Chapter 51 - Kapali's Might!

A Myth Seat,

It is a known fact that in any given era there can only be one person granted the position of any specific Myth Seat, but it was never a rule that said it must be the same person on the seat for a whole era!

Naturally, there would be more than a hundred candidates for a single Myth Seat. They were all exceptional individuals with their own unique powers, bloodlines, and skills but everyone can't claim the Myth Seat. To become the owner of the Myth Seat they must be the best in that field, no one can be above them if they want the right to claim the Myth Seat for themselves. Obviously, they would have to beat the previous owner in a fight overseen by the Tower itself, that's how important the Myth Seat is.

Even if they can't claim the Myth Seat, the sheer potential of being a candidate for a one was attractive enough for big guilds to drool and fight over who got to recruit them, since they did have the possibility to claim the Myth Seat. Whoever's a guild that got the Myth Seat would be considered one of the Major Guilds or Organizations that ruled the Tower.

Sasaki Kajiro was a man who trained the way of the Sword for most of his life, about 25 years since he was a mere 5-year-old. He took pride in himself, beating the world's best swords-masters does that to a guy after all. He even went so far as to call himself the best Sword-wielder back on Earth.

Even after the "Uprising of the Tower", he was someone who shone like a bright star, thriving in the chaos it brought, rather than hiding from it. The Tower was just a stage for him to showcase and refine his skills. Those same skills also didn't betray him as he became the Sword Saint Candidate, one of the ultimate positions for a Sword user, before he even passed the 8th floor.

He wasn't arrogant but prideful, as one who is prideful can back up his claims, while those who are arrogant are all talk. In all 25 years of his life as a Swordsman, as he only considers the time he could wield a sword as part of his "Life", he has yet to meet someone who could overwhelm him, let alone defeat him.

He thought if he could improve his stats and power, he would eventually be able to sit on the throne of Myth, as was his right. (or so he thought, anyway)

But at this moment...

In front of him stood a Monster!

A Monster whose mere presence was suppressing him and making him cower, making him feel fear. He, who stood against the waves of the 8th floor undeterred, underwent the chaos of Earth and overcame it, and was even a Sword Saint Candidate, was scared of the evil being in front of him.

He didn't know, yet, that the fear he was feeling was an effect of a Skill.

'Heavenly Demon Fear'

It was a Passive skill that Kapali unlocked after leveling up to lv.50.

[Heavenly Demon Fear(Incomplete):-(Passive)

Heavenly Demon is the Supreme,

He is the Conqueror of the Heavens and the Tyrant of Hell. No one shall stand above him; He is the supreme and no one shall be his equal between Heaven and Hell.

effect: -Inflicts *Fear* on whoever the user deems as target

-Will decrease the Agility of the target by 5%]

"So...You think you are the only candidate here?" Shiva gloated while looking at Sasaki as armored Kapali stood beside him. His armor seemed to be a different one than usual and he held two long swords in either of his hands.

'I wonder where he got those…' Shiva wondered, absentmindedly. He looked like a God of Death fixing to reap the lives of his enemies.

"Kapali!" Shiva called out to his loyal Knight.

"Master!" Kapali turns to his Master and kneels, then answered still holding his head high. A fiery reverence took hold of his eyes, making them seem intense.

"He says he is a Sword Saint Candidate, that he's better than your Master, and that I should know my place. As the loving and caring person I am, why don't I have you teach him some Sword moves so he is properly educated and realizes the error of his ways," Shiva spoke with an innocent and patient look on his face, even though he has basically demanded the life of this misbegotten fool.

"As you wish, Master, so shall it be."

Kapali turned from looking at his master to glaring at Sasaki whose face was now pale as a sheet, cold sweet building on his neck!

"You wanna know something? My Companion here is quite strong, so I recommend you use your strongest moves while you still can," Shiva smirked as he 'educated' his opponent.

