I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess - Chapter 231



231 – Reaching the End (3)

Edgar took a deep breath and lightly brushed away the dust that had settled on her clothes.

I almost got crushed by the rubble of the collapsed ceiling.

I never thought he would take such drastic action without even caring about his own body.

If we had not reacted quickly to the unexpected situation, it would have been a complete disaster.

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“You’re as quick on your feet as a rat.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Despite Albrich’s blatant sarcasm, Edgar responded slyly and smiled.

However, despite his relaxed appearance on the outside, he was still confused on the inside due to the scene he had just witnessed.

‘What was it?’

His golden eyes scanned Albrich’s figure from top to bottom.

Even thinking about it again, it was still incredibly bizarre. What on earth was that?

Edgar thought through various guesses, but he couldn’t come up with anything.

‘Healing magic? No, it is different from that.’

It’s a little more heterogeneous.

There was no sign of man condensing in the first place.

It would be more appropriate to describe it as a phenomenon rather than magic.

Anyway, the important thing is that a slight scratch cannot be considered an advantage.

Even if the culprit had collapsed from bleeding on the spot, even the wounds could be repaired so easily.

The problem is whether or not there are limits to this mysterious healing art.

If there were no restrictions, the situation would be absolutely worst.

However, even if the number of times is limited, if you somehow lead it to a war of attrition, you will find a way out.

‘The problem is that there is no way to find out.’

Unless the other side foolishly announces it with their own mouth, it is difficult to gain confidence even if they engage in a search war.

Even if you see someone using it recklessly for a minor scratch, you can’t rule out the possibility that they are bluffing.

In any case, one thing that is most certain to him is that he cannot stand still.

Moreover, just as this side does not know the other side’s deception, the other side will not be able to know this side’s deception right away.

In this equal situation, we have to somehow make the other side take out at least one more card.

Sreuk.

“… !”

As Edgar’s body tilted ever so slightly to the right as he adjusted his grip on the sword, the alarm bell in Albrich’s head rang loudly.

And then, before his brain he could even send a command to his body, he instinctively waved his hand and pulled out the shadow from the floor.

Kaang!

With a sound like iron clashing against iron, Edgar’s new model was blocked in front of Albrich.

The shadow that blocked the front like a solid shield changed its shape, and then began to squirm like a living creature and devour Edgar’s sword body little by little.

“Tch.”

Edgar clicked his tongue lightly and immediately condensed mana into his sword.

The blue auror blade bloomed again and destroyed the shadows surrounding it as if illuminating the darkness.

At that sight, Albrich twitched his eyebrows slightly, feeling a strange sense of discomfort.

“Lutior.”

‘Illusion magic?’

But that didn’t take a moment, and soon Edgar’s mouth opened and a spell came out, and his eyes widened.

Even if a swordsman is skilled at mana, not everyone can handle magic.

Therefore, it is safe to say that there are very few swordsmen who can use magic in combat except in extremely exceptional cases.

Even he only makes close combat easier with simple healing magic or augmentation magic, but he will never touch esoteric magic such as illusion magic.

Nevertheless, a man who seems to have just completed his contract uses illusion magic in addition to the Auror Blade.

‘It’s to the point where my youth feels insignificant.’

I had also heard that he was a genius when it came to magic, one of the few in history, but as I watched this man, even his youth felt like a lie.

What would it have been like if there had been no gap in the years we lived?

I think they would have remained what could truly be called rivals.

Shook. Shoo!

Albrich narrowed his eyes as he narrowly avoided Edgar’s subsequent sword strike.

There was no sign of using illusion magic.

Edgar’s attack was also a frontal attack, unlike his irregular movements earlier.

‘There isn’t much change. Well, it would be difficult for a change as drastic as Lutior to occur.’

Lutior is a low-grade magic among illusion magic, and is nothing more than creating a slight illusion in the eyes by slightly changing the surrounding objects or environment.

Therefore, Albrich did not go to extreme caution, but kept a reasonable distance between himself and received Edgar’s attack from a somewhat close range.

‘It wouldn’t be good to spread too much distance.’

Since there was a strange movement that I saw earlier, I thought that being relieved that I had widened the gap would actually be harmful.

Moreover, this is a distance where the opponent must take some risk to continue the attack.

It is safe to say that there is no significant disadvantage.

“Levis.”

However, because the distance was close, there was a need to be careful, so Albrich immediately used magic to increase agility.

It is said that close combat is not a major weakness for high-ranking Amman magicians, but it is not enough to give them an advantage even against high-level swordsmen.

As soon as the orange light was about to surround him, Edgar, who seemed to withdraw his sword for a moment, cut the shadow in one beat quickly, penetrating the effective gap.

It was to take advantage of the moment when magic had just been used.

Clearly, from a general point of view, the attack could be said to be a standard yet sharp move that took advantage of the wizard’s weaknesses.

But the problem is that the opponent is the best wizard in the empire.

And even this small gap was a bait given by Albrich on purpose.

Giiying.

‘Double chant!’

As he dug in, Edgar’s eyes widened at the magic circle that appeared above Albrich’s head.

The double chant itself is not very surprising. Of course, double chanting alone is a level that even a modest wizard wouldn’t dare attempt, but I thought Albrich of the world could do it.

However, the problem was that the magic spell used at the same time as Levis was not heard.

It was difficult to use two magics at the same time, and even cast the other one without chanting.

At this point, it should be called a double apparition rather than a double chant.

“Huh!”

Despite frowning, Edgar did not brake his forward leaning body.

