WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 154: A Distant Tale: Sword and Spear - Finale

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"Good. Good. Very good."

Partlaxion sprang to his feet, gripping the spear broken in half. He had rolled across the ground several times, and his entire body was covered in dust.

Even so, his face held only a child's pure smile. A pure smile overflowing with irrepressible joy.

"It's been a long time since I've felt this way. Your sense falls short of your weapon's power, but that's something you can learn over time. I like it very... very much. Sense can be learned, but power like that isn't easily acquired."

Partlaxion looked down at the broken shaft and brought the two pieces together. Energy seeped through the break, binding them together even more firmly.

Those whose energy was stronger than steel could turn even a straw into a weapon. The fact that his weapon was not an artifact, and had broken, did not diminish Absolute Spear's strength in the slightest.

No, if anything...

"You showed me a technique, so I'll return the favor by showing you an ultimate technique of my own."

Partlaxion spun the shaft.

Using the break in the center as a joint, the spear began to whirl like a windmill. It looked less like a spear and more like a massive iron flail.

A broken spear, the gap becoming a joint. A spear swaying precariously around that axis.

Though broken in half, it looked more dangerous than ever.

"A spear is straight and rigid. It draws a simple line and takes the enemy's life. But people must be soft and flexible. Strength comes from softness."

Long ago, Partlaxion had endured a hundred duels and been battered beyond recognition.

At the boundary between life and death, he carried a bloodstained spear all the way to the royal castle. Before the gates, the guardian knight, the kingdom's last bastion, stood in his way like a mountain.

The guardian knight, said to be the strongest of that age, was stronger than anyone. Each swing of the guardian knight's halberd split mountains and swept away the earth. Caught in that storm, Partlaxion rolled across the ground several times. His spear broke in two, his armor shattered miserably, and the massive halberd seemed ready to claim his life at any moment.

With his vision growing dim, Partlaxion swung the broken spear, its end dangling loose. Then, all at once, he saw its tip moving faster than ever before.

"A straight line is short, but it isn't always the fastest. We have these bodies, and we stand on this ground. The fastest trajectory draws a curve close to a circle."

For a brief instant, Partlaxion touched upon the principles of the world. He could not grasp them, only brush them with his fingertips.

Still, that had been enough to take the guardian knight's life.

"Take this."

"...Tch!"

Shei drew Jizan and overturned the ground with earth magic.

Rocky spikes burst from the ground like bamboo shoots after rain. The earth rose into a massive wall to block Partlaxion's path. Above the ground, shattered in every direction as though someone had been playing in the dirt, Skywarbler stretched out and descended.

Yet Partlaxion avoided it all with strange steps.

He rode smoothly over the waves coursing through the ground and dodged the slashes falling from the sky by the width of a sheet of paper.

Catching the attacks with his heightened senses.

Naturally pushing and pulling at the earth.

A fighter who had reached the level of controlling every part of his body at will.

Performing a breathtaking feat as though standing atop a blade.

After overcoming every obstacle and coming within reach, Absolute Spear gripped the broken spear with both hands. Like a leaf swaying in the wind, its tip moved softly.

In a space where the ground surged like waves and the sky crumbled, Partlaxion unleashed the ultimate technique upon which his life rested.

Secret Art, Absolute Spear.

The broken spear traced a trajectory.

It was a curve as close to a perfectly straight line as possible.

From his legs, waist, shoulders, arms, and hands to the joint in the broken spear shaft. Enormous energy flowed through every joint, releasing power from them all.

This was the principle Absolute Spear had realized.

It drew a straight line, yet it was the sum of the countless curves within his spear and body.

It could not be dodged. It could not be blocked. A trajectory that had touched upon the principles of the world leaped over Jizan and aimed for Shei's face. The straight line Partlaxion drew was one of the few correct answers a spear could achieve in this world.

The secret art that had earned Absolute Spear his name.

There was only one way to deflect it.

"Skywarbler!"

Twist space itself.

Shei unleashed Skywarbler's power to the fullest. Mystery peered through the gap, and space swelled.

Absolute Spear's ultimate technique, which had never been blocked or missed its target, barely grazed Shei's sideburn. Severed black strands scattered through the darkness.

"Hm. I was trying to leave a scratch on your skin."

A strange light shone in Partlaxion's eyes. He had aimed to barely graze her cheek, yet the strike had missed much farther than expected.

The invisible sword Shei held was at the heart of it, but that was not all.

"You're sharp. Your weapon is good, and so are your skills. Especially when it comes to defense."

As though they had agreed on it, the two widened the distance between them. Shei muttered with a deeply displeased expression.

"...You were going easy on me."

"That's the usual restraint in a duel. Didn't you do the same?"

Neither had fought at full strength. Perhaps they had simply exchanged one technique each.

Even so, Shei was dissatisfied with the result. Winning might not have been impossible, but she felt as though she had been overwhelmed in the fight itself.

"I understand why you seem weak. The energy art you've learned is extremely defensive."

