The Blade That Refused to Fall
The clash rang out like thunder. Boom! Boom-boom-boom!
The participants who had surrounded Blanser on three sides unleashed an array of colorful Ineung abilities in an instant. In response, Blanser furrowed his brow, rolled his feet once, and a wall of solid earth erupted from the ground right in front of him. The surging earth wall collided violently with the Ineung attacks coming from all three sides and crumbled uselessly. "Haaap!"
Using that opening, someone who had been secretly approaching from Blanser’s blind spot swung a massive double-bladed axe from behind. It was because he was certain Blanser’s full attention was locked on the Ineung in front of him. The Danju Selection, like the welcome night, strictly prohibited murder, but the use of weapons wasn’t banned. After all, even Feygal hadn’t hesitated to use numerous weapons to evaluate Teraden and the others during the first gate. Clang!
But the axe aimed horizontally at Blanser halted midway, unable to split him in two. "Hmm? Clang...?" The voice that resonated like metal clashing from Blanser’s body echoed back, and the opponent’s ears twitched in suspicion. With nothing more than a regular axe, the Cheneung-enhanced body and muscles of Blanser’s sturdy physique were merely grazed on the skin. ‘I thought it would at least leave some damage. Did it embed? Is his body okay? This isn’t even steel.’ “This crazy…? Eek!”
Whooom!
Blanser clicked his tongue at the stinging pain from his waist and swung his arm back like swatting away a bug. The one who had swung the axe froze at Blanser’s terrifying defense, hurriedly sheathed the weapon, and retreated. “If you take your eyes off me, it’s over!” “We’re supposed to be paying attention too!”
While his focus was on the axe user, the people who had been pushing Blanser with Ineung fired again. ‘No time, I’m getting annoyed. Having a bunch of competent ones gather makes this a pain.’ Blanser glanced over. Once again blocking the Ineung, his gaze shifted toward Junior’s battle not far away. Blanser was struggling, but Junior appeared skilled and relaxed, dismantling the disadvantageous situation with ease. Crack!
The gauntleted fist smashed the sword that had been raised to block and drove straight into the opponent’s face. The one who had allowed Junior a fatal facial attack crumpled forward, his face caved in. If only Cheneung were considered, Blanser and Junior would have been on nearly equal footing. The difference lay in the presence of Ineung; Junior had used the circular orbs floating around him to replace Ineung’s role at just the right moments. ‘He’s doing this... why is that guy...?’
In truth, Junior was also fighting desperately against over ten people, but Blanser, who didn’t know that, burned with worry to finish up here and join the others soon. Though hastily formed, he had initially used his poor teamwork to advantage, knocking out nearly half of them quickly. Afterward, as the remaining opponents’ coordination grew noticeably better, the tide of battle darkened. It was an unpleasant thought, but the words that kept lingering in his mind were hard to ignore. ‘If I can’t ignore it, what then? We’ve already fulfilled our duty by capturing you all here anyway, even though the allied party still has plenty left.’
The thought that Haru, Teraden, and Maru might be hurt as well made Blanser suddenly lower his head. ‘Hmm? Why did he suddenly stop?’ Watching Blanser who hadn’t moved a muscle despite being knocked out, Junior also paused for a moment. The other participants facing Junior interpreted his action as good news. “He’s finally worn out, huh?” “That’s what I thought! If he still wasn’t tired, he’d be a monster, not a human!”
One of the opponents who had been confident shouted casually as he unleashed flames right in Blanser’s face. Flash! Whoosh-whoosh!
Blanser’s body was engulfed in fierce flames from the direct hit. “Did we do it?!” “We did it! We won!”
Watching the flickering figure, the opponents cheered nonstop while Junior reacted with surprising calm. ‘Even if hit, he won’t have a scratch. But what is he doing?’ “We defeated the successor of the Grand Duke... Eh...?”
Blanser slowly lifted his head as if nothing had happened, and a chilling silence fell. Blanser’s body was only slightly scorched by the flames; there wasn’t a single wound, not even a scratch. “...It’s pissing me off. I’ll crush every last one of you.” The overwhelming aura that erupted from him crushed the spirit of those facing him. In that instant, Junior, who had met Blanser’s gaze as he lifted his head, understood his intention and gave a small nod. They had fought dozens of times. It wasn’t exactly something he liked, but reading each other’s minds was as easy as flipping a hand. At this point, their coordination should have been perfect. ‘He’s... on the verge of exploding. Is he up to something strange again. Well, since the situation is urgent, I’ll play along.’
