Chapter 13: Before the Crown Breaks
The valley did not sleep.
Not after the challenge.
Not after the execution was postponed.
Not after Daito said, I think I can stop you.
At dawn, the tribe divided physically now.
Warriors gathered in two circles.
Not hostile.
But not unified.
Aerin stood before Daito, kneeling.
Shwing...
Her Wind-tier Aura flickered steady but restrained.
"If you fall," she said quietly, "I die next."
Daito looked down at her.
"You owe me nothing."
"I owe the future something."
Others stepped forward.
Hunters.
Two farmers.
Three young warriors.
"If you win," one said, "we follow you."
Another added, "Not because of prophecy. Because of choice."
Daito's voice was low.
"I don't want followers."
Aerin replied firmly:
"Then don't rule us. Change us."
The words lingered.
Across the valley, Bugardi trained alone.
VRRSSH—VRRMM!
His bronze Aura rolled outward in heavy pulses.
SLASH! CRACK!
Each strike of his blade cracked stone pillars.
He did not look concerned.
He looked directly at them at ease.
* * *
That evening, the shaman gathered the tribe.
His wounds were bound, but his voice carried.
"The prophecy is older than Armagoth," he began.
"Older than the NBA. Older than the steel towers."
He looked at Daito.
"It speaks of a child who falls into darkness and returns unconsumed."
"Aura will not crown him."
"It will not tier him."
"It will not measure him."
"For he will not expand outward like fire—"
"He will deepen."
Murmurs moved through the tribe.
The shaman continued:
"When Bronze seeks control and Flame seeks survival, Depth will seek balance."
"And when Depth and Bronze collide—"
"One will rule."
"The other will end."
Silence.
Bugardi listened from the edge of the circle.
Unimpressed.
He stepped forward without invitation.
"You speak as if I am the villain of your bedtime stories."
No one answered.
He looked at Daito directly.
"Do you know why I rule this valley?"
Daito said nothing.
Bugardi continued:
"I was not born king."
"I killed the last one."
Gasps.
"He grew soft. He chose mercy over discipline."
"And wolves came."
"And famine followed."
"And children starved."
Vrrssh..
His bronze Aura tightened around him.
"I rebuilt this tribe from bones."
He looked at the shaman.
"You were there."
The old man did not deny it.
Bugardi turned back to Daito.
"You think I enjoy killing?"
His eyes sharpened.
"I enjoy survival."
The tribe felt the weight of that truth.
For a moment—
Even Daito did not speak.
Bugardi continued speaking.
"You want to lead? Then understand this—"
He never finished the sentence.
Because Daito moved.
Not stepped.
Not lunged.
Dashed.
A blur.
Air folded inward violently as he crossed the distance in less than a breath.
FLASH!
His blade flashed.
SLASH!
A clean, precise arc.
SPLAT!
And a thick slice opened across Bugardi's neck.
The tribe gasped.
Bugardi staggered back half a step.
PSSSH!
Blood flowed.
Bright.
Real.
For one heartbeat—
Shock.
Then Bugardi's hand clamped over the wound.
VRRSSH! BRFFF!
His bronze Aura ignited—hot.
Not outward.
Inward.
Heat surged against his skin.
TSHHH!
Steam hissed.
Flesh sealed under controlled burn.
The bleeding stopped.
He looked at his palm.
At the blood.
Then at Daito.
And he smiled.
"You bastard," he said approvingly.
"No speeches."
He glanced at his traditional blade.
Tilted it slightly.
Noticed red along its edge.
His smile widened.
"Got you."
Daito didn't move.
Didn't react.
PSSSH!
Then blood sprayed outward from his shoulder.
A deep diagonal cut revealed itself—
From stomach—
Up across his torso—
To his clavicle.
The wound opened slowly.
Wide.
Brutal.
The tribe saw muscle.
Bone beneath.
Daito looked down at it calmly.
Then back at Bugardi.
"Looks like it."
He smiled.
Aura began to rise.
VRRSSH! BRMMM!
Bronze pressure rolled across the valley like a coming storm.
TRRRTLE! SWOOSH!
Depth folded inward around Daito like a silent eclipse.
CRACK! BRRM!
The ground between them cracked.
Dust lifted.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Bugardi lowered into stance.
Traditional blade angled forward.
Massive frame grounded like a fortress.
Daito adjusted his grip.
Loose.
Balanced.
Eyes clear.
Not white.
Not feral.
Focused.
Aerin whispered:
"This is not a duel."
The shaman answered softly:
"No."
"This is succession."
Two forces.
Two philosophies.
Survival through fear.
Balance through restraint.
The king who rebuilt from bones.
The child who returned from the abyss.
They had tested each other through hunts.
Through endurance.
