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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 104
Kaaaang!!!
Leon’s cursed sword clashed against the sword Dorn had forged.
Despite the fact that it was a collision with a weapon considered a family heirloom of the Mielephon clan, Dorn’s blade, coated with Halo’s power, did not break and held firm.
The initiative belonged to Dorn.
Using incredible speed and power, he relentlessly pressed Leon, who continued to parry without launching a single counterattack.
Kaaang! Kang! Kang!
"Your left side is open."
Boooom!!
Amid the exchange of countless blows, Dorn’s Halo flashed, and flames exploded from Leon’s left flank.
It was an incredibly fast ambush, but Leon had already gained distance without a single scratch.
"Hmm... Is this right?"
Leon tilted his head as if pondering something.
"Your instincts are sharp."
Without giving Leon any chance to recover, Dorn launched another attack, taking control and unleashing a storm of strikes.
Even when shadowy undead specters intervened, the power emanating from Dorn intensified, blocking the undead from even approaching.
Conversely, Dorn’s energy periodically disrupted Leon’s movements.
The moment an invisible force halted Leon in place, Dorn’s sword shot toward his vital point like a flash of light.
Leon’s eyes tracked the tip of the blade with precision.
"I won’t see you off."
Dorn bid farewell as he prepared to plunge his sword into Leon’s heart.
"I see. I’ve got the gist of it now."
At that moment, Leon, who had been frozen in place, shifted slightly and hooked Dorn’s leg, breaking his balance.
"What?!"
Dorn, suddenly off-balance, narrowly missed Leon’s cheek as his sword grazed past.
Simultaneously, an artifact shot into the air before both of their eyes with a sharp crack!
A flash artifact!
‘I won’t fall for this again! How foolish can one be?!’
Dorn, enraged, instinctively tried to gather power by forming a hand seal, only to realize too late that his hand had already been immobilized by Leon.
Why would he grab his arm in this situation?
How did he time it so perfectly?
"What is this?!"
Baaang!!!!
A deafening noise accompanied by blinding light erased Dorn’s vision for a moment.
This level of power couldn’t possibly come from an ordinary artifact.
Yet, the artifact’s outer shell seemed like standard military gear.
Something felt different about its contents.
Boom!!!
The next impact drove Dorn’s body hard into the ground.
"......"
Though not severely injured, he felt an unsettling sense of having his actions obstructed—an infuriating sensation.
To think he’d been outmanoeuvred twice!
Leon’s attacks weren’t particularly dangerous.
His brute strength, sharp aura blade, and dark necromantic magic were all blocked by the latent power of Dorn’s Halo.
No major damage had been done.
Yet there wasn’t the slightest trace of anxiety on Leon’s face.
That gaze… It felt similar to how certain members of the royal court had once looked down on Dorn.
Without realizing it, Dorn had grown increasingly agitated.
"Damn it!!"
Boom! Crash!!
Despite Dorn’s attacks growing more aggressive, Leon remained unchanged from the start.
No—something was different.
"I get it now. Melissa, take that woman and leave. If you don’t want to die, go."
"Thanks. Try not to go overboard."
With those words, Leon’s actions changed.
Clang!! Crack!!
For the first time, Dorn’s powerful, lightning-quick sword strikes were completely blocked.
By sheer strength and skill alone, Dorn was superior.
So why was his attack stopped?
"Let there be light."
Leon threw another flash artifact, causing Dorn to instinctively release a powerful protective aura.
"You dare pull this stunt again?!"
Did he really think it would work a second time?
Now, Dorn began to understand Leon’s calm demeanor.
Leon never viewed him as a true threat from the beginning.
‘How dare you underestimate me!’
Dorn braced himself, pouring much of his energy into defending against the expected explosion of light and sound.
But nothing happened.
The artifact Leon had thrown emitted a faint hum, but no flash or explosion followed.
It wasn’t a flash artifact?
Then what’s Leon planning?!
"I’ll give this back to you. Your left side is open."
Boooom!!!
"Ugh!!"
This time was different.
Despite having superior power, Dorn’s excessive focus on defending against the expected flash had weakened his defenses.
Although his Halo was strong, Dorn still required more time to fully control it.
Mishandling its vast power could endanger even himself.
This brief lapse in judgment during their psychological battle cost him.
Dorn, struck by an entirely different force, coughed up blood and stumbled back.
"......"
Shifting his focus to full defense, Dorn gritted his teeth.
But Leon’s lips curled into a smile.
Whoooosh!!!!
The artifact Leon had thrown began spewing smoke.
A smoke artifact?
Hiding or launching an ambush won’t work here.
Thinking that, Dorn quickly heightened his senses: smell, hearing, sight, and touch.
No matter how much Leon tried to hide within the smoke, it wouldn’t make any difference.
The acrid smoke reached Dorn’s heightened senses.
