Chapter 93. The Tiger Who Repaid a Favor (2)

At first, when he heard about the realm of Saint, he wondered why it was called sacred.

But now, he felt he understood.

It was as if a clear and transparent light had been captured and crafted into a gem.

A contradictory feeling that was both gentle and intense.

If this wasn't sacred, then what was?

Having confirmed with his own eyes that he had reached the realm of Saint, Yuris chuckled.

"Haha, this is really getting serious."

Thanks to this, he had one thing he was certain of.

If he made even one wrong move from now on, he would really die.

But the problem was...

'There are not one, but two moves left.'

A deep tension filled Yuris' eyes.

Thud, thud.

The tiger-striped woman was slowly approaching.

Her steps seemed like those of a tiger that had successfully hunted, about to sever the neck of its prey and cut off its breath completely.

Every subtle movement of the tiger-striped woman was vividly captured in Yuris' field of vision.

'She's strong.'

The one who had opened Yuris' eyes to true strength was Johann.

The strongest person Yuris had met was the Sword Master.

And among those he had fought directly, the strongest was the woman before him.

'Public Rank 6th Dan...'

He had expected her to be stronger than what he had experienced, but to use the Saint Fist...

She must be one of the senior members among the Black Sword Battalion leaders.

With his current skills, it would be reckless to attack.

But Yuris exhaled a long breath and smiled.

"Hmm... Let's go."

Then he started walking slowly.

Thud, thud.

One, two, three.

His light steps gradually quickened, and before he knew it, Yuris was running.

Toward the tiger-striped woman who was walking toward him.

'If I get hit, I die.'

Then...

'I just have to avoid it!'

Squish.

Spider webs of the demon current emerged from Yuris' entire body.

At the same time, he thought calmly.

'Brain Edge has already been used four times.'

From now on, he could use it only once more.

The tiger had two attacks left.

That meant he would have to endure one of those two attacks without using Brain Edge.

An attack so fast it seemed like instantaneous movement.

Especially if he used Brain Edge on the ninth move, he would self-destruct before the final tenth move.

Thus, Yuris took out the demon current.

'I was planning to use it as a surprise attack in the final moment.'

That's why he had resisted using the demon current until the end, even in his first fight with the tiger.

But the situation had become complicated, and he had no choice but to use the demon current.

He couldn't block the tiger without it.

'Predict more precisely and faster.'

As Yuris ran toward the tiger, he focused on the spider webs of the demon current.

Fine threads of the spider web transmitted subtle currents.

The flow of the wind.

The tremors of the ground.

The vibrations of sound.

And even the small fluctuations of mana.

All of these became information and were transmitted to Yuris, who analyzed each piece.

'If I follow the tiger's movements with my eyes, I'll be too late.'

That's why he had been predicting her moves and using Brain Edge to counter them.

This was a prediction one step ahead of the tiger-striped woman.

But now, he couldn't use Brain Edge.

Just being one step ahead wouldn't be enough to counter the tiger-striped woman.

In this situation, what Yuris could do was to calculate all the information and predict two or more steps ahead.

'The distance is 10 meters.'

If he reduced the prediction space any further, he wouldn't be able to keep up with the tiger-striped woman's speed.

He had to predict from at least 10 meters away.

Just as he thought this, the spider webs of the demon current that had extended from Yuris began to shrink.

Instead, they formed a denser web around him.

And at that moment.

Snap!

The tiger-striped woman in front of him disappeared.

Yuris' brain, analyzing dozens of pieces of information per second, detected the signal of the current caught by the demon current's spider web.

'Where... where are you coming from!'

The image of the tiger-striped woman, invisible to the eye, was vividly drawn in his mind.

At the same time, several afterimages of the tiger-striped woman appeared in his mind's eye.

These were the predicted paths of the tiger-striped woman based on the information Yuris had obtained.

The paths of the afterimages began to decrease one by one.

Finally, when only one afterimage remained, a glint appeared in Yuris' eyes.

'This is it!'

The spider webs of the demon current that had extended in all directions were instantly compressed and gathered around him.

Like water or wind, the demon current flowed around Yuris.

A light appeared at its center.

Snap!

It was the tiger-striped woman's Saint Fist.

The punch of the tiger-striped woman, who had suddenly appeared close to Yuris.

Yuris raised his sword and controlled the demon current around him.

The flow he manipulated interfered with the tiger-striped woman's Saint Fist.

Crack.

Not only did it deflect the shield that had been thrown with immense physical force, but it also sent the shield and the tiger-striped woman flying 5 meters away.

Forcing this power to twist and deflect, the flow around him screamed.

But Yuris did his best to let the power of the Saint Fist pass through.

The time was only 1-2 seconds, but Yuris felt as if several minutes had passed.

And finally.

Crack, swish.

Sparks flew between Yuris and the tiger-striped woman, and she leaped into the air.

Spinning in the air, the tiger-striped woman landed lightly on the ground.

