Chapter 186
Chapter 186
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: 5×5의 싸움 (8)
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The pitch-black demon sword aimed at Yuri.
That jet-black energy rippled like a heat haze.
And finally.
Swish-.
Gunter's sword slashed diagonally through the air.
'What?'
Yuri was puzzled by Gunter's action at first.
But soon, the hairs on his head stood on end.
A warning from his instincts.
And in the blink of an eye, a crescent-shaped black mass reached right in front of him.
'What is this?!'
The black crescent appeared before his eyes as if it had teleported.
Yuri urgently thrust out his golden demon sword, batting the crescent-shaped black mass upward into the sky.
Clang- Boom!
The moment the black crescent shot into the air, a shout mixed with astonishment pierced Yuri's eardrums from somewhere.
"F-Flying Sword?!"
Hearing that, Yuri's brow furrowed involuntarily.
"...Huh?"
Flying Sword.
The technique of projecting one's demon sword outward and launching it.
It was also a ranged skill that Certified 5th Dan practitioners were required to master, and it had been the root cause of Johan tormenting Yuri relentlessly for a while.
"Fuck, this is a Flying Sword?"
No matter how many times he asked what a Flying Sword was or what it entailed, Johan had always said he'd explain once Yuri's body was fully trained.
And yet, he nagged endlessly about Yuri not being able to use a Flying Sword.
Now, just hearing the word "Flying" made Yuri's teeth grind automatically.
And now, right in front of him stood someone who could actually use it.
'I can't do that one though......'
Yuri smacked his lips.
At the same time, he realized why he absolutely had to master this Flying Sword from that previous strike.
'It's incredibly fast.'
The distance between him and Gunter was at least five meters.
Yet the crescent-shaped demon sword had crossed that gap in an instant.
To anyone without the ability to counter a demon sword, this was nothing short of a disaster.
'So that's a Flying Sword, huh?'
The fact that Gunter had used a Flying Sword meant he had stepped into the realm of Certified 5th Dan.
The onlookers buzzed in shock at the revelation.
But whether others were shocked or not didn't matter to Yuri.
With a resolute expression, he called out to Gunter.
"It's kinda awkward to say this in a situation like this, but......"
"......"
The sudden remark made the onlookers tilt their heads.
And then Yuri continued.
"How do you do that? The Flying Sword thing."
"......"
"Teach me."
As he said it, Yuri's eyes sparkled with excessive eagerness.
Seeing that, the onlookers realized.
'Ah... so it wasn't a resolute face after all.'
It was just a face with skin thick as iron plate.
To say something like that in this situation.
The onlookers were once again reminded that Yuri Holland was no ordinary guy.
Gunter swung his sword repeatedly as if it wasn't worth responding to.
With each swing, black crescents flew toward Yuri in equal number.
Swish swish swish-.
Yuri, deploying both Cloud Steps and Thunder Wings, dodged them effortlessly.
That was the beginning.
As if he'd anticipated Yuri dodging, Gunter quickly moved to another angle and launched another Flying Sword.
Not only that, he closed in tight and swung his sword.
And when Yuri retreated, he fired off more Flying Swords.
Boom- Crash!
His assaults alternated between close and long range without cease.
Each time, the dodged Flying Swords shot off in all directions.
The ones busy now were the spectators watching the fight.
"Ugh, aaack?!"
"D-Duck!"
Those who flattened themselves to the ground to avoid the Flying Swords.
Crawling low to escape to the outskirts, their faces turned pale white as the Flying Swords whizzed overhead.
The silver lining was that no one had died yet from spectating and getting hit by a stray Flying Sword.
But not every Flying Sword could be dodged.
Swish-.
One of Gunter's Flying Swords flew straight at a girl from the 49th Cohort.
It was so fast she didn't even realize she was on the verge of death.
Right then.
Whoosh- Boom-!
A rainbow flash intervened, striking the black demon sword.
Scraaape-.
"Guh?!"
From the explosion's epicenter, Goetz was flung back, scraping across the dirt ground with a skid.
"G-Goetz senior?!"
Only then did the 49th Cohort girl realize she'd nearly died and that Goetz had thrown himself to save her.
As she cried out in worry, Goetz waved her off.
"I'm fine, keep your head down and get out of here quick!"
