[Broken Greatsword enters the arena! Lolololololololol]
[Kita wwwwwwwwwwwwww]
[Look at the commentators’ expressions, they all look like they’ve seen a ghost!]
[Even Lotus’s expression is legendary lol]
[At this point, it’s basically ghost-level.]
[Maybe the Holy Radiant Sword broke and turned into the Broken Greatsword?]
[No idea.]
The chatroom was practically melting, unable to contain the heat of the reactions.
The spectators erupted in a roar so loud it reached the ears of the two competitors inside the arena.
Amidst the intense cheers, the match began.
But both competitors stood frozen in place, unmoving.
Despite holding weapons transformed into holy swords that absorbed light like in the previous set, there was no action.
Lotus stood there, her eyes wide with shock, staring at Friede.
“What, what… what the hell?!”
Even her words, forced out through her frozen thoughts, barely made sense.
She had drawn her magnificent holy sword with great effort, and yet, the weapon before her eyes now defied all expectations.
“Why? Why the hell would you pick that kind of weapon?! You could’ve chosen your holy sword like last time—or at least any other normal weapon!”
Her thoughts raged.
‘What did I even come here for? I prepared the holy sword, hoping for the ultimate duel, to determine the best of the best! And yet, this woman doesn’t understand my intentions at all?’
Lotus glared at Friede, her gaze filled with frustration and betrayal.
In contrast, Friede tilted her head in confusion.
“That kind of weapon?”
Her expression showed no comprehension of why her choice of the broken greatsword was causing such backlash.
Perhaps because of this, Lotus raised her voice even further.
“Fighting with such a useless weapon—what’s the point? This is nonsense! I wanted to fight on the best stage, with the best weapons, in the best duel! As professionals!”
Her desperate cry was filled with a passion that seemed to drain her soul.
Friede’s response was stunningly simple.
“This is the best weapon for me.”
“What?! The stats alone make it the worst weapon!”
“It might be the worst for you…”
Friede’s gaze shifted toward Lotus’s holy sword.
“But it’s far better than that weapon. At least, for me….”
Lotus’s mind blanked, unable to process what she just heard.
Unbothered, Friede raised the broken greatsword.
The weapon was rusted, worn, and even the blade was jaggedly broken in the middle.
Yet, to Friede, it appeared nobler than any other weapon.
It was clear that this weapon had fought and endured countless battles to end up in its current battered state.
***
“This weapon reminds me of so many people. When I hold it, I feel like I can’t afford to lose. It’s almost like… a buff?”
Although her face was hidden beneath her helmet, Lotus realized that Friede’s eyes were likely focused on something far beyond her.
With a smooth motion, Friede gripped the broken greatsword and assumed a stance.
Her voice, now icy and devoid of emotion, resonated clearly.
“As long as I wield this weapon, I will never lose.”
With a swift leap, Friede launched herself into the air, disappearing from Lotus’s line of sight.
Even though she couldn’t see her opponent, Lotus’s battle-hardened instincts screamed danger.
She raised her holy sword with all her strength, swinging it upward.
―Clang!
The clash of the noble, radiant blade against the rusted, broken one produced a ringing metallic sound that was oddly clear and sharp.
This clarity was what struck the spectators, who could only observe.
For Lotus, who barely blocked the sudden strike, her spine tingled with unease.
The fierce attack, a descending low-spin slash, was unlike anything Friede had shown in previous matches.
‘No, stay calm. I’ll win this set for sure.’
The stats of her weapon were superior in every way.
She resolved to ensure Friede would never wield such a weapon again.
‘I’ll exploit the opening when she lands!’
After attacking from such a low position, Friede would inevitably have to land.
Lotus prepared to strike the moment Friede’s feet touched the ground.
But after one second, confusion crept into her mind.
‘Why isn’t she landing?’
The weight pressing down on her sword intensified.
“Guh!”
Driven by an ominous feeling, she hesitantly glanced upward.
To her shock, Friede was still airborne, pushing down on Lotus’s sword while leaping past her.
“What?”
‘Was that even possible?’
Though it lacked practical significance and was akin to a simple somersault, it was enough to break Lotus’s composure.
“Ha.”
An indescribable feeling escaped Lotus’s throat as a hollow laugh.
Friede’s movements had always been praised for their brilliance and elegance, drawing awe from all who witnessed them.
Even Lotus had tried to mimic, match, and adapt to Friede’s moves.
But this—this was something else entirely.
In just one exchange, Friede’s movements surpassed everything Lotus had seen before, leaving her drenched in cold sweat.
Even in virtual reality, this level of unreal maneuverability was absurd.
“Even so!”
Fueled by her intense determination, Lotus’s holy sword blazed with light.
There was no time to stand idle; she charged forward, her sword primed with its first charge, held steady like a stock.
She decided to ignore the eerie, unnatural movement.
‘If she didn’t give Friede room to move, it wouldn’t matter.’
‘I’ll confront her head-on!’
[As the holy sword slashed diagonally, Friede deflected it with the blade of her broken greatsword.]
Thud!
Even though she had deflected it, the sword aura from the holy sword left a visible wound on her body.
It wasn’t a major injury, but it was clearly a loss.
Lotus wasted no time, beginning her next attack.
The elegant trajectory of the holy sword she wielded cut through the air.
Of course…
‘That’s all there is to it,’ Friede thought, clicking her tongue internally.
Lotus’s unchanging playstyle was predictable.
Her stubborn focus on offense resembled more of a solo warrior in ranked matches than a professional player.
