203. Second Only to One, Above Ten Thousand (一人之下 萬人之上) - (5)
203. Second Only to One, Above Ten Thousand (一人之下 萬人之上) - (5)
***
Daji took in Serin's appearance.
A silver-haired woman drenched in blood from head to toe, raising her Crescent-Moon Weight once more without letting her fighting spirit waver.
She had thought, when Serin used the Dance of the Heaven-Filling Slaughtering Ghosts, that she had cast aside beauty and chosen power—but the sight before her made that thought feel meaningless.
Because the beauty Serin possessed had not faded in the slightest.
If anything, the way she reignited her will with a life that looked ready to gutter out at any moment seemed to hold a beauty beyond description.
With a small gesture toward the empty air, Daji soon held a green crystal in her hand.
She gazed at the green crystal, glowing with its own light like a gemstone, and for a moment she seemed to hesitate—but then she smiled softly, and the slight movement of her lips showed her mind was made up.
"I wish to savor this moment a little longer."
At Daji's calm voice, Serin smiled faintly.
"I'd like that too, but I don't think I can."
Slip.
Her body, soaked in blood, now even had traces of blood welling on her cheeks.
Because of the aftereffects of the Dance of the Heaven-Filling Slaughtering Ghosts, her thread-thin HP gauge could never recover.
Even a graze would probably finish her.
Even the piercingly cold killing intent she had held while dancing the Dance of the Heaven-Filling Slaughtering Ghosts was now tinged with something close to resignation.
Looking at Daji standing right in front of her, Serin laughed for no reason.
'Is she really that reluctant?'
Even though she could clearly end it, her opponent had not attacked. Instead, the gaze fixed quietly on her seemed to regret this situation far too much.
But considering the difference in power, no matter how she thought about it, the outcome was already decided.
Those who possessed power could naturally sense the level of an opponent's strength through exchanging blows. And when the opponent shared the same class, it was impossible not to feel it even more keenly.
- The circumstances are unfavorable.
- Her equipment is worse than her opponent's.
- There is a difference in traits.
No matter what factors existed, in the end, losing was losing.
Having experienced reality countless times in the world of Black Ark, she did not bother putting such things into words.
'I won't be able to fight for long.'
She was simply thinking calmly about what came next.
Right now, she instinctively sensed defeat.
Even if she failed to obtain the enormous reward of a Mythic Item, she felt no lingering attachment.
The Legendary Dancer, founder of the Dancer Class.
She even thought that the madly arrogant title "Second Only to One, Above Ten Thousand" suited the woman called Daji perfectly.
Right now, she was seeing her own Black Ark self reflected in Daji's figure. Serin even felt a kind of satisfaction, and though she was considering using her Awakening Skill as a last resort, she held no hope.
Final Performance.
She would not be the only one to dance the Dancer's final dance.
Creeeeak!
Even the taut white cord was now bleeding crimson.
As Serin slowly steeled her resolve, Daji smiled faintly.
"Seeing you now, even if I offered it, you would not accept."
The killing intent from before was gone, but her clear blue eyes made it plain without words that she was thinking of the end.
And so Daji crushed the item in her hand with sudden force.
Crack!
The green crystal shattered in Daji's hand, and a small sound rang through the space.
Ding!
—The World Tree Fragment shatters, spreading its essence through a set radius.
A mysterious cluster of light bearing fresh verdure burst forth at once and spread rapidly, as if swallowing the entire grand banquet hall.
"A World Tree Fragment...?"
As Serin checked the notification with shocked eyes, Daji looked at her and smiled faintly.
Slither.
The first change from the World Tree's essence came all too easily.
The line of blood at Daji's waist vanished in an instant, and new flesh grew in its place.
Then the pale green light that spread to Serin immediately began to work a miracle.
Her thread-thin HP gauge filled to full in an instant, and Serin's condition began to change as well.
Ding.
*
————
By receiving the World Tree's essence, the following effects are applied.
- All stats permanently increase by 3%.
- All status effects and wounds are healed (restrictions lifted; applied with highest priority).
- You gain vitality (physical stats increase by 10% for 24 hours).
————
*
Serin looked at the effects and immediately turned to Daji.
An enemy who rejected the system's benefits and healed the player—this was beyond absurd, far beyond.
"What kind of whim is this?"
When Serin asked in a tone of incomprehension, Daji answered with a bright smile that seemed to light up the world.
"A whim? I merely used an item to recover from the wound you gave me. Since I erased the Resurrection of the Dead trait, I used an item with an effect worthy of it."
