Volume 1 Chapter 20 Duel At The Windmill
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Kian dashed up the spiral staircase of the windmill, bursting out onto the exposed top floor.
There stood Robert, shouting loudly while brandishing a knife, his massive body resembling that of a griffin.
The big guy was covered in wounds, clearly having been desperately trying to escape the griffin’s claws.
The deep gash on his back looked particularly nasty, likely from when he was carried off into the sky.
His armor around the waist was soaked in blood.
”Shh!”
Kian raised his axe, aiming for the griffin’s back.
A gap in the bones.
He aimed to slice through the vertebrae and sever the nerves──! But it seemed the griffin had sensed Kian’s ambush, driven by some primal instinct.
Just like when he had gutted the Funnelwing.
The powerful hind legs kicked up, trying to send Kian flying.
”──! .”
Kian twisted instinctively.
Dodging like a snake wrapping around the hind leg, he swung his axe hard, striking the griffin’s rear.
Feathers and blood flew everywhere.
Amidst the strong smell of beast, the scent of iron wafted through the air.
With a roar like a lion and a cry like a hawk, the griffin writhed in pain, flapping its wings wide.
A tremendous gust of wind rushed in, and in an instant, the monster’s massive body soared into the sky.
”O-oi, why are you here!?”
”I’m here to help you, Mr. Robert, the client.”
Kian looked up at the black shadow that had taken to the sky, answering casually.
The dazzling sun shone in the endless blue sky.
The giant wings danced in the clear air, as the griffin circled above the broken windmill.
(It’s angry. It doesn’t look like it’s gonna let us escape like this.)
Keeping an eye on the airborne monster, Kian scanned the exposed attic.
The narrow space was less than 20 meters wide.
If it swooped down with its wings spread, dodging would be nearly impossible.
…Fighting here would be extremely dangerous.
Kian shouted.
”Get down from here fast! If you don’t escape, I can’t either!”
”…!? O-okay!”
Robert crawled toward Kian.
’It is coming, Kian.’
The voice of the glasses-wearing guy.
In the sky, the griffin, having accelerated from its circling motion, spread its massive wings horizontally.
”…Ugh, …Ugh, …Ugh!”
Kian focused his magic power.
Robert, covered in ten buckets’ worth of something, switched places with Kian, who stepped forward.
He gathered magic power in the axe he held.
In front of him, backlit by the sun, a griffin with black claws swooped down.
”…!”
He wasn’t running away.
His eyes widened.
Kian tightened his grip on the axe, readying it at the lower stance.
The ordinary large axe seemed to respond to its wielder’s courage, swirling with wind.
It was actually magic power that surrounded it, but a white aura swirled around the silver blade like steam rising.
”Haaa!”
Just a second before they clashed, Kian swung the axe up high.
It was one of the 4 basic techniques, ‘Shot.’ It was a technique that sent the refined magic power flying toward the opponent.
The axe blade sliced through the air, but the white impact tore through the surrounding atmosphere and struck the griffin right in the chest.
”────────!!!!!????”
With a high-pitched scream, the massive body rolled into the top floor of the windmill.
The force was enough to turn it into ground meat, but just before impact, Kian unleashed the basic technique ‘Wall’ and further enhanced his muscles and bones with a body ability technique used by western swordsmen.
He was using magic power, but there was no time to hold back.
”Ugh…”
He leaped backward to absorb the impact, preventing himself from being caught in the griffin’s mass.
The impact hit his shoulder, threatening to break his bones, but fortunately, he neither dislocated nor broke anything.
The griffin couldn’t stop its momentum and skidded across the stone floor of the windmill, crashing into the stone wall at the back.
The wall on the top floor of the windmill shook like a stack of blocks, kicking up brown dust.
(Hard skin. Thick feathers.)
Spitting out a mix of gravel and saliva, he stood up.
He wiped his cheek, cut by a flying stone fragment.
A red line ran across the back of his hand.
With a low growl, the griffin emerged from the dust, wings folded.
Its yellow eyes locked onto Kian directly.
(The stone floor was significantly gouged. Even though the wall was old, it had crumbled from the force of the impact. If I took the hit directly, the basic defense technique ‘Wall’ wouldn’t hold up.)
”GAHHYYYYYYYYYNN!”
