Chapter 22

The Genius Knight Who Devours Memories

Chapter 22

Whoosh! Rohan leaped from a rock toward the mage.

Following Johanna’s advice, he had moved along the walls of the gorge, and just as she had said, not a single soldier was paying attention to the sky.

‘Got it.’

Just as his sword was about to reach the mage.

Someone swung a sword violently at Rohan, and Rohan barely managed to raise his own blade and block it.

Rohan’s body was sent flying.

“Ghk!”

His back scraped harshly across the ground.

The force was tremendous.

Rohan raised his head.

At that moment.

Whoosh―!

Myuria’s figure closed the distance in an instant.

A silver dagger flashed.

Rohan reflexively raised his sword.

Clang―! Rohan was sent rolling once again.

Rohan hurriedly got back to his feet.

‘What a shame.’

If he had been just a little faster, he could have cut the mage’s throat immediately.

Rohan’s gaze moved behind Myuria.

Perhaps because he had received proper training, the mage was not shaken in the slightest.

He still had both hands together and continued chanting.

Wooooong― The mana around him rippled strangely.

“Enemy!”

“Kill him!”

The Noxis soldiers who recognized Rohan drew their swords.

Just as they were about to charge.

“I’ll take the brat.”

Myuria adjusted her grip on her daggers.

“All of you, advance.”

“Yes!”

The magic had already been activated.

Even if they had noticed the hallucinations, as long as they were still under the spell, they would not be free of its effects.

Now was the time to press them.

“Full assault! Wipe them all out!”

“Waaaaaaaah―!”

The Noxis army raised their swords in unison.

Dozens, then hundreds of footsteps shook the gorge.

Rohan bit his lip.

‘I need to deal with this quickly.’

The situation was bad.

His allies were currently under the effects of magic.

They would not be able to display their usual combat strength.

‘I need time.’

Using Condensed Burst required at least a brief amount of time.

He had to gather strength, rotate it, and condense it into a single point.

Then he had to add reverse rotation on top of that.

‘This is different from when I fought the reconnaissance unit.’

Creed, Kaisen, and Johanna.

He had been able to prepare properly because he trusted them to hold back the enemies around him.

But now he was alone.

‘Will that woman give me an opening?’

Judging from her speed and strength, the instant he revealed even the slightest opening, his neck would be cut in an instant.

Then Myuria spoke.

“So it was you. The one who killed my bird.”

Rohan replied casually.

“If you mean that bird, I roasted it and ate it well.”

“...Hah.”

The corner of Myuria’s mouth twisted.

“Really?”

The tip of her dagger pointed toward Rohan.

“Then I’ll kill you myself and roast you too.”

A faint trace of anticipation instead appeared in Rohan’s eyes.

‘This isn’t as bad as I thought.’

Myuria alone.

Glancing toward his allies, it seemed battle had already begun over there.

Then his chances were not completely nonexistent.

‘More importantly.’

Rohan’s gaze swept over the surroundings.

The gorge. There were plenty of rocks and other terrain he could use.

‘This is perfect for Nakandiya swordsmanship.’

If he added Varkan’s memories as a reconnaissance soldier to that...

He had a chance.

‘I can predict Myuria’s movements too.’

Rohan’s gaze briefly passed behind Myuria.

The mage was still there as well.

Myuria and the mage.

If he could deal with both of them at once...

‘Familiars and... maybe even magic.’

He might be able to obtain both at the same time.

The corner of Rohan’s mouth rose faintly.

“Is smiling like a creepy bastard a habit of yours?”

Rohan had worn that same expression when he killed the crow.

Remembering that, Myuria frowned and charged.

BOOM―!

_____________

There were two reasons Myuria had sent the troops ahead first.

‘You dared kill my familiar?’

That bastard had twisted the neck of a familiar Myuria cherished and killed it.

And he had done so while wearing that irritating smile.

‘Insolent bastard.’

And the second reason.

Myuria’s eyes narrowed.

‘He resembles him.’

Every time she looked at the brat in front of her, one person strangely came to mind.

An emotionless face. A smile that appeared out of nowhere. Even the gaze that looked at anyone as though they were nothing special.

‘Reinag.’

Myuria’s first master.

