“Do whatever the fu*k you want, you son of a bit*h.”
Omega was dumbfounded by the provocation. Though he didn’t even feel angry.
It only seemed laughable, like a pathetic outburst, and the corners of his mouth twitched.
How long has it been since someone cursed at me to my face?
Amazingly, that bastard wasn’t driven insane by fear.
His eyes were still alive. His mind intact.
Those things triggered Omega’s worst habits.
Whenever he saw something upright, a sadistic urge to break it would boil up inside him.
His twisted malice craved to see those kinds of people shattered, to watch them renounce their beliefs with their own mouths.
Hex had told him to avoid that hobby because it wasn’t efficient. But he had no intention of giving up the privileges of the strong.
“Hehehe… You brat. I’ve just decided your future for you.”
“Bullshit.”
Rohan kicked off the ground and charged at Omega.
He shot past Ichinose and Noah, who still couldn’t move and were gagging in place.
Fwoooosh!
Flames burst from his longsword.
[Second Sword — Falling Sun at Dawn]
Like waves crashing against rocks, fire surged forward, engulfing Omega.
But the sensation in his hand was the worst. Rohan could tell the moment he swung.
The blade’s not cutting at all.
His wrist throbbed. If he applied his strength wrong, the sword felt like it would snap.
Even so, he didn’t hesitate.
He swung again.
[ First Sword — Blazing Slash]
The sword path stopped short at Omega’s thick neck.
The way Omega smirked with his mangled face and mechanical jaw was grotesque.
“What could you possibly hope to do with such a weak sword and flickering flames?”
“…….”
Rohan knew that his actions had entered a battle of wits.
He had to keep Omega’s attention fixed solely on him, to make sure Omega didn’t turn his gaze elsewhere.
He had to provoke him, make him want to torment Rohan, and lead him into doing so.
He couldn’t allow Omega to even think about using the worm stationed in the back to send a “sample” to Hex.
I’m the same. I can’t let my eyes drift toward my friends. I just have to charge in like a madman for the scene to make sense.
There was no need to win by force.
As long as Joo-yeon arrived here, victory would be his. And his role would be complete.
The instructor will come.
He believed it. If it was Joo-yeon, she would definitely arrive in time.
That was the kind of person she was.
Someone who could only be respected.
So then, my role is…!
Even if he had to burn everything down and become nothing but a handful of ash—
He had to stretch this golden time as much as possible so Joo-yeon’s arrival wouldn’t be too late.
Clang!
The standard longsword shattered with a metallic crash. Half of the blade spun off into the air.
Even so, Rohan kept swinging the sword.
“Starting to get bored.”
Omega stood still, letting Rohan’s swordplay strike him,
And as he watched Rohan sweating and struggling desperately, he sneered and opened his mouth.
“You brat. Do you know this? Among poisons, there are types that specialize in triggering pain.”
“Hmph!”
Rohan didn’t answer and kept up his assault.
Even with only half a blade left, a weapon was still a weapon.
“There are some poisons so vicious, even narcotic painkillers don’t work on them. They don’t kill you. But they make you wish you were dead.”
One of Omega’s fingers had transformed into a thick centipede.
Anyone could tell he intended to inject poison with it.
“Hang in there. I trust you won’t start begging for your life or asking to be killed after just a few pathetic seconds.”
It was a poison enhanced by Hex, customized to Omega’s request.
It caused pain so unbearable that, in Omega’s experience, there was nothing better for torture.
Even those with the noblest resolve had given in before this poison.
Slash!
Omega’s octopus limb grabbed hold of Rohan.
The broken-bladed sword fell to the dirt with a dull thud!
“Now then, it’s injection time. Will you beg for your life, even now?”
Omega smirked as he locked eyes with him, but the smile quickly vanished.
“Idiot.”
There wasn’t the slightest trace of fear in Rohan’s eyes.
At this point, it was enough to make one wonder if he’d been born a madman.
“…Interesting. I hope you can keep up that arrogant attitude for a long time.”
The centipede’s sharp fangs opened like pincers, then chomp! It bit down hard on Rohan’s nape.
As the liquid seeped in, Rohan’s eyes snapped wide open.
“R-Rohan!”
“Ugh! Damn it, move…!”
Ichinose and Noah struggled on the ground,
They tried to force their bodies to move somehow, but the poison had already surged into Rohan’s system.
“!!!”
A fast-acting poison.
The moment it was injected, the poison began to take effect.
Rohan’s teeth ground together with a harsh crack as if they were about to shatter.
As he tensed his entire body to endure the pain, blood vessels in his eyes burst one by one.
Every breath felt like his lungs were being slashed.
“Kuhahaha!!! How does it feel? Go on, run your mouth like before!”
“Ugh…!”
The octopus limb slammed Rohan onto the ground.
He couldn’t get up. He squirmed, face down.
The pain, as if his entire body were being torn and burned, left him unable to move at will.
