The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 185

21. Hero: The Confronted Scoundrel

Merlin, who had considered himself the strongest on the continent a thousand years ago, was soundly defeated by a random old man.

Although he managed to seal the old man in a sword, his own soul had to be divided into seven pieces.

Waking from a long slumber, Merlin still remembered that day as if it were yesterday.

The martial artist who blocked his majestic attack, which could only be described as the fury of nature, with just a single sword.

A sword strike that filled him with hatred to the point of choking.

Seeing that strike being used by a junior half-elf and druid like himself made Merlin’s head feel like it was about to explode.

“How dare you!! Using that cursed sword to perform such petty tricks!!!”

Showers of crystal meteorites and sharp tree roots that could simultaneously slice through skin and bone.

Occasionally, golem suicide bombers rushed in, and a giant palm tried to crush its targets.

Above all, the World Tree Yggdrasil supplied infinite energy and supported an absurd amount of recovery.

Until now, all of Merlin’s opponents had been helpless against his brutal attacks.

But this guy was different.

He was using inferior druid skills that were the same as his, yet he made up for the gaps with swordsmanship.

Every time the emerald aura flashed, the tree roots targeting him were cut off.

The crescent-shaped slashes that flew on the wind split the golems in two.

The way he wielded the sword fluidly and freely reminded him of the monstrous old man from a thousand years ago.

Even the sword he held was that filthy sword that had pierced his heart, causing flames to erupt from Merlin’s eyes.

“Good, let’s see who falls first. Let’s go all the way.”

Merlin admitted that he had no means to definitively finish off his opponent.

In the end, he chose a war of attrition.

Both sides were receiving the aura of the World Tree.

Even Merlin couldn’t predict how long the fight would last.

* * *

The sun set, and night came.

Dawn ended, and daybreak arrived.

The sun in the middle of the sky became twilight.

How much time had passed?

He had no idea.

It was definitely more than a week, and he gave up counting after fifteen days.

Merlin’s attacks continued relentlessly.

I cut, slashed, stabbed, and advanced with the Aura Blade.

This process was like climbing a sand-made Mount Everest.

Each step caused my feet to sink and slip, and when a landslide occurred, I was swept away by the sand waves, returning to the starting point.

It was that difficult to get close to Merlin.

The situation was similar on the other side.

The Seven Stars were engaged in an endless battle against the constantly recovering giant of wrath.

Coco also seemed too busy fighting the golem legion to spare any attention to the other side.

[Passive Skill]

[Tenacious Life Force Activated]

[Health recovery increased.]

The passive skill that had always been a reliable insurance policy wasn’t much of an advantage this time.

The opponent had the same skill.

So, I fought for days, accumulating mental fatigue instead of physical fatigue.

Again, time passed.

Day and night changed several times.

Who am I?

Why am I fighting?

What am I trying to gain?

The questions kept piling up.

I started philosophical musings with a life-or-death battlefield before my eyes.

I don’t know why.

I was just mechanically swinging my sword and using druid skills when the thought suddenly occurred to me.

Suddenly, everything around me became too quiet.

Meteorites were still falling, mountain ranges were rising from the ground, and golems were rampaging.

Yet, no decibels of noise reached my eardrums.

Every action visible to my eyes seemed to be in slow motion.

The same was true for me.

My whole body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton.

I tried to raise my arm, but even this simple action felt so difficult.

The opponent’s attacks were slow, and my reactions were slow.

It was as if the entire world was being played back at maximum slow speed.

‘Can I move quickly by myself here?’

I gritted my teeth and strained.

I exerted myself so much that my lips bled and my muscles ruptured.

Yet, my movements were as slow and frustrating as a turtle.

‘Merlin is right in front of me.’

If it were slow motion like this, I could quickly approach and cut off his head, but my body just wouldn’t cooperate.

Why? What’s the reason?

As the question lingered in my mouth,

The world sped up again.

