The Blade That Paints Hell

Dalbit let out a chuckle and closed the chat window. How long had it been since he retired from the pro scene, and yet the pro mindset had already completely drained out of him. With an opponent right in front of him, what kind of idiot paid attention to the audience's reaction? A pro should never do that. When a pro gamer steps into the arena, as long as the opponent stands before them, they must not let anything else distract them. They should only look at what is directly ahead. That is courtesy toward the opponent, and at the same time, courtesy toward those who cheer for them.

Checking other people's reactions can wait until the outcome is decided. If you lose, you'll hear their criticism. If you win, you'll receive their cheers. Therefore, until the result comes, you must pour every ounce of effort into creating the best possible outcome.

Dalbit gritted his teeth as he watched his teammates charging toward Hwaryeong, then raised his dagger high. He increased his speed.

I can't overcome Hwaryeong-nim with technique. Their clash had only lasted a brief moment, but that was enough for him to be certain. So he would abandon clumsy tricks. He would ignore everything else and focus solely on the strengths of the Sword Dancer. Faster. More fiercely. So fast that even Hwaryeong-nim's astonishing reflexes couldn't keep up. So that she could look at nothing but him!

Even as his sword strikes grew far more ferocious than before, Hwaryeong remained composed. Her speed was impressive, but the bigger issue was efficiency. With a single movement, she dismantled several of his strikes and deflected several more. No matter how much Dalbit increased his speed, he couldn't threaten her.

What Dalbit chose then was not technique. It was speed. In the time it took to swing once, he swung twice. He layered sword upon sword. What should have been single lines of strikes gathered to form surfaces. Those surfaces merged with one another to create shapes.

He saw nothing else. He couldn't even see his own teammates. Controlling his body as it swung the sword took everything he had; there was no room to notice anything else. Therefore, the only thing Dalbit saw was Hwaryeong. Only her.

Within that relentless barrage, Dalbit saw Hwaryeong smile.

I dodge the arrow flying toward my head. I'll have to fix that later. In times like these, you should aim for the legs or arms. The head is too easy to avoid, isn't it?

I leap over the brute trying to attack me from behind and stomp on his head to break free. The intention to exploit an opening for a surprise attack was good, but didn't he realize I'd noticed him? Showing off his presence from behind would have been more annoying.

I should say something.

I deflect the dagger of Dalbit, who immediately rushed after me the moment I created distance. This guy... hmm. He seems like he could improve further. But that's not something to discuss right now.

I step on Enry's spear aimed at my thigh and crush it down. Well done, Enry. Compared to the beginning, you've improved remarkably. Now we can move on to the next stage. After this tournament ends, let's spend some proper time together.

As I kick Enry away, I catch the longsword thrusting toward my torso with my bare hand. The timing of the attack wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bad, but the technique is lacking. If it had been more precise and faster, it would have been threatening. Bani, it looks like you still need to roll around for quite a while.

After knocking aside the knight trying to push me back, I disperse the magic flying from afar with my hand. Nahee. How should I even teach that one? Since she's still learning magic herself, it's awkward for me to give her advice. Maybe I should bring in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one of the viewers I added as friends last time.

Well. Either way, this is quite enjoyable. The excitement is slowly building, and part of me wants to press them even harder, but unfortunately, I must remember the word "restraint." I can't keep crushing them forever.

My original plan was to become their enemy and unite them. To draw in Dalbit and have him help defeat me—that was the plan. After several hours of hardship to bring their hearts together, once their coach joins and I hand over the victory, it would establish the coach's authority. That was how I intended to conclude this.

If I crush them once more here, their unity might collapse again. That would be troublesome. All their hard work would be in vain. Where should I lose to give them the most satisfaction? I've never fought while worrying about such things before, but this is rather fun in its own way. It feels like I'm directing a single play, doesn't it?

This time, let's go with something a bit classical. The story of a desperate attack made at the brink of crisis that succeeds and brings victory. Since Dalbit's attacks are growing increasingly fierce, handing him the finale should be perfect.

