Chapter 41

Chapter 41.

 

Since ancient times, the chat rush had been a time-honored unsportsmanlike tactic.

It was not as though there was a rule forbidding speech.

It was cheap, but anyone could attempt it as much as they wished.

Still, to think that a supreme expert who had even experienced an Unfathomable-grade battle would do something like this.

Moreover, Ha-kyung had not even known that he was connected to Choi Hyun-ki.

By instinct, he raised both arms and crossed them.

CLAAANG!

“Urgh!”

A powerful impact shook his entire body.

Something had flown toward his chest, only to collide with his arms.

[Cloak of Command activated]
[You are immune to pain]

Thanks to the Cloak of Command, Ha-kyung quickly came back to his senses.

‘If this counts as letting my guard down, then I suppose I did.’

Not every expert was a gentleman.

One only had to look at the Raiders to know that.

They were composed solely of the Highest-Ranking Awakened.

And every last one of them was a complete disaster.

Since he could not see, Ha-kyung was helpless.

THUD! CLANG!

He was somehow managing to defend his vital points, but defeat was only a matter of time.

If he took one proper hit like this, he would be knocked out on the spot.

Ha-kyung gritted his teeth.

‘Damn it. When is this going to wear off?’

No matter how long he endured, the blindness showed no sign of lifting.

It seemed he had truly been caught by it.

Even so, he could not simply keep taking hits forever.

Ha-kyung assumed a defensive stance and waited quietly.

SWISH!

Then, the instant he heard a sharp sound cutting through the air, he abruptly switched to offense.

This was exactly what Ha-kyung had been aiming for.

‘If he wants to attack me, he has to close the distance as well.’

After all, this was a Ranking Tournament between Melee Damage Dealers.

Furthermore, his attack range was quite wide.

SHING—!

Ha-kyung’s Compressed Abyss Refinement extended out to four meters.

Unless his opponent was exceptionally lucky, he had no choice but to be caught.

CLANG!

Sure enough.

A powerful response came through his grip.

Ha-kyung immediately unleashed a barrage of attacks in that direction.

Soon, the Host’s shout faintly reached him.

—Participant Lee Ha-kyung has been afflicted with blindness! Even with his eyes closed, he has identified his opponent’s position! What an incredible refinement ability!

Cheers erupted from the audience as well.

“Waaaaaaah!”

It seemed to mean that Ha-kyung’s performance had been quite effective.

A moment later, the Awakened in the Waiting Area began exchanging their opinions.

“Even with nerves of steel, how is that possible?”

“I know. If it were me, I would have hesitated and gone down right there.”

“It was cheap, but it was a perfect checkmate. But Lee Ha-kyung broke through it by stretching his Abyss Refinement.”

“The level is absurd right from the opening move.”

Even amid the chaos, Ha-kyung heard their voices.

That made him even more certain.

If he kept pressing forward like this, he could win.

However, after five or six blows landed, Ha-kyung missed for the first time.

SWISH—!

He stopped moving and quietly listened.

It was to confirm Jang Do-su’s location through sound.

However, his opponent made no sign of his presence.

Even so, an overwhelming sense of danger swept over him.

FWIP—! THUD!

“……!”

Ha-kyung’s eyes flew open.

An attack had struck him out of nowhere and forced his body backward.

Of course, thanks to the Cloak of Command, there was no pain.

However, Ha-kyung realized that he had suffered a considerable injury.

‘My face was pierced.’

Thick blood filled his mouth with a bitter metallic taste.

Still, the attack had only struck his cheek and shattered his jaw.

It seemed his opponent had deliberately aimed for a spot his armor could not protect.

However, Ha-kyung felt a deep sense of displeasure.

‘The world of competition may be cold, but was there any need to aim for my face?’

There were plenty of exposed areas besides that.

The joints, such as the armpits or the insides of the elbows.

The seams beneath the collarbone and along the sides.

There were even far more lethal spots.

Even so, the reason he had aimed for the face was clear.

His purpose was to make Ha-kyung’s defeat as miserable as possible.

‘To ruin my dignity.’

Was that not Choi Hyun-ki’s purpose?

