I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 165: Ranking (4)

Seeing Gunther clad in full-body armor made Yuri so excited in an instant.

The reason was simple.

“Wow, that looks perfect for hitting, doesn’t it?”

Just as one would feel compelled to use a good item once it’s in their hands, Yuri wanted to try out his newly completed magic sword in a sparring match.

However, it wasn’t that simple.

The duration for which he could maintain the magic sword was only about three seconds.

The problem was that after using those mere three seconds, Yuri would be rendered completely powerless.

Because of this, ranged attackers like Arin or those who boasted incredible speed like Theresia would flee the moment Yuri showed any sign of using his magic sword.

They acted this way because they knew there was no counter to the magic sword.

As a result, the only time Yuri could use his magic sword was during his sparring sessions with Poppy.

Well, calling it sparring was a stretch… in reality, it was just Yuri slamming Poppy’s shield with the magic sword.

Still, he enjoyed it.

The sensation of striking the shield was quite satisfying and delightful, which left Yuri very pleased.

But the problem was…

[“I’m starving!”]

[“Yuri, he says he can’t take it anymore.”]

After being struck a few times by the magic sword, Poppy clutched his swollen arms and declared a strike.

Poppy already had a traumatic experience of being knocked back after getting beaten by Greta’s sacred fist, and now Yuri’s magic sword was triggering that trauma once again.

With even Poppy unwilling to take his blows, Yuri found no opportunities to use his magic sword.

Then, before him appeared Gunther, fully wrapped in armor.

He looked tough, no doubt about it.

Moreover, Gunther was unaware that Yuri could wield a magic sword, or that the magic sword lasted only three seconds.

In short, he was the perfect experimental target—ideal for a good beating.

“With armor like that, he shouldn’t die from just one hit, right?”

Still, one could never be too sure.

To conserve mana, Yuri intended to reduce the power of his magic sword.

But then…

“Ah… that was a bit too strong, wasn’t it?”

Originally, he had planned to manifest the magic sword only at the precise moment of impact, just enough to touch the opponent lightly.

But due to a mishap in control, he ended up exerting more power than intended.

He lost about a third of his mana, which meant the magic sword had manifested for roughly one second.

And the result was this.

Wham!

With incredible speed, Gunther was sent flying and slammed into the wall of the circular arena, causing a gust of wind.

Along with that came a deafening explosion.

Boom!

Rumble.

The arena wall collapsed, and a cloud of dust billowed up.

Shivering.

“I-I’m starving…”

“There, there, it’s okay, Poppy. Don’t tremble. That didn’t hurt. It’s not like you were the one getting hit, right?”

Traumatized by the incident in the arena, Poppy shivered, clutching his shoulders.

Arin, who had somehow managed to get some rations, munched on them while comforting Poppy.

This was a reaction only from those two who had at least a vague idea of what had just happened inside the arena.

Except for Arin and Poppy, the remaining fifty cadets, totaling about 150 people, stood there with their mouths agape.

Some of them even drooled.

“Huh…?”

“…Uh?”

“What?”

“…Huh?”

Gunther flew into the wall, and a moment later, various voices erupted from all directions.

They had been shocked visually by what had just unfolded before them, and then their brains were hit with a secondary shock as they processed it, leading to delayed exclamations.

Only one thought filled their minds.

“What… just happened?”

They hadn’t seen much.

The moment the match began, Gunther had charged in.

Before they could even blink, he was already flying back.

But that alone was enough to throw the minds of those watching into complete disarray.

“So Gunther… Gunther Irons got knocked out in one blow? Huh… Maybe Gunther was weaker than I thought? But Gunther isn’t weak, though? Uh, no… still, looking at that, it seems like he’s weak? Ah… or maybe not?”

As someone stammered in confusion, a voice filled with disbelief emerged from one side.

“…Gunther is weak?”

The owner of the voice was Clarice Van.

With a rigid expression, he spoke.

“The charge of a knight clad in full armor is stronger than the charge of an average warhorse.”

This was a testimony Clarice could make, as he himself wore full-body armor.

