Overwhelming Force
Today, Philia's condition seemed unusually unstable. Unlike her usual composure, there was a hint of impatience about her. A nagging unease crept over my entire body, as if something could happen at any moment.
'No way... Philia isn't about to awaken as a devil here, is she?'
Of course, I knew she'd regressed, but still, you could never be too sure. 'What the hell did the old me do in the first round?'
Seeing that her mind was still intact, I'd assumed she'd somehow controlled her inner devil or at least sealed it away. But looking at her now, it seemed that had all been wishful thinking on my part. The embers of destruction still smoldered inside Philia's body.
'Damn it.'
For now, I hid my anxiety as much as possible so as not to provoke her. Thankfully, the eerie light leaking from her eyes vanished in an instant, as if it had never been there.
"Ian. That insignificant... no, the knight commander, Alex, will be guiding your training today."
'She's even mobilizing the knight commander for my training? That's actually a little touching.'
It seemed the relationship between the first-round "me" and Philia had been quite good. Maybe we'd even been particularly close comrades.
"Thank you, my lady. I'll do my best to live up to the effort you've put in."
"By the way, Ian."
"...Yes?"
"You're quite used to accepting things, aren't you?"
A chill ran down my spine. The atmosphere shifted in an instant.
"Didn't you find it strange? That I suddenly told you to pick up a sword yesterday...?"
"W-well... I simply thought that since it was my lady's order, it was only natural to obey."
'What the hell is this all of a sudden?'
I hadn't expected her to cleverly press me on this point, so I was a bit flustered.
Step.
Philia approached until she was right in front of me, close enough that our faces nearly touched, and whispered.
"That's not wrong, but... Ian. You're not hiding anything from me, are you?"
'...Quite a lot, actually.'
There was the fact that I'd noticed her regression, and the secret that I was a possessor. There were many things I was hiding, but of course I couldn't tell her the truth about any of them.
"I would never hide anything from you, my lady. I swear it."
"Really...? I'll believe you. My eternal par... ahem, Ian."
'She was about to say something and cut herself off.'
Philia's face suddenly flushed at the end. She turned her head slightly and pointed toward the training grounds. It was a silent order to get moving.
'This is the first time I've seen this human side of her.'
Surprised by this new facet of her, I picked up one of the wooden swords from the training ground and cautiously approached Alex, who stood at the center.
Alex still wore a thoroughly dissatisfied expression.
"Sir Alex...?"
When I carefully called his name, he warned me in a cold voice.
"Ian. I don't know what tricks you used to win over the lady's favor, but I'll make this clear right here."
"You will never become a knight. I guarantee it."
"Yes, I'm aware."
'Of course. With no talent for the sword, how could I become a knight?'
Since it was guaranteed by the regressor Philia, this was certain. Alex's words didn't stir any particular resentment or anger in me. I simply accepted it as the obvious truth.
"......?"
My indifferent reaction made Alex's face twist for a moment, but he quickly recovered and spoke again.
"From now on, I'll only defend. Pour every sword technique you've learned so far at me."
'Sword techniques I've learned...'
I hadn't learned any. What could I have possibly learned after only holding a sword for a single day?
"Would it be acceptable to use techniques I've learned through self-study?"
"...Of course."
Alex looked at me with an expression that said he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Maybe it had been too obvious a question.
'Well, if that's the case...'
I carefully lifted the wooden sword. Since this was sparring, it wasn't a real blade, but wooden swords had their own advantages.
'It's definitely lighter than a steel sword.'
At this weight, it seemed I could put in a bit more strength. 'I don't know how effective it'll be since I'm using it in real combat for the first time, but...'
There was the best possible practice partner right in front of me. A knight like an iron fortress who seemed capable of blocking any technique I used. Therefore, it would be rude not to give it my all.
I took a deep breath, recalling the principles I'd learned before and gathering strength in my arm. A sword of monstrous strength that mimicked overwhelming power.
My tendons pulled tight inside my arm.
'As expected, a real sword feels different.'
Explosive muscle power surged into my forearm all at once. My veins bulged across my entire arm as my muscles overloaded in real time.
'If this weren't a wooden sword, my muscles might have burst by now.'
This was just from using the strength of my upper body. If I used my entire body's power, my arm might literally explode with a pop. Even this much was plenty in terms of raw power, but since my opponent was the knight commander Alex, I decided to use a little trick.
