Chapter 256
Chapter 256
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 256
Chapter Title: The Demon's Ninth Floor (3)
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Today was just another ordinary day for Coco.
She lit up a cigarette and punched in for work on the ninth floor.
Just like the past twenty days, she accepted Yuri's challenge.
And as always, the day ended with Yuri passing out.
Truly, nothing out of the ordinary.
But even so, the reason she couldn't leave the ninth floor was due to a strange sense of unease.
'What is this?'
Coco first started feeling that odd unease around the time she accepted Yuri's final challenge of the day.
You know how it is sometimes.
A nagging feeling for no apparent reason.
That was Coco's current state.
'Why does it feel like... something's off?'
Something kept bothering her, but she couldn't pinpoint the cause, making it even more irritating.
After pondering like that for a while, she shrugged her shoulders.
'Guess I'm just being sensitive.'
Having reached that conclusion, Coco left the spot.
* * *
About thirty minutes after Coco departed.
"Urgh......"
Yuri let out a groan as he slowly raised his upper body.
"Ow... I'm dying here."
His face scrunched up in pain, letting out endless whimpers.
If the 50th Cohort saw him like this, they would've been quite shocked.
In his challenges against Yuri, Coco smoked at most around twenty cigarettes.
And it took her just over two minutes to finish one.
In other words, their fights lasted at most about forty minutes.
And even that wasn't continuous.
[I hate it—smoking them back-to-back gives me headaches.]
Coco refused Yuri's consecutive challenges because chain-smoking made her dizzy.
Thanks to that, Yuri was forced to take breaks in between.
All told, it added up to about forty minutes over the whole day.
Yuri, who could spar with the 50th Cohort for hours without issue,
was now groaning after a mere forty minutes or so.
Naturally, the 50th Cohort would be astonished.
But Yuri saw it differently.
'Ow......'
Sparring with the 50th Cohort
was like a long-distance run where you could control the pace.
Sprint when you felt like it, walk leisurely if it got tough.
Finishing left you tired but without major strain.
But fighting Coco was different.
It was a sprint.
An all-out dash where you poured everything into a single moment.
Against an opponent whose outcome you couldn't predict, holding back wasn't an option.
So he had to unleash all his mana and muscle power in a short burst,
focusing his entire mind amid razor-sharp tension.
Even two minutes felt longer than hours against a dozen from the 50th Cohort—it drained far more stamina and mental energy.
Even for Yuri, by the fifteenth cigarette, exhaustion clouded his mind.
Passing out after twenty wasn't surprising.
'Feels like my whole body's been wrung out.'
Day after day of this hellish routine, like squeezing a dry rag dry, but Yuri didn't find it tough.
No, he actually enjoyed it.
'How long's it been since I went all-out every single day?'
There was no one in present-day Yoram who could make Yuri go all-out.
Kwonter Rider was the closest, but they hadn't met since the Martial Dragon Tournament.
With worthy opponents gone from Yoram, Yuri's training options were solo practice and spars...
'But sparring with the kids isn't stimulating anymore.'
Sparring with weaker juniors.
And ones he'd done hundreds of times already—they offered Yuri no real benefit.
If anything, it helped his fellow cadets more.
Then came the fights with Coco.
Somewhere between sparring and life-or-death—this was a huge stimulus for Yuri.
'It's like eating bland food forever, then finally tasting something sweet and salty—makes your eyes spin.'
Every day was agony, but every day was growth.
How could he not enjoy it?
As Yuri grinned to himself,
"Ah......!"
Johan's words flashed through his mind.
[Puhahaha, at your current age... and as a Yoram cadet, you have privileges you can only enjoy now. The best opportunity you'll never get again! Soon, you'll get your chance too... savor it to the fullest. No, stick to it like a leech and suck it dry to the bone!]
Looking back, Johan's "privilege" seemed to mean exactly this.
'I thought it was bullshit at the time......'
Yoram, overflowing with powerhouses more than anywhere else.
