Chapter 80: Formless Flying Swordsmanship (4)
“He’s got that final boss energy… and with that sword on his back, I’m guessing he really is the Ten Thousand Swords Master…”
Even in the face of the Ten Thousand Swords Master’s arrival, Hayato spoke casually. His expression didn’t change. As if this were merely one more annoyance, he just scratched the back of his head.
“Just to make sure—are you the Ten Thousand Swords Master? If you are, say something dramatic. Like a proper final boss at the end of a chapter.”
At his question, all the sounds in the world seemed to vanish. Everyone present waited in stillness for the Master to speak. And then, sound returned.
The wind stirred—a frigid, bone-chilling gust swept between the swords embedded in the earth.
Beneath the jet-black night sky, the Ten Thousand Swords Master, flanked by thousands of blades gleaming like stars, swept his gaze over the area. The earth was torn apart, blood scattered across it—and even the severed head of his subordinate lay discarded.
But his gaze lingered the longest on the white-haired girl.
Then, suddenly—
He spoke.
“Have you ever seen the sky itself in rage?”
“What are you even—”
WUUUUUUNG—!
The Ten Thousand Swords Master didn’t move. He still stood in the air, calmly watching the battlefield. But the thousands of swords around him reacted differently. As if echoing some subtle emotional shift, they began to vibrate violently.
ZZZZZZZT—!
“Take this—this technique is called Heavenly Bloom.”
With those words, thousands of star-like blades fell from the pitch-black heavens. Defying space, they all rained down simultaneously.
KWAAAAAAAM—!
The explosion shook the land, flipping the earth like pages in a book. The impact sent up a dense storm of dust and debris.
Then, through the dust, movement was detected. A small figure darted away at high speed. Emerging from the haze was Hayato—completely unscathed.
“Not bad…”
The Ten Thousand Swords Master murmured calmly. And in that instant, the army of swords embedded in the ground surged toward the enemy.
An omnidirectional strike, with no blind spots. Thousands of blades shot forward like beams of light, closing in on Hayato.
And just before they struck—
The katana emerged.
CHWAAAAANG—!
He slashed down every incoming sword in a single breath. The illusion was so overwhelming, it looked as though his upper body had split into five parts.
Hayato’s expression twisted with rage—furious that things weren’t going his way. And yet, the Ten Thousand Swords Master unleashed another barrage.
This time, Hayato’s figure was buried beneath thousands of blades as they slammed him into the ground.
The movement of the swords resembled a mythical beast—a dragon made of glimmering steel. Each time the dragon opened its mouth, Hayato was forced back.
Even his draw-and-strike technique, which exceeded the speed of sound, didn’t change the outcome.
When the assault paused, the blades scattered like scales, waiting to strike again. As the Ten Thousand Swords Master gave a signal, they regrouped once more to devour him.
He never allowed Hayato to approach. As though waiting for his stamina to run out, the Master used nearly ten thousand swords to relentlessly suppress and repel him. In contrast, Hayato kept trying to close the distance.
Even his slashes, which seemed to leap across space, had a limited range. At a certain distance, where the enemy’s figure turned hazy, his attacks lost all effect.
It was a battle fierce enough to reshape the land. The ground sank, rose, formed hills and craters.
After a few cycles of devastation, Hayato, who had been on the retreat, suddenly landed and shifted his stance.
“Hayato-ryu—”
His voice spread softly through the air.
He didn’t evade the incoming dragon of swords. It was an act of overwhelming confidence. A strange energy began gathering around his arms.
And then—
Like a dam overflowing with power, an overwhelming force erupted outward.
“Heavenly Flow: Blood-Severing Kill—”
BUWAAAAANG—!
A thunderous roar burst from Hayato’s katana, reminiscent of a swarm of wasps. Mist billowed from him as if he were its epicenter. The first to recognize the nature of the mist—was the Ten Thousand Swords Master.
Uncharacteristically startled, he hastily waved his arm to retrieve his swords. But it was too late.
The mist had already spread and consumed the steel dragon. Starting with its head, the beast turned to dust and vanished.
It had taken only an instant.
A phenomenon built from countless layered slashes. Simple in concept—but utterly unreachable by normal means. It surpassed human capability.
Not even the Ten Thousand Swords Master could replicate such a technique. Because time was equal for all.
That single blow had obliterated a tenth of his sword army. Acknowledging the threat, the Ten Thousand Swords Master raised his right hand. He could no longer afford to stay on the sidelines.
