I’m the Madman of This Family

Chapter 329. It Was Winter (5)

Henya saw everything even while lost in thought. The sight of Lord Eslow toying with the Titan, a divine-powered armored weapon.

Was the output of the Level 6 Titan insufficient? No. Eslow toyed with the Titan without even using divine power. It wasn’t a matter of output.

The gap in pure skill.

The perfection of technique, experience. When all of that creates an insurmountable gap, Eslow proved that even the difference in power, which everyone thought was absolute, could be ignored.

Eslow turned his gaze to Henya. The Titan he had been fighting until now was already out of his interest.

“You haven’t given up yet.”

The Green Tower, which she had trusted, was annihilated.

The Titan was also ineffective.

Yet, Henya’s eyes were more vibrant than before.

“Before we fight, I want to ask one thing. Did you intend to turn me and Lyze into weapons?”

Henya had judged the possibility to be very high and had fled the palace.

But now, she wanted to hear it from his own mouth. No matter how dire the situation had become, Eslow was still her father.

Eslow responded with a look of incomprehension.

“You are my daughter. Lyze is my son. You are my blood. If I were to turn you into my weapons, what’s the problem?”

“……!”

“There’s no reason to grieve or be angry. I’m not singling you and Lyze out. I simply needed weapons, so I created you.”

Eslow thought Henya was angry because he was only turning them into weapons while leaving the other children alone.

“Or are you resentful about becoming weapons? But the reason you were born was to become weapons. If I didn’t need weapons, you wouldn’t have been born in the first place.”

“…Do you truly believe you’re right?”

Henya swallowed her rising anger and continued to ask questions, taking half-steps closer to Eslow.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of right or wrong. Rather, you should be honored. To be able to become my weapons. You should be happy. To be able to be with me forever.”

“We may speak the same language and look similar, but we’re completely different.”

Henya, now right in front of Eslow, removed the white glove she was wearing and threw it at his chest.

“As a knight, I challenge you to a duel.”

“If you stand before me as a knight, you’re already a dead person. But I’ll acknowledge your spirit.”

Eslow extended his right arm. The space distorted, and five weapons appeared. The strongest weapons created by Eslow’s Authority, ‘Weaponization.’

This was Eslow’s sincere acceptance of the duel, and Henya had been waiting for this very moment.

Vrrrrr!

The five weapons began to tremble. Eslow’s eyes gradually widened.

“…Could it be?”

Whoosh!

Three of Eslow’s five weapons flew toward Henya. It wasn’t Eslow’s will.

The blade-less sword, ‘Formless Sword,’ landed in Henya’s right hand—

The spear made of crimson flames, ‘Red Spear,’ in her left hand—

And the ‘Glass Shield,’ which absorbs and reflects magic and abilities, attached to her right arm.

*

In the blink of an eye, Eslow, who had lost three of his strongest weapons, reached out to Henya. He intended to reclaim the weapons, but they resisted and refused.

“Have you mastered an Authority?”

There was no reason to answer. But Henya replied to shake Eslow’s composure.

“No. I can only hear the voices of the weapons. You can’t hear them, can you? The voices cursing you and begging for your death.”

“A pity. It would have been better if you had mastered an Authority.”

Henya had stolen three of Eslow’s strongest weapons, but she didn’t feel any advantage. Above all, the ‘Wooden Armor’ and the ‘Twin-Bladed Black Axe’ were still with Eslow.

They had no soul. They had become mere weapons after too long a time.

Thud.

It was then. Eslow threw the remaining strongest weapons at Henya.

The Wooden Armor and the Twin-Bladed Black Axe flew toward Henya. She tensed, thinking it was an attack, but it wasn’t.

“Use them. I’m satisfied with this.”

A sword had appeared in Eslow’s hand. A sword created by Eslow’s Authority. Henya focused her mind.

It was clearly a famous sword, but it had no soul. It was just a sturdy sword with no special abilities.

“…….”

Henya picked up the Wooden Armor and attached it to her chest. The branches of the armor expanded and contracted on their own, fitting her perfectly.

She ignored the axe. She knew how to use it, but it wouldn’t be effective against Eslow with just that level of skill.

Swoosh.

Her legs were shoulder-width apart, her back foot at an angle. The spear tip was aimed at Eslow, and the sword hung loosely. The perfect stance to start a battle.

Unlike her, who had taken a combat stance, Eslow didn’t take any stance. Henya knew it wasn’t out of leisure or arrogance.

