Scholhart

1.

Purely based on skill, Beriel is superior.

Yuriel knows that fact well.

It was immediately apparent, and by clashing swords, one could gauge whether the opponent’s skill was below or above their own to some extent.

Their practical experience also differs.

There’s no need to consider who would be more advantageous in a one-on-one fight between someone living in the academy and someone performing missions in a special forces unit.

However.

Being behind in skill doesn’t necessarily mean being at an absolute disadvantage.

Yuriel knows Beriel well.

She had been watching her all along while being bullied by her.

How she incapacitates her opponents and how she instills helplessness in them.

The way she twitches the corner of her mouth like a habit before attacking.

The pattern of attacking the ankle followed by the flank.

And also, that her openings increase when she gets angry.

“Ugh…!”

Yuriel’s sword grazed Beriel’s thigh.

Beriel’s eyes, with their clearly visible blood vessels, widened.

One corner of her mouth twitched as if she were having a spasm.

Having been caught off guard by the underdog she had been underestimating and ignoring until now, she felt bewildered and extremely humiliated.

Beriel looked at the red sword mark etched on her thigh.

“Ha, haha.”

She laughed with a stiff face.

“Is this a dream?”

If it’s a dream, it’s a nightmare.

“But it hurts.”

The wounded area tingled.

She wanted to think it was a dream, but it wasn’t.

“Shiiibal… This is absurd.”

Beriel turned around.

“……”

Yuriel’s sword was pointing at her.

Beriel sighed deeply and lowered her head.

She needed to teach some manners to her impudent younger sister.

Beriel’s body slowly turned backward as if she were about to fall.

Just as her upper body was halfway tilted, Beriel kicked off the ground and shot forward.

Approaching Yuriel in just three steps, Beriel filled her narrowed pupils with Yuriel and thrust her sword forward.

-Clang!

The swords clashed, and Beriel’s sword was deflected upward.

The two people’s eyes, hidden behind their swords, met.

Rage and rage.

Two identical but differently tempered emotions collided.

Like swarms of bees serving different queens colliding, the two swords clashed busily, and the sound of blades grinding echoed.

If there were a song of swords, wouldn’t it be like this?

They stood their ground, evenly matched, without giving an inch.

There was no defense.

Only attacks filled with emotion.

If they let go of their swords even for a moment, the price would be etched onto their skin.

If this continued, it would become a war of attrition. The outcome would likely depend on who exhausted their stamina and Magical power first.

A lackluster ending.

The Elders didn’t want to see such a match.

The two people in the arena felt the same way.

They thought they had to take the other down before one of them collapsed from exhaustion.

…This won’t do.

Just because there was an opening in Beriel didn’t mean it was easy to exploit. Beriel’s movements were fast enough to cover the gap.

She wanted to win no matter what.

So, how?

They were evenly matched now, but Beriel was gradually starting to gain composure. As a result, her impulsive attacks were decreasing, and she was making calculated attacks, reducing openings.

A way… a way…!

At that moment, the Saintess’s advice came to mind.

This, too, was a battle of wits in some ways.

If you make an attack that the opponent doesn’t expect, you can inflict significant damage.

The question is, how much are they expecting?

The answer is simple.

They won’t be expecting anything.

Unni doesn’t know my skills. Or rather, she’s not interested in me.

I’m nothing more than someone to bully.

So, if I use even a slightly different technique, she’ll be flustered.

Among those, what is the most threatening?

Should I release the sword?

If it’s the Frozen sword, it might inflict a fatal wound.

No.

Yuriel isn’t the only one who can release the sword.

Beriel can do it too, so it won’t be much different from the current state.

But that doesn’t mean there’s no other way.

A memory was flashing in her head as if telling her to use ‘this.’

The technique that even Older brother was surprised by.

Since she hasn’t mastered it yet, using it in front of the dignitaries might be rude. And she’ll get an earful from Older brother again.

So what?

She’s been hearing nagging since she was born, and she wouldn’t feel anything even if she was criticized by the Elders, who are practically strangers.

Only one thing matters.

Giving her sister, who she wishes would just die, a good hit.

Yuriel stretched the hand holding the sword behind her.

She lowered her stance and prepared to use the Dragon Slayer Sword.

As expected, the audience began to stir.

There wouldn’t be anyone here who didn’t know about this technique.

Especially the area where the Elders were sitting was noisy.

