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‘Well, if Eusus is here, that guy could be too. He seemed to always follow Teslon around.’

That was the extent of his feelings upon encountering Stefan. From the start, Stefan was nothing more than a lackey trailing Teslon in Repenhardt’s eyes—neither more nor less.

The only thing he could really remember about him was how obnoxious he acted when they met Sillan, and that he served as good fodder for Tassid to awaken as an Aura User.

“What’s this guy thinking, acting all cocky after losing to Tassid, who had just awakened his aura?”

Shaking his head in disbelief, Repenhardt threw a punch.

“Straight Cannon!”

His golden aura-powered fist flew straight at Stefan. A massive golden curtain filled Stefan’s vision. Just as the Straight Cannon was about to strike him directly, Stefan swung his pitch-black sword, screaming in a crazed voice.

“Graaahhh!”

A black flash burst from the blade of the pitch-black sword. Dark energy wrapped around the sword and slashed through the golden curtain. The flashes tore through it horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, unleashing waves of destruction in all directions.

Boom!

A violent storm erupted, blowing part of the roof away. Repenhardt’s expression hardened.

“What?”

It broke. The golden aura infused into his Straight Cannon had been scattered so effortlessly.

It wasn’t just blocked or deflected—it had been completely shattered. The meaning of that was clear…

“…Aura?”

Stefan raised his glowing dark sword high and boasted proudly.

“Look! This is my aura! I’m an Aura User now too!”

Repenhardt blinked, unable to comprehend the situation.

“That guy… he’s definitely not an Aura User.”

His keen sense as an Aura User made it clear. The distinctive presence of an Aura User, along with the flow and intensity of the aura they emit, was something that no other Aura User could miss.

As an Aura User, Repenhardt could state with certainty: Stefan was absolutely not an Aura User.

“But that’s clearly Blade Aura…”

Laughing maniacally, Stefan lunged at him.

“Kahahahaha!”

The pitch-black sword aimed repeatedly at Repenhardt’s vital points. A simple thrust like this wouldn’t be something to worry about, but…

“Spiral Guard!”

Repenhardt hastily spun his aura, wrapping it around his entire body to defend himself.

Bang! Bang bang!

The black aura clashed with the swirling golden aura, triggering a series of explosive bursts of light. This was the characteristic reaction of aura repelling aura.

There was no doubt about it.

That black light was definitely Blade Aura.

‘I can’t understand this.’

Despite his confusion, Repenhardt immediately launched a counterattack. He kicked off the roof, propelling himself straight toward Stefan. With his entire body’s momentum behind his fist, Repenhardt threw punch after punch.

“Taaah!”

Dozens of punches pounded Stefan’s armor all over. Though it was just a series of simple one-two straight punches, each blow packed the force of a battering ram—this was Gym Unbreakable’s punch. The relentless impact sounds echoed as Stefan was pushed backward.

“Urgh! Urgh! Kuh… ahahahaha!”

For a moment, Repenhardt felt a chill and quickly pulled back his fist, retreating. The groans leaking from Stefan’s helmet had naturally shifted into maniacal laughter.

‘What… what the hell? What’s with this guy?’

There’s an old saying: never associate with someone who enjoys getting hit. A madman is the scariest thing in the world, and Repenhardt was feeling the truth of that proverb all too well.

Stefan looked down at his armor and laughed heartily.

“Hahaha! I can take it! I can take it!”

Repenhardt broke out in a cold sweat. It wasn’t just Stefan’s madness; his abilities were also no joke. He moved with strength greater than most Aura Users, and to take Repenhardt’s punches head-on without flinching?

‘Is that some kind of advanced magical artifact like Eldrad? No, it’s not magical enhancement. It seems to be operating by some other method… But with this level of destructive power… And magic shouldn’t be able to produce aura…’

Mana, the source of magic, is the most fundamental power that forms the world. In simple terms, it has an inanimate, non-living nature.

What animates the inanimate, giving it life, is the vital energy known as Aura.

While divine spells with similar attributes, such as the holy sword used by the Seiya Church, can mimic aura’s effects, magic itself can never manifest aura.

This wasn’t a matter of magical skill or prowess but a fundamental law of the world. It’s like how water and fire are opposites—freezing fire doesn’t make it water.

Yet, the man standing before him, Stefan, was clearly using the power of that black armor to manifest Blade Aura.

“Die, Repenhardt!”

Stefan gripped his sword tightly and charged again. Repenhardt quickly regained his composure and engaged him in battle once more.

The black aura and golden aura collided dozens of times in midair, over and over again. Each clash sent pieces of the roof flying and shook the buildings to their foundations. The citizens living nearby, gripped with fear, abandoned their homes and fled.

“Ahh!”

“Monsters!”

“Help us!”

As the chaos spread, Stefan grew agitated.

“Ugh! Why is it so noisy?”

Without warning, he swung his pitch-black sword toward the fleeing crowd. Ten or so black aura blades shot through the air, heading straight for the terrified citizens. Horrified, Repenhardt quickly stretched out both of his fists toward the street.

“Damn it! Chain Strike Blast!”

Dozens of golden aura blasts shot through the air, chasing after the black blades. Only after intercepting every single black blade with his Chain Strike Blast did Repenhardt let out a sigh of relief. He then shouted in disbelief at Stefan.

“What the hell are you doing, Stefan? Weren’t you a knight? Isn’t targeting innocent lives against your knightly code?”

Stefan, however, seemed completely unbothered. Instead, he looked around, grinning widely, and with a maniacal glint in his eyes, he asked in return.

“Huh? What people? Where are there any people?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Stefan’s mouth twisted into a wicked grin that stretched far across his face. His expression was far too grotesque to be considered a smile, and he giggled sinisterly.

