Chapter 12. Moonlit Sword
As the bi-horned demon appeared, the surrounding air began to chill and settle.
Aileen could feel the rapidly changing atmosphere on her skin as she looked around.
A member of the Azure Lion knights, unsure if dead or unconscious from hitting a tree.
Other knights were staring at the bi-horned demon, unable to find a way to deal with it.
Soldiers whose faces were turning pale.
Aileen bit her lip hard.
'The memorized spells are for resonance stone maintenance, not combat...!'
Even at her best, defeating a demon of this level would be uncertain.
Even Aileen, a 5th-rank mage of the Barco rank, was intimidated by the presence of the bi-horned demon.
- Sssssss...
The area around the tower was eerily silent.
Only the sound of the bi-horned demon's breathing could be heard.
'Have the resonance stone's barriers weakened this much... or have the demons' aggressiveness increased?'
Normally, even a bi-horned demon would be helplessly trapped by the resonance stone's barriers.
Yet, its appearance in this manner suggested severe damage to the resonance stone.
'What should I do...!?'
Aileen tried to steady her pounding heart and considered how to overcome the situation.
Facing the bi-horned demon in battle seemed impossible.
The moment one of the Azure Lion knights was struck by the demon and sent flying, the soldiers' morale plummeted.
'Should we flee?'
Riding a horse to escape might be possible.
However, if this place falls, the consequences would be unmanageable.
The demon would march toward the imperial capital starting from this region.
Naturally, the blame would solely fall on her and everyone present here for failing to stop the demon.
She couldn't ignore this and run away.
'Then what should I do...!?'
At that moment, she felt an intense, piercing murderous intent.
When Aileen looked up, a beast-type demon was hurtling through the air like an arrow toward her.
'Oh no...!'
The demon had seized the opportunity when the barrier's power weakened.
It meant demons possessed intelligence.
As the demon approached, Aileen instinctively shut her eyes tight.
Yet, as time passed, nothing happened.
When she slowly opened her eyes...
"... Yulian?"
She saw the back of the man she intensely disliked.
The imperial sword that had executed countless nobles and commoners.
That very sword was protecting her in a moment of danger.
"Where is your mind wandering?"
Yulian spoke gently.
He swung his sword once more, flicking off the blood that had stained it.
It was the blood of the beast-type demon that had been flying towards Aileen moments ago.
"So that's all a Barco-rank mage amounts to."
Surprisingly, as Yulian spoke, the threatening breath of the bi-horned demon became inaudible.
To be precise, Yulian's quiet voice drowned out the rough breathing of the demon.
"Were you so shocked that you forgot what you should be doing?"
Aileen recalled what she had momentarily forgotten.
Her task at hand was now clear.
"Bring the mana pipe and the new resonance stone over here! I will resume repairing the resonance stone!"
As Aileen spoke, the administrators of the Julin special district came to their senses and began moving the necessary items.
The soldiers clutching weapons seemed to regain some of their morale as well.
People started to get a grip by realizing that Yulian was present.
"It will take about seven minutes from now!"
Saying so, Aileen once again imprinted the image of Yulian's back in her mind.
A man who had betrayed and turned into the royal dog, selling even his soul for advancement, with no trace of his former self from his days at the Bayer Academy.
'Ugh...'
However, at this moment, the presence of 'Yulian' was more reassuring than anything. It was as dependable as he was back when they were at Bayer Academy.
Aileen didn't want to acknowledge this fact and bit her lip hard.
Nevertheless, looking at that back, it overflowed with nobility as if to firmly reject the notion of being the royal dog.
***
Flicking off the demon's blood from the sword, I had a thought.
This is bad.
The situation isn't favorable.
I had been trying to immerse myself by acting out the character 'Yulian' from the story, but it wasn't easy.
'I did want practical experience, but the difficulty is too high.'
I looked at the bi-horned demon watching us from a short distance away.
It seemed the host had been human, as it was bipedal, but its appearance had departed from the realm of humanity, becoming monstrous.
It was nearly 3 meters tall, with two horns sprouting from its head and explosive muscles. The viscous fluid dripping from its mouth could make anyone cringe.
'One from the Azure Lion knights is incapacitated. It's uncertain whether the other can hold against the bi-horned one.'
Here, I was the only one capable of confronting that thing.
Only I, 'Yulian Cryphart Frason'.
'Can I do it?'
Of course, it wasn't strictly necessary to defeat it.
If Aileen successfully repaired the resonance stone, that alone would resolve the situation.
'The time needed for replacing the resonance stone is at least seven minutes.'
In other words, I had to hold off this creature, which had knocked down a knight with beyond-human combat capabilities, for more than seven minutes.
'I have to do it.'
Even if I survived alone by running away, it would only be temporary.
Returning to the capital, those eager to exploit any blemish would undoubtedly seize this incident to hound me.
I was truly in a pinch from all sides.
Still, if there was one saving grace, it was that Yulian's physical strength was surprisingly formidable.
I recalled how I had cut down the demon that had aimed for Aileen earlier.
'It was smoothly cut.'
It was a testimony to Yulian's immense strength.
