Ch.183Knight Demon (4)

“Kuh, you. Najin. Me? I once crossed swords with a really fucking strong demon. Huh? I’m telling you, I was quite a renowned knight back then.”

“Ah, yes.”

“You don’t seem to believe me. It’s true, I tell you!”

“Ivan, I’ve heard that same line over ten times now. You might not remember because you’re drunk, but I’ve been listening to the exact same story ten times.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Shall I guess what comes next? That demon had dozens of arms and was truly horrifying, like a spider…”

Ivan burst into chuckling laughter.

“It was truly a demon straight out of nightmares. That demon bastard killed many of my comrades, and even thinking about it now makes the back of my neck tense. What a shame, really.”

Still, he muttered as he downed his drink.

“Someone will avenge them. There’s one guy I can think of who might somehow find and kill that demon. He’s quite obsessive.”

“Who is that?”

“There is one. A guy whose parrying skills are absolutely top-notch.”

2.

Dealing with demons is an extremely tricky business.

Not only does the demon race inherently possess tenacious vitality, but they can also wield powers bordering on the mystical. No wonder there exists a group called the School of Blood dedicated to hunting demons.

Demons are tough. Cutting down a demon is not an easy task even for a swordsman who has reached the Sword Seeker level. This is especially true if the demon is of mid-rank or higher.

So what about the demon before them now?

The ancient demon, Orgis.

He is an ancient demon who existed long before the three classifications of lower, middle, and upper were established. A seasoned demon who survived from a thousand years ago when King Arthur killed demons indiscriminately.

-Seasoned? What nonsense. He probably just never caught my eye. Rather than ‘seasoned,’ ‘good at hiding’ would be the correct expression.

That’s how Merlin put it, but even she didn’t deny the fact that ‘Orgis is a powerful demon.’ As is usually the case with most things, surviving for a long time in itself often proved strength.

Normally, to face Orgis, one would need at least a squad of Sword Seekers along with inquisitors knowledgeable about demons. If one were to attempt subjugation through purely forceful means, at minimum a warrior approaching Sword Master level would be required.

But here, there are only two Sword Seekers.

Although Argo had reached the stage of Blooming (開花), he was still far from becoming a Sword Master, and while Najin could partially reproduce the techniques of a Sword Master, he was still just a swordsman at the Budding (發芽) stage.

Budding, Blooming, Full Bloom.

The two were wielding swords against a demon that would normally require a swordsman who had reached at least the Full Bloom (滿開) stage. If someone heard this story, they would surely say, “They don’t value their lives,” but…

Clang, Claaang!

If one actually saw the two fighting, they couldn’t say that. The two showed no signs of being pushed back and were instead driving the demon into a corner.

“Hup!”

Argo deflected all the attacks coming from various angles. Though he held only one sword in his hand, he didn’t limit himself to just wielding his own weapon. A first-class warrior should know how to handle the opponent’s weapon as if it were their own.

Ka, kakakakakang!

He deflects the first sword that approaches. The deflected sword then deflects the spear blade thrusting from the side, the spear blade deflects the greatsword, the greatsword deflects the hammer… Like dominoes falling, all of Orgis’s attacks were deflected away.

Crack.

Some of them were transformed into thin plates, caught in the ability of Bookmark. Of course, even after neutralizing several spears and blades this way, Orgis still had dozens of arms remaining.

If five were deflected, ten more would come; if ten were blocked, twenty would follow, then thirty more… No matter how close Argo’s parrying was to the singularity, he couldn’t deflect them all by himself.

‘That would be true if I were alone.’

But Argo wasn’t facing Orgis alone. Najin intervened at precisely the right moment, striking away Orgis’s blades and spears. The sound of metal clashing rang out incessantly, multiple times per second.

Just the two of them were facing a demon composed of over a hundred knights. In front of over a hundred spears and blades, Argo and Najin stepped forward strongly without retreating an inch.

Boom!

Najin struck the ground and cut a long gash in the earth. A large mound of dirt shot up. It was clear that Bookmark’s ability would activate the moment it was ‘covered’ by that dirt mound, but Najin deliberately induced Orgis to use his ability.

The dirt mound moved erratically. Just as it was about to cover Najin, the arms and legs of Orgis that Argo had parried were covered by the dirt mound before Najin.

Snap.

Eight arms transformed into thin sheets of paper. Najin cut through those arms along with the dirt mound. As the dirt touched by the sword energy crumbled as if evaporating, Najin’s eyes flashed.

Eyes not the color of sunset, but platinum.

The sword energy Najin created was pure white. And between the pure white, flashes of gold. Orgis felt an instinctive fear. A fear engraved in the soul, imprinted on the entire demon race—their natural enemy.

—————!

Facing the sword energy reminiscent of King Arthur, Orgis let out a strange cry and drew up his demonic energy. It was almost like watching a frightened beast.

And, as with any living creature, when its life is threatened, it resists fiercely. Orgis now began to use all the power he had been conserving and saving.

Thwack.

From Orgis’s spine rose a single arm made by intertwining dozens of knights’ arms. In that arm was a greatsword with black sewage dripping from it.

The moment that greatsword was swung horizontally, Argo stopped trying to parry. Najin also abandoned the idea of deflecting it and immediately ducked. The greatsword swept over the heads of the two.

A massive pressure wave. Immediately after, boom, boooom! The sound of something collapsing echoed.

They didn’t need to look back to know. It was obvious that several buildings had collapsed along the line cut by the greatsword.

