Act 92

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Emotions are said to be chemical reactions caused by the secretion of hormones in the human body.

Further, some say they are the brain’s interpretation of the physical state.

But really, I’m just finding this situation awkward.

‘This, damn bastard.’

Like earlier, I unwittingly drew my sword and faced the Sword Saint, cursing under my breath.

This body of mine, the moment it gets involved with ‘Sword Saint’ and ‘Demon,’ generates such intense emotions that they are difficult to control.

Moreover, who is the opponent I’m currently facing with swords drawn?

‘The Sword Saint and even a Demon!’

It’s like Julian’s anger switch is bundled in a buy-one-get-one-free event!

“To stand against such demonic energy, there’s only one possibility.”

Meanwhile, the Sword Saint kept blabbering noisily.

Was he always this talkative?

To shut Hayden’s mouth even a bit, this time I intentionally put more force into the hilt.

Creak—

With a grating sound of metal, the Sword Saint stepped back.

“Such brute strength remains unchanged.”

“On the verge of dying, and yet Master is still the same. Don’t you plan to use your noble aura, which you pride yourself on?”

“If it’s just formalities, it’d be fine, but using the ‘aura’ in this situation could really bring us to a life-or-death struggle, would that be alright?”

Of course, I don’t want that.

If I were to truly fight the Sword Saint, there wouldn’t be a single part left unscathed.

Moreover, the possibility of my defeat is quite significant.

“Still, would that be alright?”

Provoked repeatedly by the Sword Saint.

“Don’t you see what you’re asking for?”

This narrow-eyed villain would risk his life even in such circumstances.

So, it’s okay to throw these words out.

After all, Linne will mediate the situation like earlier.

Then, reluctantly, I’ll just have to pretend to lose.

“Master said it is only right to correct what is good.”

Huh? Why is she suddenly acting like this?

“He always said that not being able to correct the wayward path of Julian was always his oversight.”

Surprised by Linne’s unexpected response, she, like me, drew her sword.

“If I can’t stop Master now, I feel like I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

Hey! Shit! No!

You’re supposed to be stopping this! Please, fulfill your role!

Seeing Linne prepare herself with a serious expression, I desperately looked for a lifeline, turning my gaze toward the entrance of the mansion.

Hayden had asked him to leave the room, but due to the menacing atmosphere, I caught sight of the Fourth Prince, Ulysses, peeking in.

‘Why not try to stop this?’

Thinking this as I looked at him, Ulysses moved his gaze elsewhere with a smile that seemed to say, ‘I saw nothing and will continue to see nothing.’

Such a spineless Fourth Prince.

Well, to him, the sight of Julian smiling gently with slightly curved eyes must seem like,

‘I will handle this myself.’

Damn it.

“Linne, what exactly are you trying to stop?”

“Just as Sir Julian said, if Master has indeed injected demonic energy himself, it’s no different from Dawn Society. I don’t want Master to end up like them.”

Hayden’s laugh, tinged with obvious displeasure, followed.

“That phrase ‘similar to Dawn Society,’ even though it’s from a disciple I dearly care about, is a very displeasing remark to me.”

Crash!

Hayden, who had been facing me with his sword, lowered it and with tremendous speed, kicked me in the abdomen.

It was brief, but as I lost my balance, the shock was one thing, but the sudden sensation of floating enveloped my body, and the scenery around me changed instantly.

Just as I managed to regain my composure and was about to fall properly.

[Insight Trait has detected danger.]

[“Inborn Swordsman” responds to the danger.]

I felt a sharp sword blade aiming at me.

“Ugh!”

Forcing my body to twist, I avoided it, and then Hayden’s sharp gaze caught my eye.

Being mid-air, I was in a position where I couldn’t easily counterattack.

Hayden quickly rushed in, grabbed me by the collar, and slammed me to the ground.

[“Character Trait, Poker Face” reduces pain.]

Thanks to my character trait, the pain was minimal, but into my field of vision came the brightly gleaming sword blade once again.

Clang!

I slightly turned my head, and a sword had been thrust right beside me.

“You’re quite resilient for someone on the brink of death, master.”

Is this bastard really trying to kill me?

