THE MALICE OF THE MONSTER

The malicious aura filling the training ground was suffocating.

It wasn't the overwhelming pressure of Grim.

It wasn't the divine presence of Sage Rigger.

Neither was Blood Tyrant's Demonic mana.

And it certainly wasn't the monstrous power I had sensed from the Blood Tyrant.

This was different.

It was pure killing intent.

The kind that didn't need to scream.

The kind that simply existed.

Drake stood beneath the full moon with his sword lowered at his side, his enormous frame casting a long shadow across the training field.

I tightened my grip.

So this is the

The Monster of Krane.

The man who had fought through 117 missions against the Blood Kingdom.

The man whose presence had once been terrifying enough that the Blood Tyrant himself would personally enter the battlefield to eliminate him.

And now...

That man was standing in front of me.

Smiling.

“Are you still planning to win against me?”

Drake asked.

I didn't answer immediately.

Instead, I shifted my footing.

“If I need more than this to defeat you...”

I raised my sword.

“...then perhaps I wasn't as strong as I thought.”

Several knights around the training field immediately reacted.

“Did he seriously just say that?”

“He's still provoking Captain Drake?”

“Doesn't he understand who he's fighting?”

One veteran knight shook his head.

“That isn't confidence anymore.”

“Then what is it?”

“Insanity.”

Drake heard them.

He laughed.

“Good answer.”

He lowered his body slightly.

I did the same.

The soldier who had been supervising the duel immediately retreated another few meters.

“Both participants are ready.”

His voice became tense.

“Continue!”

Drake disappeared.

My pupils contracted.

Left.

I swung my sword.

CLANG!

His blade collided with mine.

The impact rattled my entire arm.

He was fast.

Much faster than before.

But this time I was prepared.

I twisted my wrist and redirected his sword.

Drake stepped backward.

I advanced.

One strike.

Two.

Three.

He blocked each one.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sound of steel echoed throughout the training field.

I deliberately kept my attacks simple.

No flashy techniques.

No special abilities.

No Death's Gambit.

Just swordsmanship.

Drake noticed immediately.

“You've changed your rhythm.”

“Have I?”

“Yes.”

His blade swept toward my neck.

I ducked.

The sword passed above my head.

I kicked toward his stomach.

Drake stepped backward.

The kick missed by inches.

Then I felt it.

That familiar distortion.

Gravity.

The ground beneath my right foot suddenly became irrelevant.

My body was dragged sideways.

I used the force to pivot.

My sword came around in a wide arc.

Drake blocked it.

BOOM!

The shockwave from our collision pushed both of us apart.

I landed several meters away.

A knight in the audience stared in disbelief.

“Did you see that?”

“What?”

“He used the gravity!”

“He deliberately let himself get thrown sideways.”

Another knight frowned.

“Why would he do that?”

“To change the angle of his attack.”

The veteran knight beside him smiled.

“He's learning.”

Drake heard the comment.

“So you understand now.”

I wiped a small trace of blood from the corner of my mouth.

“I'm beginning to.”

Drake rushed forward again.

I charged at the same time.

Our blades crossed.

He altered the gravitational direction beneath me.

My body suddenly dropped.

I bent my knee.

Instead of resisting the force, I let it pull me down.

My sword swept upward.

Drake twisted his torso.

The blade passed dangerously close to his chest.

His eyes widened.

I smiled.

Got you.

But then—

The gravity changed again.

My body was violently pulled upward.

My feet left the ground.

Damn.

Drake didn't need to touch me.

He simply changed the direction of gravity again.

My body was thrown several meters into the air.

The watching knights shouted.

“He's airborne!”

“Captain Drake is controlling him like a puppet!”

“There's no way he can recover!”

I rotated my body.

The ground rushed toward me.

I used my sword to stabilize my descent.

BOOM!

I landed on both feet.

The impact cracked the stone beneath me.

I immediately charged.

Drake was waiting.

He moved his hand slightly.

Gravity shifted.

My body was pulled toward the left.

I allowed it.

My momentum carried me across the field.

I planted my foot against the ground.

Then launched myself back toward Drake.

He changed the direction again.

I went right.

Then backward.

Then diagonally upward.

Each time, I adjusted.

Each time, he adjusted.

It became a strange dance.

Neither of us was truly attacking.

We were testing one another.

The knights watching grew increasingly silent.

A young rookie whispered:

“Is this even a sword fight anymore?”

An older knight answered:

“No.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“It's a battle of control.”

Another knight looked between the two fighters.

“Captain Drake is controlling gravity.”

“And Will?”

The older knight smiled.

“Will is trying to understand him.”

I heard that.

Correct.

My body was beginning to understand the rhythm of Drake's magic.

