Formless Chain Fist: The Defeated Munchkin

Wedged into the wall, I gritted my teeth. If I let my mind slip now, I was dead.

As if to steel my resolve, a quest window popped up.

“I managed to guard, but my arms still feel like they’re about to tear off.”

I glared straight ahead.

Byle stood unwavering. Like a master from the murim, he stared back with piercing, luminous eyes.

“Formless Chain Fist, Void Iron… that’s the name of the technique. Since I no longer have a sword, my body itself becomes the blade.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“My specialty is the sword and swordsmanship. This martial art compensates for the absence of a blade.”

“…And now you’ve even gained the power of a successor that didn’t exist before. Goddamn it.”

Byle shook his head briefly.

“I told you. I made a contract with a demon. That’s all there is to it.”

“Spouting nonsense I can barely understand, you old bastard. Gone senile or what?”

“It seems I’m not the only one whose demeanor has changed. Quite crude of you, young lady.”

This was beyond absurd.

The man who had already been strong had somehow regressed into a relic of his prime. I had thought I stood a chance.

‘That was how it played out in the original story, too.’

But what the hell was this?

He had obtained a successor’s power that never existed before and was displaying performance close to his peak?

How was I supposed to beat that?

I clutched my arms. The upper part of my chest hurt as well.

Only now did I fully register that I had been injured.

‘Right, the back of my head… I don’t want to hear I lost because of something like that. No, even without the injury, beating him would’ve been difficult.’

Yet something pierced through my thoughts.

It was Byle, who had become the sword itself.

Whoosh—! Slash!

“Too many thoughts, and you crumble.”

Byle appeared right in front of me.

He reached out.

Where his hand pointed, blades materialized one after another, slicing through empty air before vanishing. I watched the pattern until the end, then moved quickly.

I took his rear.

‘Now’s my chance! But I’ll throw in a feint first!’

Crack!

I launched a low kick, drawing his gaze downward. Anticipating the moment he would turn, I shifted to the side.

Exploding with energy, I shot upward. Yet I only felt the sensation of cutting through empty air.

‘Huh?’

Byle’s voice reached me out of nowhere.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Byle was behind me, as if it were a lie. He had kept his hands clasped behind his back, then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠extended one as though to touch a passing butterfly.

I knew all too well what that meant.

Sorry, but—

“I even predicted that…!”

Whoosh—! Shfft!

Once again I seized his rear. Leaping into the air, I spun and delivered a roundhouse kick, aiming to damage his brain as much as possible.

Slash!

Without even turning, Byle simply raised an arm to block. At the same time, he grabbed my ankle.

“Ugh!”

“Now it’s my turn.”

He flung me upward while still holding me. The moment I was suspended in midair, Byle’s eyes gleamed menacingly.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Whoosh—! Crack! Shashashashak!

Gaps tore through space. They multiplied, surging toward me like blades.

Fear of death. Tension. Instead of the exhilaration I usually felt in battle, only the crushing despair ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of being overwhelmed remained.

Dozens of blades wrapped around me, trying to crush me.

‘Damn it, this strains my body, but…!’

I escaped once more with Flash Step. This time I appeared behind Byle, then deliberately slithered like a snake to face him from the front.

Crack!

I threw an uppercut. His chin lifted, throwing off his balance.

Time to chain the combo!

The uppercut had clearly landed, yet Heavenly Ascent struck nothing but air again. Why?

“What exactly are you trying to do? That was merely my clone.”

“You’ve got to be kidding…!”

At impossible speed, Byle was already behind me. Countless blade-like lines filled my vision, closing in.

Papapapak! Shhhk—! Slash!

“Aaaagh!”

My entire body became drenched in blood as I was hurled away. It felt as though dozens of blades had carved through me.

At least my organs were intact, but the blood loss was catastrophic. Unless I were a troll, time alone would finish me.

“Ugh…”

Thud. Thud.

Byle approached with his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hands behind his back. His face remained perfectly calm, yet his eyes burned with killing intent.

I forced myself up through gritted teeth.

Was I really going to lose like this?

“…Even if I turn into a blood-soaked corpse, I’ll still bite you to death! Goddamn it!”

I moved.

With every tiny motion, my whole body screamed and spurted blood. The coppery stench filled the air around my crimson-stained form.

Yet I moved.

To survive.

To prove myself.

Byle activated Void Iron once more against my charge. His outstretched hand bloomed with invisible blades.

I slipped sideways and drove an elbow into him.

“Predictable.”

“Yeah, it was a setup.”

Whoosh.

Blocked.

A one-two combo aimed at his face.

Blocked again.

