Episode 80 Festival: A Bad Fate (3)
Mao Lang took a deep breath and exhaled.
“⎯Ugh, ⎯Ugh.”
Her ears recalled the sound of breathing. As the lost sense began to return, she felt around her neck.
“Oh, it’s still attached.”
His legs, which had lost their strength, hit the dirt floor. Mao Lang stretched his neck and raised his head to look straight ahead. The sunlight was hitting his eyes, making it hard to open them.
“… … .”
The opponent was looking down at her with his back to the sun. His expression was not visible due to the shadow of the midday sun. Mao Lang just opened her lips.
‘Isn’t that what I just said… ?’
The realm of imagination.
A realm of nothingness where only the most skilled practitioners can enter.
It is said that only seven-star heroes, the head of the Auditore family, and Al’Tair can freely handle it.
However, there are exceptions to everything in life. If you have talent that far surpasses your accumulated experience, you may be able to knock on the door at a young age.
‘All mute… … .’
An unpleasant face comes to mind. An insurmountable wall.
Mao Lang barely managed to stand up. Her legs were still shaking, and her joints were bouncing in strange directions. She held her breath and looked at the black-haired cadet.
‘Ganggeomma.’
She recalled the events of a moment ago. Kanggeomma’s neck was cut off before he could swing his arm.
It was a knife fight where the outcome and process were reversed. I guess the availability of the area was at its peak.
Mao Lang was completely speechless.
‘This monster… an Academy cadet?’
A monster in human skin. I think I know why Shun and Jin would have fits and vomit just from hearing the letter ‘ㄱ’.
Even Mao Lang, who was called the Iron Horn, was still trembling. Then, a question suddenly arose.
‘But why did you expand the territory?’
Even though he could have easily overwhelmed them, he didn’t bother to do anything in reality.
Anyway, this is a subspace duel. There will be no physical intervention in reality… … .
‘Could it be that you were just trying to save face for me?’
To avoid causing unnecessary conflict between countries while also highlighting the gap in talent between regions.
It may seem like sophistry at first glance, but it may not be all nonsense.
She is called the star of the continent. If she were to be defeated without warning, the status of her country would plummet.
This could even lead to friction between countries. In order to prevent this, a warning was issued in the realm of imagination.
‘It wasn’t just about being strong.’
How far did that guy see? Was the kimchi just an excuse?
I thought I was well-versed in politics, but I was completely fooled by a seventeen-year-old boy. I couldn’t fathom the depth of his thoughts.
“under-.”
A short laugh escaped Mao Lang’s lips. She seemed to tense her eyelids, then looked straight at Jiang Jianma.
“… Black horse.”
Rumors occasionally circulated among the upper echelons.
“It’s you.”
And the genius top student who came down from the sky dancing.
“The next Chilseong.”
The official successor that the sword master had reserved for him.
⎯Suddenly.
Mao Lang gritted his teeth fiercely. Emotions that had blossomed from within his subconscious were trapped in his pupils.
Envy, jealousy, fear, awe.
The next head of the Iron Throne.
Mao Lang’s talent was excellent, but not the best. Even she had to admit that.
The strongest swordsman in the world, Siegfried, the archer Saki Kojima who ascended to the Seven Stars at the age of twenty, and the hero Ol Mute who, despite being of the same age, could outdo the United States, the strongest country in the world. The ceiling of their skills was too high for Mao Lang.
Mao Lang chose politics to hide the limits of his talents. He eliminates his opponents through intrigue and secret maneuvers.
First, in the face of overwhelming force, politics becomes a mere technicality.
‘but.’
Mao Lang infused strength into his legs. All the blessings he had inherited from his ancestors were manifested at once.
Kwakwakwakwang!
My calves were taut and the dirt began to crack. The wind gusted around my feet, causing a surge of air. There was a snapping sound as muscle fibers snapped.
“I wasn’t just playing around all this time.”
