing a ruckus above their heads.
"How many times has this been?" Rem muttered, looking at the sky.
The twins from the west bent their fingers and replied.
"Third time?"
"Seems like black birds are more frequent today."
Rem mumbled again, feeling an ominous sense.
Crows were known for their intelligence, often used for delivering messages.
However, training or handling them wasn't easy, so there weren't many trained crows.
Often, they'd wander off for their own business during training.
Given their high intelligence, if there weren't proper trainers or druids, they'd just eat their food and leave.
The crows flying above them didn't seem like well-trained ones.
There was no urgent message to deliver to Border Guard right now.
"Tsk."
Rem clicked his tongue.
There was a superstition in the west that when crows flew at dusk, it was bad luck.
He knew the origin of this superstition, so he didn't really believe it.
Long ago, a shaman who scattered curses had used crows to bring a plague over the heads of the western tribes.
That was the entire reason.
Still, hearing this tale since childhood always made him uneasy.
With that unease, he looked at the gathering group and wondered if there was something more to these birds—maybe they were unaware or pretending not to know.
But then again, the chances of that were as low as a lazy, directionless crow going out on its own and returning at the right time.
Still, it was a possibility.
"You guys know the captain's weakness, right?" Rem casually asked.
Jaxen, who had been carving wood with a knife, glanced at Rem but didn't respond.
It was at least a response in some way; usually, he would have been completely ignored.
"Where did you lose your tongue? Hey, little bloodthirsty runt."
Rem muttered, tossing a reprimand at the alley cat, then called on someone else.
Ragna, unsurprisingly, didn't respond.
He might not have even realized he was being called.
The problem was that the way Rem addressed him was wrong, so Ragna's ears probably filtered out the words automatically.
Right now, he was fully immersed in a rare, proper training session.
To explain, he had recently been teaching Ropord—or more precisely, beating him up—and in the process, he had come to some new realization, which he was now reflecting on.
Huh, huh.
Ragna absentmindedly made cuts with his sword up and down.
Rem felt a vein pop on his forehead.
"That bastard."
Should he just chop off an arm or curse him?
He seriously considered this for a moment.
Jaxen finally spoke up, as if muttering to himself.
"He's lacking in the technique of adding force in a single strike."
It was a brief but solid opinion, precise too.
However, Rem didn't like his tone or attitude.
"Do you want me to find you a speech teacher? Did you forget how to speak politely?"
The same went for Ragna.
"It'll probably take a while," Ragna finally spoke, putting down his sword.
He only listened to what was necessary, filtering out what wasn't.
What he said was standard.
Didn't they all know that by now?
Enkrid, regardless of the speed or method, always moved toward his goal.
It was always that way.
Slow or fast, he never stopped walking toward what he wanted.
It had all grown to the point where watching him was a pleasure in itself.
Luagargne, who was with him, didn't follow this time, saying she'd probably get too distracted by watching and miss her own training.
This showed just how much Enkrid's abilities were improving.
Compared to when he first came as a squad leader, it was incomparable.
However, that didn't mean he was satisfied.
Why?
Because he was wasting potential.
The Will inside him was a powerful force, capable of making him forget exhaustion, but even the finest steel would be useless without a proper edge.
Without sharpening it into a long form, it would be difficult to wield effectively.
For Rem, Jaxen, and Ragna, Enkrid's weakness was clear.
While he had an overwhelming amount of Will, he didn't have enough force concentrated in one strike.
That was something that could only be fixed with experience and technique.
Rem knew this already; he just asked to confirm.
Thankfully, there was nothing new to learn.
"Rather than talking to you guys, I'd rather teach a ghoul to speak," Rem said.
Rem muttered a prophecy toward the two and turned away.
It was just a chance meeting where words were exchanged.
It was something everyone knew but no one directly addressed, and besides, Enkrid would not have failed to notice it.
A man who was constantly swinging his sword and revisiting past events wouldn't have missed it.
He would certainly know.
Audin knelt before the saint, his gaze directed ahead.
He had watched the battle between the prophet Overdir and Enkrid, and just before it began, he had predicted its outcome.
'This is bad.'
There was a fact known to him, Rem, Ragna, and Jaxen alike.
Enkrid had a well that never ran dry, but the bucket to draw from it was small.
The amount of water that could be drawn at once was determined by the size of the bucket, and that was Enkrid's situation at the moment.
Overdier's staff suddenly emitted light, and Enkrid, constantly parrying it, was pushed back.
It was likely a disorienting and awkward experience for him.
The monk, called the Unarmed Master, learns a technique called "Divine Penetration" after reaching a certain level.
It allows them to bypass an opponent's armor and strike inside.
Since everyone focuses on mastering and honing this skill, it's only natural that they would also research how to break it.
The unarmed monks were those who studied and perfected this technique.
So, it was inevitable that they would eventually find and refine ways to break or ignore iron armor.
'He still hasn't learned it.'
Audin thought to himself.
Divine Penetration caused the limbs to creak and stiffen.
While it wasn't a devastating blow, it was uncomfortable.
If it were Rem or Ragna, they would likely expel their Will or magical power to push back the divine energy.
Enkrid did something similar, but the opponent kept repeating the same thing.
They made something uncomfortable accumulate on his body, making his movements more difficult.
The more they clashed, the more disadvantageous it became.
The divine energy would interfere with his physical movements.
Still, Enkrid didn't easily succumb.
"It's amazing."
"That's true."
In the midst of this, they spoke and laughed while swinging their swords.
The sword was fierce, sturdy, and fast.
If he hadn't attained divine awareness himself, he would have found it hard to match the speed.
The precision was such that if he missed a single movement, from the ankle up, he would miss the strike entirely.
However, that was where it stopped.
