episode_0059

Having escaped Mount Natizan, the party came to a halt and unfolded their map.

“Arina, do you have a plan for what to do next?”

Though it had somehow become natural for them to move together without question, no one pointed it out. Even Arina herself understood that wandering alone in her current state was no different from suicide.

“…I really don’t like it, but I don’t think I have a choice now.”

The mana swirling inside her still filled her body completely. The mana-blocking necklace she wore to suppress the mana’s growth remained in place, yet even now, she couldn’t protect herself, let alone capture a porter and find a way to return to normal.

“We’ll have to go to the Demon Tower.”

The Demon Tower—the place where a once merely clever boy had grown into the Archmage of the Hero’s party. It was where the prime of her life had begun, a place filled with good memories, which was precisely why she didn’t want to return in this state. Especially when she thought about how her master would react upon seeing her like this…

Shiver.

A chill ran down her spine, and Arina trembled.

Sword Saint, Swordmaster, Youngest Royal Knight Commander—all these glorious titles pointed to one swordsman: Cecil Astrea. Among them, the most prominent was her position as the Hero’s mentor.

Since the modern Hero’s party carried the hopes of the entire continent, the fact that she had trained their leader, the Hero, became an inseparable part of any discussion about Cecil.

Of course, whenever that topic came up, so did the saying, “The student surpasses the master.” It was always mentioned that her disciple, Yuria, had outdone her.

But well—anyone who had witnessed their battles firsthand would shake their head at that claim.

You wouldn’t know until you actually fought her.

Certainly, the Hero’s divinely blessed physical abilities and the Holy Sword’s power were beyond what any ordinary human could match.

But just as no one would say Riel Frost was inferior to Hero Yuria, the same applied to Cecil. In the realm of swordsmanship, she had reached the pinnacle, overwhelming in skill alone.

At worst, the odds were against her, but the outcome was never certain—that was all.

Cecil’s own judgment was the same. The Hero’s power was undoubtedly immense, but relying on it had seemingly stunted her growth in swordsmanship after receiving her training. In other words, from Cecil’s perspective, Yuria still had a long way to go.

Klaus Pyroate, who was considered her equal, had led the Flame Knight Order only to be defeated in a single strike by Riel Frost. Klaus and Cecil, Riel Frost and Yuria—in this rivalry, most would assume the former stood no chance against the latter.

Screech.

The one forced back, her sword scraping the ground, was Cecil.

“Haa… Haa…”

Yet it was Yuria who was breathing heavily.

This was the power of compatibility and tactics. Klaus had indeed lost to Arina in a humiliatingly simple manner, but that was only because he had misjudged her strength and fought where he couldn’t win. The gap between their skills wasn’t so vast that it would end in a single strike.

In terms of raw destructive power, Cecil was generally slightly inferior to Klaus. The Flame Knight was, after all, one who honed their innate talent for fire to incinerate enemies with overwhelming force.

But in a battle of firepower, no one in this era could surpass Riel Frost, the greatest mage, or the Hero. Thus, to fight them without being overwhelmed, it was better to rely on something other than sheer destructive power—just as Cecil was doing now.

Ting!

The crisp sound of two metal blades clashing echoed through the air. The clear, sharp ring—something rarely heard in an ordinary sword fight—was usually the result of Cecil’s movements. With her peerless swordsmanship, she effortlessly deflected Yuria’s attacks.

“As expected, you’re amazing, Master. You’ve gotten so much stronger since you taught me. To think you can block a strike imbued with the Hero’s power.”

“You’ve neglected your training. I told you not to skip sword drills. If you could wield a sword as well as I can, you wouldn’t have to cause this mess just to find Riel.”

“Tch, don’t say impossible things. If that were possible, the world would be overflowing with Swordmasters.”

Cecil believed Yuria’s swordsmanship was still lacking and hadn’t improved much, but that was only by her standards. To anyone else, Yuria’s skill was already overwhelming. Frankly, no one could match the natural genius Cecil had been born with.

