Sparrow scoffed.
"Ha! You want me to teach you the family's secret technique, the One-Point Thrust? If this is an attempt at humor, then congratulations—you've succeeded."
"Sparrow Apache. There's one thing you don't know."
"Not interested…"
"I'm a disciple of Master Jackson Apache."
At those words, Jared glanced at Yuri.
He had felt the same way when Yuri suddenly became Moyong Chan's disciple—the Third Prince, his lord, had absolutely no loyalty when it came to master-disciple relationships.
If it was useful, he'd become anyone's disciple just to suck out the essence and move on.
"Huh…"
Ignoring Jared's gaze, Yuri spoke with even more certainty in his eyes.
"I read the secret manual, One-Point Thrust, written directly by Master Jackson Apache."
"W-what?"
Sparrow's eyes widened.
"It's long been considered a lost secret, a mythical book in our family—how could you…"
"I don't know why. But what's certain is that I read it."
"Un… unbelievable. In that case, let me ask you one thing."
Sparrow rolled his eyes around busily, as if recalling something.
"How does the book end?"
"The ending, hahahaha…"
Yuri burst into laughter.
That abrupt ending, cutting off just when things were getting good, still irritated him.
Staring directly at Sparrow, Yuri spoke with emphasis, as if accusing him of a crime.
"I completed the One-Point Thrust, but there wasn't enough space left to write it here."
"Ohhh…"
That was an unexpected reaction. He thought Sparrow wouldn't believe him, but instead, Sparrow's face brightened, and he suddenly grabbed Yuri's hand.
"It really was that book."
"You said you'd never read it."
"That last line's been passed down in our family."
"That? Why?"
"Ancestor Jackson left this will behind. Ah, when he passed away…"
Sparrow rolled up his shirt again and pointed at a spot on his stomach.
"The ancestor had liver issues here, that's how he died."
"Did you really have to expose your belly?"
"To illustrate the location of the organ…"
Then, he spoke seriously once more.
"He once committed a grave mistake. He said, if someone ever shows up having read the One-Point Thrust, make sure to teach it to them…"
"The impression doesn't need to be that accurate…"
Yuri tilted his head.
"But what does that even mean? Teach the One-Point Thrust to someone who's already read it?"
"Because the book was a scam."
Yuri almost reflexively punched Sparrow.
"What the hell do you mean?"
"The ancestor was in financial trouble back then, so he wrote the book before the technique was completed. Then he sold it to some naïve noble. Saying he couldn't finish it due to lack of space was a lie—it just wasn't finished."
"Should I kill you…"
"But burdened by guilt, the ancestor left a will to pass on the true technique if anyone ever found the book."
"I see. So that's how it is."
At this point, the One-Point Thrust felt like a fraudulent technique, but Sparrow's eyes were already sparkling.
"Very well. I will teach you."
"Don't act like you're being magnanimous."
"Yes, sir…"
Sparrow grinned confidently, still with his belly exposed.
"Let's go straight into it. Let's see how well the prince understood the One-Point Thrust."
"Not so fast."
Yuri gave him a sharp, merchant-like glare—as if demanding to see the goods before making the trade.
"Let me see what your One-Point Thrust actually looks like first."
"Oh-ho, are you doubting me now?"
"Yes."
"You're honest. I like that."
Sparrow casually walked over and picked up a wooden sword from a corner of the training hall.
The members of the Swordsmanship Guild created space for him.
Their synchronized movements showed that Sparrow was quite respected within the guild.
"A technique created with the conviction to pierce everything in a single strike."
"I'm intrigued."
"The most important thing is willpower."
Sparrow began activating his mana method.
In response, Yuri summoned the energy of the Heart-Soul Slash, and the world faded to black and white. He decided to call this state the Domain of the Heart-Soul.
Shapes began to disappear, and the world became composed of light and shadow.
Within the shape presumed to be Sparrow, Yuri could see the path where mana flowed.
"Both body and mana must be filled with the mindset of destroying a single point. This is not about lines. It's a point. You must pierce a single point."
His sword began to blur.
