Chapter 151: Loki vs. Johanna 3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 151: Loki vs. Johanna 3
Every student in the Special Class boasted a unique specialty or a signature weapon.
Lucas Leonhart possessed the authority of the Imperial Family.
Clara Adelian had Infinite Mana.
Sepia Rivayden commanded an overwhelming Spirit Affinity.
Kuran Isar wielded the primal strength and secret techniques of the Isar tribe.
Frederick Nicholas used sorcery to weave debilitating curses.
Gashurin utilized ancient Eastern weapons that had long been lost to history.
Ren possessed the ability to augment himself through specialized buffs.
Even Joden Adelian, who wasn't in the Special Class, wielded a unique brand of magic capable of freezing space itself.
‘Then what about Johanna?’
Johanna’s specialty was neither complex nor flashy compared to her peers.
It was simple swordsmanship.
She didn't discharge mana blasts from her blade, nor did she telekinetically manipulate a dozen swords at once. She didn't even resort to throwing daggers like Loki.
She relied on a single sword.
The absolute fundamentals of the blade.
It was simple—or rather, because it was so fundamentally pure, it was nearly impossible to counter even when one saw it coming.
She was the only person the Empire's Greatest Swordsman, Duke Freya, claimed was more talented than himself.
Duke Freya was a doting father, to be sure.
But when it came to the way of the sword, he never lied.
Cut, thrust, parry, and block.
These basic movements were simple enough for any child to learn.
However, Johanna had honed those basics to their absolute limit.
The moment Johanna executed those ordinary fundamentals, each move transformed into a life-threatening ultimate technique.
—Clang! Clang! Clang!
Loki’s cane and Johanna’s sword collided several times in a heartbeat.
The difference between a wooden training sword and a live blade wasn't just a matter of sharpness.
Johanna held the advantage in raw strength, but unlike their previous bout with wooden swords, Loki’s cane was of significantly higher quality than Johanna’s current blade. Because of that, he managed to hold his ground without being blown away by the sheer force of her strikes.
However, Johanna’s movements had also shifted. Now that she held the sword she had trained with her entire life, she was a completely different beast compared to when she held a practice weapon.
—Ching!
As Loki and Johanna’s weapons locked in a contest of strength, Johanna gave a slight flick of her wrist.
With that subtle movement, she parried Loki’s cane downward, forcing an opening in his defense.
Johanna was not one to let such a gap go to waste.
Her sword and her gaze remained fixed forward.
She lowered her center of gravity and lifted her back heel, coiled like a spring. It was a perfect thrusting stance—one so flawless it was hard to believe she had achieved it in the heat of a frantic exchange.
The tip of Johanna’s sword surged toward Loki’s throat with the velocity of a bullet.
With his posture broken, dodging was impossible, no matter how erratic his footwork might be.
Real swords were rarely used during sparring matches for a reason. Naturally, aiming for vital points like the neck or heart was strictly forbidden.
But Johanna knew.
She knew Loki wasn't the type to be defeated by something like this.
While it was impossible for Loki to dodge from his current position, it was well within his power to pull a countermeasure from his Pocket Dimension.
Loki chose the transparent, high-tensile threads he often paired with his daggers.
His fingers moved with dazzling speed, weaving the threads into the air. While the thin lines couldn't stop Johanna’s thrust outright, they could redirect it.
The most critical element of a thrust was its precision.
By using the threads to snag the blade, Loki perfectly diverted the direction of the strike.
“Hahahaha! You’re re~ally strong, Senior. I mean, I never once thought you were weak, but I didn't know you were this terrifying.”
Loki brushed a finger against his neck.
A smear of red stained his fingertip.
“Ugh! Blood! Actual blood!”
It wasn't a deep wound—barely a graze. Johanna had realized the threads would spoil her aim and had adjusted her trajectory at the last microsecond.
Despite being clearly pushed back, Loki grinned.
“Geez, where did the Johanna go who used to fuss over me, asking if I was hurt every time I got into a scrap? This won't do. If I win, my wish is for you to call me ‘Oppa’ until the start of summer vacation.”
“...Loki, you aren't going to win.”
“It’s fine. Being called ‘Oppa’ is every man’s dream. If I try my best, I’ll find a way.”
“...I truly don't understand you.”
Though they continued to banter, their eyes and minds were working overtime, analyzing and re-analyzing every twitch of their opponent.
‘Pocket Dimension...’
Usually, a Pocket Dimension requires a medium like a ring or a necklace. Items are pulled from that specific point, and the internal volume is strictly limited.
But Loki’s Pocket Dimension was an anomaly.
No medium was visible, and he could summon objects from any point near his body. This allowed him to manifest interference even when a sword was inches from his skin. Furthermore, there seemed to be no limit to its capacity.
“Is there an end to that space?”
“The items in my Pocket Dimension are like an onion—and like my own charms.”
“.........”