Sasaki gritted his teeth at that. It was the first time he has ever been humiliated like this. Never has anyone treated him the way Shiva did, and it shows in the throbbing veins appearing on his forehead and neck. Sasaki was boiling with anger, the fear he felt, all but forgotten in his new state of mind. He took a proper sword stance with no small amount of difficulty before starting his uphill battle,

"Unparalleled Sword-Style"

"1st form, Draw Blood"

It was at that moment that everyone found out the real meaning behind his nickname. it wasn't due to his sword being red. A red mist suddenly manifested on the arena, shrouding the surroundings from the crowd's view. As countless sword slashes were shot out at seemingly randomly, forcing the announcer to call on a barrier to protects the onlookers, Kapali just stood firmly in front of Shiva as he said,

"Oh! Unparalleled Sword-Style! So, you learned 'Huger's Swordsman-ship'? That's a unique one, for sure!"

Sasaki opened his eyes only to see an unscathed Kapali just standing there.

"It is indeed a good sword-style, well... maybe more than just 'good' but-"

Kapali paused before turning and staring him in the eyes, then he continued talking as he kept eye contact,

"Are you just retarded?"

"Huh?" Sasaki was caught off guard by Kapali's sudden statement, as he continued,

"'Draw Blood', it is a swordsmanship whose base lies in the user's intention to "Draw" his enemies "blood", hence its name. But I am an Undead, a being that doesn't have any blood, meaning your skill is useless, you dumb kid," Kapali said in his indifferent tone,

Being called a 'Kid' in his 30's was humiliating for Sasaki, he's a grown *ss man after all. What he didn't know was that the person, no, the Golem in front of him has probably lived 100 years more than he had.

He gritted his teeth as he once again took an offensive sword stance,

"Unparalleled Sword-Style, Second form"

"Unrestrained Sword"

The pressure he felt weighing on him disappeared as he charged towards Kapali with nimble movements,

"There you go, making another mistake!" Kapali declared as he easily parried the barrage of attacks, each strike being unable to land on their intended target.

"The 'Unrestrained Sword' is a sword move that focuses on giving the user the most amount of freedom to use their sword with maximum efficiency and power but...to use it against an enemy who has a higher proficiency with the sword than you is just suicide."

Kapali pushed him back as he said in his expressionless voice,

"Let me show you what real Swordsman-ship looks like,"

Kapali threw one of his swords to the side, then two-handed his remaining sword. As he positioned his sword horizontally and pointed its tip at Sasaki.

"Heavenly Demon Swordsmanship"

He put his left foot backward and slightly lowered his body then briefly mumbled,

"1st move, Death Pierce"

At the last moment, he shifted his stance slightly and changed the path of his sword to the side.

Sasaki felt a cold breeze pass through him, followed by a gust of wind pressure that pushed him back by the sheer force of the blast that caused him to fall to the ground. Sasaki quickly got back up and composed himself as he looked to where he was just at, only to be shocked at what he saw.

"...!!!"

There was a massive circular hole on the side of the arena.

"If you remember anything from this quick lesson…"

He looked towards Kapali, who was now leisurely picking up the sword he threw, while casually talking as if he hadn't just made a wall into Swiss cheese,

"… it's to not be so prideful and arrogant, there is no benefit in acting like a prick, it will just hold you back. Be humble and learn something from everyone."

"There's an old saying; 'No one knows everything, but everyone will surely know something'. Learn something from everyone you meet, and you shall become a true Immortal"

Sasaki was stunned speechless and ended up listening closely to his words. He felt like he was hearing his master lecture him after all this time.

Kapali pointed at himself as he said,

"My Master, he is arrogant and acts like a prick, but that's because he has me to keep him grounded and humble,"

'To me, it seems like you are more arrogant than me though', Shiva said to himself not having the guts to say it out loud right now.

"But you don't have me, so be humble"

{What kind of dumb fact is that?} The old Sage cried out in Shiva's head, after hearing Kapali finish talking.

*****

(edited by JokeDagger)