Iaijutsu: The Supreme Sword Art
Iaijutsu. Iaijutsu.
It was the greatest technique in the world, the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
But that mad demon contractor had just insulted it.
"I'll kill you!"
Ian Korpe drew his blade with ferocious speed. But...
"...!!!"
Slash—!
"Too slow."
Hong Ri-jin sliced off both of Ian Korpe's arms with an expressionless face. Clean, efficient, murderous swordplay without a hint of waste.
But Ian Korpe was the kind of man who practiced iaijutsu even when bored—like it was some urinary incontinence drill for when his arms got cut off.
Slash—!
Boom—!
Ignoring the armless Ian Korpe, a surprise iaijutsu strike surged from behind Hong Ri-jin as he clashed with Kim In-cheol.
"Gah!!!"
No matter the rank difference, Ian Korpe was a swordsman teetering on the edge of 2nd Grade. And a one-trick iaijutsu pony at that.
There was no way his iaijutsu could be weak.
"How the fuck after I cut off both arms?!"
Hong Ri-jin stared at Ian Korpe in disbelief. His arms were regenerating slowly, but not fully yet.
"Abandon your prejudice that you can't do iaijutsu without arms."
Hong Ri-jin's face twisted at the bullshit coming from Ian Korpe's mouth.
"Opening!"
Clang—!
Kim In-cheol exploited Hong Ri-jin's gap like he'd been waiting for it.
Hong Ri-jin swiftly raised his sword to block Kim In-cheol's attack.
Hong Ri-jin was alone, but they had two.
Attack while defending. Simple, but brutally unfair ganging up.
And not against mediocre foes—these were a 1st Grade hero and a 2nd Grade hero. Even as a 1st Grade, Hong Ri-jin was stretched thin against both.
"Gram!!! Release!!!"
—I've been waiting…!
But Hong Ri-jin wasn't an ordinary hero—he was a demon contractor. And now he unleashed that power.
Rumble…!
The murky mana and sinister aura unique to demon contractors.
A red eye opened in the center of the deep purple greatsword.
Hong Ri-jin swung at Kim In-cheol first. He judged the 1st Grade needed to go down immediately.
"Gah!"
Kim In-cheol reacted fast, assuming a defensive stance, but Hong Ri-jin's strike was overwhelmingly heavy.
Boom—!
"Next."
Hong Ri-jin murmured lowly, looking at the fallen Kim In-cheol.
But Ian Korpe didn't panic at the sight—instead, he grinned.
"Heh, cocky face after taking down a fake swordsman."
It was an irrefutable fact that swordsmen who didn't use iaijutsu were weak. Even ancient Goguryeo watermelon texts said so.
"Behold the greatness of iaijutsu!!!"
A mysterious barrier had appeared near Orbis Academy, deployed by Hong Ri-jin the moment the fight began.
And in an Orbis classroom, a girl watched the barrier.
That was... Grandpa's iaijutsu...
Natasha Korpe had sensed Ian Korpe's iaijutsu. No matter how obsessed he was, he wouldn't whip it out mid-street like some incontinence spasm.
Which meant Grandpa was inside that barrier, fighting some unknown foe.
I... I have to go...
Natasha's heart pounded wildly.
And from the depths of her soul, an old thought began to surface.
"I just can't understand it."
Hong Ri-jin scowled at Ian Korpe's words.
"What're you talking about?"
"Why doesn't a swordsman of your caliber use iaijutsu?"
Bloody and battered, Ian Korpe said it like he couldn't believe it.
"I'm the one who wants to ask—why does a swordsman like you obsess over iaijutsu?"
"……."
Ian Korpe. Embarrassingly, he too had once used other sword arts besides iaijutsu.
But...
Do you know iaijutsu?
Meeting that one man changed his life completely.
His techniques. His mana. His strength. His stamina. Even his life.
A hero with nothing to his name.
No techniques, so he just drew his sword.
Not enough stamina for follow-ups, so he ended it in one iaijutsu strike.
Why!!! Run away!!!
Doesn't he know someone has to defend this place?
The Red Gate incident. Was there a more horrific event in human history?
As countless people trembled in fear and refused to step up, that man with nothing strode forward boldly.
