I Became a Swordsmanship Genius at the Academy

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“Die in pieces!”

Berniika shouted fiercely. In front of her was a massive greatsword, descending towards me.

The weight crashing down tilted the very axis of the earth.

Yet the speed at which it fell was like a meteor, seeming to be unaffected by its mass.

‘I can’t block it.’

If I were to adopt a defensive stance even once, overwhelmed by that force, it would be the end.

Only a future of being crushed under that power awaited me.

There was no way to dodge either. That too counted as a defensive stance.

Ultimately, there was only one choice. Charge through.

Kwahzizik!

The black aura overlaying the deeply thrust moonlit sword quivered, and beneath it, a red light surged.

The scarlet ring generated when unleashing a Lightwave Strike.

It flowed out, filling Kim Il-shin’s mana circuits, only formed by compressing the mana of the Celestial Split Sky.

Every swing of the sword was imbued with the power of the Lightwave Strike.

Even so, I was barely able to evade.

Kwadududek!!

As the blade skimmed by, the iron blood shattered and fragments flew.

Those too were under Berniika’s dominion, so letting them pierce me was not an option.

Whoosh!

The spiral shockwave released from the grip that held the blade shattered the fragments.

What would normally have been a minor vortex now tore through space, infused with the scarlet ring.

‘… This is tough.’

Even so, I couldn’t block every single fragment.

A few shards sliced past Kim Il-shin’s body.

Feeling a stinging pain, I approached like a spear, delivering a strike to Berniika’s solar plexus with the principles of the Moonlight Scripture.

Twong!

Even as the shock penetrated her armor, her body wouldn’t budge at all.

Without stopping, I unleashed Qi from the Yongcheon points under my feet and drove my elbow up with that recoil.

Tuwak!

The strike packed with genuine energy burst through the space around us.

In any normal human, that blow would’ve taken their head clean off.

However, Berniika merely murmured weakly.

“You’re quite skilled at playing games.”

In an instant, iron blood surged upwards along the diagonal path.

‘Spike generation… or explosion.’

Either way, it was equally annoying. Yet, I still didn’t retreat.

I swiftly maneuvered behind using my inner energy technique and thought.

‘I hope it’s an explosion.’

But that wish went unfulfilled.

The spikes that shot out from the iron blood plunged into the ground, trapping me.

As if on cue, they multiplied like withered brambles surrounding me.

In an instant, an impassable barrier had formed.

‘This isn’t enough.’

What concerned Kim Il-shin at that moment wasn’t that.

From the very beginning, she had no intention of staying away from Berniika.

‘The madness is insufficient.’

Berniika clearly recognized Kim Il-shin’s condition.

She was aware she wouldn’t hold out long and was merely stalling, adjusting her Blood Heaven Demon Art.

A strategy that contradicted Berniika’s arrogant and tyrannical nature.

It was evidence of how threatening she deemed Kim Il-shin to be.

“Nothing to it.”

“… Huh?”

Kim Il-shin muttered indifferently. Noting Berniika’s reaction, she spoke about the past.

“The dirty power you gained after abandoning your family isn’t worth much, is it?”

“… What did you say?”

Berniika asked as if she hadn’t heard.

She couldn’t have imagined hearing her past in a place like this.

The past she had buried in the depths of her memories was unearthed by Kim Il-shin.

Confirming the provocation had struck true, Kim Il-shin continued.

Mimicking the tone of the clergyman she absolutely despised.

“Your father, who rescued you when you were a street urchin with no blood ties, your sister who gifted you a beautiful bouquet, your husband who whispered love to you— you killed them all with your own hands.”

“Shut… up…”

Berniika’s eyes became increasingly murky. Blood the color of bright red ruby filled her once-clear gaze, turning thick and dark.

“Is that all? The neighbor who shared freshly baked bread with you every day, the kind old man who did you favors, even the shopkeeper who always welcomed you warmly— you killed them by your own hand, didn’t you?”

“Shut up, I said…”

“What was the taste of their blood? Was the eternally sweet life you obtained through your grotesque deeds so delightful to you!”

“Shut your mouth!”

The end was near. The change that began in her eyes spread, filling her entire body.

Now it was time to drive the nail in.

“Don’t dodge, answer me, you foolish daughter of fanaticism! Where in this place is the god you serve? Face reality. You forsook happiness chasing after a false illusion, leaving behind only eternal regret—and—”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!!”

