Fake Iaijutsu Triumph and the Beast's Roar

The atmosphere shifted the moment Yi Han-su, the strongest beast Narkhan, made his entrance.

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Seo Ji-ho's face lit up, while Yui-seol and Arima Kanna's expressions darkened simultaneously.

There's a saying: the greatest heroes fight while considering their retreat.

But right now, faced with the greatest wall blocking their path, Arima Kanna and Yui-seol chose a frontal breakthrough. It was all or nothing.

Pzzt! Pzzzt! Electricity began crackling from Yui-seol's spear. A change in mana properties. The difference between having an attribute and not having one was more profound than one might think. Like the gap between a dish and its ingredients, by way of analogy.

Yui-seol swung her spear.

Penalties were high-risk, low-return powers. In other words, utter garbage.

Of course. It sucked that there was no option to delete the penalty entirely, but what could I do?

It had been an excruciating time of endless humiliation. The biggest shackle binding me was gone, replaced by a smaller one around my body.

Path of the Swordsman penalty. I couldn't use any weapons other than swords, but in exchange, my stats rose slightly. It was a shame I couldn't use the black dagger anymore... but honestly, not really.

I drew my sword a little, but felt nothing. I turned my head to look at Cha Ryu-jin, Seo Ji-ho, Arima Kanna, and Yui-seol. As expected of the top students in their year, their skills were impressive. They'd surely become great heroes.

Especially satisfying was the growth of Seo Ji-ho and Yui-seol, whom I'd bring to the final battle. Yui-seol, who had awakened her attribute on her own, and Seo Ji-ho, whose techniques had grown more refined.

I plopped down right there in the passageway. Alright, now kill each other.

Seo Ji-ho stared at Yi Han-su in disbelief. He was barely holding off the ferocious assaults from Arima Kanna and Yui-seol, yet that guy was just sitting there leisurely.

But... 'Yeah, not a bad call.'

A weakened prey was always the easiest to hunt. Seo Ji-ho pressed the attack, refusing to be outdone.

"Gah!"

A scream drew his glance sideways. Cha Ryu-jin was grimacing and staggering back. He wielded an axe—a massive, beautiful one fitting his burly frame. But this terrain wasn't ideal for axes.

So Cha Ryu-jin had ditched his weapon and fought Arima Kanna with his fists. Still, bare hands couldn't fully block armed attacks. Arima Kanna dodged his strikes like a nimble cat, relentlessly probing for openings.

Shhht—.

A lethal strike aimed at Cha Ryu-jin's nape. He'd nearly been eliminated there.

"Tch." Arima Kanna clicked her tongue in disappointment. He couldn't hold back any longer.

Boom—! He lunged forward and swung his axe down...

Clang—! But what blocked Cha Ryu-jin's axe was none other than Yui-seol's spear. Blocking his attack while fighting Seo Ji-ho? Cha Ryu-jin shot her an incredulous look.

Getting distracted mid-battle was the mistake of mistakes. Arima Kanna's blade surged toward Cha Ryu-jin.

Suddenly left alone, Seo Ji-ho faced Yui-seol. She rested a hand on her hip and flashed a grin. Her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes glowed red.

No one left to block the path. But... Yui-seol glanced back. Yi Han-su, who had been slumped on the ground, was now standing with arms crossed as if nothing had happened.

Still, Yui-seol's face remained bright. She had awakened her attribute and felt like a long-blocked wall had shattered. Maybe, just maybe, right now she could...

"You'd better brace yourself. Big sis doesn't hold back."

A brief taunt. "Huh?" Yui-seol watched Yi Han-su assume his iaijutsu stance. It was blindingly fast, but her demonic eyes caught the motion. Naturally, what followed was...

Thud! Nothing happened, but Yui-seol found herself collapsing to the ground anyway. She'd fallen for Yi Han-su's air iaijutsu—the infamous fake draw. Her face flushed crimson in an instant.

"F-Fuck!"

Embarrassed, Yui-seol glanced sideways. But Arima Kanna was slumped down too. '...' Sharing the same fate oddly made her feel a bit closer to the girl.

