The Two Holy Swords

Translated by SoundDestiny

Edited by SoundDestiny

A mist appeared around Neferte. A mirror image of Neferte appears in the mist.

Dozens of apparitions appear. The real Neferte is swallowed up in the mist, and it is impossible to tell which is the real one.

Raidorl tried to sharpen his senses and look for signs and magical power, but the illusions were a fine mix of those with and without magical responses, and it was difficult to distinguish between them.

“Illusions....Interesting ability, but lacking in direct offensive power.”

“Hah!”

One of the Neferte, who had appeared around him, slashed at Raidorl, who was calmly observing his opponent’s abilities.

“Fu..!”

Raidorl leans slightly to avoid the dagger’s blow, and uses his sword to slash Neferte’s torso.

The slash cut Neferte in half, but it quickly dissipated into mist and disappeared in a thousand pieces.

“Hmm..a fake”

[“Haa!” “Haa!” “Haa!” “Haa!” “Haa!”]

Starting with the first blow, one after another, a new Neferte slashed at Raidorl.

The surrounding fog became a wall, reverberating the sound, and even voices could be heard from all directions.

“You’re very clever but....is too fragile.”

Raidorl dodged and deflected Neferte’s slashing attacks, and then erased them with dozens of slashes.

The jet-black blade has no hesitation. Raidorl has no? mercy of the countless illusions that attacked him.

“If there are ten of you, then there are ten of us. If there are a hundred of you, you should be prepared to fight a hundred of them. No matter how large the number, it is nothing against a strong man who is capable of taking on a thousand men by himself.”

If Neferte were to slay a thousand people, the current Raidorl would be able to evade the attack with ease. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t tell the difference between the real thing and the illusion, as long as the attack didn’t hit him.

“The only weakness I’d like to point out is..the ranged attack.”

“......?!”

Raidorl raised his sword above his head.

The holy sword that controls the “curse” – Dáinsleif. A miasma surrounding the sword’s body forms a vortex.

“Curse Sword Fighting [Poisonous Dragon Tail Níeh?ggr]”

(Norse Myths)

And then a flash of miasma came from the sword.

What was released was a slash of miasma like a tornado centred on Raidorl.

It’s a matter of time before Neferte is swallowed up in a jet-black vortex of misery, and all the Neferte phantoms that have gathered around were cut to pieces.

“Hyaa..!”

A small shadow came tumbling out of the tornado of miasma. It was definitely the real Neferte Athena, who came out of the miasma with an impatient look on his face.

Because Neferte is the keeper of the holy sword, he has a strong resistance to magic, and even if he is hit by the miasma blade, he will not suffer much damage. However, there is no way to overlook Neferte, who has lost his illusions and is now exposed.

“Yup, found you.”

“Ku....?!”

Raidorl slashed at him in the same tone as if he were hitting a badger coming out of its den.

The dagger that Neferte had in his hand managed to catch the slash, but he couldn’t block the kick that was released immediately afterwards, and he was hit and bounced off.

Neferte’s little body was kicked off like a ball and rolled around on the ground.

“It’s great that you’ve created an illusion that is indistinguishable even by magic detection. But....If you don’t know where the main body is, it’s natural to try to attack it blindly. However, it makes sense if all the illusions are exhausted by a ranged attack, right?”

“Then..what am I supposed to do? Does it mean that my Illusion is meaningless?”

Neferte got up from the ground and spoke in frustration.

Neferte is able to release the power of the holy sword, but was easily denied. Raidorl can see the anguish on his face.

“Illusion is not a means of defeating the enemy. It is better to use it as a distraction to your opponent. For a decisive attack....is not enough to kill your opponent before he gets used to the illusion and realises how to deal with it.”

“The art of killing....”

“Don’t call it a ‘special move’ either. At the very least, it’s enough to be able to disguise yourself as an illusion and stab your way to the top. But, you have to develop a new way of attacking that can be used in at least two ways: close combat and mid-range combat.”

“........”

Neferte bites his lip and falls silent.

The power of the newly awakened holy sword is all he can draw out, and it will take some time before he knows how to apply it.

“Although he has been chosen for the Holy Sword.... he is not a man with much sense of battle. He seems to be the type that takes his time..”

If it had been Raidorl, or Célia Von Althlein, the chosen one of the Holy Sword of Thunder, they could have come up with more immediate ways of dealing with and applying the problem.

But....this boy, Neferte Athena, lacked a basic kind of “instinct” for fighting.

“It’s not just a question of age.....I’m sure his parents took good care of him like a butterfly or a flower growing up. He may have the talent to be chosen for the holy sword, but he was never given the opportunity to hone that talent.”

Raidorl was banished to the frontier when he was chosen by Dáinsleif and has spent his life fighting demons.

Célia was brought up as an imperial princess, but as a holy sword holder, she followed in the footsteps of her father and brother, and was given a gifted education.

Neferte, on the other hand, was probably never given the opportunity or experience to do so.

Raidorl doesn’t know when Neferte was chosen by the Mistilteinn...but it is very overprotective.

“I’m treating him like a little boy...I’m afraid you’ve got more in the box than the princess, Célia .”

(more in the box: a person usually overprotected and knows little of the world and may even have little freedom.)

“....There’s nothing wrong with that. I will teach you how to kill the enemy from scratch, like raising a puppy to be a hound. If you don’t learn it in a month, give up on avenging your family. I’ll finish it all without you.”

“Ku..Not so fast!　The Kingdom of Athena is my country. I may need the help of other countries to rebuild my country, but I can’t leave everything to you.....!”

“Then you should be encouraged to die.If you really die.... Well, give up then!”

“...!”

“I never said the training was over! Keep your nerves sharp! Soak up the atmosphere of battle!”

Raidorl unleashed a sharp slash that struck Neferte, who had just gotten up.

Neferte gritted his teeth as he faced the stern instruction from Raidorl to become like Mistilteinn’s predecessors, the holders of the holy sword of water.

TL: WE HAVE CATCH UP WITH RAWS!!!. TQ for reading, now you can? give your thoughts and reviews of this web novel at NU.

Do also read another novel I’m currently translating. Wrote by the same author: Kingdom Of Styria.