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Chapter 97

“Oh, the Aura Blade! Student Choi Yeon-woo is wielding the Aura Blade!!”

“The control of the aura is quite impressive. It’s hard to believe that in just four months, they’ve learned to manipulate aura so perfectly. Truly, they are the mastermind’s protégé!”

“Sure, this might be a bit excessive for a spar, but if it’s fun, who cares? Student Darius is in a pinch!”

Although the commentary muffled by the barrier could not be heard, their expressions were visible. Whatever it was, it was clear that beyond the pouring shadows, Choi Yeon-woo was preparing some sort of move.

The short and narrow dagger was not suitable for defense. As a result, the left arm, performing the role akin to a shield, was already bloodied. The circumstances were shockingly similar to last time, though the tactics employed were different.

The culmination of this duel would likely end in a sharp clash. Darius thought so as he used the thread he had secured to launch himself sideways. The ground right in front of him darkened and swayed. Instinctively turning his face, he dodged the thrust of the rising shadow.

With a sharp pain causing him to wince, Darius spun his body around. Using his rotational force and elasticity, he propelled himself forward. He recalled the mana entangled around the thread on his arm. Gathering his senses, he focused intently on the daggers in both hands.

Ultimately, the final confrontation in this duel was akin to rock-paper-scissors. Who would present the more perfect move? Which side could see through the other’s methods and respond accordingly?

But unfortunately, in this game of rock-paper-scissors, there existed a method of counterplay. There was one move that guaranteed victory or at least a draw.

In a fleeting moment, Darius opened his eyes, having concentrated his mind while closed. With his knees on the ground, arms positioned at his waist in a slightly awkward stance, Darius swung his arms in an X shape.

Like an avalanche, shadows poured into Darius’ view, splitting apart with a sound like a roar. Emerging from the divided darkness, Darius lunged forward, each hand clutching a dagger encased in threads of mana.

“I’m excited to be able to use this… But this insane consumption is just impossible to adjust to!”

“W-What is happening here!? Student Darius is also using the Aura Blade, the Aura Blade!! In the first round of the finals, both students from the first year are wielding the Aura Blade!!”

The sparring arena was buzzing with excitement, excluding the two participants. It was hard to believe that first-year students, having only been enrolled for four months, could reach a level where they could use the Aura Blade, even if they were from a strong-middle tier.

It was somewhat understandable regarding Choi Yeon-woo. A contract holder with a Dragon and a disciple of the Sword Master. There was some doubt about whether they could utilize it, but it could be accepted if someone claimed they could.

However, Darius’ Aura Blade was a different story. While most would pass through this stage, a certain level of realization was typically required for its use.

The issue lay there. An assassin foreseeing open combat is essentially different from a warrior anticipating assassination. Up to this point, what Darius had displayed was strictly the former.

An assassin has an assassin’s realization, and a swordsman has a swordsman’s realization—therein lies the problem. From the outside, they might seem similar, but the ideologies constructing them are entirely different.

Moreover, in this age, despite always being in a state of war, having a fifteen-year-old child involved in assassination missions was rare even for the Black Raven.

This was because the Black Raven, to the outside world, appeared to have withdrawn from assassination, and it was also due to Darius being the scion of such a family.

In this environment, gaining realization as an assassin was practically impossible, so Darius chose to break through head-on.

He tore his fighting style apart piece by piece. Disassembled and interpreted it. Swapped out the gears that made up his physique. That decision came since that last battle. After a month of seclusion and two months of grueling training, he gradually replaced the gears constituting his body.

The Aura Blade was a realm reached after a rocky climb. He had completely reconstructed it. The lack of web traps and not trying to use a raven trap were due to that reason. Of course, it was partly because he had been seen through last time, but still.

“…This is fun.”

A professor from the Hunter department who sat in the judges’ panel murmured. The rest of the judges, excluding Alisa who was watching from a distance, nodded in agreement. It was indeed an entertaining fight.

All duels conducted within the Academy are recorded. Both students and professors can access them anytime at the campus library. They serve as tools for objective self-observation and as data for analyzing future opponents.

Naturally, the judges had watched the footage of the previous duel. The drastically opposite circumstances, as well as Darius’ completely different fighting style compared to last time, were striking.

Achieving the Aura Blade just four months after awakening may be a mark of genius, but changing one’s style due to dissatisfaction can also be considered a form of genius.

The attention of the onlookers shifted back as they began to witness a high-level battle they thought could not be seen from first-year students.

*

Instinct kicked in. Darius jumped aside. The very spot where Yeon-woo had been standing moments ago crumbled under a torrent of force.

It was upon witnessing Darius emerging from the shadows that Yeon-woo realized what that power was. It was unmistakable. The blood-red threads, tinged with blood and battle, were flying towards Yeon-woo from several meters away.

