The Sword Saint
Moonlight filtered through the gaps between the shattered buildings. It illuminated every corner of the ruined facility.
The price of withstanding a god’s power was steep. My flesh felt like it was burning away, my bones were cracked, and tears streamed down my face even though I wasn’t moving.
Hawa drew her blade in alarm. She had no strength left to fight.
“Who the hell are you?”
She wasn’t the only one panicking. Everyone present was stunned into silence. It was absurd. The punch I’d thrown to kill an A-rank or higher monster had grown impossibly massive and crushed it before it could even approach.
That was clearly a level of power even the Sword Saint couldn’t touch.
“Hey, that thing was at least strong enough to give me trouble. But some random student one-shotted it and demolished the entire lab?”
It was only natural to be suspicious. If I were in their shoes, I’d be losing my mind too.
“If you keep refusing to speak…”
The atmosphere grew tense, like another fight was about to break out. After taking that earlier blow, my body was already in tatters. There was no way I could win against her.
Skill activated
I was bleeding too much to see clearly, but my wounds were slowly regenerating.
“You… huh?”
She stopped mid-sentence, closed her eyes, and seemed to sense something. I tried spreading my mana as widely as possible, but I couldn’t feel anything at all.
After standing motionless for a while, she opened her eyes with a look of pure confusion.
Was this some kind of beastkin sixth sense?
“Damn it. We’ll talk later. Call this number.”
She handed me a plain white business card with only a phone number and title printed on it.
With those words, she vanished. Probably used stealth. Edan White disappeared as well. The area fell into complete silence, as if only Maria and I had been there from the beginning.
As expected of the Black Star’s daughter.
***
“So… how the hell do we get out of here? Where even are we?”
“I have no idea.”
Neither Maria nor I knew how to escape this place. So we simply wandered through the ruined buildings. Shattered laboratory debris lay scattered everywhere.
“They’re not going to demand compensation, right…?”
“…”
Of course they would. If there was no proof that Edan had kidnapped Maria, they’d definitely come after me for the cost of all the destroyed buildings.
BOOM—!!
“Who the hell are you!”
A thunderous voice exploded from behind us. The moment I saw her, I knew instantly. That was the voice I’d heard through my sister’s phone… the Sword Saint.
Her simple shout echoed across the entire mountain like a roar. Blue flames and crimson light swirled together as she pointed her sword straight at me, ready to cut me down at any second.
“About what happened, it’s like—”
“Shut your mouth.”
SWISH—
She barely shifted her blade, yet it sliced my cheek open. Blood trickled down. The sting burned.
“You are undoubtedly the kidnapper! How dare you speak so freely!”
She wouldn’t even listen to me. It was infuriating, but there was nothing I could do. She was the strongest being alive. The blue flames boiling across her entire body were dozens of times hotter than ordinary fire.
In the novel, the Sword Saint’s flames were called Blue Flame, and the skill she used was Blue Flame Flower, an SSS-class ability that surpassed even that rank.
The name came from the way the flames burned so intensely that nothing was left behind, leaving only a pristine, empty space. The color and destructive nature combined to create the title.
It was also known as Cremation. The blue petals of fire consumed everything, earning it that fearsome nickname.
Even so, she seemed to be holding back. She lowered her sword and grabbed me by the throat instead. Was… was that supposed to be merciful? And honestly, I had been planning to find her anyway, so her appearance was convenient… but damn, she was squeezing way too hard.
It was unfair. The fact that I was so utterly powerless made me furious. The pain was so intense I felt like I might actually turn dark if this kept up.
“Gack…! W-wait a second!!”
“Be silent. You deserve to die a hundred times over.”
Fuck—!! Something inside me was slowly changing. The pain was so unbearable it made me think insane thoughts like, I’ll fuck your daughter, level up, and kill you myself.
But… I endured.
“Then… please give me a chance…! If I can withstand three strikes… will you spare me, Sword Saint?”
“Why should I?”
She tightened her grip as she spoke. I couldn’t feel the heat of her flames, but the sheer crushing force made escape impossible. I was overwhelmed by helplessness.
“Because this isn’t my fault.”
“Hmm…”
Even as my neck was on the verge of snapping, I stared straight into her burning face and met her eyes without flinching.
They were blue eyes—deep like the abyss of the ocean, yet blazing with ferocious intensity. She slowly swept her gaze across the surroundings.
The sheer scale of the destroyed facility visible between the collapsed structures was clearly beyond what a single student could accomplish. She seemed to understand that much.
