Light Breaks the Deadlock
“I’m fine, so just go through that passage and help Maru…!”
“Not a chance!!”
Whoosh—!
Ohban’s swinging arm sliced through the air right in front of my face.
“Kugh…!!”
Karbin’s warning flashed through my mind. These people had a notorious reputation, and their martial prowess would surely match it.
He was right. The man’s skill was extraordinary, and above all, the iron gauntlets covering his hands down to the middle of his forearms were proving extremely troublesome.
Made from what looked like rare, incredibly durable metal, the gauntlets amplified every attack delivered with his arms—just like the blow that had nearly taken my head off moments ago.
Still, the situation wasn’t entirely hopeless. Even though he could have seized the advantage instantly by using his Ineung, he was sticking strictly to Cheneung. It seemed he wasn’t choosing not to use it—he simply didn’t have one.
If I only had to respond to physical techniques and could ignore the variables an unknown Ineung might create, the pressure eased considerably.
Of course, that didn’t mean I could afford to let my guard down.
He might be lulling me into a false sense of security, saving his Ineung for a critical moment.
“Even if brainwashing is preventing you from using your full strength, you still managed to take down the Machine Duke’s son. So there’s another powerhouse in your group besides the Ahrirang clan.”
“…”
After a brief pause, he spoke with clear disbelief.
“I was trying to subdue you as cleanly as possible for Elien’s sake… but it looks like I’ll have to hurry things along. As long as I don’t kill you, she probably won’t complain too much.”
Whoosh—!
Finishing his words, the man launched himself lightly across the air. His movements were noticeably sharper than before.
“Tch.”
His weapon—the iron gauntlets—were composed of dozens, perhaps hundreds, of overlapping scales reminiscent of fish skin. The wave-patterned scales bristled with sharp spikes and strange grooves. Even the slightest graze tore flesh open, and blood sprayed from every wound.
“If you’re just going to keep dodging, how exactly do you plan to stop me?”
After barely evading his outstretched arm, I slipped inside his guard and aimed for his upper body, trying to deny him space to swing.
Clang! Clang—!
He easily blocked the strikes using the gauntlets like shields. Then, creating distance in an instant to regain swinging room, he reached for me again. I tried to dodge, but Ohban suddenly retracted his hand, spun, and lashed out with his right foot.
“Ugh…!”
“You’ve got some annoying legs. How troublesome.”
It seemed his earlier claim about trying to subdue me without injury hadn’t been empty words after all.
“This should shut you up for a bit.”
Boom—!
The moment he kicked off the ground and closed in, fist cocked to strike—
“Hey! Move!!”
I flinched.
Teraden, having finished treating his wounds, suddenly charged in.
At his urgent shout, I twisted my torso and leapt aside. A massive, glowing sphere of light shot past where I’d been standing and slammed into the man.
Crunch-crunch-crunch!
“Take that and die already!!”
“Kgh… ugh!”
The man groaned as the sphere of light drove him backward relentlessly.
Boom—!!
When he finally crashed into the wall, the light exploded with a thunderous roar. Thick clouds of dust billowed from the shattered stone.
I didn’t think Teraden’s attack would finish him, but it had bought us a moment to breathe.
“You okay? Think you can keep going without resting more?”
Teraden shrugged as if it were nothing.
“Hah, is that really something you should be asking right now? I’m more or less fine, but at this rate I can only manage about ninety percent of my usual power… no, maybe eighty.”
“That’s more than enough. More importantly, how many more times can you fire something like that?”
“I have to gather the light on the fly, so without you buying time, I won’t be able to pull off the same move again. But I can probably manage something similar… maybe once or twice?”
“Good. That’s plenty.”
“You’re acting a little different from usual, though.”
Teraden grinned at me.
“Different? What do you mean?”
“I figured the old you would’ve insisted on a one-on-one fight, calling teaming up cowardly—even if it killed you. Just like during the Night of Illusions.”
“That was different. The Night of Illusions was a pure contest of strength. Here, it’s not just about me—multiple lives are on the line. I can’t let my pride put everyone else in danger.”
Crack! Crunch!
While continuing our conversation, I kept an eye on the man. The dust cloud that had obscured our view finally settled, revealing Ohban standing amid the rubble.
“You bastard…”
He looked both bewildered and furious—probably because he’d taken an unexpected hit from Teraden.
Teraden and I ended our talk and turned toward him in unison.
“Kekekeke! Yeah, that’s more like you. Let’s take him down together, then.”
“Just so we’re clear—don’t even think about overdoing it.”
“Ah, no need to worry about that. Getting hurt is the last thing I want. I value my own life more than anyone.”
