Kays Translations

Chapter 69: The Domain of the Sword, One Who Stands at the Apex

The sound of the opening gong and the announcement echoed through the venue.

Yet, no cheers arose.

Everyone held their breath, silently watching the two KOGs.

Kenya and Osiris—fighting to determine who would stand at the peak.

Osiris was the first to ready his sword.

“Then… let’s begin.”

Thus, the battle commenced.

A battle that would decide the fate of the world.

“Here I come! Sword!”

Osiris unleashed a thrust—his most refined technique.

That piercing thrust was so sharp that it could fell not just an ordinary foe, but even a Holy Knight Commander in a single strike.

Even the spectators watching from a distance could not imagine how anyone could block an attack that shot forward like a bullet.

Some closed their eyes, already sensing Kenya’s inevitable defeat.

The sheer sharpness of the thrust sent shivers through the audience, evoking screams—just watching it made them feel as if death itself had grazed them.

However—

“As expected, you can at least stop this.”

With both swords in hand, Kenya deflected the attack.

He had blocked it, but his body was barely holding on—already battered and on the verge of collapse.

And yet, his body moved on its own. Every fiber of his being acted independently to protect him.

This was no longer mere skill—it was reflex.

Like instinctively recoiling from touching something hot.

Hundreds, thousands of battles, endless practice, relentless training—

They had long surpassed the boundaries of human thought, moving his body before he could even process it.

(I have to end this quickly… Cough! …I’m about to black out.)

Inside the cockpit, Kenya coughed up a massive amount of blood.

The strain from the combat maneuvers was far beyond imagination. In his current condition, he wouldn’t last much longer.

Each vibration from Osiris’s deadly thrust was gradually shaving away his life.

That’s why—

“I’ll end this! With everything I have!”

He focused.

In this extreme state, Kenya could enter it with ease.

A state of complete void—pure concentration.

The door opened, and even the pain faded away.

(Focus! Move before you think!!)

From the stands, the Holy Knights and even the Holy Knight Commanders rubbed their eyes.

The elite knights could see it.

Something—an overwhelming presence, a crushing force—emanating from the white machine.

Jin and Zoid trembled as they witnessed it.

“What is this pressure…? It’s nothing like when I fought him… It hurts. It’s terrifying…”

“I don’t even understand it, but… just watching, I can feel the image of my own defeat being seared into me…”

One of the Three Great Heroes, Org Obelisk, did not shout but instead spoke in a quiet voice.

“…That’s a combat range, isn’t it? I never imagined he was at this level. Lord’s knight is no ordinary warrior…”

“…At his age…? Sword is already beyond me… isn’t he?”

Lamia Silvana, watching intently, understood.

That was the range of the sword.

She herself could not project such a clear, oppressive presence.

Just by seeing it, one instinctively knew—step into that range, and you would be cut down.

“…Could it be… that he has reached the Domain of the Sword?”

Lamia had seen it before.

She had witnessed that domain once in the past.

On the battlefield long ago.

At that time, a single warrior had cut down fifty KOGs.

In a hopeless situation, that person had slain every enemy and saved them all.

It was as if a circle had been drawn around him—as soon as an enemy entered that range, they were annihilated.

“Which one is stronger, I wonder?”

Lamia’s eyes turned toward the other presence.

“The domain of Osiris.”

That red and black, ominous KOG.

“I see… Haha, this is my first time witnessing it. So this is what everyone else was seeing. And you? Is this your first time?”

Osiris raised his sword.

Calmly, slowly, and then pointed it straight at Kenya.

Closing his eyes, he steadied his breath.

At that moment, Kenya saw it.

“…Is this… a domain?”

He sensed Osiris’s range.

Instinctively, he understood—it was a death zone.

When visualized, the area formed a sphere.

A massive, ominous sphere of killing intent, with Osiris at its center.

Osiris, who had reached the peak, had stepped into the same realm as Kenya.

But he had done so through sheer brute force.

The elite knights could see it.

The two combatants’ ranges became visible.

A pressure so intense that only the most skilled warriors could perceive it—

Their ranges, slowly, gradually, inched toward one another.

Ten meters.

Five meters.

And then—

Clang!

They clashed.

A metallic sound rang out through the arena.

The duel had begun.

Their speed was beyond what the human eye could follow.

“Haaah!”

Osiris struck.

“Guh!”

Kenya countered.

A rapid exchange of slashes, so fast they left no room to even breathe.

They had far surpassed human reaction limits.

What allowed them to keep up was the culmination of the highest-level technique, experience, intuition—

And luck.

“Hahaha! It’s been a long time since someone blocked this many of my strikes!”

“Hah… Hah… You’re really… strong…”

Their movements were refined, mirroring each other—

But even the slightest deviation could tip the scales.

(I can’t lose… I have to save the world…)

Draining every last ounce of mental energy, he pushed into the pinnacle of concentration.

Time slowed—his opponent’s movements were clear.

And yet, he couldn’t break through.

He could see where the next strike was coming from, but no matter where he cut, it was blocked.

And the same was true for Osiris.

How many times have their blades clashed?

The audience watched, gripping their seats with sweaty palms.

