For the Sake of Honor
Fortis was strong.
By his own account, he too had achieved a hundred-win streak in the arena.
It was the mandatory condition for entering this space where the two of them now stood.
“Indeed… you are strong.”
Every single punch carried a murderous intent.
Each time his fist cut through the air, a savage whoosh brushed past the ears, and a smile naturally rose to the lips.
Anyone watching would probably think he had lost his mind.
A monster was swinging its fists wildly right in front of him, yet he dodged them all while laughing.
Myeong-yun remained with his hands clasped behind his back, dodging Fortis’s fists and steadily increasing the distance between them.
He wouldn’t lose in a contest of pure strength, but that wouldn’t be any fun.
It had been a while since he properly warmed up, and he had a fine sandbag right in front of him.
“Huu……”
The moment Myeong-yun let out a long breath, New World’s processing load spiked in an instant.
The world slowed down.
In that slowed world, only Myeong-yun moved as usual.
One step. Two steps.
Myeong-yun stepped into Fortis’s range.
Fortis reacted immediately, stretching out a savage hand to grab him.
But Myeong-yun was not caught.
Like a fluttering butterfly, he evaded the grasp with fluid grace and lightly leaped into the air.
“Guhk!”
Myeong-yun’s knee slammed into Fortis’s jaw.
The intense impact made Fortis’s head snap back slightly, but the tough warrior immediately countered with a headbutt.
Myeong-yun, however, had already predicted it. He planted a hand on Fortis’s head and used the momentum to soar even higher.
High in the air, far beyond Fortis’s reach, Myeong-yun hovered for a moment with his hands still clasped behind his back, looking down.
He could see Fortis.
He could see the massive pillars surrounding him.
And he could see the world called Honor that the developers had carved in meticulous detail.
So this was the world they had wanted to create.
A tiny island and nation where people lived solely for honor and died solely for honor.
“How beautiful……”
With that quiet murmur, Myeong-yun began to descend.
As he fell, he spun once and extended his leg.
The spinning axe kick, packed with rotational force, drove straight into Fortis.
Fortis crossed both arms to block, but it wasn’t enough.
The shock from the kick traveled through his arms and spread throughout his entire body.
With a heavy boom, the ground beneath Fortis’s feet cracked slightly.
Using the rebound, Myeong-yun spun backward through the air and landed gracefully. He spoke to the battered Fortis.
“It is not this seat who issues the challenge, but you. Come, Fortis. Stake all of your honor and try to defeat this seat. Only then shall you grasp the world in your hands.”
At Myeong-yun’s words, Fortis offered no reply. He simply took a step forward.
He stomped hard, kicking off the ground and charging like a cannonball.
With every step, cracks spiderwebbed across the floor. There was no doubt the strike carried immense power.
When he closed the distance and swung his fist, it wasn’t a crude, strength-only punch. It contained technique.
He concentrated the massive force into a single point without wasting any of it.
A fist that held just a trace of the profound principles of martial arts.
Myeong-yun extended his hand, deflected Fortis’s punch to the side, and closed in once more.
Then, with movements as smooth as flowing water, he pressed both palms against Fortis’s abdomen.
In that instant, a tiny spark of light burst from the area around Fortis’s stomach.
A minuscule light that only Myeong-yun and Fortis could perceive.
Yet that small light carried a tremendous impact far beyond its appearance.
Struck by the explosive force, Fortis’s body shot upward with a whoosh.
It was only about ten centimeters, but lifting someone of Fortis’s size into the air with Myeong-yun’s build should have been virtually impossible.
Myeong-yun had done it anyway.
“Guhhhk—!!”
Fortis flew backward and tumbled across the ground.
Blood gushed from his mouth—evidence of internal injury. Yet he grinned as he spoke.
“Strong… you are truly strong! That is why you are the perfect partner! The one worthy of dancing the final dance with me!”
Fortis rose to his feet and let out a tremendous roar.
The sound was so powerful it felt as if the entire realm of Honor was shaking.
Then a single beam of light descended from the sky.
The true form of that beam revealed itself as it landed before Fortis.
A pitch-black greatsword the size of his body had embedded itself in the ground, carving a massive fissure.
“Oh?”
“The last opponent who forced me to draw this blade was seventy years ago.”
Fortis gripped the sword with one hand and pressed the other against the ground.
For a brief moment, Myeong-yun watched with interest as the man took on a beast-like stance.
Then, using the elasticity of his body like a drawn bow, Fortis shot forward like a cannonball.
In the blink of an eye he was upon him. The greatsword swept forward, and it was nothing short of a catastrophe.
