Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 136

Melchior was a consistently upright man. All he had trained in his life was basic swordsmanship, the foundation of the sword.

Vertical slash, horizontal slash, thrust.

He repeated these simple movements thousands, no, tens of thousands of times every day.

A grueling training regimen that would break the body of an ordinary human before they could grow stronger.

However, his body, said to be descended from the giant Vulcan [Roman god of fire and metalworking], was as strong as steel.

He didn’t look much different from humans, but his lifespan and stamina were those of a giant.

He surpassed the limits of basic swordsmanship just 10 years after taking up the sword. Yet, he continued to swing his sword relentlessly.

And the moment basic swordsmanship reached 13 stars, his body began to emanate Aura [a manifestation of inner energy] simply by swinging the sword.

And 50 years passed.

Melchior was able to rise to the rank of Sword Master purely through basic swordsmanship.

His consistency wasn’t limited to swordsmanship.

He had lived for nearly 100 years, but he had loved only one person.

The Emperor of Britannia bestowed the title of ‘Diligence’ upon Melchior, who became a Sword Master with only basic swordsmanship.

And he held a grand ball to announce the emergence of a new virtue throughout the country.

At that event, Melchior met Lucia Auguste von Algedi, his lifelong partner, and fell in love at first sight.

The two, who had vowed to marry, spent dreamlike days together.

And another 20 years passed. Lucia before his eyes was still beautiful.

He would do anything to protect her.

Melchior was a consistent man, and even though he had lost his mind and become a Berserker [a warrior who fights with uncontrollable rage], he loved Lucia more than when he first met her.

“It’s alright, Lucia······.”

Melchior, his arm severed, worried about his lover’s safety instead of groaning in pain.

However, nothing but madness could be felt in his bloodshot eyes, where no white could be seen.

A clear sneer appeared on the Shadow’s face, who had transformed into Lucia.

Melchior, not even understanding that his lover was dead.

He was sacrificing his body to protect an illusion that only resembled her.

That was the end of the man once called a hero.

The fact was so funny that he wanted to grab his stomach and roll on the floor.

“Melchior! What are you doing! You got your arm cut off because you were distracted! Kill that man!”

“Lu, Lucia······. If that’s what you wish, anything······.”

Melchior nodded slowly, emitting an incredibly strong murderous aura.

The biggest advantage and weakness of a Berserker is that they attack the enemy without regard for their own body. Even if an arm is cut off or a hole is pierced in the heart, the sight of them wielding a sword is madness itself.

However, their combat power drops dramatically when their body is destroyed.

“You must think you’ve won! But this level of injury is nothing to Melchior!”

“You’ve become quite talkative since becoming a woman.”

“You pest, you’re completely puffed up······. I’ll give you credit for cutting off Melchior’s arm. But can you still have that relaxed expression after seeing this?”

Kuuuuuung······!

The entire earth Melchior was standing on began to tremble in response to his Aura.

And Melchior’s right arm, which had disappeared somewhere, had returned to his side.

Crack, snap-!

The muscles of the arm, severed from the shoulder, twisted wildly, finding their original position.

In an instant, Melchior’s severed arm returned to normal.

“The enhanced strength and stamina of a Berserker! And the regenerative ability to not die even if the body is turned to dust! Melchior is the closest being to a Grand Sword Master!”

It was as if she was boasting about how great her weapon was.

There was no chance of winning head-on. He couldn’t even run away.

Swish!

Melchior’s greatsword struck the space where Cainchel had been just a moment ago.

As soon as he stepped back, the air in front of his body cracked with a snap.

Kukukukukung!

The building Cainchel had his back to was shattered by the shockwave alone. He was no match for him, let alone cross swords.

Even a sword clad in Glaize [a magical enhancement] wouldn’t be able to block Melchior’s strike.

With his current skills, it was impossible to defeat this man. But for some reason, he didn’t feel like he would lose.

@

Suddenly, he remembered the back of Sword Master Hector, whom he had seen for the first time.

At that time, he seemed like an insurmountable mountain.

But he didn’t feel that overwhelming gap from Melchior in front of him.

It was as if he was facing a stepping stone he would have to step on someday.

‘Think, Cainchel. There must be a way. That man is no longer a Sword Master. He’s just a monster who has given himself over to madness······.’

He couldn’t beat a Sword Master.

But it was different if it was a monster. There must be a way.

“Sherbet-!”

Cainchel poured Aura containing flames into Durandal [his sword] to the limit.

Durandal devoured it greedily and emitted extreme cold.

The ground he was standing on froze in an instant. But even that didn’t stop Melchior’s charge.

Puhwaak!

With one horizontal slash from Melchior, the cold emitted by Durandal, as well as the atmosphere, exploded.

The shockwave shot out as if to tear Cainchel’s body apart.

Reflexively, he raised Aegis [his shield] clad in five layers of meringue [a protective barrier], but even that couldn’t stop it.

“Kuh······.”

Cainchel bit his lip.

The shockwave pierced through the armor he was wearing and broke two of his ribs.

If he pulled up his Aura to the limit, he could keep up with Melchior’s speed.

But the efficiency was too bad.

