LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 206 - Finals (1)
Chapter 206. Finals (1)
A sword exuding streams of pitch-black energy, as if it were carved from obsidian.
It didn’t possess the beautiful golden form like his own, but Yuri recognized it instantly.
That was undoubtedly Gunther’s Holy Sword.
‘It looks more like a sword obtained from dealing with a demon rather than something holy.’
Well, regardless of its appearance, it was unmistakably a sword at the level of holiness.
Yuri’s brow furrowed slightly.
‘The last time I saw that guy was in early September, so he’s reached the holy level in just under four months?’
The Gunther he had seen before was a certified fifth stage.
Even if he had been at the very end of the fifth stage back then, it still meant he had broken through the wall and reached the holy level in just under four months.
There were plenty of people who spent years or even decades unable to overcome that single wall, so it was clear just how exceptional Gunther’s talent was.
However, Yuri felt an inexplicable unease at the thought that Gunther seemed to have broken through the wall as if it had been orchestrated just for this Dragon’s Cradle Tournament.
‘Did he stumble upon something good somewhere? Or did he get some one-on-one lessons from his dad?’
Without realizing it, Yuri had hit upon an answer close to the truth.
Meanwhile, Gunther, who had sent Goetz flying, turned his body toward Yuri.
Gunther, perfectly turning his back on Goetz, who was wedged between the rubble of a collapsed wall.
With an attitude that showed he had no interest in Goetz, Gunther raised his sword towards Yuri in the audience.
“Come down.”
The low voice carried on mana, reaching all the way to the audience.
The spectators gulped.
There had been plenty of rumors about Gunther having lost to Yuri Holland a long time ago, but not many had actually witnessed it.
Thus, many had been eager to see Yuri’s true strength in this Dragon’s Cradle Tournament, but what was this?
Not only did he advance repeatedly by default wins, but he also secured a hollow, effortless victory in the semifinals.
Gunther’s provocation, which followed, was more than enough to stir the crowd’s curiosity and anticipation.
‘This is… the real deal.’
‘If it’s this time, we can really verify if Yuri Holland’s skills are the real thing, huh?’
Thus, many eyes darted back and forth between Yuri and Gunther, glimmering with interest.
Meanwhile, Yuri, meeting Gunther’s intense gaze, casually crossed his legs and rested his chin on his hand.
Gunther, looking up from the arena.
Yuri, looking down at him.
It was clear who was the challenger and who was being challenged.
Lightly tapping his foot, Yuri smiled and waved his hand dismissively.
“Hey, hey, aren’t you a bit impatient? I’ll come down when the time is right.”
“Come down. Now.”
“Why the rush? Besides, isn’t the final the day after tomorrow?”
The Dragon’s Cradle Tournament spanned nine days.
Even after today’s semifinals concluded, there was a day of rest before the finals would take place the next day.
Despite Yuri’s pointed remark, Gunther maintained his high-handed attitude.
“That kind of schedule adjustment is well within my power. So… come down, Yuri Holland.”
“Wow, I thought lineage and family status meant nothing in the Cradle, and that only strength mattered… but I guess that’s not entirely true?”
It seemed that the influence of a family and bloodline like the Sword Master’s still held sway, even here in the Cradle.
Enough sway that a mere cadet could adjust the tournament schedule.
Yuri pouted, recalling how he’d been flatly rejected by the Black Sword Corps when he once suggested moving the schedule up.
But then, he retracted his pout and smiled broadly.
“Well, if you insist, I’m more than willing to come down, but first…”
Yuri gestured toward something behind Gunther with his chin.
“Shouldn’t you properly finish your own match before you tell someone to come down or not?”
No sooner had Yuri’s pointed remark left his mouth than a heavy aura erupted from behind Gunther.
Gunther’s face hardened as he turned his head back.
Creak.
Goetz was rising from the pile of debris that had been heaped high.
Covered in dust and dirt, and with blood trickling from his nose, Goetz looked mostly unharmed.
Swoosh.
Wiping the blood from his nose with his sleeve, he stepped out from the rubble.
“Gunther, we’ve known each other too long for you to think I’d go down with just that one hit, don’t you think?”
“……”
“I told you earlier, didn’t I? There’s someone I want to impress, so I can’t just go down that easily. And besides…”
Thud.
Goetz pointed his rose-decorated sword at Gunther.
A fierce heat radiated from his eyes.
“…a man of the Röthen family only grows stronger when he meets a woman worthy of receiving a genuine rose.”
Thump!
Goetz kicked off the ground forcefully, rushing toward Gunther.
