The World's Favor
Togun had severed the mana wrapped around Man-ryang, but he could not withstand the monster-like brute strength the man possessed. Sent flying like a baseball struck for a home run, Togun lost consciousness on impact. When he finally came to, he found himself atop a barren mountain of nothing but dirt, not a single tree in sight.
"Ugh."
Even the slightest movement sent sharp pain lancing through his entire body. It felt as though every muscle had been torn to shreds. Several bones seemed broken as well.
Where am I?
Paradoxically, the sheer intensity of the pain helped clear his mind. Gritting his teeth against the agony, Togun forced himself to look around. He tried to make sense of his surroundings, but the terrain was so different from anything in his memory that it proved difficult.
I was definitely in Ariaadna Square. Was there a hill this high there? Or did I really get launched that far?
At the very least, no such barren mountain existed anywhere inside Vivaldi according to his recollection.
KABOOM!
The moment the question formed, a violent explosion erupted from below, shaking the ground beneath his feet.
"Whoa?!"
Togun lost his balance and tumbled down. Rubbing his backside, he crawled slowly toward the source of the sound.
"……"
What he found was a sheer cliff sliced straight down in a perfect line. Below, a man and a woman were locked in combat. Seeing them, Togun finally realized this was no natural hill—it was an artificial earthen wall someone had raised.
She's beautiful.
That was his first impression. The two figures were little more than specks at this distance, yet even that extreme separation could not diminish the woman's allure. She was more beautiful than anyone Togun had ever seen. His heart pounded violently. Is this what it feels like to fall for someone?
They're strong.
Only afterward did the sheer power on display strike him with awe. The man's form was nearly invisible—appearing, vanishing, appearing again. He darted across the battlefield as though teleporting. Even sound lagged behind his movements, creating a jarring disconnect between sight and hearing. It was a ferocious assault that Togun himself could never have endured for even a single blow.
Yet the woman facing him blocked every single attack without exception.
My skin is tingling.
Even Togun, born with Magic Rejection and thus insensitive to mana, found himself shrinking back from the waves of power the two were radiating. The shock and terror of it washed away every trace of pain he had felt moments ago. This was a clash of superhumans that transcended all reason and common sense—the first time he had ever witnessed such a thing.
She's being pushed back.
There was no question which of them was the enemy. Every attacker in this terror incident was a martial artist. He didn't know who the beautiful woman or the terrifying man were, but if he had to pick an enemy between the two, it was obviously the man. Unfortunately, the man was also the one seizing the advantage.
I have to help her.
The instant the thought crossed Togun's mind, a gentle wind swirled above his head before vanishing. Lust was a woman beloved by all things in the world. Therefore the world itself wished to protect her from danger. But the enemy she faced was far too powerful, and the world lacked the strength to shield her completely. So the world wished for someone—anyone—who could protect her from Eun Ma-hyun.
The world sought his aid. It turned to the one boy in existence who, despite being powerless, carried within him the cheat that could slay a superhuman.
Without Togun realizing it, the world's will settled upon his back. The ego of the spirit Lust had created melted into his body. Even as Magic Rejection—the curse he had been born with—kept flinging the power away, it struggled desperately to force itself into his narrow frame.
The change had already begun before this moment. The pain from the wounds Man-ryang had inflicted was completely gone. He could now faintly follow the battle between the two superhumans, something he should never have been able to track with his eyes. Yet the shock of the fight unfolding before him prevented Togun from noticing any of these transformations.
Even so, he resolved to throw himself into the battle with what little strength he possessed. What drove him was the pure desire to save people from this terror. Sensing his kindness, the world poured even more power into him.
In that instant, the concept of Love that Lust wielded weakened part of the curse etched into the Masao bloodline. This power could only be used for this single moment—an artificial miracle that would last only a few minutes before the curse, temporarily pushed back, reclaimed its place.
At the same time, mana now filled Togun's body. He leapt down from the earthen wall and plummeted like lightning into the heart of the battlefield where the two superhumans clashed.
Something feels different.
His body was unnaturally light. Only after noticing that did Togun realize the change that had occurred within him—and that it was caused by the mana now residing inside him. The mana he had spent his entire life yearning for now filled him to overflowing.
There was no star within him to hold the mana. Yet the power did not scatter. Instead, it gathered and condensed in one place. The sheer impossibility of it left Togun unable to comprehend what was happening. But none of that mattered right now. The only important thing was that this power could help.
For now, I'll follow this power.
The world showed Togun the path he needed to take. No matter how much support it gave him, a superhuman was not an opponent an ordinary person without a star could defeat easily. If that were possible, the world would never have needed to borrow the strength of this frail boy in the first place.
