Surata shifted his eyes towards the people standing in the house. His eyebrows raised in relief, and he sighed that this could end soon. “Koroki! And Yorui?”
He directed his attention to Yorui. The joy and warmth vanished from her face as she stood up, grunting. “Hold on, why does Yorui look seriously hurt? Did they get into a fight?”
Majuro glanced over at Yorui, who wrapped her arm around Koroki. His blood boiled at the sight of the couple together. “Look who it is! The traitor herself! You really did betray me!”
Yorui averted her eyes filled with sadness from Majuro and turned away, steadfastly refusing to respond to him.
Koroki and Majuro faced each other in a tense standoff, their powerful auras colliding. The pressure from their auras felt so intense that those nearby felt as though gravity had suddenly increased and were weighed down to the floor. The wood on the walls and floor almost cracked from the weight.
Majuro creepily glanced at Koroki’s arm, which held something that leaned against his shoulder. Tied by a black sageo, Koroki appeared to be holding a normal raspberry-pink scabbard.
Across the scabbard were engravings of two dragons coming from each direction, lifting their arms, creating a “heart” symbol. However, he only held the scabbard.
Majuro chuckled in confusion. “Hehe. Where’s your sword?”
“Don’t need it. I thought you were here to fight, not talk.” Koroki maintained his cool and collected demeanor while constantly staying alert and keeping a watchful eye on Majuro. Despite his confidence, Koroki stood defenseless and vulnerable, leaving many flaws in his stance.
“Oh, you’re right, sorry. Hehe.” Majuro narrowed his brows, his raspy voice growing serious. “I just wanted to see what it's like fighting someone like you.”
Feeling superior, Majuro impatiently lunged towards Koroki. He unleashed a powerful slash. Koroki quickly shielded himself with his scabbard. The two clashed, pressing the weight on their attacks. Majuro chuckled at the excitement of the stalemate. Meanwhile, Koroki kept his emotionless expression.
During their stalemate, Koroki vanished. Majuro lost balance and sliced the floor where Koroki was standing. A split second later…
WHACK!!!
Koroki heavily drove his scabbard into Majuro’s chest. Majuro could feel his bones fracturing from the brutal impact. Déjà vu struck him, expect he fell on the receiving end.
The impact flung Majuro backward, tearing the grass from the soil. He clutched his bruised chest, coughing up blood. “He’s fast. This kid isn’t an ordinary kid!”
Koroki pressed on with the attack, using his cheetah-like speed. He swung his scabbard. Again and again.
As Majuro attempted to disrupt the combos, Koroki skillfully deflected his attacks. Koroki wasted no time unleashing a rapid series of kicks and punches on Majuro, leaving him no opportunity to counter.
Koroki maintained his composure as he confidently boasted with a serious expression, completely focused on the fight. “C’mon, slayer. You should be enjoying this. Or is this entree not up to par?”
The bruises from Koroki’s attacks began aching. Majuro mused, “What’s wrong with this kid? He’s doing all of this… without a Noye?”
___
As the guys battled it out, Surata dragged himself inside the house toward Yorui. Her eyes were soft and red-dimmed, and she had trouble focusing on what was in front of her. With his sheer willpower, Surata used all of his remaining strength to propel himself forward into the patio door, causing him to crumple to the ground.
Before face-planting, his body froze in midair, feeling warm arms holding him from under his armpits.
“Hey, are you ok?” Yorui asked with sincerity in her voice, holding onto Surata.
The spiking pain from her injuries were too much for her as she struggled to hold onto Surata.
“Yeah, I’m- Woah!” Her arms gave out as Surata slipped off Yorui. Instead of falling graciously, the two of them crashed to the ground like bowling balls dropped from a building.
Surata squinted his eyes, rubbing his head from the fall. “Ow. Thanks for the save.” he sarcastically replied.
His head crashed to the floor, but the rest of his body landed on something much softer.
