His mouth opened involuntarily, but this couldn't be helped. He was trapped in a curse that repeated today. So when repeating that today, there were times when it exceeded several hundred repetitions.
If he combined those numbers, it wouldn't be in the hundreds but in the thousands.
So naturally the word "just that" came out. If the ferryman, who knew such circumstances, saw this situation, he would nod his head.
That could be.
Of course, to others who didn't know this situation, it would sound completely different.
Provocation at a time like this?
Well, wouldn't it look like that.
The word "just that" was natural for Enkrid, but it spread a somewhat different ripple to others.
The overlapping voice that had made even the raindrops bow just moments ago had made Dremül seem like a being from another world, not this one.
Such majesty overflowed that even if you reached out your hand, you could never touch it.
But with that single word "just that," he became once again an ugly soul bound to a rotting corpse and a monster sustained by spells and potions.
Moreover, he even showed such narrow-mindedness by reacting to a few words.
"...I acknowledge your talent for irritating others. Creature."
He spoke to Enkrid.
"I'm just a mere swordsman."
Enkrid replied while raising Tri-Iron. His arm slowly lifted and pointed to one side. He continued speaking.
"Together, we're just two mere swordsmen."
Whoooosh.
No one but the wind and rain opened their mouths.
To be able to provoke like this in the midst of all this could truly be called extraordinary.
Crash!
The sky spat lightning as if admiring Enkrid. White light brightly illuminated the surroundings before fading.
Shadows stretched in four directions from his body, then returned to their original form as if assimilating with the darkness that came to the place the light had left.
Throughout this entire process, Enkrid's posture showed not the slightest disturbance.
"Not called a madman for nothing."
Rynox admired. Enkrid wanted to deny those words. Wasn't it something he shouldn't hear from someone who had lost an arm and was making jokes about only using three swords from now on?
But the head of house spoke one step faster.
"From now on, it's my turn. Border Guard's Enkrid."
The head of house stood before the monster with unique cosmetic techniques that had gained black rock skin, and though his entire body was covered in wounds, he still showed an imposing presence. Should he be called a human who embodied a greatsword?
It wasn't intimidation—he himself was like a single sword.
A greatsword with its blade sharpened, full of fighting spirit. There seemed no need to ask where the sword's point was aimed.
"Don't worry. Here's the meat shield Rynox."
Rynox also interjected.
"Did you say that others' one day was ten days of today for you?"
Enkrid also interjected with a question, then opened his mouth again before the opponent could answer. It was a follow-up question.
"So is that why you look so old on the outside?"
At this point, it would be fair to say he was risking his life to mock his opponent.
The tone was decorated like a scene from some heroic epic, but the words he spoke were like that. It was a provoking ability that naturally drew admiration.
The words "old on the outside" came out here?
"I'm young-looking though."
Every time Enkrid said something, Rynox stuck his tongue out.
"What a fellow I'd truly like to tear apart and kill."
The monster Dremül's tone was dripping with anger. During his decades of life, there must have been some who looked down on him. But it had been truly long since he heard such words.
No, was it the first time?
There was no need to go into detail about his story, but he had spent the past decades as if asleep.
And both before sleeping and after awakening, only those who revered him existed.
"My god!"
"Master who will become the new god of the demon realm!"
The only one who didn't show fear was Heskal. He was someone who approached seeking profit rather than fear.
Even that Heskal hadn't wanted to compose a new Zaun beside himself rather than the existing Zaun to depend on?
Dremül's insides twisted.
Just because one wanted to become a god didn't mean their heart was broad. That was Dremül's nature. He had never let anyone who fell out of his favor live.
He couldn't fully trust even Heskal, so he had placed a prohibition on his heart, but the fellow made an incomprehensible choice at the end.
Faith and trust were words absent from his life.
He was a narrow-minded human who had never given trust to anyone.
Now he had become a narrow-minded monster.
"I will definitely kill you."
Dremül pointed his finger at Enkrid and spoke. The rotting flesh with patches of skin turned to black stone looked hideous.
"What did I do to deserve this?"
Enkrid denied Dremül's words.
Well, it was always happening that opponents showed killing intent toward him, so he wasn't truly aggrieved.
This showed in his tone too—the calm way he spoke while claiming to be wronged was quite irritating.
"Let's not become enemies."
Rynox said with renewed admiration.
The head of house raised his sword without a trace of laughter.
Though it wasn't like this for twenty years straight, the Zauns had to split into sides internally. For a long time, they had to suspect, cast out, and test someone.
The head of house was terribly angry about that. And the one who dared make his entire family split into sides was right before his eyes.
The essence of all these schemes would be the monster before his eyes, not Heskal.
The head of house knew this.
"I should have found and killed him long ago."
The head of house murmured quietly, and hearing this, Dremül's gaze turned toward the head of house.
