Chapter 168: Full Power 3
Translated by AmaLynne
Everyone thought Kurando’s head had been severed.
However,
“…W-Why?”
Kurando’s head was still attached. Sam’s hand sword had merely passed in front of his neck.
“Ah well, too bad. Time’s up.”
Saying that intentionally, the figure of Ur disappeared into the mist, and Sam reverted to his original form.
“—You didn’t intend to kill me on purpose.”
“Who knows? But well…”
Sam swung his fist and slammed it into the face of the Sword Saint.
He collapsed and fell flat on his back.
“You don’t have any strength left, do you?”
“—Yes, I admit defeat.”
“Yeah, I win.”
Kurando accepted his defeat gracefully.
“Even if my dominant arm remained, I sustained too much damage to wield a sword. However—”
“Hey, hey?”
“I lost the duel, but I haven’t given up on killing you.”
Using the sword as a makeshift cane, Kurando stood up and assumed his stance again.
“Why go to such lengths?”
“The battle with you was splendid. It was a magnificent confrontation fitting for my final battle. However, no matter what I’ve done, I still have to kill you.”
“It’s not just about loyalty to Mendes Michel, right? You must have other reasons to fight, don’t you?”
“—”
“Silence is consent. What else has the Michel family—wait a second.”
Sam directed his attention to the mansion.
And he realized.
“Wait, where’s Kotomi-chan?”
“…She’s recuperating at the Michel estate.”
He didn’t sense Kotomi’s magical power in the mansion.
There was no significant magical presence anywhere in the mansion.
A dreadful thought crossed Sam’s mind.
“Could it be, she’s being held hostage?”
“Father!?”
“Kurando-sama!?”
Not just Sam, even Mizuki, and Lize screamed in voices of alarm.
Understandably so. No one could have possibly imagined that the Michel family would hold Kotomi hostage.
But given that family’s nature, it wasn’t surprising at all.
A family that had given birth to Julian, who was willing to eliminate Sam and take Lize and the others hostage, it was not at all surprising for them to resort to kidnapping.
In fact, if they were indeed holding his daughter hostage, it would make sense for the Sword Saint to challenge Sam to a duel.
“The Michel family… How could they do something like this!”
(This isn’t the time for a duel!)
“Now, let’s continue, Samuel-kun.”
“You…”
“If I kill you, Kotomi will return safely. You might not agree, but I’ll apologize countless times in the afterlife.”
“Are you going to let the Michel family have their way?”
“No, it’s gone this far. There’s no more obligation. They will pay for their deeds as well. Once I kill you, reclaim Kotomi, Julian-sama, and Misery-sama, I’ll take responsibility and kill them both.”
For the first time, anger emanated from Kurando.
He undoubtedly intended to kill Julian and Misery.
His resolve was unwavering.
Up until now, he had concealed that resolve.
For Sam to survive, he had to kill Kurando. But as a consequence, if something happened to Kotomi, Sam would forever regret it.
“Kurando-sama, let’s go and rescue Kotomi-chan together. I’m here, Lize-sama is here, Hanae is here. Our combined strength should be more than enough.”
“I’m sorry. I knew you would say that. However, I don’t even know where Kotomi is right now! Therefore, there’s no choice but to kill you!”
He pointed the tip of his sword and lowered his posture.
(Oh no, I was supposed to cancel the spell. No, that’s not the main issue. Just because I’m killed doesn’t guarantee Kotomi-chan’s release. Even if I kill Kurando-sama, it might still be the same. In fact, the situation could worsen.)
Sam only used his eyes to look at his fiancée’s face.
Lize clasped her hands together in prayer, looking anxious.
(It’s no good, I have someone I want to protect. Someone I want to make happy. I can’t die here.)
If he hadn’t met Lize and the others, and didn’t have someone he loved, he might have been willing to sacrifice his life for Kotomi.
But he couldn’t do that now.
However, he also couldn’t just leave Kotomi alone like this.
(What should I do? What can I do?)
Sam pondered, inadvertently diverting his focus from Kurando.
In that instant, Kurando kicked the ground, trying to close the distance to Sam.
“—Shima”
The edge of a blade approached.
Before Sam could attempt to dodge, the sword reached him like a vacuum.
However,
“Stop it, Father!”
Even faster than Sam could be struck down, Mizuki’s sword deflected Kurando’s attack.
“Mizuki! Don’t get in the way!”
“I will! Even if we do something like this, we don’t know if Kotomi will come back! If Kotomi finds out that Sam was killed because of her, she will regret it for the rest of her life!”
“Move aside!”
“No, I won’t!”
Mizuki refused to budge.
There’s no way she wouldn’t be worried about Kotomi.
However, Sam knew that this approach wouldn’t save anyone.
Everyone was grappling with what to do, with no answers.
Just when he thought that if they at least knew Kotomi’s whereabouts, they might be able to figure something out,
“What the hell are you doing, Kurandooooooooooooo!!!”
A man’s angry voice resounded.
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