Now then. Let's slowly turn to the offensive.

I returned the arrow flying toward me using the principles of Geon Gon Dae Nae. Nabi-rin, seeing her own arrow return, panicked and failed to dodge, taking the hit directly. That's one.

Next, Enry thrust her spear at me. I grabbed the shaft, lifted her entire body, and hurled her far away. That's two.

Then I picked up a stone from the ground, held it in my hand, and threw it at Nahee who was preparing magic. Unable to respond to the powerful stone throw, she collapsed to the floor. That's three.

Perhaps sensing the crisis from that sight, Bae Min-hwang and Bani charged at me together. Bani rushed madly, intending to shove me with his shield, but that wasn't a very good choice. If the shield is blocking attacks, you can just send the entire shield flying. That's four.

Thanks to Bani's sacrifice, Bae Min-hwang reached me. With a physique twice my size, he tried to crush me, but unfortunately, he lacked the skill to properly handle power. Power without direction is nothing more than a toy to play with, so dealing with Bae Min-hwang wasn't difficult.

However, here it would be better to let him have a small victory. I deliberately allowed myself to be caught by his massive hand. Bae Min-hwang shouted urgently.

At the same time, I grabbed his arm, flipped him over to shake him off, and dodged the dagger Dalbit thrust at me.

From now on, I need to pretend I'm being pushed back. I abandon the offensive and act as if I'm desperately trying to avoid Dalbit's daggers. I barely dodge the first attack, show a slight loss of balance on the second, and on the third, I deliberately let it graze my cheek.

My skin tears, and blood flows from the wound. Did he not think his attack would actually land? Seeing my wound, Dalbit's eyes widened. Thanks to that, the flow of his attack was completely broken.

You fool. Once you seize the momentum, you should have carried it through to the end even if it meant drawing blood.

I sent Dalbit flying toward the pile of fallen teammates, then adjusted my inner energy to stop the blood flowing from my cheek.

As I spoke, the people who had collapsed on the ground began rising one by one.

The moment I smiled and put the pipe in my mouth, they burst into cheers and embraced one another. Jumping around like children who received Christmas presents—it seems facing me really was difficult for them. Seeing them like this, the distance between them has narrowed considerably. Starting tomorrow, they probably won't compete with the same cracks in their teamwork as yesterday.

While I was checking the chat reactions, a message flew toward me.

It was from Dalbit. When I looked up after reading the message, I saw him watching me from among the cheering group. Did it show? I thought I was acting, but it seems I was a clumsy performer after all. Since he noticed, the others will probably catch on eventually too.

Well. The fact that they're happy and united right now is true, so isn't that enough?

Were these people always this strong?

Dang So-il felt a sense of bewilderment while facing Bani, who was charging at him with murderous intent. The team he had faced before hadn't been this fierce. The ones whose motivation had hit rock bottom since the auction had been like a dam full of cracks. One little push and they would crumble completely.

But today was different. They had become one team. They were exchanging opinions actively and fighting desperately. Their momentum was so fierce it overturned the original skill gap between the two teams. Dang So-il's team, which should have easily secured victory, was slowly being pushed back.

Could they change this much in just one day?!

When Dang So-il said that while knocking aside Bani's sword, Bani raised the corners of his mouth.

After getting beaten up by Hwaryeong-nim yesterday, fighting me must feel much easier. Well, compared to Hwaryeong-nim, I'm nothing. Is there even a Heavenly Demon user more overwhelming than her in the first place? Even the pro gamer Han Seo-woo that Dekay-nim brought in as a Heavenly Demon craftsman didn't feel as overwhelmingly dominant as Hwaryeong-nim.

At the shout coming from afar, Dang So-il's lips tightened.

Our average power level should be higher, so why are we being pushed back?! Complaints naturally leaked out, but there was no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time to hesitate. If they got pushed here, they would lose. Dang So-il urgently raised his inner energy to shake Bani off, but Bani was persistent.

Ha. Damn it.

Hwaryeong-nim, just what did you do to these people yesterday?!