Raising the Elf’s Genius Slayer

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Chapter

There are those who occasionally underestimate illusions. I can assert that such thoughts are the kind only the mentally challenged would entertain.

Do they not think for a moment that the category of illusion magic has never been absent from the vast array of countless magical schools?

Illusion is, in essence, a force that acts upon the mind, and it ultimately connects to the realm of imagery. To exaggerate a bit, things like Ki Sword and Ki Eye are all forms of extreme illusions.

And Rionne was certainly not foolish. Though Undine sometimes joked about her intellect, it was never said with genuine meaning.

After all, it was plain to see. Rionne was a genius who had attained Grandmaster rank in a short time, and even without her talents in martial arts, her mental agility was far beyond that of ordinary folks.

It was precisely because of this that she could not underestimate this Dungeon. With this scale and quality of illusion, it was almost indistinguishable from reality.

The touch of the wind against her skin, the energy of the parched earth, the acrid smell tickling her nose, and the razor-sharp malice all proved that.

If one were to be cut, they would feel pain as real as in reality. A slashed arm would not move as if it had truly fallen off. A heart pierced by a sword would cease to function, and should the neck be sliced, life would undoubtedly end.

That was normal. For an average person, there was nothing they could do. This Dungeon was no different from reality.

Yet Enok advanced without any concern. With his shoulder punctured by a sword, his arm slashed, chest pierced, neck cut, and skull fractured, he still persevered step by step forward.

“…I can’t watch this.”

Eventually, Rionne lowered her head. Enok endured with an unfathomable mental strength, but Rionne could not bear to see him in such agony.

How much pain would he be in? How much agony would he endure?

Each time his neck was about to be severed, a sensation akin to death must have washed over Enok. Yet, still moving forward as if unaffected, that steadfastness broke her heart.

[…Should I stop him?]

Undine could not hide her serious expression either. She thought he would know how to hold back, but with just the belief that he wouldn’t die, he threw his life away.

Just moments ago, a scratch appeared on Enok’s neck. That was the instant when his mental strength wavered and the illusion became reality. It was a dangerously close call, where he could have truly lost his head.

“…How could I stop him? He’s so desperate. It’s because of me. I’m sorry…”

[You’re overthinking it.]

“Do you think I’m foolish?”

Enok knew how much Rionne cared for herself. She understood his blind gaze and the hurried footsteps following behind.

Enok was, in fact, lazy. He liked lying on the grass basking in the sun, lounging in bed, and when eating, he preferred to slouch and just move his mouth.

“…What have I done?”

What right did she have to demand so much from him…?

Rionne struggled to raise her creaking head. The demon’s sword was coming down on Enok.

‘Again….’

At this rate, she would have to give up her legs and watch him die. Struggling, Rionne looked at Enok’s pained face. That was the best she could do.

“One step.”

Then, Enok, blocking the demon’s sword, smiled.

*

She realized how foolish she had been.

Kiiing-!

The ring in his left eye rotated, capturing the movements of the demon.

“Just die already…!”

The lines drawn by Ki Eye, the visible trajectories, all became futile.

The opponent was a swordsman at a much higher level than him. Thinking that he could see through them was arrogance.

Kwang-!

Enok’s hand blocked the sword. The sword’s path curved once more. Blood poured from Enok’s left eye.

“I found it.”

Beneath the clearly visible line lay another thin hidden line. He grasped that concealed line and twisted.

Boom-!

The sword bounced off. Well, a Grandmaster could surely hide their intent before an inexperienced Ki Eye. He had lost count of how many attacks he had allowed, merely distracted by the sword displays meant to deceive him.

But now he could see. Once he could see, he could react.

Swish-!

He leapt through the web of swords. Lines etched across his body, but it was fine. It was an illusion.

He punched toward the openings visible through Ki Eye.

Mine Kampf, a heavy blow distorted the space as it flew, but—

Slosh—

It was deflected, and his arm was sliced. Even if he could now follow the attack, the gap remained vast.

Then one more step.

‘Is that strange trajectory because of that?’

The mana flowing around the demon. Not the demon’s mana. The energy of nature guided its movements.

So that was it. He realized now. That’s why no matter how much he observed the demon, he couldn’t predict its movements.

It twisted its flight path using mana in the surroundings like a puppet on strings. No matter how much he pierced the muscle movements and examined the mana flow within its body, it was only natural that he could not read its movements like that.

Slosh—

After sacrificing his neck nine times and his heart twelve times, and his limbs forty times, he finally captured all of the demon’s movements in his sight.

“You’re not human, are you…! Just what the hell are you?!”

Now that he had perceived it, there was no reason for him to be hit unilaterally. The number of times he was cut by the sword had dropped dramatically.

