30 Years after Reincarnation, it turns out to be a Romance Fantasy Novel

Rumble—!
The walls behind Ihan collapsed with a deafening roar, but he didn’t even spare them a glance.

It didn’t matter if the walls fell or if the mountains crumbled—
The only thing that mattered right now was the superhuman in front of him.
There was no room for distractions.

Ihan loosened up his body.
Tuk. Tuduk.
He bounced lightly, almost like he was stepping in rhythm, testing his movements.

There wasn’t a single visible injury on his body.
Even after being slammed into a wall like that—
The only real damage was—

“Goddamn, that stings.”
—the spot where he got flicked on the forehead.
Somehow, that hurt more than being smashed into the wall.

“What kind of monster are you?”
“That’s not a monster—that’s a superhuman.”
“…Right. A superhuman that makes monsters look weak.”
“Enough complaining. Are you just going to whine all day?”
“As if.”
Tuk.
Ihan finished stretching, his eyes locking onto Baltar.

The gaze of a predator locked onto its prey.
But no matter how much he observed—
‘Of course. No openings.’

There wasn’t a single gap in Baltar’s stance.
And even if there was, it was probably a trap.
So—
‘Screw looking for an opening.’

Instead of waiting for a weakness—
He’d force one open.
Fwoom!

Ihan launched himself forward.
His legs coiled and exploded with force, accelerating like a missile.
The sheer speed of his charge rivaled that of a cheetah—

And his sheer impact matched that of a war machine.
The ground shattered beneath him as his body rocketed forward.
This wasn’t a technique meant to be used on humans.

It was a weapon of mass destruction.
And yet—
Thwack.

“Hoh. You’ve gotten stronger.”
“—?!”
“Come now. Put a little more effort into it. You’re still so weak.”

…This wasn’t human.
Ihan’s full-speed charge was stopped with one hand.
BOOM!

The shockwave from his impact sent knights flying—
But that was all.
The actual impact itself?

Completely negated.
Baltar let out a light chuckle.
“I remember when you first went off to teach at the Academy. You tried this move back then, too. What was it called? Shadow Step? Ah, nostalgia…”
“You old bastard—!!”

CRACK!
Ihan strained against Baltar’s grip.
But the more force he used, the tighter the grip became—like a spider’s web ensnaring him.

“Shall we recreate that moment, then?”
Tuk.
Baltar’s other hand landed on Ihan’s shoulder.

And then—
“You called this Internal Gravity Technique, didn’t you?”
“—!!?”
“It’s going to hurt a little more this time.”
Before Ihan could react—

BOOM—!!
His entire body was slammed into the ground.
Not just slammed—buried.

CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
“Kghhh—!!”
The force didn’t just strike him—

It ripped through the ground, collapsing the very earth beneath him.
‘This is a little more?!’
If Ihan’s charge had been like a missile, then Baltar had just turned his palm into one.

The impact reverberated through his entire body.
For a brief moment, his vision went black.
“Cough!”
“Is that all you’ve got?”

Huff!
“That’s… disappointing.”
Tuk.

Baltar placed his foot on Ihan’s back.
A light touch.
But—

THUD—!
The moment his foot made contact, it felt like a thousand kilograms had just dropped on him.
“You remember that Heavy Thousand Strike technique you mentioned two years ago?”
“……”
“I gave it my own interpretation. I couldn’t quite match your fancy 600 kilograms, so I just rounded it up to 1,000.”
“……”
“Heh. Are you unconscious already?”
“Y-you… bastard…! Why the hell are you stealing my ideas?!”
“Ah. So you’re fine.”

“—!!?”
His rage boiled over.
Fine, his ass.

If he hadn’t activated Iron Body at full power, his back would’ve exploded.
This was insane.
‘If I hadn’t rebuilt my body, I’d be dead. Goddamn it!’

CRACK.
For a split second, he felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude toward the fairies.
But gratitude could wait.

Right now—
“Hooh?”
He needed to get out of this crazy old man’s grip.

Swish!
Ihan burrowed into the ground.
Like a mole digging its way to safety.

For once, even Baltar looked a little surprised.
“Huh. So you really have abandoned the ways of men. Your goal was to become a mole, was it?”
His mocking tone rang out—

And from below—
“Don’t underestimate moles, you bastard.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!

Suddenly, the ground began to hollow.
A series of small, circular holes formed around Baltar.
Enough to trigger anyone’s trypophobia.

And then—
BOOM!
“…Huh?”

From one of the holes, a fist shot up, grazing Baltar’s shoulder.
But Ihan wasn’t done.
“Let’s see you block this.”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Using the holes as gun barrels, Ihan unleashed a barrage of punches.
Each strike infused with Hundred Step Divine Fist and Shattering Strike.

BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM!!
“Hah! What kind of insane bastard comes up with this?!”
Baltar laughed.

Even at his age, he had faced countless warriors, swordsmen, and mages.
But this?
‘This is completely new.’

BOOM!
He caught one of the punches.
Even through the ridiculous execution, the raw power behind each strike was no joke.

The way the energy built up and burst out—
If someone weaker had been standing here, they would have been ripped apart.
“How adorable. A young one trying to amuse an old man.”

A grin spread across his face.
Like a grandfather watching his grandchild take their first steps.
And because his grandchild had been so adorably reckless—

“Then I suppose it’s only fair that I take things seriously, too.”
Click.
Baltar lifted his iron sword.

