The Evaluation Spar (4): Nine Tails Fully Charged

Whoosh. Thud. Thump thump thump.

Something’s off.

As Garein continued trading blows with Zeon, his expression grew steadily harder. He’s moving exactly like someone who already knows all my patterns.

Even now. Any strike threatening to inflict fatal damage in a single blow, Zeon sensed like a ghost and evaded. Everything else he took directly on his body without dodging.

Unbelievable talent.

Garein hurled another attack at Zeon while thinking. How could the boy react as if he had foreseen every single move?

First possibility: Zeon had taken an interest in him long before today. It felt awkward to admit, but the name Garein Sieghart carried enough fame that people around him recognized it. If Zeon had admired him since childhood or held some other interest…?

No. Even then, this is too much.

No matter how long someone had watched from afar, reacting to every tiny movement in real combat like this was impossible. Besides, even if he had been interested, he wouldn’t have seen Garein fight in person. How could he possibly respond so perfectly?

Second possibility: he had survived constant life-or-death battles and accumulated near-extreme combat experience.

That’s impossible too.

The current Zeon was only a twenty-year-old student. If he had been fighting since childhood, exactly how young had he been when he started risking his life? Moreover, reacting to attacks of this level could never be achieved through back-alley brawls or third-rate thugs. It would require war-scale battles or countless clashes against knights of equal standing.

Of course, surviving such fights would have spread rumors, yet Garein had never once heard Zeon’s name mentioned in that context.

Then by process of elimination, only one possibility remains.

The chance that he simply possessed a talent so overwhelming it rendered all the previous theories meaningless. A talent the heavens themselves would envy. And the owner of that talent would undoubtedly carve his name into history one way or another.

That was why Garein’s will burned even hotter.

I must separate that power from Zeon as quickly as possible. Before that brilliant talent could be tainted any further.

Even so, he could not reveal his full strength. This was, after all, only an evaluation spar meant to gauge a student’s ability. And rather than being crushed by overwhelming power, losing at a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠similar level would make Zeon realize how worthless that power truly was.

Even if, by some slim chance, his mind becomes twisted, that’s fine. In that case, Garein would simply borrow the strength of everyone around him—including himself—to fix it.

“Huu… Still nothing?”

“When exactly do you plan on attacking?”

The reason he’s been purely defending instead of attacking must be connected to the tattoo created by that power.

Zeon’s focus on defense over offense was definitely tied to it. Unlike earlier, portions of the tattoo on his arm had begun to glow, and Garein had noticed the boy’s eyes repeatedly checking it. The conclusion was obvious.

To shatter the illusion surrounding that power, I must crush his strongest strike head-on.

From his behavior so far, the tattoo likely converted received damage into some form of change.

In that case, I’ll help him fill every last bit of light in that tattoo.

If he attacked too fiercely, Zeon would dodge, so he had to adjust the force carefully. Strong enough for the tattoo to charge quickly, yet not so strong that the boy evaded.

Thumpthumpthumpthump. Thump thump. Thud.

“Urgh…”

Correct.

Zeon had stopped dodging and started taking the hits directly. This level of power was acceptable.

Bam bam bam bam. Thump thump. Thud. Ratatatat.

Garein’s relentless barrage continued without pause. Zeon gladly took every strike, and to the students watching, the sight looked less like a fight and more like pure, miserable torture.

It’s completely different from when he fought us?!

You never let us land a single hit! That’s a bit much!

Wow, he’s still conscious after all that.

“P-poor guy.”

Someone unconsciously ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠muttered the words, and astonishingly every student around them nodded in agreement.

“Crazy bastard. He’s actually enduring that head-on.”

Even Kena had spoken.

—Isn’t it about time you used it?

—Yes. At this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rate you’ll collapse before you even get to attack.

Cheonma and Hoya stared at the eight glowing tail tattoos on my arm and asked if it wasn’t time to fight already.

Certainly, activating my ability at this level would be more than enough against the current Garein.

But still… after coming this far, wouldn’t it be a shame to stop now?

