There was a huge explosion and a storm of aura that rose trying to tear Butler to shreds.
At that moment…
Crack!
Clank!
The sword broke. The second sword he made after Blaze was given to Lucas, so Roman used Dmitry’s famous sword to train.
The condition of the sword wasn’t so bad. However, it couldn’t fully accept Roman’s power, and the powerful aura he infused made it shatter like glass. It was a natural result.
The shards splattered and tore his hands, but Roman could only smile when seeing the blood drip down.
‘This is really fun.’
The present life.
At one point, he thought nothing could be special. By following the path he had already experienced in his previous life, he hoped to just relieve the boredom he felt.
The years of the Heavenly Demon were boring. No one in the world was strong enough to threaten Baek Joong-hyuk, and he didn’t want a safe life because he had constantly been fighting and killing.
A longing arose. He always wanted to improve, but he had never been able to test himself, so he stood still.
And now, Roman has defeated Butler. This was good, but what made Roman laugh was the way he defeated Butler.
‘I thought Heavenly Demon’s methods were perfect. That could be true. The Heavenly Demon Sword technique was created by following the knowledge of the past and creating the best martial arts of all time. Still, the new method I adopted now in this new world is in a completely different direction. This means that Roman Dmitry’s Heavenly Demon Sword technique has room for development.’
Excitement.
Just the fact that he could see ahead.
It was a different life from his previous life. Rather than simply following the life that reached its peak, it was possible to enter the world that he hadn’t experienced until now by accepting the new cultures.
What a happy thing this was. People looked up at the Heavenly Demon’s life, but they thought there was no way to get any higher.
The Salamander continent.
Butler was just the beginning.
He was the only one at the end of the continent’s ranking, and the experts who surpassed him were spread across the world.
“Phew.”
He took a deep breath. Even though he hadn’t eaten anything, the fullness of these feelings filled him up.
There was no one ahead, and Roman looked up at the clear sky and thought,
‘I hope there are many variables in the world I do not know about. A strong man like Butler will constantly appear to test me and threaten my life at the slightest moment of carelessness. The more it happens, the more I find meaning in this life. Just as the Heavenly Demon Sword technique was reborn through countless trials, the trials of this world would make me able to live as a human. Life as Roman Dmitry. I fell from the apex to the bottom, but once again, I will rise up.’
New strength.
New goals.
He couldn’t bear to be excited about a future he couldn’t predict.
And he took a step back.
As he reached a new level, the sword he had to hold needed to be more perfect than ever.
It was then…
Tatap.
“Lord!”
“Are you alright?!”
Suddenly people came.
Roman’s men, including Chris, arrived there with fear on their faces.
The moment they arrived at the scene, they felt it. Nothing had happened to Roman, but rather it seemed that he had created this tragic scene ahead.
‘… How did this happen?’
They were shocked. The area around the forge was ruined. As if an Archmage used a high-level magic circle, the surroundings were destroyed. It was impossible with human power.
Although Roman Dmitry was an aura swordsman who defeated Butler, there was a limit to his power of aura. Then what was this sight?
They were obviously the men who rushed to Roman in concern, but they gulped as they saw the traces of destruction.
“What is it?”
Roman answered in a dry voice, and he looked at his men.
His complexion wasn’t as good as it used to be, but when he looked into his eyes, they seemed so alive.
Chris said,
“We heard an explosion and ran. Did something happen?”
“No. Nothing happened.”
“… Then we are glad. Lord, we are the people who serve you. I don’t know why the Lord is spending time here, but if you need help, call us. We are always waiting for your orders.”
“I get it.”
He took a step back. Nothing had happened. He was going to send his men away and spend some time on his own. It was an unexpected moment.
Watching Roman disappear to the forge, Chris once again looked around the area.
‘Does this mean that he went one step ahead?’
His heart raced.
It felt suffocating.
Roman Dmitry.
Chris met him and began a new life, and he was growing really fast. That was why he recently had confidence in his skills.
While participating in the tournament, he didn’t even worry about who would fall into the group. He was sure that the opponent couldn’t be stronger than Roman Dmitry, no matter how strong he was, so he took his time to check out the skills of the other men.
But now he saw the sight ahead. He knew Roman was at a level he couldn’t catch up to, but this was far too much.
‘Chris. What the hell were you doing?!’
He felt skeptical. When he first met Roman, Chris vowed to get stronger. As time went on, he realized that the then-realistic goal looked impossible, and he started to settle for reality rather than try to catch up with Roman.
A natural instinct.
When human beings face a wall they can’t overcome, they look at it in awe rather than try to overcome it.
And Chris was the same too.
Weak human.
