The Strongest With Nothing Left

The training grounds fell silent as Li Vrak and General Venkur stepped into the sparring ring. The soldiers instinctively took a few steps back, knowing that this was no ordinary duel. It had been years since these two had last crossed blades, and though it was meant to be just a spar, everyone knew it would be anything but casual.

Venkur smirked as he rolled his shoulders. "Been a while, huh? Let's see if you've gone soft."

Li said nothing, simply raising his katana in response. His stance was relaxed yet sharp—ready to react in an instant.

Venkur wasted no time, lunging forward with a powerful overhead swing. Clang! Their swords met, the force of the impact kicking up dust. Venkur pressed forward, his blade moving swiftly in controlled arcs, each strike aiming to push Li onto the defensive.

But Li barely moved. He parried with minimal effort, his blade redirecting Venkur's strikes with precise counters. His footwork was effortless, his posture unshaken. He wasn't just blocking he was analyzing.

Venkur noticed. His attacks became sharper, faster, forcing Li to adjust. He spun his blade in a sudden feint before thrusting forward, but Li sidestepped at the last second, countering with a clean strike towards Venkur's shoulder. The general barely managed to block, the force pushing him back a few steps.

"Still as sharp as ever," Venkur muttered, shaking out his arm.

Li remained silent, his expression unreadable.

This time, it was Li who moved first. A single step forward, then he vanished.

Venkur barely caught the movement as Li reappeared beside him, his katana slashing in a precise arc. He barely managed to parry, but the impact sent vibrations up his arm. Li didn't let up. His attacks came fluidly, each strike flowing into the next without wasted movement.

Venkur gritted his teeth. It was suffocating. There were no wasted openings, no reckless swings—just sheer, controlled technique.

Realizing he couldn't outmatch Li in pure skill, Venkur changed his approach. He planted his foot firmly and went on the defensive, letting Li dictate the flow. As Li's next strike came, Venkur suddenly twisted his body, letting the momentum pass him, and countered with a powerful backhanded strike.

This time, Li blocked—but he slid back. The soldiers watching held their breath. Venkur exhaled, standing upright. "Alright, alright. I think I've seen enough." He smirked. "Still unfairly strong, I see."

Li lowered his katana slightly before sheathing it. "You're not bad."

Venkur chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment."

The spar was over, but the watching soldiers remained quiet, as if still processing what they had just witnessed. The sheer difference in skill between the two was undeniable.

As Li sheathed his katana, the tension in the air finally eased. The soldiers were still in awe of the spar, but before anyone could say anything, Li casually reached out with his hand.

Suddenly, a dark ripple in space formed beside him a storage portal.

The sight alone left the soldiers stunned. It was rare to see someone use spatial magic so effortlessly, but Li acted like it was the most natural thing in the world. Without a word, he reached into the portal and pulled out a single fruit.

A radiant, golden fruit with faint glowing patterns along its surface.

The moment it appeared, a faint, sweet aroma spread through the air. Some of the soldiers instantly recognized it the Mythic Starfruit.

A fruit so rare that even kings would struggle to get their hands on one. Not only did it heal injuries, but it also eliminated hunger for weeks.

The soldiers could only watch, completely dumbfounded, as Li took a casual bite out of it.

General Venkur narrowed his eyes. "Are you serious right now?"

Li chewed slowly before answering. "What?"

Venkur sighed, rubbing his forehead. "That fruit alone could pay for a whole army's worth of rations, you know that?"

Li simply took another bite. "Tastes decent."

The soldiers nearly collapsed from shock. Decent? That was a legendary fruit! People would kill for a single piece, and here he was treating it like a roadside snack!

Muttering spread among the soldiers.

"Did he just… eat that without hesitation?""That's unfair… I want one.""Does he just have a stockpile of legendary items in there?"

Meanwhile, Li finished the fruit and wiped his mouth before finally noticing the countless dumbfounded stares.

"...What?"

One of the soldiers, still struggling to process what he just witnessed, finally gathered up the courage to step forward.

