Chapter 856 – Battle of Vajra -12-

000

＂Haaa!＂

Cleon’s sword swung.

Until just now, his sword was classified as a typical long sword, although it had a jet-black appearance, but for some reason, it now took on the appearance of a beautiful single-edged sword with its long, extended blade reflecting light.

In general, it is a sword that looks like a slightly longer version of the ‘sword’ used in eastern countries.

Moreover, of course, his swordsmanship seems to have changed to match that, changing from the original straight-line, forcefully opening and digging style of swordsmanship to –

It has changed into curved and acrobatic movements, so rather than dealing with the enemy from the front, it has changed into a sword technique that seems to be a sneak attack and a geographical advantage in a wide space.

Chasing it was so dangerous that it felt like walking a tightrope with so many thorns laying on the ground.

He may not know.

That it was an imitation of the sword of Rubera, another magic swordsman who met and developed a relationship with Cleon after Albain disappeared.

Of course, Cleon was not able to reproduce the swordsmanship of the assassin using the sword as perfectly as she could.

Cleon was convinced that it was effective after seeing Albain’s reaction slowed down as he learned his original sword techniques.

All that’s left is to push the opponent like Rubera, the master of this technique, and be careful not to let him adjust to the movement.

The remains of the automata were rolling around so much that it hindered Albain’s movements as he faced Cleon.

The appearance of these useless, broken people who were unable to buy time or attract attention could only be described as truly miserable.

Even though he didn’t like those guys, Albain’s heart was racing because of the sight of them.

It was clear to him that if he were to be defeated by the hated guy in front of him, he would be dealt with in the same way.

Yes, just as Cleon thought, he was Albaine, and he was not Albaine himself.

The real Alvain is still trapped in the regressor’s laboratory, and has become a kind of raw material that provides the genes to create them.

All of Alvain’s clones, including himself, undergo a type of emotional suppression process when they are created.

Previously, the individual who went into emotional overdrive after encountering Cleon in Asteris was simply an abnormal individual who had not properly processed his emotions.

For Albain, his ‘weakness’ – no, the part that could be said to be a flaw was his arrogance and impatience in thinking that everything revolves around himself without thinking ahead and backwards.

It was the judgment of ‘Darwin’, who created Albain’s clone, that if he did not overcome his weaknesses and control them, it would be difficult to use him as a soldier who simply receives and executes orders.

Therefore, he underwent surgery such as removing part of his brain or using drugs to completely think of himself as a ‘part of a group’ rather than an ‘individual’-

Even after that – when you see Cleon in front of you, there is something coming up from your soul to replace the body that has lost its function.

It felt like the brain inside the dead head was being pulled out of the grave and resurrected.

＇Did the blow just now cause something wrong with the body? ＇

It was confirmed that the armor that was assisting his movements was torn apart by the single blow.

However, it has not been confirmed that any malfunction occurred in his own body thanks to the sacrifice of that armor.

The diagnosis was that the arms and legs were moving without any problems, and they were actually moving that way.

There, he himself had already learned Cleon’s swordsmanship.

No matter how he moved, it wasn’t that difficult to respond to ‘known movements’.

[No. 621. Check for unnatural shaking in the movement of brain waves. It is recommended to administer medication for stability.]

In his head, the telepathy of another clone, the same being as himself, comes in.

They and they are connected by a kind of magical network, and to increase each other’s mission efficiency, they share what they have seen and experienced, and even check their status for deterioration of body functions.

Albain’s clone, called No. 621, answers the voices of its compatriots.

[─Proposal, rejection. The functions of this body are operating without any problems.]

If a drug that stabilizes brain waves is administered, this question and anxiety will disappear, but No. 621, who did not want to admit that something was wrong with him, answered that way.

Then, he received the urging of his compatriots that kept ringing in his head.

[Rejection is not acknowledged.]

[This is not a choice.]

[This is our consensus.]

[We felt ‘anxiety’ due to the shaking of your brain waves.]

[Anxiety is an unacceptable emotion.]

The sound of those guys making a fuss in my head is louder than the sound of my sword clashing with Cleon’s sword swinging in front of me.

And, if that voice broke my concentration, there was no way I could face the sword properly.