(The basic long-range technique ‘Shot’ is)
Kian grimaced, clenching his teeth.
The griffin’s feather-covered chest wasn’t bleeding at all.
There didn’t seem to be any damage to its bones or organs.
(If it was a surprise attack, it would at least weaken the enemy’s dive attack. But)
He slowly moved sideways, axe at the ready.
The griffin mirrored him, gracefully moving its limbs as it traced the perimeter of the windmill.
Staring each other down, Kian and the griffin shifted positions in a circle.
(If I enhanced the axe with ‘impact’, I could cut through flesh)
The first surprise attack.
The griffin’s rear, slashed and gouged from behind with the axe, was soaked in blood.
Perhaps due to its high physical ability, the blood seemed to have stopped flowing.
However, by channeling magic power into the weapon, he had managed to inflict damage with the axe.
”……”
There was a chance of victory──So, Kian crouched low and rolled a few small barrels filled with explosives toward the crumbling wall of the windmill.
If he struck them hard enough with the axe, the glass containing the chemicals inside would break, triggering an explosion.
”──────!!!!!!”
The griffin roared at close range.
The sound was so loud it was almost indistinguishable.
The tremendous sound pressure shook his brain, but Kian braced himself against the ground.
The griffin spread its wings wide.
It was a display of intimidation.
It seemed this creature intended to fight Kian to the death as a male.
Now that he thought about it, this monster was one of the outcasts.
It had lost its place in a pack, been banished by its former companions, and had come down to a spot near this street from the sacred mountain.
And it continued to fight alone to survive.
It was just like him──Kian twisted his mouth into a smirk.
”Suu…”
He extended his right hand forward.
His left hand, holding the axe, was positioned lower behind his body.
Kian took his stance.
”Come on, monster. I’ll take you on.”
* * *
It was like a gust of wind──.
Faced with the griffin charging at him with a furious roar, Kian grimaced.
He swung the axe up from his low stance.
Feathers and blood flew as the monster’s chest was slashed diagonally.
The black claws coming down shouldn’t be taken lightly.
At the same time as the attack, Kian twisted his body, sliding under the lion’s torso while mimicking Serena’s movements.
He rolled once on the stone floor and ended up behind the griffin.
Just as he tried to get up, powerful hind legs were closing in on him.
’Kian!’
”…!”
He quickly deployed ‘Wall’ and got knocked back.
He remembered what it felt like to be blown away by such an unbelievable force.
The impact that hit his body reminded him of the merciless strikes from Sarah and Jibril with wooden swords when he was younger.
Rolling on the stone floor like a rag, he still mustered his mental strength to keep his focus.
He wouldn’t just get up easily after falling.
In fact, he kept rolling to escape downstairs.
”……”
Kian rolled down the spiral staircase from the top of the narrow windmill, just as he had planned.
After a moment, the griffin pierced the stone floor with its front legs, realizing it had missed Kian, and stuck its head into the hole at the entrance of the spiral staircase.
”Ha!”
He slammed the axe into its face.
With a strange howl, the monster pulled its head back.
Dark red blood splattered all over the stairs.
(It’s shallow. It’s blocked by its feathers and skull)
But that hit to the forehead must have caused the enemy to bleed heavily.
Not bad at all.
Thinking that, Kian jumped down the stairs erratically like a monkey.
A moment later, he saw the griffin above him roaring in anger, causing the stone floor to collapse.
It seemed like it was trying to stomp Kian through the floor, but unfortunately, he had no intention of sticking around for a siege.
When he landed on the first floor of the windmill, he found a blood-soaked Robert tending to his wounds.
He looked pale, probably from losing too much blood.
”Hey, you!”
”Focus on stopping the bleeding. But this place is at risk of collapsing. Once you’re done, get outside quickly.”
But outside was an open hilly area with no cover.
The place was just green hills and a dried riverbed, remnants of when the windmill was in use.
If injured Robert jumped out of the hut, he’d be easy prey for the griffin.
So he had to take it down first or at least distract it.
”Sorry, once I stop the bleeding, I’ll back you up──.”
”Don’t. Once the bleeding stops, run. But whatever you do, don’t come towards the hill. Head down the riverbank with everything you’ve got. Got it?”
With just that, he dashed outside.
The griffin was already soaring into the sky.