Therefore, he approached Eun Ma-hyun as stealthily as possible, keeping this trump card hidden. Body and mind became one as the world's ego and Togun's thoughts aligned. The world continued silently guiding him toward Eun Ma-hyun. Togun kept his sword ready, waiting for the perfect moment. Drawing it too soon would cause all this overflowing mana to vanish.
The opportunity came sooner than expected. Eun Ma-hyun's sword cleaved through empty air. Once more the world was pushed back. With nothing between them, Lust was left completely exposed before Eun Ma-hyun.
"Die already."
There were no more obstacles. Beyond the stretched perception where no one could move, his sword swung in a single elegant arc. At the moment Lust's eyes flew wide at that unstoppable strike, a shadow appeared behind Eun Ma-hyun without warning.
"……!"
The veil the world had cast over Togun was torn away. Eun Ma-hyun noticed his presence a beat too late. In Togun's hands was the Masao family heirloom. Drawing the sword that gleamed with a faint light, he raised it high above his head. The instant he gripped it with both hands, the mana the world had forced into his body erupted outward, scattering brilliantly around him like starlight.
"RAAAAAARGH!"
With a thunderous battle cry that released everything he had been holding back, Togun swung his sword alongside the exploding mana. The curse clinging to the blade crawled up his arms with even greater ferocity, as though hating the world that had suppressed it. It was a weapon so powerful that even Togun's well-trained body struggled to wield it properly. Yet he did not falter before its intense curse. His eyes burned with sheer willpower. After all, he only needed to swing this sword once in this fight.
The Masao sword style—One Stroke Severance. A perfectly straight, honest slash from above. But no matter how much of a surprise attack it was, to Eun Ma-hyun it appeared unbearably slow. He raised his concept without difficulty to block it, never imagining that would be a fatal mistake.
SHRRRRK!
The curse of the Masao family was a posthumous malediction left behind by a superhuman-class dark mage upon his death. The resentment contained within had only grown more vicious over the centuries, eventually maturing to the point where it could sever even a superhuman's concept. It was a unique error in the system, one that transcended the limits of stars. Watching his own mana sliced apart as easily as tofu, Eun Ma-hyun's eyes shook violently.
That sword……!
At the same time, he remembered its identity—the hidden history of a family the emperor of the Fan Empire had personally ordered annihilated. But the realization came too late. Togun's sword cut through the concept Eun Ma-hyun had manifested and fell upon his shoulder.
SLASH!
The reason even highly skilled individuals' bodies remained unharmed by ordinary attacks was because they protected themselves with mana. The same held true for superhumans. Without mana, their bodies were no different from those of ordinary people. Togun's strength, honed since childhood, was more than enough to sever Eun Ma-hyun's arm.
"……"
For Eun Ma-hyun, the sight was utterly surreal. His left arm spun through the air, detached from his torso. He blinked slowly at the scene, as though watching it in slow motion, before his brow furrowed as understanding dawned.
BANG!
He immediately kicked Togun's body away. The world hastily tried to shield him, but it was not enough to stop the enraged Eun Ma-hyun. With the pain of his internal organs rupturing, Togun lost consciousness once more and was sent flying. Watching him crash into the earthen wall Lust had raised, the furious Eun Ma-hyun raised his remaining right arm.
"Where are you looking, leaving me alone like that?"
But the finishing blow he intended to deliver to Togun was interrupted by an attack from behind. Lust smiled seductively, her eyes gleaming. At her will, the world rose up magnificently and turned against Eun Ma-hyun.
……This is over.
Losing his left arm was undeniably a fatal wound. Not only was he losing massive amounts of blood, but the sudden disappearance of one arm had thrown off his center of gravity. Even as a superhuman, he would adapt given time—but the woman before him was also an 8-star superhuman. She would never give him that time. Whether this became a short fight or a long one, he had no hope of victory. Eun Ma-hyun's defeat was now certain.
That damned trash……!
Because of some half-wit brat who couldn't even handle mana, he had lost the victory that had been right in front of him.
I won't let this go.
He would make sure they regretted this for the rest of their lives. But that was a promise for later—after he escaped this place. Eun Ma-hyun shot one last vicious glare toward where Togun had flown, then pointed his sword at Lust.
"You think I'll go down like this?"
He refused to fall easily. Even with defeat staring him in the face, his fighting spirit remained unbroken. The sight of him, sword still sharp despite losing an arm, only made Lust's smile deepen.
"Just give up already. No need to make this tiring for both of us."
The ground trembled. The earth behind her rose up like a serpent's head and curved toward Eun Ma-hyun.
"If you surrender quietly, it might end with just that one arm you lost."
His answer came in the form of a chilling sword strike.
"That's a shame."
A small sigh escaped Lust's lips. Along with the serpent's head severed by Eun Ma-hyun's blade, the molten lava flowing within it surged toward him like a tidal wave.