I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 173: Coexistence (3)

Johan’s eyes, as he looked at Yuri, were filled with a mix of confusion, disbelief, surprise, and bewilderment.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

Johan had arrived at the Cradle around noon.

Since then, he had been hiding in the trees, planning to visit Yuri late at night.

In the meantime, he blinked at the unexpected appearance of the old Bone Clan elder.

‘Segyung Walker? The liquor-lover? Hah… that guy’s aged quite a bit.’

The surprise of seeing an old friend after so long was brief.

He watched with interest as Segyung displayed his Extreme Light Manipulation technique.

Soon after, his curiosity shifted to Yuri’s moment of enlightenment.

‘…So he attained enlightenment from watching iron being hammered?’

No matter how often people say enlightenment can come from anywhere and at any time, this was pushing it.

Attaining insight by watching iron being hammered?

He knew Yuri was unpredictable, but even the way he gained enlightenment was beyond comprehension.

These thoughts vanished the moment he saw Yuri’s cherished sword, White, begin to change.

‘What the…?’

Rustle-!

Johan sprang up, causing the branches to shake violently.

‘A, a Magic Sword?!’

Seeing Yuri’s Strong Sword and Flexible Sword had left him with a faint sense of pride, feeling that Yuri had been working hard in his absence.

When he saw the Flame Sword, he thought, ‘Not bad.’

But when Yuri revealed the Magic Sword, all his thoughts vanished, replaced by sheer shock.

And then, when Yuri finally displayed the Holy Sword.

Johan could no longer stay hidden in the tree.

Swish!

‘This is ridiculous!’

It was unbelievable.

So much so that, despite everyone watching, he felt compelled to reveal himself.

‘What the…?’

Johan stood beside Yuri.

The emotions of surprise and bewilderment that had filled his eyes began to condense into one.

And that was… fear.

‘A Holy Sword… at his age… the realm of Holiness.’

The task Johan had given Yuri was to master the Magic Sword within a year.

Even that wasn’t going to be an easy feat.

But Yuri… once again, this guy had done something beyond Johan’s imagination.

‘In just about four months… what on earth has he been up to?’

To think that someone who didn’t even understand the Strong Sword had crafted a Holy Sword in just four months.

In all Johan’s knowledge, no one had ever shown such reckless growth speed.

‘Even the Sword Master…’

Yuri’s rate of growth was so abnormal that even comparing it to the Sword Master felt apt.

And with such abnormal growth inevitably came side effects.

Like now.

“Urgh-.”

Yuri’s eerie appearance, turning red and groaning.

As the mana in the air gathered around him, Johan’s gaze deepened.

‘Kid… there are limits to these things.’

Compared to what he had prepared, the enlightenment Yuri gained was too excessive.

He hadn’t even been practicing the magic body technique for two full years, and he attempted to wield a Holy Sword with woefully insufficient mana. It would be stranger if he were unscathed.

Moreover, Yuri was already a being whose soul, body, and energy were misaligned.

He had just barely managed to find some harmony…

‘The excessive enlightenment disrupted that balance, leading to mana depletion.’

With a small sigh, Johan placed his hand on Yuri’s back.

He was trying to assess Yuri’s condition.

And then.

“Hup?!”

Johan’s eyes widened dramatically.

His pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck.

Johan could no longer suppress his astonishment.

“This, this, this insane brat?!”

Johan realized in an instant that his assumption was wrong.

Yuri’s current condition wasn’t just a case of disrupted balance from excessive enlightenment.

‘His mana core… is collapsing!’

Panicked, Johan hurriedly infused his own mana into Yuri.

Simultaneously, his mind grew hazy.

‘How in the world did this brat manage to manifest a Holy Sword?!’

Judging by the size of the collapsing mana core, the amount of mana Yuri possessed was nowhere near sufficient to wield a Holy Sword.

At best, he would have been praised just for maintaining a Magic Sword for a few seconds.

The very fact that the Holy Sword manifested was like a miracle.

Then, Johan realized.

‘Absorbing the ambient mana… this kid was desperately trying to save his mana core!’

During the manifestation of the Holy Sword, Yuri drew the insufficient mana directly from the core’s foundation.

Of course, this likely happened subconsciously, but it was still a reckless and foolish act.

‘And that’s why the core ended up breaking!’

Meanwhile, Yuri’s subconscious must have absorbed the surrounding mana in an attempt to restore the broken mana core.

Yuri’s mana sensitivity and absorption rate were impressive, even to Johan.

