Lee Taebaek was evenly matched with Saber Master Muyachi.

It wasn’t some conditional tie like before. Lee Taebaek was exchanging blows with him on the level of the Ten Wings. Kang Hyeonseong feigned shock at the sight.

Lee Taebaek, you…

The death row inmate who had nearly met his end from an electric shock. That image was still fresh in his mind.

It had to be. It was only about a year ago.

The guy who was getting pushed around even by Haiyen.

Now he was making Saber Master Muyachi struggle. Potential? Genius? It was impossible to sum up Lee Taebaek with a few mere words.

Kang Hyeonseong thought to himself. Sure, he was born with talent, but more than that, some ‘unknown something’ was aiding him. There was no other way to explain Lee Taebaek’s display.

Pfuduk.

The Saber Master’s fist plunged squarely into Lee Taebaek’s abdomen. Just hearing the rupturing sound made one’s lower belly ache.

He massively buffed his [Strength] while simultaneously nerfing the Saber Master at the moment of contact.

The buff’s amplification and the nerf’s reduction clashed and canceled each other out. Lee Taebaek’s combat equation was exceedingly simple.

The key was timing. And fundamentally, toughness was essential. Even with the nerf, a Saber Master was still a Saber Master. There was no avoiding the blood welling up in his abdominal folds.

In that excruciating pain, Lee Taebaek swung the Para Blade. The blade’s edge grazed the Saber Master’s chin. It was a glancing blow.

Uluk!

Yet blood and bile sprayed from the Saber Master’s innards. Kang Hyeonseong narrowed his eyes. On closer inspection, the Para Blade had lengthened ever so slightly. A faint, milky fragment was attached to its tip.

“He used Ice Magic to extend the blade’s length right before it connected.”

Fumito had noticed it too.

“…Even seeing it, I can’t believe it. His swing speed has already surpassed subsonic… and in that instant, he casts magic for an additional attack.”

“It feels like time slows down only for him.”

Yu Dahui adjusted her glasses and chimed in.

“…Exactly.”

Rock also murmured as she lifted her head.

She no longer wore her mask. Thanks to Lee Taebaek, she had been freed from the [Curse Speech].

The curse that had bound Rock’s nape had transferred to Lee Taebaek, becoming a source of his power’s dispersion.

“Now that I think about it, there’s a reason Lee Taebaek had no choice but to grow this fast.”

Rock reflected and spoke.

“Everyone he’s ever met has become his strength.”

“Right.”

The situation was dire. Transcendents were clashing, splattering blood everywhere. Getting caught in the crossfire could shatter bones.

Daesung’s Security Team was also scattered in various spots. The location wasn’t favorable either. The 9th Battalion had pushed deep into Daesung’s heart. Even requesting aid from the Resistance offered no guarantees.

Yet the 9th Battalion members conversed calmly. It had nothing to do with Lee Taebaek’s victory or defeat.

His opponent is Saber Master Muyachi.

It wouldn’t be strange for Lee Taebaek, who had just crossed the threshold to Ten Wings level, to lose.

According to the natural order, defeat was the expected outcome against such a foe.

A man demonstrating what pinnacle one could reach by maxing out the path of the sword.

Kang!

Metal clashed. Lee Taebaek’s arm whipped back. He kicked off the Saber Master’s chest and leaped up. Though he ended up smashed against the wall, he recovered from his vulnerability.

The Saber Master, undefeated in raw power, immediately slashed with the Chamado. The space above Lee Taebaek’s crown warped and split open. Blades targeted him from the rift.

Lee Taebaek twisted his body to evade. A blade slammed down like a guillotine where he had stood.

“…”

There was no time to catch his breath. Lee Taebaek ran along the wall. Dimensional swords surrounded him from front, back, and sides. He blocked, deflected, and nullified the onslaught with ice barriers.

“Muyachi… Hiring you at such great expense was a stroke of visionary genius.”

The Chairman smirked.

“Muyachi is Muyachi, but…”

Even Lee Taebaek was amazed. If the Saber Master was a stubborn specialist digging one deep well, Lee Taebaek flexibly commandeered the flow of battle with his versatility.

Those at Ten Wings level typically mastered one path. Muyachi was the prime example. His lifelong dedication had been rewarded with the supernatural phenomenon called ‘Dimensional Sword’.

Proving to everyone present that a sword honed to the extreme was no different from magic.

But Lee Taebaek was different. He utilized everything at his disposal. His fighting style diverged from that of typical powerhouses.

Poking at everything without mastering one field could leave you mediocre at all. As Daesung’s Chairman, he knew this principle well.

Yet.

…He’s getting…

More proficient.

With magic. Swordsmanship. Spatial manipulation, led by perfect shields. The Chairman couldn’t continue.

Early on, he had clearly been on the back foot. Once the Saber Master began properly demonstrating his Dimensional Sword, the tide had fully turned—or so it seemed.

Lee Taebaek shattered everyone’s expectations.

Click.

The open/close button was pressed.

Kang!

The fabric blocked the Dimensional Sword lunging from behind.

Whoosh.

Lee Taebaek launched himself toward a mound of piled-up discarded displays, like an electronic grave.

Anxiety surged through the Chairman. He was hiding under the shield. He knew it logically, but alarms blared madly in his head.

He’s coiling up for the next move.

The Saber Master sensed something amiss too. He widened his stance somewhat, then slashed repeatedly at empty air. Rifts proliferated. The number of descending blades on Lee Taebaek multiplied accordingly.

