Chapter 310: 2nd Semester Ranking Tournament. But Now, More Serious Than Expected (End)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 310: 2nd Semester Ranking Tournament. But Now, More Serious Than Expected (End)
How did I end up here?
I ran the moment I saw that War Demon bastard show up, just in case. That’s how.
I thought it would end without me needing to step in because Master was fighting so well, but I never imagined her sword would actually break.
Then again, come to think of it, the sword Master used was a famous blade, but it wasn’t an artifact.
“Hey, just so there’s no misunderstanding, I could have stopped my fist—”
“Sure, you could have. Whether you actually intended to is a different story.”
Now, just to be clear, I don’t doubt the War Demon’s abilities.
Well, I’m a bit skeptical about his intent to stop, but it’s not entirely unbelievable. The guy does have a brain, and he must possess at least a microscopic amount of self-restraint.
Of course, knowing that bastard, he’s the type who’d claim that choosing a sturdy weapon is also a part of a warrior’s caliber and just punch right through anyway—but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
The part that actually pisses me off is the fact that this guy is even at the Academy in the first place.
Even if I concede and accept him entering the Academy, this guy—who doesn’t even have an officially assigned class yet—pulls a stunt like this?
I don’t know what he was thinking, but I tried to check on him before he clashed with others. I truly didn’t expect him to defy my predictions in such a bizarre way.
Intruding on a match? Ah, no. The match itself was over, so I guess it wasn’t an intrusion?
“Th-that, So-hyun. This was a duel I agreed to as a warrior—”
“Be quiet.”
“…Huh?”
This person was always like this.
Even though her body was failing, even though she knew she shouldn’t use mana.
She would expend her energy on things that, by my standards, were utterly trivial.
When I heard the news that she had packed her bags and run off on a “dueling pilgrimage,” only to collapse in the middle of a match because she was ill, I can’t describe how annoyed I was.
Of course, I understand.
I know that was her way of living, her way of denying her own death and trying to find some vitality.
But just because I understand doesn’t mean I don’t get angry.
“Having duels with people whose identities you don’t even know, nearly falling into danger every single time.”
“…Eh? That didn’t happen very often, though?”
“Enough. Get to the infirmary. Now.”
“I’m not hurt at all because you blocked it, So-hyun—”
“I said, go.”
Ah, I shouldn’t get angry. Dammit.
“Do you not hear me?”
In the past, whenever I got angry and we fought like this, Master would always turn her head away, her face flushing red.
Recalling how she wouldn’t meet my eyes until the next day, she must have been quite furious.
“…So-hyun.”
“…Yes?”
“No, uh. Right. I-I’ll go.”
Fortunately, it seems she isn’t that angry this time.
“But before I go, could you show me that angry face just one more time?”
“…What?”
“Ah, sorry. It’s nothing. Uh, yeah! I’m going to the infirmary now!”
…Wait. Huh? Her face turned red a beat late, but seeing this without the brainwashing… something feels a bit off.
Even though her expression was no different from the 1st Timeline, for some reason, it felt strangely weird.
In the 1st Timeline, because of the brainwashing, almost everything women did—except for Seo-ha—looked negative to me, and I got irritated easily.
Don’t tell me… that wasn’t her being angry…?
I mean, unless I’ve suddenly fallen into extreme narcissism or developed a “crush delusion,” that expression was a bit…
“Well, hey. Great men have a soft spot for beauties. What’s wrong with liking women a bit? Especially for a guy with your talent.”
…Seeing that bear-like bastard say that makes it seem like it’s the truth.
Ever since the day Master and I first fought, she—a sick person—had been particularly disobedient and troublesome.
Back then, I just thought she was doing it because she didn’t want to admit she was dying.
…Could it be that she did all that just because she wanted to see me get angry?
No way, that can’t be it… Even if it was a small part of the reason, it couldn’t have been everything.
It better not be.
As I stood there in despair, denying reality, the bear-like man beside me sent a look my way.
“Heh, it’s been a long… no, I should say it’s our first time meeting. Starting next year—”
“I know.”