Yorui struggling to breathe under his weight, could only manage a strangled, “You’re… welcome.” Her voice was faint, her consciousness slipping as Surata's weight pressed down on her, almost flattening her weakened body. "Could you... maybe get off... of me?"
“Sorry, but I ran out of energy. Just give me a minute.” Surata closed his eyes, oblivious to her suffering.
Yorui acknowledged Surata’s condition, but she had to worry about herself. “Hurry! I don’t think I can hold out much longer!” Yorui screamed internally, praying she wouldn’t die like this.
The two kids lay sprawled inside the house, blocking the patio door. Surata lazily attempted to gather more energy, while Yorui desperately focused on staying conscious.
___
Back to the major brawl, Majuro’s exhaustion from Surata’s fight gradually caught up to him.
As he struggled to block Koroki’s assault, Majuro stood his ground and lowered his guard to focus on mustering his noye energy. Koroki paid no mind to Majuro’s unusual stance and proceeded to attack.
In a glimpse of a second, Majuro managed to find an opening in Koroki’s attacks. After replenishing his noye energy, their battle felt more even. The clash of their weapons created sparks as they bounced off each other. Koroki immediately swung his scabbard. Majuro utilized his agility and ducked under Koroki’s weapon. After dodging, Majuro viciously swung his sickle, cackling with excitement.
Slash!
The sound of Koroki’s skin tearing from his left leg resonated across the backyard. The slash forced Koroki to kneel, the strength in his leg rapidly depleting. His face ached with pain as he limped, blood dripping from the wound. Koroki still believed he could win this fight, despite the injury. However, the tables now turned as Majuro unleashed his ruthless counter.
Majuro repeatedly swung his sickle around, not allowing Koroki to recover. Koroki's fast movement disappeared as the injury began to take its toll. His body refused to move how he wanted anymore. Koroki’s composure cracked as he felt a little disadvantageous.
In an effort to recover, Koroki scurried around the yard, like a scared cockroach. Koroki barely dodged the attacks, each strike cutting small strands of his hair.
Feeling advantageous, Majuro’s cockiness returns, laughing menacingly. “What’s wrong, kid? Thought you could win against me? Haha. Don’t make me laugh! There’s a clear difference between us. While you were here, enjoying a good life, I was out struggling for mine.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Majuro’s words sent a jolt to Koroki, striking a nerve. His composure returned, turning serious.
Majuro pursued Koroki, angrily swinging his weapon. “I’ve fought and lived through many battles since I was born. I was a shikari who once served my country.”
Koroki had no time to catch his breath, let alone respond to his statement.
So, after dodging every attack, he asked while gasping, “So then... why are you doing this? If you… were a Shikari, shouldn’t… you be... protecting this country?”
“Oh, shut up. There’s no point in telling someone who’s going to die!”
The grueling pain from his wound clouded Koroki’s mind with pain. He could not focus on the fight.
Koroki firmly gripped his scabbard, almost cracking it. His heart pounded faster as his blood pressure rose. The wound dripped more blood. He wanted to keep fighting, but his body was reaching its limit. Maybe that was the result when you underestimated someone.
___
During the fight, Yorui and Surata watched the ongoing battle from the house. They somehow regained enough energy to sit up. They spectated from a distance, in awe of the battle.
Yorui’s eyes could not look away from the fight, overwhelmed by the thought of Koroki losing. Yorui could not stop feeling disgusted at herself. “This is all my fault! This is all my fault! All of this is happening because of me. If I didn’t stay in that alley, then I would’ve never met Koroki. I don’t want either of them to lose or win, I just want them to stop this someone actually dies!”
Surata gazed at Yorui, who was fixated on the fight. Her eyes brimmed with desperation. Noticing her deep in thought, he reassured her, "Don't worry, Koroki's got this."
She turned to Surata, captivated by his genuine smile. “How do you know?”
“I don’t. But I know how strong Koroki is. He will win this!” The confidence in his voice somehow assured Yorui that he wasn’t lying. Koroki had confidence going into the fight and his raw strength remained impressive.
