Pfft!
It felt like someone was mocking him.
"This bastard…?"
Elric's eyebrow twitched.
He couldn't help but react this way. He never expected the guardian to behave like that.
Elric had known all along that the guardian didn't truly submit to him. It was bound to him by the divine power of the Northern Wind and the will of Otto Han, which was why it followed his commands.
Still, the guardian had faithfully obeyed his orders until now, so he thought it might have some genuine loyalty. But for it to openly mock him like this?
『Why are you getting worked up? This seems perfectly natural to me.』
Mephistopheles found it amusing and burst into laughter.
Elric shot him a frustrated glare, but Mephistopheles merely smirked.
『Didn't I tell you? These guys once gave even my demon army a headache.』
"...."
『Though they've fallen so far from their former glory that you can't even glimpse their past might, their pride remains intact.』
Elric let out a sigh.
In the end, there was only one thing to do.
"Then I have to make them truly submit to me."
This time, there was no response from Mephistopheles.
Just silent laughter.
But Elric knew that was the right answer.
—To draw out the guardian's loyalty.
Perhaps this was something he had to do as the new head of the Melvinger family. These were the old vassals of the family, and if he couldn't earn their loyalty, how could he hope to revive the family?
So the question now was: how could he draw out the guardian's loyalty?
There are various ways to establish loyalty among vassals.
One could inspire them through heroism, like the Star's Legion, or provide a shield against the world's dangers, like the Nerester family.
Or, like the Inspection Bureau, one could offer great rewards.
However, such methods wouldn't work on the long-dead guardians.
They had long been stripped of the desires and ambitions of the living.
All that remained were their lingering regrets.
In that case, there was only one way left.
To fulfill those regrets.
"As warriors, the only way to make them submit is by defeating them with strength."
Proving that he was worthy as the head of the Melvinger family.
That was the only way to draw out the guardian's loyalty.
If he could do that, the guardians would cooperate more actively with his possessions, and he would be able to draw out their full potential.
"[Come forth.]"
Elric stretched his hand forward. A thin layer of ice formed on the ground, and a long icicle emerged, forming in his grip.
An ice spear. Since the guardian's primary weapon was a spear, Elric intended to fight it with the same type of weapon to defeat it.
The blue flames in the guardian's eyes flared more intensely.
It had realized what Elric was planning.
Its twisted smirk deepened.
It was as if it was asking, "Can you handle it?" and implying that it wouldn't go easy on him just because he was its master.
But that was exactly what Elric wanted.
He raised his ice spear and gestured at the ghost knight.
"Come at me."
A classic provocation.
But it was enough.
Whoosh!
Without a moment's hesitation, the ghost knight gripped its spear tightly and launched itself at Elric.
Its movements were so fast and agile that it showed why it had once easily dealt with the Blue Wolf Squad.
Boom! Boom!
The clash began, and an explosion of force rocked the ground.
The earth split, and shards of ice flew everywhere.
『A lord trying to subdue his rebellious vassals.』
Mephistopheles laughed, watching the two clash.
『What a dysfunctional family.』
It was quite an amusing spectacle.
***
'It's fast!'
Elric's first thought upon clashing with the ghost knight was how incredibly fast it was.
Its movements were nearly impossible to follow. If not for his finely honed Preta Sense, he would've had no chance of predicting its attacks.
The spearhead was already at his throat before he could react. If his ice spear hadn't blocked it in time, he would have been in real danger.
Creak.
The ghost knight tilted its head again, and the blue flames in its eyes flared up.
It seemed genuinely surprised.
That stung Elric's pride.
'This bastard!'
Clang!
Elric surged his mana and tensed his muscles, enhancing his strength through Body Strengthening Art.
In terms of raw power, Elric was a step above the ghost knight. He parried the knight's spear, forcing it aside.
A brief opening. Elric seized the moment and thrust his ice spear repeatedly into the gap.
Swish, swish, swish!
Every time his spear pierced the air, small whirlwinds spiraled from its tip.
Compared to when he had faced Judas, Elric's movements were now much sharper and more refined.
It was proof that he had deeply understood the technique through practical experience.
Even highly skilled martial artists would have struggled against him now.
However—
Clang, clang, clang!
The ghost knight effortlessly parried Elric's strikes, one after another.
Its fluid movements were a display of its mastery, as if to show Elric the difference in their levels.
Every time it blocked an attack, it retaliated with a swift and powerful counter.
Boom, boom!
Each strike of the knight's spear was accompanied by a thunderous sound, as if the air itself was being torn apart.
Crash!
Rumble!
Elric tried to follow the spear's trajectory with his Mind's Eye.