A secret technique I could only use in this exact situation.
I created some distance from Alex, then immediately charged toward him.
'There's a way to increase the power even more from here.'
The principle was simpler than it seemed.
Right before reaching Alex, I twisted my torso once. The increase in acceleration from the rotation. Increased speed directly doubled the power of the strike.
In real combat, exposing your back like this would be suicidal, so it was a technique I could never dare use. But in this current situation where Alex was only defending, it was possible.
If I had to name it, I'd call it Spinning Strong Sword.
I didn't know its exact power since I'd never tested it, but for a technique used by a dullard, it wasn't bad, right?
BOOM—!
For a moment, the entire training ground shook.
"......!"
Philia, watching the two from outside the training ground, was suddenly overcome with joy.
'As expected...! I was wrong. Ian's talent is still there.'
Then curiosity quickly followed.
'More importantly, when on earth did Ian learn a technique like that? I'm certain he didn't have anything like that until yesterday...?'
Unlike yesterday when he'd swung his sword pathetically, the current Ian had learned a rather useful technique. By Philia's standards, a "useful technique" was one that could work even against fairly skilled experts.
'Of course, it didn't carry any mana, and the power was greatly reduced since he drew on pure physical strength without any training, but...'
The difficulty of the technique Ian had just used was no joke. It was an extremely difficult art that required controlling one's muscles and autonomic nervous system through sheer willpower.
'And he learned a technique like that after only holding a sword for a single day...?'
It was a growth rate that even Philia, who had been his comrade in the future, couldn't begin to measure. While she was still lost in admiration...
Alex, who had taken Ian's direct attack, was currently feeling an overwhelming sense of humiliation.
He wasn't injured anywhere. Ian's sword had reached a level of skill that could have been "effective" even against him, but unfortunately, his physical strength was far too lacking.
But.
'...I was pushed back. Just a little.'
Half a half-step. It was truly minuscule, but for an instant, he had been pushed back. Alex's entire body trembled with humiliation.
'I, the knight commander of the Barhen family... was pushed back by a brat who hasn't even properly learned the sword?'
His towering pride simply could not accept this reality.
"...I've seen your talent. It's worthy of the lady's praise."
His posture had been quite bizarre and a bit irritating, but the momentary "power" was a powerful technique that could rival even the knights.
Therefore, Alex wanted to confirm something with this opportunity.
"I'll take back what I said earlier. From now on, I'll begin attacking as well."
Alex wanted to witness with his own two eyes the unparalleled talent that Ian possessed. The brilliant talent that an ordinary person like himself could never reach no matter how hard he tried for his entire life.
'Show me. The full extent of that talent...!'
As he swung his sword with full power...
'What the fuck?'
THUD—!
Ian was sent flying helplessly out of the training ground.
"......?"
'I almost really died...'
At Alex's sudden attack, Ian had reflexively deflected part of the blow. He'd simply instinctively copied Alex's defensive posture from earlier, but the effect was better than expected.
'The burden on my defense has definitely decreased.'
The problem was that even though he'd only taken a tiny fraction of the attack, Ian's body couldn't withstand it and had been sent flying. It was proof of just how vast the gap between them was.
'He said he'd only defend, but what is he doing suddenly switching to attacking?'
If Ian hadn't been able to deflect the attack, at least one part of his body would have definitely broken.
Just as Ian was grumbling and about to say something...
"Stop right there."
At some point, she had been here before any of them could even notice. A swift movement that had slipped through the gaps in their perception like a ghost.
The suddenly appearing girl thrust her sword under Alex's chin.
"What the hell is this dogshit behavior? Hm?"
A cute appearance that contrasted with her crude language. The girl who would one day be called the Sword Demon.
Serena wore a crooked smile.
After the destruction, Serena had felt the emotion called "peace" for the first time.
Every enemy had been powerless before that man's sword. Even devils and gods were no different—there was only a difference in how long it took them to fall. None could stand against him.
That was why she had admired him. She wanted to understand him, to become like him. And she wanted to become his companion.
'But.'
But what the hell were those bitches?
As time passed and more women gathered around the man, Serena had been consumed by jealousy.
'I've spent more time with him.'
'I understand him better.'
'I could do so much more for him.'
In the end, even at the final moment of the apocalypse, Serena had never been able to convey her true feelings to him.
And now that she'd obtained a new life...
She had decided that no matter what it took, she would never let him go again.