I May Fall, But My Sword Will Not (6)
The arena exploded with a thunderous BOOM! Starrostar’s sword carved a flawless straight line through the air. It fell like a streak of light. Though the strike looked light, the power behind it was anything but.
Starrostar had naturally assumed the bare-handed Kang Geon would dodge. After all, a fighter focused on offense and mobility would have weak defenses. But Kang Geon’s response shattered her expectations completely.
CLANG!
He raised his forearm horizontally and blocked the blade. Not even a scratch marred his skin.
‘Impossible!’ Starrostar thought, stunned.
Yet her sword did not stop. The situation was already beyond retreat, and while victory wouldn’t come easily, the idea of defeat never once crossed her mind.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Every time Starrostar’s sword collided with Kang Geon’s arm, sparks flew wildly. The beautiful woman attacking the massive grey figure with holy light looked like a hero delivering justice to a villain.
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
The concept of rewarding virtue and punishing vice was one humanity had pursued for eons. The crowd began cheering for Starrostar. Whatever the truth might be, the story unfolding before their eyes was what mattered. And in truth, it wasn’t all that different.
‘This isn’t easy. But I will not lose.’
“Oho! So she has a skill like this! Stars have risen in the arena. Starlight is always more beautiful in darkness. Kill the lights!” Galenza ordered.
Every lamp in the arena went dark. Only Starrostar’s stars shone brilliantly. A spectacle that belonged only to the heavens had unfolded across the battlefield.
Isabel watched with admiration, clearly pleased by Galenza’s timely command.
“I’ll ask one last time. Do you surrender?”
“I’ll accept your surrender if you spread your cunt and beg me to fuck it.”
“You’re choosing a path you’ll regret.”
“We’ll see who ends up regretting it.”
“It will be you. Haaap!”
Starrostar leaped, twisting her body as she stepped on the stars. The stars laid by Star Ground acted as landmines or obstacles for her enemies, but for Starrostar herself they served as perfect footholds and springboards for her charge.
BOOM!
A star exploded, propelling her forward. Starrostar thrust her sword straight out as she surged ahead explosively. She looked like a blade forged from starlight itself.
CRASH!
Her ferocious attack slammed into Kang Geon’s chest. A powerful shock reverberated through Starrostar’s wrist. It meant she had failed to pierce his defense.
‘Not yet!’
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Using the stars scattered everywhere, Starrostar burst out from Kang Geon’s blind spots again and again. He simply stood in place, taking every strike head-on. He could have dodged if he wanted. He could have stopped her if he chose. Yet he remained still.
Having faced her directly and felt the unyielding conviction in her sword, Kang Geon wanted to make her taste utter despair. He wanted to give her the crushing frustration of standing before a massive, immovable wall that no belief could overcome. He wanted to rip out the very foundation of her confidence by the roots.
That was why he was deliberately showing her that no matter what she did, she couldn’t leave even a single wound on him.
SHIIIIING!
The recoil from her sword failing to penetrate Kang Geon sent Starrostar sliding backward across the floor.
“Who are you?”
“The guy who’s going to wreck your pussy in a little while.”
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
“You’d be better off worrying about your cunt than my identity.”
“How truly vulgar. Do you really think you’ve won with just this?”
“What more do you need to beat a cheap onahole?”
“I want to see how long you can keep that confidence.”
Starrostar danced. No—it was swordplay. Her movements were so graceful that it was easy to mistake them for a beautiful sword dance. The stars carpeting the ground charged toward Kang Geon. Then they exploded.
KWAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!
It was as if a nuclear bomb had detonated. The arena floor, specially reinforced and layered with defensive magic for high-level battles, shattered completely, leaving gaping holes. The underground was exposed, and the lift meant to raise the next fighter was destroyed.
Even amid the radiant burst of starlight, Starrostar could see Kang Geon clearly.
‘He’s still completely fine… But still…!’
She still had options left. The S-class skills she had honed for perfect control, and Andra.
“This one actually feels refreshing.”
Kang Geon rolled his neck from side to side, loosening his muscles, then lowered his stance.
“No!”
Starrostar gasped, having lost sight of him for a split second.
THUD!
His knee drove into her side.
“Kuhk!”
A scream and a spray of saliva shot from her mouth like bullets. Given the force of the impact, her light body should have been sent flying across the arena, but Kang Geon had already grabbed her head, stopping her from flying away.
CRASH!
He slammed Starrostar’s head into the floor. The magically reinforced metal warped under the force.
CRASH! CRASH!
He drove her down two more times. The floor completely disintegrated and collapsed.
“Aigoo. What a mess,” Galenza muttered, worrying about the repair costs while glancing at Isabel.
