Chapter 131: Evan (8)

Clank…… Clank…….

I thought.

I had felt it since the first time we met, but there must be a strange magic in the clanking of that armor.

Like the growl of a predator that instills fear in its prey.

That sound pressed on a person’s psyche, making my mind go blank and my muscles stiffen.

The unexpected appearance of Evan.

Watching him walk over like the grim reaper, I swallowed dryly.

A bead of sweat from my hair trickled down, soaking my leather suit, and the inside of the glove gripping Raven was damp with cold sweat.

However, the trait [Coolheadedness] shone once again in this situation.

Cold reason awakened my paralyzed brain, causing it to spin furiously, and my hot heart beat fiercely, tensing my stiffened muscles.

1 second.

The time it took to grasp the surrounding environment, my body’s condition, and the possible scenarios, and to derive the optimal conclusion.

At the same time, it was also the time it took for Evan, who was far away, to reach me.

Whooong!

What cast a shadow before my eyes, even before the rough tearing sound of the wind, was the shadow created by the monstrously sized greatsword.

Evan was a warrior who could handle all weapons freely, but among them, the one he handled best, like his own body, was the greatsword.

He handled a greatsword that a normal swordsman would use with two hands, with just one hand.

The reach and spatial control that came from the long blade instantly compressed the physical distance between Evan and me.

I didn’t just stand there either.

Even before the plan was formed, my hands were already moving.

Two daggers were secretly released.

One went behind Evan and the other went for Evan’s chest.

Ting!

However, the dagger that flew at Evan’s chest was deflected futilely by his armor, and the one that flew behind him went and got stuck in a tree about 20 meters away.

I immediately used [Dagger Shift].

It was to the side where the dagger was stuck in the tree.

Immediately after, Evan’s greatsword split the space I had been in, and I was able to dodge by a paper’s width.

No.

I thought so.

Swaeaek!

When I turned my head, a throwing axe had somehow flown exactly to where I was.

By the time I had deflected it, Evan’s greatsword was right in front of my nose again.

‘His reflexes and speed are truly unbelievable.’

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

To track the presence of [Dagger Shift] with only his senses and feeling.

It could be called a physical ability close to precognition.

As expected, the skill he had shown at the Pleasure Den was not his true skill.

Was this the true power of the person named Evan?

A strength forged not by mana and aura, but by overcoming numerous deaths.

Whooook!

Such a person’s greatsword was swung to split my own crown.

I, who had clenched my teeth tightly, swung Raven and quickly drew a formula.

The mana in the air moved according to my will and the formula drawn by Raven, realizing a single vision in reality.

[Water Prison].

A 3rd Circle water-attribute magic that creates a large water bubble and traps the target inside to subdue them.

In an instant, the moisture gathered from the surroundings converged on Evan, sealing him and everything related to him.

However, it only bought a little time.

Immediately, with a ‘peong-‘ sound, the water prison burst futilely, showering water in all directions.

Chwaaaak──

But for me, buying that little time was enough.

I distanced myself and at the same time, cast another magic.

Among the numerous visions I currently possess, the magic with the strongest destructive power after the 4th Circle fire-attribute magic [Spatial Explosion].

[Thunderbolt].

Kwaang!

A bright yellow flash that split the dry sky and fell, accurately pierced Evan’s head and was embedded in the ground.

The armor, which had high conductivity and was even doused in water, was not an excellent defense.

On the contrary, it directly transmitted the power of the lightning to Evan, and Evan, who was hit by the [Thunderbolt], was motionless for a brief moment.

But I instinctively felt that this was not enough to defeat Evan, let alone stop him.

As Yuria had said, his body, which had turned into mercury, was in many ways illogical, so it would be a few seconds at most.

So I immediately used [Dagger Shift] again.

The location I moved to was where the dagger that had first hit Evan’s chest and fallen was.

I immediately retrieved the dagger, and immediately after, I was about to use [Dark Sprint] to quickly leave the place.

Kwakwakwakwa──!

At that moment, a tremendous wind pressure hit my back, sending my body flying into the air.

Peok!

I, who had flown like a kite with a cut string, was slammed into a rock behind me.

