Ch.240Chapter 240 – Confrontation Between Father and Daughter

On the day of the succession trial challenging for the position of family head.

Serin Ekatos closed her eyes, reminiscing about days gone by.

In truth, she had never intended to inherit the position of family head in this manner.

But as the situation within the family took a strange turn, she had to find someone to help her with this matter.

So she went looking for Pathos at Glesius Academy, and there she met the Heavenly Demon and ended up training with him unexpectedly.

“It truly was… hell.”

Literally, the training period with the Heavenly Demon could only be described with the word “hell.”

She had to struggle desperately to break through the Heavenly Demon’s relentless attacks and somehow land even a single counterattack.

Otherwise, she could have suffered fatal injuries from attacks targeting her vital points at any moment.

Moreover, while she wielded Diamant, a renowned sword, her opponent used merely a tree branch broken off along the way.

In the process, Diamant was reduced to tatters, but fortunately, Pathos repaired it, restoring it to its original state.

Now only one thing remained for her.

To defeat the Count of Ekatos, her father and the head of the Ekatos family, and inherit his position.

Historically, there had been female family heads before, and above all, she was born of a legitimate marriage, so she was fully qualified to inherit the position.

The door opened, and a knight serving the Ekatos family entered and greeted her.

“The succession trial will begin soon, my lady.”

The knight had come to inform her that the trial would soon begin.

“I know. I’ll get ready to go out.”

At the knight’s words, Serin checked her attire.

She wore a very simple and comfortable outfit consisting of ordinary leather boots, pants, and a shirt.

Her renowned sword Diamant was stored elsewhere, and she was not allowed to possess any artifacts or tools.

All weapons would be provided with equal performance under direct third-party supervision, and she had to take the trial with only these.

As Serin walked up the stairs, the training ground of the Ekatos family came into view.

“Welcome.”

Count Ekatos was already waiting for her at the training ground.

Around the training ground stood the elders and knights of the Ekatos family, who had arrived before anyone else to ensure a fair evaluation.

“Serin Ekatos of the Ekatos family. I wish to challenge for the position of family head in the succession trial.”

“It’s not too late. If you say you want to give up the succession trial, I will use my authority as family head to make all this as if it never happened.”

Count Ekatos, feeling sorry for his daughter who was voluntarily choosing a difficult path, made one final offer.

But contrary to his thoughts, Serin had already firmly made up her mind.

“I’m sorry, Father. To stop your madness, this is the only way.”

“I see… then there’s no helping it.”

When Serin revealed her firm resolve, the atmosphere emanating from Count Ekatos changed instantly.

If before he had the eyes of a father looking at his daughter, now he had the appearance of a champion accepting a challenger aiming for his position.

Count Ekatos and Serin stepped onto the training ground and stood in positions where they could face each other.

“Then I shall now commence the succession trial for the family head. Provide the swords.”

As one of the elders stepped forward to announce the start of the trial, two knights approached with swords and handed them to Serin and Count Ekatos.

Serin and Count Ekatos accepted the swords and simultaneously assumed their stances.

‘Indeed, Father’s aura remains unchanged from before.’

Serin looked at Count Ekatos, the opponent she had to defeat, from the stance of a challenger.

The aura he exuded as a swordsman had not changed at all.

‘But… openings that wouldn’t have been visible before… I can see them now!’

However, Serin had changed.

With the insights gained through training with the Heavenly Demon, Serin had advanced to the next level and discovered an opening in Count Ekatos’s stance.

Of course, that opening could also be a trap.

‘All I can do is strike quickly and decisively!’

Serin decided that if the opening offered by her opponent was a trap, she would attack so swiftly using that opening that he couldn’t counter her.

Bending her knees, Serin kicked off the ground and rushed forward.

When she suddenly charged at high speed, Count Ekatos showed a reaction as if he hadn’t expected it at all.

“Haaah!”

Rushing toward Count Ekatos at high speed, she swung her sword upward from below.

Since the Ekatos family’s stance was designed to make the sword one with the body, it could easily block attacks coming from above or from the sides.

But Serin had learned painfully about the weaknesses of the Ekatos family’s swordsmanship during her training with the Heavenly Demon.

“Oh no!”

