Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: 5×5 Battle (6)
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Kclang-!
The bastard sword flying toward Yuria rang out with a metallic clash as it was deflected.
“Ah…….”
Thanks to that, she escaped danger and realized the sword that saved her looked very familiar.
A double-edged blade thinner than Kwonter’s bastard sword.
And it even had ornate rose decorations.
“Goetz……?”
As if reacting to Yuria’s murmur.
The rose-decorated sword moved gracefully, tracing a red trajectory.
Soon, a single rose bloomed around her, protecting Yuria at its center.
Ssssh-.
Each red line resembling petals was a powerful sword path, and they began flying toward Kwonter.
But Kwonter’s expression showed no particular emotion, as if he had anticipated this.
No, he had truly known Goetz was approaching.
If Kwonter hadn’t allowed it, even Goetz wouldn’t have deflected his sword so easily.
Zzzip-.
Kwonter lightly stepped back.
Of course, that was light from his perspective.
To others, it looked like instantaneous movement, incredibly fast.
As Kwonter retreated, the four attackers moved back with him, as if they were his clones.
With the battle reaching a temporary lull, Yuria clutched her chest and let out a laugh.
“I’m not usually the clingy type… but today’s the first time I’ve been this happy to see an ex, senpai.”
“Haha, that’s music to my ears. Are you hurt anywhere, Miss Yuria?”
Yuria’s expression turned strange at Goetz’s worried question.
“I know it’s pathetic to ask this in a situation like this, but senpai, got a girlfriend?”
“…That’s hardly the question for a moment like this.”
“No, come on. Normally, after a cool rescue, you’d puff up your shoulders and say, ‘How about we meet again, just the two of us?’ But you’re being way too meek? And more than that…….”
“…….”
“You just called me by my name normally. Not White Rose.”
“Haha, did I?”
Even under his ex’s not-quite-interrogation, Goetz just smiled brightly.
Then, as if dodging the answer, he turned his gaze forward.
The moment he saw Kwonter standing far off, the smile on Goetz’s lips vanished clean away.
Goetz took half a step forward and opened his mouth.
“How… have you been enjoying yourself, Kwonter?”
For the first time since the fight began, Kwonter responded to his question.
“Not particularly. Nothing worth enjoying. They were all so dull.”
“This is embarrassing… Our side’s been rude to a guest who came to play. We can’t even entertain properly.”
A guest who came to play.
It was a jab at Kwonter’s playful attitude.
Even knowing that full well, Kwonter didn’t show any offense.
He even fired back.
“Yeah, huge disappointment. I was just getting bored and thinking of ending the game.”
At the slightly mocking reply, Goetz glared at Kwonter with an unusually fierce gaze.
“Don’t worry from now on. I’ll play with you.”
“Hmm, I doubt it’ll be fun even with you.”
“It will be.”
With that short reply, Goetz raised his lowered sword.
The moment his blade tip pointed at Kwonter.
Fwoosh-.
Mana flames started from the hilt and enveloped the entire blade.
Goetz’s fire sword completed in an instant.
But the change in his sword didn’t end there.
Zzzip-.
Goetz’s fire sword began condensing, turning into light.
‘That’s?!’
‘No way!’
Not just Kwonter’s group, but even their own White Army allies were shocked by the transformation.
Even Kwonter’s eyes gleamed with interest.
Watching Goetz’s sword, Kwonter murmured lowly.
“A magic sword.”
No sooner had he spoken than Goetz’s sword finished its change.
What emerged was a rainbow-hued magic sword.
Its color wasn’t uniform, rippling faintly, suggesting it wasn’t fully perfected.
In other words, a recent breakthrough.
But so what?
It was a magic sword, after all.
Officially, Kwonter was the only one under three years who could wield one.
Across the entire Cradle, fewer than twenty riders could.
So Goetz reaching the realm of the magic sword would shake the whole Cradle.
Goetz looked at Kwonter and asked.
“I’ve finally caught up a step. No congratulations?”
“Do I have to?”