They couldn’t even afford to blink—if they did, the match could be decided in that instant.

Such an intense, razor-thin battle continued.

And watching it all, Odin raised his voice in frustration.

“What is happening, Catherine!?”

“T-That… that body, why can he still move like that…? I-It’s impossible…”

“You said he would definitely win! That’s why I approved this strategy and this fight! If… if by some chance he loses… you understand, don’t you?”

At those words, Catherine’s face turned pale.

Her adjustments had been perfect—so why was this happening?

How could he still move like that? His body was already on the verge of death. If he didn’t receive treatment immediately, he could die at any moment.

He should have been completely cornered.

“Why… why can he still fight like that…?”

Catherine had miscalculated.

She underestimated the sheer willpower of a gamer once called a “living corpse.”

The awakened knight, whose mind had transcended into a realm of pure reflex.

…

“I can still… still keep going. Even if it ends here, I can’t let my guard down for even a second. If it all ends here… I will save the world.”

Kenya focused. A sense of omnipotence enveloped him.

“Hahaha! More… more! I can still go deeper!”

Osiris felt it too.

He was also experiencing the peak of his abilities.

No—this was beyond anything he had ever achieved before.

And yet.

“You’re stopping even this? With you… I feel like I can go even further! Sword!!”

Two knights who had mastered the sword.

If they fought with their bare bodies, Kenya wouldn’t last a second before being cut down.

But in the KOG—

“I won’t lose! I have to win! If I don’t win here, the world…!”

Kenya declared his purpose—to save the world.

That conviction was like the core of his very being.

He had dedicated his entire youth, the majority of his life, and even his time in this world to this craft.

And now, two swordsmen who had reached the pinnacle clashed.

It had only been minutes.

Yet they had exchanged hundreds of blows, the sound of metal ringing through the arena.

“What an incredible fight… I can barely breathe.”

“Can humans even react that fast? To see and move at that speed… is he really human…?”

“Father… and Sword… They’re in a realm I cannot comprehend. Father must be ecstatic to have met such a worthy rival.”

The audience held their breath, gripping their hands tightly.

Even ordinary people could tell—this battle was at the very peak of the world.

This was not like the Empire’s annual Sword Festival.

This was a real battle, where the clash of wills was absolute.

The loser would lose everything.

The winner would gain everything.

There was no room for defeat.

“I… I…!”

Kenya fought.

To defeat his opponent.

To achieve his goal.

The shut-in from his past world—

Would become the strongest knight in this one.

“I will save the world—!?”

…

He coughed.

Blood.

His body reacted on its own, outside of his will.

Kenya had been so focused that he had forgotten to breathe, his stomach filling with blood.

His oxygen levels had dropped dangerously low, and the accumulated blood surged back up.

Osiris was not one to miss such an opening.

It was only one second.

But in a battle at this level—one second was far too long.

“Guh…!”

He barely managed to block Osiris’s strike, his stance breaking.

His body moved on its own—only because he was at the peak of concentration.

Yet the impact sent him flying, crashing into the wall near the audience.

And then—

“What’s wrong? Your presence just vanished. …Why? All of a sudden?”

“Guh…! Cough!”

As Osiris moved in to strike, he noticed something—Kenya’s pressure was completely gone.

Even though he had blocked, it shouldn’t have been a problem.

Yet just a moment ago, there had been a clear opening.

Something was wrong.

Kenya had lost consciousness.

The shock had severed the fragile thread that had been keeping him awake.

(Was that… blood? A trick? No… that’s not his style. Then, is it a machine failure? No… could it be…?)

Osiris hesitated for a moment, glancing at Odin.

Kenya didn’t respond.

A thousand possibilities ran through Osiris’s mind.

He also recalled that, through the KOG’s communication, Kenya’s voice had started to sound strained.

(I see… so that’s what it was.)

Osiris connected the dots.

The reason hehad been put through that week of isolation training.

Realizing the truth, Osiris felt a wave of disappointment.

A man who lived for the sword.

Who loved the sword.

Who swore to live and die by the sword.

A sword saint who, after reaching enlightenment on the battlefield, had no equals left in the world.

He had climbed to the summit—faster than anyone else.

And yet, when he finally stood there—

The view was nothing but loneliness.

Looking around, there was no one beside him.

The comrades who had once climbed with him were gone.

Even the KOG, which he had once adored and trained with so obsessively, no longer excited him.

Still, he waited.

For someone who could reignite his fading passion.

And today—he had finally found them.

An enemy so formidable that even risking his life, he could not guarantee victory.

It had been thrilling.

It had been joyous.

And yet.

That excitement was stolen from him.

It was enough to make him feel bitter disappointment.

Still, Osiris raised his sword.

(Forgive me. Even so, I will not—cannot—hold back. This is war.)

He readied his stance.

The same stance as before.

But now, its sharpness was on a whole different level—just by looking at it, one could sense death.

“Farewell, Sword. I wish… we could have fought longer. If it were you, then perhaps—”

Osiris’s strongest thrust, like a spear, shot toward Kenya.

“Without a doubt—”

A red and black bullet streaked toward Kenya.

“You were the strongest knight I’ve ever faced.”

To kill him.

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