Chapter 233: Each to Their Own Choice (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 233: Each to Their Own Choice (2)
The technique 'Shadow Extreme Kill (陰影亟殺)' is fundamentally based on high-speed movement utilizing shadows.
With almost no sound or presence, and the ability to teleport short distances, it is an incredibly tricky technique to deal with.
And if Wolyeong's signature 'Silent Steps (無音步)' were used in tandem...
Its deadliness would double.
Clang!
There was no time to discern how many clashes occurred in a single second.
A blinding shower of sparks flashed, and then—
Clash! Clash! Clang!
Soon, a storm of sword strikes raged.
"Ugh!"
Namgung Cheon gasped for breath.
Wolyeong, who had been right in front of him just a moment ago, had already launched a surprise attack from a shadow behind him.
He avoided it by a hair's breadth, but it was a close call once again.
If his reaction had been even a fraction of a second slower, he would have lost his life right then and there.
[Namgung Cheon activates Lv10 'Boundless Sky Sword Technique'!]
The exclusive martial art of the Namgung Clan, simple yet containing the profound essence of all swordsmanship, unfolded.
Rumble!
A light, swift sword swept through the spot where Wolyeong had been.
However...
Wolyeong had already completely seen through the trajectory of the sword.
Rustle...
Having slipped through the shadows, Wolyeong took up his stance once more.
Even if Namgung Cheon had inherited his swordsmanship directly from the Sect Leader of the Namgung Clan, breaking through Wolyeong in such a short time was impossible.
"Damn it! Cheon Yu-seong!"
Ultimately, Namgung Cheon made his decision.
"Don't just stand there staring! Help me right now!"
It was a pity he couldn't kill them all by himself, but he had no choice.
Since things had come to this, he had no choice but to borrow someone else's hand.
Yet, for some reason, Cheon Yu-seong did not budge from his spot.
"What are you doing?! If we stay like this, we're all going to die!"
Namgung Cheon urged him again, but Cheon Yu-seong merely stared intently at Wolyeong.
A brief silence fell.
Cheon Yu-seong slowly spoke.
"Why... do you trust that guy so much?"
"I should be the one asking that. I heard you have spent a long time with my Lord. Why is it that you cannot trust him?"
Cheon Yu-seong flinched.
A subtle change flickered across his face.
But that change vanished in an instant.
"That guy and I aren't on trusting terms. He is an enemy I must defeat with my sword. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Do you truly believe that? My Lord... has spoken of you several times. He said that although you are cold and blunt, you aren't actually a bad guy."
"……."
"Cheon Yu-seong! Don't be swayed by such nonsense! Go after him and cut him down this instant! Isn't that why you joined hands with us?!"
As the atmosphere threatened to turn strange, Namgung Cheon raised his voice even louder.
"Don't forget the day you first came to us. Remember why you threw everything away to join hands with the Murim. Remember that!"
His purpose.
Yes.
Aligning with the Murim was by no means a light decision.
Cheon Yu-seong slowly chewed over that cold resolve.
"……Understood."
With that, the conversation was over.
Boom!
Turning away, Cheon Yu-seong lunged toward where Jinhyuk was.
* * *
Was it because of the flames whipped up by the rampaging Flame Skeletons?
The windows were stained an exceptionally vivid red.
And amidst the dazzling light pouring through the window, Jinhyuk stood waiting for Cheon Yu-seong.
"You're finally here. Well, I expected it to turn out like this, but isn't your timing a bit bad?"
Jinhyuk shrugged.
The fortress was currently in a state reminiscent of the apocalypse.
Even at this very moment, the people of the Empire and the Murim were risking their lives to fight the demonic beasts pouring from the Abyss.
However,
"I, too, hoped for a better stage than this. But not everything goes as one wishes."
To Cheon Yu-seong, this fight was far more important than the destruction of the world.
A remark typical of him, as expected.
Facing each other from the top and bottom of the stairs, the two locked eyes.
...Silence fell.
Because they knew each other all too well, neither drew their sword easily.
Right then.
Crash!
The ceiling collapsed, and a chunk of marble debris fell between the two.
In the split-second opening created by the falling stone—
[Cheon Yu-seong activates his unique ability, 'Song of the Sword'!]
A sword drawn like lightning cleanly sliced the debris.
Boom!
Through the sliced debris, Jinhyuk could be seen holding 'Fang' in a reverse grip.
The blade, burning black due to the 'Grave of Swords', clashed head-on with Cheon Yu-seong's sword.
