The Academy’s Doomed Young Lord Dies Ten Thousand Times

Chapter 47 - How to Deny Predestined Harmony (2)

Clang-!

Claang-!

The sound of swords clashing echoed through the silent Ailton Hall.

And amidst that exchange, Elwin thought.

‘He’s strong, this person.’

At a glance, it might have seemed that their skills were evenly matched.

But that was only because the middle-aged man before him had not revealed his true abilities to Elwin.

As Elwin was fated to one day bear the title of Sword Saint, he could instinctively feel it.

However, Elwin felt neither despair nor anger about that fact.

Elwin was simply thrilled. He knew the world was wide, but for a master of this level to appear before him was another story.

‘……The world truly is wide.’

But Elwin was not the type of person to make rash decisions fueled by hot-bloodedness.

Despite the situation looking grim, Elwin calmly deduced the conclusion with the highest chance of victory in the current situation.

And that conclusion was that he had to settle the match now.

If the fight dragged on, or if the opponent grew tired of Elwin and revealed his true abilities. It was clear that Elwin would be defeated.

Therefore, while the opponent was toying with him, he had to end it before he revealed his skills. That was his calculation.

As the close combat continued, Elwin drew out all his mana and condensed it into his sword.

‘It’s not yet complete, but…….’

It was the preparatory process for casting the first technique of the Sword Saint’s secret arts, passed down through the Cardenas family for generations.

There was a considerable skill gap between the assailant and Elwin, but it would be quite difficult even for the assailant to withstand this blow filled with the spirit of Cardenas.

Only one step remained.

If he just took one step, he could stand on the testing ground to see if what he had honed so far would work.

But, at that fleeting, decisive moment……

‘……If I step forward, there’s no turning back.’

Elwin momentarily thought about it. The possibility of failure.

Was it a hasty decision? If he retreated, there would be no chance of victory, but couldn't he hold out until someone arrived?

That thought flashed through his mind for a moment.

But, that was…….

“You hesitated.”

Just as the assailant in front of him calmly stated, Elwin had hesitated.

It was not fear. Nor was it a shameful desire to run away.

He had simply looked back on… and remembered an obvious fact.

But it was a clear cause of defeat. It was unfair, but it was a wall he could not overcome.

The assailant did not miss that fleeting moment, and-.

Clang-!

With the light sound of metal clashing against metal, Elwin’s sword was sent flying into the air.

“Damn……!”

The match was decided. All that remained was the simple task of taking his life.

‘……This fleeting hesitation will cost me my life.’

The shining glory of his family, his outstanding talent, his guaranteed future.

All of it became meaningless before this fleeting moment.

So this is the essence of a life-or-death battle.

Elwin squeezed his eyes shut. He could instinctively feel that it was completely over now.

But.

Clang-!

Elwin’s breath was not cut short. All that was heard was the sound of metal clashing against metal once more.

And, at the end of Elwin’s gaze as he opened his eyes was…….

“……That was close.”

The degenerate young lord who had recently been treated as a person of interest within the academy… Rain Enlight.

***

Fortunately, it didn't take that long to arrive at Ailton Hall. It was a relief that the distance between Ailton Hall and the training ground was not that far.

I once again reviewed the deployment of personnel in 『Prelude to Ruin』 that I had seen in .

‘There are three intruders. They entered through the three gates excluding the north gate. And Elwin, the fixed character for this scenario, starts at the south gate.’

I quickly finished my review and led the group to the south gate. Since Elwin could also be a force comparable to Serene, it was to join up with him quickly.

And, the result…….

Clang-!

“……That was close.”

The situation turned into me, who had rushed in the fastest, saving Elwin who was cornered.

In the original , this role would have been played by other characters.

Immediately after, I looked towards the entrance I came through. Because I had rushed out first, Khan, Yuna, and Serene had not yet arrived.

“How did you get here……!”

Elwin asked me in a flustered voice, but I didn't answer and raised my sword. I had no capacity to answer such a trivial question right now.

‘I need to buy time.’

My expression soured. The opponent I had to buy time against from now on was one of the most important executives of ’s main villain group, Ad Astra.

I raised my head and looked directly at the opponent. An old executioner’s sword with a squared-off tip, shaggy brown hair, the haggard complexion of a vagrant.

Seeing his appearance, I could immediately identify who he was.

The Knight Executioner, Grændal.

Grændal was a villain set as Elwin’s arch-enemy, a powerhouse strong enough to toy with Elwin, who even now possessed strength in the upper echelons of the world.

Through his encounter with Grændal, Elwin would obtain the key to his growth… something like that, probably.

Anyway, since he was a monster that even Elwin couldn't handle, it was obvious that I would be dealt with in three to five exchanges with my current strength.

‘But well, it doesn’t matter.’

[ Episode 4. Denial of Predestined Harmony ]

-Overcome the destined ruin.

System : 『Overcoming Ten Thousand Deaths』 has reached a checkpoint!

A checkpoint had already been set. I could try various things, and if they didn't work, I could just try again.

Immediately after rushing into Ailton Hall, this notification flickered at the corner of my eye.

Naturally, the checkpoint would have been set right after I arrived at Ailton Hall.

