Chapter 277
Chapter 277
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 277
Chapter Title: An Interruption for an Interruption (5)
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“……Where did you get that information?”
“The sources are varied, but the Crow-nim telling me I’d find out if I came to you was the deciding factor.”
“The Crow-nim…”
“And there’s this, too.”
I took out the memo Ain had left and showed it to her.
Ray examined the two memos, her expression turning serious as she fell silent.
Then, a faint smile graced her lips.
“I see. So his plan wasn’t a failure. I’ve been worried ever since the world changed. The time we’d been desperately holding back finally arrived, and I wondered if Ain’s plan had all been for naught… But now, the key has appeared.”
“So the EOA plan was, as I thought, waiting for someone who cleared the game to appear?”
“To be honest, Ain once said something like this to me. That simply hoping for someone to beat EOA might be like praying for a miracle.”
“…”
“If someone who cleared it appeared, there would be hope. If not, then there was nothing to be done. Ain created the best method he could. And I simply helped him. If many people had cleared it, the world would have been saved for certain… but in the end, it was only you.”
The memory of that day surfaced hazily.
When I fell asleep after clearing EOA.
The strange voice I heard along with the beeping of a machine.
[The set time limit has been reached.]
[Confirmation complete.]
[1 person. Kim Se-hyeon.]
That was definitely what it said.
A guarantee from none other than the Prophet.
I was the only one who had ever cleared EOA.
No one else had ever surpassed the ‘Annihilator.’
But more than any of that, one phrase kept bothering me.
“‘Forcefully delaying the time’ and ‘the set time limit’… From the sound of it, you tried to prevent this disaster from happening but couldn’t stop its arrival. What did you do while preparing the EOA plan, and what did you find out?”
“That is…”
*CRASH!*
A loud noise echoed from the direction of the shrine grounds.
Unlike the startled Ray, I calmly rose from my seat.
That wasn’t an attack aimed at something specific.
Attacking the place where the Prophet lived meant making an enemy of the entire Sword Saint family.
Besides, unless they used an unconventional method like I did, it would be difficult to even get past the surveillance network to reach this place.
In other words, the sound meant this:
I know you’re here, so come out.
Rasty, sensing the hostility, poked her head out and glared toward the door.
“It’s been a while.”
Just as I expected.
When I opened the door and stepped outside, a familiar face had his sword plunged into the ground, his gaze fixed on me.
The Sword Saint, Kazumoto Yuki.
The sound just now must have been from him slamming his mana-infused sword into the ground.
A kind of threat.
“I do not know how you deceived our eyes and infiltrated this far, but this is not a matter that can be easily overlooked. She is someone we must protect even at the cost of our lives. Not someone just anyone can meet as they please. Your actions this day can only be met with severe punishment.”
“Wait, Kazumoto-ssi! This person didn’t come here to fight! Please, lower your sword!”
“I am sorry, but I cannot accept that suggestion.”
The Sword Saint drew his sword.
Seeing the fighting spirit ignite in his eyes, I could tell he wasn't doing this simply because I had trespassed.
“He is an enemy of Yamato. And an enemy of Yamato is an enemy of mine. This time, we must settle this.”
“I thought we already settled things last time?”
“Surely you did not think I was serious.”
The Sword Saint’s hand slowly moved toward the hilt of his sword.
His unique ability was Extreme Iaijutsu.
The thing to be most wary of when facing him wasn't after the sword was drawn, but the moment just before.
I glanced behind me.
The Prophet was fidgeting, unsure of what to do.
…Should I use the Prophet?
‘No.’
Doing that would truly make an enemy of the entire Sword Saint family.
That would be a headache for me, too.
I have no choice.
I clicked my tongue lightly and placed my hand on my sword.
A strange light gleamed in the Sword Saint’s eyes.
“You know Iaijutsu?”
“I can manage a decent imitation.”
I fixed my gaze on the Sword Saint’s hand.
The moment he used Extreme Iaijutsu, his agility stat would momentarily explode.
The movement of his hand muscles. The flow of his mana. The microscopic pulsations of his body with each breath.
I wouldn’t miss a single detail.
And then, the Sword Saint’s finger twitched.
“Ultimate.”
A moment of silence fell, as if even sound had been severed.
Then came the click of a sword being sheathed.
“Bujichamdong.”
What is cut moves without knowing it was cut.
True to its name, a leaf that had been in the Sword Saint’s attack range slowly drifted down, only to split neatly in two upon touching the ground.
It was truly incredible.
That single strike was enough to show why he was called the Sword Saint.
“…You blocked it.”
The Sword Saint wore a curious expression as he corrected his posture.
“Did you copy my stance just by watching?”
“If it could be copied that easily just by seeing it, I wouldn’t have had to work so hard.”
I had simply recalled it.
Just as I had recalled Aira’s swordsmanship when fighting the Disaster of Solitude.
I recalled the Iaijutsu stance I had seen hundreds of times from the Sword Saint in EOA and imitated it to the best of my ability.
In terms of results, it was a failure.
I had only managed to replicate a similar form purely through my superior stats.
‘And I couldn't even keep up properly.’
Like watching a low-frame-rate video, the Sword Saint’s movements appeared choppy.
I felt that if I hadn’t predicted the flow of his mana with Extreme Eye, I wouldn’t have been able to block it perfectly.
