On a night when the moon hung high above the roof of the highest tower and the only thing chasing away the darkness was the glow of the tavern’s lights, a boy stepped out onto the streets.
Flap. With each step the boy took, the hem of his shabby cloak moved, and blood flowed endlessly from his shoeless feet.
“What is this?!” a man shouted, seeing the bloodstains on the street. “What is it?” his companion asked in surprise, lifting his lantern. Its light cast a round glow over the dark street.
“What are these marks?” The man and his friend followed the trail and soon came across the boy wandering about all alone.
Dirty, ash-gray hair and bony limbs were visible from beneath his cloak.
“A-A person?” The two men, now terrified, brought the lamp closer. Just then, half the boy’s face, which had been hidden in the darkness, was revealed.
Drip. A wound ran diagonally across the boy’s face, from his forehead to his chin, and was constantly spurting blood.
“That wound’s severe!” One of the men cried as he approached the boy. But the moment he approached, the shadow that had enveloped the boy’s body rippled.
No, it wasn’t a shadow. The darkness that was pretending to be a shadow seeped out from beneath the boy’s cloak, behind his feet, beyond the reach of the lantern’s light.
It was as if half the boy was made of complete and utter darkness. His hair, sticking upward, looked exactly like horns.“A-A Demon!” The man immediately drew his sword to save his friend. At that moment, the boy shuddered violently and retreated from the lantern’s light. As the boy entered the realm of darkness, his eyes shone eerily.
“I… I…” The boy seemed to be trying to say something. “There!” But the moment he heard the cries of others who had freshly discovered the blood stains, the boy…
—Excerpt from Herto Rinser’s The Broken Horn
* * *
Berserk sat cross-legged before the battle. It was the posture Norda warriors took when meditating.
“Sss… Huuu…”
In this state, she repeatedly inhaled and exhaled. With each exhalation, stray thoughts disappeared, and with each inhalation, her fighting spirit swelled.
Her fighting spirit was as pure as freshly fallen snow atop a mountain yet as cold as the ancient ice crystals lying beneath.
She was going to lose.
“…”
However, there was no such thing as complete liberation. At least, not for her.
You know, right? He cut down what you couldn’t.
“…The amount of Arcane Power doesn’t determine victory or defeat.”
A voice seeped into her mind as she tried to keep her composure. Berserk bit her lip.
Hahaha. A voice identical to hers echoed in one corner of her head.
Usually, yes. But is Arcane Power the only thing he has? That’s not it, right? You can’t beat him.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Why? How can it not matter when you challenge someone you can’t beat?
“Because in some battles, even defeat has meaning.”
Maybe… You’re not wrong, but does this apply to the battle you’re about to fight?
“It—”
You don’t intend to learn anything from him, nor do you want to settle your ranks, and it’s not as if anything’s at stake here.
The voice pierced through to the truth with painful precision.
Or do you simply want to ascertain your shortcomings again? Why? You already know these things but chose to turn a blind eye, yes? If you’re going to turn away again this time, what value do your actions hold?
“…I, Berserk is…”
If you’re going to pretend not to know, then just keep pretending. Or finally make up your mind and face it.
She didn’t want to hear this. Berserk really wanted to block her ears somehow.
If she could just erase that voice that tore through her skin, ripped apart her muscles, and exposed every single flaw she wanted to hide, she would give anything.
Thirty years of wandering with the answer always right behind you should be enough.
“Stop!”
…No. She couldn’t. If she could, she would have done it a long time ago.
“Stop it.”
Drip.
Berserk let her head droop forward, her tears falling to the ground. Her chest, her heart, ached as if it was getting ripped apart. It felt as if she’d lost half of herself.
“Please, stop…”
She stared at the one who remained frozen in that time, unable to grow any further. Someone completely withered and twisted, staining the pure white snow of the mountains with blood.
“You did the same, so don’t blame me.”
Of course, this was something she didn’t want to see either.
“You chose to fight despite knowing you’d lose, and you didn’t listen to me at all when I tried to stop you, so don’t act like this now.”
She wasn’t ready to face it yet.
…It was to save you.
“Berserk never wished for that.”
Then do you think I did it for my own sake?
“It wasn’t for Berserk’s sake either.”
Absolutely not.
“If you truly cared about me, you should have stayed with me.”
She would never accept it.
* * *
3:40 a.m. I left earlier than I needed to because I liked arriving at appointments at least ten or twenty minutes ahead of time.
“Hmm.”
And then I found myself face to face with the closed city gates. I’d completely forgotten that the gates only opened after sunrise.
“What should I do now…?”
Seriously. There wouldn’t be any open space inside the city—to be exact, there wouldn’t be any area spacious enough for us to fight without damaging our surroundings—hence why I had purposely set our meeting outside the city.
