I like crossing the most

Chapter 492 The Courage of the Weak

"You're almost ready."

“Then I’ll start ravaging you.”

"Do you finally understand? I am a cruel, cold-blooded and heartless, yet at the same time lovable monster."

"I'm so sorry, you just used martial arts. But I test the strength in meters, and I can't tell the difference of one or two centimeters."

————!
He suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils contracted rapidly and then slowed down again, and his chest rose and fell.

Ha, ha, ha... huh——

The sunlight shining through his eyes woke Brian Unglaus from his nightmare. The blinding light made him squint his eyes and put his hand out to block the sunlight.

I propped up my upper body, sat on the edge of the bed, and looked around like a little mouse. Looking at the empty room, my emotions slowly calmed down.

Bran couldn't stop his hands from shaking as he thought of the powerful monster.

"really……"

Even though half a month has passed, the fear in my heart has not been eliminated.

Shalltear Bloodfallen, even the man who gave up everything for the sword, is far inferior to that absolutely strong man. He has a beauty that gathers all the beautiful things in the world, a monster among monsters, and a truly powerful person.

Just thinking back on it makes me feel a surge of fear running through my whole body.

He was afraid all the time that such a monster was chasing him, and he almost didn't sleep all the way to the royal capital, just running for his life.

When he fell asleep, Shalltear would still appear before him, like a demon in his heart. Under the pressure of this anxiety, he didn't get a good night's sleep, and just ran away desperately.

The reason why he chose to flee to the royal capital was because he thought that he might be drowned in a crowded place and the other party would not be able to find him. However, the harsh environment during the escape caused him to be extremely mentally exhausted, so much so that he had thoughts of suicide, which was something he himself had not expected.

Fortunately, I met Gazef by chance on a freezing rainy night, otherwise I would have died tragically in an empty alley and disappeared forever. He pursued power but died halfway.

But what should we do now?

He had studied swordplay all his life and devoted his all to the sword, all for the sole purpose of winning against Gazef.

However, even if he defeated Gazef, so what? Now that he knew there were people who were countless times stronger than him, what was the point of being in a position that was neither better than the best nor the worst?

bang bang bang-

"Anglaus, are you awake? I think you are."

"Yeah, Stronoff. I'm awake."

The door opened after Brain responded, and Gazef walked into the room, fully armed.

"You slept for so long. You slept so soundly that I was startled."

"Yeah. Thanks for letting me get some sleep. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. So, what happened, do you want to tell me?"

"Well..."

Brian moved his lips. He wanted to tell the pain in his heart, but when he thought of that despairing figure, his heart started beating rapidly. He felt like vomiting and covered his mouth and started to heave.

"Anglaus? Hey, Anglaus, are you okay?"

Gazef hurried forward to support Brian who was kneeling on the ground and retching uncontrollably. He found that Brian was trembling all over, sweating on his forehead, and breathing rapidly, as if he had encountered something terrifying. His emotions were very unstable.

I didn't expect him to react so strongly. He asked the question in a very cautious tone, as if he was afraid of touching the wound.

Patting Brian's back, he let him lean against the window to rest.

As he calmed down, Gazef frowned. This man was different from what he had imagined. He no longer had the original spirit and ambition, nor did he have the warrior's heart to defeat the enemy. He had completely fallen from a proud swordsman to a stray dog. If he continued like this, he might become a useless person.

Could it be that he was cursed?
The changes are so great that it's hard not to think so.

Gazef thought for a while and said, "Anglaus, come with me later."

"where to?"

"Go to the palace and meet someone who can change your current situation."

His good friend is a priest, and maybe he is the best priest in the kingdom at removing curse-type magic. He should be able to help Brian a lot in his current depressed state.

----

The kingdom's training ground.

Gazef was late today, which was unusual for him. Normally, he was the second one to arrive. Climb was the first one to arrive. After all, he had to swing the sword hundreds of times every day before the sword fight to improve his proficiency in holding the sword.

But today, Clem was absent-minded.

Not only was he distracted when practicing sword-swinging, but his mind was also elsewhere when he was fighting with Lin. Not only did his training fail, but he even suffered several more wounds.

Lin frowned. "You're restless, your posture is unstable, and you're timid. Clem, are you sick?"

However, she placed her hands on his shoulders and cast healing magic.

"me……"

Climb opened his mouth.

He knew what was wrong with him. It was simply because what Princess Lana said last night was still affecting him, which was why he didn't get a good rest the whole night and was not in good condition now.