Meanwhile, Yuris, who had been running forward, turned his body 180 degrees and slid backward.

Squish, squish.

Yuris finally stopped, kicking up dust.

A trickle of blood burst from his slightly bowed upper body.

Cough.

"Damn, that was... intense."

In the hundred-step consciousness, he had learned that the stronger the flow he had to control, the harder it was to manage.

And the tiger-striped woman's Saint Fist was showing a much stronger flow than the momentum of the Sword Master he had endured while walking fifteen steps.

Perhaps this was only natural.

The tiger-striped woman was walking from far beyond the fifteen steps he had taken.

Swish.

Yuris wiped the blood from his lips and stared at the tiger-striped woman.

His lips were curved into a pleasant smile.

* * *

The tiger-striped woman's heart raced as she saw the young knight smiling with blood on his lips.

Of course, it wasn't a heartbeat of passion.

It was a deep excitement felt only in life-or-death battles, a pleasant thrill of facing a worthy opponent.

But the one who made her feel this way was a young knight.

A knight who was not only 11 years younger than her but also far lower in rank.

Despite this, the tiger-striped woman felt the thrill of facing a worthy opponent.

'How did it come to this?'

When they first started fighting, she never expected things to turn out this way.

She thought it would just be a small pleasure in her mundane daily life.

But then a bizarre arrow that changed direction in mid-air flew at her.

Suddenly, a giant appeared and threw a shield.

What started as a small pleasure became a more interesting pastime.

Now, it had turned into the most intriguing event in recent times.

Thud, thud.

The tiger-striped woman turned her head and stared at the blood trickling down her hand.

A long gash from her forearm to her shoulder.

It was quite a deep wound.

Feeling a sharp pain, the tiger-striped woman looked at Yuris, who was wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

'That kid...'

She admitted that using the Saint Fist against a mere Public Rank 1st Dan knight was a bit excessive due to her excitement.

But that kid had blocked her Saint Fist.

A question formed in her eyes as she looked at Yuris.

'What was that just now?'

When she threw a punch at him, an unknown force interfered and twisted her Saint Fist.

This made the tiger-striped woman feel an inexplicable tickle deep in her chest.

She wanted to know.

What was the force that twisted her Saint Fist?

And what was the nature of this tickle in her chest?

The method to find out was simple.

She just had to experience it again!

She asked Yuris.

"What's your name?"

"Yuris Holland."

"Right... That's your name. Yuris Holland... Yuris Holland."

As if determined not to forget, she repeated his name softly and took off her breastplate.

Clank.

The breastplate, reinforced with steel plates, rolled on the ground as the tiger-striped woman stepped forward with her right leg.

At the same time, she lowered her stance, extended her right fist forward, and placed her left hand over her heart.

The most comfortable and familiar stance for her.

Also, the starting stance for all the techniques of her family.

She said solemnly.

"Black Sword Battalion 17th Squad Leader, Greta Wigen."

It was the first time she had revealed her surname and family name.

This was the respect Greta, the tiger-striped woman, was showing Yuris.

Meanwhile, Yuris let out a gentle sigh at the change in her aura.

'One mountain after another.'

He had scraped together every bit of his strength to barely survive one move, but now something even more formidable was emerging.

The next attack would probably not be easy.

No, the next attack would be the most difficult of all the attacks he had faced so far.

But what could he do?

To win, he had to overcome it.

Swish.

Shaking the blood droplets off his sword, Yuris said.

"I'm a fresh recruit, Yuris Holland, who's only been in the cradle for less than a month. Please go easy on me!"

Though his words were playful and he asked for leniency, Yuris' eyes were more cautious and serious than ever.

Rumble.

Despite the difference in age and rank,

A calm tension began to envelop the two who had acknowledged each other.

* * *

Poppie, who had flown away breaking trees and returned to his original form, was emitting a faint steam from his entire body.

Hiss.

As Poppie stumbled out of the forest, he caught sight of Yuris and Greta facing each other.

Though he didn't know what had happened in the process, the atmosphere between them made it clear that their fight was entering its final stage.

Poppie pounded his chest twice with his fist.

This was a gesture similar to a prayer the Yum clan made for warriors heading to war, wishing them victory.

Meanwhile, on a tree branch.

Gulp.

Aerin swallowed the saliva that had gathered in her throat due to tension.

'That kid is already at his limit.'

Just by looking, it was clear that Yuris had reached his limit.

On the other hand, the tiger-striped woman was still as energetic as ever, and her momentum was even more intense.

Anyone could see that this was not just a disadvantage for Yuris but a fight that was almost impossible to win.

But for some reason, Aerin didn't think Yuris would lose.

Even during the hundred-step consciousness,

And now,

She had a vague expectation that this kid would do something interesting.

So she cheered him on sincerely.

'Just one more time.'

Yuris had to win just one more time.

Just as Aerin wished this,

Snap!

Yuris and Greta moved.