“How… how could this be… that sword… what was it truly…?”
Miekin Hogg reacted with the most profound shock, his face ashen beneath the protection of his rock armor. His gaze remained locked on the Divine Soul Sword, which had returned to its formless state in You’er’s hand. He simply could not fathom what caliber of blade could so effortlessly rend his Demonic Rock Robe into shreds.
“Miekin Hogg, do you truly have the luxury to concern yourself with other matters at this moment?”
With a blinding flash of electricity, Moses Du, imbued with a force akin to a thousand tons, slammed into him.
“It’s futile, Moses! Your electrical magic is utterly useless against my earthen magic!” Regaining his composure, Miekin Hogg snarled, gritting his teeth as he activated his rock armor to deploy its defenses.
“Is that so?”
Moses Du, now resembling an armored vehicle wreathed in crackling arcs, delivered a ferocious blow that sent Miekin Hogg soaring backward, much like a rubber ball rebounding from a forceful strike.
Though Miekin Hogg sustained no visible injuries upon landing, he found himself trapped at the heart of a shimmering, sky-blue magic array.
“Now, Rigalantie Hogan, strike!” Moses Du’s high-pitched cry immediately followed.
“I’m always prepared, Master Moses!”
The short staff clutched in Rigalantie Hogan’s hand pulsed with an ominous magical glow.
“Intermediate Magic: Deluge of Waterfalls!”
As Rigalantie Hogan’s incantation echoed, a furious torrent erupted from the magic array encircling Miekin Hogg, swallowing him whole in an instant, much like a monstrous, gaping maw.
“Accursed water! It’s so heavy!”
The water, insidious and pervasive, infiltrated every crevice; even the most formidable rock armor proved powerless against its relentless invasion. As the armor absorbed the deluge, its weight intensified, severely impeding Miekin Hogg’s movements. They immediately let out a strange cry, cursing vehemently.
“Clink!”
Just then, a triangular rapier, crackling with electric energy, plunged into the rock armor, appearing directly before Miekin Hogg’s eyes as he thrashed in the water. Abruptly, his expression contorted into one of profound terror, for he had instantly grasped Moses Du’s chilling intent.
“Mo… Moses… no, I was wrong! I know I was wrong! Please, spare me, spare me!…”
Overwhelmed by fear, Miekin Hogg began to plead for his life, yet Moses Du’s gaze remained utterly devoid of emotion.
“Too late! Our feud ends here. Farewell, Miekin! Electrical Fury!”
Moses Du clutched an electric tether, a conduit directly connected to the triangular rapier. Savage bolts of lightning erupted from his form, channeling entirely into his palm. A visible surge of high-voltage current coursed through the tether, eventually reaching the rapier itself. What followed was a bloodcurdling shriek, like that of a slaughtered pig…
The entire magic array, the rushing torrent itself, became saturated with searing high-voltage arcs. Even the most resilient rock armor proved incapable of withstanding such an onslaught. Ultimately, this devastating attack sealed Miekin Hogg’s grim fate.
“You scoundrel! We were supposed to watch the show together!”
Meanwhile, Quia Terra, witnessing Miekin Hogg’s demise, was seized by panic. His face contorted in a furious roar directed at Rigalantie Hogan. Just as he prepared to charge, a chilling dark cloud suddenly descended, enveloping the sky behind him…
A massive head tumbled through the air, while You’er, his face impassive, silently dissolved his Divine Soul Sword.
With Heggel Gale, Miekin Hogg, and Quia Terra now fallen in succession, this utterly breathtaking Challenge Festival finally drew to a close.
****
With Moses Du and Rigalantie Hogan standing to his left and right, You’er lifted his gaze, looking directly at Salakriffin, awaiting the announcement of the results.
“Clap, clap.”
“That was truly a magnificent and unparalleled performance, Gugu You’er Guinevere. I am exceedingly pleased with your display!”
Salakriffin clapped his hands softly, his gaze fixed on You’er, who stood proudly at the arena’s core, and he offered lavish praise without reservation.
One after another, dark clouds materialized invisibly, forming a stairway. Salakriffin ascended this ethereal ladder, stepping slowly into the arena until he stood before You’er.
“Do you understand my purpose in hosting this King’s Challenge?” Salakriffin inquired, his voice low, as he regarded You’er from close proximity.
“Is it not merely to sate your tiresome, depraved tastes?”
To the utter horror of Moses Du and Rigalantie Hogan, who stood on either side, You’er responded to Salakriffin with a chillingly indifferent tone. Facing Salakriffin, You’er had never once harbored even the slightest trace of fear.
