The Game of the Greatest Black Mage-Chapter 125

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Chapter 125

After speaking to the old elf, Seonghyun swiftly lunged at him.

Whoosh—! Dash—!

Kicking off the ground, Seonghyun shot forward with a speed so immense that even someone with identical stats would likely fail to match it.

It was a feat made possible by channeling the entirety of his body's strength into the movement.

However, far from being surprised, the old elf met Seonghyun’s advance as if it were only to be expected.

“Excellent.”

He took a defensive stance, as if waiting to see what kind of swordsmanship Seonghyun would demonstrate.

As he charged, Seonghyun recalled the old elf’s swordsmanship.

The image of a sword moving like a dragon ascending to the heavens.

Remembering that sharp and tricky-to-dodge sword style, he identified its nature.

‘It's a domineering swordsmanship.’

A different kind of domineering style than Leonik’s.

It was an exceedingly sharp and potent swordsmanship, designed to precisely overwhelm and break an opponent.

Therefore, Seonghyun advanced on the old elf, his sword weaving with fluid grace.

Observing this fluid, or rather, soft swordsmanship, the old elf maintained his defensive posture with an expression of amusement.

It was the age-old principle of the soft overcoming the hard.

However, the tale changes if the hard is even more steadfast.

Just as no amount of softness in a cloth allows it to fully contain a sharp and unyielding blade.

The old elf’s sword staunchly aimed to tear through the softer blade.

But in that instant, the gentle undulation of the sea, as it were, transformed into a ferocious wave, sweeping over the old elf’s sword.

Claaaaang———!

The sword struck with fierce intensity, like a raging wave carving into rock.

The old elf’s domineering sword met the blow as if on the verge of breaking, and he was forced back, gripping his weapon to disperse the shock.

A powerful strike.

A single misstep could have resulted in his sword shattering or him sustaining an injury.

What if the old elf’s strength had been even slightly deficient?

‘My shoulder would have been cut.’

A rough sword strike, like an enraged tidal wave.

Yet, it undeniably held a sea-like gentleness within.

It was a swordsmanship that defied comprehension.

Fluid and swift, yet intermingled with a savage fierceness.

A bizarre sword style, the likes of which he had never witnessed.

He could tell it was an extraordinary form of swordsmanship.

Perhaps it was a sword art so sublime it seemed its practitioner had wielded a blade for even longer than he himself had.

The old elf decided to think no further.

No amount of contemplation could grant insight into a swordsmanship he had never encountered.

His path was to simply clash, to fight even if it meant being broken.

With this resolve, the old elf charged at Seonghyun.

The old elf was not the only one taken aback.

‘To think he blocked that.’

Recalling the other elf knights he knew…

Among them, would any have truly been able to block that last blow?

No, there were none.

Yet, the old elf currently rushing towards him had managed to block it.

Not only had he blocked a sword technique that had fused three different styles at once, but he had also skillfully deflected the force.

Could there possibly be another opponent like this?

‘Unlikely.’

With that thought, Seonghyun pressed forward, pouring everything he had into his advance.

Their base abilities were roughly similar.

Could this be an arrangement by the system?

If their stats were systemically equalized…

Then he would be the one to win.

Seonghyun swung his sword, filled with such confident thoughts, and the old elf, with similarly assured thoughts, also brandished his weapon.

Enraged waves clashed with a colossal dragon that sought to cleave right through them.

But the waves soon subsided.

Then, as if an impending storm, the speed of Seonghyun's assault gradually increased, and his sword began to absorb the surrounding light as though dark clouds had gathered.

Though skills were unusable, the effect of Seonghyun’s swordsmanship—Helena’s incredibly strong swordsmanship—manifested, dyeing his sword strikes with a dark hue.

The sword, like darkness itself, was wielded from Seonghyun's fingertips, vanishing as if instantly dyeing the empty air.

The old elf’s eyes flashed as he witnessed it.

A sword strike so swift that the sound of it arrived a fraction of a second late.

Like a true lightning bolt, Seonghyun's sword flew towards the old elf, marginally faster than sound.

