I've Been Waiting for You
Billy Kaintel.
Eldest son of House Kaintel. Ranked first among the first-year martial arts students at Elprime Academy. A genius among geniuses.
And the protagonist of this world…
…or so he was supposed to be.
I'm the protagonist now!
From the moment he had reincarnated into this world, the role of protagonist had shifted to him. Shouting the declaration in his heart, Leon raised his sword and charged straight at Billy.
A head-on clash between Class A and Class B. The heart of this battle was the one-on-one duel between Billy and Leon.
No matter how anyone spun it, the two of them were the strongest fighters in their respective classes — powerhouses capable of tipping the entire fight. Whichever of them won would decide which team claimed victory.
That was why Leon, who had always preferred to avoid fighting Billy, had no choice this time but to meet him blade for blade with everything he had. There was simply no way to sit this one out.
Odds of winning?
Fifty-fifty? Forty percent?
He couldn't say. And honestly, it wasn't even worth thinking about. Leon wiped the thought from his mind the instant it surfaced. Speculating on odds when a fight was already inevitable was completely useless.
When had he ever fought by calculating his chances of victory, anyway? He just did his best. The only useful thought for this moment was…
How do I beat the hell out of this guy?
CLANG!
At last, Leon's Heaven-Shattering Sword met Billy's blade. Leon cut horizontally across Billy's left flank; Billy caught it on the forte — the strongest part of his sword.
Their eyes locked.
"Leon."
Billy spoke without preamble.
"I've been waiting for you."
A low, deep voice.
"…?!"
Goosebumps raced across Leon's entire body. The murderous eyes that had been pouring out killing intent wavered for a split second.
Don't say that with that face, you absolute freak.
Leon barely restrained the urge to throw his sword away and walk off. Knowing Billy's personality, he probably just meant he'd been wanting to cross blades — but the way he said it was a talent all its own. And the atmosphere had gone needlessly serious again.
"You need to start talking in longer sentences."
With that, Leon pressed harder into the bind.
Screeeeech!
Sparks flew in a rapid spray as Billy's sword was forced back. Armor that amplified the strength of every muscle group, plus two body-enhancement artifacts — Leon was fighting with all of that active. Their raw physical ability had originally been roughly equal, so the specs themselves heavily favored Leon right now.
Screeeech!
The arm holding the sword was forced open; Billy's chest was exposed. The moment he realized his strength wasn't enough, Billy responded instantly.
Like a flower petal drifting on a stray breeze — soft, effortless. He rotated the wrist that had been holding firm and redirected the force. His blade spun and swept Leon's sword cleanly aside.
Their swords parted with a soft tap. Leon's center of gravity dropped hard to the right.
Whoosh!
He immediately reversed his grip on the Heaven-Shattering Sword and transferred power from his right foot through ankle, waist, and shoulder, cutting left.
CLANG!
The blades collided again. This time, Leon didn't bother forcing another bind. The previous exchange had taught him everything he needed to know — he could not beat Billy in a contest of binding strength.
So he shifted to the field he excelled in: continuous strikes.
Blue trails began to paint themselves through the air in rapid succession.
Clang! Clang-clang! Screeech!
This was nothing like his usual habit of simply pouring out sword strikes. Slightly slower — but careful. Precise. Relentless. Aimed exclusively at vital points. With accelerated thought and razor focus, he wrung every last drop from his brain and showed only the best options available.
Sloppy attacks wouldn't land on Billy anyway. They would only hand him openings for a counter.
Suddenly, yesterday's alley fight with Hera flashed through his mind — the way she had shattered the rhythm, stolen the tempo at will, and swung her sword with that infuriating, finely controlled mix of hard and soft. He applied it the moment it occurred to him. Clumsy, but he tried.
BOOM! Screeeeech! CLANG! BOOM! Clang!
Just listening to it was enough to twist your guts. Off-beat. A sword that smashed the rhythm and made the flow jagged and unpredictable.
Was it working? He felt Billy's hands falter slightly. A flicker of bewilderment crossed those shimmering blue eyes.
Good. It's landing.
He couldn't stop here. Keep going. Harder. Drive him further.
He mixed in a feint — sent his gaze the opposite direction, pretended to swing, then kicked at Billy's calf. Billy wasn't wearing greaves.
Whoosh — smack!
Billy expertly angled his shin and blocked the kick, then immediately drove his other leg at Leon's thigh.
Thud!
Leon, as if he'd expected it, lifted his leg and caught the strike on his greave.
Tap! Clang! Clang! Rat-tat-tat! Crack!