He gritted his teeth hard.
‘It hurts.’
Although he had stood up acting like nothing was wrong, his condition was the worst.
From his arms and legs to a cracked rib.
While dispersing the impact, he might have suffered internal injuries; blood kept welling up to his throat.
But he tried to act as composed as possible.
A man of the Röthen family couldn’t show weakness to a woman to whom he had given his heart.
‘I can’t afford to look pathetic like earlier.’
Goetz smiled faintly and ignored the throbbing pain, strengthening his legs even more.
Instead of recklessly charging in to clash swords with Gunther, he surprisingly made a different choice.
Zzzzz.
Instead of directly confronting Gunther, he began circling around him.
Swish.
Goetz’s sword started to roam around Gunther, not attacking him directly.
Soon, Goetz’s sword began to emanate a variety of magical energies.
Swoosh.
Before long, countless red rosebuds started to bloom softly around Gunther.
‘In my current state… no, even if my body was perfectly fine, it would be impossible to face Gunther’s attacks head-on.’
That was something he had fully realized both now and the last time.
Moreover, what Gunther had used just moments ago was unmistakably at the holy level.
There was no way for him to directly withstand Gunther’s Holy Sword.
If that was the case, then he had only one option.
‘To… bewilder him.’
To bewilder Gunther, again and again…
‘If you lose your way, enchanted by the scent of roses in my garden…’
At that moment, he would create a grave of roses for him.
With this resolve, Goetz unfolded his sword path.
The Röthen family’s secret magic body technique.
The Rose Garden.
Pop.
The red rosebuds slowly began to bloom one by one.
Pop—pop.
One after another, the red roses began to bloom in full splendor.
As their numbers increased, the audience momentarily felt as if they had stepped into a garden of roses.
A vivid illusion, so real that they could almost smell the strong fragrance of roses.
This drew admiration from the crowd.
‘As expected… Goetz Röthen.’
‘Such a detailed and vivid illusion!’
His swordsmanship had long surpassed the level of a mere graduate.
If it weren’t for Gunther Ryder, the title of the strongest would undoubtedly have been his.
While people marveled, the red roses circled around Gunther as if enticing him.
The red roses fluttered their petals gently, in a movement so alluring that it seemed to challenge him—could he really resist without touching something so beautiful?
“……”
And was it because he was indeed captivated by this charm?
Gunther, staring intently at the roses circling around him, extended his sword.
And then—
Pop.
Finally, Gunther’s sword touched a red rose.
Naturally, a gleam flashed in Goetz’s eyes.
‘Got him!’
Flash!
The red roses that filled the surroundings exploded all at once, scattering countless petals in all directions.
The swirling red petals suddenly poured down toward Gunther.
Petals tangled and intertwined, quickly engulfing Gunther, making his figure disappear in an instant.
Seeing this, a sense of exhilaration flashed in Goetz’s eyes.
‘It’s done!’
Gunther was perfectly trapped within his sword strikes.
A blend of illusion and deception, even Gunther wouldn’t easily escape from it.
With that in mind, Goetz tightened the sword path that encased Gunther.
He intended for that cocoon of rose petals to become Gunther’s grave.
But at that moment—
Sssss—
From within the cocoon of red petals surrounding Gunther, tendrils of pitch-black mist began to seep out.
At the same time, the pressure transmitted to the hand gripping Goetz’s sword increased.
‘How can this be?!’
Clenching his teeth, Goetz poured even more mana into crafting the illusory sword.
However—
Crack—
Despite Goetz’s best efforts, more black mist seeped through the gaps in the red cocoon.
Soon, the red cocoon began to tear.
Crackle—
At first, it was a small crack, but it quickly spread throughout the entire cocoon.
Black lines slashed across the red cocoon like ominous spider webs.
Between those lines, the pitch-black mist seeped out.
And finally—
Riiip!
The black energy burst through the top of the cocoon, then split it vertically.
Boom!
The cocoon of petals exploded into pieces.
The impact from the explosion was transmitted directly to Goetz, who had been continuously drawing roses to entrap Gunther.
Bang!
“Puhak!”
The moment the cocoon burst, Goetz sustained internal injuries and coughed up blood, being blown away with a loud crash.
Thud—scrape—
Goetz rolled across the ground.
“Ugh!”
Twitching feebly, he kept coughing up blood, showing signs of severe internal injuries.
“Urgh!”
Still refusing to give up, he tried to stand, but each time he spat blood and collapsed again.
Goetz’s state was utterly pitiful.
