The Grand Duelist

Joseph couldn't describe through words the sensation of ascending to a Myth.

It felt ethereal, something so near, yet so distant.

But what was clear for Joseph right now was the feeling of sorrow.

Yes, right now.

He basked on the holy light and divinity of the Grand Duelist that now felt vivid and familiar to him.

He even reckoned that with a will...

He could pierce through anything in this world with the sharpness of the Grand Duelist's Divinity.

But no matter how exquisite the feeling of grasping on the secrets of the world was. It didn't invalidate the fact that for him to reach this step. It required a huge, and cruel sacrifice of life...

That's right.

For Joseph's ascension, the one and only Legendary Blacksmith of the world of Victory...

Sacrificed his life.

Joseph couldn't be happy.

He felt empty and at loss.

He surreptitiously glanced at Alice and found that her figure was constantly trembling. She wasn't crying as hard as she did earlier, but her sobbing still broke Joseph's heart.

It was quite rare that a woman as prideful as Alice would cry, but whenever they cried.

It meant that they thoroughly cared for and loved that person.

There was no doubt in Joseph's heart.

Before Krid died...

He acquired Alice's forgiveness for the childhood that he stole from her.

Joseph clenched his fists. If he knew that the final step for his ascension was this cruel, then he would've tried his best on finding another way!

It didn't matter for Joseph anymore if he didn't ascend for he could just indefinitely stop on doing the quest since it didn't have any time restrictions anyway.

Yet...

Joseph felt like he couldn't forgive himself. Despite the fact that it was Krid who pierced himself with the strongest Rapier and weapon that he made. He still felt like he was the one that pushed Krid to a dead-end.

If not for his existence, the Legend, Krid wouldn't have died.

He would still be alive right now and would've enjoyed the remainder of his life with his granddaughter.

A faint sound resounded within his ears. It was the sound of movement. 

Joseph who had undergone a qualitative change and whose body was now comparable to a demi-god had his senses heightened. He could feel every minute changes in the area around him and he could also hear every faint sound for as long as it was completely silent or he was concentrating.

Joseph turned to look at Alice, but he didn't dare to stare directly into her eyes.

He was afraid that if he saw her crying once again.

He may not be able to forgive himself.

Just as he was wallowing in self-deprecation and regret.

Alice rushed towards him and buried her head into his chest.

Was she not mad at him? Why was she doing this?

For a moment, Joseph blanked out and he couldn't understand what she was thinking. Shouldn't she be mad at him for indirectly causing the death of her grandpa? Why was she acting like this? 

He fell into a deep contemplation that Alice shattered with her words as she said.

"Please... Don't blame yourself..."

She raised her head up and cupped Joseph's cheeks with both of her hands.

She stared directly at his eyes. 

Joseph could see the tears that continuously dripped down her eyes. Alice's words transformed into sharp knives that accurately pierced through his heart, leaving him with a sour and bitter taste deep in his throat as he forcefully swallowed the tumultuous emotions that threatened to break through his defenses and spill through his eyes.

"Why... No... I'm not... I'm not blaming myself..." Joseph turned his gaze away.

He lifted his left hand and awkwardly scratched his head.

"No, you are... Please don't lie... Whenever you turn your gaze away like that and whenever you scratch your head like that, you would always be lying..." Alice squeezed out a bitter smile.

Joseph's figure visibly trembled.

He heaved a deep sigh before turning to look at Alice.

His eyelids continuously shivered as he took several mouthfuls of deep breaths in order to calm himself down as he asked.

"Why... Why did... Why did Senior tell me that the final step for my ascension was this cruel? If only I... If only I knew... I wouldn't have... This wouldn't have...!" Joseph hung his head low and started his rant.

At this moment, he looked like a child that was desperately explaining everything to his parent that what happened wasn't his fault.

He looked incredibly pathetic and sad, but Alice didn't mock him for this.

In fact, she wrapped her arms around his waist and said, "No, everything was no one's fault. This step was inevitable. And in the end, everything was grandpa's will. Do you really think that someone can kill grandpa for his divinity if he himself didn't want to die?"

Alice's words sounded clear and vivid to Joseph's ears, but hearing what she was saying didn't give him any comfort.