“Cough?! Ugh!!”
“Prince Dorn, wielding a sword is dangerous whether for a child or an adult.”
Leon’s sudden voice echoed from within the mist as Dorn staggered under the oppressive smoke.
Dorn couldn’t comprehend what Leon was saying.
“But when an ordinary person and a knight fight, nine times out of ten, the latter wins. Anyone with half a brain should understand why.”
Boom!
Leon’s fist slammed into Dorn’s abdomen, the sound of something breaking echoing as Dorn’s body wavered.
His defenses… had been breached.
How did they get breached?
This time, he’d split his power between enhancing his senses and reinforcing his defense.
Ah, the cause lay within himself.
While Dorn was powerful, his strength stemmed from Halo.
It wasn’t something he’d built through his own effort.
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HELHEIM SCANS
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He felt like coughing endlessly, with tears and snot flowing uncontrollably.
The pain from his heightened senses was beyond imagination, stripping him of any composure.
Losing his composure like this meant he couldn’t properly control the power of Halo.
“Cough… cough, are you trying to say I’m an ordinary person fighting a knight? What nonsense…”
“There’s a difference in training, sure… but it’s also a difference in experience. And here you are, intoxicated by an external power you barely understand.”
“Shut up.”
Dorn forcefully dispelled the mist and stumbled backward, swinging his arms wildly.
He caught sight of Leon planting his cursed sword firmly in the ground, the ominous glow of his eyes spilling through sunglasses that had slipped slightly.
“What’s the point of having great power? Borrowing forces forbidden to humans is like growing an organ you weren’t born with. You lack combat experience and rely solely on strength—it’s only natural for openings to appear.”
Leon’s words pierced Dorn’s weaknesses sharply, like a master scolding a student.
Bang! Bang!
From that point, the battle became entirely one-sided.
Leon’s attacks continued to break through Dorn’s defenses, leaving marks, while Dorn’s strikes either sliced empty air or were blocked.
It shouldn’t have been possible for him to lose in a raw contest of strength.
“Argh!!”
Furious, Dorn attempted to unleash his power in every direction.
This space was crucial—releasing too much energy could ruin all plans, but he had no time for caution.
“Not happening.”
Boom!
Leon’s kick struck Dorn square in the solar plexus, shutting down his attempted attack at its source.
“Cough… cough.”
It was overwhelming.
At first, he’d only felt mockery.
Honestly, he thought Leon was weak and pathetic.
Dorn figured he could kill him with just a flick of his finger.
But now…
Leon looked entirely different.
No matter how hard Dorn tried, he couldn’t land a single blow.
Victory felt impossible.
Even in direct combat, Dorn was completely outclassed in terms of skill—he could hardly believe it himself.
Whenever Dorn tried to strike with his sword, Leon not only dodged or blocked but countered in ways that left Dorn unable to react or defend.
If Leon had been slower, it might have been a different story.
Yet his speed continued to increase until Dorn could no longer perceive it.
Fast, strong, and thoroughly disciplined.
He was like a monster.
Dorn’s entire evaluation of Leon had been turned upside down.
The vast gap in experience and skill laid bare before him was anything but pleasant.
At least to Dorn’s knowledge, not even the Imperial Knights’ commander could fight like this—with such confidence and the ability to preempt any attack.
He’d miscalculated.
This man was dangerous.
Extremely so.
There were many opponents Dorn needed to overcome to achieve his goals.
Among them, the most threatening were the Sword Saint Osberg Mielephon and Duke Catsey Mielephon, the head of the Mielephon family—a symbol of the Empire itself.
Yet this man standing before Dorn… emanated something entirely different.
Something even those two had never shown.
It was the familiarity of someone who had seen and experienced everything.
Overwhelmed by the eerie atmosphere, Dorn retreated with shaky steps, wiping the blood from his mouth with trembling hands.
There was one thing he couldn’t understand at all.
“You… what are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“How… how do you know the entire structure of Halo’s derived powers?”
That was the most baffling thing to Dorn.
Leon’s counterattacks were sharp and heavy.
His experience was vast, and his techniques were diverse.
It was unsettling that someone of Leon’s age could possess such uncanny skill and veteran composure.
Granted, it was theoretically possible for a human prodigy to achieve such feats.
But Leon’s actions were rooted in something far beyond those limits.
Dorn could tell Leon understood the full nature of Halo’s power—its origin, structure, and movements.
He fought with complete mastery of Halo’s weaknesses.
Even a fool couldn’t overlook that.
Leon seemed to ponder for a moment before tossing an artifact toward Dorn.
A flash?
Smoke?
Whatever it was, enhancing his senses wouldn’t work.
If it were a flash, he’d also need to guard against sight and sound.
His only option was defense.
Dorn immediately activated his most powerful defense, determined to block Leon’s next strike at all costs.
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HELHEIM SCANS
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