It felt like punching a mountain—my fists flew, but nothing connected.

But what I wanted was—

‘To shatter even the pebbles of that mountain.’

Papapapapak!

I unleashed a barrage of attacks to disrupt his vision. Yet Byle remained the superior fighter.

“You’re scattering your power too much.”

He seized my flank instead, his expression blank.

“It’s over.”

But I had finished reading him as well.

As he reached out, I spoke.

“Your attacks require linear motion to unfold… In that case!”

I closed the distance and struck upward between his arm and the back of his hand.

“…Huh?”

He didn’t even flinch. Instead, his hand came straight for me, unwavering.

As if it were a lie.

Shhhk—! Slash!

My upper chest was cut once. Then the blade rose from my abdomen through my chest to my chin, lifting me into the air.

The force was so tremendous that I floated helplessly. When Byle followed up with a roundhouse kick, the impact sent me crashing into the hatch above, carrying it outward with me.

“Kuh—! Guh…!”

“You go first.”

Whoosh—! Crash! Rumble!

Another kick launched me and the hatch outside. It was overwhelming power and technique.

“Kuaaaagh!”

Soaked in blood, I hit the ground and rolled limply. Byle followed at a leisurely pace.

“Circular motion beats linear motion. However, the circle must be perfect. An imperfect circle is simply devoured by the straight line.”

“Kuh…”

“In short, you lack training. Strange. You clearly give off the feeling of a chronic illness, yet something feels off.”

“You sure love hearing yourself talk, you bastard.”

I tried to rise. My body refused to obey. I had lost too much blood.

Still, I tried.

I struggled.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Was I going to collapse just because I bled a little?

Was I going to run just because defeat seemed likely?

I couldn’t.

‘That would be no different from living as a corpse.’

I clenched my teeth. Biting my lower lip, I slowly forced my body upright.

Every joint screamed for me to stop, to give up. Blood had soaked me so thoroughly that my skin felt sticky.

Yet I took a fighting stance.

“With your level of divinity, I would have raised you well. A pity.”

“Haa. Who said I’d crawl under your skirt?”

“Hm?”

“You lost your precious daughter? Yeah, that’s sad. Anyone who’s lost family knows that pain.”

I had, too.

At least in my memories.

I had lost my family and failed to protect those I should have saved as a hero.

“But trying to make others die because of it… doesn’t that make you the same as the people you hate?”

Byle’s expression darkened further. The serene elder from moments ago now looked like a demon general from the underworld.

“That is not something you should speak of so lightly…”

“What do you hope to gain by burning other people’s lives? By destroying even the Life Tree? Haa… revenge? Self-consolation? You’ve already lost your way, so what exactly do you think you can do?”

“Karma. They never paid the price for their sins. I will make them receive it.”

“By what right?”

It was a line I hated. Those who had no choice but to lose could only plead with tears.

And those pleas were always ignored.

“The right of one who was forced to lose.”

Simple, brief, yet powerful.

With that answer, Byle approached once more. An invisible weight seemed to press down on my entire body.

‘It’s too late to draw my sword. No, he won’t even give me the chance. What do I do?’

Byle assumed his stance.

Tat—! Fwoooosh! Bang!

Leaving ripples in his wake, he closed in at near-sonic speed.

“Now it ends. Go ahead first.”

His hand, brimming with mana, reached for me.

I forced a smile and spoke.

“You placed a bet, right? Then…”

This time, I didn’t dodge.

If flanking and hit-and-run tactics didn’t work, if no answer reached him—then the only answer was a head-on breakthrough.

Lines unfolded in the air. Like flowers blooming, they transformed into beautiful blades.

The instant one touched my chest, I moved.

Gathering every last drop of energy into my right fist, I looked at Byle.

His weakness was the right side of his chest!

Bang! Whoosh! Shashashak!

It connected—the counter technique, Phoenix Slayer.

For the first time, it landed properly… yet.

Multiple blades carved through my body as they passed.

Beautifully, emptily, blood sprayed and dyed my vision red.

I fell backward without strength.

Of all places, a hill.

Was I going to roll down and die like this?

“Byle…”

With that, I lost consciousness.

***

Watching Queen Wednesday tumble down the hill, Byle caught his breath. He glanced at his own chest.

A massive fist-shaped dent remained. It hurt with every breath.

How long had it been since he allowed such a clean hit?

“She’s clearly young. Her physique isn’t even suited for combat. What is this depth of nothingness…?”

He exhaled shakily. Byle gave a bitter smile.

‘If we had both been at full strength, my heart would have stopped.’

Clutching his chest, he departed.

Like the wind, without a trace.