“……Got it! Then I’ll find the hiding one no matter what, so hurry up!”

The girl with crimson hair nodded as if she understood and immediately turned her back to run ahead.

It was a situation where she could be worried or anxious, yet she moved without any hesitation.

Her resolute attitude reflected her unshakeable trust in herself, causing Yoon Si-woo to feel a warmth in his chest.

However, as he silently watched the girl running away, something suddenly blocked his path with a loud thud.

It was the colossal leg of a massive lesser demonic beast, marked with the scars he had previously inflicted.

Yoon Si-woo stiffened his expression and looked up, meeting the gaze of the monster hovering above him.

The wounded beast, filled with fury, was radiating a red glow that seemed to threaten to crush him at any moment.

The creature’s rage, possessing an overwhelming strength that ordinary humans could hardly approach, filled the surrounding air with an oppressive weight.

Yet, despite bearing the brunt of that intimidation, Yoon Si-woo raised his sword towards the lesser demonic beast without a trace of fear.

How could he be afraid when the presence before him was an obstacle preventing him from reaching Scarlet in a potentially dangerous situation?

Rather than feeling afraid, he only felt irritation.

Thus, releasing the power of Lucy, he muttered towards the beast in front of him.

“Bring it on.”

-■■■■■■■■■■■!!!

As if it understood his words, the massive beast let out a roar and lifted its leg high.

A colossal shadow loomed over him in an instant.

“Gah…!”

Yoon Si-woo grunted and quickly leaped to escape the expansive shadow engulfing the area.

With just a narrow margin, the beast’s leg crashed down exactly where he had been standing moments ago.

The weight of that leg obliterated everything within its reach with a thunderous impact, creating a massive crater as if a meteor had collided.

Watching the overwhelming destructive power of the attack, Yoon Si-woo swallowed hard, realizing it was impossible to face that head-on.

Even a simple stomp would be catastrophic if performed by such a gigantic creature.

Moreover, it possessed the terrifying ability to annihilate anything that touched its body.

With either one of those characteristics being powerful enough, facing a blend of both in an attack was truly reckless.

Thus, he decided to adopt a strategy prioritizing evasion as he engaged in battle.

He would avoid the consecutive drops of the beast’s attacks and counterattack whenever an opening appeared.

“Now…!”

-■■■■■■─!!

As openings appeared, he would strike in retaliation.

Much like when he defeated the gluttonous lesser demonic beast that had once appeared in the city, his strategy was to precisely evade the enemy’s attacks and strangle them until they could no longer fight back.

However, after delivering a long wound to one of the beast’s legs, he couldn’t help but grimace.

“……Tch.”

[Si-woo, you’ve realized this, haven’t you?]

“……Yeah, I know. This won’t do.”

He understood that fighting like this was not the right approach.

[Right, if you’re going to cut, you’ll need to slice dozens, if not hundreds of times.]

As Lucy pointed out, the enemy’s body was too enormous.

He could minimize damage by dodging attacks and striking when opportunities arose, but there was no guarantee how many cuts it would take to bring it down.

Of course, in the past, he would have taken care of such battles without issue.

That was the most reliable and safest method to win.

However,

[But that can’t be the case. To fight like that means I will have to use my power for a long time. Si-woo, remember that if you use my strength for too long, you will die.]

Now he could not afford a long battle; his body had become one that would perish if Lucy’s powers were used for too long.

Yoon Si-woo felt the weight of his changed circumstances and furrowed his brow.

But what should he do now?

The enemy was one he couldn’t harm without relying on Lucy’s power.

“……Lucy, for now, release the reversal.”

[Hmm? Well, I can do that, but what are you planning? I can’t defeat it without my abilities… Ah, I see. That’s certainly not a bad idea.]

Pondering this, Yoon Si-woo requested Lucy to release the witch’s power that had been gnawing away at his body.

