Chapter 34: Academy Exchange Meet - Continuation (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 34: Academy Exchange Meet - Continuation (2)
My first master was a man who knew fighting inside and out.
Well, he was the Hero of the Origin, Balor Joaquin, after all. Even back when he ran a raw fish restaurant, I knew he was no ordinary guy. That gaze of his, his expressions…
‘...That chilling aura that made me feel like he’d stab me the moment I talked back.’
That wasn't the vibe of someone working in the food service industry. Sure, I admit chefs can be a bit sharp-tempered since they deal with blades and fire all day. Hell, even I have a slightly rough edge.
I won't accept any arguments on that. Believe it or not, I've actually mellowed out a lot as I've gotten older.
Anyway.
The Boss often preached the art of fighting to me. Old habits die hard, as they say. Maybe deep down, he secretly missed the days when he fought as humanity's greatest warrior.
—I told you before, didn't I? What's the most important thing in a fight?
‘First strike wins... Master.’
—That's right. But there's a type of guy who doesn't get rattled even after taking a first hit. Usually, the ones used to fighting. Those guys might even go all-out after taking a blow.
‘...What great stuff you're teaching me...’
—You want to take a first strike?
‘This disciple is etching every single word of yours into the folds of his brain, Master, so please bestow your wisdom upon me.’
—Don't overdo it. Anyway, those guys try to pay back more than they took. A counterattack, so to speak. And what's the most effective thing then?
The Boss thrust his arm forward. The sleeve pulled back, revealing a lonely arm missing its hand.
The Boss didn't give a damn about his missing limb. He merely flashed a bright, fanged grin.
—A counter.
I'll make a late confession.
Back then, I was secretly ashamed that the Boss—my adoptive father—was disabled, missing an arm.
Only much later did I realize the truth: he had sacrificed that arm for the sake of humanity. From then on, I felt utterly embarrassed for ever feeling ashamed.
To him, that lost arm was a badge of victory won by dealing a 'counter' to humanity's arch-nemesis, the demons. Instead of being proud of my parent's sacrifice, I, his own child, had felt ashamed deep inside.
‘The Boss probably caught on to it, too.’
Yet he never said a word.
Maybe that silence itself was a counter. Interpretation-wise, it means 'taking a hit.' Its effect is perfect for delivering something beyond shock—a total mind-shatter to the opponent.
His disciple was fated to eventually discover his true identity anyway. So he might have intended for me to see it, realize it naturally, and completely flip the meaning of his disability.
‘Even that...’
Was a counter.
And it's the exact same even now.
*
Episode. Academy Exchange Meet
“Th-That...!”
“How could they be so despicable—!”
The Parsi staff members stood up in uproar. Speechless with rage, they could only huff and puff, swallowing their fury.
First, they were likely struck dumb facing the bitter reality of defeat. Second, they had taken literal counterpunches one after another in the match itself.
Their heads must be pounding in more ways than one.
‘They probably thought they'd won the Flag War when Edward knocked out Ji Chang-hyuk.’
Because Joaquin's Queen had been removed from the front lines. Fixated on that, they had completely forgotten the Pawn's ability: Return one piece to the front lines.
“And then getting turned around at the last second? No wonder it burns. Talk about a solid counter.”
Ryozo smirked.
Glint—
At that, the Parsi staff all glared toward us, Joaquin, in unison.
“You look like you have a lot to say, but this is Joaquin's complete victory. What's the name of the event again? It's Flag War, isn't it?”
Abel continued her scathing rebuke toward those burning with rage.
“Unlike Joaquin, you people have never actually served in a real war, so you might not know, but in war, all means and methods are fair game.”
“…….”
“The objective is purely survival and victory. That is war, and our Joaquin cadets merely acted in exact accordance with the theme and intent of this event.”
“…….”
The Parsi staff stammered, their lips quivering, before snapping their mouths shut in a firm line.
Just as they were about to voice a complaint, dozens of camera lenses caught their eyes. Objecting to the victory would look pathetic enough on its own, but Abel had already beaten them to the punch with logic.
No matter what they said now, it would stick in the viewers' minds as a lame excuse. Whether Abel intended it or not, it was a flawless 'first strike.'
“……It was a good match.”
In the end, the Parsi staff chose to concede. With expressions like that, it wasn't a clean satisfaction. Still, by uttering those words publicly, they managed to save a bare minimum of face.
“Parsi's cadets were impressive as well. Despite your short history, the level of each cadet was extraordinary.”
Abel responded, raising her chin. A subtle sneer spread across her crimson lips.
“Please treat us well in the remaining two events. May the Blessing of the Hero be with everyone at Parsi Academy.”
“Yes……. May the Blessing of the Hero be with Joaquin as well……”
After exchanging dry, ritualistic words, we stood up. Resentful gazes slid down our spines. That must be what thrill feels like.
Feeling those sandpaper-like stares scraping against my back, I spoke up.
“Let's go.”
To my left and right, Ryozo, Abel, Leon, and Weapon followed, forming a crane-wing formation.
First strike wins, and the counter.
Today, too, Joaquin's disciples faithfully followed your teachings and demonstrated them at an official event.
High in the sky, a long vapor trail drew a gentle arc. It looked just like the Boss's smile.
Feels good.
* * *
Somewhere underground in Gehenna.
A desolate resonance seeped into the surface of the jagged stalactites hanging from above.
“…….”
“…….”
By count, seven hundred and forty years. By centuries, a reunion after a staggering seven centuries.
The two giants who had divided this world finally met.