With the only technique he knew: iaijutsu.
Why... why...!
Ian Korpe couldn't comprehend it. It was suicide.
No way he could stop that.
But...
"Hey, do you know iaijutsu? It's the greatest technique I know."
That technique was astonishingly powerful and beautiful.
Time passed, and Ian Korpe became a somewhat famous hero.
Yet he still felt something missing.
Conviction.
Yes, conviction.
The conviction of the most heroic hero he'd ever seen.
With one sword.
With one iaijutsu.
To protect people from monsters and gates.
That was the moment Ian Korpe's conviction crystallized.
A small rural village ravaged by monsters. Here, Ian Korpe met a girl.
The sole survivor in a village of dozens. A pitiful girl on the verge of tears.
To keep her from panicking, Ian Korpe smiled and said,
"Do you know iaijutsu?"
Screeech—!
Boom—!
The barrier shattered completely in that instant.
Hong Ri-jin's eyes widened.
"Wha... what...?"
Ian Korpe. A man who'd devoted his life to researching iaijutsu.
At the same time, a hero protecting the world.
With iaijutsu alone.
But gates and monsters might demand more than just iaijutsu.
However...
Fetters. Things that grant a bit of power in exchange for giving up something.
Ian Korpe had unknowingly been bound by one.
The fetter of abandoning all other techniques for iaijutsu alone.
Now, he was permitted to take that one step forward.
Super regeneration. A simple but excellent trait of regenerating the body.
But probably only Ian Korpe could use it to this extent.
He wrung out his body.
Vrrr—!
Mana surged madly.
They say the human body has limits. Locks placed by the brain to prevent self-destruction.
Ian Korpe had mastered how to unlock them.
"Hoo..."
His body and mana rampaged wildly, numbing him to the core.
Destroy and regenerate simultaneously.
And in this moment, Ian Korpe's rank...
"Impossible!!!"
Hong Ri-jin shouted. On par with him, who'd released Gram?
He'd been at the 1st Grade threshold? No way.
Ian was someone he personally respected, but definitely just 2nd Grade level.
Shing!
Ian Korpe assumed his iaijutsu stance.
"Hey, do you know it?"
Ian Korpe murmured lowly.
"Speed leaves afterimages, but weight leaves traces."
Silence's Single Stroke — Quake Abyss Style.
Boom—!
An iaijutsu that shook the earth.
Cold sweat poured down Hong Ri-jin's neck.
He desperately raised Gram to block.
Hong Ri-jin. Former 2nd Grade hero.
Reached the 1st Grade threshold via demon contract.
But becoming a demon contractor had shaved off his potential. Like a gem that could have shone forever, dulled for a momentary sparkle.
Gram was a mighty sword. Hong Ri-jin an excellent hero.
So his body didn't warp even using demonic mana. Or rather, no reason to warp.
But... right now, Hong Ri-jin was abandoning his humanity, twisting himself.
—Gr... uh...
Gram laughed as if mocking him. No matter how strong the human, once a demon contractor, they'd submit to the demon.
Gram and Hong Ri-jin's bond was never equal.
As his body twisted, so did Hong Ri-jin's mind. And Gram exploited the gap.
The pathetic end of demon contractors.
Losing their human form, becoming the demon's plaything.
"That's fucking disgusting."
A mysterious voice echoed from afar.
"Right?"
—Doesn't seem so. That's a splendid form.
"Bullshit."
Gram's eye widened. He felt it...!
The greatest fragment among great swords, his brother—Tyrbing!
But Gram's joy didn't last.
—Tyr... bing...?
Gram's vision flipped. Shing—.
The man hosting Tyrbing had drawn and sheathed his sword with a crisp click—who knew when.
And from across, another earth-shaking slash flew.
Boom—!
"You've grown!!!"
A joyful shout. Ian Korpe, steam billowing from his body.
"Grandpa!!!"
At the same time, a golden-haired girl came rushing in. Natasha Korpe.
—Tyr... bing!!!!
Gram snatched his falling head and screamed.
Shing! Shing! Shing!
But before he could finish, the sounds rang out.
Yi Han-su, Natasha, Ian Korpe.
All performed the same motion simultaneously.
"""Iaijutsu."""