Chapter 242. Cú Chulainn (2)
Cheon Sangwoon.
The SS-rank Contractor once called the strongest of the Eight Guardians, a man who had risen without ever seeming to stumble.
With his handsome appearance and noble character, he had earned the respect of countless people.
Long ago, I had worked under Cheon Sangwoon.
Back then, Cheon Sangwoon had favored me in his own way. Because I possessed extensive knowledge of myths and legends and had strong analytical ability, he had kept me close as one of his trusted aides.
But Cheon Sangwoon judged people almost entirely by their abilities.
Because of that, he had never allowed me onto the battlefield.
He had only let me remain beside him as something between an adviser and a secretary.
What if I had been satisfied with that treatment and simply stayed by his side?
Even if Rumor Maniac had tried to drive me out, if I had made up my mind to secure my position as Cheon Sangwoon’s closest aide, I probably wouldn’t have gone down so easily.
I might have supported Cheon Sangwoon wholeheartedly as his second-in-command.
I could have helped expand his influence, seize control of the Eight Guardians, conquer Korea, and eventually move onto the world stage.
If that had happened...
my life would have been very different.
Perhaps I might even have entered China, obtained elixirs, and eventually become a great Contractor capable of wielding internal energy.
At the very least...
I probably wouldn’t have wandered from place to place before dying miserably.
But I didn’t regret that past.
I had failed to achieve my dream of succeeding as a Contractor.
Yet because of that...
I had become a Constellation and now fought on an even greater stage.
And now...
I was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Cheon Sangwoon.
That alone meant I had already achieved half of the dream I once had.
After all, Cheon Sangwoon had been the Contractor I admired.
The one I had thought of as ideal.
“Cheon Sangwoon, move right!”
“Got it!”
Holding Durandal in his left hand, Cheon Sangwoon dashed to the right.
He had apparently learned to control sword qi freely now.
But his physical condition was nowhere near what it had once been.
Even now, after so many consecutive battles, pain was probably coursing through his entire body.
Once this fight ended, there was a good chance he wouldn’t be able to return to battle for quite some time.
Even so...
Cheon Sangwoon followed my instructions.
Thank you.
Thinking that, I moved to the left.
And while Cheon Sangwoon advanced, I supported him with covering fire.
“Petty tricks!”
Cú Chulainn shouted as he swung Gáe Bolg.
Not a single bullet made it through.
Every shot struck the spear and ricocheted away.
But while he was blocking them...
Cheon Sangwoon gained enough time to close the distance.
“Haaah...!”
Cheon Sangwoon shouted and attacked.
His swordsmanship with his left hand was rougher than it had once been with his right.
But thanks to sword aura...
it should have been more powerful than before.
CLANG!
Durandal, wrapped in sword aura, collided with Gáe Bolg.
Sparks scattered in every direction.
Cú Chulainn raised one eyebrow in surprise.
“You’re pretty good.”
“Glad you think so!”
While Cheon Sangwoon held him in place, I slipped toward Cú Chulainn’s left side.
I had already swung Joyeuse in my left hand, aiming for his ribs.
But Cú Chulainn didn’t allow it.
“Too sloppy!”
He kept Cheon Sangwoon occupied with the spearhead while using the opposite end of Gáe Bolg to knock Joyeuse aside.
Then he raised his right leg and kicked sideways toward me.
“Ghk...!”
My automatic barrier had been destroyed in the fight with Beowulf, so I hurriedly retreated.
Cú Chulainn pushed Cheon Sangwoon away and tried to attack me.
But Cheon Sangwoon immediately unleashed sword qi like a shotgun blast.
“Hmph!”
Cú Chulainn stopped and spun Gáe Bolg like a windmill, blocking every slash of sword qi.
Using the opening...
we both retreated and caught our breath.
Every single movement is fast and sharp.
Cú Chulainn was strong in a completely different way from Beowulf or Siegfried.
Unlike Beowulf, each individual attack didn’t carry overwhelming power.
But there was a terrifying sharpness to them.
The slightest mistake...
and he looked capable of instantly piercing the throat or heart.
At the same time, every attack was unpredictable.
He constantly changed his rhythm, making him extremely difficult to respond to.
His fighting style was completely different from Siegfried, who used polished, textbook-perfect attacks.
These legendary heroes really are incredible.
While I was thinking that, Cheon Sangwoon muttered between rough breaths.
“He’s absurdly skilled. A legendary hero, all right.”
“You think so too?”
“Yeah. Even if I died and came back, I don’t think I could fight like that.”
As he spoke, Cheon Sangwoon glanced at me.
“What does someone who actually died and came back think?”
“Don’t make jokes when I don’t even know how I’m supposed to respond.”
“Haha. Sorry.”
Cheon Sangwoon gave a small laugh.
“You two are awfully relaxed.”
Cú Chulainn glared at us and spoke in a rough voice.
“Don’t tell me you actually think you have a chance.”
“You’re the one who should be worried.”
I answered calmly.
“Is it really okay to stand around wasting time like this?”
“The longer you delay, the harder it’ll be to catch the others.”
"..."
Cú Chulainn froze for a moment.
“I-It doesn’t matter.”
“Did he forget for a second?”
“Looks like it.”
“No!”
I remembered one of the books on Celtic mythology I had read long ago.
“Unlike Finn Mac Cool, who was also known for being clever, Cú Chulainn was supposedly strong but stupid.”
“There’s even a legend where Cú Chulainn went to teach Finn Mac Cool a lesson, only for Finn to trick him and turn the tables...”
“As expected, you really know your myths.”
“That story was made up much later!”
Cú Chulainn’s eyes widened as he shouted.
“Finn Mac Cool lived after my era in the first place!”
For a moment, he hesitated.
Then...
“Doesn’t matter! The Nameless King is right here!”
“If I kill the Nameless King, my job is done!”
“That’s true.”
“But the fact you got confused in the first place kind of proves you’re stupid.”
“You bastards...!”
At that moment...
Cú Chulainn’s body began to change.
His previously lean frame swelled until he became heavily muscled, almost like Beowulf.
His face twisted asymmetrically into something monstrous.
“You two...”
“I’m going to kill you!”
With that roar, Cú Chulainn charged.
The instant we saw him coming...
we split in opposite directions.
“Nameless King! I’ll kill you first...!”
Cú Chulainn glared at me as I moved left.
He raised one arm.
With a violent crack, Gáe Bolg left his hand.
BOOOOM!
I narrowly avoided the spear as it tore through the air.
“You bastard...!”
Apparently even more enraged that I had dodged it, Cú Chulainn roared.
He charged with both hands raised as though intending to tear me apart.
I lowered myself and slipped sideways.
His hands smashed into the nearby building wall instead.
“Stand still!”
Cheon Sangwoon fired a barrage of sword qi at him.
Cú Chulainn ignored it and charged me again.
Gáe Bolg returned automatically to his hand, and he hurled it at me once more.
Again...
