The Sword Master’s Son-in-Law

– Drex (4)

I never imagined such an event would unfold right from the forest’s entrance.

“Hey… Wouldn’t it be better if I joined in?”

“Absolutely not! Hero, please conserve your strength.”

The very instant we stepped into the Waldia Forest,

a horde of monsters descended.

The variety was staggering,

though beast-type monsters, the *masu*, made up the bulk.

Asia stood at the forefront, halting the *masu’s* advance,

while Amelia, behind her, covered Asia with magic.

And Letty, at my side, seemed to occasionally restore Asia’s stamina.

Repeatedly, like this,

we were slowly pushing forward.

‘At this rate, we’ll tire out too quickly.’

Asia, especially, was enduring no small hardship.

Asia, who had only recently reached the high ranks.

Even she seemed to be struggling greatly with the current situation.

If not for Amelia’s timely use of magic, she wouldn’t have held for this long.

“I guess there’s no choice.”

I drew my sword.

At this sight,

the Saintess startled, attempting to stop me.

“Ah, no! You must conserve your strength for the battle with the Ma-in…!”

“It’s alright. Loosening up a bit might actually be better.”

And…

‘Honestly, I’m a little anxious, too.’

My level was only barely on the cusp of Sword Master.

That alone wasn’t enough.

I wanted to grow even slightly before facing the Ma-in.

And with that, I drew my sword and moved toward the center of the fray.

*

Amelia, relentlessly unleashing magic,

was currently flustered.

‘…Did Drex possess this kind of ability?’

The next Ma-in she would have to face.

Amelia knew of his existence.

She had dealt with the other two with her own hands, after all.

But she had never dreamed that Drex possessed such power.

Moreover, the presence Drex was emanating from the center of the forest was not the Drex she knew.

It seemed he had obtained an opportunity of fortune.

However…

‘What should I do…?’

For now, she stood with Arthurs, striking down the *masu*.

But if Drex’s power was this great…

‘Working with Drex to bring down the Hero… that should be the correct course.’

But she didn’t want to.

As Ameri cast her spells,

her gaze kept drifting towards a single point.

A presence watching the unfolding situation from not too far away.

Drex.

It was undoubtedly him.

Though it seemed neither the Saintess nor Arthur had yet noticed him.

‘Please, just pretend you don’t know me…’

Just as the number of demonic beasts swarming them began to thin out,

Ameri sensed Drex begin to move.

It wasn’t just Ameri.

The others noticed it too.

“…Hero!”

“I know!”

Arthur immediately braced himself to face Drex.

A keen, cutting aura.

Even Ameri standing nearby felt its impact.

And then-.

“A pleasure, so you are the Hero of this era?”

Drex revealed himself at last.

Not the Drex Ameri knew,

but Drex transformed into a form closer to a beast than an ordinary beastman.

Arthur, seeing a form so different from the demon he had encountered before, questioned him.

“Are you a demon?”

“Indeed. Though, to be precise, I am not a demon, but a demon-beast.”

“…”

Overwhelmed by the aura Drex emanated,

Arthur swallowed hard.

The force that Drex radiated.

If one were to compare it to something, it would be a Sword Master.

It was an energy akin to that.

Drex scanned the Hero’s party once.

And then-.

His eyes met Ameri’s.

Though his expression betrayed nothing,

Drex was momentarily taken aback.

But he quickly understood.

‘…She intends to feign being a companion to the Hero and then betray him. I thought she was a useless wench, but she’s quite clever.’

That was the conjecture Drex formed.

And so, Drex chose to feign ignorance of Ameri.

“Greetings to all, I am Drex, loyal servant of the Demon Lord.”

A smile bloomed on Ameri’s lips.

‘He’s playing along…!’

And then it dawned on her.

Until just moments ago, she had been gripped by a terrible fear of being exposed as Drex’s accomplice.

Ameri’s hand.

It was already slick with sweat.

Ameri immediately fell into thought.

‘Why?’

Why was she so afraid of being found out?

Ameri’s thoughts drifted to Arthur.

And before long.

‘That must be it.’

Her own actions.

They were akin to how her father, the Demon Lord’s, concubines looked upon him.

Realizing this, Ameri resigned herself to accepting her feelings.

‘I… I like Arthur.’

A standoff with the enemy.

Amidst the palpable tension, Ameri alone hung her head,

Ashamed of the belatedly recognized affections.

*

A chilling intent to kill that made flesh tremble.

Drex, he said his name was.

Powerful.

Far more so than any demon she’d seen before.

Perhaps…

Even more so than Lord Ailer.

And that meant, Drex’s strength signified him being a Sword Master.

“How long do you plan on just standing there?”

Drex spoke curtly.

At his words, I glanced around.

Asia and Ameria looked severely exhausted.

Asia’s legs were half-collapsed, and Ameria kept her head bowed.

