72 A Knights Tale Part 2 (2/2)

Qwipps tended to state the obvious a lot.

There was a grimace plastered on Jimmy's face. He was obviously in pain and yet his eyes stared back at me with a clear determination I could never hope to emulate if my right arm was dangling limply at my side like his was. Blood gushed out of the wound that was so deep you could see the broken cleanly cut bone inside it.

”Not that I've never needed it… until this moment but… I guess I shouldn't have looked down… on that Magesong regeneration trick, huh,” he said through gritted teeth. ”Still… I'm glad you saved those kids, Dean…”

Guilt racked me then. Jimmy wasn't a bad guy. Far from it. He might even have been the only good officer in the entire Magesong army.

”We don't have to do this anymore…” I offered. ”Just surrender, Jimmy.”

”I… I can't do that,” he answered with a strained voice. ”My reasons for being here are no less important than yours…”

”You can't wield a glaive with one hand. Definitely not without your dominant hand!” I reasoned.

But instead of surrendering, Jimmy planted the butt of his glaive on the ground. Although he didn't lean on it for support. No, the stubborn fool actually stood up straight despite the obvious pain racking his body.

His eyes glanced up at his glaive's shadowblade. It was no longer burning. Then his steely-eyed gaze returned to me and I could see the determination in them.

”Earlier… you asked me if the flames on my glaive were my fairy gift,” he reminded me.

I nodded slowly.

He grinned. This must have been very difficult to do considering his current state.

”Good… let me give you a present for injuring me,” he said. ”As I said, I no longer possess a fairy gift… Spellweaver replaced that with the Curse of the Morrigan on me…”

”The Curse of the—”

”—that's the official name of the binding ritual you saved me from enduring…” Blood coated his teeth while he spoke.

He raised his glaive and slammed it back on the ground. The result was that the flames reignited on its shadowblade.

”It's not a fairy gift... just a skill called Augmentare , the power to augment your weapon with elemental attributes… the only way humans can wield the elements like fairies can,” Jimmy revealed.

With one hand, Jimmy raised the glaive's pole and pointed it at me in a feat of strength that defied his injuries.

”If you survive… you can ask your General Thors to teach you how to use it,” Jimmy's voice was almost a whisper. ”You'll need it next time you face Azuma…”

Just the mention of my rival brought chills up my spine. I sighed.

”We really don't have to do this…” Despite my words, I'd renewed my stance. This time, however, I'd opted for the high guard. I raised my falchion above me with both hands. ”We really don't…”

”You're not a bad kid, Dean Dapper,” Jimmy chuckled. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

There was no longer any need for words. No. This was most definitely a time for action.

In the seconds we each took to muster our full resolve, I recalled the words Auranos gave me as I knelt before him.

”I am Shärleden...” he had said. ”And I have chosen you to uphold my will. Be—”

”—brave and honorable in your words and deeds,” I whispered to myself. ”And be fearless in the face of adversity.”

Recalling Auranos' words filled me with renewed strength.

”So I bid you to bring forth your hidden strength and wield it for the good of those you serve and those who follow you… Rise, and inspire others to rise as you do,” I finished.

The blessing of the Patriarch, spoken in the belief of the potential that lay inside me, is what brought Fool's Insight to me. And with it, the power I needed to finish this duel.

Jimmy, who was kind enough to wait for me to finish my recital, charged, and it was with a heavy heart that I followed him.

But I gave him no chance to show me what an elementally augmented weapon could do. For in the seconds right before he swung his glaive, I closed my eyes and whispered, ”Oh, great fool, let my sight turn deathly cold that I might turn my foes to stone.”

The warmth I often felt from Fool's Insight had transformed into a great and heavy pressure that I channeled through my eyes to render my opponent as heavy as stone.

Basilisk's Eye had done its job well. With Jimmy momentarily paralyzed, I sent all my killing intent into my falchion and using the strengthened shadowblade, pierced through his hauberk. Then I plunged my sword deep into his chest.

Immediately afterward, the onlookers went wild. Screams of anguish and roars of delight spilled out into the night in equal measure. But just as I was about to shut out all the noise and wallow in my regret, I heard an unbelievable sound—the roar of one who just wouldn't die.

I felt his one lone hand grasp my neck. Felt the fingers tighten on me. And as he began to choke me, I gazed into his eyes—and I just knew that this man, Jimmy Jonas, the Bear Knight, was a man who deserved to be called a general.