Chapter 423
Luke’s eyes quickly followed the trajectory of the sword Aina drew.
Clang-!
Luke hurriedly parried the blade aiming for his neck.
‘She’s fast.’
The first-year class rep.
Aina’s sword was faster and sharper than Luke had ever imagined.
That wasn’t all.
Clang!
Swords crossed, letting out a sharp, metallic screech.
‘That’s not all.’
The speed at which the golden flashes embroidered the air grew faster and faster.
The sword, honed solely to cut down its opponent, sent a chill down Luke’s spine.
Clang! Clang! Ting! Thwack-!
It wasn’t just fast and sharp.
As the sword strikes continued, the weight behind Aina’s sword also grew heavier.
And that weight became a heavy, destructive force.
Kwaang-!
“Keuk!”
Aina’s swing sent Luke’s sword flying.
Momentarily defenseless, Luke watched as Aina closed in on him.
Luke drew up his Aura, corrected the trajectory of his deflected sword, and swung it toward Aina.
Swish-!
As the silver flash glinted, Aina used Aura Step to dodge Luke’s strike.
Luke’s sword missed by a hair’s breadth.
For a moment, Aina’s center of gravity was thrown off.
‘A chance to counterattack!’
Luke, who had been busy defending against Aina’s incredible speed until now, had finally created an opportunity to seize the offensive.
The moment he tried to close the distance, Luke’s eyes met Aina’s.
The same cold eyes as always.
The moment he saw those eyes, which somehow even felt serene, Luke felt a shiver run down his entire body.
Luke hastily put distance between himself and Aina.
“What was that?”
“Wasn’t that a chance to counterattack?”
Seeing Luke give up the offensive initiative he had barely managed to grasp, the first-years muttered with puzzled faces.
“So close!”
Eliana shouted, clutching her head.
Chelsea looked at Eliana as if she were pathetic.
“What is it? What?”
Lea, who hadn’t grasped the situation, asked with a flustered face.
“If Luke had attacked just now, the match would have ended right there.”
Eiran kindly explained the situation to Lea.
Luke wiped away the cold sweat trickling down his chin.
‘I broke her stance. But she completely read my attack range.’
A close-quarters battle between knights is a battle of distance.
All sorts of flashy techniques or powerful attacks become useless the moment the opponent figures out their range.
Of course, figuring out an opponent’s range is by no means an easy task.
This is because the range constantly changes according to the attack patterns throughout the fight.
But Aina had calculated that distance precisely during her brief exchange with Luke.
Even if her stance had been broken, she would have dodged if he had attacked.
‘If I had attacked, I would have been the one to get hit.’
The reason she dodged so narrowly was a trap to lure him in deeper.
Taking a deep breath, Luke tightened his grip on his sword again.
Watching him, Aina leveled her sword.
As Aina took a single step forward, her figure vanished.
Luke urgently swung his sword to the right.
Kwaang-!
Luke barely managed to block the attack, which was packed with formidable power, but he couldn’t withstand all of the force and was pushed back, tumbling to the ground.
“Keuk!”
Luke scrambled to his feet and fixed his posture.
In that time, Aina had reached him and swung her sword.
‘I can’t take it head-on.’
His palms tingled and his wrist ached.
If he kept taking impacts like this, it was as clear as day that he would self-destruct in an instant.
He had to somehow deflect the attacks and minimize the shock.
Kwang-!
Once again, the swords clashed, and Luke was sent flying.
‘I can’t reduce the impact!’
What had made Aina the class rep during the first semester of their first year was the overwhelming speed and power behind her sword.
But that was not Aina’s true strength.
It was her swordsmanship.
As the great-granddaughter of the Sword Saint, Aina’s swordsmanship, honed sharply from a young age, was overwhelming.
No matter how Luke tried to deflect her attacks, Aina’s technique shut him down.
Power, speed, and technique.
Aina was a knight who possessed everything perfectly.
‘What should I do.’
Luke gritted his teeth.
If this continued, he would be defeated.
He stared straight ahead, watching Aina close the distance at an incredible speed.
‘If I wait for her to come or retreat, I’ll just get hit by Aina’s sword.’
Luke lowered his stance.
‘In that case.’
Paaat-!
Luke kicked off the ground and charged at Aina.
For a moment, Aina’s eyes widened.
Becoming a silver flash, Luke reached Aina and swung his sword first.