＂Shadow well.＂

Cleon’s sword was sucked into the deformed scabbard, then pulled out at an invisible speed and swung like lightning.

Albeindo could understand the idea of ​​acceleration using magic power, but he also thought that if he didn’t surround the sword with magic power to block it, the sword would break.

[Avoid.]

[Defend.]

[Counterattack.]

＂Kuh…＂

In my head again, different commands—the voices of the guys watching this situation through me echo.

In a situation where even they had different opinions about what was the right decision, Albain eventually succeeded in blocking the sword by raising his sword one beat late, but-

Bang! And, as the strong impact exploded, No. 621 flew straight into the wall and ended up being thrown down.

It wasn’t a cut, but the reason was that I couldn’t stand the difference in strength because I couldn’t hold my posture properly.

Cleon looks at Albain’s clone that flew away, looks down at his sword, and asks.

＂That guy was a bit slow in his movements just now, wasn’t he?＂

[Is that so? I’m not sure because it’s so weak.]

Hearing Galatea’s mocking words, Cleon just sighed and shook his head.

And, at the same time as the pain that overtook his whole body, No. 621 got up, barely holding on to his spirit that seemed like it was about to go away for a moment.

[You all shut up.]

In the end, Clone No. 621 was able to escape the loud noise by squinting his eyes and blocking out the voices in his head.

Originally, it would have been an act that could not avoid punishment, but if he returns victorious, no one will be able to say anything to him.

＂…＂

I calmly calm my now quiet mind and speak while looking at Cleon while holding the sword that is still intact.

＂I have one question to ask.＂

＂Do you want to ask me a question? You’ve been quiet until now and then suddenly?”

Cleon was struck and wondered what had gone wrong, and he seemed to be interested in what he said and put Galatea on his shoulder.

At first glance, it may be a posture full of gaps, but after learning his habits, No. 621 found out that it was a movement that relieved tension and relaxed the muscles of the body.

“Why aren’t you actively using the magic sword’s abilities?”

＂…＂

Number 621 was asking him as if he really didn’t understand that part.

Even if he only thought about it based on the knowledge he had, the ability contained in that magic sword was not just about strengthening the slash by feeding it with black magic.

However, except for Cleon using the magic of the dragon to deal with him earlier, he didn’t seem to be using all the magic sword’s power.

I couldn’t help but feel that it was belittling myself.

As evidence that No. 621’s dead thoughts and personality were being revived little by little – his pride was stimulated by it.

Then, when Cleon heard Albain’s question, he closed his mouth for a moment and rolled his eyes.

No. 621 couldn’t help but frown at his reaction, as if he was thinking about the answer.

Then, Cleon answered him while scratching his head and laughing.

＂An honest reason and a made-up reason to make it less likely to hurt. Which one do you want to hear?”

＂Ha?＂

In response to Cleon’s question, No. 621 asked him back as if he were saying something stupid.

But soon, thinking that he was making fun of him, he got angry and answered.

“Of course, it’s an honest reason.”

＂Okay… Then let’s be honest-＂

Cleon’s face becomes a full-blown sneer.

“Because it’s a waste. To show Galatea’s power to something like you.”

＂──.＂

At Cleon’s words, Albaine looked as if she had been hit on the head for a moment.

At first glance, Cleon’s expression seemed like he was provoking him, but to Albain, not doing his best for such a trivial reason felt like an insult in itself.

The reason he was created was to take revenge on Cleon, who took away everything from him.

However, since the fundamental part does not change, No. 621 also had quite a bit of hostility towards Cleon.

With that answer just now, the hostility and anger reached the point of complete explosion.

＂Is that so… Then die!＂

The next moment, an explosive magical response appeared throughout No. 621’s entire body.

The reaction of the divine magic was quite dazzling, but Cleon did not react as if he was embarrassed.

Just quietly look at it and return the Galatea that was on his shoulder to its sheath.

[Ah~ I’m angry.]

When Galatea says that in a tone that sounds like a giggle, Cleon answers her quietly.

“What. “I answered yes.”

Of course, there was absolutely no need for Cleon to do anything harsh against Albain.

Cleon also harbored quite a bit of hostility toward Albaine, to the point where he declared that he would cut him down.

But at the same time, Cleon’s magic poetry saw a flow of magic power stretching out like a spider web from Albaine in front of him.

