I’m sorry for this

Knights achieve small or large feats.

Depending on the size and nature of the feat, they are often given titles, but knights who crave honor strive for that.

And the epithet attached to Rebecca’s name is ‘Invincible.’

The invincible knight, Rebecca. For knights who make a living out of victory and honor, there is no greater praise.

But even this is an understatement, and it did not fully capture the person known as ‘Rebecca.’

Not just winning without losing. Every record of victory was nearly flawless and overwhelming.

In hundreds of duels, there was not a single instance where she allowed the opponent’s sword to touch her.

She had seen much bloodshed, but the blood that flowed from her own flesh, she had never even seen a drop.

A clean body without a single scar. It was a testament to the epithet ‘Invincible.’

Whack!

But what is this all about?

She was hit by an opponent for the first time. A moment that was monumental in many ways.

“What, what?!”

“The young master hit Lady Rebecca…!”

The knights watching the duel all exclaimed in awe.

Their widened eyes and gaping mouths, overall shocked expressions, reflected their emotions.

Even the two patriarchs who were silently observing were astonished.

“Ugh!”

But most surprising of all was Rebecca herself.

What is this feeling?

It hurts. Her face involuntarily frowned. The first experience of pain could not even be put into words.

At this moment, even feeling anger was considered a luxury. She was too busy just enduring the pain.

‘What is this…’

Lost in a daze, she was snapped out of it by a vicious sound.

Crack!

The air split with a vicious sound, jolting her back to reality.

The fist flying towards her grew in an instant. Momentarily stunned, she instinctively dodged.

Crash!

The ground beneath her feet cracked and crumbled.

She looked at the shattered ground in shock.

“!”

Calm down. There’s no time for distractions.

She tried to calm her confused mind and moved her feet.

She needed to create some distance for now.

It was more of a reflexive retreat born out of panic than a strategic move.

“You’re supposed to take the hit, not dodge it. I’m here to give you a makeover with my fists.”

“…”

She raised her head to look at Evan.

The smirk on his lips seemed to mock her.

Meeting his gaze, the revulsion she had just felt towards the pain vanished instantly.

Thud!

She glared at Evan with fiery eyes.

“…Annoying.”

“Did you look in the mirror?”

“That mouth… I’ll rip it apart.”

After uttering those words, she calmed her mind with a deep breath.

Her rough breathing gradually calmed down, and only short breaths could be heard.

“I tried to overlook it, but I can’t. I’ll cut off both your arms.”

With a composed demeanor, she delivered a chilling threat.

Evan shrugged casually in response.

“My old friend once told me this. Repay kindness in kind. Repay enmity twice over.”

“So, I won’t just settle for two arms. I’ll have to tear your whole body apart to satisfy my anger.”

“…Try if you can. But you’ll probably end up dead before that.”

Rebecca gripped the hilt of her sword tightly and took a step forward.

As she approached, Evan also gripped his sword.

Clang! Crash!

They swung their swords at each other with full force.

The knights in the audience were mesmerized by the spectacle, forgetting to close their mouths.

In the silent arena, only the sharp sound of metal resounded.

Clang! Crash!

As their stamina waned, their breaths became audible, but even that was drowned out by the impact.

The endless exchange of blows between the two gradually began to reveal its conclusion.

“Kek!”

A sharp sensation spread from her side.

Rebecca, who was not used to pain, stopped her attack and quickly stepped back.

Evan did not chase after her. He stood still, catching his breath.

“Ugh…!”

Blood oozed from the torn skin.

Rebecca looked down at the painful area.

“Did I…?”

The wound was not deep enough to hinder the battle. It was just a superficial scratch that didn’t even affect the nerves.

But why? Rebecca couldn’t help but worry.

“Ugh…!”

To veteran knights, it might be a minor injury, but to Rebecca, experiencing pain for the first time, it was a huge unknown and fear.

Rebecca trembled as she covered the area where she was hit, quickly withdrawing her hand from the tingling sensation.

“Stop exaggerating. Was it really that painful?”

Evan said with a hint of sarcasm.

“If you can’t handle that, how will you survive in the future?”

“Shut up…”

Rebecca didn’t show any signs of pain as she glanced at Evan.

But the slight dissatisfaction on her face was not a lie.

“Phew…”

The shame and sense of defeat floating in Rebecca’s mind were truly overwhelming.

But her immense self-confidence swallowed them all up.

