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If Gilly had not become Runcandel's nanny and had continued to train as a knight under McRolan, she would have surely been able to keep her word now.
But Dox is a Black knight.
Although he had much less potential than Gilly and is now in a corrupted state due to chaos, the weight of the black helmet he wore had not lightened.
Moreover, the Prophet had put a lot of effort into Dox's corruption. She had tainted him just enough to be consumed by hatred and madness, without losing the strength he had built up as a martial artist.
In other words, the current Dox could fully unleash his true power.
[Dare to speak so arrogantly... How amusing, Gilly. You should have uttered such arrogant words back then. After you left the clan, I went through countless trials and became stronger. It was the same even after I put on the black helmet.]
Clang!
"Ugh!"
Dox's claw struck Gilly. She managed to block it, but she didn't have the courage to engage in a physical fight.
She felt a pain as if her wrist was being completely twisted. Every bone in her body trembled with each block against Dox's attacks.
However, Gilly only grimaced in pain, maintaining her stance and keeping her gaze fixed on Dox. The broken bones in her hand were bound together, forming a tight knot.
[I've had a relatively comfortable time, considering how rotten it was.]
Relentlessly, Dox continued his one-sided attacks. Gilly had to exert all her strength in every moment, but Dox seemed relaxed as if he were dealing with a child.
Strength, speed, experience.
There was not a single area where Gilly could defeat Dox at this moment. Her confident words were only meant to provoke Dox even a little, and she knew they lacked realism.
[That's it. What exactly are you trying to tell me?]
Thud!
Right after Dox finished speaking, Gilly could only hear the sound of her left wrist twisting. In the midst of their tangled claws, Dox unexpectedly shattered Gilly's center and struck her wrist with his elbow.
"Ugh...!"
Gilly grimaced in pain and quickly stepped to the left. But Dox did not give her any chance to escape and attacked the same spot again. The shattered bone pierced sharply into the flesh.
[It's your first time hearing your scream.]
"Well, are you satisfied?"
[No, I'm disappointed. I thought even if I were corroded, the monstrous Gilly you used to be might still have some remarkable qualities... That's what I thought.]
"I'm not a monster, just an ordinary person. The monster is you, Oraboni... No, the ones who made Oraboni like this."
[But you break so easily. So disappointingly…]
Dox stopped his attack.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Gilly distanced herself and hastily wrapped her broken wrist with a bandage. She hadn't taken the time to heal herself because she was focused on Dox. Cold sweat dripped from her body, and her breathing became increasingly rapid.
Sigh...
Dox let out a long sigh. There was no trace of the Gilly he remembered in her weak appearance.
Then, Dox took something out from his bosom and threw it in front of Gilly. Startled, she was about to counterattack, but she realized that what had fallen to the ground was a black vial.
"What is this?"
[It's called chaos vial. It's a potion made by the Prophet.]
"Eating this will turn me into like you, oraboni?"
[It temporarily restores your body and gives you explosive energy. Of course, even if you swallow chaos vials, the chances of you defeating me are slim, but isn't it better than dying like this? Moreover, I want to see you once more. Your old self.]
Gilly had no reason to hesitate. She stepped on chaos vial as if crushing it, rendering it useless.
"I don't need it."
[That's strange. When you were praised as McRolan's greatest genius, you didn't seem to have any self-esteem. But now, even in the face of death, you cling stubbornly.]
Gilly steadied her breathing and aimed her claw at Dox again.
"When I was despised and rejected by my clan, I remained silent because I had gained the name McRolan. It wasn't because I lacked self-esteem."
[You have never been McRolan.]
"No matter how my clan and Dox Oraboni viewed me, I never forgot that I was McRolan. Every sword technique I possess is learned from McRolan, and all the happiness I have experienced in my life has been harvested from McRolan."
That's why Gilly had never spoken of her past as McRolan to Jin and the others.
-I'm sorry, young master.
-Why are you apologizing?
-My clan is causing trouble for you. It's probably because of me.
-It's okay, Gilly. Don't worry, I won't hold any grudges against McRolan because of this incident.
Even when Jin became a flagbearer and McRolan did not send messengers, she apologize on behalf of McRolan, and when Dox was captured by Jin, she worried about what might happen if the young master harmed him.
Of course, Gilly had endured numerous wounds during her time with McRolan. But she believed that all that pain was incomparable to what she gained by leaving the slums.
Jin and Murakan, as well as her comrades whom they had adventures with since their days as reserve flagbearer. In a sense, they were her family. If it weren't for McRolan, she would never have had them.
The aura emanating from Gilly's claw grew stronger.
[Are you suggesting settling this with one decisive blow? Very well, I will wait.]
"Do you remember? This is the decisive killing move that you desperately wanted to learn, oraboni."
[The McRolan 66th move... it's a pretty nice move.]
"Oraboni, you still believe that the sword was made by the matriarch."
Dox's pupils narrowed.
[...Are you saying that it was you, not father?]
