"Hah, haha…"
A hollow laugh escaped.
Devoid of any emotion, he simply repeated the act of laughing until, finally—
"This is tiring."
His voice cut off abruptly, leaving only a pale, expressionless face behind.
"An imitation?"
The man muttered the word as if savoring its taste.
Then, with a scoff full of disbelief, he chuckled.
"I never imagined I would hear such words after living for so long."
Turning to the Grandmaster's fellow disciple, the man asked,
"What are you waiting for? Why haven't you killed him yet?"
Kaaaang!
Isaac's body was flung into the air.
A massive blade struck down upon the twin swords in his hands.
Even though he had anticipated the attack and managed to react, the sheer force overwhelmed him.
"…!"
The woman known as Number 2 nonchalantly sheathed her sword.
The impact had been strong enough to numb Isaac's arms, yet she treated it as if it were just a mere probe.
"Kh…!"
"Isn't it laughable?"
The man slowly approached Isaac, who had been pushed back.
"You can't even withstand that, and yet you dare mention imitations in front of me?"
"Silencing me won't change the truth."
"…Your tongue, at least, is first-rate."
Number Two stepped past the man and charged at Isaac again.
The massive sword, which had just been returned to its sheath, was now unleashed again, radiating a deadly aura.
A swift iaido slash, unleashed like a projectile.
This time, Isaac gathered every ounce of his spectral aura, determined to withstand it.
The world was dyed in shades of blue.
From somewhere, the screams of people echoed—no, they came from the swords in his hands.
Amid the wails of the dead, Isaac's blades met the slash.
Screams of the dead echoed as Isaac's blades clashed against the strike.
— Kuaaaaagh!
— Uwooooo!
It was a bizarre phenomenon.
Two swords clashed, yet the cries of people could be heard.
Even Number 2 couldn't hide her shock, her eyes trembling beneath her straw hat.
Amidst their blade struggle, Isaac abruptly shifted one of his swords, wedging it against the back of Number 2's massive blade.
Like a vise, his twin swords sandwiched her sword.
With the overwhelming force of Baekseol, he aimed to break her weapon, just as if he were shattering human bones.
"…!"
Number 2, realizing the danger, immediately reinforced her grip and exerted more force on her sword.
BOOOM!
This time, she didn't aim to cut but to push him back.
Though the attack wasn't sharp, it was undeniably heavy.
"Tricks like that…"
Number 2 murmured with a subtle expression, her gaze toward Isaac carrying a mix of emotions.
It seemed as if she wanted to say something, to ask something.
However, under the man's oppressive gaze, she hesitated.
Instead of speaking, she charged at Isaac once more.
'Just like the Grandmaster.'
Her swordplay was eerily similar.
Perhaps that was why Isaac managed to endure.
His body felt like it was breaking, his hands were numb, but—
At least he was still alive.
Would fighting the Grandmaster feel like this?
It must.
Even as her sword barely grazed him, the woman continued swinging with unchanging precision.
And then—
"Aah."
Reality twisted.
Again.
It happened 'again'.
Number 2's face contorted in confusion as she turned to look at the man.
He, too, furrowed his brows before letting out a sigh—resigned, as if he had no other choice.
And just like that, Number 2 vanished.
Left alone, Isaac didn't say another word.
He steadied himself and pressed forward.
"…Lucky, aren't you?"
The man smiled as he rested the greatsword-shaped crimson aura on his shoulder.
Although he found it unpleasant that he had to step forward, there was no hesitation in his actions.
However, Isaac's gaze remained fixed on the spot where Number 2 had disappeared.
'Something feels…'
At this point, he was beginning to understand the situation. Just as his thoughts were beginning to flow toward the truth—
"Then experience the sword you called an imitation."
A massive greatsword, forged from crimson aura, was raised high.
Even an overwhelming amount of crimson aura, surpassing even Arandel's, could not be fully contained, scattering in all directions.
As the red wind dominated the space, swirling and consuming everything, Isaac saw it as an opportunity.
'I've done this before.'
Isaac's body lowered slightly, and his sword moved smoothly through the air, following the wind's flow.
The eerie energy, like a magnet, seized the crimson aura. As though craving power like the hands of the dead, it absorbed the energy.
Soon, crimson aura coalesced upon Isaac's sword.
"Hah! A man who fights by scavenging another's scraps—now that's a first!"
A sneering laugh.
"So that's your answer? Fighting by scavenging the remnants of an imitation? You're nothing but a rat—!"
"You are an imitation."
The man's expression hardened once more.
