Chapter 29: Lumer(4)
Eclipse stepped forward, swinging his greatsword downward.
It was a simple, crude strike, but it was astonishingly fast and powerful.
With the sound of the air tearing, Eclipse’s greatsword surged toward Yoo Hyuk’s front.
Yoo Hyuk felt a chill run through him.
‘This is dangerous.’
If he responded with half-hearted strength, he’d be in serious trouble.
Quickly assessing the situation, Yoo Hyuk heightened his mana, lowered his stance, and swung his sword upward.
The strike, slashing upward like lightning, carried a ferocious mana current that no ordinary awakener could imagine.
Clang!
A shockwave erupted, and the surrounding ground exploded.
Even though it was just sword meeting sword, the area was being utterly devastated.
“Impressive.”
Lumern couldn’t help but marvel at the scene. Her small, white ears twitched once.
As Yoo Hyuk’s wife and summoner, she knew better than anyone how strong he was.
Yet, even Yoo Hyuk couldn’t overpower Eclipse.
This clash was a perfect stalemate.
If Eclipse had imbued his sword with mana, the outcome would have been decided instantly.
“Dear, your guardian doesn’t have mana, right?”
“Yes? Yes, that’s right. He has no mana. He said it’s purely physical strength.”
“To have that kind of power without mana… His physical limits are beyond comprehension.”
Seeing Eclipse’s absurd skill, Yoo Hyuk couldn’t help but laugh.
To think such a strong person existed. Wasn’t this the kind of opponent he’d been searching for all this time?
“Haha! Wonderful!”
Eclipse was no different.
He, too, seemed to relish sparring with a strong opponent, his strikes growing more forceful.
How long had it been since he’d enjoyed a spar like this? A smile naturally formed on his lips.
Eclipse’s greatsword aimed for Yoo Hyuk’s collarbone.
But Yoo Hyuk dodged the ferocious strike with a single step.
Swish—
Even so, the wind from the strike grazed his nearby skin, tearing it slightly.
‘Unbelievable.’
Such a minor injury was familiar to Yoo Hyuk, so he immediately went on the offensive.
Following his dodge, a clean strike targeted the gap in Eclipse’s armor.
But Eclipse wasn’t to be underestimated.
In that brief moment, he twisted the wrist holding his sword, instantly blocking Yoo Hyuk’s attack.
Clang!
The swords clashed again. Seeing his strike thwarted, Yoo Hyuk quickly stepped back.
The moment Yoo Hyuk showed signs of retreating, Eclipse charged at him like a beast.
As he rushed forward with terrifying speed, greatsword in hand, Yoo Hyuk felt a chill and quickly regained his stance, swinging his sword.
The strike, born from ingrained habit, hit Eclipse head-on, but Eclipse fiercely deflected Yoo Hyuk’s sword with his greatsword.
In the back-and-forth of retreat and advance, the two began to increase their speed.
As their movements grew faster, Yoo Soha’s eyes started spinning.
At her level, she couldn’t follow the flow of the spar.
“I-I can’t see anything.”
“…That’s normal.”
Even Lumern looked at Eclipse with disbelief.
‘That’s just physical movement without mana?’
“What kind of world was that place?” she muttered, intrigued.
“It’s already a destroyed world, apparently.”
“…I see. By the way, this is starting to feel a bit dangerous.”
“Huh? What is?”
“Shadow Gate.”
“…Oh!”
Yoo Soha instantly understood Lumern’s concern.
What if the world Eclipse came from appeared as a Shadow Gate?
If a world that even this incredible knight couldn’t save from destruction emerged as a gate?
A chill ran through Yoo Soha’s body.
Yoo Hyuk was dumbfounded. Even using his mana to its fullest, he couldn’t overpower this opponent.
The more their swords clashed, the more he realized this was an opponent of absurd strength.
If Eclipse had used the greatsword on his back, as he did last time, even Yoo Hyuk likely couldn’t have blocked it.
‘My granddaughter summoned quite a monster.’
Clang!