Through presence.
Now—
There would be no tests.
Only truth.
And the valley would not remain the same when steel finally meets steel.
* * *
The valley cleared.
No one dared stand close.
The air itself recoiled as Aura thickened between them.
Bugardi moved first.
Steel rang.
The Opening Exchange
Their blades collided—
CLANG!
Sparks exploded in violent showers, scattering like dying stars across stone.
Bugardi's traditional sword moved with terrifying precision.
Heavy—but fast.
Each strike carried not just muscle—
But tiered mastery.
Third-tier Tempest flickered through his arms, compressing space around each slash.
Daito parried once.
Twice.
Three times—
But Bugardi's technique was refined through decades of real killing.
SLASH!
A diagonal slash carved across Daito's ribs.
CUT!
A reverse cut split his thigh.
SLASH!
A backhanded flick opened his forearm.
Blood misted into the air.
The tribe felt it instantly.
In swordplay—
Bugardi had the advantage.
He pressed harder.
Steel screaming.
Each strike forcing Daito back half a step.
Then another.
SLASH!
"You are raw!" Bugardi roared as he cut again, grazing Daito's shoulder.
"Power without refinement!"
Daito's breathing sharpened.
He knew it.
If this remained pure swordsmanship—
He would lose.
SWOOSH!
Bugardi thrust forward with a killing intent strike.
SHHKKRRTT!
SWOOSH!
Daito spun his blade violently—
Not to counter.
To disrupt.
Steel screeched against steel as he twisted his wrist and broke the tension line between their weapons.
For a split second—
Distance opened.
Daito reached forward.
Bugardi's eyes flashed.
"He's going for the blade."
He lunged to snatch first—
But Daito didn't reach for the sword.
He shoved.
THWACK!
A raw, brutal palm strike to the face.
Bugardi staggered half a step.
Daito grabbed his animal skin cloak—
SWOOSH!
Pulled him forward—
POW!
And drove his knee upward with devastating force.
CRACK!
The impact smashed into Bugardi's face.
The king's massive frame flipped backward—
Once.
Twice.
Three times—
CRASH! BRRMM!
SLIDE! SWOOSH!
Before crashing into the stone mat and skidding across it.
Gasps erupted through the valley.
Bugardi rose immediately.
Blood running from his nose.
He smiled.
Before he could re-center—
THROW! FWOOSH!
Daito hurled his sword like a spear.
Full force.
No hesitation.
THUSSS! SWOOSH!
The blade screamed through the air aimed straight for Bugardi's skull.
Bugardi reacted instantly—
CLANG! RINGING!
He brought his sword up and blocked—
The impact exploded in sparks and shock.
But the deflection left him exposed.
And Daito was already moving.
SWOOSH
He slid beneath Bugardi's guard—
Feet barely touching ground—
And unleashed a barrage.
POW! BAM! PANG!
THWACK—THWIP! THWACK!
Heavy body shots.
One to the liver.
Two to the ribs.
Three to the sternum.
Four—
Five—
Six—
Each punch compact, violent, explosive.
Bugardi's massive body absorbed them—
But his organs shook.
Blood filled his throat.
He wanted to vomit.
He swallowed it.
Refused to show weakness.
He grabbed Daito's wrists mid-strike—
And smashed his forehead forward.
CRACK!
The headbutt echoed.
Daito's vision flickered white.
Bugardi stomped the ground with catastrophic force.
CRACK! SWOOSH!
Bronze Aura surged downward.
The earth responded.
A massive stone pillar shot upward from beneath Daito—
BAM!
Striking his chin violently.
His head snapped back.
SWOOSH!
His body launched upward—
Off balance.
Airborne.
Bugardi did not hesitate.
SWOOSH!
Fissure-tier Aura erupted.
He stepped in and slashed.
SLASH—SLASH—SLASH!
CUT—CUT—SLASH!
One cut across Daito's chest.
Another across his back mid-air.
A third slicing through his side.
A fourth—
A fifth—
Before Daito's feet even touched the ground—
PSSSH! SPLATTER!
His body was already mapped with red.
The tribe watched in horror.
Daito hit the ground in blood.
Bugardi raised his sword—
SLING!
Ready to finish—
Daito's leg moved.
No wind-up.
No signal.
Just explosion.
THWACK!
His heel slammed into Bugardi's midsection with absurd force.
SWOOSH!
The impact sounded like a cannon firing.
FWOOSH!
Bugardi's body launched backward like a projectile.
SLIDE!
He flew across the mat—
Spinning—
Crashing—
Dragging—
Bouncing.
Brrshh...
Stone shattered beneath him.
Still accelerating.
Still skidding.
The king of the valley reduced to momentum.
Silence.
Dust.
Blood mist.
