Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: One Sword Kill (1)
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In the sandy expanse, a dry wind brushed between me and the demon wearing a bamboo hat.
I steadied my breathing.
The cold sweat pooling in my palm seeped into the hilt of my sword.
'Can I really beat the monster right in front of me?'
A small doubt crept in.
It felt like standing before a colossal giant as a mere ant.
Even before becoming a demon, he was already a perfected swordsman.
Our skills were worlds apart from the start.
The demon before me moved with an eerie naturalness.
He'd merely assumed the same stance as me, yet he didn't look like he was in an attack or defensive posture—he seemed utterly relaxed, like someone out for a casual stroll.
Full of openings, yet utterly devoid of them.
Before I knew it, I'd even forgotten to swallow the saliva pooling at the corners of my mouth.
I couldn't even blink.
The thought hit me that in that split second, my head might roll.
At that moment, a dry gust of wind blew through.
Shhh—
Sand flew up with the wind.
I knew it instinctively.
'Now.'
In the instant the wind obscured my vision, I drew my sword.
Even up to the moment I drew it, a whirlwind of emotions surged through me.
I swallowed the saliva pooled in my mouth.
At the same time, I forced down the emotions churning in my head.
I drew up the mana within my body.
Woooong—!
My left thumb flicked the bridge of my nose as my right hand yanked the sword free.
A flawless draw.
If there was such a thing as perfect iaido, this had to be it.
Light.
The lightest sword I'd ever drawn.
I couldn't comprehend it, but I could feel it.
'Now. It can't get any better than this.'
The mana rampaging wildly through my body surged entirely into the blade.
Fwoosh—!
It looked like a calm flicker of flame, but it was the hottest, fiercest blaze I'd ever ignited.
The flames had already become one with my sword.
The blade, freed from its sheath, shot upward in a diagonal arc wreathed in fire.
——!
The sword swung before the air even tore with a sonic boom.
'...Did I cut him?'
I felt the distinct sensation of slicing through something.
Was I faster?
I still didn't know.
This moment was just another fleeting instant.
Shiiiik—!
The sound echoed belatedly, followed by a clear, crystalline metallic ring.
Ching—
A pure, pristine sound, like a single dewdrop falling into still water.
At the same time, my sword halted in midair.
I could tell just from the sound.
'That's not a noise I made.'
The severed portion of my blade spun weakly upward into the sky.
Plop.
The cut fragment sank into the sand.
"...Ah."
Psssh—!
Blood sprayed out.
The demon shook the blood from his blade and sheathed it.
"Your sword's heavy."
The demon muttered softly, then slowly began walking away from me.
At the same time, the surroundings gradually returned to normal.
I could do nothing but watch.
"Cough...!"
Blood poured madly from my mouth.
It showed no signs of stopping.
Breathing was getting harder by the second.
I mustered every ounce of strength to gaze toward the lab.
The upper demon Tyrbing.
If I had to compare, he'd be around a 1st-grade monster.
He was at the pinnacle of upper-class demons, after all.
Hero grades were defined by the ability to solo the next lower numerical grade of monster.
A 1st-grade hero could take down a 2nd-grade monster alone, but a fellow 1st-grade? No chance solo.
-UHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
An unpleasant voice boomed through the air.
A black silhouette materialized into the world.
The demon Tyrbing.
The black form began to take clearer shape.
Almost human-like.
A hand extended outward.
And with it, a sword made of the black form appeared.
The golden hilt gleamed brilliantly, and the razor-sharp blade looked like it would retain its edge even after millennia.
A light in the pitch-black darkness, illuminating this abyss.
Tyrbing's true body.
-UHAHAHA!!!!! Finally...! FINALLY! I'm free!
Tyrbing's laughter echoed everywhere.
'Ah... this is the end.'
The last thing I saw was the demon walking toward Tyrbing.
As he drew his sword from its sheath, pure mana—not the demon's own—burst wildly from the blade.
"Hm."
The demon adjusted his bamboo hat and slid the sword back into its sheath.
Then he lowered into a stance...
My vision went black.
I opened my eyes to the sunrise.
A chill ran through me as the cool dawn air brushed my skin.
I carefully sat up.
'I'm alive?'
I looked around.
Everyone else was passed out on the ground.
I pulled up my tattered upper shirt, sliced open by the demon's sword, revealing a diagonal scar across my chest.
"...Why am I still alive?"
-Because of me.
'What the fuck.'
A voice echoed suddenly in my head.
"A dream?"
-No.
I hadn't misheard!
What the hell is this guy?!
"Who are you?!"
-Use respect. I am the great demon Tyrbing.
