[348] Divine Transcendence (5)
"Arrogant brat…!"
Bawieo tried a maneuver. He wrapped an arm around Rian's body to unbalance him. Rian, however, swung his arm and spoiled the move.
Irritated, Bawieo shoved him. Then he charged again—another sharp headbutt. This time Rian felt dizzy.
When a tackle opportunity finally opened, Bawieo lunged while clutching Rian's waist. He hooked Rian's retreating leg and the hold opened. If he drove him down now, it would be over.
"Ugh!"
Rian twisted free by the skin of his teeth. He still wasn't fully together. He needed time.
Bawieo gave him none and attacked again. Having been put in his place twice, Rian reflexively shot his head forward to counter. It cleared his mind for a moment, but not like the first two times.
They stood forehead to forehead, eyes glittering. Both of their noses bled.
Bawieo couldn't contain his fury. For someone aiming to be heavy infantry, raw strength was as important as swordsmanship. The fact that anyone had pushed the undefeated Bawieo this far raised Rian's worth in his eyes.
"Hmph. Can't just let this go."
Bawieo curled a lip.
"You're holding up pretty well. But are you sure you're all right? Your eyes look kind of glazed."
Rian really was dazed. A contest of strength required matching breathing cadence to the opponent—like a contest of who can hold their breath longer. With oxygen running low, he was close to blacking out even while standing.
"Then shall I start the finishing hold?"
Rian ground his teeth. Had he really been fighting this whole time without letting a finishing hold in? Bawieo's next motion sent a wave of raw power through him that left no doubt.
"Hahaha! This is too easy!"
Bawieo toyed with Rian like a child's plaything—lifting him, setting him down, swinging him left and right. With more than twice the strength advantage, technique meant nothing.
'You didn't think I'd let you finish it that easily, did you?'
Bawieo wrapped his arms around Rian's chest and hoisted him. As he applied pressure, the air was forced from Rian's lungs.
"Gah!"
The forced exhale was unbearably vile, but it was nothing compared to what came next.
Bawieo snatched Rian's arm and slipped in under his armpits, attempting a standing abdominal stretch—commonly called the Cobra Twist.
The cadets watched in disbelief.
It was a legitimate wrestling move, but executing it successfully on a standing opponent was difficult; unless there was a huge gap in ability, it was more of a joke or a practice technique.
And this was precisely what Bawieo had been aiming for.
Rian's torso bent and his arm rose; though it looked comical, he couldn't generate any power in that position. Once locked in, there was no moving.
"Ughhh!"
A groan escaped Rian. His muscles had been stretched to their limits; if Bawieo moved even a centimeter, pain would shoot up his spine.
Bawieo turned toward the cadets as if parading Rian's humiliation. There was nothing Rian could do.
"How's it feel? Want me to snap your back? Huh?"
With each slight shift from Bawieo, Rian's spine creaked. Satisfied, Bawieo glanced at Tess, noticing her trembling and bitten lip.
'I told you. Don't underestimate me.'
He hadn't even considered going easy to win Tess's favor. A woman in love sees only one man; no matter how impressive another is, she won't look twice. To uproot her attachment, you ruin the rival and remove him from sight.
"Maybe you should just surrender. Or shall I play with you a bit longer?"
Rian didn't answer. His gaze followed what Bawieo was looking at.
'Tess…'
Tess looked as if she might burst into tears. She was just by nature; she ought to be the angriest here.
"Break him."
"What?"
Bawieo repeated in disbelief.
"I told you outright. Kill me if you want. I don't care. But I will never surrender."
"Hahaha! Man, why are you always so serious? This is just an evaluation. No need to risk life and limb. Besides, this won't erase your embarrassment, will it?"
Bawieo paraded Rian again, feeding off the cadets' reactions—fear from some, anger from others, pity from a handful. He knew that was the look of the weak watching the strong.
Then something slammed through the air. Bawieo flinched as if stung and turned to Rian.
'He still has strength left?'
Rian's face wasn't strained. His eyes were cold and empty, like time itself had stopped.
'Straighten your back. Straighten your back. Straighten your back.'
Rian's gaze turned inward.
When that single command reached him, his flank began to rise slowly, as if by a lie.
"Heh. Look at this brat."
Bawieo sneered, but he couldn't hide his tension. He was surreptitiously bringing out more power, yet he still couldn't stop Rian's movement.
'What the hell is this? Why is this happening?'
Bawieo clenched his teeth and tightened every muscle.
"Uuuuuuugh!"
And in the instant he felt resistance, his heart dropped. It wasn't a trick or a lapse in focus. Rian's upper body kept lifting and there was nothing Bawieo could do to stop it.
His heart pounded and a chill ran down his spine. Something other than strength was lifting Rian. It felt like the whole world surging forward—a colossal motion that filled Bawieo with a fear he'd never known.
Kuan, watching, didn't blink. This was it—the unfathomable mystery of Divine Transcendence.
