“You filthy bastard!”

Victor gritted his teeth as he stood up. His burned face and body were searing with pain, almost unbearable to the touch. His armor was so heated that wearing it felt like more of a hindrance. His sword, too, seemed like it would bend with the slightest impact.

Even though he was suppressing the heat with his mana, he couldn’t hold out much longer. He needed to take care of this nuisance quickly and get out of here.

“I’ll kill you and cut off the heads of every last one of them.”

Victor glared at Ghislain as he reached for his waist.

Shhk.

Without hesitation, he pulled out a dagger and began cutting away at the seams of his armor, tossing aside each piece.

Clang. Clang.

With his armor removed and his body feeling lighter, Victor grinned with twisted satisfaction.

“You’re polite enough to wait, I’ll give you that.”

“If I just killed you now, you’d make excuses in the afterlife. You’d say you lost because I attacked while you were taking off your armor, not because of a lack of skill.”

“You cocky bastard…”

Victor poured his mana into his sword, which now gleamed with a clear, cool blue that seemed out of place in the fiery red surroundings. The radiating light was proof of Victor’s exceptional skill.

“Good, that’s more like it.”

Seeing this, Ghislain’s eyes lit up as a red flame ignited within them.

“That’ll make it more fun to kill you.”

Rumble!

When Ghislain opened all three of his mana cores simultaneously, a heavy pressure spread through the area, and his sword glowed a deep red. Victor’s expression shifted to one of disbelief.

“How can you have such power…? How much of our information was wrong?”

“You can ask your master that in hell. Oh wait, he’ll be joining you later, so you’ll have to wait. Must be boring, huh?”

“I’ll tear that mouth apart!”

Boom!

In an instant, the distance between them closed. Their swords clashed with a force so intense that the surrounding flames distorted and were pushed back by the impact.

“That’s it? Come on, put some effort into it, you lapdog of Harold.”

“Shut your mouth, you piece of trash!”

Grnnnng!

Victor braced against the overwhelming mana emanating from Ghislain, who had opened all three cores. Despite having endured the flames earlier, the sheer amount of mana Victor possessed was astonishing. It was no wonder he aimed to become the greatest knight in the North.

While Ghislain felt a slight admiration, Victor was still confused.

‘If he’s not been hiding his power, there must be some other way he’s achieved this…’

There was no way a backwater territory like Peridum could have produced someone of this caliber without using some underhanded method. Victor was convinced Ghislain had used some form of magic or trickery to momentarily enhance his strength.

“What kind of trickery did you use?!”

Whoosh!

Ghislain raised his sword to block Victor’s attack.

Clang!

The force lifted him slightly off the ground, and he slid sideways from the impact. His hand tingled from the shock.

‘He’s a tough one.’

Though Ghislain had trained tirelessly and amassed mana over time, he couldn’t compare to the sheer volume Victor wielded. Victor’s mana reserves were almost unbelievable. Even with his strength amplified by opening all three cores, they were nearly on par.

Indeed, Harold had nurtured a prodigy.

Whoosh!

Before Ghislain could regain his stance, Victor was already upon him, swinging his sword once again.

Clang!

Ghislain barely managed to raise his sword in time to block the strike. The force pushed him back, his feet digging into the ground. His body ached under the relentless pressure, yet he bared his teeth in a grin.

“I always thought you had some decent strength.”

“What?”

“I like using brute force, too.”

Ghislain spun his body swiftly, bringing his sword down in a powerful strike.

Clang!

This time, it was Victor who was forced to block from below. In the blink of an eye, the tide of the battle shifted.

Ghislain didn’t waste the moment and followed up with another relentless barrage of strikes.

Victor stepped back, doing his best to fend off the attacks with all his might.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Each time their swords met, they were both knocked back in opposite directions. Neither of them could fully absorb the impact.

“You bastard!”

Victor gritted his teeth and poured all his remaining mana into his sword. The thought of killing the others had long left his mind. This enemy in front of him wasn’t someone he could defeat while holding back.

Rooaaar!

Victor pushed his mana to the limit, and his sword gleamed an even deeper, more vivid blue.

Hiss!

Ghislain’s sword, too, glowed brighter, surrounded by a fiery red aura. A crimson smoke began to rise from his body.

He couldn’t maintain the state of having all three cores open for much longer. He needed to end this quickly.

Boom!

The sound of their weapons clashing changed. It was no longer the sound of metal striking metal, but rather the sound of mana colliding with mana.

The oppressive flames around them were pushed back, unable to approach the two fighters. Completely intertwined in mana, the two moved at blinding speed.

Boom!

Each step they took caused the ground to explode beneath their feet. Lost in the heat of battle, they swung their swords with the sole intent of taking the other’s life.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After hundreds of exchanges, Victor started to be pushed back.

“H-how is this…?”

Their speed and strength were evenly matched, but the difference in technique was stark. For every wound Ghislain received, Victor suffered two. Then three. Then four.

Victor was barely able to keep up with Ghislain’s increasingly unpredictable swordplay.

