Chapter 16: Swordsman lessonship (2)

For Lancia de Granfil, “martial arts” was the very meaning of her existence.

Even before she could walk, before she could even properly crawl, she played with toy swords.

At age five, those toys became real swords, at seven, she slew living monsters, and by ten, she had defeated a fully-grown knight in combat.

From then on, Lancia had always lived with her sword as one.

Some people said there was no need to be so obsessed with martial arts, even if the Granfil family’s foundation was in combat.

They said that since she was a woman, it was unnecessary to force herself into a fight she was bound to lose, regardless of how much she could enhance her physical abilities with mana.

But for Lancia, swordsmanship was not something she learned out of duty.

She loved the sword and all the phenomena it brought about.

She loved the blue haze that would appear when she sliced through moonlight and the whispering sound of wind being cut by her blade.

She loved the countless harmonies and artistry that sprang from the edge of that small piece of steel.

Thus, Lancia swung her sword—not for someone else, but solely for herself.

That premise shattered the day she turned eight.

“Happy birthday, Lady Granfil. You are as beautiful as the rumors say.”

A light blonde boy smiled gently and extended his hand toward her.

From that moment, Lancia had a new purpose in wielding her sword.

Not only for herself, but for the one who would become her future partner.

To stand by his side as his loyal sword and his most reliable shield.

She firmly believed she could do that. After all, she was Lancia de Granfil.

The greatest prodigy of the current generation, said to one day even surpass Lier herself.

This was just three months before the news arrived that a girl in Ashtaria had pulled out the Holy Sword…

About five minutes after the command to pair up had been given.

Just as Brad Elzeor was about to begin instructing the third group, he suddenly sensed an odd disturbance in the air.

A tremor similar to what he had felt on the battlefield.

“….Hmm?”

“Huh, what’s going on…?”

He wasn’t the only one who felt the strange atmosphere.

The students, too, sensed the chilling feeling in their skin, causing them to put down their swords and look around. It was too unsettling to ignore.

And then, they saw it—the two women in the corner of the training grounds, radiating a menacing aura.

“……”

“……”

One had jet-black hair like the embodiment of night, while the other had silver hair like freshly fallen snow.

Two girls with completely opposite appearances, but they shared one striking feature, their red eyes staring at each other.

The atmosphere was on the verge of an explosive duel that could be a fight to the death at any moment.

“Hey, wait. You two over there—”

A teaching assistant, noticing the tension, raised his hand to call out to them. But before he could continue—

“No. Leave them be.”

Brad’s strong hand reached out, stopping the assistant from stepping forward.

The assistant turned around in surprise and asked.

 “Sir? But it looks like they’re about to seriously start fighting any moment now.”

“Of course, if it was just a pointless clash of pride, I’d intervene too. But look at those eyes.”

Brad pointed at Lancia with his finger.

Eyes filled with the determination of a never-give-up spirit, as if she’d rather die here than retreat. A resolve to stake her entire life on this one battle.

“Whether it’s at school or on the battlefield, when a man has eyes like that, you should never recklessly intervene. It means they’ve taken on that level of commitment.”

“But… they’re not men, they’re girls.”

“Aw, you little punk, what’s with all the talking? Are you some kind of sexist?”

“…I… but you just said they were men…”

The assistant swallowed his rising frustration.

Brad ignored him and continued watching the two girls with a faint smile on his lips.

Both were only fifteen years old, but the quality of their auras was no less than that of seasoned warriors.

“I heard this year’s freshmen were something special, and it seems that rumor is true.”

With anticipation for the battle about to unfold, Brad kept a relaxed eye on their movements.

Meanwhile, the two girls who had become the center of everyone’s attention were—

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

—focused only on each other, unaffected by the onlookers.

Lancia took a deep breath.

She had confidence in being unmatched among her peers. However, her opponent was a girl who had inherited the power of a legendary hero.

How far would her sword go against a living myth?

“Then…”

She closed her eyes and synchronized her breathing. Three, two, one…

Zero.

“Here I come!”

Lancia kicked off the ground and leapt forward.

In an instant, everyone in the training ground, except for Brad, lost track of her.

It wasn’t because she had used invisibility magic or erased her presence with stealth techniques. Lancia had no talent in those areas.

The reason they lost sight of her was simply because she was too fast.

