Volume 3 Chapter 38 Quest： The Beginning Of The Rematch – Promise –
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Thunder.
Pursuit of the shadow.
When Kian heard these two words, he immediately thought of the Secret Technique: ‘Thunder’ and ‘Pursuit of the Shadow.’
However, he wasn’t sure about 15 years from now, but at least at this moment, Abbas had not yet reached the realm of mastery and had not been taught the Secret Technique.
So, could it be some other metaphor?
It was perplexing, but it felt like a moment where formalities required him to express gratitude.
”Thank you, I’ll keep it in mind.”
As he turned just his head to say that, Jibril wore an expressionless face yet managed to lift the corners of his mouth just slightly.
The evening light shifted, casting Jibril’s form in shadow, making him stand out against the backdrop.
When Kian looked back, the ten accompanying warrior monks had vanished without a trace.
* * *
”Welcome, Kian Vahid! I, Abbas Hashmalik Shakerdoust, pride myself on challenging you to a one-on-one duel!”
As soon as he entered the training ground, Kian spotted the armed figure of the solitary shadow in the combat space, empty now that the spectators had retreated.
Thanks to the sunset, it was hard to see clearly, but there was no mistaking that it was the notorious troublemaker, Abbas.
Radiating confidence on his stern face, he strode towards Kian and Sarah, who stood frozen near the entrance.
Kian sensed a few warrior monks behind him, forming a line to block the corridor leading to the changing rooms.
”Sir Abbas? What is the meaning of this?”
Looking up at the red-haired warrior monk standing at the edge of the stone steps in the combat space, Sarah’s voice chilled the air completely.
”There’s nothing to it. This Abbas Hashmalik Shakerdoust intends to fight Kian one-on-one. And should I emerge victorious, I will proclaim to everyone that I am the one worthy of you! Sarah, no longer will you be tossed around by family affairs. Both you and Kian will be freed from your obligations! I shall save you!”
”I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you’re saying…”
”If you don’t understand, just feel it! I’ve lived like that for 16 years! Hah──hahaha!”
”I’m really sorry~, but this is Abbas’s order~.”
From behind, a female warrior monk of the black panther race stepped forward and said this.
Next to her, a slender boy also walked out.
”Sir Kian, I’m sorry, but once the Young Master gets like this, no one can stop him. If you don’t resist too much, I think it’ll end in a single leap without you feeling any pain, so just let it happen.”
”No way, that’s ridiculous!”
”It really is ridiculous~. But, you see, Sir Kian doesn’t have the power to stop such madness~.”
”Ms. Katyusha is right.”
Kian said this while stepping forward to hold Sarah back.
He cast alternating glances at the black panther race woman and the slender boy by Abbas’s side.
”By the way, we’re classmates who studied together in the same year, so don’t you have any thoughts of trying to help me escape? Zayn, Ms. Katyusha?”
”I’m sorry…”
”It’s better for us to keep Abbas’s dignity intact~. We don’t have any benefits in backing you, right~?”
”So if there was a benefit, you would have considered betrayal, Katyusha?”
The boy Zayn lowered his eyebrows.
Meanwhile, it seemed Abbas wasn’t listening to the conversation taking place below at all.
Immersed in his own world, he completely ignored the flow and tossed a wooden sword their way.
”Now, it’s time for destiny! Kian Vahid! Come fight me!”
”――――.”
Kian lightly swung the wooden sword he’d caught in one hand, checking its feel.
Zayn and Katyusha had a ruthless nature, but Abbas, as ever, was a straightforward person with no double-dealings.
There didn’t seem to be anything odd about the wooden sword, no funny business to check for.
”No, Kian! Fighting Abbas is madness! If you’re not careful, it might not just be a fracture!”
”Hahaha, of course, I’ll go easy on he. My dearest Sarah, my purpose is liberation. As a messenger of justice, I’ve come to shatter your false love! Even Azrael himself must be blessing me!”
”You should be cursed by Azrael himself!”
”Eh!? What… what do you mean, Sarah?!”
As expected, the conversation wouldn’t proceed, and Abbas and Sarah would continue to bicker.
Sarah’s patience would finally snap, and she’d declare a 2-on-2 battle.
But this time – within this world of memories – Kian was going to fight alone.
That’s why he’d stolen Sarah’s magic power.
(It’s been a while since I’d fought a humanoid enemy in a real match. This would be perfect.)
’When the night provides free time, you usually go after women.’
(That’s what I’d do.)
Kian swung his wooden sword and tripped over a stone step.
”Eh, Kian?”
”Hmm…”
”Sarah, please step aside. I’ll tell Sir Abbas to take care of you.”
”I won’t leave!”
”Then, from now on, I’ll show you just how serious my feelings for you are. Need I say, my chances of beating Sir Abbas are practically nonexistent. That’s something everyone here knows. Yes, Sarah, Zayn, Ms. Katyusha?”
”Kian, you’re being reckless!”
”Do you have a plan to win, even with those slim odds!?”
”Fighting’s fine and all, but please try not to get hurt too badly.”
Kian wrapped his foot in ‘Leap’.
Fifteen years of relentless training in the basics had resulted in this beautiful control and speed of his energy (ki).