For a moment, kicks flew more freely than sword strikes — then both of them returned to their blades just as quickly. They both knew the kicking exchange was going nowhere.
CLANG! Clang! Clang! Screeech!
Leon dredged up the memories of the Demonic Soul Pill. Right now, Billy was receiving the continuous assault with a sword that embodied the principle of Softness. And the only thing that could break Softness…
…was something even stronger, even heavier — a single decisive blow.
He recalled the overhead strike of some nameless knight who had cleaved through sword and helm alike in a single cut.
That looks good.
Try it? No need to deliberate — he went for it immediately. Anything usable had to be attempted.
Clang — shhhk!
He gave Billy's clinging, entangled blade a light shove, using the rebound force of condensed sword qi. Billy's wrist wavered just enough to create a hairline gap — a crack in the otherwise smooth flow. Exactly the opening Leon needed to exploit.
Left foot forward, right foot back. He drew his waist taut like a bowstring. His shoulder rose, and the tip of his sword arced all the way behind his back. Knees bent forward. He wrung out his mana, twisted it, and released it like an explosion.
Strong Sword. Severing Sword.
The description was long, but the time it took was an instant. Through the gap he had created, a blade loaded with savage force drove in.
WHOOOOOOSH!
The power was so immense that the space the Heaven-Shattering Sword passed through seemed to warp. A straight trajectory aimed at Billy's right shoulder — strong, fast, and exquisite.
Incredible.
When those three elements came together, Billy felt a chill run down his spine for the first time in a very long while. How long had it been since crossing swords had given him this kind of crisis?
Leon Crusif. Yes — he truly was a worthy rival.
Billy's sharpened gaze began to pour out an ominous crystalline light. At the same time, a tyrannical aura erupted from him. The sword in his hand suddenly felt as heavy as if it had transformed into a massive greatsword.
In a flash of lightning, Billy raised his blade and struck aside the sword racing toward his right shoulder.
CLAAAAAANG!!!
The descending Heaven-Shattering Sword rebounded upward as if it had hit a rubber band.
"…!"
Leon felt a pain as though his grip were being torn open. The shock traveled through wrist, arm, and shoulder all the way down to his waist — a familiar weight, a familiar crushing pressure. This was definitely…
"The Grand Emperor Sword?"
Esabel's Grand Emperor Sword.
Billy didn't answer. He simply moved his blade.
CLANG! Clang! Clang! BOOM!
Every time the swords met, blue mana burst like fireworks. In an instant, Billy's Soft Sword had become a Heavy Sword — and not just any Heavy Sword. He was using that difficult, intricate Grand Emperor Sword exactly as it was meant to be used.
Leon was freshly stunned by Billy's talent. Had he really copied Esabel's swordsmanship just from watching her from the side? Granted, they had trained together and Billy had observed her for quite some time — but the Grand Emperor Sword was no cheap technique you could pick up by staring at it for a month or two. It was a top-tier sword art painstakingly refined by the Imperial family itself. Even with a proper master and serious study, just managing a passable imitation would be an achievement.
Frankly, what Billy was showing right now was more complete than Esabel's own. If she saw this, she would tear at her hair in despair. Fortunately, Esabel was currently locked in the fight of her life with Carotin.
Screeeeech!
Billy's sword scraped the full length of the Heaven-Shattering Sword. Even though Leon had intended to deflect it, he barely managed to hold his center from being driven backward. Billy was fully exploiting the advantages of the Heavy Sword. Leon had subdued Esabel — who used the same Grand Emperor Sword — in thirty exchanges. Clearly, the swordsman mattered more than the swordsmanship.
Dash! Dash! Dash-dash!
Sensing the danger, Leon's feet grew busy. The moment he stepped into the Heavenly Spirit Steps, his form fluttered and darted with blistering speed — like a butterfly, if you were being generous; like a rat, if you weren't.
Billy felt the space around his feet being "eaten." For every step he took, it was as if his opponent was taking five.
Whoosh! Clang! Whooooosh!
From a certain point on, Billy's Heavy Sword started cutting empty air more often than not. With his analysis roughly complete, Leon was finding room to breathe. Sensing the balance he had pushed away beginning to return, Billy immediately abandoned the Grand Emperor Sword. The weight vanished from his blade, leaving behind a lightness even more feather-soft than before.
Thoom!
Billy's waist twisted without warning. From shoulder to fingertip, his arm formed a perfect horizontal line —
Flash!
— and a thrust like a bolt of light shot forward, carrying the principle of Swiftness.
SHIIIIING!
"…!"
In Leon's vision, the tip of the sword swelled rapidly larger.