Chapter 64
Chapter 64
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Hundred Paces Rite (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Sword Lord's aura unfolded within the hundred-pace gap.
It was an utterly unyielding wave.
The waves stirred by the Sword Lord crashed in layer upon layer.
From the front, the rear, the sides.
From the ground below, and the sky above.
Waves that assailed without the slightest gap.
Naturally, the closer one drew to the Sword Lord, the faster and fiercer they grew.
And the power of the demonic current that Yuri invoked.
Bwoooorr—.
It began prying open gaps in the unyielding waves.
With it, Yuri's upper body lurched once more.
Crack, craaack—.
Each time his body, already at its limit, screamed in agony, his body and head began to rise—just a little... ever so slightly.
"Huh?!"
"Again?!"
"...He's standing up once more?"
No way—he's getting up again?
That guy's done more than enough already.
The eyes of the tens of thousands of spectators, who had thought it truly over this time, filled with shock.
And so, under everyone's watchful gaze.
Urgh—!
Veins bulging fiercely at his temples.
Raaaaah—!
Yuri rose with a bellowing roar.
The thunderous roar echoing in their ears made the crowd unwittingly clench their fists.
And at last, Yuri straightened his back.
"Huuu...."
As he exhaled a long breath, color began to return to his pale face.
'Feels... like I might survive this.'
He had long surpassed his physical limits.
Every part of him ached, and nothing moved properly, but compared to moments ago, it was far better.
Above all, the pressure crushing his entire body had eased considerably.
"Huuk— huuuu—."
With each short and long breath he released, his mind grew sharper.
Along with it, everything around him felt vividly alive in an uncanny way.
The heated gazes of the tens of thousands watching him.
Their ragged breaths.
And above all.
Even the subtle shift in the Sword Lord's gaze upon him.
All of it registered in an instant, crystal clear.
'Finally....'
A minute change in the Sword Lord.
It was a shift so faint it was hard to notice, yet Yuri was thrilled all the same.
'...He's finally looking at me for real.'
Until now, to the Sword Lord, Yuri had been just one of countless vermin.
A tiny bug splashing desperately in the bucket of water he'd set out, struggling to live.
It was a scene the Sword Lord must have grown bored of seeing endlessly.
He had probably assumed this bug named Yuri would sink into the water soon enough.
To join the corpses of countless bugs lining the bucket's bottom.
But when Yuri, thrashing about, crawled out alive, even he couldn't help but take interest.
Yuri smiled at the flicker in the Sword Lord's eyes, bored as he propped his chin.
'Yeah, I'm a bug, but I've got a bit of venom.'
So a sting from me would probably hurt quite a bit.
And the smile faded from Yuri's face.
'Let's go.'
All that remained to him was a handful of mana.
Far too feeble a power to navigate this maelstrom.
But as that handful transformed into a demonic current, the situation shifted.
Step—.
Yuri took his eleventh step.
It looked even lighter than the tenth.
Allowing the next step to follow right away.
Step—.
"...Twelve."
As someone in the stands counted Yuri's steps upon seeing him walk.
Sliip—.
The Sword Lord's chin lifted from his fist.
He straightened his head, staring straight at Yuri approaching him.
Step—.
And the instant he completed his thirteenth step.
"Urk!"
The pressure battering his body flushed Yuri's face beet red.
'Is this... really human?!'
The demonic current—a supreme art that interfered with flows and controlled them.
Until now, Yuri had thought he'd handled that flow well.
But pushed to the extreme, he finally realized the truth.
'All this time... I've only been dealing with flows I could control!'
The demonic current he'd barely mustered by scraping together every last bit of mana.
His power was already insufficient, yet the raging maelstrom thrashed to break free of the demonic current's control.
The backlash was so intense that just reining in a single thread of it made his mind reel.
'If I'd known it'd be like this, I should've held back a bit more mana!'
He'd thought a handful would suffice to invoke the demonic current, and that it could carry him through the maelstrom.
But that complacent notion shattered after just three more steps.
Yuri gritted his teeth.
Griiiind—.
The maelstrom's waves grew ever more intricate, dense, and solid the closer one got to the Sword Lord.
'And the most astonishing part is that the Sword Lord was adjusting this level of power with precision down to the single step.'
The Sword Lord's power was truly staggering.
Thus, Yuri quickly admitted it.
He couldn't push through this maelstrom to the end with just a handful of mana.
'Still... I'll go as far as I can!'
Enduring as he always had, he stepped forward once more.
And so.
Step—.
"...Fourteen."
A voice from the stands announced his step count.
Then.
Step— thump!
"Fif... fifteen."
Yuri took his fifteenth step.
In response, incredulous voices poured from the stands one after another.
"Fifteen... steps?"
Ten had been unbelievable enough; fifteen was a record no one had even imagined.
That monumental feat unfolding right before their eyes left the spectators dumbfounded.
And that was the end of it.
Thud—.
Yuri's knees buckled once more.
"Urgh—!"
He tried to rise somehow, but his upper body only pitched forward further.
Those watching him now clearly realized.
This guy who had risen like a miracle time and again had finally hit his true limit.
His march of epic records ended at fifteen steps.
Yuri knew that fact better than anyone.
'Is this... as far as I go....'
He'd invoked the demonic current with a handful of mana, and now only scraps remained.
If even that ran dry, he wouldn't rise again.
And that moment came far sooner than expected.
Crackle—.
His last mana evaporated, and the demonic current that had sustained him scattered.
'It's over....'