"Yes, it was known as a sword devised by the matriarch, but it was actually a technique I first conceived at the age of seventeen. That's why only I know the secrets of the 66th move, and in the end, the matriarch was unable to fully master it."
[Heh, so my father felt inferior to you just like me. But it's a pity you didn't swallow the chaos vial. With your broken arm, you won't be able to withstand the 66th move. Anyway, show it to me. Come at me head-on.]
Dox lifted his claw and prepared to parry. Gilly lowered her stance. It was a stance that Dox had practiced hundreds of thousands of times until his youth.
'A charge, acceleration, followed by consecutive strikes. The structure is simple but the weight distribution is extremely difficult for the wielder. To think that she created such a technique at the age of seventeen…'
Then Gilly unleashed her aura and charged at Dox.
If the fight ended before the technique could even start, Dox might not have known, but once the 66th move began, he had no choice but to yield control to Gilly for a moment.
However, Dox perfectly parried Gilly's claw. Even if he had no knowledge of the 66th move, a few superficial wounds would have been the extent of it, but with such a familiar sword, it was a given.
'A three-hit combo, followed by a low strike, and when you blocks or dodges, a rotation and position change.'
Now the 66th move had become a technique fully mastered by Dox as well. As a result, Gilly was the one taking more damage as she relentlessly attacked. Due to her injuries, she was having aura backflow.
The 66th move's backflow is already severe with an intact arm. It's impressive that she handled it this far with a shattered arm. This might be the end.
If Gilly had truly created the 66th move, the only difference would be the final move.
Dox knew that the finishing move of the 66th move was evasion. After all the consecutive strikes of the 66th move were finished, if the opponent was still alive, one had to retreat.
Therefore, the 66th move was a precarious technique. While enduring the backflow, one had to unleash their aura, overwhelm the opponent, and if unable to break them, one had to escape in that state.
Dox, while mastering the 66th move, always intentionally used only about 70% of its potential. The 66th move was undoubtedly an exceptional technique, but it had its limits, as one had to accept the risks of backflow.
That's why Dox believed that the "mastery" of the 66th move lay in complete control of the backflow, where there was no risk of backflow regardless of when or how far one unleashed it. That, in his opinion, was the ultimate stage of the 66th move.
However, Dox never knew that Gilly had achieved that ultimate control. Even if she fully unleashed the 66th move, there was no danger of backflow. He was about to witness the true end of the 66th move.
'Should I lower my stance one more time?'
As Dox anticipated the final strike, Gilly lowered her stance once again, returning to the initial posture of the 66th move. Then, she raised her upper body like a roaring beast, driving both claws into the ground.
In that very moment, Dox realized what the true finale of the 66th move was.
'It was a suicide attack. That's why the 66th move is so extreme.'
All the surging aura within Gilly's body converged into the blades of her claws, piercing the ground in an instant, like the eruption of Runcandel's volcano.
McRolan's 66th Decisive killing move.
Gilly McRolan.
When she first conceived the 66th move at the age of seventeen, she named the sword after herself. And she had planned to reveal it someday when the time came for her to be accepted by her clan, and when she could get closer to Dox.
She created the 66th move to become Dox's shadow. It was a technique she developed in preparation for the moment when she would have to die to save him.
Therefore, Dox had completely misunderstood the completion of the 66th move. To truly finish "Gilly McRolan," it was not about having the control to avoid the backflow of aura but rather acquiring a way to "utilize" it. The true end of the 66th move was to lead the backflow to its limit and detonate it in one fell swoop.
However...
Now, Gilly had no intention of dying for Dox anymore.
Despite still harboring affection for McRolan and Dox, even after receiving so much resentment, the only people she could give her life for now were the young master and Murakan, her comrades.
[You may have quite a fierce spirit, but there is no need for you to evade. Because you're the only one who will die when it explodes.]
"...This time, Dox oraboni has won. No, to be precise... it seems like you've won again."
[If you had swallowed the chaos vail I gave you, it would have been a somewhat burdensome power…]
Sssk!
Suddenly, Dox's side was sliced, and a surge of chaos burst forth like a blood vessel. Someone had attacked Dox with a perfect surprise assault on the battlefield.
In this world, there were not many individuals capable of executing such a flawless ambush against a Black Knight.
"This black meat tried to kill our Strawberry Pie?"
Yona Runcandel.
From the moment Gilly first unleashed the 66th move, she had always kept nameless support in mind. By now, assuming that the nameless had infiltrated separately from Kinzelo, they should have arrived on the surface.
In an instant, Yona swiftly took down Dox, driving her sword into his chest. With Yona and Owal ambushing Dox together, he had no chance to react.
[Grr...!]
In Dox's distorted vision, he saw Gilly kneeling on the ground with her claws embedded in the earth. Her eyes still showed no trace of resentment.
Likewise, there was no sense of triumph, only a dazed and melancholic gaze. It was a familiar expression to Dox as well.
Finally, Dox understood why Gilly always wore that expression.
It meant she never wanted to hurt him.
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