Chapter 5
Suddenly being called admirable, I couldn’t think of anything I had done that deserved such praise.
Adela extended her hand to me, speaking with a composed tone.
“I look forward to a good match.”
“Y-yes.”
Taking her hand, I stood and positioned myself at one side of the arena, drawing my sword.
Adela mirrored my action, drawing her sword and assuming a formal stance with both hands on the hilt, showing the same etiquette, I had previously demonstrated.
We stood in silence, gazing at each other, swords aimed, but it was clear that the duel had already begun.
As the clouds passed and the moonlight shone down,
Adela’s sword gleamed silver in the lunar glow.
In that instant, as the light flashed towards my eyes, Karon’s teachings echoed in my mind.
——Remember, those who deceive others often end up deceiving themselves.
Believing my sight to be obstructed, Adela charged, but I thrust my blade to intercept her attack.
Adela, surprised by my counterattack that disregarded my safety, leaned back to avoid it.
——Swordsmanship may seem complex, but the possibilities are ultimately limited.
It was exactly as we had practiced in sparring sessions with the protagonist.
I let go of all my tension and decided to stick to what I had prepared.
Adela, using the ground to pivot, tried to sweep my legs and knock me down.
Instead, I leaped forward, driving my sword downward.
Adela barely twisted her body to dodge my strike and retaliated with a slash of her own.
Using my momentum, I pulled my sword from the ground and adjusted my stance.
Adela was likely fixing hers too.
I couldn’t afford to give her an opening.
——There’s no such thing as dishonour in combat. Only the fool who couldn’t adapt to all possibilities is to blame.
Pulling a dagger from my coat, I threw it at Adela, forcing her to retreat before she could fully recover her stance.
Seizing the moment, I aimed a decisive strike.
——Like a river’s current, it’s hard to block the flowing water.
When she blocked my strike with her blade, I twisted my wrist to redirect my sword toward her.
The difference in experience was clear.
Adela deftly deflected my blade, creating an opening to thrust her own.
I barely managed to dodge, but now Adela was using the same tactic against me.
I blocked her downward strike with my sword held in both hands.
“I almost died just now…”
Looking down at me, Adela’s eyes had turned icy cold.
She spun with a blue flame trailing her blade, aiming to cut through my torso.
Adela didn’t need tricks. She was a powerhouse.
Like a powerful wave, I felt I was about to be swept away.
Taking a deep breath, I moved with reckless resolve.
Our swords clashed.
***
Karon observed the match through a magical tool.
“Not bad for just a few weeks of training. To hold his own against a girl who’s been training her whole life… He’s definitely untalented, but still… even if she’s going easy on him.”
Karon had told the Duke’s Swordmaster from House Hainder that,
“My disciple has only trained for a few weeks!”
Initially, Adela had matched Serupe’s level and held back, as if to humour him.
But after taking several unexpected hits, she seemed to snap, and that ended her restraint.
Faced with Adela’s serious attacks, Serupe was cornered and visibly afraid.
“With such a gap in skill, if she loses, that old man will definitely be humiliated. He brags about his family so much it’s annoying.”
Karon, however, remained calm.
Sometimes, it happens.
Unbelievably monstrous individuals who don’t even realize they’re geniuses.
Watching Serupe’s latent talent finally bloom, Karon smiled with satisfaction.
***
I hadn’t expected him to be my opponent.
It seemed the bullying he endured from delinquents was all an act.
Despite his power, he wielded it sparingly,
Maintaining pride and conviction even while in the mud.
“I see. You are truly admirable.”
But I am Hainder.
My grandfather always said to hold back against opponents,
And so I shall abide by his wisdom.
I’m sorry.
Facing me must be a stroke of bad luck for you.
But that was my arrogance speaking.
‘What is this movement…?’
This boy displayed the instincts of someone who had spent years on the battlefield.
It was nothing like what I had seen from him before, which made it all the more shocking.
Even his eyes, completely focused on the battle.
A seasoned warrior.
It seems I need to take this seriously now.
The Moonlight Sword of Hainder.
A technique designed to guard the royal family from the shadows, flawless in its execution.
A sword style crafted to perfectly subdue opponents.
Our blades clashed.
And now, it’s over.
My sword raced towards his torso.
It would hurt, but I had prepared proper healing supplies.
——Buzz.
‘What is this…?’
But my sword was stopped by an invisible force.
I withdrew, regrouping, and looked at my opponent.
Tears were streaming down his face.
The sight sent chills down my spine.
‘I might die here.’
The countless foes he must have cut down,
The sorrow accumulated over time was etched on his face.
And yet, he remained focused on the battle,
A man who had crossed an unimaginable number of life-or-death situations.
