NOVEL WEB Chapter 15 - The One Called a Legend (4)
✦ Chapter 15 – The One Called a Legend (4) ✦
「Translator – Creator」
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At some point, I began to dislike wielding weapons or tools; this was because the tools would easily break in my hands.
For me, controlling my strength to prevent my weapons from breaking was more challenging than destroying my opponents.
So, naturally, my strength weakened and my skills deteriorated.
That was the realistic limit of “Swordsman Daniel.”
“But bare hands are better. I don’t have to worry about my fists breaking.”
「You failed to succeed with a sword, yet you think you’ll triumph barehanded? It seems frustration has driven you to madness.」
“Here I come.”
Boom—!
I lightly kicked off the icy floor and leaped; the hard ice of the snow mountain served as an excellent springboard, allowing me to exert my full leg strength.
The Skeleton King seemed unable to perceive my speed until I was right in front of it. I brought my lightly clenched fist down on its skull like a hammer.
Crash—!
A thunderous noise erupted as ice shards flew in all directions.
The ice throne crumbled like hardened mud, and Skeleton King Imseti Paimon bounced across the icy floor like a skipping stone before embedding into the wall.
「Such strength. It’s been ages since I’ve fought someone so powerful. It feels as if my non-existent heart is beating again. I shall unleash my true power as well.」
Whoosh—!
Imseti’s form, previously embedded in the wall, vanished.
Looking up, I saw the massive skeleton charging towards me, its icicle-like greatsword raised high. Its speed belied its enormous size. I dodged easily, but the Skeleton King’s attack was both a killing blow and a continuous assault.
Boom—!
Boom—!
Boom—!
Boom—!
A flurry of attacks, defenses, and counterattacks occurred in a brief moment. Imseti Paimon seemed to be getting faster and faster as his frozen body thawed.
「Now! What will you do? There’s a limit to defense and evasion alone! I am now undead! I tire not and recover quickly from any wound!」
“……………”
「But you? Inevitably bound by the limits of a living being, injuries will accumulate, your mind will wear down, and eventually, you’ll show an opening!」
Crash—!
The Skeleton King’s strike connected with my body. I was sent flying and slammed into the ice wall, but it was so refreshing to be sent flying by a blow from my opponent after such a long time that it was almost strange.
“Imseti Paimon, you were indeed worthy of being called the strongest. But for a dead person, you talk too much. I wonder how you speak so well without a tongue.”
「Still maintaining that condescending attitude? I’ll shut that arrogant mouth of yours.」
Skeleton King Imseti raised his greatsword and then wrapped himself in something like a blue aura. It was an extreme cold that would freeze everything around it if it touched.
「This is my full power! A desperate, lethal technique that consumes all my mana and puts extreme strain even on my own body! I’ll show you my secret technique, perfected moments before my death!」
Boom—!
Imseti’s massive body leaped forward with bullet-like speed. It swung its enormous greatsword, and the blade’s energy split the ice wall.
「World-Breaking Strike─!!!」
Crack—!
Crack—!
Crack—!
Crack—!
The tomb, made of ice harder than blue stone, was split in half.
World-Breaking Strike. A technique truly worthy of its name.
Rumble—! Rumble—! Rumble—!
As the tomb began to collapse, Imseti looked at its palm amidst the rain of debris.
「Even for an undead body, this technique is too much.」
“Impressive. A strike that can alter the landscape. It’s been a while since I’ve seen something like this.”
「What? You survived that technique? You took my strike head-on, a strike that has sliced through mountain peaks? My blow that could break the world itself…!?」
Though its skeletal face couldn’t show expressions, Imseti seemed greatly shocked. However, it quickly regained composure, appearing ready to charge at me again with renewed vigor.
‘It should be about time now. Everyone should have made it to the shelters by now.’
Huff….
I exhaled all the cold air from my lungs.
I tightened the muscles in my whole body and swung my right hand’s hand knife from bottom to top as if drawing a sword from its sheath.
