Chapter 159
Chapter 159
Veil of Plumed Mist (2)
Just by charging forward using the output of the Veil of Plumed Mist, the sound barrier shattered.
Even though it hadn't been a direct hit, Kairus’s body trembled uncontrollably.
“With this power, we will succeed. I will use it to rise to the top of the Empire.”
Kairus wiped his mouth and took a deep breath. The warehouse had already been destroyed to the point where calling it a warehouse felt like a joke. Cracks ran not only along the walls but also across the ceiling, deep and jagged, making it look like it could collapse at any moment.
All from a single charge—a scene of destruction. In that hopeless moment, Kairus muttered quietly.
“Truly something to be proud of.”
The symbol of his house was this incredible. While Kairus smiled faintly, Ethan’s expression twisted at the sight.
“You’re smiling? You think this is funny?”
Instead of answering, Kairus gripped his sword with his trembling hand.
“You can’t handle that sword. Not a chance.”
Just now, through that one strike, Kairus had realized it too.
If you only wanted to fly, then just fly. That bastard, who now held the Veil of Plumed Mist, could easily soar through the skies. Even without knowing how, the Veil of Plumed Mist—House Featherwing’s symbol—boasted an output that allowed a person to fly.
“It’s already in my hand, and I’ve figured out how to control it.”
“You’re delusional.”
Kairus swung his sword with all his might, unleashing Swift Blade. The wind released from the Veil of Plumed Mist obeyed Kairus.
The air inside the warehouse began to churn wildly. One moment it flowed upward, then downward, then sideways with fierce force before suddenly shooting upward again.
“If you’re so confident, try again. Let’s see how far you can get with power you can’t even control!”
Instead of a reply, Ethan launched into another charge. Once more, the sound barrier shattered.
“GRAAAAHHHHH?!”
Ethan, who had been dashing at invisible speed, rolled across the floor without being able to stop.
“Heh… hehehehe.”
Kairus sneered at Ethan. It was the turbulent air Kairus had created that now ruled the warehouse.
A high-speed charge, fueled by the output of the Veil of Plumed Mist, turned into a deadly gamble with just the smallest variable added.
The reason was simple. When the output surged, the body would begin to float without the user realizing it.
“What… what is this?!”
A floating body responded to even the slightest force. Therefore, you had to be able to do one of two things:
Either possess the ability to resist being swept away by the surrounding currents while suspended in midair,
or generate a downdraft and use it to pin your feet to the ground.
Only then could that insane-output sword be properly wielded. It wasn’t some battle gear you could use just because you’d enhanced your blood vessels with procedures and controlled your blood pressure with an add-on.
“Hnnngh…”
Ethan, who had lost his balance and slammed into the wall, raised his sword toward Kairus once again. In turn, Kairus twisted the winds rampaging inside the warehouse into an even more chaotic pattern.
‘If it grazes me, I’m dead.’
No exceptions. Even if it wasn’t fully controlled, a charge using the output of the Veil of Plumed Mist was no joke.
It shattered everything nearby. A human body was no exception.
What Kairus had to do was suppress the winds created by the Veil of Plumed Mist as much as possible and divert their trajectory to somewhere completely off target.
“If I beg for my life, will you let me live?”
“If you don’t resist, it won’t hurt.”
At Ethan’s confident words, Kairus clicked his tongue softly. Maybe it was because his insides were twisted up, but his tongue tasted metallic and bitter.
He’d come again. The way Ethan adjusted his posture while floating midair looked just like the Grim Reaper himself.
‘Don’t approach. I have to defend with Swift Blade.’
The output of their battle gear wasn’t even comparable. If he tried to get close for a counterattack?
He’d probably be sliced in half the moment he blinked.
“You’re fucking banned from getting within five meters of me.”
It wasn’t just talk—this was the most critical factor that would determine whether Kairus lived or died.
He had to keep his distance and let Ethan self-destruct.
“You think! That’s going to go! Your way?!”
Within the turbulence Kairus had created in the warehouse, Ethan charged in again, accompanied by a monstrous turbine roar.
“…Fuck.”
Ethan rushed at Kairus, but his charge never made contact. What struck Kairus instead was the destructive shockwave created by the charge.
Holding back the tremors in his body, Kairus checked the aftermath of that attack.
A bottomless hole had been blasted through the warehouse wall—at least five meters in diameter.
—“Aaaaaargh!”
From beyond that hole, Ethan’s scream rang out again, followed by another turbine roar, and a violent gust of wind burst through the opening.
Kairus frantically generated more turbulence.
“What is he, a mole?!”
Ethan burst from the hole, only to charge off in the wrong direction again, creating a brand new one.
“Gah!”
Even the shockwaves generated during his charges were steadily damaging Kairus’s body.
Though the attack hadn’t even grazed him, his bones ached and his muscles throbbed. And still, his mind kept working.
‘He always raises the output before charging.’
When the Veil of Plumed Mist’s output rose, it inevitably generated a windstorm. That meant Kairus could predict the moment Ethan was about to charge.
It was one of the few conditions in this hopeless battle that gave Kairus a sliver of advantage.
“…”
Again, with the sound of a turbine, the storm returned. It had already happened several times in just a short span.
A warehouse—an enclosed space. And that space now filled with shockwaves.
‘This is already dangerous.’
Kairus’s body had long since reached the limit of what could be considered a normal fighting state.
The spit dribbling from his mouth was mixed with blood. Blood flowed from every hole on his face.