Indeed, this exchange between disciples of famed masters on the continent was no mere sparring.
Adela, stay alert.
If you’re not careful, you’ll die.
***
Serupe couldn’t quite comprehend how he was still alive.
‘I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared…’
He tried not to cry, but a few tears slipped down his cheeks.
If he hadn’t blocked that last strike, his body would have been cleaved in two.
But did he know?
That the surge of mana he had accumulated had momentarily hidden his sword’s form.
“You’re truly incredible, Sir Serupe. From now on, I’ll fight as if my life depends on it.”
Those words left Serupe stunned.
‘Wait, wasn’t this supposed to be a friendly match? Why are you fighting for your life?!’
Moonlight-like energy began radiating from Adela’s blade.
She really looked ready to stake her life on this fight.
Fearing he might truly die if he didn’t take this seriously, Serupe focused all the mana he had built up into his sword.
Though he couldn’t properly form sword energy, doing nothing wasn’t an option.
As he pushed his mana beyond its limits, dizziness overtook him.
Even so, his enhanced body moved differently than before.
——Boom!
The sound that rang out didn’t seem like it could have come from two swords clashing.
Unable to properly meet Adela’s blade, Serupe staggered backward, his unsteady movements resembling a dance to Adela’s eyes.
In an instant, Serupe vanished from Adela’s sight.
‘Please, please, please, please, please… I want to live. I want to live. I want to live…’
——Screech.
A desperate strike emerged from the shadows, enveloping Adela.
Without a lifetime of training, she would never have been able to block it.
But even then, Serupe’s blade grazed her shoulder as it slipped through her defenses.
“Ugh.”
Unaware that his attack had landed, Serupe continued to move.
‘I must win. I must win. I must win.’
Losing wasn’t the issue; if he lost, the monstrous protagonist would claim his training was insufficient and insist on making him the strongest in the world.
Once more,
Serupe’s blade closed in on Adela.
‘Where is it coming from… where?!’
Adela couldn’t predict the path of his strikes.
The combination of raw talent, beginner unpredictability, and desperation created an unorthodox sword style.
Unusual and unexpected attacks forced Adela to defend frantically, scattering her strikes in all directions.
But this only drove Serupe further.
The thought of being skewered by her dazzling strikes kept his instincts sharp.
For a moment, Adela’s eyes caught Serupe’s figure.
His arms hung limp, his head bowed, and tears streaked his face as he stared at her.
To Adela, he looked like an executioner about to deliver a fatal blow.
A chill ran down her spine, spreading across her body.
She felt suffocated by the unprecedented dynamics of this battle.
But Adela wasn’t one of the continent’s greatest talents for nothing.
If she took the initiative, she would win.
Executing the advanced techniques of the Moonlight Sword to perfection, Adela unleashed a devastating attack aimed at the still-standing Serupe.
In that moment, Serupe felt terror like never before.
He dodged, ducked, and evaded while clinging tightly to his sword.
Adela’s blade struck multiple times, but none of her blows landed cleanly.
Then Serupe disappeared again, moving erratically around the arena.
Adela felt as if she were trapped in darkness, surrounded on all sides.
Following only the sounds, she swung her sword, but her strikes failed to connect.
She tried to suppress him, but suddenly she found herself meeting Serupe’s bloodshot eyes as he loomed over her.
“Ah… How could this be…?”
Even the moonlight couldn’t fully illuminate the night’s darkness.
Serupe’s blade, exuding dark energy, pressed against Adela’s throat.
At the critical moment,
In the Hainder family’s Elder Council, a swordmaster slammed his hand on the table and sprang to his feet.
His precious granddaughter was about to die.
But just as quickly,
Serupe’s sword aura dissipated, and he staggered.
Adela, who had shut her eyes tightly, couldn’t understand why her opponent had stopped.
Cautiously opening her eyes, she saw Serupe drop his sword.
Tears streamed down his face.
As if to say he no longer wanted to take another life.
What kind of life had this man lived?
As Serupe collapsed, Adela caught him in her arms.
If someone had to declare a winner, it would have been Serupe’s defeat.
Yet anyone who watched the duel would think Serupe had emerged victorious.
Feeling utterly defeated, Adela held the unconscious Serupe and stroked his hair.
“Poor man.”
The pain she imagined he must be feeling began to fill her heart.
Cradling him as she leaned against the wall, she gently soothed the peacefully sleeping Serupe, gazing up at the moon.
Looking at the moon struggling to illuminate the darkness, Adela felt she could relate.
As a practitioner of the Moonlight Sword, Adela realized she had grown just a bit stronger.
—
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