A sword so plain and dull that it looked more like a decorative relic than a weapon.
It was so neglected that it was on the verge of rusting.
And yet—

“Hmm, I suppose I’ll just cut everything down.”
Shrrk.
With a single swing, the blade sliced through the air with impeccable sharpness.

A horizontal cut.
A basic movement.
Something that any swordsman would have performed thousands upon thousands of times in training.

But at this moment, if any swordsman had witnessed Baltar’s slash—
They would have questioned their own eyes.
It was perfect.

A movement so flawless that it was beyond human comprehension.
A slash so precise that it was almost beautiful—something that made even the act of blinking feel like a waste of time.
And that was the tragedy.

Because there was no one left to witness it.
All the knights who had been watching the duel had already fled.
…In a way, it was fortunate that no one remained.

Because if they had—
Slice.
They would have been severed cleanly in half.

For a brief moment, Ihan’s barrage of punches froze in midair.
Not only that—
Even the air itself, the very flow of wind, seemed to hesitate.

And then—
“That should do it.”
Shatter!

Hundreds of punches, all at once—burst apart like balloons.
The attack that had rained down like a bulletstorm was now nothing but scattered remnants.
It was an awe-inspiring sight.

But—
Thud.
“Now, how long do you plan to keep playing mole?”

The moment Baltar lightly stomped his foot—
Crack!
A massive fissure spread across the ground.

BOOM!
Everything except the very spot Baltar was standing on—
Was completely uprooted.

“……”
“Ah. There you are.”
As the earth flipped upside down, Ihan was exposed.
Thrown high into the air, surrounded by chunks of earth, sand, and shattered stone—

All he could do was stare in disbelief.
Even as dirt and gravel filled his mouth—he didn’t care.
Because this—

“…The ground isn’t a goddamn carrot! What the hell is this dice-cutting technique?!”
The entire battlefield, about the size of a training ground, had been diced apart like neatly chopped vegetables.
And Ihan couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

In that moment, he finally understood why Baltar had once been called the Sword God during his time as the War Saint.
***
BOOM!

Dust erupted into the sky.
The impact had already cracked the fortress walls, and now they were starting to collapse completely.
It had barely been five minutes since the fight started—

And the royal castle was already on the verge of ruin.
This was beyond a major incident.
And yet—

Neither Ihan nor Baltar gave a damn.
They were men who lived by a simple philosophy:
If you break something, you take the punishment.

And right now—
“Well? Do you yield now?”
Baltar asked, still holding his sword.

When he held a sword, he was a completely different person.
For Ihan, who was already getting his ass handed to him, this was an even bigger crisis.
Surrender would have been the logical choice.

“Have you gone senile?”
“…You disrespectful brat.”
Of course, Ihan wasn’t about to surrender.
Click.

Ihan drew his sword.
For someone who almost never used a blade, this was a rare sight.
Swords were dangerous.

Unlike bare-handed combat, where strength could be controlled, a sword was a weapon meant to kill.
But—
“You’re not the kind of man who’d die just because I drew my sword. So I’ll use it today.”
“Of course. Compared to mine, your sword is nothing more than a toy.”
“…You’re not wrong, but that still pisses me off.”

After all—his opponent was Baltar.
A man he could never kill, no matter what he did.
“Truth is often painful.”
“Goddamn it!”

Even as frustration boiled inside him, Ihan focused everything he had.
Huuuuu—
He pushed his concentration and senses to their absolute limits.

He only had one shot to land a clean hit.
And so—
Hummm. Wuuuuung—

The blade began to resonate.
A clear ringing sound filled the air.
As Ihan’s energy flooded into his iron sword—

And as he added the stolen techniques from the Northern giant and Black Blade—
Fwoooosh!
“Heh. You’ve made something interesting.”
“It’s not going to be ‘interesting’ when it hits.”

Aura Blade.
Like a starry night sky, but filled with a destructive force that was anything but beautiful.
Wuuuuuung!

A terrifying concentration of power, one that should never be used against another human.
Even the user was at risk.
And Ihan aimed it straight at Baltar.

“Even for you, this one’s gonna hurt.”
Ihan smirked, pointing the sword at him—
As if daring Baltar to dismiss it.

But—
“Hmm. Is that all?”
“…?”
“Hah. This is disappointing. Have you forgotten who I am?”
“???”
“If you’ve forgotten—then allow me to remind you.”
Wuuuuuuung—!

Suddenly, from Baltar’s own sword—
A wave of energy erupted.
At first, it looked identical to Ihan’s—

No.
It was even stronger.
Fwooooosh!

“—!!”
Ihan could only stare blankly.
Baltar smiled.

Not with mockery—
But with gentle amusement, like a teacher patiently explaining a lesson.
“Other knights struggle to even manifest Aura Waves—”
“But for us—”

CRACKLE!
“We are Aura Users.”
And then—

The aura changed.
Baltar’s blade didn’t just radiate energy.
It shifted.

Like waves crashing—
Like glass forming—
Until it condensed into something even deadlier.

Fwoooosh.
A glowing sphere began forming at the edge of his sword.
“…Compressed Aura Sphere.”

Ihan’s will to fight almost shattered on the spot.
Aura Blade Condensation.
Or as some called it—Aura Sphere.

A perfect orb of destruction, containing enough power to annihilate everything in its path.
And as more of them formed—
Ihan could only—

“…Hah.”
Laugh in disbelief.