Transmigrated As The Final Villain of a Death Game-Chapter 123: The Harper Citadel Arc [ 5 ]

I finally turned around and met the woman’s gaze.

Since Clementine had kind of sprung this up on me, I didn’t have that much time to plan out the scenario.

But even so...

"How do you three feel about demons?"

All three of them scowled in unison.

The brother put his hand over his cane.

"If you approached us knowing who we were, then you should also know how we feel about demons."

I nodded and rested my chin on my palm.

"How would you feel if I told you there’s demon experimentation happening inside the cathedral?"

"I would say you’re lying."

He stood up with a scoff and slammed his cane down.

"I don’t believe you showed proper respect when you entered."

Haha.

He was telling me to stand up and bow to him to show my respect.

But the Vermillions didn’t believe in something stupid like noble etiquette.

They showed respect to one another by dueling.

We stared at each other in silence for a few brief moments.

That was when the waitress finally brought our food, including the alcohol.

Despite how tense the situation was, Clementine began to eat the food and even sip on some alcohol.

Granted, her expression soured in disgust.

She didn’t really like alcohol.

Neither did I.

Even so, I took a quick sip and then stood up, meeting the Vermillion’s gaze.

"How about a quick spar instead?"

"..."

"A spar, you say?"

The Vermillion let out a chuckle, and then soon burst into full-blown laughter.

On the other hand, I reached into my dimensional ring and pulled out my black katana.

I have yet to use it.

But I was dying to try this out:

[Bonus Feature: All energy imbued into the katana is expelled at double the power.]

Waving my katana around, I eventually pointed it at the Vermillion.

Seeing my peerless stance and my determined expression, the Vermillion immediately stopped laughing as the whole atmosphere around him shifted.

The other Vermillions also stood up, their gazes stone cold.

After a brief pause, the Vermillion in front of me spoke.

"In that case, let’s take this outside."

I nodded back at him, and the two of us, alongside the other two Vermillions, stepped outside.

Clementine only gave me a thumbs up and continued to eat.

It looked like she was confident that I would win.

Though... I kind of hoped she would watch my swordsmanship.

Either way, the four of us stepped into an empty and fairly open alleyway and then stood several meters from one another.

"My name’s Maximillian," he introduced himself.

Maximillian Vermillion.

What a tongue twister.

"Mikael."

"Right, Mikael. Let’s stop the spar the moment one of us falls off balance."

Off balance?

Not first to get a hit, or even first to disarm the other?

That works for me.

But I can’t say I wasn’t a little pissed off when I saw him only wielding one of his rapiers.

Just a little...

"Do you need a countdown?"

A faint smile appeared on Maximillian’s face.

"Of course not."

Before he could even finish his words, my katana tore through the air at a ridiculous speed, brushing Maximillian’s cheek and drawing blood.

Maximillian stood there, stunned.

"If you want to spar properly, then use both your weapons," I said.

When his blood dripped onto my katana, he finally unsheathed the rapier hidden in his cane.

The ground cracked under his heel as he launched himself forward, his two rapiers thrusting at my neck and heart.

Reacting instantly, I grabbed the katana with both hands and slashed upward.

CLANG!

CLANG!

I struck the first rapier, and then the second.

Using the momentum of both my attacks, I brought the katana down, trying to finish Maximillian off in the first exchange.

However, it seemed like all my swordsmanship victories had slightly gotten to my head, which made me forget for a moment that I was facing a capable swordsman.

And so, Maximillian’s arm twisted at an odd angle, bringing up one of his rapiers just in time to block my attack.

The second rapier pierced straight through my thigh, and it seemed like it wedged itself in there deeply.

I stepped back, thinking that Maximillian would simply retrieve his rapier.

But instead, he matched my movements perfectly, not giving me any time to breathe or relax, to the point I was left with no choice but to utilize one of my offensive stances to counter his offense.

After all, Kendo was an offense-oriented art, and I was using it for defense.

So as Maximillian’s rapier once again neared me, I struck the rapier with all my force, pushing Maximillian back slightly.

I followed up with a quick downward slash, then another, nearly shattering his defense every single time from the sheer amount of power behind my strikes.

And so, he was forced to take his rapier back and retreat for a moment.

My wound healed instantly, but I didn’t pay it any mind as I intended to finish the spar soon.

Tightening my grip on the katana, I calmed down and blankly stared at Maximillian.

He didn’t seem tired, but his right hand was trembling slightly.

That’s because he kept blocking my attacks.

So now I knew what to target.

We stared at each other for a few moments, until Maximillian engaged once again.