Anyway, it is almost impossible to avoid the magic that has already been fired at this interval.

It would be better to continue the attack with the intention of giving flesh and taking bones.

Hiss! With a sound, Edgar’s sword rushed towards the enemy without any sign of stopping, cutting through the wind.

The pulpit was worthy of even Albrich’s approval, but the spacing was insufficient.

Even if magic lags behind in terms of speed, at this distance, the spear of light will pierce his lungs before the sword can reach him.

Therefore, Albrich did not take any special defensive stance.

At that moment, a faint smile appeared on Edgar’s lips.

Phew!

Along with the hideous sound of cutting into flesh, fresh blood bloomed again.

However, for some reason, it was Albrich, not Edgar, who spurted blood.

“Wow… !”

The mana that had been concentrated around Albrich dispersed due to the impact of the sword piercing his abdomen.

Accordingly, the spear of light that should have naturally pierced Edgar disappeared helplessly.

‘As expected, Lutiorra. That’s how it was.’

It was around that time that Albrich noticed a sense of discomfort.

He was finally able to understand why the opponent’s attack landed first when the attacks crossed just moments ago.

Why did the opponent use an ordinary low-level illusion magic called Lutior?

And why there was no noticeable change due to the magic.

To be precise, no significant change was intentionally made.

He guessed that the reason Edgar used Lutior was to prevent him from measuring his spacing.

In fact, I don’t know if it was because the illusion magic was broken due to the shock a little while ago, but the distance between me and Edgar got a little closer for a moment even though there was no movement between us.＜ Br＞

There is literally a very small gap.

In order to create that, he must have intentionally made the distance he was measuring with his eyes look wider.

However, if you give an effect that is too dramatic, your deception will be discovered quickly, so do it only slightly enough to decide the winner.

‘Was it not a prosecutor but a tactician?’

Even in that urgent situation, I never thought they would have laid the paving stones like this.

At this point, Albrich decided to honestly admit it.

The man in front of you is in no way inferior to you.

Even considering the gap in time and power, he is an opponent who must be viewed and dealt with as an equal.

Slurp…

“… !”

Even though the sword was stuck in his stomach, Albrich somehow managed to snap his fingers and summon the shadow on the floor again.

In the end, Edgar had no choice but to draw his sword and widen the distance back.

I thought I would be able to finish it this time, but it isn’t easy.

The trick from earlier was truly a one-time use, so it won’t happen twice.

In the end, getting a third chance will become even more difficult than before.

More than anything…

Geek. Kik Geek.

‘Is there still room?’

Just like before, the cracks that had gradually gathered began to repair Albrich’s abdomen again.

If this continues, wouldn’t it be like returning to the beginning with only this hand shown?

It was not the time to be happy about being dealt a blow.

‘Besides, something is different.’

Edgar narrowed his eyes as he felt the nature of Albrich’s magical power change little by little.

The violent sensation of cutting into the skin remains the same, but something has changed quite a bit.

A little thicker and darker. It felt like I was standing in front of a monster rather than a wizard.

He felt a chill run down his spine as the strange feeling further stimulated the survival instinct deep inside his heart.

Sreuk.

At that moment, the cloak decorating Albrich’s shoulders fell.

Edgar thought he was intentionally trying to remove an annoying object, but the following scene made him realize that wasn’t the case.

Gurgling. Gurgling.

Even though no signal was given, the shadows crawling on the floor slowly began to gather towards Albrich.

To Edgar, it seemed as if it was returning to its original body rather than a dog returning to its owner.

He thought that his guess might be correct, so he was alert.

Woe!

“!”

Eventually, the shadows gathered from all directions engulfed Albrich’s body

Edgar’s shoulders trembled slightly at the scene, which was so bizarre that it had to be described as an anomaly.

‘Wasn’t it just magic?’

The magic used by the wizard devours the owner.

It was a sight that did not make sense, at least not within his line of common sense.

In the first place, there would be no ego in magic. But what on earth is that? Can we really call that something called magic?

“You…”

A voice full of astonishment came out of Edgar’s mouth.

In his eyes, it looked like another Albrich that had already swallowed Albrich’s body

No, he thought, maybe it was Albrich from the beginning.

– I will admit it.

Albrich’s voice that followed was not transmitted from mouth to ear, but as if it was echoing directly in Edgar’s head.

And it was quiet. It’s hard to believe that this is a voice coming from the gloomy and dark man just a moment ago.

– You deserve to see this.

Albrich, engulfed in shadow, gradually grew in size.

It was difficult to even call him a wizard anymore.

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Monster? If I had to find a way to express it, that would be the most appropriate, but it would be difficult to find a monster with that appearance even in this world. It was something of such a bizarre shape.

The sight reminded Edgar of a story about some wizards he had once heard from Minette.

The fact that they, who thought they could not reach the truth of magic just by living as humans, wanted to go beyond simple eternal life and be reborn as a higher species that transcends humans.

What kind of ending did such people meet when they reached the end?

And now I was finally able to recognize the identity of the sense of discomfort I felt earlier.

After all, it wasn’t healing magic. It was just a natural phenomenon of the body trying to return to its original state.

However, because it was different from the natural phenomenon that would occur to humans, his common sense did not recognize it.

“… Have you given up on being human?”

– I never considered myself a human in the first place. For me, who will one day realize the truth of magic, that title will be too trivial.

In response to Edgar’s doubtful voice, the being who was Albrich Bertus firmly drew a line.

If the title ‘human’ is detrimental to one’s goals, one simply throws it away without mercy.

Because there has always been only one reason for him to live.