Chapter 298
Chapter 298
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 298
Chapter Title: Sword That Reaches the Sky (2)
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I was gradually catching up.
From being preoccupied with defending against Doje's attacks, I'd reached a point where my offense and defense were in a one-to-one ratio.
*Clang!*
The problem was that Doje was, undeniably, a ‘genius.’
The kind of genius that might appear only once in a hundred years.
“That won't work anymore.”
Doje's sword moved a step ahead, blocking my path of attack.
By cutting off the path my sword was meant to take, she forced me back on the defensive.
The balance I had worked so hard to achieve was tipping.
So, I too sought another change.
‘Advance.’
I didn't change the swordsmanship itself.
I inserted disorder into order.
Making what wasn't swordsmanship seem like it was.
And making what was swordsmanship seem like it wasn't.
At that, Doje's subtle confusion became apparent.
“It's a true or false quiz, Doje.”
Is this next attack of mine a systematic sword path born from swordsmanship, or is it an improvisation with no set path?
Doje's gaze fell to the tip of my sword.
She seemed to be thinking carefully, trying to judge until the very last moment, but…
“Hm. I lose! My complete and utter defeat!”
Doje suddenly dropped her sword and declared her surrender.
“You're strong. Even the old geezers from the main family have a hard time pushing me this far. I can see why that Yuki kid lost to you so many times. Mhmm. With a gap this big, of course he couldn't win.”
As she crossed her arms and nodded several times, the fighting spirit from before was nowhere to be seen.
She was astonishingly adept at controlling her aura.
“You weren't planning on fighting at full strength in the first place, were you?”
Doje’s movements momentarily froze.
Then, as if nothing had happened, she gave a meaningful smile.
“What might you mean by that? I came here to avenge my little brother.”
“You expect me to believe that when you, who holds the title of Doje, are using a double-edged sword instead of a single-edged one? I could tell just by the way you instinctively tried to rest the sword on your shoulder earlier.”
A *do* is a weapon with only one sharp edge.
It was a move possible with a *do*, but not with a *geom*, a sword with two sharp edges.
That must be why Doje had canceled the motion midway and lowered her sword.
“Ahahaha!”
Finally, Doje burst into a hearty laugh.
“I've been completely found out. I was just going to make up some excuse for the Doje title, but I never thought I'd be exposed because of one little habit. The Prophet is at my house, a short distance from here. Head over there. The family elders have decided not to interfere in this matter, leaving it entirely to us, so you don't have to worry about that. Well, not that it matters. I'm stronger than those old geezers anyway.”
Doje picked up her sword and sheathed it.
Then, she caressed another scabbard hanging at her waist.
That was likely the real weapon she used.
“Even if I was only using a sword, you still beat me. Me, the official number one ranker in Japan. That means your skills are more than enough to hold their own among the world's top players. …Hmm. But you still look unsatisfied. Then how about this.”
Without a sound, a *do* was drawn.
It was a weapon that even I, with my standards raised by the Black Moon Divine Sword, could recognize as a masterpiece at a glance.
“It's named Eumjeol because it severs sound. Isn't it pretty?”
Doje’s eyes became like those of a mother looking at her child.
I felt like I had just seen a glimpse of how much affection she poured into her weapon.
“I have a feeling there might be another way to read that name. For example…”
I paused deliberately, and Doje’s gaze shifted.
There is something called character decomposition.
It’s a way of interpreting Chinese characters differently by breaking them down into their component parts.
For instance, in the case of the character for sound, *eum* (音)…
“To stand (立) above the sun (日)… or something like that.”
“That's enough.”
She cut in at the exact moment I had drawn out my pause.
“That’s not what you want right now, is it? Right?”
“You’re right, but…”
“One clash. Let's end it with just that.”
As Doje took her stance, I couldn't just stand by, so I readjusted my grip on my sword.
Doje had switched from a *geom* to a *do*.
And suggesting we settle it in one clash meant we were to pit our strongest techniques against each other.
I had to respond in kind, holding nothing back.
*Vwoooom…*
Just by switching from a sword to a saber, the pressure was different.
I swallowed without realizing it.
[Character, 'Kazumoto Ayame,' is using 'Void Sever'.]
The moment Doje’s finger twitched, I swung my sword as well.
True to its name, it made no sound, not even the whisper of cutting through the air.
But it had clearly severed space itself.
*CRASH-CRUMBLE!*
A second later, what little remained of the building was neatly sliced in half and collapsed to the ground.
All except for one spot.
The place where I stood.
“Yuki couldn't even dream of blocking that…”
Doje trailed off, her body staggering.
“To not only block it but to counterattack in the same breath. What kind of prodigy are you?”
A trickle of blood ran from the corner of Doje's mouth.
I, on the other hand, was perfectly fine, without even an internal injury.
‘So it does work.’
What I had used to counter Doje’s attack was Shattering Moon.
Not using the power of darkness, but by pouring in pure mana.
Its destructive power was inevitably lower than the original version, but I compensated by using mana without reservation.
Besial snorted.
[You just pushed through with your stats.]
‘Stats are part of my skill, so stop nitpicking.’
“I lost. I really lost. To think I’d lose even after drawing my *do*. It's been a long time since this happened. I think I’ve done nothing but win since ten years ago. That Yuki kid has gotten complacent, calling himself the Sword Saint. I'll have to whip him into shape.”
Doje raised both hands as she retrieved her weapon, signaling it was truly over.
