Book 1 Chapter 423
423.
Luke's eyes quickly followed the trajectory of the sword drawn by Aina.
Cha-ang-!
Luke urgently parried the sword aimed at his neck.
‘Fast.’
First-year representative.
Aina's sword was faster and sharper than Luke had imagined.
And that wasn't all.
Clang!
Sword and sword crossed, emitting a sharp metallic sound.
‘That’s not all.’
The speed at which the golden flashes adorned the air grew faster and faster.
The sword, honed solely to strike down opponents, sent shivers down Luke's spine.
Clang! Cha-ang! Tang! Teong-!
It wasn't just fast and sharp.
As the sword strikes continued, the weight carried in Aina’s sword also increased.
And that weight became a heavy destructive force.
Kwa-ang-!
“Cough!”
Luke's sword was flung away by Aina's swing.
For a moment, Aina plunged into Luke’s defenseless embrace.
Luke gathered his aura, corrected the trajectory of his deflected sword, and swung it towards Aina.
Swoosh-!
As the silver flash glinted, Aina used an aura step to dodge Luke's sword strike.
Luke's sword narrowly missed.
For a moment, Aina’s center of gravity collapsed.
‘This is a chance to counterattack!’
Luke, who had been busy defending against Aina's incredible speed until now, created an opportunity to seize the initiative in attack for the first time.
The moment he tried to close the distance, Luke’s eyes met Aina’s.
Her calm eyes, as usual.
The moment he saw those eyes, which in some ways felt peaceful, Luke felt goosebumps erupt all over his body.
Luke urgently widened the distance from Aina.
“What?”
“Wasn’t that a chance to counterattack?”
The first-year students murmured with puzzled faces, watching Luke abandon the offensive initiative he had barely gained.
“What a waste!”
Illiana cried out, clutching her head.
Chelsea looked at Illiana as if she were pathetic.
“What? 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 the cold sweat dripping down his chin.
‘I broke her stance. But my attack timing was read perfectly.’
Melee combat between knights is a battle of distance.
All flashy techniques or powerful attacks become useless the moment their attack range is seen through by the opponent.
Of course, understanding an opponent's distance is never easy.
Because the distance constantly changes according to the attack pattern throughout the battle.
But Aina had accurately calculated that distance within the short 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 hit.’
The reason for her narrow escape was also a trap to draw him deeper in.
Luke took a deep breath and re-gripped his sword.
Aina aimed her sword, looking at Luke.
Aina took a step, and her figure disappeared.
Luke urgently swung his sword to the right.
Kwa-ang-!
Luke barely blocked the attack imbued with formidable power, but he couldn't withstand all the force and was pushed back, tumbling on the ground.
“Cough!”
Luke hurriedly got up and regained his stance.
In that time, Aina, who had come within Luke’s immediate vicinity, swung her sword.
‘I shouldn't take it head-on.’
His palms were numb, and his wrist ached.
It was obvious that if he continued to take such blows, he would quickly self-destruct.
Somehow, he had to deflect the attacks and minimize the impact.
Clang-!
Again, sword and sword clashed, and Luke was sent flying back.
‘I can’t reduce the impact!’
What made Aina the first-year representative during the first semester was thanks to the overwhelming speed and power in her sword.
But Aina's true strength was not just that.
It was her swordsmanship.
As the great-granddaughter of the Sword Saint, Aina's swordsmanship, sharpened from a young age, was overwhelming.
Even when Luke tried to deflect the attacks, Aina's technique blocked it.
Strength, speed, and technique.
Aina was a knight who possessed everything perfectly.
‘What should I do?’
Luke gritted his teeth.
If he stayed like this, he would be defeated.
He stared with wide eyes at Aina, who was closing the distance at an incredible speed.
‘If I wait for her to come or retreat, I'll just be hit by Aina-ssi's sword.’
Luke lowered his stance.
‘In that case.’
Paat-!
Luke pushed off the ground and charged at Aina.
Aina’s eyes widened for a moment.
Luke, who approached Aina like a silver flash, swung his sword first.
Kwa-ang-!
‘I attacked first—’
“Ugh?”
The moment sword and sword clashed, Luke was sent flying and slammed into the ground.