Then—
Fwoo...
Daito stood.
Covered in slashes.
Breathing steady.
Eyes calm.
He bent his knees—
SWOOSH! FWOO!
And exploded forward.
Running at Bugardi with alarming speed.
Not like a swordsman.
Not like a king.
Like something that had survived falling into an abyss and climbed back out.
Bugardi was still sliding when his palm struck the earth.
VRRSSH!
Bronze Aura detonated downward.
The ground answered.
BBRRMM! CRACK!
RISE!
A massive boulder erupted from beneath the mat—stone grinding against stone with a thunderous crack.
In the same motion—
KA—POW!
He kicked it.
Not nudged.
Kicked.
SWOOSH!
His heel slammed into the rising rock, launching it forward like a cannon shell.
The boulder tore across the arena straight toward Daito.
Too sudden.
Too fast.
BAM!
It struck him full-on.
The impact folded him against it, his body sticking to the surface as it carried him backward in violent acceleration.
SWOOSH!
FWOOSH!
Dust and debris spiraled in it's wake.
Daito's hand shot out mid-flight—
Reach..
He caught his sword from the ground as the boulder continued dragging him—
And then—
BOOM!
It smashed him into the mountain-like stone formation at the valley's edge.
The structure cracked violently.
Fragments rained down.
CRASH!
Another massive slab tore loose and collapsed beside the first rock, partially crushing him beneath layered stone.
The valley fell silent.
Beneath the Weight
For a moment—
Nothing moved.
BRRTLE! BRRM!
Then the first boulder shifted.
Daito's hand pushed upward.
Veins bulging.
Blood dripping from a dozen reopened slashes.
He shoved the rock off with a violent heave.
His eyes—
Lit.
Not white.
Not feral.
But dyed red from his blood.
Focused.
Calculating.
He glanced at the fallen stone beside him.
An idea formed.
* * *
PSHHTL!
Across the field, Bugardi forced himself to stop sliding.
Drop..
He dropped to one knee.
Looked down.
A purple bloom spread across his chest from Daito's earlier body shots.
He cursed under his breath.
His temperature was rising.
Bronze Aura flickered unevenly.
And then—
SPLAT!
SPIT!
He vomited blood.
It splashed onto the stone.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Damn you…"
He stood slowly.
Adjusted his animal skin cloak.
Ran his fingers through his hair, pushing stray strands from his vision.
Gripped his traditional blade tighter.
Step..
Step...
Step...
Walked sideways, steady, controlled.
"Alright, Seontaekdoen ja…"
He exhaled slowly.
"Bring it on.".
From Daito's direction—
BOOM! BAM!
BUGLE! BUCKLE!
Two boulders rolled forward.
Not randomly.
Not falling.
Chasing each other.
BAM!
One striking the other from behind to increase speed.
Accelerating.
SWOOSH!
Directly at Bugardi.
The ground trembled with their momentum.
Bugardi narrowed his eyes.
"Too obvious."
He prepared to dodge—
But he knew Daito.
There was always something behind the obvious.
Jump..
He leapt sideways anyway.
Mid-air—
SLING! SWOOSH!
A flash of steel tore through where his head had just been.
Daito's blade.
He had been running behind the boulders.
Bugardi twisted mid-air, forcing his body to halt unnaturally, bending momentum against instinct.
The blade sliced past his face by inches.
SHWING!
He felt the air it displaced.
"Too close…"
Then—
WHAM!
One of the boulders clipped him from the side with explosive force.
SWOOSH! SPIN! SPIN!
It crashed against his ribs and sent him spinning upward violently.
As Bugardi spiraled into the sky, he saw Daito charging.
Closing distance even before gravity claimed him.
BWHO!
Bugardi forced his limbs into alignment.
Fissure-tier flared just enough to steady himself.
SWOOSH
Daito leapt.
They collided mid-air.
No footing.
No ground.
Only reflex.
Punch.
Block.
Elbow.
Knee.
Forearm smash.
THWACK!
Bugardi's head snapped sideways from a hook.
KA-POW!
Daito's ribs dented under a counterstrike.
PANG!
Bugardi's fist hammered Daito's jaw.
POW!
Daito's knee drove into Bugardi's abdomen.
Blood flickered in droplets around them like red stars.
They rotated through the air—
Trading strikes faster than the eye could follow.
Impact and Reminder
CRASH!
They crashed down.
BREAK!
Stone shattered beneath them.
They separated instantly.
Bugardi smirked despite the blood trailing from his mouth.
"I don't know why you keep forgetting," he said, raising his blade.
"I have a weapon."
Daito didn't realise.
PSSSH! PSSSH!
Blood sprayed outward in violent ribbons.
"!!"
The tribe gasped.
To be continued...