The Villain's Retirement-Chapter 24: Again

"Shut it. Are you ready to spar now?"

Steam spilled from the Hero’s mouth while he spoke.

At the time, the rising sunlight was already beginning to soften the cold. And what a morning this was already.

Ard could not believe this was the sword hero. Then before he could reply, he threw his sword at him, as if he had been waiting for the other party to show up the entire night. Next, he grabbed another sword which was on the floor.

Ard clicked his tongue as he caught the thrown weapon. The worn grip told him everything—this sword had been held by human hands for at least more than an hour. How disgusting.

Then suddenly, the Sword hero’s eyes flashed and kicked the floor as he started to dash forward, then swinging his sword in a curve.

The two steel swords clashed, emitting a crisp sound and the sound of steel.

"Harder!"

The sword hero shouted in protest as Ard was pushed back a couple of steps.

He gripped the hilt with both hands and launched another strike—rising from below, using the twist of his waist for momentum. He spun and kicked, but the Hero blocked it without effort.

However, Ard wasn’t finished. He crouched, coiling his body for power, then shot upward, unleashing a rapid flurry of sword strikes.

Using his shadows, he vanished and reappeared around his opponent in rapid succession, striking at split-second intervals.

When the storm of strikes stopped, the sword hero smiled widely like a maniac. His shirtless body was now full of wounds.

Ard went at it again.

’Why is suddenly full of openings?’ Ard thought.

The hero tried to parry with his right hand, which brought a sinister rustling of the wind, but for some reason, the force coming from Ard was too strong for him.

’Huh?’

Ard stepped forward to push, and the hero was pushed back.

’He’s weaker...?’

Seeing the opening, Ard swung the sword again, and again. He didn’t even use his shadow. The hero tried to parry, but he was thrown back again. Yet his smile making him look crazy never faltered.

Ard’s expression was cold as ice and he showed no mercy.

’This hero is stupid.’ Ard concluded, seeing the dark circles under the hero’s eyes and his wobbly balance, creating a bunch of openings.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

’Had he not slept the entire knight?’ Ard was asking but he was beginning to believe it was true. The hero was truly stupid.

’To think a man as stupid as this defeated the demon king.’

Under the large dead tree, the hero continued blocking but his strength, speed, reaction time had slightly lessened, and it was all that Ard had needed.

His crimson eyes flashed. He started tracing the hero’s footsteps which was stumbling and in the next second, Ard maneuvered quickly, spun and the sound of steel hitting flesh was heard. A significant amount of blood was drawn. Then again.

’I got him.’

Clang!

Ard spun in the air as the hero tried to counter. It was insanely fast. Most people would have been hit, but Ard was different. He evaded the tip and the blade. It was like in slow-motion and then he kicked the hilt of the sword of the hero and elbowed him before pushing him and stepped forward, putting the blade against his neck.

’I say that’s what I call a perfect execution.’ Ard smiled, which was caught by the hero who shouted at him.

Ard’s blade rested lightly against the Hero’s neck.

For a brief second, there was silence.

Then—

"THE HELL ARE YOU SMILING FOR!?" the Sword Hero roared, eyes bloodshot as he twisted his head accidentally drawing blood from his neck. "You think this means you WON!?"

Spit flew as he shoved Ard’s sword aside.

Without waiting for the bracelet’s ability to take effect, he staggered back and his boots went scraping against the stone.

"Don’t get it twisted!" he barked then a faint beam of light surrounded his blade again. "That didn’t count! My footing was off—do it again! AGAIN!"

Ard frowned.

The dark circles under the Hero’s eyes were unmistakable now. His breathing was ragged, shoulders jerking unnaturally between inhales. Even the way he held his sword was too tight and too tense which was clearly screaming exhaustion.

Ard rolled his eyes.

"What? Say what you want!"

"You haven’t slept," Ard then said flatly.

"So, what!?" the Hero snapped. "I don’t NEED sleep to beat you! Stop running your mouth and swing!"

Before Ard could respond, the Hero charged again, light flaring unevenly along his blade. Inevitably, they clashed.

’This is so pointless.’ Ard said inwardly. His face showed a dead expression.

As minutes to chunk of minutes went past, while the hero was admirable, getting back up every time he falls up and never giving up, he was clearly too exhausted already from the very start.

’I can’t understand him.’

Meanwhile, the Hero replayed memories from the night before.

’Kill. Kill. Kill.’

He raged silently, swinging like a man possessed, consumed by anger as he kept swinging the entire night like a lunatic.

He seared the face of the stranger into his mind and heart—the one who had caught him off guard with the shadow attribute then kicking him and making him fall when he was already so pissed at Sileus.

A/N: The sword hero still doesn’t know Ard’s name.

What Ard did not realize about the hero was indeed that: the Sword Hero was a lunatic.

Steel rang through the courtyard as Ard met him head-on. The Hero fought wildly like a wild animal, even walking at all fours at times and shouting all the time. Gone is the orthodox swordsmanship he showed the first time they dueled.

’Is this the Sword Hero true swordsmanship? To think that without the Holy sword, he would seem like a totally different person...’

He was like a savage beast.

Yet he had to admit it was both terrifying and difficult to defend against, especially with the Hero wielding the light attribute.

Ard narrowed his eyes.

It was like time had slowed down for him for a moment.

Right now, the hero’s balance was sloppy and his speed and strength was marginally lower than yesterday. Ard was able to disarm him once, twice, forced him back again and again.

And yet—

Ard’s eyes flicked to the dead tree.

There was nothing. No tremor. No reaction. Not even a whisper of resonance. They clashed one last time. Ard won—cleanly, decisively. Still, the tree remained dead.

Ard froze.

’...I’m an idiot.’

His grip loosened slightly.

’What am I doing?’

This wasn’t why they were fighting. Not brute strength. Not ego. They were supposed to be swordmages—attributes clashing, mana resonating. But the Hero couldn’t even circulate his properly right now. It barely had any shape.

The bracelet on the Hero’s wrist pulsed faintly, healing scrapes, easing strain but it couldn’t replace sleep.

It didn’t matter how many times they fought like this.

Nothing would change.

"Oi!" the Hero snarled, wobbling as he raised his sword again. "Why’d you stop!? You scared now!? COME ON—"

Ard moved. In a blink, he slipped inside the Hero’s guard and struck—precise, controlled.

The flat of the blade snapped against the side of the Hero’s neck.

The shout cut off instantly.

The Sword Hero’s eyes widened, then rolled back as his body went limp, collapsing onto the cold stone. But Ard caught him before his head hit the ground and gently lowered him.

"...Go sleep," Ard muttered. "Idiot."

However, just then, Ard sensed eyes looking at them and gazed at the direction it was coming from.

’Sileus?’