Mao Lang opened her mouth with a smirk and blood gushed out. Nevertheless, she kept her composure.
A dull pain runs down my knee, but I feel relieved.
It felt like the heavy chains that had been entangled around my legs had been released.
“Phew-.”
Mao Lang let out a long breath. With all worldly things removed, her legs felt as light as feathers. She looked straight at Jiang Jian Ma and muttered softly.
“Thank you, Geommaya.”
“… … .”
Jiang Jianma nodded silently. Mao Lang answered with a bright smile.
“Thanks to you, I came to my senses.”
Soon, Mao Lang’s upper body seemed to lean forward for a moment.
⎯⎯Kwaang!
There was a loud noise as if the ground was going to burst. It was a physical phenomenon, not an imaginary one. The air rippled like a swarm, drawn to her legs.
The distance between him and Kang Geum Ma was shortened in an instant. Then Mao Lang planted his left foot on the ground.
The source of the impact of a kick is balance. The more stable the posture, the more destructive the impact becomes.
Mao Lang swung his right leg, using his left leg buried in the ground as an axis. The strength he drew from his waist was transmitted through his muscles to his toes.
The raging wind tangled around Ramgak aimed for Ganggeomma’s temple at incredible speed. It seemed as if it would shatter not only his skull but his entire body.
Phew!
Mao Lang’s attack drew a line of fire in the air. The aftermath of the impact caused a fierce dust storm to rise.
There was not even a shadow left where the swordsman had been. Her eyes immediately searched for the swordsman.
‘Above? Below? Next to?’
Her pupils quickly scanned the surroundings. At that moment, a sharp air stabbed her spine like a needle. A blade flew out of the gap in her vision with a sharp sound.
‘Behind.’
Mao Lang rotated his leg that was suspended in the air horizontally. The tip of his foot drew a smooth circle and struck Kanggeomma’s face.
Kkakagak-!
There was a noise of iron clashing against iron. The blade, which should have sunk into the face, was so thin that it made the iron foot look like a sledgehammer.
Mao Lang’s eyes are getting bigger and bigger. How can he accept it? The answer is frighteningly simple.
A deft twist of the blade that deflects a blow. A movement more precise than a mechanical device.
From the neat posture of the swordsman, it could be seen that he had only moved his wrists. At least, that was what the audience thought.
But Mao Lang saw clearly.
Tzuzujeok
At the same time as the sound of the blade scraping against the metal, the metal began to stick to the flesh, tangling together like a knife cutting through it.
Kanggeomma sent [Protection of Regeneration] to Murasame through [Protection of Transfer]. It was not a planned operation, but a manifestation brought about by intuition.
The blades, forged from the material of the devil, are woven with their cells. The protection runs through every nook and cranny of the blood vessels on the blade, regenerating them.
‘What, what a monster!’
In the moment when shock and bewilderment spread across Mao Lang’s face, Kanggeomma shook the sashimi. A cold silver ray passed by Mao Lang’s left arm.
Crunch. Thud.
The arm showed a scarlet cut, and the flesh slid off. Mao Lang’s gaze lingered on the cut. A cold wind blew past his side.
“… … !”
The laughter in the arena had stopped a little while ago due to the sword fight. The crowd’s eyes were beyond surprised and hazy. It was a series of unrealistic scenes that seemed like a dream.
“Eww!”
Mao Lang screamed a beat later. Blood gushed out belatedly from where her left arm had been. She blocked the cut with her good hand and gained some distance.
“Haa- haa-.”
The sound of breathing gradually became fainter. Mao Lang barely opened his eyes and looked straight ahead. Kanggeomma swung the sashimi and shook off the blood that had clung to the blade. Red drops fell like dew along the tip of the blade.
Kanggeomma turned his eyes towards Mao Lang. Pure white light flowed out from the corners of his eyes.
“Ear, ghost… … !”
A chill ran down his spine. Mao Lang had a gut feeling that death was imminent.
She rolled her feet without realizing it. People struggle to survive right before they die. That is their instinct as a living creature.