Junior deliberately created an illusion to help Blanser. “No choice. I was trying not to use this. Release.” Shluck. Shla-rararar!
The iron armor that had been wrapping his one arm and leg separated according to Junior’s command and reverted to its previous form. No, releasing weapons mid-fight? The opponent tilted his head in confusion at Junior’s unexpected action. “The Earth Opart...” “What? What?! Opart?!” “Opart?!”
The shocking word spilled from Junior’s mouth, and everyone who heard it turned deathly pale. “Opart? No way...” “The Pangaea...”
The reputation of the Opart was known even to three-year-old children. The participants’ instincts screamed at Junior’s ominous atmosphere. “Stop him right now!!”
Just as someone’s urgent shout caused the participants fighting Blanser to rush toward Junior. “Haaaaaaaah!”
Blanser slowly raised his arms and roared with a shout that could rupture eardrums, slamming the ground. To break the current stalemate, the unbreakable linkage had to be disrupted first. “This, this guy! He still had that much power left?! What kind of power!”
Crack-crack-crack! The ground where Blanser had struck began to crack. The cracks spread rapidly until, at the end, the entire area shook as if an earthquake had struck and collapsed. Soon, starting with Blanser, all the people around him fell without exception. “Hmm, not bad. Just the variable I needed. Spread.” Shluck! Shla-rararar!
One of the circular orbs that had been circling Junior unfolded and crashed down onto his body. “I only...! Uwaaaah!!”
They realized they had been fooled, but there was no time to be angry. All they could do was desperately maintain balance in the cracking gaps of the collapsing rocks. They were already mentally unraveling from the absurd experience, but Junior remained perfectly calm even in this situation. He had fought such things many times before and handled it efficiently. Boom!
“I’ll crush the one who was the most annoying first.” “This ridiculous...”
Using a rock as a foothold, Blanser leaped high into the air with all his strength. The rock he had jumped from couldn’t withstand his power and exploded, scattering debris everywhere. “T, this crazy guy!” “We can’t defeat this guy! Don’t let him approach! Use Ineung to stall until we somehow reach the bottom!”
Realizing the situation, they changed course from that moment, turning their direction toward clinging desperately for victory. But now even that was useless. Stalling time wasn’t an option; even holding on was exhausting. “I don’t even feel like blocking. Do what you want. After all, I won’t be able to leave even a scratch on my body.” “G, gah!”
The opponent gritted his teeth and fired flames with all his might, but the gray aura surrounding Blanser’s body devoured them without fail. “E, eek...”
Finally, Blanser closed the distance and drove his fist, reinforced with weight, into the ground. The one who couldn’t do anything was mercilessly smashed into the rubble floor. Kuuuung!
After a very short time during which one could barely blink, all the fallen ones finally landed on the ground. “You dare!” Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
The ones who had landed on the ground tried to stall time with curses, but one axis had collapsed during their fall, preventing the same linkage from unfolding. Moreover, with their Ineung power weakened from exhaustion, they couldn’t even fight the still-fresh Blanser. Snap! Crack-craaaack! “Kyaah!” “Uwaah!”
In the end, overwhelmed by the difference in ability and the bottom of their stamina, they all fell. And as Blanser was thinking he had defeated everyone and was relaxing. “Now!!” “Hmm?”
The one hiding in the corner tried to seize the moment by swinging the axe straight for Blanser’s neck, but. Pa-chaaang! Crack-craaaack!!
Junior, who had intervened from the side, smashed the axe and struck the back of his head. All the others had been defeated, leaving only Blanser and Junior. “They each knocked out ten people.” “Damn it, the numbers are even again, so it’s a draw.”
Annoyed that Blanser couldn’t win again, he pulled a large snot from his nostril. “By the way, did you really inherit the Opart from His Highness the Machine Duke?” “...Impossible. The Opart is only passed down to the family head who succeeds the Grand Duke in our family line. Even if it were a mass-produced version, the real one belongs to my father.” “If I reinterpret your words, it means the mass-produced version is in your hands now?”
Junior responded unconcernedly to Blanser’s oddly expectant question. “That’s a secret.” “...Tsk, I wasn’t curious anyway.” “...”
Blanser didn’t say a single word. “Tsk. Anyway, it’s cleaned up here. Let’s hurry and chase after them. I hope nothing happens to them.”
Tapping his feet, Junior lightly brushed the dust from his tailored suit and began climbing the collapsed wall.