Chapter 6

EP.6 Reinhardt-1

Swords clash wildly.

"...What... is that...?"

A corresponding wind pressure resounds.

Jehad, witnessing the scene, could only gape in astonishment.

'...When did Miss get this strong...!'

The Ariasphiel before his eyes was not the 'Miss' he had known for the past week.

Her swordsmanship, the purity of her mana, and even her attitude were on a different level from before.

'...And how is that kid...’

He wondered about the identity of the boy who was blocking all of Ariasphiel's sword strikes.

Just a mere mercenary... how...!?

However, there were two things Jehad failed to notice even in this situation.

The first was that he couldn't fully follow their movements with his eyes.

The second was...

'...Indeed, he's strong. I can't hold back.'

'Faster than I thought. If I go easy... I'll be pushed back.'

The two young people had not yet exerted their full strength.

Clang!!

Their swords clashed, and they momentarily pulled away from each other.

"Huff...!"

Ariasphiel, taking a deep breath, fully unleashed her mana.

The wind around her intensified, and mana concentrated on her.

[Here I come, kid.]

"I know."

Sword strikes came in rapid succession.

A flurry of powerful strikes, such swordsmanship had been rampant.

'It's not just strength or posture.'

She accurately predicted Leo's movements and responded with the best sword technique suitable for the situation.

In just a week of training, Ariasphiel had already devised a way to counter Leo.

[He's really a genius. His talents grow endlessly like weeds.]

<Is that a compliment?>

A remarkable talent for turning compliments into insults.

But

<He has indeed gotten stronger. If this continues...>

He might lose by a hair.

That fact didn't frighten her.

No, quite the opposite.

The fact that she could threaten her to this extent was a great thrill for Leo.

"Today...! I will win...!!"

She fully unleashed her mana to finish the fight. She was no longer at a level where someone like Jehad could even keep up.

But

"...Huh?!"

Her opponent was the one who had always been a threat to her, the second-best.

[Oh!]

What deflected her sword was not one sword.

"Indeed, it's fast. It's hard to counter with just one sword."

Leo countered with two swords.

"...You're a dual-wielder, Leonardo...?"

"Depending on the situation. I haven't really chosen one over the other."

Leonardo had talent in martial arts but didn't possess the peak growth potential like Ariasphiel.

So the method he chose was...

<To learn as many and diverse martial arts as possible, that's the path I've chosen.>

[Wouldn't it be better to focus on one?]

<Some people do, but this is better for me.>

He couldn't defeat Ariasphiel with just one technique. In one style, she was undoubtedly a first-rate fighter.

[So you're going for a multi-pronged, overwhelming attack?]

<You can summarize my lifelong effort so casually, can you?>

Ignoring the belittlement, Leonardo gripped his swords with both hands.

"Here I go."

The counterattack began.

The speed of his strikes was incomparable to before, not just twice as fast, but the flow of his attacks was also irregular.

'Strong...! And fast...!'

Ariasphiel, barely deflecting his strikes, was amazed and astonished. She thought she had him, but Leonardo had more.

'But...'

She also had more talent.

'Not as strong as before.'

With both hands wielding swords, the strength of his attacks was inevitably divided.

Realizing this wasn't an easy feat, but she was the one who had always defeated the second-best.

Clang!! Clang!!

The sound of their clash was distinctly different, and Leo's expression changed upon seeing and hearing it.

'Already found a way to counter? Indeed, she's terrifying.'

Their swords clashed continuously, and the sound of their strikes signaled the conclusion.

"Huff... Huff..."

"...Huff..."

Mana concentrated deeply in their swords. This strike would likely end the duel.

'I will win...!'

'I can't lose yet.'

Their stances were ready. All that was left was for their swords to meet.

They charged, and their swords met.

BOOM!!

A deafening explosion.

But it wasn't the sound of their swords clashing.

[What the hell! Damn it!! This is the most exciting part!]

They stopped their sword dance and turned their heads toward the direction of the explosion.

"...What is it!? Miss?!"

[It's a monster.]

"It's a monster."

This thick, dirty aura of malice could be sensed immediately with her refined senses.

"A monster?"

"Sorry. Let's postpone the duel!"

With that, Leo started running in the direction of the explosion.

"Wait! Leonardo!"

Without answering, Leo ran toward the village where the explosion had occurred.

"Suddenly a monster...!"

[Did a gate suddenly open? This didn't happen before the regression?]

Before the regression, he didn't even know this would happen. Originally, Leo would lose to Ariasphiel, and she would leave the village early.

Leo, feeling humiliated, would chase after her and leave the village.

"I had heard rumors of a gate opening in the village before, but this thick aura of malice..."

[Yeah, it's not just goblins or a group of skeletons.]

As they ran toward the village, screams could be heard. The village was on the verge of becoming a wasteland, and it wasn't hard to find dead bodies.

"Roarrrrr!!"

That fierce roar, he had heard that monstrous scream before.

"Valloc...!"

[...It's definitely him. Valloc.]

The beast of inferno, Valloc.

"Roarrrrr!!"

Valloc began slaughtering the villagers, spewing flames.

