Chapter 32 â Red Sword (2)
What she said was reasonable.
I was still an E Class hunter. The continent wouldnât have fallen if the Devil King was able to be defeated by an E Class hunter.
I was at a huge disadvantage.
But death didnât mean loss to me.
Death was a step to winning for me.
âI have a secret weapon too. Trust me.â
âOk. Since all hunters have a secret. I hope your sword will be as sharp enough to pierce that boss monster.â
Thatâs what I was planning on.
-Youâre playing a fun game. Goddess.
-Youâre last resistance is pitiful. Light. What can light do for those who donât know if they have a future. Even youâre pitiful now.
The Devil Kingâs voice split the battlefield.
-Then show me light as well.
The Witch and I didnât let our guards down. We were watching the Devil Kingâs movements, so we knew the identity of the sound.
The Devil King slowly pulled out his sword on the horizon. Time seemed to slow down. The sword of the Devil King seemed to be on a different time than us. So it seemed like he was trying to cut time.
But the Devil King cut time. He cut the sky. The trajectory of the sword was red.
It precisely aimed for the walls, and pierced it.
The Witch and I subconsciously closed our eyes. While we closed our eyes, dust covered us, and we could hear screams. It was the screams of the soldiers. I heard something break.
When the dust settled, we looked towards where the screams were coming from. It was painful because the dust entered our eyes, but the shock was greater than the pain.
ââŚIs he really weaker?â
The walls of the empire were broken.
The Devil King whimpered.
Red rain poured from the dusty sky.
Laughter echoed from where the Devil King was.
-Is this really still your empire?
It wasnât just the broken city walls.
The red trajectory of the sword crushed streets and buildings. Even the palace was in its path.
A voice rang from nearby.
[They are not the Devil Kingâs servant.]
A voice that announced death.
The Witch and I looked at each other.
ââŚIt was where the reception room was.â
âHeretic Questioner, Sword Saint, and Venomous Snake arenât in the reception room, since theyâre bringing the soldiers here. Crusaderâs looking for the Emperor on your orders. Then, the person thatâs left itâŚâ
The Count wasnât the betrayer.
The Witch quietly murmured.
She didnât say anything else and just shook her head.
I wondered if it was her way of saying farewell.
âBlack Dragon Master. If the Count really passed away then with the outside worldâŚâ
The Witch spoke in a low voice.
âRIght now, letâs focus on whatâs in front of us.â
The 2nd strongest hunter in the tower was glaring at the prey in the horizon.
âEven the Devil King wonât be able to continue attacking like that. Kim Gong-ja. Help protect the broken city walls with me.â
The red spots on the map changed.
The monster army was approaching us like a wave before. But now, the red spots were pointy.
Were they trying to exhaust us?
The points were heading towards the city walls.
It was the crack where the red trajectory had split.
âI was thinking the same thing.â
The Witch grabbed my hand.
We moved towards the broken city walls.
The monsters were right in front of us. Arrow flew. They were from the soldiers above the city walls. It wasnât enough to stop the red wave. Goblin, ork, skeletons, and other monsters ran at us.
There was only about 2 minutes before the first wave arrived.
I heard Bae Hu-ryeongâs voice.
-Even a minute is ok. No, 30 seconds.
Tens, hundreds, of monsters were flying through the clouds.
And tens times that number was rumbling the ground towards us.
There werenât any allies stopping me.
-To win this battle, you must become hope to these people.
So I was standing at the very front alone.
-Endure it by yourself. Even 30 seconds is ok. Itâs important that you show you can stop those monsters by yourself. You donât call a human who lived for 30 years a hero. The 30 seconds that everyone needs. The human that provides those 30 seconds is the hero.
I dropped my backpack on the ground.
Bae Hu-ryeong pulled out a glass bottle.
It was what the future Lord of Alchemy Castle made.
It was the glass bottle with the elixir.
One gulp. Two gulps. Three gulps.
I gulped down the elixir.
-I promised I would teach you sword techniques before the 20th floor, right? Itâs a bit early, but hereâs some lessons.