"Uh… Sir Li," the soldier hesitated before continuing, "what else do you have in that storage of yours?"

The question made the surrounding soldiers perk up, their curiosity burning like wildfire. After seeing him casually pull out a legendary fruit, who knew what else was hidden inside?

Li glanced at the soldier, then at his storage portal, before shrugging. "Nothing much."

But before anyone could be disappointed, he casually reached inside again.

The air grew tense as everyone leaned forward in anticipation.

He pulled out a random rock.

The crowd blinked. A rock?

"...What?" One of the soldiers whispered in disbelief.

Li turned the smooth, polished stone in his hand, looking at it as if reminiscing. "Picked this up years ago. Thought it looked nice."

General Venkur facepalmed. "You're impossible, you know that?"

But Li ignored him and reached into the portal again. This time, he pulled out a sleek, pitch-black dagger with glowing red engravings.

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

The sheer presence of the dagger made the air feel heavier. The soldiers could feel the power radiating from it, as if the weapon itself was alive.

"...Holy shit," one of the soldiers muttered.

Another soldier gulped. "T-That's a cursed weapon, isn't it?"

Li twirled the dagger between his fingers nonchalantly. "Yeah. Almost killed me once. Thought I'd keep it."

Ignoring their reactions, Li tossed the dagger back into the storage portal and pulled out something else.

A massive, ancient-looking shield covered in dragon scales.

Now, even Venkur was staring in disbelief. "That's… isn't that the Dragon King's Shield?! That thing is considered a lost relic!"

Li blinked. "Oh? I found it in a dungeon. Looked sturdy, so I took it."

The soldiers were on the verge of collapsing.

"HOW IS THIS GUY SO CASUAL ABOUT LEGENDARY RELICS?!"

At this point, the crowd was losing their minds. Some were questioning reality. Others were trying to figure out how many priceless artifacts this man was hoarding in his storage.

One soldier whispered, "What else does he have in there? The crown of a fallen god? The heart of a phoenix? The sword of the first hero?!"

Li sighed, closing the storage portal. "I told you. Nothing much."

The soldiers: "BULLSHIT."

As the atmosphere around Li Vrak gradually shifted, the people around him began to see him in a different light.

Before, he was the Living Nightmare, an untouchable force of destruction who struck fear into the hearts of both allies and enemies alike. But now?

The soldiers who had once avoided him were now laughing in disbelief, still processing the absurd reality that this terrifying man had just casually pulled out legendary relics like they were common trinkets.

Even those who had once feared him started realizing something—

He wasn't as scary anymore.

His presence was still overwhelming, and his power was undeniable, but there was no longer that cold, suffocating aura of isolation that had once surrounded him.

Instead of an emotionless war machine, they saw a man someone who could joke around, someone who had people he cared about, and someone who, despite his terrifying strength, was just casually eating a fruit like it was nothing.

Even General Venkur, who had known him for years, couldn't help but chuckle. "Look at you, actually fitting in with people now."

Li, still chewing on the rare fruit, raised an eyebrow. "Shut it, piss boy."

Venkur groaned, but the surrounding soldiers burst into laughter.

At that moment, everyone realized—

Li Vrak was no longer just the Living Nightmare.

He was Li Vrak, a man who, despite everything, was still human.

As King Aldric casually entered the training grounds, the moment his presence was noticed, every soldier immediately stopped what they were doing and knelt in respect.

The training ground, once filled with the sounds of clashing weapons and battle cries, fell completely silent.

Every soldier kneeled—except for two people.

General Venkur, who remained standing with his arms crossed, and Li Vrak, who was still sitting on the ground, casually taking another bite of his rare fruit as if nothing had happened.

The king smirked, already used to this sight. "Still as disrespectful as ever, huh, Li?"

Li, without even looking up, shrugged. "You knew what you were walking into."

The soldiers held their breath. Even though they knew Li and the king had a history, he was still talking to royalty like it was just another day.

Aldric sighed, shaking his head. "You really never change."

