Regressor, Possessor, Reincarnator

The Julius that Allen remembered was closer to a hero of an epic. From his character and nature, even to his conduct.

However, that was not how he actually turned out to be. Julius’s tendencies were far from that of a hero—not even close to being comparable to one.

His journey, on the other hand, was a different story. His adventures included killing demons, slaughtering ancient beasts, and stopping dark sorcerers’ plots.

‘He was really like a hero straight out of a fairy tale.’

When faced with a crisis, a strong person would appear from somewhere to help. No matter how trapped they may be, they could always miraculously escape. They had an unending reserve of precious miracles, and they would continue to grow exponentially without ever hitting a wall.

Allen doubted the validity of such circumstances.

‘How…? How come everything he did always worked out for him?’

Not everything could always just work out. Even the most successful merchants who had established their success made small mistakes. And people who made big mistakes were able to achieve success as well.

In other words, nobody truly lived a life without any failure.

‘But why does he never fail?’ Allen’s worries began with questions like this. Over time, he would come to a few conclusions.

‘That bastard is either under the universe’s protection or that of some other transcendent being.’

He didn’t know if it was from the same thing that gave his brother the System. However, the more he read from the black book, the more he remembered Julius’s actions from before the regression. And with it, the more confident he became.

‘The world, regardless of his will, revolves around Julius.’

Julius never thought too deeply about what he would do. He would act quickly without thinking beforehand, without worrying.

And the result?

‘He’s always successful.’

Did he carefully search around the trove to discover one of the Wonders of the First Warrior? One that nobody knew the whereabouts of for the longest time? Left in the far corners of the trove?

Allen had no words. So he created a situation to duel with him.

Or, at least, that was how it came about anyway.

“Are you ready?”

In order to know the limits of the (temporarily named) ‘Universe’s Blessing’ as well as the exact conditions for its activation. To understand Julius’s abilities and find out his habits.

“Yes, Brother.”

Allen focused his eyes on his opponent. He was shorter than himself. He couldn’t believe that he had trained for only a few months.

Were there even any openings? No, there must be. He just must not be able to see it.

‘I don’t think I can win in a battle of swordsmanship anyway.’

He would be referred to by various names in the future: The Savior of the Great Forest, The Prisoner’s Ally, The Demon Slayer, The Brain God.

What about Allen? What about his epithets? His abilities? ‘The Idiot Who Made a Deal with the Devil Out of Desperation Because He Didn’t Know How to Save His Brother’? Was that all he was?

‘To be able to stand on equal footing like this in the first place…’

It was all because of his regression and the book, nothing else. If it weren’t for those two things, he never would have had a chance to face Julius like this again. Yet was that anything to be ashamed of?

‘No.’

It was something he had to live up to.

“Brother, I think I’m going to win, so I’ll go easy on you.” Julius confidently wrapped his hands in a dark blue energy. A thunderbolt engulfed his arm, and the electricity covered his sword.

“Is that so?”

A smile spread across the corners of Allen’s mouth as he sent out his threads. His heart was beating hard.

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”

He used about a third of his magic power. His physical body was slightly weaker than that bastard’s.

He pointed the tip of his dull training sword towards his opponent.

‘I wish I’d brought Vestla.’

However, since it was only a duel, it couldn't be helped.

“No, I’m going to win today.”

Any other thoughts vanished. His field of vision was filled with the bastard and him alone. The mana that flowed throughout his body began to accelerate, emitting strange waves.

The bastard was going to grow at a tremendous speed… But so what?

“Well, let’s go.”

The moment that they faced each other, Allen didn't feel like he would lose at all. His threads gently wrapped around his sword, forming a translucent film. He couldn't use his sword to attack yet, so he had no choice but to stop the lightning strike.

His feet left the ground, accelerating quickly.

He bridged the gap in an instant. The translucent energy swarmed together and stabbed its target in the face.

Julius laughed at his brother's seriousness. The pointy tip seemed as if it would pierce into his face at any moment, but his smile didn’t falter.

Whoosh.

The sword drilled through the air. Allen looked below him and found Julius there. His body then came crashing down.

It was too late to avoid it.

Allen tapped the air with his free hand, making a shock wave.

Pang!

He didn’t expect a good hit, but he didn’t think he would be able to stop an attack of this caliber. There was a small groan, and his body was pushed back.

Julius quickly moved through the flying dust.

‘I can’t keep him in check.’

He maximized his sensing power, feeling every inch of the sparring grounds.

‘Where is he?’

Fwooom!

Blood spurted out of Allen’s cheek. His response was slightly slow. He had looked around and detected the attack, but Julius’s sword was faster than before.

He felt a shudder run down his spine.

‘There’s no way I can’t handle a Rank 3. How much had he grown, then?’

Crackle—

His thought was cut off by the flash of dark blue enveloping his body.

Allen immediately stretched his foot into the air, and Julius bent over with a surprised expression. The force on Allen’s leg wasn’t very strong, yet it was enough to quickly push his body away.

