Ch.90Chapter 90: Eradicating the Criminal Organization (10)

From afar, I hear Lati and Reduin’s screaming voices.

“Professor!!”

Their magic cannot block Sicle’s incredibly fast sword strike right now.

Even if they cast a spell, it would clearly be too late.

But despite that, they had no choice but to weave magic to protect Riman.

It was a life-or-death moment where taking your eyes off for even a second could mean losing your head.

However, at that moment, Riman was thinking about something else.

The words his master had once told him.

“Riman, what do you think a sword is?”

“Isn’t its purpose just to kill enemies quickly?”

“Haha, that’s right too.”

‘Sword… a sword? What is my sword?’

In that split second, not even a fraction of a second.

While simultaneously preparing for Sicle and thinking about something else, Riman swiftly deflects the sword aimed at his neck.

Clang-

Riman’s sword blocks Sicle’s dagger, and their gazes cross.

“How… is this possible?”

Sicle was truly shocked.

That strike just now should have been absolutely impossible for Riman to block.

A full-power sword strike made with the resolve to consume aura.

Yet Riman blocked it?

This would be impossible unless Riman was a master of the 8th floor.

Moreover, he wasn’t even pushed back much. It meant he had blocked the point of impact precisely without yielding to the power of the aura.

“I understand now.”

With Riman’s quiet words, suddenly a thick, heavy aura begins to emanate from his body.

Whoosh-

Sicle hastily withdraws his blade and steps back in response to that aura flow.

“Kuh!”

The heavy and calm aura flow didn’t match the usually light-hearted Riman.

Even Sicle, an assassin accustomed to hiding his emotions, couldn’t help but be surprised at this moment.

“A-awakening? Enlightenment? At this life-or-death moment?”

Gaining enlightenment during battle is extremely difficult. It’s only possible if you focus more on the realm of the sword than on your own life in this moment.

No matter how obsessed swordsmen are with their swords, they couldn’t focus on their swords more than their lives while engaged in battle.

But Riman had accomplished it with his characteristically insensitive personality.

Riman’s mouth opens with a smirk, now possessing a presence incomparable to before.

“Heheh, what’s the big deal? Damn… something this simple….”

Watching the situation, Valt realized that Riman had finally broken through the wall and reached the 8th floor.

“He did it. Truly an amazing person indeed.”

Lati and Reduin slowly disperse the magic they had gathered, watching the situation carefully.

Lati, in particular, looked extremely surprised.

“M-Master! He’s a Master!!”

The aura density of an Expert and a Master is completely different.

Riman was able to block Sicle’s attack with ease because his aura density had increased.

The surroundings were gradually being cleared up.

At first, the friends who were holding back the leaders of the four organizations seemed to be struggling a bit.

Though their skills were similar, the opponents used all sorts of vile tactics from their long lives in the underworld.

However, as Valt dealt with Santar and Liris remained as surplus manpower to help here and there, the situation gradually improved.

Liris first went to help the princess’s group fighting against the elite guards of the four organizations, and with the help of Liris, a 7th circle mage, they somehow managed to capture them.

The lack of a mage was the reason they were easily defeated.

Unfortunately, there were no captives taken alive. They all committed suicide before being captured.

Solpin was shouting that he would kill anyone who interfered with his fight, and Airin was the same.

Only three leaders remained, continuing their desperate battles, and the rest of Valt’s companions who weren’t fighting had somehow gathered around Valt to watch the fights.

“Good work, everyone. Any injuries?”

Victor was the first to respond energetically to Valt’s question.

“Nothing much!”

The rest of the group smiled slightly as he imitated Valt’s manner of speaking.

“By the way, are Solpin and Airin going to be okay? Shouldn’t we help them?”

“Who’s going to interfere when they said they’d kill anyone who does? Besides, they don’t look like they’re going to lose.”

Looking toward where Solpin was fighting, flames were billowing as if a war had broken out.

Boom-

Splash-

“Kyahahahaha! Try harder! You can’t even scratch me with that level of power!”

“D-damn dragonkin!! Why are you so tough!!”

The strengthened Solpin was pushing back his opponent with only his arms transformed into dragon form. Partial transformation is something any transforming race can do.

Yuria occasionally extending only her nails while in human form is also a form of partial transformation.

“Hmm, no need to worry about that side.”

But there was one more person facing an organization leader.

“What about Airin?”

Valt and his friends all looked toward Airin.

Airin was just then extending her sword while shooting down from the air toward the ground at a tremendous speed like lightning.

“Kiyahoo! This is the power of muscles!! You villain!!”

Slash!

Airin’s sword strike was like a flash of light.

Her opponent was being toyed with by that insane speed.

