Successor of the Sword Star (2)
Agnar Balderte stared blankly ahead with a hollow expression. The war was far from over, and he knew he needed to pull himself together. But he couldn't help it. No other thoughts could pierce his mind.
It wasn't because he'd realized the lifelong praise of his genius was all nonsense. It was because of the swordplay manifesting in someone else's hands—not his own.
Could anyone imagine it? The feeling of watching another person perfectly replicate, in an instant, the sword technique you'd honed over a lifetime.
"What the...?"
How could such a thing be possible? And it wasn't even the first or second form. Some spent their entire lives without ever reaching the fourth form of the Jerugasias Style, yet this opponent had duplicated it flawlessly after seeing it just once.
Duplicated? No, that was too modest. He'd not only understood and replicated it perfectly but had somehow improved it.
If it had been a sloppy imitation, Agnar's strike would have turned the tables and sliced the foe instead.
...Enhanced?
But the opponent's replicated Yellow Sword had surpassed the original—it had evolved. The Empire's sword genius, Jerugasias Elric, had all but perfected it, yet this green kid had taken it further.
"C-Captain!"
"Hurry and save the captain!!"
As a result, the knights of the "Iron Warriors" came rushing in horror. Agnar had been utterly crushed. Not only had his strike been dismantled, but the enemy's blade had claimed his left arm. It lay severed from his body, rolling on the ground.
The only silver lining was that he was right-handed. For the first time since the war began, Agnar's unyielding expression twisted with a storm of emotions—shock, horror, and the rage of shattered pride.
"...Let go!!"
Agnar shook off his subordinates trying to evacuate him. But with one arm gone and blood loss sapping his strength, he couldn't escape the trained knights dragging him away by force.
While Agnar was hauled off by his knights, Seong Hyun-jin stood alone, lost in thought himself. He'd even forgotten to finish off the enemy, too absorbed in contemplating the sword.
"...This style's pretty decent."
A little refinement, and he could really make use of it. It wasn't as superior as his master's art, of course, but it felt like a better fit for his current body.
Karins techniques demanded immense spirit power, and even her pinnacle Heaven Destroying Sword was no exception. Compared to that, this one used far less.
Common sense dictated he should worry about forgetting his hard-earned Sword Star techniques while dabbling in something new—that was the main reason other swordsmen shied away from foreign styles. But Seong Hyun-jin wasn't bound by such concerns.
'Til my body's fully grown, maybe I'll use this.'
With perfect understanding of all sword arts, he knew exactly how to move his body.
"Alright, time to finish him... Huh? Where'd he go?"
Snapping back to reality, Seong Hyun-jin scanned around for his vanished foe, but Agnar was long gone, spirited away by his knights—not even a shadow remained.
"Ah..."
Seong Hyun-jin scratched his head. Finishing him off here would have simplified things later, but he'd gotten too fixated on the sword.
...Still, I took his arm.
It wasn't his sword arm, but losing a limb was catastrophic for any swordsman. Everything tailored to a two-armed body would need reworking. The imbalance would twist his stance, and no matter his mastery, he couldn't execute proper forms.
Agnar Balderte, one of the Empire's top five knights, had effectively lost half his strength. Even holding off Elcarus Levatein, whom he'd been steadily overwhelming, would be a struggle now.
Of course, a genius like Agnar could overcome it with enough training time—but in the heat of war, where every moment was life or death, there was none. Seong Hyun-jin felt a twinge of regret at not killing him but decided to call it satisfaction enough.
He glanced at the Imperial forces retreating with their commander's defeat, then at Clarice bravely leading soldiers alongside her father. His companions, who had come to aid the Levateins with him, were turning the tide without fear.
Watching the scene, Seong Hyun-jin soon chuckled softly.
"Looks like we helped out properly, at least."
The Battle of Pleihein Forest ended in victory for the Levateins. For the Empire, which had arrogantly waged war confident in Yarnvidr's superior forces, it was an absurdly humiliating blow.
Yarnvidr's ruler, Marquis Gunror, trudged through the camp with a sour expression. He paused before a large tent, composed himself, flipped up the flap, and entered.
"...What happened, Captain Agnar?"
There sat Agnar Balderte on a bed, a wretched sight with one arm missing. He looked up at the marquis with hollow eyes, recognized him, and bowed his head in greeting.
"...You've arrived, Marquis."
"How did you lose your arm like that? What mistake did you make to get defeated by the Levateins and lose a limb?"
"I... made no mistake, Marquis."
"...Pardon?"
"...There was a monster. I fell to that monster."
Agnar replied with a slight tremor in his hand. Baffled at how this indomitable genius had ended up like this, Marquis Gunror asked, "A monster? You mean a mana beast?"
"No, nothing like that. What mana beast could be called a monster?"
The marquis grew more puzzled. "Then Elcarus Levatein?"
"He's a tiger without teeth. Do you think I'd call a man like that a monster?"
"Then who—? Has the Levatein executioner returned? The eldest son, Gaius Levatein?"
Agnar let out a hollow laugh at the question. "...I had hoped to cross blades with him."
"Not Gaius Levatein? Then who...?"
"I don't know."
The marquis's eyes widened at Agnar's response. "You don't know?"
"He wasn't in our pre-war intel. A face I'd never seen."
Growing urgent, the marquis pressed, "Another faction intervened?" Unidentified third parties could force a complete overhaul of their strategy.
"He seems to have taken out Sir Godin, who infiltrated earlier. No, definitely."
Agnar recalled the monster's reaction to Godin's name. "He knew Sir Godin's name."
"...Describe this monster. We need details to prepare next time. Tell me everything."
"...Young, just past twenty. Half-elf by appearance. Couldn't see clearly under his cloak, but wearing an academy uniform."
"...Academy uniform at twenty?"
The marquis thought of the Magic Kingdom's famed Terastial Academy. "A Terastial Academy student?"
"Likely."
"You're saying... academy students jumped into the war?"
Involving students was taboo, forbidden by the academies themselves. Only if the nation teetered on collapse would it come to that—otherwise, war was the military's domain. Academy students in battle? The marquis struggled to believe it, though Terastial's prodigies made it plausible. Still, one taking this genius's arm? Unthinkable.
"Someone better with the sword than you? Only the Sword Star could..."
"...Sword Star. Even the Sword Star couldn't do that."
"What?"
As the marquis blinked in confusion, Agnar recalled the sword that stole his arm—nay, the evolved Jerugasias Style.
"No Sword Star could instantly comprehend an unfamiliar technique, replicate it, and refine it into a divine skill."
"What do you...?"
"He replicated the Yellow Sword. And improved it in his own way."
The marquis stared in disbelief. "Jerugasias Elric's... fourth form?"
"...You heard correctly."
"That's absurd...!"
The marquis sputtered, but Agnar didn't deny it. Casting aside all pride for the war's sake, he spoke plainly.
"......No knight should face that monster. You'll just lose your techniques. Call a mage and melt him with firepower—sending knights is dooming the Empire's future."
"......"
"He'll soon be hailed the next true Sword Star. That's the kind of monster he is."