It wasn’t baseless confidence. Rebecca was determined to prove it soon.

“…I was planning to play with you for a while, but I’ll just kill you now.”

Rebecca stared at Evan fiercely and said so.

Evan tried to respond in a dry tone as before, but for a moment, he remained silent.

Shiing!

Rebecca’s sword faintly hummed.

As the precursor, a blue light enveloped the sword.

The aura of a knight, symbolized by the sword.

Mana is the most important thing in swordsmanship.

It forms the basis of the sword’s aura, and depending on the quality of it, the sword’s aura varies greatly.

“Phew.”

Rebecca let out a short breath.

Finally, she was about to finish manifesting her sword’s aura.

Swish!

A formed strike flew towards Rebecca.

She hastily dodged, forgetting to manifest her own sword’s aura.

Crack!

The wall she was relying on collapsed in an instant.

As she stared at the wall that was struck, Rebecca turned her gaze towards Evan.

But what she saw was not Evan. It was a giant strike growing in size in real-time.

“W-what!”

The sword aura transferred to Evan’s sword shot out.

Rebecca dodged the strike again, barely avoiding it, and gasped.

“O-Outside the wall?!”

Releasing a sword aura that she couldn’t even do herself, and doing it twice, was that even possible?

Even in the face of a clear sight, disbelief took over. Not only Rebecca, but everyone else found it hard to believe the situation.

The knights of the Elaine family, who were just sighing, began to mutter.

“Am I dreaming right now?”

“How can Sir Evan release a sword aura!”

“Haha! This is completely insane!”

Although the content of their words varied, the meaning was the same.

On the other hand, the knights of the Laurentz family, who were watching the situation with hope, were shocked and anxious.

Rebecca’s undefeated record was about to be broken. It left them with a great sense of regret.

“H-How did you…?”

Rebecca asked Evan, anger suppressed.

But asking questions on the battlefield instead of using a sword was like suicide.

Swish!

Once again, a blue strike flew towards her, and she quickly raised her sword to block it.

With maximum magical and physical strength, she managed to fend off the approaching strike.

“Haah!”

Her hands holding the sword trembled thinly.

Simple comparison was impossible with the overwhelming power.

“Again, again?!”

The sword strikes once more.

Rather than approaching, avoiding and blocking the relentless attacks is everything.

Rebecca moved her body around, sharpening her skills.

“Darn it…!”

No matter who the opponent was, victory belonged to her. Today, just like always, Evan in front of her should be writhing on the ground in defeat.

But why?

For the first time in her life, Rebecca felt a sense of powerlessness, causing her hands to tremble.

“Once this is over…! You will definitely die…!”

Avoiding and blocking the relentless attacks is everything.

Of course, even Evan, being human, would have limited magic and would inevitably show some weaknesses.

Rebecca waited for that moment, mentally prepared.

But that mental preparation seemed to fade as the end was nowhere in sight.

The attacks continued to rain down almost infinitely.

Bang! Clang!

“How long…! Argh!”

Her sword, held high, began to crumble. The crumbling sword seemed to signify her own limits.

Several wounds began to appear on her body.

Crack! Thud!

Starting from her shoulder, to her side, waist, thigh, abdomen, crimson lines were drawn all over her body.

Unable to overcome the pain and shock, she dropped her sword.

“Stop! The duel is over!”

“Ah. I didn’t even realize it was over.”

Evan turned to see Rebecca, who was kneeling with half-closed eyes.

A pitiful sight to behold. Her body covered in blood resembled a battle-worn soldier who had just fought a fierce war.

But in contrast, the anger and venom etched on her face were still vivid.

“Hmm. That woman is quite stubborn.”

If you only looked at her fiery gaze, she seemed like a knight preparing for battle.

It’s just that her body was in no condition for that. If she could move, she would have lunged at me and slit my throat.

With a shudder, Evan sheathed his sword.

“Are you…alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Look, I’m perfectly fine, right?”

“I see.”

The knight in charge of judgment still looked bewildered as he examined Evan’s body.

As expected, there was nothing wrong. Even if he collapsed from magical exhaustion, it wouldn’t be surprising at all. The knight coughed awkwardly without saying anything.

“Why don’t you check on her instead of me? She’s bleeding so much, she might collapse soon.”

“Yes, yes!”

The knight replied shortly and rushed towards Rebecca.

Evan glanced briefly to the side.