Her physical abilities were impressive, far beyond any challenger Friede had faced before.
But refusing to act strategically in a best-of-three match was a significant flaw for a professional player.
Glancing at the wound etched on her arm, Friede adjusted her movement.
‘As long as I avoid the charging strikes, it’s not a problem.’
The sword aura that dealt damage even when deflected or blocked was unique to the holy sword.
Without it, the weapon was just another claymore knockoff.
‘What if it were her in this situation?’
A curious thought crept into Friede’s mind during the duel.
She would likely have chosen the same rapier, Lantert’s Blade, as in the previous set.
After all, the broken greatsword was no match for the holy sword.
‘If Lotus had opted for a weapon with moderate attack power and higher speed, it would have been harder to counter.’
‘While this made the path to victory easy to calculate, the straightforward formula for using the broken greatsword in close combat was simple.’
‘And she’s getting worked up.’
Friede considered provoking her a little more.
Like an assassin reaching for a dagger’s hilt and waiting for the right moment, she abruptly took a strong backstep, retreating far more than necessary.
Seeing the distance between them grow, Lotus didn’t hesitate.
She channeled light into her holy sword, preparing for a powerful strike.
Friede leaped low, slashing down as she descended.
Thud!
The tip of her broken greatsword struck the ground, just inches in front of Lotus.
A missed attack? From someone of her skill?
Though Lotus’s eyes showed doubt, her instincts recognized an opportunity.
She prepared to release the stored light.
‘Now!’
Friede’s eyes sharpened.
Just as light exploded from the tip of the holy sword, Friede, who had landed with her back to Lotus, executed a backward step, closing in on her opponent’s space.
Locking eyes with Lotus, who gazed down at her in shock, Friede swung her arm toward the extended arm holding the holy sword.
Boom!
The thunderous sound unique to Soul Warfare echoed as Friede parried, breaking Lotus’s posture.
The light from the holy sword faded, and Lotus’s stance faltered.
Taking advantage of the opening, Friede spun her body and drove her broken greatsword into Lotus’s chest.
The duel between Friede and Lotus was a major event that anyone interested in Soul Warfare had heard of.
The widespread attention meant many people were watching the live broadcast of the match.
One such viewer was Warden—Kim Chan-hyuk.
Watching Friede’s broken greatsword play, he let out a sigh of admiration.
“She plays like this, huh.”
Though her movements resembled a frog’s hopping, her ability to close distances with precise steps and follow up with unexpected strikes caught her opponents off guard.
“Coming from the air like that, it’s nearly impossible to parry.”
But this wasn’t just about the broken greatsword.
“It’s more like… Friede’s unique playstyle.”
She must have invested heavily in stamina settings.
Even when pushing her opponent, she took deliberate moments to recover stamina.
“She’s truly remarkable, even when I met her briefly before.”
***
“It’s over.”
Perhaps due to the impact of the parry, Lotus was being relentlessly overwhelmed by Friede and her broken greatsword.
The back-and-forth exchanges of the previous set were gone, replaced by a one-sided defeat.
“What an idiot.”
Despite all the advice she’d been given, Lotus still failed to capitalize on the advantage of her weapon choice.
Her obsession with being recognized as the world’s best female professional gamer seemed to have twisted her determination into a stubborn fixation on winning head-on.
“No wonder she can’t break into the top ten with that physical talent.”
A sigh mixed with regret and disappointment escaped as the match neared its end.
It didn’t take long for Friede to deliver the finishing blow.
Her broken greatsword descended from the air, piercing through Lotus and signaling the end of the second set.
Clang!
The holy sword fell from Lotus’s grasp, hitting the ground with a dull sound.
The weapon that defeated the magnificent holy sword was none other than the shabby, broken greatsword.
***
Alone in the waiting room, Lotus sat slumped in her chair, overwhelmed by an empty, hollow feeling.
She no longer pondered why Friede had chosen the broken greatsword.
Instead, she bit her lip, consumed by self-loathing for losing to such a weapon.
Since her professional debut, she had played countless games, both solo and team matches, over and over again.
She had faced countless unfair situations, but this was the first time she felt such complete helplessness.
She had been defeated by the broken greatsword.
And her opponent was someone in the same tier as her.
“Win, and I’ll beat myself up for not trying harder. Lose, and I’ll hate myself for not being good enough. It’s so obvious.”
Chan-hyuk’s advice echoed faintly in her mind, as if mocking her.
She shook her head violently in denial.
No.
She couldn’t let herself fall apart like this.
Lotus instinctively realized it was a moment of decision.
She hadn’t even considered adjusting her playstyle to counter the broken greatsword.
No, she had consciously avoided thinking about it.
She had replayed Friede’s moves during practice, wanting a fair fight with standard weapons.
But now…
“If she wants a mud fight that badly, I’ll get covered in mud, too.”
As the break ended and the potentially final third set began, Lotus closed her eyes tightly and selected a weapon.
A diagonally broken, rusted greatsword.
The broken greatsword.
Though it wasn’t a proper weapon, it would at least level the playing field.
‘This time, it’ll be a true duel.’
With that resolve, Lotus turned her gaze toward her opponent.
As time ran out and Friede’s weapon choice was revealed, Lotus’s expression twisted.
“What… what is that? You’re not using the broken greatsword?!”
“Huh? I picked this for fan service.”
With a tone of nonchalance, Friede had chosen the radiant holy sword.
“Why would you use that now?!”
Lotus’s frustrated scream echoed throughout the arena.