The Academy’s Sashimi Sword Master

It was cold.

Everything around him was frozen.

‘…Ah.’

He parted his lips slightly. Instead of sound, long droplets formed between his teeth.

His field of vision, which had been bluish, was soon covered in black. A state of total void. He couldn’t tell if he was falling or rising.

Yes.

I’m sinking.

To the deepest part of the sea.

As if completely anesthetized, he couldn’t move a finger. The blinking of his eyelids slowed so much that it finally stopped.

He was still frozen.

His body began to tremble violently.

But it wasn’t from the cold. It was because it felt good.

The blood and hormones running through his veins massaged his brain. They drowned him in pleasure.

He tried to resist with willpower.

Damn. It wasn’t easy. Who could instantly reject a sensation so electrifying? He justified himself as he closed his eyes.

A warmth wrapped around his body. Not that the seawater had warmed.

There had to be something wrong with his nervous system.

Hahaha.

Pleasure and shame alternated in his mind.

‘How did I end up like this?’

All because a piece of flesh from Kali Yuga grazed his cheek. Since it couldn’t win by force, it must have resorted to some trick.

The truth was he had let his guard down. That was all.

Kali Yuga appeared suddenly. That’s why it shouldn’t have been able to use 100% of the power of its true form. That thought was the start of his mistake.

‘You didn’t fully charge your energy, so of course you were going to pull out some card up your sleeve, you damned idiot.’

Right now, with a single cut, I’m capable of dividing the sea and altering the terrain. And that’s while holding back my strength. If I cut seriously, this planet couldn’t withstand it.

Ryozo, Abel, Yu Sein, etc.

My family and friends tell me to trust them and give it my all. Thanks to their support, I gradually increased the power of the 「Blessing of the Sword God」.

But in the end, I couldn’t release it all.

I’m afraid.

Ragnarok? Kali Yuga? Nobodies. Complicated types, but if I’m with my companions, I know we can face them. Even if they have incredible containment power, the potential of my friends and family is incalculable.

‘What really scares me…’

I’ll be direct.

I’m afraid of myself.

I, Kang Geom-Ma, am no different from a time bomb. It terrifies me. I fear losing control at any moment and hurting those around me.

The stronger their faith in me, the heavier the lead I feel in my chest.

Maybe the reason I’m sinking twenty thousand ri under the sea is precisely that weight in my heart.

Swish.

My eyes opened.

Nothing had changed in the scenery. No. There was something.

‘Is that…?’

In the middle of the darkness, a bluish light flickered. It didn’t look like the sun reflected on water scales. This was too deep for outside light to reach.

The lights flickered. Several of them. He blinked a few times, thinking they were afterimages.

But the more he did, the more lights appeared.

Fireflies?

They approached him through the sea currents. From far or near, their size didn’t change much. They were small lights.

chi, chijijik!

He could hear their conversation, accompanied by flashes. The seawater distorted their voices, which buzzed in his ears.

“(Lord! There he is, squeak!)”

They were squirrels.

“(Good work! You recognized him right away!)”

“(Hehe. The world was all dark, but since there was a white mane all alone there, I recognized him immediately, squeak.)”

At Lycan’s praise, the squirrel puffed up with pride. The chipmunk beside it scolded.

“(No time to waste, squeak! Instead of chatting, hurry! Quickly, lift Lord Kang Geom-Ma, squeak!)”

“(…Someday I’ll take your place, squeak.)”

“(W-what did you say?!)”

“(If you’re scared, go die, squeak!)”

Even as they quarreled, with a single look from Lycan, they sped up. From this depth, closer to the bottom than the surface, they endured the crushing pressure on their bodies and reached him.

“(Kang Geom-Ma.)”

Lycan crossed his arms over his upper lip and looked down at him. The typical rodent smell invaded his nose, tormenting his frontal lobe.

“(…It was a mistake entrusting you with my body and my magic.)”

‘……?’

Meanwhile, the squirrels stuck to his back. And using lightning magic, they pushed him. His cheek stretched backward. With the “squirrel boosters,” he resisted the water’s pressure and rose toward the surface.

Lycan shook his head, still with arms crossed. And launched his usual dry scolding.

“(With that pitiful mental state… I, believing you were the ‘destined hero who would save the world,’ entrusted you with my body and my magic. And all you do is worry about losing control in front of the enemy?)”

Lycan grew indignant.

A bucket of icy water fell over his drifting mind.

His body was ascending.

“(What good is increasing your physical power if your mind is weaker than it was ten years ago?)”

‘It’s because now I have people I must protect around me…’

“(You damned idiot!)”

A tiny fist adorably punched his nose like a punching bag. As his nose tip stung, Lycan shouted.