Moreover, thanks to the 〈Innate Swordsman〉 trait, I had a rough sense of how to swing my sword.
'I can do it.'
I felt a glimmer of hope.
There was hope that I might somehow manage to get through this situation.
Holding the sword grip tightly, I advanced toward the bi-horned.
As I stepped closer, step by step, the pressure of potentially dying made my eyes feel as if they were about to fill with blood.
At the same time, there was a sense of elevation in my mind.
It was a life-and-death situation.
In this moment, Yulian's body was experiencing some kind of ecstasy.
'This guy was a battle maniac, after all.'
It was a feeling akin to a blazing inferno.
Normally, I would have dismissed such a radical emotion had I retained my disdain for the character 'Yulian'.
But now, I resolved to throw myself into this fire.
Otherwise, survival here would be impossible.
Both in behavior and speech.
I will perfectly enact his abilities too!
"Sir Yulian!"
Fern's urgent shout echoed.
His voice caused me to lift my head, and I saw the fierce swing of the bi-horned demon's right arm.
It was the attack of a demon that had taken down an elite knight of the Adratan Empire in a single blow.
Yet I could see it clearly.
Where it aimed, what it intended, and precisely where to position my sword to block it.
〈Remarkable Intuition〉
〈Innate Swordsman〉
Bang─!
Stopping the demon's hand caused an eardrum-piercing metallic sound to reverberate around.
"H-He blocked it!"
"He blocked the attack of a bi-horned demon!"
I was astonished as well.
Who knew I could block it so effortlessly?
I once again realized what a monstrous form Yulian's physicality was, far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
〈Imperfect Moonlit Sword〉
But, I couldn't be satisfied with just that.
Focusing my mind, I infused aura into the sword.
Soon, Yulian's signature, 'Moonlit Sword', began to reveal its light.
"So that... is the Moonlit Sword."
Even if they hadn't seen it in person, someone recognized the 'Moonlit Sword' from its reputation.
Yet by my standards, it was unsatisfactory.
Only a fraction of the blade, less than half, emitted the moonlight glow.
Even so, the effectiveness of the 'Moonlit Sword' was tremendous.
From below to above.
As I delivered a vertical slash to the bi-horned demon, a viscous fluid-like blood began flowing from its body.
Krrrrrr──!
Groaning as if it was boiling from the pain.
For a demon to command others, it must possess some level of intelligence, which implied a degree of rationality.
Unlike lesser mobs like the hornless or uni-horned, it could indeed feel pain.
'Press the attack.'
As soon as this thought crossed my mind, and I strengthened my grip on the sword,
Thunk─!
With a dull sound, my body was suddenly in the air.
I belatedly coughed up a handful of blood.
It didn't take long to realize what had happened.
It had used the blind spot in my vision to kick my abdomen.
'Damn, that hurts...!'
I instinctively cursed inwardly at the excruciating pain.
Ordinarily, 'Yi Shihu', an average person, would have been on his knees by now, overwhelmed by the immense pain.
Yet my mind remained extraordinarily calm.
The obsession with 'if I were Yulian' began to slowly alter who I was.
-......!!
With a tearing roar, the bi-horned demon launched a fierce onslaught against me.
The powerful blows splitting the air struck my ears repeatedly.
Accepting even one would result in a mortal wound from its ferocious attacks.
It was incredibly challenging to dodge and simultaneously slash at the demon's body.
"Impossible..."
"So this is the 'Blind Eyes' Yulian..."
Yet at this moment, it was feasible.
I didn't know why.
I didn't know the reason.
All I did was let my body swing the sword as it wanted.
Each time I cut into the bi-horned demon, that viscous residue sprayed everywhere.
With its overwhelming regenerative abilities, its wounds healed almost instantly.
Yet, from what I could tell, the accumulated excruciating pain gradually slowed its movements.
'Strength and weakness have nothing to do with it. In the face of pain, hesitation is a given.'
Pain, too, is an emotion.
The higher the intelligence, the more acutely it is likely felt.
Krrrrrrk──!
A 'purple haze' began to swirl over its head.
It was the clear emotion of fear.
"The resonance stone's repair is complete! The barrier will be operational soon!"
On cue with Aileen's announcement, I closed the distance on the bi-horned demon.
With each step forward, its emotional state became more pronounced.
Eventually, the entire creature was enveloped in a purple hue.
Apparently triggered by a survival instinct, the bi-horned demon charged at me.
And that was my opportunity.
The situation had changed since before.
Now that it was afraid, it was no longer a foe to be intimidated by.
Clear-headed, Yi Shihu's 'knowledge' and Yulian's 'experience' whispered to me.
If you aim to kill in one strike, slash here.
Just as I had cut down the wooden practice dummies in the estate, I brought my blade into that sword path.
==
⇒ You have acquired a new trait, 「Foresight」
==
In that instant, the torso of the bi-horned demon was effortlessly cleaved in two, as if the previous battle had been a lie.
The soldiers and knights watching, along with Aileen, stared at me with astonished eyes.
'Wow.'
I was astonished too.
Clacky's Corner:
Hmm, the first battle is pretty satisfying.