His attacks were fierce, powerful, and fast, aiming for my weak spots every chance he got and occasionally managing to get an attack or two in.

As much as I hated to admit it, having a swordsmanship fight this close every now and again felt nice.

Arriving in this world, I didn’t want to pursue the path of swordsmanship, and I still don’t.

But if I want to maintain my Mikael persona, I needed to get a little bit better.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

With the final clash, we skidded across the alleyway.

My clothes were torn, and I had a bunch of dried blood all over me.

Obviously, I chose not to use Atomic Stabilization, since it wouldn’t be fair at all.

As for Maximillian, his noble clothes now resembled rags, one of his rapiers was chipped, and the other had thin cracks running through it.

But more importantly, his right arm was swollen, and he was barely holding onto the rapier.

And we both knew that the next attack would decide the outcome.

Maximillian took on a different stance, one which clearly looked like it was meant to kill.

His gaze was the same.

It was as if he was determined to kill me in the next move.

I was a little flattered...

But it also got my heart pumping.

As it stood, I could tank this attack and break his arm.

However... did I really want to end such an exciting fight in such an anticlimactic way?

Of course not.

And so, I decided to try something I’ve only been playing out inside my head for the last couple of months.

Or was it years?

Just how long had I been playing as Kevin?

Just how many years has it been since I’ve memorized every single movement of his swordsmanship?

Many, many years...

And after seeing Kevin’s swordsmanship in real life too, I finally wanted to try it out.

The first form of Kevin’s swordsmanship, which focused on the fundamentals.

And it had one very neat trick.

Using 100% of your energy in the fraction of a second to propel yourself off the ground.

The Invisible Lotus.

...Whose name I won’t be using because of how edgy, cringe, and downright shit it is.

I lowered my posture to the point where I was nearly touching the cold ground with my elbows.

And then, once it seemed like Maximillian was ready, he dashed toward me.

His figure blurred, and I could barely see his rapiers anymore.

But that’s fine.

I was ready anyway.

Tensing all my leg muscles, the ground cracked all around me as the dust and debris from the nearby buildings slowly fell on me.

But just then, both the dust, the incoming debris, and even Maximillian slowed down considerably.

Only my own body moved at normal speed as I dug my heel into the ground and burst forward with my katana in hand.

And finally, I arrived in front of Maximillian’s rapiers.

CLANG!

SHATTER!

The tip of one broke off, while the other shattered.

Time seemed to be moving slower, so I glanced back and noticed how the shattered fragments of his rapier fell to the ground, and even the tip of the other rapier, which was heading straight for his left eye.

Without a moment of hesitation, I dashed back and just barely managed to catch the tip of the rapier before it pierced Maximillian’s eye.

CLATTER!

CLANK!

The fragments of Maximillian’s rapiers fell to the ground, and I stared straight into his eyes, holding the sharp rapier tip just an inch away from his eye.

Using his shock as an opportunity, I sent a kick straight to his shin, only for my kick to be caught by the Vermillion woman.

As for the other man, I felt the tip of his rapier resting on the back of my neck, drawing a little blood.

A voice soon came from behind me.

"That’s enough. It’s your win."

Just then, I heard a groan, followed by Clementine’s calm, yet menacing voice.

"Who gave you the right to put that toothpick at his throat? Know your place."

And when I finally turned around, I saw Clementine holding the Vermillion in the air by his throat, squeezing the life out of him.

Her expression was ice cold.

Yet when our eyes met and she saw that I was fine, she quickly released the helpless Vermillion, who then backed off and pointed both his rapiers at her in wariness.

The Vermillion woman did the same as she grabbed Maximillian and backed off a little before also pointing her rapiers at both of us.

"Who are you two?"

"Relax, we’re not here for you," I answered.

Then, I gently elbowed Clementine, who immediately understood what I was getting at.

"I’m sorry for my outburst. I misunderstood the situation."

Sadly, it didn’t seem like they trusted her.

Instead, they both got into their fighting stances and prepared to lunge at us.

But just then, Maximillian stood up and pushed the other two relatives aside before nodding at me.

"If you had any ulterior motives, you would have let me go blind."

He pointed at his cousin, who was nearly suffocated by Clementine.

"This is Jake Vermillion. Despite his looks, he’s quite friendly. I’m sure he’ll forgive you."

Then, he pointed at his sister.

"Cassie Vermillion. She’s an annoying imp."

"Huh? Are you-"

Jake put his hand over her mouth to shut her up, and in the meantime, Maximillian smiled at us and gestured out of the alleyway.

"Let’s go back to the inn. I’m interested in these demons you mentioned."

"..."

"Gladly."