Chapter 44
They were heading somewhere.
“Everyone, where are you going?”
“Asking where we’re going now… Whoa!”
The student running into the auditorium stopped in shock when he realized who had asked.
“You seniors are back?”
“Just now.”
“Though it wasn’t particularly tasty, I thought I’d eat at the student cafeteria for the first time in a while.”
“That’s not important right now! There’s a fight between the swordsmanship professors! If things go badly, Professors Sevichet and Dorlia might even buy lunch for every student!”
The boy and girl who had just returned to the academy exchanged bewildered glances.
“Those two?”
“Absolutely not those old fogeys.”
“Just follow me. We don’t have time to explain!”
The student quickly led the two newcomers toward the auditorium.
The opponent was a 6-Circle powerhouse like Professor Arkan.
Yet his mana pool was vast while his swordsmanship looked sloppy.
He had piled on so much rich food that his body looked soft and plump.
A real swordsman would never let himself fall into such poor shape.
At first Professor Arkan had seemed hopelessly weak when sparring with him.
Now it was obvious the man was far stronger.
“Professor Sevichet, how do you intend to handle us? You said you’d face us both at once, but if we fight together that would only humiliate us.”
“Then I’ll face one first. I’ll end it right here. Professor Dorlia, please stand back and watch from afar.”
“It’s a pity I won’t get my chance, but there’s nothing I can do.”
Professor Dorlia laughed loudly and stepped back to one side of the stage.
Professor Sevichet raised his three swords to the sky, performed a bizarre series of movements, and declared:
“See? This is the true Gehenna swordsmanship. It’s extremely beautiful, like a dance. You can’t look away, can you?”
“I’d rather look away. It’s completely useless in real combat—purely for show.”
“Wh-what did you say?”
“Moreover….”
I deliberately clicked my tongue so the sound would carry.
“If Professor had shed a little more fat, it might have looked even more graceful. Don’t you agree, students?”
My words sent the gathered students bursting into laughter.
“You brat! Gehenna swordsmanship pursues beauty, and if you act like a spoiled child like this, you’ll be forced to taste blood. Come on. I’ll allow you to strike first!”
“Very well.”
The instant the words left his mouth, he lunged forward.
There was no need to prolong the fight.
The magnificent body my master had given me required no mana to activate, and there was no time to waste.
“T-this guy is actually….”
“Fast! Be careful, Professor Sevichet!”
Professor Sevichet pulled one sword back slightly.
His expression and stance showed he had planned something.
He thought I would be unable to stop midway.
So he was preparing to thrust his blade into my path.
‘Clever thinking, but it won’t work against my swordsmanship.’
I deliberately stomped hard on the ground right in front of Professor Sevichet.
It was a signal to accelerate even faster.
At that moment I saw a smile curl on Professor Sevichet’s lips.
But he overlooked my swordsmanship.
I charged straight at him, ready to meet his thrust head-on.
“Hehe, that’s why you’re a rookie!”
The sharp thrust.
I met it with the same strike.
“Ah, no….”
In that brief moment, the one who was actually flustered was Professor Sevichet.
When I countered with the exact same thrust, he hesitated.
As a result his sword failed to extend fully and left a narrow opening.
That was exactly what I had aimed for.
I poured power into the hand gripping my sword and sent the weapon he was holding in that vague way flying away.
Professor Sevichet’s three swords soared through the air and slammed into the floor.
The outcome was decided in an instant.
Professor Sevichet, who had dropped his weapon and fallen because he couldn’t overcome his own body weight, was now glaring at me with his sword pointed straight at him.
“You have lost. Declare your defeat.”
One moment and the winner was decided, leaving the students murmuring in confusion.
“Declare defeat? Even if it means death, I’ll still declare… Augh!”
Professor Sevichet doubled over in pain after a kick to his gut and curled up.
“Declare it.”
“Ugh, I absolutely… Gah!”
