Chapter 262 - Are You an Onion?

["To walk like a snake, you need to increase your joints' range of motion."] Encrid had learned Snake Step from Audin, added Swallow Blade's swordsmanship, and blended them with the Flowing Sword Technique Ragna had taught him and everything he had seen, learned, practiced, felt, and experienced. The concept was simple.

'The Flowing Sword Technique blocks, deflects, and disperses.'

It was a sword style that prioritized letting an opponent wear themselves out. That was how Leonesis Oniak, the first to compile the five sword styles, had defined it. Those who mastered the Flowing Sword Technique after him had adhered to the same approach. 'Does it have to?'

He would not have been the first to wonder, but he might have been the first to give that idea form, infuse it with purpose, and make it into swordsmanship. That was how he had created it. Deflect to create an opening and strike at the same time. Disperse an opponent's attack while driving his own sword forward. The idea was simple, but executing it required keen senses, years of sparring experience, and more. Encrid had those things. But swinging his sword out of such a deflection meant he could not put his full strength into a cut or thrust. To be precise, even half his strength would be difficult. Was that a problem? He could make up for the lack of power with something else. His weapon simply needed to be sharp enough. Sharp enough to cut with the slightest graze. Encrid had put a whetstone to his sword and honed its edge. The Tutor, reborn from a demon sword into a fine blade, was sharp enough to make up for the missing strength. So that was what he had done. He had made use of his weapon. Deflecting his opponent's sword to the side, he had slid in along it, delivered a light tap, and withdrawn.

This was the result. "You're one-eyed now."

At Encrid's remark, Meellun blinked his remaining eye, one palm pressed over the other. He had fallen trying to dodge the sword and was still sitting on the floor. What kind of man was this?

What the hell was this bastard?

No, more importantly, what had that move been?

A tangle of thoughts arose one after another. Rather than puzzle it out, Meellun launched himself straight off the ground. He seemed to push off with his backside, but in fact he used the spring in his knees to propel himself forward from where he had fallen. Being blind in one eye did not matter in the slightest. Combat instincts honed over many years guided the Frog's hand and let him judge his opponent's position. 'He deflected it.'

Even amid all this, he understood the trick his opponent's sword had performed. Then all he had to do was strike so hard it could not be deflected. He needed only a single step to close in. In that instant, Meellun's forearm seemed to swell to twice its size. At the same time, it seemed to bend. The thick Loop Sword it held blurred like a mirage as it plunged down. Encrid felt the sword coming. He opened his five senses. His newly acquired eye of Sixth Sense read the strike's trajectory. He set his own blade against it. The exchange was too fast for an ordinary person even to see, but to him, the strike felt clear enough to grasp in his hand. The force coming through the Loop Sword was weaker than before.

It was a feint.

So that was why he had gone to the trouble of bulging those ridiculous muscles. Just as Encrid laid his blade against it to deflect, the Loop Sword changed course. He pivoted through his ankles and twisted his waist to follow its new trajectory, applying what he had learned in Balaf-style martial arts to his sword. It was a flash of quick thinking. Adding force to the rotation, he struck the flat of the Frog's blade. CLANG! Steel meeting steel always made noise. A deafening crash erupted. Vibration and an invisible shock rolled toward them both, but neither was affected. Their conditioned bodies withstood it. Meellun did not panic. Nor did he underestimate his opponent. Using the recoil, he spun halfway around and swung horizontally. As though dancing, Encrid traced a curve through the air with his sword and brought it against the other blade once more. SKRIIIIING! Sparks scattered between them with a metallic screech. SHLACK! Then the sound of rending flesh joined the scrape of steel. Encrid stepped back and flicked his sword downward, shaking the blood from its edge. "... You."

Across from him, the Frog, Meellun, blinked his eye.

What in the world was this? Since his last fight with Encrid, Meellun had trained harder than ever to improve. At one point, cutting down three or four Cultists had nearly gotten him fucking killed. He had slain monsters and demonic beasts, and even prowled near the Demonic Realm. All of it had been for today. To crush the human who had dared interfere with his work and fulfill his desire. A Frog's desires could be terrifyingly tenacious. Meellun's was simple and clear: to defeat an opponent and savor the sense of accomplishment. The human before him had been the perfect opponent. Weaker than him, yet determined to struggle. But his efforts to earn a richer, more lasting satisfaction than ever before had failed to pay off.