The strange moments came several times after that.

They came more often than before, and the frequency gradually increased.

At first, my thought process was focused on catching Merlin, but gradually it became simpler.

I saw the world more intuitively.

The fact that it was a tense moment where life and death were on the line didn’t matter.

I just focused on the moment and enjoyed the leisure.

Samadhi [a state of intense concentration].

That was my current state.

“······Ah!”

Only when I let go did I see.

It wasn’t that I hadn’t reached Merlin.

It was just that I hadn’t realized it even though I had reached him.

My body, or rather, the part that had become one with the world, was already surrounding Merlin.

It was natural for my body to be heavy.

What I moved wasn’t just a simple arm, but a part of the world.

From some point on, I had already half-shed the shell of my body and was with the world.

And the part that was connected to my body and could exert influence.

This is… Domain.

I had reached the truth of the Domain.

‘So, this was the secret.’

As enlightenment came, a thrilling electric shock struck from the crown of my head to my groin.

The goosebumps that climbed up my spine soon spread to my forearms and thighs.

[Mana Awakening sharply increases!!]

[Mixing Rate skyrockets!!]

[Mana Awakening Status.]

[Mixing Rate Status]

[Green Mana Awakening 95%] [↑20.0%]

[Blue Mana Awakening 95%] [↑20.0%]

[Dragon Blood Awakening 95%] [↑20.0%]

[Mixing Rate 90%] [↑20.0%]

Just in time, the system window rang loudly, announcing my growth.

The numbers don’t matter.

I just want to enjoy the current state.

Merlin is far away but close.

It’s a paradoxical expression, but that’s the only way to explain it.

I slowly unfold the domain.

Carefully, as if it might collapse, slowly.

Before I knew it, Merlin was inside the domain.

My domain is now filled with the intent to kill him.

I cut him down in one fell swoop.

“…Spatial Cut.”

Whoosh!!!

A transparent slash was drawn in the air.

Merlin’s head fell to the ground.

*

To put it bluntly, I failed to kill Merlin.

The Merlin whose head fell was a clone, and soon a new Merlin appeared.

It was a disappointing failure, but it was okay.

Because the balance that had lasted for dozens of days was broken for the first time.

Merlin’s face, whose clone had disappeared, was distorted like a demon.

“How dare you! How dare you! You dare to imitate that guy’s technique?”

The bombardment poured down again.

Before, I was busy scattering aura and trying to avoid it, but it’s different now.

I stood still.

The domain was already widely spread.

[Demonic Heavenly Sword Technique]

[Spatial Cut]

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!

The reason why druids are strong is that they manipulate nature as they please.

Before them, a swordsman with only a sword was utterly powerless.

But as all rivers flow into one sea.

The swordsman who reached the ultimate, although only a small part, made the world his own, and in this place, he was definitely ahead of the druid.

The domain of the sword subdued the fury of nature, and even more, it dropped Merlin’s head again.

Merlin, whose body collapsed, abandoned his clone and stepped forward with another clone.

“Hehehe, cut as much as you want! The blessing of Yggdrasil will be with me! My clones are infinite!”

“I don’t care.”

“…What?”

“Regenerate as many times as you want. Even if it’s infinite, it’s okay. I’ll keep cutting you down until you’re tired and collapse.”

A battle of mental strength? A contest of patience?

His life may have been difficult, but the essence was that of a pampered boy who had never done a single push-up or sit-up.

Unlike me, that guy had never trained his mind through his body.

“Let’s go all the way, as you said.”

[Demonic Heavenly Sword Technique]

[Spatial Cut]

[Spatial Cut]

[Spatial Cut]

[Spatial Cut]

[Spatial Cut]

[Spatial Cut]

Merlin’s head couldn’t stay attached to his body.

I swung calmly and silently.

My feet were on the ground, but the domain continued to move.

After repeating that for a full day, I noticed a subtle change.