A realm unbound by stances. Meaning, he could freely attack, defend, and evade in any situation.

Even though she held the strongest defensive armor and two of the strongest weapons, Henya didn’t act rashly. She simply stared at Eslow.

She didn’t even blink, nor did she breathe. She could feel that even the slightest signal could lead to death.

Then, Eslow gave a warning.

“Right wrist.”

Clang!

At the same time, sparks of aura scattered in all directions. Henya’s Formless Sword had clashed with Eslow’s sword.

From then on, Henya swung her sword and spear frantically.

The Formless Sword, which had no blade, could change its length freely.

The spear, made of flames, left trails of fire that burned only the ‘enemy.’

Meanwhile, the Wooden Armor defended against enemy attacks on its own.

As expected of Eslow’s favorite strongest weapons, they all had performance beyond that of artifacts.

Yet, Henya was being pushed back.

“Solar plexus, back of the neck, left shoulder, entire leg.”

Eslow even announced where he would attack each time, and Henya, knowing this, could only do her best to block.

Of course, just holding out would give Keter a chance to ambush, but she wasn’t the type to just take hits.

‘You thought I was just mindlessly defending, didn’t you?’

Henya gave up on the dream of counterattacking Eslow. Instead, she targeted his sword. She kept creating cracks in it.

And when it reached its peak, she switched to an all-out attack.

Dual Swordsmanship: Hundred Paths.

Left Sword: Unifying River.

Right Spear: Buffalo.

She wasn’t skilled in dual swordsmanship. She was skilled in wielding weapons with both hands.

The Red Spear pierced Eslow’s sword. The already cracked sword shattered, and the Formless Sword slipped through the gap, stabbing Eslow’s heart.

In theory, it was a perfect move—

But Eslow’s fist was faster.

Hundred Flowers in Chaos.

A barrage of punches overwhelmed Henya. The momentum of the Formless Sword was crushed, leaving only terrible pain.

Piiii—

A ringing sound echoed in her ears. She didn’t realize what had happened. She lost consciousness for a moment.

When she woke up, she was flying through the air. It felt like all the bones in her body were shattered. If it weren’t for the Wooden Armor, she would have been reduced to a lump of flesh.

As she fell, Henya performed a breakfall and immediately turned her gaze to locate Eslow.

But then—

A hand rested on her shoulder.

“It seems you’ve forgotten my teachings. True martial arts have no form.”

Dual Swordsmanship: Hundred Paths.

Left Sword: Shadow Slash.

Right Fist: Hundred Flowers in Chaos.

Even though she was caught from behind, Henya attempted to attack. But her sword and fist were blocked by Eslow’s knee and finger.

“Henya. Give up now. I’ll spare the life of that bug.”

He didn’t even look at her or say the name, but Henya knew exactly who Eslow was talking about.

Henya’s heart wavered for a moment, and her body trembled slightly. Eslow, who wouldn’t miss this, smiled and continued.

“You don’t need to fear becoming a weapon. If I wish, you can return to being human. If you just listen to me… I’ll let you live as a human most of the time.”

Eslow’s offer was like a warm bonfire to someone stranded in the winter mountains.

But for some reason. Henya’s fighting spirit didn’t diminish at all. Seeing her gaze, Eslow’s expression twisted.

Clang!

No more words. Henya continued her attack.

She must have known. That it wouldn’t work. The gap was too clear. Strength, speed, technique. Everything.

Eslow couldn’t understand. Henya must have known. That he was holding back. That he could kill her in the blink of an eye if he wanted.

‘Is that why? She’s bold because she knows I won’t kill her.’

Indeed, Eslow had no intention of killing Henya. He could turn her into a weapon even if she died, but the quality would drop.

‘I showed the gap to make her despair, but she rationalized despair with cunning.’

Eslow pondered while enduring Henya’s fierce attacks. How could he make Henya despair?

Most humans despair from pain and death. But seeing that she didn’t even groan after having her entire body shattered by Hundred Flowers in Chaos, pain wasn’t the answer.

Eslow finally found the answer by recalling his memories from when he was human.

‘Humans despair when something precious is taken away.’

Eslow’s gaze shifted. The distance didn’t matter to him.

First, he looked at Lyze. His own flesh and blood, and Henya’s younger brother. Eslow knew Henya cherished Lyze deeply.

But he couldn’t kill Lyze. Lyze also had to become his weapon. Even if not as much as Henya, Lyze would also become one of the strongest weapons.