Yuri checked the sword both from the outside world and within the Domain of the Heart-Soul. In both perspectives, the shape of the sword had become faint.
Then—pop.
A small sound echoed.
Yuri's eyes shifted.
On the wall in the direction Sparrow had been facing, there was a mark from his sword.
The distance between him and the wall was far—one would have to leap several times to reach it.
It wasn't sword energy. It wasn't an extended blade.
He had quite literally pierced through space and struck a single point.
"This is…"
Yuri, shocked, looked at Sparrow.
His exposed belly no longer looked strange.
"Most swordsmen wouldn't even know something happened, but you saw it, Prince. Impressive. Hahahaha…"
Sparrow laughed heartily and lowered his shirt.
His firm belly and proud mustache disappeared beneath his clothes.
Yuri felt oddly regretful, and was surprised by his own emotion, placing a hand over his chest.
"Were you that surprised?"
"Yes. You look different now, Sparrow."
"I get that a lot. The more you know me, the more you realize what a true man I am."
Sparrow straightened his shoulders and asked,
"So, what do you think? Would you like to learn it?"
***
Yuri went with Jared outside the royal castle, to an open field where the city walls were visible in the distance, and practiced the One-Point Thrust he had learned from Sparrow.
Jared couldn't quite grasp it.
"Is this a scam? What is this?"
He kept stabbing at the air with his sword, but nothing happened.
"One-Point Thrust or whatever, I don't get it."
But Yuri was different.
From his perspective, able to see the flow of mana, Sparrow's One-Point Thrust was a mutant-like technique.
It wasn't that his mana method was particularly advanced, nor was his understanding of the sword exceptionally deep.
But Sparrow had awakened the exact sense needed for the One-Point Thrust.
The technique touched upon an as-yet-unrevealed secret of the world.
"A fateful encounter in the most unexpected place."
Yuri muttered.
The One-Point Thrust was connected to the power of Chaos he had used against Moyong Chan.
If Chaos shattered the fractal and broke the laws of the world, then the One-Point Thrust was a phenomenon that traversed space within an immeasurably microscopic world.
It was a technique that harnessed chaos in the tiniest realms.
Its discovery was likely accidental—or perhaps the result of Jackson's obsessive compulsion.
But in the end, it gave birth to the astonishing technique known as the One-Point Thrust.
"Yuri Style, Second Move is complete."
"Oh, so you've got another move besides the Whirling Vortex Sword now? What is it?"
"One-Point Thrust."
"Wha?"
Jared's expression turned weird. It was the same face he'd made earlier when Yuri insisted he was Jackson's disciple.
"Your expression is annoying."
"But that's Sparrow's technique. Can you really call it 'Yuri Style'...?"
"Who's more famous—me or him?"
"Well, you are a prince…"
"Then it's mine."
"Ah…"
"Well, if anyone asks, just say I learned it from Sparrow."
"Yes."
"And, the One-Point Thrust I use will be different."
Sparrow wasn't exactly a master of swordsmanship. He was merely a swordsman who had obsessively trained in just one technique—One-Point Thrust.
So, aside from the spatial-penetrating effect, there were many inefficient aspects to his style.
But Yuri was different.
He had excellent sensitivity to mana, had mastered the remarkable mana method Heart-Soul Slash, and his understanding of the sword was deepening.
The One-Point Thrust completed by his hand would no longer be just the One-Point Thrust.
"Hmm…"
Yuri looked at Jared.
"Yes?"
"You're not tired, are you?"
"Of course not."
"Think you can use One-Point Thrust?"
"Actually, I still don't really understand it…"
"Then forget it. Just fight."
"Sorry?"
"Looks like a perfect sparring opponent just showed up."
Yuri glanced around. Only then did Jared also sense something strange and stiffen his expression.
There was killing intent in the air.
An ambush right after leaving the capital—there was no doubt they had been waiting for this moment.
Yuri raised the corner of his mouth.
"The capital was too crowded. Now, I can finally let loose."
"Feels like there's a lot of them though…"
"More targets means more practice."
