episode_0056

A worn-out floor in a space filled with nothing but empty air, without a single chair. Perhaps even the magic stones themselves were reluctant to illuminate such a place. Flickering as if lamenting their own placement, they failed to properly illuminate what he wished to see.

At the end of the ascending stairs, there was a room. A room from which all movements within could be seen. Inside, an old man stood, arms crossed, looking down. He gazed at what appeared to be glass, inscribed with some kind of spell. It was a spell that allowed the leader to observe movements within, preventing any light from entering the dark room.

Regulus looked at the spell with a nostalgic gaze for a moment. But that was only for a moment; Regulus’s head shifted, not to where Ray was, but to the side.

Thud, thud went the descending footsteps. Had he discovered that the door was now closed? The footsteps began to draw closer to his room again.

When the owner of the footsteps appeared before Regulus’s eyes, he smiled and said, “It’s been a long time, Aria.”

“Have you been well all this time? It’s good to see you again, Family Head-nim.”

Her stiff, unyielding tone reminded one of a wooden doll. Perhaps her attire could explain her tone. Her neat academy uniform and armor, along with the scabbard tucked into her waist, suggested a soldier rather than a student with their disciplined appearance, to the point where one might even believe she was a new recruit. Her long, flowing gray hair covered her shoulders. Her clear eyes, like flowing rivers, sparkled in contrast to her rigid demeanor.

“I wondered if anyone would use such an old place, but you, I can understand.”

Was it because he had recognized who she was? Regulus turned his head again and looked at a blind man. Had he noticed Regulus’s gaze? Her knee armor clanked loudly as she approached him.

“Family Head-nim, who is that man?”

A dry, emotionless voice. Not a hint of curiosity in it, as if she were asking formally. Regulus answered.

“He’s a student Ibn recommended. After crossing swords with him personally, I thought he was someone worth nurturing.”

At his words, the woman named Aria showed no visible reaction. She merely continued speaking, as if she hadn’t gained anything from his answer.

“Then do you intend to raise him as a disciple?”

A tone devoid of anger, sorrow, or jealousy. Did this tone make Regulus a little more serious?

“The generation I can teach is almost over, Aria. For this empire, I must leave behind the greatest possible legacy.”

“Teach? Aren’t you already the Empire’s finest Swordsman? I still can’t believe you stepped down from the position of Sword Saint…”

“Wasn’t that discussion already over, Aria? Or perhaps…” Regulus’s voice trailed off. “…is it because I didn’t choose you as a disciple?”

The only movement that appeared on her emotionless face. Her eyebrows twitched and trembled as soon as she heard his words.

“No… it’s not. Grandfa… no, if it is the Family Head-nim’s decision, then it must be right.”

Her slightly trembling voice continued. “But even if that decision was right back then, I stand before the Family Head-nim now by my own strength.”

She took a steady breath, and as if swallowing a bit more air to continue, her words, which should have flowed like water, paused briefly.

“I trust you know what this means.”

Was Regulus uncomfortable answering her words? Regulus, who had been looking at Aria for a moment due to her emotional change, soon looked at the man who was dodging arrows.

However, that sight was only for a moment. Regulus could feel it instinctively.

“Why are the arrows aiming for the head, Aria?”

“There’s a reason I’m the only one using this training ground. A few months ago, there was an error in the spell, and the arrows and artificial monsters stopped caring about the life or death of the living beings in this room. After that, no one but me used this training ground. And at this point, I’m the only Swordsman left in this dormitory, anyway.”

Had he not expected such a situation? Still, did he care for that blind man? He, who had been watching me dodge arrows this way and that, quickly took a step toward the stairs.

Then, with a thud, something blocked his path. Was it Aria’s sword from its scabbard? The back of the pure white sword touched his abdomen, preventing him from moving forward.

“What are you doing, Aria?”

“Didn’t you say you were considering him as a disciple? Then he should be able to endure a place where I can stay all day long without a problem.”