Her explosive leg strength, the foundation of her title as the strongest of her generation, propelled her forward with a swift sword strike.

“One second ahead…!”

Lancia aimed the edge of her wooden sword straight at Sion.

An ambush thrust she had practiced thousands, no, tens of thousands of times. A prideful move she believed could trouble even her father.

However, her opponent…

Clang!

…easily deflected it with a slight twist of her wrist, as if swatting away a flying bug.

Lancia kicked the ground two or three more times in quick succession, retreating as if springing backward. She then raised her sword to a mid-level stance, resuming a defensive position.

At this point, any shred of arrogance left within her had completely evaporated.

“Did… did she block that just now?”

“As you can see.”

Sion tilted her head, as if wondering why Lancia was asking such an obvious question.

Lancia felt a surge of anger at those words.

It was fine that she blocked the attack. That much was within her expectations.

But couldn’t she at least show some surprise or difficulty? Was everything Lancia had built, all her efforts, truly nothing to her?

Lancia bit her lip slightly.

“You seem pretty confident. Are you saying this is nothing?”

“…..”

Her tone was dripping with sarcasm.

Sion did not respond. She simply gazed silently at Lancia, her clear eyes unreadable and calm.

Seeing that unchanged expression, Lancia sighed inwardly.

‘Well, I knew it wouldn’t be easy to get through.’

After all, she was a hero chosen by the goddess, and more importantly, she was the woman who had captured the heart of the prince at first sight. Lancia knew she was in a much higher league.

She knew that, but…

Lancia tightened her grip on her sword again.

Even if that were true, it didn’t change what she had to do.

She had to throw everything she’d built at her opponent. To compress and unleash the pride she’d honed over ten years at the tip of her sword.

And if that didn’t work?

Well, there’d be nothing more to do.

“Haaaap!”

Lancia lunged at Sion like a raging storm.

A relentless barrage of strikes. She swung upward from below and immediately brought the pommel down.

When that was blocked, she rotated her wrist, slashing diagonally from the upper left to the lower right. Then, using her sword to strike the ground and pivot, she delivered a surprise kick, before using that momentum to spin 360 degrees and slash again.

Attacks so fast and varied that they were almost impossible to see, let alone block or dodge.

Acrobatic moves that would be difficult for anyone other than Lancia to even attempt.

Yet, Sion blocked them all with effortless precision, her eyes cold and detached.

“Ugh…!”

Lancia gritted her teeth.

If her swordplay was like a storm, Sion’s defense was like a mountain. While Lancia employed all sorts of flashy aerial maneuvers, Sion moved slowly, at most taking a step or two.

But those slow movements deflected every one of Lancia’s attacks with the bare minimum effort required.

Ten, twenty, thirty exchanges… No matter how many times she attacked, Sion’s defense remained unwavering and unyielding.

It felt like there was an invisible barrier surrounding her, creating a sense of hopelessness.

“Hah… hah…!”

After around seventy exchanges, Lancia couldn’t sustain the energy expenditure and retreated once more.

Sion did not pursue. She simply stood still, staring at Lancia with that same unreadable gaze, her breathing steady and calm.

Meanwhile, Lancia, the one who had been attacking, felt like she was going to collapse from exhaustion.

‘Was it always this much…!?’

Lancia sighed internally.

Even a fool could tell by now. Her opponent stood at a level far beyond her own.

Was this the true power of the “hope of humanity”?

She could understand it intellectually. Probably everyone felt it.

That she was no match for this person.

But still—

“Let’s stop.”

“?!”

But at that moment.

Sion lowered her raised sword and broke off her stance. It was a completely unexpected, sudden move.

Lancia gasped.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just what it sounds like. Let’s stop.”

Sion’s voice was calm and emotionless as she stated plainly:

“It feels like a waste of time to continue.”

“……!”

Lancia’s eyes widened.

What did she just say?

A waste of time…?

Fighting her?

“What do you mean by that—!”

“I don’t think you’re foolish enough not to understand.”

Sion cut off Lancia’s protest abruptly, narrowing her eyes as if questioning why she needed to explain.

“If you were in your best condition, it might be different. I might have to give it my all to face you.

But right now, there’s a hesitation in your sword. A hesitation that’s making every strike dull.”

“Hesitation…?”

“Yes.”

Sion faced Lancia directly and asked,

“Lady Lancia, do you really want to defeat me?”