“Empty-Handed Flying Sword.”
Wheeeak—! Zzzzt—!
The sword energy created by the sharp blade cut through Imseti’s body and further cut the snow-capped mountain.
Zzzt— Zzzzt—
Frost Reach, the snow-capped mountain, was split exactly in half.
As I was looking down at the valley and the two peaks that were created as a result, Imseti, who was cut in half, was lying on the ground and looking up at the night sky with blue eyes.
「How regrettable. If my body had been in its prime… Perhaps you would be the one lying here instead.」
“Perhaps. If you had been at full strength, I might indeed be the one lying there.”
「…No. I cannot lie after all. Splitting a snow mountain barehanded? I’ve never heard of such a thing. You monstrous being.」
“………….”
Crack, shatter-!
Imseti Paimon’s body finally shattered like glass and disappeared. There was a small piece left where he had been, and when I picked it up, words floated before my eyes—
⌠Supreme Ice Crystal: An ice crystal fragment condensed with the highest purity of mana. Used as a core material in crafting the highest quality items.⌡
“I wonder what this is used for.”
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
Frost Reach, the snow-capped mountain, was split in half.
As a result, two peaks were created and countless valleys were formed.
“To think he’d split the Demon Realm in half. Imseti Paimon, you were a great man, just like the rumors say!”
“Don’t be so impressed! The avalanche he caused threw the entire city into chaos! If we hadn’t been in the shelters, we all could have died!”
“Listen, considering Imseti was resurrected, we’re lucky it ended with just an avalanche!”
Everyone in the city of Avalam was buzzing about the great event from a few days ago.
“Extra! Extra! The ancient king Imseti Paimon was resurrected, split the snow-capped mountain in half, and almost destroyed the world, but in the end, he was self-destructed due to incomplete necromancy!”
The rumors differed slightly from the truth.
Of course, I couldn’t reveal that Emperor Bael was the one who defeated Imseti, so it was my own fault that I ended up lying that ‘Imseti self-destructed after splitting the mountain’ because I was the only one left in the tomb until the end.
“Daniel! How are you feeling?”
I was walking through the city of Avalam when a middle-aged man with a bushy beard waved at me from afar. Perched on his shoulder was a squirrel named Pochita, who resembled a Husky.
— Woof! Woof!
“Chainsaw Man. You’re safe.”
“My name is Findman. How are you feeling? The hero who bought time fighting that terrifying Skeleton King! Do you know how long we’ve been waiting for you to get up from your sickbed?”
“I’m fine.”
In fact, it was a feigned illness that I had been bedridden for the past few days.
If I had emerged unscathed after fighting Imseti, people would surely have grown suspicious, wondering, “What is this guy’s true identity?” The chances of my identity as the Emperor being exposed would have been high.
So I had no choice but to spend about three boring days pretending to be bedridden.
It was genuinely the most painful and agonizing time I’ve had in recent years.
Really.
“Then hurry to the square! It seems the Paimon family has something to announce to everyone regarding the hunting competition! They’ll surely talk about you too! Go quickly!”
The square was already crowded with people.
I’d heard the hunting competition had been suspended due to the “Resurrection of Imseti” incident, but it seemed the Paimon family wanted to make some kind of announcement about future plans.
Tak—! Tak—!
Lady Somnia took the stage precisely at the appointed time; as people applauded and cheered loudly, Lady Somnia spoke—
“The hunting competition has safely concluded. Let’s announce the winner.”
“Winner?”
“Wasn’t the competition suspended?”
“So there was a winner after all!”
Boom, boom, boom-.
The sound of drums made from bull hide resonated, perhaps to build tension. As the noisy crowd fell silent, Somnia finally shouted—
“The winner is Daniel of the Dantalian family!”
“What! Of course! I knew it would turn out this way! This Findman knew it! Daniel! You’ve won! I knew you’d win!”
Findman hugged me and bounced up and down.
However, I felt quite bewildered.
I won?
Why?