Despite taking a direct hit from Teraden’s light, Ohban showed no visible injuries. His expression, however, was far from cheerful.
Crack-crack-crack!
The right gauntlet had developed a spreading fracture that soon shattered completely. The weapon that had given us so much trouble throughout the fight had been more than half-destroyed by the light.
He must have used it to block Teraden’s attack. At this level of damage, it was practically useless. Even losing just one gauntlet would drastically reduce his combat effectiveness.
And with that, one hypothesis became certainty: like me, this man had no Ineung.
If he’d been saving it as a trump card, he wouldn’t have sacrificed his weapon to hide it. If he possessed an Ineung, he wouldn’t have let the gauntlet break without using it.
“Hey, where’d Blanser and Junior go? I don’t see them anywhere.”
“I told them not to go overboard. Blanser probably took Junior with him while heading to help Maru after knocking him out.”
“Huh? Why bring the guy he already knocked out?”
Teraden leaned back, narrowing his eyes.
“Probably because the brainwashing hasn’t worn off yet. Leaving him here could cause trouble if he wakes up.”
“You don’t think they’re secretly finishing him off somewhere, right…? No way.”
“Nah, no chance.”
“Maybe I’m just being paranoid. Anyway, if Blanser joins us, we can gang up on him three-on-one!”
“You think one more brat will make any difference against me? You’re sorely mistaken.”
Ohban snorted derisively after listening to our exchange. Teraden responded with an identical sneer.
“The really funny one here is you. Kekekeke! I wonder what kind of face you’ll make when you realize that guy is the disciple of that monstrous old man.”
“A monstrous old man…? Who are you talking about?”
Ohban’s eyes narrowed at Teraden’s cryptic words.
“Who knows? Maybe someone with the surname Jindo would know?”
“…!”
At Teraden’s shocking reply, Ohban’s face hardened, his eyes widening in shock.
“Now do you understand the situation? Feeling that creeping dread from deep inside? Don’t you just want to run away? If you want to flee now, I’ll generously let you go.”
“Hoo…”
Ohban took a deep breath to steady his emotions. Then his expression turned grim, and a terrifying killing intent radiated from him.
“I see… I’ve changed my mind. The dead tell no tales. From now on, I’ll kill you with everything I have. After slaughtering every last one of you, I’ll take the Machine Duke’s son and escape this place.”
Teraden’s words had backfired.
“Huh? W-wait, that’s not what I meant…”
“…”
Teraden scratched his head, stammering at the completely opposite result from what he’d expected.
“If he’s the Grand Duke’s disciple, he’s bound to be no less capable than you lot. I’ll have to hurry.”
“Dude, at this rate we’re the ones who might get screwed.”
Ohban, his gaze now cold and focused, began slowly walking toward us.
“Suddenly reminded me of the old days.”
“What old days, at a time like this?”
“When was it… right after vacation started, we had a three-on-one spar with Jubern. We got completely wrecked, though. It was embarrassing.”
“Yeah. It’s been a while since we’ve fought side by side like this.”
“Hoo… Well then, shall we begin? Just like back then—I’ll draw his attention, and you finish it.”
Nod.
After exchanging a brief glance and nodding, we kicked off the ground simultaneously and charged at Ohban.
‘If I hand him over to them, he’ll fetch a high price. I can’t let you waste him on your personal games.’
There were more than one or two questions lingering from this encounter. Starting with the identity of the group Ohban had mentioned, I also wondered what awaited us at the end of this path.
But first priority was breaking Junior’s brainwashing and escaping the ruins. For now, we had to take down the man in front of us.
The rest could wait until everything was over.
* * *
Meanwhile, at that same moment.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Someone’s frantic footsteps echoed loudly through the dark corridor.
“How far did she go? I need to finish this quickly and go help the others.”
Following Haru’s instructions, Blanser was sprinting down the corridor in search of Maru to provide support.
“Ugh… mm…”
“Eh?”
At that moment, Junior—slung over his shoulder—let out a groan and struggled to open his eyes.
‘No way. He took a clean hit to a vital point while completely defenseless, and he’s already waking up? How is his recovery this fast?’
Blanser clicked his tongue at Junior’s absurd regenerative ability, then mercilessly drove his fist forward to knock him out again.
“It’s not time for you to wake up yet. Go back to sleep.”
Thud, smack! Thud-thud!
“…”
Slump.
Junior, who had just regained consciousness without understanding what was happening, was beaten senseless once more and passed out.
“Hmm. That makes it three wins, two losses, one draw…? No, that’s a bit unfair. Ah, right—now’s not the time to worry about that.”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
After knocking Junior out again, Blanser resumed his dash through the corridor in search of Maru.
Swaying limply.
Junior continued to hang loosely over his shoulder.