The elf, as if to momentarily receive the blow, raised his own sword, then deflected the attack even as he was pushed back.

KRAKOOM—!

Like thunder following a lightning strike.

After the sword blow landed, the sound, a sharp, air-tearing shriek, enveloped the old elf.

Though the noise was deafening, enough to make one’s earsplitting, the old elf, far from covering his ears, immediately dashed towards Seonghyun, lunging in the form of a dragon.

As the dragon's form, shooting straight forward as if to swallow its enemy, launched at Seonghyun, he met it by once again swinging his lightning-like sword.

Slightly faster than sound.

Swung darkly and grimly, it was like a swift thunderbolt.

As that sinister sword decapitated the dragon’s head—

The old elf’s sword was violently knocked aside.

SHIIING—!

Unable to withstand the force, the old elf's arm was thrown upwards, his sword rising with it, momentarily lifting him.

‘Huh.’

To think he’d unleash yet another attribute of swordsmanship.

Fast, and stealthy.

And on top of that, the formidable power imbued in the sword’s tip.

Just how many attributes could he wield?

He had tried to stop analyzing, but the thoughts kept coming.

The old elf refocused.

This time, while his arm was still raised, he gripped his sword with both hands and swung it in a rotating motion.

It was the instant before Seonghyun could recover his own sword.

Using the upward momentum from the previous blow, the old elf swung his sword towards the opening.

The sword strike, whipped swiftly through the air, formed a graceful circle like a coiling dragon, its trajectory aimed, as expected, directly at Seonghyun.

‘Hoh?’

Seonghyun, watching it, couldn't help but be genuinely surprised.

In terms of raw speed, he himself was faster.

However, the elf was attacking by exploiting the brief opening created by their previous exchange.

Amazed by the image of the coiling dragon lunging at him, Seonghyun raised his sword and employed yet another sword style.

This time, it was like sea fog rising from the ocean.

He scattered sword strikes in all directions, as if sowing seeds.

The technique spread out, encroaching on the surroundings.

Clang! Cla-clang! Cla-cla-clang—!

An unorthodox swordsmanship that dominated the entire vicinity.

While it occupied a wide space, it was by no means light or lacking in power.

To think, another new sword style.

This one bore no resemblance to the previous ones.

“Hah!”

At this unfathomably deep swordsmanship, the old elf, despite being in the middle of a duel, couldn't suppress his admiration.

He was clearly a necromancer.

To wield swordsmanship to such a degree…

Honestly, it was impossible not to be surprised.

Seonghyun and the old elf looked at each other and smiled with deep satisfaction.

They once again swung their swords at each other.

Their forms looked like the vast sea, appearing as nature itself, and a dragon attempting to defy that very nature and ascend to the heavens.

The enraged sea and the defiant dragon bared their sharp fangs at one another.

4.

Ruuuumble—!

A dragon-like sword technique lashed out, attempting to bite and tear at Seonghyun, but the enraged waves ripped the dragon apart.

When the dragon reformed and flew circling towards Seonghyun, lightning struck down this time, severing its neck.

It was truly an astonishing sight.

To manifest such vivid imagery with just a single sword each spoke volumes; it was impossible to definitively judge whose swordsmanship was superior.

-Wo-woah! Woah! Wo-woah!!!

Fiora, watching from afar, shouted, her voice brimming with excitement.

Nocturnium, looking somewhat perplexed as he observed from a distance, turned to Leonik.

“Is the Lord being pushed back?”

He asked because several cuts had appeared on Seonghyun's body, while not nearly as many were visible on the old elf.

However, Leonik firmly shook his head.

‘Judging by the current state of the fight, it seems the old elf is winning, so why is Leonik claiming the Lord is victorious?’

-It is our Lord’s victory.

“...I am not a combatant, so I cannot quite grasp it. Could you explain it in simpler terms?”

-Hmm, you might understand if you just continue to observe, but if you insist, I shall enlighten you.

“Thank you.”