"Arrogant. Fellow."
He had found the one who had spread curses and disease for over ten years and was only now facing him.
The time Dremül had actually been active was extremely short. In between, his disciples had substituted for him.
If Heskal hadn't helped, he would still be hiding somewhere in a vegetative state.
'I awakened a hundred years earlier than the original plan.'
Of course, it didn't matter. It was just waking up a little early.
Anyway, his current self had glimpsed divinity.
Fish playing in the lake called Zaun, no matter how big they grew, couldn't be opponents.
That's why he had started everything even knowing it wasn't perfect.
Dremül no longer needed to dispense teachings. It was time for punishment.
Following his hands, black smoke rose, and on the ground, wriggling bugs gathered.
Each one was the size of a palm. If bitten, you couldn't say it would just sting.
Enkrid stood with his sword raised. Rynox also stood with one arm, and behind everyone, presence began to be felt.
Everyone didn't need to look back. It wasn't the presence of magical beasts, and voices were heard immediately.
"Anahera is here."
It was what the giant tribe's greatest beauty said as she approached limping, having lost her helmet.
"I trained my sword for times like this. I'll help too."
Behind her, the originally limping man also joined in.
Giant tribe Anahera and limping Riley.
"Is that the bastard?"
"You cut down Heskal?"
"Is Ragna dead? He can't die yet. He has to wait until I surpass him."
Other Zaun swords gathered.
"If you lose, I'll be next."
There, Alexandra also came, half-leaning with her arm on Odinkar's shoulder.
"Don't worry. I'm here. Alex."
Odinkar had well-contained his anger that had risen to the top of his head. Though it was a short time, he too had grown.
Crossing the line during sparring had been his habit, but that habit disappeared after rolling around at Border Guard.
The Zaun swords gathered. To protect the place where they lived.
Their strength would also be beyond Dremül's expectations.
No matter how much they had eliminated the Medusa and curse snakes, he hadn't expected that none of the Zauns would die and they would stand defiantly before him like this.
However, Dremül believed even this didn't matter. He was alone now, but that wasn't a problem.
Heskal and those he called disciples were merely consumables.
He was a being who would become a god and open a new demon realm here.
He would be praised by all creatures living on the continent and empire, become a god and establish new laws.
"Protect the head of house."
Enkrid spoke following his intuition, then continued speaking without even breathing.
"Move beside Anahera! Kal, support the rear. Riley, lead the group. Kill all the bugs."
With a few gestures from Dremül, bugs poured from the sky and golems made of black earth rose from the ground.
The black mud golem's fists were as big as human heads.
Would they have to fight a long battle again?
No, that wasn't the case.
The head of house took out a medicine bottle, poured it into his mouth, swallowed it, then held his sword in a drooping manner and regulated his breathing.
'Medicine now?'
It was medicine Anne had given him. He had heard it was medicine that would reduce pain even if just for a moment.
The head of house took it now.
Until now, he had been fighting with his wrecked body.
Why?
'For now.'
For this one moment.
The one moment the head of house, who possessed talent for strategy, had been waiting for was now.
Separate from what he knew with his head, Enkrid felt a different energy from him than usual.
Meanwhile, Dremül summoned bugs, golems, flying evil spirits, and spread disease.
The black smoke he scattered was poison itself and disease that brought death.
If you inhaled the smoke, tumors might grow in your body or you might go blind.
All the Zaun swordsmen began fighting by appropriately retreating and buying time.
Avoid the black smoke and cut the bugs.
They circled around golems to cut their legs and eliminate mobility, and when they regenerated, they cut again.
The battle began like that, and the head of house stood like dead while holding his sword, then raised the drooping sword to hold it as if attaching it beside his face.
Seeing this, Dremül waved both hands and threw things like lumps of condensed black water. They were the size of human heads, and you didn't want to imagine what would happen if they exploded.
"Block it."
The head of house opened his mouth. Though he didn't know what the head of house knew to say such words, Enkrid did as told.
Enkrid could perceive the form of spells through sensation. He had cut walking fire that way. Then he trained with Esther to further hone that sense.
'Spell.'
Seeing that texture, he raised and swung his sword. Pulling his left foot back, the extended Tri-Iron made a thunk and cut the black water mass, splitting the lump in two.
Splutter.
The black mass split in two and fell to the ground, mixing with the dirt so no trace could be found.
It was power borrowed from the master of sulfur that melted everything it touched.
But it was useless. The core forming the spell, the transformation of magical power, was broken.
"Cutting spells?"
Dremül was surprised. This was truly surprising.
The thread made of magical power was cleanly cut. Could a mere swordsman do such a thing?
"How dare?"
Dremül threw five more black masses in succession, then chains made of black smoke emerged from behind his back and extended in all directions.