“Hmm? Did you already hear from the Chairperson? You and that girl earlier, you’re both quick on the uptake…”
“Yeah, I know you’re the teacher taking over classes starting next year. And I know exactly who you are. Right? Mr. War Demon, Seo Tae-ho.”
“…Huh? Wh-what are you talking about?”
“Don’t try to play dumb. Ah, I have something called Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils, so I can see through most disguises and illusions. So let’s not waste time with nonsense.”
“…Well, I’m screwed. The Boss warned me absolutely not to get caught yet.”
“What do you want? Why did you infiltrate the Academy? I assume you came in prepared to be my enemy depending on the situation?”
“My goal? That’s obvious.”
…Is he scouting for talent?
“I came because I thought it’d be fun to be around a bunch of guys who are going to get stronger. The Boss is interested in you, and the runts said they wanted to be freshmen next year.”
…As a side note, Seo Tae-ho hates bothersome things, and while he might not say everything to someone he likes, he never tells a single lie.
He’s not exactly an idiot, but that’s the reason he often seems a bit dim-witted.
And judging by the expression he’s making right now, he seems to have quite a bit of favorability toward me.
In short, there’s a very high probability that all that insane nonsense is actually the truth.
Right, the people of Arcadia were basically like that.
“Now, since I’ve told you my goal honestly, let me ask one favor.”
“…A favor?”
“Yeah. Don’t tell the Boss I got caught. Keep it a secret.”
…Is he insane?
No, wait. Maybe he truly believes that since he gave up his information first, I’ll grant his request. He does have a stubbornly honest side in weird places.
“And let’s have a spar.”
Never mind. He’s just a crazy bastard.
But unfortunately for him, I intend to grant both of this madman’s requests.
Meaning, I won’t tattle to Kalia, and I will spar with him.
My heart wants to tell him to get lost and report him to the Chairperson to kick him out, but unfortunately, if I set aside my emotions and think rationally, there’s more to gain by having Arcadia nearby.
I probably don’t have to agree to the spar.
But if I say no, he’ll likely pester me with all sorts of excuses.
And if I ignore him here, he might go around asking the other kids to spar, right?
And there’s one more decisive reason.
“Fine. Let’s do it.”
“Oh, you’re bold!”
“But we’re not just doing it for nothing. I want to make a simple bet. How about it?”
“Hmm? Well, let’s hear it.”
“If I win, you have to obey my orders absolutely while you’re a professor at the Academy. Ah, I’m not planning to make you do anything grand. Just don’t fight the people I tell you not to fight, and beat up the people I tell you to beat up.”
“…Ho?”
It’s just that, for personal reasons, I really want to beat this guy up.
And while I’m at it, it’d be nice to have an errand boy.
“I don’t mind since that’ll never happen, but what if I win?”
“Is it not enough that I’m overlooking your blunder without any conditions?”
“…Ah, I guess it works out that way?”
What do you mean, “works out that way”?
“Then again, what more could I need when I have an opponent I can go wild against without worry! Fine! Come at me!”
Good. Now that I have his consent.
It was time to put a leash on this attack dog.
“I’m warning you, you’d better not put any pathetic restrictions on yourself this time.”
“Don’t worry.”
After transforming Ruyi into a short sword, I lunged at him.
“I’m not such a fool that I’d let my guard down when facing an equal opponent…!”
Not letting your guard down? You’re not even thinking about going all out.
I guarantee you, even for someone like you, it’s going to be a bit tough this time if you don’t get serious.
* * *
Throughout the previous timelines, there were those referred to as “Ghosts.”
Representative examples included the Sword Ghost, obsessed with the blade; the War Demon, obsessed with fighting; the War Ghost, obsessed with war; and the Lust Ghost, obsessed with women.
There were various others, but if I had to pick the most “absurd” existence among them, I always chose the War Demon without hesitation.
Those who have fought him seriously always say the same thing.
That he seems to get stronger as the fight progresses.
I, too, received a similar impression when I faced him directly.
However, that is actually based on a flawed premise.
He doesn’t get stronger during the fight; he simply adjusts his power to match his opponent.
To put it simply, as much as he loves fighting itself, when he meets an opponent above a certain level, he plays around at a similar level before gradually shifting gears.
Well, of course, he does get serious against extremely strong opponents.
