Rope was startled by the sudden outburst of profanity.
Before him appeared a child that looked like it had leapt straight out of a New Year's painting.
Only now, this child was furiously swinging its tiny fists, pounding away at Rope's head. But it was as if something was blocking the blows, so Rope felt no pain at all.
Moreover, golden particles kept emanating from the child's body. Adorable yet strangely sacred.
Rope was quite astonished. But this manner of speaking did make him speculate about the identity of the child before him.
Just as Rope was about to respond to the child, another voice suddenly reached his ears.
"I have already lent you a portion of my power. But this power will gradually dissipate. After all, with your current state, you simply cannot truly harness my power. So you must finish this quickly."
Year's voice carried a hint of weariness.
"As for the tattoos on your body, we'll discuss that later. Rest assured, it's a good thing. Looks like pulling cards back home really did land you a five-star card."
With that, Year's somewhat wistful voice faded from Rope's ear. What followed was a bone-white streak of light.
The moment Rope saw this blade, he knew it was no coincidence that Halley had learned from this very master before him.
Hmm. Seeing a Western-looking girl wielding a blade like this did leave Rope feeling a bit perplexed. But then he thought—perhaps some non-human beings in the void used weapons familiar to him. That thought made him feel a little better.
After all, when he'd seen the snail-like creatures in the company's files surfing the net at their computers, Rope knew his worldview needed to be more flexible.
The flame-sword in Rope's hand coalesced once more. A swift upward slash sent the blade flying.
It looked effortless, without a hint of strain.
Sumi's expression grew solemn. Logically, she shouldn't be fighting Rope under these circumstances. But... if she didn't even care about dying, why would she care about Rope's identity?
Rope was special, but that had nothing to do with this dead person.
With that thought, Sumi once again increased the energy intensity within this body.
And so, Rope heard the little chatterbox by his ear let out a shrill scream.
"Ah! Bad guy! Rope, beat her up! It hurts so much!"
The child clutched his head in agony, as if something were trying to burst out of it.
Rope had, of course, guessed that child before him was the immature world will of this realm. But he never imagined the world will of this world would actually be a little kid.
Rope had little time to ponder. Without hesitation, he unfurled fiery wings behind him and charged forward.
Sumi's deflected whip, like a serpent in motion, coiled downward toward Rope. The other end of the whip, held in Sumi's hand, extended like a taut spear, thrusting straight at Rope.
Facing this, Rope neither dodged nor evaded, charging forward headlong.
Just as both strands were about to strike him simultaneously, Rope's form abruptly vanished. Before Sumi could react in shock, he materialized before her eyes.
The long sword in his hand had somehow transformed into a short, dark blue dagger, and the burning sensation had turned into an incomparably chilling cold.
Rope's eyes held no trace of pity, only a cold, detached intent to kill.
Sumi's pupils contracted sharply. But before the dagger could touch her, a massive skeletal hand slammed into Rope's side.
Simultaneously, a white mist began to rise from Sumi's body. This mist made Rope feel as though he were witnessing the lives of countless people. For a split second, Rope was distracted.
Then he was violently slammed away by the skeletal hand.
In that instant, Rope seemed to hear countless people's disdainful "tsk" sounds.
"How weak is this kid... With such power, he's still being dominated?"
The female secretary spoke with a hint of reluctance.
It wasn't that she genuinely felt resentful or anything; it was mainly because Rope was currently wielding her boss's power. With such strength at his disposal, performing like this could only be described as weak.
Year merely shook his head silently.
"He's only been training for a year. He's fought fewer than five evenly matched battles. Honestly, if we switched places, and you could perform like him, I'd make you the next chairman right away."
Though spoken with a hint of jest, the female secretary shot Year a look of genuine surprise.
The hidden implication in those words was certainly worth pondering.
Just then, Year's communicator suddenly buzzed.
Seeing the name on the display, Year instinctively frowned. He glanced at Rope and Sumi, who were currently locked in a standoff on the screen, then quickly answered the call. "Get to the point. I'm busy."
A cheerful voice came through the line.
"Busy watching your little guy get schooled by Bone Lady? You've got some nerve, passing on your primal power to that kid. Trying to pay back a favor?"
"How did you know?"
Year asked, genuinely puzzled.
It wasn't for any other reason—mainly because Sumi, having kept a low profile for so many years, wasn't particularly well-known, and Rope was even more of an unknown quantity.
Logically, no one should have known about these two fighting...
"News came from the Black Knight's side. More accurately, it was leaked by Gerd of the Golden Tree. But not many know about it yet—we've already suppressed it for you."
The playful tone on the other end of the communicator faded.
"Just be aware—we're doing our best to contain it, but word will inevitably spread. I suspect those of you from Earth have already heard. Watch out for them suspecting ulterior motives."
"Got it. Thanks for the heads-up."
Year hung up immediately.
His female secretary, observing his expression, cautiously asked, "Is the Dark Knight behind Bone Lady?"
"He's behind the Thousand-Armed God. Just don't know what this madman is scheming now..."
Year offered only a brief reply before falling silent.
Because the battle between Rope and Sumi was far from over.