I let out a groan at the dizzying pain, but I quickly shook my head to shake off the pain and immediately got up.

When I looked ahead, Evan was fighting someone.

‘Who is it?’ I focused my eyes to see.

Ah.

It was Clatter.

Clatter, who had sensed his master’s crisis and had opened the subspace himself and jumped out, was blocking Evan.

Chaeng! Chaeeng!

But he was being slightly pushed back.

No matter how much Clatter was a legendary undead who had absorbed Zad and awakened from the Necrobead, it was too much for him to face Evan in an open area and in a one-on-one interpersonal combat at that.

I was conflicted, but my deliberation was not long.

Alright.

I admit it.

Evan is a monster.

A monster on the same level as Pirion Lil and Baron Tesda, who have top-tier skills even in the Central Knights, and the madman of the Special Magic Corps, Allen Desico.

To have planned a half-assed escape against such a person, the premise was wrong from the beginning.

So I drew my sword.

Chwaang──

Raven, hidden inside the staff, let out a cool moonlight and revealed its true form.

Holding the staff and sword in both hands, I entered the fray.

Pababa-bak!

The situation was immediately reversed.

Evan began to be pushed back relentlessly by our combined attack.

Clatter and I faced Evan through a combined attack of hitting and running while using the subspace, and no matter how much Evan had been through, this was the first time he had experienced such a fighting style.

And rightly so, it was a method of opening the subspace in a dangerous moment to escape inside, and then opening the subspace in a different place and jumping out to launch a surprise attack.

Where, and who else could use this?

The law of God that a living being cannot enter the subspace.

It was an attack method that only Clatter, an undead who could ignore that law and could open and close the subspace with his own will, could do.

This new concept of a combined attack was an attack method that I had come up with right after Clatter had awakened from the Necrobead, and this was the first time it was being used in a real battle.

So even the stoic Evan was startled at first.

Because he had mistaken the bandage-wrapped Clatter for a human until now.

Boong!

In that situation, the greatsword once again cut through the empty air futilely, and Clatter had disappeared.

He had already opened the subspace and escaped.

Afterward, a dark space opened its mouth wide behind Evan and Evan, as if he had been waiting, turned his body and threw the horizontally held greatsword into it.

He had anticipated that Clatter would pop out like before and had taken the counterattack first.

Swaeaek!

The greatsword that had cut through the air was sucked into the darkness of the subspace and swallowed.

I couldn’t confirm what had happened after that.

Because Evan had to immediately take out his longsword and face me, who was just swinging Raven.

What had happened to the inhuman-like bastard in the subspace?

Did he get hit by the greatsword I had thrown?

If he had been hit, would it have been the end?

I found out the result not long after.

Shwiak!

The greatsword that had popped out of the subspace flew, aiming for Evan’s head.

It was the greatsword Evan had thrown in.

Evan dodged it with amazing reflexes, but the greatsword was just the beginning.

Starting with easily obtainable daggers like the rondel dagger, numerous types of weapons, including longswords and arming swords, were fired at Evan like a waterfall.

Among them was the Chinese cleaver that Egor the Butcher had used, and there was even a kitchen knife.

Chaechaechaeng!

Evan parried them with the longsword he was holding, but he was pushed back crazily by the overwhelming amount.

My magic covered him from behind.

The magic with the most powerful destructive power among the magic stored in the Vault.

[Spatial Explosion]

The eye of the crow on the head of the staff stared at Evan’s chest, and it was the moment I thought a red stigma was marked on that spot.

A source of light flashed, and a huge explosion occurred, centered on the red stigma.

Kwaaaaang!

Like the explosion of a supernova in space, it released flame energy in all directions, and debris such as rocks, gravel, and dust scattered in all directions.

What was left in the place afterward was a deeply carved crater, gray smoke, and embers that were still not extinguished, crackling.

And in the center of it all was Evan, with his arms crossed and kneeling on one knee.

Tadak! Tadak!

Evan quietly got up from his seat.

Despite being hit directly by a barrage of numerous weapon throws and a 4th Circle magic, he looked completely unharmed.