At Daji's blatantly intentional lie, Serin let out a hollow laugh.
Who in the world would use a ridiculous item like a World Tree Fragment on a scratch?
The scales had tipped to an extreme degree of unfairness. Watching her opponent try to right that balance somehow was, strangely, not unpleasant.
Was it because she was looking at Daji's unrealistically beautiful appearance?
Suddenly, the words Daji had spoken earlier came to mind.
—Seeing you now, even if I offered it, you would not accept.
Words that seemed to see straight through her.
If Daji had handed her the World Tree Fragment, she would certainly have refused it at once. But Daji, who had used it herself so that refusal was impossible, felt more unreal right now than her beautiful appearance.
"You... I like you."
After thinking it over, Serin spoke, and she even wondered if she had unknowingly been bewitched by the woman's traits. She was supposed to be an enemy, yet she felt a strangeness that made it impossible to see her as one.
"I am not so fond of women."
As Daji covered her mouth and smiled coquettishly, Serin let out a short laugh and relaxed her grip.
Slither.
The cord she had been gripping tightly loosened, and the white Crescent-Moon Weight angled downward.
Serin stared at Daji as if trying to memorize her appearance.
Beautiful hair holding the darkness of pitch black, a figure draped in luxurious all-black silk. She seemed endlessly mysterious and possessed of an elegant dignity.
A beauty like that would not be easily forgotten.
"Daji."
She suddenly spoke her name.
"...You are the first to speak my name so freely."
Daji answered Serin's action with a simple fact.
Slither.
Then, as if slowly preparing, she let her black Crescent-Moon Weight hang downward.
Serin finished her thoughts.
The way Daji had removed a beneficial buff herself, had even handed over Moonlight, her exclusive weapon. The way she had then used a World Tree Fragment to restore Serin's health—there was undeniable goodwill in it.
Amid a difficulty steeped in malice, she alone seemed to be trying to right a broken balance.
But precisely because of that, Serin prepared for the end of this duel.
"The next one is the last."
At her casual declaration that the next exchange would be the last, Daji's fine eyes narrowed.
She had used the World Tree Fragment to make this time last even a little longer, and Serin was rejecting that.
"Why do you say the next one is the last?"
At the question asking whether they could not exchange more blows, Serin smiled faintly.
"The Dancer's final dance."
She answered by speaking the words that meant Final Performance.
"You are already thinking of the end."
As Daji's gaze settled calmly, Serin immediately activated her Awakening Skill.
—Final Performance.
The Dancer's final dance.
Whoooosh!
A thick, red energy burst from beneath Serin's feet as if exploding and began rapidly consuming her entire body. The viscous energy, dyeing her skin red, soon turned even her blue eyes blood-red before seeping swiftly into her body.
—Final Performance resonates with the Madness trait and changes to 'Divine-Blood Dancer.'
The familiar notification rang after using the Awakening Skill.
Then, as Serin gently gripped the cord, the pure white cord also began to stain red, and Moonlight vibrated as if resonating, spreading its distinctive sound through the space.
Riiiiing!!
"Do you truly wish to end this moment so quickly?"
Watching Serin use Final Performance, Daji could not hide her regret.
***
Tap-tap-tap.
Even as she typed on the keyboard, Sua could not tear her eyes away from one screen.
It was approaching four hours since Serin had started her stream, and Sua's own regular streaming time of 7 p.m. was drawing near.
And right now, Sua was writing an untimely hiatus notice.
Viewers: 37,114.
Her sister's stream, with its abnormally high current viewer count, was more than worth going on hiatus for.
Watching her sister face off against the Great Hero called Daji, she simply could not bring herself to want to start her own stream.
*
————
[Taking a break from the Tuesday, August 24 stream]
I seriously just can't bring myself to start a stream.
I could start one as soon as Rin's stream ends, but I don't think I will.
Oh, wait, no! How about you all watch Rin's stream while you're at it?
————
*
Click!
After pressing Enter and posting to the fan cafe, Sua immediately looked back at the chat window and the screen.
[That's supposed to be a Dancer...?]
[Then what the hell are the Dancers I know]
[Rin please can't you just keep fighting Daji like this]
[Can't lose Daji!!!!]
[Daji...]
[Rin's seriously going all out, damn]
[So it wasn't an exaggeration that she beat pros in the individual matches during that scrim;]
The chat window, rising as if about to burst, was familiar by now.
On the screen, she could see her sister, transformed spectacularly by using her Awakening Skill.
And across from her, she could see Daji slowly being enveloped in pure white light.
"...What is this?"