In fact, it further exacerbated the pain that he felt in his heart.

"Was it... Was it really that worth it?" Joseph barely squeezed these words out of his throat amidst his bated breaths.

At this moment, the tears that dripped down Alice's cheeks dramatically calmed down as her lips lifted a sweet smile. 

"Yes... Everything was worth it... It was indeed unfortunate that grandpa had to sacrifice himself but in the end. He did it because he was willing. He did it, all for the sake of his dream. His dream of creating the strongest weapon in the world of Victory..."

"With his sacrifice, that weapon was finally completed and I reckon, right now..."

Alice paused for a moment.

Her chest violently heaved as she continued. "He... He must be smiling right now... on his way through the Yellow Springs. That is why... That's why... Please... Please don't blame yourself! I can't have you wallow on self-regret for all eternity for if that happened, how can you possibly fulfill the promise that you made to him!"

"How can you possibly fulfill the promise that you made to grandpa if you can't get yourself out of the vicious cycle of regret and self-blaming?!" Alice's tone of voice suddenly felt harsh and it awakened Joseph from his reverie. 

Silence descended.

After a few seconds, Joseph finally broke the silence as he said.

"You're right, Alice... I'm sorry... I'm sorry for acting like this."

Alice raised her head and found that there was a bittersweet smile on Joseph's face.

The two stared at each other for a moment and in an instant, they understood each other's thoughts.

Without exchanging any words.

Alice tightened her embrace around Joseph's waist as she buried herself into his chest.

At the moment that their gazes met each other in mid-air. The two exchanged the same thought.

It was...

Now it's your time...

It's your time to vent your stress out and cry.

This was what Joseph wanted to express to Alice through his gaze.

And Alice understood his thoughts with just a single look.

When that happened, all thoughts of comforting Joseph and taking him out of the vicious cycle of self-blaming and self-regret had disappeared.

They were replaced by the sorrow and grief of loss as she buried herself into Joseph's chest.

Yes, that's right.

The reason why she stopped crying for Krid earlier was that she realized that Joseph had been greatly affected by Krid's sacrifice.

When Joseph swore that he would make her the happiest woman alive.

She also made a promise to herself. That promise was that whatever Joseph did in the future.

She would do her best on supporting him on his endeavors for as much as possible.

Seeing that Joseph was heartbroken by her grandfather's sacrifice. Alice temporarily suppressed the sorrow in her heart as she mustered her courage and comforted Joseph that everything wasn't his fault and that he shouldn't blame himself for Krid's death.

Her words had been effective, but she couldn't control herself anymore.

She kneeled down, holding on Joseph's legs as she cried her heart out.

Joseph stood in front of her, frozen. Not knowing what he should do. But his eyes suddenly widened when he realized what Alice had done earlier to comfort him.

He shook his head, a complicated smile appeared on his lips but he kneeled behind her and gave her a soft hug.

He didn't say anything.

He just kneeled there and kept on embracing her as Alice's body continuously shivered amidst her sobbings.

Alice also didn't say anything.

She just silently cried her heart out, her sobbing sounded incredibly heartbroken, yet she, nor Joseph never said anything.

Images flashed across Joseph's mind. He was reminded of the time that he first fought against the Legendary Blacksmith Krid. He really did such an unbelievable feat. To think that he would actually survive to tell the tale after fighting against a Legend.

I admit... that you are indeed capable... But do you really think that this is enough to defeat me!

A smile escaped Joseph's lips. Krid had disappeared from his eyes back then when he said these words. Joseph managed to turn the tables of the battle against the Legend Krid using his Parry, but little did he knew that Krid could also use the Divine Art of the Grand Duelist.

Unfortunately for you, I cannot die yet... 

A single declaration from Krid was all it took for Joseph's attack to disappear as if it never even existed.

After this life and death battle, the two had gone closer to each other but Krid declared that he wanted some alcohol if Joseph wanted him to listen to what he needed for the Class-Specific Quest.

Joseph was flabbergasted and shell-shocked by Krid's request, but thankfully...

He remembered that he had received a Jug of Beer from Juzo as the compensation of losing the Recommendation Letter of the Great Magician Lilibeth. If not for that jug of beer, everything would've been so longwinded.