In the past, they had fought to the death because of the false gods. But those gods were gone now. Free from such wicked interference, they could face each other warrior to warrior.
Unlike before, when they had almost become close friends but couldn't coexist due to external factors...
...Or so one would have thought.
“What in the world are you wearing...?”
Balor Joaquin froze like a totem pole. He looked down. His fated rival, the only demon he had ever respected, was tilting his head back to look up at him.
“(Are you... Balor Joaquin?!)”
Lycan leaped in surprise. The height of his jump was utterly adorable.
“(Why are you naked?!)”
“…….”
A reunion that transcended species.
There stood a naked man draped in a swarm of squirrels, and a dark blue Ramji Thunder, one looking down and the other looking up, both gawking in sheer astonishment.
* * *
[Odin (ᚹᛟᛞᚨᚾᚨᛉ) and Loki (ᛚᛟᚲᚨ) encountered]
[Jötunheimr's approach detected]
[Loading… ■■■■□□□]
[…….]
[…….]
[Complete! ■■■■■■■]
[Ragnarok progress remaining: (……)]
* * *
When you think of a 'weapon,' what's the first thing that comes to mind?
For most, it's the blade.
A blade is a perfect weapon that unifies offense and defense into one. I'm not just saying this because I'm the God of Sword. Definitely not.
With the invention of blades, humanity transitioned from foraging to hunting. They hunted beasts, butchered them, and fed their clans well. Granted, there were occasional tragedies where tools made for 'hunting' were used to slaughter one another.
Even so, the foundation upon which humanity built great civilizations was, without a doubt, the blade. Blood always accompanies technological progress, and far more innocent blood has been spilled by three inches of tongue than by steel blades.
The blade is blameless. The fault lies with those who use it for evil. If its infinite utility was a sin, then that was its only crime.
Sssring.
I unsheathed two inches of the sashimi knife. A blade overflowing with wave-like patterns. A pair of dark eyes stared back at me from the steel.
‘So this is an EX-rank Armament.’
Thump, thump.
My heart throbbed. Purely in terms of sensation, it surpassed the thrilling dizziness of a wedding night. That's because I'm the God of Sword. I feel sorry for Ryozo and Abel. While they and I become one as two, the sashimi knife grants a feeling of complete oneness just by existing.
Shhhk.
A long groove split the waves of the blade. A blood groove—a fuller. I reached out and stroked it for no particular reason. Even from such a minor detail where my fingertip fit snugly, an indescribable pleasure washed over me.
The base of the blade was encased in iron. Not a single engraving decorated it. Rather than shabby, it looked sturdy. Maybe that's just love blinding me.
‘At this point, I'm practically lightheaded.’
Looks like Wieland really did give it his absolute all. He said it was his lifelong masterpiece, but I almost wondered if it was a posthumous work forged by draining his innate origin energy.
‘Damn, that old man.’
He could do it when he put his mind to it.
A new armament I was only now inspecting because time hadn't allowed it earlier. Crafted from top-tier materials, grading it was utterly pointless.
Balmung? A shabby armament like that couldn't even hold a candle to this blade.
What should I name it? No rush. I'll name it when I feel like it, when inspiration strikes.
‘I'm happy.’
A faint smile bloomed on my lips. At that exact moment, someone called out to me from the side.
“Excuse me,”
I turned around. Ryozo gestured with her eyes, sweeping her gaze across the surroundings.
“Do you know you look like a total pervert right now?”
“…….”
I rolled my eyes left and right. Everyone seated along the straight dining table was staring at me suspiciously. It was the Joaquin staff and cadets.
“Instead of calling me a pervert, can't you just say I'm passionate about swords?”
“We made an agreement to call people who are 'passionate about swords' perverts, though.”
“When on earth did we agree on that?”
“Geomma, you're oblivious so you might not notice, but everyone's nodding with their eyes.”
I shot them a glance. Everyone immediately looked away.
‘Is someone passionate about swords really treated like a pervert?’
Am I the God of Perverts now?
I shook my head and offered an excuse.
“It's a new sword, so I was just checking if there were any flaws.”
“How many flaws could a kitchen knife even have?”
Because this isn't just a kitchen knife.
‘If I tell her I bought it secretly, I'll get slapped on the back.’
Better keep my mouth shut.
I clamped the blade between my teeth and rolled up my sleeves.
The Flag War ended in our victory. It was only right to bestow fitting rewards upon the cadets who brought glory to the academy. A feast was promised, but they needed an immediate, short-term reward to boost their spirits right now.
So I prepared one.
Today was the day I would show off my skills to comfort and nourish our cadets. Meaning, for the first time in a long while, I was returning to my original profession from my previous life.
Everyone cheered when I mentioned I was cooking after so long. My classmates knew all too well from having eaten my cooking before. The cadets seemed moved to tears that the Heavenly Sword of the Seven Stars was personally rolling up his sleeves to cook.
However, knowing the inside story—that an EX-rank Armament was being used for the very first time just to slice raw fish—Weapon let out a quiet sigh. Apart from him, the others looked at me as if I'd lost my mind.
‘It's fine.’
Let's land a counter on them. With the skill of the Nation's Best Swordsman. With the skill of the God of Sword.
“Phew.”
I composed my breath and made eye contact with the red seabream on the cutting board. It was a predator's courtesy to its prey.
The next moment, I completely drew the sashimi knife from its sheath.
[Blessing of the Sword God — Food manifests.]
Our warriors...
+++++++++++++++++++
《May the Blessing of God be with you》
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...it's time to send them to Valhǫll.