There was a pattern.

Not in the direction.

The direction was constantly changing.

But in the timing.

Every time Drake altered the gravitational vector, there was a tiny moment before the next change.

Less than a second.

Barely perceptible.

But it existed.

He's not changing direction continuously.

He's changing it in bursts.

That meant there was a moment between each adjustment.

A tiny opening.

I just needed to hit it.

I rushed forward.

Drake changed gravity.

My body was thrown diagonally.

I corrected it.

He changed it again.

I corrected it again.

Then—

Nothing.

For one moment...

Nothing happened.

I smiled.

There.

I swung.

Drake blocked.

CLANG!

His eyes narrowed.

He had realized it too.

“You found the gap.”

I said nothing.

Drake smiled.

“Good.”

He stepped backward.

Then forward.

The gravity shifted.

I was moved by it.

Our blades collided again.

CLANG!

I spun.

Drake changed my direction.

I used the force.

I twisted through the air and brought my sword down.

CLANG!

He blocked.

I kicked.

He moved.

I slashed.

He redirected the gravitational force around my body.

My blade missed.

I jumped.

Gravity pulled me downward.

I landed.

I attacked again.

The fight accelerated.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

Our swords collided so rapidly that the surrounding knights could barely follow the movements.

“Can you even see them?!”

“Barely!”

“Captain Drake is fighting without using a single offensive spell!”

“And Will isn't using any ability either!”

“They're fighting entirely with their fundamentals!”

One of the captains watching from the edge clenched his fists.

“This is ridiculous.”

“What?”

“Will Gurberr is keeping up with Drake.”

Another captain shook his head.

“No.”

He watched carefully.

“Drake is still controlling the pace.”

That was true.

I could adapt.

But Drake could force me to adapt.

That distinction mattered.

He controlled the battlefield.

I controlled my response.

For now.

I suddenly rushed straight toward him.

Drake's eyes sharpened.

Gravity changed.

My body was thrown sideways.

Instead of correcting, I deliberately allowed myself to spin.

My sword remained extended.

Drake moved backward.

I landed.

Immediately, I charged again.

Gravity changed.

This time I jumped.

Drake pulled me downward.

I used the force to accelerate.

My sword came down directly toward him.

CLANG!

Drake barely blocked.

The force pushed him backward.

One meter.

Two.

Three.

His boots dug trenches into the dirt.

The watching knights erupted.

“He pushed Captain Drake back!”

“That wasn't just a normal strike!”

“Will is actually overpowering him!”

Drake looked at the sword locked against his own.

Then he smiled.

“You're getting troublesome.”

I pushed harder.

“You're getting old.”

Drake laughed.

Then gravity changed.

My body suddenly became weightless.

The force beneath me vanished.

For half a second, I floated.

What?

Then the vector changed.

Down.

My entire body was slammed toward the ground.

BOOOOOOM!

Dust erupted.

The impact created a crater.

The knights recoiled.

“He got him!”

“Captain Drake actually crushed him!”

“There's no way anyone can survive that!”

The dust began to clear.

A silhouette moved.

I pushed myself upright.

Blood trickled from my forehead.

My arms trembled slightly.

But I was smiling.

Drake's eyes narrowed.

“You're enjoying this.”

“Maybe.”

I stood fully.

“It's been a while since someone made me think this much.”

Drake rolled his shoulders.

“Then think faster.”

He charged.

I charged.

The distance disappeared.

Our swords collided.

CLANG!

Drake changed gravity.

I shifted.

I attacked.

He redirected.

I spun.

He changed the vector.

I jumped.

He pulled me downward.

I used the force.

He anticipated it.

For the first time, he wasn't reacting to my movements.

He was predicting them.

He's learning too.

Our blades crossed.

We separated.

I rushed back.

He did the same.

The entire battlefield disappeared from my mind.

There were no knights.

No spectators.

No Royal Order.

No rebellion.

Only Drake.

Only me.

Only the next movement.

He struck.

I was blocked.

I was struck.

He blocked me.

Gravity shifted.

I moved.

He countered.

I twisted.

He adjusted.

The timing became tighter.

Faster.

More precise.

Every exchange brought us closer to the limit of what our bodies could handle.

Then Drake suddenly changed the gravitational direction beneath both of us.

The entire battlefield tilted.

My body flew upward.

Drake launched himself along the same altered vector.

Our trajectories intersected in midair.

For the first time, neither of us had solid ground beneath our feet.

His blade came toward my shoulder.

Mine moved toward his chest.

There was no room to dodge.

No room to retreat.

No time to think.

The watching knights collectively held their breath.

Two silhouettes collided beneath the full moon.

CLAAAAAANG!!!

The final clash exploded across the training ground.

To be continued...