He was barely holding on only because his realm was slightly ahead of Airin’s. There was no way he could match Airin in a one-on-one duel when she had properly learned the swordsmanship of a sword saint.

Unless he set traps and used underhanded tactics, he couldn’t lose to Airin in such an orthodox duel, even if her realm was lacking.

“What muscle power are you talking about!! Stop spouting nonsense!! If I could just land one hit! Just one hit!!”

“Fast speed comes from well-trained muscles, you bastard!”

Some watching the situation shook their heads, while others nodded in agreement.

Victor and Robin, in particular, were wiping under their noses with their fingers, looking moved.

“Airin has learned well, right Robin?”

“Yes. A very admirable mindset.”

Everyone’s eyes turned back to the fight between Riman and Sicle.

“Then that’s the problem… it’s too high-level for us to interfere, right?”

Valt nodded at Lisa’s words.

“No need to interfere. Just watch. It’s simply the birth of another sword master.”

Gulp-

The one who moved his Adam’s apple the most, unable to take his eyes off Riman, was Seirun.

As a fellow swordsman, to actually see someone ascending to sword master!

Seirun felt like dancing right now.

‘I can’t miss even a single moment!’

Though they were at some distance, masters of their caliber couldn’t fail to notice the gazes of Valt’s group.

Riman, having regained his composure, provoked Sicle with a smug tone.

“Hey~ My disciples have gathered to attend class, huh? How about it? A sparring lesson.”

Even Sicle, who had shown little reaction before, was starting to get angry at that languid smile that irritated people.

Because it was uncertain whether he could escape from here alive.

Grind-

With the sound of grinding teeth, curses flowed from Sicle’s mouth.

“Damn you. If I get out of here alive, I’ll kill everyone associated with you. Family, friends, lovers, masters, disciples! Anyone who knows the name Riman will not be able to breathe in this world.”

Despite the threat that sounded like a curse, Riman’s eyes didn’t waver.

He only said a few short words.

“Pfft, go ahead and try? It seems difficult for you to even kill those guys behind me.”

As soon as Riman finished speaking, Sicle’s form disappeared like before.

“You bastard!!”

But Riman’s expression remained relaxed.

“If you shout like that while moving, aren’t you just telling me where you are? This guy acts smart but he’s a complete blockhead?”

Sicle became increasingly heated at Riman’s taunting.

He didn’t want to acknowledge that such an impertinent and frivolous person had crossed the wall to become a master.

How had Sicle himself reached the 8th floor as a master? It could truly be called a path made of blood.

‘But this guy! This guy!!’

Born into a good family by chance, wearing nice clothes, eating good food, meeting good people, and easily crossing the wall to become a master.

Sicle had an obsession that the 8th floor mastery was the portion of the chosen ones.

“I don’t accept it!!! You are not a master!!”

Sicle moved at a speed invisible to the eye.

Airin was fast too, but not as fast as Sicle.

Moving so quickly that only afterimages could be seen, Sicle was gradually tightening the encirclement and pressuring Riman.

The watching friends were in a panic.

“W-what do we do? It’s like a black fog!”

To friends with lower realms, Sicle’s movements looked like black fog constricting around Riman.

But Valt’s extraordinary eyesight could see Riman’s expression.

Riman was just smiling.

“Don’t worry. The professor will win.”

Even among 8th floor masters, Riman had just entered that realm.

Although he was now at the beginning of the 8th floor, Sicle had lived as a master for far longer than Riman, so this fight was still about 7:3 in Sicle’s favor.

That’s why Riman had resorted to trickery.

The so-called “provoking the opponent.”

Especially for an assassin who controlled his emotions to that extent, once angered, he was likely to act in ways he normally wouldn’t.

And Riman’s prediction hit the mark.

Sicle unleashed his strongest technique, one he wouldn’t normally use, and it was very different from his usual fighting style.

“This is the technique called ‘Dark Mist’!! A technique that you, who just became a master, cannot even begin to counter!!”

Riman was smiling, but he was truly impressed by this technique.

The feeling of being trapped in a dark fog, with pressure coming from all directions at high speed. Even the voice seemed to come from everywhere, and the presence was spread all around.

If Sicle had pulled out this technique before Riman awakened to the 8th floor, he would have met his death without being able to do anything.

‘That would have been the case… but now….’

Sicle’s blade extended from 36 directions, pouring down on Riman.

“I can see it!”

Riman widened his eyes and swung his firmly gripped sword in an instant.

Slash!!

Thud-

Thud-

A lightning-fast sword strike flashed between Riman and Sicle, and the silence was broken by the students calling out to Riman.

“Kyaah!! Professor!!!”