The instant he thought it truly was.
Whoosh—.
A fierce wind howled before Yuri.
With it, the maelstrom battering him from all sides vanished clean away.
The arena, now so peaceful it was hard to believe it was the same place as moments before.
In the suddenly quiet surroundings, Yuri barely clung to consciousness and lifted his upper body.
Urk—.
He thought it was done.
He could lie down now and it wouldn't matter.
Yet Yuri rose.
For some reason, it felt like he had to.
And so, at last, Yuri succeeded in kneeling in the arena.
Wobble, wobble—.
His body swayed wildly, as if a mere tap would topple him, yet he raised his head.
Through his blurry vision, he appeared.
The absolute ruler of this era, clad in pristine white robes.
The Sword Lord, who had appeared abruptly.
Luke Rider, who had been far off beyond eighty-five paces, was now right before him.
The moment he saw him, overwhelming emotion surged in Yuri.
'I did it....'
That Sword Lord.
'I made him rise from his chair.'
That Sword Lord!
'I drew him right before a mere bug like me!'
That undeniable fact granted Yuri an achievement beyond compare.
And as he broke into a hazy smile.
Wobble, wobble—.
The Sword Lord regarded Yuri, who looked ready to topple any second, and asked.
"What is your name?"
A low, resonant voice.
Yuri's shaking upper body halted abruptly at the question that spread softly through the surroundings.
And.
Grit, griiiind—.
He strained with all his might to pull his body upright.
Surpassing the limits of limits, with stamina long exhausted, his body refused to obey easily.
Yet Yuri strove once more to break past his limits.
One minute, two minutes, three....
Even as the struggling dragged on, the Sword Lord waited for him.
After a full five minutes of struggle.
Breaking his limits yet again.
At last, Yuri stood.
Drenched in cold sweat, he stared straight at the Sword Lord and answered clearly.
"Yuri Holland."
His sweat-matted hair fallen aside revealed golden irises.
As if demanding to be remembered, those clear, shining eyes prompted the Sword Lord's second words.
"Speak your desire. I shall grant a reward befitting the fifteen steps you took."
At the Sword Lord's words, a stir rippled through the tens of thousands of spectators.
It was exceedingly rare for the Sword Lord to converse one-on-one with a mere cadet.
No—in decades past, it had never happened even once.
And now he was offering a reward personally.
This was a chance at a prize beyond any other.
In this Cradle, there was nothing the Sword Lord could not grant.
Thus, all eyes focused on Yuri.
What reward would this rookie, who had etched his name into Cradle history, desire?
Curiosity and envy-filled gazes poured onto him.
Amid the onslaught of attention, Yuri's mouth opened.
As if nothing else could reward today's efforts.
He answered without hesitation.
"Let's go a few more rounds."
The eyes of Yuri, who spoke those words, no longer shone clear as before.
Deep in those golden eyes, flames blazed hot.
"Allow me to participate in the Hundred Paces Rite every year until I leave this Cradle. That's... what I want."
It was a gaze that said this year had ended at just this, but next year... the year after... would be different.
It was the challenger's gaze the Sword Lord had not seen in ages.
Moreover, it resembled someone else's.
'That guy's.'
Johan Redner.
His eyes had burned the same.
The unquenchable fire of a true challenger.
Yuri Holland harbored it too.
'Johan Redner... you chose a guy just like yourself.'
And that fact amused the Sword Lord.
The corner of his mouth twitched faintly upward.
"I shall grant your wish."
And that was it.
As if he'd heard exactly what he wanted, Yuri flashed a slight smile.
Thud—.
His body toppled backward.
* * *
Thud—.
Yuri, who had said his piece to the mighty Sword Lord of the world and promptly passed out.
The sound of him falling echoed through the arena.
Though packed with tens of thousands, not even breaths could be heard, making Yuri's collapse ring out especially loud.
In that moment, Duran inwardly clicked his tongue.
'Today's full of surprises, one after another.'
The Hundred Paces Rite was held every year, but the Sword Lord always sat there bored and listless.
As far as he remembered, even 35 years ago, when May Winchester set the record of nine paces, the Sword Lord had shown no reaction.
Yet now, for the first time since the rite's inception, he had descended into the arena.
Just to speak one-on-one with a single cadet.
He had even asked for the reward himself and permitted it.
Delight flickered in Duran's eyes.
His gaze followed Yuri, collapsed at the Sword Lord's feet.
'I knew he'd cause trouble someday, but I didn't expect a bombshell like this right on arrival.'
In truth, this was less trouble and more a monumental feat.
One that would endure in Cradle history.
Barring the 50th Cohort rookies, who had collapsed before him.
From this moment, no one in the Cradle would be unaware of Yuri Holland.
Moreover, that name would become a hot potato.
'The kids are probably racking their brains right now.'
The Cradle's power structure had solidified around the established cadets' factions.
Then, out of nowhere, a monstrous fish named Yuri Holland leaped into the stagnant lake.
Beyond mere loneliness, the tedium had shattered into turbulent waves.
'Plenty will go down over that guy.'
Those seeking to pull him to their side.
Those wary of him.
Even those aiming to eliminate him.
Whether to swallow that hot potato or spit it out.
They were probably agonizing over it among themselves.
And as Duran predicted, the eyes of certain cadets in the stands grew heavy.
Especially the blond, curly-haired man who had bet against Theresa.
"...Yuri Holland."
Murmuring Yuri's name softly, his gaze toward the Sword Lord held complication.