For a moment, rage surged within him, but Ha-kyung calmed himself.

To begin with, he was not someone who cared about fame.

He merely wanted to gather the fragments and reopen the Ultimate Abyss.

Everything he was doing now was only part of the process of achieving that goal.

Therefore, there was no need to get angry.

Ha-kyung controlled his emotions.

And focused only on sound.

But then, at that very moment—

SLIDE!

For an instant, he saw his opponent’s movement.

No, to be precise, saying he sensed it would be more accurate.

After all, Ha-kyung’s vision was still blocked.

‘Why can I see this?’

He was puzzled, but he moved his body for the time being.

It was because he had read the trajectory of his opponent’s attack.

Jang Do-su had anticipated Ha-kyung’s counterattack.

He had been throwing his weapon from beyond four meters away.

While gripping the blade of a short sword.

SWISH—!

The short sword narrowly grazed Ha-kyung’s cheek.

As though he thought it was a coincidence, Jang Do-su tilted his head.

“Hmm?”

Then he instantly retrieved the weapon he had just thrown.

He had merely stretched out his arm.

Yet the short sword was pulled back into his hand.

Soon, the dagger throwing resumed.

SWISH—!

However, this short sword also missed without fail.

Ha-kyung had tilted his upper body aside and dodged it.

Jang Do-su spat out a curse.

“What the fu—... How the hell?”

As he said that, he summoned the short sword.

Then he threw it again and again.

SWISH! SWISH!

But he could not land a single hit.

Each time Ha-kyung dodged the attacks with exquisite precision, cheers burst from the audience.

“Woooooooah!”

“Can he see now?”

“No way. His eyes are still closed. He must be keeping them shut because opening them would not mean anything.”

“Damn! His Observation Haki is incredible!”

Contrary to the astonished reactions of the audience,

Ha-kyung was inwardly uneasy.

‘Can I keep dodging like this?’

It was only natural to react that way.

What if this sense suddenly cut off at some point?

Ha-kyung would be beaten to his heart’s content like a stationary target.

Of course, he could endure to some extent with the Tyrant’s Bracelet.

However, even then, he would eventually collapse.

It was not a perfect solution.

Ha-kyung quietly opened his eyes.

‘Still nothing?’

Unfortunately, everything before him remained pitch-black.

Even so, he could still dodge the attacks.

Then, suddenly, an intense sensation swept over him.

It felt as though his breath had been cut off for an instant.

A moment later, Ha-kyung realized it.

‘My opponent is preparing some major technique. And... this is Soul Brand.’

He had merely been confused for a moment because he was outside the Abyss.

This sense had not activated by chance.

The anxiety in Ha-kyung’s heart vanished in an instant.

A moment later, confidence took its place.

After all, the brand engraved into his soul would never disappear.

SWISH—! SLIDE!

Ha-kyung dodged the twentieth dagger throw.

A soft smile settled at the corners of his mouth.

“Why do you keep trying attacks that obviously will not work?”

“You... You can see, can’t you?”

“No. My eyes are closed.”

“Then how are you dodging?”

“Because it is obvious. And because I can feel it.”

“You are saying you are reading the trajectory with nothing but sound and the flow of the air? Stop spouting nonsense!”

Jang Do-su’s attack flew in once more.

However, something was different this time.

WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH! SWISH!

A subtle sound was hidden beneath the whirling sound of something spinning through the air.

Ha-kyung immediately swung his karambit upward.

CLANG! CLINK! CLINK!

With the sounds of impact, pieces of metal fell to the ground.

This time, he had thrown a longsword at the same time.

He had deliberately spun it in order to conceal the sound of the dagger.

However, it was useless.

Ha-kyung could grasp the objects as if he were seeing them.

Jang Do-su could not hide his shock.

“I-I am certain you could not have heard that properly...”

It was a serious misunderstanding, but Ha-kyung did not bother to correct him.

If his opponent misunderstood on his own and collapsed because of it, what could be more convenient?

Ha-kyung slowly began to walk.

‘I know where he is, and I can even read his attacks. There is no need to hesitate.’

Even so, he could not let go of his tension until the very end.

