Ink-Eyed Sword Saint (1)
In this situation, select what to do.
1. Run away.
2. Iaijutsu.
The correct answer is predetermined.
Shiiiing—.
Dodging Guild Master Kim Su-han's attack from the White Night Guild with ease, he aimed for the blind gay swordsman's back.
The moment he drew his sword, something felt different from usual.
Inevitable Strike
Flash—.
Slash—!!!
"Hm?"
The blind gay swordsman, Baek Jin, whipped around in an instant. A slashing attack hurtling toward him.
It was a fairly skilled strike, but nothing he couldn't block.
Baek Jin's swordsmanship was the ultimate in softness—the art of deflection and defense, superior even to any shield.
It had to be that way.
Boom—!!!!!
Baek Jin witnessed the bizarre phenomenon of the strike he'd clearly deflected boomeranging right back at him. He swiftly raised his sword to block, but it was a heavy blow regardless.
Spurt—!
A small gash appeared on Baek Jin's chest.
At the same time, fierce flames erupted.
Roooar—!!!!!
'Hot…!'
Flames so intense it felt like gazing into the fires of hell.
Sizzle—!!!!
Even swinging his sword to shake them off did nothing—the fire clung to him like a living thing.
.
.
.
Shackles are an unfair power.
The heavier they weigh, the greater the price—but compared to the strength they grant, that price is laughably light.
And yet, there are those who need them anyway.
The gap between realms is like stairs. Not ordinary ones, of course.
Each step up widens the chasm to the next level until it's impossible even to glimpse it.
One step. Another step.
Until you can take no more.
That's when the shackles form, as payment for those leaden feet.
Clank—!!!!
One more step. Yet another.
Clank—!!!!
And finally, the last one—a mountain so immense you doubt you can ever summit it.
And….
Clank—!!!!!
Vast mana surged from Baek Jin's body.
Hiss—!!!
"Wha…?"
Kim Su-han, Guild Master of White Night Guild, watched his eyes widen.
This swordsman, whom he'd pegged as a skilled 2nd Grade at best, was suddenly radiating an absurd level of power.
Sweat poured down his face. A overwhelming force he'd felt only once in his life.
Transcendent.
The pinnacle of existence in this world.
Kim Su-han collapsed to his knees without realizing it.
"…Do you intend to keep going?"
Baek Jin chuckled softly. He wished he could see the man's face, but sight was denied him.
The sensation of his mountain-heavy limbs and forcibly restrained mana unleashing all at once.
Clank—.
"Well, you're better than the fool cowering up ahead."
With those words, a slash cleaved toward Baek Jin like it would split the heavens.
****
I seriously considered running.
But as if that were possible.
The immense pressure of the word Transcendent.
The blind gay swordsman couldn't maintain that state for long, thanks to those self-imposed shackles.
But the real problem was White Night Guild's Guild Master up ahead, who'd lost his will to fight after that dramatic entrance and collapse.
Our reliable 1st Grade hero ally had crumbled.
-Kekeke, looks like there's only one option left.
Tyrbing laughed.
"Yeah."
I grinned and unleashed iaijutsu.
Then scooped up a sword from the scattered pile on the ground.
Voooong—!!!
The relic sword crumbled to scrap in an instant.
Tyrbing's feeding time.
I moved swiftly, sweeping up more swords.
Vrrrrm—!!!!
A few looked decent. No time to sort them now, though.
Roooar—!!!!!!
The flames roared back to life the moment I finished.
But it lasted only a split second.
"Weaker than before…."
Baek Jin tilted his head.
In that instant—
Shiiiing—!!!!!
A brilliantly gleaming golden sword materialized in my hand.
Cling—!
Do you know how to slice the heavens?
I do.
'Draw the sword.'
Slash—!
Boom—!!!!!!!!
"Hoh…!"
Baek Jin grinned.
"It's been ages since I met a swordsman of your caliber. Shame I can't see your face."
He let out a hearty laugh and assumed his stance. Gay or not, what a booming laugh.
I immediately prepared my second iaijutsu.
Slash—!!!
Boom—!!!!!
But….
Baek Jin laughed as he parried every slash. He took some scratches, but nothing meaningful.