“And Gunther’s charge just now… was perfect. Even if you lined up several meat shields like you, they’d all be turned into mince! I doubt there are many among us who could withstand Gunther’s charge.”

Clarice gritted his teeth slightly.

“And Gunther… you think he’s weak? Did you really see the same thing as I did? If anyone here spouts such nonsense, they don’t deserve to be here. Pack up and go home now!”

The one who suggested, “Maybe Gunther is weak?” protested indignantly.

“T-Then what is that? If not, how do you explain that situation?”

“That’s because Yuri Holland… is just… absurdly strong.”

Clarice’s voice quivered slightly as he answered.

“I was… wrong. That’s not something someone like me can handle. That’s a total….”

“…….”

“…Monster.”

Clarice’s eyes fixed on Yuri, who was rotating his shoulders lightly.

This wasn’t just Clarice’s thought.

Everyone shared the same thought.

“Win against… that?”

“That… monster?”

Some of the squad members, who had been wiped out by Yuri in the Unified Quest for the Armband, had once referred to him as a “monster brat.”

However, most who heard it didn’t think much of it.

They just assumed that the defeated squad members were exaggerating to cover their own weakness by giving Yuri an excessive nickname.

They figured that the stronger Yuri seemed, the better it would reflect on those who had been wiped out by him.

But that wasn’t it.

No, their words were both right and wrong.

Yuri Holland was not just some “monster brat.” He was a true monster.

Thus, from this day forward, Yuri, who had at least been somewhat regarded as human by his peers, was cemented in everyone’s minds as a monster.

Rumble.

The stone dust and dirt settled.

Twitch.

Among the rubble of the collapsed arena, Gunther, who had been sprawled out as if unconscious, slightly moved his fingers.

“Cough, cough!”

With a burst of coughing, Gunther, who had indeed lost consciousness, slowly regained his senses.

“What… what… just happened?”

The buzzing of tinnitus echoed persistently in his ears.

Pain radiated from every part of Gunther’s body, making his brain throb.

However, thanks to this pain, Gunther’s mind became clearer and sharper.

At the same time, he realized.

“Did I… lose? In a single strike?!”

The spectators in the stands were shocked, but no one was more stunned than Gunther himself.

A single blow.

To be knocked down by just one attack.

Gunther, who had always had strong faith in himself, was deeply shaken.

“What… what hit me?”

But his thoughts were abruptly cut off as he struggled to catch his breath.

Cough!

Blood mixed with his cough spattered onto his face guard.

As the thick scent of blood filled his helmet, making it hard to breathe, Gunther lifted his face guard.

Clink.

“H-Haaah!”

Finally breathing in fresh air, Gunther felt like he could live again.

He wiped the blood from his lips and glanced down.

From the chest to the abdomen of his full-body armor, there was a long diagonal cut.

The brand-new full-body armor had been sliced open.

Seeing this jolted him back to his senses, and the thoughts he couldn’t finish earlier resurfaced.

“What in the world… was that?”

He had caught a glimpse.

In a fleeting moment, the golden aura that engulfed him.

If he hadn’t instinctively raised his sword against the overwhelmingly dangerous sensation emanating from it…

If he hadn’t immediately assumed a defensive stance and stepped back instead of attacking, it wouldn’t have been his armor that was cut; it would have been his own flesh.

Lying amidst the rubble, Gunther stared blankly at the sky.

“Even though I deflected the impact… it still came to this?”

Gunther let out a hollow laugh at the realization.

“…A monster.”

He had expected Yuri to be strong to some extent.

The performance Yuri had shown during the Dragon’s Cradle proof test.

The display during the Hundred Steps Ceremony.

And the aura he exuded when he stood against Gunther.

Considering all that, Gunther thought Yuri’s growth had been remarkably swift and that he was likely stronger than Gunther had initially believed.

But still…

“There should be… some limits!”

A year and four months ago, Yuri was just a boy who could barely handle the weight of the sword in his hand, wobbling with every swing.

Now, he had sent Gunther, who had trained ceaselessly since birth, flying with a single strike.

What an absurd talent this was.

If a god existed, they wouldn’t have bestowed such unreasonable talent upon a single person.

Only a devil would grant such a gift.