He devoured everything visible and tangible. He distinguished what was worth learning, what was unnecessary, and what should be withheld, and blended them into his movements.

Kwarrr-!

Crimson Ki swirled around the demon’s sword. Enok curled his hand like a claw. Could he do it? He cast away doubt. There was no reason he couldn’t. He repeated the thought strongly and wished for it.

‘Now.’

At the moment his sword and hand collided, he pulled his body away with the external mana, deviating from the trajectory.

Slosh—

Due to his inexperience, his shoulder was sliced, but it didn’t matter. Looking straight into the demon’s glaring eyes, he grinned.

“Three steps.”

Perhaps what remained were two steps.

*

“Stop talking nonsense! This is absurd!”

One step, two steps. The human was closing in without resting. There was no stopping, and his speed was not slow either. He was already close enough to feel his fingertips brush against Enok’s.

The difference in level was clear. The one who had merely been at the beginning of Master had begun rising rapidly, but that was all it was.

‘But how?!’

Manipulating external mana was the domain of a Grandmaster. It was a talent and not something a mere Master could accomplish.

If he had risen to Grandmaster here and manipulated external mana, that would at least make sense, but it was beyond comprehension that a mere Master could do this.

He swung his sword. He trod upon the ground and shifted his axis, controlling the external mana to control its trajectory.

Slosh—

He severed the neck of the human. As the latter staggered for a moment, he soon charged in with a chilling grin.

“Ugh…!”

He had nothing to fear. When he had witnessed the battle of demigods before his eyes, he felt like dust. But now, having escaped that space, he felt liberated from something instead.

Yet was it arrogance? The unknown entity approached with terror. For some reason, his fighting spirit surged uncontrollably, but the more he sliced at the monster before him, the more suffocating his heart became.

“Just dieeeee…!!”

He finally released the stars he had been holding back. The power he had kept stored surged into his sword, coming down with overwhelming force that could shatter everything.

Kwang──────────!!!

The human’s arms shattered. But shortly thereafter, as if nothing had happened, they returned to normal. No, there were a few scratches left, but that was all.

“Four steps.”

A low murmur. At the same time, the human’s movements changed.

The sword could not reach anymore. When swung horizontally, it was deflected upward, and as it dug inward, he closed the distance to make it zero.

Chills──────

Their eyes met. Those pitch-black pupils. An unfathomable abyss smiled back with a crooked tail. The madness filling them was something that could not be described as human.

Then the human’s hand moved. He frantically pushed the extending hand away with his sword, trying to push it outward. But the trajectory bizarrely twisted. His own swordsmanship unfolded from the creature’s hand.

“Ughhhhh…!”

He swung the sword frantically, but in the moment his sanity staggered, the creature rapidly closed in and his eyes locked onto it.

“Five steps.”

The ring in the empty eye socket spun. His gaze was drawn into it, and as his mind fogged over—

“There’s nothing more to see now.”

With those words, his vision blacked out.

*

“Hah… Hah….”

Enok calmed his bursting heart and caught his breath. His heart, pierced numerous times, ached. No, it was no longer a heart but just a ring, yet for some reason, it felt as if his heart had burst.

“Ugh….”

Yet that joy surpassed even such pain. He had done it. With these two hands, he had ripped apart the Grandmaster’s heart.

“Ha! Ha!”

He had not attained the rank of Grandmaster. But he had certainty. The next time he faced an opponent of similar caliber, he wouldn’t lose his life.

Five steps he had taken forward through a single battle. At the end of it all, what he had gained was the force that approached the realm of a Grandmaster.

*

Rionne, caught in a daze, cradled the fallen Enok’s head on her thigh and absentmindedly stroked his hair.

“Why do you keep overdoing it…?”

He looked so angelic in his peaceful sleep. The image of him fighting like a demon felt like a lie, and as she gently rubbed his drooping eyelid, his eyelashes trembled.

“…Fool.”

Rionne muttered, yet she couldn’t look away from Enok’s face. The boy who had finally triumphed over a Grandmaster, no, now a young man, Enok’s appearance dazzled her.

In that final moment, when Enok had pierced the demon’s heart, Rionne recalled the sensation of her heart racing faster than ever.

“…What a mess.”

She sighed.

“Don’t get caught up in such pretenses, but grab what’s right in front of you. While you still can.”

But unexpectedly, an answer came back. At the familiar voice, she jerked her head up and her eyes widened.

“What the hell… Kyle Estor…?”

“Hm. Will I be called by that name by my daughter in the future? That wouldn’t be so bad.”

As Kyle approached calmly, Rionne’s eyes trembled.

“…H-How?”