My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 211

211. Shackles Called the Past (1)

In the shaking vision.

Clang─!

A chilling metallic sound arose from the clashing swords.

A collision of power against power.

Chilling fragments of power scattered in all directions.

Crack!

Cyan strained his legs and gritted his teeth.

Rosewell, visible in his sight, remained calm.

No bewilderment or surprise.

Even though Cyan had blocked his attack, Rosewell showed no particular emotion.

Was he not letting his guard down?

Or was he acknowledging Cyan as he was now?

Crack, crack, crack─!

The force pressing down on the sword grew even fiercer.

Cyan could immediately grasp Rosewell’s level.

‘Strong.’

He was strong.

Rosewell, at the highest level of Expert.

It couldn’t simply be dismissed as the highest level.

A realm of Master that surpassed it.

Rosewell had one foot in the realm of Master.

On the other hand, Cyan was not.

He possessed the power to reach Master, but his mastery itself was lacking.

A level that couldn’t yet be called Master.

To put it bluntly, he could be said to be just mindlessly strong.

Rosewell was a step above the current Cyan.

And that fact dredged up a certain memory.

A memory from Cyan’s childhood.

A memory of always being ignored, scorned, and bullied.

And Cyan as a child, unable to do anything.

As time passed, it became a thing of the past.

Cyan was completely different from the Cyan of then.

However, Rosewell remained the same.

He was always stronger than Cyan, and still strong.

Could he do it?

Could he win?

In the past, he couldn’t even think such a thing.

Even now, with the passage of time, he couldn’t easily nod his head.

Perhaps….

Cyan gritted his teeth.

He cut off the *잡념* [japnyum – idle thoughts].

He didn’t think.

The past was just the past.

It was nothing more than a bygone fact.

Now, he only focused on what was in front of him.

He confronted the reality of the present.

Crack, crack, crack─!!

Cyan’s sword and Rosewell’s sword intertwined.

Fragments of that terrible clash of power scattered in all directions.

The remnants of power that spread out roughly overturned the surface of the earth.

‘This guy….’

Rosewell glared.

Reacting to the previous attack, and even not being pushed back in the current power struggle.

It wasn’t his full strength, but it was still a sincere blow.

Even so, Cyan didn’t budge.

Clang!

With a heavy sound, Rosewell’s body was pushed back greatly.

His body, caught in the force, staggered and swayed.

He barely managed to regain his balance by exerting force.

A bitter taste of blood was felt between his gritted teeth.

He turned his head sharply, directly into his vision.

Whoosh─!

Cyan’s body momentarily scattered into darkness.

At the same time as scattering, darkness gathered behind Rosewell.

And a single blade rushed in.

Bang─!

“… …!”

This time, Rosewell’s eyes widened greatly.

To be honest, reacting was all he could do.

Cyan’s movement of turning into darkness.

He could barely react to that bizarre movement by pushing his senses to the limit.

Perhaps if he hadn’t pushed his senses to the maximum….

Maybe he would have missed the sign.

That’s why even blocking it was difficult.

‘Besides, this power.’

It wasn’t just the power of magic.

Pure physical strength.

Rosewell was being pushed back by the difference in that power.

Rosewell completely erased the image of Cyan that he had held in his head.

But that was all.

Rosewell didn’t think he would lose.

He acknowledged the current Cyan, but that was it.

Cyan was Cyan, and in the end, he was just a loser who couldn’t surpass himself.

If they fought like this, the victory would eventually be his.

But there was no reason to waste time.

“Nathan!”

Rosewell called out to Nathan in a loud voice.

The current Cyan was struggling to block even him alone.

If Nathan joined in here, the result would be obvious.

Rosewell swung his sword greatly to create an opening for Nathan.

쾅─!

The clash of power momentarily shook his vision.

The gap in Cyan that was visible as a result.

But… why?

Nathan didn’t move.

To be precise, Nathan couldn’t move.

It wasn’t that Nathan didn’t know.

