Chapter 289
Chapter 289
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 289
Chapter Title: Leonhardt vs. Han Cheon-seong
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***
A new morning had dawned.
It was the time between dawn and morning.
“…”
As Cheon-seong slowly opened his eyes, he looked at the ceiling and the room coming into view, feeling a strange sensation.
‘The infirmary…’
Even as he recognized where he was, he felt as though he wasn't where he was supposed to be.
At the same time, he felt the slightly different sensation of having survived danger once again.
“…”
Letting out a soft breath, he turned his head and saw bright light through the window.
The morning hadn't fully broken, so it was still a bit dark. Perhaps that was why the quiet stillness helped him regain his composure.
*Rustle.*
As he took in the early morning scene, he slowly lowered his gaze.
There, a mess of sky-blue hair came into view.
*Breathe, breathe.*
Karite’s face, still turned toward him even in deep sleep, looked utterly defenseless.
“…”
Seeing her disheveled yet beautiful face, a smile escaped his lips.
Karite had been so bright while talking to him all last night that her cheerful mood had lifted his own.
Even now, her bright energy lingered with him.
‘Everything will be fine from now on.’
He set his mind at ease.
The recent turbulent times and the various crises had certainly placed a heavy burden on his heart. It wasn't as if he could just shake everything off and get up unscathed.
And yet, each time he realized how dangerous it had been and his heart grew heavy, his resolve only seemed to grow stronger, more solid.
'The people I've connected with.'
They were the strongest reason why he had to become stronger. His will naturally turned toward the future.
That's why he wouldn't break.
‘No… it’s because I can’t afford to break.’
The moment he hesitated or grew complacent with reality, it felt as though this reality would vanish like a puff of smoke. That was why he had no choice but to try harder.
“…”
*Clench.* He slowly clenched his fist, checking his body's condition. He was much better than yesterday. He had recovered to the point where small movements caused almost no pain.
Looking at Karite’s peaceful face, he sat up.
As he prepared to get up early and stretch, he glanced around.
“…Ah.”
He was startled without realizing it.
Karite was on his right, and on his left was Leonhardt.
Leonhardt, who had entered his field of vision, was already awake, even at this hour. He maintained a perfectly still, formal seated posture. Although his eyes were closed, he didn't seem to be asleep.
“You’re up?”
“Yeah. Leonhardt. How long have you been awake?”
“Not that long.”
Leonhardt, who spoke to him with a gentle smile, had a completely different aura… one that could almost be described as transcendent.
Seeing Leonhardt striving without a broken spirit during their last encounter had motivated him to strengthen his own resolve.
…But now, Leonhardt’s presence felt even more complete.
However, he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
*Crack, pop!*
Then, as Leonhardt stretched as if to limber up, a startling sound echoed out, yet his expression remained serene.
“It seems like you’re always in that seated posture. Are you feeling alright?”
“…I haven’t been doing it every day. I’ve just been maintaining it recently to focus my thoughts.”
“It doesn’t look easy to me. It seems like it would be quite taxing on your body.”
“…”
Leonhardt suddenly offered a faint smile.
But the smile was fleeting.
He shook his head slightly and rose to his feet.
*Swish.*
The soft sound of his dress shirt rustling strangely dominated the silence. As he walked toward the window with a calm expression, Cheon-seong’s gaze naturally followed him.
Bathed in the sunlight streaming through the window, Leonhardt nodded as if he had made up his mind.
“Han Cheon-seong.”
A look of determination.
It was completely different from any expression he had shown before.
'What is he about to say?'
Without an answer to his thought, Cheon-seong just nodded.
“I’d like you to spar with me this morning.”
With a serious gaze, he… made an absurd request.
***
Adelia’s private training ground.
Each instructor was given a personal space, and a training ground was an almost essential part of it.
To maintain their skills and to have their own private time, the academy's vast grounds housed training areas for each instructor. It was a testament to how much they were valued.
And now.
*Tap, step, step….*
The sound of several footsteps echoed inside the training ground before coming to a halt.
“…”
Cautious glances were exchanged. Theirs was quite a peculiar combination.
Instructor Adelia, Golden Knight Isabelle, and Cadet Karite.
An unlikely group of people looked at each other, their gazes soon turning to the two individuals in the center of the training ground.
*Grip.*
Cheon-seong, holding a spear, and Leonhardt, holding a sword, naturally created distance between them.
“…Haa.”
Adelia let out a small sigh at the scene.
As if she didn’t approve of this moment. She looked back and forth between the two in the sparring area, her expression cautious.
Seeing this, Isabelle looked at her carefully and spoke.
“Do you believe this spar is a bad idea?”
To the very direct question, Adelia slowly nodded.
