C911
On Mount Pulan, west of Montiro. A silver sphere was buried among green valleys, with black demonic energy seeping around it.
"..."
Burren stood guard in front of the valley, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. As he watched the demonic energy being absorbed by the sphere, heavy footsteps approached from the base of the mountain.
"That man..."
Burren narrowed his eyes as he saw a short man climbing up the valley.
'The champion of the arena. No, one of the five heroes.'
It was Lupe, the martial artist who had instantly crushed his opponent and claimed victory when Raon came to inspect the arena, and one of the five heroes of Montiro.
"Was it you?"
Lupe tilted his thick, tree-trunk-like neck from side to side.
"Using such underhanded tricks?"
He revealed a cold look, his attitude more in line with a thug than a hero. He seemed to have already understood the whole situation.
"Tricks? I don't know what you're talking about. I just came here because I was enjoying the mountain scenery."
Burren shrugged, feigning ignorance.
"Why don't you go look for fights in the arena instead? Hero-sama."
He waved his hand dismissively, gesturing for him to leave.
"Leaving aside the sphere embedded behind you..."
Lupe let out a deflated laugh.
"You're radiating a killing intent towards me, what are you trying to do?"
He shook his head as if he were astonished.
"Well, alright. To be honest, I don't care about magic circles either."
Lupe shrugged as he approached Burren.
"I don't care if you're Zieghart or Owen. I just want one thing. I'm just curious if your sword can satisfy me or not."
He licked his lips in anticipation.
"What do you say? Can you satisfy my discerning taste?"
"Come at me if you don't mind losing your tongue while tasting."
Burren unsheathed his sword from his waist and tilted his chin.
"Many swordsmen have said such things to me..."
Lupe smiled thinly as he put on leather gloves engraved with a black bull.
"I wonder how you'll fare?"
He disappeared from sight, enveloped in a red aura. When Lupe reappeared, he was beneath the rock embedded in the valley. Seemingly uninterested in the sphere, he thrust his fist towards Burren's waist.
Burren, as if reading all of Lupe's movements, pivoted on his ankle and slashed his sword diagonally upwards.
The sword and fist clashed with a thunderous boom, as if metal was being crushed. Lupe's hand remained unharmed, and the bull gloves he was wearing seemed to be a special artifact, remaining intact. Burren and Lupe each took three steps back, staring at each other.
"Good reflexes?"
Lupe briefly licked his lips, impressed by the quick response.
"But lacking sharpness. My hand is unharmed, see?"
He nodded, pointing to his uninjured hand and glove.
"I was just assessing your level as well."
Burren shook his head calmly before gathering astral energy in the form of a blue wind.
"I hope that sword isn't bland."
Lupe's mouth stretched into a wide smile as he lifted his toes. He charged from the left, enveloped in an even thicker red aura.
"Don't worry."
Burren's eyes flashed coldly as he unleashed his sword. The astral energy infused with icy wind fell towards Lupe's neck.
"You've gotten faster."
Lupe let out a small exclamation as he thrust his fist, enveloped in red aura, towards Burren's sword. The sword and fist clashed for the second time. Similar to before, Burren and Lupe were pushed back four steps each, pointing their sword and fist at each other.
Lupe's leather gloves were torn, and red blood flowed from beneath. Burren's astral energy had pierced the red aura and cut his skin.
"This one's quite spicy."
Lupe curled his lips as he looked at the wound on his fist.
"Today's lunch won't be bad."
He nodded, seemingly pleased to have been injured.
"..."
Burren frowned as he watched Lupe lick his lips.
'Just like his personality in the arena.'
In the arena, Lupe had displayed fights where he threw his solid body around and dominated opponents with strength, and it seemed he fought the same way in a real fight.
'It won't be difficult to buy time.'
Although Lupe was undoubtedly a strong martial artist, it seemed possible to hold out until the magic circle opened by fighting defensively and accumulating damage.
"Someone of your caliber should be just what I need."
Lupe nodded as he massaged the back of his neck.
"What do you mean by that?"
"That I can use the power of my true form."
He smiled as he stomped, and black demonic energy began to burn over the red aura.
"Demonic energy..."
