Chapter 16 (1/2):  You Shall Not Pass!

Someone might say it was reckless.

Malice Krenkel before me was a Retainer possessing combat power stronger than the entire Lizardman Tribe combined.

Of course, the skill varies slightly depending on their rank, but one thing is certain: the Retainers, all of them, are superhumans beyond the realm of ordinary humans.

Back when I was the Peak of Knight, I would have dealt with them easily.

But now, I wield only about 3% of that power.

The outcome was uncertain…

“Nonsense!”

I have no doubts about my skills or the karma I’ve built up over the years.

“Swish!”

I drew my sword.

“You bastard!”

I fixed my gaze on the enemy charging at me, exploding with rage.

“Fwaaah!”

The moment my foot struck the ground, I became a single streak of light.

Surely, that movement was difficult for my current eyesight to track.

But that was fine.

“Neck. Right side. Diagonal.”

Just before he could bounce off, I collected data on the direction of his pupils and the subtle tremors in his muscles.

A prediction built on centuries of karma, it went beyond mere guesswork and touched on premonition.

So, I twisted my body to the left, dodging his trajectory.

“Pht!”

A sharp, burning pain near my neck.

“Was I… a bit late?”

A slight difference.

My body reacted slower than I had anticipated.

But I didn’t have time to correct that tiny margin of error.

“Eeek!”

Krenkel unleashed a rapid sequence of sword draws.

It was a swift strike, leaving him inevitably open after the attack.

Yet, “Swoosh.”

Changing direction was effortless.

To attack with instantaneous directional shifts is proof of a well-trained body.

That meant—

“Swooosh!”

A streak drawn in midair.

A continuous assault born from explosive power in a trained physique.

“Left shoulder. Chest.”

But I could see it.

“Rookie.”

I didn’t call him that for no reason.

He was blatantly telegraphing his moves.

That was a fatal flaw.

Of course, his overwhelming power usually suppressed such weaknesses, but not against a seasoned swordsman like me.

“Fiiish, fiiish!”

I read his obvious movements and dodged every strike.

Then, the relentless barrage that seemed endless suddenly stopped.

“Thud!”

He pushed off the ground and stepped back.

“…Not just some monster hunter.”

Through our brief skirmish, I confirmed my own skill.

He was nowhere near worthy of the title “Monster Hunter.”

“But nothing changes.”

The people of the Gritia Continent are stubborn.

Especially when it comes to matters of honor—they show an obsession bordering on madness.

That word I spat out earlier—Peak of Knight.

The insult it carried had clearly enraged him.

He would kill me without hesitation.

Therefore—

“Vwoom!”

I activated the special power embedded in my Knight Sword.

No, not just the sword.

“Hwaaak!”

The crest on my Full Plate Armor flared with light as well.

It was proof of my full power.

“Try dodging this too!”

A bitter smile.

“Pat!”

The moment my foot stomped, I vanished.

My movements were impossible for the naked eye to follow.

“Swift Acceleration.”

The manifestation of abilities granted to the Knight Sword and armor.

True to the Malice Family’s legacy (in Gritia Continent, surnames come first, then given names), the ability centered on speed.

But

“Ka-ka-kang!”

Before I knew it, I repelled three thrusts targeting my head, stomach, and groin.

“Jing, zziiing—”

The tingling shock left in my grip.

But Krenkel was even more shocked.

His eyes wide with astonishment and panic.

“How…?”

“Do you know the Triple Kill?”

Triple Kill.

The swordsmanship of the Malice Family to which he belonged.

When I spoke that word, his shock turned to horror.

The Malice Family.

A prestigious clan known for their Killing Sword techniques that focus on killing.

Naturally, their swordsmanship is never taught to those outside their bloodline.

So how did I learn it?

“Malice Paladino.”

One of my former names.

I was taken as an Apostle into the Malice Family and learned their swordsmanship.

No, I can’t simply say I learned it.

“Don’t forget. My goal, and yours, is the extinction of the Malice Family.”

I was a tool of vengeance.

But I never resented it.

I gained much from his revenge as well.