There stood his father, Zait, watching.

‘…He sure sheds a lot of tears.’

He also locked eyes with Paulo, who was standing beside him.

Eyes that seemed to want to tear him apart. Evan responded with a wry smile.

Anyway, now that the duel was over, it was time to go down. Evan briefly bowed to Zait and began to descend from the field.

“Ugh!”

A man’s groan was heard from behind.

Evan turned his back to confirm the sound. That’s when it happened.

Slash!

Suddenly, Rebecca, who had approached right in front of him, stabbed her sword.

Reacting belatedly, Evan managed to avoid being hit.

“Are you insane?”

“That damn mouth of yours…I said I would tear it apart, didn’t I?”

“….”

“Hehe…just like before. Watch closely. I’ll definitely kill you.”

Rebecca’s sword struck Evan’s shoulder at lightning speed, but it ended up hitting empty air.

Not stopping there, Rebecca unleashed a series of attacks. Evan followed her steps, dodging her sword strikes.

‘…Hmm.’

Evan continued to move backward to avoid her sword.

Occasionally, he glanced at the position of the judgment knight.

“Approach me like before!”

Rebecca’s footwork caused Evan to be thrown off balance.

With that, Evan turned his body in the opposite direction.

Thud!

The knight who was getting up collided with Evan.

The impact was quite strong, causing them to fall completely out of the field.

There was no one around to stop them immediately.

“Ahaha!”

Rebecca burst into laughter, half in shock. Evan glared at her with cold eyes.

“Now you have a face worth looking at! Yes! I’ll even take out that arrogant look of yours―! Ugh!”

Evan punched her in the abdomen.

The impact made Rebecca gasp for breath without a word.

“Ugh! Ugh…!”

She tried to endure the pain and draw her sword again.

At that moment, Evan’s palm engulfed Rebecca’s face.

“You’re really impossible.”

He immediately lifted Rebecca up. She hung in the air, unable to resist.

“Just die.”

“Let go of me! Let go! Damn it! Don’t let go!?”

She struggled and cursed, flailing her body.

A moment later, a huge impact was felt.

Boom!

Her face hit the ground hard.

Later, as she tried to get up, Evan once again struck her abdomen.

And he lifted her up again, slapping her cheeks one after another.

“Ugh! Stop! Damn it! Stop!”

Smack!

“Ahh! I’ll kill you―!”

Smack!

“Damn it! Can you handle this―!”

Smack!

Once, twice, thrice, four times.

The more she resisted, the more force he applied, scratching her face with his strength.

“Ow! You… I will definitely kill you….”

Evan glanced around with a side eye. Two knights were running towards them.

But they were far from the field, so there was still plenty of time.

Without hesitation, Evan reached out and grabbed Rebecca’s arm.

“!”

Snap – the sound of it breaking. But louder than that was Rebecca’s scream.

“Ahh!”

Both arms were broken. He even took care of the other arm.

Her screams pierced the ears even more.

And slowly, Rebecca’s voice faded.

“Ugh! This bastard!”

Anger mixed with curses.

“Please, just a moment…! Ugh…!”

Begging turned into desperation.

“Ugh! It hurts…! Please stop…! Spare me!”

Suddenly, she begged for her life with a voice filled with tears.

Just as the timing was right, two knights arrived and stopped Evan.

Of course, Evan had no intention of stopping. He quickly subdued the knights and continued his violence.

―Boom!

“I… I’m sorry…! Please, stop now…!”

―Slash!

“Ugh…! I-I feel like I’m going to die…! Please…!”

―Thud!

“I’m sorry…. I made a mistake…. I won’t do it again…. Ugh…!”

―Thud!

“Ugh…! Ugh! Please…! Spare me….”

How long did it go on like this?

Evan looked at the blood-soaked sword in his hand and let out a deep sigh.

“Phew….”

There was no remorse, even though his actions were excessive.

In fact, stopping at this point was mercy.

“Ugh…! It hurts…. Ugh….”

Rebecca crouched down, tears streaming endlessly. Evan looked down at her for a moment.

But then he felt something wet under his feet and lowered his head.

“….”

The amount of water flowing in the present tense.

Evan followed the stream with his gaze, and at the end was Rebecca, soaked in water up to her waist.

It seemed she had shed more than just tears.

‘…I feel a little sorry.’

Evan turned back with a bitter taste in his mouth.