But every time he thought he had cut through the lines of force in the air, they unraveled. And just when he thought there was nothing left, new lines formed and exploited his weaknesses.
Then his Preta Sense screamed at him.
Dodge!
Boom!
Elric abandoned his attempt to block and instinctively threw himself backward.
At that moment, the ghost knight's spear slammed into the ground where he had just stood, causing a chunk of earth three meters wide to rise into the air.
Thud, thud, thud!
Dust and gravel rained down like a storm.
A deep crater had formed where the spear had struck.
『That was close.』
"I know that… already!"
Before Elric could even respond to Mephistopheles' taunt, he had to throw himself backward again.
Once more, the ghost knight's spear, charged with powerful shockwaves, came hurtling toward him. He could barely make out the slight tremors at the spear's tip, signaling a miniature whirlwind formed by an incredible suction force and intense vibration.
It was as if the ghost knight had taken
'It's mocking me!'
The ghost knight was wielding
Given the knight's high level of mastery in life, it had reinterpreted the technique to a level that could be considered a complete re-creation.
If Haman, the original master of the technique, saw this, he would be horrified. His cherished technique had been dissected and reassembled right before his eyes.
The problem was that the ghost knight was far more skilled than Elric.
And Elric found this infuriating.
He could easily tell why the ghost knight was toying with him like this.
It was mocking him, saying, How can you hope to make me submit if you can't even master this technique?
It was as if the ghost knight was saying, Sure, I'll keep recognizing your authority as head of the family, but don't expect my genuine loyalty. My loyalty lies with Otto Han, not you.
'So they're saying they won't bow down that easily?'
Even with his Mind's Eye, Elric found it nearly impossible to follow the knight's movements.
When he tried to block, it circled around to attack his weak spots. When he tried to dodge, the spear exploded, sealing off his movements.
It was
The lines of force scattered and shattered. They formed and vanished unpredictably.
Against this opponent, Elric's Mind's Eye was practically useless. Worse, it led to faulty judgments that only put him in more danger.
If he were possessed by the knight, he might be able to follow the flow. But in his current state, he simply couldn't comprehend the depth of the technique.
Sssss...
As if sensing Elric's growing frustration, a shadow stirred.
Want some help?
A cynical chuckle.
He had grown somewhat familiar to Mephistopheles, but this shadow was entirely different. It was still cold, calculating, and filled with greed.
'Get lost.'
How harsh. I'm only trying to help my master by disciplining these disloyal subordinates.
Ever since the formation of the Seal of Fiend, Yu's spiritual form had become more palpable.
If Elric used the Seal of Fiend here, he could probably keep up with the ghost knight's movements. He'd have enough power to overpower it.
'I said, get lost.'
How dull.
The shadow of Yu receded, clicking its tongue in disappointment.
Elric suspected that Yu had simply wanted to devour the ghost knight.
Whoosh!
At that moment, the ghost knight's spear surged upward from below, aiming straight for Elric's forehead.
"Hup!"
Elric inhaled sharply, raising his left hand to deflect the spear upward.
However—
Flash!
The spear that had been thrust toward his head suddenly shifted downward in mid-motion.
A classic feint.
'Damn it!'
His ice spear, meant to block the attack, ended up slicing through empty air.
With that opening exposed, the ghost knight swiftly hooked Elric's leg.
Thud!
Crash.
Elric lost his balance and tumbled to the ground.
He tried to get up quickly, but the knight's spear was already at his throat.
The ghost knight stood tall, gazing down at Elric with a smug, condescending look. It was as if it was asking, Do you really think you're worthy of being my master?
『You're not going to stop here, right?』
"Of course not!"
Elric swung his body backward, grabbing his ice spear from the ground and swinging it wide.
The ghost knight, aiming for Elric's head, adjusted the trajectory of its spear to block the ice spear.
Clang!
The clash of weapons sent shards of ice flying through the air, clouding the space between them.
The ghost knight pulled its spear back to reset its stance, but another ice spear emerged from blind spot, aiming for its helmet.
The ghost knight quickly moved its spear to block the attack. But at the same time, another ice spear appeared from the opposite direction, pressing against the back of its neck.
"One on one, right?"
The second ice spear in Elric's left hand was poised at the ghost knight's neck.
Dual spears wielding. Elric had used the first spear as a decoy to deceive the ghost knight, then gained the upper hand with the second one.
He had returned the favor, pulling the exact same trick that the ghost knight had used against him earlier.
….
For the first time, the ghost knight's gaze became serious as it looked at Elric.
And then—
Clang, clang, clang!
They clashed once again.
But this time, it was no longer a one-sided fight.
[T/L: You can read ahead chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]