I never thought the gates would be an obstacle. Was this what they meant by knowing one thing but not the other?
“Waiting… doesn’t seem like a good option.”
I couldn’t just sit here waiting and postpone my appointment with Berserk.
Now that I thought about it, leaving the city might actually be quite difficult even after sunrise. After all, a certain something had happened our first day here.
“Can’t be helped, I guess…”
Should I endure the stricter inspection because of those Demon Worshipers, or should I just sneak out, fight, and quickly sneak back in?
After a fierce debate with my conscience, I finally chose the latter. Honestly, I would have much preferred to wait, but due to my character’s personality, I didn’t really have a choice.
My character was someone who, while aware and conscious of morality, prioritized his own standards over laws and rules.
“Yaaawn. When’s the shift change…”
I was really sorry about that, but please don’t notice me. If I get caught, it would be bad for both of us.
Whoosh.
“Huh?! A gust of wind…?”
I wrapped my whole body in Arcane Power and ran vertically along the wall. I then leaped as high as I could, avoiding the guards’ eyes.
Was it because my Arcane Power was black, or was it because the moon was hidden behind clouds? None of the guards noticed me floating through the air.
Even though some of them nearly had their hats blown away because of the wind I created when kicking off the wall.
Whoooosh.
Meanwhile, my body, floating dozens of meters up in the air, slowly began to descend. Since I’d jumped straight up, my landing spot wouldn’t be that far from the wall.
Tap.
“Huh? Did something fall just now…?”
“Were you dozing off or something? What are you talking about?”
At least I managed to stay out of lit areas.
Listening to the guards’ chatter, I silently thanked my Arcane Power for being black.
Then I slipped into the forest. It was currently 3:47 a.m.
“Phew. Success.”
Yet again, leaving early had proven to be a very good habit. It allowed me to handle these kinds of unexpected variables.
…Well, the only problem now was Berserk.
But seriously, what should I do? I didn’t really need to worry about her, but… wouldn’t she absolutely get caught trying to get out? That would get me in trouble as well.
“…Maybe I should have designated the Temple as our meeting spot.”
Oh, of course, I knew that would’ve been impossible. The whole reason for doing this at dawn was to avoid being caught by the Inquisitor, Deathbringer, and the Archmage.
But I wanted to do this at the Temple around this time? That was like deliberately trying to get them to come after me.
Hoot, hoot.
In the meantime, the hooting of owls echoed from the dark forest where I’d stopped. It was 3:57 a.m., just a few minutes from the time we’d agreed on.
Thud!
Just as I was starting to wonder if Berserk might be unable to make it, I sensed a large but concealed presence approach.
“Sorry I’m late.”
4 a.m. on the dot.
* * *
“Are we doing it here?”
“No.”
I was only standing here because I wasn’t sure whether she would show up. I had no intention of fighting here. If we did, the guards would definitely notice.
“We’ll go further out.”
In that sense, I decided to put more distance between us and the wall. Berserk agreed.
The two of us ran side by side through the dark forest.
“In Berserk’s opinion, this place seems fine. The city people won’t notice us from here.”
After running for about twenty minutes, Berserk spoke up first.
“If we go any further, it might be difficult to return to the city.”
She even seemed to have considered what would happen after the fight.
“…Let’s do it here.”
Of course, while it was surprising that Berserk had thought so far ahead, her words weren’t wrong.
So I nodded in agreement and stopped my feet.
If I remembered correctly, the sun would rise around six. As long as the fight didn’t drag on for more than an hour, we should be able to return to the city before the darkness receded. This thought was very much a flag.
“…”
“…”
Anyway, what remained was the promised duel.
As if we’d planned it in advance, a heavy silence filled the space between me and Berserk. For me, it was because this was my first formal duel, while Berserk seemed to be lost in some complicated thoughts.
Swish.
However, the wait didn’t last long. Berserk made the first move.
“In my homeland, the honorable title I wear is Berserk, the one who proves their bravery with blood.”
Thunk.
She placed an oil lamp on the floor and grabbed her black halberd with her now empty hand.
Her strong legs spread an appropriate distance apart to firmly support her body.
“With the weight of that title, I now wish to challenge you.”
This didn’t seem like a formal declaration or a salute to her opponent. If I had to describe it, it looked more like a posture to ready someone for action right before they rushed into battle.
“While this challenge will be sharp as the edge of a blade, no one will be buried beneath the falling snow.”
And yet, it still seemed like a gesture of respect.
It was unembellished and primitive, but it seemed even more sincere precisely because of that.
“Honor to the victor.”
Her golden eyes shone brightly without a trace of lightness.