Then, the only one left was—

‘Was it Wid?’

His brow furrowed. It was unpleasant that he even remembered the name of an untouchable commoner.

‘I can’t understand why she chose such a bug as a partner. No talent, and physically weak.’

A mongrel dog. To Eslow, Wid wasn’t even worthy of being treated as a human.

Thud!

Eslow’s palm sank deep into Henya’s chest. Even though the Wooden Armor protected her, half of her chest caved in.

With a single strike, Eslow knocked Henya down and then proceeded to mutilate her lower body, severing all her tendons.

The Wooden Armor not only protected the wearer but also had a healing effect. Thanks to that, Henya would recover from her injuries within 10 minutes, but the problem was what would happen during those 10 minutes.

“I’ll show you how futile the hope you’re clinging to is.”

Step, step.

Eslow walked toward Wid.

If he wanted, he could close the distance in a single step, or even cut Wid’s throat right there, but he deliberately walked slowly, hoping Wid and Henya would despair in fear.

“No! Don’t go! I’m not done yet!”

Henya despaired as Eslow intended. She crawled after him with both arms, but it was futile.

Yet, for some reason, Wid remained composed. Even as death slowly approached him.

Seeing this, Eslow thought little of it.

‘He doesn’t know anything, so he doesn’t even realize death is approaching.’

He roughly understood why Wid wasn’t trembling in fear or running away.

Wid was holding a sword. It was clearly no ordinary sword. It looked rusty, but its aura was so vivid it could be felt with the naked eye.

‘He must be relying on an artifact to not run away.’

The sword Wid held was undoubtedly an artifact. A fairly high-grade one at that. But it was nothing Eslow would bother with.

He wouldn’t have cared even if Henya was holding it. But the one holding it was Wid. It was obvious at a glance that he was a complete novice in swordsmanship.

Henya grew anxious. Lyze kept casting spells to try and bind Eslow’s feet, but Eslow didn’t evade, defend, or stop walking.

The martial artists who had gathered to fight Eslow had now become spectators. Or perhaps they were waiting for an opportunity, but at the very least, they had no intention of protecting Wid.

‘Keter, is now still not the time? Where could there be a better opportunity than now?’

Eslow’s attention was completely focused on Wid. And to Eslow, Wid was like an ant. The sword in Wid’s hand was something Henya had never seen before, but that wasn’t important.

Henya bit her lip hard. Blood trickled down. She felt she couldn’t hold on otherwise.

‘I have to believe. In Keter. If I don’t believe, I can’t completely deceive Eslow.’

By now, Eslow had reached right in front of Wid and spoke with an expressionless face.

“I’ll cut off the protruding parts of your body one by one. Starting with your fingers.”

As if it was a waste to even use a sword on Wid, the moment Eslow extended his index finger—Eslow turned around and grabbed something.

Vrrrrr!

What he caught was a pure white arrow, as white as marble. Baeklin.

The arrow, Baeklin, had appeared without a sound or trace. The power contained within it was immense. Eslow’s hand trembled violently.

But in the end, the ambush had failed. Henya realized too late that the arrow had been shot and was frustrated that it had been blocked.

“Hohoho. Henya. So the hope you were clinging to was Keter.”

Eslow had been certain that the knights of the Green Tower and Baen were just decoys, and that the real trap was elsewhere. After all, how could such small fries possibly oppose him?

But he had never dreamed it would be Keter.

“That was quite an impressive arrow.”

The ambush had failed. Just as everyone thought that, an anomaly occurred.

Wid swung his sword.

No, it was the opposite. It was more accurate to say the ‘sword’ swung ‘Wid.’

Looking at the situation, it was the perfect attack. Eslow had his back to Wid, after all.

But would Eslow panic just because he was attacked from behind? He didn’t need to bother blocking; his innate divine power would handle it.

However.

“……?!”

Eslow suddenly felt a chill. He reached out to defend, but—the sword was faster.

Swoosh.

Eslow’s chest was deeply slashed.

The mighty Eslow had been cut by Wid’s sword.

But it wasn’t that Wid had cut Eslow. The sword had moved on its own to slash Eslow.

“This is……!”

Only after being cut did Eslow realize. The sword that had cut him was no ordinary artifact.

Flash.

The decorative lines on the sword’s surface split vertically, and suddenly, an eye appeared.

The demon sword that should have been with Keter, Apophis, had taken Wid as its host and began to rampage.

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