novelraw Chapter 180 : Chapter 180
Chapter 180 : Chapter 180
Chapter 180 - The Executioner's Dilemma (4)
Kang, kang, kang-!
As he exchanged dozens of blows with the gloomy-looking boy, the Executioner was able to recall the sense of unease he had felt in their previous battle.
‘Again.’
In this battle too, when they first clashed, the boy's skill, to put it coolly, was nothing special.
Of course, compared to their first encounter at the last Exchange Meeting, the boy's skill showed an indescribably large growth, but that was only by an absolute standard; it was a level that was endlessly lacking compared to the combat power of the First Astros, including Grændal.
However.
‘This boy… is gradually increasing his precision.’
The more they exchanged blows, or more accurately, after the preceding ‘lure’ and surprise attack, the boy's skill was elevated to an unbelievable level.
Just like in the last fight, where the boy's utterly pathetic fighting power had increased exponentially once the First Astros' joint attack began.
‘I do not understand.’
Chaeng-!
With each exchange of blows, Grændal could instinctively understand the meaning contained within each one.
The boy's opening attack, a horizontal strike to the right.
The optimal response Grændal could make to that attack was to meet the sword strike with greater mass.
Judging by the boy's skill seen so far, and considering the boy's exhaustion, the battle should have ended at that point.
However.
Sreureuk-!
The boy simply parried the sword strike perfectly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
As if everything in this battle was in the palm of his hand.
It was not a product of mere coincidence or miracle.
Second strike. For Grændal, the optimal move was to mix in a feint and extend his elbow towards the boy who had dug in.
But the boy, as if he knew beforehand, threw his body back and avoided the sword wrestling.
Whoosh-
Third strike. As expected, in that situation, the optimal move that Grændal's instinct and experience could derive was to aim for the boy's slow movement and stab with the executioner's sword, or more precisely, to strike with the flat of the blade.
Vwoong-!
And, this time too, he dodged it by a paper-thin margin.
A broken posture, a stopped combo, a moderate level of exhaustion.
After that… the boy's gun barrel glowed.
Taang-!
A gunshot is fired at an angle that is exquisitely impossible to dodge.
And… events in the same vein were repeated, and the damage to the Executioner accumulated.
‘How can this be?’
It was a thought filled with shock and admiration, but at the same time, it was a manifestation of bewilderment.
The boy was responding to almost all of Grændal's best moves with the best counter-moves.
How was that possible for the boy?
Had he grown enough in this short time to find moves that surpassed him, who was receiving the god's protection?
‘Perhaps, my moves were induced.’
Suddenly, such a thought, or something close to a sensation, flashed through the Executioner's mind.
Perhaps the boy had predicted all the responses he would make, induced those responses, and then countered them.
And perhaps he had repeated that for dozens of exchanges.
However, that was not a strategy that could be realized with sufficient insight and skill alone.
‘Fundamentally, combat is a domain of senses more than reason.’
No matter how top-class a knight is, they cannot make a judgment for every single attack in a battle where exchanges happen in fractions of a second.
Instinct transcends cognition.
That's why the basis of combat is to brandish one's weapon according to the optimal experience engraved in the body and subconscious, based on rational judgment.
Therefore, Grændal's idea could not be established.
Unless one knew the opponent's response in advance.
Also, even if that were possible, there was a flaw in the idea of drawing out the optimal move.
It was a story that could only be established if there was a guarantee that the opponent, that is, the Executioner, would also perform his best.
It was an idea close to a delusion.
It would be more rational to see it as the boy having unlocked his potential for some reason and showing an exponential increase in skill.
However.
‘No. But he is not that kind of talent.’
Having crossed swords with him, the Executioner had an accurate grasp of the boy.
He wasn't untalented by absolute standards, but the boy lacked the immediate skill to stand shoulder to shoulder with the top-class experts, nor the potential to do so.
At best, he was a prodigy; seen coolly, his talent was close to that of a commoner.
There was room to revise his judgment, but even now, while being pushed into a corner, the boy's attacks lacked the spark commonly felt from geniuses.
‘Then what is the answer?’
A labyrinthine puzzle from which no answer could be derived.
In that puzzle, the Executioner was slowly being cornered.
***
‘How many times did I die?’
‘How many deaths did I start with?’
Such thoughts occasionally came to me, but they soon disappeared to the outside of my consciousness.
They were idle thoughts, and they were not the questions needed right now.
The subject to which my consciousness and subconsciousness should be devoted was already decided.
The cycle of memory and repetition, thoroughly excluding improvisation.
It was like bringing the act of combat from the domain of geniuses to the domain of commoners.
Block the possibility of branching out into infinite patterns, and trap him within a single path.
And then, seek the next path.
Just that simple and painful process was repeated.
How many times was it repeated?
Kugung-.
The stone structures of the old bell tower, which were already struggling to withstand the passage of time, could not withstand the wind pressure from the clash of top-class knights and were gradually collapsing.
Chaeng, chaeng, chaeng-!
Nevertheless, I don't kill the momentum. Even if we get buried together, that mistake can just be corrected in the next death.