Burren bit his lip as he saw the black scales rising on the back of Lupe's hand.
'As expected.'
Raon had predicted that demonized humans who learned about the magic circle would openly use demonic energy, and it was exactly as they had said. Lupe was spitting out a massive amount of demonic energy as if he didn't care about being discovered.
"Don't die so easily."
Lupe charged forward, crushing the thick ground. He was no longer circling, but instead shot his fist directly from the front.
"Huu."
Burren exhaled softly as he saw Lupe lunging towards him in an instant.
'No need to fight head-on.'
This was the territory of the Black Tower, and the opponent was a demonized human using demonic energy. It would be foolish to confront them directly in a situation advantageous to the enemy.
'But...'
Just this once, he wanted to fight without thinking. It wasn't about pride. He didn't want to fight defensively against the scum of the Black Tower who exploited even young children like Rensia. He wanted to decapitate that bastard with his own sword.
Burren didn't back down, but drew the form of the Icy Wind Sword towards Lupe's incoming fist.
The sword and fist clashed for the third time with a metallic crash. The sound of metal breaking erupted again, but this time the outcome was different. Burren was pushed back eight steps and fell to one knee, while Lupe didn't move an inch from his position.
"Hmm..."
Burren narrowed his eyes as he looked at his trembling hand.
'Is this the difference that big?'
He knew Lupe would get stronger, but he didn't expect him to suddenly jump from a similar level to his to one of Grand Master. The difference was so stark that it was disconcerting.
"You shouldn't be surprised."
Lupe smiled thinly as he shook his fist.
"This is just the beginning!"
He shouted that they should play more as he thrust his fist the size of a pot lid towards his own abdomen.
"Kuu."
Burren let out a murky breath as he extended the defensive form of the Icy Wind Sword in front of his chest. The sword that blocked Lupe's fist bent as if it were about to break before barely stopping. His feet were involuntarily pushed back, leaving deep indentations in the ground.
'The power has increased even further.'
A searing pain ran through the hand that had wielded a sword all his life. He felt like he had hit unbreakable metal, not a human.
"Good! Stay there! Don't break!"
Lupe charged forward with a twisted smile, seemingly in a good mood.
"Let me ask you something."
Burren shook his head as he barely blocked Lupe's fist attacks.
"What did you think when you saw the children with Black Hearts implanted?"
"That they would break if I touched them?"
Lupe let out a laugh, as if he didn't even see Rensia as human.
"I see. Then I don't need to worry."
Burren pressed his lips tightly together and straightened his back. Once again, he didn't back down but raised his sword that glowed with blue light.
"Because your neck will fall before I break."
* * *
"Huff..."
Burren crashed against the rock wall at the end of the valley, gasping for air. He removed his worn coat and uniform, wiping the blood flowing from his mouth.
"So you're Burren Zieghart."
Lupe nodded, saying he now understood.
"..."
Burren looked silently at Lupe with sunken eyes.
"I've heard of you. The leader of the 3rd squad of the Wind Light division. You act as the leader of the division, but you're the weakest among the squad leaders."
Lupe tilted his head in a mocking tone.
"I've heard that you were the very image of a young noble, but your straightforward approach wasn't bad."
"I didn't want to take a step back in front of someone like you."
"You didn't know, but that was the right answer."
As he raised his fist, demonic energy in the form of hooks rose above the black scales.
"If you had tried to run away to avoid my fists, your heart would have been ripped apart by the hooks. You didn't know, but that saved your life."
Lupe moved his hand, saying he was lucky.
"But that luck ends now."
He lowered his gaze, which had been burning with fighting spirit, as if he had lost interest in Burren.
"Your sword can't pierce my demonic energy. If you had encountered others, you might have had a decent fight, but your compatibility with me is bad."
Lupe closed his fist, and the black demonic energy rippled around him.
"I have no interest in broken toys, so I'll crush your head now."
He adopted a charging stance, burning with black demonic energy as if he was going to wipe everything out in one blow.
"..."
Burren didn't say a word despite Lupe's homicidal words. He simply raised his sword, just as he had when the battle began.
"Have you even lost the strength to speak now?"