In fact, when the Sword Ghost and I launched a joint attack, he was driven into a corner, and I was certain that day that we could kill the War Demon.
But the “seriousness” he spoke of didn’t mean he was at full power.
It was the seriousness he displayed within the limits of not using his Talent.
To him, fighting was strictly a game, so he almost never used his full strength.
If Arcadia hadn’t been on the verge of annihilation after falling into our trap that day, he might have stubbornly refused to use his Talent until the very end.
But the moment he realized his comrades were in danger—
— You pieces of filth, seriously.
Enraged, he used his Talent.
We, who thought we could wipe out Arcadia, couldn’t break through that one single man and had to retreat.
Four of the swords the Sword Ghost cherished were broken.
And I, who had traded blows with him using an 8-stack Reinforcement, had the bones in my right arm turned to powder.
Through subsequent investigation, I was able to roughly determine under what conditions the War Demon uses his Talent.
First, whenever a comrade’s life is in danger.
Second, whenever he needs power to keep a promise he made first.
And the last one isn’t quite as certain, but it’s when the fight is no longer for fun.
* * *
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that if he uses his Talent, it’ll be hard for me to win since I lack Seo-ha’s help and struggle to recover.
But at the same time, it means he has no reason to use his Talent right now.
He’s clearly been caught in a compromising position, this is a fight for fun, and no comrade’s life is on the line.
Several minutes had already passed since the fight began, but neither of us had landed a definitive, effective blow.
“What’s wrong! Weren’t you moving much better than this when you fought that swordsman kid earlier!”
The War Demon, having parried my swung sword, closed the distance in an instant, but that sword hadn’t been swung with full intent in the first place.
The moment he kicked off the ground and found his balance to throw a punch, shadows erupted from the ground he stepped on, obscuring his vision and binding his arms.
“Tricks, I see!”
Right. To you, they’re just tricks.
It wasn’t a serious attack to begin with, and let’s say it takes you less than a second to tear through the Black Shadow’s darkness.
“Huh…?”
Conversely, that means I can steal your vision for just under a second.
If the enemy increases to three in that one second, will you be able to tell which one is real?
The “me” created using the Cloning Technique were each armed with Ruyi, the Touch of the Devil, and the Black Shadow.
“Haha! You! You really show me new tricks every time…!”
Shadow Chains lashed out to bind him, and the jet-black Camellia, clad in demonic energy, slashed at him.
On top of that, the split Ruyi became blades flying from all directions to close in on him. Even he couldn’t parry everything; for the first time, he retreated to create distance.
“It’s not just that your numbers have increased! Each one is aiming straight for me! You! You’re worlds apart from when we last clashed! Show me more, show me more! This isn’t the end, is it!”
However, as if intending to be a manga protagonist, Seo Tae-ho let out a shout and shifted gears, eventually enduring all my attacks and closing in on me.
Of course, he wasn’t without wounds.
Scratches accumulated from Ruyi’s attacks that he couldn’t block, and sometimes his movements were halted by shadow restraints.
But not a single one of them could be called a fatal wound; he was taking only the minimum damage as he broke through the storm of attacks.
Monster of a man.
Just fall down already.
The first clone vanished after being hit by his kick.
The second clone vanished after its neck was taken by his hand-blade.
“Got you…!”
Finally, his straight punch, aimed at me as I was clad in demonic energy, landed accurately on my solar plexus.
And my “third clone” lost its form and vanished.
“What…!?”
“If there are three enemies in front of you, did you really think one of them had to be the real one? Huh? ‘Seo Tae-ho.’”
Sun Wukong’s Taoist Arts.
The Art of Invisibility.
It was one of the techniques I had learned from the Gourd.
“You! Are you there…!”
Whether he had pinpointed my location by sound, he charged at me with a grin, but the match was already decided.
“Answer.”
“What…!?”
“You did.”
The stopper of the gourd at my waist opened, and a massive vortex erupted.
“What the…!?”
“Capture him. Purple Gold Red Gourd.”
Let’s see if someone of the War Demon’s caliber can resist a Myth-grade artifact even without his Talent.
If you can’t hold out, you’re dead meat, pal.