Hearing this, Lucy briefly seemed puzzled, but soon understood his thoughts and agreed to seal the magic.

And while those two exchanged words, the attack from the lesser demonic beast continued.

Yoon Si-woo dodged the beast’s attack, which was aimed at him, while being in the state of sealing the witch’s powers.

“Holy Sword, reversal.”

In that fleeting moment of opportunity when he swung his sword, he murmured once more.

The beast let out a howl.

Seizing the moment of the attack, he released the witch’s power again, striking the lesser demonic beast.

As soon as he finished the attack and sealed the power once more, Lucy muttered.

[Thinking to only release my power the moment you attack. Seems tedious, but it could minimize waste.]

“……However, that doesn’t solve the fundamental problem. In the end, it doesn’t increase the damage I deal to it.”

Despite brainstorming ways to minimize the use of the witch’s powers, Yoon Si-woo couldn’t ease his grim expression.

Even though he had just attacked, he still couldn’t help but feel uncertain about how many more hits it would take to bring down the robust beast in front of him. Moreover, various worries surfaced anew.

Not only was he facing this lesser demonic beast, but he also had to contend with the laziest witch afterward, and he worried whether his body could hold out until then.

On top of that, he was concerned whether Scarlet was doing okay while the battle dragged on before his eyes.

While Yoon Si-woo was lost in such deep concerns amidst the fierce fighting, Lucy quietly observed him and spoke up.

[Si-woo, your worries can be solved simply by defeating this huge creature as quickly as possible, can’t they?]

“That’s why, ugh… this is difficult, which is why I’m saying this.”

[I have a plan. First, I need time, so try to momentarily halt its movements.]

Yoon Si-woo was puzzled about how he could eliminate this enormous creature quickly but decided to act in accordance with Lucy’s advice and tried to prevent the lesser demonic beast’s movements.

Regardless of its size, it was a quadrupedal beast.

He believed that if he destroyed even one of its supporting legs, its mobility would drastically decrease, so he gritted his teeth and avoided the beast’s attacks, focusing on targeting one leg.

How many times had he slashed?

By the time one of the beast’s legs was almost soaked in blood, the massive beast, that had been rampaging around as if unaware of its pain, finally began to limp.

Having slightly delayed its pursuit, Yoon Si-woo mounted Ari, who had been observing the fight from behind, creating some distance from the lesser demonic beast while asking Lucy,

“Haah, haah… So, what exactly is this method you mentioned to defeat it? You’re not implying I should ride this thing and aim for its head, are you? That wouldn’t make sense.”

Even just its head was larger than a small mountain.

Even if he aimed for the head, it would be difficult to attack the brain properly, and getting close would mean dodging its long nose swinging around.

Surely, she wouldn’t propose such a ridiculous tactic, which is why he thought to ask. However,

[Hmm, of course not. What you should do now isn’t to aim for the head but─

Just slice the beast in one blow.]

Lucy’s requirement was something far more absurd than he had imagined.

“……Slice it in one blow? You want me to? That creature?”

Yoon Si-woo asked in astonishment.

Then Lucy inquired back as if confused as to why he reacted that way.

[Why yes, can’t you release at least a sword pressure?]

“……I can, but still, that’s impossible.”

For a swordsman who had reached a certain level, he could release sword pressure that would expand his attack range several times or even tens of times.

But what Lucy was asking wasn’t on that scale.

How much would he have to expand to slice such a gigantic creature all at once?

Thousands of times? Tens of thousands of times?

It was only natural.

One sword cannot cut through a mountain.

That’s why he replied to Lucy that it was impossible.

However, Lucy asked him,

[Why do you think it’s impossible?]

“……Huh?”

[Why do you think it’s impossible?]

Why did he conclude that it couldn’t be done?

As Lucy questioned him, she continued,

[Si-woo, put your sword down for a moment.]

With Lucy’s firm tone, Yoon Si-woo subconsciously dismounted from Ari and held his sword.