“Come out, Lee Taebaek!”

Muyachi swung the Chamado downward.

Pabababababak!

The Chamado assaulted relentlessly.

Machine fragments scattered. The 9th Battalion, who had stayed back out of respect for the duel, flinched.

It was impossible to imagine Lee Taebaek surviving that onslaught…

Shk.

A faint sound.

A streak of pure white light pierced through the display graveyard, gliding toward the Saber Master’s side. He slowly lowered his gaze.

His eyes filled with bewilderment. His broken arm tumbled across the floor. No blood flowed from the cut—frozen solid.

No time to assess. A sword wind blew. Displays flew every which way.

Rumble rumble rumble.

They rained down, along with snow.

“*Haa…*”

Lee Taebaek stood at the center of all gazes. Fumito blinked. Friend and foe alike shared the reaction.

“Wings?”

Ice wings protruded from his back. That wasn’t all. Horns sprouted from his forehead, a tail-like appendage from his hips. Ice shards flowed over his skin like scales.

It evoked a legendary beast—the very one just projected by the fused displays.

Dragon.

The tail coiled around the Para Blade, thickening its once slender edge.

Then Lee Taebaek moved. Muyachi raised his blade in defense.

“…!”

His vision stretched sideways. The attack came from the flank, not head-on.

It had clearly been frontal? But it didn’t matter. Dwelling on the phenomenon was pointless.

Muyachi spun like a swallow. He pressed off the wall with his toes and charged. The next instant, their swords collided. A shiver coursed through Muyachi’s body. His bones rattled.

I can hold…!

His arm was gone, but he wasn’t fully crippled. It had been broken anyway—worse than useless. The dangling limb offered no help.

Crackle, creak.

Cold crept up from their locked blades like vines. He tried to pull away, but his arm wouldn’t budge. The frost had frozen his hand to the hilt.

“…Heh… ”

Muyachi laughed. Whether a hollow chuckle or genuine mirth, he didn’t know. He vaguely hoped for the latter as he shifted his shoulders—with their blades still locked.

Lee Taebaek’s body lifted briefly, then halted. The white wings rapidly cooled the air. He continuously amplified the atmospheric pressure behind them. Muyachi’s vision whitened. In that blank space, only Lee Taebaek pressing down was visible. Physically and mentally isolated, the two entered a contest of strength.

Crunch, grind!

Muscles tore, and cracks spiderwebbed under Muyachi’s feet. The limit. Lee Taebaek had deliberately locked blades to cast Ice Magic, sealing off the Dimensional Sword that had cornered him.

“Lee Taebaek…”

Their gazes clashed hotly, one above the other. Muyachi’s feet sank into the floor. The curse-turned-restriction birthed an unforeseen variable for both.

Kugugugugugu!

Muyachi gritted his teeth. At the precipice of life and death, he squeezed out his final words.

“You’ll grow even stronger from here.”

Muyachi’s mouth soured as he spoke. He would die here. He had come prepared for that.

He hadn’t wanted it, but mercenary life was his core belief and pride. He intended to uphold it.

Thus, one of them, Lee Taebaek or himself, had to die. Better to sever his own thread than cling pathetically.

Only he could grant himself the right to live. This stark contrast to the Chairman, mired in greed and clinging to life, moved Seong Hayun to clutch her chest unwittingly.

As someone who lived by the blade, how could her heart not tremble? Amid the warriors’ resounding hearts, Lee Taebaek spoke.

“The goal you see isn’t me.”

“…”

Their exchanged glances conveyed it. Lee Taebaek wasn’t looking at Muyachi himself. His gaze fixed beyond him.

On the Heavenly Demon of the Three Calamities.

“How frustrating. I misjudged from the start… You should have been my ultimate goal… My greed…”

“No.”

Lee Taebaek finally parted his lips. His inner heat reached steam.

“My ultimate goal was you, Muyachi.”

The truth. Despite mastering Ice Magic, Lee Taebaek stuck to the Para Blade. He had admired and been inspired by the Saber Master.

His obsession with the blade. The depth of interpretation. His demeanor.

He had etched the movements of the Saber Master, his own creation, into his retinas. The being that had lingered only in Lee Taebaek’s mind had attained the sword’s mysteries for one purpose alone.

“The Heavenly Demon is just an evil I must topple. The ideal I behold is you.”

“…”

“…And it will be even after you’re gone.”

Muyachi’s eyes were vacant. Frost gnawed relentlessly up to his face.

“I see.”

Thus, the smile in his eyes now would be preserved.

“Thank you.”

Lee Taebaek pressed down hard on the Para Blade. The Saber Master’s body split smoothly. No resistance of life came from the blade.

The Saber Master accepted his fate and died upholding his convictions.

It might seem a pathetic end for one of the Ten Wings. Vanishing so fleetingly. Yet to all present, he would be remembered as a steadfast warrior. Not a mercenary selling violence for coin.

Whoosh.

Lee Taebaek turned, drawing the Siheoyeon Gwihwa. Toward the Chairman.

The Chairman, frozen as if in an ice cage, now melted in sweat. Cold sweat.

Lee Taebaek advanced step by step, dragging his blade.

“B-block!”

“…”

“Block him!”

The Chairman bellowed. But the Security Team bowed their heads and looked away.

Shweeeeeek!

The Para Blade burst through the nape.