3.

The concept of fighting with all one’s might or of winning a match doesn’t exist for demons. For a demon, a fight using full power is naturally something to be avoided. Even if they win the fight, there’s no gain if too much power is consumed.

But when they sense a threat to their life, things change. Orgis, feeling fear from Najin, began to resist with all his might.

Bang, Kwaaaang!

Realizing that the ability of the ‘Masterpiece’ he wielded was actually eating away at his own flesh, Orgis stopped activating Bookmark and tried to crush Najin and Argo using only his own strength.

Argo had seen such desperate struggling 20 years ago as well.

‘It was like this back then too.’

When the knights, including Ivan and himself, used Bookmark’s ability in reverse to tear off Orgis’s limbs, Orgis faced the knights using only his pure strength without using Bookmark.

And back then, Argo couldn’t withstand Orgis’s offensive. He could barely hold on, and even that was only possible thanks to the sacrifice of several of his comrades.

‘Back then, I had to watch you escape.’

Argo curled his lips into a smile.

‘But now it’s different.’

Twenty years. For twenty years, Argo had studied how to deal with Orgis. For transcendents or demons, 20 years might be just a fleeting moment, but for humans, 20 years is enough time for an immature youth to become a mature knight.

He showcases the skills he has honed without reservation.

A continuous series of choices. Argo swings his sword incessantly, receiving Orgis’s blades, and the powerful strikes he cannot receive are taken by Najin.

Open Spiral Sword (開旋劍), the swordsmanship Najin learned from Alderan.

This swordsmanship, which is based on compressing sword energy to the limit on the blade, is specialized for facing strong opponents. It was a sword meant to cut what cannot be cut.

Crack.

Najin now ignored Orgis’s other attacks. He swung his sword while focusing only on the giant greatsword protruding from Orgis’s spine. If he concentrated on that one greatsword, he could receive it.

‘The problem is that even if I deflect the greatsword, there are dozens of spears and blades extending from the sides…’

Deflecting the greatsword naturally requires a large movement. And large movements come with large openings. If Orgis targeted those openings, Najin would be helplessly caught. Najin had only two arms, while Orgis had dozens.

But, as mentioned earlier.

Najin is not fighting alone.

Kakakakakang!

It’s Argo who covers Najin’s openings. And it’s Najin who receives what Argo cannot. The two pressured Orgis by filling each other’s gaps.

‘Use the Masterpiece, demon.’

The two force the demon to make a choice.

Are you afraid that the Masterpiece will eat away at your flesh, so you try to face us without using it? But if you don’t use the Masterpiece, you can’t win. My sword is not dull enough to be faced while conserving your moves.

Slash!

Orgis bled as he was cut by Najin and Argo’s swords. Blood splattered and continued to rise. As he continued to bleed, Orgis finally started using the Masterpiece again. But even so, the situation did not improve.

Crack.

Parrying, the deflected attacks were caught in the Masterpiece’s ability and compressed like thin sheets of paper. And there is no knight who cannot cut a sheet of paper. Having lost several arms in such a futile manner, Orgis retreated further.

The arms that numbered over 100 were now down to 50.

From 50 to 30, then 20…

The spears and blades that seemed endless could now be clearly counted.

Tap.

Argo spurred himself on.

As he swung his sword, he recalled the past.

“Argo!”

“No need to say it, Ivan!”

The past when he wielded his sword alongside his close comrade. Back then, Argo was immature and weak, and couldn’t perfectly execute the strategy Ivan had proposed. He couldn’t create the opportunity for Ivan to deliver his boasted strike.

After 20 years, Argo stood here again.

His friend was not here. He had fallen and become a criminal. But, as if taking his place, the boy who had learned swordsmanship from him was now wielding a sword.

‘Really.’

Argo smiled.

Smiling, he shouted the words he had wanted to say 20 years ago but couldn’t.

“Now!”

Kakakakakang! Orgis’s remaining eight arms were simultaneously deflected. Najin rushed toward the now-empty front. Najin, who had penetrated in an instant, widened his eyes.

And then, slash!

Najin cut down in one stroke the most powerful arm sprouting from Orgis’s back—the giant arm made by intertwining dozens of knights’ arms. As the demon’s blood gushed like a fountain, Orgis’s demonic energy began to diminish instantly.

The remaining eight arms also decreased one by one with each swing of the two’s swords. Seven, six, five… two.

The demon was left with only two arms.

In the final moment, ironically, the demon tried to shield its body with its two arms, just like a human. That was the demon’s last struggle.

Boom.

And Najin.

He took a strong step toward such a demon. There was no need to consider which technique to use last.

The Knight of Atanga, Ivan’s swordsmanship.

The single strike (一擊) that cuts upward from below breaks through the opponent’s technique and defense, creating an opening. Najin’s sword cut through the demon’s remaining two arms. Not stopping there, he greatly cut through the demon’s body.

Slaaaash!

Blood gushed forth. The demon’s body was greatly cut, revealing the demon’s heart that had been hidden by hundreds of corpses. Normally, he would have brought down the second strike (二擊) here to split that heart, but there was no need for that at this moment.

Argo was already swinging his sword beside Najin.

Argo is a Knight of Atanga. The moment Najin swung his first strike, Argo was unhesitatingly swinging the sword that would follow. Thanks to that, almost simultaneously with Najin completing his first strike, Argo’s sword fell like a guillotine.

Slash.

The demon’s heart was split.