Berniika screamed, pulling at her hair.

From her frenzied movements, a terrifying energy unlike anything before radiated outward.

Blood mist evaporated into a red powder, erupting from her body.

The byproduct of the frenzied Blood Heaven Demon Art.

“I will tear that mouth apart!”

Now there was no trace of reason left in her eyes.

Her mind, filled with rage and madness, even invaded the outside space.

Kwahhh!!

The raised iron blood overflowed with crimson light.

The sight was as if it was absorbing all the colors around; I even felt an illusion of the sunset falling before my eyes.

There was a clear will to obliterate everything around me.

‘I cannot block it completely.’

That was obvious. If I tried to block it head-on, I would instantly be reduced to dust.

Yet Kim Il-shin still drew up her mana.

Clutching the moonlit sword, she recalled the incantation of the Celestial Split Sky’s Lightwave Strike.

A technique that would normally be impossible.

However, with the influence of the rampaging circle, the scarlet ring now filled her entire body, making it possible.

“Be crushed and vanish—!!”

With the cry, the sunset fell.

The swirling red ring opposing it seemed infinitely weak.

Patshik!

Just as expected, the swirl scattered upon contact. But there came a follow-up slash.

Kwagak!

The moonlit sword stabbed through the rift created by the Lightwave Strike.

A wave thick enough to threaten even its user resonated, causing the sunset to collapse.

A small hole barely made with all her strength, Kim Il-shin thrust herself into it.

Kwahwahwahwahk—!!

The completely fallen sunset erupted into a colossal explosion.

“……!”

Berniika stood before Kim Il-shin, drenched in blood.

His state was nearly that of a ragdoll.

There was not one intact spot on his body, and his left arm hung lifelessly, broken.

Blood flowed from his burst blood vessels, and each breath he took was labored.

Yet, unwavering confidence shone in his eyes.

As if he had predicted everything that was unfolding.

‘What the hell is this guy…’

She felt confused. Despite being her sworn enemy, as he rushed toward her, something seemed to overlap.

All-knowing omniscience. Furthermore, an omnipotence that accomplishes everything with the will it embodies.

The visage of the god she harbored appeared in Kim Il-shin.

“No, no way!”

Berniika immediately denied it, swinging the frozen iron blood.

Since they were in close combat where the force was somewhat offset, and she had just expended a significant ability.

In that situation, there was no way Kim Il-shin would fall to a sword swung without technique.

Kaan! Kwajik!

As she drove the iron blood into the ground, she pierced her sword through the splits in the armor.

The right arm clad in armor fell to the ground. Her legs, devoid of strength, buckled at the knees.

But Berniika paid no heed and shouted.

“You can’t be my god!”

Kim Il-shin denied her past and insulted her ambition, leveling the blade at her.

Therefore, that existence was something beyond godhood, unknown and different.

At least that’s how it felt to Berniika.

The fear she felt from that thought made her spit out those feelings.

“You shouldn’t exist in this world!!”

Blood gushed from Berniika’s eyes. From her kneeling position, a tremendous energy surged from her heart.

Realizing her impending defeat, she harbored the resolve for mutual destruction.

‘……’

Even in this dire situation, Kim Il-shin gazed at her blankly and recalled a single word.

‘……Existence.’

In that moment, Kim Il-shin realized the identity of the emotion he had never recognized.

Unwanted possession. Bullying due to lack of talent. Two years endured while clinging only to a thread of hope.

The pressure to prepare for the end. Enemies hunting for his life. Yearning for the past.

The emptiness stemming from the fact that his soul didn’t belong in this world.

The rebellious sentiment that couldn’t easily accept that fact.

The confusion about the essence of existence and the fear of wandering.

All those emotions he had never accepted washed over him in an instant.

Only at this moment, on the borderline of life and death, could he embrace it without regret.

He was someone who had acknowledged his limits and sought an ordinary life.

But now that it had come to this, he resolved that this world would remember his existence.

He defined and concluded his own existence. He brought it to light with his sword.

Swoosh.

Following the smoothly flowing trajectory, the scarlet ring accompanied him. With that, a forceful momentum imbued with the Moonlight Divine Art took shape.

Thus, the foundation of the One Body Sword Flow was set, and in the first technique manifested thereafter, his spirit was contained.

‘Existential proof.’

It was just those four characters.

Kwajik!

Right after witnessing the distortion of space, Kim Il-shin lost consciousness.