Without Inevitable Strike, he might not have a mark on him.
"It's been ages since I took a wound."
Baek Jin glanced at the blood staining his robes. Even getting hurt felt nostalgic.
"A fine swordsman. A hero, are you?"
Baek Jin stepped forward.
Then flicked away the purple mist with a wave.
Whoosh—!!!
"Now that it's come to this, I'll get serious too… Hm?"
Baek Jin doubted his ears.
The sound of someone frantically dashing around, picking things up off the ground.
"What are you doing?"
He couldn't comprehend, so he asked. Protecting the relics?
"That's pointless… 'Huh?'"
The presences of several fine relics were vanishing. No way…?
"That kind of power?"
A ability to absorb strength. 'Geol' had someone similar.
Baek Jin swung, unleashing a slash.
Boom—!!!!!!!
Shiiiing—!!!!!
But as expected, it met a counter-slash.
Spurt—!
A wound appeared despite the clash.
"…."
Baek Jin wiped the flowing blood with his hand.
'Planning a war of attrition like this?'
But he couldn't allow that.
Flash—!!!
Baek Jin dashed toward the source of presence.
Then swung his sword—
Boom—!!!!
A waiting slash tore the earth apart, surging at him.
He deflected it, but a wound still formed despite the perfect parry.
Spurt—!!!!!
Roooar—!!!!!!
"…."
Even now, the relics' powers were fading one by one.
Baek Jin pondered. Of course, there was a way to stop it.
But what nagged at him were his own shackles.
'Three more times….'
Sword Intent. A technique unlocked at the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
In Chinese terms, anyway.
Simply put, a Domain Expansion.
Baek Jin slashed the empty air.
Craaaack—!!!!!
Cracks spiderwebbed through the space as if it had been sliced.
"Let the mind dwell in the void, and the sword permeate all things…."
Sarpa Man-sang: Myriad Swords Return to the Sect
All principles return to a single sword. Myriad Swords Return to the Sect.
Broken blades, stones, even drifting dust in this bamboo grove—
All become swords.
Swoooosh—.
A clear wind whistled through the bamboo thicket where a massive sect once stood.
Sarpa Man-sang: Myriad Swords Return to the Sect.
Every reason converges into one sword. True myriad convergence.
Broken blades, stones, even the scattering dust here.
All of it—swords.
Invisible transparent swords rose from every direction.
"That was quite entertaining."
The Ink-Eyed Sword Saint, Baek Jin, murmured softly.
****
-Wha… what the…!!!
Tyrbing cried out in disbelief. The entire area was swords.
A buffet for the demonic sword Tyrbing. This unassuming place—drifting dust, dense bamboo, massive buildings.
All swords.
-I have to! Do it!!!!
Tyrbing yelled.
-Switch with me! This place is made for me!!!!
Black aura seeped from the golden sword.
The darkness enveloped Yi Han-su's body in a flash.
Crunch—!!!! Craaaack—!!!!!
The great demon's mana spread through the domain.
Stiff grass, flowers, even trees bowed low.
Swords before they were grass, flowers, or trees.
That was the law here.
And at the apex of all swords stood Tyrbing—the largest fragment of the "perfect sword."
Having regained some power, no less.
The swords in this realm bowed in respect to the great demon sword that had appeared.
-Nice world.
At Tyrbing's low mutter, the transparent swords around Baek Jin lost form and shattered.
"You're… no human."
Baek Jin murmured, then forcibly summoned every sword with one hand.
Countless blades, too many to number. With a flick of his wrist, they all moved.
Hero ranks differ slightly from monster ones.
A 1st Grade hero can handle a 2nd Grade monster solo without issue. But among 1st Grades, monsters hold a slight edge.
Tyrbing was at the tail end of 1st Grade.
Even at half his prime power, a great demon was still a great demon.
So, naturally, it could do this.
A human technique stolen from demonic arts—but originally, neither human nor demonic. Pure demon power.
Tyrbing drew its sword.
"Gwi-sik Man-geom-gae (Demon Feast of Ten Thousand Swords Realm)"
Rumble—!!!
Pitch-black darkness swallowed Baek Jin's world in an instant.