Story of The Ancient Demon King!-Chapter 99.3: Bernardo Arch [Part-3]

Chapter 99 – Bernardo Arch [Part-3]

………

……

…

“…Lana, Lana!”

“Nn… nnnn!”

Oswald wakes Lana, who was asleep with her hands and feet bound and her mouth covered.

“Shh! I’m here to help you. Let’s get out of here.”

“Puha! Oh, thank God… You’re big brother’s son.“

“Be quiet. They’re in the next room!”

“Hush!”

She covered her mouth exaggeratedly and waited for Oswald to cut the rope around her legs with a knife.

“Just… a little more….”

“……”

He moved the knife hastily but carefully, to avoid hurting Lana.

“…the number of kids increased.”

A thick, muffled voice came out from the door.

“What?!”

Oswald, soaked in sweat, bounced up with his back to Lana, glaring at the men.

“……”

“Hey, hey, that’s Gerald’s son….. What the hell is going on?”

There were several men holding swords dripping with blood. There were a dozen men, if you counted those behind.

Oswald could not win.

As Gerald’s son, Oswald has had his fair share of action, but he was still a child.

Oswald was not as good as Gerald was in his childhood.

“…Enough, enough. Kill them both together.”

“……”

“Hic….”

With his son here, Gerald won’t spare them even if they gave Oswald back to him quietly.

The two frightened children were approached by the cronies.

“…….”

“I’m sorry, Lana. It’s my fault…. But…”

Oswald was determined to protect Lana, who was clutching his leg, so he grabbed his knife again.

“You’re out of luck, kid. –Good-bye.“

A man raised his sword.

At that moment, the window next beside him shattered.

“–”

“Gah…!?“

Something like a small arrow shot out from the shadow and pierced the neck of the man who was about to slash at Oswald.

“…Do you need anything from my children?“

The man who stood up asked in a cold voice.

His current demeanor was a complete contrast to the soft atmosphere he normally had.

“…Bernardo Arch.”

He was being confronted by a group of underworld gangsters with a sharp, deadly look on their faces.

“Grandfather!“

“Be- Beru Ji…..”

“Sorry to keep you waiting. We’re almost done. Gerald will be here soon.”

The conversation between the children and Bernardo raised the eyebrows of the boss of the organization.

“Damn it…! We’ve got to do this. Gather as many men as possible! We’re gonna take out Gerald and all of them!“

“Are you serious…?”

“If Gerald’s coming, that’s the only way for us to survive! If we kill him, we’ll be in control! We’ll have the entertainment district in our hands!!”

The allure of power gave momentum to his men, who had been frightened.

“….Uraa!”

“Ha!”

He ducked and dodged the sword thrust and fired a palm strike to the side of the attacker’s face.

“Kah, ko…”

“I’m no match for Gerald, but I can deal with you all easily.”

He told the head of the organization without even glancing at the man who had collapsed.

“….Hey! What the hell are you doing! Surround him and kill him!“

The organization’s members rushed towards Bernardo at the sound of his yell.

“What the hell?“

“Goh?!”

But he was good enough to open his own dojo.

So, even if he was old in age, even if his sword was out of reach and even if he was outnumbered.

He was steadily closing in on the boss.

“Damn! Where are the reinforcements?“

As he checked the number of men around him, he suddenly spotted two eyesores.

“…Hey, at least take care of the kids first.”

“I’ll do it.”

At the boss’s order, a burly man stepped forward and headed towards Oswald and the others.

“……!“

Without much emotion, the man stepped up to the easy job and brandished a cheap… mass-produced sword.

“Duh!“

“–”

Bernardo, who turned around, made a quick decision.

There was no hesitation.

Hidden in the sleeves of his hands were two dark weapons.

Hidden crossbows.

One was used during his entry.

Now, it was time to use the other.

“What? Gah!“

A small arrow pierces the man’s face as he swung his sword at Oswald and Lana.

“Oh, Grandpa!“

“Beru Ji-”

Lana’s cry of joy was broken by the sound of Bernardo’s voice calling out to her.

“Are you all right?”

“……”

His usual smile.

Bernardo’s gentle expression illuminated by the moonlight.

From his belly pierced a blade that gleamed—– under the moonlight.

“Grandpa!!”

Oswald wailed.

Bernardo’s fighting style was calculative.

Even though he was a martial arts master, Bernardo was an ordinary man.

He could not afford to give his opponents too much leeway, especially when there were multiple of them. He gained a last-minute advantage by adapting to his opponent’s movements and positions.

His strategy was something that needed constant and steady effort from him.

He moved so that his back would not be exposed, sometimes used desks and chairs to reduce the number of opponents he had, so that he would not have to take all of his opponents at once.

But if the wheels of his carefully manipulated game get a little out of gear….

“Gg….. ngh!“

“Ji?!”

He threw a roundhouse kick at the man who pierced his abdomen.

It was powerful.

It was not the kind of force that was wielded by a man who was carefully calculating his remaining strength, but the kind of force that a man squeezed out…. when he wanted to use every last ounce of his strength in the time he had left.

“Beru Ji… Beru Ji…”

Tears streamed down Lana’s face.

They kept dripping, no matter how many times she wiped them away.

“……”

He was speechless.

The pale Oswald just wanted all this to be a dream.

“HAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”

With no energy left to evade, Bernardo was hit by slash after slash.

Warm, raw blood splashed.

“Hu, hu, hu…”

“What the hell is this guy….?! Why aren’t you dying……?!“

But with each wound, Bernardo’s strength grew.

Steadily, but certainly.

He burnt what little life he had left and turned it into power.

“Damn… Come on, you bastards! Don’t be afraid…!”

The door blew open.

All eyes turned towards that direction.

“……”

“Oh… Gerald-kun… My son’s here….”

Bernardo let go and collapsed at the arrival of Gerald, who had the bodies of the organization’s men in both hands.

“……”

“……”

A look was exchanged.

A look of entrustment.

A look that passed a duty on.

No words were spoken, and their eyes only met for a second.

“……!“

“Gaaaah!“