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I’m Here to End This Fight - Novel Updates
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I'm Here to End This Fight
prologue,
a colossal battlefield unfolds, encompassing the entire world.
The prize at stake is an absolute power capable of reshaping the fate of nations worldwide.
Around this battleground, an array of factions assembles – the instigators, the direct participants, mere observers, and opportunists aiming to capitalize on the advantages trickling down from the stage.
And then there's me...
"This has become ridiculously absurd."
I'm the one aiming to overturn the entire game.
Chapter 1: Escape (Part 1)
Monotonous.
The perspective of the man known as the 'monster in human guise' as he gazed upon the world was just that.
A quarter-century had passed since I first wielded a sword.
The path tread by the absolute ruler was drenched in nothing but blood.
Struggle, battles, war.
His life was a continuous series of conflicts, with victory being the sole proof of existence.
At fifteen, he claimed a life in his first victory.
Slaughtering a hundred, he gained fame for the first time.
With a thousand victories, his name gained renown.
Breaking ten thousand swords, people praised him.
Toppling an entire nation in a single stroke, the world feared him.
And...
"There's no longer a sword to break."
When no adversaries or swords to challenge remained in the world below his feet, the prostrate world acclaimed him as the master of the sword.
He faced crises but knew no defeat—a being undefeated in the realm of mortals.
A being acknowledged as having reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship attainable by a human.
The Sword Master, Luke Rider.
For the absolute ruler who achieved everything, what awaited was profound loneliness.
His life was locked in static existence since struggle alone defined it, causing untold agony.
Now, at a mere forty years of age, he thirsted for battle and aspired for more.
He wished to become even stronger.
However...
"There's no longer a sword to break."
With no existence left to challenge him anywhere in the world, he lamented.
At that moment, a thought brushed through the mind of the absolute ruler.
"A sword to challenge me..."
In the current generation, there was no adversary.
Since he had defeated them all.
In that case...
"Why not forge one myself?"
A sharp blade that would complement his essence.
The adversary of the next generation, targeting his heart.
Someone to succeed him after severing his neck.
"Excellent... This is excellent!"
The mere thought brought joy and excitement.
Madness gleamed in his eyes as he gazed upon the world.
Soon after, a single piece of news spread like wildfire across the globe.
"Talented ones, come to me!"
It was the promise of the absolute ruler.
"Be the fertile soil where your talents can bloom, and through this..."
It was also a proclamation, announcing the Festival of Blood.
"Drive a sword into my heart! Let the one who severs my throat inherit my entirety!"
The world buzzed with the absolute ruler's declaration.
The entirety of the Sword Master.
Some called it the profound insight that awakened the Sword Master.
Others deemed it the absolute power moving the world.
Or even the successor to everything the Sword Master obtained.
Regardless, inheriting the 'entirety of the Sword Master' meant becoming the ruler of the continent.
After the absolute ruler's declaration, the event known as the 'Seizure of the Sword Throne' continued unabated.
Day by day, seeking the absolute ruler's throne stained in blood.
Drowning the throne even further in blood to obtain the seat of power.
****
Crack!
Crimson blood splattered in all directions.
"Pheuk!"
The man, spewing blood, sprawled on the ground, scanning his surroundings with lifeless eyes.
"This must be... hell," he thought, given the gruesome scene before him.
Burning buildings, plentiful blood and corpses wherever his eyes landed—this was the hellish aftermath of a massacre.
"How did it come to this?" The recent orders for his group were not particularly challenging. Just erasing a small village from the world's map, overlooked by the lord's eyes.
It seemed like a mission as inconsequential as taking a leisurely stroll in the dead of night.
Burning houses, slashing through people who stumbled out in alarm—these actions were done with such ease that it almost became boring.
Within less than ten minutes, a small village of around twenty households was reduced to ashes.
All the houses were ablaze, and most residents had met their end under the blade.
Except for the last house.
The smallest and most dilapidated at the edge of the village—the house that no one would believe housed anyone.
With a whoosh, the last house caught fire, and the first to bolt out, an elderly man, fell victim to the blade.
They thought the mission ended right there.
However, it was precisely from that last house...
"A monster!"
...that a monster emerged.
