Chapter 50: Another Tinnitus

“I won. This time, I was sure of it.”

Honestly, if Low had made a dramatic resurrection and wiped us out at this point, that would have been the world cheating.

After hearing Anduril’s words, I recalled something I had forgotten.

The strongest force on this battlefield wasn’t Elaine, Scott, the Guards, or the mages.

Just like how Low had the Devil’s power as his trump card,

We had our own trump card.

Ice Crystal.

In Brave Road Episode 4, it became the powerful weapon that defeated the enemy’s forces by being the material for Grace’s main weapon, the crystal sword. It was the mysterious mineral I had desperately tried to secure since coming to this world.

Coincidentally, it seemed that Low had become distracted by us, postponing his original goal of destroying the Ice Crystal.

Or perhaps he was confident that he could destroy the Ice Crystal after wiping us out, and he probably could have, but…

Anyway, the Ice Crystal was right here!

I found the lonely Ice Crystal, which had caused the battle but was outside everyone’s attention.

“Haah, success or death.”

I wondered how I ended up risking my life for this, but at this point, if I kept going, Low would kill us all.

For a stable fantasy life, Low had to disappear here.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself, and as soon as I touched the Ice Crystal…

“Ugh! It’s cold!”

Do you know the fear a person feels when their tongue sticks to an ice-cold popsicle and they can’t pull it off?

It was about twenty times worse than that.

As I touched the Ice Crystal, I feared that all my body heat would be sucked away by the coldness.

“But I have Salamander scales.”

I controlled my body heat and touched the Ice Crystal again.

I absorbed the magic energy contained in the Ice Crystal.

“Sophia, I trust you.”

She had said that I was more receptive to magic than normal people.

Right now, I desperately wished, hoped, and prayed that I could be a genius, just as she said, because…

“Just a little… Just a little more, please hold on.”

Even though I didn’t want to see it, I had to watch. Even though I didn’t want to hear it, I did.

The sight of Elaine fighting against Low and getting hurt.

While my heart desperately wanted to explode with heat and rush in,

I made myself keep calm, even though my lips were trembling.

If I rushed in now, it would be a hopeless death.

If I truly wanted to save her, I had to focus here.

“Ughhhh!”

The immense, cold magic of the Ice Crystal entered me, and at the same time, I felt as though my body was freezing from the overwhelming cold. My mind became hazy, but I maintained my body temperature using heat manipulation and continued to absorb the magic without stopping.

“I did it!”

A breath heavier than cigarette smoke flowed out.

The magic contained in the Ice Crystal was so vast that what I absorbed was only a tiny portion.

Half of my upper body now contained the Ice Crystal’s cold magic.

But this alone wasn’t enough for combat.

To fully use the magic of the Ice Crystal, I would need to be at Grace’s level.

Moreover, the Ice Crystal Grace used in the story was the size of a gem, whereas I was absorbing the magic from one the size of a boulder, so it was even more powerful.

Because of this, with my current level, I could only deliver one strike at most.

“Hey, you scumbag!”

I hid the Ice Crystal’s magic with heat manipulation and provoked Low.

My upper body was about to burst from magic manipulation, but charging at him was impossible.

To land a decisive blow, he had to move.

Fortunately, Low fell for my provocation.

As planned, I made him let down his guard by pretending to give up my sword, then struck him with a sharp one-time blow.

Seizing the perfect opportunity…

“Now!”

I poured all the magic in my body into the obsidian dagger.

The obsidian dagger, made of iron and obsidian, devoured the magic of the Ice Crystal without breaking.

“Take this!”

I swung the obsidian dagger, filled with the cold magic of the Ice Crystal, and unleashed my most powerful blow.

Snow Blade, Luke Style. Avalanche.

As I swung the obsidian, the impact from the magic tore through my arm muscles in agony, but I smiled.

Who wouldn’t smile seeing the magnificent snowstorm unfold right before their eyes?

Especially since I had caused this phenomenon with my own hands.

And then…

“Nice… Elaine.”

As I collapsed from exhaustion, I saw it.

Elaine understood my intention and,

As soon as the shadow spear shattered from the avalanche, she caught the obsidian thrown into the snowstorm.

She nodded at me.

Whoooosh!

This battle was over.

As Low collapsed, his magic faded.

No more Shadow Tactics, Fireworks, or the Gambit.

The shadows that had covered the underground vanished, and the shadow soldiers disappeared.

Only then did the Guards and mages realize that the battle was over.

“Hey, Luke! Are you alive?”

Garen ran over, asking about my condition, and I answered honestly.

“I feel like I’m going to die.”