I learned not only the Malice Family’s Killing Sword but also their counter-techniques designed to annihilate the clan.

So dealing with one rookie from the Malice Family was not difficult for me.

Even if he physically overwhelmed me.

“Haaah!”

He flailed his sword desperately, refusing to accept reality.

But it was useless.

If only he had wielded a sword focusing on physical ability, the situation might have been different.

However—

“Ka-kang, ka-ka-ka-kang!”

His attacks were no more than suitable prey to me, who knew the counter techniques and sword styles perfectly.

And the result showed immediately.

“Shreek!”

“Ugh!”

He staggered back, deeply slashed across his chest.

“Plip, plip.”

Blood oozed from the wound, staining the ground red.

“Ughh…”

A true rookie indeed.

The wound barely exposed his ribs.

Not severed, just cut, yet he whimpered in pain.

“If you still breathe, even if your limbs are cut off, bite your sword and kill the enemy.”

That was the mindset of a Knight.

But he—

“Aaaargh!”

Furious and terrified at his wound, he wildly swung his sword.

His form and style had collapsed; it was a purely instinctive attack.

His terrified eyes and movements became even more blatant.

His stance grew larger with extreme agitation, naturally creating openings.

Of course, with my current form, penetrating those openings was still difficult.

But, instant Acceleration.

One of the powers granted to the Retainer’s Sword—momentarily boosting speed immensely.

If I activated it, everything changed.

“Pruut.”

My muscles and bones screamed as I pushed beyond my physical limits, but it didn’t matter.

Pain was familiar to me.

A Knight unable to endure pain was no longer a Knight.

“Pook!”

My sword, powered solely by speed and determination, pierced through Krenkel’s neck.

Of course—

“Swish!”

His sword, weakened by the pierced neck, struck my abdomen.

Even without full force, the blade was sharp enough to carve through.

That unpleasant feeling of cold metal piercing flesh.

But it was far too familiar to me.

Fortunately, it hadn’t gone deep enough to damage any organs.

That was enough.

“Keh, kehek!”

His life rapidly drained from his pierced neck.

In his pupils, myriad emotions swirled.

Fear of death.

Disbelief at the impossible.

“Just die.”

But what use was that?

I lived, and he died.

That was the result, the everything.

“Kehhk…”

With those final words, his eyes glazed over.

“Thud!”

His body collapsed.

I watched the scene for a long time.

… I always dreamed of this.

Of my powerless past.

Though I eventually reached the Peak of Knight, once carved into my memory, nightmares rarely fade.

Every time I recall them, a suffocating, choking sensation grips me more than once.

It was a massive obstacle for me, who dreamed beyond even the Peak of Knight.

The realm of enlightenment couldn’t be reached by simply abusing the body.

Mental growth was necessary, and to do that, I needed to escape the nightmares of the past.

But I couldn’t accomplish that.

I thought I never would.

Yet now, at last, I succeeded in removing one cluster of those nightmares.

The feeling was indescribable.

Like something blocking my throat suddenly cleared.

Of course, there were still nightmares scattered about, but somehow I sensed—

“If I climb this tower, I might be able to escape all these nightmares.”

There were many mountains still to climb for that.

By the way.

“How weak.”

Struggling so much against just one rookie of the Malice Family.

However, I withdrew the sword lodged in my abdomen.

Trickles of blood seeped from the wound.

But it was only for a moment.

“Crack!”  

I tightened my muscles to stop the bleeding.  

At the very least, a proper Knight should know how to control every inch of their body down to the tiniest hair.  

Moving muscles to stop bleeding was nothing.  

Done.  

When I finished treating the injury, the familiar Tower message rang out once again.   

[Congratulations!]  

[Kim Si-won of South Korea has cleared Very Hard Floor 3.]  

It seemed that simply defeating Krenkel without any complicated procedure was enough to complete the trial.  

[You have achieved the 3-star condition for Very Hard Floor 3 for the first time.]  

[By clearing the Very Hard difficulty, you have gained dominion over Floor 3 of the Tower for South Korea.]  

The expected reward.  

But that wasn’t all.