Cheon Yu-seong clenched his teeth so hard they threatened to shatter.
'From here on, it's what matters.'
He had fought countless times against this veteran who was as immovable as a mountain.
Though he had lost again and again, to the point where the bitter taste of defeat was etched onto his tongue, those experiences had not been in vain.
Screeech!
Cheon Yu-seong, who had seemed to be aiming for a head-on clash, instantly shifted his sword energy downward.
Sliding down the flat of the blade, his sword aimed for Jinhyuk's instep.
"……!"
Jinhyuk quickly altered his trajectory, but Cheon Yu-seong had already anticipated that move.
"Indeed. Whenever you're caught off guard, you always tend to shift your center of gravity to the right."
The sword moved at a bizarre angle, like a snake.
If his timing was off by even a fraction, he would be struck by Fang first, but—
Cheon Yu-seong was not one to make a mistake with his timing.
Crash!
Jinhyuk's body faltered heavily.
His right thigh, which should have been supporting him, trembled slightly.
Now was the moment.
'This time, I will win.'
His single opportunity.
Cheon Yu-seong unleashed all of his accumulated mana.
A materialized blue energy manifested completely through his sword.
Boom!
As a storm-like barrage of sword strikes exploded, Jinhyuk frantically swung his dagger.
Clang! Clang!
Cold sweat poured, and his breathing grew ragged.
In contrast, Cheon Yu-seong, seizing the upper hand, raged even more fiercely.
And finally, at the moment when there was nowhere left to retreat—
[Cheon Yu-seong activates Lv14 'Battlefield Selection'!]
[Cheon Yu-seong activates Lv14 'Single Combat'!]
The two skills were cast simultaneously.
'Battlefield Selection', which allowed him to choose the stage most advantageous to him, and 'Single Combat', which boasted the highest efficiency in a 1v1 scenario.
Both were skills he had honed to the absolute limit just for this duel.
[The Mindscape unfolds.]
The world turned monochromatic.
There were no red, burning flames, nor any wildly rampaging demonic beasts.
Jinhyuk clicked his tongue as he looked around the desolate space.
"Do you not know the meaning of holding back? We're not in our teens anymore; if you wild out like that, you're going to ruin your joints."
"Even when you're completely cornered, that smirk of yours remains. Don't you know? No matter how great you are, you cannot defeat me with an injured leg."
"Maybe. I'll definitely have to work for it this time."
"Work... for it? Is that all you have to say?"
"Yep."
Jinhyuk nodded.
"……I see. That confidence, never losing your composure no matter the situation. That is precisely why you will lose to me today."
Cheon Yu-seong pointed his sword forward.
Sizzle...!
The air shifted abruptly.
The heat brushing against his skin felt entirely different from any sword technique Cheon Yu-seong had shown him before.
And for good reason.
Because this sword technique did not belong to him.
'Don't tell me...'
Jinhyuk's eyes narrowed.
'Soul-Chasing Sword Dance'
The creator of the Soul-Chasing Sword, the Soul-Chasing Shadow.
There was no mistake.
'The Tenth Form'
The tenth form was said to contain the absolute essence of the Soul-Chasing Sword's numerous forms.
Granted, it was an incomplete form.
However...
Cheon Yu-seong had managed to recreate a glimpse of that sword technique.
'Heavenly Lightning Wild Slash'!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Crash!
Dozens of lightning bolts falling from the sky completely tore up the ground.
The power was so immense that it even tore holes in the barrier created by 'Battlefield Selection'.
"Pant... Pant... Huff..."
Cheon Yu-seong gasped heavily for air.
It was done.
With this, no matter how monstrous that bastard was, he couldn't possibly emerge unscathed.
'My... victory!'
The end of their long, long battle had finally been written.
And yet...
"The Heavenly Lightning Wild Slash is impressive, but if you haven't mastered it to at least 6-star, the pattern becomes too simple. You would've had a better chance of success if you'd used a lower form and focused on perfecting its execution instead."
A familiar voice drifted out from the rising smoke.
It was incredibly nonchalant.
He spoke as if he hadn't taken a single scratch of damage.
Even his heavy breathing and groans from earlier had completely vanished.
"How... How is this possible? Did you read the movement of the lightning itself... even that?"
"To be honest, I was a bit surprised. You must have trained really hard."
He meant it.
He had never imagined he would witness the tenth form of the Soul-Chasing Sword here.
Grit!
"Don't... don't patronize me with your useless pity! Cut that crap out!"
Cheon Yu-seong swung his sword once more.