That Rosewell had created an opening for Cyan.

And it wasn’t that he couldn’t see that gap.

There were gaps everywhere that he could squeeze into right now.

Even if he couldn’t see a gap, he could just create one himself.

But Nathan couldn’t move rashly.

Strangely… he wasn’t confident.

That he could squeeze into that gap and cut down Cyan, that is, any certainty.

He felt an inexplicable ominous feeling.

The hideous darkness pouring out from Cyan’s whole body.

That darkness was repainting the darkness of the forest even darker and spreading out.

An ominous feeling as if it contained all the horrors of this world.

Was it the power of evil (惡)?

No, it wasn’t that kind of thing.

Something more fundamental.

That’s why he couldn’t understand.

Some kind of ominous feeling that was felt from Cyan now.

Nathan couldn’t understand what that ominous feeling was based on.

“What are you doing!!”

Suddenly.

Nathan finally came to his senses at Rosewell’s cry that sounded like it was piercing his eardrums.

Useless thoughts.

Nathan gritted his teeth at his own thoughts.

Cyan was still Cyan, although he had changed from before.

That loser who used to be beaten by him in the past.

Tap!

Nathan rushed towards Cyan.

In response, Rosewell also threw his body towards Cyan.

At the same time, the two men’s hands moved.

Even though the distance was not enough, they both swung their weapons.

콰콰콰콰콰콰콱─!

The sound tore apart, and the sword strikes raged.

Splitting into dozens of branches and hundreds of sword strikes.

It split again and became thousands of sword strikes.

A chilling power that tore apart all directions.

“Die now.”

Rosewell smiled.

#

콰콰콰콰콰콰콱─!

The roar heard from afar.

Hans’ steps stopped abruptly at the roar heard through the forest’s echo.

Hans’ stopped steps did not move easily.

An ominous feeling that dug between his thoughts.

Even if he tried to shake it off, it kept digging into his head.

“Even now.”

The voice heard at that moment.

“Shouldn’t we go help…?”

Bonita was there with a dark expression.

It wasn’t just Bonita.

Maxim, Thomas, and Amelia as well.

Everyone was looking at Hans with dark expressions.

The ominous feeling that was *떠오르는* [tteooreuneun – rising] into Hans’ head now.

Because they were all feeling that ominous feeling.

Hans slowly turned his head and looked back.

A distant vision, a landscape of a forest covered in darkness.

콰콰콰콰콰콰콱─!

A terrible roar was heard through it.

The forest’s remains were unconditionally smashed, and a hideous murderous intent was felt at the end of his skin.

What kind of fight was taking place there.

Honestly, Hans couldn’t imagine it.

That’s why Cyan was doing some kind of fight.

He could only vaguely imagine it.

He knew.

That Cyan was not the Cyan of the past.

But Hans couldn’t easily remove the darkness cast on his face.

Rosewell and Nathan.

Having briefly crossed swords, they were strong.

They belonged to the strongest opponents within the category of humans.

Not as much as Kai, but they were both geniuses who inherited the blood of Elantur.

No, Kai was abnormally strong.

Rosewell and Nathan could also be said to be geniuses among geniuses.

Cyan was not the Cyan of the past.

Even though Rosewell and Nathan were not the same as before.

Cyan would be able to face them.

But….

Rosewell and Nathan.

The main culprits of the trauma that *괴롭히던* [goerophideon – tormented] Cyan in the past.

Of course, it was only a thing of the past.

Now it was nothing more than a past event.

But he wasn’t the person involved.

A memory that he couldn’t forget even if he wanted to.

Pretending not to be, pretending to be calm.

Cyan was generous, but Hans knew.

Others may not know, but Hans, who had been with Cyan all his life, knew.

That Cyan was not free from that memory.

A memory that he couldn’t forget even if he wanted to.

Trauma is like that.

Cyan was just a young Cyan in front of Rosewell and Nathan.

To be exact, he couldn’t shake off that thought.

Even with the same skill, even with superior skill.