Though it wasn’t the kind of thought to have in such a situation, to dispel any distracting thoughts, I blurted out nonsense as I kneed Hayden in the ribs.

Boom.

‘What’s with this body, tough as a rock?’

Perhaps because he had protected himself with demonic energy, the sound of my knee colliding with Hayden’s ribs wasn’t that of fragile flesh.

Meanwhile, Hayden was already pulling the sword out of the ground for his next attack.

Swoosh-!

Fortunately, that attack bore no fruit.

Linne, who had quickly joined my side, drove Hayden away with her sword.

“Ha, haah…!”

Linne, pale with guilt for having swung her sword at the Master who had taken her in.

Yet, she steadied herself for a second strike, but Hayden wouldn’t miss such a moment of hesitation.

“A swordsman’s hesitation is death, as I would have told you.”

With a tone as if chiding a disciple, Hayden swung his sword at Linne.

Clang!

This time, I blocked the attack for her.

“How utterly cruel of you, master, to swing such a deadly sword at your disciple.”

Though I spoke like Julian, I really wanted to curse.

Certainly, in the trailer, it was supposed to be me, trying to cut off the ‘protagonist’ Hayden, and ‘Linne,’  was supposed to block it, but it turned out completely the opposite.

“I never imagined I would hear such words from your mouth.”

Amidst complex emotions and a bitter taste lingering on my tongue, bluish mana began to wriggle around Hayden’s body.

Sword-body Unification

He had decided to use the aura he had so strongly advised against.

If things continued this way, it was clear we would be headed into a life-and-death battle I didn’t want.

No matter how much he had changed, he was still the ‘protagonist’ to me.

“Your imagination is lacking. Haha. I shall enlighten you myself, poor master.”

But this body, Julian’s body, desired it.

To kill the master.

To kill the Sword Saint.

To kill the Demon.

[Emotional Peak Detected.]

Intuitively, I felt it. If the “Opened Eyes” manifested here, there would be no turning back.

My mind began to falter under the storm-like strong desire, and the sword I was holding slowly began to gather ‘moonlight’.

“Cough.”

Just as I felt that I could no longer be stopped, Hayden suddenly collapsed on his knees, vomiting blood.

“Cough, cough…!”

The blood that flowed like turbulent water began to stain his shirt dark red, like a tumor.

At the same time, the murderous aura and magical energy that had been fiercely emanating from him began to diminish.

‘He still can’t properly control the demonic energy.’

It’s hardly surprising.

For an ordinary person, fully mastering demonic energy while suppressing ‘Demonization’ is impossible.

It’s only possible if one possesses a special relic or, like Julian, has the trait of a ‘Demon Lord’s Vessel’ typical of villains.

Naturally, our protagonist does not possess the ‘Demon Lord’s Vessel’ trait.

Why? Because he’s the ‘protagonist’.

“How miserable. Is this what becomes of the empire’s pride, the Sword Saint?”

Barely supporting his body with his sword, Hayden, looking at me, a hollow laugh escaped me.

This was truly expressed by me, not as ‘Julian’, but as the player.

I could taste the bitterness in that laugh, but what did it matter now?

“No, it’s not over yet. It hasn’t even started.”

“Even if it’s disgraceful, do you intend to cling to that pitiful life?”

“If I can cling to life, no matter how disgraceful, isn’t there nothing I can’t do?”

“Sir Julian!”

Just then, I felt a chilling murderous intent directed at me, along with the urgent voice of Linne.

With just one motion, I could have killed the ‘protagonist’ in front of me, but for my own safety, I stepped back first.

Whoosh!

A sword filled with tremendous aura traced a path where I had been standing.

“Are you alright, Sir. Sword Saint?”

The man who had swung the sword was ‘Idel’, whom I had encountered at the entrance earlier.

Supported by him, the Sword Saint stood up.

He could not regain his senses due to the writhing demonic energy inside him, but the fighting spirit in his eyes had not yet disappeared.

However, he seemed to know that it was not wise to continue the fight any longer.

“Let’s go,” Hayden said to Idel, his gaze still fixed on me.

Fighting spirit, resentment, longing, desire, resignation.

