Chapter 97: Arena of Cosmos (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 97: Arena of Cosmos (8)
One step forward.
Jin narrowed the distance, matching Dante’s movements. Dante took another step, and Jin took another. The two cautiously probed each other’s striking range.
‘This is more nerve-wracking than I thought. In about five more steps, Dante’s attack will begin—’
Startled, Jin instinctively froze in his tracks.
He had stopped because of a powerful intuition that Dante’s attack would come much sooner than expected.
‘Left? Right?’
His eyes darted reflexively. Left, then right. But by the time he refocused on the center…
Dante was gone.
Swish!
Immediately, the familiar sound of a sword cleaving the air reached his ears.
“Ugh!”
It was the sound of a blade descending. Startled, Jin thrust Bradamante upward. Dante, who had thrown his entire body into the strike, was already there, wearing a broad smirk.
Clang!
The shock transmitted through the blade was substantial. It was enough to create the illusion that an explosion had gone off right at the point of impact.
However, within that heavy blow was a sharp energy, keen as shards of obsidian.
If Jin’s core and lower body strength had been even slightly lacking, his posture would have crumbled instantly. Exhaling an inward sigh of relief, Jin calmly shifted his footwork and slipped away to Dante’s right.
“I threw that out just in case. As expected, it doesn’t work on you.”
Dante clicked his tongue in regret. Instead of answering, Jin offered a strained smile.
‘He’s even faster than I thought…?’
The match had nearly ended in the very first exchange. While a chill ran down Jin’s spine, Dante maintained a relaxed expression.
‘That’s roughly on par with Lady Alisa’s top speed. If I hadn’t sparred with her over a hundred times, I never would have blocked that. Some "feeling-out process" this is. The crazy bastard tried to end it in one go.’
Though he was certainly flustered, Jin could feel just how much he had grown.
Furthermore…
‘If this is Dante’s maximum speed, I still have a chance.’
He felt a sliver of certainty. Conversely, he also knew that if Dante could attack any faster than that, he would have no hope of winning.
Just as Jin was about to extend his sword…
Vroom!
An even denser aura coated Dante’s blade.
“If I can’t suppress you with speed, I’ll have to use strength.”
Just what I wanted!
There was no time to say it aloud. Dante had already begun his next lunge, and Jin was forced to muster his strength a beat behind.
Boom! Crash! Bang!
Explosive sounds erupted every time their swords collided. It didn't sound like two sharp edges meeting, but rather like two massive bludgeons clashing.
“Ohhh…!”
“Is this really a fight between kids?”
Exclamations poured out from all over the spectator seats. Everyone had expected a great match, but they hadn't realized it would be this thrilling from the very start.
Veradin, in particular, was clenching his fists so hard he didn't even notice his palms were drenched in sweat.
At first, it seemed as though Jin was being completely pushed back.
However, with every passing second, Jin began to match Dante’s tempo. By the time they reached twenty exchanges, the two appeared to be fighting on equal footing.
‘That was his top speed!’
Now that they were properly trading blows, Jin was certain.
No matter how great a genius Dante was, it made no sense for a nineteen-year-old to possess strength and speed superior to a member of Viment’s Special Task Force Unit 2.
In that case, what Jin had to do was simple.
Endure.
‘Dante is managing his stamina by only increasing his speed at critical moments. I just need to keep up with that tempo.’
Until Dante grew tired.
The plan Jin had prepared to defeat Dante was very straightforward. He would capitalize on the one advantage he had over him.
Stamina.
‘I felt it from the moment he first visited my room. Dante possesses shocking skill, but his stamina is somewhat lacking.’
If Dante’s stamina were as exceptional as his skill, he wouldn't have needed to ask Jin for help to stay up through the nights in the Arena.
Though he was nineteen this year, he looked barely thirteen or fourteen. His body was exceptionally small, almost unbelievable for a nineteen-year-old boy.
That was Dante’s weakness. While he could supplement his lack of raw strength with aura, endurance was not something that could be so easily overcome.
Not if the body couldn't keep up.
On the other hand, what about Jin?
He possessed the sturdy physique of a Runcandel, a blessing in itself. Not only his strength, but his endurance, immunity, and resilience far surpassed even those with a so-called "born warrior's frame."
Even without Dante, Jin could have endured every night in the Arena until the winner’s tournament began.
But Dante could not.
‘The key is how quickly Dante realizes that my stamina is superior to his.’
The fact that Dante’s stamina was "poor" was true only by the standards of Jin, a Runcandel. Dante, too, had shed blood and sweat every day to overcome his innate weakness, undergoing training so intense an ordinary person couldn't even imagine it.
Therefore, it was difficult for Dante to even consider the possibility.
The possibility that the sixteen-year-old boy before him was his clear superior in one area.
“You endure well! If you have anything hidden, you’d best bring it all out now. From here on, I’m pressing you even faster.”
“You’d just get depressed if I showed you everything I’ve got.”
“Your jokes are top-tier as well. I like that about you.”
Slash!