"Help...!! Dad...!! Mom...!!"

A young child was crying near Valloc, looking for their parents. Valloc, seeing the child, was about to send the child to join their dead father.

Clang!!

"Roar...?"

Valloc's fist was stopped by Leo's sword.

"...Eh...?"

The child, who had closed their eyes tightly, slowly opened them.

"Kid...! I'm struggling here...!"

Valloc's fist was gradually pushing back Leo's sword.

"Can you run away quickly...?"

"A...Aa...! Yes!!"

The child, hearing Leo's words, started running.

[...Now, you should run...]

"I can't."

Swinging his sword, Leo answered.

[What? You're not going to run?]

Measuring the distance to Valloc, Leo gripped his sword again.

"...Yes."

[Are you crazy? Even if he's a cub, he's still Valloc.]

Valloc was a formidable opponent, even for a 2nd Circle Mage or a 3-star Knight.

Of course, the one in front of him was a cub, but the racial gap was already significantly disadvantageous.

"...What else can I do? I'm the only one who can fight here."

That was true. The village's security level couldn't defeat Valloc, and neither Jehad nor Ariasphiel could handle him.

[...Do you want to be a hero?]

"No way."

What Leo wanted to be wasn't a superficial hero.

"Running away would be embarrassing. As a sage's disciple and as her competitor."

[...Sigh, what's different about you.]

The sage sighed but smiled. Leo, facing Valloc, also smiled.

[Here I come.]

Valloc, spewing flames from the corners of his mouth, started charging.

"Roarrrrr!!"

Even a slight touch of the flames or a graze from his fist would be fatal. With only one core, Leo would die instantly.

'So I have to dodge everything.'

Valloc's attacks didn't reach Leo. He narrowly avoided all of them.

[...He's deliberately showing his weaknesses and making his attacks predictable.]

Leo didn't have the physical ability to surpass Valloc. Valloc had the advantage in both strength and speed. Therefore, Leo deliberately created openings.

If he took Valloc's attacks, he would die instantly, but by making the attacks predictable, he could definitely avoid them.

[...You're a deceiver.]

"I'm about to die, so shut up."

And another advantage of this method wasn't just in defense and evasion.

"Roar?!"

While Valloc was swinging his fist, Leo's sword slashed. A surprise strike cut into Valloc's fist.

[...You can even counter. Still not a genius? A deceiver?]

Countering immediately after evading, the best time to attack was when the opponent's attack failed.

"Shut up! One hit and I'm dead!"

Saying that, Leo swung his other sword.

Crack!

The sound of metal breaking, cheap swords couldn't be expected to do much.

'...This is enough.'

But it didn't matter. The shock that rang out as the sword broke would slow Valloc's movements.

"Roar...?!"

And Leo didn't miss this opportunity.

"Roarrrrr!!"

He stabbed Valloc's wrist with his other sword and twisted it in the opposite direction.

Crack

The sound of bones twisting, and Valloc's right hand lost its strength.

'Good. If this continues, I can win...!'

"Roarrrrr!!"

But unfortunately,

Flame!!

The opponent was not a noble knight but a beast of inferno.

'Breath...!'

[...It's not aimed at you. You don't need to worry...]

The moment his gaze shifted, he had to cancel that thought.

"Mom...! Wake up...!"

It was the child from earlier.

"Lewis...! Leave your mom... and run...!!"

The child was desperately trying to pull his mother, who was trapped under the debris.

"Damn...! Damn...!"

Swearing repeatedly, Leo rushed toward the mother and child, toward the incoming fireball.

He deflected the fireball with his sword, enveloped in aura.

"Run! Do you want to go to heaven together!?"

"But my arm...!"

"Ah!! Damn!!"

Swearing, Leo kicked away the debris pinning the child's arm.

"Hurry!!"

The mother, holding her injured arm, ran away with the child.

"Now...!"

"Roar!!"

The fist was already coming.

'Damn.'

[Damn.]

The impact sent Leo flying.

"Cough...!"

The impact against the building wall turned his body into rags.

Bones dislocated and shattered, and blood wouldn't stop flowing from his mouth.

[Are you okay?]

<...Do I look okay?>

[No.]

Why ask when he already knows.

[...Can you stand?]

<In ten seconds. I can roughly realign the dislocated parts with aura...>

"Roarrrrr...!"

There was no time for ten seconds.

Valloc was closing in at 100 meters per second.

[...Damn, you're going to die.]

"...I won't die."

In this situation, it was all or nothing.

With one hand, he drew out mana. Not in the form of steel-like aura but soft, malleable mana.

[Are you going to use it? Is it possible?]

The sage's technique, magic.

<Am I just going to die?>

Even if he dies, he has to take a few hits first.

"Roarrrrrr!!"

Just before the spell was completed, just before the fist arrived, a paper-thin margin decided his fate.

BOOM!!

Valloc was faster. The fist had already struck.

"...?"

But Leo was unharmed.

"...Are you okay?"

The one that blocked the strike was her sword.

"...Ariasphiel?"

The one who blocked the attack was Ariasphiel.

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