“Well, you reached it in your first year, so my immature magic sword wouldn’t satisfy you… Still, this should be enough to entertain you.”
Saying that, Goetz lowered into stance.
Then he whispered softly to Yuria behind him.
“I can’t handle him alone. I need support.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Then… let’s hold out for about fifteen minutes.”
He hadn’t thought he could win from the start.
Just endure until the hourglass ran out.
‘That’s enough.’
Grinning, Goetz powered his legs.
And.
Boom-.
His body shot forward rapidly.
In an instant, Goetz’s sword reached the four in front of Kwonter and bloomed a rose.
This time, the rose Goetz created wasn’t red.
It was yellow, and very small.
And their number was no joke.
One, two, three, four….
The endlessly multiplying roses encroached everywhere like an illusory garden.
The four seemed flustered.
The first to fall was the one who moved rashly.
“An illusion like this?!”
Yerun, the girl among the Krabe siblings, gritted her teeth and swung at the roses.
But whenever her sword neared, the roses swayed and dodged.
Then Goetz’s voice rang out.
“The language of the yellow rose is jealousy. A lover’s jealousy is cute, but sometimes… it’s terrifying.”
No sooner had he spoken than the yellow roses climbed her sword.
“Huh?!”
The moment she flinched in panic, the yellow roses seized the opening and struck her.
Papatapat!
Small, yellow roses that seemed cute, but their attacks were vicious.
“Aaack!”
Yerun collapsed, bleeding from over a dozen hits.
Seeing his blood kin fall, Loop Krabe charged in a frenzy.
And at that moment.
“Quill form!”
Yuria’s magic artillery followed, her calculations complete on supporting the vanguard Goetz.
“Circle around!”
Of the 24, the remaining 11 survivors approached the battlefield where Goetz fought.
“Squads, form up!”
In an instant, they split into groups of five and six, sticking to Michel Ang and Alice Moore.
That left Loop Krabe naturally to Goetz.
All of it happened in a flash.
A seamless link, as if rehearsed in advance.
Loop Krabe, charging at Goetz.
“Kraaak!”
Even he, in his excitement, began getting shredded by the jealous yellow roses flying from all sides.
And.
Boom!
With a strong explosion, he flew off.
Meanwhile, Michel and Alice struggled against their new opponents.
Kclang-!
Clang!
Metallic clashes echoed here and there.
With Goetz joining, the two Blue Army troublemakers were quickly handled, and the remaining two fell into disadvantage.
The tide had turned overwhelmingly in White Army’s favor.
Or so it seemed.
Until he moved.
Swoosh-.
Kwonter took a single light step forward.
With that one step, he was suddenly at the center of the battlefield.
“……?!”
Everyone was stunned by Kwonter’s sudden appearance.
But the real shock was just beginning.
Boom-.
Kwonter stomped lightly.
Groooan-.
The air grew heavy, pressing down everywhere.
“Urk!”
“W-what?!”
Those with lower realms buckled at the knees under the horrific pressure.
Most paled, gasping for breath.
Even Goetz gritted his teeth as his body suddenly grew heavy.
‘This…….’
Any Cradle rider had felt something like this once.
When first stepping into the Cradle.
The Hundred Steps ritual.
Goetz knew the identity of this absurd pressure well.
Rider family secret martial art.
Domination.
A supreme technique symbolizing the Sword Lord.
It maximized the innate quality of Rider blood, making inferiors submit with presence alone.
Even among Riders, only a few were born with it—and now it manifested in the Sword Lord’s youngest son.
Groooan-.
Not just White Army, but even allied Blue Army suffered in the domination field.
Goetz gritted his teeth.
‘It’s fine, this much… just this much……!’
Compared to the distant awe he felt from the Sword Lord during the Hundred Steps ritual.
Kwonter’s was feather-light.
In truth, despite constraints, he could still move.
“Kwonter!”
Shouting shortly, Goetz forced his rigid body forward at Kwonter.
As the rainbow magic sword on his blade rippled.
Ssssh-.
