Chapter 42: Collid

Collid McDowell.

He too was once called a genius.

When he achieved his first awakening at the age of nineteen.

And when he achieved his second evolution at twenty-five, he was still called a prodigy.

But when he achieved his third evolution at thirty-three, he was merely considered average in the Aslan Knightly Order.

By the time he barely managed his fourth evolution at fifty, he was already on the list of knights scheduled for retirement.

He couldn't accept it.

So he endured.

He postponed his retirement and trained like a madman.

But for 20 years after that, he could not achieve the fifth evolution.

In the meantime, his contemporary who had been the knight commander passed on his position to his disciple and had an honorable retirement.

Naturally, eyes fell on him, who still remained in the knightly order.

- Why doesn't that old man just retire…….

- He's a nuisance, a nuisance.

- A 70-year-old knight?

Does that even make sense?

He prided himself on having lived a life of harder work than anyone else.

But all that remained as a result was humiliation.

So he took the black hand that had secretly approached him.

- You just need to pass on information about the Aslan Ducal family.

- No priest or Spirit Master will be able to see through the veil. You don't have to worry.

The black hand smiled and promised a sweet reward.

And just by nodding his head then, he overcame the fifth wall he had never been able to surpass in his entire life.

He, who had been treated as an old relic, suddenly became a paragon for the knights.

A knight who broke his own limits through endless effort, they said?

Thus, at an age when he should have been well past retirement, he obtained the position of Honorary Vice-Commander.

And began to be treated as one of the family's important figures.

He was happy, but on the other hand, he was scared.

- Recruit knights like yourself.

The black hand, which had brought him glory late in life, no longer spoke to him with respect.

And ordered him to spread poison throughout the family he had dedicated his life to.

He wanted to refuse, but he couldn't.

He heard something ‘snap’ somewhere in his head.

And from then on, he began to lose his memory intermittently.

When he came to his senses, it was common for his hands to be stained with blood or for everything around him to be destroyed.

So the family began to send him on external missions.

He was rather relieved.

‘They won't entrust me with any more important tasks.’

But even after that, he received an undeniable order from the black hand.

- Capture him at all costs. If possible, use the opportunity when he is alone.

- Aim for the dead of night, and confirm that he can see through the veil.

When this order first came down, he felt his mind clear up again.

He had a hunch that not only would he be betraying the Aslan Ducal family he had dedicated his life to, but he would also be starting a fight with the Trian County, the rulers of the North.

But from the moment he sold his soul and made the contract, he was no longer a free man.

Even as he lamented, his only choice was to follow his ‘master’s’ command.

He waited for the man, feeling once again on his skin the price for easily overcoming the limit he thought he would never surpass.

The moment he first saw his target, he felt a strong impulse, separate from his orders.

‘I want to kill him…….’

He knew the moment he saw him.

That unlike the information he had heard beforehand, the man had already reached a level beyond 2-Star.

When he heard that the boy had awakened at sixteen, jealousy had boiled up, but he could endure it.

Geniuses like that appeared from time to time.

But.

‘Already 2-Star? Or maybe 3-Star? No way!’

An achievement he had never even heard of. That surprise soon twisted into murderous intent.

For a guy like that to exist, it’s impossible.

This world is wrong.

‘If not, then my life…….’

becomes too worthless.

It can't be like that.

Yes, this world is wrong.

‘I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him for sure!’

From then on, Collid’s gaze upon the target, Muno Drasen, began to burn hot.

- Capture him alive.

- Find out.

The ‘command’ was still engraved on his soul, but with his brain broken and consumed by rage, his reason clouded, he did not fully accept the order.

The target is the enemy.

Therefore, the enemy must be…….

‘……killed.’

At that moment, the faint reason that remained whispered a good plan to him.

“……I would like to teach you a lesson.”

But the reactions around him were strange.

Did I make another mistake?

It didn't matter.

I just needed to create a pretext, no matter how.

He forcibly calmed his boiling insides.

But.

“That old man is a Magic Knight…….”

The moment the target spoke the secret that must be hidden.

Thump.

He felt his mind being dyed red.

Thump.

It's all over.

Thump.

No. If I kill them all…….

Thump.

If I kill them all, it’ll be fine!

The moment he was completely consumed by madness, Collid struck the neck of the Spirit Master Razman, who had his back turned, and then.

“Die!!”

He swung his sword towards the target.

Boom!

‘Kuk!?’

Muno felt the armor on his left arm half-shatter amidst the dizzying impact.

In a moment where everything seemed to slow down, he had barely managed to raise his arm, so he had to consider himself lucky to have blocked the sword strike of a 5-Star knight.

The only problem was, that armor wasn't ordinary armor but a part of his body.

‘Uggghhh!’

His mind went white as immense pain washed over him.

The bones in his left arm broke at that moment, but it didn't hurt as much as the armor shattering.

Perhaps the harder it was, the greater the pain when it was broken.

Even in the mind-numbing pain, his body thankfully responded as it was trained.

He threw his body backward, lowered his stance, and drew the greatsword from his back with his right hand.

Then, a broken sword entered his barely recovered vision.

The enemy's weapon, which had already closed in, still boasted a deadly speed even though it was broken in half.

‘Get lost!’

Clenching his teeth, he manifested his ‘ability’ and twisted its trajectory upwards.

He lowered his head further, twisted his body, and swung the greatsword down from right to left like lightning.

However.

“Ha?”

The sword, which was about to be deflected upwards for a moment, was forcibly twisted back on its trajectory with a snort and collided with his First Spell, ‘Blade’.

Kwwaaaaang!

“Kuk!?”

“Keok!”

Thud. Thud.