The moment You’er uttered those words, both Moses Du and Rigalantie Hogan’s faces turned ashen. ‘Damn it all,’ they thought, ‘we barely scraped through this with our lives, and now if Salakriffin gets angry, we’re absolutely done for.’
“Have you ever heard of a term from the distant East—‘Gu’?”
Yet, Salakriffin displayed no hint of anger. Instead, he introduced a surprisingly unsettling and intimidating topic, speaking in a casual, conversational tone.
“One gathers centipedes, scorpions, venomous snakes, and other such vile creatures, placing them together to fight to the death. The one that ultimately survives is the—Gu.”
“Are you suggesting that you consider everyone in this arena to be venomous creatures, and I am merely the ‘Gu’ you seek?!”
You’er’s expression turned chilling, imbued with a simmering rage. He lunged forward, closing the distance to Salakriffin in a single stride, seizing his collar and roaring, “What do you, you bastard, truly consider life to be?! Every single person who perished in this squalid arena was once a vibrant, living soul!”
“And what about you?”
Salakriffin’s gaze, both relaxed and utterly cold, sent shivers down one’s spine. He fixed You’er with an intense stare, his words sharp and cutting.
“In this past year alone, how many lives have been extinguished by your sword? How many souls have you personally claimed? Tell me, then, what do *you* truly consider life to be? In your eyes, is not life itself as fragile as a sheet of paper? You are nothing more than a coward, living solely for your own survival!”
“That’s not it… I merely… I merely…”
You’er clutched his head, retreating steadily, his face a canvas of confusion and inner turmoil. He yearned to voice a rebuttal, yet the countless dying faces of those who had fallen by his blade flashed incessantly through his mind, rendering him speechless, even with his mouth agape.
“There is no ‘merely.’ You, Gugu You’er, and I, Salakriffin, are fundamentally the same breed of individual—madmen who will stop at nothing to achieve their ends! My actions are born of pure amusement, while yours are tragically driven by the desperate need for survival! Thus, your sole destiny is to become my ‘Gu,’ to serve me, to kill for me!”
Salakriffin advanced, relentlessly closing the distance.
Just then, You’er’s body fell into a familiar, comforting embrace.
“That’s not true! My husband’s every action is solely for the sake of protection! To protect Noelle, and to safeguard all those who stand behind him! The sky is vast, the oceans wide; everywhere, my husband finds his true home!”
A profound connection of hearts allowed You’er to sense Noelle Noah’s arrival without needing to turn, and he felt the sincere, unwavering encouragement emanating from her.
“Boss, throughout this past year, you’ve tirelessly protected us!” [From Keane Coe Harrow]
“Boss, thank you for avenging my blood feud!” [From Veron Toth]
“Hoo-hoo-hoo! It was you, Boss, who granted us a stable place to live, who shielded us from oppression!”
“Long live the Boss! All hail the Boss!”
“…”
You’er turned, his gaze falling upon Keane Coe Harrow, then Veron Toth, and finally all the brothers who had stood by his side day in and day out. They now formed a resolute line behind him, their expressions a testament to their sincere and unwavering loyalty.
“What a truly foolish lot. Since you dare to set foot upon this ground, I can only assume you have all made the necessary preparations, have you not?”
Yet, at that very moment, Salakriffin’s voice, utterly devoid of emotion, resonated through the air.
“Run! Get away from here!” At this, You’er’s expression abruptly contorted in alarm.
“It’s too late.”
A faint, chilling smile played upon Salakriffin’s lips. He waved his hand with an almost ethereal lightness, then calmly uttered two words.
“Corrupting Rain!”
In that very instant, the sky was swallowed by ominous storm clouds. A deluge of black, needle-sharp rain began to pour down, even more densely than the preceding sword rain.
“Ice Jade!”
You’er, with the swiftest reaction, summoned his Divine Soul Sword without a moment’s hesitation, and just as decisively unleashed Ice Jade!
Yet, this cerulean glazed barrier, which had previously displayed such formidable power, utterly shattered in mere moments beneath the relentless onslaught of the black rain. The dark deluge cascaded from above, an apocalyptic downpour.
“Master Salakriffin is a Magus! Hide! Quickly, hide!”
The most extreme reactions came from Moses Du and Rigalantie Hogan. One sprinted atop surging waves, the other streaked across crackling electricity, both desperately fleeing the arena with every ounce of their being, utterly devoid of any will to resist.
The single declaration of “Magus” was sufficient to answer a multitude of unspoken questions.
For a Magus was equivalent to a Sword Master’s Sword Ancestor rank—a truly formidable and terrifying powerhouse, beyond all doubt!