After witnessing Koroki’s strength firsthand, she took a deep breath and cleared her mind. Her eyes, filled with worry, sparkled with a newfound sense of hope as she decided to trust Koroki.
___
After being wounded, Koroki experienced a surge of adrenaline during the ongoing battle. The sounds of their weapons clashing resonated across the backyard again. While clashing, they leaned forward, applying more power in their attack to break the other’s balance.
The clash gave Koroki time to quickly catch his breath. “Why?” he asked Majuro.
Majuro applied more pressure to his sickle. “Huh? Why what?”
“Why did you kill those people?”
Majuro chuckled in surprise at that question. “Hehe- I thought you said enough talk.”
The two opponents stepped back to break their clash of power, then charged at each other again, initiating another confrontation.
Koroki pressed Majuro, genuinely curious. “Why did you carve the letter “Y” on those dead bodies?”
“Shut up.”
Koroki ignored Majuro and kept questioning him. “Why did you do it?”
“Shut up!”
“And why did you hurt Yorui?”
Majuro stood in silence as the sound of Koroki's voice gradually faded from his ears. The world around him grew quieter, every noise becoming muffled and distant. The only words that echoed in Majuro’s mind were:
Why… Why… Why?
Koroki's male voice gradually transformed into a feminine voice, a voice Majuro recognized. The familiar voice started to come back to him as he recalled a memory.
The vague memory revolved around the time when his wife had died. His wife rested her hand on Majuro’s cheek and uttered the words, “Why? Why? Why?”
Seeing her figure reminiscing in his head, Majuro shouted, “Stop it! Shut up!” He tried to shake his head dramatically to forget the memory. “Get this out of my head!”
Koroki noticed his frantic behavior and refused to show any sympathy toward him. Disgusted, he coldheartedly stared at Majuro. “You’re the type of person I hate the most.”
Whatever Koroki said, it could not reach Majuro. Majuro was so lost in thought that nothing could interrupt him. He kept hearing the murmuring words:
Why… Why… Why?
Majuro’s blood boiled like a furnace, trying to stop thinking. The haunting memory of his past caused him to clutch his head and grab his hair in desperation, his sickle in hand as he tried to erase the painful memory.
Yorui oversaw her father suffering in pain and felt sorry for him. She could not bear to see her father in this sorry state, but she had no choice.
Despite his internal battle, Majuro creepily laughed at himself while holding his head. Somehow, he believed laughing could relieve his suffering. He lifted his chin, looked over his shoulder, and laughed hysterically at Koroki. Excitement overwhelmed the anger in his blood.
Keeping a cool head, Koroki carefully stepped back from Majuro. “What’s wrong with him? Is he going insane?”
Koroki lowered his weapon, believing that the fight was over. He tiredly staggered towards Yorui and Surata, his adrenaline wearing off. As he turned his back to his opponent, Koroki suddenly felt a freezing chill down his spine. Tension crackled in the air around him, thickening the atmosphere with unease.
Majuro screamed at the top of his lungs while moving frantically. “Leave me alone! Leave me alone!”
The sickle in Majuro’s hand surprisingly pulsated. His Noye-infused eyes and circuit-like markings also pulsated out of control. As they pulsated, Majuro screamed in agony. His movements became unreadable as if he lost control of his body.
“What’s happening to him?!” Surata’s blood ran cold as he stared at Majuro.
Majuro's demeanor underwent a dramatic transformation. An overwhelming pressure emanated from his aura, almost causing both Yorui and him to lose consciousness.
Koroki explained Majuro’s condition. “His Noye’s probably going out of control.” He quickly retook his stance, anticipating how Majuro would attack. “Tch. He just had to make things more difficult for me.”
___
After violently shaking from his pain, Majuro’s body suddenly shut down as if his puppet master stopped moving his strings. His head uncontrollably dropped. An enormous grin slipped from his mouth, muttering the words:
“Piercing Slice!”