No, his efforts had borne fruit. His opponent had changed. 'Impossible.'

Fighting someone vastly stronger than himself was far removed from Meellun's desire. That was why he was here. Judging by his talent-reading eyes and his varied experience, it made no sense for him to lose. Even now, his combat instincts told him so. Then what was this? What the hell was this?

He had grown far stronger than his former self. Yet the man who had barely managed to hold his own against him before had taken his eye with a single stroke.

And this time... "Where'd my arm go?"

The absurd question slipped out on its own.

It had been there. Now it wasn't. They had crossed swords exactly twice. The first exchange had left him one-eyed; the second, one-armed. His arm had been cut off. Severed below the elbow, the chunk of flesh lay off to one side, still holding his sword. He could see the hand gripping the Loop Sword, twitching and oozing blood. A Frog's regeneration was remarkable, and writhing flesh was already filling in the stump. For now, however, he had lost both his weapon and his arm. Stunned, betrayed by his own desire, the Frog lost his mind. His eye rolled wildly, and a long tongue lolled from his gaping mouth. "Want to keep going?" Encrid had seen that Krais was unharmed. He had already confirmed that Krais was huddled unbound in a corner of the hall. In other words, this Frog had killed no one. There were things he wanted to ask, too. Who, exactly, had sent him to collect money, and from where? Would more like him come, or would this be the end? Was Black Blade behind it, or had the Count been meddling in the territory for some time? There was plenty to be suspicious about. Finding answers was simple: he could ask the Frog.

As he watched him... "Enkie."

Behind him, the Fairy Company Commander called him by a pet name. Perhaps that was better than "my betrothed."

Looking at the Frog, he understood why she had called. The Frog named Meellun reached inside his heart guard and pulled something out. It was a small leather pouch, flat and perfectly shaped to tuck inside the armor. He raised it over his mouth and shook it one-handed. The pouch's drawstring came loose, and something like powdered medicine poured into his mouth. "Be careful."

The Fairy gave her warning, and a moment later, the Frog's eye turned blood-red. Consumed by a single desire, the satisfaction of victory, the Frog had made a choice he would regret when he came to his senses. He had taken the drug, and its effects soon manifested in his body. "Grrrraaaaaah!"

The Frog charged with a monstrous scream, far faster than before. Encrid had already drawn his right foot back and set his stance when the Frog tipped the powder into his mouth. At the sight of the charging Frog, Krais's eyes widened as though they might split. Behind Encrid, the Fairy Company Commander took a step. Gilfin, who had remained outside the door after guiding them here, fell on his backside, apparently startled. Encrid's Sixth Sense sharpened as never before, perceiving everything around him. Concentrate One, or Concentrate on a Single Point, activated as well, making everything seem to slow. He had the illusion that heavy, solid air had wrapped around his body. Powder Meellun had spilled scattered through the air, reflecting the light. In front of it, the Frog suddenly loomed larger. He was right before Encrid's nose. Encrid held his sword at a slant. Having closed the distance, the Frog kicked straight forward. 'Even if I cut him...'

The oncoming body would still crash into him like a boulder. It was a tactic characteristic of Frogs: give up flesh to take bone. BOOM! THUD! An explosive crash rang out, and one of the two combatants flew into the wall. "Captain!"

Only then did Krais shout. He could not see the fight's exchanges, but even he had seen the Frog gulp down some fucking drug and go berserk. Their collision had shattered the mansion's wooden floor and thrown up dust, briefly obscuring Krais's view. Beyond the dust, a hazy figure waved a hand from side to side and spoke.

"What are you calling me for?" 'Ah, fuck. I thought he'd got you.'

As Krais sighed in relief, the Fairy Company Commander was so astonished that she spoke without thinking. She stood awkwardly, a step half-taken, her hand on her sword.

