◈ Episode 198. You Said You’d Light the Way
The Colosseum arena.
As a Berserker, Leonie knew the flow of a duel better than anyone.
So she couldn’t open her mouth anymore.
Wh……. What is she looking at now?
” …… Look, Mr. Snake-Eye.”
“I’m listening.”
“Are you looking at it properly? No, can you see it?”
Doridori.
Hisagi shook his head at Nam Taemin’s question.
In terms of physical prowess, the three of them were confident that they would not be outmatched by any player.
But at this moment, the movements of Hoyeol and Sword Saint were…….
“A different level.”
Knight Commander Lionheart, Harkon.
Even if he recalled the movements of the Harkon, it wasn’t this good.
All three of them had faced off against him in training.
He was as agile as a lion, but he was still visible.
ssaeaeg─
puhwaaag─
It’s hard to catch the shape at first glance.
Due to the speed, the rising sand dust obscures the view.
A split second.
Chang!
Karung!
Chang!
Dozens of strikes, back and forth.
The sound was a beat slower.
It was evidence of movement that was literally faster than sound.
“Camilla, what do you see? You see it, right?”
Another in the stands.
Dmitri was sitting next to Camilla.
Wasn’t that Camilla, the number one ranked long-distance shooter?
Her eyes would be able to catch a move like that.
“So who’s winning, huh?!”
But Camilla only swallowed a sigh.
” …… I’m still a long way off.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I can’t see a thing. My eyes can’t follow.”
“!”
The answer was enough to give even Rox pause.
Camilla’s vision was one of the Shining’s greatest weapons. Even when facing monsters hundreds of levels above them, Camilla’s eyes had never missed a move.
Rox thought coldly.
‘I’m not surprised, really.’
The Sword Saint.
Shegwin, the continent’s only Grand Sword Master.
From the days when Arcana was just a game.
Who is the strongest NPC?
He’s one of those characters who never fails to make an appearance.
Very few players have ever met him in person, even by accident.
His fame had been written about in books, rumors, and in the mouths of NPCs.
‘A Sword Saint could do that.’
And then, somehow.
Shegwin had regained his youth.
In the continent of Arcana, the pinnacle of swordsmanship, it wouldn’t be strange for him to show such strength.
But the problem was Lee Hoyeol.
Rox muttered with all his heart.
“What the hell…….”
Just a moment ago.
He had felt Hoyeol’s incomparable magical abilities.
Light covered the Zero Mountains.
He was able to maneuver those lights into a single attack.
That kind of magical manifestation was more befitting of the Chief of a Magic Tower than a player. I tried to understand that Lee Hoyeol, the co-chief, would be able to do that.
However.
“……How far ahead do you think you’re going to get?”
Now he’s fighting a Sword Saint on equal footing with a sword?
That’s right.
That was no longer the realm of the Arcana system.
‘It can’t be explained in terms of levels.’
For Lee Hoyeol.
There’s something we don’t understand.
Rox wasn’t the only one to notice.
“……!”
Schreig, Second Sun’s Guild Master.
He realized and unleashed his sword energy when he and Hoyeol cleared the dungeon, City of Gloomy Rain.
It was only by forcing his eyes open that he was able to see.
A silver sword slashing through the air!
It wasn’t a match of strength.
It was a one-sided attack.
Shegwin was rushing to block Hoyeol’s attack.
Schreig swallowed dryly.
He couldn’t follow it with his eyes, but he could feel it in his sword.
‘…… This duel will not last long.’
No, this was a battle that should have been settled long ago.
Schreig had been able to unleash his sword energy.
That’s why the difference between the presence or absence of sword energy was so great.
I was well aware of that.
‘I don’t know why, but he can’t emit sword energy.’
All that is visible is a silver sword.
Shegwin’s sword energy was nowhere to be seen.
So Schreig could tell.
“……What?”
Hoyeol drew back from Shegwin again and again.
No, dozens and dozens of times.
He had.
This duel should have ended in Shegwin’s defeat long ago.
Once I realized that, I saw it all.
chaeng!
