Turning Chapter 844

Chapter 844

The transparent ice attack that could be materialized through the sword. That was the Awakener's ability that earned the Knight of Frost his epithet.

‘It was a troublesome power.’

The swordmaster's greatest feature was the aura they could freely unleash through their sword, essentially their sword energy. Adding ice to that was a formidable combination.

If you dodged the sword energy from the right, razor-sharp ice shards, as if waiting on the left, would reveal themselves and strike. If you countered with your sword, the ice would freeze upon contact, sending a significant shock through the opposing weapon.

The shock was so intense that ordinary weapons could hardly withstand a duel with the Knight of Frost. Indeed, in a past life, Yuder had lost a sword and several knives, among other weapons, to the Knight. The frozen and shattered weapons were beyond repair.

However, that was then. Now, Yuder possessed a sword far superior and made of sturdier, more precious materials than any he had used before.

Unconcerned about his weapon shattering, Yuder deftly blocked every attack. He countered the ice flying towards him with the power of the wind, and as he pressed on, the illusion began to waver.

If it had been a real human, Yuder might have seen a hint of panic in their demeanor. He let out a cold laugh.

‘Back then, rather than using one particularly good weapon, I thought it would be more efficient to use whatever weapon was available at the time or to steal other people’s weapons...’

This approach was not bad, especially when facing multiple foes, but it proved cumbersome against an opponent like this. Now, free from such burdens, Yuder felt an exhilarating ease in combat.

Boom, clang, clang! Boom!

Though initially caught off guard by the unpredictable attack patterns, Yuder gradually began to overpower the Knight of Frost.

He might have been slightly less powerful, but it was fine. His accumulated experience and memories of previous encounters were enough to compensate. And then, in a moment, Yuder infused his sword with flames, simultaneously blocking the Knight of Frost's sword energy and ice storm, and charged through an opening.

Whoosh...!

A misty fog, like an illusion, obscured his vision, and the Knight of Frost vanished.

‘What?’

Yuder reflexively shielded himself with his arms and the wind, furrowing his brow and looking up again, only to see another figure where the Knight of Frost had stood.

-So you are the Emperor's dog... The Pearl Tower may have fallen, but my magic power remains intact. Do you think even an emperor can dare stop me from going where I wish? The one who will see their last day today will not be me!

‘...I know him from my past life.’

In an era when usable magic was scarce due to the gradual depletion of magic power, he was one of the few mages known for wielding dangerous magic with ease. During the time of the Pearl Tower, he had mostly secluded himself, practicing offensive magic. After the tower's fall and his awakening, he made a name for himself on the continent by displaying skills that were several times greater than before.

The fact that he was both a mage and an Awakener was not widely known. His ability was a mental one that maximized the effects of the magic he used, and as it was only applicable to himself, keeping it a secret was not particularly challenging.

People referred to him as the 'Mage of the Crimson Path'. It meant he possessed such extraordinary skill that, if he wished, he could walk a path covered with blood.

After the fall of the Pearl Tower, Emperor Katchian desired to appoint the Mage of the Crimson Path as a lifelong court mage. However, the mage declined for several reasons, including a lack of trust and willingness to follow Emperor Katchian.

When news arrived that the mage had accepted an invitation from King Ejain, Emperor Katchian ordered Yuder to assassinate the Mage of the Crimson Path before he could leave the empire.

The Mage of the Crimson Path, who looked exactly the same as before, was wearing a red and black mage's robe befitting his name and cast a spell towards Yuder. His body, hands, feet, and every conceivable space for accessories were densely filled with ornaments that all shone brightly.

A multitude of spells, each drawing power from the magic stones, were cast simultaneously. Surrounding and swiftly striking the target, these quick and precise offensive spells were the Mage of the Crimson Path's specialty.

But...

'You weren't the only one who was able to use multiple attributes quickly.'

With his eyes wide open, Yuder swung his arms towards the spells rushing at him.

Instantly, the forces unleashed from his fingertips mingled appropriately, striking and exploding each spell cast by the mage. The aftermath, almost too fantastic to be an illusion, tore his ceremonial clothes and left scratches oozing blood on his skin. Yet Yuder paid little heed to such wounds.

He leaped into the air, stepping on the wind, heading in unpredictable directions, and threw the knives he had drawn from within his cloak at the mage. They were the same knives, previously a promotion gift for Sunz and Emon, that had proved useful before.

-...!!

In the blink of an eye, the illusory mage lost limbs one by one to the dagger, letting out a mournful scream.

-Poor beast on a leash. I can see the dreadful results of your murderous deeds piled upon your shoulders. You are cursed... The empire, the Emperor, will never achieve what they desire by doing such things...!

Those eyes filled with hatred were identical to those Yudrein Aile saw when he took the mage's life in his previous existence.

“...”

Whoosh, once again, the mist in front of him dispersed, revealing a new opponent.

Each one of them was an acquaintance from a previous life. Yuder, with an expressionless face, took the best approach, methodically dispatching those he had previously confronted.

After cutting down about ten, he thought it was fine since most were not from this life. But at the eleventh, someone he knew from this life appeared.

-Ugh, aaahhh…

A large man, dressed in bloodied cavalry armor, with grotesquely twisted wings and antlers broken and covered in wounds.

He was none other than Elpkins from a previous life.

The clear tear streaks across his distorted, sightless face were physiological tears of pain, reflexively shed by a body on the verge of bursting. Many rampaging Awakeners ended their frenzied state like this, shedding tears with a blank expression, facing a terribly painful end.

-Commander, Commander... kill... kill...!

-Save me... please save me...

-Die... I'll kill them all...!

Indeed, even Yuder couldn't help but pause for a moment. The overlapping images of Elpkins from this life, and the now frenzied and facing his last moments, caused this hesitation.

“...”

And in that moment of hesitation, Yuder failed to perfectly evade an attack from Elpkins, who struck in the blink of an eye, by the narrowest of margins.

Even a slight brush from the frenzied Awakener's tremendous strength sent his body flying like a small stone.

‘Damn it.’

Yuder cursed his own foolishness for even a momentary lapse in concentration and reflexively used his power to brace for the impact. However, when he crashed to the ground, surprisingly, he bounced back with a squelching sensation, suffering less damage than he anticipated.

Of course, his shoulder, directly grazed, was torn, but the lack of further impact meant his injuries were minimal.

'Could it be... Gakane helped me?'

Yuder recalled Gakane's voice, promising to help him somehow using the shadow curtain as he departed. He had thought it nearly impossible for Gakane to grasp his situation, given the vast amount of power he had used, but astonishingly, it seemed Gakane had indeed done something with the shadow curtain.

It was absurd, but it cleared his mind.

He had been somewhat dulled in his judgement, continuously facing illusions despite being under the magic spell protection from Kishiar.

"...Gakane, thank you.”

Yuder softly expressed his gratitude to his friend, who might be listening somewhere, and then firmly regripped his sword.

He faced the illusionary Elpkins, who was rushing towards him with tears of blood and screams, sword raised in readiness.

"I warned you not to seek power through such dangerous means, but you didn’t heed it back then."

But this time would be different. It already was.

Just as Gakane, who should have died, had survived to assist Yuder, and just as the knives of Sunz and Emon, which should have been used to defeat him in the past, were now in his hands, so too would Elpkins change.

Yuder, without hesitation, thrust his sword toward the exposed center of the charging opponent.