"Why?"
"Was this really the best option?"
Haseol asked, a little flustered.
"You knew you would be using a cursed weapon."
"I knew that, but ah~~~. I did not know it would be the kind of thing I would have to receive one hundred million to use."
"Its performance will be certain."
Shura spoke calmly as she walked out of the hotel.
"You mean it will usually be bad in that way? On the curse side?"
"That is right."
"For now, I will trust you, Shura, and try using it."
Haseol scratched his head.
"At least I will not have to worry about attaining martial arts and then being unable to enter a Rootstream."
Haseol soon gave a half-resigned laugh.
Haseol and Shura left the hotel and got into the truck.
"Even so, I thought something would happen because it was an auction for supernatural abilities. It is fortunate that nothing happened."
Haseol leaned back into his seat as though burying himself in it.
"Something will happen from now on."
At Shura's words, Haseol immediately raised his upper body again.
"What do you mean?"
"The sword you are holding will soon recognize you as its owner and start rebelling."
"How will it rebel?"
"I do not know. That depends on the sword."
"Hmmm."
Haseol stared intently at the black long saber, Apocalypse.
Shura began driving, and the scenery outside gradually changed.
"I am tired today, so it would be nice if it could do that tomorrow."
Haseol spoke to Apocalypse as though making a request, then set the sword beside him.
He closed his eyes.
THUD!
A heavy impact struck the rear of the truck, shaking the vehicle.
"What was that?!"
Haseol flinched and turned his head.
Beyond the rear seats, in the truck bed.
There was a golden silhouette.
Only its legs were visible.
Those legs bent, and the silhouette squatted down to poke its face over the back.
It had the posture of a delinquent on the street, and long golden hair streamed around it.
It was golden light shaped only into a human silhouette.
The silhouette even seemed vaguely female in form.
"Shura, something came."
"It is Apocalypse. The sensation it gives off is the same."
"That thing? Are you that golden light?"
Flustered, Haseol lifted the black long saber and asked.
Apocalypse beckoned to Haseol with its palm.
It seemed to be telling him to get out of the truck.
CRRRAAASH!
At that moment, a sound came from Shura's side.
The front door was being torn off and flung backward.
Another golden silhouette was clinging to the truck.
It had a slightly smaller build than the golden figure in the truck bed, and its golden hair was closer to a short cut.
"This one feels like your dagger. Its name was Reverse Life, right?"
"Yes."
Reverse Life grabbed the steering wheel Shura was holding.
It seemed to be trying to turn the truck, but the wheel did not budge because Shura held it.
Reverse Life put a foot inside the driver's seat and stretched it toward the brake.
CRUNCH!
Shura stepped on Reverse Life's leg and broke it.
Then Shura stretched a hand toward Reverse Life's head.
And flicked its forehead.
Reverse Life flew away.
It flew like an arrow.
It went through a building wall, and something crashed and shattered beyond it.
"Whoa. Is that all right?"
"I held back. Even if I take it down, it will come out again later."
"No, no. I mean the building that broke."
"It does not matter. Most abnormalities are handled on their own."
"What does that mean?"
"Ask the King of Mages later. She will explain it well."
"Ah, okay."
"That one is waiting. Let us deal with it and go."
Shura stopped the truck in the middle of the road.
"Yes."
Haseol immediately tilted his neck to one side.
He touched his thumb to his neck and twisted it.
Red lines spread over his body.
He entered Bloodline State.
Holding the black dagger and black long saber, one in each hand, Haseol got out of the truck.
As he stood in the road, the wind blew and stirred his pure white T-shirt.
And before him stood the golden silhouette with long golden hair streaming in the wind.
Apocalypse held a long saber of the same form as the one in Haseol's hand.
"Shura, can I kill that golden thing?"
Haseol called out loudly.
"You can destroy it. The true body is the sword in your hand."
"Yes."
Haseol answered and looked at Apocalypse again.
"It would be nice if we could talk this out, but that would be impossible, right?"
Haseol gripped the long saber and prepared to fight.
For a moment, he wondered how he should hold the dagger and the long saber in each hand.
Then he held the long saber in his right hand and the dagger in his left with a reverse grip.
The golden silhouette approached Haseol.
Watching his enemy swing its sword, Haseol realized something.
He had never fought sword against sword before.
The long saber swung toward his neck.
Haseol hurriedly raised the dagger.
CLANG!
Metal rang out.
Even when he had swung a sword before, he had swung it with Waycut's help.