“Yes. Sir Isabelle, you may not know the details of Cadet Leonhardt’s condition, but he is a cadet who lost his trait to the power of an apostle. Despite that, he gritted his teeth, collected himself, and has been training hard. This spar is… likely a sort of test for himself.”
Adelia’s calm explanation continued.
Isabelle nodded, vaguely understanding her words.
—An unfortunate accident.
She had heard whispers about Cadet Leonhardt in the Imperial Palace.
It was natural for the name of a talent who entered the Central Academy as the top student to be known there.
That was why she remembered his evaluation as well.
The top talent in the academy this year.
He had been assessed as someone who would certainly become a pillar of the empire in the future due to his Legendary trait.
‘Although now…’
That title had been replaced by the name ‘Han Cheon-seong,’ and Leonhardt’s name had long since faded from the spotlight, but she hadn't forgotten it.
As the two of them watched the training ground with complex expressions,
Karite suddenly spoke up with a bright smile.
“Go, Han Cheon-seong!”
Her unexpected cheering, having become much brighter since she woke up yesterday, stunned everyone present.
“…”
“…”
Not only Adelia and Isabelle,
but even Cheon-seong, who had been contemplating Leonhardt with his spear in hand, was surprised enough to look at Karite.
“…”
Seeing Karite’s bright smile, Cheon-seong let out an involuntary chuckle.
He then nodded and turned back to Leonhardt, who was also smiling faintly.
“Han Cheon-seong. You really are popular.”
“I know, right? I never thought I’d hear you of all people say that to me.”
With that light exchange, Leonhardt immediately raised his sword.
The blade radiated a sharp edge.
Though it was a training sword, the moment Leonhardt gripped it, Cheon-seong had to correct his own spear stance.
Watching the two, Adelia spoke calmly.
“Alright, you two. I assume you know the rules of sparring, so I’ll keep it brief. But I want to make one thing clear. Do not use any power that will strain your bodies. Cadet Han Cheon-seong… I believe you understand without me having to spell it out.”
Her careful words were directed at Cheon-seong.
The meaning behind this spar.
Her tone implied she wanted him to understand, and her message reached him loud and clear.
“Yes. I understand.”
Cheon-seong nodded calmly in understanding.
“…”
Leonhardt, watching from the other side, said nothing.
The difference between having a trait and not having one was immense, something that couldn't be described with mere words.
Leonhardt himself knew that.
But even so, he felt this spar was necessary.
Having diligently trained his body and quelled all the strange doubts and misgivings in his heart, Leonhardt now believed more than anyone that he had to face Cheon-seong’s power head-on.
—Only then could he reach it.
He was feeling a very strange sensation.
Shortly after, Adelia calmly announced.
“Begin the spar.”
*Fwip!*
The one who kicked off the ground first was Leonhardt.
***
To become aware of reality…
was a more terrifying thing than one might think.
After losing my trait and spending a long time in the infirmary, I came to feel so many things.
I had always looked higher than others, and my mindset had been the same. Perhaps that was why letting go of myself completely and facing reality felt so significant.
Because… I had so much to lose.
From a young age, I was blessed with a good master. The Legendary trait, Sword of the Azure Sky, that I received upon becoming an adult allowed me to feel the principles of limitless power.
Moreover, considering the warm environment of my family, I always thought I was in a better position than others.
'That's why, of course…'
I set my standards infinitely higher than how others viewed the world.
I believed that was how it had to be.
“…!”
Now, as I kicked off the ground and rushed toward Han Cheon-seong, there was not a shred of doubt in my heart.
The movements of my body, enveloped in manifested mana, felt as if I were looking back at my past self.
My past self, who possessed the trait of the Sword of the Azure Sky—even without the trait's assistance or the principles of the sword to guide my understanding, I was recalling it and bringing it into reality.
Memories that remained only as faint traces in my mind.
But it didn't matter.
I had to be able to reach it.
Even in this state, if I were to face reality and move forward, I had to be able to swing my sword now.
In my vision, I could see Han Cheon-seong, his spear stance completely changed.
He looked different from when I first sparred with him, and to my current self, he seemed like an immense wall.
I could feel his sharp gaze, as if it were piercing right through my movements.
*Fwip!*
The moment I kicked off the ground again, about to enter the spear's range,
I knew I had to show my full power from the very beginning.
The maximum power I could currently muster.
The moment I made up my mind, my mana responded as if following my will.
—Bloom.
That was the name I had given to the nature of my mana.
I would clear the doubts from my heart and imbue my sword with the traces of my past power.
And then.
*Sshaaaaa…*
The mana enveloping Leonhardt’s body instantly condensed, dyeing his form in a wave of vivid blue.