Eris quickly turned her eyes to the field.
Ghislaine stepped forward soundlessly.
"Perfect footwork."
Her sword didn't move, but her wrist was like steel.
"Perfect sword posture."
Her eyes were like blades, flashing like lightning.
"Perfect..."
She looked at Allen, standing five meters ahead.
"Desire."
Her voice was calm, like dark stone formed atop cooled lava.
Just stating a fact.
"Using the solid foundation of Sword God Style built over years of practice as a base of 'rationality.' Layering on top of that the step-by-step output of body movements, practiced day and night, then channeling one's 'desire'—to release the most suitable strike, in the most suitable stance, at the most suitable moment."
"This is—"
"The Sword of Light."
It sounded like a lesson for Eris.
But also a teaching for Allen.
"The moment you master the Sword of Light—"
"—is the day you are sealed with the title of Sword Saint!"
As her voice fell—
In the next instant, the blade vanished.
And with it—
Ghislaine's figure disappeared!
In that instant, within Rudy's senses—
the caress of wind in the air,
the rustling of leaves above,
the sound of water droplets falling from leaves after a Water Ball spell—
All of it lost its meaning.
Because—
Something was violently asserting its presence!
Like a blazing sun melting all excess sensory input!
Only the trembling of the air remained.
It drowned out everything else!!
BOOM!!!
The sound exploded in Rudy's ears!!
He instantly covered his ears, a high-pitched ringing screaming continuously in his head. At the same time, he thought he heard Eris shouting.
Cheering! Excitement!
So loud it gave him a headache—
Yet also so distant, like it was echoing from the ends of the earth.
Rudy gritted his teeth and forced his hands down, raising his head to look at the field!
Al—
!?
He saw—
Ghislaine standing right in front of Allen.
Her blood-colored blade rested against Allen's neck.
How—? Allen—?!
Rudy's eyes widened, and then, a moment later, his inner voice quieted.
He blinked and let out a long breath.
His vision cleared.
Next to Allen's neck, "light" stretched outward from his hand, tracing a radiant arc.
Rudy smiled and tilted his head.
Changing the viewing angle.
Then—
The "light" stopped being blinding.
No—it wasn't light at all.
It was the tip of a blade!
Exactly positioned ahead of Ghislaine's blood blade!
Allen's smile remained alongside the "light."
Just like the countless sparring sessions over the last two years!
His hearing returned, and his senses settled back into his body.
Not far away, Ghislaine slowly sheathed her sword, her lips moving as if she spoke.
No sound came.
But Rudy could still tell what she said.
Two words.
A title.
And the name of the secret technique Allen just used.
Rock.
——
Heisou's crimson blade stopped 15 centimeters from Allen's right neck—an extremely safe distance for a Sword King.
After silently reciting Allen's title, she took a step back.
Allen smiled and spoke:
"Water God Style—'Kanryū' (Flow Sense), a secret technique. Sensing the sharpness of the blade, the whistling of air being split, the motion of gas, the eruption of killing intent."
"Predicting the path of the strike ahead of time, and defending using the Flow technique."
"And then counterattacking."
Of course, he wasn't talking to Ghislaine, but explaining to Eris, whose eyes were glowing with admiration.
"For you, Eris, all you need to grasp is the portion shared in the teaching curriculum, which is—"
He flicked the sheath with his finger.
Then lowered his stance, shifting his center of gravity slightly to the left, as if dodging a slash from the right, or perhaps to create space to draw his blade.
Both hands gripped his sword, encircling his neck in a seemingly awkward pose for a diagonal slash.
The blade extended from his left shoulder, arcing behind his neck, and stretched outward to the right—
Exactly intersecting with Ghislaine's sword before it reached him.
As if he was about to attack Ghislaine, and just happened to intercept her sword on the way.
It looked awkward.
It was "coincidence."
And yet—inevitable.
In Allen's "back draw" stance, this was the fastest blade path to block Ghislaine's strike.
As for how to counterattack?
The stance gave the answer.
Using Flow to deflect the enemy's strike—then unleashing a built-up diagonal slash in the same motion.
Defense, then counterattack.
This—
Was Water God Style.
"Until you master the Muon no Tachi (Silent Blade) and the Hikari no Tachi (Sword of Light), this kind of adaptive, formless strike preparation is more suitable for the complexity of real combat. Also, follow-up counters after defense are highly applicable in North God Style too."
"Got it!"
Eris wasn't responding—she was cheering. Even as just a beginner swordswoman, her sharp instinct let her see how incredible that simple sequence had been.
"When are you gonna teach me North God Style?!"
Naturally, she took the opportunity to press the topic.
Ghislaine's North God Style, based mostly on the quadruped movement style of beastkin, lacked strength in reactive counters. She had only taught Eris some basic feints and tricks.
Counters?
Sounded amazing!
So teach me!
Allen smiled.
"But I'm only your Water God Style instructor."
Eris froze—but then heard the second half of his sentence, said in a teasing tone.
"But I can teach you—after you've built a more solid foundation. If you try to learn too much at once, you'll end up mastering nothing. Understand?"
"Understood!" Eris replied energetically, then hesitated and glanced at Rudy.
"What does 'too much at once' mean!?"
Rudy bared his teeth in a grin.
That wasn't a phrase from any language like Chinese or Japanese.
It was an idiom from Human Language.
But with Eris's famously poor literacy…
Rudy wasn't surprised at all.
"It means you try to learn everything, but because your energy is limited, you end up learning nothing well~"
Eris blinked, thought for a moment, then crossed her arms and proudly lifted her chin.
"I won't! There's still plenty of time! I can learn slowly!"
Rudy glanced at her legs.
Her right foot, supported by the heel of her shoe, was tapping rapidly against the grass.
Fast rhythm.
Tap tap tap tap tap!
Rudy's mouth twitched.
That doesn't look like someone willing to wait!
On the field, Ghislaine turned her gaze from Eris to Allen.
"As expected, even a Sword Saint-level Sword of Light has no effect on you. If that had truly been a Saint-level strike, the match would be over."
Allen sheathed his sword, rolled his shoulder a few times.
"Although I want to respond with something humble like 'It was just a coincidence'—"
"Humility is a stance used to placate the weak."
"And the one standing before me is the only 'King' of Sword God Style."
"So…"
He looked at Ghislaine, who had already returned to her starting position during their conversation.
"I won't question your judgment, because—"
"I've always been stronger than a Sword Saint."
Ghislaine tilted her head slightly.
"You're more suited to Sword God Style than I expected. Also—"
"When you say Sword Saint…"
Allen narrowed his eyes and smiled at her.
"Ah—my bad. Slip of the tongue. What I meant was—"
His voice and expression changed.
Sharp as a blade.
Stating a fact.
"Among Saints, beneath the King."
"I am the strongest."
(End of Chapter)
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