Chapter 244 – 24. Kaleidoscope (4)
It was a gloomy day.
I looked up and saw that the sky was full of dark clouds. The island nation of Britannia has more cloudy days than sunny days. Above all, the dampness felt on the skin and the earthy smell that pricked the sensitive nose gave me confidence.
‘You killed Master!’
The old empire wielded a huge influence enough to make even an island region a little far from the continent into a province. That’s why even today, hundreds of swordsmen lay bleeding in the ruins of the circular arena.
‘If that’s the case, now you’re even taking the person I love from me!’
It started to rain heavily. The screaming speedy sword attacked without losing the fighting spirit, even with a disfigured appearance. Against the backdrop of a battlefield where the corpses of those who once sought teaching from him were strewn about.
‘You’re just a slaughter monster! The cause and beliefs you claim are just the result of packaging the words you have heard! What could you expect from a sword that you wield only when your emotions urge you? Is this massacre the fruit of the defeat that you advocated so much?’
He kept his opponent in check by occasionally kicking his severed arms and legs. Stepping on a maggot-infested corpse, he leaped. Such a desperate struggle was not a spectacle that a foreigner who was not entangled in a complicated relationship of favors could watch for interest.
So, the spectator seats in the arena, which were cracked and damaged here and there, and the Lion King, standing tall like an old tree with his arms crossed, watched without budging from the fight that was not resolved even after three days. As the party in charge of the notarization and judgment of the duel trial, the government was temporarily put aside.
‘No matter how much I cry out, my answer will always be the same. I don’t want to take your life, so admit defeat.’
‘Why? Simon, whom he was so close to, didn’t hesitate at all and killed himself!’
‘I know it’s not intentional. I don’t know about Ed or Simon, but I can still fix the problem between you and me. Above all, I don’t want to kill anyone who is dear to me.’
Everything is alive The swordsman, who had been shedding bright red tears of blood through the raindrops that fell, struck like a thunderbolt. While the sword they had already cherished was shattered, they grabbed the intangible blade and headed for the murderous intent.
‘It’s precious? You just want to win me as a trophy.’
‘Kenneth, face reality!’
‘You took everything from me! He stole the teacher he followed like a father and the lover who promised to marry him! That’s the reality! Do you dare to force me to lead a servile life with such recklessness?’
The quick sword that had been wheezing while breathing heavily was already at its limit. Unlike the steel sword, which was heavily used with brute strength, Kenneth, who was enraged, drove on without stopping.
Moreover, the swordsman who lost his lover was in a situation where he was unable to demonstrate his full potential due to personal circumstances, unlike his opponent who made every effort to challenge.
‘I am Kenneth of Somerset. Even if I risk my life, I will definitely win.’
‘Are you saying you’re going to admit defeat only through death… !’
The disturbed breathing completely collapsed. Kenneth, who did not even have the strength to hold the intangible sword, fought with his bare body on the battlefield where the wind and rain raged. Even while the opponent’s blade, sharper than any sword, pierced my stomach, I fought against it without giving in.
‘You lost.’
The blood seeping under the loose robe was hot. The secret of the speedy sword, which he learned later, made the challenger, who had long dreamed of revenge, agonize.
‘You lost, Oliver.’
Kenneth’s posture was aiming right between my eyebrows. If the alumnus of the past had the power to unleash the intangible sword even for a moment, he might have been the one to die.
‘I hate you.’
Considering the price paid, it is so, even though there may be room for disagreement.
‘I hope there will be a place only for you in the pit of hell.’
The quicksword, which vomited blood, eventually collapsed. However, the burning eyes did not forget the hostility until the very end. Oliver of the Somerset Swordsmen’s Guild sometimes has nightmares because he ended up with a friend who could have been reborn as a more amicable relationship.
Pak, frowning his eyebrows.
Hot, cold sweat.
Kkuk, I unknowingly clenched my fist.
Sitting on the creaking armchair, I gave myself over to the swaying inertia and gradually woke myself up from sleep. I finally opened my eyes, escaping from the vicious memories as if I had been pressed by scissors. Even then, I was self-deprecating, recalling the unforgettable eyesight.
“Ku-k-k-k-k-k-k-k…”
It wasn’t even a crowd. Oliver sighed deeply as he ran his hands over his damp face.
