Chapter 281: Aspiration (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 281: Aspiration (4)
It’s been a while since something worth cutting has appeared.
That meaning was clearly contained in the wide grin that revealed all of his yellowed teeth.
“The Sword Demon who betrayed humanity.”
He didn’t look like the type to betray humanity just to save his own skin.
“You betrayed them because you wanted to cut people down.”
As if he understood me, the man’s lips curled up even further.
Among those who take lives with weapons, there are some who become addicted to the act itself.
Dangerous perverts who feel an extreme orgasm from the vivid sensation of slicing through flesh, muscle, and bone that travels up their hands.
That was precisely why this Sword Demon betrayed humanity.
Because he wanted to mercilessly cut down his own kind, again and again.
“Pathetic bastard.”
There are so many things in the world to get addicted to, yet he chose something like murder.
For example, sex, or sex, or sex.
In many ways, sex is undoubtedly a superior version of murder.
He thinks every person feels different to cut?
Sex feels completely different depending on the woman you’re with.
Besides, with murder, only the perpetrator enjoys it, whereas with sex, both parties have fun.
“Sex really is the best.”
Lost deep in thought, the words slipped out of my mouth unconsciously.
I quickly clamped my mouth shut and turned to the side, only to see Ju-yeon standing there with a flushed face.
…She heard. She definitely heard.
Just as I was wondering what to do, mortified with embarrassment.
“Yeah… I think so, too.”
Ju-yeon agreed in a shy voice.
I’m grateful you agreed so I wouldn’t be embarrassed, Ju-yeon.
But… you’ve never had sex.
“Ahem. For now, please step back.”
“Okay… Be careful not to get hurt, alright? Of course, I’ll heal you if you do, but…”
“You’re telling me to be careful because it hurts when I get injured, right?”
When I cut in and said that, she nodded with a shy smile.
It was something I always heard back when Ju-yeon and I used to clear dungeons together.
She’d tell me to be careful and try not to get hurt, because she didn’t want to see me in pain.
I heard it every time a battle was about to start.
And every time, I’d answer with the same promise.
“Don’t you worry. I won’t get hurt.”
And I never once broke that promise.
Today would be no different.
Ju-yeon moved back, and I moved forward.
We walked in opposite directions, preparing for battle.
I took Kkamseul-i, which I’d transformed into a small bead, out of my pocket and held it in my hand.
“Alright, Kkamseul-i, time to get to work for the first time in a while.”
As if understanding my words, it immediately transformed into a sword hilt.
Its transformation had evolved significantly compared to the past.
Before, all it could do was perfectly copy the form of whatever it consumed. Now, it could adjust the size, at least partially.
You might ask what’s so great about that, but for a sword hilt, it’s a huge change.
The difference between a grip that fits my hand and one that doesn’t becomes starker the more I swing the sword.
Some people say a master calligrapher doesn’t blame his brush, but I wish they’d stop spouting bullshit.
If you give a master a brush that fits his hand, he’ll produce much more beautiful writing. Why wouldn’t he be picky?
「Snow Bringer.」
Above the hilt, a transparent blade of hardened, condensed ice, sharpened and honed, shot into existence.
The quantity and quality of my mana.
A blade further refined by my improved skill in wielding it.
『…….』
Despite making significant progress, I couldn’t feel the Ego Weapon’s consciousness.
“So this still isn’t enough, huh?”
Well, I did promise it the most beautiful woman as a reward. It’d be a problem if it showed up for just this.
The man standing in the middle of the tracks also slowly drew his sword.
Shinggg.
A single sword slid out smoothly, as if it had been oiled.
Unlike his shabby appearance, the sword itself glinted with a sharp edge.
Just as you’d expect from a man mad for the sword.
“Heh… heheh.”
The Sword Demon let out a sinister laugh as he slowly closed the distance.
The distance between us was about twenty paces.
Nineteen, eighteen, seventeen…
When the distance between us had shrunk to about eleven paces.
Swish!
The man’s sword cut through the air.
Scraape!
A blade wind flew at me, clawing at the broken walls and pillars.
I easily blocked the attack by holding my blade upright in its path.
“So, about eleven paces.”
The most efficient way to win a battle is to attack selfishly and seize victory.
To do that, the most important thing is none other than distance.
You keep the opponent at a range where only you can attack, and you beat them relentlessly.
This distance of eleven paces is, in a sense, the Sword Demon’s selfish domain.
“Kekekeke…!”
The man let out a disgusting laugh and swung his sword again and again.
Shwick!
Shwick!
It was the same barrage of dozens, hundreds of strikes in a single breath that I’d seen on the main street before coming in here.
A violent swordsmanship that deserved to be called a butchering.
A killing technique created to prioritize pleasure over efficiency.
Watching the hundreds of blade winds flying toward my entire body, only one thought came to mind.
“Arrogant.”
He must be so steeped in pleasure that his reason is paralyzed.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have just started using a swordsmanship that prioritizes his own pleasure without even gauging his opponent’s skill.
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue, showing my disappointment.
I’m genuinely disappointed.