His young age and special status as a Yoram cadet.
Without those, how could he spend this time with a powerhouse like Coco?
'If we met as enemies outside... my head would've been off in a second.'
So Johan was right.
A certified 9th dan, or beyond—an absolute powerhouse.
The chance to fight with some guarantee of survival.
It was a golden opportunity unique to his current status, one that wouldn't come again in his lifetime.
'Is that how it is?'
Fully grasping Johan's words, Yuri smiled.
And he vowed, double-down.
Just like Johan said, he'd cling to Coco like iron, sucking her dry to the marrow.
* * *
Day 25 of the Hundred-Day Tower Quest.
Yuri sprawled out in the vast space of the ninth floor.
"Ugh... can't move."
Had today been especially rough?
His condition worse than usual, he gave up on getting up.
He'd probably need to lie there recovering for a while.
Of course, he couldn't just rest idly.
Yuri closed his eyes and replayed his fight with Coco in his mind.
The dark world of his mental imagery.
Two blue lines traced out, forming two phantoms.
Coco and Yuri.
The two phantoms clashed fiercely, separating and repeating.
Yuri observed the vivid battle as a third party.
A moment later.
The one-to-two-minute fight ended.
Then it looped identically, and Yuri viewed it from another angle.
And that was the start.
The scene repeated infinitely.
Yuri examined it from every angle.
Above, below.
Front and back.
Left and right, etc.
Angles invisible during the actual fight—he scrutinized them meticulously.
He didn't stop there; he analyzed Coco's thoughts and habits.
Finishing the review of one fight, he pulled up past memories and replayed them endlessly.
Even if already analyzed once, he repeated them multiple times.
'More... a bit more!'
Everything about Coco he'd observed over the past twenty-five days.
He'd devour it all.
Yuri pushed his mental training to near-madness, beyond obsession.
For one simple reason.
'The answer... lies with her!'
He believed the key to opening his domain was in Coco's every move and action.
Hoo, hoo—
Thus, Yuri pursued the path to a new realm, endlessly fighting in his mind.
* * *
Day 25 of the Hundred-Day Tower Quest.
Coco's face twisted as she looked down at the passed-out Yuri.
"...Again?"
At first, she'd been unsure, thinking she'd imagined it.
But no.
She'd sensed it correctly.
Coco had been plagued by the same unease for days now.
"Tch!"
Irritation flickered in her eyes.
Something felt off, but she still couldn't identify the cause.
'What the hell is this?'
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't grasp the source of the unease.
One thing was certain.
The cause was Yuri.
'It feels like the unease grows every time I fight this guy......'
Something had definitely changed in Yuri, causing this.
So what was it?
Looking at Yuri, bewilderment crossed Coco's face.
"...Seriously, what are you?"
What the hell are you up to?
Gazing down at him with that question, only briefly.
Crackle—
She crushed the burned-out cigarette between her fingers.
"Alright, let's see."
Would she figure out this unease first?
Or would Yuri's change reveal itself sooner?
Her competitive spirit ignited, Coco turned and left the ninth floor.
* * *
Day 35 of the Hundred-Day Tower Quest.
Hoo, hoo—
Harsh breaths rasped in and out, making his nostrils and throat burn like they were tearing.
His mouth, parched and reeking of dried blood.
Gulp.
Yuri swallowed hot air like water.
As his dry tongue peeled from the roof of his mouth, a bit of saliva formed.
His dizzying vision cleared slightly.
"Hoo......"
Regaining his senses, Yuri glared at Coco with deep breaths.
No, precisely at the half-smoked cigarette in her mouth.
'...New record?'
Coco had already smoked past twenty today.
Yet he was still conscious.
Even with some stamina left.
The implication was simple.
The past thirty-five days weren't wasted.
'Nice.'
Yuri was more than satisfied with the situation.
The more his skill grew.
The longer the spars with Coco lasted.
That time would fuel his growth in return.
