The Unrecognized Hero
"Hero?"
"Oh, good. Ease up a little more on the wrist and try again."
"Yes!"
Whoosh—
I nodded as I watched Haeun's form. She really did have talent. Her stance improved by the day. Even the Park family's swordsmanship, which had never quite suited her, was getting thoroughly corrected.
"Ah, when you're in that posture, your stride could be a little wider."
"Like this?"
"Oh, nice. That much should make it easier to keep your center of gravity."
"I see… Then what about this?"
Thak—
Reading the target's movement, Haeun drove her sword in ahead of it. She twisted the locked blades, bounced them apart—
Shring—
—then slipped in deep, as if hunting for an opening, and swung.
"Oh, that's actually great. As a variation, it'd make for a nasty counter."
"Thank you for the praise!…"
Raising her was definitely fun.
I was nodding to myself in satisfaction when—
Clack—
"Hm?"
The door to the sparring hall opened behind me. I was sure no one else used this place at this hour.
I turned around.
"Oh?"
A white-haired man stepped into view. He was dressed like some fantasy adventurer—leather gear under a long coat. And more than anything else—
"That's a Holy Sword."
The blade strapped to his back carried a familiar sensation. A sword imbued with the power of a god or goddess, forged to strike down evil.
A Holy Sword.
I never thought I'd see one on Earth.
And who was this guy supposed to be in the first place?
Thak—
"…"
"Here to use the place? It might get a little loud—"
"They said there was a dragon, and it turns out it was you."
…You?
Just like that?
Sure, there were humans who didn't look kindly on dragons… but this kind of reaction was still fresh. Kind of like those elves last time?
"I don't know who you are, but you're being pretty familiar for a first meeting."
"Uh, Unnie."
"Yeah?"
"Th-that man is… A-class Mikhail…"
A-class?
Even at a glance, his skill didn't look inferior to an S-class.
"Well… he chose to stay A-class himself…"
"Chose to stay… Ah. I get it."
I looked the man called Mikhail up and down, and the reason became clear.
"You can't draw the Holy Sword, can you?"
"…What did you say?"
Holy power existed in his body, but the sword refused to accept it.
In plain terms—
"You've never been recognized."
He was just holding a Holy Sword. That didn't make him a hero.
"I've seen plenty of nobodies swaggering around calling themselves heroes. Finding a Holy Sword by chance doesn't make you one."
"…"
"Still, the fact that you even have holy power means you're fairly—"
Thak—
A leather glove flew at my face. I followed its trajectory back to the white-haired man, who was glaring at me like he wanted me dead.
"Wow… people really do invent all kinds of ways to kill themselves."
I was genuinely impressed.
He was challenging me to a duel? Just how little did the humans of Earth think of me…
Maybe I ought to crush them properly one of these days. Like I did with that Slayer.
Well… either way, it brought back memories of all the fools who used to come swinging at me. Among that long line of challengers, the occasional "hero" had shown up too. Most of them hadn't been the real thing.
"Mikhail Sergeyevich Volkov. A single stroke of the sword speaks louder than words. I challenge you to a duel."
And it was always those types who, desperate for recognition, threw themselves straight into the fire.
"What, a regular duel?"
"Correct. Under the Sacred Duel Ordinances, if the opponent is a woman, under the age of fifteen, over the age of fifty-one, or a coward without honor, the right to name a proxy is guaranteed."
Ugh.
Duel-happy idiots always stacked on that kind of florid language before a fight—then branded you a coward if you refused or called a proxy.
But me?
"Is that so? Then I'm a woman, so I'll use a proxy."
"…What?"
I had no intention of fighting him. If it had been a real duel to the death, I might have accepted. But he hadn't sparked my interest the way Berne had.
And strictly speaking, by the duel rules, the years I'd lived put me well past fifty-one… but this body was much younger.
So, yeah… I was about twenty.
Thak—
"Eek?"
"Terra, want to give it a shot? I should see what that contract of ours can do."
"M-me, my lady…?"
"Isn't he a good opponent?"
Combat strength on par with S-class. Terra had already been beaten by a self-proclaimed Demon King last time—now he got to fight a self-proclaimed hero. Wasn't that a fun picture?
His raw power even looked comparable to that of the Slayer.
"A child…?"
"Dragon, actually. Don't underestimate him."
"No, wait. Even so… tch. No. I suppose I can't claim to understand a monster's mind."
Saying that, he took a wooden practice sword from the sparring hall's equipment rack.