Dante’s blade grazed Jin’s thigh. It wasn't a deep wound, but it was the first time blood had been drawn. Jin gritted his teeth.
That was close. Had it been any deeper, the wound would have been fatal.
‘I can’t help giving up a few shallow wounds.’
The problem was that he had to avoid a fatal blow every single time. Since the tempo had increased again, the moment Dante’s stamina would fail was drawing closer, but Jin would also tire faster as his wounds accumulated.
Bleeding, after all, meant a loss of stamina.
‘Conversely, until Dante tires, it will be difficult for me to wound him.’
Still, Jin gritted his teeth, fueled by the thought that he could win as long as he endured. He judged that if they maintained this speed, Dante could never keep the fight going for more than an hour.
‘But the time will come when he makes his move.’
Dante was no fool.
For now, Dante felt relaxed because it seemed like Jin was only being pushed back. However, there was no way a person of his skill would remain ignorant of Jin’s plan until the very end.
Eventually, Dante would be forced to pull out a method to break through Jin’s defensive posture. Getting through that one moment safely was the most important thing.
Another wound on his shoulder.
Then, while blocking a vertical slash, his hand was cut. For a moment, Jin felt a dizzying jolt and nearly dropped his sword.
As Jin tore his coat sleeve with his teeth to wrap his hand, Dante tilted his head as if something felt strange.
“That’s it! Finish him off!”
“Just a little more, Paul Mick!”
By then, the spectators who had bet on Dante were all on their feet, screaming. To them, it looked like Jin was being helplessly overwhelmed, and they thought the end was near.
But Dante was beginning to realize.
‘He judged that he has the advantage in stamina and is intentionally dragging this out. And now I see. You were using a pseudonym as well…!’
Jin Runcandel.
If he weren't a Runcandel, Jin’s durability would be utterly incomprehensible.
Setting aside the cuts on his thigh, shoulder, and hand—if Jin were an ordinary person, his entire body should have been shredded by the shockwaves generated during their exchanges.
When Dante silently mouthed Jin’s real name, Jin smirked.
‘You only just figured that out?’
Huff, huff…
Jin had just noticed that Dante’s breathing was becoming ragged. Jin’s breathing wasn't as steady as when they started either, but he was in much better shape than Dante.
“I think it’s about time for my turn to do the hitting.”
As the heat and cheers of the crowd filled the stadium…
This time, Jin began to charge at Dante. Naturally, the spectators who had bet on Jin couldn't help but leap to their feet and roar.
“Go! Gooooo!”
The moment Jin, who had been on the defensive for the entire match, suddenly launched a counterattack, Dante was forced to backpedal.
Where had it gone wrong?
‘Damn it, I should have pushed with everything from the start and ended it!’
It didn't take long to find the answer. If he hadn't been so cautious because of that "sense of incongruity" he felt while facing Jin, he would have already grasped victory.
‘Then what was that incongruity? My entire body was sending danger signals, an intuition that it would be perilous to charge recklessly.’
It was a level of perception Dante would not understand for some time.
That intense sense of incongruity that had overwhelmed him was due to the two powers Jin had sealed away: spirit energy and magic. A Jin who used all of his abilities was an opponent the current Dante could never handle.
In a sense, it was an instinctive fear of a "stronger being."
Bang! Bang!
As Jin began to apply pressure by swinging Bradamante with all his might, Dante began to falter and retreat.
Jin’s movement was singular.
Every day.
The vertical slash of sheer will he had practiced ten thousand times. A strike he could now swing three thousand times with the same intensity as the first.
‘Jin Runcandel, you monster. You still had this much strength left…! Moreover, how can such a simple strike be this heavy?’
Though it was nothing but a succession of vertical slashes, Dante could not easily break away from Jin.
Every time Bradamante fell, it felt like being crushed against a wall, making it impossible to use his footwork.
At this rate, he would be forced to suffer a pathetic defeat after parrying vertical slashes for a few more minutes.
Therefore, he had to choose.
‘A Hairan… Secret Technique.’
Should he unleash it?
Compared to Jin, who had yet to inherit any of his family’s decisive techniques, Dante had already been entrusted with several of Hairan’s Secret Techniques.
The techniques he possessed were all powerful enough to overturn this situation in an instant. Furthermore, he could easily perform them even with his remaining stamina.
However, the reason Dante hesitated was something else entirely.
‘I do not wish to kill you.’
It was the certainty that if he unleashed a Secret Technique, he would end up killing Jin.
That was what made Dante hesitate. Though they had only known each other for a few days, Jin had already come to mean a great deal to him.
The savior who had rescued him. A rival he hadn't met in a long time. The youngest son of Runcandel, the great mountain that Hairan would one day have to overcome.
Or perhaps, a friend.
While Dante’s expression contorted by the second due to his conflicted heart, Jin was seeing right through him.
‘He’s hesitating because he doesn't want to kill me. If that weren't the case, he would have made his move long ago.’
Shing.
Jin, who had momentarily pulled back his sword, locked eyes with Dante.
And then, he spoke.
“I am Jin Runcandel. So don't hold back, Dante Hairan.”