Some were watching with interest, while others were yelling that she was being disrespectful in the presence of the Elder.

“Ha, what’s this?”

Beriel, who had been launching a quick attack, stopped and sneered.

“Imitation? Do you think you can use that technique just by imitating the stance?”

Behind her chattering sister, Older brother could be seen.

Older brother was always silently watching the situation with the same expressionless face.

“If it’s imitation, I can do it too.”

Beriel mocked Yuriel by imitating her stance.

She also didn’t particularly care about other people’s opinions, so she ignored the yelling from over there.

As if they had coordinated, the two ran towards each other at the same time.

They swung their swords.

Yuriel had a desperate expression as if she was about to deliver the final blow, while Beriel grinned as if mocking her younger sister’s clumsy imitation.

What she saw in her eyes was Yuriel’s pupils burning with fighting spirit.

And.

A blue color rose as if Yuriel’s sword was on fire.

“Uh… ra…?”

Sword and sword collided.

A faint blue line was drawn.

And.

Beriel’s sword was cleanly cut off.

Beriel stared at the cut surface with disbelieving eyes.

“No, no way…”

It was clumsy, but that was definitely the Dragon Slayer Sword.

“How could you…?”

Beriel looked ahead.

“Ah…”

She let her guard down.

A crude iron sword was right in front of her.

“Kueukk…!!”

The flat surface of the sword struck Beriel’s face.

Her highly raised nose flattened, and her grinning face contorted in pain.

She fell backward.

She tightened her core to maintain her balance so she wouldn’t fall.

“Eut…!”

But Yuriel, who knew how to knock people down through experience, kicked her ankle, just like her sister always did.

Beriel fell.

A stream of red roots sprouted from her nostrils, which were flaring with bewilderment.

“Ha… you sh*t…!!”

The finish.

Yuriel’s sword struck Beriel.

It was a glorious moment, the first time she had ever rebelled against her sister.

2.

Shockingly.

The winner of the match was Yuriel.

Everyone had bet on Beriel winning as a matter of course.

Until the middle of the match, that decision was undoubtedly correct.

“That was an interesting match.”

The Saintess, who had been watching the match with great interest, patted the Elder’s back.

“Saintess-nim…!”

The Holy Knight next to her, Rael, was horrified and stopped the Saintess.

“……”

The Elder raised his hand, indicating that it was okay.

“Yes, it was an interesting match.”

Unlike the Elders, who were noisy, saying that she had insulted the Elder’s technique, the Elder was somewhat proud of his youngest granddaughter, who was practicing his technique on her own.

“She’s a student I’m teaching.”

The Saintess smiled as if she was boasting.

“Ah… I understand now.”

He wondered how she was able to use that technique.

Of course, having a good teacher doesn’t necessarily mean becoming a good student.

Even though it wasn’t perfect, he could praise her for being able to imitate the technique even a little.

Because it’s not an easy technique.

If it was an easy technique, everyone would be using it.

“Elder.”

The Duke’s aide carefully approached.

“It seems that the next match will be delayed due to Shane’s absence.”

The second prince had not yet arrived.

Originally, he should have arrived last night, and if they had gone to pick him up today, he would have arrived at least before the last match.

But there was still no news.

“How long will it take?”

“We just sent out investigators. We don’t know how far he’s come, so we don’t know how long it will take.”

“So, we have some time.”

“That’s right.”

“Then I’ll use that time for a bit.”

The Elder nudged the Saintess next to him with his elbow.

“Let’s go.”

The Elder grabbed his sword and got up from his seat.

“Elder?”

The aide called out as if to ask what he meant.

At that moment, the Saintess also got up from her seat.

“I’ll just borrow a practice sword.”

She said that to the aide and followed the Elder down to the arena.

“Saintess-nim?”

The two stood facing each other in the arena.

The people who were waiting for the last first-round match were buzzing at the appearance of the family’s Elder and the Saintess.

“Listen well.”

As soon as the Elder opened his mouth, the surroundings became quiet in an instant.

His heavy voice echoed in the arena.

“From now on, I will show you a duel that will end an era.”

Ending an era.

It was understandable and yet not understandable.

He understood the Elder, but why the Saintess?

“I hope that watching this duel today will be meaningful to those of you who will lead the new era.”

The Elder raised his sword.

“Watch carefully.”

The sword pointed towards the Saintess.

“The Sword Dance of two heroes.”