Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Downfall
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[The Ugly Truth Hidden Behind the Golden Smile?]
[Mistake or Intentional... Shocking Foul Play]
[<Analysis CAM> Match Recap Precisely Analyzed with High-Speed Camera!]
What the hell did she do for all the titles to end up like this?
I clicked on one of the videos at random.
-Wh-what!? What is that!?
-A-Aurora!! You're too worked up! That's not okay!
-Referee! Stop the match, you have to stop the match right now!
The startled commentator and caster were stumbling over their words.
"Aaaah!! I'll kill you!!"
A male player had completely lost it, eyes rolled back, nose gushing blood as he wildly swung his sword in all directions.
Aurora was huddled in the corner of the arena, lost in panic, mumbling to herself.
It was a chaotic scene, impossible to make sense of.
I rewound the video about ten minutes.
Just before the match started, they were staring at each other, muttering something.
Mumble mumble.
Aurora's face was deathly pale. She looked utterly exhausted, like she'd completely failed at her pre-match conditioning. Her expression was full of irritation.
And that male player... I remembered him as Ma Seo-jin, the guy who'd lost to Aurora before. Had they run into each other again here?
-"Begin!"
Even after the match started, the two of them just kept yapping instead of fighting.
Pfft.
Then the opponent smirked mockingly at Aurora, and she couldn't hold back anymore, launching the first attack.
Clack! Crack!
The wooden sword bounced away.
The opponent seemed to have completely changed his strategy from before. Instead of a straightforward clash exploiting his male advantages in weight class and strength, he kept retreating despite his superiority, just parrying her strikes.
He fought like he absolutely refused to let even the tip of her blade touch him. Whenever she cornered him, he'd circle away with quick footwork.
"Never seen someone fight with a sword like an outboxer before."
They dragged it out boringly for nearly three minutes like that when the opponent said something again. Judging by his lip movements, it was probably something cliché like:
-Why? Can't do shit?
A predictable taunt. But Aurora's face twisted in rage. It was nothing like her old self, who at least kept a calm, composed facade.
-Grind.
Her jaw clenched so hard her teeth ground together—it was caught clear on camera.
Clack!
The same pattern continued after that.
"Hoo... clever."
As I kept watching, I noticed something. That guy wasn't getting "cornered." He was deliberately backing up to the edge of the ring, parrying attacks while sticking to the perimeter.
It was a strategy to seal Aurora's Koryu Sword Art. The technique where, once bodies made contact, she'd hurl him straight out of the ring for a double out.
It might look dirty at first glance, but in a match where victory was everything, dirty was just another word for smart.
Aurora had to be going insane with frustration right now.
I didn't know if his coaches had cooked it up or if he'd thought of it himself, but Ma Seo-jin had come prepared.
Well, yeah. He could've hidden his ability and claimed the throne once or twice without anyone noticing... but Aurora had won three times with cowardly tactics.
The first could be chalked up to a rookie's surprise rise. The second might raise eyebrows. But by the third? Everyone would be convinced. Plenty of time for the folks in that scene to catch on, assuming they weren't idiots. If he was from a clan, his company probably already consulted Slaying Witches by now.
The match dragged on, frustrating Aurora at every turn. Around the five- or six-minute mark.
Tremble tremble.
Whether from rage or depleting stamina, Aurora's sword tip started visibly shaking. Five minutes felt long if you were just standing around, but in a high-tension fight with nerves on edge? More than enough to hit max heart rate.
Aurora looked noticeably worn out, but the guy still didn't press. Like he was willing to wait until she was totally spent.
'Guess that guy got done in by Aurora's Witchblade before.'
-"Hah!"
Fuming, Aurora charged in an overhead stance. A reckless lunge, nothing like the precise strikes a female fencer should rely on—something no woman in her position should ever attempt.
Thud!
-"Guhhh."
Ma Seo-jin ducked the overhead rush, slamming his wooden sword into her gut before slipping away.
But then,
Bam!
-"Oof, tripped~"
Just when it looked like he'd clinched the round, Ma Seo-jin suddenly caught his own pant leg and dramatically faceplanted.
What the hell was that?
Regular folks might think the guy under pressure had finally found an opening for a counter but slipped up. But anyone with real combat experience—like me—knew better.
His balance and breathing made it impossible for an amateur mistake like that.
-"Tch, what the hell was that?"
