Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: D-1
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Cecilia stood atop the family’s training grounds, dressed in her training tank top.
Sweat poured down her entire body like rain, yet she gripped her sword in both hands, aiming it at the training ground’s wall without the slightest movement for a long while.
“Hoo…”
In her mind, she recalled the man she had seen just a few days ago.
His first impression as a man rather than a boy had been utterly the worst.
The boy’s face, devoured by burn scars that evoked nightmares of the past, had been impossible to read.
He had swooped in and saved Senia on his own whim—someone Cecilia could have rescued herself—trampling her pride in the process.
But after their duel, Cecilia could no longer cling to those thoughts.
Was it because she was a daughter of the Ren family? Until now, most opponents had never gone all-out against her.
They swung their swords as if serious on the surface, but in reality, they held back so obviously it was visible to the eye.
But what about that boy?
He had treated Cecilia as a true opponent and clashed against her with all his might, without a shred of hesitation.
His sword strikes had been so fast that it was hard to follow them with her eyes.
In the blink of an eye, the moment his sword touched her side, Cecilia finally met his gaze head-on for the first time.
What she felt from those reddish pupils was a resolve to pour everything into a single strike.
A desperate, fierce will that bordered on madness, driving him straight toward something.
‘How can he have eyes like that…?’
But that was only the beginning.
The boy hadn’t dodged her strike.
Given the speed of his swings, he could have easily evaded it.
And yet, he deliberately took the attack.
“A true knight never dodges an opponent’s full-powered strike.”
Then, with a face as if nothing had happened, he aimed his sword at her once more.
‘A knight…?’
His emotionless, expressionless face seemed to tell her this:
‘Your attacks mean nothing to me.’
Mount Tai.
Why did that word spring to mind?
Cecilia suddenly felt the illusion that the burn scars had vanished from his body.
In their place gleamed a brilliant ashen radiance.
‘Me… losing like this?’
Overwhelmed by that brilliance, she ended up making a choice she never should have.
Using her Arts.
The moment she unleashed Shatter Light, as she watched the boy collapse, Cecilia realized her mistake.
He hadn’t shown the slightest intent to dodge the Arts.
If this attack killed him, or left him with wounds he could never recover from…
‘I’d never see that brilliant sight again.’
But Haribal endured.
With a staggering body and faltering legs.
And in the end, he clenched his fist and struck her.
Her memories after that were hazy.
But one thing was clear: Cecilia had lost to someone her age, excluding Senia, for the first time.
As her consciousness faded, Cecilia heard Haribal’s final words.
“…So it works.”
Only then did she understand.
The boy hadn’t been certain of his own success either.
Yet he had pressed forward without stopping.
When he saved her sister, when he challenged her to a duel—he hadn’t acted out of certainty.
He had simply acted.
Certainty wasn’t his role.
His role was to prove.
The moment she heard the boy’s words, Cecilia felt no jealousy.
All that boiled within her was the desire to prove herself as well.
Next time, she would do it right in front of that boy.
She suddenly touched her side.
Then her solar plexus, and finally swept her hand over her face.
The ashen traces left by the boy were deeply etched into her body and heart like searing pain.
Afterward, Cecilia entrusted the boy with an heirloom from the person she cherished most.
A worthless mass-produced core.
But deep down, she was expectant.
‘Can you even prove yourself with something like this?’
Before she knew it, the boy had grown into a man.
And that man had proven himself just a few days ago.
By becoming the first in human history to break through the Evil God’s Abyss.
Watching the stoic face of the man receiving knighthood from the princess, Cecilia read the same emotions as back then.
It wasn’t because he was certain.
He had done it because he had to.
‘…I thought I’d caught up, but the gap’s only widened.’
But Cecilia had no intention of wandering any longer.
‘Right. You’ve proven yourself. Now it’s my turn.’
“Haaah!”
Cecilia swung her sword with all her might.
Kwaaang!!
A white flash erupted from the blade, melting one corner of the training ground’s wall and the surrounding area entirely.
Boom—!
The flash was soon absorbed back into the sword, and the shockwave caused the entire training ground to sink.
“…It’s done.”
The new Arts she had completed.
Not the sword forms passed down through the Ren family generations, but a technique Cecilia had created on her own.
Radiant Fang.
A sword meant for her alone—not for that man, nor anyone else—to prove herself to herself.
‘He’ll probably show up tomorrow too.’
Cecilia intended to claim the top spot in tomorrow’s exam with an overwhelming margin.
No matter what, she would surpass him.
And take back Rene.
That would be her proof.
Looking down at the Abyss core she held, she saw seven white Shards embedded in its center.
The ones he had given her as thanks.
Gazing at them, she brought her fingertips to her side once more.
Then to her solar plexus.
Finally, to her face.
“Hup…!”
It had become a ritual of sorts, repeated every time training ended.
There were no wounds.
No pain.
Yet each time her fingertips brushed these spots, the sharp ashen pain from that day revived like a phantom.
That pain was the driving force propelling her forward.
Before long, Cecilia’s eyes lost focus as she muttered, sword dangling limply in her grip.
“Wait for me, Haribal Belder. This time, I’ll crush you perfectly under the same conditions.”
Haaah.
A breath laced with excitement and competitive spirit echoed through the training grounds.
Someone watched Cecilia from beyond the training grounds.
“…Cecil’s at it again.”
Senia Ren.
The next head of the Ren family, a woman hailed as the greatest sword talent of the century.
Whenever Cecilia got like this, Senia found it unbearably cute.
