I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 94. The Tiger that Repaid the Favor (3)

The Wigun Family.

Situated in the administrative district of Salovetia, this family was renowned as the “Black Tiger.”

And the descendants of the Wigun family inherited, generation after generation, their robust physiques and superhuman agility.

With these physical traits, the Wigun bloodline developed a form of bare-handed martial arts that was both swift and flexible.

This was the very martial art that led the Wigun family to be known as the “Black Tiger.”

Now, that prestigious martial art was manifesting before Yuri.

Thump-.

The soles of her feet dispersed her weight as they pressed into the ground.

Both fists curled tightly, resting against her waist.

At the same time…

Bang!

A sound rang out as her upper body leaned forward.

Her chest almost touched the ground in a bizarre posture, yet she did not fall, thanks to the superhuman strength inherited from the Wigun bloodline.

Greta, charging forward, looked just like a swift tiger.

Grrr…

Facing this, Yuri also saw an illusion of a tiger rushing toward him.

A tiger seeing him as prey, charging in.

To avoid being hunted by this beast, Yuri activated his reserved Thunder Wing.

Pzzzt-.

The final Thunder Wing.

After this, he would likely collapse again, but there was no time to worry about that now.

He didn’t stop there. He pushed Magic Flow to its limit, and even beyond that, he scraped together every bit of mana he could to unleash a powerful sword technique.

He began to analyze Greta’s moves, to the point where his head felt overheated with all the information processing.

Yuri had done everything he could, yet his expression was terribly grim.

‘I can’t see it…’

Up until now, he had been able to read Greta’s next move, though it had been difficult.

That allowed him to prepare for how to respond.

But not now.

No, to be precise, he could still read Greta’s next move.

But no matter how he responded, he only saw an image of Greta’s next move reaching him.

In other words, this time, no matter how desperately Yuri struggled, he could not stop Greta’s attack.

‘…Isn’t this a bit too much?’

To think that someone who had already achieved mastery was going all out against a novice like him.

Had they no sense of shame?

On the other hand, he thought, perhaps this was only natural.

‘Well, this is how the Black Sword Corps operates.’

They were all madmen obsessed with battle.

All the Black Sword Corps members he had faced so far had been like this.

Whenever their eyes went wild, they always went all out.

As if they believed it was a sign of respect for an opponent they acknowledged.

Yuri, to some extent, agreed with the Black Sword Corps’ philosophy.

‘If the opponent goes all out, I too will go all out.’

And if he couldn’t evade or block the opponent’s attack…

‘Then I will strike first.’

If his heart was going to be pierced first, he would force the opponent to withdraw their attack.

The best defense was said to be the best offense.

At this moment, it seemed like the only way to survive the terrifying, wild-eyed woman before him.

With that thought, Yuri’s sword moved.

And strangely enough, that movement resembled Theresia’s technique.

Swish-.

Given the task of perfecting his Magic Flow – Catching Technique, Yuri had prioritized imitating Chwisung.

Through countless sparring sessions with Theresia, he had observed Chwisung, but he had failed to replicate it.

And that was only natural.

How could anyone replicate in just a few sparring sessions a technique that a prestigious family had developed over hundreds of years?

The more Yuri delved into Chwisung, the more he was astounded by its complexity.

It was at a level where copying it in a short period was absolutely impossible.

So Yuri changed his goal.

Instead of replicating Chwisung perfectly, he decided to grasp its general structure and reimagine it in his own way.

Of course, even that was no easy task.

But Yuri had Magic Flow.

‘For now, I can’t use Flowing Techniques to react to every aspect of the opponent’s strength like Chwisung, but with Magic Flow…?’

What if he used his sword as the pivot and unfolded Magic Flow?

If he could deflect the opponent’s attacks just right and thrust his sword into the opening created…

He could achieve a similar effect to Chwisung.

The problem, however, was that he couldn’t dream of smoothly adjusting his attack trajectory like Chwisung.

‘That part can be refined later, one step at a time.’

With that thought, he had formed a basic framework, and now, in this critical moment, he brought it out.

If Johan had seen this, he would have surely cursed.

[“Damn it, you crazy bastard! You’re using an untested, incomplete technique in a real fight?! And in a do-or-die moment at that?”]

‘Techniques are meant to be perfected in real battles, old man! Train like it’s a real fight, fight like it’s training, got it?’

Reciting those nonsensical words, Yuri ignored the nagging voice of Johan ringing in his ears.

He drew his sword back as far as he could and thrust it forward.

Swish-.

Meanwhile, Greta, who was rushing toward Yuri, looked at his thrust with a curious expression.

‘A thrust?’

Of course, thrusting was a natural part of swordsmanship.

But Yuri had only used slashes until now.

Moreover, his sword, a do (刀), was designed more for slashing than thrusting.

So why a thrust all of a sudden?

Greta wondered if Yuri had given up.

But she quickly shook her head.

‘He’s not that kind of guy.’

If he were the type to give up so easily, he wouldn’t have made it this far in the first place.

So Greta decided to go all out.

‘Let’s see you try to block this.’

With a firm resolve, she twisted her body to the side.

Sliding swiftly with incredible speed, she twisted her waist.

Whoosh-.

The forward momentum, combined with the rotational force and strength from twisting her waist, exploded.

Her right arm, charged with that explosive power, shot toward Yuri.

Wigun Family Secret Martial Art.

Exploding Flame Strike.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-.

Greta’s right fist flew toward Yuri, leaving dozens of afterimages in its wake.