'No way. How is this possible? What is moving him?'
Rian was not in a posture capable of exerting force. Yet, ignoring the law of levers, he rose. It wasn't strength; some rule of the world itself was setting him upright.
"Hey! Wait a minute!"
At last Bawieo shouted in panic. No matter how hard he pushed, he was being driven back. As Rian's posture returned, Bawieo's own body twisted grotesquely. The Cobra Twist reversed and stretched his muscles to their limit.
"AAAHHH!"
The cadets went rigid at the victim's scream. Rian didn't vent anger or taunt Bawieo; he focused solely on moving his own body.
"S-Surrender! I give up! Please stop! My back—no!"
Rian didn't stop. He hadn't been riled by Bawieo's mocking performance. He had long discarded shame in the face of natural limits.
But if he was going to break someone like that, the opponent had to stake everything. Even if it was the reckless gamble of someone without talent, he could not forgive anyone who had angered Tess.
'Alright. This will do.'
Rian made his choice. He forced the face trapped beneath his armpit downward. A snap, and something tore.
"AAAAAAH!"
Bawieo screamed as if his jaw would dislocate. Tangled and unable to fall, he couldn't collapse; when his abdominal muscles tore, his strength drained and he slumped like a puppet with cut strings, jaw gaping. Drool leaked from the corner of his mouth.
Rian grabbed the head in his armpit and shoved. Bawieo hit the floor and convulsed from the secondary impact. Tears streamed down his face from the pain.
Silence lengthened, and the cadets' expressions shifted. The aura of invincibility they'd felt moments ago was gone from the sobbing Bawieo.
'Poor bastard. He's on leave starting today—looks like three months of rest and recovery for him.'
Bawieo planted his hands on the ground and tried to push himself up, but pain made him collapse again. He lifted his head with effort and spat venomously.
"Don't think this changes anything! I was weak—don't think you were strong!"
The bile in his words—a self-deprecating fury—was obvious.
But Rian heard none of it.
The aftershock of Divine Transcendence, which had forced his body into motion, left his muscles feeling as if they'd been shredded.
'Damn. That was too much.'
Rian counted to ten in his head. With the count, the pain began to ebb. It was an incredible recovery he'd earned by pushing past his limits every single day.
'I can move now.'
As his hearing cleared, Bawieo's voice reached him.
"How long do you think that's going to work? I'll only get stronger! That's your limit. You'll live the rest of your life a loser!"
"That bastard…!"
Tess clenched her fists. If this hadn't been an evaluation, she would have lunged forward and struck his torn abdomen again.
Rian, however, was calm and even. He shrugged his training jacket over his shoulders and, without a word, turned toward the training ground exit and walked.
"Ri-Rian?"
Tess and the other cadets stared in disbelief. Kuan's cold voice hit his back.
"Rian. Sit down. Unauthorized departure is an automatic fail."
"Then mark me as failed."
Rian saw no difference between dead last and failing. No matter what he achieved, the school wouldn't credit someone who couldn't perform the required techniques.
When Rian left the training ground, the atmosphere grew frosty. No one had ever shown such brazen defiance to Instructor Kuan; already there were those mentally consigning him to ruin.
'Is this the limit after all?'
Kuan felt neither displeasure nor real concern for Rian. As long as the cadet accepted responsibility for his actions, it didn't matter to Kuan if his life fell apart.
But today he felt unsettled. Divine Transcendence was a real force, and Rian could wield it.
How long could he hold out? One day his body's integrity might fail under the pressure of his will.
Kuan wrote "fail" on Rian's evaluation and put "unauthorized departure" in parentheses beneath it.
After the wrestling evaluation, Tess went straight to find Rian without even washing. Just then Rian came out of the dormitory. His insides burned, but he looked clean, as if he'd showered.
"Rian! What happened? Do you really want to fail?"
Rian strode past Tess with resolute steps. That made her anxious—once a fire ignited in him, it spread uncontrollably.
"Please say something. Leaving during an evaluation is serious. It's not about coming in last. You know what happens when instructors mark you down."
"I don't care. Mark me or don't."
Tess could understand the frustration of not being rewarded for effort, but this crossed a line. Open defiance of a superior was unacceptable.
"Rian. Think again. You've held out this far."
"It's not because I can't take it. I'm fed up."
Seeing the contortion of Rian's face, Tess realized he meant it. But what could she do? Everything was moving too fast.
Rian went to the instructors' office. Kuan was sorting evaluation sheets. He glanced at Rian's salute, then looked back at his desk with deliberate disinterest.
"What is it? When did you leave like that?"
"I came to say something."
"Go back. You failed. A cadet who acts on his own isn't worthy of assessment."
Rian placed an envelope on the desk. Kuan frowned as he read the label, then looked up. Rian's expression was cool and resolved, as if he'd already made his decision.
"This is my resignation. I'm leaving the swordsmanship school."
(End of Volume 14)