I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 212: Black Dragon Hall (3)

As time passed, about an hour after Andres and Julia had their war of nerves, Yuri, who had slipped away from them, finished his business and was on his way back when he encountered someone.

To be precise, she had been waiting in the path Yuri would take, blocking his way.

Yuri looked at the person.

Red hair and bronze skin.

A 46th class beauty, exuding health, wearing a white epaulet.

Her face was very familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

“Hi, long time no see. We’ve met before, right?”

The woman greeted Yuri as if she knew him.

“Hm…”

Yuri narrowed his eyes.

At his blunt gaze, as if asking who she was, the red-haired beauty scratched her cheek.

“Don’t you remember me? We’ve even shown each other some skin.”

With that, she casually bared her shoulder and winked at Yuri.

It was only after seeing that wink that Yuri realized who she was.

“Ah! The third girlfriend of that playboy!”

Though it was just a fleeting encounter, he couldn’t help but remember her, because their first meeting had been quite shocking.

But the red-haired beauty wiggled her index finger side to side.

“Wrong!”

“…Not that?”

“Technically, I’m the ex-third girlfriend of that playboy. We broke up recently.”

“I knew that guy would get dumped someday. Justice always prevails!”

“Wrong again!”

“…?”

“I’m the one who got dumped.”

“Huh?”

“Goetz broke up with everyone he was seeing a few months ago. I got dumped, too.”

Seeing her slightly bitter expression, Yuri tilted his head.

“Isn’t that a good thing? You broke up with a playboy like that. You should find someone new and move on.”

“Playboy, huh… You really don’t know anything about Goetz, do you? Or what the Röthen family is about?”

“Do I need to know that?”

“Hehe, look it up later. It’s quite interesting.”

“Well, if I have time. Not sure when that’ll be, though.”

“Sigh… It’s hard to find a guy like him… I really wanted to hold on to him…”

Her eyes, filled with genuine regret, turned slightly dreamy.

Then she snapped back to her senses and gave a bashful smile.

“Oh, oops, I didn’t come here to lament over my breakup. The reason I’m here is…”

Yuri cut her off with a serious expression.

“I know I’m a better guy than Goetz, but you’re not my type.”

A bemused smile spread across the woman’s lips.

“…You’re quite my type too, but that’s not why I came to see you today.”

“Then why?”

At Yuri’s question, she pulled something from her pocket and tossed it to him.

Whoosh.

Yuri caught the flying object easily.

“What’s this?”

The item wedged between his index and middle fingers.

It was a small card made of stiff, somewhat hard paper.

On one side of the entirely black card was a pure white drawing.

A circular shape seemingly bisected by a cross.

However, one line of the cross was long, the other short, and the positioning was asymmetric.

‘Is this… not a cross but a sword?’

Upon closer inspection, it resembled a sword piercing through a round shape.

“Hmm…”

On the back, there were some numbers that made no sense.

Turning it over in his hand, Yuri asked casually.

“What’s this?”

“An invitation.”

“A lot of people are inviting me to things today, huh? So, which group are you from?”

For the first time, the woman’s smile vanished at his question.

“That, I can’t tell you right now.”

“This is a rather creative way to invite someone. Inviting without disclosing your affiliation…”

“Dangerous invitations are always more appealing.”

Yuri snorted lightly and held up the black card.

“So, how do I use this invitation?”

“You don’t need to use it right away. As long as you’re in the Cradle, whenever it may be… You just need to place the card at the coordinates written on it by midnight.”

As soon as he heard the explanation, Yuri’s expression hardened.

Midnight.

Black card.

White, strange design.

Isn’t this all too ominous?

Yuri muttered in a trembling voice.

“This isn’t something weird… like something that summons something indestructible, right?”

“Huh? What?”

“Never mind…”

“Anyway, if you do that, it means you’ve accepted our invitation, and someone from our side will come find you. They’ll explain everything—from who we are to why we invited you.”

Upon hearing that, Yuri’s face immediately relaxed.

“Oh, what? That’s it? I thought it was something else!”

“…?”

Seeing Yuri’s oddly relieved reaction, the redhead tilted her head, then waved her hand lightly as she stepped back.