“Enlightenment to the defeated.”
And as I met her gaze, I found myself speaking without even realizing it.
“…May the duel be fair.”
Was it just my imagination? Berserk’s eyes seemed to bend slightly as she looked at me, as if she was smiling.
However, before I could confirm it, the halberd in her hands was thrust forward.
“It’s an honor to fight you.”
The halberd’s tip, whose blade more resembled that of a spear, pointed directly at my heart.
This was the beginning. My instincts, not my ears, recognized the signal marking the beginning of the duel.
Bang!
Berserk charged at me, her grip on the halberd wide. The moment she kicked off the ground, a sound like a thin metal plate getting hit was heard.
The crimson glow of the oil lamp made the black halberd appear coated in molten lava.
Ting.
I, on the other hand, didn’t rush at her. Instead, I stayed where I stood and steadily raised my sword.
The Zweihänder I’d already drawn and held such that its tip was grazing the ground bounced off the toe of my boot, rising upward.
Claaang.
My Zweihänder perfectly locked between the halberd’s spear tip and axe blade, forcing it to a halt.
The impact from their collision caused both weapons, now stuck at an angle, to vibrate violently. Even though I’d prepared for it, I still felt a sharp pain running through my wrist.
However, I couldn’t stop there.
Her wrists and mine moved flexibly, spinning the halberd and Zweihänder in a circular motion. We were trying to free our trapped blades, but since we moved simultaneously, all we accomplished was carving a half circle through the air.
Screeeech.
I then decided to pull back. Berserk and I stepped back, disengaging our weapons. In the process, the metal of our weapons rubbed against each other, giving off an unnerving sound.
Whoosh!
After that, we attacked again. Berserk, gripping the halberd’s shaft at both the end and midpoint, charged toward me again. Her attack path was so straightforward that even an ordinary person could see and dodge it.
However, if that were all there was, she wouldn’t be called Berserk, right?
The spear tip she’d thrust forward instantly withdrew, shifting its attack path.
My Zweihänder responded in kind.
It was huge, but it was still just 5 kg. It rotated fluidly, intercepting the spear tip. Boom! With a heavy sound, the halberd and Zweihänder pushed themselves away from each other.
Whack!
If I couldn’t use this momentum, I might as well hand in my title as an action game veteran.
I twisted my ankle, pivoting my body. At the same time, my blade followed suit, spinning around my body like the blades of a windmill, gaining speed as it aimed at Berserk again.
Clang! The halberd and Zweihänder collided with each other once again. If the previous clash had been a nearly perfect cross, this time, it formed an uneven X-shape.
The angle at which the blade and halberd intersected was too large and too narrow. Both weapons slipped.
Whoosh!
The blade of my sword that had struck the polearm slid down without a struggle while the halberd naturally slid up.
“Haaah!”
The real problem was the halberd’s reach.
My Zweihänder was around 1.6 meters in length. Berserk’s halberd reached about 2.5 meters.
If she thrust forward now, it could stab straight through me, but I couldn’t even reach her.
And Berserk also knew that.
[Survival Instinct]. This skill I’d hurriedly activated showed me possible escape routes. I had to step back or block the attack with my sword.
“…!”
Of these, I chose the latter.
With the system’s correction strengthening my arms, I pulled up the blade previously buried in the ground in one sharp motion, resting it diagonally before me to act as a shield. My right hand held the ricasso of the Zweihänder as I braced myself for subsequent impact.
Of course, if Berserk retracted her halberd again and struck from a different angle, I would easily get hit…
Screech!
How could I let that slide?
Following the trajectory suggested by my skill, I maneuvered my blade again between the halberd’s spear tip and axe blade.
Clink. With the twist of my wrist, the angle of my blade changed once more, locking itself perfectly in the upside-down Ω-shaped groove of the halberd.
Now, Berserk couldn’t pull back her halberd until either I allowed it or she gave up on this thrust and attempted to twist it out.
That blade also couldn’t reach me anymore.
So, what was she going to do now?
How would she respond?
“As expected, you…!”
Berserk let out a sharp laugh at my unspoken challenge. She chose the latter, of course.
So what should I do next? How should I respond?
Observing Berserk, I started imagining my next move, anticipating what she would do. It was almost like solving a type of riddle.
Fierce, but without the need to worry about dying or killing. Honorable, yet bold. Presenting just enough pressure to feel a sense of pleasure from solving it.
That’s the type of riddle it was.
“Berserk will do her best!”
Clang!
In the meantime, our weapons clashed again, at which point Berserk’s shout pierced my ears.
Her words felt more like a firm order not to let my guard down ever.
“So you should do your best as well!”
Actually, I didn’t feel too bad about that.
____
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