The Villain's Retirement-Chapter 26: Annoying

The Hero jerked his chin toward Nimriel and the others, making them flinch—not just at his words, but at the sheer presence of the Sword Hero himself.

"Or unless you get your hands on one of the artifacts his apprentices carry."

Ard’s eyes flicked instinctively.

"That would be easy, right?" The hero tempted like the devil.

Ard ignored his words.

He had noticed those artifacts the apprentices were wearing and it seemed like they all wore identical earrings, engraved with the same intricate design as the bracelet him and the hero were wearing, and each faintly hummed with mana.

’So those are like keys...’

His eyes lit up slightly.

The Hero caught it and laughed.

A short, humorless sound.

"Idiot, don’t get ideas," he said, grinning widely as he looked at the barrier around the mountain. "Even if you somehow escape, it’s pointless. Once Sileus knows your face and mana signature, finding you is easy. That guy is not to be messed with."

Ard said nothing, though hearing the Sword Hero put another combatant on a pedestal was a bit weird to hear. It was equally strange to see him acting like a normal person, not shouting like an irritable old woman.

Just then though, the hero frowned again, but this time because of the scene in front of him. His brow furrowed and started to twitch angrily.

Right now, Ard sat on a stool drinking water from a glass and was sweating while seemingly thinking about something profound.

Several female apprentices had gathered around him, some whispering to one another, others staring openly. One held a waterskin out to Ard with both hands. Another was quietly chanting a minor healing spell on him, her ears flushed pink as she avoided his gaze.

The Hero clicked his tongue.

"Tch."

His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword.

"Did... did you really defeat a Demon Lord alone?" one of them asked Ard, eyes wide.

"You’re so powerful," another said, glancing at Ard with awe then staring at his eyes, his nose, then his lips.

Ard felt invaded, but didn’t react. He was at least used to these kinds of looks no matter how strange they may look.

When he heard them though, he couldn’t help but flick at the Sword Hero. After all, why the hell were they admiring someone who defeated a demon lord when they got the literal Sword Hero in the vicinity who bested and claimed the head of the main antagonist of the world for centuries?

But seeing Ard look at him, the hero misunderstood and his jaw tightened. His fists clenched so hard the knuckles cracked.

"I defeated the Demon King," he barked at the girls, voice sharp and explosive, cutting through their whispers.

A petite apprentice crossed her arms, glaring at him. "With allies, didn’t you? You didn’t do it alone."

The Hero’s eyes almost went out of his eyelids.

"W-What!?" He stomped a foot, sending dust flying. "I defeated multiple Demon Lords—not just one! Are you bitches just stupid?"

But the apprentices had already turned their attention back to Ard, whispering and giggling, completely ignoring him. One of them even nudged another, nodding toward Ard with a dreamy smile.

The Hero’s face flushed red, stomped and threw his sword loud into the pavement making it sound with a loud clank.

"...What the hell’s with this crowd?" he muttered, irritation creeping into his voice. The whole place had changed after he slept!

He let out a sharp huff. Whatever. I don’t need their validation, he thought.

It was then.

"Huh?"

His body stiffened. He suddenly remembered Ard vanishing from his sight during their fight, right before he had passed out.

His body stiffened. He suddenly remembered Ard vanishing from his sight during their fight, right before he had passed out.

The Hero’s frown deepened. With a deliberate motion, he picked up his sword once more.

"Oi," he snapped, raising his voice. A vein throbbed at his temple as he took a step forward, eyes locked on Ard. "Let us continue."

"Eh~" some of the girls complained in unison, pouting and grumbling loudly.

The Hero swung his sword toward them, voice dripping with irritation.

"If you want to be with him so bad, you can all go to hell!"

Ard then blinked. His crimson eyes swerved.

Cognitive Fracture.

"Petty tricks..." he murmured.

The Sword Hero’s psyche and mana were far too strong to breach, but it bought Ard just enough time to lift his sword.

Then shadows surrounded him like fire and swarmed over the Sword Hero but the Sword Hero’s sword glimmered with light and dissolved the shadows like mere vines of a powerless plant.

Ard grinned slightly.

He was not going to lie. Sparring with someone so powerful also gave him a little bit of satisfaction. His stamina tank had also been full for so long anyway.

Again, their swords clashed.

The impact from it made the robes the apprentices were wearing flutter. Without looking, Ard activated Cognitive Fracture once more. In the next instant, his shadows lunged to engulf the Hero’s blade—and even the Hero himself—but a sudden eruption of light dissolved the shadows like mist.

"Fuck you!" The hero shouted, finding the move hilarious.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Soon, the sky was shifting, tinged with the orange of an incoming evening.

"Are we really doing this right?" Ard muttered, his gaze flicking toward the massive dead tree.

Most of the spectators had already left. Only Nimriel and a few male apprentices remained, apparently having come to investigate the sudden surge of mana. For apprentices like Nimriel, it was a rare opportunity: observing swordmages clash in real time was invaluable for their research, which explained why so many lingered despite other pressing duties.

Then, for reasons he couldn’t pinpoint, Ard felt a subtle pulse of mana ripple through the tree’s branches.

’It’s happening. Why?’

A shiver of life threaded through its silvered limbs. Judging by the apprentices’ reactions, it seemed they sensed it too.

Stuck into his own thought, Ard remembered Sileus words.

’He said the tree wants to see the conclusion of the fight between the two mages and wasn’t able to see it in the end. Is it because we have been fighting for a long time and now is beginning to revive?’

For the first time, Ard felt like he was glimpsing the end of the race.

The Hero sensed it as well—but for some reason, he never glanced at the tree. His focus remained entirely on Ard, attacking with the ferocity of a beast possessed.

For some reason too, his strikes had grown sharper, heavier, and more precise compared to when they were sparring earlier in the day.

At the same time, one could see his face twisted into a scowl, pure frustration and disdain etched into every movement when things didn’t go his way.

Sweat dripped from Ard’s temples as he barely managed to parry the next blow. The advantage he had enjoyed when the Hero had been exhausted was slowly disappearing.

This was the real Sword Hero.

Steel met steel with a sound like thunder as Ard was driven back repeatedly, his shadowy strikes repelled by the Hero’s overwhelming light and then skill and raw power.

Then, a flash of opportunity.

The Hero overextended slightly, a subtle misstep in the whirlwind of attacks. Ard seized it.

Channeling all his remaining strength and precise control of his shadows, his speed had increased as he dashed forward in a blur.

Pang!

Steel met steel with a deafening clash—and Ard drove his blade past the Hero’s guard, slashing across his side. A streak of blood leaked out and sprayed into the air.

Ard’s strike had landed—

But in the next instant, the world tilted.

An overwhelming exertion pulled him down as he collapsed to his knees on the cold stone floor.

"Ugh." Ard groaned and suddenly spat blood.

His shadows flickered weakly before fading entirely. He tried to move—but his body refused to obey.

Then a shadow loomed over him.

Above him, the Sword Hero stood steady, blood trickling from a wound, yet his grin was wide and proud.

"Pathetic," he said, pride lacing the word, before laughing loudly.

Then, in the background, the massive dead tree began to stir. Its silvered branches shimmered faintly, glowing with raw mana as if light and shadow were dancing across its limbs. Leaves formed in the shape of hourglasses, made entirely from shimmering mana.

Then a portal opened.

A dungeon.