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Chapter 77. Conclusion

 

As I stepped forward, Frodil also reconstructed his shield and advanced. He should understand that a direct confrontation with swords is disadvantageous for him, yet I didn’t expect him to come straight at me.

“Hm?”

Frodil dodged the slash from Verethragna and blocked Yaldabaoth's strike with his sword. Normally, he would have used his shield to block and then counterattack... Could it be that he knows the power of my Grimoire?

Jeremiah and Hilalda indeed knew about it, so I considered the possibility that the information might have leaked, but I didn’t expect him to learn about my Grimoire's ability in such a short time.

“...I don't know the details of your Grimoire’s power, but it seems magical defense is impossible.”

Oh, so he doesn’t know.

“Is that what you think?”

“If I had blocked with my shield, it would have been easily sliced through. You were aiming for my left arm, weren’t you?”

He even saw through my aim… It’s becoming even more difficult to neutralize him without killing him. But in a head-to-head confrontation, I definitely have the advantage. And he better not underestimate my Apocrypha.

As Frodil advanced again, I poured power into my Apocrypha and severed his sword. My Apocrypha isn’t just a sword that absorbs magic. Its sharpness, enhanced by the vibration of magic, can easily cut through ordinary weapons.

Frodil’s eyes widened as he lost his weapon, and as he leaped backward, I chased him with a slash from Verethragna, causing blood to gush from his torso.

“An incredible sharpness, a power that nullifies magic… and on top of that, an invisible blade of magic... As expected, you are the obstacle I must overcome.”

“Sleep until this incident is resolved.”

“S■■dalp■■n.”

As I stepped forward, Frodil also reconstructed his shield and advanced. He should understand that a direct confrontation with swords is disadvantageous for him, yet I didn’t expect him to come straight at me.

“Huh?”

He tried to block my Yaldabaoth with his shield, so I aimed to cut off his left arm, but just before the blade touched, the shield exploded. The sudden sound and light momentarily halted my movements, giving Frodil the chance to graze my cheek with a magical blade he had deployed without my noticing.

“...That didn’t land a direct hit? Indeed, you’re a monster on a different level from me.”

No joke.

I’m not boasting, but I’ve never experienced a “struggle” since I was born. My innate magical talent, combined with the swordsmanship honed through training with my father, allowed me to effortlessly cut down any enemy. But this man is different. His movements, as if he knows the future of my actions, are clearly abnormal.

But that doesn’t mean I’m shaken by my first “struggle.” Just because I’ve never struggled in actual combat doesn’t mean I’ve never lost; I’ve never won a sparring match with just swordsmanship against my father, so the concept of defeat is ingrained in my body. That’s why I understand that I haven’t lost yet.

“You’re dangerous… but your power is valuable. You might surpass your father, Vice Commander Misra, and even become the Grand Marshal one day.”

“I wouldn’t like that. People in positions of power are burdened with responsibilities and obligations, and that’s not the future I want.”

“I see… Well, I can understand that perspective a little.”

He says that with a ruler’s personality.

“So, how do you plan to live in the future?”

“...I’ve researched that ‘End’ you mentioned. I want to find a way to stop it.”

“I knew it! You and I are alike.”

Lately, I’ve had a hard time denying that.

“It’s a shame… If we had met under different circumstances, we could have been allies.”

“True. I agree with that.”

Frodil didn’t redeploy his shield and instead held his sword with both hands and advanced. The fact that he blew up his shield... This guy knows Yaldabaoth’s ability. I don’t know how it leaked, but it’s troublesome. However… it’s too early to use my trump card. The reason is that my base abilities surpass his. But I must be cautious of his future-sensing movements... A single mistake in handling that could endanger my life.

Speaking of which, he hasn’t activated his Grimoire yet... I wonder what the conditions are. Grimoires with activation conditions usually have dangerous abilities, so I must be careful. His future-sensing movements might be the power of his Grimoire, though.

“Magic, huh?”

It seems he also understands his disadvantage in close combat. Frodil deployed multiple magic circles behind him and aimed them at me. But I’m not just a brute who relies solely on close combat. Ever since I entered Chronos Magic Knight Academy, I’ve been studying magic circles in the ancient library. I’m good enough at them to instantly recognize what kind of magic a circle contains.

With a quick glance at the magic circles, I saw that the central one is for lightning magic… and the surrounding ones are swords? A fighting style that fires magic swords while releasing lightning, huh? Well... it seems like a simple one-handed magic swordsmanship spell that doesn’t hinder his movements.

I absorbed the incoming lightning magic with my Apocrypha and blocked the magic swords with my cloak. This cloak is designed to deflect any magic, making it nearly invincible against magical attacks.

Seeing me nullify his magic, Frodil looked incredibly annoyed, which irritated me. What’s with that face?

“I’m not good with dual-wielding.”

“...What are you saying?”

“That’s why I came up with a magic that takes advantage of it.”

It’s a spell described in books as too inefficient for anyone to use, but with a little tweaking, I made it my own unique magic. It’s… a spell to summon my own duplicate.

“What!?”

Frodil seemed shocked as another me emerged from the void, but that moment of surprise would be his downfall.

My duplicate took hold of Verethragna, and I charged in with Apocrypha in hand. Frodil, though shaken, tried to counter with magic, but I closed in while absorbing his magical attacks with Apocrypha.

As Frodil attempted to block with his sword, my duplicate deflected it with an invisible blade once, then struck again, inflicting a deep wound on his right leg.

“It’s over.”

With his leg injured and unable to move quickly, I released the absorbed magic with my real body. The high-pitched sound from Apocrypha rang out as it severed Frodil’s left arm from the elbow down.

“Impossible!”

“I thought it’d be unfair, like two against one, so I hesitated to use it, but you were stronger than I expected.”

With this, it’s settled for now. I need to quickly head over to support the Magic Knights and my comrades… I hope the two-stage plan goes well.

“[S■■dalp■■n]”

I heard the sound of a clock’s hands moving.