“(You, who gave up being a god to be human! How can you know less about the human heart than I do? Think, Kang Geom-Ma! Have your companions ever once asked you to protect them?)”

‘That is…’

No.

On the contrary.

They had always told me not to fight alone, to go together.

They knew that if they asked me directly, I would refuse, so they took any chance to fight by my side.

Speedweapon, Rachel, Leon, Media, Abel.

And Ryozo.

In fact, none of them had ever asked me to protect or save them. Maybe, without realizing it, I was the one reaching out my hand to them.

“(They are heroes! They are people strong enough to protect themselves! And who do you think you are to judge them at your whim? Are you afraid they’ll die fighting?)”

He ascended in silence.

“(You damned fool! Nothing hurts more than seeing the person most important to you treat you like a burden! Who would like being seen as dead weight?)”

Upward.

“(Maybe you can hide it now, but someday it will show. Did you ever think about the helplessness they’ll feel when that happens, Kang Geom-Ma?)”

Higher.

“(Wake up, please.)”

‘Lycan.’

“(Everyone knows you’ve been using my magic more than the 「Blessing of the Sword God」 lately. Surely you thought that damned Apocalypse bastard used a trick like mobile games.)”

The shining surface of the sea was reflected in his retina.

“(Arrogant brat!)”

Lycan crowned that glow as if it were a sacred halo.

“(For you, Kang Geom-Ma, my power is nothing more than a trick or a trap.)”

‘Ah.’

“(Magical blessing? Bah, that’ll come one day. But so what? Remember this! You are a swordsman! You were born for that! You are different from the root than a mage like me!)”

He emerged from the sea at that instant.

Had the air always been so sweet?

The sticky seawater tried once more to hold him back like hands.

“(I was born a mage, but I longed for the sword. That’s why I forged it. But in the end, I hit a wall. Lack of talent? No, that wasn’t it.)”

He approached the clouds.

“(No matter how much I trained with the sword, without realizing it I leaned on magic. Like insurance. That’s why I lost to a man who chose only one path.)”

Balor Joaquin.

The commander of the 1st corps, Lycan, admitted his defeat in a calm voice. Thinking of his pride must have hurt greatly.

“(I ask you, Kang Geom-Ma. Don’t you want to become stronger?)”

He nodded.

“(Then why abandon the straight path and wander down the dark one? You are a swordsman! Your duty is to cut whatever is before you. Complicated theories have no place on the path of the sword! And you know this better than anyone!)”

Principle of the sword.

The pinnacle of the sword.

Before it seemed complicated to me. But in reality it is very simple and clear.

And I always repeated it to myself.

== ==

If you cut, it will cut.

== ==

That single phrase, even in the worst difficulties, was a beacon that lit my path.

The sword.

In my past life, in this one, and in any other.

It has always been my teacher, my guide.

I placed my hand on my chest.

Thump, thump.

The two sashimi pulsed strongly.

Their cold edges had more vitality than my own heart. Seeing me, Lycan hid a smile that slipped from his lips.

“(The lightning magic is confiscated for now.)”

“That’s fine.”

I smiled faintly. Lycan also smiled, more at ease.

“(The enemy went to Korea. We’ll take you there.)”

“Korea…? Why not Hawaii?”

“(I don’t know.)”

“That’s fine then.”

While lying sideways in the air, I straightened up. Lycan went from being above my lip to resting on my shoulder.

“I don’t have to assume anything. Just wield my sashimi. That’s what I am.”

“(Exactly.)”

Lycan, the demonic sword.

“(That is Kang Geom-Ma.)”

The demonic sword awakened the Heavenly Sword.

***

=Kr, hng…!=

Kali Yuga crashed into a building in Gangnam. It swung its arm and cleared the rubble and dust.

Two humans. The Founding Hero and the Sword Master floated in the air. They were riding their swords as if they were drones. It was the Sword Master’s remote sword control technique.

“Well. That idiot who used to do nothing but train now uses remote sword control? And with such precise handling too. Impressive.”

Balor Joaquin patted the Sword Master on the shoulder.

“You flatter me too much.”

“It’s no exaggeration. Not even Aaron could do this.”

The Sword Master didn’t know where to put himself.

“Then, does that mean I surpassed the first Sword Saint…?”

“Hmm, not quite. They just specialized in different things. Aaron was the type specialized in aura. If he were here, he wouldn’t have slammed that Smurf-looking guy with one blow, he would have cut the entire building with aura.”

“I still have far to go.”

“The path of the sword has no end. Did you say your name is Siegfried?”

“Call me Sieg, please.”

=……=

“Sounds good. Anyway, Sieg, listen to this. On the path of the sword in abstract domains like sword theory, the direct path is often faster than shortcuts. It may be slow, but it’s safe.”

