Arena Finals (7)

[Infinity Arena Final – Match 5]

[Battlefield: Bamboo Forest]

[vs AT Kelberos(Dark Knight)]

I thought I’d feel better if I put down the sword for a moment.

But my mood remained stuffy and didn’t improve.

A clear sensation rising from the sword hilt.

At the same time, a discomfort that seemed to cover my arms.

Gloominess tinged my exhales throughout my walk in the quiet bamboo forest.

The fortunate thing is that I’m not having severe seizures like before.

Perhaps the weight of the final match of the championship is keeping my reason in check.

Well, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the fight, my condition doesn’t matter.

For no reason, a corner of my chest feels tight.

Even taking deep breaths doesn’t calm me at all – I felt like making a small cut on my forearm.

I didn’t put it into practice.

Because a disturbance arose from the other side of the quiet bamboo forest.

The sound of a galloping horse pounding the earth.

A faster and more powerful echo spread than before.

[‘Burning Malice’ effect received.]

[Damage dealt to the caster increases by 10%, damage received increases by 15%.]

[This effect does not stack.]

A knight in heavy armor on horseback. Cerberus attacked without hesitation.

The attack combining speed and mass was beyond powerful, it was destructive.

Even without the weapon properly touching, I could guess its power just from the passing wind.

The black horse, which until now was merely a means of transport, wore magic armor.

The amount of magic power flowing out is considerable, and it seems he’s given up on his characteristic long-game performance.

Seeing that the weapon has changed to a halberd suitable for mounted combat, this must be Cerberus’s prepared last stand.

It’s a good fighting spirit.

Rough anger is engraved on the spear blade, but its temperature is infinitely low, spraying coldness around.

It was like a wounded beast with a bruised pride growling lowly.

‘Good. It’s unexpected, and he’s chosen an opponent that would be difficult for a swordsman.’

I was also pleased with this.

At least when clashing weapons, my mood improves a bit.

I hope that attack is sufficiently powerful.

It would be even better if my arms scream in pain just from receiving it.

But… no matter how powerful an attack is, it’s useless if the striking point doesn’t match.

Without delicate control, power tends to scatter.

There’s no need to receive it head-on.

It’s enough if the enemy’s weapon doesn’t touch my body.

Attacks with force behind them are difficult to adjust mid-course, so they’re easy to deflect to the side.

Or not?

Maybe it would be good to just make each other bleed.

It’s okay to hurt a little now.

“Hmmm…”

For some reason, there was a sweet taste in my mouth.

It felt like there was a faint heat, and something was caught in my throat, making it tickle.

The instinct engraved in my body deflects the spear shaft.

I tried to stab and kill the horse. As expected, killing a mounted soldier barehanded wasn’t an easy task.

Before Cerberus could enter again, I tapped my ear with the sword hilt.

Be quiet, mom. Your son is in the middle of a match.

I’ll cry and bang my head on the ground later, so please be quiet now.

Yes, I love you too.

While gloomy emotions were eating away at my heart.

Cerberus, charging in again, spewed out emotions full of anger.

A clean downward slash without any excess.

I thought I blocked it well, but the force in the spear blade far exceeded expectations.

As the back of the sword pressed down to my shoulder, my body was almost damaged.

“Ah.”

“Focus! As much as I’ve shown you respect, shouldn’t you show proper courtesy too!”

“That’s… true.”

An exclamation as if saying to look at him – to focus solely on the match.

Until now, other people’s words have never worked on my mental illness.

But today. Suddenly, I felt as if cold water had been poured over my entire body.

It felt like the unidentified discomfort covering my skin was washed away too.

In fact, it didn’t all disappear, my head going bad wasn’t something that happened just yesterday or today.

When there’s room for reason to intervene, somewhat normal thinking becomes possible.

Thinking about it, I did something I’m sorry for.

While this guy is bringing out all his capabilities for the best match, I wasn’t focusing at all, my mind wandering elsewhere.

In short, it was the thing I hate the most.

Actually, that was quite gentlemanly of him to say.

I was much rougher.

– You fucking bastard! You were just thinking about something else, weren’t you? Am I that easy to you?

– Um… that’s not it. I’m sorry.

– Do it again. This time will be different, this is really shitty.

– Hey! Who swears during practice!

– I’m sorry!

Not long after I hit a wall.

Despite being miserably defeated, I showed tremendous pride.