In the instant he was thrown back, he thankfully saw the enemy's sword, which wasn't an artifact, shatter into pieces and scatter.

My relief was short-lived.

Baaam.

The face of the crazed old man was suddenly right in front of him.

“Die……!!”

The enemy’s distorted expression as he screamed and the fist soaring up from beneath my chin.

The distance was too close to swing a sword, so Muno reflexively brought his elbow down.

But.

“……Uh!”

Boom!

Crack.

The elbow that struck the fist was thrown upwards, and a pain as if his right shoulder bone had been dislocated shot through him.

‘Damn it, this is…….’

The moment he felt a clear difference in class.

Just as he was about to headbutt the fist that came at him again.

Paaang.

In the spot where the enemy’s fist was flying, a sharp metal spearhead dug in with a sound of tearing air.

Simultaneously, from the side of the mad old man who had withdrawn his arm, a fierce gale raged.

Kwwaaaaang!

The moment he saw the enemy being flung away in an instant.

A familiar back blocked his view.

“You okay!?”

“Not okay……!”

“Get him!”

“It’s not over!!”

Kwwaaaaang!

“Grrr. Kill……!”

The mad old man, who seemed to have been thrown out after smashing through the office wall, charged in again.

Absurdly, the man’s hand was now holding Muno’s ‘Blade’.

‘That bastard!?’

Ggrind.

My teeth gnashed on their own.

Just as Klarm and the old man were about to clash head-on like lightning again.

‘Just try and die!’

Muno cancelled ‘Blade’ at that exquisite timing.

Swoosh.

The black greatsword, which was about to strike down the spinning, charging spear, instantly scattered into metal dust.

The moment the bewildered old man’s crazed eyes widened.

The spear, now unobstructed, went straight through the old man's body……or it almost did.

Swish.

Paaaaang.

If the old man hadn't hastily twisted his body, sacrificing a chunk of armor and flesh from his side.

His judgment to preserve his life by taking a minor injury in a completely disadvantageous situation proved that he was certainly a higher-level Corporeal Arts user than Klarm.

But.

“How dare you, to my disciple!!”

A sharp, high-pitched cry spread, and he couldn't completely avoid the blades of wind that subsequently raged from all directions.

Kagagagagak.

“Kyaak!”

Boom!

The old man resisted by throwing punches and kicks in all directions with a shout.

But the blades of wind that Rasmia had summoned nearly shredded the old man’s armor and created dozens of cuts all over his body.

“Grrr.”

The old man staggered with a beast-like groan even after scattering all the wind blades.

It was a situation where anyone would think the fight had been decided.

But the madman’s actions were, as expected, beyond common sense.

“Kill……!”

Boom!

The enemy charged towards Muno again, leaving clear footprints and bloodstains on the marble floor he had forcefully stepped on.

As the Spirit Master Rasmia, who had let her guard down for a moment, flinched again.

Klarm, who was still prepared, blocked Muno’s path and thrust his spear.

Boom.

“Don't inter……!”

Kwadedeuk.

“……fere!”

Boom!

‘Crazy……!?’

The old man, consumed by madness, closed the distance with Klarm even as the spear pierced his abdomen and struck him on the head.

An absurdly reckless exchange of blows that no one could have imagined.

Klarm, who had tried to hastily dodge, took a powerful impact to the left side of his head and was sent flying backward, tumbling.

Conversely, a sinister smile hung on Collid’s face, who had taken out the last obstacle even while mortally wounded.

Thud.

Even when the target who had jumped at him struck the spear piercing his abdomen, making it fly out behind him.

Charrreuk.

Even when two black iron chains, extending from the target’s legs and shooting up from the floor, suddenly wrapped around his ankles.

He thought it was a fresh but meaningless struggle.

However.

“Hmph!”

The moment he snorted and was about to charge at the man again, he suddenly felt his strength drain away.

“Kuh……?”

Was it because of the injury?

But he was sure he had enough strength left to finish off that hateful bastard?

A question surfaced in his red eyes.

Then, as the demonic energy receded and his mind cleared a little, he could roughly guess that his strength hadn't completely disappeared, but had simply dropped to the level it was before his ‘contract’.

Of course, that alone should have been enough to finish off the target before him.

……If his body was in perfect condition, that is.

‘How……?’

His specialty was instantaneous combat power enhancement through physical activation and regeneration.

But Collid, who had dropped from 5-Star to 4-Star, was not a superman who could ignore the massive penetrating wound that had torn through his abdomen and force himself to continue fighting.

However.

‘I can’t accept this…….’

Even in that situation, the rage stemming from his profound inferiority complex stimulated his broken brain and moved his body.

Thud.

“I can’t accept…….”

Collid took a step forward.

A step that was much weaker than before.

“……this.”

But now, a sense of emptiness, instead of madness, flickered in his eyes, from which the red hue had slightly faded.

Pshushuk.

The gushing blood was rapidly draining his stamina.

But.

“Crazy old man……!”

Kwakwakwakwakwa.

Thud.

While the blades of wind that flew in with a sharp shout once again tore his entire body to shreds, Collid instinctively resisted the onslaught and advanced step by step.

Thud.

“How…….”

Pabababak.

“Just how……!!?”

Collid screamed, his face hideously ruined.

In front of him, Muno now stood with a crumpled expression.

I couldn’t understand this crazy old man’s nonsense, nor did I need to, but.

I thought I knew the answer that would turn the enemy’s stomach.

“Like this!”

Kwadedeuk.

Along with the sound of a broken bone being forcibly set.

A fist clad in a thick, black gauntlet fiercely struck Collid’s distorted face.

Boom!

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