SWNOVELXO Chapter 100
Fake Prince.
The moment I threw back the words I had heard from Seron.
Ergo’s face was twisted more than ever.
“Hmph.”
A remarkable breath escaped his lips, just like it had during Seron’s time. At the same time, anger boiled in Ergo’s eyes.
“I tried to overlook your rudeness simply because you are the cousin of the 3rd Princess.”
His boiling rage spread around him.
He wasn’t called a promising candidate for the six stars for nothing. The golden aura of killing intent that emanated from him tightened around me.
“You’re crossing a line.”
But his killing intent was already familiar to me.
Starting with Isabel, who once looked at me with angry eyes, and also facing Nikita’s killing intent engulfed by the remnants of the great dragon.
With Ergo’s killing intent at this point, it was just laughable to me.
So, I smiled brightly even in front of his killing intent.
“What’s wrong, did you get scared or something?”
Provocation after provocation.
“You want this, don’t you?”
I held up Paradon’s sword. Ergo’s eyes naturally followed the sword.
It was the sword obtained through hardships over the summer break. Since my original goal had been the White Dream Sword, I planned to exchange swords with Ergo.
But knowing the value of Paradon’s sword, I decided to use it as a bargaining chip.
“Do you think I’ll just let today’s rudeness slide?”
“I don’t underestimate you, Ergo Paradon. Especially since I know you’re exceptionally clever when it comes to politics.”
I handed Paradon’s sword to Iris. Realizing my intention, Iris accepted the sword.
“I just transferred ownership of Paradon’s sword to Lady Iris.”
Ergo’s eyebrows twitched.
“So the parties involved in this transaction are you, Ergo Paradon, and Lady Iris.”
The sword of Paradon, with historical preservation value. The 3rd Princess of the Empire had come to hand it over to Prince Ergo.
This transaction would be written in the pages of history.
It meant a good relationship between the Haishirion Empire and the Paradon Kingdom, of course. An opportunity for the prince who recovered Paradon’s sword to firmly secure his position among the citizens.
Would Ergo want any interruptions during such a historic moment?
I can assert that he absolutely would not.
Of course, today’s rudeness would not be recorded in history but rather hushed up. As it needed to be hushed in history, he had no reason to impose any severe punishment on me.
Moreover, today’s transaction would overshadow Seron’s rude remark of “fake prince.”
A remark made towards a prince who was set to inherit the throne of a country. This comment could very well be a diplomatic issue for Paradon.
Ergo acted out of emotion, but he was no fool. He sensed my intention to also bury Seron’s remark within this context.
“… Do you see me as a joke?”
But regardless of that, Ergo’s anger burned fiercely.
“You said a duel, right? I’ll gladly oblige. But…”
Ergo ground his teeth.
“If you don’t mind losing your life in that duel, I’ll accept.”
“Fine by me.”
Ergo was momentarily stunned by my cheerful response.
“Instead, all you have to do is apologize to the girl you fought today.”
He looked at me with a dazed expression.
“… Just to confirm, are you seriously doing this to ask for an apology from that girl while dangling Paradon’s sword?”
This situation made no sense according to logic. Hence, Ergo directly asked his question.
I smiled brightly once more.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Ergo stared at me with a blank expression, as if he had never seen such a lunatic before.
“For you, Prince Ergo Paradon, it’s a simple matter. You can duel with me, exchange the White Dream Sword for Paradon’s sword, and return to your homeland. Oh, of course, I have no intention of taking your life.”
What do you think? Are you still scared?
Ergo stared at me in silence. Then a hollow laugh began to escape his lips.
“Very well.”
Ergo’s unique traits are [Self-Esteem] and [Sadism].
These two lit a fire within his heart, fueled by his determination to crush me.
“After dying, let the god of the afterlife know that it was I, Ergo Paradon, who killed you.”
The duel with Ergo was confirmed.
＊＊＊
There was no need to drag it out. Ergo wanted to crush me immediately, and so did I.
So we moved to a nearby clearing, avoiding the professors’ gaze.
“Hanon.”
As I walked along with Ergo, Iris called out to me.
From her perspective, it was an unexpected entanglement. So, I thought she might be worried about me.
“If Prince Ergo looks like he’s in danger, I’ll intervene.”
In other words, she was telling me to fight with all I had. Iris had not even slightly concluded that I would lose to Ergo.
Well, Iris knew I had already battled and defeated Nikita, who possessed the remnants of the great dragon.
Nikita was the one among the six stars who could match Eve, at least.
Utilizing the great dragon’s magic, Nikita was incredibly strong.
Having defeated such a Nikita to save Iris, my evaluation must have been quite high in her eyes.
“Yeah, I’ll trust you, Iris. I might get a little carried away.”
“Leave it to me.”
As I finished talking with Iris, Ergo suddenly came to a halt.
A clearing surrounded by reasonably dense trees where the sight was obscured. It appeared to be a recent lightning strike aftermath that left it barren.
It was perfect for fighting.
“I repeat.”
Ergo raised his hand smoothly.
At that moment, swords began to emerge from his waist, filling the air.
