The Sword that Cuts Concepts
I'm pretty good with a sword, so Who the hell set these teleport coordinates? Seriously.
There are plenty of professors on the faculty who look at me with suspicion. One of them, maybe? No clue. For now, I just need to get out of here.
"Linea, come here for now. Stay close to me."
"Ah, got it."
Linea pressed right up against me.
"Wait, before that."
I turned and grabbed her arm. Her skin felt soft, but that wasn't the point.
Formless restraint cuffs. Similar to the invisible slave collar I'd put on her, but different.
These had no form at all.
"Gotta smash these cuffs first."
The exam was already fucked anyway. No time to worry about cuffs or whatever.
If anything, the academy owed us compensation.
"Hmm, right here."
"What are you doing?"
"Stay still."
Shing!
I drew my sword.
"W-Wait a second! Who breaks restraint cuffs with a sword?!"
"It won't hurt."
"I-I'm sorry... I'll be good. Please, just..."
"You're misunderstanding."
I swung without finishing. The blade passed straight through Linea's wrist.
But not a drop of blood welled on her skin.
"H-Hek!"
Linea yelped in shock and toppled backward. I caught her and sheathed my sword.
"Wha—what...?"
"Didn't I say it wouldn't hurt?"
"How did you...?"
"I cut the cuffs themselves. Not the ones on your arm, Linea."
To put it simply, I cut the concept. If I'd crudely severed her arm to break the cuffs? That would've been cutting "the cuffs on Linea's arm." Instead, I sliced the cuffs as their own entity.
"No way... Is that even possible?"
"I'm pretty good with a sword."
"'Pretty good'? That's an understatement! And the blade went right through my skin!"
"You can tell the difference."
"That's not the point!"
Linea thumped my chest in frustration. Naturally, it bounced off due to certain... protrusions.
"Sigh. It worked, that's what matters. Master sure is something else."
"No surge of respect or anything?"
"I'm a magic blanket. I wouldn't know how impressive swordplay is."
Even as she said it, Linea's eyes brimmed with awe. Of course they did.
I explain it casually now like some old-timer, but the first time I encountered concept-cutting, I couldn't wrap my head around it. It's a realm forged through blood and effort.
Erde says my speed is irregular even among irregulars. I agree.
Even in the fantasy stories I read back in the day, techniques like this were usually Sword Master territory.
"S-Still... th-thank you... My wrists hurt..."
Linea mumbled her gratitude in a tiny voice.
"Linea, you giving thanks...?"
And sincerely? This was headline news. A historic event that could rewrite the annals.
"Sh-Shut up! Don't look at me like that..."
"Mm."
Back to the usual Linea. Felt oddly refreshing.
"Enough joking around."
Escaping took priority. This was an ancient ruin.
Something even I couldn't handle could pop out anytime.
"Master wants to escape, right?"
"Obviously."
"But... I know I don't have the right to say this... Could we look around a bit more?"
"Reason?"
"It feels like we have to."
I pondered her answer. Truth be told, I wanted to explore this ancient ruin myself.
"If I become a burden, just ditch me."
Well, when she puts it like that. Might as well explore.
Besides, her "feels like we have to" tugged at me. I'd gotten a similar vibe recently with Lechel.
"Follow me."
I started walking. The floor squelched underfoot.
Just a normal cave floor?
I pushed aside the unease and pressed on.
Rumble rumble—
That noise kept coming from outside the cave. No idea what it was.
Best guess: rocks splitting. Who knows.
Can't make sense of the murals either.
Murals of unknown meaning covered the walls.
A devil-like figure bowing its head. A god-like one looking down on the scene.
Like a depiction of a sacrifice.
So what? With zero prior knowledge of this ruin, I couldn't decipher it.
Lots of meaning packed in, probably.
Beats me.
I ignored the murals and kept walking nonstop. After about ten minutes, a massive wall blocked our path.
"Master. Dead end."
"Step back a bit."
"Okay."
Linea obeyed without complaint.
I channeled mana into my eyes.
A little more.
A stinging pain flooded my eyes. I gritted my teeth and peered farther.