In contrast, Gunther stood before Goetz.
Emerging from the shredded cocoon, his body was covered in dark veins.
Whoooo—
Gunther, without uttering a word, pointed his Holy Sword at Goetz with overwhelming presence, causing the audience to feel a strong sense of intimidation.
Under the suffocating pressure, no one could easily say anything.
Clap, clap, clap—
Yuri rose from his seat, lightly clapping his hands.
The sound broke the silence of the crowd, and Gunther turned around to look.
Standing up under the gazes of everyone, Yuri moved to the front of the audience and looked down at Gunther.
Then he clapped again towards Gunther.
Clap, clap, clap—
“Congratulations on making it to the finals! You’ve finally earned the right to challenge me, Yuri Holland!”
In a surprisingly polite and affable tone, Yuri addressed Gunther.
With his brazen words naturally casting Gunther as the challenger, the lower ranks, who had grown thoroughly accustomed to Yuri’s antics, wore expressions that said, ‘There he goes again.’
Most of the senior ranks, still not used to Yuri’s antics, looked dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Yuri stepped onto the railing of the audience stand and leapt straight into the arena.
Thud.
While the majority wore puzzled expressions at his sudden action—
Shing—
Yuri drew his sword and shouted.
“Hey, here I am, the one you’ve been so eager for. Let’s have a match!”
A bold and confident voice.
The moment they heard it, Theresia, Arin, and Poppy’s faces stiffened.
“That guy…”
“No way…?”
“He’s… hungry?”
Sensing something, they wore expressions that said, ‘Nah, it couldn’t be…’
But just as they say, ‘sometimes the impossible happens…’
“What are you waiting for? Let’s get started already! You said we could start right away, didn’t you? Come on, you’re not going to pull some crap like ‘I just used my strength, so I need a break,’ are you? Right? The great Gunther Ryder?”
Upon hearing Yuri’s brash shout, the trio—Theresia, Arin, and Poppy—held their faces in their hands.
“…So it’s real?”
“…Aren’t you the one pulling crap right now?!”
“…Hungry…”
Embarrassed, they couldn’t lift their heads, and Jerry, blinking in realization, finally caught on.
“So, wait, that guy…”
Jerry muttered in disbelief as he watched Yuri.
“…He’s trying to fight Gunther right now because he thinks Gunther’s out of energy?”
“……”
The other three remained silent at Jerry’s words.
Because it was true.
And to confirm Jerry’s suspicion, Yuri’s loud, booming voice rang out again.
“Come on, hurry up and decide! Are you in or not? Huh? Wait, are you stalling to recover your stamina? That’s what you’re doing, right?”
At Yuri’s taunting voice, his acquaintances lowered their heads in shame.
The one doing the embarrassing act was Yuri, yet they were the ones feeling the embarrassment.
Not understanding why this was happening, the three couldn’t raise their heads for a while.
Of course, regardless of their reactions, Yuri’s provocations continued.
“You gonna fight or not? Not gonna do it? You scared? Chicken? Cluck, cluck?”
…It was a taunt so crude and low that it was practically dripping with childishness, the kind of provocation that street kids or punks might use.
As the childish taunts went on, surprisingly, did Yuri’s provocation actually work?
“…If you insist, I’ll make sure you pay the price for running your mouth. Right now.”
Gunther’s sword, which had been pointed at Goetz just moments ago, was now directed at Yuri.
Finally getting what he wanted, Yuri grinned broadly and shouted.
“You agreed, right? And everyone here is a witness.”
Yuri’s strange outcry—half question, half declaration—was amplified using mana so everyone could hear.
Though it seemed unnecessary, his next action made it clear why he did it.
Zap!
Before his words even finished echoing, Yuri’s figure, enveloped in lightning, vanished.
In an instant, he appeared right in front of Gunther.
“Take this!”
Drawing a brilliantly glowing golden Holy Sword, Yuri swung it with all his might at Gunther.
Boom!
“Huh?”
“What?”
“Huh?”
“Gasp?”
A sudden attack no one had anticipated.
It was only natural that dumbfounded exclamations erupted from the audience.
Meanwhile, watching Gunther get blown away by the loud blast, Yuri wore a satisfied smile.
“First strike wins!”
Seeing that smile, Theresia, Arin, and Poppy each muttered.
“…So cheap.”
“Wow… what a sneaky move.”
“I’m hungry…”
Even Gunther, still not fully recovered from his earlier ordeal, seemed determined to get his point across. His eyes filled with resolve as he struggled to speak.
“C-Cowardly!”