He was certain that even having a knife plunged into his guts and stirred around would hurt less than this.
“Huhu, brat. Do you want the antidote?”
“Haa…! Guh, h-hhup…!”
Not knowing how long the pain would last—
That alone was a definite factor that amplified the fear.
“If you want to be freed, show some attitude.”
Rohan lifted his head, revealing eyes bloodshot and blazing red.
Cold sweat dripped from his face as he slowly opened his mouth.
To Omega, who was watching intently with anticipation, he delivered his words in a clear tone.
“F…u*k… you…”
The words barely escaped Rohan’s lips.
Omega’s expression stiffened at the completely unexpected response.
“…It’s been a while since I’ve met someone this entertaining.”
Even though he seemed to have nothing to rely on, it was as if he knew that surrendering would only satisfy the enemy.
He refused to lower his stance.
As Omega watched Rohan clinging to consciousness, even while drooling all over the ground,
He recalled a conversation he had with Hex.
– Omega. This poison is a compound extracted from the immune systems of monsters.
– What do you mean?
– Just as you asked, it’s been modified to induce only pain. It doesn’t affect blood coagulation or synapses…
– Stop. Keep it simple.
– Haa… It’s a poison that delivers pain far more intense than the burning pain of being set on fire. Satisfied? It’s strong enough to send even a magically reinforced body into shock, but it won’t cause death from the poison itself.
The more he replayed that conversation with Hex from that day,
The more Omega felt the heat rising to his head.
He wasn’t the one crawling on the ground like an insect, yet he was overwhelmed by a strange sense of defeat.
This bastard…
Some brat still green as grass was enduring with wide-open eyes what he himself couldn’t handle.
It was as if the kid were mocking him. As if he was ridiculing the trauma he carried from being unable to endure the flames.
His very existence sparked rage.
I’ll make you scream.
The octopus limb grabbed Rohan again.
He fixed his head in place, trying to see the face twisted from pain.
And then—
“Khh…!”
Rohan laughed. Tears and drool streamed down his face, yet he curled his lips into a mocking grin.
As absurd as it was, it felt like a taunt, daring him to go further.
He’s laughing?
Rohan had acted with full awareness of his role, and his actions were deliberate.
But to Omega, it evoked an entirely different feeling.
It wasn’t anger being stoked or a competitive drive to break him at all costs.
At that moment, Omega felt a chill run down his spine.
His mind turned ice-cold. His expression wiped away any trace of anger and hardened into something frigid.
…He must die.
He had a gut feeling that this nameless lunatic had to be cut off at the root, here and now.
Even if it meant breaking his promise with Hex, he made the decision to sever this one’s lifeline.
This guy was an irritating spark, in a way completely different from Joo-yeon.
If they didn’t snuff it out now, that ember would grow into a raging inferno and come back to consume them.
Just what is this guy…
Absurd as it was, he suddenly felt certain that this student’s blade would one day reach that man.
A vision he could never picture with any other strong being in the world now came vividly to mind.
“You were born in the wrong era.”
But right now, a single finger of his would be enough.
Just as Omega stopped playing around and moved to pierce a hole through his head with one finger—
“!?”
Fierce flames slashed through the bindings and came for his throat. He sensed a power that stirred up memories of his nightmares.
Omega pulled back the hand he had extended and focused entirely on defense.
Baaang——!!!
Omega was slammed into the ground along with the worm behind him by Joo-yeon’s knife-hand strike.
And the octopus limb was cleanly severed, freeing Rohan.
Red hair fluttered as she rushed to embrace Rohan.
“Instructor… I-I’m, guh, okay… haah!”
As Rohan struggled to speak through his battered face, trying to convey that his life wasn’t in danger,
Joo-yeon bit down hard on her lower lip, unable to say a word.
“I-Instructor…!”
“Please save Rohan and Corin!”
The two girls shouted. Their voices were full of frustration at still being unable to move.
Joo-yeon lifted one foot from where she stood.
Thud!
When she stomped the ground with a foot imbued with magical power,
The fear that had gripped the girls vanished cleanly. Freedom returned to their limbs.
“….…”
Joo-yeon gently laid Rohan down on the ground and fixed her gaze on the spot where Omega had been sent flying.
Her expression remained as unreadable as ever. Her eyes were cold as she stared down the enemy.
And yet, the searing rage burning within her was unmistakable.
Anyone could see she was truly furious.
Clank. Clank. Clank.
Omega emerged unscathed, trampling over the flesh of the worm that had burst apart from a single blow.
Fixing her eyes on a familiar opponent, Joo-yeon spoke in a low voice that carried through the air.
“The exam is over. Take Rohan and Corin and retreat.”
With that, the practical exam was declared finished.
A translucent window appeared in front of Rohan’s face, who had endured it all with only the hope that Joo-yeon would come.
[The quest has been completed.]
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