“Well, I’ll be going now. It’s your choice whether to accept the invitation or not… but I hope you do! I’m looking forward to your wise decision!”

She left, waving both hands.

Without even revealing her name in the end.

Left alone, Yuri stared at the card in his hand and murmured.

“It’s best not to get involved with things that can’t even reveal their name.”

Especially with such a foreboding invitation.

From his experience, getting involved with such things only shortened his lifespan.

With that thought, Yuri stuffed the invitation into his pocket and erased the incident from his mind.

Completely.

* * *

Time passed again, and it was the fourth day since the end of the Grand Martial Competition.

Contrary to Gordon’s statement that they would call him soon, no Black Sword Corps member had come looking for Yuri.

During the idle time, Yuri focused on one thing.

Teaching Johan the “Magic Flow – Confinement” that he had developed.

And so began Yuri’s stint as a teacher.

However, his first lesson was facing severe difficulties from the start.

“No! Why can’t you do that?”

“…”

“You just need to ‘Waguk-’ and confine it, then ‘Warurruk-’ and release it, right?”

“…”

“Just remember ‘Waguk-’ and ‘Warurruk-’! Just that feeling!”

Watching Yuri pound his chest in frustration, Johan tapped his own chest as well.

“So what the hell are ‘Waguk-’ and ‘Warurruk-’ supposed to be?!”

“You don’t know that?”
“Don’t know!”

“Why don’t you know?!”

“How would I know when you’re not explaining it properly!”

“I already explained it earlier! How much clearer do I need to make it?!”

Johan let out deep sighs, looking as if he was about to explode from frustration.

“This is driving me crazy…”

At first, he thought it was a joke.

But now, seeing that exasperated face that matched his own, he was sure it wasn’t.

‘This insane bastard really… made this ‘Confinement’ thing based on just a vague feeling like this?’

He had heard the explanation initially.

It wasn’t about catching the flow.

Since it was impossible to catch, the idea was to temporarily block and confine the continuously flowing power, then release it in the desired direction.

‘Okay, I got that far…’

The problem was that the key elements of the confinement and release were described as “Waguk-” and “Warurruk-.”

Even with a detailed explanation, it would be hard to replicate; teaching it with sounds a five-year-old might use made it all the more frustrating.

“Geniuses are all annoying. They should all just drop dead, tsk tsk.”

Johan, who had once considered himself one of those annoying geniuses, now found himself facing an even greater one.

And since this genius had created the third form of the Magic Flow—a technique Johan had been struggling with for years—in such a ridiculous manner, he felt justified in cursing him out.

Yuri, on the other hand, was equally exasperated.

“This isn’t about me being a genius; it’s just that the old man is stupid.”

“…Me? Johan Redner?”

“Yes, you, Johan Redner!”

“….”

“Indomitable Sword, my foot. With that talent, how do you expect to make a living in swordsmanship? It’s not too late; go learn some other technique.”

“Y-you little…!”

“Want me to teach you blacksmithing? Hm? Or maybe join that old man’s apprentice as a disciple. He’d probably take you in with open arms, though you might end up bald from all the scolding.”

“You bastard, you done talking?!”

Johan shouted, grabbing Yuri’s hair.

“Ow, ow, what the—?! Ah! My hair! Hey, you crazy old man! Let go of me, will you?!”

Startled, Yuri also grabbed Johan’s hair in retaliation.

“Ugh! You damned brat! Don’t you have any respect for your elders?!”

“Old man, this is child abuse!”

“Respect the elderly, you degenerate brat!”

“Clearly, I’m the weaker one here! And you, old man, shouldn’t you be nurturing a growing sprout? You heartless geezer who dumped all sense of humanity into the trash!”

“Where’s the sprout here! All I see is a wilting, overgrown weed!”

The two of them bickered and yelled at each other but refused to let go of each other’s hair.

Then, as if growing more frustrated, Yuri shouted again.

“Agh, seriously! It’s not about catching it; it’s about confining it, blocking the flow with a Waguk- and then releasing it with a Warurruk-!”

“What kind of nonsense is that?!”