“Even if it doesn’t hit, who cares?! If this keeps going, who do you think will win?!”
Ethan shouted as he burst from the hole and charged in a bizarre direction.
The funny thing was, the charge always came first, and Ethan’s shouting and the resulting shockwave only followed after the charge had ended.
“Thunder and lightning, huh…”
It was proof that his charge was faster than sound. Ethan was right—Kairus couldn’t last much longer like this.
But—
“That bastard isn’t fine either.”
Kairus could say that with certainty. Ethan had already been injured during their sparring at the training ground.
Sure, he might have gotten treatment, but it had only been a few hours. There was no way he had completely recovered. Kairus had beaten him to a pulp, after all.
‘Those wounds are definitely getting worse.’
That much was clear.
Without undergoing the procedure of the Featherwing, the Veil of Plumed Mist was a weapon that wrecked its wielder’s circulatory system. Even now, Ethan’s body was likely deteriorating by the second.
‘Hang in there. One of us will fall first.’
Silently, even if his body felt like it was being torn apart, he kept going. That was all Kairus could do at this point.
“Fuck, in a situation where I might die…”
The only way to break through this crisis wasn’t some flash of genius—it was sheer, dumb perseverance.
Simple and monotonous, but this life-or-death standoff dragged on.
The turbine roared, the windstorm howled, and Kairus created turbulence. Ethan charged and crashed into the wall.
Turbine and windstorm.
Another charge.
Another crash. Blood spilled from both Kairus and Ethan. Kairus’s mind grew hazier with each repetition. In this mechanical cycle, with his body wrecked, Kairus couldn’t help but laugh.
‘Just look at him.’
Ethan wasn’t charging in and thrusting his sword at Kairus. He was being dragged along by the output of the Veil of Plumed Mist, clinging to the sword as it pulled him around.
He was clutching the blade, crashing here and there, then grabbing the blade again to keep repeating the same brute-force tactics.
He charged once more—then flew off in the wrong direction and crashed again.
‘And that’s supposed to be the form of a trained knight?’
Eyes wild, not knowing what to do with the sword in his hand, trying to stab anything he could see—it was no different from a clumsy new recruit. Worse, he kept injuring himself in the process.
“The Veil of Plumed Mist… just possessing it means nothing.”
Even while his entire body was pummeled by shockwaves, Kairus continued to resist, his mind drifting to another thought.
If this were an exam, the Veil of Plumed Mist wasn’t a letter of acceptance. It was the test itself.
It wasn’t just the Veil of Plumed Mist. Every famed masterpiece battle gear in existence was a test paper. Fail to solve the test, and you ended up just as disgracefully as that.
“…”
Ethan, gasping for breath while clutching the Veil of Plumed Mist, no longer looked like someone who had claimed the weapon as a conqueror.
The fact that Ethan was still visible—still standing—meant he had reached his limit.
“Kh… huaaaaagh!”
Finally, a mouthful of blood burst from Ethan’s mouth. His skin had gone pale, and the blood vessels in his eyes had all burst, leaving them bloodshot.
“Not yet… not yet!”
He could no longer stay on his feet. Ethan collapsed to the floor, flailing his limbs. Even so, he couldn’t let go of the Veil of Plumed Mist.
As if that sword were his very heart.
“Ethan Vasella…”
Whether he was a direct descendant of the Featherwing or not had never mattered from the start. Ethan had every right to take the test. He had seized the Veil of Plumed Mist and wielded it.
Ownership of an item could always change hands. Though the Veil of Plumed Mist had been a symbol of the Featherwing, it wouldn’t be strange if someone else became its rightful owner with the passing of time.
“You failed.”
That was the face of someone who had failed.
“Thanks.”
Kairus couldn’t help but be thankful.
If he had succeeded in deceiving Ethan and locating the Veil of Plumed Mist to steal it in secret?
He would have ended up in exactly that state a few months later. In the sight of Ethan flailing on the floor, Kairus saw a glimpse of his own future.
“…”
Kairus slowly approached Ethan. His body wasn’t in any better condition, so his steps were sluggish.
But Ethan no longer had the strength left to stop Kairus from approaching.
Ethan still held onto the Veil of Plumed Mist with a death grip. Kairus grabbed his hand and forcefully pried open each finger.
“…I still need it.”
Kairus didn’t have the confidence to properly control the Veil of Plumed Mist just yet. But even so, he had to take it.
Even if not now, he hoped that someday, he’d be able to wield it properly.
“You dumb… bastard.”
Watching Kairus reach for the Veil of Plumed Mist, Ethan gave a pained smirk. That battle gear wasn’t a weapon just anyone could hold.
‘Wouldn’t be so bad to just die here.’
So thought Ethan, as he silently watched Kairus clutch the Veil of Plumed Mist.
Kairus looked down at the Veil of Plumed Mist now in his hand—and raised its output.
The turbine roar echoed through the air.
“Ghh… AAAAAAAAARGH!”
Kairus felt a pain as though his entire body was being twisted apart. His vision flashed red, then black, then red again.
Already severely wounded, Kairus’s condition deteriorated with every passing second. But even so, he didn’t stop.
With all the Featherwings dead, the rightful owner of the Veil of Plumed Mist was now Kairus himself. He had to endure. He could do this. He was using it because he could.
His entire body screamed in agony. A pain unlike anything he had ever imagined consumed him. The blood vessels in his eyes burst, staining his vision crimson.