The Academy’s Sashimi Sword Master

The End is a phenomenon.

It cannot be on the same level as the body commanders I defeated in the past or the false gods.

The first were individual entities, the second were collectives.

The End does not have a body as such.

These entities manifest only through the will of the power of suppression to destroy this universe.

The false gods had to manipulate the world, so their goal was not total annihilation.

Although in essence, they did indeed have genocidal inclinations toward humanity.

Anyway.

‘I cannot stop this alone.’

Slash!

I swung the sashimi.

I tore apart the lightning emanating from that giant’s eye. Without stopping, I stretched out my arm and clenched the air tightly.

KWA-ROOM! KRRRROOM!

The clouds churned.

The lightning drew tree roots in the sky filled with energy. From beyond the black clouds, something enormous seemed to groan.

“Sword that defeats the sword.”

Thousands of sashimis pierced through the clouds.

And an instant later, they emerged again. Their half-burned Daiso tags fluttered like tails.

“Overcharged.”

The sashimis, charged with electricity, pecked at the bolts. In that clear sky, a chase began between the lightning of the End and my sashimis.

“Hah-ha!”

It was a battle cry.

Abel cut the remnants with precision, scattering them.

Elegant.

A swordsmanship so precise that it was beautiful. Neither lacking nor excessive.

A sword dance that could be considered perfect without fear of exaggeration.

My Thunder Dragon had given her wings. She literally looked like the spirit of the sword.

Even those who couldn’t flee were left stunned, staring at her.

“Damn it!”

One of the bolts Abel hadn’t managed to cut fell to the ground. There were people at the impact point.

“Shit, change position!”

A yellow flash grazed Abel’s shoulder.

It was Rachel.

“The best defense is…!”

Rachel spun her double-bladed spear like a windmill.

“…The attaaaack!”

A silver circle deflected the trajectory of the bolt. Not even the lightning of the End could pierce through that colossal kinetic energy.

“Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

Leon and Media charged toward the densest lightning. As expected from the Hero and the Sage, their movements were on another level.

Leon, the Nephilim.

Angel wings.

The Sword of Good and Evil, Balmung.

Leon glided through the gaps in the fire net like a butterfly. When the timing was right, he struck the lightning with Balmung and deflected it with a powerful twist.

Whoosh!

Ryozo fired arrows at the exact moment to interrupt the lightning from the enemy eyes.

She did not have the extraordinary physical abilities of Abel or Rachel. So she created the optimal combat environment for her allies, weaving a net in the sky to give them the advantage.

“Heavenly Net.”

The name of her technique was no exaggeration. The arrows she fired always interfered at least once with the lightning.

As she drew the bowstring, Ryozo glanced at me.

She drew a soft curve with her lips.

Even in the middle of a desperate situation, Ryozo smiled. Whenever she looked at me, she smiled.

“Since my days as a cadet, there were only two scores for me 10 or 0.”

“……”

That gave me comfort. Even if the world, the universe, the power of suppression, and even the past denied me.

“I always shot thinking that if I missed, I’d die. And I never missed.”

“……”

You, and yours, affirm me with a smile.

“Do you know what the secret is?”

You know. You know that this calamity is completely my fault.

“When I imagine the face of the person I hated most back then as the target, I always hit the center. You say the essence of an archer is to have a mind calm like water? Nonsense.”

“…Ryozo…”

“In the end, the bow is fired with emotion. That’s the difference with a firearm. Whenever I shoot, I imagine the face of the person I hated most back then.”

The drops of sweat shone like pearls in the air.

Ryozo looked at me.

“Geom-Ma, even if you always have that expressionless face, I can see your emotions. While you swing the sashimi with all your strength, you’re still fighting yourself.”

…Haha.

“Really… I can’t with you.”

“Geom-Ma.”

My face reflected in her transparent pupils.

“Do what you believe is right.”

“Ryozo…”

“We’ll cover your back.”

Instead of taking my hand, Ryozo nocked another arrow onto the string.

“If you keep wanting to do everything alone, the next target in my imagination won’t be the bullseye, but you. Keep that in mind.”

That must not happen.

“Thank you. You woke me up at once.”

Ryozo cut it off firmly.

“Don’t thank anyone so easily. Neither me nor anyone else. I… no, we stay by your side because you inspire us with your firm attitude. Don’t feel guilty toward anyone. If you think something is right, do it. I’ll handle the calculations, Abel will clean up the mess, and the rest we’ll resolve as well.”

“……”

“You are…”

Another arrow was fired.

“…Our pride.”

That phrase pierced my chest like an arrow.

***

Thanks to the intervention of Kang Geom-Ma and his group, Hawaii suffered relatively little damage from the End.

But only relatively. Not everyone was safe.

“Graaaaah!”

Those struck by the lightning twisted in agony.

With bulging eyes, they clawed at the ground with bloody fingernails.

“Ugh… Aah! It hurts…!”

On the skin of the irradiated, blood blisters began to sprout. Before long, marks engraved with blood appeared.

They weren’t mere scars—they were blood insignias.

“…N-no… it doesn’t hurt anymore…”

After screaming in pain for a long while, several began to rise with strange expressions.

They opened and closed their fists.

“I feel… as if strength is flowing into me.”

“Yes… this is power. I think I understand what kind of power it is.”

A purple glow coursed through their bodies.

“Magic.”