"What was that just now?" She replayed what she had seen. A foot came flying in. Encrid set the flat of his blade against his opponent's shin and deflected it. Frog skin was slippery. He had exploited that property to deflect the blow. Of course, it was by no means easy. The slightest error would have let the kick catch and smash his head; even a hit to the shoulder would have shattered bone. The deflection alone was a feat, but it had not ended there. Encrid had then drawn a short sword with his left hand and used its flat as a bludgeon to strike the Frog's heart guard. The blow landed precisely over the heart, shattering the armor and driving the impact inside. Was that astonishing? It was. Both his reaction speed and the way he had countered.

"You've improved enormously." Sinar judged that even she could no longer confidently predict the outcome of a fight against him. Of course, things might be different if she revealed everything she had and fought all out. But in a simple spar, he had reached a level where she could no longer guarantee an easy victory.

'He might be trickier than the barbarian.' Encrid merely shrugged at the astonished Fairy.

"You seemed to know something?"

He had heard her cry out at the sight of the powder. Her tone had suggested familiarity. "It's something I saw recently." "Let's get this place sorted out first."

Having recovered his composure, Krais approached as he spoke. Encrid nodded. He looked at the Frog, who had broken through the mansion wall and was now lodged amid the bricks. His heart had not burst, but the impact had knocked him unconscious. Drug-fueled frenzy or not, a Frog's weak point was the heart. Encrid had targeted it precisely.

The difference in their abilities was clear. "You really are strong, Captain."

Even knowing it, Krais was astonished enough to say so. Gilfin, who had watched everything, had been sitting speechless with his mouth open for some time. He had not even gotten up from his backside. These were monsters from a world completely removed from his own. What he had seen—no, there was little he had even seen clearly. Would anyone believe him if he told them about this?

'Sure they would.' How did this make any sense? Was that man some kind of knight? No, wasn't he just a Company Commander? Then why was he so absurdly good at fighting? "We're heading back for now."

Encrid had captured the Frog alive. As long as he did not die, he would regenerate, so it was indeed a live capture. It would also let Encrid answer a few questions and satisfy his curiosity. He slung the Frog over his shoulder, and the Fairy Company Commander and Krais fell into step beside him. Outside the mansion, a chilly breeze brushed his cheek. The fight had not lasted long, but he had worked up a sweat. The wind against his face felt wonderfully cool. As sweat trickled down his temple, the Fairy Company Commander reached over and wiped it away. Then she said,

"Are you an onion?" Encrid wondered what on earth she was talking about.

"What does that mean?"

"You show me a new charm every time. I wondered if you were an onion, revealing fresh flesh with every layer peeled away." Encrid became deeply curious. What exactly passed for a joke among Fairies? Was this a normal Fairy? Or had the Fairy Company Commander been ostracized even by her own people? Was she here because they had driven her out for making jokes like this? He glanced at Krais to see whether he had heard, but Krais gave no sign of it.

"Oh, he's got quite a lot."

He was rummaging through the Frog's bag as he walked. "Didn't you hear that?"

At Encrid's question, Krais lifted his head. He had been bent so far over the bag that he looked ready to climb inside.

"Pardon?" So he hadn't heard. He had heard, but he hadn't listened. Recognizing one of Krais's techniques, Encrid copied it.

"What is that powder?"

He had heard, but he hadn't listened. He changed the subject. "Something troublesome, my onion betrothed."

Unfazed, the Fairy Company Commander bestowed a fresh form of address on Encrid. Would it be all right to swear at her?

Encrid considered it briefly, then kept his mouth shut. He could have Krais investigate the drug later. "My onion betrothed, I believe your eyes just said something. You look as though you're gazing upon an apple grown in a swamp."

"... A swamp apple?"

"Apples grown in swamps are all rotten and diseased."

He took that to mean an insult. To Encrid, the Fairy Company Commander seemed a little giddy. He did not ask why. He simply acted like Krais.

He heard, but he did not listen. "Now, my betrothed. You seem unwilling to answer me."

"Esther's come to meet us."

Encrid spotted the panther in front of the barracks just then and spoke with delight. Just as he said, Esther was waiting there as though she had come out to greet him. His steps were light. Before, he had barely held his own against the Frog, Meellun. Now things were utterly different. It had amounted to no more than a casual outing.

That was how much he had changed, Encrid thought as he looked at Esther.