Even Yuria, despite being chosen as the Hero and granted extraordinary physical abilities, couldn’t catch up to that talent.

But the talent Yuria possessed was rarer and stronger than anything else.

“——!”

Cecil’s eyes widened.

The true power of the Hero. Golden divine energy and white mana merged, erupting in a blinding platinum radiance.

The strongest power in this world—one only the Hero could wield. A force meant to oppose the Demon King, impossible to counter with ordinary mana.

Only one genius mage had ever matched it through sheer, brute mana. A tactic impossible for Cecil Astrea.

Clang!

“Ugh…!”

A strike she had easily deflected moments ago now made her stance waver, her sword trembling as if it might shatter.

In that single exchange, she felt it clearly—an insurmountable, irrational wall.

The youngest Swordmaster, Cecil Astrea, had been born not only with bone-grinding effort but also extraordinary talent. To some, Cecil herself might seem that way, but the two figures in her mind were different.

Yuria before her, who fully contained and wielded the gods’ blessings, was one. And Riel Frost’s talent was something that couldn’t even be described as merely “extraordinary.”

It was on a different level from Cecil’s own, slightly superior talent. One might even call it another form of divine blessing.

Everyone had given up. Reaching that level was impossible.

Cecil knew it too—that they were right.

But what set her apart, what had allowed her to grow this strong, was that she never stopped climbing higher.

Because she was never afraid to hit a wall.

——Whoosh.

The wind scattered, tousling Cecil’s tied-up hair for just a moment. In that instant, her aura shifted entirely.

“…?”

A strange discomfort made Yuria frown.

What is this feeling?

Nothing about Cecil had visibly changed. Her pitch-black eyes, as dark as her hair, now glowed blue, but so what?

Neither her blade nor the mana enveloping her body had transformed.

It was still the same—waste-free, calm, and thus only emitting a faint, weak mana. Yet, an ominous sensation refused to fade.

“What new trick has our master come up with now?”

“A simple method. Mana circulation.”

To her, this was the only way to oppose an overwhelmingly powerful foe. To face a force capable of splitting the earth, parting the seas, and piercing the heavens in a single strike, she had no choice but to expend all her mana.

But rather than releasing it explosively, she circulated it within her body.

A rotation of mana that continuously reinforced her entire body, allowing her to fight at full strength until every last drop was consumed.

Snap!

In an instant, Cecil vanished from Yuria’s sight, her eyes widening in shock.

Clang!

Barely twisting her sword’s hilt to deflect the attack, Yuria felt a chunk of her hair get sliced off. A drop of blood from her earlobe was just a bonus.

A cold sweat trickled down her cheek. To kill a person, one didn’t need grand magic or divine blessings.

A mere pebble on the street could end a human life. The swords and spears they wielded were merely tools developed to kill more efficiently. Cecil’s full-body reinforcement through mana circulation maximized that principle. It wasn’t flashy or destructive—just terrifyingly fast and precise. Even the Hero’s enhanced body would lose its life if it showed the slightest opening.

Their blades clashed again and again. Cecil’s relentless assault left no room for counterattacks, yet it wasn’t as threatening as before.

Each strike carried a slight delay before the next.

As if conserving strength.

As if buying time.

Screech!

Yuria sharply parried Cecil’s charging blade.

“Something’s definitely off. The incident with the party was just an excuse—you have another goal, don’t you? Like… buying time until we lose track of Riel?”

Seeing Cecil’s sharpened gaze, Yuria was certain her guess was right. She glared back and spoke.

“The Royal Knight Commander plans to betray the kingdom?”

“That’s what I wanted to ask you. Why did you betray Riel? You loved her too, didn’t you? So why… for a man like that?”

Yuria’s brows furrowed even deeper.

“Master, you still haven’t let go of your feelings for Riel? It’s been ages since I won.”

“Answer the question.”

After another exchange of blades, Yuria swept her bangs aside and lowered her sword.

“Let me make this clear. I’ve never betrayed Riel—not even once.”