Isabel’s expression wasn’t bad at all. The destroyed floor had only heightened the excitement. The crowd erupted into wild cheers. Today’s heat would translate directly into future profits.
BOOM!
Kang Geon hurled Starrostar away. She flew like a cannonball and smashed into the wall before dropping to the ground.
“Kk!”
Her mask cracked and fell away. Starrostar quickly tore a piece of the clothing she wore beneath her armor and covered her face. Even the brief glimpse of her bare face was enough to hint at her overwhelming beauty.
The audience’s roars reached their peak. Those cheering for the beauty and those craving her humiliation both screamed until their throats were raw.
Starrostar regained her stance. Her head was spinning and dazed from the impact, but she couldn’t afford to stay still.
A skill that draws explosive power from the strength of stars. Can only be used beneath starlight, but carries almost no risk.
A skill that turns the user into starlight itself for a ferocious charge.
Starrostar activated two S-class skills at once. The Power of Star granted explosive strength drawn from stellar power, usable only under starlight but nearly risk-free. Starlight Buster transformed her into starlight for a savage charge.
Descent of Starlight. Chasing Starlight. Starlight Buster. The Power of Star.
The combination of these four skills temporarily granted her the power to destroy anything.
Starlight surged toward her. It became impossible to distinguish her from the light itself.
Kang Geon prepared to defend. Blocking with only his avatar body seemed too dangerous. He gathered the Authority of Domination in his left hand and the Authority of Power in his right. Since his goal was subjugation rather than destruction, the Authority of Power was slightly restrained. In truth, he could have subdued her gently with it, but his proficiency was still lacking.
“This is the end.”
Starrostar shot forward. Stars may look small from afar, but many were larger and more powerful than the sun. Her title allowed her to draw a fraction of the immense power emitted by such stars. Though only a tiny portion, the sheer strength of stellar force made the techniques she unleashed overwhelmingly powerful—rarely seen even across the vast lands of Ferum.
“Th-that light…!”
Faced with the holy radiance, Galenza felt his heart grow solemn without realizing it. He felt ashamed of his past greed for wealth and women. He regretted the fat body he had gained by exploiting those beneath him. Everything he had desperately struggled for suddenly felt hollow.
Isabel, however, remained completely unfazed. She had faced Kang Geon’s two Authorities many times before. The fierce light Starrostar emitted couldn’t even disturb the faintest remnant of his power.
Still, she felt a twinge of worry. The light Starrostar produced was so intense that, from the outside, Kang Geon appeared to be in danger.
‘No way…’
While Isabel’s mind swirled with complicated thoughts, Starrostar’s sword drew near Kang Geon.
SHIIIIIIIIING!
That was when Starrostar felt it—the two powers radiating from Kang Geon. And that the starlight itself was afraid.
The Authority of Power intimidated the starlight. The Authority of Domination forced it to its knees.
‘How can this be…’
Overwhelmed by the majesty of the two Authorities, the starlight refused to touch Kang Geon and scattered. Not only that, it began to approach him gently, like a sycophantic courtier trying to curry favor.
‘Why is the starlight…’
Starlight was something that never yielded or betrayed. Yet now it was behaving like a whore fawning over a rich man.
‘It must be a bad matchup.’
Such things happened occasionally. Just as strength could be defeated by softness, and softness by speed, Starrostar’s starlight must have met something it couldn’t overcome. Since she had never even considered that starlight could have a fatal weakness, she desperately rationalized the unbelievable sight before her.
CRACK!
The sword in Kang Geon’s grip snapped in two. Descent of Starlight had vanished, and the blade could no longer withstand his power.
“Is this it? All flash, no substance.”
Grind.
Starrostar gnashed her teeth as all her efforts up to this point were casually dismissed.
“It’s not over yet!”
She raised her right arm.
“Andra! Lend me your strength!”
The sword in Emil’s arms disappeared and reappeared at Starrostar’s right side.
The holy sword Andra. A supreme blade that overwhelmed evildoers with its mere presence. The moment one grasped this sword, defeat was not permitted. To be defeated while holding it meant one’s conviction had been broken.
“I may fall, but this sword will not.”
It was a vow that even in death, her conviction would never break.
Kang Geon immediately recognized it as the source of Starrostar’s confidence. The sword passed down through generations was the very pillar of her mind and beliefs. He wanted to trample it, shatter it, and destroy it completely!
The thought made a cruel smile spread across Kang Geon’s face.
‘Wh-what is this?’
As Kang Geon prepared to get serious, a chill ran down Starrostar’s spine. And Andra cried out.
Andra’s sword cries had always been positive—fight, advance, win. But now it sounded like it was trembling in fear.
‘That can’t be! It must be because I unconsciously felt fear.’
Starrostar steeled her heart. Andra poured holy power into her. It was the strength to pursue order and enforce justice.