And so… finally.
Twak-!
The sensation of cutting through flesh and bone was clearly felt from the sword held in my hand.
It was proof that I had finally broken through his annoying attacks and driven my sword into his chest.
I don't stop.
Kwaddeuk-!
As I applied force upwards on the stabbed sword, the sound of his flesh and bone being crushed rang out like a beautiful melody.
“Keu… Heok…!”
Grændal's pained voice is heard.
His blood splattered in the air, and the bleeding from the wound continued.
‘Almost there.’
I readjust my posture, aiming for his staggering form.
And, at that moment.
“…I was wrong.”
His voice, or a mumble, conveyed to me, was heard.
“To spout such nonsense as burying you with all my strength… I was underestimating you.”
Kwaaak-
Even though he must have used a considerable amount of his strength, even though he must have been a wreck, when the Executioner re-gripped his sword, an unignorable pressure enveloped the area.
‘He's coming.’
At that unusual sign, I too readied my stance.
What came next was an unknown territory I had never experienced before, but even so, I already knew what would happen.
“Here I come.”
With a single, low-pitched word, he takes his stance.
A faint white light leaks from that stance.
His body moves.
The tip of his sword, which had been pointing backward, draws a beautiful arc and is swung in my direction.
A simple slash I had seen hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions, or perhaps even more times until now.
Respond, counter.
I draw my sword.
I swing.
And….
‘Ah.’
I face it.
‘It’s beautiful.’
A cruel yet beautiful arc, unleashed while emitting a brilliant white light.
“…”
I could easily tell that it was a ranged slash, swung from a distance with magic imbued in it.
However, the moment the sword was swung, I couldn't respond in any way.
Was it because of the faint pain I felt in my chest?
-Tuk.
Was it because of the sound of the horizontally severed sword blade rolling on the floor?
Was it because when I looked at the surface where the blade was cut, I was impressed by how clean the cut was?
I wonder.
It didn't matter.
What was important was that my vision was slowly tilting….
Thud.
And that my vision soon plummeted to the floor.
By the time that plummeted vision captured my still-standing legs, my consciousness faded in an instant.
As if a blackout had occurred.
But, that was enough.
I knew everything about what had happened.
[ System : You have overcome deaths. ]
Just like before, there was no phenomenon like a life review.
Ah.
I've finally reached it.
The stage I had so desperately wished for.
The final chapter of this life-and-death struggle.
That was the only thought that came to mind.
***
When I first decided to personally navigate the events of
In the development of the story, it was the power of the main characters that defeated The One, and even that was a miracle they performed while at a disadvantage, so I couldn't afford to weaken them, let alone fail to add to their strength.
That's why I didn't shake the scenarios or the main story itself that provided growth opportunities for the main characters.
Of course, as I had thought before, the principle had changed to some extent, but the main premise itself remained unchanged.
‘The ones who catch The One are the main characters.’
Therefore, I must not take away the main characters' growth opportunities. Or so I thought.
But, this might seem like an act that conflicts with my actions at a glance.
That's because the ‘Knight Executioner’ Grændal was the future nemesis of Elwin Van Cardenas, who would be called the Sword Saint.
And through his decisive battle with him, Elwin would come to possess the final ability to face The One.
It certainly seems like a contradictory story in terms of flow, but I too had my thoughts.
‘The growth Elwin could gain from the decisive battle with Grændal was just one technique.’
The decisive battle between Grændal and Elwin. After a long-standing feud, the two finally clash with sword against sword.
By the time they reached that point, their skills themselves were on par. The description said it was a close battle where it wouldn't be strange for either side to win.
But the one who was actually at a disadvantage was Elwin, and if you ask why, it was because there was a powerful weapon that only Grændal could use.
‘Space Slash, was it?’
『Space Slash』. Receiving the power of The One, who is connected to the Origin itself, it was Grændal's unique technique that cut through the space of the world itself.
It was a power akin to cheating. It was even more so since it was a fight between swordsmen who had to cross swords.
In that fight, Elwin gets hit by 『Space Slash』, loses his blade, and is driven to the point of fighting by attaching a blade made of magic.
The development after that, well.
Even in that disadvantageous situation, Elwin won.
If you ask how he won, I would answer that Elwin won by using the Origin magic he received from Arien to see that 『Space Slash』 with his eyes, learn it, and turn it back on him.
If you ask why… well, I would have no choice but to answer that it's because he's the main character.
And the 『Space Slash』 he learned in that way is used as a major means to stop The One's descent in the final battle.
Now.
What I wanted to say in this story was that the key to the story where Elwin settles the score with Grændal lies in 『Space Slash』.
That was the essence of the enlightenment Elwin would gain from clashing with Grændal, and conversely, without it, Elwin would be unable to face The One.
At that point, I thought.
‘Then, even if I kill Grændal with my own hands, what if I can give him the experience of fighting Grændal intact?’
In other words.
‘What if I can steal his 『Space Slash』 and teach it to Elwin?’
That was the story.
This was also the identity of the final gateway I faced.