At his words, the 49th Cohort girl ducked her head again and started crawling away.
Goetz, who had coolly saved his junior from peril.
But contrary to his words, his face was stiff with strain, and his sword hand trembled.
'Owl Squad, you... how are you handling that so casually?'
Goetz's quivering gaze lingered endlessly on Yuri, who was dealing with Gunter's demon sword and Flying Swords with ease.
Boom-!
Explosions continued to ring out one after another.
By the time the onlookers had safely retreated to the outskirts of the occupied territory.
The fight between Yuri and Gunter had entered a lull.
In stark contrast to the clashes moments before, the two simply glared at each other for quite a while without making a move.
The silence dragged on so long it seemed like the fight might end like this.
Yet the tension between them only heightened as time passed.
'That bastard... how much mana does he even have?'
Meanwhile, Yuri was stunned by Gunter's mana reserves, which remained vigorous despite his nonstop Flying Swords, and he stuck out his tongue in amazement.
'This isn't enough?'
Gunter realized that to crush Yuri, he needed even greater power, and his face hardened.
'Fine then... I'll do it.'
Sss-.
Black energy surged from Gunter's body as he resolved himself.
Rider Family Secret Martial Art.
Black Blood.
The fiercely rising black energy suddenly vanished as if absorbed into Gunter's body.
Was that the signal?
Whumm-.
The silence shattered at last, a powerful wave spreading outward.
Thud-!
Gunter kicked off lightly, his body shooting forward.
By the time the onlookers registered it, he was already in front of Yuri.
The only one who properly read Gunter's movement was Yuri himself.
Yuri twisted his body swiftly to evade the incoming black demon sword.
Rustle-.
His eyes hardened as the tips of his bangs were slightly sliced off and fluttered away.
'It's... faster than before?'
Gunter's speed had increased dramatically from moments ago... at least 1.5 times faster.
And it wasn't just the speed that had changed.
Boom-.
The instant Yuri parried the sharply incoming sword, pain like his grip tearing apart shot through his hand.
'What the, the power?!'
Faster and stronger.
Boom- Boom-!
Explosions rang with every clash, and even Yuri, who had initially blocked all of Gunter's strikes, began avoiding direct confrontations.
It was only natural for doubt to flicker in Yuri's eyes.
'What happened?'
At first, he thought it was a temporary phenomenon.
Like the Demon King he'd fought before, he assumed it was some special state induced by rage.
But no.
'This guy's getting stronger and stronger?'
As time passed, Gunter was becoming faster and stronger.
This was clearly no temporary surge.
Boom-!
Yuri still held the edge in speed, but in direct demon sword clashes, power against power, he was now clearly being pushed back.
'Was he holding back on me all this time?'
That's what Yuri thought at first.
But he soon shook his head inwardly.
'No, that can't be.'
From the moment their swords first clashed, Yuri had sensed it.
Gunter was strong.
But he was stronger.
If they kept going like this, he would win.
Yet lately, that intuition was starting to blur.
He still believed in his victory, but the feeling of an easy win was shifting to 'If this continues, I'll have to put in some real effort to win.'
'It's not improved skill or more refined attacks, it's just......'
Gunter's physical abilities were abnormally ramping up.
Swoosh-.
Having just used Cloud Steps to evade an incoming attack, Yuri finally spotted something odd about Gunter.
'...What's that?'
Gunter's body, which had been fine moments ago.
Now, black lines were etched across his exposed skin.
As if black blood coursed through his veins, an eerie sight.
Even the black veins, initially limited to his forearms, were spreading further as time went on.
Boom-.
Yuri got too close trying to examine Gunter's condition in detail and took a hard hit, getting flung back.
Scraaape-.
Skidding across the dirt, Yuri confirmed the black veins had now climbed up to Gunter's neck.
With that, he gained strong conviction.
'So that's it.'
Those black veins were undoubtedly the cause of Gunter's abnormal physical enhancement.
Proportional to how quickly they spread over time, Gunter's physical prowess strengthened.
Now, Gunter's sword strikes were so fast even Yuri risked missing if careless, and a mere graze could dent even ironclad armor.
And finally, when Gunter's entire face was covered in black veins.
Whoosh-.
A tremendous gale erupted from Gunter's casual swing.
The wind pressure blasted straight at Yuri like a blade.