The belt strapped to his waist was a special treasure known as ‘Spatial Island,’ capable of infinitely storing swords.
All his precious swords were stored there.
“I intend to fight with the plan to kill you.”
He directly commanded me with his own words. I had no retort if I were to die today in front of Ergo.
“Those words are something you must take responsibility for.”
Ergo looked towards Iris.
Iris, who was the judge of this duel, raised her hand above her head.
“Begin.”
The moment her hand fell, Ergo’s aerial swordsmanship unleashed.
The swords adorned the sky, all rushing toward me at once.
Each sword, reminiscent of sharp beast fangs, flew fiercely at me.
I stood there silently, doing nothing.
It was as if I were accepting death.
Ergo gazed at this sight with confusion.
Yet, he did not halt his aerial swordsmanship.
If I gave up, he would simply kill me.
If there was a method, it was to charge headlong.
The swords barreled in from all directions, aiming to pierce my body.
It felt like a rain of swords was pouring down.
But even before this, I didn’t blink.
Kachang! Kachang!
Soon, Ergo widened his eyes at the spectacle.
All the swords he launched had reached me.
From the side, it would have looked like a porcupine bristling with quills.
However, among all those swords,
not a single one was embedded in me.
Divine Mystery
Steel Body
Not even a blade-like attack could harm me.
Even if my clothes were slightly torn, I bore no wounds.
Ergo’s eyes bulged wide.
He must have realized at that moment.
Ergo and I were the worst possible matchup.
“Prince Ergo Paradon.”
I brushed the swords surrounding me away with my hand.
“Didn’t you say you were going to kill me?”
A grin laden with provocation graced my lips.
Sorry, but you absolutely cannot kill me.
With a thud on the ground, my body lunged forward.
Seeing this, Ergo began to retract his swords.
With blades pursuing me from behind and those charging from the front.
I swung my palm to meet them.
Kachang! Kachang!
The swords that clashed with my palm were knocked away.
Seeing me not using a weapon, Ergo frowned.
This method of battle was unprecedented for him.
Charging without using a weapon was practically suicidal.
However, as I stepped closer while deflecting swords, Ergo’s expression stiffened.
I was an unstoppable tank.
This pressure knocked the breath out of him.
If I reached him, could he stop me?
The pure murderous intent emanating from my body created a whirlpool of doubt in his mind.
I had no intention of allowing him the space to come to a conclusion.
I moved my steps even more precisely.
I filled my lower body with strength.
I raised my guard more meticulously.
The steps to close the distance were one of my specialties.
With this, I had bewildered many throughout my past, including during my active days.
I pressured him to narrow down the scope of his thoughts.
The murderous intent radiating from my entire being tightened around Ergo.
Kachang! Kachang! Kachang!
The number of swords ricocheting increased rapidly.
The closer I got to him, the more intense his aerial swordsmanship became.
Nevertheless, not a single wound landed on me.
The moment Ergo’s face completely hardened.
I finally reached before him.
It was time for an opening.
A line connecting Ergo’s head with his hand.
Following that line, my palm soared through the air.
Kachang! Kachang!
In front of Ergo.
My palm came to a sudden halt.
Swords that had quickly gathered around me crossed and forced my hand back.
The swords that formed a circle looked like flowers.
With such tremendous force applied, my hand wouldn’t budge an inch.
As expected of those remarkable swords, each radiated a unique energy.
Amidst the gaps of the sword blades, Ergo’s eyes met mine.
“Remember.”
At that moment, as the shadows of the swords deepened around me, Ergo opened his mouth.
“This is a gap between you and me that can never be bridged.”
In that moment, the swords surrounding my wrist suddenly felt weighty.
With the abrupt increase in weight, my arm fell limply.
Thud!
Then, my body was dragged down to the ground.
As a result, the swords swarmed in like wolves biting down on a fallen prey.
Thud! Crash! Thud!
The swords dug deeply into the ground, binding my joints.
In an instant, I was stuck, unable to move.
“Looks like you’ve cloaked yourself in some special power that prevents you from being wounded by swords.”
Ergo violently swung a large sword.
The edge of the sword rushed toward my face.
“If I can’t cut you, I can just beat you senseless until you lose consciousness.”
Just before the heavy edge of the sword hit my face.
A flash of light flickered from my trapped arms.
Boom!
With the activation of the magic seal, an explosion occurred, causing the swords binding me to fly free.
The edge of the sword was right before me.
I extended my right hand and swung directly at the edge of the sword.
Kachang! Kachang! Kachang!
It sounded as though a hefty sword was crumpling.
Seeing this made Ergo freeze.
Because my fingers had pierced through the edge of the sword he swung.
Naturally, the owner of the fingers was me.
“You said there’s an unbridgeable gap between us.”
I clenched my fingers tightly.
Click-click-click-click!
At that moment, the edge of the sword crumpled.
Between the crumpled blade, my red eyes gleamed fiercely.
“Let’s see if you can still say that when your sword ends up like this.”
Clang!
That was the moment the Sword Breaker shattered Ergo’s great sword.