A red rose bloomed, more beautiful than ever.
A massive rose, beautiful yet lethally powerful.
Its intense sword aura hungered for Kwonter.
‘…Reach.’
He knew he wasn’t Kwonter’s match.
He knew the vast gap between them better than anyone.
But even so…….
‘Reach.’
Hadn’t that gap narrowed somewhat now?
Couldn’t he at least brush it if he reached out?
‘Reeeach!’
The rose-hued magic sword carrying Goetz’s desperate wish flew at Kwonter.
The onlookers saw an illusion of Kwonter trapped in a rose prison.
And at the same time… they witnessed black aura surging from within the red cage.
Tok-.
Like black ink dropping on white paper.
A sudden black energy appeared in the rose prison.
It instantly grew, shooting upward.
Zzzrip-!
Tearing the rose prison apart.
Kwaaaang-!
At the intense explosion, Goetz’s rainbow magic sword could no longer dance in the air and halted abruptly.
Clutching that beautiful magic sword was a jet-black one.
A magic sword so aptly named, deep and profound black.
The moment its owner’s black eyes turned to Goetz.
Crackle-.
Goetz’s rainbow magic sword began shattering.
Panicking, Goetz desperately poured in mana, but it wasn’t enough to stop the destruction.
Crack-!
Like being swallowed by a black nightmare.
Ultimately, the rainbow magic sword shattered to pieces.
With it, Goetz’s body was flung back.
Zzzgrrr-.
Sliding as he scraped the dirt ground.
Ptooey-.
Taking the heavy impact, he spat red blood and pitched forward.
Barely kneeling on one knee and stabbing his sword to avoid fully collapsing, Goetz looked up at Kwonter slowly approaching.
The faintly shadowed eyes gazing down loftily.
Amid the indifferent white gleam, Goetz let out a wry chuckle.
Kwonter pointed his sword at such a Goetz.
“I told you. I didn’t think you’d be particularly fun.”
“…….”
“And I was right.”
Even at the insulting words, Goetz just wore a bitter smile.
He couldn’t deny it, even if he wanted to.
Kwonter was right.
‘How long has it been?’
Subjectively, it felt like dozens of minutes, but probably less than a few.
From boldly stepping up to being subdued by Kwonter.
No different from the others.
‘…Couldn’t reach.’
He thought this much would at least graze his hem, but it was his delusion.
Kwonter had advanced far beyond his own progress.
The gap between them was too wide to touch, even reaching out.
As Goetz floundered in emptiness and despair.
“Boring.”
Kwonter muttered, looking around.
Those still struggling in his domination field.
They all felt like bugs.
“Time to really end the game.”
Deciding so, Kwonter raised his sword.
And right then.
“Ehey!”
A voice from one side of the forest.
Soon, someone emerged from the 3-5 territory.
Sauntering, carefree.
A black-haired, golden-eyed boy appeared with hands in pockets.
“What, calling it already? How much did you even do?”
Yuri grinned as he slowly walked toward Kwonter Rider.
Step by step.
His steps started at the territory border and kept going straight.
Step-.
Finally reaching Kwonter’s domination field.
White Army folks shot warning glares at Yuri.
Don’t come in!
This isn’t a place you can enter!
Ignoring the warnings, Yuri casually kept walking.
Groooan-!
Finally, Yuri fully entered the domination field.
Step step-.
He passed the sprawled bodies on the ground.
Hands still in pockets, light and breezy steps.
As if the field affected only him, an eerie sight.
Step step-.
The now-silent battlefield.
Yuri’s footsteps echoed loudly.
Walking slowly but without hesitation, Yuri stopped at Kwonter’s right front.
Still not pulling his hands from pockets, he smirked at Kwonter.
“Game’s just starting, and you’re ending it already?”
With those words, Yuri’s hand finally emerged from his pocket.
His left hand only.
Swoosh-.
The freed white hand reached toward Kwonter.
And.
Tap tap-.
He wagged his fingers flippantly.
“Come at me. Now I’ll play with you.”