A Betrayed Master Will Not Return

7 – The Greatest Leader (2)

“Huff… huff… huff…”

Gabriel, panting heavily, ceased her attacks. She had failed to land a decisive blow on Gelard, unable to carry out any meaningful strikes, her spirit crushed.

And then.

Gelard asked her in a quiet voice.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“…Ugh…”

It was almost a violation, the level of humiliation she felt at this point.

From within that, Gabriel squeezed out her next words with difficulty.

“I… lost…”

-Clang!

With those words, she dropped her sword and slumped to the ground. Having completely lost the vigorous demeanor she had just moments before, she asked Gelard in a weak voice.

“Hey… am I… weak?”

“…”

“Answer me. Am I… really that weak? To the point where I don’t even have the worth to attack?”

It would have been better if I had taken a clean hit and fallen in the middle instead.

However, despite that, his actions, which showed an overwhelming difference as if playing with a toy, were approaching Gabriel’s dignity as a huge wound.

At that moment.

Towards her, Geralt spoke with a calm voice.

“It’s not that you were worthless, it’s just that there was no reason.”

“….Wha…what?”

Gabriel expressed doubt at his incomprehensible words.

To this, Geralt spoke seriously as he put his sword back into its sheath.

“We are devil hunters who are facing a mission. In a situation like this, do I really need to explain how foolish it is to shed meaningless blood for a duel?”

“!”

Gabriel began to be captured by a different kind of astonishment from just a moment ago due to Geralt’s words.

She was Gabriel, who until just a moment ago had sincerely thought of killing him and had rushed at him.

Even while facing such a person,

This man was considering the future events without losing his composure, consistent from the beginning till now.

A gaze that could calmly look at the situation along with overwhelming skill.

Not only strength that befits the title of the strongest,

But also the appearance of a former leader who once led the northern devil hunters.

“Didn’t they say not to judge people by appearances… Geralt Mura… He is rumored to be amazing… No. He might be an extraordinary person…”

With that, she felt a hidden sense of shame for her reckless actions.

Gabriel looked at the man in front of him with a completely different gaze.

No, he started to see his leader.

“If you understand, then get up. There’s a lot to do.”

“…Understood, leader.”

Gabriel slowly got up from his seat and replied in a subdued voice.

Gellert let out a small sigh and went back inside the building, with Eli following behind him, leaving the message to take a break for the day.

*

“Ga… Gabriel, looking so pathetic like that…”

“Hmm! Indeed, one must reach that level to be called the strongest Devil Hunter.”

The one-on-one match ended with Gellert’s overwhelming victory.

As they watched, Nico and Jeanne expressed pure admiration.

Honestly, they did have some doubts about Gellert, not as much as Gabriel, but witnessing the scene where he defeated Gabriel without a scratch was enough to neatly erase those feelings in their hearts.

“It turned out well. Actually, we were quite worried about our involvement in the north as central members. But now that we have someone reliable to rely on, there’s no need to worry much, right?”

“I… I think so too. If we’re with someone like him… we can kill even more demons, right?”

“Ah…”

Nico spoke with a timid smile.

Then, Zhanneu briefly seemed to smile awkwardly, but quickly corrected his expression and continued speaking with a bright demeanor.

“That’s right. No matter what, it’s clear that working has become much easier. You can expect quite a bit.”

“Yes, it seems… that way.”

With those words, the two approached Gabriel, who had been looking towards the direction where Gellert had disappeared with a slightly dazed expression.

*

Parry.

One of the combat techniques that involves deflecting the opponent’s attacks using one’s own body or weapon.

It is described as a counterattack technique in which the opponent’s attacks are evaded in various games, creating an opening. The same was true here.

Unlike a typical guard, it can almost reduce the damage I receive to 0 and expose the opponent’s vulnerability, making it a combat technique.

However,

Apart from these advantages, parrying had a considerable difficulty in that it had to counterattack at the precise timing of the opponent’s attack. If failed, it could expose my own vulnerability and cause even greater damage.

Nevertheless, despite these weaknesses,

I successfully resolved this situation by literally repeating parrying endlessly.

In a game, it would have had little meaning other than prolonging the battle without counterattacks.

However, this was not a game, but reality, and furthermore, it was not an official battle but a sparring.

The goal was not to kill my opponent but to break their will to fight.

