Festival Of The Fallen Warriors (8)

Yu and I looked at each other in silence for a long time.

Even the crowd, which had been passionately cheering, was now as quiet as could be.

Everyone was waiting for the response from the great warrior’s lips.

Yu let out a sigh.

He scratched his head and pouted.

“This… nothing ever goes easy. I’m tired, you know.”

Yu looked up at the clear, rising moon.

He was young.

Not much older than me.

At most, he was in his late twenties to early thirties.

But in his eyes was the gaze of an old man longing to return to the earth as he watched the twilight fade away.

I could tell that the look in his eyes was the emptiness he felt.

‘According to the setting, Yu is a man who has silently faced challengers here for nearly 1000 years.’

Whether he won or lost…

He did not die.

He was just trapped here, continuously leading the .

That’s why his weary state… could be understood when exploring other ruins or related dungeons.

‘Therefore, it’s usually impossible to draw out Yu’s true intentions.’

He was consumed by emptiness and didn’t properly acknowledge challengers.

Yet, despite that, he was strong.

However, even this ‘Yu’ would seriously engage in a match if certain conditions were met.

Discovering the source of the statue and the respect for the tribe that vanished into the annals of history he belonged to.

One of those was to wash the statue with your own hands.

‘Normally, you’d have to gather all that information by wandering around…’

This time, it was solved with the knowledge of a veteran.

Yu scratched his head.

He stared blankly for a moment and then asked an unexpected question.

“Reason.”
“…Huh?”
“What do you fight for? What’s the reason?”
“……”

It was a simple question, but…

It unexpectedly struck a chord.

In the flicker in Yu’s eyes, I felt that he had seen through my essence.

Perhaps he sensed it too, as he planted his sword into the ground and added a word.

“I’m not really interested in the life you’ve lived. My creed is to focus on the future rather than the past, and on the present rather than the future. Though, even that has grown tiresome…”
“……”
“There’s only one thing I want to know.”

The reason you’ve drawn your sword now.

The reason you’re enduring pain and hardship here to overcome the wall.

“That’s what I’m curious about.”

I didn’t hesitate.
For such things, I had already found my answer long ago.

“I need the strength to take them to where they wish to be.”

“You?”

“My people, I mean.”

“Aren’t you included in that category?”

“…Not yet, but I’m trying. So that I don’t sacrifice myself.”

“Really? That’s quite a decent answer.”

Yu smiled.

He spun the sword in his hand and struck it into the ground with a thud.

Rumble!!!!

The entire arena began to shake.

From various empty spots in the arena, stones rose, expanding as if to create a new realm within the colosseum.

Before I knew it, the space between Yu and me had expanded to near infinity.

I didn’t bother to ask what it was.

‘[Warriors’ Dialogue Field].’

The [Intrinsic Skill] of the dual swords Yu wielded.

A rare spatial ability that forms a field as desired by the owner.

Usually, such space-dominating skills are designed to favor oneself and disadvantage the opponent.

But here, there was none of that.

The arena where warriors engage in honorable combat, facing each other with swords.

This was due to Yu’s personality and his warrior philosophy merging to create this manifestation.

‘A warrior who holds fairness as a creed in battle.’

Yu is inherently unable to do anything that gives him an advantage.

In other words, the strength he showed earlier was his full power.

So, what is the effect of this place?

‘One hour here is one minute outside.’

You could fight here for up to 100 hours.

During that time, all buffs and proficiency adjustments were applied.

In essence, the ultimate reward of the is clashing with Yu for 100 hours here.

That was it.

Yu explained this fact to everyone.

He loosened his neck here and there.

He bent his waist.

Holding the two dual swords in his hands, he took a classic yet threatening stance.

“Challenger. Since you’ve come this far, don’t fall in vain.”
“Of course.”
“Good. Here I come!”

Their forms vanished as they clashed.

A total of 100 hours.

The true trial to rise even higher began.

---

Ka-ga-gak-!!!

I thought while relentlessly attacking Yu’s smoothly swirling sword strikes.

‘As expected, the straightforward approach is tough.’

The great warrior Horman.

Known as ‘Yu,’ he is an infamous NPC among the Supervisors.

His unique, smooth parries, occasionally followed by fierce consecutive strikes, often lead to annihilation if challenged unprepared.

---

―No, seriously. How the hell do you catch this bastard called Horman or Holoholo? I thought I’d beat him up because there were three of us, but I ended up getting beaten instead?

┗(Roughly, just this time. Meme)
┗(Phew, just this once. Meme)
┗No, you bastards, tell me the strategy!
┗The weather is freezing, totally agree~
┗This guy just said “totally agree”…

No joke, when Horman was first revealed, not only most newbies but also mid-level Supervisors with some experience were bound to get their heads smashed.