Those chains crawled along the ground like swift snakes without sound, aiming for Enkrid's ankles.
Enkrid cut all five masses in order. Except for being spells, cutting itself wasn't that difficult.
They weren't fast and didn't come flying with twisted trajectories. They were easier to cut than pumpkins Rem threw barehanded.
The chains were similar.
Since he could see the points where force was exerted in various places, he moved diligently and cut them.
He lifted his feet, kicked to buy time, and pulled Tri-Iron to sweep along the ground.
His whole body's muscles throbbed and his head pounded, but.
'Thin and long.'
After trying the explosion once, it became possible to draw out Will like a thin thread through restraint. Controlling Will was twice as easy as before.
He wanted to try copying what Ragna did, but for now, barely swinging his sword was more important.
"Hah!"
Dremül glared at Enkrid. Wasn't nothing working because of that bastard?
Enkrid moved his mouth. He was trying to say something. Was it that he couldn't endure anymore? That it was too much?
Seeing blood flowing from his nose, he surely wasn't normal.
Dremül cast spells while watching his mouth.
Enkrid swallowed the blood that was gurgling up once and spoke. A speaker should speak at an appropriate volume for their opponent to hear. Enkrid was an excellent speaker in this regard.
He spoke at an appropriate volume for Dremül to hear.
"How about what two mere swordsmen and one girl accomplished?"
Saying such words here?
"Kiaaa!"
Dremül let out a scream. Anger surged.
Then the types of spells flying increased.
Black masses, chains, black hands that suddenly popped up from below appeared.
Some of the rainwater turned black and transformed into dogs. Lightning also sparked here and there, but Enkrid managed to dodge and cut down all threatening spells aimed at the head of house.
In the process, he also rolled on the ground, so his whole body was soaked in muddy water, and pieces of the fairy tribe underwear that had been crushed inside from the intense movement flowed down.
He was thoroughly soaked and rolling in muddy water, looking like a mouse that had been beaten somewhere, but Enkrid's blue eyes didn't lose their light even in the darkness.
When he thought he had reached his limit, the head of house leaped toward Dremül.
What did Dremül believe in at that moment? The protective spells surrounding his body?
But one of the world's truths is that faith can always be betrayed.
Isn't it even written in scriptures?
When you take in hundreds of disciples, there's always one who betrays and sells out their master.
Incidentally, fables about betraying masters appear in all scriptures. They also frequently appear in old fables passed down orally.
"Ah."
Ragna, who had regained consciousness at some point, let out a single sound.
Enkrid also watched ahead. He had no strength left to move and was stabbing the ground with Tri-Iron.
Rainwater struck his eyelids, but he couldn't blink once.
The head of house, Tempest Zaun, leaped and swung his sword.
A single sword strike.
The head of house bet everything on it. Past experience, trained time, even future time.
Light exploded from his sword. It was a manifestation of Will clearly different from Audin's divinity.
The light wrapping the sword curved and severed the world.
A sword that cut anything. You could tell the moment you saw it.
Like that, the head of house's sword shattered all protective spells and whatever else, entering from Dremül's shoulder and exiting diagonally, splitting the fellow's body.
To the eye, it only felt like light striking and splitting the ugly-faced monster.
Throughout that entire process, Enkrid felt the Will surging and exploding inside the head of house.
It wasn't because his senses were special. Probably anyone at the quasi-knight level would have felt it.
Will was formless, invisible but felt. Now it was also visible.
But the head of house's Will, beyond just showing, made you vividly feel the changes around you like wind that you can't see but scatters your hair.
'Explosion.'
He too had used Will by exploding it.
However, his method was different from Alex's.
Experience, sensation, and the theory developed through training combined to make him clearly understand what the head of house had done.
'Point explosion.'
Alexandra allows for some distribution of time when fighting. In other words, a line explosion. Conversely, the head of house bet everything on a single sword strike.
In other words, swordsmanship to contain everything in one sword strike.
That must have been the head of house's secret technique.
And that secret technique cut the Zaun's long nightmare.
Black blood soaked the ground. The rain gradually thinned and now even the wind had decreased.
Dremül looked down at his half-severed body. Half-rotten organs flowed down to the ground.
"Why?"
He voiced his question. There was no madman claiming to be a god there. Only an ugly human who had denied death.
Also, Enkrid felt a thrill coursing through his entire body as he recalled the sword strike the head of house had just made.
Honestly, he had thought he could win if he fought with his life on the line.
'I can't block it.'
Seeing that sword strike just now, dizziness struck his head for an instant.
'The continent is vast.'
So it was enjoyable.
Enkrid looked at the head of house's Will and sword and smiled, and Dremül happened to turn his gaze and saw Enkrid smiling like that.
Hatred welled up in his heart.