Chapter 19 - The Light That Shouldn’t Be Grasped (5)

The last gateway to leave the Underground City.

Najin clenched his teeth as he gazed at Ivan, who stood guarding the entrance to the tunnel leading to the waterfall. It was a reality that Najin had been trying to ignore.

...He knew Ivan was pursuing him.

Offen had told him. However, Najin also harbored a hope. Perhaps Ivan was intending to let him go, deliberately not pursuing him. That was Najin's hope and wish.

He didn't want to encounter Ivan.

He didn't want to point his sword at Ivan.

He didn't want to fight Ivan with the resolve to kill.

"Have you arrived?"

But reality imposed itself before the boy's eyes.

The worst scenario he had imagined had come to pass.

"I've been waiting."

To escape this city, he had to overcome that massive wall. The man who had drawn lines and limited him had to be surpassed to exit. Najin's expression crumpled in the face of this reality.

"Draw your sword."

Ivan drew his sword.

Ivan didn't offer a swordsman's salute. He simply aimed the tip of his sword at Najin, with colder eyes than ever and a low voice.

The pressure weighing on his shoulders.

The sticky murderous intent he felt.

Najin instinctively knew there was no other way. Despite not wanting to fight, despite his fear, there was no other option. Najin drew his sword with a rough scrape from the sheath, aiming it at Ivan.

And then, with a bang.

Ivan lunged forward.

Unlike during their sparring sessions, Ivan didn't wait for Najin to approach first. Dragging a cyan sword aura, Ivan swung his sword at Najin.

Ivan forced him to attack with the readiness to die.

Otherwise, he would have no choice but to cut him down.

***

Knight of Atanga, Ivan.

At the age of 31, Ivan reached the realm of Sword Expert, and for eight years he served as the Knight of Atanga. Despite losing his honor and falling to the Underground City, he did not neglect his training over the past decade.

18 years since reaching the realm of Sword Expert.

Once a promising figure of the Atanga Knights, Ivan could have become a Sword Seeker with proper support and training. A man who spent 18 years at one level.

The implication was simple.

Among Sword Experts, Ivan was ranked in the upper tier. This meant he could likely defeat most experts in combat, and his swordsmanship and combat skills were nearing perfection over many years.

In other words…

"...Ugh!"

For Najin, who had only recently approached the realm of Sword Expert, Ivan was an overwhelmingly formidable opponent. The moment Najin blocked Ivan's sword, he was sent flying.

Different. The weight behind the sword.

Different. The density of the sword aura.

Even enveloped in sword aura, Najin, pushed back, rolled on the ground and stood up again. Naturally, there was no time to catch his breath. Ivan, who immediately pursued, struck the ground where Najin had just been standing with a loud bang!

The ground deeply cratered, and dust billowed up.

In the moment his vision was obscured by rising dust, Ivan's sword, cutting through, soared towards him. Even though he barely blocked it, Najin was again pushed back. His hand gripping the sword felt numb.

Najin realized. How much Ivan had been holding back in their past sparring sessions, how much control he had maintained.

Just two or three clashes had his fingers trembling. Cold sweat ran down his spine. Najin gritted his teeth and steadied his breath, his eyes wide open following Ivan's movements.

Fast. Heavy. Unceasing.

Ivan's movements seemed to break but always flowed into one. Najin was being swept away in that flow.

"Kuk!!"

Although he blocked the sword, it struck his knee.

Attempting to deflect the sword, his technique was countered, and the pommel struck his temple. Blurred vision for a moment, Ivan's kick to the stomach disrupted his breathing.

His breathing disrupted, so was his stance.

Narrowly avoiding a targeted strike, but a scratch from the blade drew blood. Amidst the blood spurting, Najin groaned. He couldn't be swept away by this flow.

'I have to counterattack.'

But how?

Combat skills, grappling, deception, inducing the opponent's carelessness... Everything Najin had learned so far was ineffective against Ivan.

Because all those were taught by Ivan.

These were what Ivan had taught Najin, and naturally, Ivan was more advanced in them. Sword aura density, technical proficiency, sword weight, posture, grappling techniques... Ivan had the upper hand in every area.

"Don't fight on your opponent's battlefield."

"There's no guarantee you'll always fight weaker opponents.

Then, how should you fight against stronger ones?"

Najin remembered.

"Draw them into your battlefield."

"Find where you surpass your opponent."

Where Najin could surpass Ivan.

'...Even though I was told not to overestimate my talent.'

The only thing Najin could rely on and try was his unique talent and specialty. Najin's eyes widened.

His eyes, red with strain, moved rapidly.

Even when he couldn't keep up with Ivan's movements before, and even now while being pushed back, Najin's eyes accurately followed every move. He put more strength into his eyes.

When he opened his eyes wide, he saw it.

The gap between Ivan's movements. The subtle time difference when connecting moves. There was no technique to precisely strike in that gap for Najin yet. He hadn't learned such a thing.

'But.'

Just because he hadn't learned it didn't mean he could only be passive. Since when had he relied solely on learning? The techniques he learned only expanded his options, but it had always been quick judgment and boldness that found his way.

Najin lunged forward.

Clang, clang, clang!

The sword flowed along the blade, and the moment Ivan attempted to counter Najin's movement, Najin dove into Ivan's embrace. Boldly twisting his body, Najin struck Ivan's shoulder with the pommel.

Crack.

Najin had spotted a vulnerability with his own eyes. He struck at the joint between stances. For the first time, the flow Ivan had created was broken, and seizing the moment, Najin leaped.

