Ch.187Chapter 187: Sword Grave (5)

I should have said something to clear up the misunderstanding.

“Prepare yourself!!”

The ancestor’s relentless assault, following her initial attack aimed at my right arm, gave me no chance to speak.

“Tsk!”

I clicked my tongue sharply and drew the dragon sword from my waist, still in its scabbard.

Clang-!!

I managed to block the holy sword the ancestor was swinging.

But this was merely a temporary measure.

Against a naked blade—and not just any blade, but a holy sword still considered humanity’s strongest weapon despite the passage of time—even my dragon sword was nothing more than a stick while still sheathed.

I needed to hurry and draw my sword from its scabbard to properly counter, but…

“Let’s see if you can block this too!!”

Thanks to the ancestor continuing her fierce attacks while shouting with rage-filled cries, even that seemed impossible.

This time she aimed high.

Unlike moments ago when she targeted my right arm to incapacitate me, this strike was meant to bring me down for good.

Whoosh-!!

It was a simple downward slash with no particular technique.

Yet the speed and power with which that sword came down overwhelmed any similar overhead strike I had ever performed or witnessed.

I knew instantly.

This overhead slash, executed with perfect positioning during our brief confrontation to bring me down.

Blocking would be difficult, but dodging would be even harder.

If I tried to dodge clumsily, she would immediately step into a lethal range with her dazzling footwork and cleanly cut me in two.

I had no choice but to raise my still-sheathed dragon sword above my head to block.

Just as I prepared to withstand the incoming sword pressure, gripping the handle with one hand and the end of the scabbard with the other…

Clang-!!

Along with the sharp sound piercing my ears…

“Ugh…!!”

I felt tremendous pressure on both arms, enough to make me involuntarily groan.

It was proof that the power from the ancestor’s flawless overhead strike was completely overwhelming me.

And as if that wasn’t enough, the ancestor herself…

“Grrrr…!!”

Despite her attack being blocked, she continued to press down with great force in her right hand holding the holy sword, refusing to relent.

The ancestor wielding the holy sword was using one arm.

I was using both arms to block it.

Logically, using two arms should give an advantage in terms of strength over one arm, but…

“I’ll show you that I can split your body in two just by pressing my sword against you, without even swinging it!”

As I watched her holy sword pushing against my dragon sword as if pulling it toward me while she shouted and applied force with her right arm…

Half in admiration and half in bewilderment at the ancestor’s display of unfairly superhuman strength…

‘Haah….’

I inwardly let out a faint sigh.

It might seem like a joke to sigh in this situation, but I’m serious right now.

In this situation that feels completely real, with the sense of crisis that I might lose my life if I’m not careful…

I needed to sigh to relieve this suffocating feeling.

Just as that sigh, released from my chest rather than my lips, was about to settle…

My instincts, activated along with that sigh…

Were telling me that this moment, when the ancestor was certain of victory, was the perfect opportunity to counterattack.

They suggested a specific plan to exploit the opening the ancestor had created while focusing solely on cutting me in two with her increasingly radiant holy sword.

This was no time to be picky, so I listened to what my instincts whispered.

Following their guidance, I relaxed my body, took a small step backward, and lowered my upper body.

In a situation where two forces were pushing against each other, if one side suddenly releases their force, the other side—still applying pressure—would fall toward their opponent. That was what I was aiming for.

It was something unimaginable during the intense exchanges between swordsmen.

But my experience as a mercenary from before my regression—where without such improvisation, one’s life would be worth less than a fly’s on the ever-changing battlefield—led me to make this move.

As expected, due to my sudden release of posture during our confrontation…

“…Ah!”

The ancestor’s body, which had been wearing a confident expression while maximizing the radiance of her holy sword, suddenly collapsed along with her self-assured look.

An ordinary—no, even a first-class swordsman would have inevitably rolled on the ground in this situation.

But the ancestor desperately stretched out her left arm, the one not holding the sword, toward the ground to try to support her falling body.

I almost couldn’t help but admire that almost instinctive movement to regain balance.

But in this life-or-death battle, if I continued to admire her, my life wouldn’t be enough no matter how many I had.

So I quickly composed my expression.

And toward the ancestor’s unprotected left ankle as she struggled to regain her posture…

Whoosh-!!

I swung my right leg without hesitation.

Whether the hit landed or not, my choice was to nullify the ancestor’s attempt to regain her collapsed posture.

Then use that opening to draw my dragon sword from its scabbard to create a somewhat equal situation.

Fortunately…

Whack-!!

My roundhouse kick accurately struck her ankle and…

“Ugh…!”

The ancestor groaned as her left hand failed to reach the ground, resulting in exactly what I had intended.

Judging by her extraordinary movements shown earlier, if this hadn’t been during such a confrontation…

No matter how deliberately I executed it, it probably wouldn’t have hit.

This miracle occurred because she had been somewhat careless about her surroundings, thinking she had the upper hand.

In the end, the ancestor’s body, which had been trying to cleanly cut me in two with the holy sword in her right hand, completely lost balance and rolled on the ground with the holy sword still in hand.