Grind.

Gunther pressed down on the rubble, raising his upper body.

“Was I just paying the price for my foolishness?”

Gunther had been convinced that as long as Yuri didn’t use that dark monster, the Avatar, he would have a chance to win.

He believed that though Yuri’s growth speed might eventually surpass his own, for the time being, he was the superior one.

“I thought this would be my first and last chance to defeat Yuri Holland…”

But it was all due to his own foolish misjudgment.

Gunther, who had been wearing a self-deprecating smile, was struck by the realization of his own true intentions.

“Ah… I was… a petty loser.”

The genuine intention to defeat Yuri before he grew stronger.

It meant that Gunther had already accepted his own defeat.

Therefore, he had tried to seize victory at all costs, regardless of means or methods.

How was that any different from a hollow victory?

While harboring such thoughts, he had asked Huey Mermon to let him face Yuri Holland in his full state.

“Was it because defeating a fatigued Yuri Holland would have tarnished my victory? You fool!”

Gunther was ashamed of his actions.

“What is my conviction, and what is right?”

Gunther reached out his hand and groped around.

Clatter.

His fingertips brushed against the hilt of a sword.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Gunther’s sword had remained intact despite everything.

He picked it up.

“Ugh!”

He planted the sword into the ground and painfully raised his body.

His entire body screamed in pain.

His limbs trembled like aspen leaves.

He looked as though he could collapse again at any moment, but still, Gunther didn’t give up.

Through gritted teeth and with great effort, he managed to stand up.

Then, he fiercely looked straight ahead.

Far in the distance, standing in the center of the arena, Yuri Holland stood nonchalantly, and Gunther raised his sword once more.

“I have no right… to judge whether Yuri Holland is right or wrong.”

He knew he was not a righteous person who could point out the flaws and immorality of others.

Thus, Gunther decided to accept everything as it was.

At the same time, he cast aside the moral standards of right and wrong.

Instead, he set a new criterion.

One that perfectly suited the Dragon’s Cradle.

“Right or wrong doesn’t matter. If what I believe in is truly right, then that is my way.”

For himself, he had his own way.

For Yuri, Yuri had his own way.

And surely, there were countless others with their own methods.

But not all of those many methods would be correct answers.

What was needed to make one’s own method the true answer?

It was none other than “strength.”

And the one who would become the standard for that strength…

“To uphold my will, to prove my way… to demonstrate my strength!”

That standard was Yuri, who stood far away, staring back at him indifferently.

“I will surpass you, Yuri Holland!”

Thus, the moment when Gunther, who had only tentatively stepped into the era of the Sword Master, fully planted both feet into the stage created by the Sword Master.

His vision turned completely white.

Knowing he had used a bit too much force, Yuri assumed Gunther wouldn’t be able to stand.

Therefore, when Gunther rose from the rubble, Yuri was slightly impressed.

“Oh? It seems you managed to deflect some of the impact?”

Indeed, this guy was of a different caliber than the average fighter.

Even in that brief moment, Gunther had sensed the danger and deflected Yuri’s attack.

That alone was enough to prove Gunther’s talent.

But no matter how much impact he had deflected, it was still the difference between what could have been a fatal blow being downgraded to a severe injury.

Yuri, who had landed the blow, knew this better than anyone.

Rising despite being in a state that should have kept him down indicated a tremendous willpower.

Yuri looked at Gunther, who had raised his sword, and seriously contemplated.

“…Should I hit him one more time?”

He’s holding up better than expected.

With that kind of resolve, he might withstand another blow.

“If he dies… well, that’s just his fate.”

Seriously, if he’d just stayed down, who told him to get up stubbornly?

Anyone could see he was asking for another hit, right?

While Yuri was deliberating whether to strike the barely-recovered Gunther one more time…

Fssss.

A faint glow began to emanate from Gunther, who had raised his sword.

There was no way Yuri couldn’t recognize what was happening.

“…Enlightenment?”

He looked at it from every angle.

No matter how much he stared, it was undoubtedly an enlightenment state.

“…….”

After staring blankly for a long while, Yuri let out an exasperated curse.

“Fuck, again?!”