Chapter 194: Solitude (2)

Fiore headed to Française alone.

When his subordinates recommended he take troops with him, Fiore replied.

“If you disappear, the Empire will notice something’s off and attack. Do you want to hand over Bezos? I’ll go alone and be back quickly.”

From the beginning, Fiore wasn’t someone who listened to others.

As a king, he didn’t even care much that his own safety was directly tied to the kingdom’s existence.

He simply did whatever he wanted. Perhaps he was a man not suited to be king.

Even though he was called the strongest swordsman, it didn’t comfort the vassals and knights to let their monarch depart alone.

However, Fiore rejected them all firmly.

“You’re useless to me.”

Fiore left Bezos without hesitation. And when he arrived at Française, he saw black clouds and a thick, dark fog covering the region.

It was as if only the territory of Française had transformed into another world.

Fiore entered that place without hesitation.

Then, a dense and sticky atmosphere, as if it had texture, washed over his body.

Fiore raised his sword and cloaked his body in sword energy. The darkness receded.

Fiore murmured.

“Cedric.”

He was his father.

But, just as he wasn’t suited to be a king, he wasn’t suited to be a father either.

Though he suspected that his son Cedric might not be just the kind young man everyone claimed, he simply let it go. Fiore didn’t care much either.

“Father.”

On the other side of the fog stood Cedric.

Fiore watched him while recalling the past. Though he’d been a distant father, he remembered how his son had grown.

That small child had matured into an adult he could no longer understand.

Fiore thought.

Probably, something went wrong from a very early age. From a young age, Cedric had learned to speak quickly and observed the world intently.

He would eavesdrop on the servants’ conversations, analyze their behavior.

And one day he asked.

“Father, what should be done when there are too many stupid people?”

At that time, Fiore was obsessed with the sword and cared about nothing else.

So he replied absentmindedly:

“There’s not much you can do.”

“Shouldn’t someone fix them?”

“Maybe.”

“If we kill them all, will human stupidity disappear?”

Although he felt slight discomfort, he thought it was just a child’s silly idea.

But to teach him, he put on a serious expression and released a strong pressure.

“What nonsense are you saying?”

Then Cedric stepped back.

And looked at him in silence for a moment. Fiore thought he had learned the lesson.

Since then, Cedric never asked questions like that again. He only smiled and said pleasant things.

He wasn’t corrected—he learned to hide it. If he had paid more attention, would things have been different?

Fiore wondered as he raised his sword.

“No.”

Then Cedric responded.

“What does that ‘no’ mean?”

“I’m talking about what you’re thinking, father.”

“And what am I thinking?”

“You know.”

Cedric smiled.

“Just as you’re that kind of person, I was simply born this way.”

“Are you trying to comfort me?”

“No. I’m not going to pretend anymore.”

Suddenly, a man dressed in black appeared next to Cedric. Fiore raised his sword.

“You’re not surprised, are you, father? Maybe you even understand.”

“No.”

“Liar.”

Cedric stepped back.

And the man in black drew his sword and stepped forward. The aura he gave off was unsettling.

“Did you ever think it too, father?”

“What?”

“Why are humans so bad with a sword?”

Fiore remained silent. It was true.

As a genius of the sword, he had wielded the blade as an extension of his body from the beginning.

He couldn’t understand why others used it so clumsily.

“I’m the same. The difference is, I try to correct it myself.”

“I see.”

“I use black magic in the Empire because it’s the most efficient. I hope you understand.”

Fiore nodded.

“Alright. Then let’s see how prepared you are.”

With those words, the man in black gripped his sword.

“My name is Dan Socheon.”

“Fiore Briol.”

Fiore observed him carefully. From his name, he seemed to come from the East.

He emitted an aura comparable to the Ten Greats. He was probably the wielder of the shadowless sword.

Fiore smiled unintentionally.

It had been a long time since he’d found a worthy opponent. He began to gradually release his energy.

A cutting energy that could slice through anything completely enveloped him.

No other energy could approach his range. Dan Socheon swallowed hard and murmured.

“So he’s the best of the West…”

Fiore moved.

His figure vanished, and in an instant he appeared in front of Dan Socheon, delivering a slash.

A cutting boom echoed.

“¡Kugh!”

Dan Socheon was pushed back.

“Is that all?”

“No.”

Dan Socheon raised his energy. A dark energy began to emanate.

The energies of both swords collided.

It sounded like thunder.

Fiore began to laugh. He had always wielded his sword in solitude.

He had always felt something was missing. No one had been worthy of receiving his sword.

But Dan Socheon was different. Although he had been pushed back, he didn’t break.

“Good.”

Fiore murmured and increased his energy once more. His clothes billowed.

The energy he gathered rose into the sky. Dan Socheon’s face turned pale.

“Incredible…”

Fiore swung his sword. With a single strike, he swept through the entire area.

The ground collapsed, and a huge crater formed around Dan Socheon.

Blood spurted from Dan Socheon’s mouth.

“Incredible…”

“This isn’t over.”

Dan Socheon opened his eyes wide.

“You’re a monster. But…”

His eyes turned black.

“I’m also a heavenly.”

Dan Socheon raised his sword. A dark energy began to surge like waves.