At this point, he couldn't help but feel curious.
"What exactly have you seen to call me that?"
The surrounding crimson aura swirled like a barrier.
In this place, only the two of them remained.
Perhaps because of this, the man questioned Isaac a bit more earnestly.
"What do you know that makes you call me an imitation?"
He had thought it was a perfect lie.
However, when faced with someone who had seen through it, it was only natural to wonder where he had slipped up. That was the instinct of a liar.
"It was impossible not to know."
Unfortunately, Isaac hadn't been trying to uncover a lie.
He simply knew.
Because he had walked that same path himself.
"I, too, once longed for it—."
The only difference was—
"I once tried to imitate it."
The man had wielded a sword, while Isaac had recorded it with pen and paper.
They had both desired the same thing, and so, ironically, they had walked in the same direction.
But the man had been satisfied and stopped.
Isaac, on the other hand, realized that was not the answer and had abandoned it.
"You—."
The man's gaze shifted, becoming subtly different.
He had thought Isaac was just another loudmouthed nobody, but now, something about him seemed different.
After all, Isaac was the only one who had truly pierced through the truth.
"Tch, you're right."
Perhaps it was because they were alone.
Or perhaps he just wanted to vent his own frustration somewhere.
The man admitted it honestly.
"That man's swordsmanship was truly magnificent. It was almost incomprehensible how he could be that skilled."
"..."
"A lesser being devours a greater one. That's exactly what it was."
Krrrk!
The crimson greatsword that had loomed over the sky suddenly shot upward like an eruption.
"It was my first time."
His voice carried a mix of self-mockery and emptiness.
Isaac was the only one who had sensed a truth the man had never been able to voice to anyone.
Because of that, he spoke a little more freely.
After all, he was going to take his life soon anyway.
"I never thought I would come to admire a human."
The greatsword that covered the sky came crashing down.
At a glance, it was clear where this technique had originated from.
Arandel's legendary sword strike—
Crimson Annihilation Strike.
Even Lohengrin Helmut had once attempted to imitate it, but Isaac had already dismantled it back then.
'I can do this.'
He was confident.
Hadn't he grown even stronger since then?
Helmut's near-ultimate technique, Crimson Annihilation Strike, had already been broken by his hands once before.
And in the end, a technique of such overwhelming power demanded precise mastery from its wielder.
The crimson aura that filled Isaac's vision had already extended beyond the point where it could still be seen as a greatsword.
It was too vast for his eyes to capture in a single glance.
'I can do this.'
Once more.
He would break through it.
Isaac swung his sword.
Even if this crimson aura was mere remnants, its very nature was extraordinary.
So much so that it once bore the name Helmut, and it seemed fitting.
The ominous energy surrounding his sword distorted the flow of Crimson Annihilation Strike, clashing against the crimson aura.
To put it bluntly, in terms of completeness, Lohengrin's technique was superior.
The attack unleashed by the man before him was devastatingly crude in comparison.
Each time Isaac swung his sword, the crimson aura before him scattered, splitting apart like disturbed water.
It was like a rock standing amidst a waterfall.
The torrent of crimson aura crashed down on him, yet it failed to shatter him and instead split apart, flowing to the sides.
But as this happened once.
Twice.
And again and again—
'Just how long…?'
He didn't know.
Before he realized it, his entire vision was engulfed in the crimson aura, like a thick red fog swirling around him.
It felt as if he were walking through a sandstorm.
Everywhere he looked, a menacing red hue loomed over him, as though it sought to consume him entirely.
"Ha, agh—!"
Even breathing had become difficult.
Not because he was exhausted from movement.
The dense crimson aura surrounding him was pressing down on the very oxygen, cutting off his air supply.
As he struggled for breath, feeling as though he were being buried—
'Master, Silverna…'
Had he ultimately failed to protect them?
Just as his knees were about to buckle—
BOOOOOM!
A gust of wind sliced through the swirling currents.
It was the same crimson aura, yet its color was deeper, its density far more solid.
Isaac lifted his head.
Before he knew it, the sky had cleared.
And there, standing before him—
He saw the back of his ex-wife.
Liana Helmut.
"..."
She said nothing.
She simply stood there, gripping her greatsword, her gaze locked onto the man before them.
"Liana Helmut? The current head of Helmut. I finally get to see you."
The man welcomed her.
Yet, at the same time, he clicked his tongue, displeased that he had failed to kill Isaac.
"That bastard… what the hell is he?!"
"Issac! Are you okay?"
Lohengrin and Sharen arrived soon after.