A creature shrouded in thick darkness.
Crackle!
The unexpected monster began to wildly rampage within the flames.
"Stop it!"
"What is that?!"
"Run!"
Their will to fight, honed throughout their lives.
The acrobatic skills trained for a lifetime.
All were futile against the monster.
In the blink of an eye, over twenty comrades were torn to shreds.
"Haha..."
From the man recalling the horrific moment, there escaped a sigh that resembled laughter.
"Is this how I... die?"
His arm holding the sword was torn off, and the lower half of his body lacked sensation, perhaps due to a damaged spine.
The vision blurred quickly due to the copious blood loss.
"I didn't think I'd end up like this..."
While he always considered it wouldn't matter when he died, he never thought that this small village would become his grave.
As the man was lamenting his fate, step by step...
Thud, thud...
Into his dim vision entered a pair of small, living feet.
Upon seeing them, his heart pounded, and his cloudy vision cleared.
Soon after, a single figure filled both of his eyes.
Jet-black hair, golden irises.
And a small teardrop mark below the left eye.
Just seven years old but holding a broken kitchen knife, a child stood there.
The pale skin and messy charm made the child look rather extraordinary for a countryside resident. However, upon seeing the child, a faint sense of dread crept into the man's face.
"You..."
A seemingly fragile little kid.
But the man knew.
The monster that had torn through his comrades and ripped his arm away was that very child.
"Kuk!"
When the rapid heartbeat caused blood to surge suddenly, the man vomited blood.
As he did, the child, who had been watching him indifferently, spoke.
"Why did you do that?"
Silence...
"Why did you burn the village?"
He was being questioned by a frail voice not yet touched by adolescence. In response, the man had only one thing to say.
"Weak... that's why. You were trampled... because you were weak."
Crack!
Suddenly, due to the accelerated heartbeat, blood spurted once more.
The man's face, which had lost its fear at the imminent end, now bore a twisted smile as he looked at the child.
"Hehe... Why... did I do that?"
“……”
“And... because I was weak... I'm dying for you.”
A feeble voice on the verge of vanishing.
However, within the frail words, a resolute conviction left an imprint on the child's heart.
"…Because I was weak?"
"The weak are trampled and decay, but the strong... overcome and evolve."
"…."
"In that sense... you have more than enough qualifications to enjoy the era of the Sword Master."
If a mere monster, armed with just a kitchen knife, could massacre twenty knights, it would undoubtedly become a leading figure in this harsh era.
'Have a good time. Hehehe.'
With that thought, the life in the man's eyes faded away.
"…."
The child silently stared at the lifeless man before turning away.
Thud, thud...
After a few steps, the child's footsteps came to a halt.
Near those steps, a dead elderly man lay, blood flowing.
The child stared blankly at her lifeless body.
Soon, a squeezing voice emerged from the child.
"You... you died like this?"
Whether it was sadness or joy, pain or relief, it was an odd mixture of emotions in the voice—far from what one would expect from a child.
Creak...
And, as if in response, the dark figure behind the child significantly wavered and disappeared.
Three days later.
A middle-aged man carrying a large wooden box entered the small village.
"W-What is this?!"
A peddler who had traveled around the village for the past few years, selling necessities and buying leather, was shocked at the grim sight before him.
'It's all burned down!'
Just three weeks ago, there was still a village here, but now only charred remains remained.
'What happened here?'
The peddler cautiously entered the village, surveying his surroundings.
Eventually, he noticed something and abruptly stopped.
Black debris and crimson stains scattered all over.
The peddler immediately recognized what it was.
'Bloodstains?!'
The revelation that there were bloodstains suggested that something significant had happened here. Perhaps the village's ordeal was not yet over.
In response, as the peddler was about to turn away to escape...
"Sir."
"Eek!"
Startled by the voice from behind, the peddler quickly turned around.
His pale expression regained color as he saw the figure who called him.
"You... are you Yu-ri, as they said?"
The unique appearance with black hair and golden irises, coupled with the child's curiosity whenever he visited the village, made the peddler recall him.
Approaching Yu-ri carefully, the peddler scrutinized his demeanor.
Yu-ri's worn-out attire was covered in crimson marks, and his fingers were smeared with blood and dirt.
