Chapter 31
The Epian Empire’s Dance Tournament Finals.
Before anyone realized, the semifinals had ripened into the climax of the finals.
However, curiously, instead of the adult category where everyone was supposed to focus, the attention of the crowd was drawn to the boy category.
The reason was none other than Kradd, the alleged member of the Night Crow.
A boy with squinted eyes, who perched a crow on his shoulder.
His ominous appearance was matched by his outstanding strength.
Up until now, he had defeated all his opponents with nothing but punches, never drawing the sword hanging at his waist.
Because of that, some were beginning to question if the sword was just a decoy.
Gathering all those questions, the final match began.
“Thank you for waiting!”
“Woooooo!”
The arena resonated with tremendous cheers as the boy category erupted with excitement.
The spectators, filling the largest indoor arena in the empire, were all eager for this final match.
“Now, we will begin the final match of the boy category of this dance tournament!”
The announcer shouted, raising his left arm high.
“Introducing the first protagonist of the finals! A boy hailing from a rural village, with the ambition of defending peace in the world from erosion! Pelei!”
As the announcer’s voice echoed, a boy stepped into the arena.
He walked out with a timid posture, looking like a typical fourteen-year-old boy.
“Go, Pelei! You can do it!”
“Don’t let that Night Crow guy intimidate you!”
Surprisingly, many people were cheering for him.
After all, he was a beacon of hope for ordinary commoners.
Unlike nobles, he had trained with a sword in a humble village and had made it to the finals of the dance tournament.
The common people were inspired by him, cheering for him with increased enthusiasm.
“And his opponent is… the infamous underworld family that sends shivers down everyone’s spine, the one rumoured to be part of the Night Crow!”
The announcer knew exactly what the audience craved and grinned.
“Kradd!”
And with the announcer’s shout, a crow suddenly soared into the arena from the participant entry passage.
Caw!
The crow screeched loudly as it flew through the air, capturing everyone’s attention instantly.
The crow, a symbol of ominousness.
At that moment of the crow’s ominous entrance, a brief silence fell over the crowd.
Tap tap—
From the entrance, a boy slowly walked out.
With jet-black hair and inscrutable eyes, he exuded an oddly pressuring aura.
As he stepped into the arena, the crow that had been flying in the sky gently landed on his shoulder.
“…I got it. I won’t let you make me do this again.”
Muttering to himself, he lifted his head, and in an instant, the crowd erupted with cheers.
“Night Crow!!!”
“I bet on you to win first place! Go for it!!!”
“Show them what an assassin family can do!!!!”
Amidst the roar of cheers, Kradd looked forward.
His eyes caught sight of Pelei.
Even upon closer inspection, he looked like an ordinary boy.
But despite his appearances, he had been a part of both the Rahern Academy and the generation in the sky.
‘Didn’t expect to see you here.’
His hopeful gaze seemed the same as ever.
Kradd vividly remembered the day when that hope in his eyes had dimmed.
However, regrettably, other matters took precedence over facing him now.
After all, a specific purpose had already been achieved.
“Kradd.”
At that moment, Pelei suddenly spoke.
“Are you really with the Night Crow?”
How naive of him.
Instead of answering, Kradd lightly stretched his neck.
This line of work was effectively over for him.
All that was left was for the other side to create a substantial commotion.
“If that’s the case, you’d best come out swinging.”
Suddenly, an unexpected statement sprung from Pelei’s mouth.
“I heard this dance tournament is hosted by the Epian Imperial Family to recruit additional students for the Rahern Academy. Since you and I have made it to the finals, we should be able to enroll in Rahern Academy!”
This was already widely known information.
It wasn’t a surprise, but Pelei said it in a way meant to attract attention, as if boasting.
“Rahern Academy is an independent institution that no country can interfere with. There, you could break away from the Night Crow.”
And thus came the lively tale full of dreams and hopes.
Regrettably, Rahern Academy wasn’t quite the remarkable institution it was made out to be.
Having been established not too long ago, Rahern Academy was still quite weak.
Because of that, aside from its early days, it often got swept up in the power struggles of empires and kingdoms.
‘Thinking back on it now…’
There were several reasons why Rahern Academy had become so caught up in those struggles.
But that was nothing that needed addressing right now, nor was it Kradd’s concern.
“Pelei.”
Taking that into account, Kradd finally drew his sword in this tournament.
Watching this, the crowd roared in excitement once again as he aimed the sword at Pelei.
“If you remain too entrenched in hope, you won’t be able to overcome the despair that barges in.”
“What?”
“Let the battle begin!”
With that, he issued advice that Pelei could hardly understand as the referee’s voice rang out.
The first to open the battle was Pelei.
To everyone’s surprise, he slid across the ground with agility.
‘He developed this technique himself.’
Pelei had lived in one of the northernmost regions of the empire, a place known for its heavy snowfall.
He had walked on slippery ice and snow all his life, resulting in developing a unique footwork for more efficient movement.
He likely hadn’t named it yet, but Kradd knew the name.
Cheonri Shipbo (千里十步)
The technique referred to reaching a thousand miles in ten steps.
‘The first time seeing an opponent like this would likely throw anyone off guard.’
Even though there was a fair distance, he closed in on Kradd in an instant.
Evidence of this was how Pelei was suddenly right in front of Kradd.
The only commoner who had reached the generation in the sky through talent and diligence was Pelei.
At this moment, he was as strong as any ranking individual.
Clang!
However, he had picked the wrong opponent.
“Eh?!”
Pelei’s sword intended to target Kradd’s waist but was deftly blocked.