The most important thing is that he was able to exert most of his strength originally, but after Lin became Her Highness Lana's fiancé, he inexplicably became timid when fighting against her with a sword, afraid of hurting the other party... It was obvious that he was not qualified at all with his own strength, but it was still the same.

Perhaps because he was afraid of being blamed by Lana-sama, Climb was unable to sort out his own confusion.

"Well, apart from being a little depressed mentally, there is nothing wrong with my body."

Lin smiled with relief.

However, that gentle and friendly smile made Climb, who was a little jealous, feel even more ashamed.

The person in front of him rescues civilians without mercy, fights against evil parties in the kingdom, and teaches him powerful martial arts. He can be called the conscience of the kingdom in terms of both status and character. If one has to find someone in the kingdom who is worthy of His Highness Lana, it can only be Lin.

How could he question the handsomeness of the man and the good-looking woman?
"Master Lin, thank you very much for your teachings. I will always support you!"

“Eh? Ah, ah…thank you?”

Lin also didn't understand why Climb suddenly became so serious and said something so confusing.

But the support he was talking about should be support for himself to help the civilians of the kingdom. After all, Climb had always wanted to do his part to help the civilians since a long time ago.

at this time--

"It's a little early today, you two."

"You are late today, Gazef."

When I heard a familiar voice behind me, I knew who was coming. I turned around and gave him a cold look.

Gazef apologized slightly, “I’m sorry, something happened today, and bringing outsiders in requires formalities, so it took quite a while.”

"Bringing outsiders in?"

I didn't expect this to be the reason.

Only then did Lin and Climb look at the man following behind Gazef.

His hair was a little messy and he had dark circles under his eyes from not getting enough rest. He was hunched over and looked weak all over. He looked decadent, like a stray dog.

However, his appearance is so familiar.

"—Brian Unglaus?"

Lin opened his eyes slightly.

The bad relationship between Brian and Gazef was a hot topic in the capital. Everyone was guessing who would be the winner in the fight, and the result was naturally Gazef. But Brian was not discouraged. He left a message saying "I will definitely defeat you" and then disappeared.

It seems like he hasn't been doing well in recent years?
...No, that's not right.

Others might not be able to see it, but Lin, who was a priest and had saved many civilians, discovered it immediately.

Brian's decadence was not something that developed slowly over several years, but was caused by a huge blow he suffered recently and from which he could never recover.

“Brian Unglaus?” Climb was also slightly surprised. “Could it be that the powerful Lord Unglaus?”

He admired the strong, and he remembered clearly the man who was on par with the Kingdom Warrior Captain Gazef, but his decadent appearance, like a stray dog, was completely different from the high-spirited person he had imagined.

"Strong? ...Hehe."

I don't know if it was because of this word that Brian's face showed obvious bitterness, which also indirectly confirmed Lin's guess. Brian suffered a huge blow.

Gazef looked at him with a puzzled look. After receiving the message, the other party explained: "I suspect that Angraus may be cursed, so I hope you can help."

"Rather than a curse, it's more like a huge blow." Lin went to the point.

Brian pursed his lips.

Gazef rubbed his brows and said in distress, "Is that so? I wasn't sure at first."

After all, he was a match for the Kingdom Warrior Captain and part-timer Brian. It would be funny if I didn't know him.

"Never mind, just in case."

Lin clenched his hands and cast a purification spell on Brian. The fact was just as Lin said, Brian was not cursed, he just suffered a simple blow.

"So, what happened?"

"I, I encountered a monster."

"monster?"

"A vampire with terrifying strength."

"…Tell me about it in detail."

Hearing the sensitive word vampire, Lin also became interested. Perhaps it was the soothing effect of the purification magic that Brian's emotions were very stable. Although he stumbled a little, he still recounted the whole process.

To put it simply, the move that Brain created to defeat Gazef was deflected by a vampire named Shalltear Bloodfallen with just a little finger.

Brian, who was hit, turned and ran away, and lived in the opponent's shadow for half a month.

Brain did not mention that he was employed by a mercenary group at that time. Although he felt that Gazef might say that everyone has his own life, facing this upright man, he really did not want to mention what he had done in his life in the past, such as the extremes he had done in pursuit of swordsmanship.

"Bounced away by a little finger? ... That's really desperate."

Brian was a warrior as famous as Gazef, and his martial arts were certainly top-notch. However, he was deflected by someone else’s little finger… Even if the opponent was a vampire, it was understandable that the proud swordsman would never recover from this.

…That may be the case for Climb, but not for Brain. He must be doubting what all his years of hard work were for, and he must be drowning in self-doubt.

"I see. I know what to do now."