Shegwin didn’t stop it.
So that he could parry.
Hoyeol swung his sword.
Even Schreig, who had realized the power of the sword, had barely realized the truth.
There was no way the players watching could have known.
Excited voices erupted from all around.
“He’s fighting against a Sword Saint!”
“How is this even possible?”
“Are you sure you can win this?!”
The game was decided.
So Schreig didn’t get excited.
He just watched.
‘What the hell do you mean?’
It was then.
The clang.
The sound brought Shegwin to his knees.
But Hoyeol merely swung his sword in the same direction.
Shegwin’s body had been pushed to its limits.
“Crazy……!!!”
Hoyeol was victorious.
A roar that seemed to have been waiting.
Schreig thought to himself.
‘Attack as hard as you can, and wait for him to go down…….’
“……!”
He realized.
He’d had the same experience as Shegwin.
In his memory, he saw Hoyeol holding a long umbrella.
-“From now on, your job is simple. Watch.”
-“Or, more accurately, to witness the sword energy.”
-“Believe in me, who believes in you.”
Schreig muttered in disbelief.
“……Surely, to teach the Sword Saint a lesson?”
.
.
. . .
I could feel it.
That I was overpowering Shegwin.
Yes, not only did I give myself over to him, but I unleashed my sword force.
It’s no wonder I can overwhelm him for so long.
What’s more.
‘…… I can see it.’
Grandfell’s talent was immense.
Adapting to Shegwin’s sword in real time.
You’re too good for my conscience, Grandfell.
As a result, I dealt Shegwin a critical hit.
seogeog─
Shegwin’s left arm is beginning to stain with blood.
It seems I’ve been pushing him all along.
That’s the first time an attack has ever landed.
You’re a monster, Sword Saint.
But the next words were unexpected.
“……What do you want from me?”
……What are you talking about?
It wants victory, of course.
I didn’t want to die on the losing end of a spacetime duel.
But apparently he wasn’t talking to me.
“You’ve had hundreds, thousands of chances to take my breath away. Why, to humiliate me as less than a demon? If so, did it not work as you had hoped?”
Shegwin looks at his wound.
“I can’t even parry the blow I swung to stop it. My flesh has reached its limit.”
……Is this true?
I actually had that chance?
Gwicheol replied on my behalf.
-Has the baby still not realized his master’s intentions?
……Why are you making such a rash move?
Of course, it meant nothing to me, Lee Hoyeol.
It’s not me, it’s Grandfell’s will…….
I can’t help but be surprised.
Who is Grandfell?
He doesn’t speak unnecessarily to the demon.
Grandfell had no unnecessary mercy for demons.
Even the fallen Shegwin would have no sympathy for him.
“Raise your sword.”
As if to prove my point.
Grandfell spoke in a cold voice.
Had he really reached his limit, as he said?
Shegwin straightened his creaking body.
Then he spat out a laugh.
“Is it just a bad taste in my mouth?”
Grandfell did not answer.
Of course, I know without answering.
For him, demons weren’t even a hobby.
They weren’t worth the effort.
Then why?
seogeog─
“……cough.”
seogeog─
“Ugh.”
Why hasn’t Grandfell finished his duel with Shegwin?
Yes, only I know the answer to that profound question.
‘…… is still a flower garden, Grandfell.’
There is a difference between me, Lee Hoyeol, and Grandfell.
I am well aware of how difficult it is for humans to change, but Grandfell is not.
To put it simply, Grandfell overestimates the animal called humans, but he overestimates it too much.
I don’t have to go far.
This place.
It was the same in the Zero Mountains.
-“I’ll light the way, and you can follow as far as you want.”
As if any human being could ever regain their pride.
Jumping into the fire before anyone else is proof of that.
In each of those moments, I had no expectations.
Like I said.
Because I knew that I was covered in grime.
I knew it was coming.
The human heart flips like the palm of your hand.
Even though I’m now a symbol of peace and a hero to humanity, you never know when you’re going to be tempted to turn your back on something.
Nevertheless.
