Suddenly, a chuckle escaped my lips.
If my father saw me now, he would’ve smacked me upside the head to snap me out of it.
Kim Deok-Sung, if he could see me now, would probably knock me out like back then.
To think I was about to fall over just because my body is a wreck and my insides are a mess.
How pathetic is that?
I can’t show such a pitiful sight to my parents in the sky, or to that man.
The dim ember of my will reignites.
“…No.”
If I have no teeth, I’ll use my gums; if I have no mana, I’ll use my body.
“No matter how ugly or ridiculous I look, even if I die…”
With trembling hands, I grasp the handle of Kusunagi no Tsurugi.
Thud.
Yuji plants Kusunagi no Tsurugi into the ground like a staff.
Grinding my teeth against the screams of my mana circuits and the pain of dismemberment, I rise, my body smeared in blood and dirt.
A single drop of blood trickles from Yuji’s mouth.
“I can’t give up! That would betray my dead parents, my suffering little brother, and my most precious friend, the most wonderful man in the world, Kim!”
My body is a wreck.
But Yuji’s eyes blaze with unyielding determination.
“I promised Kim to take care of this place!!”
Even in death, I cannot retreat.
Because I promised that incredible man!
In my vision, a phantom of Kim Deok-Sung appears.
“So I can’t fall! Absolutely not!”
Yuji grits his teeth.
Seeing him stagger to his feet, Manhunter’s lips twist in surprise.
“Oh? You’re up? In that body?”
He strokes his chin.
“Your determination is impressive. I’ll give you that. But in that condition, what can you possibly do?”
Clang.
Manhunter points his grotesque serrated sword at Yuji.
Just as the mana embedded in his sword was about to explode.
[Alright. Master. That’s what Kusunagi loves about you.]
A beautiful woman’s voice echoes in Yuji’s head.
“You are… not an illusion?”
Yuji’s eyes tremble.
[An illusion? How rude! Master! My name is Kusunagi.]
Kusunagi’s voice whispers in Yuji’s ear.
[Kusunagi only looks at you, the cutest sword spirit in the world.]
“What does that even mean…?”
[Please call my name, Kusunagi.]
The moment Kusunagi finishes speaking.
Vroom!
Kusunagi no Tsurugi, planted in the ground, begins to vibrate.
Kukukakakakaka! Gooohhhhhh!!
A storm of unimaginable mana surrounds Yuji.
Boom!
The ground splits and dust rises.
The colossal mana transmitted from the sword repairs Yuji’s battered mana circuits.
Yuuji restores his mutilated magic circuit.
Immense magical power fills his entire body.
Yuuji closes his eyes.
“I can feel it.”
Finally, a sense of unity, as if he has become one with the legendary sword, Kusunagi no Tsurugi, brings an overwhelming feeling of omnipotence.
After enduring hellish training, he instinctively realizes he has reached a level of integration he so desperately sought, one that he repeatedly failed to achieve before.
Flash.
Yuuji’s eyes open.
“Kusunagi.”
At the moment Yuuji calls out someone’s name—
“Yes, Master. Did you call for Kusunagi? The lovely spirit Kusunagi, who only looks at you.”
With a swish.
A beautiful girl in a black yukata with Hime-cut black hair appears from thin air.
She looks even younger than Yoshizaki Seira.
Her appearance matches her flat chest, and a blush spreads across Kusunagi’s face.
The materialized Kusunagi stretches out a small hand to wipe the blood from Yuuji’s cheek.
“──Cute Kusunagi has been waiting, waiting in the cold blade for this moment when my beloved Master would call my name.”
Kusunagi beams a captivating smile.
Yuuji grasps Kusunagi no Tsurugi.
Flash.
Kusunagi’s body teleports behind Yuuji.
“Ah, my beloved Master Kusunagi. Right now, the current Master can win against that defeated dog.”
Kusunagi whispers into Yuuji’s ear as if embracing him from behind.
Without saying a word, Yuuji pulls Kusunagi no Tsurugi from the ground.
“Kusunagi no Tsurugi, unleash the true name──.”
Vroom!
The blade of Kusunagi no Tsurugi trembles.