“Of course, I—”

“Or do you just want to lose and be free?”

“…!?”

For a moment, Sion’s words pierced Lancia’s heart like a blade.

An absurd accusation. How could she say that? How could she claim she hadn’t given it her all, after what she just saw?

As much as she wanted to deny it, no words would come out. The hand gripping her sword was trembling.

“Why… why do you think that?”

A single, strained question squeezed out. Sion glanced at Lancia and replied,

“I don’t know. For that matter, I don’t even know why you’re so determined to charge at me like this. Personally, I’ve prided myself on never giving anyone a reason to hold a grudge against me.”

“That’s—!”

“But none of that really matters at this moment.”

Sion shook her head slowly.

“If you intend to face me with a sword, I will simply respond to that intention… That, too, is part of a hero’s duty.

That’s why I agreed to spar with you without complaint earlier.

But now, I’m not sure. Do you really want to defeat me, Lady Lancia? If so, why does there seem to be a deep, unavoidable resignation in your sword?”

Lancia lowered her sword.

Resignation… Was that it?

‘She’s exactly right.’

Lancia knew deep down that Martin had fallen for Sion not because of her strength, but because of her exemplary and noble spirit that befit the title of a hero.

Yet, despite knowing this, she had challenged her with a sword.

Because it was all she could do.

‘But… what did I hope to achieve?’

To fight with confidence, to cross swords with her, and if she lost, to accept it and give up on the prince.

That part would be fine. Lancia would step back, and the two of them could be happy together without issue.

But what if she won?

The answer was simple: nothing would change. Martin would still love Sion, and she would remain a loser who hadn’t gained what she wanted most.

She would have thrown away her last chance to accept the outcome gracefully.

Nothing would change. Nothing would be different.

That’s why, unconsciously, what she wished for in this duel was…

“So, I really wanted to lose?”

As soon as she said the words out loud, Lancia felt certain that it was the truth.

Winning would change nothing, but losing would let her accept and give up. She could convince herself that her defeat was inevitable and that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t match up to a hero.

And so, unconsciously, she had wanted to lose.

…There was no way to win with that kind of mindset.

“…..”

Lancia paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts, then neatly composed herself. And then,

“…I apologize, Lady Sion.”

She bowed deeply, a full ninety degrees, toward Sion.

After all, harboring such thoughts against an opponent you were fighting was disrespectful. Moreover, this duel had come about due to her own insistence.

To challenge someone to a fight only to secretly hope to lose—what a disgraceful display that was.

Lancia felt a great shame for herself. To erase that shame, she raised her sword once more.

“After hearing your words, I’ve realized my own ignorance. My sword was mixed with absurd ego.”

“I will throw it all away, so would you please spar with me again?”

The hesitation was gone from Lancia’s eyes as she spoke.

What would happen if she won or lost—that wasn’t important right now. That could be thought over calmly later.

What mattered now was seizing this moment, this chance—

The chance to clash with an opponent far superior to herself with everything she had…!

“Heh.”

Seeing that Lancia had finally cleared her mind, Sion smiled softly. She raised her lowered sword again and said,

“Understood. I may have spoken harshly. I apologize for my rude words earlier.”

“No, it’s fine. More importantly…”

“Yes.”

Holding her sword, Sion nodded at Lancia.

“Come at me.”

That was the signal.

Lancia once again pushed off from the ground and charged forward to replicate her first attack—a powerful thrust focused on a single point with overwhelming speed.

The only difference was that this time, the accuracy, speed, and force were on an entirely different level than before.

“Haaaah!”

As she charged, Lancia felt certain—this was the “real” her. The culmination of ten years of effort.

An attack so powerful it seemed to pierce through even the space itself, a strike on a different dimension altogether.

Sion also raised her sword to meet the attack—

Clang!!!

A deafening roar filled the air, as if the very atmosphere had exploded when the two swords collided.

The students watching all held their breath at once.

A clash of overwhelming spirit that made the heart tremble just by standing nearby—a resonance of souls that could only be felt when two top-level swordsmen collided.

In the stillness, where no one dared to move, three seconds passed…

A thin cut appeared on Sion’s cheek, and a small line of crimson blood trickled down.

She smiled gently.

“As expected, you can do it if you really try.”

Bang!!!

At that moment, Lancia’s body was blown back as if by an explosion.