That’s why this boss had the most researched strategies and countermeasures.

‘The first method is to give up on reputation, use all sorts of crowd control to immobilize him, and then beat him up.’

The second is to overwhelm him with sheer stats, literally crushing him.

In my case, both were possible.

I had high-damage skills like [Burning Flame] and plenty of crowd control.

I also had top-tier stat boosters like [Strange Monstrous Strength].

However, I chose neither of these options.

‘Winning like that is meaningless.’

I needed to become stronger myself.

To do that, I had to be sharp enough to pierce through Yu’s sword fair and square.

The battle continued.

An endless exchange that seemed to last for hours.

Once again, I noticed the mysterious stairs stretching upwards that I had seen earlier.

Yu, now a bit closer than before, was looking down at me.

He gestured for me to come up.

I launched myself towards him, breaking through the stairs.

---

‘Impressive.’

Yu, who was clashing with Yu Seha, was inwardly impressed.

Though he currently appeared young, he had long surpassed 1,000 years of age.

Even if his stats were limited by the ’s rules, the level of his swordsmanship had not diminished.

Yet, a child who hadn’t even reached the age of adulthood…

Was boldly approaching and devouring him.

Starting from the legs, he was slowly being devoured upwards.

‘Looks like he’s already adapted to this.’

Whirl!

Yu swung aside the flying small sword.

It was the crimson pyroxene that Qi had used.

At first, Yu wondered, ‘Could it be that he learned the art of sword control?’ but it wasn’t that.

The throw was purely linear.

Once deflected and distanced to some extent, it was reverse-summoned back to Yu Seha’s side.

It was probably due to the effect of the gloves he was wearing now.

Around him, a total of five weapons floated and rotated as if guarding him.

Yu wasn’t focusing on this unthreatening throwing technique.

It was the application and situational use of the various weapons he employed.

The curved sword used by Hwan. The black iron used by Speed was grabbed by Yu Seha as he charged forward.

Swinging the curved sword, albeit clumsily, several phantom swords appeared and began to swirl around Yu.

“……”

With movements as smooth as a reed, Yu deflected all the attacking phantom swords.

He knew.

The curved sword was just a distraction.

The real threat was the ‘black iron’ in his hand.

Screech!

With a strange noise, a sharp sword force spread out in a straight line.

The speed was astonishing enough to be surprising.

But Yu had already seen through it.

He gently rotated the twin swords in his hands.

With the sword in his left hand, he nullified all the attacks.

With the sword in his right hand, he transformed the force he had neutralized into a swirling storm of blades.

“Ugh!”

A sword force that Yu Seha couldn’t completely block slashed his shoulder.

Even as blood flowed, he didn’t care.

He didn’t use the [Recovery] skill, even though he had it.

Yu clicked his tongue as he watched that.

In truth, Yu Seha’s body was already slashed and torn, a heap of rags.

‘But he evolves.’

Aside from the initial severe cuts, he was quickly adapting to his sword.

What this meant was simple.

‘I’m being caught up.’

In every clash, every moment.

Every day, every hour, every minute, every second.

Yu Seha was climbing the stairs with great strides.

A truly unbelievable display of genius.

A talent so dazzling.

It naturally invoked a sense of awe rather than jealousy.

This was the assessment of Yu Seha that Peng Jin-ah had mentioned in the past.

―The density of time is different. For Yu Seha, one minute might have the same effect as 100 hours for ordinary people.

It was the moment those words became reality.

However…

‘Is that also reaching its limit?’

Sway.

Yu Seha knelt down and caught his breath.

His sunken eyes made him look like someone who hadn’t eaten for days.

Yu left Yu Seha behind and looked up at the sky.

Yu recognized a total of two suns and moons.

A full two days.

He realized that a total of 48 hours had passed.

‘Well done, young warrior.’

Yu bent his body halfway.

‘But to be caught up with just this amount of time…’

The gap between us is too vast.

Crack!

He grasped a double-edged sword in reverse grip.

The blades rotated, moving smoothly as if drawing a circle.

Immediately, from Yu’s point, in all 360 degrees, dozens of sword energies whirled like a gentle breeze.

It was his secret technique, [Flowing Slash].

Each sword energy, with a chilling presence, targeted only Yu Seha without damaging the surrounding terrain.

Yu thought it was over.

He believed Yu Seha couldn’t possibly block it.

Until the next scene.

“…!”

With a dull noise, the sword energy of [Spirit of Justice] shattered.

In Yu Seha’s hands were ‘No Tong’ and ‘Khan’s Mace.’

Seeing the weapons glow, it was clear that [Intrinsic Skill] had been used.