Partlaxion, who had just crossed weapons with her, felt the same way. Resting the half-broken spear on one shoulder, he said,

"Your responses are perfect. You kept up with all my attacks. You even reacted to an ultimate technique you'd seen for the first time today. Excellent. But as you know, you can't win through defense alone."

"...I know!"

"It's extremely difficult to remake an energy art from the ground up. You'll have to find some other way around that."

The Heaven-Reversing Boundary was the ultimate defensive energy art.

Which meant its offense fell far short of its defense.

By recalling the experiences of her past regressions and carving them into her body one by one, Shei's survival skills and ability to respond improved with every cycle. Thanks to that, she could see more and do more.

Yet Shei had never overwhelmed an enemy of similar skill.

"It seems impossible alone. Seeing as you haven't changed much even within the Abyss."

Most of Shei's skills came from the Heaven-Reversing Boundary. As she died, she watched attacks, then carved them into her body in the next cycle and overcame them one at a time.

But compared to the Heaven-Reversing Boundary, which continued to grow more refined,

her offense still relied on simple power.

"Become a general. A disciple, no. I'll broaden your horizons as an equal. You'll gain experience, and I can introduce you to other strong people. It'll help."

Even at Absolute Spear's offer, Shei felt no joy at being recognized.

She had already experienced it in a previous cycle.

When Shei had traveled through the military state in search of information about the Abyss, she had received Absolute Spear's instruction once before.

At that time, Shei had not dressed as a man. She knew that Absolute Spear cherished his daughter and was generous toward children around that age.

Still, Absolute Spear had been excessively generous to Shei at the time. He had strongly opposed her going to Tantalus, delaying her for quite some time.

Shei had received his instruction then as well.

As for her defense, perhaps, but Shei's offense had not improved at all.

"...I'll refuse."

Since she had already failed once, there was no need to think about it. Partlaxion clicked his tongue.

"Is that so? What a shame."

"I'm not disappointed at all."

"What? Hey, this isn't an opportunity that comes easily. Just a few days ago, someone wanted my instruction."

The two had reached a brief lull and were readjusting their weapons.

"That is enough."

A soft voice came from the darkness. Blackness, as though ink had been scattered through the air, dispersed, and a silver-haired vampire strode confidently out from within.

A person dangled from Tyrkanzyaka's hand.

Partlaxion's eyes widened.

"Huh? Hey, Gand. What are you doing there?"

Colonel Gand, Partlaxion's disciple and aide who had been guarding the area, was held by the collar in Tyrkanzyaka's grasp. Unable to shake off her slender arm, Gand struggled and shouted.

"...I have no excuse! But Master, retreat! The Progenitor is...! We cannot win!"

"What?"

Partlaxion looked at the vampire's hand and quickly understood what had happened.

A spear had pierced Tyrkanzyaka's right arm from palm to elbow. It must have been Gand's work.

To Tyrkanzyaka, however, a puncture wound was no more serious than a needle prick. With her arm impaled, she had simply walked over and grabbed Gand by the collar.

"Your skill is considerable. Not many have damaged my body to this extent."

Partlaxion asked with a dumbfounded expression.

"Wait, you don't even bleed when you're stabbed?"

"D-Damn...! Get away! It's... a bad matchup!"

Even Absolute Spear's essence was a trajectory that pierced through anything.

But the Progenitor of vampires would not die even if pierced through. In other words...

"You cannot kill me. That has always been so, and it will remain so."

Tyrkanzyaka murmured lazily.

She was not called a knight-slayer for nothing. Because she could not die or be worn down, Tyrkanzyaka was the natural enemy of knights who used swords and spears.

Tyrkanzyaka pulled out the spear. Not a single drop of blood that made up her body flowed out in the process. Pulling a stick from a clay doll would have made for a more tragic sight.

Having grasped the situation, Partlaxion muttered,

"Wow. Hold on. You're that strong? So that's why they told us to actively avoid fighting you."

"I would prefer you to do the same. If you continue resisting, I will have to make this one in my hand into my shadow."

"Okay!"

Partlaxion immediately threw away the broken spear. At the same time, Tyrkanzyaka released Colonel Gand. Gand staggered back.

As soon as Gand returned, Partlaxion playfully smacked Gand on the head.

"Hey, why were you picking a pointless fight? If it looks like you can't win, you should let it go."

"...I have nothing to say in my defense."

"Look at this punk's confidence disappear. Do you understand now? There are plenty of strange things in this world."

Tyrkanzyaka approached Shei in the meantime and scolded her with a slightly cooled gaze.

"Enjoy yourself in moderation. Don't we have a purpose, to find Hughes? If you wound up dying here, what would that make me?"

"...Okay. I'm sorry."

"Hm? You're being obedient for once. Fine. I've seen plenty of men forge friendships this way."

"...Men..."

"But if something like this happens again, you must call me. Didn't I miss a good show...?"

And so, as though nothing had happened, they headed in opposite directions.

The duel of the century had ended, but there had been no spectators. Sending the events of that day beyond oblivion, the night in Palkaris drew to a close.

Footnotes:

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