Laughter erupted among the first-year students who called themselves Aina’s faction.
“How ignorant. What does he think will happen if he rushes in first?”
“What an eyesore!”
“He just got lucky to make it to the semifinals, and now his true colors are showing.”
Claiming to be Aina's faction and the top-ranking students of the first year, they could not accept the anomaly of Luke, who had been the lowest-ranked student in the year.
But contrary to their reactions, Aina's eyes, looking at Luke, trembled slightly.
Luke was smiling.
‘What in the world is this child?’
***
Celia made a look of disbelief.
“Is he ignorant? Or does he have good judgment?”
“Both, I suppose.”
Celia made a comprehending expression at Leo's answer.
“Indeed.”
Some of the first-year students didn't understand Luke's reckless charge at Aina, but the students from other years did.
They accurately perceived that Luke had reduced the power contained in Aina's sword.
“To think he would charge in beforehand to block the attack before it even unfolded in such a short time. Quite impressive.”
“He always had good eyes.”
Leo said, watching the match.
“His ability to constantly observe others and absorb what he needed was also outstanding.”
In that fleeting moment, he instinctively saw through a way to contend with Aina.
“Aina must be flustered.”
Leo chuckled.
“Even at this moment, Luke is gradually approaching Aina.”
***
Kwa-ang-! Clang!
The sword, imbued with golden aura, targeted Luke.
Luke's silver aura parried Aina's aura.
‘Getting faster.’
Aina’s eyes wavered as she saw Luke beginning to respond to her attacks.
‘Even at this moment, he’s getting stronger.’
Aina gritted her teeth.
This final exam was the worst for Aina.
From her first match, she was pitted against Juan.
She had naturally thought it would be an easy victory, but Aina barely won.
No, she couldn't bring herself to feel that she had won.
The thought that she could never be acknowledged by Leo like this kept haunting her, and her wandering intensified throughout the final exam.
She constantly felt that Juan, Havidan, and Sasha, whom she had considered inferior, might surpass her and leave her far behind.
Amidst this, Aina also realized why she had ignored and avoided Luke since admission.
‘I was afraid of Luke Elder.’
The day she wasn't recognized by Leo Flov, and Luke was.
Aina realized Luke's immense potential.
She instinctively knew then that he would catch up to her in the not-too-distant future.
And now Luke was trying to stand beside her.
Aina felt an indescribable emotion at that fact.
One feeling emerged in Aina's heart, where nothing but revenge had existed.
‘I don’t want to lose.’
She couldn’t understand why this feeling was surfacing.
But Aina did not want to lose to Luke right now.
Flash-!
Golden light flashed in Aina's eyes.
Goooooo-!
The golden aura surging from Aina’s body rose to the sky like a pillar.
The undulating aura gathered at the tip of her sword.
-Ohhh! This is!
Runba, who was commentating, shouted in an excited voice.
Mel, who was also commenting beside him, murmured.
-It's the Sword Saint's sword.
A single strike that carried the meaning of justice, symbolizing the righteous and noble knight who carried an era and wielded a sword for what was right, an era's great hero.
“Justitia.”
Aina faced Luke with the utmost attack she could muster.
‘Please, stop chasing me!’
She gritted her teeth and inwardly screamed as she squeezed out the words, swinging her sword.
Looking at the golden sword flying towards him, Luke felt goosebumps all over his body.
‘Amazing.’
There were only incredible people in Rumerne.
People so astonishing that no matter how much you chased, it wouldn't be enough.
‘Can I catch up to such people?’
His heart pounded.
His mind trembled.
‘Can I catch up… and stand on the same stage?’
He didn’t know.
But he had learned one thing while being Leo’s mentee.
‘Even if you despair countless times, hit your limits, are frustrated countless times, and bow your head.’
A silver flash surged from Luke’s body.
‘If you don’t give up, overcome your limits, and raise your head.’
Silver eye-light flashed.
‘There was a better me!’
Mana amplified, magic power seethed.
Luke cast his unique magic.
‘Transcendence!’
For an instant.
A magic that pushes one step beyond limits into the desired domain.
With the power of that magic, Luke.
