Battle Race in the Fantasy World

Battle Race in the Fantasy World – 85

EP.85 It Was There, Now It’s Gone

From within Mathieu’s pocket, Kyle could sense something sinister and repulsive.

Kyle watched Mathieu, who seemed ready to grab that something, with a hint of tension.

Was he worried that Mathieu might drink it and suddenly become overwhelmingly strong, making the fight incredibly difficult?

Not really. If anything, he might have been relieved if Mathieu drank it and the fight became more intense.

The reason Kyle was tense was that he feared that repulsive thing would taint this honorable duel.

Please, no. Don’t use it. The moment you do, I can’t treat you as a person.

If you use it! If you trample on the purity of this fight! Then I’ll become a thug too!

‘So please, let go. I’m begging you.’

Mathieu was strong. He didn’t earn the title of one of the Three Heroes for nothing.

It was said that the Empire’s top ten and the Alliance’s Three Heroes were on a similar level.

Kyle had wondered if that was just an exaggeration, but facing Mathieu directly proved it to be true.

He had sparred with Princess Yurika and Commander Priscilla, both members of the top ten.

Neither of them had gone all out, leaving some room for leisure.

But Kyle could clearly recognize their strength.

And right now, he could see just how strong a top ten-level warrior giving their all could be.

He didn’t want to see such a magnificent opponent fall into disgrace.

If he couldn’t overcome it even after giving his all, he should grit his teeth and push himself to his limits.

If that still didn’t work, it would be unfortunate, but he could train even harder for the future.

Ruining everything by being swayed by the immediate outcome was foolish.

“Mathieu. Don’t do it. No matter how you think about it, that’s not right.”

At Kyle’s words, Mathieu seemed to hesitate for a moment before standing up.

Seeing that Mathieu’s hand was empty, Kyle smiled.

The title of one of the Three Heroes of the Alliance wasn’t given to just anyone.

“Thank you, Kyle Jonathan. I’m ashamed to have even considered such a temptation.”

“It’s nothing. I’m just glad you overcame it.”

Mathieu nodded and took a deep breath.

Then, changing his stance, he drew his sword back and spoke to Kyle.

“I will give it my all. A duel with no regrets.”

Sss-.

While his previous aura was already impressive, it was now several times more intense.

The mana around Mathieu vibrated, indicating the immense power he was gathering.

The tension and anticipation were so palpable that Kyle couldn’t help but let out a gasp.

‘Maybe it’s a bit tough to handle barehanded.’

He thought this as he looked at his hands, which were skinned and bleeding.

These were hands that didn’t even turn red when striking giant monsters.

Even during a recent duel with a classmate, they hadn’t sustained a single scratch.

Yet now, they were bloodied and laid bare before him.

It seemed that even Jonathan’s famously sturdy body struggled against sword aura.

He had seemed to hold up well during his spar with Commander Priscilla.

After a moment of thought, Kyle deduced the reason.

‘Did Commander Priscilla not unleash her sword aura to its maximum?’

It seemed he would need to have a proper match with her again when he returned.

He had thought sword aura could be sufficiently countered, thanks to his duel with her.

But it turned out she, like him, had been holding back slightly.

Grumbling about the lingering sense of regret, Kyle roughly wiped his hands on his clothes.

Then he looked at Mathieu, who seemed almost ready, gathering his aura.

“Are you finished, Mathieu?”

“…Thank you for waiting, Kyle.”

There was no need for thanks. If anything, Kyle felt like he should be the one expressing gratitude.

Without using any mana rampage potion or anything of the sort, he simply did his best.

He showed the true nature of a strong warrior, leaving the rest to fate.

“I have one question, Kyle.”

“Go ahead.”

“Are those two over there stronger than you?”

Kyle glanced over at his brother and sister.

They wore expressions of great interest and slight disappointment.

While he was considered a monster at the academy, he turned into a mere child in front of them.

“…They are at least twice as strong as I am.”

“I see.”

“They could be even stronger.”

“…Thank you for your answer. I feel relieved.”

With those words, Mathieu took a moment to steady his breath.

Immediately after, a beam of light shot towards Kyle as if it were an explosion.

‘Crazy.’

Instinctively, he raised his arms to protect his neck and chest.

For the first time, Kyle, who had been on the offensive, found himself defending.

Swoosh!-

He couldn’t tell if it was a sword or a sword aura that had flown at him.

What was certain was that this strike was powerful enough to send chills down his spine.

Feeling the sharp sensation, Kyle discreetly checked his arm.

Blood dripped from a deep cut that was much sharper than his previous wounds.

The injuries on his fists now seemed like mere scrapes in comparison.

A strike capable of cutting this deeply meant Kyle could no longer be complacent.

If a critical tendon, muscle, or worst-case scenario, his neck were to be cut, it would be disastrous.

No matter how strong Jonathan was, he was still human and could die from severe injuries.

…No, to be precise, it might be more accurate to say he would die.

He had never seen anyone in Jonathan die from injuries.

‘Should I use a weapon? But I don’t know how to handle any.’

After a moment of hesitation, Kyle decided to continue fighting with his bare fists.