And once more, Yi Han-su took his iaijutsu stance. "You won't fall for it twice..."

Kaboooom!

If the top-tier students clashed at the shortcut on Team 1's side, the mid-to-upper tier students collided right in Team 2's right passageway. The epic showdown between the ironclad Sung Ji-seong and spear master Hwang Jin-ho ended with Sung Ji-seong's victory.

"......" Yui-seol stared blankly at the hologram displaying the results, crouched down. Her expression was darker than usual. "Sigh..." As she hung her head with a sigh, Yi Han-su approached from afar.

"Why the sigh?"

"You asking 'cause you don't know?"

Yui-seol tilted her head to look at him. She'd thought she could at least exchange a few blows, but she hadn't lasted even one. Still, moping like this wasn't her style.

"I'll pay you back later so bad you can't even breathe."

And with that, the final practical training before finals—the flag capture exercise—came to an end.

There exists a hardline faction within the Light Priests. Led by the immortal beast Narkhan, they were more monster and beast than human.

Humans and demons. The intelligent beings of this world.

"Gah... mercy..." Whoosh! "Fucking demon scum."

Narkhan spat on the charred demon corpse. Then, a low-rank priest came rushing from afar.

"Lord Narkhan! Preparations are complete."

Narkhan had one goal: to create a new intelligent species—not human or demon, but ones born from monsters and beasts ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like himself. To birth the new race of 'demonkin.' And for that day, he had gathered countless fragments.

Narkhan's lips curled up. The hierarchy between monsters and demons was absolute. It blurred somewhat with rank differences, but most demons outclassed monsters. Only someone as strong as Narkhan, fairly powerful in the Light Priests, could ignore it.

'Chad...!'

In that moment, Narkhan recalled the humiliation in the Prayer Space. Even though his old form was long gone, he'd regressed to acting like a mere monster without realizing it.

'Even a great demon, you say...!'

Great Demon Chad. The name alone spelled doom. But no worries. He'd repay that humiliation tenfold.

'Don't defy me anymore...'

'Mercy, Lord Narkhan!'

'What's wrong? Flexing your strength?'

'Gaaah!!!'

'The Light Priests exist thanks to you, Lord Narkhan!'

'Get lost, you Chad fuck! Lord Narkhan approaches!'

'It's all because of you, Narkhan...!'

Just imagining it was delightful. Narkhan grinned slyly and bellowed.

"Alright! Time to make the Light Priests known worldwide!!!!"

"Orbis calls, Narkhan."

Then came a voice that shouldn't have been heard here. Narkhan whipped his head toward it in disbelief. A human wearing a red demon mask and a sword at his waist.

"Chad...!!!!"

Narkhan roared with seething hatred. At the same time, he transformed into his monster form. Razor-sharp claws and fangs. Unmistakably a true beast's shape, not human.

"Wrong. I'm not Chad."

"What?"

"I'm GigaChad."

"You joking?!!!"

Whoosh! Enraged, flames erupted from Narkhan's entire body. So hot that the surrounding low-rank priests incinerated instantly. But Chad just smirked at him and bolted.

"Running away?!!!"

"GigaChad doesn't run."

Yi Han-su mocked Narkhan as he assumed his iaijutsu stance. Five afterimages appeared behind him simultaneously.

Slash—!!!!! As he drew his sword, the afterimages drew theirs too. Six slashes hurtled forth in an instant.

"Gaaah!!!"

"Lord Narkhan, mercy!!"

"Grrrk!"

The razor-sharp slashes cut down Narkhan's minions easier than stepping on ants. From somewhat famous mages to intelligent monsters, and even strategists leeching off the hardliners.

"Stop!!!"

Narkhan charged at Chad in fury. Speed and heat beyond imagination. Narkhan's trait was Berserker—growing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stronger the longer the fight or the more wounds he took. Plus otherworldly regeneration from his flames. His minions called him the 'Immortal Beast Narkhan' for a reason.

"Die!"

As Narkhan's shout ended, one slash surged toward him. Kaboooom!!!!