The blade’s enormous reach left no room to dodge, so Myeong-yun took the hit directly and was sent flying backward.
Yet in midair he used his palms to completely dissipate the impact, spinning twice before landing lightly on his feet.
“You truly are no different from a beast. Is this your true nature?”
The moment he murmured those words, a name appeared above Fortis’s head.
Beast King Fortis.
That was the true name of the monster standing before Myeong-yun.
Long ago, the king of the arena who had conquered it using nothing but a sword and his own body.
The master of honor.
Now he stood before Myeong-yun to pass on the mantle.
“Behold.”
Fortis charged once more.
Faster than before. Stronger than before.
He swung the absurdly massive sword in his hands.
Myeong-yun, who carried no weapon, pondered for a moment before taking a single step.
Half a step forward with his right foot.
Standing at a slight angle, he kept his left hand behind his back and extended his right hand forward.
It looked impossible to receive that greatsword empty-handed.
Yet Myeong-yun did not retreat.
“Watch carefully, my dear children. This is what true martial arts looks like.”
At last Fortis reached him and swung the greatsword.
As the blade approached, Myeong-yun extended his hand.
What he did was a minute adjustment of balance.
The moment his fingertips touched the flat of the horizontally swinging blade, he changed its direction.
From fingertips to palm, from the edge to the flat of the blade.
He lightly flicked the flat upward, altering its path so the greatsword sliced viciously through the air just above his head.
But martial arts did not end there.
Deflecting and counterattacking formed a single technique.
The instant Fortis’s posture broke from the massive swing, the same hand that had flicked the blade now shot toward his abdomen.
Another explosive strike.
The powerful shock that reached deep into his body pushed Fortis back once more.
Yet Fortis, fueled by endless adrenaline and possessing inhuman toughness, spat out another mouthful of blood and charged again.
Fortis’s desperate battle continued. Even as blood poured from his wounds, he refused to stop fighting.
Knowing this would be his final battle, he poured everything he had into trying to bring Myeong-yun down.
If he could not win, then at least a draw. If he had to die, he would drag his opponent with him.
But Myeong-yun did not fall for his schemes.
Fortis’s greatsword could not touch him, and even when it did, it could not cut him.
To one who had grasped the profound principle of Deflecting the Blade with a Leaf, even the sharpest sword was no different from a soft feather.
This time Myeong-yun’s hand reached Fortis’s heart.
Using the flat of the greatsword as a stepping stone, he leaped upward. His palm gently pressed against Fortis’s chest.
At that moment, Fortis collapsed on the spot, falling to one knee.
He tried to use the greatsword as a crutch to stand, but he crumbled again.
He could not even attempt to rise a second time.
The King of Beasts had been defeated by the Heavenly Demon.
Fortis, who had reigned as the strongest of Honor for so long and held its honor in his grasp, had lost to an outsider.
The master of honor had submitted to another master of honor.
Blood still streaming from his mouth, Fortis realized he had been defeated. He crawled on his knees toward the inner sanctum.
What awaited him there was a small altar.
Upon it rested an ancient-looking golden crown.
Fortis carefully lifted the crown with both hands and approached Myeong-yun.
Dragging a body that could barely stand, he respectfully offered the crown.
“…You are now the new king. The master of honor in this small world where only honor decides everything……”
“You have done well. Rest easy now.”
Myeong-yun answered and reached out toward the crown.
The faded crown suddenly blazed with brilliant light and rose into the air.
The bright sky instantly transformed into a star-filled night, and the galaxy that adorned it turned into letters.
The words formed by the flowing Milky Way, aligned with the stars, read:
“…Staff Roll?”
It was a list of the countless names of the developers who had created the game.
From programmers to designers, artists, BGM composers… and so on.
For the Sake of Honor was an online PVP game. Its story had only ever been introduced as a brief synopsis; it was a game with virtually no narrative.
Yet an ending existed.
An ending that might have remained buried forever had it not been for Myeong-yun.
Watching the staff roll unfold across the night sky, Myeong-yun gave a small smile.
“This is rather nice as well.”
The long staff roll played for several minutes accompanied by beautiful music.
The final line, of course, was Myeong-yun’s name listed under ‘Special Thanks.’
‘Heavenly Demon Myeong-yun’
It was only natural. He was the only person who had ever seen the end of this world.
A staff roll and ending that would never have appeared without him.
When the entire roll finally concluded, the night sky brightened once more. A single achievement popped up as the finale.
This was without a doubt the true ending of For the Sake of Honor.