While not knowing how to handle a weapon was a reason, there was a bigger reason.

It was because the Jonathan spirit within him didn’t require a weapon.

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‘He blocked it. With his bare hands.’

Mathieu swallowed hard, trying to suppress his heavy breathing.

Before fighting Kyle, he had assessed his opponent like this:

A warrior close to the Empire’s top ten, or perhaps slightly below.

With no information about his opponent and Kyle deliberately hiding his aura, it was understandable.

But once the duel began in earnest and Kyle started revealing his full power,

Mathieu had to revise all his assumptions.

The Kyle standing there and the two behind him were not on the same level as the Empire’s top ten.

They were strong. Much stronger than them. Incomparable, really.

Just now, it had been his best strike, containing almost everything he had.

His unique technique, Shadowless, which involved hiding all his aura and launching a sword aura attack.

It was an attack that couldn’t be read, no matter where it was aimed.

Its power was enough to make even the other Three Heroes and the Empire’s top ten break out in cold sweat.

But the young man named Kyle in front of him, although a bit late,

had accurately read the path of Shadowless and successfully defended against it.

He had only two more uses of Shadowless left. Could he deliver a critical blow within those?

Sss!!-

Mathieu swung his sword once more.

A sword strike with no trace or aura. A deadly technique that no one had been able to escape from so far.

However, Mathieu’s jaw dropped at what happened next.

Crash!!-

Just when he thought Kyle might not have been able to defend this time,

Kyle punched directly at the precise point where Shadowless was coming.

‘Is this even possible?’

It had been read. Completely read. Otherwise, this would be impossible.

Kyle had identified the exact point of the incoming attack and countered it at the optimal moment.

At that moment, Mathieu was certain he had no chance of winning.

“Grr.”

But even so, he couldn’t admit defeat so easily.

He still had one more sword strike left. And he planned to use it as a counter.

Kyle would surely switch to offense, thinking it was his chance to attack.

The moment he attacked would be when the biggest opening appeared.

Mathieu’s final plan was to launch his last strike at that precise moment to decide the match.

And just as he predicted, Kyle began to attack again.

‘Just a bit more, just a bit more.’

If his timing was off even slightly, Kyle would either reach him before he could swing his sword,

or he would give Kyle too much time to prepare.

He had to aim for that split-second opening, less than 0.1 seconds, to deliver a perfect counter.

‘…Now.’

At the most opportune moment, Mathieu swung his final strike.

It was a moment that couldn’t be more perfect, an attack that couldn’t be sharper.

He had given it his all, and there was even a glimmer of hope that he might win.

The final attack was, by all accounts, a perfect counter.

“…Ah.”

Until Kyle slipped past that counter by the narrowest of margins.

‘Did he really read even this sword path?’

It was unbelievable. How could he do that? It would have been better if it was just luck.

But such movements couldn’t be explained by mere luck.

He had predicted the path and deflected the attack with just a slight movement.

“Well fought, Mathieu.”

Kyle, who had approached him closely, offered his congratulations.

In Jonathan’s style, a congratulatory greeting was delivered with a punch.

Thud!-

“Ugh!!”

Mathieu, who had even dropped his sword, rolled on the ground and lay there.

Despite giving his all, the shock of being perfectly countered left his insides in turmoil.

It wasn’t a fatal wound, but drawing mana would be difficult for a while.

‘I lost.’

He had been defeated. Not by the Empire’s top ten, whom he considered his archrivals,

but by a suddenly appearing, very young man, and he had been utterly defeated.

His pride was completely trampled. His pride as a strong warrior was utterly shattered.

He should have felt anger, resentment towards the heavens, and tears of bitterness.

“…Hahaha. Hahahaha!!”

But instead, a hearty laugh burst out of him, and Mathieu just laughed.

Rustle-.

Even as Kyle approached, Mathieu couldn’t get up.

He didn’t have the strength to move a finger. Even holding his head up was difficult.

Honestly, he just wanted to sleep right there, but with superhuman endurance, he barely kept his eyes open.

“The title of one of the Three Heroes isn’t wasted on you.”

“…Thank you. Though it doesn’t particularly make me happy.”

“You should be happy. Those two coming over there. No, those two idiots are different from you, Mathieu.”

At those words, Mathieu turned his head, wondering what Kyle meant.

“…No.”

Perhaps witnessing his defeat, or considering it an emergency,

the remaining two of the Three Heroes, Grusi and Bernadotte, had used enhancers.

The aura they emitted felt entirely different. Strong, yet precariously unstable.

“Those idiots coming over there are disgraceful even to the name of strong warriors. It’s a shame that they share the title of the Three Heroes with someone like you, Mathieu.”

Even though an Imperial noble was insulting his comrades, Mathieu had nothing to say.

“Hup.”

Kyle plopped down on the spot and looked at the two men flying towards him.

Stretching once, he spoke in a languid tone.

“You won’t let me handle those two, will you?”

“Sorry, little brother.”

“Really sorry, Kyle. But we can’t hold back any longer.”

“Yes. I understand. Take care, brother. Sister.”