But with his mana completely depleted from the previous attack, there was no way his body could muster any power or speed.
The sword merely sliced through empty air.
"Thousands of times."
Whoosh!
"Tens of thousands of times! I held my sword. I never neglected my training, even when my hands bled!"
Cheon Yu-seong let out a cry that sounded like a desperate scream.
It was a roar that seemed to explode with all the accumulated resentment and exhaustion he had harbored.
"I threw away everything to defeat you. I threw away my entire self! And yet... why on earth! Why is the result always... like this..."
The tip of his sword wavered.
Thud!
The sword, drained of all strength, plunged into the floor.
"I... I don't know what I have to do to win. I really... don't know anymore."
Cheon Yu-seong's body trembled slightly.
Outstanding talent, and effort that matched it.
Despite possessing all of that... a wall he could never overcome.
That despair was like a shackle denying his very existence.
Jinhyuk, who had been watching him quietly, finally spoke.
"You're the one who bickered and fought with me in the Tower for the longest time."
Even when everyone else gave up and left, the persistent leech who remained to fight until the very end was Cheon Yu-seong.
At first, he had found him to be nothing but a nuisance, but...
after everyone else had abandoned the Tower, he realized he even missed that annoyance.
It was only natural.
Because no one else was left around the veteran.
"Talent and effort. The reason you keep losing despite having both is because you're in too much of a rush."
"In a... rush?"
"Yeah. I understand your anxiety, but don't try to finish everything all at once."
The Tower is always here.
And...
"I'll always be here, too."
Now, and in the future.
There was still plenty of time left before they reached the top of the Tower once again.
"Are you saying you'll keep fighting me?"
"Yeah. So stop crying. Why is the guy once called the Sword Saint making a face like he's about to cry? It ruins your cool."
"W-Who's crying?!"
Cheon Yu-seong quickly wiped his eyes.
For him to show such a side, he must have been truly frustrated.
"I apologize for showing you such an unsightly side. Yes... perhaps I lost sight of my original intentions."
Cheon Yu-seong wore a bitter smile.
The days when simply challenging himself was motivation enough.
He recalled the times he was filled with anticipation, wondering what diverse and novel ways he could use to target his opponent, and whether they would actually work.
He remembered those hopeful days.
"I owe you one. Truly..."
A brief silence followed, as if he couldn't bring himself to say the rest.
But it was only for a moment.
"……Thank you."
* * *
'This should be enough by now.'
Soothing a crying, throwing-a-tantrum kid was no easy task.
And acting as if they were locked in a close, hard-fought struggle was even more difficult.
But thanks to all this hard work, he had cleared the first condition.
Namely, the condition to acquire a new skill.
Jinhyuk checked the information obtained through 'Gluttony's Eye' once more.
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Name: Cheon Yu-seong
Gender: Male
Age: 28
Level: 62
Strength: 55 | Agility: 71 | Stamina: 45 | Mana: 20 | Dark Obsession: 90
Available Stat Points: 0
Coins: 16,540
Class: Swordsman (劍士)
Unique Ability: Song of the Sword
Skills: 'Soul-Chasing Sword Qi' Lv15, 'Immortal's Eye' Lv14, 'Single Combat' Lv14, 'Body Protective Aura' Lv14, 'Battlefield Selection' Lv14, 'Soul-Chasing Sword Dance' Lv17, 'Darkness Barrier' Lv13, 'Patience' Lv13, 'Obsession' Lv13...
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[Copy Condition: You are now able to perform a second copy on the same target. The Sword Saint, who has lived his entire life solely to defeat you. If you can make him temporarily forget his goal and reach out his hand to you, you will be able to copy one of the skills possessed by Cheon Yu-seong.]
[Additional Clause (Request from a Higher Divinity): If you can make the Sword Saint wear a maid outfit, you will be able to copy one of the skills the Sword Saint will acquire in the future.]
Copying two skills.
This was something he absolutely could not pass up.
'Since I've achieved one, only one remains.'
On top of that, thanks to Wolyeong's choice, he had also copied 'Shadow Extreme Kill', meaning he had acquired a whopping three skills from this battle alone.
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
"You said you owed me one, right?"
"Huh?"
"Why are you playing dumb? You just said it a moment ago. That you owed me."
"I-I did say that, but..."
In that case, it was time to pay back that debt.
Right now, that is.
[Subspace Inventory is opening.]
[You have selected: High-grade French Lace Maid Outfit.]
The light of deep emotion instantly vanished from Cheon Yu-seong's face.
All that remained was deep, dark despair and regret.