I am a demon.
In this world, demons get the worst treatment imaginable.
For starters, the turbid mana of monsters doesn't mesh with human bodies.
If you're not strong enough to withstand it, your body twists and warps until your face screams "demon" to anyone who looks.
The reason Tyrbing was now inside me was this:
A human appeared before the unsealed Tyrbing.
He lost, and Tyrbing's true body—the sword—shattered to pieces.
On the brink of death, Tyrbing offered me a contract, and I accepted. Miraculously, I recovered.
"Bullshit!"
-It's the truth.
No way I'd do that!
My head spun.
After the Flame Priesthood, now a demon too?
Unlike the priesthood, getting caught as a demon means actual death.
Cold sweat dripped down.
My first thought was Han Sia's farsight.
I didn't know what the "seed of flame" was, but Tyrbing being a demon? She'd spot it instantly.
"Haa..."
Suddenly, a question arose.
But who the hell was that guy?
Definitely a demon, judging by the turbid mana pouring off him.
I turned my head to look at the two severed heads.
Now in the light, their grotesquely twisted faces were unmistakably demonic.
Demons killing each other was more common than you'd think.
"Know who it was?"
-No clue.
Useless bastard.
-I'll crash with you for a bit. When I slaughter humans later, I'll spare you specially.
I let out a hollow laugh at that. The power I felt from Tyrbing right now was legit 9th-grade monster level—no bullshit. He could probably take a goblin in a fair fight.
"Tirping."
-It's Tyrbing. And I used up all my remaining power to save your ass.
"Liar."
-For real.
How much time had passed? One by one, people started waking up.
Yoo I-seol bolted upright. Fainting mid-fight with a demon...
Her last memory was the demon suddenly aiming his sword at Lee Han-su, mana surging wildly around them.
"Ugh... uuu..."
Her body ached all over.
Looking around, other students were sprawled out too.
Fortunately, no one dead yet.
The moment she turned her head again, Yoo I-seol doubted her eyes.
Lee Han-su was sitting right next to the severed demon head.
'Did he... take down that monster solo?'
Unbelievable. That demon was on the level where even her father or grandfather would need to step in for a real fight.
'You... just what...'
When Lee Han-su's sword had been parried, she'd thought it was over.
He had the strongest attack power here, after all.
But a question nagged at her.
Why didn't he press the attack? Come to think of it, Lee Han-su had never swung his sword twice in any fight so far.
But from the looks of things, that must've been her misconception.
'Why's he shirtless, though?'
Arima Kanna opened her eyes belatedly.
She nearly drew her sword in shock, but the situation was already wrapping up.
'Huh?'
Then her gaze landed on a man.
His upper body was a mess, sliced open by something, with a fresh scar stark beneath.
Her eyes shifted to the rolling heads.
Grotesquely twisted—textbook demon faces.
'No way...?'
Arima Kanna swallowed involuntarily.
It was exactly the kind of display she'd pegged him for.
She just hadn't realized he was that strong.
If only she were that strong too...
Kanna's head drooped.
Unlike her brother Arima Kisho, she couldn't awaken her golden eyes or beastify.
The Arima family's mana trait: manifesting an inner beast to transform the body.
Father was a black tiger, brother a wolf.
'What am I?'
A silly thought crossed her mind.
But Kanna decided not to rush.
No beastification? Fine. Golden eyes... a bit of a shame, but okay.
She just needed to grow stronger, bit by bit, more than yesterday.
And gather talents to turn the guild she'd inherit into the world's best—that was Arima Kanna's goal.
Orbis Academy was shut down.
A demon had attacked during midterms—a massive incident.
Casualties were limited to the repeat class students.
Two weeks off.
A pretty long stretch.
While attending Orbis, there's a hidden piece that's tough to raid—I'm heading there.
'Gotta get stronger too.'
Getting my ass handed to me by that demon taught me a lot.
But even that powerhouse demon hadn't killed anyone outside the repeat class.
-Where you headed? Tell me too.
Even this guy's still kicking.
'A penalty, huh.'
A penalty restricts mana flow. Not the best method, of course.
High risk, low return.
But it's also a way to bridge that single crucial step.
Everyone has innate limits, and that one step is what separates ranks.
'Non-killing rule?'
The bigger the risk, the greater the power.
Similar to how my iaido keeps me from fully drawing my sword, but lets me unleash swordsmanship way beyond my stats.
But I saw that demon's head rolling, so not exactly "non-killing."
Maybe another demon brought it over.
"Hey!"
A voice called out. I turned—Yoo I-seol was walking over from afar.
-Fine warrior. Take her out.
"Shut up for a sec."