He would be intimidated and *움츠러들* [umcheureodeul – shrink back].

So shouldn’t we go help him now?

Hans had no choice but to *고민하다 심히, 심히* [gominhada simhi, simhi – worry deeply, deeply].

A hesitant step.

A hesitant heart.

How much time had passed like that.

Thud.

Hans finally turned his back.

He believed.

That this thought might be wrong.

It may have been a judgment made in error with hopeful thinking.

Still, he believed.

Cyan would do it.

He would definitely overcome it.

The current Cyan was the lord of Ruben.

He wasn’t the young Cyan that Hans had to take care of.

Cyan would cut off the moments trapped in the past.

The shackles called the past.

As he had done so far.

And as he would continue to do in the future.

Cyan would definitely overcome the wall in front of him.

“We continue to track Sören.”

Hans finally hurried his steps.

#

There was no gap to escape.

Cyan clenched his sword tightly.

It was true that he was feeling a sense of pressure without any gaps.

That didn’t mean he was going to give in here.

The senses amplified by the power of the Elixir.

The power and reflexes amplified by Megingjörðr [a belt that doubles the wearer’s strength in Norse mythology].

It allowed him to recognize and react to all the thousands of sword strikes that were not even visible.

Thud.

Cyan’s breathing stopped, and a thick tinnitus was heard in his ears.

No noise was heard.

No smell.

His vision was gradually blurring.

However, only the figures of Rosewell and Nathan were clearly visible.

A speed that surpassed the senses.

Clang──crack──clang!

The sound stopped.

As if the sound couldn’t keep up with Cyan’s speed, it was *끊어지고* [kkeuneojigo – cut off] and *베어졌다* [beeojyeotda – slashed].

Clang──crack─clang!

In the afterimages being created, the strikes that shouldn’t be connected were connected.

The fragments of power that were bounced off scattered in all directions, deeply scratching the surface of the earth.

“… …!!”

“… …!!”

Rosewell and Nathan’s eyes widened greatly at the same time.

Was he recognizing each of the thousands of sword strikes while enduring the pressure?

It was amazing control and reflexes.

The utilization of the body was *뛰어넘고* [ttwieoneomgo – surpassing] the category of humans.

콰아아아아앙!

Cyan’s sword, which was slammed into the floor, *폭사* [poksah – exploded] the earth and *쩌저적* [jjeojeojeok – cracking sound].

Hundreds of cracks like spider webs arose and split.

The *끓던* [kkeulhdeon – boiling] magic power was swept away by the waves of darkness and disappeared.

It broke down the structure and flow of power and created a huge gap.

Tap.

Cyan jumped forward, *비집듯* [bijipdeut – squeezing] into that gap.

Nathan reached out his hand again.

A clear blue light flickered on Nathan’s sword in his hand.

And.

콰아아앙!

The space exploded.

Still, he didn’t back down.

Cyan didn’t stop moving.

Slash!

A chilling cutting sound was heard, and red blood spurted from Nathan’s shoulder.

A tingling pain arose, but it wasn’t a deeply cut wound.

However, Nathan felt some kind of anxiety that surpassed the pain.

‘Just now that was…!’

The limits that a human being has.

A speed and strike that *아득히 넘어선* [adeukhi neomeoseon – far surpassed] that range.

Whoosh──!!

That ominous feeling spread from the darkness that *드리우는* [deuriuneun – casts] once again.

“Wake up!”

Rosewell’s *일갈* [ilgal – shout] exploded.

Blue magic power with heavy power.

Nathan hurriedly *끌어모았다* [kkeureomoatta – gathered] the power he had.

It was an unusual energy, but Cyan didn’t avoid it.

Cyan changed his movement and pulled his sword back long.

A huge force was *응축되었다* [eungchukdoeeotda – condensed] in the sword that had been pulled back once.

The surrounding space was *일그러진다* [ilgeureojinda – distorted] around the *응축된* [eungchukdoen – condensed] force.

