Chapter 6…
Thirst (1)
The Black Sword soldier who stepped forward as Yuri’s examiner looked at him no differently than the others had.
Why on earth did Broken-Section Sword recommend a brat like this?
Until now, every examinee he had faced had been called a genius or at least a prodigy.
But the one standing before him now?
Has he even held a sword before?
Trash who hadn’t even mastered the basics.
That was the Black Sword soldier’s judgment of Yuri.
But all those thoughts were wiped clean the instant he confronted the suddenly surging black form.
No—more accurately, he couldn’t think at all.
What… is that?
Smoke—or perhaps flames—flared upward in a dark blaze.
Black eye sockets curved like crescent moons, and a wide mouth split open in a wicked grin.
Having encountered the supreme realm known as “Incarnation” for the first time, the Black Sword soldier could not comprehend what he was seeing.
A… monster?
That was the only word he could muster.
And the moment he locked eyes with the monster’s hollow sockets, a horrific killing intent surged toward him.
—Die! Die! Die…!
The monster’s killing intent took the form of language and stabbed directly into his brain.
It brought with it excruciating pain.
But the real nightmare was only beginning.
The density of that killing intent kept growing stronger.
—Die! Die! Die! Die!
“……?!”
Though he was only a low-ranking member of the Black Sword Corps, he had endured hellish training. He had crossed the threshold of death more than once and believed he possessed the mental fortitude to withstand mere killing intent.
But this was different.
This wasn’t something that could be endured or resisted.
—Die! Diiiiie!
The repeated waves of killing intent reached his very soul.
Rattle—.
His body began trembling like an aspen leaf, ignoring his will.
Clack, clack—.
His teeth chattered rapidly.
Before an inescapable terror, his body froze and his thoughts turned blank.
Soon, only one thought filled his mind.
I’m going to die… I’m going to die… I’m going to dieee!
Clatter—.
The sword slipped from the Black Sword soldier’s lifeless hand and rolled across the ground.
And the black monster—
Its torn mouth spread wide.
Kehahaha—!
As if laughing, the monster opened its jaws and swelled enormously before lunging down upon him.
“Th-that?!”
“Kyaaah!”
The black monster that blotted out the sky radiated savage ferocity, while the Black Sword soldier before it looked utterly helpless.
People expected he would be devoured alive.
But at that moment—
Saaah—.
A gentle breeze blew from somewhere.
Then a fierce gale followed.
Fwaaaaaang—!
“Ugh?!”
“Wh-what’s happening?!”
The powerful wind whipped through people’s hair, and some were forced to turn their heads from the pressure.
Those who didn’t look away witnessed a rare sight.
A pure white wind wrapped itself around the black monster.
Swoooosh—.
—Grrr!
The black monster struggled, trapped within the white gale.
White wind that bound.
Black monster that sought to break free.
It looked like a white serpent devouring a black beast.
The fierce clash of black and white ended anticlimactically.
Bang—!
Unable to withstand the crushing pressure of the white wind, the black monster burst apart.
It dissolved into a wisp of smoke and scattered into the air.
All of it happened in the blink of an eye.
Thud—.
Freed from the brink of death, the Black Sword soldier collapsed unconscious.
And standing before him was Johann.
No one had seen when or how he moved there.
Like a legend, he had simply appeared.
They did not know exactly what had happened, but instinctively they understood one thing:
At the moment the Black Sword soldier was about to be devoured, it was Johann Redner who had summoned the white wind and saved him.
The Master drove the monster away!
He saved the Black Sword soldier!
From the moment Yuri began the test to the soldier’s collapse, it hadn’t taken long.
Yet the sequence of events was so shocking that the onlookers couldn’t even open their mouths.
In the suffocating silence, Yuri’s knees buckled.
His body pitched forward—
Thud—.
At the last moment, he stabbed his sword into the ground and barely managed to support himself.
He flashed a crooked grin at Johann.
“Old man… isn’t it cheating… to interfere?”
His strained voice wasn’t loud, but everyone heard it.
Johann chuckled.
“Even so, I couldn’t very well clean up a needless corpse. It’d be my responsibility, wouldn’t it?”
“Well… fine. But then… what’s the result?”
“They’ll tell you.”
Johann gestured toward the stunned Black Sword soldiers.
Naturally, the crowd’s gaze shifted to them.
Hundreds of eyes bore down on the Black Sword members, curious what judgment they would render.
After a moment of silence, the 8th Squad Leader spoke.
“Standard… impossible to assess.”
Impossible to assess.
As an examiner of the Cradle, it sounded irresponsible.
But anyone who had seen that would not dare object.