At her words, Regulus’s gaze landed not on Aria but on the blind man below, who was bleeding profusely while dodging arrows. He wanted to rush down and save him, but an unfounded conviction began to well up within Regulus. There was no particular reason. The experience of crossing swords with him a few times, and the intuition he had gained throughout his life, provided the sole basis for this action.

As his hand moved toward the back of the sword, did she think he would shake off her sword and move forward? The sword, now held with more force, trembled slightly. But with a click, a word she hadn’t expected at all came out of his mouth.

“Alright, Aria. How about we make a bet? Whether that blind man can last 20 minutes in there, or not.”

***

Attacks whose next move couldn’t be predicted. Were these truly the attacks of a spell that didn’t wish to kill me? Unlike at first, when only a single arrow came out, now with arrows coming from various directions, I had no choice but to focus all my senses on my hearing.

“Gasping cough…”

Naturally, there was no way to completely avoid arrows coming from multiple angles; I could only deflect them with [Heart Sword] and twist my body to avoid being severely pierced.

You might ask why I don’t just surround myself with [Heart Sword] to block them all. Well, I can give you a very simple answer. What’s the point of solving a problem set by looking at the answer sheet?

My instincts fervently told me that this spell wanted to kill me, but how could the Sword Saint’s words be wrong? I suppressed a sliver of doubt in my heart and focused my mind on every sense I could use.

‘Left, front, up…’

Fortunately, perhaps the arrows had some conscience. The arrows didn’t pour down all at once. It was just that the intervals were very short. One by one, I changed their trajectories, minimizing my injuries, but my clothes, which had been dry when I entered this space, were now soaked with my own blood.

‘Why… did it stop…? Could it be 20 minutes already…?’

Perhaps it hated such a hopeful thought. The spell written on the walls of the space began to thrum. Then, with a swish, arrows suddenly flew from all directions.

[Heart Sword]

Instinct. This was instinct. I judged that these were not attacks to be blocked and avoided by fussing over problem sets and answer sheets. As soon as I heard the sound, I enveloped myself in [Heart Sword].

Did the arrows still have no intention of stopping? From the same direction, and sometimes from different directions. Those countless arrows aimed for me. At this sight, where even the small pauses that had existed before disappeared, I almost wanted to tell Regulus, who must be watching from somewhere, to try it himself, but all I could do was block.

[Cetus Style, First Form] [Deneb Algenubi]

Unable to hold back, I summoned waves. Were my waves too harsh on the arrows? The flying arrows were breaking themselves with clinks.

‘Well… my senses have become sharper… so there’s an achievement. I’ll have to keep coming here to practice…’

I was satisfied with the state of my senses, which felt sharper than usual, and was about to deal with the remaining arrows. But as I moved around, sending waves in all directions, I stepped on something. My sense of touch was amplified. Even with my shoes on, it told me what was beneath me.

Iron fragments. The arrowheads had shattered into pieces beneath my feet. My waves only shattered wood, so why were these fragments scattered across the floor?

As I pondered this question for a moment, a huge roar of a monster could be heard in the space. Not the clear sound I’d heard in [The Garden], but a chilling roar mixed with creaking noises. Since it was a sound I heard while my senses were amplified, my face involuntarily grimaced.

As I covered my ears from the roar, I soon realized what a huge blunder I had made. A cold, massive foot struck my abdomen.

“Gasping cough…”

All I could utter was a dying gasp. My body was already embedded in the wall. My body, which formed a lukewarm pool of blood from the old and new blood, wouldn’t move properly. With blood gushing, my ears were filled, and only muffled sounds, as if filtered, could be heard intermittently; nothing else was clear.

Did it know that I could no longer move? The cold monster began to prowl closer to me.

But could that monster see? Just as the shadow of the man named Regulus held a brave lion, so too did the blind man before him hold something within his shadow.