EP.148 Superhuman, Just a Human (3)
“It’s most common to feel the wall through experience and endless training. But it’s not the only way. There’s a faster method.”
“It’s a dangerous and difficult way.”
“Only those with good instincts can use it.”
Swish.
“I sense approaching death.”
“You see with your own eyes the wall that you can never surpass blocking your path. Don’t forget the moment when it tries to crush you.”
Slash.
“In the face of death, a person must make judgments.”
Kuntel, swinging his sword, shrugged his shoulders.
The sword marks left on the ground were different from Kuntel’s blade. They seemed to swing wildly… as if they were the sword of calamity.
“You realize how far you can go.”
“What you cannot do, what you can do at this moment, and what methods there are to survive.”
“You end up thinking endlessly.”
Then, you know.
“You naturally come to understand.”
“The limits you can reach. The shape of the wall that’s built within you becomes very clear.”
How do you know that?
“You can’t help but know.”
Kuntel replied with a bitter smile.
“I was like that.”
2.
Death approached.
Lac’s instincts rang louder than ever before. It felt like a buzzing in his ears. Thump, thump, his heart raced, and his breath quickened.
‘Sword Demon.’
Lac looked ahead with trembling eyes.
Standing before him was a sword-wielding ghost.
‘Sword Demon, Draka.’
A superhuman of swords.
A being that surpassed human limits with a single sword.
“…”
Lac subconsciously took a step back.
He didn’t even know when he had retreated. Instincts moved his body. Just as a quiet crunch echoed underfoot.
Swish.
The tip of the sword demon’s blade moved.
The blade he raised touched the sky. The blue sky and the sword aligned in a straight line, glinting in the sunlight.
Rags for clothes.
Arms that seemed ready to break.
In a state of disarray that looked like he would collapse at any moment.
But those red, bloodshot eyes showed no tremor. The sunlit tip of the sword pointed downward. Slowly, yet without a hint of wavering.
‘Ah.’
Lac sensed death.
The red eyes grew a shade redder. Instincts moved his body. With all his might, Lac swung the axe. Not to attack, but to block the incoming flash.
WHAM!
The axe bounced back. A crack appeared in the axe made of unbreakable iron. Lac’s fingers that held the axe were crushed and broken.
WHOOSH.
Unable to withstand the shock, Lac’s body flew into the air. After rolling on the ground a few times, he finally stopped when his back hit a tree.
“Cough!”
Blood-stained saliva spat out. The moment he collided with the tree, he heard a thud. Something broke. Lac staggered as he stood up.
“…Hmm.”
The sword demon was looking at his own hand.
His eyes were indifferent. The previous strike was the same.
‘It wasn’t wielded properly…’
It was a light swing, as if swatting away a fly.
To block that, Lac had to risk his life. He was filled with goosebumps.
‘The wall.’
Lac sensed it.
‘An absolutely insurmountable wall.’
A massive wall.
An opponent before him that he could not defeat by any means. This wasn’t the first time he faced such an adversary. But this time, the situation felt slightly different.
‘He wants to kill me.’
The sword demon’s red bloodshot eyes.
What lay within those eyes was a clear intent to kill. He was trying to take Lac’s life.
Was it to leave no witnesses, or was it simply because he was a nuisance? The reason was unknown… but the superhuman of swords was aiming for his neck.
Killing intent.
As if tightening a noose around his neck, Lac’s eyes trembled. He felt helpless in front of the wall that could never be surpassed.
Thud.
The ghost approached him.
Even while staggering, he came closer, one deliberate step at a time. The lowered blade dragged across the snow.
Clack, clack.
His whole body shook. Teeth clashed.
Death approached him. The impending doom brought fear to Lac. His fingertips trembled violently.
But he did not let go of the axe.
“The warrior remains a warrior until the moment he dies.”
His eyes shook loudly. Yet, he did not feel it.
Lac stared straight at the approaching death.
“Resist until the last moment.”
Facing death that loomed closer, Lac thought.
Trembling with fear, he made a judgment.
What can he do? What has been allowed to him? Lac thought repeatedly.
‘With broken hands, I cannot hold the axe.’
He seized his collar with his uninjured hand.
WHOOOSH.
He tore his clothes to bind his broken hand and the axe together. Feeling the cool wind, Lac focused his gaze. His trembling eyes began to settle.
“…”
He gritted his teeth. Lowered his stance.
Every muscle in his body tensed.
Thud.
Death approached.
There was no escaping from the oncoming death. He couldn’t even try to halt it. Therefore, Lac chose to resist. He struggled to live for just one more second.
CRACK.
With gritted teeth, Lac’s eyes gleamed red.
A firm will filled his gaze. The sword demon, meeting those eyes, momentarily paused.
“…”
The pride of a knight had long been cast aside.
However, he once lived with pride. Draka found light in the young boy before him.
‘…Impressive.’
He genuinely admired the warrior before him.