It was so fierce his body swayed slightly.
Gunter didn't miss and closed in again.
As Yuri put distance between them, a glint of small shock entered his eyes.
At the same time, realization flashed in Yuri's eyes.
'So that's how it is!'
Johan had mentioned Sword Lord while talking about ultimate power and ultimate speed.
A Sword Lord was a monster who wielded both strength and speed to their extremes.
And now, clashing with Gunter, Yuri was starting to grasp what that meant.
'Just with raw physical power... this is possible?'
That earlier sword strike that sent wind blasting forth.
It wasn't some special technique or grand ultimate art.
Merely fast, merely powerful.
But having surpassed a certain threshold, it was like shooting wind blasts as if by legendary magic.
Yuri clicked his tongue.
'Is this guy... really human?'
Gunter's current power might even surpass Poppi's, and his speed approached Teresa's.
And all of it became possible.
'Starting from when that creepy thing appeared.'
Yuri glared at the black veins.
His heart pounded a bit.
'Is that one of the martial arts that elevates Sword Lords to the world's strongest?'
He was insanely curious.
Just what principle governed those black veins.
How could he use it himself!
But it wasn't something he could figure out just by looking.
So Yuri tried what he was good at, to observe more closely.
Whumm-.
He deployed Mana Field.
At the same time, he began reading every detail of the mana flow centered on Gunter.
Meanwhile, Gunter, facing Yuri, furrowed his brow in inexplicable frustration.
The more he swung his sword.
The more an unidentifiable frustration welled up.
And soon, Gunter pinpointed the cause.
'He hasn't attacked at all.'
All attacks so far had come from him alone.
Yuri Holland had only parried or dodged.
To others, it might look like Yuri was overwhelmed by his onslaught.
'How dare he......'
But Gunter knew better.
Even with Black Blood activated, his speed couldn't catch up to Yuri.
Yuri's movements in evading his attacks had leeway.
Realizing that, Gunter gritted his teeth.
'You're not even going all out against me, Yuri Holland!'
Fury flashed in Gunter's eyes.
And as if responding to its master's mood, the black veins etched across Gunter's body throbbed violently.
Craaack-.
The Rider bloodline's ultimate technique, which could push physical abilities to the limit without side effects: Black Blood.
That unreasonable art, nightmare of the Rider's foes, began elevating Gunter's physical prowess to yet a higher realm.
And it didn't end there.
Groooar-.
Rider Family Secret Martial Art.
Domination.
An even stronger pressure than before crushed the Rider's enemies.
Slooowly-.
Gunter's sword began tracing a large circle.
And with it, the spectators felt as if darkness suddenly engulfed everything around them.
Darkness encroaching from all sides.
The only things gleaming fiercely within were Gunter's two eyes.
And finally.
Flash-.
The moment Gunter's black eyes spat blue killing intent.
The sun vanished.
Rider Family Secret Martial Art.
Eclipse.
The pupils of those flattened on the ground, staring blankly at the sky, captured a horrific illusion.
'T-The sky?!'
'A black... sun?'
The clear blue sky darkened, the sun stained black.
And the darkness-engulfed sun plummeting straight toward Yuri.
The onlookers thought the sun would crush Yuri.
Or that the darkness would swallow him whole.
The jet-black sun was so massive, it seemed impossible to block with anything.
But.
Shaaa-.
A single golden ray bloomed from within the darkness.
That holy light traced a long arc, surging vertically upward.
And.
Slash-.
It cleaved the black sun in half.
"Ah...?"
"...Huh?"
As light returned to the darkened sky, snapping them from the grim illusion.
What the onlookers witnessed was......
Boommmmm-!
"Khugh?!"
Gunter, spewing blood amid an ear-piercing explosion, flying through the air.
Crunch- Craaack- Thud!
After smashing through several trees, he crashed and embedded into the ground.
"......"
"......"
"......"
As people blankly lost in confusion, unable to comprehend what they'd seen.
Tok-.
In the center of the occupied territory, the last grain of sand fell in a small hourglass mechanism.
Click-.
Slooowly-.
A heavy mechanical sound echoed from the device, white powder sucked inward.
And.
Pop-!
A small sphere shot vertically amid acrid smoke.
Poomf-!
Reaching the high sky, it burst apart, scattering white smoke.