It condensed into a massive vortex of power rotating around him.

But it didn’t last long. Fiore swung his sword.

A fine line was drawn across the world. The energy created by Dan Socheon was split in two.

The energy collapsed and exploded. Dan Socheon was sent flying.

“What the hell is that…?”

There was a faint glow on Fiore’s sword. It wasn’t merely sword energy.

Dan Socheon could feel it was something bordering on the miraculous. A sword that cuts everything.

Literally, a sword capable of cutting even the uncuttable.

Fiore was already a warrior on a higher plane. For the first time, Dan Socheon felt what true helplessness was.

“Damn…!”

Dan Socheon gathered his energy again. He was about to use the fiercest technique he knew.

On his sword, black energy burned like flames. His pupils also turned red. It was an attack that sacrificed even his own physical integrity.

“Aaaaah!”

But after just a few exchanges, his sword broke.

He didn’t even have the strength left to be surprised.

“Dan Socheon.”

Cedric, who was behind, spoke.

“At this point, there’s no point telling you not to interfere, right?”

“…”

Dan Socheon couldn’t respond.

One can only maintain the fighting spirit when there’s at least a slight chance of being a match. At first, with enthusiasm, he wanted to defeat the best of the West and prove he was stronger.

Even if he lost, he thought it would at least be a good fight.

He was completely wrong. No matter what he did, he couldn’t defeat Fiore.

He had seen many prominent warriors from the East, but never a swordsman who had ascended so high. No matter how hard he tried, Fiore defeated him with an indifferent expression.

“Now it’s my turn.”

“…Fine.”

Dan Socheon nodded.

“That man is a monster.”

Father and son—both were monsters.

Cedric let out a low laugh and immediately activated his black magic. The mist around him grew denser.

Little by little it darkened so much that Fiore could no longer be seen ahead.

“This poison was created by sacrificing all of Française.”

Something moved in the darkness. And soon, a phenomenon occurred.

The darkness began to be drawn into a point. Suddenly, the surroundings cleared.

Fiore’s body was enveloped in darkness.

“Take it.”

Cedric handed a new sword to Dan Socheon. It was better than the previous one.

“Understood.”

With the sword in hand, Dan Socheon approached Cedric, shrouded in darkness.

He also knew what was inside.

It was the manifestation of the resentments and grudges of all the humans sacrificed by Cedric’s black magic.

Touching it meant that thousands, tens of thousands of screams would echo in his mind.

No human could endure it. Dan Socheon moved instantly and stabbed his sword into the darkness.

Clang!

Then, the unthinkable happened.

“What?”

Fiore should have been trapped by Cedric’s black magic, unable to see or hear anything.

He should have died being pierced by his sword. But from within the darkness, the sound of clashing swords rang out.

And something even more surprising occurred. The darkness was torn, and from within shot a completely white sword energy.

“¡Argh!”

Dan Socheon, unable to dodge, was slashed and fell to the ground bleeding.

Though he avoided a fatal wound, the bleeding was severe. As he looked up, he saw a blade protruding from the dense darkness surrounding Fiore like a coffin.

The blade moved up and down. And little by little, Fiore’s body emerged from the darkness.

He was smiling.

“Cedric!”

But the black magic created by Cedric was no small thing. Twisting, it wrapped around Fiore’s body and tormented him.

The darkness opened and closed, again and again.

Like an insect breaking its cocoon, Fiore tore through the darkness and stepped forward.

“Hoo…”

But immediately, the darkness wrapped around him again and dragged him back in. Once again, his figure vanished from sight.

Cedric shouted.

“Keep attacking!”

“R-Roger!”

Dan Socheon raised his sword again. This time, he didn’t swing it simply.

He charged it with energy, cloaked it in aura, and used a demonic technique to strike directly at the darkness surrounding Fiore.

Boom!

Part of the darkness exploded like a blast, and from there Fiore’s body emerged again.

His face, stained with darkness, appeared as he walked forward. With each step, the darkness clung to him as if unwilling to let go.

But he didn’t stop. Fiore kept advancing relentlessly. He felt like an immortal who couldn’t die even if killed.

“Cedric, do something.”

“Wait.”

Cedric began reciting new spells. From his mouth came words not of this world.

Dan Socheon turned his head.

Cedric, who had always seemed in control, now looked desperate. Forming seals with his hands without pause, he amplified the energy of his black magic.

“Haa…”

As Dan Socheon looked ahead again, Fiore’s attack flew toward him. He barely managed to block it.

The darkness took the form of human hands to stop Fiore. Dozens, hundreds of black hands lunged at him, grabbing his arms and legs.

Fiore was now surrounded by an even vaster darkness. But even so, he didn’t stop.

Carrying everything with his own body, Fiore stepped forward.

And another step.

As he approached, Dan Socheon stepped back.

“Did I miscalculate?”

Cedric’s dejected voice was heard from behind.

“Even sacrificing all of Française wasn’t enough.”

“Do something.”

“I’m already doing it.”

Thousands of hands rose again to restrain Fiore.

But he didn’t care. He raised his sword.

In the midst of the darkness, the only thing glowing white was the blade of his sword.

Shaking everything off, Fiore swung his sword.