Absolute Craft

Chapter 17: Versus The Gatekeepers (4)

"You're in my domain now."

Although Blake sounded menacing—perhaps even disdainful—he was genuinely thrilled to clash with the soldier. Melee combat had always been his element.

Now that she wielded a spear instead of a bow, the parameters of the fight shifted in his favor. Yet he suspected her choice of a longer weapon was deliberate—meant to keep him at arm's length.

It dawned on him immediately: spears excelled at maintaining distance.

This meant he had to charge in, denying her any chance to slip away from close quarters.

He struck first, his katana clashing against the spear's handle as the final gatekeeper blocked. Before she could adjust her grip, Blake scored a hit on her armor faster than she anticipated, leveraging his superior speed and the hard-earned experience from his beta days—far beyond what most players could match.

Bent on avenging the arrow wound The Supreme Archer had dealt him, Blake twisted his wrist, slashing at her torso again in pursuit of retribution. He intended to keep striking until she yielded and became his familiar.

His blade moved with such speed that it carved shimmering crescents in the air, drenching her in a gleaming storm of steel. Only a handful of these arcs stemmed from the Crescent Pride skill; each one sliced right through her armor. The rest were clever feints and calculated sacrifices designed to crack her stance and wear down her defenses.

[-144 HP!]

[-137 HP!]

[-109 HP!]

[-115 HP!]

As Blake unleashed twice his weapon's damage on the fifth slash, the gatekeeper's bestial eyes flickered into trembling human ones that locked onto his blade for the briefest moment. An instant later, they reverted to their feral state as dire urgency gripped her.

This player wasn't just another challenger—he wielded his katana like savage claws, more beastly than she could ever be. He surpassed her in every aspect of close-quarters combat. If nothing changed, his next successful strike would finish her.

Spurred by duty and desperation, the gatekeeper took a calculated gamble. She deliberately exposed a vulnerable spot, baiting Blake into an attack. He fell for it. Although he dealt another punishing blow, this time he lacked the positioning to react as swiftly.

Seizing the opening, the soldier kicked him in the stomach, using the recoil to push herself backward. She somersaulted gracefully, placing more distance between them.

When Blake glanced up, he saw her hovering near the ceiling. Her spear reverted into a bow, absorbing red and blue radiance. She traced a ribbon of red-and-blue mana around her arrowhead, intensifying the tip's magical energy.

Amid this brilliant weave of mana and light, The Supreme Archer's poised form and bow remained visible, making her look both radiant and invincible. Everything about this moment screamed danger.

Sheathing his katana, Blake shifted into a new stance. It pulled at memories of his final battle against the leviathan, but he dismissed that painful recollection with a slight shake of his head. He might have perished in style then… but today, he would be reborn.

Blake studied the archer calmly. He inhaled, then exhaled. She hovered about fifteen meters away, high above, safely out of reach. It seemed he had no choice but to endure her final arrow—then close in to defeat her.

But Blake didn't see it that way. The game drew out both the best and worst in its players, and they could push past its mechanics through ingenuity, talent, or sheer experience. He was no scripted character bound by rules; he was himself, with no limits.

He raised his gaze, smiling. The arrow's brilliant red-and-blue radiance washed over his face as though the entire hall—his very life—already belonged to the archer.

As if affirming that notion, The Supreme Archer released her arrow. Loaded with mana, it shot toward him like a blazing meteor. When it reached the halfway mark, Blake sprang into action.

He vanished from his spot.

Intersecting the arrow's path, he slashed it neatly in two. Only the soft rasp of his katana sliding back into its sheath and the faint clink of its chains rang through the hall—Blake himself had disappeared.

By the time the gatekeeper realized what had happened, she instinctively tilted her head back. There he was, floating above her, katana still sheathed, poised to strike.

"I acknowledge you as The Supreme Archer…

…but I am The Supreme Blade."

He streaked past her in a blur, carving a deep gash from her shoulder down to her thigh, rending her armor to expose the metallic flesh beneath. Blake landed gently on the floor and inclined his head.

Behind him, the final gatekeeper crashed to the ground like a toppled statue. Her wide, now fully human eyes watched him from behind.

"Yeah, I already acknowledged…" Blake bit his tongue. He sounded like his old self—too much like the beta-tester persona many had teased. Still, he wouldn't dwell on that now.

"Yes," he whispered.

"Beatrix," Blake said softly.

The defeated soldier's metal shell quivered beneath a black glow, undergoing a transformation she never could have imagined. Meanwhile, a set of massive doors materialized across the hall, swinging open with a resonant thud and flooding Blake with radiant, golden light.