As he got farther away, he shook off the lightning that had been clinging to his body before adjusting the magic within him. Again.

‘He grew faster than I’d expected. It’s making me sick.’

After having fallen to the ground, he lowered himself and rushed towards him.

He saw Julius get into position, and Allen threw his sword right away.

Whoosh.

“What?” Julius was perplexed. Allen’s specialty was magic, not the sword.

Moving his hands with delicate, precise motions, Allen formed a figure. The countless threads he had stretched out soon wove around and turned into cymbals. 

Without waiting for Julius to react, Allen struck the instrument. 

CLANG!

‘Thunder in the clouds.’

The bursting shockwave became a gray spear, piercing the space.

Julius deflected the flying spear that darted towards him. However, the magic had already come in close proximity to his body. The sharp spear made a noise as it approached. Julius hurriedly raised his mana output and launched his sword.

FWOOSH!

The magic and swords scattered.

Having predicted his response, Allen closed the gap between them. Grabbing his training sword with one hand, he bent down.

Whoosh.

With the blade passing overhead, Allen bundled up the remaining thread on one hand and threw it into the air.

‘Hammer.’

The threads intertwined themselves into a hammer and fell, forcing Julius to block the attack and retreat once again.

Allen hurriedly ran after him, stabbing his sword at him. However, he had no choice but to back down as Julius blocked him with his cross guard.

“...Haha, your skills have improved so much, Brother.”

“The same goes for you, Julius. I’m sure you wouldn’t have been able to fight like this a few months ago…”

“It’s all thanks to hard work.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

It was an excuse that nobody would believe, but what else could he do?

‘That’s what he said.’

Allen smiled and took up his stance. It was still sloppy, but thanks to Vestla’s guidance, he at least had the basics down.

“This time…”

…Allen would go first.

The first to come in was Julius, moving even faster than before. His sword didn’t have a proper blade. However, just because it didn’t have a blade didn’t mean that his weapon wasn’t dangerous.

Electricity crackled. The blue lightning made the training sword a more dangerous weapon than a sharpened one.

‘I need to know everything about that bastard. His habits, his patterns, his reactions—everything.’

Could he do it?

“This is it.”

Julius became confused after hearing Allen talk to himself.

He didn’t need to answer. A thread wound around Allen’s sword. No matter how fast the bastard may be going, Allen could catch up.

‘And to some extent, bring out his power.’

He needed to be able to match it.

Julius rushed forward with lightning surrounding his body. Allen rushed forward accordingly, the vitality of a giant imbued into his ordinary steps, giving him more power.

CRACKLE! CLANG!

Their swords clashed. Julius's strike resembled a lightning bolt. Allen's, on the other hand, was more honest.

Bang!

“Is this the end?”

The electricity dispersed. Julius’s sword had shattered, and the film on Allen’s sword had disintegrated.

“No. This is just the beginning.”

Julius then sent out lightning bolts from his eyes. The spell formed around his abdomen and made its way up towards his head, giving him the appearance of a ‘Brain God’.

“Really?” Allen responded as his threads flew out in all directions. Blocking the lightning, the threads began to intertwine with sharp blades.

“I think so too.”

And their duel resumed.

* * *

* * * 

Pan, the probationary knight in charge of judging the duel, watched with a zoned-out face.

The electric shocks fell, tearing down the training grounds. Julius’s attacks were swift and unpredictable, while Allen’s were blunt and heavy.

Overall, it was an arrangement where Julius was pushing Allen.

“Sir Allen was originally known to be a sorcerer.”

If it were anyone else, they would push away the lightning electrocuting them with magic before defending against attacks that were difficult to follow with the naked eye.

He didn't seem accustomed to using his body just yet, but Pan thought that the fact that Allen was able to fight against Julius like that was a feat on its own.

He turned his gaze towards Julius, clad in dark blue lightning.

“That guy…”

He couldn’t believe that he was his master. He recalled the time he dueled with Julius over an apology a few months back.

‘I lost miserably.’

He was unlucky then, but he thought he had grown a little more. It had been a long time since he had been unable to catch up with Julius in the blink of an eye.

He said that he became his subordinate that day, but he never called himself such.

‘When will he call me?’

He shook his head. A knight must always stand by for his lord’s call. He’d been called to referee this match. 

‘He just hasn’t had a chance yet. He hasn’t forgotten me.’

It was all because of his lack of confidence. Had he developed his skills, Julius would look for him.

Pan gave up his thoughts and focused on the match. This opportunity hadn’t come easily.

* * *

Allen continued repeating their bouts dozens of times.

‘Next is going to be… on the lower right?’

He lowered his sword faster than he predicted the blow. As soon as he moved his sword, he blocked the attack aimed at his lower half.

Clang!

‘The next attack will be on my left shoulder. No, on my mid-left?’