Could he last even one more minute with the massive Aura he had obtained from devouring dragon meat?

‘No, if I replenish my Aura with the curry I’ve prepared for emergencies, I can last up to two minutes······.’

But nothing would change. He would only die a little later.

‘······Wait a minute.’

At that moment, Cainchel’s eyes widened.

Melchior, who had become a Berserker. The regenerative ability that made his body invincible.

And Cainchel knew of a weapon that could deal with all of that.

Kwang!

Cainchel muttered, dodging Melchior’s horizontal slash, which was still emitting tremendous power.

‘That’s right, curry!’

If he could just feed it to Melchior, the curse that was consuming his body would be lifted.

What would happen if he found out that the lover he wanted to protect even after becoming a Berserker was just an assassin in disguise?

At least, wouldn’t there be a chance to escape from here?

“Yes, Melchior. Kill him, get rid of that pest!”

Cainchel activated his boosters towards Lucia, who was shouting.

And as he was about to swing his Aura-filled sword, the strongest guardian moved to protect Lucia.

This was the biggest weakness Melchior had.

‘Now!’

Cainchel kicked off the ground and ran in the opposite direction. Even if Melchior had tremendous speed, he had thrown himself to protect Lucia.

A very slight gap was created.

He reached into his two-dimensional pocket and took out the curry he had put in, plate and all.

Lucia’s eyes widened.

He feinted an attack on her, and all he did was take out curry?

“A, are you out of your mind······.”

But Melchior’s condition was strange.

“Sa, beloved Lucia. Do you smell something delicious······. from somewhere? Let’s eat to, gether. I’m sure you’ll like it too······.”

Melchior put down the greatsword he was holding and began to look for Lucia.

Before he knew it, the madness had disappeared from his eyes. His eyes were filled with longing for his lover.

Lucia muttered with a flustered expression.

“Wh, what is this nonsense······.”

The curse that turned Melchior into a Berserker was not some cheap trick that would be lifted over time.

It was an original that would never be lifted until the moment his life was cut off.

But it was about to be lifted.

“Melchior! Cut down that man! Don’t put anything he gives you in your mouth!”

But Melchior no longer obeyed her words.

“Wh, where are you, Lucia? I can’t hear your voice all of a sudden. We promised to always be together.”

Red tears were flowing from Melchior’s eyes. It obscured his vision.

Perhaps Melchior knew deep down.

That his beloved lover Lucia was already a cold corpse. But he couldn’t accept it and became a Berserker who gave himself over to rage.

That curse was slowly being lifted by the 6-star curry Cainchel had made.

“Kkeueueueuk······!”

Lucia, no, Shadow, looked at the hand with the magic seal engraved on it with an anxious expression.

It would be a huge mistake, but she had to get out of here.

Just smelling it was causing this situation. If Melchior ate that curry, he would come to his senses.

She had to stop that no matter what.

Shadow finally made a decision.

If the curry was the problem, she had to cover his mouth and block his nose so he couldn’t eat it.

Now was the time to retreat.

Crack!

Shadow snapped one of her fingers.

Then she and Melchior disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.

@

Cainchel smacked his lips after confirming that Melchior had disappeared.

If he had had 30 more seconds, he could have fed Melchior the curry. Shadow’s judgment was faster than he thought.

‘She must have seen that the curry was weakening the curse.’

His stomach growled because he had used his Aura to the limit.

Cainchel scooped up the curry he had taken out to feed Melchior and put it in his mouth.

Then, the strong and spicy aroma created by the combination of numerous spices spread throughout his mouth.

“······As expected, the curry I make is the best.”

But this revealed that curry could even break Melchior’s curse.

If they met again, he would definitely prepare countermeasures.

Because of Sword Master Melchior, Count Algedi was able to commit such outrageous tyranny.

If Melchior was defeated, the enemy’s forces would be reduced by more than half.

‘I can leave the rest to the Deus Church.’

Count Algedi is cooperating with the Seven Sins Church to spread the curse of the Seven Deadly Sins.

The existence of the cursed Melchior alone is enough evidence that he committed heresy.

‘But first, I have to find a way to defeat Melchior.’

The best way is to feed him curry.

But if that’s impossible, he needs a way to restrain Melchior.

‘Restraining a Sword Master······. Something good······. Ah!’

A very special magical tool came to Cainchel’s mind.

Draupnir [a magical bracelet].

A treasure that devours the wearer’s Aura and turns it into a golden bracelet.

Could he use that to neutralize Melchior’s power?

‘He can just take it off, but Melchior is a Berserker. He can’t make such rational judgments.’

Moreover, he learned through today’s battle that he has a weakness called Lucia.

Could he use Draupnir and Lucia to bind Melchior’s power?

“······If I had known this would happen, I would have taken that bracelet.”

Blue Mountain, the owner of it, said he was going to the Goodblood Auction House to sell the weapon he had.

There, a large underground auction is held once a month, where things that cannot be sold in the open are traded.

‘If I hurry, I can barely get there before that.’

Save the cursed Melchior and defeat Count Algedi.

Then he would have accomplished a feat that no one would believe was done by a mere free knight.

How would Emperor Aslan and Hector react?

Goodblood Auction House #1