Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Reinhardt VS Raunel
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―The steps of the one who reigns shake heaven and earth.
A giant of a man was dancing. Heaven and earth trembled in response to his footsteps tracing reverse circles.
―Watch closely. This is the true king's first step.
All those flows converged into one, and as he finally took that step, every force in the world froze in an instant.
Heavenly Demon Dominion Step.
One step from the Heavenly Demon was all it took.
Only those who poured everything into that single step could reign supreme.
It was the "one step" that Gaf, once called the Demon King of the North, had forged over his lifetime.
Spreading energy in reverse to defy the natural order. It was the ultimate form of walking, one that only those who could read that subtle flow could perform.
Gaf was teaching me his masterpiece, his ultimate technique.
He appeared in my dreams, endlessly demonstrating the intricacies until they were seared into my eyes.
Reverse mana circulation. It was like a lecture on how to wield the energy of the nanomachines.
Yet until now, Gaf had never projected his will onto me.
He had protected me through gluttony and the armored scales, but this was undoubtedly the first time he had ever tried to teach me anything.
'To save Leon?'
The 4th Prince, Leon, was his blood descendant. Seeing Leon inherit Gaf's divine power must have stirred something in him.
From that day on, I began studying the "art of walking."
All truths were contained in that "one step." Gaf's conviction that a true ruler's step needed only once was reflected there as well.
'I can do this.'
I had failed time and again, but facing Raunel in the colosseum, I suddenly felt like I could pull it off.
The principle was simple.
Reverse the clockwise rotation of the nanomachines in my heart.
Then, capture the resonance born from their collision at the tip of my foot, and in that instant, a vacuum phenomenon occurs, discharging the energy of the surrounding nanomachines.
But that moment of resonance lasted less than 0.1 seconds.
If you couldn't seize it with your senses, it was a double-edged sword that would run rampant.
I had nearly died from rampages countless times, but in the end, I staked everything on this one step.
Rumble!
As I unleashed the Heavenly Demon Dominion Step, all the nanomachine energy discharged in an instant.
[This is an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) phenomenon.]
[Warning. The nanomachine energy shield is being deactivated.]
[Repeated use may cause permanent damage to the nanomachines in your body.]
The downside was that I couldn't use it twice.
But one step was enough.
It had been created solely for this one step, after all.
The effect was tremendous.
It'stripped away the self-generated energy shield cloaking the nanomachines.
Raunel's aura had vanished.
"What the... did you just do?"
Raunel's panic was palpable.
Of course, it was only a momentary discharge of the nanomachines' energy, so the ones in his body that could generate their own quickly rebooted.
I could see Raunel's aura slowly recovering.
'About three seconds.'
Three seconds until the nanomachines recovered on their own.
That was plenty of time. Enough to expose the opponent's weakness.
It was a double-edged sword that drained my nanomachines too, but thanks to Zero, my reboot speed was dramatically faster.
Raunel's aura took three seconds to recover, but mine only needed about 1.5.
In that gap.
1.5 seconds was more than enough to turn life into death.
I shrugged.
"Don't let your guard down."
"...I won't. Especially not against you."
He didn't know what sorcery it was, but it had nullified his aura in an instant.
Raunel layered his aura in second and third shields.
He cloaked his body in a massive barrier of aura. He had become the Phoenix itself.
'I don't know what sorcery he's using, but it won't work twice.'
Mastering the Phoenix cultivation method allowed one to become the god of fire.
Right now, Raunel was like an awakened deity, wrapped in layers of fiery aura.
I had planned to gauge his strength and wear him down gradually, but not anymore.
Since I couldn't grasp how he wielded mana like Reinhardt, I'd go all out from the start.
'Without your aura, you can't beat me. Reinhardt.'
The mercy a strong man could show a weakling was to end it quickly.
Sorcery or not, without wielding aura, there was a limit.
'I'll finish it in one go.'
Rumble!
Raunel kicked off the ground with full power.
With the earth shaking, he soared upward and slammed his sword down like hurling the sun.
'It's over...!'
Quarrrrumble!
The ground cratered. A deafening roar tore through the sky, rattling eardrums.
But it was impossible.
Such a noise meant his attack had been blocked with equal force.
Raunel's eyes twitched.
Clang!
His deflected strike forced Raunel to twist midair and land on the ground.
He had blocked the multi-layered aura head-on.
Not just blocked it—he had parried it.
For that to be possible, they had to be equals as masters.
But Reinhardt wasn't a Sword Master.
The realm of Sword Master was reached through heaven-given talent and effort.
So how could Reinhardt be a Sword Master?
"A-Aura! It's aura!"
"Crown Prince Reinhardt has ignited his aura!"
"No way. Blue aura?"
"Does that mean His Highness is a Sword Master?"
The stands erupted in chaos.
It was only natural. Reinhardt's swordsmanship was notoriously abysmal. He was the icon of incompetence, devoid of talent in anything.
So what was that blue aura?
Over ten thousand people couldn't all be seeing things.
"I told you not to let your guard down."
"A... master?"
Raunel couldn't believe his eyes.
Blue aura comparable to his own red.
But how?
He hadn't even seen him swing the sword. When had he become a master?
"...You've been hiding your strength?"
Raunel ground his teeth.
A person couldn't suddenly grow strong overnight.
The wall of mastery wasn't child's play—it was the supreme realm that took a lifetime of training to even approach.