One of the blades hovering behind him flew into his grip. In that moment, his eyes locked with Hayato’s in the air.
They shared a nearly identical thought.
"What an unreasonable bastard…"
"What a pain in the ass…"
The Ten Thousand Swords Master began to move—slowly. Standing atop his sword, he descended from the sky toward the ground, advancing gradually toward Hayato. In response, Hayato recovered his katana and approached in his draw-stance.
“Die already!!”
Hayato was the first to strike. The katana drawn from his waist produced an immense slash that devoured the space before it. But then—he felt it. A sudden sense of dread.
That unease quickly became reality. The moment the slash touched the Ten Thousand Swords Master’s casually swung sword, a strange distortion occurred—and the slash vanished completely.
Now unarmed, the Ten Thousand Swords Master opened his mouth.
“You asked me earlier—if I was the Ten Thousand Swords Master. I am. But do you know why that name was given to me?”
“What are you talking about…?”
“Because I can control ten thousand swords? No.”
Step—
His footsteps grew louder. Or rather, his presence grew so immense that all attention was drawn to the sound of his steps.
“The Formless Flying Sword Technique… is but a single fragment I forged on my way to this height.”
He wasn’t speaking to Hayato.
I knew that instinctively.
He was speaking to me. He wanted to show me something—at this moment.
“Understand this—the heavens are furious.”
The Ten Thousand Swords Master closed his eyes. Within the realm of his spirit, among the countless swords, only one remained intact. A single blade shining with clarity. The pinnacle reached after layering ten thousand sword arts as a foundation.
Sword-Heart Unity—and beyond.
He extended his hand into empty space. But at that moment, everyone present witnessed a shape form in his grasp—a sword that both existed and didn’t exist.
The wind curled around his hand, avoiding it. The aura emanating from his body made the black robes ripple.
The Ten Thousand Swords Master took a great step forward. All the distilled essence of countless martial arts surged into his hand. The nonexistent sword—the Formless Sword—manifested with presence.
He called it the Formless Sword.
It had no physical form, no tangible power. And yet, anything he intended to cut—would be cut.
Hayato, his expression twisting slightly, raised his katana to block the oncoming attack—the invisible attack. And for a moment, it seemed like he’d succeeded.
Shluk—
“…What?”
The sensation in his left hand vanished. One of the hands holding the katana drooped uselessly, as if all strength had drained from it. There was no pain. No visible impact.
“Wh-what… what the hell is this?!”
A phenomenon beyond comprehension. Hayato’s face turned pale. The focus drained from his once-confident eyes.
Still clutching his now-limp left arm, he finally seemed to grasp the overwhelming presence before him—and instinctively retreated.
“No protection activating? No—wait. Wait, there must be some kind of error—!”
Then the Ten Thousand Swords Master raised his right hand again.
At that moment, an overwhelming energy surged from not far away. The Master’s gaze turned to the right—and Hayato seized the opportunity.
“Mission failed… retreating…”
As he stomped his right foot three times in quick succession, Hayato’s form shimmered with blue light and faded.
The Ten Thousand Swords Master did not pursue. His attention had already shifted to the new presence approaching from the distance.
“What a nuisance… you made it all the way here after all.”
He spoke as if he knew exactly who it was.
Lowering his raised hand, the mysterious flow of energy that had gathered toward him dispersed. He rose into the sky once more, standing atop a blade.
And in that moment—a sword flew toward me.
“Your origins don’t matter. A person’s heart is always subject to change.”
The Ten Thousand Swords Master’s composed gaze turned toward me. He was brimming with confidence. As if it was only natural I would ride the sword to follow him.
But as I stood in the midst of the growing presence, I felt something familiar.
Raynard. Kanok. And other members of Azure Wings were approaching. The one radiating overwhelming energy—I didn’t know their name, but by the circumstances, it had to be the Azure Wings Captain, the one pursuing the Master.
In the end—I didn’t step onto the sword.
The Master turned away, silently watching. He never recalled the sword he had sent to me.
By the time his figure in the sky had shrunk to a distant dot—
A man descended beside me. Calm expression, young face. I recognized him—he was the Azure Wings Captain, whom I had glimpsed once before.
He was a man cloaked in mystery. As he landed softly from the air, the wind gathered around his body, wrapping him gently.
But I barely had time to look at him.
By the next breath—he was gone. The Ten Thousand Swords Master had vanished as well. And the army of swords that had filled the sky disappeared with him.