The storm of magical power swirling around Yuuji and Kusunagi embeds itself into the sword’s blade.
Yuuji’s lips quiver.
“──Earth Binding Slash (지쇄파천)의 Divine Sword (신검)!!”
The true name of Kusunagi no Tsurugi, etched in his mind at that moment of release, spills from his mouth.
Boom—bang—bang!
With a roar, an intangible wave of magical power sweeps through the area.
Grarrrrrrrr!
The ground cracks open, and dust and gravel explode upward like a geyser.
Goooooooo!
A colorless pillar of magical energy reaches into the sky, tearing through clouds and shattering the heavens.
Yuuji’s black hair flutters toward the sky.
Pure white light flashes in his eyes.
The divine sword that binds the earth and breaks the sky manifests before him.
“Kraaaak! What is this, what the heck, how, how, how is this true name release happening right now······!! Such overwhelming power, it’s—it’s impossible······!!”
Thud.
The overwhelming aura emanating from Yuuji forces Manhunter to kneel.
Manhunter’s eyes tremble.
He instinctively realizes.
No matter what he does, he can’t win.
Just like prey cannot defeat a predator in the food chain of nature, it’s an indisputable truth.
“What, what have I done······!!”
Manhunter’s hands quiver.
He realizes.
From the moment he couldn’t kill Yuuji with a single blow, this was an unwinnable battle.
His opponent is the Son of the Sword Master.
A prodigy with an unreasonable omnipotent talent, who becomes more and more powerful by the second, surpassing his past self with each breath.
Weak attacks only temper and strengthen him further.
His assault wasn’t strong enough to kill Yuuji; instead, it awakened the monster known as talent that dwelled within him.
Yuuji’s cold gaze turns to Manhunter.
“You mentioned a capability that inflicts internal damage upon contact?”
“Don’t, don’t come any closer·····!”
“Don’t say it…!”
Sneaking away.
The Manhunter tried to escape, but that was impossible too.
The moment he felt Yuji’s gaze, an intangible pressure froze his movements.
‘This, this is the same aura as that person…!’
An arrogant gaze that seemed to overlook the entire universe.
There had only been one monster capable of sealing the movements of its opponent just by its existence.
Messiah.
League Master.
The Manhunter’s eyes quivered.
“Then let’s not cross swords. My beloved Master. Taking Kusunagi’s advice, unleash that ultimate move.”
Kusunagi whispered into Yuji’s ear.
Yuji grasped his sword.
“Kurosawa Shinken-ryu, ultimate move.”
Whoooosh!
A storm of magical power swirled around Yuji.
The amplification of magic was activated.
A horrifying amount of magical energy twisted space itself, amplifying and continuously swirling around Yuji.
Kaboom!
Sparks generated by the amplified magic split the air like lightning.
Just with the preliminary motion, overwhelming magic radiated outward.
Despair filled the Manhunter’s face.
Yuji’s cold gaze fixed on the Manhunter.
“──Hachijūkan-ken (Eight Layered Sword)!!”
Yuji’s sword sliced through the air.
Flash!
A sun-like brilliance engulfed the area in an instant.
As the flash cut through, massive magical energy surged forth.
It manifested as eight distinct magical blades.
The eight blades formed a singular shape.
A legendary monster from Japanese mythology.
The Yamata no Orochi descended upon the earth.
[KYAAAAA!]
The mythological monster, Yamata no Orochi, resurrected through the ultimate move, roared and resonated around.
This was the legendary swordsmanship of the Five Crowns’ leader, the savior of humanity, the technique used by the Kurosawa Shinken-ryu to save the world thirty years ago.
It offered hope to allies and despair to enemies as the legendary sword art unfolded from the hand of his son.
An overwhelming presence.
The eight-headed dragon-shaped magical blades descended upon the Manhunter.
There was no winning.
No escape.
From the moment the Yamata no Orochi descended, the only conclusion permitted for the Manhunter was death.
“Ha, hahahaha, hahahahaha…”
In the face of absolute despair, the Manhunter let out a deranged laughter.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, the eight-headed dragon swallowed the Manhunter.
*
Kaboom!
A blinding light and a thunderous explosion echoed.
The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, and the sky rang with the shockwave’s impact.
