◈ Episode 198. Didn’t You Say You Would Light the Way
The Colosseum stadium.
As a Berserker, Leoni knew the flow of a duel better than anyone.
That was precisely why she couldn’t open her mouth.
I… what am I seeing right now?
“……
Hey, Snake Eyes.”
“I’m listening.”
“You seeing this properly? No, can you even see?”
Shake, shake.
At Nam Taemin’s question, Hisagi shook his head.
They were three people confident that they wouldn’t fall behind any player when it came to physical ability.
Yet in this moment, Hoyeol and the Sword Saint’s movements were…….
“They’re on another level.”
Knight Commander of the Lion Heart, Halkon.
Even recalling Halkon’s movements, it hadn’t been to this extent.
All three of them had experience crossing blades with Halkon during training.
He had been as agile as a lion, but still, they could see him.
Sssshk—Fwoooosh—
No sooner had they glimpsed the forms than—
sand dust billowing from the speed obscured their vision.
In a fleeting instant.
Clang!
Clank!
Clang!
Dozens of exchanges.
The sounds reached their ears a full beat slower.
It was literal proof of movement faster than sound.
“Camilla, what do you see? Right, you must be able to see it, yeah?”
Elsewhere in the stands.
Dmitri turned to Camilla beside him and pressed her.
Was she not Camilla, ranked first in long-range martial combat?
If it was her eyes, she should be able to catch those movements.
“So who’s winning, huh?!”
However, Camilla could only swallow a sigh.
“……
I still have a long way to go.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I can’t see a thing. My eyes can’t keep up.”
“!”
It was an answer that made even Roks falter.
Camilla’s sight was one of Shining’s greatest weapons. Even when facing monsters hundreds of levels higher than them, Camilla’s eyes had never once lost track of the enemy’s movements.
Roks thought calmly.
‘It’s not actually surprising.’
The Sword Saint.
At the same time, Segwin, the continent’s only Grand Sword Master.
From the days when Arcana was merely a game.
Who was the strongest NPC?
He was one of the figures who appeared without fail whenever there was hype.
Though only a handful of players had ever met Segwin directly.
His fame had never ceased in books, in rumors, and from the mouths of NPCs.
‘If it’s the Sword Saint, he’s more than capable of that.’
Besides, somehow or other.
Segwin had regained his youth.
If he was the pinnacle of the sword on the Arcana continent, it wouldn’t be strange for him to display such martial prowess.
But the problem, as always, was Yi Hoyeol.
Roks muttered with complete sincerity.
“Just what…….”
Only moments ago.
He had personally experienced Hoyeol’s insurmountable magical ability.
Light had covered the Zero Mountain Range.
He had moved that Light in an instant and wielded it as a means of attack.
That degree of magic was befitting not of a player, but of the chief of the Magic Tower. He had tried hard to understand that Yi Hoyeol, as its co-chief, would be capable of such a thing.
But now.
“……
How much further does he plan to go?”
He was evenly matching the Sword Saint with a sword?
That was right.
That was no longer within the realm of the Arcana system.
‘It can’t be explained by levels.’
In Hoyeol.
There existed a ‘something’ that they did not know.
It wasn’t only Roks who had realized that fact.
“……!”
Schraig, Guild Master of Second Sun.
He had cleared the dungeon, [City of Somber Rain], together with Hoyeol and come to realize and emanate sword energy.
Thanks to having been forcibly awakened to that extent, he could see it.
The silver sword aura driving the Sword Saint back!
It was not an exchange of blows.
It was a one-sided attack.
Segwin was struggling desperately just to block Hoyeol’s attacks.
Schraig swallowed dryly.
He couldn’t follow it with his eyes, but he could feel it through the sword energy.
‘……
This duel won’t last long.’
No, more than that, it was a match that should have been decided long ago.
Schraig, who had come to emanate sword energy.
He knew all too well what a massive gap the presence or absence of sword energy created.
‘For some reason, he can’t emanate sword energy.’
All that was visible was the silver sword aura.
Segwin’s sword energy couldn’t be seen.
That was why Schraig could realize it.
“……
Could it be?”
The fact that Hoyeol had yielded countless—
no, dozens or hundreds of winning moves to Segwin.
That was right.
This duel should have ended with Segwin’s defeat long ago.
Once he realized that fact, he could see everything.