Seeing Serin’s sword thrust rising from below, Count Ekatos hurriedly moved his sword to block her attack.

When their swords collided, a sharp sound echoed throughout the training ground.

“You’ve grown admirably, daughter…”

“Hyaah!”

As Count Ekatos tried to admire his daughter who had launched a surprise attack on him, Serin continued her assault, not allowing him to indulge in nostalgia.

While Serin’s swordsmanship was clearly based on the Ekatos family’s style, what she was displaying now had been improved based on the experience she had absorbed from her duels with the Heavenly Demon.

“To think that I, of all people, would be reduced to merely defending against your sword. How frightening.”

Count Ekatos seemed to be maintaining his composure while blocking Serin’s sword, but in reality, he too was just barely managing to defend against her attacks.

This was because Serin, having identified the weaknesses of the Ekatos family’s swordsmanship through the Heavenly Demon’s excellent abilities, was thoroughly targeting only those weaknesses.

“Is that the young lady’s swordsmanship skill?”

“She’s not inferior to the Count.”

“It seems she has gained much experience in the outside world.”

The people watching the duel between Serin and Count Ekatos couldn’t help but admire how much Serin had grown.

The exchange continued with Serin’s sword constantly targeting Count Ekatos’s weaknesses, and Count Ekatos merely blocking the sword approaching his vulnerabilities.

“Huff, huff.”

After a round of exchanges, Serin and Count Ekatos distanced themselves from each other.

Having attacked relentlessly, Serin’s breathing became slightly rough, and the same was true for Count Ekatos.

“Huff, huff. Impressive. When did you grow so much?”

“To defeat you, I found a remarkable person as my master and trained.”

“Whoever that person is, they are truly extraordinary. However, you can never defeat me. Do you know why?”

Count Ekatos praised Serin but still believed she couldn’t defeat him.

As he said this, he assumed his stance, and soon an unstable form of aura began to rise along his sword.

“N-No way!”

“Oh, oh-oh-oh, an Aura Blade?”

When Count Ekatos drew out what was close to an incomplete Aura Blade, the knights marveled, and the elders sighed.

This was because it meant that Count Ekatos had entered the realm of a Master, even if not perfectly.

The gap in skill between a Master and an Expert was something that couldn’t be bridged by experience or talent alone.

That’s why many began to predict Serin’s defeat.

“Sigh… Father. So you’ve finally reached the realm of a Master.”

“Not yet. I’ve merely had a small taste of what the realm of a Master is like.”

When Count Ekatos deployed his incomplete Aura Blade, Serin shook her head.

“Come now, it’s still not too late. Give up your challenge and withdraw. Then this matter will be as if it never…”

Count Ekatos looked at his daughter with a benevolent expression.

In reality, if Serin were to withdraw here, he was prepared to go to some lengths to make this incident as if it had never happened.

“No. I will not give up.”

But Serin did not give up.

She assumed the exact same stance as Count Ekatos, and…

“Wait! Aura is coming from the young lady’s sword!”

An Aura Blade with a distinct form began to rise slowly from the sword Serin was holding.

If Count Ekatos’s Aura Blade was like a saw for cutting wood, Serin’s Aura Blade was like a sword with an extremely sharp edge, honed for a long time with a whetstone.

“Has the young lady… reached the realm of a Sword Master?”

Serin, who had deployed an Aura Blade close to perfection, charged forward, and when Count Ekatos swung his sword to block it, Serin’s Aura Blade tore through Count Ekatos’s Aura Blade and cut through the sword he was holding as easily as slicing tofu.

“My victory, Father.”

The duel ended with Serin’s victory.

Seeing Serin deploy an Aura Blade close to perfection, Count Ekatos showed a reaction as if he felt empty.

“It seems like just yesterday that I watched you taking your first steps… and now you’ve risen to the realm of a Sword Master wielding a perfected Aura Blade… I’m overwhelmed with emotion.”

Count Ekatos laughed and nodded his head.

“I have been defeated. From now on, you are the head of the Ekatos family.”

“I will inherit the position of family head, Father.”

And so, the duel between the two ended in victory for Serin Ekatos, who had become able to draw a perfected Aura Blade through her training with the Heavenly Demon.