At most, there was just some soot and scratches on his armor.

Even those would disappear if he regenerated the armor again.

“……”

Evan looked around with a calm expression.

The thief and the undead were already gone and nowhere to be seen.

Did they run away in the short gap when the magic exploded?

If it was that thief, it was quite possible, but my devilish senses, honed in countless battles, said otherwise.

‘He’s nearby.’

And that sense was correct.

In fact, I was not far away, watching Evan while using stealth.

At first, I had tried to escape with [Dark Sprint], but by then it was already too late.

Because the surroundings were already surrounded.

By the professors on duty and the Academy guards.

“Professor Evan!”

Among them, a professor who had arrived at the scene first approached Evan.

“I caught him.”

Evan, who had taken off his armor, shook his head.

The professor patted his shoulder.

“It’s alright. I set up a perimeter in advance. He hasn’t escaped yet. So just tell me which way he ran.”

Evan looked at him silently.

“Hmm? Why are you staring blankly? I asked which way he ran.”

At the professor’s urging, Evan quietly lifted his finger.

Coincidentally, that direction was the exact opposite of the direction where I was hiding with stealth.

“South? Okay.”

The professor hurriedly ran in the direction Evan had pointed.

Of course, there was no ‘good job’ or ‘thank you’.

The other professors and guards also passed by Evan and followed the professor, and Evan, who was left alone, stared at them for a moment and then turned around.

***

As soon as I returned to my dorm, I collapsed onto my bed.

Certainly, excluding the existence of Evan from the unexpected variables was a big mistake.

If they went on one more bounty hunt, his mother’s treatment fee would be collected, so it was natural for him, as a son, to want to earn the money quickly.

In this situation, who would be the target that could be dealt with the fastest?

‘Of course, me.’

The thief of the Academy, Skull Mask.

Although he was a Slaughter grade, this villain whose main activity area was the Academy was, from the perspective of the bounty hunter Evan, a tempting prey that would come to be caught on its own if he just waited.

‘Even I would have targeted myself.’

I should have recognized him as a danger factor first and been careful.

“Still, I managed to finish the job without any major issues……”

Thinking about it again, it was a dizzying situation.

Especially when I hid using stealth.

If I had been caught there, I would have surely fought a life-and-death battle with Evan, and the result would have been…….

Honestly, I didn’t want to imagine it.

“……Certainly. We’ve grown quite fond of each other while being together.”

What was somewhat unsettling was Evan’s suspicious attitude when dealing with the professor.

While doing this, I was also pretty confident in my own intuition, but I felt a strange impression that Evan was hiding me there.

And that feeling continued until he left.

‘……Don’t tell me. Did he figure out my identity.’

If not, there was no way to explain the feeling I had at that time.

‘It must be a misunderstanding, right?’

Whether it was a coincidence or a misunderstanding, my identity was a serious matter involving my personal life and the fate of Shadow, so I needed to find out.

“Fortunately, Professor Evan’s lecture is tomorrow, so I’ll have to observe his reaction then.”

But I couldn’t achieve my goal.

Because the next day, Evan did not show up for his own lecture.

“Professor Evan couldn’t come to work today due to circumstances. So I will be conducting the class instead today……”

And the next day.

And the day after that as well.

Evan did not come to the Academy until then, and I could not meet him anywhere.

Evan came to the Academy when four days had passed since that incident.

That day too, I finished my morning lecture and headed to the backyard of Eden Hall where the lunch special lecture was held.

Hoping that he might be there.

And.

“Gerard.”

I was able to meet Evan.

“……”

For a moment, my head was overloaded.

Originally, the first thing to do was to ask various questions about whether he had found out my identity and to probe his reaction.

But my mouth, completely different from this intention, was asking about his well-being, which I had been genuinely curious about.

“Where have you been all this time? You didn’t even come to the Academy.”

“I had some circumstances.”

“Circumstances?”

“Yes. It was an urgent matter, and I have something to tell you about it.”

At that moment, cold reason chilled my brain and tensed my muscles.

Something he had to tell me.

What could that possibly be?

I stared at Evan with sharp eyes, and soon his lips parted.

“That is……”

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