Clang!
It wasn’t that Segwin had blocked it.
Hoyeol had swung his sword—
so that Segwin could block it.
Even Schraig, who had realized sword energy, had barely grasped the truth.
There was no way the watching players could know.
Excited voices burst from here and there.
“He’s evenly matching the Sword Saint!!”
“Does this even make sense?”
“Is he really going to win?!”
The outcome had already been decided.
So Schraig was not excited.
He merely watched.
‘What in the world is your intention?’
That was when it happened.
Shhk—
Along with the sound, Segwin fell to his knee.
Yet Hoyeol had simply swung his sword as before.
It was Segwin’s body that had hit its limit.
“Crazy……!!”
Hoyeol, having seized the advantage.
Amid the cheers that erupted as if they had been waiting.
Schraig thought.
‘He attacks to be blocked, and waits when his opponent falls…….’
“……!”
He realized.
Because he had gone through the same experience as Segwin.
The image of Hoyeol holding an umbrella rose in his mind.
-“From now on, what you must do is simple. Watch.”
-“To be precise, witness the sword energy.”
-“Believe in me, who believes in you.”
Schraig muttered as if he couldn’t believe it.
“……
Could it be, in order to teach the Sword Saint?”
……
I could feel it.
The fact that I was overwhelming Segwin.
Yes, not only having entrusted my body to Gwicheol but also emanating a sword aura.
It wasn’t strange that I was dominating from start to finish.
Moreover.
‘……
I can see.’
Grandfel’s monstrous talent.
To think he was adapting to Segwin’s swift sword in real time.
You’re good to the point it pricks my conscience, Grandfel.
As a result, I landed effective hits on Segwin.
Shhk—
Segwin’s left arm began to be stained with blood.
I had thought I was pressing him the whole time.
Was this the first time my attack had landed?
As expected, the Sword Saint is a monster.
But the words that reached me were unexpected.
“……
What is it that you want from me?”
……
What was he suddenly going on about?
What I want is obviously victory.
I had no intention of dying after losing in the Spacetime Duel.
But it seemed those words weren’t directed at me after all.
“You had hundreds, thousands of chances to cut off my breath. Why? Is it to humiliate me, who is worse than a demon? If so, has your will not already been done?”
Segwin looked at his own wound.
“To the point that I cannot even receive an attack meant to be blocked. My body has reached its limit.”
……
Is this for real?
That I really had such chances?
Instead of me, who was taken aback, Gwicheol answered.
—Brat, have you still not realized the master’s intention?
……
Why are you suddenly acting up again?
Of course, I, Yi Hoyeol, had no such intention.
It wasn’t my will, but Grandfel’s…….
I too couldn’t help but be surprised.
After all, who is Grandfel?
To the extent that he would not exchange unnecessary words with a demon.
Grandfel would not show a demon pointless mercy.
He wouldn’t have harbored sympathy for a fallen Segwin, either.
“Pick up your sword.”
As if proving my thoughts.
Grandfel spoke in a cold voice.
As if he had truly reached his limit, as he said.
Segwin straightened his creaking body.
And then he let out a laugh.
“A simple act of cruelty?”
Grandfel did not answer.
Of course, even without an answer, I knew.
To Grandfel, a demon was not even worth his hobby.
A being not worth the effort.
Then why?
Shhk—
“……
Keuh.”
Shhk—
“Urk.”
Why was Grandfel not ending the duel with Segwin?
Yes, the answer to that profound question was probably known only to me.
‘……
As expected, you’re truly a flower garden, Grandfel.’
In reality, I, Yi Hoyeol, stained by the dirt of the world, and Grandfel were different.
I knew well how difficult it was for humans to change, but Grandfel did not.
In short, Grandfel overestimated the animal called human far too much.
I didn’t need to look far.
Right here.
It had been the same at the Zero Mountain Range.
-“I shall light the way, so you may follow to your heart’s content.”
Thinking that anyone, as long as they were human, could recover their pride.
His actions, jumping into the inferno before anyone else, were proof of that.
At each such moment, I did not expect.
As I said.
I, stained by dirt, knew.
It would be the same going forward.
Human hearts flip as easily as the palm of a hand.
Right now they may exalt me as a symbol of peace and a hero of humanity, but human beings are creatures who may turn their backs to any temptation at any time.
