Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: I've Beaten Plenty of Women Already
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Sword-Body Unity.
Aren's eyes caught the inscription carved into the blade.
'...What happened?'
She looked up, and there was Cecilia, clutching her shoulder, blood streaming from it.
A vivid sword wound etched into her shoulder.
Blood dripped from the blade of Savior in Aren’s hand, mingled with its sharp blue edge.
"Ah..."
Only then did Aren realize she had committed an irreparable mistake.
Cecilia spoke to her as she unwittingly staggered back.
"You... were you that cornered?"
There was no trace of the venom from moments before in her expression.
In its place was pity.
"...You should have just told me from the start."
With those words, Cecilia lost consciousness.
Clang.
Savior slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.
"Cecilia...?"
She immediately staunched Cecilia's wound.
Not caring that her own hands were becoming soaked in blood.
Once the bleeding was stopped, Aren hoisted her on her back and rushed her to the hospital.
"Fortunately, the nerves weren't damaged. Thanks to the quick hemostasis, her condition shouldn't worsen."
The doctor's words didn't register.
All that consumed her mind now was the fact that she had swung her real sword at her own follower.
"For now, we should contact her guardian... Huh? Where did she go?"
Before the doctor could finish, Aren bolted out of the hospital and ran blindly through Neivil's streets.
'...What have I done?'
Her chest tightened.
The bandages wrapped around her torso were made of the same material as those that had bound Savior.
One of the sacred relics that suppressed presence, given to her by her master, Jin Nosa.
So she never imagined Cecilia knew her secret.
If that fact got out, she might lose all sense of her own purpose entirely.
That's why she had swung her sword without thinking.
But Cecilia didn't resent her.
She almost wished she had.
'...Why did you look at me like that?'
Her breath came short.
Not from the bandages squeezing her chest, but from the guilt of stabbing another comrade.
For the sake of keeping her secret, out of fear that everything about her would be denied. For such a selfish reason.
Child of prophecy? Savior of the world?
'......Don't make me laugh.'
Where should she go?
What should she do now?
How should she face the others?
'I have to... prove it. That's the only way...'
Aren raced back to the dormitory, packed her things, and boarded the next train to Ronwood Plains without a second thought.
By now, darkness had fallen outside the window.
The moonlight was hidden behind clouds.
Aren's hand trembled like an aspen leaf as she clutched Savior with hollow eyes.
Some passengers gasped at the sight of her, but she had no spare attention for them.
Her mind was filled only with the thought of conquering the third Demon God's Dungeon as soon as possible to prove herself.
Once the dungeon was cleared, maybe this suffocating feeling would lift.
Then, perhaps she could talk with Cecilia like old times.
With that resolve, she got off at the station.
As she began wrapping Savior in bandages, a boy's voice rang out—one that shouldn't have been there.
"You don't need to wrap that, I think."
The clouds parted, revealing the moon, and its pouring light illuminated the boy standing in front of the station.
Gray hair fluttering in the wind.
"......How?"
Haribal Belder.
He glared at Aren with fury in his eyes.
Sword hanging loosely at his side.
⁎⁎⁎
Every ultimate weapon bears the character for "god."
Among them, Aren's ultimate weapon, [Divine Sword - Savior], is special.
It's the only one held from the very start of the game, and it grows stronger along with the user.
So even if you swap weapons midway, you always return to Savior eventually.
Savior has a lore-only feature: its blade changes color to reflect the user's emotions.
The blade in Aren's hand was dulled, as if rusted.
The color of sorrow.
"......How?"
"Hospital. Dormitory. Here. That answer your question? I got here fast thanks to my Abyss Core."
Hiding it was pointless now that Adelin knew anyway.
Aren nodded, seemingly convinced.
"How did you know I'd be here?"
"Because we think alike."
He'd heard the situation from the Ren sisters and gone to the dormitory, but Aren had already vanished with her bags.
Intuition told him she'd head to Ronwood Plains.
Even if not, Rene's tracker had it covered.
"......That's what I thought, but honestly, I'm not so sure now."
Aren struggling against the Evil Gods per the prophecy was the main storyline's backbone.
It was the foundation of my guiding principle in this world.
That's why I'd once tried not to deviate too far from the original Aren's path.
Of course, everything was a mess now.
But the Aren I remembered from the original wouldn't stab her follower and run.
Seeing wounded Cecilia made my blood boil.
Ah, Cecilia needs a healer!
That's what I would've thought before, but now I just felt guilty.
Cecilia had chosen Aren as her follower because I'd recommended her.
I bore responsibility for her injury.
For trusting Aren too much.
"So... why are you here?"
"To talk."
"About what?"
"Anything. Your hometown from last time, academy stuff—whatever. Personally, I'd love to hear why you stabbed Cecilia and ran."
At my words, Aren flashed not her usual cheerful smile, but a broken one.
"I'll explain everything. After the dungeon clear, I'll tell you all of it...!"
"You joking right now? Your follower's in a hospital bed because of you. And you're talking dungeons?"
"But... I have to clear the dungeon... prove myself..."
"Prove? Bullshit."
I cut her off sharply.
No kind words were coming.
"Isn't apologizing first just basic decency?"
"......Huh?"
"Bow your head and say, 'I'm sorry. I lost my mind and attacked by mistake. It won't happen again.' That's step one. You can't bury a crime with merits out of order."
I'd expected Cecilia to beat Aren senseless and force her to kneel here.
'It's my fault for not noticing she was mentally cornered. So don't blame her too much.'