Not missing this opening, I immediately stepped back and…

Shing-!!

Finally managed to draw the blade of the dragon sword from its scabbard.

As the moonlight hanging in the sky gradually increased its brightness during our brief confrontation…

Though it couldn’t emit the brilliant radiance like the holy sword, the dragon sword’s blade also displayed its own gleam.

In a more leisurely situation, I might have wanted to lose myself in thought while looking at the blade shimmering in the moonlight.

But I couldn’t afford that against the ancestor who, even in her current state, was ready to recover her posture and cut me down at any moment.

So I hastily extended my sword and pointed it at the nape of the ancestor’s neck as she struggled to rise.

“…Kuh!”

I could see the ancestor’s expression contorting as she saw the sword pointed at her neck before she could even regain her posture after falling.

Judging by that expression, it was clear she had intended to regain her posture and cut me down immediately if I hadn’t pointed my sword at her, so…

I was about to breathe a sigh of relief that my quick decision to point the sword at her neck had been correct, but…

“Why?”

The brief question from the ancestor’s lips as she looked directly at me stopped the sigh that was about to escape my mouth.

Though it was just a short question with the subject omitted…

It was a question with a clear meaning, so…

From my mouth, still maintaining my stance…

“It is not the way of a swordsman to meaninglessly swing a sword at an opponent with whom there is no reason to fight.”

Came an answer close to the textbook response.

Even though I had been subjected to a one-sided attack due to a misunderstanding…

I believed I needed to clarify that I had no such intention to escape this situation, but…

Given the circumstances, it was difficult to gain trust through words alone.

“…”

The ancestor maintained her silence, and her expression didn’t immediately soften at my words.

The fortunate thing was that the ancestor, who by skill could have shaken off the sword pointed at her neck even if it meant getting slightly injured…

Chose not to do so, and I could feel the baseless anger and fighting spirit that had been rising gradually dissipating, if only slightly.

Looking at the situation, I thought I could gradually resolve the misunderstanding and lead to a better situation by continuing to talk, so I was about to open my mouth again to make an effort to clear up the misunderstanding, but…

“…Strange.”

My attempt couldn’t continue due to the ancestor’s much calmer voice speaking first.

Compared to her voice that had been unpredictably revealing both anguish and anger until just moments ago…

The ancestor’s now much calmer voice indicated that reason, not passion, was controlling her actions.

…Is it over now?

As I felt relief washing over me thinking the situation would end relatively peacefully…

My instincts were telling me not to let my guard down yet and to listen carefully to what she was saying to make appropriate choices for the situation.

So instead of breathing a sigh of relief, I listened to what was about to fall from the ancestor’s lips.

“Do you know why I determined you to be a puppet of the demon realm and tried to kill you after realizing you weren’t the precious person I was looking for?”

The quiet voice from the ancestor’s lips posed a question.

It seemed rather out of place for someone with a sword pointed at their neck to ask such a question to the person pointing it…

But just the fact that the ancestor was attempting conversation without hostility toward me…

Was essentially a signal that the situation, which had escalated from a misunderstanding to crossing swords, was being resolved relatively well.

I could somewhat ease my anxious heart.

However, regardless of the situation improving…

I couldn’t clearly understand why the ancestor had initially judged me to be a puppet of the demon realm, so…

“…I don’t know.”

I honestly answered that I didn’t know to her question.

Until just before answering, I briefly pondered in my mind whether this was the right way to respond…

The thought that I should honestly admit what I didn’t know rather than giving an inadequate answer that might offend her and close the conversation that had just begun…

Was what drove me to answer that I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

But regardless of judging this to be the best option, even I who gave the answer couldn’t predict how the ancestor would react to this response.

Whether she would flare up in anger at hearing this, or mock me for saying I didn’t know and revert her attitude from becoming friendly back to hostile.

Everything was in the realm of unpredictability.

“…”

The expression of the ancestor, Lumen Ranos, began to fill with an emotion that was difficult to put into words after hearing my answer that I didn’t know.

Since the emotion reflected in that expression showed equal measures of deflation and bewilderment…

‘…Did I fail?’

I thought the conversation had ended in failure and was preparing for any contingency, but…

“You don’t know… huh.”

Thanks to the ancestor lightly laughing while repeating my words that I didn’t know, my preparation remained just that—preparation.

By the way, why did the ancestor just laugh at my honest answer?

Even considering the slightly changed atmosphere, it was still a moment when the tension remained high.

All sorts of thoughts flashed through my mind in that brief moment, but…

“Seeing that you answered you don’t know… You really aren’t a puppet of the demon realm, are you?”

Thanks to the ancestor’s expression softening as she said these words…

The thoughts continuing in my mind were replaced with questions about the ancestor’s attitude in judging me not to be a puppet of the demon realm based on my answer that I didn’t know the reason.

Several hours had passed since I received the trial of the Sword Congregation.

Yet I still hadn’t found a clue about the test, wandering in this inexplicable place.