Hachijūkan-ken.
The Kurosawa Shinken-ryu ultimate move that recreated the mythological monster left devastation in its wake, forming a colossal crater as if it had been bombarded.
In the center of the crater, only a handful of blood remained.
There was no trace left of the slain Manhunter, not even a body, just the serrated greatsword, Trollsberg, planted like a tombstone.
A smile crept onto Yuji’s lips as he confirmed the enemy’s demise.
Cough.
Blood surged from his mouth.
Though his internal injuries were somewhat healed by the awakening of True Name Liberation, he was not fully restored.
Some minor injuries still plagued him.
“Master!”
Kusunagi rushed to embrace Yuji just before he collapsed.
Yuji’s face buried into her frail chest.
“Are you okay, Master? Kusunagi is here for you!”
Kusunagi called Yuji with a worried voice.
She focused her gaze on him.
The Master might not know, but she had always watched over him.
From their childhood when he first grasped a sword, during the moment their home burned down, when he vowed revenge and entered the academy, to the moments of friendship that brought him here.
The moment I stepped into the academy, sharing friendships and rushing to this point—every single moment was precious.
I was trapped within a sword, but Kusunagi could confidently say that she had spent an unusually long time with her master.
No one else could understand the master but me.
That was Kusunagi’s thought.
“Please lie down and rest a bit, Master.”
Carefully, Kusunagi laid Yuji down on the ground and used her knees as a pillow for his head.
In his hazy vision, Yuji muttered while looking at Kusunagi.
“Kusunagi, I… did it, right?”
“Yes, Master, you did splendidly. This Kusunagi is once again falling for you all over again.”
Kusunagi gently stroked Yuji’s head.
She did it.
She kept her promise to him, to herself, and her father’s last wishes.
She didn’t give up, didn’t fall.
She didn’t turn her back on the enemy.
This time, she might have been a bit heroic.
Compared to that man, Kim Deok-Sung, she still felt lacking.
“I’m glad. Thank you for your help, Kusunagi.”
A satisfied smile finally spread across Yuji’s face.
Seeing that made Kusunagi’s face turn red.
Was it because she had poured all her strength into this?
Yuji’s consciousness dimmed like a flickering light bulb.
“I… kept my promise, Kim…”
Before losing consciousness, the last person he thought of was Kim Deok-Sung.
His best friend, the most wonderful man in the world, and the greatest hero after his father, the Sword Saint.
A smile formed on Yuji’s lips as he closed his eyes.
*
Kusunagi felt a breeze on her cheek from Yuji’s last words.
“Really, Master, you’re such a fool! To mention that man at the end!”
She felt jealous.
Jealous of the master’s interest in him.
She had been with the master the longest, so why?
“This Kusunagi loves the master most of all, so why mention some guy instead of a girl…!!”
Waaaaaaah.
Kusunagi pouted while stroking Yuji’s hair.
His handsome face entered her line of sight.
All the anger that had surged just moments ago melted away like snow.
“But still… Kusunagi still loves you.”
Her very own master.
That’s how she felt as she kissed Yuji’s forehead.
*
I left the handling of Manhunter to Yuji and immediately descended underground.
I wasn’t worried about him.
With the protagonist’s monstrous talents, he would surely awaken in a crisis.
If things got dangerous, he could always call for Olivia at Gwanghwamun for support.
I had enough on my plate; I didn’t need to worry about the protagonist.
He could handle things himself just fine.
Earlier, the president had given me the coordinates of the Blue House Underground Bunker, so finding my way wasn’t difficult.
The explosion had left the Blue House in shambles, but coordinates never lie.
[Partner, I can sense the power of a spirit up ahead.]
Plus, I had the Black Prince as my high-performance navigation system.
Following the Black Prince’s guidance and the coordinates, I wandered around the Blue House Underground for a while.
Finally, I spotted her.
Crimson side tails fluttering in the air.
A beautiful girl with fiery red eyes and a teardrop mark under her left eye that left a lasting impression.
Kurosawa Haru, or rather, Muramasa.
She was right in front of me.
“Oh, I didn’t expect you to come, Kim Deok-Sung.”
Muramasa greeted me with a cold smile.
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