And in battle, the Saintess was useless.

Which meant-.

‘I have no choice but to face him alone.’

I immediately drew upon my mana.

The mana swirling around my sword coalesced into aura, and soon began to radiate a golden light.

Was it because I was forcibly extracting the aura of a Sword Master?

A feeling of utter unease gnawed within.

And yet–.

‘Impossible to face without a Sword Master’s aura.’

Before Drex could resort to any trickery,

I lunged toward him.

However–.

Drex parried my blade with unsettling ease.

A situation that demanded disbelief.

Not a scratch, even with my peculiar mana.

Even with the aura of a Sword Master.

“…Strong, you are. But too hasty. Rea is quite foolish as well.”

I hastily widened the distance between Drex and myself.

But–.

Drex was swift.

He followed close behind, swinging a fist.

A clawing, raking punch.

Which landed squarely in my gut.

And with that mind-numbing pain,

I was hurled against the wall.

“Hero!”

“Mr. Arthas!”

“Arthas…”

Voices calling out to me.

Thankfully, I hadn’t lost consciousness.

But–.

The pain surging from my back was no trivial matter.

And–.

‘How am I supposed to defeat him…?’

I was at a complete loss.

If this were a novel.

If that were the case–.

‘It’d be my turn to awaken, after losing those precious to me.’

An overwhelmingly powerful enemy.

That enemy defeats the protagonist once.

And then injures a precious person, or a comrade.

After that, the protagonist awakens and defeats the enemy.

Thinking this,

strength surged through my body involuntarily.

“Hoo…, it won’t go that way.”

Closing the barn door after the horse has bolted.

I hated that proverb.

Because of a past life experience.

Right before death-.

I regretted.

Not having lived freely.

If this was to be my end, I should have lived a life doing only what I wanted.

I didn’t want to have regrets like that ever again.

I refused to fix the barn after losing the cow.

I needed to fix it before the loss.

Then, suddenly-.

‘Thinking about it, why have I been like that until now?’

I was reminded of my flawed habit.

My unique mana.

The rotation of the mana increased its destructive power.

But I had been misusing it.

Each time, I suppressed the power to the maximum.

Initially, to prevent cruel situations caused by my unique mana.

Secondly, to make my sword last longer.

And now, with a foot in the door of Sword Mastery-.

Because I thought controlling one’s aura was the most important aspect of ascending to Sword Master.

“Why have I only tried to suppress the rotation…!”

A fundamental condition of the strong.

Self-mastery.

Bearing this in mind, I suppressed the rotation of my unique mana as much as possible.

But-.

Was that really necessary?

“There’s no need to abandon my advantage, is there?”

“What are you muttering about to yourself again.”

Drex had somehow approached right in front of me.

He walked slowly towards me like that.

I… felt like I had been struck hard on the head.

And-.

I decided not to suppress it.

The aura of a Sword Master.

Even while emanating it, I did not restrain the rotation of my unique mana.

No- rather, I accelerated the rotation.

Then-.

The pale golden light began to deepen into a vivid golden color.

Vitality pulsed through my body.

I immediately understood why.

The instant I crossed the barrier.

Drex seemed taken aback by the sudden shift in my energy, a flicker of surprise on his face.

My gaze locked onto the Obsidian Blade.

The black of its body.

That black began to peel away, layer by layer, revealing a blade of pristine white.

The golden aura shone even brighter, illuminated by that pure white steel.

Drex’s panic was now clear to see.

Then-.

“$!@%$!”

He shouted something toward Amelia.

But the sound didn’t reach me.

Or rather, it was silenced by Amelia.

Erased by her magic.

Unheeding, I swung my blade.

With the force to cleave Drex in two.

He frantically blocked the attack,

but kept shouting towards Amelia.

Perhaps it was because of that.

Ultimately, Drex paid the price for his lack of focus.

My sword relentlessly pressing in.

But then-.

The center of Drex.

As I cut into that place, a radiant blue light began to shine.

An utterly foreign sensation.

I suspected Drex was responsible for some trick,

but judging by his expression, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Narrowing my eyes, I tried to discern the nature of the light.

Its source.

It was a piece of paper Drex had kept hidden beneath his clothes.

No doubt the light came from a magic scroll that I had just sliced through.

And so, I-.

Experienced a slight dizziness, and was transported elsewhere.

.

.

.

The scenery suddenly changed.

It seemed I was inside a cave.

Looking around, I saw Drex collapsed nearby, barely alive.

“Could this be… their secret base?”

I immediately went on guard.

This place being a secret base meant there was a high probability of other Mind as well.

And so, I stayed vigilant.

When I sensed a presence from behind.

I turned my head in haste, trying to identify its source.

But then-.

“Ah, Amelia? What are you doing here?”

Someone who shouldn’t be here-.

Stood before me.