Fifteen minutes earlier—
"Alright."
As Allen's voice fell, Rudy turned his head in shock.
From his perspective...
Allen's fingers were gently brushing the hilt at his waist.
And the man himself was staring at Ghislaine with a spark of interest in his eyes.
Rudy instinctively swallowed.
Allen was "feeling it" again.
That itch in his hands—exactly the same expression he used to have during those two years training with Paul in Buena Village.
How did Rudy know?
Because back then, Allen's sparring partner was Paul. But once Paul began issuing serious sparring challenges to Allen, everything changed.
At first, Paul restricted himself to using only Sword God Style. Then he tried switching to North God Style. Eventually, he realized that no matter what style he used, he couldn't even touch the hem of Allen's clothing.
Paul, ever the realist, gave up and went back to being a stay-at-home dad.
He promptly passed the role of Allen's sparring partner to his own son.
From then on, every match turned into a game of tag between Allen and Rudy.
The distances steadily increased: from 300 meters… to 500… to a full kilometer.
The outcome?
Rudy lost every single time.
He kept refining the tactics he had used in their first duel two years ago, sharpening his magic, optimizing his basic and intermediate spells, creating more obstacles, and confusing Allen's senses.
He even swapped obvious spells like Ice Blades for stealthier ones like hidden Earth Spikes.
They even moved the battlefield to open fields, far from rocky terrain.
But all of it—
Was pointless.
Allen's "Sense Flow" had evolved into something incomprehensible.
He could now detect when a mud pit was about to form—and just before it did, he'd raise the ground with ki, exposing solid bedrock and preventing the spell's effect.
Then, through all of Rudy's traps and magical distractions, Allen would stroll calmly forward.
And after ten minutes of Rudy's desperate struggle, Allen would walk up to him like he was on a leisurely stroll.
Raise his hand.
And with a flick—
Flick Rudy on the forehead.
Match over.
"Your head's gone," he'd say.
Completely absurd.
Because Allen could "see" the flow of mana.
That was the secret art "Kanryū" (Flow Sense), one of the Five Great Secrets of Water God Style.
Allen—
Started his training from the hardest technique of them all.
Snapping out of the flashback, Rudy looked around at the neat cobblestone flooring and the carefully maintained grass of the courtyard, and suddenly imagined Allen tearing up the whole place mid-spar with his ki.
'Is he planning to wreck the whole estate?! Wait, no—the opponent is Ghislaine. She should be able to restrain him, right?'
Rudy turned to look at Ghislaine.
And saw—
That her expression…
Matched Allen's exactly.
Eager.
Thirsty to swing her sword.
Rudy's jaw dropped. He looked around for Sylphy, the one person who could normally smooth things over with Allen, but she was still nowhere to be found. His face turned pale.
'This is bad! Sylphy, hurry back!!'
"This is great! Why isn't Sylphy back yet?!"
Eris didn't care that she was wearing a dress—she kicked up both legs and sprang to her feet with a perfect kip-up.
Her steps were unsteady due to mana exhaustion, but her spirit was blazing!
"Allen! Are you gonna wait for her, or start now?!"
Allen gave Rudy a reassuring look and waved a hand.
"Let's start now. I'm quite interested in the true strength of a Sword King like Ghislaine."
"Also, I'm really curious how long I can hold out against her using just my Water God Style."
Yes—hold out, not fight evenly.
Because—
Allen glanced at Ghislaine, who had flicked her tail and was also reaching for the hilt at her waist.
She—
Ghislaine—
Was the only active Sword King of the Sword God Style.
A true gatekeeper of the Imperial Swordsman rank.
"Most importantly…"
"I want to see it for myself."
"What the Sword of Light really is."
With that, Allen stood up and walked toward the open courtyard.
Ghislaine gripped her blade and watched his back. Her golden eyes narrowed.
She smiled faintly, then followed.
They faced each other.
Ghislaine didn't forget her duties as an instructor.
"Since this is still a sword class, how about we make it a formal demonstration? I'll attack using the Sword of Light, and you defend with Water God Style. That way, Eris can clearly see the difference between the styles."
"Fine," Allen nodded.
As his voice fell, Ghislaine slowly drew her sword.
The sound of the blade scraping against the sheath echoed in the air.
The ornate hilt gleamed as the blade emerged, tracing a beautiful arc through the air.
A long, slender sword.
Crimson like blood.
One of the Seven Swords of the Sword God Style—Heisou.
"Sword Sanctuary—Sword King Ghislaine. Please, be honored."
Ghislaine straightened her back, bracing her legs, power flowing from her feet.
Her blade sliced the air—
And stopped.
A perfectly ordinary middle stance, the tip pointed straight ahead.
But it radiated overwhelming pressure.
Because—
This was one of the three starting forms of the Sword of Light.
Hearing the age-old pre-duel introduction from the sword arena again, Allen smiled slightly.
He drew his blade.
Lifted it.
His slash stirred the air.
"Water God Style Main Dojo—Allen. Please, be honored."
Ghislaine narrowed her eyes at Allen's thin, straight-edged sword.
"Why didn't you introduce yourself as a Water Saint?"
"'Water Saint' doesn't sound cool. Plus, no one ever formally gave me the title in front of me—why would I bother saying it? And besides, next time I return to the Main Dojo…"
Allen lowered his blade, smile fading.
"That title's gonna change."
Under a nearby tree, Eris's eyes widened, and she began hopping on the spot with excitement.
"That sounded so cool!"
Rudy just shook his head.
Then Eris furrowed her brow.
"Wait a second… Why does 'Water God Style Main Dojo' sound so familiar?"
Her eyes widened.
"Isn't that the one in the Royal Capital?!"
"Yes," Rudy cut her off.
"All of Asura Kingdom's top Water God Style swordsmen are from the Royal Capital's dojo. It's the headquarters."
Eris blinked. "So Allen trained at the same dojo as that Allen in the Royal Capital?!"
Rudy shrugged. He was grateful once again that Eris didn't have a complicated brain.
"Who knows? Maybe they were in the same class?"
Eris scowled. "Huh? Same class? Then who's stronger?!"
Rudy smiled.
"Obviously…"
"'Allen' is stronger."
Eris was about to argue again, but the match was already beginning.
Ghislaine's voice rang out from the center of the field.
"Allen defends, I attack. To clarify—this strike…"
"Is at the Sword Saint level—Sword of Light."
"Eris."
"Watch closely."
(End of Chapter)
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