The two became closer after that jug of beer and Krid even taught Joseph some tips about how he could properly hide the critical weakness of his deflects. In the end, Krid requested that Joseph must rescue his granddaughter from the hands of the Kingdom.

Krid gave Joseph the Bead of Absolute Escape to use, but he caught on Krid's lie.

Krid never had the intention of leaving the Kingdom.

He planned on sacrificing himself for the sake of his granddaughter's life.

But Joseph succeeded in rescuing not only Alice but also Krid from the hands of the Kingdom.

But in the end, today...

Krid still died. 

Joseph thought that he achieved great success from what he had done back then, but he was greatly mistaken.

Joseph tightened his embrace around Alice.

His shoulders vaguely trembled as tears dripped down his eyes.

He was crying not because he was blaming himself.

He was crying because the world lost a good man. 

The duo cried their hearts out for a while until a fierce explosion struck the doors of the Palace Halls.

Joseph raised his head and turned to look at the direction of the doors.

This was when he realized that he had overlooked a single, yet great detail.

Just where was Ezreal?

Ezreal should've accompanied Krid, yet where was he? Why wasn't he here?

Joseph furrowed his eyebrows and he moved towards the doors of the Palace Halls.

Pushing it forward with his hands, the doors of the Palace Halls slowly opened and he was thoroughly shaken when he saw what was happening behind the doors of the Palace Halls.

Directly in front of him was the bloodied figure of Ezreal.

In front of Ezreal were several dozens of figures clad in outfits that indicated that they were players.

Only players would possibly not care about aesthetics when it came to equipment.

As long as the stats of a particular item matched the other, no matter how bad they looked when wearing those items, it didn't matter.

Furthermore, above the heads of those figures were Green Diamond Markers indicating that they were indeed players.

But that wasn't the issue here.

The issue was that they were clearly in a battle against Ezreal and they had managed to severely injure Ezreal until he was on the brink of death.

Joseph stared right at Ezreal and found that his breathing was shallow.

His eyes then darted to his Health Bar and his pupils constricted when he saw that Ezreal only had about three percent of his Health left.

"You bastards..." 

Unforgivable...

Joseph decided that he could never forgive these bastards who dared to hurt his friend.

He had already lost Krid, Julie, and Hulie due to his powerlessness and now that he had enough strength to protect those whom he cared for. Would he really let them suffer under his watch?

No!

Never!

Never again!

Anger bubbled inside Joseph's heart. He swept his gaze across every one within this passageway, firmly remembering what they looked liked inside his mind.

Afterwards, he clenched his fists and said.

"You bastards... How dare you..." 

"How dare you hurt my friend?!"

He roared.

And holding his newly-made Mythical Ranked Rapier...

He leaped into the air.

"T-That guy..."

Vladimir whispered in shock when he saw the face of the figure who jumped into the air.

"J-J-Joseph?!"

Bloodstained Lilium who stared at everything from behind her scope clearly saw the familiar figure of Joseph.

But before she could even say anything...

Joseph took a stance with his Rapier and whispered.

"The Grand Duelist's Graceful Swordsmanship, Fourth Form..."

Joseph closed his eyes.

After his ascension as a Mythical-Ranked Player.

Everything that the previous generation Grand Duelist had was now in his hands.

He knew about everything that the previous Grand Duelists knew and he could also command the same power that they could. At this moment, Joseph let the anger control him as he leaped into the air and expressed his rage against everything in the world.

A dazzling bright light surrounded his body as he broke his stance and brandished his Rapier.

"Rage..."

The Grand Duelist's anger was fully expressed.

[ Your powerful Rapier has left its mark through every landmark in the world! ]

[ Your anger astonished the Seven Gods and Goddesses. ]

[ The 72nd Demons of Hell are trembling in excitement upon witnessing your rage! ]

[ The Laws of Causality is overwhelmed! ]

[ There will be an emergency maintenance in a few seconds. Players who enabled the True Sleep Mode feature in their Capsules or Headsets will be forced into True Sleep Mode. The progress of every player in the world will be saved and any losses nor wins in duels will not be recorded. ] 

[ Please visit the website for further news about the emergency maintenance! ]