However…

‘That alone won’t be enough!’

Creating a mana core from scratch and piecing together a broken one were entirely different tasks.

Especially with an advanced mana core shattered, attempting to restore it?

It was practically impossible.

People often said it would be easier to just make a new mana core and nurture it rather than trying such a thing.

But the problem was that Yuri was in the Cradle.

There was always a possibility to restore the lost mana core eventually, but…

‘The Cradle isn’t a place that would allow someone without a mana core to survive easily.’

That’s assuming one even survived the shock of the mana core breaking.

Some people became mindless due to the shock of their mana core shattering.

Others suffered physical damage and lost their lives.

Thus, Johan had to make a choice.

He could mitigate the impact of Yuri’s mana core breaking, save his life, and take him out of the Cradle to create a new mana core.

Or he could attempt to restore Yuri’s mana core right here and now.

Two choices lay before him.

Johan’s decision was swift.

‘Restore it.’

Considering Yuri’s growth in the Cradle over the past four months, keeping him here was the right call.

His resolve was firm, and his actions followed without hesitation.

Johan infused his mana into Yuri’s back.

‘Already, about half of it has collapsed.’

There was no time to waste.

Johan’s mana, penetrating into Yuri’s body, gathered the shattered fragments of the mana core.

He used his mana as an adhesive to fuse the broken pieces back together.

Piece by piece, carefully restoring Yuri’s mana core.

When about 70% was restored.

Crack—.

The restored mana core began to collapse again.

Cold sweat trickled down Johan’s back.

‘Even with my mana’s purity… it’s not enough?’

Johan’s mana had a purity level of 90%.

Yet, even with his mana, Yuri’s mana core refused to fuse and remained unstable.

The fused parts fell apart, as if rejecting the mana as foreign matter.

‘What kind of body does this kid have?!’

Since the mana core is the vessel and organ that contains mana, it was natural for the contained mana to be of higher purity.

But to think it would surpass his own mana, which had a 90% purity level.

‘At this rate, I’m going to fail…’

Unless he could infuse mana of an even higher purity, he wouldn’t be able to save Yuri’s mana core.

Just when Johan was feeling disheartened.

‘Wait… higher purity?’

Johan remembered something.

His hand moved like lightning, sweeping around Yuri’s neck.

A necklace caught on his fingers.

Johan’s eyes sparkled.

‘He had it, after all!’

Inside the transparent crystal, a shimmering deep green liquid.

It was none other than Yuri’s treasured item, his number one elixir.

‘With this…’

If Johan consumed the elixir to increase his mana purity, he might be able to restore Yuri’s mana core.

No, in most cases, it should be possible.

But…

‘What if it fails?’

What if Yuri’s mana core’s purity level surpassed Johan’s expectations once again?

What if, even after taking the elixir, the purity wasn’t high enough to restore the mana core?

Yuri’s mana core would shatter, and the elixir would be wasted.

“Hm…”

Johan, holding the elixir in his hand, hesitated for a moment.

But his hesitation didn’t last long.

He tightened his grip.

Ping—

The necklace snapped.

Slick—

With a light movement of his fingers, the top of the crystal was sharply cut off.

He glanced at the shimmering liquid inside and murmured softly.

“If this fails… I’ll be in for a rough time.”

Failing to save the mana core but gulping down the elixir?

Yuri would probably nag him until the day he was laid to rest.

The vivid image of such a situation filled him with determination.

“I can’t let that happen!”

He was determined not to be put through Yuri’s endless complaints.

With that resolve, Johan swallowed the elixir.

Gulp—

The deep green liquid, with a sweet grassy fragrance, slid down his throat.

And then—

Ssshh—

A faint, hazy light began to emanate from Johan’s body.

Bathed in light, he marveled at the changes occurring within him.

‘As expected of an elixir!’

The elixir quickly spread through his body, and the mana he had accumulated over a lifetime began to be refined.

The murky energy, almost akin to impurities, was expelled from his body.

The hazy light radiating from Johan was exactly that: the expulsion of the impurities.

Before long, Johan’s mana had decreased to about 70% of its original level.

30% of the mana he had spent his whole life gathering had dissipated.

Yet Johan felt more invigorated than ever.

It was as if he had been reborn.

However, there was no time to dwell on such feelings.

He immediately placed both hands on Yuri’s back and began channeling mana into him.

Whoooosh—

A vortex of mana surged around Yuri and Johan.

And in the midst of that, an intense struggle unfolded.

Drip—drip—

Sweat trickled down his forehead and dripped off his chin.