When Johanna gave him a look of pure incomprehension, Loki winked and offered a helpful explanation.
“I mean that no matter how much you peel away, there’s always more underneath.”
Loki mentally inventoried the magic tools remaining in his Pocket Dimension.
Originally, the purpose of this spar was simple: to gauge Johanna’s current strength. He wanted to know if she could win against Sepia, who had recently achieved her Awakening.
It was born of pure curiosity.
To be honest, before the spar began, he suspected Sepia would likely win if Chirpy assisted her.
But the moment the duel started, he realized he had miscalculated.
His judgment had been flawed.
It wasn't that he had overestimated Sepia; he had drastically underestimated Johanna.
If it were Johanna, she might be able to take down Betzdo even without knowing his attack patterns beforehand—something Sepia couldn't dream of.
So why keep fighting when he already knew Johanna was the superior combatant?
Simple. Pride.
He wasn't the type to obsess over winning or losing unless it was necessary, but for some reason, he didn't want to lose to Johanna.
“Well, men are creatures that want to look reliable in front of the girl they like.”
“...That’s stupid.”
“You’re too much.”
Loki scanned his surroundings.
He’d done plenty of boasting and acting cool, so now he actually had to deliver the win.
As expected of an academy training ground, the area was spacious and unobstructed.
‘Ah, this makes things a bit difficult.’
The threads Loki favored were hard to utilize in a flat, open arena like this, where there were no environmental anchors to tie them to.
“...Loki, you talk too much during a duel.”
“Isn't that part of my charm?”
Johanna pushed off the ground lightly.
She surged toward Loki with an explosive burst of speed that defied the grace of her movement.
As she charged, seven daggers materialized in the air, flying toward her.
‘Those are fakes. Where is the real one? Below.’
Loki tried to stall her with the illusions, but Johanna instantly distinguished the reality from the trickery.
“No, wait, my only trick is deceiving people! If I’ve gone this far, shouldn't you fall for it at least once?”
Johanna swatted away the real daggers in an instant, her momentum never wavering.
“If you’re going to be like that, I don't care anymore! Take this! Random bullshit, go!”
Loki began pulling daggers from his Pocket Dimension and hurling them at Johanna in a frantic, disorganized barrage.
Once again, Johanna focused on identifying the illusions to knock them aside.
‘There are no fakes?’
She realized too late that every single one was real.
An uncountable number of daggers rained down on her. The sheer volume of steel was like a localized downpour, making it seem impossible to dodge or block.
However, Johanna simply took a sharp breath.
She planted both feet firmly and gripped her sword with perfect tension—neither too tight nor too loose.
Then, she swung.
The daggers struck by Johanna’s sword ricocheted with calculated precision, knocking away the other incoming blades. Every time her blade flashed, daggers were sent spiraling away.
The seemingly endless barrage was soon exhausted, with every single blade embedded in the floor or the ceiling.
“...It didn't work.”
Of course, Loki hadn't just been standing idly by while Johanna deflected his arsenal.
“Then how about this?”
While Johanna was occupied with the daggers, he had masked his presence with an illusion and circled to her rear.
He aimed his cane at the back of Johanna’s head from a perfect blind spot, but Johanna flexibly arched her body backward, letting the strike whistle past.
“Huh?”
For a split second, Loki—despite his incredible reaction speed—was caught off guard.
Johanna swung her sword in a fluid arc, sending Loki’s cane flying. The weapon soared through the air before piercing deep into the training ground floor.
‘She didn't do that by sight.’
She had been certain that the moment Loki threw the daggers, he would attempt to flank her. Without that absolute conviction, her reaction time would have been physically impossible.
‘She knows me too well.’
She was different from any opponent he had faced until now. It wasn't just her skill; she understood his very thought process.
As if certain of her victory, Johanna walked forward slowly and leveled her sword at Loki’s chest.
“Do you want to surrender?”
“Isn't it a bit too early for the show to end?”
“Swinging a sword is faster than pulling something out of a Pocket Dimension.”
Loki raised both hands.
Johanna assumed it was a gesture of surrender, but then she saw him smiling.
“I wonder. I still have the strength to fight, and a reason to keep going.”
Johanna’s sharp eyes caught the glint of transparent threads wrapped around Loki’s fingers.
“...!!!”
Johanna tried to lunge, but Loki was faster, snapping his hands back.
The numerous daggers Johanna had swatted away earlier suddenly jerked into the air, flying toward her all at once from every direction.
Johanna had to become much stronger than she was now.
She was formidable, yes, but this level of skill would not be enough.
The bastards of Death Heaven were all powerful, but those ranked third and above were in a league of their own.
And on the day the Rank 3 member raided the Academy...
Johanna would have to face that Necromancer alone.
The Necromancer would raid the Academy with a legion of over a thousand skeletons.
There would be no injuries.
There would be only one casualty.
Johanna Freya.