Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: 6. Ella
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"The basics of swordsmanship come down to three things. Slicing, thrusting, and blocking."
I hefted the wooden sword with an adult's physique.
Rion's body was far too small for demonstrating techniques properly, and his strength couldn't keep up either.
No mana to speak of, so body reinforcement was out of the question.
'What a waste just to use it.'
"We'll start with slicing today. Downward slice from above, horizontal slice from the side, upward slice from below."
Ella seemed to be struggling to adjust to my new body.
I got it. Understandable.
One day you're dealing with Rion's body, and suddenly I show up in someone else's.
Even a pro spy would think, "What the hell is this guy?"
Ella, who'd been mulling over whether some third party was deceiving her, finally mimicked my movements.
"Feet shoulder-width apart. Right foot slightly forward. Weight centered between the ball and heel."
I adjusted her stance with my hands.
"Don't grip the sword too tight. Power through your pinky and ring finger, keep your index and middle loose. Thumb just supports it."
Ella focused, adjusting her fingers.
"Now, downward slice. Don't swing with just your arm."
Only the rustle of falling leaves filled the clearing.
I gave feedback, and Ella repeated it hundreds of times without a word.
Sweat beaded on her forehead, her breaths coming ragged.
"...Why are you teaching me like this?"
An hour later, during a break, Ella asked.
I nearly gave the same old answer, then realized how clichéd it was.
"Nothing complicated. Just a whim."
"...I figured. But... why swordsmanship? There's magic, or other stuff."
Why swordsmanship, of all things?
It was like she assumed I was good at everything else too.
I met Ella's eyes. Thick confusion mixed with anger.
Anger at being toyed with.
Not far off from vengeful fury, but it wouldn't fuel true revenge.
Ella's rage was closer to self-loathing at its core.
I chuckled softly.
"Killers tend to stick with the tool they first tried murder with."
Probably from some drama.
I couldn't recall the scene or even the show anymore.
But why did I still remember that line?
Even that was fuzzy now.
"I'm tracing that tendency back to emotions. Pleasure. Maybe feelings."
Leaning against a tree, I tilted my head up.
Dawn dew dripped onto my face.
"Same reason. If it's too complex, simplify it. Martial arts are the only lethal skill I can use freely, even after switching bodies."
Ella stared at me with a complicated expression.
She kept opening and closing her mouth like she wanted to say something, then clammed up.
I wiped the dew from my face with my sleeve.
"...Enough. Let's keep going."
Ella said that and picked up her wooden sword again.
Ella picked up the basics at an astonishing speed. She had talent.
"Swordsmanship has this peculiar concept."
I said that and swung my sword lightly.
The moment it arced from my wrist, it snapped out from the opposite side.
Ella's tired eyes widened as she watched.
She couldn't track the blade's path either.
"It's a phenomenon where you skip the process and get straight to the result. What you just saw is the 'Domain' I'll explain going forward."
To be precise, it's not really skipping the process.
It's just swinging so fast the hand blurs.
But I call it Domain for a different reason.
"To pull that off, you need to see the Domain."
A fantasy space born from the limits of cognition.
The warrior's Domain.
Processes that occur here precede all real-world phenomena.
"I just swung in the Domain. You couldn't see the path because you can't access it."
If you can't see the Domain, you can't even perceive it.
"So the gap between warriors who can move in the Domain and those who can't is stark. Focus this time."
Ella stared straight at me. Confirming her gaze locked on, I stepped forward.
The instant my foot hit the ground, the world's colors vanished.
I called this place a fantasy space because the Domain isn't real.
A concept invented to explain the impossible.
That was the Domain's true nature.
I circled Ella in the bleached world.
Exactly ten steps.
Then colors returned.
"...!!"
Ella panicked, glancing around.
I placed a hand on her shoulder from right behind.
From her view, I'd vanished without so much as a blink.
Startled, Ella slapped my hand away and stumbled back.
"If you can't see the Domain, you can't kill me."
Another training session ended.
Ella staggered back to the mansion after laps around the clearing.
That unidentified wooden doll and the cult leader had gone inside ahead.
Her body and mind were exhausted. She just wanted rest.
Thoughts of Rion barely surfaced. Too drained for distractions.
'No. That's not it.'
She was still thinking of Rion.
But someone else took priority now.
'What the hell is he thinking?'
A being with grotesque body-hopping powers and equally twisted thinking.
'Why help with my revenge? Because it's 'fun'?'
Incomprehensible tastes.
'What's fun about any of this?'
Suddenly, the cult leader's voice echoed in Ella's ears. From that morning.
[I'm tracing that tendency back to emotions. Pleasure, maybe feelings.]
What expression had he worn saying that?
[Martial arts are the only lethal skill I can use freely, even after switching bodies.]
Even after all his vile deeds.
Smirking so brazenly through it all.
'How can he make that face?'
Heading to her room, Ella stopped at a door.
It stood ajar. Inside, the cult leader lay as if dead.
Mesmerized, Ella stepped in.
She held a finger to his nose. Alive.
'...He's sleeping.'
Rage boiled over.
How could this bastard sleep so soundly?
What was his goal, offering to help her kill him?
But the most infuriating part was something else.
'I'm just following his lead. I said I'd get revenge, so why am I the one being dragged around?'
That burned hottest.
"Here to kill me?"
The cult leader opened his eyes.
"...!!"
Ella startled but nodded coolly.
"...Yeah. Gonna kill you."
"Kill me now, and I'll wake up in another body."
"...Liar."
The cult leader sat up. Ella, straddling him, lost her balance.
He seized her retreating hand, yanking it to his throat.
"Wanna try?"
Mocking attitude. Even her vengeance was just a game to him.
That realization ignited fury and killing intent.
"Toying with me to the end...? You think I can't?!"
Just as Ella lunged for his throat.
She caught his expression. Genuine anticipation.
'He's serious.'
He found even this amusing.
That snapped her back. With superhuman restraint, she quelled her bloodlust.
Her hands trembled, then withdrew.
The cult leader grinned.
"What? Problem?"
"...Damn it."
She shoved him off and stormed out.
Leonidas arrived in Eisenheim.
Heads turned at the massive sword slung across his back.
"Called me out of the blue, figured something fun. What a boring city."
Glancing around Eisenheim, Leonidas grabbed a passing pedestrian.
"You there. Know where that cult reviving the dead hangs out?"
"That scam? Straight down the main road, right at the slum entrance."
"Thanks."
Leonidas bowed slightly, eyeing the pedestrian's clothes as he turned.
Ordinary. Likely from an educated family.
Not the type to fall for religion.
Leonidas halted the departing man.
"...Pardon?"
"Get out of this city now. Family too, if you have any."
The pedestrian looked baffled.
"Not a request or order."
Leonidas drew the massive sword from his back.
Onlookers paled and fled.
The bandages around the blade unraveled, pooling on the ground.
"Warning: leave if you want to live. Barrier's not up yet. Not too late."
As the man fled, Leonidas gathered his mana.
Ensure the kill. Or ensure no harm comes.
If the latter failed, the former it was.
That was Leonidas.