Chapter 243
Chapter 243
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 243
Chapter Title: Imprint (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The 51st Batch were dumbfounded.
From the very trigger that had brought them together dreaming of revenge to the present moment.
The fact that all of it had been orchestrated by one person was absurd enough, but the reason behind this ridiculous and bothersome scheme was simply because they didn't want the trainees to train for just one week.
And what was this about night training?
Faced with a situation too bizarre for ordinary thinking to follow, the 51st Batch couldn't grasp how to react.
Koban's mind, in particular, was a whirlwind of complexity.
'What should I do now?'
It was he who had confidently rallied his comrades, insisting they could exact revenge.
Feeling responsible for the current mess, he was at a loss for how to resolve it.
Koban bit his lip slightly.
'Stay calm. There's still a chance.'
Though their plan had gone badly awry, hope lingered.
'She definitely said earlier that the attack limit was ten times per person.'
And ten attacks per person wasn't that many.
Koban ran through strategies in his head.
'Right now, the only one of us down is Moochi.'
That meant their forces were still intact.
So, didn't that mean they could put up a fight?
'What if we do a rotation battle? If we take turns as much as possible to waste his attack count... it could work!'
Hope sparked in his eyes, and Yuri's lips twisted at the sight.
"Why? Planning a rotation battle? Gonna take turns jumping at me one by one?"
"......?!"
Koban's shoulders twitched as his thoughts were pierced instantly.
His pupils shook violently at the words that followed.
"Oh, right. Did I mention that too?"
"Mention... what?"
"That the attack count is ten per person, but it resets the moment I seriously go after someone else?"
Koban's mind turned to chaos.
'No way!'
Sure, it was ten attacks per person, but if attacking someone else reset it, that meant the count was practically unlimited.
'Then how the hell are we supposed to take down the tiger?!'
No, Koban actually knew the way.
It meant one person had to withstand ten attacks from the tiger in a one-on-one.
But that was next to impossible.
'Fight the tiger one-on-one? Come on!'
He didn't know the tiger's exact level, but it was at least Certified 4th Dan or higher.
To endure ten exchanges against such a tiger in a duel!
As Koban gritted his teeth at the impossible condition,
He suddenly noticed something odd.
'Wait... Senior Arin said they definitely caught the tiger, right?'
And that included the senior Yuri standing before him and another senior—three of them in total had caught it.
'If that wasn't a made-up lie...'
Then how had they done it?
First-years.
No, cadets who hadn't even been there a month, enduring ten exchanges against a Black Sword Soldier at minimum Certified 4th Dan?
'Is that... even possible?'
Koban looked up at Yuri with eyes full of doubt.
And it was right then.
Swish-.
Koban felt the chilling sword energy pressed against his throat vanish.
"......?"
He looked up at Yuri, who had sheathed his sword, with a blank expression.
Click-.
In that moment, Yuri fully slid the sword into its scabbard.
The 51st Batch stirred at the sight.
"Huh? What's that?"
"That guy's sheathing his sword? D-Doesn't that mean we can attack now?"
"Wait a bit longer. Could be a trick to lure us in."
The 51st Batch hesitated, suspecting some ulterior motive behind Yuri deliberately sheathing his sword.
As if mocking their indecision, Yuri turned his back to Koban and walked away casually.
He returned to where he had first stood.
Everyone was baffled by the sudden action when
"I'll give you a chance."
Yuri smiled at them all.
"You get exactly ten attacks from now on. Block them properly, and the night training's off the table."
His calm voice spread softly across the clearing.
Koban blinked.
"...What does that mean?"
"What else? Exactly what I said. Oh, canceling night training not enough for you? How about this? Survive ten, and no night training plus..."
Yuri tapped the tiger vest with his index finger.
"I'll throw this in."
"......?!"
The 51st Batch buzzed at Yuri's declaration.
It was a proposal they couldn't comprehend.
Someone glared at Yuri and asked incredulously.
"You're saying... ten exchanges and you can take us all down?"
That sparked murmurs of discontent from here and there.
"Senior, that statement seems like a mistake?"
"Being openly looked down on like this... it's starting to piss us off?"
They directed strong hostility at Yuri.
It was only natural, perhaps.
Most of them had gathered here for revenge against Yuri.
And these people, who had been treated well in society, had been rolling in the dirt for days, which already grated on them. Being outright dismissed to their faces now, their anger was justified.
Faced with the surging murderous intent, Yuri stroked his chin.
"Ten exchanges, huh..."
After pondering seriously for a moment, he flashed a bright smile.
"Nah, honestly, five sword swings should do it... but I'll stretch it to ten for you. That way, your pride won't hurt as much, right? Yeah?"
"......"
The 51st Batch realized something.
That a pretty, handsome face smiling like that could still make you want to punch it.
Rumble-.
Killing intent surged from all sides surrounding Yuri.
Even the onlookers hidden in the forest flinched at the intense aura.
But the one fully bathed in it just chuckled.
"Oho, what's this? Everyone's fired up?"
His tone showed no hint of tension.
Koban rose to his feet, glaring at Yuri.
"Fine. You better keep your word."
"Of course! I never go back on my word!"
Of course, mutters of 'that shameless bastard' leaked from the forest right after, but not loud enough for the 51st Batch to hear.