“They say regret is the best sharpened sword.”
The swordsman stood alone in a dimly lit room. The night sky outside the window was covered with dark clouds, making it impossible to see anything. Tired of the stuffy scenery, I left the room.
Late at night, I wandered aimlessly through the hallways where the lights were not properly turned on.
Naturally, the mansion was dreary. Because there were only two of them staying in the old-fashioned and splendid villa in the capital. Besides, outside, talented swordsmen belonging to Oliver’s union were standing in line all day, taking tight turns.
A clumsy intruder would be strangled before snooping at the entrance. However, if you ask why he has sharpened his senses to the point where his downy hair stands upright, it is because it is a habit. So Oliver, who inadvertently headed to the place where he felt the presence of people, soon met the only resident of Montmorency.
“You look very pale, Lord Somerset.”
He smoked a cigarette while leaning against the railing in the nodae where the night wind was harsh. Perhaps it was because he had no eyes to see, he took off his blindfold and was Zach who was gazing at his sunken eye sockets.
“What is going on?”
“I just had some silly nightmares.”
“It seems pretty daunting to say that.”
There is no good reason to consider them as friends. Their status is theirs, and since they are two different people from the environment they grew up in, they are virtually South-South except for a common goal.
Nevertheless, Zach went over to a nearby metal chair and sat down, offering him the seat in front of him as if he were treating an old friend.
“Sit down, if you can’t sleep, try killing some time.”
From a perverse point of view, it was the social art of managing talented people who were valuable to me. However, how could a man as honest as the deceased prince have the personality of flattering or currying favor? His invitation was a favor born of extremely pure intentions.
“It’s past midnight, but you’re not sleeping.”
“I wanted to burn one at the beginning of the year because the weather was filthy.”
“It’s hearty.”
Slowly, Oliver pulled back his own chair and took a seat across from him.
“I will not specify.”
She glanced at the items of preference placed here and there on the round table, then took out a cigarette from the cigar box and put it in her mouth. Surprised by the unexpected appearance, the deceased prince laughed and replied as if he was lucky.
“I thought you didn’t even touch alcohol and cigarettes.”
“I want to reminisce about the times when I was careless.”
“Have you been playing?”
Oliver nodded.
“Once upon a time, he was the leader of a gang of bullies who did stupid things. I used to drink and smoke, and did some drugs.”
It was an unexpected confession. Heck, if the man who said he’d touched anything that was bad for his body was the best swordsman on the continent, that would be the case. Zach asked again in disbelief.
“How did you achieve today’s achievement in a life in which you recklessly waste your body in pursuit of pleasure?”
“I just met the master well.”
Chiik, struck a match and lit a fire, and Oliver burned a cigarette. He took a sip or two and enjoyed the flavor, then added it when he felt relaxed.
“Evan Somerset, her real name was Evangeline, but in her union we only called her Evan, the master of her steel sword. I don’t know if you know it, but we have an old rule of giving a man’s name to a woman.”
“Yeah, I think I’ve heard of it sometime.”
“I must have been ten years old. At her bar, she ran amok, but the woman sitting in her corner didn’t want to leave with her calm face. The other guests had already left their tails behind, but seeing that he was carefree by himself, he approached because he wanted to pick him up.”
Until then, the boy who had lived a low life had a rough and uncontrollable personality. Despite not being an adult, he was not as tall as any other young man, so he was a ruffian with a gang of bullies ten years older than me.
“I didn’t make a single mistake, and I did it like this.”
Oliver, brooding over the past, recreated himself in a rather frivolous voice.
“Hey, pretty sister! Her face is very smooth, but don’t you want to date a young guy like me?”
“… There was a corner where you woke up a little.”
“Well, it was in the prime of it, wasn’t it?”
Fortunately, the opponent was a giant. He was one of the three teachers who led the Somerset Guild of the time, and an instructor of the Ganggeom School. He was the one who gave the surname to Oliver, a wandering orphan, and nurtured him into a strong man in the future.
“So how did it go?”
“As I was messing about, I slipped my hand on his hip and got hit. At that time, I was already the same height as now, but a woman one head shorter than me literally overwhelmed me. Later, he brought a twig from somewhere and swung it around like a cane. I thought she was beaten with an iron club.”
“That’s fun.”