His opponent must have been hiding at least one trump card as well.

Sure enough,

Jang Do-su suddenly began striking his weapons together with great force.

CLAAANG!

At that moment, Ha-kyung realized that he could no longer hear.

A message like this had probably appeared.

[You have been struck by Warpath Champion Jang Do-su’s ‘Silence Wave’]
[Your hearing is lost]

He must have thought Ha-kyung was predicting the trajectory through sound.

It seemed he had forced himself to use a hearing-paralysis skill.

However, Ha-kyung’s advance did not stop.

CLANG!

He was even deflecting the incoming attacks with ease.

On the other hand, Jang Do-su’s breathing had grown ragged.

“Haaah! Hah! You cannot see, and you cannot hear, so how can you possibly fight?”

It was a hysterical shout.

However, Ha-kyung did not answer.

He had no choice.

At the moment, he could not hear anything.

With an indifferent expression, Ha-kyung launched his attack.

SWISH! CLAAANG!

“Argh!”

All he had done was swing his karambit downward with Compressed Abyss Refinement.

However, Jang Do-su’s body staggered after blocking the sword strike.

His legs trembled.

His arms shook violently.

It seemed the impact had been much stronger than expected.

The one who had attacked, Ha-kyung, was instead bewildered.

“Huh? Why are you this weak? Are you just a one-trick pony who steals senses?”

“Y-you bastard!”

Perhaps Ha-kyung’s mutter had struck a nerve.

Jang Do-su’s expression twisted like that of an evil spirit.

Then he began unleashing attacks like a madman.

“Aaaaaah! Die! You monster!”

FWOOSH-FWOOSH-FWOOSH!

Every time the long and short paired swords swung, blue flashes burst forth.

The skill he unleashed this time held considerable power.

Enough to stop Ha-kyung’s advance.

Enough to push him back little by little.

Of course, it was not because he had been hit.

Ha-kyung was deflecting every single attack.

It was simply that the skill Jang Do-su had activated was that powerful.

Suddenly, Ha-kyung recalled what Choi Su-ho had said.

‘No matter how powerful it is, it means nothing if it does not hit, was it?’

It was a line that suited the present situation perfectly.

Ha-kyung raised the corners of his mouth.

Was this not the perfect stage to prove just how pathetic those words were?

He poured a tremendous amount of Mana and Abyss Energy into his karambit.

In an instant, Ha-kyung’s blade stretched to ten meters.

No matter how much he strengthened Abyss Refinement, it could not reach this extent.

Which meant that he had activated another skill.

WHOOOOM—!

A Gray-White line was drawn through the air with a heavy sound.

Then, a brilliant flash covered the Arena.

For an instant, every sound in the area vanished.

The audience and participants.

The Referee and the Judges as well.

All of them had frozen with their mouths hanging open.

Soon, a suppressed groan burst from Jang Do-su’s mouth.

“Guh...!”

SPLAT! CLATTER!

A severed body part and armor fell to the ground.

Jang Do-su moved his gaze with a dazed expression.

His left arm was twitching, drenched in blood.

Ha-kyung’s Soul-Sever had cut it cleanly away from the shoulder.

A moment later,

Jang Do-su collapsed with a scream.

“Aaaaaaargh!”

“Game set! Send in the Healers!”

The Referee declared the end of the match.

Brilliant clusters of light flew in.

One of his arms had been severed, but it was not that serious a matter.

To Healers, that level of injury was child’s play.

Ha-kyung realized that his senses were slowly returning.

‘It lasts longer than I expected.’

It was an extremely irritating skill.

Aside from that, however, there was nothing remarkable about it.

After all, the match had ended with a single casual swing of Compression Soul-Sever.

Still, he had gained many insights.

Had he not discovered a new function of Soul Brand?

Ha-kyung suddenly looked toward the Waiting Area.

The person whose eyes met his without warning was Choi Su-ho.

The bastard was glaring at him as if he wanted to kill him.

According to the tournament bracket, Ha-kyung would meet him in the finals.

Ha-kyung muttered under his breath.

“Keep pulling your bullshit. I will keep smashing it to pieces.”