It was as if Kradd knew ahead of time where Pelei’s sword would go, causing Pelei’s eyes to widen in astonishment.
“I don’t think you’re in a position to give advice.”
Kradd taunted, and Pelei bit his lip, quickly countering with a flurry of attacks.
He had swung his sword a thousand times to cut down trees and ten thousand times to slice through rocks.
Just the hardened calluses on his hands revealed how diligently he had trained with his sword.
What composed Pelei was undoubtedly a lifetime of accumulated training.
Yet there was something even greater than that.
‘Experience of knowing the opponent.’
Having been forced to stand back, he had observed his peers in the generation in the sky more than anyone else.
That was himself.
‘My intuition.’
The aura surrounding Kradd awakened a new sense in him.
As each attack came from Pelei, Kradd’s sword was already in place, waiting at each intended spot of impact.
From the feints to the critical points, all of Pelei’s signature moves.
Kradd was acutely aware of every facet.
This talent was the only skill he had that he had previously failed to recognize.
Having nothing of his own, he possessed the ability to understand and remember every little thing about others.
Indeed, in the past, such a talent seemed useless.
Being perceptive and observant only earned him disdain from others.
Yet at this moment, that very talent was finally starting to bloom.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every cut Pelei attempted only ended up thwarted in front of Kradd.
Even the audience watching was left gawking at the surprising spectacle.
Pelei, wielding his sword with exquisite skill, was moving so fast it was hard to keep pace with his attacks.
His level of skill was astonishing for his age, even leaving knights of the empire gasping in awe.
However, Kradd was always a notch above.
As every attack Pelei made seemed as if it were being danced around by Kradd’s blade.
None of his strikes ever reached Kradd’s person.
Dun-geom (鈍劍)
Certainly, while moving slower than his opponent, his sword reached its destination first.
In that space, Kradd was cemented in place.
“Can’t touch me.”
“What the heck is that?”
Watching this continue, the audience began to fall silent.
Even those who had been cheering for Pelei began to gradually lower their voices.
It was overwhelming.
The notion that no matter what Pelei did, he couldn’t win against Kradd weighed heavily.
That sense of overpowering dominance was felt by everyone present in the arena.
[ Hahahaha! ]
The laughter of the Crimson Garden echoed throughout the air, lifting high into the skies.
[ That’s right, my child. ]
With an almost gleeful tone, she spread her wings beneath the crows soaring up in the sky.
[ The fact is, your only method is to take everything from those who possess something. If you have nothing, steal all they have. Show your greedy talents. ]
Dun-geom was a technique that seized the opponent’s space.
No matter where the opponent aimed their sword, it would be captured in a moment.
Ironically, Dun-geom fit Kradd better than anyone else.
For him, standing above meant taking everything from others.
“Ugh, huff!”
Pelei gasped, his voice strained.
He was the one attacking.
Yet he found himself stepping back further and further.
No matter how hard he swung, he couldn’t move forward.
Kradd’s sword was occupying every inch of space he held.
Pelei was just slightly shorter than Kradd.
However, with each failed strike he made, Kradd’s presence loomed larger.
Pelei felt sensations akin to slicing through rocks as he swung his sword towards Kradd.
Could he truly bring down that boulder?
The despair engulfed him.
“Pelei.”
At that moment, Kradd’s voice rang out.
When Pelei lifted his gaze, his sword was already positioned near his neck.
“Gah, ha.”
Pelei coughed out a desperate breath.
The sword he swung had only managed to advance about an inch from his throat.
It was undeniably a moment he had instigated himself.
Beads of cold sweat rolled down Pelei’s face and hit Kradd’s sword.
The distance was alarmingly close.
“Get stronger.”
And with that, Kradd spoke to Pelei.
“Even if your hope eventually crumbles, keep a spark alive.”
After delivering those cryptic words, Kradd drove his fist into Pelei’s solar plexus.
Thud!
The reverberations of the two impacts echoed as Pelei collapsed, spitting out blood.
With that, Kradd turned away.
Despite the impact of using Dun-geom caused him a pain that clawed at his insides, he maintained his poker face.
And at that moment.
“Wooooo!”
An unprecedented cheer erupted, ringing out through the arena.
It was an overwhelming display of Dun-geom.
No one could help but yell at the spectacle before their eyes.
“Ah, the champion is!”
Finally regaining his senses, the announcer raised his hand.
“Kradd!”
As he declared the victory while pointing at Kradd, the arena erupted once more with jubilant roars.
“Kr, add!”
At that moment, Kradd turned his head towards the voice calling from behind him.
He hadn’t anticipated Pelei would regain consciousness so quickly after that earlier blow.
“Will we meet again?”
Surely, he wasn’t mistaken in having come from the generation in the sky.
Seeing Pelei clinging desperately to consciousness, Kradd nodded.
“Yeah, if it’s the academy.”
“Is that so?”
With that, Pelei finally lost consciousness completely.
One day, they would meet again.
Though possibly in different forms than now.
“Thank you, Kradd. I’ll strive harder than the curse you took from me. I’ll save the world.”
A faint memory resurfaced.
That was what Pelei had said when Kradd stole away the curse of world erosion inflicted upon him.
It had been a long time since he heard those words of gratitude.
However, a month later, Pelei’s body was slowly being pulled apart by the owner of the curse of world erosion.
Kradd clenched his fist tightly.
“Don’t worry, Pelei.”
And slowly, Kradd raised his head.
“This time, I’ll be the one to protect.”
Not others, but himself.
And for that reason.
‘Sigrid.’
He would thwart that woman’s plans.
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