I hadn’t even managed to hunt the legendary Hel.
I thought they would gloss over the hunting competition as if it had never happened. That’s why I had even been planning to sneak into the Paimon family mansion to steal the ‘Moonlight Stone’ and ‘Sunflower.’
Me, the winner? Hadn’t they said the Paimon family would grant one wish to the victor? While it was fortunate that I no longer needed to resort to theft, something smelled of a scheme.
Thump—
Just then, someone came up to me and punched me on the shoulder.
“Don’t delude yourself into thinking you’ve beaten me, Dantalian. Had I faced Imseti Paimon, I would have annihilated him before he self-destructed.”
It was Anistia Barbatos, the elven swordsman.
He seemed to feel a twinge of jealousy over my victory and my battle with Imseti.
“Thanks for the congratulations.”
“Hmph.”
As he disappeared with the characteristic lightness of elven movement after his derisive snort, people raised their hands and shouted—
“Daniel! You’re our hero!”
“Long live Daniel, hero of the North!”
“Hurrah! Long live Daniel!”
I felt both bewildered and pleased by everyone hailing me as a hero.
As the world’s strongest man, such acclaim was only fitting. Praise me more. Worship me.
As I began to feel a bit smug, armored knights approached and asked:
“Sir Daniel. Lady Somnia requests your presence. Will you come with us?”
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
The Paimon family mansion was as grand as befitting a great house. It could serve as an inner citadel on its own; though it lacked decorative elements, prioritizing practical function, I waited in the simple garden prepared for guests.
Tak–! Tak–!
After about an hour, a woman in armor and helmet approached me.
“Lady Somnia?”
“Daniel. As the head of House Paimon and the organizer of this hunting competition, I congratulate you on your victory.”
“But I didn’t hunt the legendary Hel. How can I be the winner?”
“No, you’ve as good as captured the legendary Hel. Didn’t you survive the influence of Del’s rampage during the decisive battle with Imseti Paimon?”
“…………”
So the Paimon family did know about Del’s insomnia and its after-effects. I gazed at Lady Somnia with narrowed eyes; her face, hidden beneath the helmet, remained unreadable.
“Does Del know what he is?”
“He doesn’t. We don’t know exactly what that entity dwelling within Del is either. For now, it’s best to keep it a secret from Del and everyone else.”
“Why? You could be honest with Del himself. Tell him that something akin to the legendary Hel awakens inside him when he sleeps. Shouldn’t he know about his own condition?”
The woman fell silent for a moment at my question.
She hesitated as if trying to hide something, then answered softly—
“…Because there might be those who covet Del’s power. Especially if the greedy Emperor learns of Del’s unique trait, our North might plunge into war again.”
That makes sense.
Somnia handed me a scroll.
“The Dantalian family. I’ve investigated your family these past few days. Daniel of Dantalian. Your trail went cold five years ago. As if you’d vanished from this world.”
“I was away from the mundane world.”
“But I heard that you recently defeated Swordmaster Parthian, one of the Empire’s Five Swords. Today, you have even become the hero of Avalam. I have a proposal for you.”
“A proposal?”
“Would you consider a political marriage with our House Paimon? As a mercenary family known for keeping promises and trust, you could see this as a request too.”
“It’s my first time receiving a request to become a husband. I don’t think any Dantalian has ever had such a request. What if I refuse?”
“Will you refuse? This might be your chance to gain everything Paimon has to offer. An opportunity to marry me, Somnia, whom even the Emperor trembled to court?”
……
There was much I wanted to say, but I decided to respond calmly.
“Indeed, as you say, it’s a good opportunity. But something doesn’t sit right with me. Above all, you’re not the real Lady Somnia, are you? You’ve been a stand-in for the ‘real Somnia’ from the start.”
“…You say I’m a stand-in?”
“Yes, and regarding this matter, I’d prefer to negotiate with the real Lady Somnia rather than you, the imposter.”
— End of Chapter —
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Translator’s Notes :-
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