Allen had moved in accordance with the information he had collected so far. However, a sharp sensation ran through the back of his neck.

He barely lowered his head, but the wind brushed the hairs on the back of his neck, causing a rush of goosebumps.

‘Is this the fifth pattern?’

As he continued observing him, Allen was able to get a grasp on his habits, patterns, and attack styles. Julius preferred to attack from the top rather than the bottom, and the right rather than the left. He also had a habit of unconsciously increasing the amount of lightning he produced if his attacks were blocked.

‘That’s a total of 37 patterns.’

Perhaps it was because he hadn’t trained in months, but his attack placement seemed to be limited. Moreover, his stronger attacks seemed to only focus on his opponent’s head.

‘I think I might know everything now…’

As Allen collected information about his habits, he also confirmed the fact that he had grown to be stronger than Julius.

Of course, the stronger he got, the more unnecessary tendencies would disappear. However, after accumulating all the information, it would surely be easier to land a finishing blow on him.

‘This will be the last time.’

Would the Universe’s Blessing protect him now?

‘I’m going to check.’

Julius rushed towards him again. As if he were enjoying the duel, he smiled and continued attacking.

Allen blocked his attack and moved around to his side.

Julius persistently pursued him, cornering him.

And the seemingly exhausted Allen struggled to withstand his attack.

“Brother, is this it? Didn’t you tell me you were going to win?”

Allen didn’t say anything. As if it were too difficult to even open his mouth. As if it were too much to do so.

“You don’t have the same momentum as you did earlier…”

‘To the center of the training grounds. Just a little… Just a little bit more… Almost there. Just one more step…’

“Honestly, Brother. I didn’t know you were this stro—”

Bang!

As Julius struck, Allen rolled back, as if he’d lost all his strength.

The magic that he prepared had been canceled, and he was left defenseless.

Cough, hack, cough!

Vomiting blood on the floor, Allen could barely stand up. He was in a state where it was difficult to even hold his sword any longer.

However, refusing to admit defeat, he squeezed out the last bit of mana remaining and cast his spell. A few threads bundled into a small awl.

His face paled as a result, and Julius laughed, as if his brother’s last struggle were ridiculous.

And just like that—

“It’s my…”

—The moment Julius tried to declare his victory…

“...Victo—Huh?”

He couldn’t move his body.

“Huh?”

Julius quickly looked at Allen, whose expression looked just as confused as his own.

He couldn’t move. As if all of his limbs were cramping, he couldn’t move.

The sharp awl flew towards his chest.

He was terrified. It was a situation in which a sibling may ‘accidentally’ die while having a little spar.

As Julius stared blankly at the awl darting towards his heart…

Crash!

…Suddenly, there was an explosion in the space through which the knife was passing.

A mana superimposition explosion—said to be an extremely rare occurrence in which various types of magic were mixed together—had materialized when the awl nearly passed by him “by accident”.

“S-Stop the duel!”

While Allen's eyes sank deeply, the startled Pan stopped the match and ran to Julius. His face had turned blue, shocked by what had just happened.

“Y-Young Master, are… Are you alright?”

He rubbed the fallen Julius’s arms and legs. As if unsure, he uttered with a trembling voice, “Perhaps you’re dehydrated, or maybe you’ve gotten a cramp during your fierce battle?”

Coming to his senses at his question, Julius asked, “You think I have a cramp…?”

“Yes, s-sir. No, I mean, my lord. I’ve experienced it a few times during training… but I believe you may be experiencing severe cramping in your limbs.”

Allen hurried to Julius, as if he’d only just now come to his senses.

“Julius! Julius! Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes, yes. I’m fine, Brother.”

“I-I’m sorry, Julius. No, how could this happen?”

As Allen turned pale in shock, Julius’s suspicion of whether or not his brother had intended the outcome of their battle disappeared.

‘He could never have done that on purpose.’

From Julius’s final attack to when he cornered Allen. He couldn’t fathom that his brother, all in a hurry to stop his own attack, would have ever even thought of doing such a thing. He didn’t have any motive to.

“No, how could this have happened? Pan, was it? Call a priest.”

“Y-Yes.”

“No need, Brother… It’s just a cramp—”

“It’s not just a cramp! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was just now?!”

As Allen screamed his worries, Julius’s final remnants of suspicion melted away.

“Then… go ahead.”

“Let me help you up.”

“Yes.”

Pan hurried out from the training grounds to find a priest.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes. I think I can walk now.” Julius grinned, hiding his worries.

“Why are you smiling so hard?” Allen’s tone was rough, yet it showed worry for his brother.

“Haha, it’s just funny, seeing this side of you.”

“Does it feel good to tease me?”

Allen’s voice was filled with fondness.

“When would be a better time to make fun of my brother if not now?”

“Would you shut it… Tch.”

However…

“Take a few days to rest. I’ll tell Father.”

“I’d love to. Thank you.”

“Yeah.”

…His eyes stared at him, devoid of emotion.

As always.