After staring at Yuri for a moment, the 8th Squad Leader announced his evaluation.
“Unranked—Special.”
One by one, the other Black Sword members echoed him.
“Standard impossible to assess. Unranked—Special.”
“Standard impossible to assess. Unranked—Special.”
“Standard impossible to assess. Unranked—Special.”
All but the unconscious soldier gave the same judgment.
Even had he been conscious, he would likely have agreed.
The 8th Squad Leader concluded.
“Overall rating—Special. Passed.”
He withdrew a Dragon Plaque from his robe.
A black Dragon Plaque identical to the one Johann had thrown earlier.
Emotion flickered in his eyes.
I never thought I’d hand this over myself. And on my final mission before promotion to deputy commander.
Black Sword examiners were issued various Dragon Plaques.
He had handed out many over the years—but this was the first time he had drawn out the Black Dragon Plaque.
Was it two years ago that one was last issued?
Countless had passed through the Dragon’s Cradle, yet only nine had ever held a Black Dragon Plaque.
I thought it would be a long while before another appeared.
But in just two years, a new bearer was born.
The tenth Black Dragon bearer.
Not all Masters possessed a Black Dragon Plaque, but of the recent recipients, only two had yet to become Masters—and even they were expected to in time.
In other words, the Black Dragon Plaque symbolized a future Master.
The 8th Squad Leader extended it solemnly.
“Congratulations on becoming the bearer of the Black Dragon Plaque.”
Yuri accepted it without expression.
Then he casually tossed it toward Johann.
Clack—.
It landed near Johann’s prosthetic leg.
Everyone watching widened their eyes.
Unbothered, Yuri asked,
“…Old man, they say I passed.”
“I heard.”
“Does that mean I pass by your standards too?”
“Seems that way.”
“Then it’s your turn to keep your promise. If everything you told me was a lie…”
Cough—!
Blood burst from Yuri’s mouth like a fountain.
He wiped his crimson lips and glared at Johann with sharp eyes.
“You’d better… be ready.”
A threat—directed at a Master.
With that, the darkness closed in on his vision.
His body collapsed like a soaked rag doll.
Thud—.
The crowd still hadn’t recovered from their shock.
Only Johann smiled faintly.
“Such a tiny brat, yet such a temper.”
He looked at the unconscious Yuri with unmistakable amusement.
“Mm…”
Yuri slowly regained consciousness.
The first sense to awaken was his hearing.
Crackle—crackle—.
The sound of firewood burning.
Then the smell of roasting meat filled his nose.
It had been a long time since he’d smelled meat.
His eyes snapped open.
…Where is this?
Blinking repeatedly, he cleared his blurry vision.
Beyond the reddish glow of a campfire, a familiar ceiling came into view.
My… cave?
He was in the hideout he’d lived in for the past half year.
A cave perched on a cliff at the edge of the Irons Territory.
Hard for ordinary people to find—dangerous even if they did.
The problem was, no one had ever discovered it.
He had never told anyone.
How did I… get here?
He had no memory of walking back himself.
The events before he fainted flashed through his mind like a panorama.
The Black Sword soldier. The Cradle’s test.
And the deal with Broken-Section Sword, Johann Redner.
Yuri bolted upright.
“Cough!”
The sudden motion made him cough violently.
As he clutched his chest, a familiar voice drifted in.
“Indeed, youth is wonderful. If it were me, I’d have been bedridden for nine days.”
“Cough!”
After another cough, Yuri checked his condition.
Considering how much I pushed myself, this is… not bad. No, it’s strangely good.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this well.
Finding no abnormalities, he turned his head.
Crackle—crackle—.
The burning fire. And the unwelcome guest seated beside it.
Yuri glared.
“Old man… how did you find this place?”
“How else? I followed you.”
“Since when?”
“Since you were beating those punks in the alley like rats.”
So Johann had been following him since the clash with Dirts and his group the day before.
Yuri shot him an incredulous look, but Johann remained unfazed.
“What were you thinking, making your home somewhere this dangerous?”
“So I wouldn’t get tangled up with nosy old men like you.”
“Brat, quit snapping. I carried your unconscious body all the way here.”
“……”
Yuri’s mouth shut.
Johann gestured.
“If you’re awake, come eat.”
He held out roasted rabbit meat.
Already ravenous, Yuri quickly got up, snatched it, and devoured it.
Johann began tearing into his own portion.
Crackle—crackle—.
Soon, the only sounds in the cave were the fire and the two of them eating.
After finishing his share in no time, Yuri wiped the grease from his lips.
“Old man, don’t we have something to settle?”
His eyes gleamed quietly as he asked.