Unknowingly, he stood on the spot and felt complacent that his current development was fine.
‘The Lord is developing a lot faster than anyone I know. In the history of the continent, no one had ever beaten a 5-star swordsman when they were in their mid-20s, but the Lord isn’t satisfied and keeps developing. During the last full moon, while I was taking care of the others, the Lord took his body to a new level by abusing it. What in the world did I think I was showing with this laid-back attitude? Even beings who have risen to such a high position wouldn’t dare rest and continue to train. Just how pathetic have I become already?’
He felt angry.
Looking at Roman’s body and knowing how hard he had worked for it, Chris felt a wave of shame fall over him.
This wasn’t right.
In the tournament hosted by Roman, he has to win with what he has now. But more than the results, Chris wished to be someone Roman would not be ashamed of.
‘Winning isn’t enough. I need to defeat the enemies with overwhelming strength so that no one will dare to look at my Lord. This is just the beginning of the competition. Again, I will work tirelessly to surpass my Lord.’
“Let’s go.”
He took a step back. From now on, he couldn’t waste time teaching others. He had to train insanely and prove who he was to Roman.
A week before the competition.
With Chris in the lead, Roman’s men began to search for their turning point.
Exactly one month had passed.
Roman completed his sword.
Wheik!
Fire roared.
Roman raised his sword, which shone from the flames.
‘So beautiful.’
Last month, he hadn’t taken his eyes off the sword even for a moment. He was able to complete the sword as he pounded on it without stopping, and what was once metal transformed into what Roman wanted.
A sword that was perfectly suited to his present self.
He hadn’t eaten anything, so he couldn’t say much about his physical condition, but now he wanted to check his power with the sword.
So he came out and summoned those imaginary things. The beings created by his five senses—the three Butlers.
Butler rushed for him at the same time. These beings had power. They all had an aura and came to attack at the same time.
Kwang!
Kwakwang!
The atmosphere was torn apart as auras began to stack up. The attack with the combined power of the three Butlers was more threatening than ever, but Roman’s eyes were fixed.
If he met an enemy stronger than Butler, that being would use a power of this level, and only if he could overcome this could his future plans progress.
Tak!
He took a light step ahead.
The mana was raging, and the dantian was trembling.
‘Fourth move.’
Of the Heavenly Demon Sword.
The sword flashed, and it created a gust of wind that slashed the three Butlers’ aura.
Kwakwakwang!
Kwakwakwakwang!
The world shook, and everything it touched was taken down. Surely the three Butlers were strong, but Roman’s sword reached beyond that level.
Slash!
The enemies disappeared. Although they were fictional entities, Roman came to the conclusion that he had defeated them.
‘Finally, I am ready.’
He looked down at the sword. What would be a good name?
Salamander, Blaze.
If the previous one meant ‘new life,’ then the present self is what the third one should express.
‘I will call you Darkness.’
Sword of the Heavenly Demon.
An existence that would plunge the opponent into darkness.
Roman drew the sword inside as the training came to an end.
Heading back to the mansion, the men were waiting for Roman. As the men lined up, Chris walked along Roman’s side and reported what had happened.
“Last month. As the Lord said, we have done infinite amounts of training to improve ourselves. We conducted constant fights at three-day intervals, and as a result, the six swordsmen with the highest win rate got selected. And this is the list.”
He was given the list.
Upon checking it, there were familiar names.
[Chris, Kevin, Volcan, Pooky, McBurney, Henderson.]
The first four people on the list were as expected. They had shown exceptional growth under Roman, and they were thought to occupy the upper ranks in terms of their skill.
However, the last two were unexpected. McBurney needed time to adjust to his physical limitations, and Henderson was a commoner, so he had fallen behind other swordsmen.
But the results were different. The same two were now on the list to fight in the tournament.
Chris asked,
“Do we proceed with this?”
The decision falls in the hands of Roman. This roster will not be finalized unless Roman says so.
Regardless of the type of battle they’d had in the past, Roman’s men would obey any order he gave. Since their development all came from Roman.
And if Roman thought they couldn’t be in the six, they would step back. That was how absolute Roman’s words were to them.
“We will proceed with this. But….”
He looked at the men who appeared determined and gave them a reason to win.
“This is a tournament under my name. I believe that there is no such thing as a beautiful defeat in the world. Prove to the people that you are the type of person that deserves to be with me.”
“We will!”
They were going to follow it, and they expressed their will to win. The subordinates who were lacking in terms of being warriors at first are now quite good.
“I look forward to it.”
With those words, the subordinates were ready to risk their lives. They didn’t know what kind of opponent they would face, but they completely erased the thought of defeat from their minds.
And just like that.
It was now time for the tournament.