How could he not be thrilled?
Hoo—
"Not coming?"
As the standoff dragged on, Coco exhaled smoke and asked.
Yuri grinned and replied.
"As if."
Beaming, Yuri charged at Coco.
* * *
Day 49 of the Hundred-Day Tower Quest.
Yuri lay sprawled in a disheveled mess, spread-eagled.
As usual, he'd been endlessly reviewing his fight with Coco when he quietly opened his eyes.
"......"
Staring blankly at the ninth floor ceiling, the corners of Yuri's mouth twitched up.
"...I saw it."
A pure white smile blazed brightly.
* * *
Day 50 of the Hundred-Day Tower Quest.
"I'm off to smoke a cigarette."
"Yes, see you later."
The Black Sword Guard gave a brief bow to Coco, who waved casually as she vanished.
It was the exact same routine for fifty days.
But the Black Sword Guard knew she wasn't just going for a smoke.
Still, he saw her off without question.
Step, step—
Arriving on the ninth floor with a cigarette dangling from her lips, Coco paused.
"Hm?"
Where her gaze landed.
In the center of the ninth floor stood Yuri, sword held diagonally downward.
A sight she'd seen ad nauseam over fifty days, yet she stopped because the aura emanating from him was markedly different.
"What's with you today? Eat something bad?"
Yuri snorted at her question.
"Eat something bad? Please. All I've had is that tough, tasteless rations."
"So why the dramatic air today?"
"Coco, you know something?"
"What?"
"That in life, there's a moment when a person has to go all-in on a gamble?"
"And?"
"That's today for me!"
Coco shook her head slightly and clicked her tongue at Yuri, chin haughtily raised.
"Tch, why's he so chatty today?"
"Why? 'Cause today's the last time we hang out like this, so I'm chatting it up."
"Oh, funny guy? Who says it's the last? I wasn't planning to let you go."
"Sorry, Coco. I can only handle two years up or down. In that sense... you're too old."
"......"
"Like, way too old?"
"...Wanna die?"
"Scary women aren't my type either?"
Veins bulged on Coco's forehead as Yuri snickered.
She smiled coldly.
"Guess I need to smash that pretty mouth first today?"
With that, she lit her cigarette.
Sizzle—
Sssip—!
Air drawn deep into her lungs.
And.
Hoo—
The thick smoke billowed into the air, signaling the start of the fiftieth-day challenge.
Coco struck first.
Swoosh—
Vanishing into thin air, she reappeared right in front of Yuri.
Despite the near-teleportation speed, Yuri didn't flinch.
Over fifty days, averaging twenty times a day.
Nearly a thousand fights with Coco.
Plus mental imagery fights—uncountable.
This was nothing to panic over after all that effort.
Whoosh—
As Coco appeared before him, true to her word, she swung at his mouth.
That instant.
'Now!'
As if anticipating her move, Yuri's eyes flashed.
Swoosh—
His body swayed lightly side to side.
The moment she faced his rippling afterimage, like waves, Coco was hit with intense unease.
At the same time, a chill ran down her spine.
'What?'
Yuri's body slipping effortlessly from her grasp.
It was all too familiar to her.
At first, Coco thought she'd seen wrong.
But the incoming hand motion from Yuri confirmed otherwise.
'This guy, no way?!'
His movements until now had been like lightning.
Fast and unpredictable, but short straight lines.
But what he showed now wasn't his usual.
Light and fast, yes—but fluid, like flowing water.
It was exactly...
'Copying me?'
Coco's own.
And soon, she realized Yuri wasn't merely imitating.
'What the...?'
Wasn't this like looking in a mirror?
Thoughts and habits.
Even temperament.
Motions mirroring her perfectly.
Seeing her own phantom overlaid on Yuri, Coco finally grasped the full nature of the unease she'd felt.
'...Cheeky bastard?'
Yuri had hidden it well, but she'd sensed it subconsciously.
The fact that he was steadily devouring her bit by bit.