"That's right…Relial the Unyielding."
"How do you know that name…?"
Mikels, now Relial, has been living under the name Mikels for five years.
He was far from a celebrity when he was Relial, so the name of the leader of the bandits, Mikels, was far more recognizable.
"In the game, and now in real life, you don't give up. …I'll give you credit for that tenacity, because I have something I don't want to give up either."
'Game? Real life?'
The thought crosses Relial's mind that this blind man spouting unknowable information could be a madman. But the problem is, the madman is stronger than he is.
The blind man removes the hood from his robes and continues.
"If you don't understand what I'm saying, that's okay, it's just my selfish ramblings."
"You… Why do you want the Vampiric Iron?"
Vampiric Iron is a metal with unusual properties, but as you know, it doesn't have many uses. The only people who want it are blood mages who want to make bloodstone.
This would mean the horrific sacrifice of a living person, and as such, it is taboo to even possess it in many countries on the continent.
"Let me tell you something… I'm not a blood mage, just an ordinary swordsman."
The blind man said, revealing the thin and long sword, which was hidden by his robes.
Relial could see a glimmer of hope.
'If this madman hasn't drawn his sword yet… I have a chance.'
That was his judgment.
He might be able to slice through his men, who didn't even have proper armor, with such a thin blade, but his own Blood Strength might not be broken so easily.
But this was his wishful thinking and because he didn't know the exact identity of his opponent, Relial tried to keep his guard up.
"You're so persistent, trying to figure me out even in this situation. The sad thing is, I don't fight fights I can't win."
"A little bravado goes a long way."
The blind man shrugs at Relial's comment and then continues to speak unintelligibly.
"If I leave you alone….you'll make…the Revenge of the Wicked that you've so longed for."
"You… Who the hell are you…?"
"That's not an easy question to answer. I know the future and the past. If you think of it that way, it will be easier for me and easier for you."
The blind man before Relial was no mere madman. He knew Relial's name and his purpose…Perhaps everything about Relial.
"…Once you've eaten the bloodstone, you'll get what you want: enough power that you won't have to bow down to anyone and won't have to hide anymore but that won't be a good thing for me, because that's when 'Relial the Unyielding' becomes the terrible, Relial the Slayer."
Such hollow words come out of the blind man's mouth.
"You are mesmerized by the power of bloodstones and seek to make them over and over again, killing blood mages to obtain recipes for other bloodstones, forging them over the corpses of countless victims… The need for Vampiric Iron is real, but… Your presence, Relial, is one of the reasons I have come here, as you are about to commit a brutal massacre."
The blind man remained silent after those words as if he were the executioner about to carry out Relial's death sentence.
Relial did not like it. Why did he have to die like this?
Naturally, Relial the Undeterred had no intention of going down without a fight until he tasted the sweet fruit.
Relial clenched his bony fists and steadied himself. He turned to the blind man and asked in a low voice.
"…You say you know the future, then I have only one question. After I ate the bloodstone, was I… happy?"
The blind man gently draws his sword from its sheath in front of his face.
"The happiness of a wicked man who has killed countless innocent people in vain… let's just say you've been laughing like a maniac."
"Laughing like a maniac…"
Relial closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them wide, lunging at the blind man.
"That's enough…!"
Quickly reaching the blind man's nose, Relial's legs drew a line, heading for the blind man's face.
[Pfft!!!]
The blind man parried Relial's kick with his sword, closing the distance.
Not a drop of blood trickled down his leg despite the contact with the blade. His leg should have been cut off in an instant, but there wasn't even a scratch. This was the power of Relial's Blood Strength.
Although it was an unremarkable talent, Blood Strength was technically magic. It was a far cry from the simple physical enhancement of infusing mana into one's body to strengthen it.
'What the hell, it's worth a try…?'
That was what Relial felt after the first exchange with the blind man.
The momentum soon evened out, and Relial exclaimed.
"…That's it? If you think you can stop my 'future', you're wrong!"
"…"
The blind man stared at Relial as he prepared to move but Relial couldn't detect anything special about his mana usage.
It was ordinary and nothing more.
With such poor mana utilization, he'd be unable to use his sword properly. His experience of watching countless mighty men from afar told him so.
Relial decided to push the blind man harder and his advance continued.
Relial's fists come at the blind man at breakneck speed. This time, however, the blind man swung his sword in response.
"You're a blind man who can't even handle mana… and you're using a sword like that to… cut my arm!"
[Aah!]
Relial's arm floats in the air, and then falls to the ground with a dull thud.
"Off… Ack!!!"
Relial stumbled back from the blind man, wincing at the pain of his severed arm.
He couldn't understand.
'Why…? Why…?'
It was a mediocre swordplay, as mediocre as his mana usage.
The blind man's swordsmanship was a far cry from the swordsmanship of a mighty man like…'Sword Saint'…whom Relial had once watched from behind a wall as a child.
It would have been more akin to the swordplay of a child, a wannabe knight in any village but the blind man was still stronger than he was because strength was always relative, not absolute.
Relial managed to use his blood strings to staunch the severed arm.
"Huh… This is why I hate people who use swords…"
Relial hadn't fallen yet.
He hadn't given up however, his posture was completely disorganized, unlike his mental strength.
"Enough, I'm done."
With that, the blind man charged at him and Relial threw his left arm out with all his might but his fist never made contact.
The blind man, who had ducked to avoid Relial's punch just before it made contact, raised his sword and sliced off his remaining arm.
"AGH!!"
Despite the pain that made him lose his mind, Relial moved his legs in desperation and attacked.
[Aaah!]
As predicted, the blind man's sword sliced through Relial's leg.
With only one leg left intact, Relial lost his center of gravity and fell to the ground.
The blind man was strong. Not as strong as Relial had expected, but simply stronger than him.
Relial was weak. He had lived a life of weakness, but he had dreams.
Today, his dreams would come to an end, as would his unyielding determination.
"I didn't mean to cause you pain, but I'm not a very good fighter."
"…I haven't given up yet."
"I know, it's just…It's because you're a Relial the Unyielding."
The blind man continued to act as if he knew everything about him.
"Still, it's better than a weak Relial, isn't it?"
Not bad, Relial thought.
He had been a weakling all his life, a coward.
As long as it wasn't one of those insulting names he'd heard countless times, he thought it was okay to be called 'Relial the Unyielding.'
"…I see."
Even as Relial's consciousness faded he was not giving up.
He didn't close his eyes and suddenly, his owl, hovering in the center of the room, swooped down on the mouse on the floor. The mouse squirmed in the owl's sharp talons, but it was no match for the owl's weight.
The owl's sharp beak ripped through the flesh near the rat's neck as the blind man walked over to the fallen Relial and laid him to rest.