Lupe clicked his tongue and took his stance. He leaped from ten steps away and thrust his fist towards Burren's heart. Burren barely managed to raise his sword to block, but coughed up black blood from the intense impact.
"You struggle to the very end. But that will only prolong your suffering."
Lupe frowned in annoyance as he unleashed a flurry of fist attacks. Burren endured Lupe's hurricane-like fist attacks without lowering his sword or backing down, maintaining his position.
"Just die already! I'm tired of this!"
Lupe gritted his teeth, displeased with Burren's tenacity, and poured even more intense demonic energy into his fist attacks.
"...You're right. I am the weakest among the squad leaders."
Burren painfully parted his dry lips.
"But do you know why I'm here alone despite that?"
"What...?"
"Because I earned the trust of the Palace Master."
He drew a gentle arc with his blood-soaked red lips.
"To repay that trust, I swung my sword day and night."
Burren's sword began to push back Lupe's fist, sparking blue.
"Every day since I returned to duty. I dedicated all my attention to the sword."
From his time in Zieghart after returning to duty until reaching Montiro. And even while resting at the temporary headquarters, he swung his sword every day without exception. He couldn't fall, if not to repay the trust of his father and Raon, who had entrusted this place to him.
"Why the wind..."
Lupe's eyes widened in surprise at the increasingly fierce wind from Burren.
"I'm the worst at enduring. I can't stand pain either."
In truth, he had been impatient since childhood. He only pretended to be mature on the outside to earn his father's approval, but in reality, he had less patience than even Dorian.
"But today, I can't take a step back."
For the sake of Rensia and the other children who had lived more mature and admirable lives than him, he had to hold out here until the very end.
"Then die there!"
Lupe withdrew his arm. The black demonic energy in his fist swelled dozens of times, raising a black astral ring.
"Haa..."
Burren closed his eyes as he saw the astral ring of demonic energy rushing towards him, blocking his entire field of vision.
'No need to look.'
Just feel it. The criticism he heard most from both Raon and his father was that he lacked confidence. Being the weakest among the Wind Light division's squad leaders had significantly reduced his self-esteem without him realizing it. But now it's different.
It doesn't matter if he's the weakest, even if he's at the bottom. What matters is not doubting oneself.
Burren swung his wind-infused sword. That sword seemed like Raon's sword that had always watched him from behind, and also like his father's sword that he had admired all his life. The thin sword strike, like a gentle breeze, split the massive astral ring of demonic energy and fell towards Lupe's head.
However, the demonic energy protecting Lupe's body remained unfazed even by the wind sword, raising flames even more intense than before.
"Haaa..."
Burren let out a tired breath, his fingers trembling as if all his strength had left him.
"That was dangerous, but this is your limit!"
Just as Lupe felt Burren's sudden change and was about to deliver the final blow,
"No. This is the end."
Burren slowly opened his eyes. A clear wind settled in his blue pupils.
'A Grand Master pursues his own ideal.'
What he had pursued since childhood was his family's pride, and what he sought was an elegant yet sharp sword to protect that family. The conviction he had held since his youth, wearing the Zieghart cloak, blossomed from his silver sword. Icy Wind Sword Supreme Technique: Wind Spirit God.
Threads of wind that unraveled like threads cut through the black demonic energy and penetrated Lupe's body.
Deep cracks opened in Lupe's body, which had remained unharmed by any sword strike. A soft blue light emanated from the cuts of the wind that passed silently. As Burren lowered his sword, the sword wound carved into Lupe's chest widened, spewing a deep blue wind.
"You, someone like you..."
Lupe collapsed on the spot without even finishing his last words. Even the demonic energy with regenerative abilities faded, unable to repair his body.
"...So this is what it means to be a Grand Master."
Burren let out a hollow laugh as he collapsed on the spot.
"It doesn't feel real. I still feel weak on my own. But..."
I kept my promise. At this moment, he felt like he could fly from the joy of having kept the trust of Raon and his father, more than from having reached the level of Grand Master.
"No, it's not over yet."
Burren got up again, clutching his sword. He stood firm, as if he wouldn't let anyone pass through this path, and raised his sword. The blue wind blowing from behind seemed to wrap the cloak of his childhood around Burren's back.
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