I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 244. Inscription (4)

Splash-!

Ice-cold water was mercilessly splashed onto the face of someone who had been asleep.

The weather was already freezing, and now, with ice-cold water thrown on him, even someone who had fainted couldn’t help but regain consciousness immediately.

“Gasp!”

Cobain, startled by the sudden splash, spat out the water that had flowed into his mouth and nose and quickly sat up.

“W-what’s going on?!”

He shook his head to get rid of the water and looked around.

The first thing he saw was cadets with animal ears busily moving around.

Those with rabbit and deer ears. It seemed like all the rabbits and deer from the Forest of Animals had gathered here, and the clearing was bustling.

They were diligently splashing water on the faces of the 51st batch cadets who had fainted to wake them up.

“Hey, why aren’t these bastards waking up faster!”

“For those who don’t wake up, beat them awake if you have to!”

“Yuri said if we don’t get them all up in 10 minutes, we’ll be rolled together with them! Stay sharp, everyone!”

There was an urgency and tension in the scene.

Cobain, who was staring blankly at it, recalled what had happened to him just before he fainted, and his face turned pale.

[“Up until now, it was four, and with you, it makes exactly five. You saw it well, didn’t you?”]

With just four slashes, all eighty had fallen, leaving only Cobain.

It wasn’t because Cobain was particularly skilled or lucky.

Yuri had simply chosen to leave him for last—to confirm the outcome of the bet.

And as soon as that confirmation was done, Cobain ended up in the same state as the other cadets.

‘To think he took us all down in just five… no, four slashes….’

And he didn’t even seem to exert much effort, taking them down so easily. How strong could Yuri really be?

‘Moreover… that probably wasn’t even his full strength.’

Just before he passed out, Cobain vaguely heard a voice.

[“Damn, it’s annoyingly hard not to kill them.”]

If that irritated voice was telling the truth—

‘If he had really intended to kill us, it wouldn’t even have taken four strikes….’

This was a feat impossible for an average certified 4th Dan.

After contemplating this, Cobain reached one conclusion.

‘Yuri must be a certified 5th Dan!’

The back of Cobain’s neck tingled.

‘My god… A mere second-year cadet at the 5th Dan level?’

Was that even possible?

If his guess was accurate, it was something that defied common sense.

If so, Yuri Holland wasn’t just a genius—he was a talent that couldn’t be described with such simple words.

The only term that could capture his essence was…

“…A monster.”

That was the only word that fit.

While Cobain was coming to terms with reality, darkness fell, and all the 51st batch cadets regained consciousness.

Then, a voice resonated loudly in the night sky.

“Assembly!”

A brief and familiar command sent chills down the spines of the 51st batch cadets.

Before they could even think, their bodies moved, and they quickly ran in the direction of the voice.

It took them less than ten seconds to line up neatly.

In front of them was Mucci, lying face down as if doing push-ups, with Yuri standing on his back.

As Mucci flinched slightly, Yuri growled.

“Oh? You’re trembling?”

“I-I apologize!”

Thanks to being the first to pass out, Mucci was also the first to wake up and was now being punished for his rebellion.

Using him as a podium, Yuri scanned the 51st batch cadets in front of him.

Under his gaze, their shoulders naturally hunched.

Then, representing everyone, Cobain spoke.

“We… lost. We accept the result.”

His voice was calm but tinged with resignation.

The rest of the 51st batch seemed to agree, lowering their heads slightly.

They were prepared to accept whatever mockery or sneers Yuri might throw at them.

After all, the person before them had every right as the stronger one.

But Yuri’s response was beyond their expectations.

“What kind of bullshit is that?”

His blunt voice pierced their ears sharply.

Then, in an indifferent tone, he continued.

“What’s there to win or lose in training?”

“What?”

The 51st batch, eyes wide, didn’t understand what he was saying. Yuri leaped off Mucci’s back.

“The night training has only just started, and you’re already talking about losing? Hey, you too, get back in line.”

Yuri lightly kicked Mucci’s butt, prompting him to quickly rise and rejoin the 51st batch.

As he sent Mucci back, Yuri glanced at the 51st batch, who still hadn’t grasped the situation, and smirked.

“Once started, you’ve got to see it through. Let’s see… six hours left until the quest ends?”

Click-.

Estimating the time, Yuri placed his hand on his sword’s hilt and spoke.

“Same rules as before. If I use more than ten moves, the training ends, and the tiger pelt is yours.”

“Y-you mean…?!”

It was only then that the 51st batch realized what Yuri had been saying.

‘The training isn’t over yet?!’

‘W-why?!’

They sensed something was wrong, but they had already stepped into the tiger’s den of their own accord.

Seeing the 51st batch nervously retreating, Yuri chuckled.

“Oh, and it’d be best not to think about running.”

Snap-.

As Yuri snapped his fingers, numerous black figures emerged at the edges of the tiger’s territory.

These were the cadets playing the roles of wolves and the Black Sword Corps acting as bears.

With faint smiles, they surrounded the tiger’s territory, and the 51st batch realized they were completely trapped in the clearing.