Ahead, he spotted the lesser demonic beast limping toward him from a distance.

It was still some distance away, but it was approaching rapidly.

Nevertheless, Lucy spoke to him as if the beast didn’t matter at all.

[Forget about it. As I said earlier, I need time. I asked for you to momentarily halt the beast’s movements to buy this time. For now, just close your eyes.]

At Lucy’s words, Yoon Si-woo hesitated but eventually closed his eyes.

“……I’ve closed them.”

[Now, imagine a rock in front of you in your mind.]

Yoon Si-woo conjured the image of a rock in his mind.

[Once you have it, swing the sword in your hand and try to cut that rock.]

Yoon Si-woo swung his sword.

The sword he wielded sliced through the rock he had envisioned in his mind.

[Could you cut it?]

“I did cut it.”

[Good. Now imagine that gigantic monster, the size of a mountain, in your mind.]

Yoon Si-woo envisioned the massive lesser demonic beast.

[Try to slice it.]

At those words, Yoon Si-woo flinched for a moment and then swung his sword with a slight delay.

Lucy didn’t inquire whether he had succeeded or failed in cutting it.

She merely asked,

[Si-woo, do you know what’s most important for a swordsman?]

Yoon Si-woo couldn’t answer.

[Technique? Of course, that’s important, but it isn’t it. Neither is it the body.]

To Yoon Si-woo, Lucy elucidated.

What was required of a swordsman was mind (心), skill (技), and body (体).

Among those three, the most crucial was.

[Faith. The belief that you can cut.]

The mind of belief, or trust.

[Your sword cutting the rock had certainty in it. You were confident that you could cut the rock.]

[However, with the beast, your sword lacked that certainty.]

[You thought you couldn’t cut it, so you couldn’t.]

At those words, Yoon Si-woo asked,

“……So if I believe I can cut it, does that mean I can cut anything?”

Lucy chuckled at his question and replied,

[Hoo, that’s certainly not the case. Could a newborn baby possibly cut a rock just by believing?]

[However, no matter how adept one becomes in technique and trains their body, those who believe they cannot cut the rock will never be able to do so their entire life.]

[But Si-woo, you have enough technique and strength, so believe in yourself once.]

Hearing that, Yoon Si-woo paused for a moment before softly asking,

“……Can I actually cut it?”

Lucy didn’t respond to that question.

She understood that the question was not posed by herself, but by Yoon Si-woo to himself.

Yoon Si-woo swung his sword.

He swung it as if urging himself to believe, “I can do it.”

But even with that effort, the sword failed to change easily.

By himself, he could hardly convince himself to believe.

So Yoon Si-woo—

-If you can’t believe in yourself,

-Then, believe in me who believes in you.

He decided to borrow the belief of another rather than just his own.

The “me” you believe in can surely cut down such a creature in one blow.

With that thought, Yoon Si-woo opened his previously closed eyes and slowly raised his sword toward the lesser demonic beast, which had now closed the distance.

And Lucy, watching Yoon Si-woo, smiled.

The sight of him raising his sword toward the mountain was not boastful at all.

Lucy had been thinking long before this moment.

She believed that a swordsman should be the most arrogant in the world.

Only a swordsman who believes they can cut through a rock can actually cut it.

And only a swordsman who believes they can slice through steel can truly achieve that.

So to cut something believed to be uncrossable makes one the most arrogant swordsman of all.

And it was that arrogant swordsman’s student who was now unfolding his sword before her.

From above to below, in a straight line, cleanly slicing down without any wavering.

As the swordsman watched, he recalled the question previously posed by his student and couldn’t help but smile.

Could he slice it?

It was indeed a foolish question.

[If one can slice through the heavens, how could they not cut through the peak of a mountain?]

Chuckling softly, the swordsman gazed up.

At the expansive sky, where clouds split apart like a fracture.

And below that, two segments of the mountain split in two.