I Have a Reason to Hate Streamers

Hero furrowed her brow.
The sharp pain radiating from the inside of her knee was the cause.

Her ligament area had been neatly sliced.
As a result, her leg felt stiff, as if something were catching with each movement.
It wasn’t a minor wound, but now, it didn’t hurt as much as it used to.

There were simply too many injuries by now.

The repeated battles had clearly put Hero at a disadvantage.
Her greatsword couldn’t land a hit on Ga-wol, but the sharp scimitar continued to leave scars on her body.
Just when it seemed like the tip of the blade was properly tracked... she would snap back to find herself deceived, with a life at stake.

She was being relentlessly gnawed at.
No, would "gnawed at" even be the right way to put it?

This wasn’t about dealing small, lingering cuts with distance and speed.
This was about the maliciousness of disturbing her greatsword itself.
The moment her concentration wavered even a bit, that blade would dig into a vital point.

[Passive: For a Glorious Death]
[Resists strength loss from tendon and ligament cuts.]
[Target: W Titans Hero]

In most cases,
anyone facing Hero knew exactly how to handle the situation.

If I had to classify it, there were three main ways.
Lift a shield and block her strikes, use speed for hit-and-run tactics, or use the difference in range to strike from a distance.

Most of those strategies didn’t work.

If you use a shield, you break her guard.
Someone who fumbles and tries to poke here and there is finished in one blow.
But Ga-wol wasn’t any of that.

He entered the gap without hesitation, disappearing smoothly,
and while not even slightly scared, he walked right up to her greatsword, only to avoid being slashed.
It didn’t feel more amazing than performing acrobatics on a tightrope.

But the one thing I couldn’t understand:
Ga-wol seemed familiar with this outrageous technique.
Even with his eyes growing dimmer, his sword swung gracefully.

‘Amazing. It’s one thing for a pro gamer of this skill to suddenly appear, but how could he be used to a situation like this?’

A strong person naturally carries arrogance.
It’s not that they’re inherently arrogant.
It’s simply a natural phenomenon.

No matter what the opponent does, they’re confident in handling it.
They expand their options and are willing to take risks for higher gains.
To others, it looks like a cocky play.

But with Ga-wol, I didn’t feel that kind of arrogance.
It was like... he was thrown into this game after having only fought stronger opponents.
He seemed flawless, as if he’d been in such battles all his life.

As a result, the emotion Hero felt was quite simple.
A swordsman with better skills than her kept insisting on a meticulous, cautious play.
To someone on the receiving end, it felt like a truly underhanded tactic.

“This is really pissing me off! I’ve never been this humiliated!”

I can tell for sure.
Ga-wol isn’t playing this game with his wits intact.
Yet, no matter what, her skills can’t touch Ga-wol.

This game... if it goes on like this, she’s not going to win.
There have been opponents who’ve defeated her before, but none have treated her like this.
Hero’s face twisted with frustration.

Bloodied blades stabbed into the joints of her armor, and
the water rising in the monastery had reached her waist.
The blood from the grey knight’s wounds spread across the floor, tinging it red.

Hero’s sword was heavy.
But the weight didn’t feel unfamiliar.
I’d already tasted this kind of disparity back in the dojo days.

The person I faced back then was always stronger than me, and had better stamina.
A monster that would never be born again in this era.
Naturally, it was me who struggled first due to a drop in stamina.

So, I couldn’t settle for an equal exchange.
I didn’t accept attacks honestly.
Back in the dojo, I was far too...

Ah, I shouldn’t think about that.
I got carried away and became aware of it.
The sensations I had been pushing away resurfaced and wriggled to life.

• I love you, my son.
• Son, is kendo fun?

I know, Mom.
I love you too. Thank you for recommending kendo.
It was fun. Really. I enjoyed it so much.

I still love the sword. I love winning. Sorry.
But... weren’t we supposed to stop meeting like this?

Well, it’s probably not Mom’s fault.
The sounds that come when I hold the sword, the tickling sensation on my neck when her hands touched me,
and the dreadful feeling crawling up from my toes—those are just my delusions.

‘It’s okay. It’s definitely better than before.’

I can endure this.
This is nothing compared to what I’ve been through.