One of them snapped his fingers as he muttered. A ball of fire formed in his palm.

Fireball.

Without a doubt, it was a fire-type spell.

“I can… I can use magic?”

“Me too!”

“What is this?!”

Their expressions were unsettling.

Although they seemed confused, they couldn’t suppress the spasmodic smiles creeping across their cheeks.

Their faces screamed euphoria—one that words could not explain.

“This… is the Golden Age they spoke of.”

As soon as someone whispered that, he darted out like an arrow. Toward the lightning.

His pupils had shrunk with madness.

“Idiots! If that lightning hits you, you can use magic! Who cares about a few seconds of pain!”

“Looking at it that way…!”

“Damn it! I need more! More lightning!”

“Damn it! Throw rocks from above or something! Stop that lightning! You guys are already strong, that’s why you want to get rid of it, but we’re trash, so we need to be hit more!”

The situation was taking a disturbing turn. They were blaming the heroes fighting for them.

Welter, who had been watching everything, was stunned.

“What the hell is going on…?”

The people had been suddenly overtaken by greed. They were even drooling.

One thing was clear—that lightning was dangerous.

Fortunately, Kang Geom-Ma was in Hawaii, which was why the damage had been contained.

But this was probably happening all over the world. And if there were worse places, there would be many, but none would be better.

Thump.

Someone rammed their shoulder into Welter’s as they passed. He was heading straight for the lightning.

Welter grabbed the back of his neck and slammed him into the sand.

“Grrr… Let go! I told you to let go!”

“You no longer have human eyes.”

His pupils reeked with a foul stench.

“Lady Saint.”

“Wait. I’m thinking.”

Even with lightning raining down from the sky, Yu Sein remained pensive, chin resting on her hand.

“Damn it.”

She clicked her tongue.

‘What patience this End of the World has.’

Although it had shown signs constantly, the End itself was still in its preparation phase.

It had appeared in the form of a mobile game. It had planned to lure users in and only appear when the timing was right.

But they had been completely caught off guard. The release of “Blessing of the Apocalypse M 2nd” had barely been out for a month, and already the cataclysm had arrived early.

‘Although the scale is smaller because of that—that’s as far as it goes.’

She, who always faced everything calmly, now had a deeply somber look.

It was then that Welter felt a chill. Turning his head, a red light washed over them.

“……!”

Just as he feared, the lightning was coming toward them too.

Even though it had already been split multiple times by Kang Geom-Ma’s group, it was still fast.

‘The lightning is too fast!’

Someone was going to be struck. One of the two, for sure.

“If someone has to take it…”

Welter lunged without hesitation.

He embraced Yu Sein.

“Welter!”

The red glow settled on her face.

“Guh… Aaaargh…”

The pain Welter felt was so immense it pulsed like a vibration. His veins bulged from his neck.

“Oh, oh foreign God… please look upon me with compassion… Protect the Saint!”

Even while being destroyed from within, Welter pleaded. Then he rested his forehead on Yu Sein’s shoulder.

……

“Hey.”

She shook him.

“……”

“Welter.”

“……”

“Wake up!”

“Hngh!”

Welter jerked his head up. He blinked several times until his gaze regained focus.

He looked exactly the same as before being struck by the lightning.

And the magic?

Snap.

He snapped his fingers.

Nothing happened.

“……”

Th-this…!

Welter clasped his hands together and bowed.

“Oh, foreign God. Thank you for protecting me!”

“Protecting you, my ass.”

“…Pardon?”

Welter was bewildered by Yu Sein’s cutting words.

“What you said isn’t that far-fetched. If you survived the lightning, it’s because of what’s inscribed on your cloak.”

“You mean…?”

A cross-shaped symbol drawn on the wrinkled cloak.

“The Seal of Cain.”

“Since someone had already ‘claimed’ you, even if another wanted to afterward, they can’t.”

“I-is that even possible?”

“I understood… huh?”

Did I hear wrong?

“What must a game have?”

“A player. And…”

Ah.

“A monster.”

“There’s no time for more explanations. If you mention Kang Geom-Ma’s name, they’ll cower and crawl over here. If you tell them to subjugate humans, they’ll obey.”

The demons melt for Kang Geom-Ma.

“Alright, I understand… for now.”

“The second step is that we create a new game within this reality. From Kali Yuga’s perspective, this would be… a bug.”

“My head’s starting to hurt.”

How does she expect someone who doesn’t even know multiplication to understand differential calculus, Lady Saint?

“We have to raise the dignity of the character Kang Geom-Ma above that thing that casts spells. Then, the host will appear on its own.”

“Isn’t that why those bulging eyes are out there trying to block everything?”

“Exactly.”

“So what do we do?”

“That…”

Yu Sein’s voice faded.

“…We’ll have to think about it.”

It was at that moment.

“In clichés, there’s something like this.”

Someone suddenly barged into the conversation. Yu Sein and Welter turned their gaze.

“‘I am powerful’ doesn’t have as much impact as ‘I was recognized by such a person.’ Believe me. I’ve designed games, so I know this well.”

A man in a Hawaiian shirt and sandals approached.

Yu Sein’s black eyes widened as they met him.

“H-how…?”

“And if that ‘such person’ happens to be the progenitor of heroes.”

A man with black hair.

“Wouldn’t that raise my son’s status quite a bit?”

He bit into his ice cream with force.