"Alright, shall we start?"
As Yuri reached for his sword,
"Yuriiii!"
His head turned at the voice calling him from one side.
Arin was there, poking the unconscious Moochi with a stick.
"Wake the maknae too? Let him join?"
Yuri waved it off lightly.
"Nah, he's fine. That punk can just..."
But Yuri's words didn't finish.
"Hat!"
"Hup!"
Shouts erupted as multiple shadows charged at Yuri.
At least twenty of them.
Yuri's eyes gleamed at their ferocious charge.
'Oh, hitting me while I'm off guard, huh?'
So not all of them were total pushovers.
Or maybe his training was paying off?
'Doesn't matter anyway.'
What mattered was the 51st Batch charging at him full of enthusiasm.
Yuri grinned at them.
'Cute, these kids.'
As a senior, shouldn't he tenderly discipline his cute juniors?
So they'd never bare their teeth at him again.
'To avoid this annoying chore twice...'
Yuri's hand gripped the sword hilt.
Crackle-.
Thin blue currents like threads sparked from his fingertips.
And then.
'...I gotta crush them properly this once.'
Zap-!
Yuri's figure vanished.
He reappeared right in front of the herd charging like cattle.
But his movement was so fast the 51st Batch still thought he was in place.
Their eyes and brains couldn't keep up with the extreme speed.
While they were still in mid-charge, Yuri had already moved on.
Thud-.
Yuri's right leg stamped the ground hard.
The 51st Batch were still charging.
The world crawled in slow motion, while only Yuri moved swiftly—a bizarre scene.
Then.
Rumble-.
The ground where Yuri stomped rippled.
Boom-.
A thunderous roar exploded.
Blue currents spread from between ground and sole, racing up his leg to envelop his body.
His upper body, wrapped in lightning, leaned slightly forward.
Click-.
The blade, dormant in its sheath, peeked out, unleashing a golden radiance forward.
All in an instant.
"Huh?"
"Ah?"
All the 51st Batch registered was the golden light suddenly engulfing them.
And that was their last memory.
Boom-!
Thunder crashed.
Those grazed by the golden arc flew back like pebbles.
"Ghak!"
"Kek!"
"Kraa!"
Over twenty sailed through the air with short groans.
But that wasn't the end.
"Ugh?!"
"N-No waaay...!"
Boom-!
Those hit by the golden arc crashed into others nearby.
The speed was so great that over ten more got caught up unwittingly.
"......?!"
"Ah?!"
One strike.
Nearly half lay sprawled from the sudden golden flash.
Some secondarily swept away regained their senses and groaned, but those directly hit by the arc or smashed by them seemed completely out.
'W-What the hell...?!'
Koban, luckily on the opposite side, survived.
His shocked eyes captured the scene ahead.
A massive crescent-shaped sword scar etched clearly into the ground.
No need to guess who made it.
The sword still faintly glowing gold.
The black-haired boy with his sword lowered, body wrapped in blue lightning.
He was the one who carved that intense sword mark.
As the remaining 51st Batch stared dazedly at his back,
"One."
Yuri turned quietly, beaming as he declared to them.
"Nine left."
Rumble-.
Thunder rumbled right after, golden light spreading again.
The 51st Batch realized.
He wasn't arrogant.
He wasn't looking down on them.
Yuri Holland was...
'...The kind who could say that and mean it.'
A powerhouse.
That absolute truth imprinted on the 51st Batch's minds for the first time.
Then the golden light engulfed them again.
Meanwhile.
Thump thump-.
Watching the surging gold, Lisa Berfort's heart pounded fiercely.
'Ah...'
Her wildly beating heart pumped hot blood throughout her body.
'Ahhh!'
From head to toe, her entire body buzzed with searing heat.
Chills racing up her spine.
Ecstasy so intense her vision went white for a moment.
'Again...'
She had felt this extreme pleasure only once in her life.
During the Hundred Steps Ceremony not long ago.
'When did it start?'
From the first time she saw Yuri Holland, he shone alone.
Pretending to be unconscious on the ground, Lisa felt her soul stolen by his gazing eyes.
Watching Yuri pass Moochi Schnell and advance toward the Sword Lord, Lisa experienced the world blooming in colors.
It was her first such experience.
To Lisa, the world had always been shades of gray.
Occasionally tinged by someone temporarily, but only that person held color.
The entire world sparkling in beautiful light was utterly new.
Then, when Yuri boldly stood before the Sword Lord at last.
Lisa beheld the most beautiful being she'd ever seen since birth.
[Next time... I'll reach it. To you.]
Yuri's words to the Sword Lord still echoed in her ears this moment.
He shone alone, bearing the clearest, purest color above all.
To Lisa, living in a gray world, Yuri Holland was dazzling... and too beautiful.
The ultimate form of the beauty she pursued.
Confronting it brought supreme spiritual satisfaction, making her feel reborn.
And it wasn't delusion.
The Yuri Holland she'd observed always shone, his surroundings always colored.
Now again, through him, the world bloomed beautifully, her soul thrilling in dizzying ecstasy.
Lisa flushed pink.
'Found you, master of my soul.'
Her eyes locked precisely on Yuri.
"...My love."
One being etched clearly into a girl's soul.