I had achieved my goal, so there was no reason to fight her any longer.
I had succeeded in defeating Doje with nothing but pure swordsmanship and mana.
Of course, the issue of systematic swordsmanship was still a problem I had to solve.
“No one ever figured out the meaning hidden in my saber’s name, so it’s strange that you, who I met just a few days ago, would notice. I guess it’s true that swordsmen speak through their blades.”
“Considering the power of Yaogami is the sun goddess Amaterasu, it seems to hold various meanings.”
“You're free to think what you want.”
Doje wiped the blood from her lips with her sleeve and walked out into the yard.
The building had been reduced to such a pile of rubble that it could hardly be called a building anymore.
“As I said before, the Prophet is at our house. You can meet him if you go there. Oh, just look for the largest mansion in the residential area. It might be a bit inconvenient since people without a proper place to stay have taken over one area.”
The Sword Saint’s family had been protectors of this region since ancient times.
Since it was a place that remained intact thanks to a barrier even when the world was changing rapidly and cities were being destroyed, it would be the optimal location to protect civilians.
I turned and headed for the Sword Saint’s family estate.
“…I found that there are many things in the sky higher than the sun.”
Behind me, Doje murmured something strange as she looked up at the sky.
***
A collapsed city.
No matter how much it was restored to create a residential area, the fact that the original living space had shrunk so drastically meant that a mansion with ‘vast grounds’ was bound to stand out, for better or for worse.
The Sword Saint's family estate was just like that.
And, in a different sense, there was one person who stood out as well.
“Xie? What are you doing here?”
“I had a feeling you'd be fighting with the people from the Sword Saint's clan, so I came.”
“What about China? Shouldn't the Four Perils have appeared there by now?”
“I took down one of them. The others will handle the remaining three. I don't recall leading a guild so weak they couldn't even manage that. More importantly, I want to know what happened here. You definitely fought the Sword Saint. Does being here mean you were invited by his older sister….”
“I've already defeated Doje.”
“You defeated Doje-unni?”
Xie's eyes widened in shock.
She said they had known each other for a long time; they must be close enough for her to call Doje ‘unni.’
“Doje-unni is one of the top ten fighters among all the martial families. And for you to have no visible injuries… No, wait a minute. Does that mean you fought before coming here? You came here after defeating Doje-unni?”
“That's right. Is there a problem?”
Xie's face turned pale.
So much so that it was making me, the one watching her, anxious.
“The Sword Saint has two older sisters! Don't tell me you didn't know!?”
“…He has two sisters?”
*Thump.*
For a moment, a sensation of time stopping washed over my entire body.
I had felt something similar before.
When Crow revealed his true power.
Right now, in this place, there was someone with power comparable to his.
And given the flow of this conversation, the person in question had to be none other than the Sword Saint's other sister.
“I have been waiting for you.”
It was a clean and pure mana, enough to make my hair stand on end with a chill.
If the power Crow emitted was like an abyss swallowing me whole…
Her power was terrifying precisely because I couldn't feel anything from it.
If I were swept up in that power, I would become nothing.
That thought filled my head, sounding an alarm.
‘Come to think of it, I think I heard something about this.’
A person who never appeared directly in EOA, but whose existence was mentioned in passing.
The ‘ultimate weapon of the Sword Saint’s family,’ who was said to never show herself.
I quickly checked her information.
[Character Information]
Name: Kazumoto Yurie
Gender: Female (29)
Strength: 95(+5)(+10%) Stamina: 90(+6) Agility: 99(+1)(+6%) Mana: 99(+1)(+7%)
Unique Ability: Swordless (S+)
Traits: Mind-Sword Unity (S+), Sword of the Heavens (S+), Sword Drawing Art (S), Blessing of the Battlefield (S), The Tempered One (S)
Skills: Nine Swords of the Wisdom King (S+), Clear Mirror, Still Water - Break (S), Tsubame Gaeshi (S)
‘Her base stats are all in the 90s?’
What kind of monster was this?
Her overall stats were raised to a top-tier level, just before Transcendence.
A spec slightly below Crow, the strongest in this world, but still enough to be called top-tier.
‘To think a character with these specs had her identity kept completely hidden even within EOA.’
I prided myself on knowing a lot about EOA, but this made me realize there was still much I didn't know.
At least one thing was certain.
She possessed power worthy of being called an ‘ultimate weapon.’
Which made another fact all the more unsettling.
“Your presence here must mean… you have overcome Doje, correct?”
She was subtly directing her hostility toward me.
“W-wait a moment, please, Heavenly Sword… no, Yurie-unni!”
Xie hurriedly stepped between me and the Heavenly Sword.
The moment the hostility that had been pouring directly at me vanished, the pressure on my breathing lifted.
It was only then that I realized I had been holding my breath the entire time.
“Xie? What is it?”
“Kim Se-hyeon has no intention of being hostile to the Kazumoto family! I can vouch for him!”
“And?”
“Pardon?”
“If you have nothing else of importance to say, I would appreciate it if you stepped aside.”
The Heavenly Sword smiled sweetly, and Xie hastily moved away as if she had seen something terrifying.
For even Xie to be unable to get a few words in.
It meant that while they seemed close, there was a clear boundary between them.
She looked like a pure and graceful beauty, far removed from violence.
Yet, she possessed power and pressure comparable to Crow.
The dissonance was staggering.
“I will ask again. Am I correct in assuming you have overcome the Sword Saint and Doje to meet with the Prophet?”