In other words, it meant that even if I failed, I could find another way somehow. Though I had no intention of giving up this life easily.

“……Hoh, this year’s cadets are excellent.”

As various thoughts flashed through my mind in an instant, Grændal muttered. Yes, please, just be complacent like that.

……or so I thought.

Thwack-!

Grændal rushed towards me as soon as he finished his sentence.

Damn it, he was pretending to be relaxed…….

I reflexively raised my sword and momentarily tried to grasp Grændal’s movements.

‘The difference in skill is absolute. Grændal also seems to have noticed from that one exchange.’

In a normal case, the standard procedure here would be to focus on defense and engage in a probing battle…….

But that was literally just the standard procedure. If I stuck to the standard procedure with this level of skill difference, I would be defeated in an instant.

Therefore, I decided to take a gamble.

‘Move forward and counter.’

Since the standard procedure was to retreat, Grændal would most likely follow up with an attack assuming I would retreat.

If so, I thought it would be more advantageous to steal the tempo by moving forward first.‘

『Combat Sense[A]』

: Your degree of sensory understanding of combat.

: You receive a bonus on all combat-related judgments.

‘The reason for such a quick judgment is probably because of Combat Sense.’

It was a life-or-death gamble, but so what.

A threat to my life couldn't even be called a risk for me.

Having made my decision quickly, I tilted my center of gravity forward while holding my sword.

“……!”

And I threw my lowered body diagonally as if leaping, and drew a sword strike in the direction Grændal was rushing towards me.

Since I used Grændal’s speed of approach, it was a desperate measure, but I could pride myself on it being a pretty sharp attack.

But.

Clang-!

That sword strike never reached Grændal. Grændal, from the original direction the sword was heading, bent his angle as if performing an acrobatic feat and lightly blocked the sword strike.

‘It didn’t even scratch him.’

He blocked that? I thought I could at least land one hit. Is he a monster?

……that was what was about to come out of my throat, but I managed to hold it back.

“Your technique is crude compared to your friend before. Your physical ability is nothing special either. A normal response would have killed you in one blow.”

Grændal looked at me with his characteristic murderous eyes and calmly criticized me.

“But, you have no hesitation in taking a life-risking step.”

I couldn't understand the meaning of the last phrase.

Anyway, just as I was raising my sword again to prepare for another attack.

“Falcon that brings the thunder!”

Such a cry was heard.

BOOM-!

And immediately after, the form of a falcon extending from the direction of the door directly hit Grændal.

This voice and technique belonged to Khan. The setting was that he maximized the power by imbuing an arrow with the spirit formula of the falcon god.

Dust and dirt rose with the explosion. It was a formidable power, but if Grændal were a person who could be defeated by this, I wouldn't have been worried.

I kept my raised sword up and continued to watch the spot where Grændal was, but…….

“……Is he gone?”

By the time the dust settled, Grændal’s figure was no longer there.

‘Well, his purpose wasn't to massacre the witnesses from the start.’

It seemed he retreated for a moment because he was outnumbered. Grændal also couldn't use his full power yet compared to the latter half of the story.

Anyway, as I was organizing my thoughts, I could confirm that the group—Serene, Khan, and Yuna—had all entered the south gate.

“Wh-what’s going on!”

Just as I was about to answer Yuna’s completely flustered voice.

“……An unidentified intruder has murdered the guard. I was almost killed myself.”

The one who answered in my stead was Elwin, who had gathered his senses from the earlier shock.

After finishing his words, Elwin looked at me once, and then at the rest of the group once…….

“Thank you all, especially Mr. Rain. If it weren’t for you all, I would have been dead here for sure. Haha…….”

He expressed his thanks. To think he could laugh in this situation, that composure felt the same whether in the game or now in reality.

“Words of thanks can wait until the situation is over. More importantly, why did the enemy invade this academy?”

Responding to Elwin's thanks, Khan re-emphasized the current situation. It was a good change of topic, typical of the goal-oriented and stoic guy he was.

“It doesn't make sense for him to have retreated just now if it were a simple show of force. The only explanation is that his objective is in this Ailton Hall.”

“Huh, is there something important in Ailton Hall?”

“That is……”

As Serene took over the topic and answered, Yuna asked back.

But Serene, being from the Combat Department, didn't seem to know the details. Just as I was thinking I should step in and quickly clear things up.

“I had formulated a hypothesis that Mr. Rain had cast the Origin Magic, or that he had brought the intruder—but……”

A mechanical, stiff tone of voice I had heard somewhere before came from the entrance of the south gate.

“That hypothesis will be discarded as of this moment. Reason, Mr. Rain’s actions observed just before.”

And at the same time…….

Click, clack.

The one who walked in with a regular gait was a doll-like girl with long, sky-blue hair.

“A change in thinking. It is not generally known, but Ailton Hall stores a large number of ancient artifacts.”

You came, Arien.

I swallowed those words and inwardly raised the corners of my mouth.

“Based on this, I will formulate a new hypothesis that the enemy’s objective is the theft of the artifacts.”

It was also good that she had quickly grasped the situation by making full use of her outstanding intelligence.

All the actors were ready. All that was left was the revision of the scenario.