“Hey… your clone summoning seems a bit slower?”

“Nonsense!!”

“You’ll see.”

Continuing the repetitive work.

As expected, my prediction was correct.

Clone production slowed down.

It was a very subtle change, but it was clear compared to the beginning.

In the end, Merlin’s recovery couldn’t keep up with my attack power.

“Damn it!!”

Merlin spat out profanity.

Now he was focusing all his energy on summoning clones.

The meteorites falling from the sky, the mountain ranges changing the terrain, and the thousands of golems all disappeared.

Only the World Tree Yggdrasil was barely holding on, but even that was now approaching its limit.

Whoosh!!

I felt it instinctively.

This was the last time, and the guy in front of me was Merlin’s main body.

Now he can no longer summon clones.

I withdrew the domain and stood in front of Merlin.

Merlin, who was leaning against the World Tree, was bleeding from his mouth and chuckling.

“Kikikikik, cough! Cough! Keukeukeuk!”

“What’s so funny?”

“To have prolonged my pathetic life just to be pushed back by a mere junior…”

“There’s no need to say that. The life I saw of you was valuable enough. However, the numerous sins you committed must be repaid even in death.”

“Sins? Humans and elves should pay for their sins. I am just a victim and a sufferer. What exactly did I do wrong?”

I had no choice but to answer Merlin’s words like this.

“Do you perhaps remember the appearance of the cloth merchant’s daughter you killed a thousand years ago?”

“What?”

“Is it too long ago? Then do you know how many merfolk the Kraken you released ate?”

“……”

“Or most recently, if there is even one name you remember among the 500,000 deaths in the Bryunak Kingdom that you ordered Wrath to destroy, tell me.”

Merlin remained silent.

There is no more value in arguing.

“Farewell.”

Whoosh!

The Demonic Heavenly Sword that was embedded in Merlin’s heart a thousand years ago now cut off his neck. Finally, the goal was accomplished.

When Merlin died, the blessing of Yggdrasil also disappeared.

At that point, the victory or defeat was decided.

The Seven Stars hugged each other and cheered, reveling in the joy of victory.

The arduous struggle that had continued like eternity was a pain and ordeal that even the stars of the continent would have a hard time experiencing in their lifetime.

“It’s too early to be happy.”

I calmed the excited Seven Stars.

There are still remnants left.

The giant Wrath was surrounded by everyone.

The giant, who was not receiving the recovery power of Yggdrasil, was like a rat in a trap.

“……”

The giant Adam looked around.

He finally knelt down.

“I surrender.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. You were chosen by the Mother Tree like a benefactor. Now that the benefactor is dead, I will respect your choice.”

“What does that mean?”

“I will die if you tell me to die, and I will live if you tell me to live.”

John, who was next to him, spat and became excited.

“That guy is a mass murderer. A monster that shouldn’t exist. Lord Belanus would also not want that giant to live. Let’s kill him right now.”

“I agree with John. There’s no good in letting such a monster roam around.”

“The loser in a life-or-death battle is unconditionally killed. It’s a custom of the desert.”

Orneo and Gazel also sided with John.

I didn’t particularly want to keep that giant alive either.

I didn’t know where he would cause trouble again.

Just as I was about to kill him,

[Please save the poor child.]

A voice was heard from somewhere.

“Who just spoke? Saying to save him?”

“What are you talking about?”

“…Did I hear wrong?”

[Please save Adam. I beg you.]

It wasn’t a hallucination.

Someone was talking to me through consciousness.

“Who are you?”

It was a calm female voice, so it was immediately distinguishable from the rough voice of the Demonic Heavenly Spirit.

[Please look to the right.]

I turned my head, but there was nothing in sight.

A vast, desolate field spread out.

Only the World Tree Yggdrasil stood proudly.

Could it be…

[Druid, you are looking at me.]

The World Tree Yggdrasil.

She was looking at me.