-Thereâs two goblins in front. They canât see that well because of the dust. Quickly swing your sword before them.
My heart beat even faster.
-The Holy Sword shines, but it can take away sight as well. Take your opponents eyes with your sword, and get time from your opponent.
And so a second for me was faster than my heart.
My sword would be a second faster than me.
Bae Hu-ryeong stood next to me.
-Itâs time to be a hero.
I swung my sword. Blood flowed everywhere.
The goblin screamed. In my second, the scream didnât stop.
Blood scattered in the air. It was the same color as the rain. I gripped my sword even tighter. And swung it.
Before the 1st goblin tied, I cut the second goblin. It was an instant. Blood flowed from my right and left. The monsters shouted without even being able to see my sword.
I killed one, and another.
Before a monster could finish screaming, another monster screamed.
The screams around me didnât end.
The orchestra of my sword.
I directed them with my conducting stick.
-Donât cut off your sword when you swing. Gong-ja. Donât divide each attack, and connect them.
-Cut from the top to bottom. Think. Itâs no different from music. When a tone pitches down, it can be pulled back up.
-Connect! If your sword is low, bring it back up again. Thatâs how your sword can continue to connect.
-A sword is a fight of time! If itâs swung once, itâs over. But a more skilled person can control 5 seconds.
Before the blood poured. And my breath faded.
-Donât waste anything! Just because you cut your opponent, itâs not over. You have to know where to cut next! Donât throw away a second. Live it.
A blade swung between my breathing and the blood of my enemy.
-A sword user lives by their sword.
-Do you think itâs easy to live a second? Do you really want to leave?
-People arenât alive when they spend time. Gong-ja. You are a sword user. So you need to live by your sword.
A goblin scratched me and blood spilled from my arm. Ah. I felt dizzy. Even in the pain, I swung my sword, and looked forward.
Monsters were pouring from the dust cloud. Countless enemies, and countless evil. They were all trying to kill me.
This was 10 seconds. It had only been 10 seconds.
-Burn more, Gong-ja. Donât spill your life, and burn it up.
I tightened my grasp on the sword.
-Itâs time to show who you are.
In the cracks of the city walls, my shout rumbled. The soldiers on top flinched. The monsters coming from far away paused.
-Now youâre not that much of a zombie now, huh!
I attacked the foot of the goblin who stopped first. Before he could react, he was dead.
The goblinâs head flew up with its mouth open.
And next was an orc standing blanky next to it. Before it could raise its club, I bought my sword down on it. Blood poured out like a fountain.
âMore! Just a little bit more!â
At the immeasurable amount of monsters.
I was alive when I swung my sword.
An ogre appeared from the red dust cloud.
Once. Twice. Everytime the monster moved, the wind moved around it.
In the ogreâs dust cloud, a goblin entered. Then, it died with the sounds of its bones crunching.
Yes. That was right. They didnât have any camaraderie. Nor any pity and love for each other.
The beast fiercely cried out.
It bared its teeth to me.
And here, there was a hunter.
There was a hunter chasing after a beast.
The ogre toop a step forward.
The city walls started to crumble.
The disgusting beast took another step forward. Everytime it took a step forward, the ground shook. The city walls crashed down. The ogre shook the ground, heading this way.
-Root your feet in the ground.
What I had to do didnât change.
-Cut your enemy with the sword.
The giant beast stepped forward. I aimed for that moment. When it lifted its club to hit me, I twisted my sword in front of it.
The light of the Holy Sword entered the eyes of the ogre.
The ogreâs body was already stumbling.
It was hard for the ogre to change his direction.
When I was attacking the ogre, I was thinking of something.
âWhy did you give an EX Class skill to a bastard like that.â
Of the tower that gave him thatâŚrare skill.
âIt didnât have to be a saint. Just someone that was a bit more normal. If it was given to someone like that, it wouldâve been fine. But why. To that psychopath.â
The ogreâs club flashed by my nose.
It missed, because it was blinded by the light.
Thankfully, there was a blind spot.
âOhâŚso that was it?â