Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Iyarugut
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'What is this?'
Jae-hyeok's weapon was ordinary. It was just one of the dozens of curved swords displayed in the estate's armory.
A deep green scabbard and a black blade.
A golden band and red tassel.
Saturated with elements symbolizing House Kang, it held conceptual value, but strictly speaking, it wasn't a treasure.
He had no idea that the shattered blade scattered red, transparent light like blood, only for it to fully regenerate into a blade.
But one fact was clear to him.
Iyarugut.
That name was tied to House Kang's founder.
He had heard it was the sword the founder favored hundreds of years ago.
"Ah...."
Jae-hyeok's pitch-black eyes shook violently.
A long sword, gorgeously beautiful like finely crafted red glass.
The founder's cherished blade from the records had fully revealed itself, floating before his eyes.
Only the tassel on the hilt proved it was originally his curved sword.
[It's a demon sword. It's empty now, but it's not hard to guess the resentment sealed within was incredibly potent.]
Deodor spoke, his purple eyes flickering.
Jae-hyeok snapped out of it at the eerie voice and hurriedly gripped Iyarugut.
Then, he shuddered.
The hilt seemed to suck into his palm.
Its elaborate structure, hidden beneath the flashy exterior, provided a near-perfect fit.
Weight, balance, strength, sharpness.
Everything was close to perfection.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it an ideal sword.
However...
'No one can just wield it.'
The sword's temperament was too lofty.
True to its ideal nature, it demanded an ideal master. A single mistake in swinging it, and that keen edge might turn on its owner.
Not a flaw, but a natural principle.
Even a mere kitchen knife requires a craftsman's touch the sharper it is.
In other words.
'No problem.'
The original scabbard didn't match Iyarugut's dimensions.
A situation where quick draw techniques were difficult to use.
So Jae-hyeok gripped the hilt with both hands.
'A sword has two edges.'
Commonly, curved swords are said to suit slashing, straight swords thrusting.
A simplistic prejudice.
A curved sword's thrust is plenty powerful, easily severing an enemy's breath.
A double-edged sword can slice an enemy's body in ways superior to a curved blade.
In the end, it all depended on the wielder's skill.
[I thought you'd get eaten by the Troll Lord. Even freshly born, it was a king. Clearly stronger than you.]
Mounting the sword over his right shoulder in high guard with both hands.
Deodor showed interest in Jae-hyeok, who looked like a completely different person from when he held the curved sword.
[I'm curious if you, holding a straight sword instead of a curved one, have what it takes to defeat a superior foe.]
Unlike the sleek Iyarugut, Deodor's long, crude sword began emitting blazing aura like flames.
Overwhelming sharpness.
Just facing it felt like skin peeling away.
If it were Jae-hyeok before obtaining Iyarugut, he wouldn't have dared to stand against it. His curved sword would have been sliced like paper the moment it clashed.
[Three exchanges. No, endure just one against me, and I'll let you live.]
But now the situation was different.
He had slain the Troll Lord and gained a whopping three levels.
He had accumulated a miraculous feat, with all stats increased by an additional five each.
Above all, he had acquired a new weapon.
"One exchange... Why show me such favor?"
[Because you're not the one I'm seeking, so I have no business with you.]
Deodor answered Jae-hyeok's cautious question straightforwardly.
[Still, you resemble the one I seek, sparking my interest. Especially how your emotionless black eyes and outrageous actions make you look like a madman.]
That was right.
Deodor already knew.
[You're Yaksha's blood kin.]
"......"
Jae-hyeok didn't answer rashly.
This guy had granted 120 days' grace, then appeared abruptly before him.
He had already grasped that Deodor's personality was unpredictable.
He judged it best not to provoke him in any way.
Deodor grinned at the silent Jae-hyeok.
[Besides, I'm not showing favor.]
The skull's mouth corner lifted.
It was unbelievable and grotesque even seeing it in person.
[I'll cut you with intent to kill. To me now, anyone who can't even endure one exchange holds no value.]
Deodor raised the straight blade overhead.
A high guard evoking an executioner beheading a criminal.
It brimmed with intent to bisect.
The sensation of facing a guillotine-shaped monster.
Chills raced up Jae-hyeok's spine.
The killing intent, infused with full power from an overwhelmingly stronger being, was horrific enough to crush even a noble's pride.
But.
"......"
Jae-hyeok didn't twitch an eyebrow.
Fear was a luxury he couldn't afford.
His family's enemies were already at the pinnacle.
Beings he would look down upon even from this monster's height.
Would he, who had honed his blade of vengeance to punish them, falter here?
Impossible.
If so, he never would have picked up a sword to begin with.
'I'd have taken my own life instead.'
Deodor's form, reflected in Jae-hyeok's pitch-black eyes, changed.
The faces of those who stabbed his father in the back and trampled House Kang overlaid the Death Knight's skull.