So my words came out rough, and I was scolded by the master many times.

Honestly, there was a big gap.

Even I, who was facing him, knew there was no chance of winning, so how much worse must it have been for the other side.

But acknowledging that is a different story.

I stubbornly continued to spar with that guy.

And now Cerberus was charging at me like I did back then.

That inferiority complex… or fighting spirit was so welcome to me.

It felt like I had returned to that time, not just chasing after the past.

So for the first time since my leg was damaged – it felt like I was properly focusing while holding a sword.

‘Here he comes. Should I receive it and strike the waist?’

It’s a movement I’ve repeated countless times.

Deflect the incoming attack to the side, and twist the sword path simultaneously with the weapon collision.

Cerberus is on horseback now, so higher than usual.

Target the leg resting on the stirrup.

The horizontal sword strike left a faint afterimage in the air.

A cleanly landed strike.

Blood splattered on the ground as the blade came out.

The follow-up strike aimed at cutting the horse’s leg missed unfortunately, but I didn’t have high expectations for that from the start.

“…Better than before.”

“Is that so? That’s good.”

Still arrogant despite being pushed back.

I was glad that even that point was exactly the same as me in the past.

The positions seem to have changed a bit, but whatever.

Cerberus choosing the mounted tactics itself wasn’t a mistake.

Although he hasn’t shown it in the league yet, it seemed like a skill honed for a very long time.

It must have been a weapon he kept hidden to bring out anytime.

But the opponent is me.

The first wall I had to overcome when I started kendo wasn’t my friend.

Back then, even the master was an insurmountable wall.

I wasn’t someone who would be pushed around physically anywhere.

The master at that time still had remnants of his prime. On the contrary, I had just entered middle school.

They say there are no weight classes in kendo, but that brute strength was quite a shock.

– No, I just blocked it, but you just overpowered me with strength!

– That’s right.

– Isn’t that cheating?

– If you thought you couldn’t block it, you should have found another way. Just think of it positively. It’s a good experience to fight when there’s such a difference in strength.

I didn’t know that experience would come in handy now after going round and round.

My kendo started with learning how to handle strength.

I deflect one attack from the halberd.

What needs to be aimed for is the fleeting moment when the blades of the weapons graze each other.

As I wedge my sword into the curved spear blade, the two weapons interlock and my body is roughly dragged along.

I lack the muscle strength to withstand it.

If this were reality, I would have had to give up, but this is a game.

If strength is lacking, you just have to create it.

[Though strength can uproot mountains and spirit can cover the world─]

[‘Strength Uproots Mountains, Spirit Covers the World’ effect received.]

[You continuously receive fixed damage until all HP is consumed, and all stats…]

A common last-resort skill of samurai-class classes.

At the cost of burning life, I received strength – and held on by grabbing the back of the sword with my hand.

If I, standing on the ground, can’t withstand it, I’ll just be dragged by the horse.

But for Cerberus who was on horseback, it’s a different story.

The moment our strengths reversed, Cerberus was pulled towards me and fell off the horse.

“Let’s end it here!”

“Ha…!”

His posture recovery is quick, as if he expected it.

But it doesn’t matter. I’m not someone who can’t break through even if he’s in perfect condition.

Sparks flew from the sword that hit the shield.

I twist the sword blade and wrench out the spear shaft, then dig into the inside to pierce the armor.

I grab the extended shield with my hand and forcibly open it.

Defense becomes unguarded. I moved my sword with all my might towards the body that became a gap.

My body moves before my thoughts finish.

Naturally, the places the sword touched were the waist and head.

The sword reaches first in the realm of instinct – then the vital points like the neck, heart, and internal organs.

And exactly one step forward.

As soon as I narrowed the distance further, Cerberus’s ‘spear shaft’ struck down on my shoulder.

“Later… let’s definitely meet again. It won’t be like this then.”

“Let’s do that.”

It was a strike with all his might.

Squeezing out all his last strength and magic power – even though I was hit by the spear shaft, my right shoulder was crushed.

But that’s all.

The spear blade that should have been the original striking point hit the air, and the magic power that lost its way scattered into the wind.

The bamboo forest shook for a moment, but there was no wavering in my sword.

I push Cerberus’s body away with my left hand.

A body leaning against one sturdy bamboo. The sword that precisely pierced his waist left a red trajectory.

[You have won.]

[All matches have ended.]