However, Yu was surprised by something else.
[Spirit of Justice] had calculated even that from the start.

“…No way?”

Yu uttered in astonishment, gazing at the blossoming flower of talent.

---

Yu Seha slowly opened his eyes.

The world reflected in his pupils was literally filled with a blood-red hue.

After two months…
He had used [Unprecedented Sense].

The reaction, after such a long time, was wildly tumultuous.

Yu Seha gripped the intuition of the ‘Tyrant’ as if handling a bridled horse.

Recently, Yu Seha had turned off the [Unprecedented Sense] he relied on the most and enhanced his intuition.

The two began to merge into one and tremble.

‘My senses and…’

He combined the intuition of the ‘Tyrant’ into one.

This became an unwavering mind that wasn’t swayed by anything.

Thanks to this, he could see through all of Yu’s sword techniques.

A rising sense of exhilaration.

Feeling it, Yu Seha activated [Calamitous Fiend].

He intentionally didn’t trigger any status effects that would bind Yu.

The sole aim was to enhance the power of the sword.

Mental elevation.

And mental awakening from the sense of achievement.

Yu Seha began to cross the wall with a sensation close to ecstasy.

Yu, who was watching it, realized he had made a big mistake.

‘I thought he was a young monster…’

Not young…

He was a genuine monster that had not yet revealed his true claws and teeth.

Yu realized that he was already inside the mouth of the gigantic monster named Yu Seha.

He smiled softly.

Spinning two dual swords, he shouted loudly.

He blessed the radiant flower of unmatched talent.

To the great warrior who was newly blooming.

He sent his admiration to the junior who longed for strength for the sake of someone precious.

“Come, Yu Seha! I, the great warrior Horman, acknowledge you!!!”

“…I will go!”

---

The sun of the third day rose.

Kang-! Ka-gak-!

A loud noise resounded.

Neither of them used any special skills.

It was a match made purely of the art of the sword.

As time passed, the swords of the two became sharper.

To be precise, it was the exchange between Yu Seha, who was becoming increasingly sharp, and Yu, who matched him by sharpening his own edge.

As if they had infinite stamina, the two clashed without showing signs of fatigue.

It was a time of conversation and sublimation for warriors who worship and follow their own martial arts.

Countless spirits watching had tears in their eyes.

They watched the fight of the two great warriors with bated breath.

The sun of the third day set.

As the moon of the fourth day rose…

The sun signaling the final time rose.

Wooong-!

As the flow of the barrier signaled its end, the surroundings began to crumble slowly.

The afternoon when the sun and moon exchanged places.

When the twilight hour arrived.

Finally, the long and drawn-out match was decided.

“……”
“……”

Yu had the [Saint’s Sword] pointed at his neck.

The dual swords he held fell to the ground.

The wall of Yu, which seemed impossible to reach.

It was the moment when Yu Seha succeeded in breaking it down.

“Haha…”

Yu chuckled softly.
He looked at Yu Seha.

His cheeks and eyes were sunken, as if they could break at any moment.

It was clear evidence that he had been pushed to the limits of extreme fatigue.

Yet his sword blade did not tremble even slightly.

“Haa…”

Yu gazed at the setting sun and thought.

‘Is it me who is exhausted?’ he wondered.

He shook his head.

He was always in a perfect state.
Yet he lost.
What this meant was clear.

‘You’ve surpassed it.’

Yu looked to the side.

A space filled with darkness.

The densely stacked stairs.

Until just a moment ago, he had been looking down at Yu Seha…

Before he knew it, he had passed him and succeeded in stepping up a stair.

He met his eyes.

In those eyes, a talent shining like starlight was overflowing.

Yu proudly patted the shoulder of Yu Seha, who had clearly risen above.

This was the expression of respect and admiration sent by the great warrior Horman.

“Yu Seha.”

“…Yes.”

“Someday, you will become a star.”

The world of that brilliant star that every swordsman wished to reach but could not.

“Surpass the sky.”

Engrave yourself so deeply that no one dares to look at your existence.

You can do it.

“……”

Yu Seha nodded.

Immediately after, his body staggered and fell forward.

Thud.

Yu caught him.

Then, in the very center of the arena, which had been completely restored.

He raised his hand up high.

Yu looked at everyone.

At his gaze, all the spirits stood up.

“Everyone, cheer for the new winner!!!”

A word from the leader who had long led the .

The audience cheered for the birth of a new winner.

―Waaaaa!!!!!!
―Winner, winner, winner!
―The birth of a great warrior!

Hearing this, Yu Seha finally let go of the thread of consciousness he had been barely holding onto.

“Seha!!!”

He heard Moon Bora’s footsteps rushing over from afar.