episode_0079

The last floor of the castle.

All the decorations on the floor were made of black, glossy wood rather than flashy, sparkling jewels.

Rather than being flashy overall, the decorations gave off a serious and heavy feeling. All of the decorations and the red carpet laid down in the center of the hallway were making the throne stand out.

On the highlighted throne sat a blue-skinned demon sleeping. Her tail was wrapped tightly around the hilt of an all-white sword, and her appearance was ominous.

Even the famous sword that is said to split a hair in two when dropped will lose its shine if you stand in front of the sword in front of you.

Mayhen began to carefully measure the distance

“Are you really sleeping…?”

Well, it was such a cool thing that I thought, I just want to cut off the tail and get that sword.

An object that any inspector would covet. It would be a lie to say that I wasn’t greedy, but I quickly shook off my foolish desire after guessing its identity.

Because you also have a precious partner.

Mayhen took hold of her beloved sword and began to walk slowly and carefully towards the throne.

***

Kwaaang-!

Hyunho flew towards the top floor of the castle, leaving behind the loud noise coming from below.

As they got closer to their destination, the loud bangs and dull thuds gradually diminished. Instead, the characteristic clanging of metal against metal, and the eerie cutting sound of flesh being cut, began to be heard faintly.

When I heard a loud “Kaang-!” sound, my heart started to race.

“Mayhen-!”

Hyunho flew into the sky at maximum speed and checked the situation while standing on the ceiling.

The floor was splattered with red and blue liquid. The two were fighting each other with their swords, but Meihen’s opponent, the demon, had his eyes closed.

At that moment, Hyunho’s palm hit the ceiling hard with a “taang” sound.

Kkuddeuk!

The application of the magic of shape-shifting, the intangible energy that started from the heart flowed through the ceiling and transformed the flat marble into an awl shape.

The awl that shot down from the ceiling seemed to pierce the body of the demon who was standing with her eyes closed, but her sword flashed briefly and then turned into mere shards.

It was a pity that I couldn’t even inflict a wound on her body, but my goal was to get Mayhen back anyway. Satisfied with that fact, I landed lightly next to Mayhen.

“Are you okay?”

“It’s okay, sister.”

Fortunately, Mayhen’s cut was shallow and only caused severe bleeding, but she didn’t suffer any life-threatening injuries. Perhaps the purpose was to hold her off until I arrived.

Mayhen ran her hand over the clothes that still had blood stains on them, as if she was amazed at how quickly her wounds healed, and told them what she had found out.

“I waited for Hyunho, but I didn’t decide on purpose because something felt strange. He’s not that strong of an opponent.”

“Is that weird?”

She could easily have cut off his neck, but she spoke as if she didn’t do it on purpose.

“I think Hyunho would know better than Noona. I think it would be better to try it alone once.”

“No, right now…?”

I looked into her eyes, thinking maybe she was joking to ease the tension in an urgent situation, but she was serious.

I know you like training, but it didn’t seem right to do it in a situation like this.

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

But my older sister just indifferently spread out her finger and pointed at the opponent she had been fighting with just a moment ago.

“Take a look over there.”

Following her sister’s finger, the succubus was standing still. Just like when Mayhen first found her, she had her eyes closed and was breathing regularly. She looked like someone sleeping.

Blood was still flowing from the sword wounds on his body, but he seemed to have no interest in stopping the bleeding and was just sleeping, a strange sight.

I whispered quietly to Mayhen so she wouldn’t wake up.

“Is that thing sleeping right now?”

“Yes. I don’t know English, but he never attacks first.”

Mayhen pushed my back, telling me to go and try it out. To be honest, I was skeptical, but if I can’t trust my sister, who can I trust?

One step. And then another step.

As she approached, the succubus lifted the sword on her tail. Her posture was similar to that of a skilled swordsman. The only difference was that the sword was held by her tail.

This time, take a step back.

Then the succubus regained her momentum and became as defenseless as before.

An extremely passive appearance, only reacting to movements from this side. It didn’t look like it would attack first.

“Swoop, hoo-”

He exhaled and thrust his sword straight into his chest.

Kaang-! My hand rang out in shock from the sword.

Her previous defenseless appearance was colorless, but now, facing her with a sword, she felt like an iron wall. And at the same time, I felt a sense of deja vu that I had seen her somewhere before.

“Huh?”

The familiar feeling of having our swords crossed. It was a movement I had even recreated with my own body.