A single stab (衝).

Cyan *터트리며* [teoteurimyeo – exploding] that force at once and *쏘아져* [ssoajyeo – shot] towards Nathan.

As he faced him, power *터져나왔다* [teojyeonaotda – burst out] from Nathan.

쩌──────엉!

A terrible clash of power *터져나오며* [teojyeonaomyeo – bursting out] the earth *요동쳐왔다* [yodongchyeowatda – trembled].

As a result, Cyan failed to pierce Nathan.

“This bastard!”

It was because Rosewell’s *개입으로* [gaeibeuro – intervention] he couldn’t complete the strike.

Crack, crack, crack─!!

The swords of Cyan and Rosewell *맞닿은* [matdaheun – touched].

쿠콰콰콰콰콰콰!!!

In an instant, a terrible energy *폭사* [poksah – exploded] from Cyan’s whole body.

The darkness that *터져나온* [teojyeonaon – burst out] from Cyan’s whole body *뒤바꾼다* [dwibakkunda – reverses] the light of the world.

As if the light had been swallowed, the world was *순식간에 새까맣게 물들었다* [sunshigane saekkamake muldeureotda – instantly dyed pitch black].

Nathan could feel that this entire space was *잠식되었다* [jamsikdoeeotda – encroached] by Cyan’s influence.

“What the hell is this…!”

Nathan’s eyes were *부릅, 떠졌다* [bureup, tteojyeotda – wide, opened] so that they tore apart.

Clear *경악* [gyeongak – astonishment] was *서려있었다* [seoryeoisseotda – lingered] in the sound of *내지르는* [naejiureuneun – shouting] as if he was screaming.

The amount of magic power that humans could never imagine.

Even if he only *따지면* [ttajimyeon – considered] the power of simple magic power, even Nathan couldn’t *따라갈* [ttaragal – follow] that power.

Even if he joined forces with Rosewell, he couldn’t easily nod his head.

The continent’s number one sword, Durak Elantur.

Would Durak be able to do it?

Well.

Nathan just shook his head like that.

And that was something that could never happen.

Even the thought of, well, was ridiculous.

“How dare you…!!!”

Nathan gritted his teeth.

At the same time, 꽈꽈꽝!

A terrible magic power *폭사* [poksah – exploded] around Nathan with a sound as if the world was collapsing.

At the same time, the surroundings were *물들었다* [muldeureotda – dyed] with blue light.

“Keep pushing!”

As if adding to that power, Rosewell *압박해들어갔다* [appakaedeureogatda – pressured] Cyan.

Blue light was *더해지며* [deoheajimyeo – added] to blue light, *발했다* [balhaetda – emitted] a light that seemed like it would blind just by *바라보는* [baraboneun – looking].

Jet-black darkness and bright blue light *얽히고 섥히며 충돌한다* [eolkhigo seolkhimyeo chungdolhanda – entangled and collided].

And 찰나 [chalna – moment].

콰자자자자자자작─!!

The surrounding space was *모조리 할퀴어져 비산했다* [mojori halkwieojyeo bisanhaetda – completely scratched and scattered].

Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands.

The countless sword strikes *휘몰아치며 박살냈다* [hwimorachimyeo baksallaetda – raged and smashed] the space itself.

It was impossible to *피하다* [pihada – avoid] these *참격들* [chamgyeokdeul – slashes] from this distance.

Also, it was impossible to even *반응하는* [baneunghaneun – react].

As expected, Cyan didn’t seem to have any intention of *피하다* [pihada – avoid].

Cyan *꽈득, 움켜쥐었다* [kkwadeuk, umkyeojwieotda – tightly, gripped] his sword.

The power of *마(魔)* [ma (魔) – demon/evil] that *터져 나온* [teojyeo naon – burst out] from his whole body *모여들었다* [moyeodeureotda – gathered] to the end of the *움켜쥔* [umkyeojwin – gripped] sword.