"Unnie, is this really okay…?"
"It's fine. I'll be watching the whole time. If it gets dangerous, I'll step in."
"But…"
"And you should watch carefully too. Even a match like this can teach you something."
With that, I activated my watch.
"Mind if I stream?"
"Do as you please."
"And hey—instead of that toothpick, you could just use the one on your back."
"You talk too much."
Click—
"Alright, quiet down. Today's about a duel."
The viewers' reactions were pure disbelief.
"Who said I like it. Honestly, it's a pain. And I'm not the one fighting this time."
I turned the camera toward the sparring floor.
The chat exploded.
"It's not like that, okay? And Terra needs sparring partners too."
Given that he was originally a dragon, there weren't many people who could match him. He'd also been on the receiving end before… Even after the contract, I hadn't had a good way to check his abilities. This worked out fine.
"Terra, you good?"
"Yes. I will live up to your expectations, Lady Goldy."
Terra nodded and took his place on the opposite side of the sparring hall.
Whoosh—
"A dragon, was it. Then I will not go easy on you for being young. State your name."
"Terra."
"Is that all?"
"…? What else do I need?"
Terra, of course, knew nothing about duels—or modern human society, for that matter. There was no way he'd understand the meaning of a contest steeped in honor and protocol.
Mikhail, taking that as disrespect, twisted his face into a scowl.
Thud—
"Alright. I'll referee. Format is one-on-one. Win by neutralizing the opponent's combat ability. If it gets dangerous, I step in."
I snapped my fingers.
It was a little abrupt, but the man had brought an actual Holy Sword. I'd talked down to him like he was nothing, but I was a little curious. I hadn't seen a real Holy Sword in a long time.
Honestly, I kind of want it.
Everything else I could figure out after watching. If things went well, maybe it'd end up mine.
A sphere rose into the air. Grasping its meaning, Mikhail settled into a ready stance.
And then—
Pop!—
The instant it burst—
Dash—
KRAAAANG!—
Holy power erupted outward as the wooden sword came crashing down on Terra.
Body Enhancement — Metal (金)
Golden energy bloomed across Terra's body.
Armament Manifestation — Earth (土)
Drawing on his own innate power, he shaped metallic blades over both hands—
KRAAAANG!—
—and caught the oncoming wooden sword dead on.
Breath Charge
He packed his lungs full of energy, calculating the force he'd stored so he could unleash it at any moment, then swept his free left hand in a casual arc.
Target: Mikhail's side.
Klang!—
But Mikhail didn't so much as flinch.
"Unnie, what is that?"
"Holy power. Sacred force, literally."
"No. Normally, holy power is less efficient than mana and loses pure strength contests."
"…So it's not that great?"
"Not for ordinary people. But this guy seems to know how to use it."
A shield of pure holy power rose at Mikhail's side as if answering Terra's attack on its own.
"The scary thing about holy power is that the force itself makes judgments."
"Itself…?"
"Yeah. People say it carries a god's will. If the user is in danger, the power activates autonomously."
Mana is a force entirely under the caster's control. Paradoxically, that means the moment you can't react—like in an ambush—you're done for more often than not.
Holy power, though, catches even that.
Dash—
Thak-thak—
And instead of being micromanaged like mana, it shapes itself for optimal efficiency exactly as the caster imagines it.
KRAAAAAANG!—
"Kh…"
His attack blocked, Terra was driven back by a sudden counter.
"So the base power is weak—but if you train it well enough, you can overwhelm someone without spending a scrap of your own strength."
Swipe!—
As he was shoved back, Terra slammed a hand to the floor. Using that speed and force, he spun his body, launched himself upward, then came down blade-first—
KRAAANG!—
"Hup!"
FWOOSH!—
—and at point-blank range, right in front of the man who'd blocked him, he unleashed his breath.
"You don't have to believe in a god."
Plenty of holy power users went on about goddesses this and goddesses that—but not everyone who wielded it well had been a believer.
And besides—
"Gods are more selfish than people think."
They weren't the type to just hand out power. That was why the Flame King… why that guy had challenged the gods in the first place.
Thinking about it that way made me curious again. Like with that email last time.
Did Earth even have gods?
KRAANG!—
If I could dig something useful out of this guy, that'd be great.
Ah.
Maybe I should've fought him myself after all…?
Whoosh!—
"Kh!"
While I was thinking that—
Clang—
One of Terra's blades was sheared clean off and clattered to the floor.