“How is someone like you doing this?! I can’t accept it!”

“You’re hilarious. Did I ever ask for your acceptance?”

Victor, enraged, swung his sword with all his might, aiming to split Ghislain from head to toe. The force was tremendous, but such a straightforward attack was something Ghislain could easily avoid.

Shlkk!

Seizing the brief opening, Ghislain thrust his sword forward. The tip of his blade pierced near Victor’s heart.

“Gah!”

Victor staggered backward, clutching his chest. Ghislain’s expression hardened.

‘This isn’t good.’

The backlash from opening all three cores was starting to take its toll. His mana, spinning out of control, was tearing at his muscles and twisting his bones. If this continued, he’d collapse before he could finish Victor.

Wiping the blood trickling from his nose with his finger, Ghislain realized he’d reached his limit. Soon, blood would begin pouring from his ears, mouth, and eyes as well.

Victor, sensing the change, let out a victorious laugh.

“Heh, I knew it. Your power wasn’t normal. You’ve been using some trick—draining your life force, perhaps? Is it dark magic?”

“You catch on quick. So, what now? You planning to run and buy yourself some time?”

“No, that would give you a chance to conserve your strength. I’d rather press on.”

Victor, ever the talented warrior, had quickly assessed Ghislain’s state and decided on the best course of action. The wound on his chest was deep, but not fatal. He could still fight.

“Now I understand. You were the wildcard. Did you take care of Frank too? Of course, someone like him couldn’t handle you.”

Victor couldn’t stop laughing. He had finally identified the source of his failures. Neither Harold, nor the strategists, nor the spies had known about this unexpected variable.

“You’ve been the reason everything’s gone wrong.”

He laughed maniacally.

“I’ll take your head and present it to the Count. I’ll get another chance.”

“Don’t get cocky. You think you’re getting out of here alive?”

Boom!

This time, Ghislain attacked first, launching a fierce strike at Victor.

“Ha! Try and kill me!”

Victor wasn’t worried. Though his skills were slightly below Ghislain’s, he knew that soon, Ghislain’s strength would fade, and then he would overwhelm him.

Clang!

Their swords clashed again, but unlike Ghislain, who was on the offensive, Victor focused solely on defense. He was willing to take more wounds as long as they weren’t lethal.

“Hah! You fool! How long do you think you can keep this up?”

Victor, now covered in blood, laughed uncontrollably. In contrast, Ghislain’s face had lost its usual grin.

Grind!

Ghislain gritted his teeth.

‘Is this the end?’

His sword was beginning to shake, slipping out of his control. Victor wasn’t going to miss the opportunity.

“You’re finished!”

Boom!

Victor launched his counterattack. Ghislain tried to pull back, but his body, now at its limit, couldn’t fully absorb the impact. Blood began to leak from his eyes and ears.

“This is the end, you piece of trash!”

Boom!

Their swords clashed once more, and Ghislain staggered back, nearly collapsing to the ground.

Gagghh!

He coughed up a mouthful of blood.

“Die!”

Whoosh!

Victor’s sword came flying toward Ghislain’s neck. But then, Ghislain stretched out his left hand—the one not holding the sword.

Thunk!

“Huh?”

Victor’s movement faltered for a moment. He felt something strange, as though invisible threads were binding his body.

“A cheap trick!”

Crackle!

Victor summoned more mana to break free, severing the mana threads that had restrained him.

Whoosh!

His sword once again tore through the air, heading straight for Ghislain. It was a flawless strike.

But then, Ghislain’s left hand made a subtle, twisting motion.

Boom!

Victor’s sword missed its mark and struck the ground with a heavy thud.

“What?”

He had aimed for Ghislain’s head, yet some unseen force had disrupted his stance. The interference had been minimal, but it was just enough to divert his attack, keeping his sword from touching Ghislain.

“Damn it!”

As Victor frantically tried to recover and pull his sword from the ground, Ghislain’s blade was already moving.

Shhk!

The cold steel pierced Victor’s thick neck.

“Gkkk…!”

Blood gushed from the wound, frothing from between Victor’s lips as his eyes widened in shock.

Shhhh!

Ghislain withdrew his sword, and Victor collapsed, blood pouring from his neck as he fell face-first into the dirt.

With a swift kick, Ghislain flipped Victor’s body onto its back.

“Gkk… how…?”

Whether it was his sheer will to live or his overwhelming sense of injustice, Victor managed to hold on to life for a few more breaths. His eyes still gleamed with disbelief.

Ghislain, wobbling from exhaustion, stood over him and looked down.

“Did you really think you could win every fight? You didn’t even know who I was. That’s why you lost, idiot.”

Ghislain, now covered in blood, grinned wickedly.

Every muscle in his body screamed in agony, but the thrill of victory dulled the pain.

“I’ll keep winning. Come at me as many times as you want. I’ll devour every last one of you.”

“…”

“You should consider yourself lucky. You’re dying a relatively clean death.”

With that, Ghislain gripped his blood-soaked sword and, with one swift motion, brought it down, ending Victor’s life for good.