Venkur grinned at the scene. "Tch. You say that, but at least he's actually talking to people now. A year ago, all you'd get was a grunt if you were lucky."

Aldric chuckled. "I suppose you're right."

As Li Vrak got up, he casually said, "I'm going to take a stroll."

Before anyone could react— he vanished.

The soldiers blinked.

Venkur sighed. "Couldn't he just walk out like a normal person?"

King Aldric shook his head, chuckling. "Some things never change."

Despite his words, Li Vrak had no intention of merely taking a stroll.

With his speed, he moved unseen through the kingdom, leaving its walls behind in an instant. His destination lay deep within the quiet forest a place only he visited.

A small, secluded clearing awaited him. The air here was different, untouched by time. In this sacred place, simple but well-maintained graves stood in a row, marked by weathered stones.

His family.His master.His former party members.And lastly...

A single grave, set apart from the rest. Airi.

Li approached slowly, his expression unreadable. He knelt, brushing a hand against the stone marker. It was smooth he always made sure of that.

"...It's been a while," he murmured, his voice quieter than usual.

The wind rustled through the trees as if answering him.

For years, these graves were his only connection to the past. The only place where he could speak freely, even if there was no one to answer.

But today, something felt different.

He wasn't empty anymore.

A faint, almost nostalgic smile crept onto his lips as he exhaled softly.

"You wouldn't believe it if you saw me now," he said, his voice carrying both warmth and sorrow. "I actually have people to protect again."

He looked at the rows of graves, his gaze lingering on each one. His family. His master. His former party. All of them had left him behind, or rather… he had survived when they hadn't.

"You all must be laughing at me, huh?" He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "The 'Living Nightmare' the monster who never cared now has a student. A reckless brat who charges in without thinking, just like I used to."

His mind drifted to Arin and his boundless determination. The boy had grown so much, pushing forward despite every challenge Li threw at him.

"And there's Mia. She's always nagging Arin, but I can tell she's watching out for him."

His thoughts turned to Elise—always patient, always understanding, never treating him like a monster even when the whole world did.

He let out a quiet breath.

"I finally get it now," he admitted, his fingers tightening slightly on the stone. "Why you all fought so hard. Why you didn't give up, even when everything seemed lost."

His purple eyes softened.

"I won't lie—I was tired. For so long, I just kept going because I didn't know what else to do." He glanced up at the sky, the light filtering through the leaves. "But now… I finally have a reason to keep moving forward."

Silence followed, the only sound being the rustling wind through the trees.

Li closed his eyes for a moment, as if waiting for a response that would never come. But somehow, standing here, in this place where his past rested, he felt lighter as if the burden he had carried for so long wasn't so heavy anymore.

He opened his eyes, standing up slowly.

"I won't waste this second chance," he promised. "Not this time."

He turned to leave, taking one last look at the graves.

"I'll visit again soon."

With that, he vanished into the wind, leaving behind nothing but the gentle rustling of leaves and the warmth of the midday sun.

As the wind gently swept through the graveyard, a soft shimmer of light flickered in the air. Figures began to take shape transparent yet familiar.

Standing there, unseen to the living world, were his family, his fallen party, his master… and Airi.

They watched as Li Vrak disappeared into the distance, his back straight, no longer weighed down by the burdens of the past.

His master, arms crossed, let out a proud chuckle. "Heh. He finally gets it."

One of his former party members smirked. "Took him long enough. I was starting to think he'd never move on."

His mother wiped a tear from her ghostly face, smiling gently. "He's changed so much… My little boy is finally smiling again."

Airi, standing in the center, held her hands behind her back, watching Li with teary yet happy eyes.

"You finally found your reason, huh?" she whispered, a soft, bittersweet smile gracing her lips. "I knew you would."

She took a step forward, as if wanting to reach out, but stopped herself. "Keep moving forward, Li. Be happy… for us, and for yourself."

The spirits lingered for a moment longer, watching over him one last time.

Then, like the wind, they faded away leaving behind only the peaceful silence of the graveyard and the warmth of a day full of hope.