"Really, Lin?"

"He's about the same level as Clem now."

"Ah I?"

The guard pointed at his nose, obviously not expecting that he would be involved. His strength was not comparable to the three people present, so the obstacles he encountered must be far beyond his reach.

Seeing his surprise, Lin shook his index finger and said, "No, no, no, you are wrong, Clem. People have some common traits, regardless of whether they are geniuses or not."

"Is that right?"

Clem was skeptical.

Lin thought for a moment and said, "Okay, in that case, I will teach you my third move, which is also my last move."

"Third move?"

The guard boy's eyes lit up.

The two moves Lin taught him - [Wisdom of Fools] taught him to never give up, and [Sword of Mortals] taught him how to touch the genius, so what would be the third move?

"So--"

Lin assumed a fighting stance.

"Come over here, Climb."

"Yes!"

Climb raised the training sword in his hand and stared at Lin's entire body, trying to find any flaws.

What a great defense, there is no weakness at all. But we can't give up, since there is no flaw, let's create one!
Climb thought of this and was about to take a step forward, but the next second, a bone-chilling cold swept through his body.

W-what...

Whether he was frightened by the gentle priest’s sudden change of attitude, or because he was forced to pause and stiffen due to the sudden murderous intent, Climb was no longer able to speak.

The hand holding the sword was shaking constantly, the tip of the sword was swinging around like crazy, and the whole body was shaking, making the chain mail shirt make a noisy sound.

As if he could be crushed in the next second, the rolling murderous intent was like a red-black mist approaching like a raging wave. Climb felt his consciousness gradually turn white. Due to the overwhelming fear, his body wanted to give up consciousness.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to attack?"

The tone of voice, which sounded like an invitation, a conversation, a mockery, and an education, was plain but contained a lot of expectations. It pierced Climb's heart more deeply than any other blade, and even made him forget the fear ahead for a moment.

The heart made a heavy thump.

The creaking, old body was injected with fuel at this moment, and the blood circulated rapidly throughout the body, filling the brain.

“It’s a bit wasteful… never mind. There’s another way. Then, Climb, you should just die for once.”

——Full bloom!

The blue aura that enveloped Lin's entire body began to boil, and his eyes burst out with bright blue light. At this moment, Lin was like a god... No, that terrifying divine power, awe-inspiring divinity, and magnificent divine strength, all combined together made Lin a true god!

Slowly pull it open and make a fist-throwing gesture.

Clem stared at the other man's slow movements, which were so slow that even an old lady could do them. His teeth chattered. He knew that if he got hit by this punch, he would really die! So much so that a revolving lantern began to appear in his mind.

Move! Move!

Just run away!
Get moving!

As if a god far above him, crushing an ant like a dead one, the complete image of death dominated Climb’s mind.

No, you must not die!

Move, move!
Even though he wanted to shout so much, his legs felt so heavy that he couldn't move. The revolving lantern moved by so fast that he couldn't control it. He even pressed the fast-forward button and the memories of the past decade flashed by at a rapid speed.

No, no...

Tears flowed unconsciously.

Until Lana’s smiling face appeared in Climb’s revolving lantern.

——What a joke!
If he couldn't die for Lana, why didn't he die at that time? How could he die in such a cowardly way?!
A raging rage rose in my heart, and my inner fear was shattered by the outburst of intense emotions.

My legs can move now.

I can move my hands now.

I opened my eyes wide, eyes that I just wanted to close.

His senses reached their limit, and he could even feel the slightest vibration in the air. The surge of adrenaline allowed him to break through his own barriers, and of course, the same was true for the barriers of death.

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh!!!"

Climb took a heavy step forward, veins bulging in his hands as he gripped the hilt of his sword. He twisted his waist with all his strength, roaring as he swung his strongest sword at Lin.

——The sword of mortals!
"Oh? Instead of running away, you approach me?!" Lin caught his sword steadily with only two fingers.

“Haaaaaaaa!”

Climb gasped for air, then let go of his sword and his legs went limp. Lin held Climb's shoulders to prevent him from falling to the ground.

"It's done."

The tone was appreciative.

"You know what? People are stubborn, so they insist on doing something even when they know it won't work. People are foolish, so they try their best even when they know it won't work. Similarly, people are brave, so they never back down even when they know the enemy is strong. Congratulations, Climb, you have learned the most important move when fighting a strong one - the courage of the weak."

Unfortunately, Climb, who faced death and broke through his limits, fainted due to over-exploiting his own potential, and did not hear Lin's praise, which was a bit regrettable.

(End of this chapter)