“In the end, it’s the old man’s theory that’s the foundation. I just built on it, so why don’t you get it? It’s not an entirely new method; it’s what you already know!”

In this reversal of roles, where the teacher became the student, and vice versa, they continued to argue about the Magic Flow – Confinement while still clutching each other’s hair.

Eventually, Johan was the first to release his grip.

“…Damned brat.”

Grumbling, he let go, and Yuri, pouting, did the same.

Both turned away and fixed their disheveled hair.

Even after that, they sat silently with their backs to each other for a while.

Not out of pettiness, though.

They were merely taking time to process the conversation they had just had.

Each in their own way.

Yuri, in his way.

Johan, in his.

After a long while of trying to wrap his head around Yuri’s nonsensical explanation, Johan finally turned his head.

Seeing Yuri deep in thought as well, he asked gruffly.

“What’s on your mind? Got yourself a girlfriend or something?”

“A girlfriend? No way.”

“Then why have you been so deep in thought these past few days?”

“Hmm…”

Yuri hesitated briefly before speaking up.

“Uh… old man?”

“What?”

“That… Is the Sword Master’s Dominion different from the Zone used by certified seventh-rankers?”

“I thought you were pondering something serious, but of course… They’re completely different. How could they be the same?”

Yuri blinked.

“How are they different? I’ve experienced Dominion, but I’ve never encountered a Zone.”

“You? Experienced Dominion? Are you seriously thinking that the Dominion used by that kid Gunther was the real deal?”

“…It’s different?”

Yuri’s eyes widened, and Johan smirked.

“Comparing the two is like comparing heaven and earth.”

“That different? Well… considering what I felt during the Hundred Steps Ceremony…”

At the Hundred Steps Ceremony, the oppressive aura of the Sword Master was like a hammer blow, whereas Gunther’s might barely felt like a baby’s patting.

As Yuri mused on this, Johan continued in a brusque tone.

“Listen well. Dominion and Zone differ fundamentally.”

“How so?”

“The Zone that a certified seventh-ranker uses is an extension of their senses. They can control a defined space as if it were part of their own body. But Dominion is different. Dominion… commands the space.”

“…Commands the space?”

“Why else do you think it’s called Dominion? It subjugates everything that enters the wielder’s space. Applying mere pressure? That’s not even 1% of what true Dominion is capable of.”

“…”

“In the space where the Sword Master Dominates, he… becomes a god. With a mere gesture, he can turn hundreds of people into blood, make rain shoot upwards, and even summon a typhoon.”

“…Is that even human?”

From what Johan described, it sounded more like a god than a human.

As Yuri, clicking his tongue, pushed thoughts of Gunther’s Dominion out of his mind, he asked another question.

“Can’t you do something like that, old man? I mean, you’re a Master, right? Didn’t you learn anything while fighting the Sword Master?”

“Learn? Dominion?”

Johan gave Yuri a look as if he had heard the most absurd thing.

“What nonsense are you spewing? Among the various techniques of the Ryder family’s martial body arts, the Black Blood and Dominion can only be wielded by Ryder’s bloodline.”

“…No one else can use it? Why?”

“That’s just how it is. Such secret arts of bloodline succession are special martial body arts that only those born into the bloodline can manifest.”

“…Really?”

“This brat… Do you think I’d lie about this?”

“…”

Yuri blinked.

He bit back his final words as Johan erupted.

‘…Seems doable, though?’

Yuri suppressed the echo of his thoughts.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly turning his head, Johan stood up and spoke.

“Go outside. Someone’s here to see you.”

“Huh? Who?”

“Don’t forget what I said yesterday.”

Leaving those words, Johan vanished like a ghost.

‘What he said yesterday?’

Yuri, having caught on to what Johan meant with his last words, sprang up and sprinted towards the entrance of the Demon King’s Castle.

And there, he finally met the one he had been eagerly waiting for.

“Follow me. Preparations to open Black Dragon High are complete.”

How refreshing it was to hear the typically stern and cold tone of the bespectacled Black Sword Corps member.

Yuri’s eyes sparkled with excitement at the news he had longed to hear.