Kwaaang-!
‘I’ll attack first…’
“Ugh?!”
The moment the swords clashed, Luke was sent flying and slammed into the ground.
Laughter erupted from among the first-years who called themselves Aina’s faction.
“How ignorant. Did he think rushing in first would do anything?”
“What an eyesore!”
“He probably got lucky getting into the semifinals, and now his true colors are showing.”
Those who proclaimed themselves Aina’s faction and the top students of the first year couldn’t accept the sudden rise of Luke, who had been at the bottom of the class.
But contrary to their reaction, Aina’s eyes, facing Luke, were trembling slightly.
Luke was smiling.
‘Just what is this kid.’
—
Celia wore a dumbfounded expression.
“Is he an idiot? Or does he have good judgment?”
“Probably both.”
At Leo’s answer, Celia’s expression showed she understood.
“True.”
While some of the first-years couldn’t understand why Luke had recklessly charged at Aina, the students from other years were different.
They had seen right through it—that Luke had reduced the power behind Aina’s sword.
“To think of charging in beforehand to block the attack before it’s even launched in that short amount of time. He’s pretty good.”
“He always had a good eye.”
Leo said, watching the match.
“His ability to constantly observe others and absorb what he needs is also outstanding.”
In that fleeting moment, he had instinctively seen through a way to counter Aina.
“From Aina’s perspective, it must be baffling.”
Leo let out a smirk.
“Even at this very moment, Luke is slowly closing the gap with Aina.”
—
Kwaang-! Kwang!
A sword imbued with golden Aura aimed for Luke.
Luke’s silver Aura parried Aina’s.
‘He’s getting faster.’
Aina’s eyes wavered as she watched Luke begin to respond to her attacks.
‘Even in this moment, he’s getting stronger.’
Aina gritted her teeth.
This final exam was the worst for Aina.
From the very first match, she was pitted against Juen.
She had expected an easy victory, but Aina had barely won.
No, it didn’t feel like a victory at all.
The thought that she would never be acknowledged by Leo at this rate constantly assailed her, and her wavering only intensified as the final exams went on.
The thought that Juen, Haviden, and Sasha, whom she had considered a level below her, might surpass her and leave her far behind kept nagging at her.
In the midst of this, Aina also came to understand why she had been ignoring and avoiding Luke since enrollment.
‘I was afraid of Luke Elda.’
The day Luke was acknowledged by Leo Plov, and she was not.
On that day, Aina had realized Luke’s immense potential.
She had a premonition then that he would catch up to her in the not-so-distant future.
And now, Luke was trying to stand beside her.
At that fact, Aina felt an indescribable emotion.
In Aina’s heart, where nothing but revenge had existed, a single feeling surfaced.
‘I don’t want to lose.’
She didn’t know why this feeling was rearing its head.
But right now, Aina did not want to lose to Luke.
Fwoosh-!
A golden glint flashed in Aina’s eyes.
Goooooh-!
The golden Aura that soared from Aina’s body shot up into the sky like a pillar.
The surging Aura gathered at the tip of her sword.
-Ooooh! This is!
Runba, who was commentating, shouted in an excited voice.
Mel, who was commentating beside him, muttered.
-It’s the Sword Saint’s sword.
A great hero who shouldered an era and took it by storm.
A single strike named Justice, symbolizing the righteous and noble knight who wielded the sword for what was right.
“Justitia.”
Aina countered Luke with the most powerful attack she could muster.
‘Please, stop chasing me!’
She gritted her teeth, screaming inwardly as if squeezing out the words, and swung her sword.
Watching the golden sword fly toward him, Luke felt a shiver run down his entire body.
‘Amazing.’
Lumene was filled with incredible people.
Amazing people, so much so that it felt like he could never catch up no matter how much he chased them.
‘Can I ever catch up to people like that?’
His heart pounds.
His spirit trembles.
‘Can I catch up… and stand on the same stage?’
He doesn’t know.
But there was one thing he learned while being Leo’s Mentee.
‘Even if I despair countless times and hit my limits. Even if I’m frustrated and bow my head countless times.’
A silver flash erupted from Luke’s body.
‘If I don’t give up, overcome my limits, and raise my head.’
A silver glint flashed in his eyes.
‘A better version of me was there!’
Mana amplified, and magical power seethed.
Luke cast his Original Magic.