“Yeah, seeing you say that means you’re really hurt.”

Garen was also covered in blood, probably from fighting the shadow soldiers.

Well, they must have been the reason I had time to absorb the Ice Crystal’s magic.

“Senior, what about Low?”

“He’s down. The mages are tying him up now.”

“Ahhh…”

So Low must have been knocked out.

We really won.

“Hehehe.”

It’s amazing.

We defeated the boss of Episode 3 with our own hands.

Without the protagonist.

Without Grace.

Without any of the named characters from the novel, just us, the extras, defeating one of the main villains.

It’s so unbelievable and overwhelming that I don’t even know how to express it.

So I just laughed.

“Kid, you’re in pretty bad shape. Get on my back. Wait, can you even get on? Hold on. I’ll carry you.”

“Ah, senior. My… arm! Hey!”

“OF?”

“It’s ‘Ayah,’ a sound of pain or an exclamation.”

“Heh, after all that suffering, I guess it’s fine to speak casually.”

Thanks to Garen, I was carried back to where everyone else was.

Truly, Row was lying face down on the floor, tightly wrapped up. He had returned to his human form.

Everyone around him was sitting or standing, looking utterly exhausted, as they surrounded Row.

“Luke!”

He was probably as worn out as I was.

Perhaps because she was the captain of the guards and couldn’t afford to show any weakness, Elaine shouted loudly when she saw me.

So loudly that everyone around turned their heads toward me.

Elaine didn’t stop there. She walked up to me with slow steps.

“Are you alright?”

“?!”

I knew she was worried as the captain, but the reason I was shocked was—

Elaine was gently caressing my cheek with her hand.

With a concerned look in her eyes.

Wait a second.

The fatigue from the battle must have made her a little careless.

There are a lot of people around, and this kind of action is a bit too obvious, don’t you think?

And I’m currently being carried by Garen! Her voice is dangerous!

But I couldn’t move an inch.

If I spoke too quietly, Garen would hear me.

How should I respond to this? My brain was already fried, but just as I tried to figure that out—

“What?!”

A wizard shouted in surprise, and all eyes turned in that direction.

And everyone was shocked.

“These… vermin.”

Row, having regained some of his senses, was shaking with anger as he stood up.

The guards and wizards, who still had some strength left, were keeping their weapons aimed at Row, ready to attack at the slightest move.

“Do you really think you can kill me with such a trivial thing? This trial… compared to the time I spent with that bastard, it’s nothing…”

Hack!

Despite his shaking, Row continued to puff out his chest with pride, but the copious amount of blood he spat out confirmed his arrogance was in vain.

Row, exhausted, gasped for air and then let out a chilling laugh.

“Heh heh heh. It’s really funny. Here I am, lower than a vermin. I’ve never felt such humiliation in my life.”

For a while, Row continued to laugh hysterically.

“I will never forget today. I remember every face here. Not one of you will be left alive. I’ll tear you apart and throw you to the beasts.”

“Shut up. From now on, you’ll have your tendons severed, your body bound with mana-blocking cuffs, and you’ll be locked in the underground prison.”

Elaine’s warning made Row nod in acknowledgment.

“Ah, the one who wounded me twice, especially you… be ready. I’ll make you suffer even worse than I said earlier.”

“You’re the one who’ll suffer pitifully.”

“Heh, I suppose so.”

Row let out a self-deprecating laugh and then said:

“I cast away my sins.”

At his words, I suddenly felt a strange sense of foreboding and quickly shouted:

“Captain, he’s planning something!”

“1”

Elaine must have felt the same as she swung her sword.

Swish!

Elaine’s sword struck Row’s left eye, but—

Shishishishik!

Shadows rose from the ground and enveloped Row, and he disappeared right on the spot.

Where Row had been, there was nothing but the fur of the werewolf we had been fighting earlier.

“!!”

The wizards had been using barrier magic to bind his limbs and suppress his mana.

So he must have forcibly broken free and escaped.

What a disgusting guy.

From the werewolf’s skin left behind, it seemed that he had given up the demon’s power in exchange for his escape.

I didn’t think that was even possible.

“Luke!”

“It’s not invisibility. …………He’s moved somewhere else.”

“Dammit!”

Elaine, unusually for her, cursed and shouted:

“Anyone who can move, go after him! He couldn’t have gotten far in that state!”

“Gasp, gasp.”

Barely escaping, Row appeared again in a forest outside Winter Cannon.

It was an escape route I’d set up to avoid the chaos that usually happened after a mission.

I never thought it would end up saving my life.