-"Huh? What're you talking about? Just a slip."
Things were about to escalate when the referee stepped in.
-"Match paused!"
The ref huddled with the judges for a bit before coming back.
-"Round annulled. Resume match."
-"Yeees~ Sure thing~"
Ma Seo-jin grinned lazily. Aurora ground her teeth again.
Ah, so that's his game.
This guy, armed with an anti-Aurora strategy, was toying with her. For his revenge.
-"Begin!"
The match restarted.
Clack! Crack!
Thud!
A thrust straight into the impatient Aurora's solar plexus.
-"Kuhk! Guh!!"
Bam!
Then, just like before, Ma Seo-jin deliberately flopped to the ground. I didn't know if the rules matched boxing exactly, but assuming they did, that was a slip-down, not a knockdown—no penalty.
Meaning he could pull this shit as many times as he wanted until his anger was sated.
'Doing crap like that won't do his rep any favors.'
But the guy didn't seem to care about his image. He was dead set on dragging Aurora down, no matter the cost to himself.
-"Ah~ damn, why's the floor so slippery today? What a shame~"
And the same nonsense repeated. Now that she'd figured out Ma Seo-jin's game, Aurora exploded in fury. Veins bulging on her neck, face flushed beet red.
So that's how it went down.
The rest was predictable. Unable to control her rage, Aurora unleashed her power at full blast without restraint.
And sure enough.
As Ma Seo-jin swaggered up, pointing at her and muttering something, Aurora bit her lip and let loose.
-"Wh-what!? Th-that! What is Aurora doing!?"
Couldn't tell from the recorded camera feed, but the arena shots made it obvious.
A few people jumping up from the stands and judges' seats. The retired Awakener commentator's eyes bugging out in shock.
People screaming at security and refs to halt the match.
They'd seen it shimmering at the tip of Aurora's sword.
Something only Awakeners could perceive, no matter how hard normals strained their eyes. The manifestation of Awakening power. Internal mental abilities were invisible, but when projected outward with force, they gave off that telltale haze.
Not seen with the naked eye, but felt through the third eye unique to Awakeners.
Every Awakener in that arena had sensed Aurora's Witchblade at full power. They might not pinpoint it as Witchblade or some other trait, but they all knew it wasn't some weak-ass skill.
Especially since it was an ultra-rare ability, Awakening in only 0.1% of Awakeners.
-"Oh? What? Finally showing your true colors, Aurora? Come on, swing."
-"Eek."
-"What? Can't? I said swing! Huh? Come on, heh heh heh."
Ma Seo-jin shoved his face right up to hers, laughing hysterically. This alone had ruined Aurora's future, but he wanted more. Her total downfall.
And as expected... Aurora couldn't hold back.
-"Die!!"
Splat!!
-"Gah!"
Ma Seo-jin's nose bridge shattered, blood spraying as he toppled backward.
-A-Aurora!! You're too worked up! That's not okay!
-Referee! Stop the match, you have to stop the match right now!
The startled commentator and caster were stumbling over their words.
If only he'd passed out then. But Ma Seo-jin didn't. And that sparked the worst possible outcome.
-"Aaaah!! I'll kill you!!"
He'd completely snapped, eyes rolled back, nosebleed pouring as he unleashed his Awakening power.
'Hit with madness debuff.'
Right now, everyone around him probably looked like monsters. Whether he'd seen real battlefields or not, the madness debuff had wrecked his mind—he couldn't even grasp where he was or what he was doing.
Shkkk!
Shkk!
Shk!
-"Kyaaaaah!"
-"U-uaaaah! Dodge! Run!!"
Every wild swing of Ma Seo-jin's wooden sword sent invisible something slicing through the air. The judges' desks split horizontally, shattering horrifically. Formless blades lashing out everywhere.
Being ex-Awakeners, they dodged with decent agility—no refs got hurt. But one unlucky spectator in the stands...
-"Gaaaaah!! Aaaah!"
His arm got severed.
Swordsman Awakener's 'Wind Blade Release,' huh. Pretty useful skill. Limited to bladed weapons, but lets close-range dealers check mid-range. Destruction capped, so useless against high-tier Awakeners, but treated well up to Grade 3.
Ma Seo-jin for pulling a dangerous skill like that—and Aurora? They were both utterly screwed.
Then the video suddenly started buffering.
"What the...?"
"What?"
I refreshed, but
"What the hell?"