Lohengrin was visibly startled by the sight of the man, while Sharen rushed to Isaac's side, her expression full of worry.
"Haa… haah…!"
Isaac gasped for breath, forcing his body to steady itself.
His grip on his sword was weak, as if he could drop it at any moment.
But he couldn't afford to.
"I have to save Master—!"
He had to go. He had to tell them to check on the Grandmaster immediately.
But—
Though he had seen the Grandmaster collapse earlier, now, she was gone.
She wasn't in any condition to move on her own.
And that man… he didn't seem to have taken her away, either.
After all, he had already lost interest in the Grandmaster.
Then who…?
Panicking, Isaac frantically looked around for his master.
Sharen supported him, urging him to stay calm.
"A man named Damien took him! So Isaac, please, step back! You're in no condition to fight!"
"Damien…?"
The Grandmaster's only remaining disciple.
A former thief—
And in his past life, the one who had ultimately betrayed them.
It felt like a hammer had struck his head.
But more than that, relief washed over him.
He had heard that Damien had followed them to reclaim the North, but he had been acting separately all this time.
Turns out, he had been staying close to the Grandmaster all along, likely waiting for a chance to be of use.
Of course, this wouldn't have been possible if Isaac hadn't drawn such intense attention to himself.
Even if it wasn't intentional, Isaac had thoroughly provoked the enemy, drawing all of their focus.
And as a result—
The Grandmaster had been saved.
"…Thank god."
Tears of relief welled up in his eyes, but he barely managed to hold them back.
It wasn't over yet.
"Ah, Helmut. My former kin. Seeing how magnificently you've grown, I can't help but feel nostalgic."
"..."
"My name is Helik. The name 'Helmut' you bear—it was derived from mine."
It was an earth-shattering revelation.
Lohengrin and Sharen looked at Helik in shock.
The sudden truth that they were hybrids of the Transcendents had just been revealed.
Anyone would be stunned.
"Who cares?"
Except for Liana.
Gripping her greatsword, Liana looked up at Helik.
"Talking won't change anything."
The greatsword in both her hands exuded crimson energy.
Much denser than what had been unleashed through her fists earlier.
"Hah, how pitiful."
Yet, Helik only scoffed as he watched. As if he possessed an inexhaustible supply, he gathered the crimson energy once more.
The devastating attack from before, Crimson Annihilation Strike, was being prepared again.
And then—
"If you endure… then you win."
Isaac took a deep breath and spoke.
Keeping her eyes on Helik, Liana asked,
"What do you mean?"
"He won't be able to stay here for long."
Helik's eyes widened slightly. His gaze turned back to Isaac.
"The 'price' of shifting Malidan Wall… I figured it out."
Suppressing the nauseating feeling in his stomach, Isaac continued.
Isaac fought back nausea as he spoke. After seeing Number Two vanish, he was certain now.
The chaotic, simultaneous teleportation of the Transcendents.
"That distortion itself 'is' the price."
Wasn't it strange?
Even before arriving here, Transcendents had been appearing by distorting space.
Each time, they had been eliminated, essentially picked off one by one.
These beings, who could pose a major threat with just thirty of them gathered—
Why had they been appearing separately, fighting alone?
There was only one reason.
They couldn't control it either.
That was why, when Black Hound first appeared, and Why the Transcendents who materialized in the middle of the battlefield had looked just as startled.
Because the spatial shifts were forced upon them as part of the price.
"Hah."
Helik's lips curled into a crescent smile.
"Hahaha! You truly see through everything, don't you? You understand us so well."
He let go of his staff and clapped. The staff floated beside him, hovering in place.
"Since we twisted space, we must bear the consequences in return. That was the price."
"Then, does that mean that bastard will disappear soon?"
At Lohengrin's question, Isaac simply nodded.
Judging by what had happened so far, every Transcendent that had appeared eventually vanished after some time.
Helik's time here was running out.
"However, if there's one thing you've overlooked—it's that I have quite the talent for sorcery."
After all, what he wielded wasn't a sword, but something closer to a staff.
"As a sorcerer who cast the ritual, I can resist it to some extent. At least, long enough to kill all of you."
Even when he first appeared, there had been a simultaneous displacement of multiple Transcendents around him.
That had likely not been teleportation, but rather an attempt to delay the price.
"To put it simply."
Schling.
Liana gave a nonchalant nod.
'If we hit him hard enough, he'll vanish on his own."
At her words, Isaac steadied his breath and stepped forward.
"That's right."
Watching the two standing before him, Helik smiled with interest.