Moreover, since my opponent was soon to participate together as my “subordinate,”

It was not easy for me to do so while trying to minimize the injuries.

“Even if I shoot the gun gently… Isn’t that Elira girl overestimating me a bit too much?”

At least, using only basic swordsmanship, there would not have been much difficulty in the so-called “Phase 1” state in a game.

However,

Once the stamina is reduced by about 30% in the game,

it transitions to the second phase where something resembling magic starts to be unleashed,

making it difficult for any country to deal with it flexibly.

“Victory itself wasn’t the problem, but this part was the most difficult.

It’s not easy to simply overpower someone who is using magic that we’ve never seen before, no matter the country.”

For this reason, in order to block any potential variables,

I successfully broke the opponent’s fighting spirit with endless parries alone.

Although there was a sense of danger, it was the most reliable method.

Feeling satisfied with the fact that I was able to solve the difficult spell of the opponent without any issues,

I decided to return to my room just like this for today.

At that moment,

“Well done. Honestly, even though it’s a bit sudden, you dealt with it well.”

Elly spoke with her usual relaxed smile.

Seeing her like this, I began to feel a slight annoyance brewing in my heart.

As she said, the sparring session that suddenly took place was indeed necessary to some extent,

given that it helps to get into the mood.

However, even so, from my perspective, it was difficult to casually overlook her actions without any prior discussion of this event.

“Even if it’s something like being hired, it’s still awkward to handle it like this.

At the very least, I should prevent her from spontaneously creating these sudden situations.”

Furthermore, if I don’t firmly assert myself, I might end up being taken advantage of later on.

Since it’s a perfect timing right after showing my strength, I spoke to Elly in a stern voice.

“It’s not something that can be easily passed off as ‘well done,’ is it?”

“What?”

“As I mentioned earlier, we are currently preparing for a battle against demons. It is quite displeasing that someone decided to take matters into their own hands without prior discussion. Luckily, the difference in strength saved us from a major crisis, but do you not realize that things could have gone terribly wrong?”

“Um…”

Ellie showed a slightly surprised reaction to my words.

I stopped in my tracks and looked directly at her beautiful face as I spoke.

“I hope nothing like this happens again. Although they are not my disciples, the other Devil Hunters share the same sentiment and do not wish to engage in dangerous activities with their juniors.”

My words mixed a certain level of sincerity and bluff.

However, in response to this,

Ellie erased her smile from just earlier and began to maintain a serious expression.

“…I see. I admit my mistake in acting too impulsively.”

Thankfully, Ellie accepted my words without much resistance.

Satisfied with this fact, I felt a slight sense of relief knowing that such bothersome incidents would not occur in the future.

However…

“I apologize. I was reckless in various ways during this incident. I would like to apologize in any way possible.”

“Huh?”

Along with those words, Ellie slightly bowed her head in front of me.

Despite her young and beautiful appearance, the fact that a person of such high status as the ruler of a country would lower themselves to this extent surprised and somewhat embarrassed me.

“Even if it was necessary, my mistake caused discomfort to Gallard Gyeong. Therefore, I should be responsible for it.”

“…”

Her reaction seemed more serious than I had anticipated,

Feeling that the situation might become strange if I delved too deeply into it, I received a sense that things were not going as expected.

He spoke to her with a lighter voice, “There’s no need for that. While the method was misguided, your intentions were not ill. A promise that it won’t happen again is enough for me.”

“…Is that so.”

A simple statement from me, deeming her grand apology unnecessary.

However, it seemed to somehow disappoint Ellie, who had until that point worn either a gentle smile or an impassive face—a starkly different expression.

Feeling slightly guilty about this, I turned to leave for my room.

That’s when…

“Lady Gellard?”

“? What are…!?”

In the next moment, unexpectedly, Ellie grasped my hand—a hand so large in comparison to hers.

And at the same time, I was seized by a trance-like sensation, entranced by her soft and incredibly warm touch that slowly wound around my hand.

Continuing, she moved her hand.

Together, our hands formed a shape.

Hooking our pinky fingers,

slowly,

creating a shape with our thumbs touching.

“…El…li?”

“It’s a promise.”

“!…”

At those words

.

Ellie once again began to show a gentle smile on her face.

More than usual,

a smile that seemed even more beautiful.