I subtly checked the charge rate of the tails. Four percent remained until all nine were filled.

Endure this? No way I can!

Thud. Ding.

Right on cue, Garein’s fist aimed at my abdomen finally caused all nine tails to shine with light.

—He really filled them all.

—That kind of insane persistence is an incredibly valuable talent that’s hard to obtain even if you want it.

—Isn’t that just straight-up madness?

How difficult had this been? My head had been spinning the entire time, calculating which attacks to dodge and which to take while reacting to every single one of Garein’s movements.

Of course, from the middle onward I’d found it strange that no truly dangerous attacks came, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

Thump.

Along with the sensation of my heart pumping powerfully, strength began to overflow throughout my entire body. Because all nine tails were now charged, my stats had received an additional five percent boost.

—You’re finally going to fight properly.

—Still, it’s only going to be a ten-second fight, isn’t it?

—For the strong, duels are decided in a single second.

—But they aren’t the strong ones, are they?

Boooom.

It hurt to admit, but Hoya’s words weren’t exactly wrong. The ‘current’ me was still the weak one, not yet among the strong.

—Disciple, you haven’t forgotten that sensation, have you?

Of course not.

The strange feeling as if the entire world was gathering in the palm of my hand. How could I possibly forget the sensation that had let me taste omnipotence, even if only for a moment?

“So you can finally reveal your full power. It was worth adjusting my strikes.”

“You… knew?”

“You were being that obvious. It would have been strange not to notice. Watch your gaze and movements more carefully.”

Wait, he had genuinely noticed my situation and deliberately adjusted his attacks? No wonder there hadn’t been any truly dangerous strikes after a certain point.

I didn’t know why Garein had given me the chance to reveal my full power, but right now I needed to focus on the attack.

“Huuuu…”

I circulated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art within me to its absolute limit. Just as Reglia had done, I bet everything on this one strike.

Rumble rumble rumble.

Using the Heavenly Demon Divine Art at maximum output unintentionally created a scene similar to Cheonma’s. The ground began to shake, the air grew heavy. Every living being except me started to feel crushing pressure, and the protective barrier surrounding the sparring ground vibrated violently. A strange sensation washed over me, as if the entire world were laid beneath my feet.

—Get a grip and attack already. Time’s almost up.

—Yeah, you’ve already wasted three seconds just standing there.

At their urging I hurriedly gathered my power into a single point to finish things.

The energies of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art began converging before me according to my will. The pitch-black energy, like condensed darkness, quickly took the shape of a single sharp blade.

Now it gets real.

Having formed the sword with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, it was time to imbue it with attributes. The method I used, with my talent for every element—

I strike every attribute at once to achieve balance.

Therefore, aside from an extremely small amount of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art used to support my body, I squeezed out everything I had and poured it into the sword’s durability.

The sword’s power? The force generated by the clashing attributes was more than sufficient. Besides, if its durability was too low the blade would shatter instantly. Using Ghostly Qi as additional support to act as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a lubricant finished the process.

Fwoooosh. Crackle crackle. Crunch. Swish. Rumble…

—It’s spectacular no matter how many times I see it.

—A sword that could command the world, one even I would never dare create.

The blade that had manifested while containing every attribute was a completely dark, pitch-black sword that didn’t reflect a single point of light.

The omnipotence radiating from it left even the students who had been worried about me speechless. Even Garein, who had told me to reveal my full power, stared in a daze.

But I could not let myself be captivated by it. I was the one who wielded the weapon. I could not allow myself to be taken in by my own blade.

—Just standing near it makes my whole body tingle…

—It’s only natural since this strike would affect even us.

This single attack would work on Cheonma and Hoya as well. Since they had said so themselves, it had to be true.

Now, everyone, watch carefully. Etch this scene into your minds forever.

The sword I am unleashing upon the world for the first time. Remember my full power.

“…Heavenly Demon Slash!”

—Ah, that name really is something.

—Huu… I’ll have to rename it after the spar ends.