Turning to Ivan's side, Najin swung his sword. With a loud clang, Ivan stepped back for the first time. Absorbed in his sword swing, Najin didn't notice, but at that moment, a faint smile spread across Ivan's lips.

'Using a technique I never taught...'

Ivan laughed inwardly as he responded.

'He figured it out on his own.'

Najin was still lacking.

He was still immature, and his understanding of the sword as a weapon was also shallow. But he was compensating for all that with his senses and eyes.

Using techniques he had never been taught. Creating and using techniques spontaneously, Ivan was impressed by Najin's movements. However, he still thought.

He's lacking.

Even with so many clues given, he hasn't realized it yet. Ivan continued to strike back at the persistently pursuing Najin.

"......"

Najin, pushed back, felt something amiss.

The murderous intent from Ivan seemed to disappear and reappear intermittently. As if trying to kill him, or as if trying to teach him.

Neither was false.

Ivan was earnestly trying to kill Najin, and at the same time, earnestly trying to teach him. The human heart cannot be simplified into one path. Amidst his confusion and sensing this discord, Najin...

"Huff......"

Ivan exhaled.

Then, he repeated a seemingly meaningless action several times during the battle. It was the act of raising his sword and catching his breath.

Screech!

Ivan's sword aura sharpened.

The once wavering sword aura became precise, and the dimming blue flame flared up again. This repeated action. Najin silently observed it.

Ivan approached. He swung his sword, and Najin blocked it in his own way.

Blocking. Being slashed. Kicked.

Pushed back, exploiting openings, retreating again.

As the battle continued, Najin realized. There are elements he could improvise, but fundamentally, there was an aspect where he was inferior to Ivan. That was the sword aura Ivan wrapped around his sword.

Ivan's sword aura was clear and precise.

Najin's was blurry and rough.

The perfectly consolidated sword aura versus the incomplete one. That gap between Ivan and himself. How to bridge it? As Najin sought the answer, Ivan again assumed his stance.

Repeatedly assumed stance.

Najin narrowed his eyes.

"When you return, I'll teach you how to handle sword aura."

"Knight of Atanga, Ivan, I stake my pride on it."

...Could it be?

Najin observed Ivan's movements.

Since a while ago, Ivan had been repeating meaningless actions. As if showing them to him. At that sight, Najin couldn't help but let out a chuckle. He finally understood.

The answer was there.

'...What exactly?'

What rhythm to follow?

Najin had seen Ivan's stance and the flow of his movements and sword aura from up close, several times. Having seen it, he realized.

Najin stepped back greatly.

Ivan didn't pursue.

As if saying, try it.

"Huff......"

Najin exhaled deeply, steadying his breath as he assumed his most familiar stance. Sword trailing behind his waist, body lowered, poised for a charge. He focused on the flow within his body, not just letting it meander but actively shaping and directing it.

This was no simple feat. It wasn't something that could be easily replicated after just a few observations. This was a state usually achieved through prolonged meditation in a seated position.

Ivan had done it. So had Ivan's master and most of the Knights of Atanga. But Ivan knew well. The boy before him was different from those merely gifted.

Najin had exceptional eyesight.

Ivan was acutely aware of this. Better than anyone else.

Showing once was better than telling a hundred times for this boy. Direct experience was his best teacher. Ivan, watching Najin, chuckled softly.

"Yes," Ivan finally spoke. "That's how you use it."

Najin's drawn sword, encircled by white sword aura, now had golden particles rising along the blade. The emerging particles filled the gaps the white aura hadn't covered, blending into it.

The combination of white aura and golden particles created a platinum-colored sword aura. It was like the color of starlight, fitting for a boy who longed for the stars in a place where none were visible. Platinum, a color reminiscent of starlight itself.

Ivan's eyes widened as he saw the sword aura coloring Najin's sword. He burst into laughter. Platinum sword aura. As far as Ivan remembered, it was a color that no one else possessed. It was exclusively Arthur's, resembling the starlight.

There stood the boy, having drawn the sword left by King Arthur and possessing an aura akin to Arthur's.

With his own distinct color.

A sword aura that completely enveloped his sword, going beyond mere fragments.

This signified the boy had reached the true realm of a Sword Expert. Ivan, gripping his sword anew, charged towards Najin. The two sword auras clashed.

The platinum sword aura and the dark blue sword aura collided.

***

With each clash of their swords, bursts of dark blue flames and platinum starlight erupted. After several exchanges, Ivan and Najin simultaneously stepped back. Ivan, recognizing that the boy had nearly caught up to him, thought to himself.

This was enough.

"Najin."

His duty as a teacher was fulfilled.

"Come at me with the intent to kill."

Ivan extended his sword in a stance he had never shown Najin before, a stance to unleash a technique that was his pride as a Knight of Atanga. A sword technique used to execute the dishonored, those who had lost their honor and pride as knights.

Before demonstrating the technique, Ivan warned.

He would unleash everything he had to kill Najin, and Najin should do the same. Aim your brightest at me, he indicated.

Any hesitation vanished.

All that remained in Ivan was a lethal intent.

Silently, Najin lowered his sword.

This was not an admission of defeat. Quite the opposite. With his sword sheathed at his waist, Najin reached out into the void.

He clenched the air. Revealing his brightest. The void rippled, and starlight began to gather. In the boy's hand appeared the Sword of the Star, Excalibur.

The starlight brightly illuminated the Underground City.

The moment Excalibur was drawn, Najin staggered, summoning the sword requiring considerable effort.

But soon, he regained his posture.

Determined to break through the wall before him, to move forward.

The boy holding the star and the knight pursuing it faced each other.

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