“I passed out in the end, but when I opened my eyes, it was the home of the sad Somerset Swordsman Guild. I realized that something was wrong with the eyes of the disciples who were gnashing their teeth at a bully who recklessly made fun of their beloved teacher.”
Zach smiled happily. Oliver also flirted with joy.
“Evan asked in a rushed situation. She asked if she was willing to learn the sword.”
“It must have been something like anti-coercion?”
“Because it was self-employed.”
“Puhaha!”
He did too. The decommissioned prince laughed out loud while clapping his hands and winked at me, asking us to continue talking.
“Unfortunately, I was very talented. I made a lot of enemies here and there because I couldn’t fix my trashy personality like I was from a back alley, but at least I was able to grow to the point where I didn’t become a nuisance to my respected teacher.”
“Was that prosecutor named Evan your former servant?”
“He was the master of the sword. Unlike the other two, he was an off-white color.”
The Britannia Somerset Swordsman’s Guild is run as a triumvirate. Evan, who leads the Ganggeom School, was one of the three leaders. Equivalent to the master of quick swords and long swords who are much older than me.
“It was a middle-aged man named Edgar Somerset who led the quick sword of the time. It was a 90-year-old man named Alan Somerset who led the murder.”
To be honest, the skills they boasted were not comparable to Oliver of today. However, that was a story based only on pure swordsmanship skills, and at least Evan Somerset was a much greater man than me in that he saw the backstreet bully go wild and looked at the room for rehabilitation.
No, maybe the other two too.
Even Yu-gum, who was a former mercenary who went through actual battles, was proud that he had never killed anyone.
The quick sword that was devoted to training in pursuit of quickness without wavering despite the numerous provocations of those who were boiling blood.
“Obviously, I liked the Swordsman Guild back then. I hoped that the three of them would teach the younger students and live forever. Furthermore, I hoped to unite as one in the natural flow of the times and create great swordsmanship.”
“It’s a great swordsmanship.”
“I wasn’t the only one who thought so. So later, even after me, Kenneth, and Simon, who had the same distribution, each followed in the footsteps of our teachers, for a while, we were harmonious as if the three were one.”
“If we were so close, why did we become antagonistic like we are now?”
“It’s because you’re looking at it wrong.”
“No matter how much it is, wouldn’t the predecessors who withdrew from the front line help with coordination? Moreover, from what you say, that woman named Evan seems to be a very good person.”
Oliver, with a bitter expression on his face, inhaled deeply again. After that, he burned tobacco in silence for a long time, and finally confessed. The scars Oliver of Somerset had on his employer who silently watched over me.
“We call the leader of a school a master. I was the first to become a teacher after the three people I mentioned. It was a slightly different reason than what I did because I was outstanding or trusted.”
“If?”
“Because my teacher, Evan, lost her life to him.”
“Sounds like it wasn’t an accident.”
“I died after a duel. After losing all four limbs, it was displayed on the streets as an example. I don’t know what she did, but public opinion was at the level of scorning her like a witch, so she wasn’t even treated as a prisoner.”
Evan was a beautiful woman. Her streets were overflowing with garbage beasts who, of course, coveted the undead beauty. Needless to say, until she died, she suffered shame that was too disgusting to speak of. Even then, as if she did not take any responsibility for the winner of the duel.
“That is hard to believe. No matter how different your country’s culture may be from mine, even your common sense won’t be so different, right?”
“I’m sorry for you, Zach, but it was Gaul, not Britannia.”
After hearing Oliver’s rebuttal, the aborted prince frowned. It was because of the author’s name that passed through my mind like lightning.
Well, what kind of organization is the Somerset Swordsmen’s Guild?
Even if their old leader isn’t as strong as the man in front of me now. Her predecessors, including Evan, would have basically been at the level of pan-continental strongmen. In that sense, her ability to knock her down could also be counted as her Eolchu.
“May I ask what was the reason for your master’s duel?”
“It was revenge for a dead friend.”
Millennium Ball! The decommissioned prince recalled the heinous enemy and added his anger.
“… She must have been an Aquitaine woman.”
And the master of the steel sword sympathized with her as if he had waited and shook her head.
“Of course.”
With such a raspy voice, I was blown away.
“So, this Oliver Somerset wants to bring Alexandre Dior back to life and try to stick with him.”