“Raise your sword.”
Grandfell believes in humanity.
Even if they have sold their flesh to the demon.
It is about not giving up your expectations of pride.
‘So, in the end, all my troubles are due to my karma…….’
In this harsh world.
Who can sympathize with your stubbornness, Grandfell?
Only me, I suppose.
So I’ll do what I’ve always done.
I’ll beat you until you break.
I promise.
“……?”
I’d overlooked it.
Even if there were no people.
That there was a system.
[Small changes occur with the effect of the sublime].
Yeah.
As soon as the message dawned on me.
A change occurred.
From Shegwin.
.
.
.
Slowly, I close my eyes.
The body, pushed to its limits, screams for rest.
I think to myself.
‘……I’ve never had a proper rest.’
I was on the wrong path from the start.
I’ve been trying so hard not to stop, not to get stuck.
You’ve been beating yourself up, Shegwin.
Don’t you think so too, Atlas?
‘It’s all over.’
Perhaps it’s a good thing.
Wasn’t I the one who took the wrong path in the first place?
Any further would have been an ugly step.
I am grateful to the man who stopped me.
Shegwin closed his eyes slowly.
‘I will not ask for your forgiveness, …….’
I will not offer an apology that will not be delivered.
I will simply bear my sins and pay for them in hell.
Yes, that’s what it is for betraying humanity.
A fitting end for a demon.
I no longer had the strength to move my body.
Not even the strength to lift my eyelids.
“……?”
Yes.
My eyes were closed.
I shouldn’t be able to see anything.
But somehow.
I could see something.
A path, to be exact.
“If this is the flashlight…….”
Shegwin laughed.
“Truly, a simple life.”
This must be the path I had chosen in vain.
Indeed, it seemed I was right.
The road was so dark I couldn’t see a thing.
“…….”
But it was the path I had chosen.
At the same time, it was a path of no return.
It was a path I had to take responsibility for.
Shegwin was about to take a step.
Raise your sword.
“……?”
A man’s voice called out.
Until it’s all over.
Are you rebuking me, child?
“……Well, do as you please.”
You deserve it, I suppose.
Shagwin shook his head bitterly.
Somehow, he could see what shouldn’t be seen.
A misplaced sword.
A sword that shouldn’t be there.
Atlas held it in his hand.
I heard Atlas’s voice.
-At last, you’re listening to me.
“……!!!”
– Didn’t I get hoarse from shouting so loudly?
” ……Why are you here?”
-Why are you asking the obvious?
Atlas said.
-Because the path I take with you is my path.
Shegwin fell silent.
He could feel Atlas’s heartbeat at his fingertips.
I see.
So it is.
You have not forgotten.
Shegwin struggled to speak.
“……It will be a rough road.”
-Hasn’t it been rough so far?
“We may never come back.”
-What could possibly come back good?
“……Maybe this is the wrong road.”
-That’s fine, too.
” ……Maybe.”
There was a brief silence at that last statement.
But the silence didn’t last long.
The sword came out of nowhere.
“……!”
For some reason.
Because there was a ray of light in that darkness.
A sublime flash of silver.
“You’re being needlessly sweet. A man called you.”
Shegwin couldn’t help but smile.
-They say you get in trouble for laughing while crying.
“Shut up, Atlas. You cried too.”
-Who did? I am a sword. Swords can’t cry.
“Why don’t you do something about that snotty voice of yours and talk.”
-Didn’t I tell you? It’s for shouting…….
I went on my path.
.
.
.
A flash of light.
Shegwin radiated blue sword force.
He closed his eyes.
With Atlas in his arms.
The face suddenly returned to that of an old man.
A wistful smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
A shout rang in his ears.
“I was counting on you, Hoyeol!”
“He’s won! Lee Hoyeol has defeated Sword Saint, aaaah!”
“Is this why the legendary achievement came up?!”
“That’s right, if this isn’t a new legendary, then what is!”
Then, a message popped up.
[You have won the duel in space and time].
[You have fulfilled the conditions].
[Your reward will be distributed].