As Kian rolled onto the green hill, the creature flapped its wings in mid-air, scattering its colorful feathers like snow.
A massive roar pierced the air, ringing in his ears.
(Did it just lose its right eye?)
Kian moved away from the windmill, staring at the blood-soaked face of the giant beast.
No matter how high its physical abilities were, its didn’t seem to have that cursed ability to regenerate like a vampire.
Its vision was definitely gone.
It was proof that the nerve damage couldn’t be healed.
(‘Leap’──)
He wrapped magic power around his legs, boosting his speed.
With his tattered armor flickering like a ghost, Kian made his way up the hill.
Above him, the griffin circled like a predator eyeing its prey.
Another sudden dive was coming…! The griffin spread its wings wide, creating a strange whooshing sound as its massive body plummeted straight down.
”…, …!”
He gathered a small amount of magic power, which made him move faster.
He jumped sideways to dodge.
A moment too late, the blade-like wings swept through the grass with a force that could uproot it.
”…tch.”
Rolling to break his fall, he grimaced against the wind pressure.
The griffin, flying low, didn’t lose momentum and shot back up into the sky.
It traced a ‘U’ shape in its flight path.
He could dodge using ‘Leap’, but at this rate, he’d just keep getting attacked from above.
The magic power cost was low, but if this kept up for an hour, he’d make a mistake before the griffin got tired.
(But if I try to defend with ‘Shot’ and ‘Wall’ like at the windmill, it would drain me of magic power like buckets, 14 or 15 of them.)
Dodging the second dive, he kept thinking.
He scanned his surroundings, searching for a way to turn the tables.
(My magic power that was like 2 bathtubs full had been reduced by about a quarter during the earlier battle at the windmill. If I kept up the same kind of fight, I could only do it twice. If I tried a third time, my magic power would run out, and I’d be in trouble.)
The next dive had the griffin’s legs tearing into the ground.
Grass and dirt flew up close by, and Kian covered his face with his arm.
(There’s still some magic power left, so I might as well try doing the same thing one more time.)
He’d think about the next steps after that.
As soon as he made that decision, Kian positioned his axe low and planted his feet firmly on the slope of the hill.
”…, …, …!!”
He focused on gathering his magic power.
He pulled strength from deep within, as if squeezing it out.
A hot sensation enveloped his body, creating a white aura that shimmered around him like a heat haze.
The griffin soaring through the sky seemed to sense Kian’s fighting spirit and let out a high cry.
Feathers scattered like snow, and its wings spread wide and proud.
A massive black shadow circled in the air once before diving toward the ground with acceleration.
Kian forgot even to Leap and was measuring the distance to the griffin.
His heart pounded, thump, thump.
Whether he was late or early, he’d get crushed.
The thrill of that razor-thin battle was exhilarating.
Facing death, the corners of Kian’s mouth lifted in excitement.
Power surged into his right leg, muscles bulging against the fabric.
Earth, break apart──he stepped forward with his left foot and swung the axe in a horizontal arc.
The basic technique, ‘Shot’──.
A white shockwave, like the wind pressure from the axe, was unleashed.
It flew straight toward the griffin’s face as it charged in──.
”────!?”
The monster skillfully twisted its body at the last moment and easily dodged.
With its neck feathers flaring, it spun like a bullet and dropped down toward Kian.
He jumped with ‘Leap’ but was too slow.
A strong impact slammed into him, sending him rolling down the hill like a ball.
”Ugh…”
The soft grass and slope cushioned his fall, redirecting his momentum.
He was alive.
But he felt unbearable pain in both arms.
His bones weren’t broken, but he might have strained a muscle.
Kian quickly got back on his feet.
In the corner of his vision, Kian saw the shadow of the monster leaping majestically once again from the hill.
It aimed for his eyes, but he easily dodged it.
Trying the same thing a third time would be foolish.
(Alright, what to do?)
As Kian quickly scanned his surroundings, he spotted a big guy sprinting out of the windmill and heading straight for the riverbank.
It was Robert.
It seemed the bleeding had stopped.
His legs were shaky, but being a former high-level adventurer, he still had a surprising amount of vitality.
”Ugh…”
Kian pressed his shoulder and dropped his axe.
He stumbled unsteadily.
In a panic, he staggered toward the windmill.
”SCREEECHHH!”