In their childhood, separated by family tradition, the first time they met, Cecilia had been like a silver chick.
Small, dazzling. The sight of her flailing her sword clumsily as she charged at Senia was so lovable that Senia always wanted to hug and nibble her.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the child desperately struggling to get closer, using her as a goal.
Of course, sometimes she wanted to say this:
‘Cecil, don’t try so hard. You know it’s futile.’
Cecilia would probably make a face like the sky had fallen if she heard that.
So Senia swallowed the words.
Because the sight of her straining to catch up was too cute and endearing… she didn’t want to make her stop.
But at some point, Cecilia stopped making her the goal.
Instead, her gaze now lingered on another man.
When Senia had been trapped in a dungeon due to the schemes of an Evil God cultist hiding in the family.
The one who saved her there was none other than Haribal Belder—the man who became Cecilia’s new goal.
The first time she properly faced him was at the medal ceremony.
As she pinned the medal on Haribal Belder with her own hands, the thought that crossed Senia’s mind was surprisingly mundane.
‘Even someone this weak can save me, huh.’
Just that much of an impression.
If she hadn’t been drugged, she was confident she could have cut down a beast like that in one stroke.
If anything, it was interesting that the man who saved her seemed even weaker than Cecilia.
“You’re the one who saved me that day?”
“It was thanks to His Majesty the Emperor’s grace.”
“I was truly grateful. You saved my life.”
Senia swallowed a laugh inwardly.
‘Weaker than the chick… an egg, then?’
But the change came after that.
The duel between Haribal and Cecilia unfolded as smoothly as flowing water.
Right after, Cecilia had noticeably changed.
Senia still stood before her, of course. It wouldn’t change easily—Senia was the one Cecilia had chased her whole life.
But strangely, Cecilia’s gaze no longer stayed solely on her.
She had started looking at someone else.
‘Haribal Belder.’
Senia instinctively sensed the shift.
The longing and obsession that had always been directed at her were now turning toward that man.
‘The chick is trying to leave my hand.’
The emotion from that fact was hard to put into words.
Jealousy?
Obsession?
Anger or hatred?
It wasn’t some trite feeling like that.
If asked if she hated Haribal, no—he had saved her, after all.
So what was this awkward, inexplicable emotion?
‘…No idea.’
With that thought, Senia gripped her sword indifferently.
One-handed, unlike Cecilia.
Swaeek.
As she swung, the training ground’s wall crumbled entirely, and a cyan-white flash was sucked back into her blade.
Radiant Fang.
The Arts Cecilia had poured months into creating to prove herself to that man.
Senia had replicated it perfectly after seeing it just once.
The only difference was the ice flowers blooming unnaturally at her feet, out of sync with the approaching spring.
“Sis… what’re you gonna do?”
“Hm?”
“About the entrance exam. Planning to go for top spot?”
“Dunno. I don’t really like the attention.”
“Sorry, but I want you to aim for it.”
“Huh…?”
“Because I plan to beat you and everyone else to claim the top spot this time.”
That day, seeing Cecilia’s resolute expression, a laugh escaped Senia’s lips.
‘When did you grow up like this, Cecil?’
It felt like the long-forgotten passion for the sword was blooming anew.
‘Still, I wish you’d stay in my arms a bit longer, sis.’
But it wouldn’t be a warm flower bud.
Thus, the Sword Princess of the Ren family.
Senia Ren made her decision.
‘If I overwhelmingly crush Haribal in the exam, will she come back to me?’
In this entrance exam.
Senia would take the top spot.
It was decided.
No one could stop her.
Not Cecilia, not Haribal.
⁎⁎⁎
In one passenger car of the cross-country train Christophe.
A rare black-haired boy rested his chin on his hand by the window, lost in thought as he gazed at the receding scenery.
His face was so androgynous it was hard to tell if he was a man or woman, and still carried a youthful innocence.
But the boy, likely a young man, recalled his hometown and master while watching the vanishing landscape.
“I’m still too immature, Master. I’m not worthy of bearing the Extreme Divine Sword.”
“Immaturity is like a blade. Only by tempering it with the steel called experience does sharpness finally take hold.”
The boy looked at the sword on his lap, wrapped tightly in bandages.
He slightly unwound the bandages, revealing the inscription at the base of the hilt.
Sword-Body Unity
“Haa… It’s not as easy as it sounds.”
The boy suddenly stood and glanced around.
“…No one here, right?”
Muttering to himself, he aimed his sword straight ahead.
Slice! Slice!
Two swings followed, scattering the air.
His sword appeared not to have cut anything, but reality differed.
A single breeze blowing into the car had been split into two by his strikes.
It was a feat so advanced that those not at that realm would struggle to even see it properly.
That was when it happened.
“Sir, I’m sorry, but swinging weapons inside the train is prohibited.”
“Ah, ack! S-Sorry!”
The flustered boy shrank back.
‘There was someone…!!’
“If it’s not too much trouble, may I see your ID?”
“Y-Yes!”
The boy hurriedly pulled out his ID and handed it to the attendant.
[Name: Aren Bright]
Once his identity was verified, he returned to his seat, face red as a tomato.
“…Embarrassing.”
By then, an entirely different scenery began unfolding beyond the window.
“Wah…!!”
Beyond the grand mountains, colorful buildings he’d never seen in his hometown came into view.
That place was the academy city, Neivil.
At its center stood the most striking massive structure—his goal, the main building of Luidel Academy.
“H-Ha… I can pass, right?”
Luidel Academy entrance exam D-1.