Majuro surged a spark of energy and hastily lifted his head. He aggressively swung his sickle in the air. Koroki raised his guard, ready to block the attack.
The sickle sliced through the open air but was out of reach from Koroki. Koroki walked away from the fight earlier, putting a great distance between himself and Majuro.
From the naked eye, Majuro missed his attack and swung at nothing. However, Koroki focused his eyes on Majuro. The air Majuro slashed had a faint orangish color lingering.
“What the heck is that?” The orange air quickly approached Koroki. The air resembled the shape of a slash.
Seeing the gust of wind, Koroki shielded himself with his scabbard, thinking nothing of it.
It looked like a slash but was just air. What would a gust of air do? At most, it would probably just blow him away.
As the slash connected with his scabbard, a look of worry crawled onto Koroki’s face. The weight of the slash felt even more powerful than Majuro’s usual attacks. Koroki glanced at his scabbard, cracking from the powerful impact.
Surata and Yorui’s confidence in Koroki slowly faded, slack-jawed by the attack.
Majuro laughed at the worriedness on Koroki’s face.
“Didn’t expect that, huh? Let’s see you dodge these.” Majuro chuckled as he released multiple air slashes toward Koroki. “Piercing Slash Barrage!”
Koroki struggled to defend himself from his barrage. “Tch. This doesn’t look good for me. I underestimated him.”
A splash of blood leaked out of his injured leg again, causing him to lose balance. His guard broke, causing one of the slashes to slash Koroki’s chest. The sharp cut burned into his body, like diving in a pool of lava. The strike cleanly cut through Koroki's shirt, tearing the fabric. He fell to the floor, his body losing strength.
Majuro noticed that Koroki's movements were slowing down. “What happened? Where’s all that talk, kid!? Huh!? Huh!?”
Majuro aimed his sickle toward Koroki’s neck and raised his arm, ready to deliver the final blow.
“Tch. I should’ve dodged that. If I didn’t stay home slacking off, I wouldn’t be this rusty. Crap!”
As the battle raged on, Surata anxiously watched over the fight, her heart filled with concern for Koroki's safety. “No, this can’t be! C’mon, Koroki! Don’t let this guy beat you like this. You’re stronger than him, I just know it!”
Surata let out a deep, guttural grunt. “C’mon body, move!” His muscles strained as he tried with all his might to muster the energy needed to assist Koroki. However, his body froze in fear from the immense, demonic aura revolving around Majuro.
Majuro cackled and swung his sword. Koroki sat there, accepting his defeat.
But then- a figure jumped in front of Koroki.
Koroki lifted his head, his eyes widening as he shouted, “You idiot! Get out the way!”
Yorui's feelings for Koroki dulled the aching pain, allowing her to rush to Koroki. She stretched her hands out, shielding Koroki. “Please stop this, father!” Yorui yelled from the bottom of her heart, her eyes glistening with water.
Majuro could not stop his momentum.
The blade from his sickle scratched Yorui on her arm, and with his other hand, he shoved her out of the way. “Shut up! Let Daddy finish his work.”
Koroki watched Yorui drop to the floor. His anger spiked, seeing Majuro hit his daughter. Using his scabbard as a support, he leaned on it to lift himself up and drove a powerful punch to Majuro in the stomach. The brutal force of the impact makes Majuro kneel to the floor, coughing out spit.
Anger rapidly built up in Koroki’s blood and his blood pressure increased to 140. He attempted to catch his breath from exhaustion, with adrenaline coursing through his veins and an unknown surge of energy propelling him forward.
Koroki regained his balance. “This is really embarrassing. You're strong, old man. I thought this would be light work. But I underestimated you. Sorry.” He glared, his lifeless eyes beaming at Majuro. “Guess I gotta get a little serious.”
Majuro also recovered, grasping his bruised stomach. “Ugh…nice, nice, nice. That was a nice blow!” He excitedly smirked. “You’re really giving me a rough time. Hehe. That’s what I’d expect from… the Heartless Demon!”
___
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