“Haaahhhhh-aahp!”
Flash-!
For an instant, he succeeded in standing in the same place as Aina.
The silver sword strike cut the golden sword in two.
Kugugugugugu-!
The area around Luke, who had withstood Aina's attack, was devastated.
Thick dust billowed up.
In the midst of it, Luke gritted his teeth.
“Kh-h-h?!”
As a price for wielding a forbidden immense power, his arm screamed.
‘Not yet! I can do more!’
But he forcibly endured the pain.
‘If it’s Aina-ssi as I know her, she won’t fall for just this. She’ll definitely come again!’
The moment Luke prepared for Aina's attack.
Beyond the dust, Aina was seen letting her sword drop.
“It seems you’ve won, Luke Elder.”
Luke’s expression went blank for a moment.
“That last strike was an attack with everything I had. Since it was blocked, I’ve lost.”
Luke’s eyes trembled as he looked at Aina speaking in a weak voice.
“Why… why are you giving up?”
“What?”
“You can still fight more.”
Luke made an incomprehensible expression.
“As I said, I'm at my limit.”
“You still have the strength to swing your sword. So why are you saying you're at your limit?”
Luke frowned.
Looking at Luke, Aina said with a self-deprecating voice.
“The outcome is obvious anyway. There's no value in struggling to win against someone like me.”
To Aina’s words of despair and broken spirit, Luke said,
“Someone like Aina-ssi?”
Luke gritted his teeth.
Leo told Luke to become the first-year representative.
Would there be any value in becoming the representative this way?
‘No.’
Luke clenched his fist tightly.
“Aina-ssi is an amazing person. That’s why Juan challenges Aina-ssi with all his might to defeat her, isn’t it?”
“I’m not as amazing as you think.”
Yet, Aina smiled a self-deprecating smile.
“And I’m already at my limit. So you won—”
“Then overcome your limits! What do you think of the person who gritted his teeth and chased after you as his goal?!”
Aina flinched at Luke’s outburst.
“Because you’re an amazing person, I want to chase after you! Because you’re an amazing person, I want to win! If you say that, what becomes of my past days when I aimed for you and worked hard?! If you’re going to give up so easily, compensate me for my hardships, and then give up!”
Luke, whose eyes had turned red from watching Aina self-reproach, yelled, "Waak-!"
Aina made a frightened face looking at Luke.
“H-how do I compensate…”
“There’s no way you can compensate!”
‘S-scary.’
Aina unconsciously stepped back, seeing Luke whose eyes were wide with resentment over the hardships of his past days exploding because of her.
The dust settled.
Looking at Aina, Luke said,
“If you’re going to run away, at least do your best against me first, and then run away.”
Luke re-gripped his sword.
Aina looked down at her sword, watching Luke.
‘Grandfather, were there never times you wanted to run away?’
‘Many times.’
Chuckling, the Sword Saint Kallian ruffled his great-granddaughter's hair.
‘But you overcame them all, right? Because Grandfather is the Sword Saint.’
‘No. I ran away several times.’
Kallian, who mercilessly shattered his great-granddaughter’s childlike innocence, merely stroked his beard and smiled like a cunning old man.
With a shocked expression, Aina looked up at Kallian.
‘But,’
Kallian smiled gently.
‘I didn’t just run away. After doing my best and challenging my limits countless times. If it still didn’t work, then I ran.’
Kallian held his great-granddaughter’s hand and said,
‘Aina. If you’ve done your best, you can run away as much as you want. Then you just have to challenge again.’
Recalling old memories, Aina grasped her sword.
‘Grandfather.’
***
‘The atmosphere has changed.’
Leo, who was watching their sparring, his eyes shining.
‘A little… he has gained the eyes of a hero candidate, indeed.’
Leo, who had been chuckling while looking at Aina, momentarily lost his expression before it returned.
Leo stood up from his seat.
“Where are you going?”
Celia made a puzzled expression.
Leo smiled at Celia and said,
“I’ll be back in a bit.”
Leaving those words, he left the stands.
A familiar aura was felt not far away.
Leo’s red eye-light flashed.
A very faint power.
But Leo remembered the owner of this power clearly.
‘The Lich King.’