The fortunate thing was that this was the Sword Saint’s ultimate technique. His best skill.
And due to its nature, Iaijutsu couldn't be used multiple times in quick succession.
“My Tsubamegaeshi was incomplete, so that was one thing, but for even my Bujichamdong to be blocked… The world is truly vast.”
The Sword Saint smiled faintly and tossed his scabbard to the ground.
“You still want to go?”
“Of course. The match is not over.”
I went to the trouble of imitating his Iaijutsu just to crush his will to fight in one go.
This meant my effort was wasted.
“Then I’ll get a little serious.”
With this type of opponent, winning with a half-hearted display of strength only fuels their competitive spirit.
I had to crush him so overwhelmingly that he wouldn’t even dare to think of challenging me again.
Just as I was about to infuse mana into the Black Moon Divine Sword.
I realized something and released the mana.
“What is it? Did you not say you were getting serious?”
The Sword Saint took the opportunity to taunt me.
It was a provocation that barely registered.
However, something else about the man known as the Sword Saint caught my attention.
‘Well now, look at this.’
In EOA, the Sword Saint showed two sides.
One was this persona: a master of the sword, a challenger who enjoyed a good fight, one of Japan’s foremost powerhouses.
And the second.
As if his challenger persona was a lie, at crucial moments, he would hide behind that facade and become a strategist who lured opponents into traps.
“I almost fell for it. It was so natural, I was nearly taken in.”
If I used more than a certain amount of mana, a barrier would activate and forcibly dissipate it.
It was a similar principle to why my Goblin's Invisibility Cloak had become unusable.
The forced dissipation of a living being’s mana was accompanied by great pain, effectively incapacitating them.
Conversely, the technique the Sword Saint had used didn't require much mana.
The mana was merely a lubricant to help his body move more smoothly; the technique itself was pure swordsmanship.
That was why he hadn't been caught in the ‘barrier’ set up around this area.
The Sword Saint gave a troubled smile, as if he hadn’t expected to be found out so quickly.
“You are truly remarkable. However, it is already too late. The reinforcements from the guild should be close by now.”
“So the fact that the security seemed lax was part of the trap from the beginning.”
I flicked my hand, checking how much mana I could use.
I could only spread my mana for detection within a ten-meter radius, and I couldn't use Army of Darkness.
The situation was not good.
“Kim Se-hyeon-nim. Please, leave this place! If you use this, you should be able to evade pursuit!”
The Prophet urgently handed me a scroll.
It was an itemized version of the ‘Escape Scroll’ that Shirokage’s assassins had used before.
But it, too, crackled as its mana discharged.
The Prophet let out a small, disappointed “Ah,” her face falling.
‘Can I consider the Prophet a definite ally?’
She had never belonged to any side in the first place.
It was pointless to say whose side she was on now.
‘If I really put my mind to it, escaping isn't impossible.’
They couldn't use much mana either.
Given the difference in our stats, it would be difficult for them to catch me.
However.
“Hm!?”
*CRASH!!*
I wasn’t the type to take things lying down, so I charged at the Sword Saint and struck him down.
It was sudden, and he probably didn't expect me to attack at this timing. Caught off guard, the Sword Saint was sent flying into a tree.
He managed to block it, barely.
But he couldn't deflect all the force, as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
“Keuk…”
“If you weren’t the Prophet’s guardian, I would have cut off your sword arm. Consider yourself lucky.”
“That would not do. I have a grave mission to fulfill…”
The Sword Saint managed a pained smile.
It didn't sound like he was talking about protecting the Prophet.
…Ah, right. There was that.
“Right, you were tasked with using the Dojigiri. It’s best I leave you with all your limbs intact.”
“How do you…?”
Leaving the bewildered Sword Saint behind, I shifted my gaze elsewhere.
The reinforcements from the Yamato Guild had already come close enough to be seen with the naked eye.
Japan’s S-rank players were the first to catch my eye.
Mayuri lowered her head slightly, as if in apology.
It seemed the Sword Saint had started his work before she could pass on any false information, so her attempt had failed.
Himura must have managed to escape the pursuit.
His mask hid his mouth, but his eyes, glaring as if they could devour me, were impressive.
And among them, one person stood at the very front.
Someone I didn’t recognize.
His unkempt, long hair covered his eyes completely.
Despite that, I could guess from the glimpses of his face revealed when the wind blew that he was quite handsome.
[Activating skill, ‘Extreme Eye’.]
[Skill, ‘Discernment’ is responding.]
[There is no disparity in rank.]
[Failed to identify the target’s information.]
As expected, he had a defensive measure.
‘Discernment’ was different in nature from Extreme Eye, but they shared the ability to check an opponent’s information.
Extreme Eye pierced through to the essence, while Discernment could immediately grasp a set of information.
Mysticism could only defend, so if I had to choose, the latter would be better.
He opened his mouth.
“We meet for the first time, Kim Se-hyeon. I am Yaogami Jun. I serve as the vice-master of the Yamato Guild.”
Vice-master?
Not the master?
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
The power I felt from Yaogami Jun was the strongest among them all.
No, if the other S-rank players were at the level I remembered, he was number one in all of Japan.
He had to be the Salvatio.
So why wasn’t he the guild master?
“It was not enough to cause damage to our guild on multiple occasions, and now you have even trespassed in a forbidden zone… This is more than enough to be taken as a declaration of war.”