12. The Extreme of the Sword (1)
“We aren’t dogs of a nobody like Bellek! We are members of Arkhan’s Security Force! We will eradicate all those who disturb the city!”
“These rats, who were just hiding, suddenly…!”
Yuma observed the situation between those who still considered themselves Akan’s guards and those who had already become Berek’s underlings.
36 against 40.
Not only the numerical difference, but also the discrepancy of power seemed obvious.
Yuma’s eyebrows furrowed lightly.
‘…Why are they losing?’
They’re at a slight disadvantage, but they’re definitely being pushed back. And naturally, the results of battle often slide from such a small gap.
If things continue this way, it’s clear that Akan’s guards will fall to Berek’s dogs.
Shouldn’t the ones shouting ‘For justice!’ while slicing into the enemy be the ones to win? Isn’t that the natural order?
“We should help them!”
Cloone, a third circle wizard, also vaguely realized that Akan’s side was losing. He began to draw magical symbols with his trembling arms.
Swish!
“What is this?!”
From the ground sprung vines of green, binding the enemy’s limbs.
It was the third circle plant magic, ＜Knots of Greenery＞.
Akan’s guards finished off the enemy bound in the Knots of Greenery.
Yuma took out his dagger and stepped forward.
“The end of your betrayal to the empire is already decided.”
Whether it’s the imperial princess’s deputy or the imperial princess’s sword, it doesn’t matter.
He stood awkwardly. He looked so weak and feeble, that it seemed impossible not to attack him.
‘Please, hit me first.’
That way, he can strike back with a parry and reduce their numbers.
“Despite your struggles, this will merely be your grave.”
Yuma continued with his deceptive provocation.
“Damn it, it’s all his fault! That kind of guy is the imperial princess’s deputy? Her sword?”
Did Yuma’s desperation work?
Three men, forgetting how easily they’d been knocked down before, rushed Yuma again, one after the other.
Crack!
All of them stopped breathing.
With the intervention of Yuma and Cloone, the Akan guards who were clearly less powerful turned the tide and won. The 34 surviving members gasped for breath.
Only two guards were killed.
The soldiers turned Berek’s dogs, excluding 12, were all killed. The remaining 12 dropped their weapons, kneeled, and surrendered.
“The Imperial Princess’s Sword!”
“We beat these damned creatures thanks to Master Yuma! hahahahaha!”
Men and women from Akan’s guards bowed their heads repeatedly to Yuma and Cloone.
Yuma squatted down to look eye-to-eye with one of the men who had surrendered.
“Do you know where Berek is now?”
“…He is likely in the usual hiding place.”
“Lead the way.”
***
Knock knock.
Belek rapped his index finger on the desktop in a very regular rhythm.
“Seems like something has gone awry.”
The city guard of Akan.
They weren’t communicating. The scoundrels who had promised to let him know once they’d successfully swayed or suppressed opposition.
Despite this, Belek’s mood did not sway. He did not become anxious.
Because at this time, there was no force within Akan that could threaten him.
Thanks to the existence of a single arbitrator who was receiving drugs and training in the forest.
‘Who would dare challenge the second seat of the Imperial Vanguard, the Sword God Kronos?’
Belek recalled the moment when Kronos, the Sword God, first visited him.
He was an old man who conceals his giant body with a black robe.
-‘I want to see the ultimate artistry of the sword. And to do that, I need to experience other worlds.’
That’s why he said he needed the drug. A drug that could transcend his nerves beyond their limits.
Thinking he was some lunatic, Belek sent half a dozen of his men, only for them to end up dead.
Within a single breath, a single stroke of the sword.
Belek, having lost some of the strongest men he commanded in an instant, had no choice but to hand over the drugs, his hand trembling uncontrollably.
-‘It seems to be effective.’
The old man that Belek thought would kill him without hesitation suddenly asked him to procure more drugs as they seemed effective. The drug the old man had taken was Regnatone, which had the highest concentration amongst all drugs, it wasn’t easily obtained.
Told of this fact, the old man revealed his identity and informed him he would lend his power in exchange for the drugs.
That was a year ago.
Belek becoming the absolute ruler of Akan’s underground was largely due to Kronos’s power.
He had wiped out all major hostile underground factions opposing Belek.
And Belek, now the undisputed underground king, had bigger aspirations.
Not merely to be the king of the underworld but to be the king of the entire city.
‘And now I am on the brink of realizing that aspiration.’
Belek stared at Gelmore, the mayor of Akan, tied to a chair in front of him.
“Have you decided, Mayor Gelmore?”
Gelmore was still staring at his brother lying on the floor, completely addicted to drugs and unable to think straight.
One person came to Gelmore’s mind.
Yuma, the princess’s representative, whom he had seen on the train two days ago.
‘Can that person still be here?’
And even if they were, Gelmore considered it unlikely they would know of his current predicament.