As everyone’s faces turned pale in an instant, Kian leaped over Abbas’s head and landed in the center of the spacious arena.
”Sir Abbas, by overcoming the wall that is you here, I will convey my deep feelings to you. I ask you not to hold back; if you were to lose in a pitiful manner, no one here would understand my emotions.”
”…I see, I don’t quite understand, but I’ve got it! It seems we’re set for a duel with a good atmosphere, Kian!”
Abbas walked toward them.
His natural stance allowed him to move freely, each step exuding confidence.
He could see the tachyonian cells within him buzzing, generating magic power.
The red-haired youth pointed the tip of his wooden sword at Kian and shouted boldly.
”Abbas Hashmalik Shakerdoust! For love, I shall wield the left hand of the god Azrael! Prepare yourself! Hah──hahahahahaha!”
* * *
The Great Sword of Shakerdoust.
This was the alternate name of the Shakerdoust clan, who guarded the northern region of Azrael from the northern tribes of Dacia that encroached upon its borders.
As the name “Great Sword” suggests, among the 4 basic forms of the Azrael warrior monks, the disciples excel in the ‘impact’ form, which enhances weapon power.
Every exchange using techniques derived from ‘impact’ is a one-hit kill.
They employ a straightforward but powerful fighting style that shatters an opponent’s weapon and crushes them along with it by taking the initiative.
According to some, this style was refined by the ancestors of Shakerdoust for efficiently taking down the northern tribes.
Regardless of its origins, the destructive force is undeniably real.
Unlike Nakash, which involves cutting from a distance and deftly maneuvering to exploit openings before delivering a decisive blow, this sword represents the opposite.
(Thus)
Kian stared intently at the red-haired youth, who was poised with his wooden sword before him, slowly walking in a circle around the area.
Stopping his feet would mean an attack would come.
He would be crushed in a single strike.
Of course, even if he got too close and entered Abbas’s range, a formidable hit would surely come flying at him.
Kian’s defenses wouldn’t hold, and even trying to dodge meant getting close enough to Abbas for him to strike, making evasion physically impossible.
The duel had already begun.
It was a dance of measuring distances.
When either sensed the opening for a killing blow, they’d close the gap, and the victor would be decided in less than a second.
”Haaa…”
The red-haired warrior monk had forgotten even to blink, channeling intense energy (ki) into his sword.
It was likely a combination of ‘break’ and ‘pierce.’
Both were advanced techniques to amplify a finishing strike.
Kian moved, his wooden sword weaving erratically in front of Abbas, trying to disrupt his rhythm.
It was a special foo2rk technique──used by scouts in the Western world to exploit openings in a monster’s awareness──making Kian appear to jump in and out of Abbas’s vision.
”……”
Abbas’s right eye twitched in annoyance.
The man who had been so boisterous before entering the arena was now eerily silent, which was unsettling.
He floated his feet, slowly shifting his body to carefully track Kian’s movements.
He was waiting for the perfect moment to crush him with a single blow.
”────”
The atmosphere in the arena had clearly shifted.
Everyone had expected Kian to be defeated in a single strike, but those with some skill realized that, for some reason, Kian and Abbas were evenly matched, a fact revealed by the silent standoff.
Outside the arena, leaning against a pillar, the black panther warrior monk, Katyusha, gasped, “Oh my…”
Zayn, the young boy next to her, mirrored her reaction.
”Impossible, is that really the failure Kian Vahid?” At least, the Shakerdoust warrior monks seemed to understand why Abbas was hesitating to attack.
(It’s not like putting on a good show against a ghost will do any good, though.)
No need to drag out the entertainment.
Kian steeled himself and suddenly accelerated mid-stride.
”────!”
Abbas’s eyes widened.
It was a reaction to the release of energy (ki) from this side.
As he wrapped “Leap” around his feet and dove straight toward him, Kian caught a glimpse of his opponent slowly taking a step forward, the movement almost in sync with the heartbeat that pulsed in his chest.
There was no source of magic power here.
Using it would only deplete his reserves, and once they were gone, his attacks would be rendered ineffective.
Moreover, without the vampire factor, he couldn’t fully utilize those techniques either.
In the end, he had no choice but to attack.
With one step, 2 steps, and on the third, he leaped high into the air, swinging his sword down in a surprise attack from above.
He matched the enemy’s strike with a counter of his own, deflecting the tip of their sword to create an opening, aiming to split open his opponent’s skull with the blade of Shakerdoust.
Abbas, who had thrown caution to the wind and focused almost entirely on enhancing the speed of his attacks with energy (ki), targeted Kian’s sword blade with terrifying speed.
While he couldn’t shatter the blade of a magic sword, a wooden blade would be nothing more than fodder for the Great Sword.
In fact, he had probably broken several warrior monks from other clans that way in actual matches.
Abbas’s blue eyes widened with intensity, his expression devoid of any hint of defeat──only the cold demeanor of a killer remained.
(Hmph, so naïve.)
Kian smirked slightly at that.
Channeling energy (ki) into the “thread” wrapped around his arm, he vanished from sight just as their swords were about to clash, as if he had been flicked away to the side.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply