Chapter 60 - Only Ten Times

Fun? That was exactly what he wanted to say on his end.

"You're really fun."

The rag-covered Half Fairy stuck out his tongue, licked his lips, and let his arms droop down. The backs of his white hands were visible outside the rags.

He could tell just by looking. It was a ready stance.

If those hands moved from there, a terrible whistle would ring out.

"If you try to dodge after seeing the projectile, it's too late. So, watch the hands."

That was Jaxon's method to counter the Whistle Dagger, and the way to deal with those who wield throwing weapons.

It is difficult to catch a fired projectile with the eyes.

"It is truly difficult unless you become a knight. But even if you are not a knight, there is a way to dodge flying arrows."

The method of seeing selectively, Dagger Dodge.

Even if they cleverly hide their hands, they cannot completely hide their moving arms.

Keep the enemy in front of your eyes.

Keep their hands and arms in your sights and watch them.

After that, take in their entire body and dodge.

That was the core of it.

Jaxon's tone was soft, but it stuck clearly in his ears.

When Rem teaches something, he basically uses his body. His body tends to precede his words.

Jaxon is the opposite. He uses his body after a quiet explanation. It means understanding with the head comes first.

Ragna is half-hearted before his interest is piqued, and once it is, he continues with both physical demonstration and explanation at the same time. He is the type to ride the flow.

Audin was similar to Rem, but his tone was constantly like a god of positivity. In a way, wasn't that the worst?

"You can do it, Brother."

"It's fine, Brother. That much won't send you to God's embrace."

"Does it hurt? Then it's going well."

The process of learning the gymnastics wasn't exactly easy.

But he benefited greatly from it.

It was the outskirts of the city, under the shade cast by the city walls. The air was several times colder than where the sunlight shone.

Yet, a proper amount of warmth circulated through his body.

There was no feeling of stiffness. It had to be seen as thanks to the gymnastics he learned from Audin.

Even while having stray thoughts, Encrid's eyes did not leave the Half Fairy.

The way to dodge the Whistle Dagger was to watch the fingertips.

The hand is faster than the eye, but nothing can be done about the swinging arm. He traced, felt, and saw the trajectory.

If he could see it, he could dodge it. It was something he had already done countless times.

Not taking his eyes off them—that was what Encrid had to do right now.

Meanwhile, Encrid also had his hands hanging down.

The situation was the same for the Half Fairy. It wasn't on the level of the Whistle Dagger, but his opponent's throwing skills were not to be underestimated either.

'How can I land a hit?'

The Half Fairy was excited.

Originally, it was a boring and mundane job. A request to kill a single regular soldier. There was no way it would be interesting.

The assassin Half Fairy had two eccentricities.

One was stabbing the heart by exploiting the opponent's carelessness.

The other was killing a first-rate or higher warrior head-on.

Both were to his taste.

Originally, he thought he wouldn't be satisfied and focused on the former, but.

'This will be fun.'

Now he had shifted toward the latter.

The Half Fairy continuously licked his lips with his tongue. It was a habit when he concentrated.

He continued to search for the opponent's weak point with his eyes. It wasn't easily visible.

A feeling clearly struck his mind. That no matter how he threw the Whistle Daggers right now, the opponent would dodge them.

Still, it was fine.

'He's preparing for me to throw daggers, is that it.'

He didn't know how he found out, but the opponent broke the move he had prepared.

And with the simplest means possible.

It happened because the location was changed.

Things had gotten twisted. Three people were already dead and there was a commotion, but no one was approaching.

The location originally chosen for the assassination was the middle of the market, a crowded place.

The hustle and bustle slowed down momentary cognitive abilities.

On top of that, Jack and Bo, the two bastards meant to be used as consumables, would also have pulled tricks with trivial talk.

That wasn't all.

He had brought a guy who handled a crossbow well and hid him on a roof.

And he made the bastard named Rotten follow secretly.

All these preparations were twisted just by changing one location.

There were no buildings around to hide in.

Two idiots died before it even started.

The moment they met, the guy holding the crossbow also died from an unexpected dagger throw.

'Did he calculate everything?'

He wiped his lips with his tongue once more.

As his concentration reached its limit, his lips kept drying out.

The Half Fairy guessed the actions the target had taken up to arriving here.

'He calculated it.'

He calculated everything.

He didn't know how he knew, but he knew beforehand.

'Information leaked.'

Where it leaked from didn't matter. Only the result mattered.

Taking out Jack and Bo and immediately dealing with the soldier holding the crossbow.

'Clean.'

The opponent's calculations, methods, even the Snapping Blade Technique.

It was the conclusion after confirming everything.

'We're in the same industry.'

He was a guy who did similar work to him, or had rich experience in it.

It was a misunderstanding.

But it was understandable.

The opponent read the assassination techniques and neutralized them head-on.

No matter how much information leaked, such a reaction could only be seen as having experience in this kind of work.

'Then what means can I use?'

A few things were left.

He had three kinds of poison in his chest.

Behind his waist, he also had his own exclusive, shortened weapon.

It was a long awl the length of a forearm. Its weapon name was the Needle, one of the weapons favored by the Fairy race alongside the Nidle.

Draw and stab. That was the end of it.

The only one to survive this technique so far was one bastard, precisely a certain Frog.

That son of a bitch Frog bastard.

"Why do you look so damn ugly?"

That crazy frog bastard who didn't hesitate to disparage his appearance.

The Half Fairy had a complex about his appearance.

Originally, Fairies were supposed to be beautiful, but half-bloods were excluded from the blessing of beauty.

Since the day he met that Frog bastard, the Half Fairy always finished the job by bursting the opponent's heart.

Licking his lips when concentrating, and always aiming for the heart for the final blow.

They had now hardened into habits.

'Poison is a waste.'

Thinking of the Frog made him want to split the opponent's heart open.

It didn't feel like such a difficult task either.

'Close the distance, then pierce him with the Needle in one breath.'

The opponent might have a talent for swordsmanship, but that would only be true when fighting head-on.

The Half Fairy believed in his hidden card.

Then, how should he close the distance?

While he was thinking of a few means. He felt the idiot named Rotten flinch.

'Stupid bastard.'

The Half Fairy spoke.

"Don't move, you idiot."

At those words, Rotten gulped.

It was the moment he was trying to sneak away. He felt the pressure and a surge of desire to flee the spot.

Rotten, who had been active in the Thieves Guild for a long time, knew that this was the air of death.

His sixth sense rang the alarm of danger like crazy.

"How many do you have?"

The Half Fairy held Rotten in place with his words, then raised his voice toward the front.

Encrid shrugged his shoulders.

He was probably asking about the number of daggers held in his hands.

"I only have two."

The Half Fairy told a lie. He had already slathered his lips in saliva several times.

"I have one."

Encrid answered honestly despite knowing everything.

"Seems like I'm at an advantage, no?"

"That's just what you think."

The dagger Encrid threw was a secret weapon he obtained by badgering Krais since morning.

He asked him to find something thin and light, and Krais had brought it.

Thanks to that, there was a soldier who had his meat-carving knife taken away.

And Encrid got a throwing knife whose blade had become as short as a finger from being ground down too severely.

"You're really fun."

The Fairy muttered.

If things went wrong, Whistle Daggers would fly at him. Even so, Encrid agreed with the Fairy's words.

Tension heated up his whole body.

If he blinked wrong even once, the hand of death would tighten around his neck and strangle him.

Yet, it was enjoyable. Clashing while measuring his opponent's skills against his own.

Pitting the moves the opponent prepared against the ones he prepared.

Along with a competitive spirit, the desire to win filled his chest. It was something he couldn't easily have before.

Was there ever a moment where he could make up his mind to win?

He had been too busy struggling just to survive.

So, how was it now?

The repeating today, the today where he met his death countless times on the borderline of life and death.

Thanks to that, his swordsmanship wasn't the only thing that changed.

By nature, he had a disposition that didn't know how to give up, but he couldn't easily wish for victory.

Especially against an opponent with a certain level of skill or higher.

But now.

'I can win.'

He wanted to win, and he could win.

It was a change in mindset.

"Lift the corpse. Use it as a shield."

The Half Fairy spoke to Rotten, not caring that Encrid was listening.

"If he throws it aiming for you, he'll die too. He won't use such a move. Grab the crossbow too."

The Half Fairy chose the most rational, efficient, and certain method among the means that came to his mind.

Utilizing the advantage of numbers. They had two on their side.

Rotten hesitated. The Half Fairy explained the situation in a calm tone. He needed to.

"We are inside the city. Won't patrols come around this way soon?"

It was true. Encrid was in an advantageous situation just by stalling for time.

A patrol would come this way soon.

Then, it was over.

The moment they ran into them, Rotten knew that not only would his cover be blown, but it would also be hard for him to survive.

"Dammit."

Rotten threw a fit over the situation becoming shitty and carefully lifted the corpse.

His back was damp with sweat from how nervous he was.

'When did his skills improve like that?'

Because he moved while glaring at Encrid, Rotten's actions were sluggish.

He groped the ground, gently set the crossbow aside for the moment, and lifted the corpse that had died with a dagger stuck in its head.

It was heavy. He groaned and exerted strength. If he stumbled here, it was over.

Rotten concentrated, and the sweat flowing from his forehead dropped onto the corpse.

'I just have to move carefully. That bastard can't throw a knife.'

Just as he thought that and lifted the corpse as a shield.

WHOOSH, SWISH!

Encrid's arm moved.

The dagger flew.

It was before the corpse fully covered his body. Rotten desperately twisted his body. Perhaps thanks to that, the flying dagger embedded itself in his shoulder.

"Ugh."

Rotten swallowed a scream.