This time I stomped down on his arm with my foot.
Even if it didn’t break the bone, it would let him feel the pain.
“Stop!”
The one who shouted was Professor Dorlia.
“Arms are the swordsman’s life. You will not cross that line!”
“You must have set the rules yourself. If either side cannot declare defeat or is unable to declare it, the other wins. I’m simply trying to win.”
“Rules are rules. If you try to go beyond them, I won’t stand for it!”
“Just try it. Before Professor Sevichet’s life as a swordsman ends.”
The moment the words left my mouth I added strength to my foot.
“Kyaaaaak!”
Professor Sevichet’s scream echoed through the auditorium.
Professor Dorlia drew his twin swords and charged forward.
“Enough of this, you brat!”
Blue energy swirled around the twin swords.
He was deploying sword qi in earnest.
Then I would have to fight with sword qi as well.
But somehow I didn’t feel like battling at the same level.
What I wanted to show was the true difference in skill.
Mana would only cloud the point.
“I’ll let you feel the weight of experience!”
Professor Dorlia swung his twin swords with terrifying force.
Since Professor Sevichet, the master of three swords, had already fallen, the fun was gone for him.
But Professor Dorlia’s swords were intriguing.
Swings with two blades at once made his attacks relentless and left no room for counter.
It was surprisingly practical.
The problem was that it looked far too slow to me.
I dodged one attack and brushed the other aside with my own sword.
So his blows never landed on me.
Professor Dorlia’s assaults were fierce, but I could hear his breathing grow rough.
Using two swords meant he would tire quickly.
“You’ve reached 5th circle yet you still won’t use sword qi? Don’t dodge—face me head-on! Ha!”
Professor Dorlia apparently thought he had to end it before tiring, so he instantly enhanced his own sword qi.
That was when…
Clang.
My sword shattered against his strengthened sword qi.
It had no sword qi of its own and was just a plain blade.
I hurriedly stepped back as Professor Dorlia grinned confidently.
“Kuhaha, the sword broke. Now what?”
“What a pity.”
Because Professor Dorlia’s twin-sword technique had been interesting, I kept fighting to enjoy myself.
I said it was a pity, but I felt no real danger.
The sword had broken, but swordsmanship wasn’t only about the blade—it also involved using one’s own body.
Still, it was a shame I couldn’t fight purely with the sword anymore.
‘Master?’
My master had not spoken to me for a long time.
After such a long wait, it was truly welcome.
[No, to be precise, it isn’t a new sword.]
At that moment something prickled from the center of my abdomen.
It was eerie, yet familiar.
The sensation of the blade that had once pierced my body.
[Regret is now part of you. Whenever you wish, you can draw and sheathe it at any time. Call it once. Understand? The value of Regret.]
The cursed sword that had fought alongside me in the latter half of my previous life.
A sturdy blade that changed shape to suit its wielder and possessed strength far beyond any ordinary sword qi.
I had felt Regret completely through my own body.
‘Call it? What do you mean, call it? Regret is just a sword.’
[That’s your thinking. It’s simple—you only need to call. Regret will not lend its power to anyone who tries to wield it against its will. If you truly recognize me, it will answer your call no matter where I am.]
‘Even if you put it so vaguely….’
I closed my eyes for now.
I would convey to Regret my true desire for it.
“Have you decided to surrender? Declare defeat already!”
Whatever Professor Dorlia said, I closed my eyes and imagined.
The eerie yet clear sensation and existence that had once pierced my body.
‘Once more, please fight beside me.’
A moment later the students began to murmur.
Professor Dorlia’s startled voice joined them.
“W-what is that?! How did a sword suddenly appear from nowhere….”
In front of my opened eyes, a single sword floated in midair, glowing with light.
Without realizing it, a pleased smile spread across my face.
‘I never imagined I would see it again like this.’
The cursed sword that had shared my life and death had once more revealed itself exactly as it had in my previous life.