Reason sounds the alarm to get out of the crisis, but the brain cells, paralyzed by fear, creaked and failed to function properly.
My legs and hands moved on their own. My feet stepped on things I didn’t want to step on, and my one remaining arm was raised.
‘I don’t want to die.’
Only the desire to live can lead to a series of actions. Mao Lang then feels his vision slowly turning white.
Kuung⎯!
The foot cloud dug into the dirt again. There was a crunching sound of joints breaking.
Mao Lang squeezed all the strength out of his loose ligaments and muscles and lifted my leg. At the same time, a circle of wind gathered at the tips of his toes.
The pain was so intense that it made her dizzy. However, Mao Lang’s feet were aimed at the strong sword.
It was like the barrel of a gun before pulling the trigger. Soon, her subconscious moved her mouth.
“Wind and shaking legs.”
Kuu …
A sharp, cold wind rushed in, whipping up dust. Those watching just gaped at it like goldfish.
“… I thought you were a little smarter than your younger siblings.”
Kang Geum-ma, who had been silent for a moment, shook his head.
“Still, the momentum isn’t bad.”
Kanggeomma bent his upper body and repositioned the hilt of his sword in his grip.
It looked just like a wild beast baring its claws.
Those who didn’t know had a question mark on their unstable posture. However, those who knew Kang Geum-ma swallowed hard and thought the same thing.
‘Coming.’
Time passes slowly.
The eyes of the Ganggeomma capture the point where the present and the future intersect with a red line.
The long, stretched out light from both eyes is distinct.
The attack, which contained a whirlwind, shattered the limbs of the strong swordsman. That was clearly the result… … .
⎯Shh
The three-strike blade gently cut through the wind.
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯Suck it
Then the iron digs into the flesh.
The sound is concise.
Thud thud.
There was a sound of bones snapping and flesh being cut.
Then the strong wind stopped.
The next moment, a dry mechanical sound echoed through the smoke chamber.
[The subspace duel has ended.]
The audience’s wide-eyed eyes begin to open one by one.
[The winner is… … .]
They each let out a faint sigh.
[Joaquin Academy’s cadet, Kang Geum-ma.]
The star of the continent has set.
* * *
“after.”
I wiped away the flowing sweat. The traces of blood clots were removed along with the subspace curtain.
I looked around the audience. Most people were staring at me with blank expressions and not even blinking. There were even some celebrities squeezing in between the seats.
Vladimir Yesov, Mahatma Sinbad, Ol Mute and their entourage. They looked at me with open wariness.
It’s burdensome.
‘That’s why I was trying to end it properly… … .’
I turned my gaze back to Mao Lang. His pupils were wide open, indicating that he was still not in his right mind. Mao Lang was shaking helplessly like a light in the wind.
“… … .”
The first thing I did was hit on the head. There was no grand reason.
I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary commotion since I had to sell kimchi stew for the next two and a half days.
Think about it. Who would want to eat at a restaurant where people are being cut with knives?
Of course, my weapon is a sword.
Honestly, I thought you would have a rough idea at that point.
Mao Lang suddenly showed his fighting spirit. He was one of the top three strongest players among the younger generation, so his strength was extraordinary.
Mao Lang showed no hesitation in putting any strain on his body and unleashed all his blessings.
It was a tactic that made full use of the characteristics of a subspace without physical intervention.
‘It wasn’t a name that was built up in vain.’
I scratched my chin and thought.
Anyway, the fact that they provoked me by saying that kimchi is their food was intentional. Anyway, that part provoked me.
I turned my gaze to Mao Lang. His gray-white pupils began to glow with life.
After checking the condition, I took a step towards her.
Thud, thud.
“… … !”
As my footsteps got closer, the pupils that had been filling with life began to vibrate.
There is a lesson to be learned from Mao Lang’s twin brothers.
‘Let’s make sure we wrap things up now so no one holds a grudge.’