At the exact timing he took a hit, the Fairy's hands moved too.

Both hands going up and down exactly four times.

SCREEEECH!

The whistling sounds overlapped and rang out loudly. The daggers that flew numbered four.

Even as he threw the knife in his hand, Encrid didn't take his eyes off the Half Fairy.

Because he didn't blink once.

He read the trajectories of the incoming Whistle Daggers and immediately spread his feet forward and backward, lowering his stance as if lying face down on the ground.

He bent his waist and planted both hands on the floor.

Four Whistle Daggers flew right through the spot where Encrid's head and chest had just been.

All of this happened in the brief moment of breathing in half a breath after Encrid threw his dagger.

And during the time it took to inhale the other half of the breath, the Half Fairy's hands moved again.

It was after a very short gap from throwing the four daggers. It was a delayed attack.

Two more Whistle Daggers flew, aiming for the head and thighs of Encrid, who was in the stance with both hands on the ground.

Encrid reflexively rolled to the side.

THWACK!

The daggers stuck into the ground. Rolling across the floor, Encrid hurriedly raised his head again to find the enemy.

If he missed the dagger throws, it was over. Encrid's gaze darted left and right.

The enemy wasn't caught in his line of sight.

Rotten, who was struck by a dagger in his forearm, and the rags flapping open in the air caught his eye first.

Encrid's eyes pierced through the rags.

He wasn't there. The assassin's figure couldn't be seen anywhere.

He lost sight of him because he instinctively searched for the position from which the daggers had been thrown.

Because in the meantime, the Half Fairy had lowered his stance and was charging forward.

Inside his widened field of vision.

His ears perked up, announcing the location of the entity kicking off the ground.

Only then did Encrid's eyes land on the Half Fairy.

He had closed the distance tightly in no time. It was barely a few steps away.

* * *

Steal their gaze with the rags and close the distance. The opponent probably couldn't have anticipated that he would close the distance.

It was the Half Fairy's gambit.

His prediction was correct.

Because Encrid's expression was panic itself.

Even so, he moved.

PING!

'Son of a bitch.'

The Half Fairy cursed the opponent inwardly, not even thinking of the lie he had told.

There was a third dagger in the opponent's hand.

However, it wasn't aimed at him.

The most efficient method the Half Fairy had devised.

Having greater numbers is always advantageous.

It was thanks to that.

If Rotten held the crossbow and kept him in check, it was over.

The guy must not have had any other choices either.

The dagger that flew with a swish embedded itself in the forehead of Rotten, who was holding the crossbow instead of the corpse shield.

Of course, that scene wasn't visible to the Half Fairy's eyes.

He just ran with all his might.

And so, within two steps.

He reached for his waist. After the opponent threw the dagger, he was seen desperately grasping his longsword.

Much faster than drawing and slashing, the Half Fairy's short, awl-like sword stabbed at Encrid's heart.

CLANG! CLING!

'It's blocked?'

The Half Fairy was surprised. To the point of true astonishment.

Because this shouldn't be blocked.

Because it was his hidden card, his certain-kill strike.

Because one could never block it without knowing about it.

But it was blocked. It was unfair from his perspective.

Because Encrid had already seen the awl-like sword Needle during his ninth death.

Instead of drawing the longsword, Encrid used the flat of the guard sword's blade, which he had drawn while throwing the dagger, to block, twist, and parry the awl sword.

It wasn't a perfect Flowing Sword Technique, but he could imitate it similarly. Thanks to that, it stopped at the blade cracking instead of being pierced through.

The shattered blade scattered and fell from his chest like a halo of light.

Encrid, releasing the grip of the guard sword, drew his longsword.

All of this happened in a single breath. Block, discard, and draw. There was no hesitation. It was a continuous stream of smooth movements. Down to swinging the drawn longsword powerfully from top to bottom, it was like flowing water.

It was something that occurred in the brief moment the broken blade fell to the ground.

Even while surprised, the Half Fairy guarded above his head with the Needle.

Dodging was too late, so it was the best defense he could do right now.

And Encrid fully utilized the fundamentals of the Heavy Sword Technique.

A sword that smashes, shatters, and strikes down whatever is blocking it.

CRASH!

The Needle snapped like a twig, sending sparks flying, and the blade of the longsword descended upon the Half Fairy's head to fulfill its intrinsic duty as a sword.

SQUELCH, CRACK!

The ugly appearance of the Half Fairy, which a passing Frog had once mercilessly trashed, could now never be verified again.

Because his face was split in half.

The blade of the longsword grasped in his hand had cleaved down through the Fairy's jaw.

Without even a death throe, the dead Fairy face-planted forward with a split face, shedding a torrential amount of blood.

"Phew."

Encrid let out the breath he had been holding.

And after retrieving his sword, he thought.

Ten times, it had been only ten times.

The number of times it took to put an end to this repeating today.

It was the shortest repetition among the todays he had experienced so far.