“Yes…”

Sieg nodded hesitantly. It was because at that moment he was using the Awakening of his Blessing. Balor Joaquin ruffled Sieg’s white hair.

“This brat… though he looks wrinkled, he has his charm.”

“Haha…”

Even with the end of the world before them, the two men chatted without worry.

The eyes scattered all over Kali Yuga’s body were bloodshot.

=T-those vermin…=

Kali Yuga had fled at full speed to Korea after escaping Kang Geom-Ma.

It felt the energy of Hell and of Chaerina nearby. Though it couldn’t pinpoint the exact position.

It didn’t matter. The estimated population of Seoul was about 15 million. A quarter of Korea’s entire population. If it annihilated all the vermin present here, it would be easier to purge Hell.

It had already crossed out from its plans the idea of absorbing this world completely.

It had offered an illusory dream to the insects. Even so, they themselves ruined their undeserved luck. It didn’t need that kind of scum. It would fulfill only the purpose of the Force of Suppression.

With that intent it arrived in Seoul.

But two humans stood in its way. They were heroes. To Kali Yuga, who had just faced Kang Geom-Ma, they were like trash rolling on the ground.

“Vermin?”

Balor Joaquin tilted his neck. His figure disappeared and at that instant, the sword advanced.

Boom!

Kali Yuga twisted its head and barely managed to dodge. A slash made its cheek bleed.

Glancing sideways, all the buildings in the direction of the thrust were pierced through. The buildings, having lost their center of gravity, began to collapse one after another.

Kali Yuga swung its chakram and pushed Balor Joaquin away. It fled.

The Sword Master and Balor Joaquin chased after it riding their swords as if surfing.

=Damned! =

Being chased by rolling trash.

It had overlooked something important.

It had just faced Kang Geom-Ma. Its body wasn’t in perfect condition either. It had to admit it. Those two would be difficult even at full strength.

=I must recover somehow=

As it moved at high speed, Kali Yuga raised its gaze to the sky. And just then, it saw it. One of its own eyes still remained on the Jamsil Tower. It hadn’t withdrawn it in time. And that eye was watching it.

=Ha, ha, hahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!=

Bad luck followed it.

As it slipped through the buildings, Kali Yuga roared. With one kick, it destroyed several buildings.

The two heroes rose vertically, clearing a path.

Kali Yuga reached the eye on the Jamsil Tower in an instant. It stretched out its hand and shouted.

=Grant me the pleasure of this city!=

At the master’s order, the eye furrowed its brows and released a tentacle-like substance.

The Sword Master sensed that those two must not make contact.

It was just a hunch.

He hurled the sword he was riding. With a slicing sound, Kali Yuga’s arm flew.

It was the sword that, traveling nearly at supersonic speed, cut its arm.

=You’re getting desperate, huh?=

Kali Yuga mocked.

Though Kang Geom-Ma and the Sword Master had already cut off its arms, it still had four more.

It only needed to grab the tentacles with another hand.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Balor Joaquin lunged. Wielding his sword with both hands, his killing intent materialized as if to split Kali Yuga in two like ice cream.

=…You’re no ordinary hero. I faintly feel the aura of the Force of Suppression in you.=

Kali Yuga was no longer overconfident.

=But in the end, you are still human.=

Kali Yuga lowered its hand.

“Eh, eh?!”

“W-what?!”

“Aaaaah!”

The anomaly occurred right after.

The people on the ground began to rise floating. Balor Joaquin was bewildered to see those human targets appear.

=Humans feel repulsion at harming their own kind. Not all, of course. But you do, from your expression I see that, even though you are strong, your heart is that of a normal human=

They were mages.

The humans who had used magic even once were enslaved by Kali Yuga.

Without a host, they would never be freed.

The floating bodies clustered together and formed a living wall. Just before colliding with the wave of aura unleashed by Balor Joaquin.

It was a critical situation.

Swish!

Something fell between Kali Yuga and the wall of humans.

It was so fast it looked like a wall of descending light.

=What is that…?=

Kali Yuga lifted its chin. It was daytime.

=How is it that you…?=

But then, stars appeared. In a sky higher than the eye of a giant, the stars shone.

=How did you do it in such a short time?!=

Did you know?

Since ancient times, the stars shining like jewels in the dark were symbols of hope.

In the darkest stretches of history, the stars were compasses for humanity.

The citizens, with faces stained in soot, lifted their heads.

Their eyes also shone like stars.

They were tears of hope.

[The Blessing of the Sword God, Heart, manifests.]

It was transmitted.

The people’s hope rose in the form of a voice.

“Remote sword control.”