“If you truly bear no fault… then why ask me to give you three strikes?”
“Because it was the Sword Saint’s misunderstanding, because I saved your daughter, and because I wish to become the Sword Saint’s disciple after surviving these three seconds—”
“Ha! What did you just say?”
The moment the Sword Saint placed her hand on my shoulder, the area exploded. An overwhelming grip crushed down on me.
The absolute power was like an autumn leaf unable to resist the turning of the seasons. I collapsed.
The explosion came from the mana gathered beneath the Sword Saint detonating with a deafening roar. She looked down at me with eyes as cold as the frozen air around us.
“Do you even realize what nonsense you just spouted?”
“So if I survive three seconds…”
“Fine! Try to endure it, then. I will face you seriously. Even if you die, it won’t be my responsibility.”
“Yes…!! …Wait, what?”
No, this was too much… I didn’t think she’d actually go all out…
“You don’t need three. Survive just one move.”
She activated her strongest skill right from the start.
"Blue flames bloom across the sky."
"Petals of cremation consume all."
⟨ Blue Flame Flower ⟩
Hundreds of mana-forged swords burned in the sky. They shone more brilliantly than the two moons floating above. The light of the Blue Flame flooded even the darkest corners of the ruined buildings, illuminating every object on the ground.
At the Sword Saint’s gesture, the hundreds of flaming swords, blades, daggers, and other weapons moved in perfect formation.
If I got hit by this, I was dead. I had to endure it somehow, even if it was pure stubbornness. Kang Hyunsu, you can do this.
I brainwashed myself and held on.
Hundreds of blue flames spun like a storm and rained down like a downpour. It was a beautiful, radiant sword rain.
The sharp, impossibly hot—almost cold—swords and blades sliced across my skin as they fell. The moment they touched me, they tore open wounds that immediately began to fester. My skin burned and throbbed like it was rotting.
What kind of ability did I even have? Super speed? Steel skin? Anything?
“Bullshit. I don’t have any of that crap.”
The blades poured down faster and faster. There were so many I couldn’t even take a single step.
I was going to die.
SHUNK—
A massive sword flew in and pierced straight through my chest. Blood slowly poured out from the gaping wound.
SHUNK—
THUD—
They kept coming. Counting them became meaningless.
THUD—THUD—THUD—THUD—THUD—
How many times had I been stabbed? One… two… three… Ah, who knows. I was probably already a human pincushion.
The Blue Flame wasn’t over yet. This was only the beginning. Why did I know so much about it? Because the novel spent an absurdly long time describing this skill. Since it was called the strongest skill in the world, the description was insanely detailed.
This was Blue Flame Flower: First Form. It didn’t kill instantly but slowly crushed the victim’s life with unbearable agony.
Of course, instant death was possible with the basic technique, but it seemed the noble Sword Saint grandma was too pissed off to grant me a quick end.
She really wanted to make me suffer like this.
It felt like all the blood in my body had drained out. Good. This was good.
The flaming petals began to fall. Now it was truly starting. I just had to endure…!
BOOM—!
The brilliantly exploding blue flames consumed parts of my body along with them.
My left arm felt like it was being torn apart. Then, suddenly, the pain vanished. The agony disappeared like it had never existed.
The gorgeous exploding petals danced beautifully in the air. Was that… my arm…?
Some arm was floating around with the flower petals. Yeah, that ring on the finger… it was definitely mine.
Was it my leg’s turn next?
They say when pain gets too intense, you stop feeling it… I really didn’t feel anything anymore.
And like that, I died.
Thank you sincerely for reading "Stealing the Protagonist's Heroines" until now.
No side stories will be written.
Fuck that. Bullshit. I still have to get my revenge! Hell yes I do!!
Title: Ruler of Death
Kiiiiing—
Blood supply restored. Severed arms and legs regenerated. The heart that had stopped beating resumed normal function.
All other bodily regeneration initiated.
1%…
25%…
78%…
99%…
100%…
All bodily functions have returned to normal.
> Skill reuse remaining time: (9 days 23:59:59)
Tick—
Tock—
The sensation of death was exactly that—death. I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t even think. I simply existed in a state of pure being.
“Ha, how ridiculous. How are you still alive? And with all your limbs intact, no less.”
“They’re not exactly intact…”
They really weren’t. My clothes had been completely shredded, leaving me stark naked…
This is a little—okay, a lot—embarrassing, you know. Fuck…
Can someone please put some clothes on me…
Edan White—