“That’s a mistake.”

From the moment he entered the sparring area, he had known that Darius could use the Aura Blade. However, he hadn’t expected it to take such a form. No matter how mana was an attribute of threads…

As Darius charged towards Yeon-woo, he swung the dagger briefly. The aura blade that had been wrapped around it unfurled, slicing the ground like a gigantic snake hidden below.

“Ugh!”

In response to the incoming aura blade, Yeon-woo met it with his own. The only things that could counter an aura blade were another aura blade or a mastery level beyond that.

As the threads collided with the sword, immense opposing forces erupted. Darius retracted the threads that were knocked away, readjusting his stance.

Though the form was bizarre, the destructive power of the aura blade was undeniable. If one thought of it as a sword capable of maneuvering after being unleashed, it was terrifying.

From this point onwards, creating distance would be disadvantageous for Yeon-woo. He charged straight in. Darius didn’t try to restrain the approaching Yeon-woo. Instead, he sprinted forward and swung both arms.

BOOM!!

When overwhelming power clashed, the air exploded. Yeon-woo braced both hands on his sinking sword. Forced momentum resisted, pushing against the heavy pressure.

CRACK!! BOOM!!

Neither of the two took a single step back as they started hammering each other. In a situation where even a shallow cut could sever an arm, they pressed forward, not retreating at all. As their bodies kept accumulating superficial injuries, blood sprayed everywhere.

Yeon-woo deflected the thrust of a dagger along the surface of his sword, narrowly avoiding the incoming aura blade. Not turning his gaze from the turbulent force of destruction, he swung his sword.

Blood seeping from a cut above his eyebrow obscured his vision. He roughly shook his head, scattering the blood. Though neither harbored any killing intent, they were both swinging their weapons as if to kill the other.

When it comes to the number of attacks, there was no method to defeat a dagger, especially dual daggers. Darius swung, rotated, and thrust from peculiar angles, sometimes even using his mouth to yank at them like a performer.

But the phrases “I can’t win” and “I can’t counter” are not synonymous. It’s akin to performing acrobatics to block and attack with just one sword against two daggers, but at this moment, with enough concentration, it didn’t seem impossible.

It felt like descending into a world where only swords existed.

As if looking up at the rain-soaked sky, the path for the daggers grew clearer in sight. This time, considering Darius’ abnormal physical abilities, another layer of possibility was added.

In a world that slowed down like viewing a rapid stream, the daggers moved. If one was to block one, one would have to allow the other to strike. A slightly misaligned double blow. Yeon-woo extended his sword towards the first approaching left hand.

THUMP! The ‘bleeding’ settled softly against the blade’s tip. Having dealt with one, he gripped the hilt with his left hand and twisted the pommel, turning the sword’s direction with a circular motion to strike against the bloodied hand.

Darius sensed Yeon-woo’s movement, which aimed to create an opening, and swiftly drew out the Aura Blade, wrapping it around Yeon-woo’s sword. Darius’ dagger worked like a sword breaker, entangling both their movements and sealing either side’s options.

An immense number of thoughts flashed through both of their minds. On how to break the situation, how to win the duel—many plans emerged and evaporated.

The shadows from Yeon-woo swarmed and sifted back into him. While Darius was overwhelmed with numerous strategies in his mind, Yeon-woo made a decisive move. A hint of death loomed, but it was too late for second thoughts now.

He lifted the doppelganger weapon caught in a dagger high into the air, and Darius’ two daggers, wrapped in the aura blade, ascended with it.

Darius’ expression twisted. But his reaction was quick. Reaching for the holster on his thigh, Darius drew a scythe-like weapon and extended his arm.

Yeon-woo grinned. His finger brushed the ring on his left hand’s pinky. Among the few items within the storage, he found the item he sought.

As if the air rippled, a nondescript sword fell into the grasp of Yeon-woo, who stepped forward in a situation that would have caused any ordinary person to recoil. Leaning forward, he tried to slip inside Darius’ guard.

Steel clashed with steel. Both sides aimed to subdue the other, preferring uncertain pain over assured survival.

“Let me be honest.”

A newcomer’s voice interrupted the world that only had swords. It was a low, resonant voice.

“You’re the first to try to kill each other like this, laughing so easily without exuding a hint of killing intent.”

The swords froze. The blades that had swung freely until just moments before were now gripped in an enormous hand wrapped in aura. Darius chuckled hollowly. Yeon-woo grinned.

“I win.”

“…Damn it.”

Both glanced at the scythe that passed by Yeon-woo’s body and the sword that halted in Darius’ embrace, their fortunes crossing paths.

Watching this scene unfold, Park Giant clutched his head.

‘Could this be because of Professor Yoo Ha-yeon?’

(Continued in next episode)

 

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