The Emperor’s guard, or at least the swordsmanship they left behind. They were holding the sword by the tail, so even though their posture was a little distorted, I could tell.

Because it’s been a long time since I made it completely mine. It’s just a part of a simple application. The basis was the same.

Did this succubus eat the knight? But as far as I know, nearly 100 knights were sacrificed to create the barrier.

Maybe it was an illusion. Or maybe he was a knight who made his famous swordsmanship his signature.

I jumped into her arms, holding the sword in one hand to check.

What I’m going to try this time is… Yeah. That sounds good.

Hyunho folded his spread wings and stepped on the ground with both feet. It was for verification.

Hyunho spun around in the air.

Contracting the entire body and using rotation to swing the sword downward from above – Nakhwa.

The succubus, on the other hand, stood still with her front feet planted on the ground and raised her sword to strike.

It was a technique called Gaehwa, which involved stepping on solid ground and drawing a sword.

Both were techniques created by the same knight. It was a technique of such high perfection that neither I nor the succubus could say who was superior. The swords made on the same plane collided in the middle and created a cracking sound.

There was a loud bang and a shockwave, and half of the white sword was stuck into the ceiling. Soon after, a small amount of red liquid covered it.

As I was wiping away my half-blushed vision, I heard a calm voice behind me.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. It’s just a little scratch on the outside, there’s no problem.”

I answered my sister’s words and kicked the half-wielded sword away. It was a precaution in case something unexpected happened.

Blue blood was still gushing out from the corpse of the succubus, whose upper body was split in half. Until the moment of death, the succubus did not open her eyes.

It was easier and quicker than I had imagined, and it felt like the tension was finally released.

“By the way, um… it was definitely an easy opponent.”

One of the main reasons for the decision was the sword. The succubus’ sword was incredibly sharp, but it wasn’t very strong.

Clashing swords with Meihen several times must have put a strain on the thin blade, and eventually, it broke while we were fighting each other.

I stared at the corpse that was cooling down and the sword stuck in it for a moment. After all, how could they have used our technology?

Hyunho put his doubts aside and grabbed his sword.

“Then shall we go down now?”

The situation here is over, but not all is over.

I asked them to resolve it through dialogue, but I had a feeling that Lina and Bartholin were still fighting downstairs.

I should subdue Bartholin first and listen to his story. I have a lot of responsibilities to bear if I just cut him down.

‘Surely one of them isn’t already dead, right?’

I pulled my sword out of the pool of blood that had formed around it.

“Sigh-!”

Huh?

“Heuheuup-!”

Even with all my power, the black sword stuck in the floor wouldn’t budge. Even if it wasn’t a pool of blood, but rather a pool of cement, I could have pulled it out with my strength.

I decided to look for another way.

“Hyunho, can you look this way?”

Mayhen’s voice came from behind me. I answered briefly, “Just a moment,” and clenched my fist.

My sword is so strong that it seems strange, so I wonder if it would be okay if I smashed it on the floor?

“Can I ask what you are doing right now?”

“The sword isn’t… Lina?”

When I looked back, Lina was looking at me with a small slime hanging from her shoulder. She seemed unconscious, and her body was drooping like a wet rice paper.

Lina wasn’t seriously injured, but her clothes were torn and tattered, making her look quite grisly.

“That’s on your shoulder…”

“He suddenly became weak in the middle of the game, so I knocked him out and brought him here.”

“But you didn’t kill me.”

“Well… we didn’t mean to kill each other…”

Perhaps it’s the aftereffect of defeating the Demon King. Since the Demon King is gone, they are no longer one of the Four Heavenly Kings?

“That’s a relief. If I had known, I would have taken it down sooner”

“If that were the case, the ranking would have been finished a little earlier. By the way, what were you trying to do?”

Well, to Lina’s eyes, it must have looked like she was trying to attack her fallen opponent.

“The sword wouldn’t come out. I was trying to break it with the floor.”

Despite my kind explanation, Lina didn’t stop looking puzzled. Instead, she just raised the question again.

“The sword…is already drawn?”

When I looked behind me, where Lina’s finger was pointing, my sword, which was stuck in the floor, was floating in the air.

It was floating in the air, sucking up a puddle of blood.

“What is that?”

A sword floating in the air. It had been in my hand just a moment ago and was doing its job, but now it felt unfamiliar.

It felt strange and ominous. I don’t know why, but it was the most dangerous feeling I’ve ever felt since coming here.