A complex array of emotions lingered in his eyes.

As they finally disappeared from view,

“Master!”

Linne began to chase after Hayden, but the men in formal attire that followed blocked her.

“Move!”

“Miss Linne, that’s enough.”

When I too stopped her, Linne seemed quite flustered.

Julian, who had been looking forward to fighting the Sword Saint, had blocked her himself.

“Why stop?”

“This isn’t the empire, you see, there are many watching eyes. The followers from earlier are observing this place.”

Realizing that the followers had indeed caught up again, Linne bit her lip hard.

“That’s why you stopped. Of course, you wouldn’t act without meaning.”

Watching Linne mutter to herself, I sighed in relief.

No matter how I think about it, it’s premature to engage in a full-scale battle with the Sword Saint right now.

Moreover, this place is not even under the jurisdiction of the Adratan Empire.

Let’s avoid causing a disturbance. That’s all I’m thinking.

‘In the meantime, it’s just this damned body reacting violently.’

Peek.

Once the commotion had settled, Ulysses, the proud prince of the Empire, made his appearance.

“Ha ha, so this is how it turns out.”

Have I ever seen such a madman?

I had even worse insults ready to come out, but I just couldn’t say them. Damn.

Even though he is a guest, it’s unbelievable that the prince of the Empire does not mediate the disturbance happening in a foreign country.

What is he thinking?

“Thank you, Your Highness Ulysses, for allowing me a moment to vent, I am truly grateful.”

I hinted at that thought, and Ulysses just gave an awkward smile.

“After all, you’re someone I’ll see for a long time, not just a defector. I can overlook a bit of deviation.”

Ulysses spoke as if he was weighing his options; if you think I’m grateful, you’re mistaken, you damned fool.

***

As the chilly night air swept over me, my mind began to clear.

‘Seeing the demonic energy enveloping him, the Sword Saint knew his body was undergoing demonization.’

No, how could he not know?

As much as ‘Julian’, having hunted many demons, he would have easily noticed the changes in his body.

“Sigh….”

As I sighed, the cold night air caused my breath to fog slightly.

The protagonist’s demonization.

If this had been a game, the words ‘Game Over’ might have flashed before my eyes, and I would have tried every means to overcome it.

But I felt strangely calm now.

Why am I so tranquil even though that damned Sword Saint is in such a state?

I really want to ask those who sent me here.

What do they want from me, having possessed ‘Julian’ who kills the ‘Sword Saint’, and turned the ‘Sword Saint’ into such a state?

“It’s really crappy.”

Even amidst such thoughts, respectful language came out naturally, and I cursed inwardly.

It’s funny that even in such a situation, my face remained as calm as a still sea.

Probably because of the emotional traits ‘Poker Face’ and ‘Impassibility’.

‘Why did the Sword Saint turn traitor?’

If undergoing ‘demonization’ was entirely the Sword Saint’s will, why choose that path?

‘For power?’

And it’s not even Julian.

‘What kind of emotional change occurred?’

As I pondered over the person ‘Hayden Reich’, I shook my head from side to side.

‘Now is not the time to focus on the backstory.’

Let’s focus on what I need to do now.

Isn’t the tail that has been following me since I bought the vase still on my trail?

‘They’re very diligent guys.’

They don’t think of dropping it. They should be developing themselves during such times.

But thankfully, since ‘Ulysses’ baptism is over, he will return to the Empire tomorrow.

‘I must take care of the relic before that; it will be a busy day in many ways.’

Naturally, I know where the relic is located.

The city of Arteah’s landmark.

The Grand Arena.

In fact, the biggest reason I came to the Holy Nation of Fernand is none other than to retrieve the relic ‘Bell of Tranquility’.

Ulysses is a prince, but he’s the fourth in line for succession, far from the throne.

It says that he’s not in a relationship worth risking coming to the Holy Nation.

However, ‘Bell of Tranquility’ is different.

‘Recently, Tenellon has been suspecting me.’

After the incident with Gerard, his gaze became strangely sharp.

Not just towards me. It sharpened towards everything about the Dawn Society.

‘So now is the right time.’

It’s the best time to take the first step in swallowing the Dawn Society.

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