A metallic-sounding hawk’s cry echoed.
It was a griffin in the sky.
Seeing Kian unable to wield a weapon, it let out a triumphant roar from the air.
Of course, in the wild, there’s no rule against attacking a warrior without a weapon.
The griffin scratched the air with its claws and began to dive toward Kian’s back.
It wouldn’t let him hide behind the windmill.
It would catch up before he reached the building, not giving him a chance to regain his stance, ready to mercilessly tear apart the enemy that had taken its right eye.
”…!”
Kian turned around at the griffin’s screech.
In front of the windmill, he hadn’t managed to hide in time.
He clicked his tongue and pulled out a wooden sword from his back, getting into position.
But it was just a toy, lacking the weight and sharpness of an axe.
The griffin, closing in fast, lunged at Kian, its sharp front claws ready to strike.
”Haaah!!”
Kian bent down and gathered the largest amount of magic power he had ever mustered.
It was enough magic power to fill a bathtub.
He collected almost all the magic power left in his body to face the griffin.
The ground beneath his feet cracked, uprooting the grass as it rose.
In an instant, Kian’s body vanished, leaving only the sparkle in its eyes.
”────!?!?!?!?”
Kian, his body flickering, dodged the griffin’s charge with ‘Leap’.
The monster, having delivered a finishing blow, dug its claws deep into the grassy ground.
Kian suddenly appeared on the right side of the lion’s body.
It was like a shadow rising up slowly.
Right next to where the griffin was clawing at the dirt, he smoothly raised a wooden sword.
The sword was packed with enough magic power to fill a bathtub.
A tremendous amount of white energy swirled around the wooden sword.
The griffin’s hawk-like eyes widened in shock.
”Sh────t!”
The impact wave released with a sharp breath wasn’t aimed at the griffin’s side, but shot straight up into the sky.
The griffin’s yellow eyes followed the strike launched almost directly overhead.
”Ha.”
Kian smirked slightly.
The impact wave, sent off in the wrong direction, slammed into the stone wall at the very top of the windmill.
A powerful impact.
From inside the windmill, the sound of an explosion echoed like a bomb going off.
’Oh, right, you had set that up while you were staring each other down earlier.’
(Yeah. A homemade barrel bomb. Small, but effective.)
The stone wall crumbled.
It collapsed with a creaking sound, taking the wooden structure of the windmill’s blades down with it.
Kian quickly used ‘Leap’ to get away, but the griffin, perhaps slow to react, got crushed by the rubble of the stone wall and the windmill before it could run.
A scream, almost human-like, burst from the monster’s mouth.
It was a mournful “SccrEEEEhh!”.
The griffin’s massive body was buried under a heavy mass of debris.
Dust swirled up, and Kian covered his mouth with his tattered scarf.
He quickly grabbed the axe he had tossed aside and glared at the collapsed windmill.
(I won’t let it escape.)
”…, …!”
He poured everything he had into it.
Planting his feet firmly on the ground, he used ‘Leap’ to charge into the dust.
In the cloud of dust, he saw the griffin scratching at the ground with its front legs, trying to pull its lower body out.
The metal part of the windmill had pierced through its thin right wing membrane, making a mess of it.
”Sc, screech──!” a pained cry escaped. It sounded desperate to live. But Kian had no intention of letting it survive.
In a swift and brutal display of strength, Kian swings his axe, slicing deep into the griffin’s front leg as it emerges from the rubble.
The creature flinches, giving Kian the opening he needs to strike again, this time slamming the blade into its face.
”──!!!”
The griffin’s scream echoes through the air.
Blood splatters everywhere as Kian nimbly jumps and lands on the griffin’s back.
”It’s over.”
He pants, his breath heavy with exertion.
The griffin’s wings twitch weakly in a final attempt to resist.
Kian raises his axe and brings it down hard on the back of the creature’s neck.
”────…”
The massive body convulses, then slumps lifelessly to the ground.
Kian’s blow must have severed its nerves, paralyzing it from the neck down.
As the griffin twitches helplessly, Kian maintains his balance and swings his axe again, this time severing bone with a sickening crack.
The griffin’s eyes, once bright with life, now dim and fade.
Gritting his teeth, Kian raises his axe one last time and with a powerful swing, he beheads the griffin, leaving not a shred of skin on its neck.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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