Vinland Saga (3)

It has been a long time since Askeladd felt this suffocating feeling of rage. No, he only felt this way during his childhood. Askeladd bowed down, closing the eyes of the decapitated head. It felt peculiar to lose someone who was always by his side.

Askeladd took a deep breath, then stared at the white-haired youth. His demeanor was still calm, but rage could be seen deeply hidden within his eyes. "To think that an errand boy was the one to disturb my plans. You were hiding your true self pretty well since even I didn't pay too much attention to you."

"Shit happens," Draco answered calmly.

"Indeed." Askeladd nodded, signaling to someone from his crew to give him a weapon. His eyes gleamed with killing intent. "Who sent you?"

Draco smiled warmly, shrugging his shoulders. He ignored Askeladd for now and instead brought his attention towards Thors. From up close, he looked even more imposing and his gaze still didn't falter despite the absurd situation.

"Thors, go take care of them. Askeladd is mine." Draco said, hoping that Thors would just listen to him kindly. After all, there was nothing to lose for him in complying.

Thors stood still for a few moments, closely inspecting the youth before. Eventually, he nodded and took a sword from his subordinates. "Are you sure? He is strong."

"Absolutely," Draco affirmed, taking a step forth. Honestly, dealing with over fifty men was more difficult, in his opinion, even if they weren't strong.

'Besides, Askellad is the perfect training dummy.' Draco thought, making his way in front of Askeladd. Askeladd's rank was around [G+], two lower ranks stronger than Draco. By some, it would be considered a suicide fighting against him, but Draco had a trump card up his sleeve.

There was absolutely no way he would lose. Thus, wasn't it a splendid chance to stretch his muscles?

"You haven't answered me. Who sent you?" Askeladd ignored all the crew members, who only just realized that Bjorn was truly dead, shouting in anger. They were ready to rush into the battle themselves, but Thors's colossal figure stopped them.

"Would you believe if I said no one?"

"I see. Well, it doesn't matter. You are still going to die here with Thors, regardless of whatever you would say." Askeladd prepared for the battle. Despite being angry, he didn't rush into the battle and instead was patient, vigilant of Draco's movement.

Draco didn't talk anymore either, focusing all his attention on the battle. The warm gaze disappeared and instead was replaced by a look completely devoid of any emotions.

Deciding to be the first one to attack, Draco promptly rushed forth, striking Askeladd from the side with a wide swing. It made it seem like he was full of openings, but Draco made it seem so on purpose to catch him off guard.

Askeladd blocked the attack, immediately counterattacking by elbowing Draco to the stomach with his other hand. Draco twisted his body and propelled a kick towards Askeladd's chin, which made him lose balance once he took a step back.

Utilizing the moment, Draco stabbed his sword forward, aiming for the heart. However, Askeladd quickly regained his composure and blocked the attack. They exchanged attacks with each other a few more times before retreating a few feet away.

"For a kid, you are pretty good," Askeladd admitted, though his eyes gleamed with surprise. So far, Draco properly defended against all of his attacks and even made some unpredictable attacks.

Something was wrong with this kid.

How could someone who was half his age fight on the same level as Askeladd?

Everything about this fake errand boy was abnormal, including his emotionless gaze. This wasn't the stare of someone who spared his enemies.

"I could say the same about you," Draco answered, glancing at his hand, which was carrying the sword. Blood spilled from his palm, yet Draco's expression didn't change at all.

'So, defeating someone two lower ranks higher isn't so easy. Perhaps if he was less skilled.' Draco thought, once again gripping the already bloody handle. He didn't want this battle to drag for too long since he still needed to help Thors, so Draco decided to use his trump card.

Mana surged inside of him.

This world was fundamentally different from his, and from what he observed, people couldn't use any mana. They simply relied on their own bodies, and that's what made them significantly weaker compared to heroes.

That's also where Draco's confidence came from since he could use mana.

'I need to be fast.' Draco thought, taking a deep breath. His mana capacity right now was merely at [G-], meaning that he had little time.

Draco started running towards his enemy like a wild animal, but he then abruptly stopped, redirecting all his body force towards his back. Then Draco threw his sword forward at an incredible speed.

Askeladd was caught off guard, but he reacted promptly and dodged to the side, causing the sword to fall off the ship. However, once he looked back, Draco's figure was already in front of him.

'It's my win.' Draco smiled, a thin layer of mana coating his fist. Before Askeladd could defend himself, Draco hit him straight in the solar plexus, causing his face to frown. The sword in his hand fell to the ground as he heaved for air.

"Wha- cough!" Askeladd coughed a mouthful of blood as he grabbed onto his stomach. What kind of force was that? Was this kid hiding his power over the entire battle? No, how could it even be possible?

As hundreds of thoughts flashed through his mind, Askeladd suddenly felt a sharp pain in his breast. Looking down, he saw a sword sticking out from his heart. Askeladd frowned.

'To think that I would die against someone whose name I don't even know.' Askeladd thought, glancing at Draco standing above him. His eyes were still cold and emotionless, as if the death of his enemy meant nothing to him.

"Life is truly unpredictable," Askeladd mumbled as life diminished from his eyes and his face hit the ground.

"I couldn't agree with you more." Draco agreed from the bottom of his heart. After all, he was someone who got transmigrated back in time with an overpowered skill.

Looking at Askeladd's dead body, only now did Draco understand that a heavy silence descended on the battlefield. He looked around and saw most of the soldiers lying unconscious while some others simply couldn't say anything at the sight of their dead captain.

He saw Thors looking at him from the other side of the ship.

He still held onto the weapon in his hand.

"Don't worry, I am not your enemy." Draco raised his hand in the air while looking around once again. The man in front of him was truly a monster. He defeated over thirty men in such a brief span of time.

"Alright."

"What, you are just going to believe me like that?"

"If you meant any bad will, you wouldn't have saved me."

Draco thought that such thinking wasn't the greatest one as there always were sly bastards in the world, but he didn't pry the matter further. Instead, he focused his attention on the screen that marked the completion of the mission.

"Wait, Thors." Draco felt something happening within his body, understanding that he had little time left in this world.

Thors looked at Draco with a questioning gaze.

"Why didn't you kill him back then? You could have turned the situation around."

"Killing is not always the right answer."

'Well, it certainly was the right one back then.' Draco thought, but he decided not to press this matter any further. Still, it was strange to see someone with such an outlook on human life.

Thors looked at his son and the people surrounding him. "Thank you. If not for you, I don't think I could have protected them."

"Whatever makes you happy," Draco answered, glancing towards Thors's kid as well. "Your son doesn't seem half-bad. Take good care of him."

"Aren't you a kid your-"

Words didn't escape from Thors's mouth as confusion spread across his face.

Draco no longer was on the ship, nor was he anywhere in sight.

No one even saw him leave, as if he vanished into thin air.