Nocturnium frowned slightly, perhaps a bit irritated by Leonik’s condescending tone, but he remained silent, his curiosity piqued.

Then, Leonik began to explain calmly.

-Currently, our Lord does have some minor cuts, it’s true. But if you look closely, you’ll see that fellow also has a few wounds.

“Indeed, but the number of them…”

-It's not the number, but the location of the wounds that's important.

“The location of the wounds?”

-Our Lord's wounds are all minor, sustained while parrying attacks or defending. On the other hand, that fellow's wounds are all from our Lord's attacks landing perfectly.

At Leonik's words, Nocturnium let out an exclamation of realization.

“Ah!?”

Come to think of it, all the attacks that had landed on the old elf were wounds inflicted exactly as Seonghyun intended.

In contrast, all of the old elf's attacks had been blocked or had merely grazed him.

This alone showed an enormous difference.

And Leonik continued.

-Our Lord's swordsmanship has now reached a level significantly higher than even my own.

“Hah.”

Leonik himself was skilled enough to be counted among the top few in Helena's legions, at least in terms of swordsmanship.

So, to say Seonghyun was even more skilled than such a Leonik meant…

-It would be no exaggeration to call it a god-given talent. He possesses profound skill in necromancy, and now he shows such mastery in swordsmanship as well.

“Hah. That's unbelievable.”

While his previous praises for Seonghyun, echoing Leonik, hadn't been false, now Nocturnium couldn't help but be genuinely astounded.

If Leonik acknowledged it to this extent, then it was a different story entirely.

And before long, Leonik spoke again.

-It's over.

With those words, the neck of the dragon that sought to cleave the sea was completely severed by the enraged waves.

THWACK—!!!

The old elf's sword had broken.

-Hyaaah! Th-that was truly amazing!!!

As it ended exactly like that, Fiora cried out, and Leonik, despite being a skeleton, showed a slight smile as if he had known all along this would be the outcome.

And Nocturnium, as if embodying a mixture of those two, simply stared at Seonghyun in awe.

‘Perhaps this new Lord could fulfill the earnest wish that Helena herself could not achieve.’

5.

He must have overexerted himself; he was breathless, his lungs burning.

He was so short of breath that his vision began to turn white.

It reached a point where he could barely distinguish what was right in front of him.

But one thing was clear.

The flow of his sword, like an enraged sea, had severed the dragon's life.

THWACK—!!!

He had cut it.

The battle, spanning hundreds, perhaps thousands, of exchanges, had finally come to an end.

A piece of the old elf's sword flew spinning into the air.

And in that instant, as the old elf's sword was cut, his clothing was simultaneously sliced open in a thin line, and crimson blood began to spread from the gap.

Slish—!

“Kuhk!”

The old elf's complete defeat.

However, his eyes held no trace of defeat, fear, resentment, or jealousy.

Instead, they teemed solely with a profound sense of elation.

It was a perfect defeat. And because of that, he had not even a speck of regret.

Just to have fought against such a swordsman was an honor in itself.

And so, he spoke.

“Don't feel any guilt. From the moment you arrived, I was destined to be liberated and to pass on anyway.”

“I see.”

Seonghyun had somewhat anticipated this.

Even for an elf, having been trapped here for so many long years, it wouldn't be strange for his lifespan to have run its course.

Therefore, Seonghyun accepted it calmly.

Seeing Seonghyun's composure, the old elf looked satisfied and took something out from the front of his robes, handing it to Seonghyun.

“Take this.”

“This is...?”

A small, pale dagger.

Just as Seonghyun, looking at it and wondering what it was, was about to ask—

“It seems our connection ends here. Fare thee well.”

With those final words, the old elf's physical body vanished.

Having endured for such an incredibly long time, it seemed not even dust remained.

‘I wanted to ask about the dagger, but he left just like that.’

As Seonghyun stood up, a sense of regret lingering—

Something rose up from the spot where the old elf's body had disappeared.

A pale, teal-colored form of the old elf.

-Huh? You???

“Hmm?”

‘If this was going to happen did he really need to say goodbye so dramatically?’

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