Even so.
“Pick up your sword.”
Grandfel believes in humans.
Even if one has sold their body to a demon.
He does not betray the hope for pride.
‘So in the end, all this hardship is because of my karma…….’
In this harsh world.
Who else could sympathize with your stubbornness, Grandfel?
No one but me.
So, just as I have always done.
I will struggle until I can struggle no more.
As I made that vow.
“……?”
I had overlooked something.
Even if there were no people.
There was the System.
[A small change occurs due to the effect of Sublimity.]
Yes.
As the message appeared.
A change occurred.
From Segwin…….
His eyes slowly close.
His body, having reached its limit, screams that it wants to rest.
Thinking about it like that.
‘……
Have you never once rested properly?’
It was the wrong path from the start.
Why did you try so hard not to stop, not to fall.
Driving yourself onward as you ran, Segwin.
Don’t you think so too, Atlas.
‘Everything is over.’
Perhaps I think it is for the best.
Was I not the one who set foot on the wrong path, one that was not the path of the sword in the first place?
Even if I went further, I would have only shown unsightly conduct.
I am merely grateful to the man who stopped me.
Slowly, Segwin closed his eyes.
‘……
I will not ask for forgiveness.’
I will not offer an apology that won’t be conveyed.
I will simply bear my sins and pay the price in hell.
Yes, that would be the fitting end for one who betrayed humanity.
For one who sold himself to a demon.
Now, he no longer had the strength to move his body.
Nor even to lift his eyelids.
“……?”
That’s right.
Because he had closed his eyes.
He should not have been able to see anything.
But why.
Something was visible.
To be precise, a single path was visible.
“If this is my life flashing before my eyes…….”
Segwin laughed.
“It really was a simple life.”
This must be the futile sword path I chose.
Indeed, that guess seemed to be correct.
The path was so dark that not even an inch ahead was visible.
“…….”
But it was the path I chose.
At the same time, it was a path from which I could not turn back.
It was a path I had to take responsibility for and walk.
The moment Segwin tried to take a step.
Pick up your sword.
“……?”
The man’s voice was heard.
Even after everything had ended.
Are you rebuking me even now, you.
“……
Do as you please.”
You have the right to do so.
The moment Segwin bitterly bowed his head.
Why was it—something that should not be visible was visible.
The sword path he had mistakenly entered.
Therefore, a sword of his that should not have existed.
He was holding Atlas in his hand.
Atlas’s voice was heard.
—You finally heed my words.
“……!!”
—Didn’t you wear your voice out shouting at the top of your lungs?
“……
Why are you here?”
—Why do you ask the obvious?
Atlas continued.
—The path I walk with you, that is my sword path.
Segwin closed his mouth.
The pulse of Atlas was transmitted through his fingertips.
I see.
So that’s what you mean.
You had not forgotten.
Segwin forced himself to open his mouth.
“……
It will be a harsh path.”
—Has it not been harsh until now?
“I may never be able to return.”
—What is there worth returning to?
“This path may be the wrong one.”
—Even so, it is fine.
“……
Is that so.”
Silence fell briefly at the last words.
But the silence did not last long.
The sword path where nothing had been visible.
“……!”
Why was it.
A single ray of light had been cast in that darkness.
It was a silver flash shining sublimely.
“You are unnecessarily kind. You, the man that you are.”
Segwin finally let a smile spill forth.
—They say it’s a bad omen to laugh after crying.
“Be quiet, Atlas. Did you not cry as well?”
—Who said such a thing? I am a sword. A sword cannot cry.
“How about you do something about that nasally voice of yours before speaking.”
—Did I not tell you? It is because I was shouting…….
They advanced down the path…….
A fleeting resurgence.
Segwin emanated an intensely azure sword aura and then—
closed his eyes just like that.
While holding Atlas close.
His face had returned to that of an old man before anyone knew it.
A faint, bittersweet smile hung at the corners of his mouth.
Cheers reached his ears.
“I believed in you, Hoyeol-niiiiim!!”
“He won! Yi Hoyeol defeated the Sword Sainttt!!”
“So that’s why the Legend achievement appeared?!”
“Right, if this isn’t a new legend, what is?!”
Before long, messages appeared.
[You have won the Spacetime Duel.]
[You have fulfilled the conditions.]
[Rewards will be given.]