Haseol immediately brought his long saber down toward Apocalypse.
Apocalypse dodged to the side as it turned.
Haseol's sword cut slightly into the ground and became embedded there.
Apocalypse spun around him from the side and swung its long saber toward Haseol's neck again.
Haseol ducked and avoided the attack.
The golden long saber passed over his head.
Feeling that long saber, Haseol recovered his composure.
It was because he became certain that his body could react sufficiently.
He could see it and react.
Looking straight at the sword as it swung again, he blocked it with his long saber.
He could react.
He was not pushed back either.
He was superior in both strength and speed.
His skill in handling a sword would be lacking.
But.
Shing!
While the two long sabers were locked together, the trajectory of the golden long saber changed slightly.
With that subtly altered trajectory, it forced its way in and sliced toward Haseol's shoulder.
But Haseol saw the movement and reacted.
One beat later, he moved his own long saber and knocked the golden long saber upward.
FWOOSH!
The golden long saber was lifted.
Now Haseol could overwhelm even his opponent's technique with speed and strength.
The blood of the King of the Night.
Haseol had the power of Bloodline.
The golden long saber had been thrown upward.
Apocalypse was defenseless.
Haseol brought his long saber down to cut it.
This time, he did not cut the ground.
He stopped the saber precisely before it could reach it.
Even in that short time, he had controlled the force of his swing.
And Apocalypse could not avoid that saber.
The golden silhouette was cut and dispersed.
It drifted backward as though blown by the wind.
"I have caught Apocalypse for now."
Haseol reported calmly.
"Are you sure?"
Shura asked back.
"Now that you say that, I feel as though it will revive...... It is not over."
The golden light that had drifted backward began to gather again.
It stood on the road again, its golden hair flowing in the wind.
Then it stomped the ground as though enraged.
"Do you want to continue?"
Haseol asked.
Apocalypse held its long saber with both hands and pointed it at Haseol.
Then, in an instant.
The long saber was right before Haseol's eyes.
Haseol turned his head to the side.
The long saber passed right beside his ear.
Haseol shifted his gaze toward Apocalypse.
Apocalypse had not moved.
It was not that Apocalypse had approached and thrust its sword.
The sword had lengthened.
Its speed was just barely within Haseol's ability to react.
The sword lengthened faster than it cut.
The long saber, which was now stretched out beside Haseol's face.
Swung toward Haseol's face.
Haseol kept leaning his body to the side as he raised his dagger.
CLANG!
He blocked it.
However, he could not completely cancel the impact this time.
"Huh?!"
Haseol's body rose into the air, then landed again.
CRASH!
The sound of glass breaking came from beside him.
Haseol's eyes moved.
Reverse Life was flying toward him after smashing through the windows of a building.
Its golden body was hidden behind a large shield, and it was flying like a cannonball.
"Huh?!"
It collided with Haseol.
Together, they flew to the side.
BAAAM!
They smashed through the wall of a building and went inside.
Chunks of cement rained down inside the empty shop.
"Ah~, honestly."
Haseol rose in the falling dust, rubbing his neck as though it were stiff.
The shield in front of Reverse Life changed back into a dagger.
"Reverse Life, why are you suddenly making such a fuss after being quiet all day?"
Smiling, Haseol walked toward Reverse Life.
He held the dagger in his left hand with a reverse grip and the long saber in his right with a forward grip.
Reverse Life took a fighting stance toward Haseol.
"Is that stance the basic one?"
Haseol took the same stance as Reverse Life, but only with his left hand.
Then he moved forward.
Reverse Life swung its dagger from Haseol's neck toward his chest.
Haseol swung in the same angle.
Watching.
The same way.
But one step later.
Even so, faster.
He split Reverse Life from the neck through the chest.
FWOOSH!
He passed through Reverse Life's body and went outside the building.
Then he immediately turned his gaze.
A long saber stretched toward him.
Haseol leaned his head backward and dodged that long saber.
Grip.
He grabbed the flat of the long saber with his hand.
He grabbed it and pulled.
FWOOSH!
Apocalypse was dragged toward him.
Apocalypse floated through the air toward Haseol as though someone had thrown it.
Haseol swung his long saber.
CLANG!
The blade cut Apocalypse.
Golden light scattered.
"I am still not used to combat."
Haseol began speaking to empty air.
Since the two were in his hands anyway, he thought his words would probably reach them.
"Even so, I do not think I will lose to you. Would it not be better for both of us not to waste time?"
Two golden lights gathered again in front of Haseol.