I thought I’d finally met a swordsman worth fighting, but he turned out to be a mindless idiot.
“It’s over. It’s all over.”
My excitement had cooled.
“You’ve completely ruined my mood, you bastard.”
A single strike is enough to block the raging storm of blades.
A single swing to unleash extremely compressed cold, a chill that could instantly freeze everything it touched.
Kwwaaaaa-!
The blade winds that collided with the cold air scattered futilely.
For in the face of a cold that suppressed all movement, even the blade winds could not remain free.
“……”
Only after his attack was completely nullified did the smile vanish from the bastard’s obnoxious face.
There are always those types who have to taste it to know if it’s shit or bean paste.
The Sword Demon began to circle within his domain of eleven paces, finally starting to probe his opponent.
It seems he’s finally decided to fight properly.
Well…
“I told you, I’ve already lost interest.”
I lightly leaped back, increasing the distance between us.
Now, the distance between us was about thirty paces.
As I said before, the most efficient victory is to crush your opponent from your own ideal range.
That’s the principle behind why a spear has an advantage over a sword.
So, what is my own domain, from which I can selfishly attack him?
The answer is simple.
The entire subway station, excluding the Sword Demon’s eleven-pace range for his blade winds.
“Why do you think people wield swords?”
Unlike him, whose swordsmanship is rooted in pleasure, the essence of my swordsmanship has always been one thing.
To kill (殺).
To bring the opponent to their death in the most effective way possible.
“Hup-!”
Mana, clearly layered over the blade, flowed along the trajectory of my swing.
Its size and density were on a different level from the crude blade winds he’d been throwing.
“……!”
Sensing the extraordinary power, the man belatedly swung his sword frantically at the Sword Ki that had entered his domain, but…
Thwack.
It was useless.
When a lesser power meets a greater one, all it can do is vanish without a sound.
The Sword Ki, traveling in a perfect straight line, finally cut through the Sword Demon’s body.
Shlick!
Cut in two with a single stroke.
Split into left and right by the Sword Ki that had sliced precisely through his center, the man’s corpse fell limply onto the tracks.
A life bordering on eternity, not permitted to humans.
As the corpse that had met its end disintegrated into dust, I met its wide-open eyes and left it with one last piece of advice.
“In your next life, just have sex.”
It’s the only drug this world allows.
In the windless subway station.
A faint light glinted within the pile of ash on the tracks.
I walked closer, crouched down, and pulled an object buried in the ash out with my hand.
“This is…”
On my palm lay a glass orb, inside which a murky black current swirled.
The moment I saw it, a message window popped up.
[You have successfully eliminated the Seeker, ‘Sword Demon Who Betrayed Humanity’.]
[You have been rewarded with the ‘Orb of Vast Karma’.]
“Karma…?”
Wasn’t the reason my ‘One with Aptitude’ trait changed into ‘Bearer of Karma’ because I acquired a large amount of karma?
And it also said the trait would get stronger the more karma I accumulated.
“Which means… this reward lets me acquire a massive amount of that karma.”
My gaze shifted to the bracelet I’d obtained in the ‘World Swept by Ruin, Sector 1,’ called the ‘Scales of Karma’.
Two orbs that would fill with a pure white light when I accumulated good karma, and a black light when I committed bad karma.
The good and bad karma filling the orbs were in a state of exquisite balance.
Originally, the black light symbolizing bad karma had been fuller.
It would build up a little whenever I had sex with Jeong-hee, a married woman, or whenever I lied to hide the fact that I’d met up with another woman.
The reason that balance of karma evened out was none other than the Kraken raid.
Perhaps because I’d defeated a disaster that could have brought ruin to the Earth, the white light symbolizing good karma instantly filled up, balancing out the black light.
“This is obviously bad karma.”
The orb I received as a reward was filled with an incredibly ominous black light.
I suspect it contains all the karma the Sword Demon accumulated while he was alive.
If so, doesn’t that mean the black light will shoot up immensely the moment I absorb this?
“Hmm, I’m not a fan of that.”
I’m not afraid to bear the burden of my own evil deeds.
After all, a person must take responsibility for their own actions.
But this case is different.
I have no desire to shoulder the karma of a man who cut down other humans for the sole sake of pleasure.
“…Maybe I’ll just hold onto it for now.”
It feels incredibly ominous, but the amount of karma he accumulated must be immense.
My ‘Bearer of Karma’ trait might get a huge boost.
I have no need for it now, so I don’t plan on absorbing it, but… who knows what might happen later.
Just as I stored the orb in my pocket and was about to leave.
“I knew it… My prediction was correct.”
A familiar voice came from the empty air.
Then, the surrounding scenery shimmered like a heat haze, and suddenly, K appeared.
Invisibility magic… no, that’s not it.
If the flow of mana had fluctuated, there’s no way I, of all people, wouldn’t have felt it.
That means it must be an ability related to a trait.
To remain invisible this whole time and only reveal himself now… his intentions can’t be good.
“What did you predict?”
When I asked in a blunt tone, the man uttered a shocking sentence.
“That you are one of the 504 people who possess the ‘One with Aptitude’ trait.”