The swords collided fiercely, forcing Yoo Hyuk to step back from the impact.
“Goodness, aren’t you too strong?”
“You’re strong too. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a satisfying spar.”
“Haha, same here. Well, we’ve enjoyed ourselves enough… shall we wrap this up?”
“Very well.”
Yoo Hyuk poured all his mana into his sword.
The sword began to tremble violently, and a powerful current of mana swirled around it.
In that moment, Eclipse witnessed something strange.
‘What… is that?’
A shimmering blue aura was being drawn into Yoo Hyuk’s sword.
It was something he hadn’t seen just moments before.
What was this blue aura weaving through the air?
A different world seemed to unfold before his eyes.
‘Could that blue aura be mana?’
He couldn’t help but think so.
Caught off guard by the sudden phenomenon, Eclipse quickly regained his composure.
Seeing mana was secondary; now was the time to conclude this enjoyable spar.
Gripping his greatsword tightly, Eclipse swung it in sync with Yoo Hyuk’s strike.
Boom!
A deafening roar, as if the heavens were collapsing, struck the ears of everyone present.
Yoo Soha, unable to properly follow the high-level combat, finally caught a glimpse of her grandfather and her guardian.
“…My goodness.”
She couldn’t contain her shock.
Yoo Hyuk’s sword was broken, and Eclipse’s greatsword was at Yoo Hyuk’s throat.
“This is absurdly strong. Beyond imagination.”
“You were strong too.”
“A clean defeat. No excuses. Your physical prowess is incredible. With that kind of physical ability, mana must seem trivial. And you’re not even at your full strength yet, are you?”
“Correct.”
“Haha, I see.”
“But… that doesn’t mean mana is trivial. Ultimately, any power depends on the skill of the user. I lived in a world without mana, and you lived in a world with it. That’s the only difference. But, Yoo Hyuk, I have one question.”
“What’s that?”
“Is mana that blue current floating around? Just moments ago, I couldn’t see it, but strangely, after sparring with you, I started seeing something blue floating around.”
“…That’s right.”
“I see. So that’s mana.”
“Wait, you’re saying… you can see mana?”
“Yes.”
“Hah… haha.”
Yoo Hyuk let out a disbelieving laugh.
To see mana directly?
Mana wasn’t a power that could be seen with the naked eye. It permeated the air, invisible to the human eye.
Even awakeners or guardians with exceptional mana abilities could only sense mana, not see it.
There was only one case where mana could be seen.
When an awakener actively processed and released mana externally. Otherwise, there was no way to visually confirm mana.
And yet, to see mana scattered in the atmosphere?
It was like saying you could see air with your eyes.
“Lumern.”
As Yoo Hyuk suddenly called her, Lumern nodded.
Their thoughts aligned in an instant.
What would happen if this guardian, with his absurd physical prowess, awakened the power of mana?
“Eclipse.”
“What is it?”
“Are you interested in mana?”
“Why the sudden question?”
“If you can see mana, don’t you think you could wield it? Why not give it a try?”
“Hmm…”
Eclipse fell into thought.
If he could wield mana, he’d be able to handle various situations, and his inherent strength could grow even further.
In his previous world, he had reached a point where he could no longer grow stronger.
His defeat against the terror was due to his growth stagnating.
No matter how many of the terror’s minions he slew, he couldn’t progress further.
It was as if he’d hit a wall, unable to move forward.
But if he learned to wield mana, he might become stronger.
He might be able to move forward again.
That alone made learning mana worthwhile.
He recalled the unease he’d felt before.
The fear that the terror from his world might appear in this peaceful one.
If such a situation arose, he’d need the strength to resist it.
Peace was only granted to those with power.
With that in mind, Eclipse nodded and answered the two.
“I’ll learn mana.”
At Eclipse’s decision to learn mana, Lumern and Yoo Hyuk smiled.
The reason was simple.
They were excited to see how far this overwhelmingly powerful guardian could go if he awakened mana.
Of course, Yoo Soha could only watch the entire situation in a daze.