Johan was sweating profusely.

But his expression was brighter than before.

‘It’s working!’

The mana core, which had previously resisted all attempts to fuse, was now holding together properly.

However…

‘This… damn brat! Greedily sucking it all in?!’

Yuri’s mana core, seemingly not content with just a simple restoration, hungrily devoured Johan’s mana.

And not only that, it was slowly growing in size.

Even as his mana was being drained, Johan couldn’t help but laugh.

‘Alright! Consider it payment for the elixir! This is a one-time deal, so take as much as you can!’

How much could a mana core the size of a child’s fist possibly consume?

With that thought, Johan pushed his mana even more fiercely.

Goooong—

A massive energy swirled around Yuri and Johan.

And at some point, Johan’s smile faded.

‘No matter how you look at it… isn’t this too much?’

Yuri’s restored mana core had already absorbed 10% of Johan’s total mana.

The problem was that Yuri’s mana core was still not fully restored.

Goooong—

Time continued to pass.

Another 20% of Johan’s mana was siphoned away by Yuri.

Gone was Johan’s confidence, replaced only by growing dismay.

‘This brat’s mana core is just like its owner!’

Just like Yuri, the mana core showed no hesitation in gobbling up everything it was given, and even had the nerve to keep asking for more—an uncanny resemblance to its master.

‘You damn glutton… take it easy, will you?!’

Johan wondered if he had made a mistake, but it was too late to stop now.

After some more time had passed…

Thump, thump—

The veins that had been bulging all over Yuri’s body began to settle back to normal.

Ssshhh—

As the turbulent energy around them gradually subsided, Yuri’s reddened skin also returned to its usual color.

And finally…

Slick—

Johan removed his hand from Yuri’s back.

Immediately, Yuri collapsed forward.

Thunk—

Johan quickly grabbed Yuri by the scruff of his neck.

Holding the unconscious, limp Yuri, Johan turned to Segyung.

A low voice escaped from him.

“It’s been a while.”

“You…”

Segyung, who had already recognized Johan, was visibly shaken.

Johan spoke to him.

“It’s been a while, so let me ask you…”

“…?”

“…Got any hidden stash of booze?”

At that, Segyung snapped back to his senses and started searching for his explosive launcher.

Ready to blow that damned face off right then and there.

But he didn’t follow through.

Because…

“I think I really need a drink today, hahaha…”

Johan’s sudden burst of boisterous laughter strangely resonated in Segyung’s chest.

“Haha… hahahaha!”

It was a laugh overflowing with emptiness and deep frustration.

Then, Johan’s face swiftly twisted into an irritated scowl as he threw Yuri, whom he was holding, onto the ground.

“Damn it, you brat!”

Thud—

Yuri sprawled out on the dirt, sleeping peacefully with a contented expression.

Snore—

“You, you…!”

Seeing Yuri’s pleased face made Johan’s blood pressure spike once more, so he vigorously rubbed the back of his neck.

‘Damn brat!’

Yuri had absorbed a total of 30% of the refined mana from the elixir.

If Johan considered the mana he had accumulated over his entire life as 100%, the mana he had just lost amounted to 21% of the total.

‘…I’ve paid a hefty price for that elixir.’

His mana core was left half-empty.

“Liquor-lover, give me some booze.”

The only thing that could fill that emptiness was alcohol.

Meanwhile, Theresia, Arin, and Poppy, who had been startled by the sudden appearance of the old man and were about to act, halted upon realizing that the mysterious elder had no intention of harming Yuri.

And once the elder restored Yuri’s condition to normal, they sighed in relief.

Alongside that relief came curiosity about the old man’s identity.

“Who is he?”

“Judging by his clothes, he doesn’t seem like one of the Black Sword Corps. Is he affiliated with the Cradle? Like that bomber grandpa?”

“Hungry?”

As the three shared their thoughts.

Gunther, who had seen the old man before, revealed his identity.

“Johan… Redner.”

Gunther’s muttering was quiet but clear to everyone’s ears.

Their eyes all turned to Gunther in unison.

“Who…?”

“Johan Redner?”

“Hungry?”

At first, they wondered if they had misheard.

And they struggled to connect this person with Johan, questioning why he would be here.

But only for a moment.

The three of them realized who Johan was and shouted in unison.

“The Indomitable Sword?!”

“Th-The Indomitable Sword Johan Redner?!”

“Hungry?!”

The stunned group turned their heads in unison.

Their eyes landed on Johan, who was pestering Segyung for more alcohol.