And Yuri’s sword, flying in response, seemed utterly feeble and precarious.

It was no mere punch but a fist strengthened by the sacred energy within her gauntlet.

Yuri’s sword, barely a strong blade, looked as if it might shatter at any moment.

That was how Arin and Poppy saw Yuri’s fight.

And it was also the common perception of ordinary people.

But common sense was overturned.

Thud-thud-thud-.

Yuri’s thrust, flying toward the rain-like barrage of fists…

Fluttered, fluttered.

Yuri’s thrust glided smoothly through the shower of fists.

It moved like the fluttering motion of a butterfly.

Poppy and Arin’s eyes widened in disbelief at this impossible sight.

But the most shocked of all was Greta.

‘…What the?!’

To others, it might have looked like Yuri’s thrust was weaving between the punches.

But Greta knew better.

‘Is he deflecting my punches?’

It wasn’t that Yuri’s sword was slipping between the punches; it was that her fists were bouncing away from Yuri’s sword without making contact.

Whenever Greta’s fist approached the vicinity of Yuri’s sword, it veered off in a strange trajectory.

As someone born into a prestigious family and educated about rival clans, Greta recognized this technique.

‘Chwisung?’

She had heard that the Chwisung of the Winchester family had the unique trait of ignoring the opponent’s defense and offense.

But the technique unfolding before her was slightly different.

‘I heard the Winchester family’s Chwisung is a very graceful and refined technique, isn’t it?’

Chwisung was supposed to elegantly dodge an opponent’s attack while approaching like a snake.

But Yuri’s thrust was different.

It was like…

‘A soldier charging with a shield.’

There was no evasion.

Only reckless charging, barely deflecting attacks that could kill, relying solely on a single shield.

Yuri’s thrust felt just like that.

Yuri’s sword moved with a fluttering motion.

To Greta, it wasn’t fluttering but rather swaying precariously.

A sword that approached her slowly, trembling and struggling.

While it startled her, it didn’t pose a threat to Greta.

The reason was simple.

‘It’s slow.’

Yuri’s thrust was far too slow.

Well, not exactly slow, but compared to Exploding Flame Strike, it was relatively slow.

At this rate, her fist would surely reach Yuri first.

When Greta was confident of that…

Her gaze met Yuri’s golden eyes peeking out from beneath his black bangs.

At that moment, Greta’s heart sank.

And then.

Crack-!

Lightning sparked in those golden eyes.

The moment Yuri activated the Thunder Wing he had been saving, it spread rapidly throughout his entire body.

Crackle!

The sword that had been fluttering like a butterfly suddenly turned into a bee, darting straight for Greta’s heart.

From Greta’s perspective, it was as if a shield-bearer had collapsed, revealing a seasoned spearman hiding behind him.

Swish-!

The thrust, moving at a tremendous speed, closed in on her heart with every passing second.

Greta’s face turned pale as she faced it.

‘Slow.’

At first, Yuri’s thrust had indeed been slow.

But now, her punch was slower.

At this rate, Yuri’s sword would pierce her heart before her fist could reach him.

‘Am I going to die? Me?’

In that life-or-death moment, with her life hanging by a thread, Greta moved instinctively.

Bang-!

Boom!

An enormous explosion erupted between Yuri and Greta, and the ground burst upward.

Bang-!

As the explosion sounded, dust clouds filled the air.

“What happened?”

“I’m hungry!”

When the startled Arin and Poppy leaned forward…

Whoosh-.

A black figure shot out of the thick cloud of dust, trailing debris behind it.

Upon seeing this, the two immediately sprang into action.

“Yuri!”

“I’m hungry!”

Yuri, who had been flung out of the dust cloud, rolled on the ground, still gripping his sword.

Thud- thud-.

He rolled at least ten times before finally stopping.

He lay there, sprawled out as if dead, but after a moment, he twitched slightly.

“Ugh…”

He let out a faint groan as his upper body moved.

Yuri tried to get up, straining his arms.

Blood gushed from his mouth in a sudden burst.

“Cough!”

The blood spurted like a fountain, soaking the ground.

At that moment, Poppy and Arin arrived.

“I’m hungry!”

“Yuri!”

Poppy, rushing over, quickly laid Yuri flat.

Meanwhile, Arin turned Yuri’s body, inspecting him from head to toe.

“Let’s see, arms and legs are intact, no visible holes in the body, both ears look fine, eyes… Yuri, can you see this? How many fingers am I holding up?”

Arin waved two fingers in front of Yuri’s eyes.

Yuri’s mouth moved slightly.

Unable to hear him clearly, Arin leaned closer to his mouth.

“What did you say?”

“…Shut up.”

“Huh? I can’t hear you well. What did you say?”

“I said, shut up!”

“Ah!”

Arin flinched, grabbing her ringing ear after Yuri’s shout exploded right next to her.

“Ah! I think my eardrum burst! Poppy, is my ear bleeding? Is it bleeding?”

As Arin made a fuss, Yuri’s lips curled into a crooked grin.

“It hurts like hell, but you’re fussing right in front of me.”

“We’re worried about you!”

“Do you enjoy poking around a person who’s in pain?”

“P-poking around? I’m just checking if you’re hurt! Ever heard of palpation? Palpation!”

“Palpation or whatever… Poppy, stop grinning like that and help me up.”

Poppy, who had been watching Yuri and Arin bicker with a soft smile, nodded and gently lifted Yuri’s upper body.

Leaning slightly against Poppy, Yuri kept his gaze fixed on the area where the dust had yet to settle.