“See? There’s no one here! It’s just you and me! Isn’t that right, Fist King Repenhardt? Kehkehkeh!”

“… He’s completely lost it… utterly insane.”

Stefan lunged at him again, sending a flurry of Blade Aura strikes hurtling toward Repenhardt. Repenhardt struggled to defend himself, wrapping his Spiral Guard around both arms to block the relentless attacks.

As his attacks continued to be blocked, Stefan’s face twisted into a frustrated scowl.

“Damn it! Why won’t it cut? Huh?”

Suddenly, Stefan leapt backward, putting distance between them. He raised his pitch-black sword high above his head and let out a guttural scream.

“Graaaaaah!”

The black aura gathered at the tip of Stefan’s sword, steadily increasing its destructive power. Repenhardt’s eyes gleamed.

‘Oh?’

Indeed, a madman couldn’t help but act like a madman. In this situation, Stefan was openly exposing his weakness.

Taking a light step forward, Repenhardt darted in.

‘This is my chance!’

Sliding low across the rooftop, he smoothly closed in under Stefan’s chin. With both arms raised high, Stefan’s chest was left completely exposed. Of course, it was still protected by the thick, black Berserker Armor, but…

“Hrrgh!”

With a short shout, Repenhardt thrust his fist toward Stefan’s chest. At the same time, he rotated his entire body, channeling that rotational force into his fist, transforming it into a powerful, piercing strike capable of penetrating through anything.

“Zero Impact!”

A muffled explosion echoed from within Stefan’s armor.

Repenhardt smiled triumphantly as his fist connected. He could feel the trembling of Stefan’s entire body through the contact.

“There are plenty of techniques in Gym Unbreakable designed to penetrate armor, you know?”

Blood trickled down from Stefan’s helmet. His bloodshot eyes, barely visible through the visor’s gaps, glowed red. Repenhardt pulled back his fist. The battle was over…

“Kekekeke…”

But then, a sinister laugh seeped through the helmet. Repenhardt’s expression instantly changed. Stefan’s bloodshot eyes rolled downward, staring at his chest.

“It doesn’t hurt… it doesn’t hurt at all…”

In a flash, Stefan’s black sword came crashing down toward Repenhardt’s head.

Clang!

The black lightning tore through the air. A shockwave rippled outward, spreading in all directions. The black shockwave collided with nearby buildings, triggering explosions wherever it hit.

Boom!

The three-story building they had been fighting on finally collapsed. Dust and debris filled the air, scattering across the road. From the wreckage, Stefan emerged slowly, exuding a black, murderous aura as he walked out.

“You dodged it, Repenhardt… you dodged it… hehehe…”

His bloodshot eyes fixated on a section of the rubble. The debris shifted, and moments later, with a cloud of dust, a massive figure pushed the rubble aside and rose to his feet.

“That was close…”

Brushing off the dust from his body, Repenhardt clicked his tongue. That was a close call.

‘It’s a good thing I instinctively felt the danger and pulled back in time.’

Stefan glanced at Repenhardt and sneered.

“You dodged it… The great Gym Unbreakable is supposed to never dodge, but you did… Aren’t you ashamed? Huh, you must be ashamed… Fist King!”

He ended his mocking with a sudden shout, clearly indicating that his mind was still fluctuating between sanity and madness. Repenhardt let out a brief chuckle. If he was a true successor of Gym Unbreakable, he might indeed feel ashamed.

‘Good. The fact that I’m not ashamed means I haven’t been completely consumed either.’

In any case, he was lucky to have dodged. If that strike had landed, even with his Gym Unbreakable physique, the damage could have been catastrophic.

Feeling relieved, Repenhardt carefully observed Stefan. Having gotten so close earlier, he finally had a better understanding of how that black armor operated.

“Darkness Drain, Shadow Conversion, and even Forced Abyssal Awakening…”

It was all advanced black magic. And when it came to magic, Repenhardt had more insight than most on the continent.

“So that’s what it is…”

Repenhardt muttered coldly, filled with disdain.

“That madman… He’s forcibly burning his own life force to convert it into aura.”

* * *

The concept of conversion magic, which turns the caster’s life force into aura, wasn’t exactly a groundbreaking idea.

Aura is life energy.

And black magic typically manipulates life force in twisted ways, using foul methods. Naturally, there wasn’t a single high-level black mage who hadn’t at some point attempted to convert their life force into aura through black magic.

They had even given it an obvious name, Berserker Armor. Anyone, even an outsider, could easily guess, “That thing probably burns the wearer’s lifespan to make them go berserk.”

So why hadn’t Repenhardt noticed it right away?

‘Who on earth would create such a completely useless piece of armor?’

Converting life into aura using black magic. At first glance, it might sound like a brilliant idea. After all, the power of an Aura User is extraordinary, so creating an artificial one through magic would be an incredible military asset.

Yet, the reason why Repenhardt and other mages never pursued such magic was simple.

‘It’s extremely inefficient.’

No matter how much supreme black magic is used to craft the armor, not everyone who dons it can manifest aura. The method forcefully extracts life energy, resulting in an excessive amount of wasted energy in the process. As a result, for an ordinary person—or even someone who’s trained decently—life force would be drained before they could even produce aura.

In other words, only a warrior with extraordinary life force would barely make this method work.

‘And the natural conclusion for a warrior with extraordinary life force is to become an Aura User on their own.’

Essentially, this technique was nothing more than a shortcut that prematurely forced someone who would have become an Aura User anyway to manifest aura a little earlier.

That’s why this method had been abandoned long ago by black mages. Why would anyone use a technique that hastens the death of someone who would naturally become an Aura User, just to exploit them a few times before they die?