A group of black-clad, masked figures revealed themselves.
"Aren't those the same ones from before?"
"Looks like it."
They wore the same uniform as Hasan had.
Hasan didn't know that he'd been tracked by Yuri. Nor did he know that Yuri had discovered the link between the crown prince and the drugs.
"Did they catch on that we were sniffing around?"
"No. This is just…"
There weren't many reasons for them to target Yuri.
"Maybe they didn't like me going around saving people."
Yuri had become a symbolic figure in the war against drugs in the capital. After throwing Gott into a drug rehabilitation clinic, he had actively worked with the temple to purge the drugs.
Thanks to that, the capital was becoming more wholesome—but that wasn't something the crown prince would welcome.
"This is perfect. It's even clearer now that the crown prince is behind this."
"True enough."
"Jared."
"Yes?"
"Don't you dare get your ass kicked."
"Prince, how do you see me?"
The two of them instead approached the black-clad figures.
The group of masked men seemed briefly taken aback, but quickly composed themselves and spread out to surround them. There were about twenty of them.
"One against ten."
"That's a lot."
"Scared?"
"A little…"
While they were chatting so casually, the black-clad figures remained silent.
Yuri spoke.
"Hey, you shady bastards over there."
Jared flinched.
"Isn't that way too old-school a term?"
"'Shady bastards'?"
"Yeah."
"Well, alright…"
Yuri changed the label.
"What should I call you then. Children of darkness?"
"Mm…"
"That's bad too?"
"Yes."
"Fine. You damn bastards."
Yuri rested Guilty on his shoulder and spoke.
"Not gonna say anything?"
"..."
"Trying to kill me? No way, right? You didn't seriously come to kill the Third Prince of Briol, did you?"
"..."
"Oh, really? You guys are pretty gutsy."
Yuri pointed Guilty at the one with the strongest energy.
"Still, there's always a chance all of you could die instead. So at least tell me why you attacked. That way, I can be like, 'Ah, my bad. From now on I'll keep my head down around certain people in the capital. Otherwise, I might get ambushed again,' and stay on my toes, right? Don't you agree?"
The black-clad figures exchanged glances. He had convinced them.
The one who seemed to be the leader spoke to Yuri.
"Drugs."
"Drugs? I hate that stuff."
"Don't interfere."
"Aha, so you're the ones selling drugs?"
Yuri feigned ignorance.
"Where the hell are you lot from? Stirring up trouble in the capital—are you spies from another country? Or, what, part of some organization?"
The black-clad man said no more. He gave a slight signal, and the rest of the masked figures suddenly rushed at Yuri and Jared.
As twenty assassins flew in from all directions, it felt like a black wall was collapsing inward.
Yuri extended his sword.
"One-Point Thrust."
But it didn't go as well as he'd hoped.
"Ugh!"
He only managed to stab one in the thigh.
Still, that was enough.
The black-clad attackers had been charging in formation—once one fell, the rest collapsed like dominoes.
By chance, one tumbled and rolled, stopping right in front of Yuri.
Guilty pierced the man's head.
His skull cracked open, and as Guilty was pulled out, its contents spilled everywhere.
Yuri wiped the blood off his face with his gauntlet and smirked.
"What, you sure you didn't mess with the wrong guy?"
At that, the black-clad men, now regaining their posture, had a different look in their eyes.
Yuri approached them instead.
"Haven't seen blood in a while. This is fun."
At the leader's signal, three of them charged at Yuri.
The trio surrounded him and thrust their swords from three directions at once. Yuri blocked one, dodged another—
—and caught the last blade between his arm and side.
Yuri pulled the sword inward, throwing the attacker off balance, and cut his throat with Guilty. Blood poured from the severed neck.
Grabbing the lifeless body, Yuri hurled it at another, and then brought his sword down on the last one.
The masked man tried to block with his sword, but Guilty shattered the blade and continued forward, cleaving him in two.
The body split cleanly down the middle.
"Don't run now."
Yuri stabbed another in the back as he tried to retreat, laughing.
"Now that it's finally getting fun."