The figure of a human holding onto nobility in the face of death always shines brightly. Though thoughts of killing remained unchanged, Draka adjusted his grip on the sword.
Not as an obstacle to be removed, but as a warrior.
Not as a novice, but as an equal.
Draka acknowledged the boy in front of him.
With a creaking body, he steadied his posture. On the snowfield where the snowstorm whipped around, the sword demon steadied his breath.
“…Huff.”
A cold breath escaped through the gaps.
Draka’s eyes narrowed. He lifted his sword. The downward-drawn tip of the blade slowly aimed towards the sky.
One foot back.
One foot forward.
Not in a loud manner, but calmly.
He assumed the most basic stance. The superhuman of swords, having walked the path of the sword, showcased his fundamentals. He swung the sword with respect for his opponent.
WHOOSH.
The sword tip moved.
From above to below. As if delivering a sentence.
‘Here it comes.’
And Lac saw it.
In the slowed perception of time, Lac saw Draka’s sword. The swing is one, but the result is not just one.
SWOOSH!
The sharp sword energy ripped through the snowfield.
It swept away the blizzards. It cut through everything it touched. There was no escape. It approached him.
‘…Distant.’
It was a profoundly distant realm.
A sword swung by a being of distant realm. The sword that touched the extremes was beautiful. It was beautiful, hence a chilling sword.
‘How distant is that realm?’
He tried to gauge it.
It seemed he could see the distance between him and the ghost. But between them stood a massive wall. The sword demon stood beyond that wall.
Lac focused his eyes.
Until the very last moment, he would never close his eyes.
By merely seeing, he could feel something.
Faced with the extreme, Lac moved. Moving slowly will not allow him to survive. Even knowing that, Lac resisted until the last moment.
Look.
Don’t avert your gaze.
Resist until the very end.
‘That is what it means to be a warrior.’
Lac’s body, for an instant, surpassed its limits.
CRACK, muscles tore with a sound. Thud, bones broke. Blood dripped from his nose. The veins in his eyes burst, and his vision turned red.
As a result of all that, Lac surged forth.
In that fleeting moment, Lac nearly reached the wall.
Tick, tick.
Lac’s axe cleaved through the sword energy. He severed one blade of sword energy. Out of dozens, he cut through just one… but it wasn’t meaningless.
Thud.
Because he bought someone time to arrive.
In that fleeting moment, someone pulled Lac’s shoulder. His body tilted backward. As Lac was leaning, someone stepped forward.
The Ashen-Haired Man swayed.
Ashen dust scattered in all directions.
Ashen mana erupted mightily.
Smash.
BOOM!
A thunderous sound ripped through the fabric of the sword.
3.
Thudthudthudthud!
The spell tore through the sword energy. There was no need to see Draka deflecting the spell. I turned my head back immediately. I looked at Lac, who had collapsed on the ground.
‘Both arms and legs intact…’
Though it felt like his bones had broken, he sustained no major injuries. I relaxed my shoulders and let out a short breath.
“…Huff.”
Thank goodness. I was relieved that it wasn’t too late. Really relieved.
“…Professor Rania?”
Looking flustered, Lac blinked. I managed a bitter smile and patted his shoulder a couple of times.
“Good job, Lac.”
I witnessed him holding out against the sword demon.
“Really, well done.”
Though he hadn’t even touched the superhuman, Lac had endured for several seconds against the superhuman, and I saw that clearly.
‘Truly…’
It was a remarkable achievement. Truly.
Though I wished to add a few more words, it wasn’t the right situation. I swallowed the remaining words and turned my head. I looked ahead.
The snowstorm created by the spell dispersed.
Amid the clearing snow, Draka’s figure emerged.
“…Ha.”
A smile hung on Draka’s lips.
It felt like a sneer. A sneer directed at his own predicament or aimed at me.
“What on earth…”
Draka spat out.
“How far can you go…”
It was a string of words that didn’t require a response.
I felt no value in listening to such meaningless words. I took a step forward.
Thud.
My footprint imprinted on the snowfield.
I glanced around. Bloodstains were carelessly splattered everywhere. They weren’t Lac’s. They were the blood of unknown individuals dragged here to meet their deaths.
There lay the corpse of a child.
There lay the corpse of an old man.
Many nameless corpses were scattered.
“…You see.”
That sight, reminiscent of the last moments of my hometown.
“I understand how anyone can feel this way; after all, there’s no such thing as a person without a story… I’m trying my best to comprehend that part.”
My insides churned.
“But you.”
One step, then another.
“I can’t allow you to be the exception.”
Moving to put an end to our long-standing grudge.
The step I took sank deeply.
“Hey.”
Ashen powder crumbled between my clenched fist.
Flames flickered between my fingers.
“Let’s wrap this up. Please.”
I extended my fist.
Draka swung his sword.
There was no need to see the outcome. The victory had already been decided. This was merely a matter of confirming it once again.
CRACK.
Draka’s sword shattered.
