This thought brushed past Succulent’s anxious mind.
No, the speed of his sword was even faster than before he was injured.
“Bastard, what’s with you?!”
To become stronger in the middle of a battle. Thought it wasn’t impossible, Succulent had never seen something like that in reality.
Rather, it felt as if he had shed a layer of something.
“What the hell is going on?! Is it a magic item? A martial art?”
His panicked voice sounded desperate, so much so that it was hard to tell which side had the upper hand.
What happened to Climb was simple.
Thanks to Sebas’ training, the function in his brain that protected the body was thrown into disarray.
He had experienced death during Sebas’ training. His tenacity for life overlapped with the death he now faced and like back then, the limiters in his brain were released, granting him superhuman strength similar to the one that was sometimes displayed at the scene of a fire.
Although he had only seen a single blow during his training, without it, he would have died here without being able to do anything.
Succulent blocked a powerful blow and was suddenly blown back a great distance.
The impact from being dashed against the ground escaped through his back and shook his stomach. Although the orichalcum chain shirt blocked the impact, for an instant, the air in his lungs was expelled and he could not breathe.
What happened? Even though Succulent, the one who had received the impact, could not figure it out, it was obvious to Cocco Doll who had been watching from the sidelines.
He had kicked him with his leg. As soon as the overhead slash was blocked, the boy had immediately delivered a kick to Succulent.
Unable to understand what had happened, Succulent hastily got back on his feet. For fencers, being nimble was their creed. Lying sprawled out on the ground was fatal.
“Damn it! This bastard doesn’t act like a soldier! To think you would even use your feet! You need to just stick to textbook swordsmanship!”
Succulent rolled on the floor while quickly getting back up and with the sound of clicking his tongue, he poured out his criticisms.
It was a style that was different from what the soldiers trained in. It was dirtier; it felt like he was facing off against an adventurer. That was why he couldn’t let down his guard.
A feeling of anxiety ran down Succulent’s back.
At first, he thought that he would win easily, that he could quickly finish off a brat like this. However, now he could feel that composure start to disappear.
Succulent drew in his breath as he saw how the boy who he deemed dangerous was slowly weakening.
His complexion looked as if their previous series of clashes had burned out the flame of his life. No, that was probably the truth. Like how a candle burns brightly just before it goes out, that power was the same.
Now, he will really die even if he were to simply touch him.
Succulent felt a tiny relief and after a moment of hesitation, was dominated by anger.
He was angry at the fact that as one of the Six Arms, he had this much trouble with a single soldier. Also at himself for thinking it was dangerous. However, the fight was decided. He just had to kill him and run.
However—
“—That’s enough.”
He had just barely made it on time.
Climb who was lying on the ground, his face was a mess of dirt and sweat. It had gone past the point of turning blue and was now completely pale. Even so, he was still alive. But being stabbed through the stomach was fatal and if he was not treated immediately, he would die in a matter of minutes.
Brain entered the room, unable to feel relieved.
Inside, there were two men. One of them didn’t seem to be a combatant.
“Can’t you just kill the kid quickly without paying attention to that suspicious guy over there?”
“If I do then that man will close the distance in an instant and blow me away with a single slash. He’s on a whole different level compared to this brat. I won’t be able to win unless I concentrate and fight with everything I have. If I let my guard down even slightly or let my mind wander, it’ll be over.”
—Then the one who just answered must be Succulent.
That’s how Brain understood it. It was clear that he closely resembled the description. Honestly, that was what he thought back when he saw him with a clone and holding a bloody dagger. But he was done confirming it.
Brain stomped over without a word and half-heartedly used a draw slash. Succulent retreated back with a leap and the katana sliced through thin air. But Brain had only attacked with the intention to separate the enemy from Climb. He stepped over the collapsed Climb and stopped his feet at where he could cover for him.
“Climb, you okay? Do you have any items that can heal injuries?”
He did not have the luxury of time and thus spoke quickly. If there was nothing to treat him with, they would have to quickly find another way.
“Haa, haa, haa, haa. I… do.”
He glanced over and saw that Climb had put down his sword and was moving his hand.
“I see.”
Brain replied with a deep sense of relief and looked at Succulent with a penetrating stare.
“I’ll be your opponent from now on. I’m going to have to take revenge for this guy.”
“…No wonder you seem confident. You have a katana, an expensive weapon that rarely travels up from the south. I’ve never heard that a warrior like you was in the Kingdom…Mind if I ask for your name?”
He had no intention of answering him.
Climb was someone who he shared a common objective with— his comrade. In a situation where that comrade might die, he didn’t have time to go back and forth with questions and…
All of a sudden, Brain asked himself.
Is this me?
Didn’t he throw away everything that did not involve improving his skill with the sword? As Brain was about to slightly tilt his chin, he let out a quiet laugh.
…Ahh, I see now.
His heart, his dream, his goal, his path in life, what made life worth living, all of it had been destroyed by that monster, Shalltear Bloodfallen. And the one who found a place in its cracks was Climb. When he himself broke under the savage bloodlust of the mysterious figure named Sebas, the figure of Climb enduring despite being weak won Brain’s respect and admiration. He saw the resplendence of a man who possessed what he did not.