Reverse Life and Apocalypse.
"I am not allowed to grow, and you can eat my growth. Are we not the best partners for each other?"
Reverse Life and Apocalypse looked at each other.
Then they looked at Haseol again.
Reverse Life gave him a thumbs-down, while Apocalypse gave him the middle finger.
They seemed to dislike Haseol immensely.
Considering only the conditions, they might have been compatible.
But Haseol's strength was strength he had received from others.
They might not want to recognize him as their true owner.
"You dislike me, right?"
Reverse Life and Apocalypse nodded at the same time.
"I do not think I will come to like you either, so we are on equal terms. Do you not think we will make good partners?"
Reverse Life gave two thumbs-down, and Apocalypse raised both middle fingers.
They really seemed to dislike Haseol immensely.
"Honestly."
Apocalypse pointed its long saber toward Haseol.
Kiiing!
The lengthening long saber aimed for Haseol's face.
Haseol dodged that long saber and moved forward.
He swung his long saber toward Apocalypse.
THUMP!
Reverse Life blocked it with a shield that had transformed from its dagger.
"You two, seriously."
Haseol found it absurd that the two had begun cooperating.
"Fine. Resist as much as you want."
Haseol spoke and put strength into his long saber.
THUD!
Reverse Life was pushed down onto one knee along with its shield.
WHOOSH!
Apocalypse swung its long saber toward Haseol.
CLANG!
Haseol raised his dagger to block the long saber.
"After all, I do not get the feeling that I will lose to you."
He put more strength into the long saber that was pressing down Reverse Life.
THOOM!
Reverse Life was flattened to the ground along with its shield.
Haseol stepped on Reverse Life and crushed it as he moved forward.
Kiiing!
He swung his long saber toward Apocalypse.
The two golden lights scattered in every direction as though they had exploded.
Then, with a little distance between them, the two golden lights gathered again.
"Shura, a Rootstream has not appeared yet, right?"
Haseol asked as he looked at the golden lights.
"It has not."
Shura was smoking while sitting in the pickup truck's bed.
"What are my limits of stamina?"
"Who knows? Your body is based on the King of the Night's Bloodline, so the King of the Night would know best."
"If I fight with swords for several hours from now, my stamina will not run out, right?"
"It does not matter. If you think you are short, you can ask the King of the Night for more blood."
"That is a relief."
Haseol nodded.
"I will change my approach. I want to build combat experience against these two. What do you think?"
"That is a good idea. How long will you do it?"
"Until the next Rootstream appears."
At Haseol's words, Reverse Life and Apocalypse flinched.
"That is good for you too, right? You can swing your swords as much as you want at someone you hate."
Haseol spoke as he walked toward Reverse Life and Apocalypse.
"It is the same for me, so we get along well."
Haseol jumped and swung his sword.
***
Shura checked a phone in the pickup truck's bed.
"Si Haseol. A Rootstream appeared. Finish up."
"Ah, yes. I will finish."
Haseol spoke, then put the two swords into their sheaths.
"You heard that, right? Stop for now."
Reverse Life and Apocalypse leaned on their respective swords like canes as they showed Haseol a thumbs-down and a middle finger.
Their fingers crossed to form an X.
"I will deal with you later, so let us go for now."
Ignoring the two, Haseol climbed into the truck.
"What do you think?"
Shura asked from the driver's seat.
"They do not listen at all."
Truly exhausted, Haseol threw the two swords onto the backseat.
"They are damned stubborn. They have no intention of giving in at all."
"I mean their performance."
"Their performance? I do not know. While fighting them, all I could think was that both of them have terrible personalities."
SQUELCH!
A long saber pierced Haseol's chest and jutted out in front of him.
Haseol looked down at the long saber that had pierced through the seat and his chest.
"That is still all I can think. Kh, kh. Cough! Cough!"
Haseol let out a hollow laugh.
A golden silhouette had appeared in the backseat and was stabbing Haseol.
"Let us do this a little later. If you keep this up, I will just smash you."
Haseol turned back and threatened it, but the only reply he received was a middle finger in front of his face.
"It knows you will not smash it."
"If you are dissatisfied with me, we can talk about it later. Let us resolve the Rootstream first."
Haseol opened the window, faced the wind, and continued.
"If you interfere with this, I will throw you into my Fairy Realm and make sure no one can ever use you."
Haseol spoke in a gentle but serious voice.
Perhaps his words finally reached them, because the sword piercing Haseol's chest disappeared.