‘Transcendence!’
For an instant.
A magic that pushes him one step beyond his limits, into the realm he wants to reach.
With the power of that magic, Luke.
“Haaaaaaaap!”
Flash-!
For a moment, he succeeded in standing on the same level as Aina.
The silver sword strike bisected the golden sword.
Kugugugugugu-!
The area around Luke, who had received Aina’s attack, was utterly devastated.
A thick cloud of dust rose.
In the middle of it, Luke gritted his teeth.
“Keub?!”
His arm screamed in protest, the price for wielding a great power he wasn’t permitted to wield.
‘Not yet! I can still do more!’
But he forcibly endured the pain.
‘The Aina I know wouldn’t fall from something like this. She’ll definitely come at me one more time!’
The moment Luke prepared for Aina’s attack.
He saw Aina, beyond the dust cloud, letting her sword hang low.
“It seems you’ve won, Luke Elda.”
For a moment, Luke wore a blank expression.
“That last strike was everything I had. Since you blocked it, I’ve lost.”
Luke’s eyes trembled as he looked at Aina, who spoke in a weak voice.
“Why… Why are you giving up?”
“What?”
“You can still fight more.”
Luke wore an expression of disbelief.
“Like I said, I’m at my limit.”
“You still have the strength to swing your sword. So why do you say it’s your limit?”
Luke’s face scrunched up.
Looking at him, Aina spoke in a self-deprecating voice.
“The result is obvious anyway. There’s no value in struggling to beat someone like me.”
To the despairing and broken-hearted Aina, Luke said.
“Someone like you?”
Luke gritted his teeth.
Leo had told Luke to become the class rep.
Was there any value in becoming the class rep this way?
‘None.’
Luke clenched his fist.
“You’re an amazing person, Aina. That’s why Juen is challenging you with all her might, trying to beat you.”
“I’m not as amazing as you think.”
Yet Aina still wore a self-deprecating smile.
“And I’m already at my limit. So you’ve won…”
“Then surpass your limit! What do you take the person who gritted his teeth and chased after you as his goal for!”
Startled by Luke’s emotional outburst, Aina flinched.
“You’re amazing, so I want to chase you! You’re amazing, so I want to beat you! If you talk like that, what do all my past days of striving with you as my goal become! If you’re going to give up so easily, then compensate me for all my hard work before you quit!”
Seeing Aina blaming herself, Luke, who had lost his temper, yelled out.
Looking at Luke, Aina wore a frightened expression.
“H-How can I compensate you…”
“There’s no way you can compensate me!”
‘S-Scary.’
Seeing Luke, whose eyes had gone wild as his resentment over his past hardships exploded because of her, Aina unknowingly took a step back.
The dust cloud cleared.
Looking at her, Luke said.
“If you’re going to run away, at least give me your all before you do.”
Luke readjusted his grip on his sword.
Looking at him, Aina glanced down at her own sword.
‘Grandfather, have you never wanted to run away?’
‘Many times.’
Chuckling, the Sword Saint Kalian patted his great-granddaughter’s head.
‘But you overcame it all, right? Because you’re the Sword Saint, Grandfather.’
‘No. I ran away many times.’
Ruthlessly shattering his great-granddaughter’s childhood innocence, Kalian simply stroked his beard and smiled like a sly old fox.
With a shocked expression, Aina looked up at Kalian.
‘But.’
Kalian smiled warmly.
‘I didn’t just run away. After doing my absolute best and challenging my limits over and over again. If it still didn’t work, then I ran away.’
Kalian took his great-granddaughter’s hand and said.
‘Aina. After you’ve given it your all, you can run away as much as you want. You can just challenge it again after that.’
Recalling the old memory, Aina gripped her sword.
‘Grandfather.’
===
‘The atmosphere has changed.’
Leo, who was watching their duel, had a glint in his eyes.
‘You’ve started to look a little… like a hero candidate, haven’t you.’
As he smirked at Aina’s form, Leo’s expression momentarily vanished and then returned.
Leo stood up from his seat.
“Where are you going?”
Celia wore a puzzled expression.
Leo smiled at her and said.
“I’ll be right back.”
Leaving those words behind, he left the spectator seats.
He could feel a familiar energy not far away.
A red glint flashed in Leo’s eyes.
Such a faint power.
But Leo remembered the owner of this power clearly.
‘The Death King.’