And.
'What's with that kid's eyes?!'
When the peddler met the vacant gaze of Yu-ri, a shiver ran down his spine.
As the peddler involuntarily took a step back, Yu-ri, who had been silently standing there, spoke again.
"Sir."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"What happened here? Why is the village like this?"
As the peddler asked, he observed Yu-ri's demeanor.
The torn clothes stained with black ashes and the vivid crimson marks told the peddler all he needed to know.
And.
'What's with that kid's eyes?!'
At the moment he met Yu-ri's hollow gaze, the peddler shuddered.
Trying to retreat, the peddler suddenly stopped when Yu-ri spoke again.
"Sir..."
"Huh? Why?"
"Do you know what this is?"
Yu-ri extended a small object to the peddler.
An item retrieved from the assailant who attacked the village.
The peddler's brows furrowed as he examined what Yu-ri was offering.
"Oh? Isn't that..."
A steel plaque engraved with coiling and winding characters.
Recognizing the writing, the peddler quickly identified its origin.
"Isn't this the crest of the Pavulie family?"
"Pavulie... family?"
"Why, there's a family that recently became the lord of the neighboring territory. They're a bunch of thieves who jacked up the toll by 50% without any ability, just greed! What are they trying to do in this backwater village? Dammit! Merchants like us are starving because of them! Ugh! I have to get out of here!"
Knowing that the presence of the Pavulie family's crest meant something significant, the peddler's back was drenched in cold sweat.
"Sir..."
"Eek!"
As soon as the peddler heard the voice from behind, he turned around, terrified.
The terrified expression on the peddler's face regained color when he saw the one who had called him.
"You... are you Yu-ri, as they said?"
The unique appearance with black hair and golden irises, coupled with the child's curiosity whenever he visited the village, made the peddler recall him.
Approaching Yu-ri carefully, the peddler scrutinized his demeanor.
Yu-ri's worn-out attire was covered in crimson marks, and his fingers were smeared with
“….”
"Heard that the lord, eager to become a knight, hastily formed a group of knights, and now he's desperately draining the territory to cover the costs."
With much to share, the merchant rambled on.
Then, realizing his own behavior, he coughed awkwardly.
"Ah, anyhow, that crest looks like the Pavulie family's... Where could you have found that?"
"...Thank you."
In response to the merchant's question, Yuri politely lifted his head and left without uttering another word.
"Hey, kid!"
Trying to catch Yuri, the merchant's body wouldn't listen.
Frozen by an eerie unknown, he stood there.
Meanwhile, Yuri's eyes were tinted red as he walked away.
"Weak, so we're trampled because of that?"
Is this the era of the Sword Master?
If something like this happened for such a trivial reason...
"Experience being trampled as well."
Responding to a strong resolution, Yuri's shadow subtly swayed.
After Yuri vanished into the distance, the merchant finally exhaled the breath he had been holding.
"Phew! What, what was that?!"
Confused, he scratched his head.
'Come to think of it, what was that thing at his waist? A knife, right?'
His thoughts were scattered, but he vaguely remembered a half-broken kitchen knife at Yuri's waist.
'Was it a kitchen knife?'
Distractedly pondering, he found Yuri's whereabouts and froze.
The place where the merchant's gaze fell.
There, dozens of freshly made mounds of earth protruded.
"Ah..."
The sighing man could understand.
Yuri's hands, stained with blood and dirt.
A muddy, broken kitchen knife.
What did they mean?
'Did he... make these graves alone?'
The merchant's gaze remained on the numerous mounds for a while.
And then, two weeks later.
News swept through the vicinity of the small village where Yuri used to live.
"Pavulie family devoured by a monster!"
A family that had recently become the lord of the neighboring territory had perished overnight.
The Pavulie family's mansion had burned down, and there were no survivors among those present at the time.
Amidst the desperate screams heard from the mansion that day, a pitch-black monster had apparently swallowed the Pavulie mansion.
People would chatter whenever they gathered, claiming that the monster had annihilated the Pavulie family.
However, no one knew about the existence of a mud-covered, half-broken kitchen knife left in one corner of the burned Pavulie mansion.
And then, eight years passed.
Fantasy,
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