If he'd been training in secret all this time, it wasn't impossible.
Secluded in the palace, shunned by all, honing his skills alone.
Solely for this moment.
For this day when all eyes were upon him!
"Think what you want. I won't be listening anyway."
I chuckled at Raunel's misconception.
It was the normal reaction, after all. Without Zero, even I would never have reached Sword Master no matter how much I trained my whole life.
Had I endured that much hardship and adversity? No, I'd shake my head.
Yet I stood tall. Just as Raunel had the talent for the sword, I had the talent called Zero.
"This is my final warning. If you don't fight to kill, you won't win."
"Shut up!"
Kiyaaaaak!
The Phoenix cried out. Raunel, who had become the Phoenix itself, finally revealed his true intent.
This was actually our second brotherly clash, but Raunel barely remembered the first.
His memories of being possessed by the lich demon were incomplete.
Naturally, this duel was different. This time, we were crossing blades of our own volition, each for our own goals.
'Sorry, Raunel.'
As the older brother, I'd like to yield.
But I can't.
So... let's give it our all.
You and me both.
*
Blue aura.
Seeing it sent a shiver through Deus.
It was a shock like none in decades.
"His Highness Reinhardt... has ignited his aura."
"Has he been hiding that level of skill all this time?"
"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
Congratulations?
Deus was speechless.
He had been plenty surprised when Raunel broke through the wall.
But this astonishment dwarfed that.
Reinhardt, a Sword Master?
He had vibrated mana momentarily before, and now he had ignited aura.
It was real, not fake. Deus had the eyes to see that much.
But it still didn't make sense. Croft had never called Reinhardt a "Sword Master." If he had broken through, Croft would have mentioned it ages ago.
The fact that he hadn't meant Reinhardt hadn't reached that realm.
Which meant he'd crossed the wall around the same time as Raunel.
Perhaps with the spirit's help?
'No. Aura is one's innate power. A force of truth that only the enlightened can ignite.'
No spirit could help ignite aura.
Especially not one so vivid and blue.
'In a place where no one watched... he was training.'
Aura was symbolic.
If every genius could reach it, it wouldn't be a wall.
Without talent or effort—either one—you could never touch it.
That meant Reinhardt had secluded himself and trained alone.
Proof that, unseen and uncared for, he had swung his sword in silence.
'I thought he wouldn't change. I gave up...'
There had been a time when he'd pinned hopes on Reinhardt.
But he'd abandoned them due to Reinhardt's mania.
That abandonment had come too soon, it seemed.
Reinhardt hadn't given up—he'd kept training.
Now he understood why Croft had told him to watch with fresh eyes.
The change had already happened; he just hadn't accepted it.
This wasn't cause for celebration.
On the contrary, he needed to reproach himself.
'Before emperor, as a father, I have no face. No qualification.'
Crunch.
Deus clenched his fist.
And if Emperor Deus was this shocked, the other empresses needed no mention.
The 1st Empress in particular couldn't even maintain her trademark composure.
'It can't be. No way!'
Reinhardt, a Sword Master?
If she'd known, she would have somehow invalidated this duel.
There were ways to make Raunel investigation leader without a fight.
'That spirit sword is definitely igniting the aura.'
This had to be the spirit's doing. Without a spirit weapon, how could Reinhardt ignite aura?
'His actual swordsmanship must still be terrible.'
If it was tool-assisted, his fundamentals would be lacking.
The longer the fight dragged, the more it would show. Their grasp of basic swordsmanship and sheer experience were worlds apart.
Yet...
"Raunel! Why are you going easy? Because he's blood?"
The 1st Empress shouted.
Raunel and Reinhardt were locked in a fierce stalemate.
Neither yielding nor advancing. They exchanged dozens, hundreds of precise strikes, both giving their all.
But fighting on even terms was inexplicable.
Raunel had swung a sword since he could walk.
Praised as a genius, trained by countless master swordsmen.
A fortune had been poured into developing a mana cultivation method just for him—enough to empty the national treasury once.
And Reinhardt?
Even his walking and talking lagged far behind Raunel's.
The sword?
He could barely hold it properly.
Had he received proper instruction?
Who would teach a mad crown prince? One wrong move, and your head was gone.
How could a crown prince in name only match Raunel?
It defied common sense.
So when that common sense shattered, the 1st Empress couldn't endure it.
Shing!
Thud!
Raunel's sword flew into the air and stabbed into the ground.
"Ahh..."
Seeing it, the 1st Empress staggered and collapsed.
*
"..."
Silence fell.
No one in the stands could open their mouth.
One thing was clear: it was over.
But no one could be sure of what they'd just witnessed.
All predictions had been upended.
Their devout beliefs lay in pieces.
98.2 : 1.8
An overwhelming win probability. A fight where defeat was nearly impossible.
Yet Raunel had lost.
His sword fallen from his hand, Reinhardt's blade at his throat.
"I..."
Raunel spoke.
But he couldn't admit defeat.
He had lived without ever losing.
Especially not to him.
"...I lost."
But in the end, he admitted it. Truly like Raunel.
"Waaaaah!!!"
"Long live Crown Prince Reinhardt!!!"
The crowd went wild.
I could have basked in the victor's leisure and smile, but I couldn't bring myself to.
Not out of pity for Raunel.
We had both given our all, and I won, so this was a result to accept.
...But our eyes met.
The three dragons in the audience stands.
End of Reinhardt VS Raunel