As long as I focus, I won’t hear my parents' voices anymore.
The touch around my neck has disappeared, and the discomfort that seemed to cover my whole body is gone.
I only feel a little cold because of the lack of warmth.

Luche wants to win.
She’s the one who opened the path I always hoped for.
We decided to walk toward our dream together one summer, so now it’s my turn to open the path for her.

Hekate wants to win.
The one who called me her friend without hesitation, the one who swallowed her tears for me.
Even though it was hard, she believed in me and followed me. I must gift her victory.

So, I cannot stop to whine.
Everyone can’t give their best, but I must not show weakness.
I must overcome it, even if I have to spit blood. I must win.

[‘Suffocation’ effect applied.]
[Fixed damage proportional to maximum health occurs at regular intervals. The longer the suffocation state lasts, the more damage is dealt.]
[The effect lasts until normal breathing is restored.]

The water rose rapidly and had already surpassed my neck.
The entire space flooding was just a matter of time.
Neither Hero nor I would stop swinging our swords just because the area was filling with water.

Player characters don’t die from shortness of breath.
It only causes resistance in the water, but combat is still possible.
So, I was waiting for this moment.

Hero’s defense was tougher than I expected.
Her will to survive, to not die until she lands a heavy blow on me, was clear in her stance.
I had to kill without taking too much damage to guarantee a win, which made things troublesome.

Now, that’s over.
Once the respiratory system submerged, she would start to suffocate.
With the murky water, she wouldn’t be able to see clearly.

The physical restrictions hit Hero harder than they did me.
My sword grew based on skill and psychological warfare.
Given her weakness in sight, it would hit her harder.

On the other hand, it didn’t matter to me.
Shortness of breath? So what?

I had been feeling the pain in my left leg even before the water rose.
I felt like my blood was boiling, as if my veins were melting.

So this flooded battlefield wasn’t a risk for me.
It had finally become a fair environment.

[Active: Spirit of Fighting]
[For 12 seconds, all stats increase by 8%, and physical penetration increases by 16%...]
[Caster: W Titans Hero]

[Passive: Screaming Blade]
[Gain attack power proportional to lost health. Maximum...]
[Target: Sigma Ga-wol]

I moved my legs, following the flow of the water.

That woman’s insane strength didn’t lose meaning in the water.
She was a little slower, but only just.
Now, she carried waves instead of wind.

But this was murky water.
There were plenty of ways to deceive and disrupt my opponent.

In this situation, where only silhouettes are visible,
could I distinguish between the scabbard and the blade with my limited senses?
Her health must be low by now.

I grabbed the scabbard as if it were a sword and swung it.
Instinctively, the greatsword blocked the middle, while the real blade stabbed at Hero’s knee.
It landed a valid strike. The sensation at my fingertips confirmed the hit.

Next, I switched hands to reverse the scabbard.
I tried to push it outwards, but Hero wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice.

‘Then, I’ll just increase the attempts.’

On land, weapons fall quickly when released.
In water, however, they sink slowly, giving enough time.
Switching the positions of the scabbard and the real sword, or momentarily separating them, became easy deception.@@novelbin@@

I moved the real sword from left to right. Then from right to right again.
It seemed like I had two weapons instead of one, disrupting Hero’s focus.
It didn’t work as well as I expected. Just like when facing dual swords, she quickly adapted to my tactic.

She was a seasoned swordswoman.
She managed to defend against both blades with her greatsword.
But that means I could lure her with just the scabbard, right?

I pulled her greatsword outwards with the scabbard.
The moment I judged her defense had opened enough,
I threw the scimitar straight into her heart.

“...?!”

It was a gap in her thoughts.
It was hard to predict that I’d throw the one real sword.
It wasn’t an ideal posture for throwing, so the strength was lacking.

Doesn’t matter.
I’ll make up for the lack of strength starting now.

I leaned back as if I were tumbling.
Pushing off the ground with both arms, my body moved forward.
I pushed the sword lodged in Hero’s body with my leg, widening the wound.

The damage had been building up for a while now.
After tearing her diaphragm and heart, she wouldn’t survive.

[‘Sigma Ga-wol’ has defeated ‘W Titans Hero’.]