135 Duel

I was told to carry a sword with me before starting. I said to them I don't need it but they insisted I hold onto it at least until the duel starts.
I'm told, striking unarmed foes goes against knight's code or something.
Aka, nothing but a formality. They don't care if I throw away the sword once it's started. Nor they think Goddel could be stopped by such a small difference either way.
So I might as well use this chance to test out that one thing I had been wondering about, I'm already mad anyway.

"OOOOOOOOORYAAAAAA!"

Goddel rushed at me while roaring loudly. The sword he held overhead was coming down straight to cut me clean in two.

Apparently this guy has been winning all his matches through this tactic. Every single one, no exceptions.
With nobody able to stand against it. Any foes who attempts to block it get their sword blown away, yet the slash is so furious there's no way to dodge it.
Or so it goes. He always goes with this tactic from the outset. At full power. Without ever playing around.
You could say that it's the only thing he's capable of. Classic muscle brains.

I had already entered accelerated state as I was thinking all that, coldly looking up at the slowly incoming Goddel.

(Guess I'll find out how it turns out if I cut things up with a sword now.)

I cut up trees in a campsite on our way here. Woods which are softer than metal got easily cut up under accelerated state. Then what happens when it's metal vs metal? Will it get stopped?
I cut up Goddel with the sword I had in hand without any reservation. There's no way to predict the result of actions I take during accelerated state.
Naturally, I keep slashing without caring about the 'end result'.
I even got too much into it and started slicing and dicing him up along the way, realizing I overdid it, I took some distance away before undoing acceleration.

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Goddel turned into small pieces in the spot I was standing at. Sounds of water splashing and clanking of cut up armor and helmet echoed.

(I felt no resistance at all during the chopping... It was supposed to be metal vs metal, yet it felt like cutting butter...)

Monstrous, this is devil's handiwork. I averted my eyes from the spectacle.
Reikana who had gone to the edge of training ground was so shocked at this, she fainted.
Hanna who was standing next to her caught and supported her before desperately calling her.
It's too late for me to regret making another splatter scene.

(Ah crap. I wasn't trying to stand out...)

Another one of my bad habit. The feeling of 'Whatever' toward the world at large.
All the knights froze up with the same looks on their faces. Even the vice commander.

(...Let's scram!)

I ran away from the spot. Under 'Acceleration'.
Vanishing even before the sword I let go hit the ground.


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I came back to my sense when I heard the sound of a sword hitting the ground.
Still unable to process what just took place before my very eyes. Nevertheless, I must do my job as an umpire.

"Due to the... de-death of Commander Goddel, her highness' demand has been recognized as justified. From here on, I, vice commander Lervi shall assume the position of Knight Commander."

My duty remains the same. Heck, Goddel never even touched a single paperwork during his tenure. The work I must do has not changed at all.

Honestly speaking, the current commander's death is preferable to me. The only reason the princess had not done anything to Goddel was because she didn't have 'anyone stronger' than him.
I have been ordained to stop Goddel's rampage. By his majesty emperor. 'Do not interfere, simply contain him'. However, the guy had begun running too wild for me to contain lately.

Thus, I was pinning my hope during his reckless overdrive this time. But I abandoned taht hope once I saw the other party, a commoner you could find anywhere.
Black hair, black eyes. Those are the only things different. I pitied this newly come of age young man as the only fate awaiting him against Goddel's powerful slash is death.

A ghastly end right at the start. Absolutely no one present here could have foreseen this. Including the princess who passed out.
I thought she was merely using this so-called young man guest as an 'excuse' for her next move, and yet we got this ending. An ending nobody here could comprehend.

This was done through a formal procedure. There is no excuse, criticism nor protest to be had. None.
This news would surely spread among imperial family by today's end. His majesty included naturally.
As I was mulling over how to gave an explanation on this to his majesty, I gave my order to the knights who were still rooted to the ground in trance.

"Clean this up! Snap out of it! Who's on clean up duty today! Move it!"

Once I shouted that, around ten knights came to the center of the ground in a hurry and stared at a loss what to do with the non-human looking remains.

I have to do the paperwork for all this, as such I make my exit.

"I will be returning to my office. All hands! Dismissed!"

I walk in the hallway while wondering how to explain about sequences of events that resulted in this scattered corpse, I mean, sliced and diced body.
I cannot even begin to imagine how anyone could have done that.
By the time I came back to my sense, the one who likely did it had already disappeared. Yes, likely.
Because I never saw him carrying out the act. He was there for sure. But then he was already standing far away, and Goddel had died.

"I suppose... I could only depict what I witnessed and hear as is..."

As I was wondering and pondering what to write on the report in my office, his majesty summoned me.

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