It was *회전하며* [hoejeonhamyeo – rotating] fiercely around the surroundings and *증폭했다* [jeungpokhaetda – amplified] and *증폭했다* [jeungpokhaetda – amplified] that power.

When the *회전* [hoejeon – rotation] that seemed like it would never stop finally *멈추었을 때* [meomchueosseul ttae – stopped].

A *요악한* [yoakan – ominous] force that couldn’t be *정의를 내릴* [jeonguireul naeril – defined] was *깃들어 있었다* [gitteureo isseotda – dwelling].

Cyan *휘둘렀다* [hwidulleotda – swung] that force lightly, as if *흩뿌리듯* [heutppurideut – scattering].

쾅!

One side of the space *터져나가며* [teojyeonagamyeo – bursting out], Nathan *착각이 일었다* [chakgagi ireotda – had an illusion] as if the *지반* [jiban – ground] he was standing on was *무너지는* [muneojineun – collapsing].

That *갑작스럽고도 기묘한 감각* [gapjakseureopgodo gimyohan gamgak – sudden and strange sensation].

Nathan’s *자세* [jase – posture] was *무너졌다* [muneojyeotda – collapsed] for a moment.

That *찰나의 틈* [chalnaui teum – moment’s gap].

Cyan *비집으며* [bijibeumyeo – squeezing] that *틈* [teum – gap] 사아아─! 마혼무영보 [Mahon Muyeongbo – Soul-Seizing Shadowless Steps, a movement technique]를 밟았다.

The distance with Cyan was *순식간에 좁혀졌다* [sunshigane jophyeojyeotda – instantly narrowed] as if the space itself was *쑤욱, 당겨지듯* [ssuuk, danggyeojideut – pulled].

Above all, the moment he saw the sword *담긴* [damgin – filled] with that *끔찍한* [kkeumjjikhan – terrible] force.

Nathan *떠올렸다* [tteoollyeotda – recalled] the concept of death (死) for the first time.

“No way!!”

Nathan *부정했다* [bujeonghaetda – denied] the *떠오른* [tteooreun – rising] thought while *내지르며* [naejiureumyeo – shouting] a *크나큰 고함* [keunakeun goham – great shout].

스파아아아앗!

Nathan *폭사시켰다* [poksashikyeotda – exploded] all the power he had.

Rosewell also *폭사시켰다* [poksashikyeotda – exploded] all the power he had.

A *다발* [dabal – bundle] of blue light’s *검격* [geomgyeok – sword strikes] that *뒤덮은* [dwideopeun – covered] the sky.

The *다발* [dabal – bundle] of *검격* [geomgyeok – sword strikes] *집어삼켜왔다* [jibeosamkyeowatda – swallowed] Cyan while *박살내며* [baksallaemyeo – smashing] all the surrounding space.

A *끔찍한 위력* [kkeumjjikhan wilyeok – terrible power] that would *찢겨질 전신이 갈기갈기* [jjitgyeojil jeonsini galgigalgi – tear the whole body to shreds] if *휘말린다면* [hwimallindamyeon – caught up].

But Cyan didn’t *물러나지 않았다* [mulleonaji anatda – back down].

A *시선* [siseon – gaze] that *내려앉은 차분히* [naeryeoanjeun chabunhi – settled calmly].

Without even a *한치의 흐트러짐* [hanchui heuteureojim – slightest disturbance], Cyan’s sword *휘둘러진다* [hwidulleojinda – is swung].

From below to above.

Slowly, not slow, but not fast either.

Thus, when the two *끔찍한* [kkeumjjikhan – terrible] forces *충돌했을* [chungdolhaesseul – collided].

콰──────────앙!

The entire world was *뒤덮여왔다* [dwideopeowatda – covered] with thick darkness and bright blue light.

*착각* [chakgak – illusion] as if the space was *무너지는* [muneojineun – collapsing].

The surrounding *풍경들* [punggyeongdeul – scenery] *실제로 무너져내렸다* [siljero muneojyeonaeryeotda – actually collapsed].