Instead, she'd defended her.
Even though she nearly ended her career as a swordswoman, acting like some saint.
I was almost missing Ice Princess Cecilia for the first time.
"You wanted to clear dungeons too! You said you'd conquer the Evil God's Abyss before break!"
"I've never had some grand idea about 'proving' anything."
"......That's because you don't need to."
"Who told you to prove shit? Who pushed you?"
I never thought I'd say to the original protagonist what I'd heard from Adelin.
But laying it bare, wasn't it true?
Peel back the layers, and she's just a seventeen-year-old boy.
Fantasy world or not, just a kid soldier.
It's insane to tell a kid soldier to save the world; the kid who fails isn't the insane one.
And now I was here anyway.
Just like when I first entered this world.
She could dump everything on me, slack off, and no one would complain.
At that moment, Aren's eyes darkened.
"...Someone did push me. You, Haribal."
"Never."
"No, you did! You cleared two Evil God's Abysses I couldn't even attempt—alone! And you're prepping for the third!"
"You can do it too. I offered to help."
"That's not enough!"
Her voice erupted like a scream.
"Do you know what they're saying at the academy lately? That you're the one bringing the sun to the Empire—not me. The people who pinned their hopes on me... I can see them letting go, one by one."
"What's the problem with that?"
"It's a problem! For me!!"
Her scream echoed through the station.
Her extreme reaction left me speechless.
It was absurd.
I'd thought I was helping her as much as possible. I'd even saved the core storyline item [Sun Shine] for her.
Yet here she was, jealous of me.
'She blames me for this?'
Unfair as hell.
I'd twisted the original plot, not human nature.
And Aren and I had only met at the academy.
I couldn't grasp why alpha-male Aren had become such a mess.
Meanwhile, Aren's other hand—the one not holding her sword—went to her collar.
Click.
She began slowly undoing the buttons at her neck.
"......You know? Extreme Divine Sword is a swordsmanship tailored for the male body."
I knew.
It said so in the Imperial Swordsmanship Institute, and no female characters used it in the original.
Starting with Aren himself...
"I devoted my life to mastering Extreme Divine Sword. I didn't want to disappoint my parents or master."
Wait, hold on.
Something was off.
As she undid button after button, her collarbone caught my eye oddly.
I couldn't pinpoint what, but it was weird.
Her neckline was too slender.
Her shoulders felt delicate rather than sturdy.
Her husky voice had taken on a higher pitch.
Huh?
"So I had to change everything. To look like a man, act like one, fight like one..."
She undid the last button on her shirt and pulled the collar apart.
"......Look."
In that instant, impossible curves emerged from her body.
Along with some very assertive flesh.
"Huh."
Right then, every puzzle piece clicked in my head.
"I... can't be the Child of Prophecy, Haribal."
"..."
"I never had the right from the start."
She murmured to herself.
'...What an idiot.'
It was obvious.
Plain as day—Aren before me was a 'woman.'
Height in the 160s, looks that could fool anyone into thinking girl.
Slender frame, husky voice.
Everything differed from the original, yet I'd assumed male.
One reason.
Aren was male in the original.
'...First button was wrong from the start.'
Yeah. Now it all made sense.
The original Aren fits the prophecy.
Why? Because he crushes the Evil Gods later.
So I'd been optimistic even about his jealousy.
Knowing he'd handle it eventually.
Knowing his resolve was ironclad.
Above all, thinking he was the only one who fit the prophecy in this world.
But no.
The Aren Bright before me wasn't the Child of Prophecy.
The prophecy required a 'boy' who inherited Extreme Divine Sword.
Yet raised as the Child of Prophecy anyway.
To prove herself, she'd pushed harder than original Aren.
Physically, emotionally.
It was confusing.
'Aren isn't the Child of Prophecy? Then what the hell is this world...?'
Her voice cut through.
"I've lived my whole life called the Child of Prophecy, for that alone. If I lose it now... how am I supposed to live?"
"..."
"So... let me go. It's the only proof of my life."
Her desperate plea snapped me from my thoughts.
"No."
"......Why?"
"I'm sorry I didn't realize you're a girl. Must've been uncomfortable because of me. I'll get you a separate room at the dorm right away."
"..."
"But no matter how you see yourself, some things don't change."
Her vacant eyes turned to me.
"You need to apologize to Cecilia. That's why I'm here."
"..."
"I... might've expected too much without really seeing you. Sorry about that. Properly, later."
"..."
"But that's that, and this is this."
Still gripping my sword, I approached her slowly.
"If you still want to prove yourself..."
I aimed my blade at her.
"Prove it with this."
"......Does it have to be like this?"
"You brought it on yourself. Though I share the blame."
Cold night air swirled through the station.
Aren gazed at me a moment, then bent slowly to pick up Savior from the floor.
"......No need to be scared. It's your power anyway... right?"
"..."
"...Just the two of us here."
"Yep."
"...So I can go all out."
With the poignantly glowing rusted blade, Aren silently assumed the Extreme Divine Sword stance.
"I'm sorry, Haribal."
My eyes naturally drifted to her head.
No gem.
Combat always presupposes hostility, at minimum.
Even in training, crossing blades means some enmity exists.
But not this time.
From her to me.
From me to her.
Not a shred of enmity.
"The eighth successor of Extreme Divine Sword, Aren Bright... challenges you."
Only regret remained.
My first real-time battle since entering this world.
But I wasn't too worried.
I'd beaten plenty of women already.