Even Cleon couldn’t figure out where it was flowing, but at least there were people watching this fight somewhere other than here.

And, just like the black armor that Albain was wearing earlier, if you say that you can observe and learn your own movements.

There was absolutely no reason to show much to the other person.

But that? The thread-like magic power that extends from her shakes and weakens when the magic power of the Albaine connected to it is depleted or there is a sudden large change.

What Cleon aimed for was to weaken that connection.

And he did, but as expected, Albain became angry and unleashed his unnecessarily large amount of magic power, completely weakening the connection.

Well, then there is no reason left to look at this side either-

“This time, I’m going.”

The next moment, Cleon’s movements disappeared on the spot.

No. 621 thought that even in the battle with the automata, Cleon’s favorite tactic was to catch his opponent’s wits by making his movements unreadable through instantaneous rapid acceleration.

By concentrating magical energy in his eyes to increase his visual acuity, he judged where Cleon could penetrate, and judged that he could block the sword just by pointing it there –

He probably didn’t know that Cleon was limited to when he didn’t use the ‘power of the magic sword’.

He felt a sudden spark behind his back.

Could it be that he used magic? Alvain thought for a moment.

Cleon’s movements, which could not be followed even with enhanced body vision, were – in a way, natural.

Because Cleon did not ‘move’.

In the end – he just ‘refracted’ his relative position.

[Cleon is ‘in front’ of Albain.]

[Cleon is ‘behind’ Albain.]

It was a fundamental twist of ‘what happened’ and ‘what happened’.

A powerful distortion that refracts the perception of the world and makes it difficult to believe that ‘this was the case’.

The power that Galatea imitated and Cleon brought out – this was the real power of Rubera and Barisada.

＂What─＂

No. 621 probably didn’t understand a single thing about what happened.

The next moment, Galatea was pulled out of the sword sheath and swung horizontally.

Wow! If you think you heard a sound, a not-so-shallow stab wound was carved into No. 621’s back.

If I hadn’t reflexively bent my body forward, my upper body would have been blown away, but it was definitely close to a fatal wound.

‘Nonsense, no way.’

In Albain’s opinion, the power of Cleon’s magic sword was not this strong.

As expected, he was anticipating the power of Cleon from the ‘Elesia era’.

Among the memories of the original body implanted in him – he remembers what the devil said.

[You are no match for Cleon right now.]

While his main body, Albain, was captured in Elessia and rotting in a forced labor facility in the north.

Cleon grew up fighting to the death against numerous enemies.

It’s no longer like the days when you had to worry about your level when kicking someone out of a party.

The next moment, I thought I felt something heavy on my cut back.

It was Cleon’s foot that stepped on his back and jumped into the sky. No. 621 could not even follow it with his eyes, but only understood it as a flying sign above his head.

Under the lights illuminating the hallway, Cleon’s body was floating upside down, barely touching the high ceiling.

It didn’t even use floating magic, it was just an acrobatic jump and a sword swing.

What you are aiming for is the ‘vital spot (behind the neck)’ of the opponent that you want to ‘kill’.

Rubera’s secret sword, the sword with which she has buried countless opponents until now—

＂Pillar of heaven.＂

──.

After Cleon’s foot landed on the ground, a second later, a double thump sound was heard and the body of the person in front of him fell.

She fell forward without even being able to get down on her knees, her body and head separated, and she stopped breathing with a shocked expression.

Cleon looked at the scene for a moment, and as if he didn’t want anyone to find the hideous corpse, he created a flame magic on his hand and set it on fire.

[They even do my makeup. Did you feel something?]

＂No way.＂

As Cleon said this, he returned Galatea to her sheath and joined Caliburn who was approaching from behind.

“It just felt ugly.”

To the being called Albain, who still cannot face reality and sees himself in the past.

And, the Exiled Church itself is trying to do something using Alvain.

‘If we keep making dozens and hundreds of Albains like this and sending them out, it’s going to be a headache.’

No matter how much he was, he didn’t think he could come to his senses in front of so many cockroaches with identical faces.

Also, I care about what Remilia said.

‘Somewhere, we have to find a way to get him out of the church and put him back in prison.’

Never for him-

She wanted to not have anything to do with him anymore.