And the greatest sword on the continent.

The person she respected the most, and at the same time, hated the most.

That was why intense curiosity rose within her.

Aside from that.

‘There’s no way I’d lose to a brat like this.’

Myuria raised both daggers.

The dagger in her right hand was held normally.

The left was held in reverse grip.

The angles of the two hands were completely different.

Meanwhile, Rohan held only an ordinary one-handed sword.

The corner of Myuria’s mouth twisted.

“A one-handed sword?”

After looking over the sword in Rohan’s hand, she spoke mockingly.

“Kid. Is a longsword too heavy for you?”

Rohan showed no reaction.

That only annoyed her more.

‘Fine.’

Myuria tightened her right hand.

A dagger did not mean weak thrusting power.

In fact, at close range, a short blade was much faster and deadlier.

More importantly, there was no chance she would lose to that brat in strength.

Flash―!

The distance closed in an instant.

Rohan’s sword moved.

Clang―! The dagger and one-handed sword collided head-on.

Force traveled through the blades.

‘As expected.’

Light.

She could overpower him easily.

“Got you.”

The corner of Myuria’s mouth rose.

The one-handed sword was locked against the dagger in her right hand.

At the same time, her reverse-gripped left hand moved.

Swish―! The tip of the dagger shot straight toward Rohan’s side.

There was nowhere to dodge.

But.

Clack―!

With a short metallic sound, the dagger stopped.

“...?”

Myuria’s gaze dropped.

Rohan’s left hand. In the hand that had been empty until just a moment ago was now a crescent-shaped blade that she had not even seen him draw.

Myuria immediately recognized its owner.

‘Meiwa.’

A spy Noxis had planted inside the Empire.

The sword Meiwa had used.

The swordsmanship she used was also completely different from ordinary Imperial swordsmanship.

“What a ridiculous sword style.”

Myuria twisted her dagger and pulled it free.

Rohan smiled faintly.

“The owner of this sword said something similar.”

“What?”

“She died by my hand, though.”

“...”

Myuria’s brow furrowed.

At that moment, Rohan moved first.

The one-handed sword came down from above.

Myuria blocked it with her dagger.

At that instant, the crescent blade slipped in diagonally from below.

‘Damn.’

A trajectory impossible for an ordinary sword.

Myuria twisted her waist.

Swish―! The tip of the crescent blade grazed her clothes.

But that was all.

After being slightly startled, Myuria immediately counterattacked.

‘My level is far higher.’

And she became certain.

This child could never defeat her.

Agility. Strength. Acceleration. Technique.

There was not a single area where the brat surpassed her.

In fact, Rohan continued to be pushed back.

‘He can barely block.’

Every time he received a strike, his arms shook.

His feet were pushed backward little by little.

Sometimes he barely twisted his body enough to avoid a blade tip.

He looked as though he had no room to spare at all.

But the longer the exchange continued, the more Myuria felt something strange.

‘Then why can’t I hit him?’

Her blades never landed.

Rohan already looked overwhelmed just blocking her attacks.

He reacted half a beat slower than her strikes.

And yet none of her attacks were getting through.

‘Coincidence?’

Myuria’s eyes sharpened.

She added a feint.

She pretended to move her right hand first, then thrust with her left.

A technique Myuria used often.

Clang! It was blocked.

Once again, he was half a beat late, but he predicted the path precisely.

Goosebumps rose across Myuria’s back.

‘It’s like he already knows my sword paths.’

Otherwise, there was no way someone at his level could block that strike.

Myuria adjusted her grip and swung three times.

Clang! Clang, clang―!

Before Myuria even swung, Rohan’s sword moved first.

‘...He knows.’

It was not coincidence.

This brat...

‘He knows where I’m going to attack.’

How?

Had he seen her swordsmanship before?

No. Even if he had, it was impossible to read every sword path after seeing only a few attacks.

That was when it happened.

Sensing Myuria’s confusion, Rohan raised the corner of his mouth.

“You haven’t deviated from my predictions even once.”

“...”

Myuria’s eyebrow twitched.

Rohan spoke like someone solving a problem whose answer he already knew.

“You little bastard.”

A low growl came from her throat.

Myuria kicked off the ground.

If technique did not work, she would crush him with strength and speed.