Gelmore moistened his parched lips.
“…Alright. As you say. I will follow your commands. And by lending my aid to all good deeds, I will publicly affirm the strong influence you hold in this city. As you suggested…I will recommend you as the next mayor to the upper echelons of the empire, a year from now.”
To become the true king of the city.
That was Belek’s ambition.
Honor.
He was born the son of a prostitute. He tolerated the violence of his alcoholic mother who kept beating him. It was what he deserved, having clawed his way up from the very bottom.
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Belek, seeing Mayor Gelmore who had obediently complied, got a big smile across his face.
“Good, good. Now let’s properly prepare for the official announcement tonight, Gelmore. Our alliance.”
“…Understood.”
Everything was going smoothly.
Belek rose to his feet and spoke to his loyal guard standing guard at the door.
“Enhance the security. The Acan guards might storm our place. They have to be stopped at all costs. Feel free to use the devices we’ve set up. Do not hesitate to kill. I have the power to silence their deaths.”
“Understood, Master Belek.”
An insane ambition gleamed in Belek’s eyes.
“Soon…”
This city will be mine.
Belek had no doubts about it.
***
Yuma and Clone, along with thirty-four Acan guards, stepped foot into the dark, stained district.
This undeveloped area, filled with abandoned buildings.
“Is this the right place?”
Belek’s Number One, with a sword on his shoulder and bandaged arms, nodded his head repeatedly.
It was an existence threatened into guiding them to where Belek was.
“Ye…Yes, it is. The entire Zone 8 development is Belek’s territory. Need to be careful from here on out. There are paths only they use. Some magic traps might spring into action if the wrong paths are taken, I’ve heard…”
Thud!
Number One stepped forward as he spoke.
“Huh?”
Number One froze as he watched the brick under his foot give way artificially.
“Damn…it seems I’ve stepped right onto it.”
Blast!
An explosion that reminded one of thunder, a slight tremor shook the ground. From atop the abandoned buildings, a dazzling light sprang forth.
“Die, foolish and stagnant dogs of Gelmor!! hahahahaha!!”
White meteoric lights rained down from the top of the buildings.
One from each building.
A total of four meteorites began to fall rapidly.
Blare!
As those meteors fell, they split into two.
It was the so-called Magic Railgun, spinning and falling acrobatically.
Watching from behind the buildings, Belek stared at the eight rising meteor showers.
“So it begins.”
No matter how many Gelmor troops remain, whoever they are, they will all fall to these. After all, this Magic Railgun possessed destructive power and speed acknowledged by Black Chronos himself.
He had to fork out a significant astronomical sum to those damn magic gunsmiths, but it was worth it.
-If it were a swordsman who has realized the essence of the sword, he might survive, if not, even a master would die.
A swordsman who has understood the essence of the sword?
Belek smirked.
Such a person could not possibly exist around Gelmor.
The sight of the overwhelming meteor shower cutting through the dark clouds filled the faces of the Acan guards with despair.
“Damn… Belek is already prepared to dominate this city!”
“We’re screwed. We’re done. We’re done.”
The overwhelming destructive force had lost its will.
Regret was all that was left. A regret for his inability to read the flow of the changing times.
Yuma stepped forward.
Then he saw it. Among the despair-filled faces of the 34 passersby, there was one face that stood out – that of a clone, eyes wide and shining as they fixed on him alone.
Hesitation.
Yuma took another step forward.
That’s because he had to take all the eight projectiles fully within his parrying control.
Yuma’s thoughts accelerated.
The mind of a man who had been obsessed with the element of ‘parrying’ in all the games he had ever played.
The falling white meteors.
The point at which those meteors would intersect simultaneously.
The shadows of the eight falling meteors showed him.
＜Bullet Time＞
Slowly… the world began to slow down.
This marked the second bullet time.
The duration of a bullet time is 30 seconds.
Yuma, who had adapted to this skill through the first bullet time, moved his body rather comfortably.
But his range of movement was only more comfortable.
Parrying was always a tightrope walk.
In an instant.
Tightrope walking using only the briefest of gaps.
White flames spat out against the blade of the short sword ＜The Tooth of the Black Dragon Bernac＞. He parried.
Clang!
He deflected.
Screech, Clang!
He refracted four meteors.
And just before the bullet time curtain fell, he refracted one more meteor.
As the world began to flow at its own speed again, Yuma’s right arm swiftly moved along a calculated trajectory.
All eight meteors had been deflected.
＜Absolute Retaliation＞
And then it rebounded.
Heading back towards the four buildings that had thrown them out into the world.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
All four buildings collapsed in unison.
A thick smoke blanketed the world.
Hesitation.
A man walked proudly.
“- Yuma, the Sword of the 1st Princess Bridgit, acting on behalf of the princess.”
It was a quiet voice.
Yet, that voice cut through this place, piercing the world.
“Criminal Belek, come out and kneel.”