“Goddamn…”

Frustration surged in me at how pitifully I had been wounded by such a weak bastard, and yet, at the same time, I felt a bitter sense of relief that I had escaped, which only made me more angry.

I had the urge to pour poison into Winter Cannon right away.

“Tch, now how am I supposed to explain this?”

An unexpected variable had caused both the Snowflake Tower terrorist attack and the destruction of the Ice Crystal to fail.

That guy had a personality that wouldn’t tolerate failure, so severe punishment was certain.

Honestly, I was a little scared of that.

If anyone found out that I had abandoned the demon’s power to escape, things would be troublesome.

I only had one option. First, I had to recover and properly gather my equipment before coming back. Then I would head to the Snowflake Tower and kill them all.

This time, I had come lightly without properly preparing my weapons, aside from a few medicines.

That’s why I took a hit from those guys.

Even without the demon’s power, if I fought using my usual dagger skills, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

Suddenly, Row’s gaze turned to his severed right arm.

Damn, that’s also a problem.

Luna, that b*tch with recovery abilities, was dead by Aran’s hands.

My eyes hurt.

“Come to think of it, it was Luke. That strange bastard’s dagger looked pretty good.”

Even in this situation, my bad habits still had me coveting the value of the dagger.

“?!”

Row’s senses detected the presence of four people. From the footsteps, they seemed to be sturdy adults.

Given the situation, it would be better to avoid fighting.

Reluctantly, Row got up and tried to leave the area, but—

‘Another presence?’

For some reason, even though he had moved a considerable distance, he sensed more people nearby.

It was too soon for them to have caught up.

Perhaps they were his subordinates. Row stopped fleeing and hid in a tree to confirm the identity of the approaching presence.

“Geez, you scared me.”

The source of the noise turned out to be Blackcrow members and a civilian.

From their attire, it seemed they were the villagers from Camliber that Son had mentioned, along with his subordinates transporting them.

‘This means Son must have succeeded in dealing with Grace. Heh, the battles of knights and assassins are completely different.’

After all, even that great hero got caught in a conspiracy and took a hit once.

Relieved, Lowe stepped out and approached them.

“Phew, we caught up.”

“?”

There was another voice from the side.

Upon hearing that, Lowe froze with a chilling feeling.

Could it be…?

Turning his head in disbelief, there she was.

“Lowe?”

It was the Duke of the North, Grace Northlane.

With her escort.

“I was on my way to save the people when I unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance. What are you doing here, in that state? And how did you lose your right arm?”

Grace tilted her head as she looked at Lowe.

At her reaction, Lowe inwardly relaxed.

Grace, who wasn’t present at the scene, didn’t know who was behind the Snowflake Tower attack.

If he could deceive her, he might be able to escape right here.

He could just hand over those idiots.

However, as Grace slowly examined Lowe, her eyes suddenly changed.

“Aha, I understand.”

A tremendous killing intent began to crush Lowe mercilessly.

“Ugh!”

Already in a battered state, Lowe could not withstand the oppressive killing intent and curled up.

“That wound was made with a Shulhan sword. That means you fought with Elaine.”

“!”

Crazy.

How did she figure that out?

No, wait.

Of course, she would figure it out.

Grace Northlane, the Duke of the North.

Her other title, which made her famous as humanity’s strongest knight, was…

Swordmaster.

In terms of pure swordsmanship, Grace was even superior to the hero Aran.

She had been Aran’s instructor in swordsmanship.

“Wait a minute, Grace!”

“Shut up. I’m angry right now.”

Feeling a threat to his life, Lowe forced himself to use his power, even as blood gushed from his body.

Spirit magic, water divination.

With this, Lowe attached shadows to Grace’s body, limiting her movement, and…

Kraaaack!

Grace’s overwhelming strength shattered the shadow bullet in a single blow.

“Tsk, as expected!”

Lowe knew she wasn’t an easy opponent.

But fighting her in his current state was a suicide mission.

Spirit magic, shadow stepping.

Since Grace had no detection abilities, she wouldn’t be able to find him in hiding.

Lowe attempted to escape with this, but…

“Just an illusion like that? I can find you easily with the sound of your footsteps.”

Sword technique, biting.

As Lowe remained hidden, Grace threw her sword, which stabbed sharply into his body.

“Aaaah!”

With a single strike, Grace pierced Lowe’s abdomen, causing him to scream in agony.

“You’re a nuisance trying to escape.”

Grace’s cold voice filled Lowe with despair. He used his life force to attempt teleportation.

“This much won’t kill me, but it’ll make you a fool.”

Boom!

Grace’s fist ruthlessly crushed Lowe’s body.