Jae-hyeok's breath caught.
The monster that looked like a guillotine transformed into a mountain—a side effect.
It felt like a wall he could struggle against his whole life without surmounting.
Vicious despair and frustration turned to shackles and chains, wrapping tightly around the boy's body.
A familiar sensation.
The feeling every time the boy swung his sword alone.
[Entering a trance state.]
The desperate crisis反而 worked in Jae-hyeok's favor.
His daily life was crisis itself, no different from usual.
[Out of his mind. As expected of that man's son.]
Even on the verge of death, Deodor's smile deepened upon reading Jae-hyeok's trance state.
His sword was already plummeting vertically.
The world grew heavy.
The power in the blade seemed to drag the entire sky down.
Jae-hyeok's knees and shoulders were actually crushed under it.
Creeeeeaak!!
Iyarugut and Deodor's sword clashed, producing a deafening explosion that tore at the ears.
Jae-hyeok's knees buckled as if collapsing.
Deodor's sword, pressing down on Iyarugut, dug into his shoulder.
It seemed he and the founder's sword, so hard-won, would be bisected together.
Right then.
Boom!
Jae-hyeok braced the blade with his right thumb and instead stepped forward assertively.
Crunch!!
His wrist, gripping the hilt crushed by immense pressure, snapped and twisted. Iyarugut then arced toward Deodor's nape.
Naturally, it didn't cut.
Iyarugut could slip free from Deodor's sword only because its master sacrificed both hands.
Tok.
Even as Jae-hyeok poured strength into his trembling hands, Iyarugut merely rested lightly on Deodor's spine.
Overwhelming difference in power.
Though Jae-hyeok had reached level 29 slaying the Troll Lord, his strength was woefully inadequate compared to Deodor.
Just deflecting Deodor's strike had pulverized both wrists.
Without bracing the blade with his thumb to redirect without adding force, even deflection would have been impossible.
[...Heh.]
Deodor let out a chuckle upon glancing at Jae-hyeok's thumb, bent back to touch his hand's dorsum.
[The pain of the flesh isn't something so easily endured, is it?]
Deodor had once been human long ago.
He faintly remembered the concept of pain.
Jae-hyeok, now regaining his senses, replied.
"Better a pained body than a broken mind."
Iyarugut's power far exceeded expectations.
Harder and sharper than the epic-grade High Inquisitor Alus's Dagger.
Thus, it withstood Deodor's strike.
Yes, Jae-hyeok had already endured the one-exchange duel with Deodor.
There was no need to counterattack at the cost of becoming rags.
But Jae-hyeok's goal wasn't merely survival.
If possible, he wanted to win.
He intuited that settling for mere relief at surviving would let the knot in his heart swell uncontrollably.
The fate of one bearing a noble's pride.
It was akin to a knight's honor.
[Third Knightly Virtue activated.]
[Knights' Virtue of Transcendence, Indomitable Pride]
Belief in self, refusal to yield to death.
*Skill [The Unbroken] unlocked.
[The Unbroken]
Lv. 1
Type: Passive
When fighting enemies higher level than yourself, all ability scores increase by 10 percent.
He had slain the Troll Lord, obtained Iyarugut, and even activated a new Knightly Virtue.
He had gained so much.
But he couldn't simply rejoice.
Jae-hyeok didn't trust Deodor.
Naturally.
A named monster, no less.
One who didn't even keep his own word.
Enduring one exchange offered no guarantee of being spared as promised.
He had to fight.
[Hmm...?]
Deodor stared at him struggling to raise the drooping sword straight, then turned his head toward the cavern entrance.
Only then did Jae-hyeok sense multiple presences.
"Jae-hyeok! Jae-hyeok, where are you!!"
"Kang Jae-hyeok!"
"Jae-hyeok!"
Voices of Da-hee, Yu-jin, and A-Class homeroom teacher Park Ju-bong.
The footsteps following them weren't just one or two.
It seemed Park Ju-bong, having safely reunited with the students, had brought the Martial Force.
A result of Jae-hyeok's actions.
An unexpected lifeline born from saving Park Ju-bong.
But Deodor was right in front of him.
Unable to relax, Deodor spoke to him.
[About 109 days left now? I'm looking forward to our promised day. When I've recovered somewhat and you've grown considerably. Our reunion then will bring joy incomparable to today.]
Boom!
Deodor kicked off the ground and leaped away.
He scaled the cliff Jae-hyeok couldn't even halfway climb despite running long, vanishing beyond the crater in a few strides.
"Damn it! Pursue him!"
The Martial Force, spotting the Troll Lord's corpse, flew into a rage and gave chase.
"Jae-hyeok!"
"Jae-hyeok!"
Da-hee, Yu-jin, and Park Ju-bong gasped at the bloodied Jae-hyeok and rushed to him.