Rohan raised his one-handed sword.

Myuria’s eyes flashed at the sight.

‘Too slow.’

Her blade would definitely reach him first.

Myuria swung her dagger.

At the same time, Rohan’s sword moved.

Clang-clang-clang―! A sound like several attacks being blocked rang out.

Once. He had clearly swung only once.

Myuria’s hand shook violently.

‘That’s Rainer’s technique.’

Myuria’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Meiwa’s sword.

Movements as though he knew her sword paths.

And now even Rainer’s technique.

‘What the hell are you?’

For the first time, bewilderment appeared on her face.

‘I’m being pushed back.’

For the first time, that thought occurred to her.

Rohan did not miss the opening.

This time, Rohan’s attacks continued.

For some reason, Myuria could not predict Rohan’s attacks at all.

He used various techniques, but there was no consistency to his assault.

‘This... something’s wrong.’

Myuria hurriedly retreated.

Rohan pressed forward, riding the momentum.

‘At this rate.’

She would lose.

Myuria gritted her teeth.

She shouted toward the mage behind her.

“Cast the spell on the child! Now!”

Rohan’s gaze instantly shifted backward.

The mage was still there, continuing his chant.

As though he had been watching this battle from the start, his gaze immediately turned toward Rohan.

“...!”

Wooooooong―!

The mana distorted.

An invisible force wrapped around Rohan.

Just as Rohan tried to take a step toward the mage, he stopped.

“...”

Rohan’s eyes had turned pitch black.

____________

“...Mom?”

Rohan stopped moving.

An all-too-familiar face stood before him.

Gently curved eyes.

Slightly thin cheeks.

Even the lips that had always smiled whenever she looked at him.

There was no mistake.

It was his mother.

“Mom...”

Memories surged in like a flood.

The warmth of the hand that held his small one.

The hand that stroked his head on sleepless nights.

The sight of her staying beside him all night whenever he was sick.

It was warm. Rohan had not felt this sensation in a very long time.

“...”

His mother slowly approached Rohan.

Yet strangely, Rohan’s mind only grew colder.

After all, Rohan’s emotions had dried up long ago...

Longing and sorrow alike.

Neither could shake him.

Instead, another emotion rose clearly.

Anger.

Unmistakable anger.

‘So this is hallucination...’

Rather than being swept away by emotion, Rohan’s mind began searching for cause and effect.

Once he realized this was the mage’s hallucination.

“...”

He felt no agitation whatsoever toward Myuria wearing his mother’s appearance.

Instead, all of his senses merely grew cold.

For him, it might end with this much.

But the other soldiers would be different.

The situation on their side might already be extremely serious.

‘How many can endure it?’

He had to end this quickly.

Rohan looked at the woman in front of him.

Her appearance was unmistakably his mother.

But.

‘That is Myuria.’

Myuria seemed to think he had completely fallen into the hallucination.

Her guard had loosened as well.

She slowly approached while wearing his mother’s face.

Rohan bit his lip.

‘I can’t forgive this.’

Even so, he did not move.

He simply stood there as though he could do nothing.

One step. Then another.

The distance between him and his mother narrowed.

And then.

His mother’s right hand moved.

The motion just before thrusting a dagger.

‘Now.’

Rohan’s left hand moved.

Clang―! The crescent blade precisely blocked the dagger that appeared from empty air.

“...!”

His mother’s face twisted for the first time.

At the same time, Rohan planted his foot on the ground.

The force drawn up from the ground flowed through his entire body.

Rotation.

Condensation.

And then.

Condensed Burst.

Stab―!

The sword in his hand pierced through his mother’s abdomen.

‘Mom. I’m sorry.’

The opponent tried to retreat in surprise.

But it was too late.

The sword had already pierced through her body.

And then.

‘Reverse rotation.’

Crackle―!

“...W-what is this!”

Crackle!

Blue light began bursting around the sword.

His mother’s face twisted.

“Aaagh! Aaaaagh-!”

It was Myuria’s voice.

“What is this! What’s happening!”

She shoved Rohan away.

Rohan tumbled backward.

But the sound did not stop.

Fweeeeeeng―!

For an instant, the sound cut off.

And the world was dyed pure white.