The balance between the trained body and the expelled Will didn't quite match.
The strength increased, but the Will was insufficient.
It was still quite a lot compared to an average person, but the opponent was too formidable.
Overdier was a fully realized martial artist.
He wasn't outmatched in speed, strength, or technique, and his divine energy struck Enkrid repeatedly.
He could hold on, but he couldn't win.
That was Audin's conclusion, and it was the same outcome.
It didn't look like Enkrid was fighting with his last strength.
Overdier wasn't doing so either.
Then Shinar stepped in, but she wasn't at all well-suited for this fight.
Her strike could have been deadly to Overdier, but only if she could find a gap.
However, creating that gap was difficult.
'Attacks won't work on someone wrapped in divine energy.'
Her specialty, the energy blade, was in direct opposition to divine armor.
If divine energy wrapped around the entire body like an iron armor, it would be as tough as divine armor itself.
Most attacks would be ignored.
The subtle light around Overdier's body proved that.
Though the energy blade struck, Shinar's energy blade shattered with a loud crack.
The light that enveloped Overdier's body flickered for a moment, but the blade shattered and disappeared, and the divine energy around Overdir returned.
It was a battle of strength, but right now, Overdier's divine energy was much stronger.
It was hard to even compare.
Therefore, Shinar had to retreat.
Of course, she didn't use her trump card either.
Even if she had, victory couldn't be easily guaranteed.
So, both of them lost.
"Did you come to save the saint?"
Before the violet sunset had fully disappeared, a breeze swept through, tousling his hair.
The traces of the ground and dust from the surrounding area were evident.
Broken stone fragments lay scattered around.
It would have been odd if the surroundings were intact.
Those who had been chasing the saint had long since retreated.
Among them, Aundin had been watching him closely from earlier.
Would Enkrid and Shinar team up to fight now?
Or would he be invited to join them?
That might give them a chance to win.
No, if one of the three sacrificed themselves, they could win.
There was a way to ensure victory if they truly wanted to kill the opponent.
But would they choose that path?
The leader wouldn't.
Would they retreat?
No, that wouldn't happen either.
How would it go?
Audin, at this point, had already made up his mind.
'If necessary, I'll take the saint's place.'
Even if it cost him his life and he was tortured for the rest of his days, he would live like that.
It was something only he could do.
He would do it.
Enkrid wouldn't retreat, no matter what was said.
He was that kind of person.
Therefore, Audin would not allow that.
"Now, please step back."
Overdier spoke again. What was interesting was that Enkrid was not the type to meekly follow such a command after being defeated once.
"Once more?"
Enkrid said.
Whether it was a sparring match or a battle, he wouldn't back down now.
His Will flared, making his blue eyes shine brightly like a raging flame.
Overdier, in that moment, felt an instinctive realization.
This man would not give up, no matter what was done to him.
'Not easy.'
Naturally, Enkrid knows his own weaknesses.
The moment he deployed his wall, there was time.
If he had preparation time, Enkrid could draw out his Will far beyond what was necessary.
The technique of the wall proves that.
However, this time was different.
In that brief, fleeting moment of wielding his sword, he had to push that amount of Will into it.
Naturally, he was trying again and again, but it wasn't working.
'Hmm.'
Enkrid quietly gathered his thoughts and adjusted his grip on the sword.
Is this a crisis?
It seemed so.
After repeating today, this might be the greatest crisis yet.
If death were to approach, and the opponent showed such resolve, then he could die and repeat.
But what if the opponent had no such intention?
What then?
That was the problem at hand.
Overdier, the paladin, didn't intend to kill him.
Thud!
He dodged the swing of the sword and was struck by the staff, but it didn't shatter him.
So, Enkrid could only endure.
In Enkrid's mind, there was no thought of joining forces with Shinar or Audin to kill the opponent.
Was it because someone's sacrifice was involved?
No, it was because the opponent stepped forward alone and stood proudly, so Enkrid did the same.
Therefore, he wouldn't join forces to kill the opponent, even if it meant his own death.
So, what was left?
"Stick your head out."
The voice of the boatman echoed in his mind.
"Go ahead and stick your head out, die, and repeat."
The voice of the boatman continued.
What he suggested was the easy path.
It was the easiest path possible.
"Die like that. Then you'll get today again, and you can start over."
Enkrid heard those words as if he was being told to throw away today for tomorrow, to not live the best today but to take the second-best option.
The same words he had heard in his dreams for the past few days, and now the hallucinations.
If Overdier didn't intend to kill him, then he should open the door to repeating today by his own action.
Then he would have the chance to surpass Overdier.
But in return, he would live an immortal today.
"Ah, I really don't want that."
Enkrid muttered again as he was struck by the staff on his shoulder and forced back.
"What are you talking about?"
Overdier asked, but Enkrid shook his head.
"Just talking to myself."
If someone were to ask why he was choosing the hard path despite knowing the situation, Enkrid would answer like this.
If there was an imperfect tomorrow and a perfect today, he would always choose the imperfect tomorrow.
"It doesn't change with stubbornness."
The voice of the boatman echoed over him.
"There's no change by being stubborn."
Overdior's voice overlapped.
But didn't he know?
In truth, it wasn't stubbornness, but determination, and it was closer to belief than determination.
Of course, Enkrid was just doing things as usual.
Without retreating even an inch, he stood there holding his sword.
Nothing had changed.
He had lost, but he wouldn't back down.
"Why are you doing this?"
Overdier asked.
Enkrid simply stated the truth.
"I heard the church locks up the child and drains the holy power from them."
He didn't mince his words and went straight to the point.
Enkrid's words made Schilma flinch.
What was this man saying?
That's when Overdier's gaze shifted from Audin's back to the fallen child.
Here it is :)

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