Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 221: Warm-Up

‘I won’t go easy on you.’

Clotte’s bodyguard knight, Brian, tightened his grip on his sword.

This was a place to distinguish heroes. There were many eyes watching, and since Clotte, the direct Capital Knight, had ordered it, he absolutely couldn’t afford to lose.

For Brian, the only thing to follow was Clotte’s command. And what he had to wield was the sword in his hand.

“Hoo.”

Brian took a slow, deep breath.

If the mana surrounding Louis glowed with a golden hue, the atmosphere around Knight Brian was very heavy and calm. It was like an unyielding cliff.

‘For the pride of a knight.’

He was filled with determination. Clotte had even handed over his own sword. No matter how he thought about it, there were only reasons for him to win.

This was the first time in his life Clotte had handed over his own sword. Perhaps, if he accomplished something this time, he might finally ascend to the ranks of the Capital Knights.

So, he had to win!

With that resolve, Brian kicked off the ground.

“Hup!”

As he swung his sword, the space along the trajectory momentarily wavered like a mirage.

Clotte’s sword, Chronos. This sword held a mysterious power that other knights couldn’t even imagine.

The power to hold the passing time of space. The trajectory of the space, which had stopped for a moment, rewound a beat later, returning to its original state.

Even though it was Brian, not Clotte, wielding the sword, its power was this immense. It was enough to make one realize anew how great the power contained in the sword was.

‘Not bad.’

Capital Knight Clotte. As he watched his bodyguard knight Brian, he nodded unconsciously.

Although bodyguard knights often performed the role of a secretary despite having the title of knight, Brian’s swordsmanship was quite impressive.

‘Easy.’

Clotte muttered quietly.

In this situation, it seemed unlikely that they would lose to a magician. It was evident that even if he himself stepped in, it would be sufficient. How out of place would it have been if Clotte had stepped forward?

He had just this fleeting thought when…

“Haa!”

A shout from Louis was heard.

Louis did not retreat from Brian’s sword strike. Though he twisted his body slightly to dodge the trajectory, he was instead closing the distance with Brian.

Becky widened her eyes.

“Oh, no way…?”

Becky was so familiar with that movement that she couldn’t help but widen her eyes. It was the movement Flan often showed when facing knights, now seen in Louis.

“There are times when you should and shouldn’t imitate that…!”

Becky shouted without realizing it. She thought that only Flan could make such moves.

But soon, a scene unfolded before everyone’s eyes, contrary to their expectations.

Kaaang!

Louis blocked Brian’s downward vertical slash with a spear of light. Just the fact that he ‘blocked’ it was enough to astonish some people.

“He blocked that strike?”

It was a strike delivered with Clotte’s sword?

“When you block, that’s when the real battle begins.”

A knight mumbled.

And that statement was not a lie. Louis’s movements momentarily slowed, even if just a bit.

The long hand of Chronos distorted the time of whatever it touched. When it touched Louis, he wasn’t simply slowed by its power, but rather he was facing a supernatural phenomenon.

Knowing this better than anyone else, Brian was confident of his victory, even though his attack was deflected.

Louis’s movements were distorted and slowed. Brian’s relentless follow-up attacks poured toward him.

But.

“As expected.”

Despite this, Louis smiled.

He had planned for this moment for a long time, and investigating Clotte was a natural step.

Thus, he had already known that touching Clotte’s sword would distort time. He also knew that this would likely work against him.

Even so.

‘A crisis is also an opportunity.’

A trump card only truly shows its worth in a crisis.

How many sleepless nights had he spent preparing for this? To Louis, who had finally found the solution, this situation wasn’t so unfavorable.

Just one.

Another one.

He planted his light spikes in the slowed time.

And he took another step towards Brian.

“What the—!”

“Why is he approaching? Is he surrendering?”

Even though he was slow, Louis desperately blocked each of Brian’s strikes one by one. Missing even a single block would result in his body being split, yet he showed no hesitation.

To others, it seemed like an unreasonable decision, but to Louis, it was the result of thorough deliberation. He approached, calculating even in the slowed time.

“…?”

Brian felt both a sense of incongruity and astonishment. They had clashed more than three times, yet Louis was steadily closing the distance, looking completely unscathed.

‘This can’t be….’

The question mark in his mind grew larger, but Brian did not stop his attacks. He was a seasoned swordsman.

His wrist and ankles reacted faster than his complex thoughts. This time, for sure, his sword was swung in a trajectory to decisively behead Louis.

Kagagak!

But the bars of light created by Louis blocked it spectacularly. In the space distorted by Chronos, Louis smiled slowly.

“Why are you so slow?”

His pronunciation was deliberate, exuding an undeniable ease. His smile shone like the element he wielded.

“….”

Brian’s expression hardened.

It was an incomprehensible statement and an incomprehensible situation. Louis was the one whose time was distorted and slowed, so it should have been Brian saying those words.

For a brief moment, their eyes met in the air.

Louis spoke.

“You see, light… just watch.”

At the same time, the distorted time began to return to normal.

Tiny spikes. Yellow light.

Something sparkled and then proliferated absurdly. As soon as Brian realized they were arrows of light, they were already being fired in immense numbers.

Pahng─!

**Inexpressible Power.**

Brian managed to deflect one, but it wasn’t over. Eventually, he had no choice but to twist his body to dodge the attacks.

Pang─!

One managed to graze his cheek. The sensation of his skin splitting was unbearably painful, but there was no time to worry about such things now.

Pang─! Paang─!

The straight beams of light all aimed for Brian’s vital points. Before he knew it, Brian found himself solely focused on defense.

“What is this…?”

“He planted light in each moment of distorted time.”

“What…!”

He had brilliantly turned the distorted, slowed, or stopped time to his advantage.

Turning a seemingly disadvantageous situation into his stepping stone, how could he have such audacity?

The unexpected ace up his sleeve.

Upon realizing that his opponent possessed such a trump card, a dangerous thought flashed through Brian’s mind.

The thought of his own defeat.

‘Sir Clotte is watching…!’

He had never considered defeat, nor could he afford to be defeated.

Though he was currently a bodyguard knight, he had always dreamed of rising to the ranks of the Capital Knights once the hero he served, Clotte, became a hero.

But now.

The goal and dream he had long cherished were collapsing right before his eyes.

“That will never happen─!”

Brian gritted his teeth and began swinging his sword.

Determined not to lose, even if it meant dying on the spot. His swordsmanship was driven by the resolve to take his opponent’s life at the cost of his own.

At the same time, a tremendous killing intent enveloped the arena.

But Louis remained calm.

“Too slow.”

He merely muttered. The desperation Brian had was something Louis also possessed.

Pang─!

Brian’s movements grew larger, making it impossible for him to avoid Louis’s beam. His wrist, which should have been holding and swinging his sword, shattered powerlessly with a cracking sound.

At the same time, the predetermined conclusion.

Puk─!

Louis rammed Brian with his shoulder, pushing him out of the arena. Having already lost his balance long ago, Brian’s body was effortlessly pushed out.

“Brian!”

“No way!”

The watching knights barely managed to catch him as he plummeted to the ground.

“….”

Brian was neither seriously injured nor unconscious. This made the shock even greater, leaving him to stare blankly for a while.

When Brian finally managed to lift his head.

Louis’s gaze wasn’t even directed at him.

“Should I remove the condition of forfeit?”

Muttering that, Louis’s eyes were fixed solely on Clotte.

“I’ll consider this a warm-up. I really want to face the true owner of that sword. Capital Knight Clotte, I want to face you.”