Watching their evident panic, Yuri cheerfully shouted.

“Come on, let’s spend a fun and fulfilling time together!”

Yuri’s voice echoed throughout the clearing, and the faces of the 51st batch collectively turned pale.

* * *

“Aaaah! We’re sorry!”

“Argh! Stop already!”

“Please… please let us go home!”

Three hours into Yuri’s nighttime hell training.

The 51st batch had fainted and woken up several times.

But unfortunately, there were still three hours left until midnight.

“Aaargh!”

“No, no!”

Witnessing the chaotic scene unfolding in the clearing, Theresia wore a bitter smile.

“…Poor kids.”

Having a genius like Gunther Ryder just one batch above them.

Knowing all too well what a colossal barrier Gunther was to herself and her 49th batch peers.

Theresia couldn’t bring herself to simply laugh at the plight of the 51st batch.

‘They’ll never forget today….’

This experience would haunt them not only here in the Cradle but also when they went out into the real world.

Even after a long time, the huge wall known as Yuri Holland would always stand in their way.

As someone who had already collided with the wall of Gunther Ryder and was now facing Yuri Holland’s wall, Theresia could only offer her juniors a small cheer.

“Hang in there, kids.”

And her sincere encouragement was—

“Hahaha! Where do you think you’re running off to?”

“Aaaah! Don’t come closer!”

—completely drowned out by the maniacal laughter and screams.

* * *

“Water.”

A short command.

Before the words even settled, a large shadow moved swiftly like a leopard.

“Here you are, Senior!”

Mucci, who had fetched water in a wooden bowl from who-knows-where, offered it respectfully.

Yuri promptly took it and gulped it down.

“Ahh!”

He let out a satisfied sound and tossed the empty bowl, which a large hand quickly snatched up.

Watching Mucci scurry off to clear the bowl, Yuri flashed a contented smile.

“He’s finally starting to act like a person.”

Theresia, overhearing, muttered in disbelief.

“…Even the neighborhood puppy would start acting human if you drove it that hard.”

Arin chimed in.

“Yeah, maybe it’d even start walking on two legs like a person.”

Gunther added his two cents.

“It might even talk at that point.”

Lastly, Poppy nodded vigorously in agreement.

Amid the reactions around him, Yuri shrugged nonchalantly.

“So what? In the end, everything turned out well, didn’t it?”

Theresia gave Yuri a skeptical look.

“…Isn’t it just good for you?”

It had been a week since the 51st batch’s tiger pelt gathering quest ended.

This quest had set multiple unusual records.

The first record was the unprecedented situation where no participants showed up on the final day of the quest.

That was because the entire 51st batch had passed out in unison at that time.

Secondly, there were no results or rankings announced for this quest.

Since no one in the 51st batch had succeeded in gathering pelts, there was no need for such announcements.

As a result, the 51st batch earned zero points, whereas Yuri, their instructor, walked away with a large sum of points.

Additionally, he had gained some insights into controlling his strength while beating up the 51st batch.

All in all, this quest had been one where Yuri gained a lot.

Theresia hesitated slightly at that thought.

‘Oh, maybe not?’

On further thought, the 51st batch did gain something too.

Namely, the psychological trauma of hearing Yuri Holland’s name and

having a seizure.

From now on, the 51st batch would never dare to challenge or oppose Yuri again.

‘That’s so mean.’

As she watched Yuri completely dominate his juniors, Theresia clicked her tongue.

“Senior Yuri!”

Mucci’s urgent call made Yuri respond with a grumpy expression.

“What.”

“Uh… I think you need to step outside.”

“Why.”

Yuri’s sleepy eyes widened at Mucci’s following words.

“Um, well… someone’s building something right next to our castle?”

“…Huh?”

Yuri blinked, wondering if he’d misheard.

The others reacted similarly.

“Who?”

“Why would anyone do that?”

“Why here, of all places?”

“Are they starving?”

After the confused reactions, a completely different one emerged.

“What kind of fool dares to stick a straw into my business?!”

The voice was full of anger.

But contrary to the voice, Yuri’s eyes were shining brightly.

“Let’s go see who’s got the nerve to try that!”

Yuri jumped up and ran off, full of excitement, and the others were sure of it.

“He’s definitely… planning to charge a fee, right?”

“Yeah, it’s like hitting the jackpot; he’s probably delighted.”

“Geez, why pick this place when there’s plenty of other space….”

“They must be starving.”

Shaking their heads, the four slowly followed Yuri.

They were also curious to find out who the daring individual was that had moved in next to their castle.

Meanwhile, trailing behind the four seniors and listening to their conversation, Mucci had an epiphany.

‘Oh!’

His eyes sparkled as if he’d realized something.

‘Senior Yuri likes money!’

From what he heard, Yuri seemed to like it quite a lot.

This was valuable information.

‘I’ll have to remember that!’

It was definitely useful information, something Mucci was sure would come in handy someday.

So, as he walked busily, Mucci kept repeating, ‘Senior Yuri likes money,’ over and over in his mind.

This was how the once pure-hearted Mucci gradually started adapting to the world’s harsh realities within the castle.