Something faintly glowed beyond the wall. Not a dead end.
I withdrew the mana and drew my sword—then stopped.
Didn't seem like a sword job.
"Master?"
"Maintain proper distance from me. Not too far, not too close."
"That's so vague."
Linea grumbled but stepped half a pace closer.
"Perfect."
I turned back to the wall, approached slowly, and lightly placed my hand on it.
No—my hand passed right through.
Fake wall.
Wasted my eyes for nothing.
Muttering complaints inwardly, I stepped through.
"This is..."
"A temple..."
Dome-shaped pillars loomed everywhere. Hundreds, no, thousands of years old.
The patterns were faded beyond recognition from eons passed, yet not a single crack marred them. They held the temple firm.
"Ho."
I looked up at the ceiling. Murals like the ones in the cave, but in a similar style.
And vivid. Glowing brilliantly, like freshly painted.
"M-Master! Look over there!"
I lowered my gaze at Linea's urgent call. She pointed to the temple's center.
An altar-like space.
"Huh?"
On it knelt a saintess in pristine white robes, all alone. Her clasped hands suggested prayer.
Why's she here?
The Virgin Saintess, Seris Clarine. One of the villainesses I'd been hunting, the only one not at the academy.
True to her title, she couldn't physically touch anyone. That was the trigger for her fall into villainy.
Her nature was good, unlike the others. But born into endless repression, she made a pact with a devil to break free.
After the pact... well...
She lived up to the villainess name. Her image flipped overnight, drawing complaints of character collapse even from me, a fan of her villain arc.
So this is where she's been?
Her backstory was sparse, so I had no idea what she was up to. More elusive than even the infamous Katrina.
What can you do without info? She doesn't even enroll at the academy, so contact was tough.
Until now.
Jackpot.
As I moved toward the altar with that thought—
Thud!
Something blocked me.
"Master?"
Linea tilted her head at my reaction and stepped forward.
"Eek!?"
She tumbled after hitting the barrier, landing on her butt with a pout.
"Th-This!"
She pounded the barrier in rage. Naturally, nothing happened.
"Your Holiness."
Change came, though. The praying saintess rose gracefully.
"It's not time yet...?"
Her eyes widened at the sight of us.
"Who might you be?"
"That's what we'd like to know...?"
Linea answered.
"Just some wanderers passing through."
I took over.
The saintess's eyes narrowed.
"No joking. This isn't a place for outsiders."
"We don't know why we're here either. We were taking an academy exam, and suddenly we were summoned here."
"Summoned?"
"Yeah. Woke up in some unknown cave. Escaped that, ended up in this temple."
"A cave connected to the temple? Never heard that before..."
The saintess pondered, muttering to herself, then nodded.
"Stay a while. When His Holiness arrives, explain and head back to the academy."
"Isn't that a bit irresponsible? When's the Pope showing up?"
"...I don't know exactly, but soon."
"You should have some idea."
"I don't know well. It's not a place you can walk to."
Her voice held regret. Even across the barrier, I could tell.
She pitied us sincerely.
No endless waiting for me.
I tapped my scabbard and stroked my lip.
I could break it. This barrier.
Seris was a key figure in the Holy Kingdom. Damaging the barrier might trigger alarms or guards.
Risky as hell, but who am I? Rozril Academy's dean's favorite cadet, Sea Reniar's top-output disciple ever.
I've got backing. And confidence I'd survive.
Let's do it.
"One question. Is this barrier sturdy?"
"No idea why you're asking, but... yes. Crafted with care by the Holy Kingdom's—wait!"
She shouted as I drew my sword.
"Touching the barrier activates the Holy Knights and defenses..."
"Noted."
If touching fixes it, great. Might as well smash it clean.
Honestly, between the saintess and the Holy Kingdom, the kingdom's the real axis of evil. The saintess twists later from repression, but the kingdom's rotten from the start.
She's uncontrollable, so enslaving her makes sense eventually. But the Holy Kingdom deserves a smackdown.
I grinned and gripped my sword tighter.
The barrier was woven from high-dimensional spells even I couldn't fully grasp. Dean-level or dozens of barrier-specialist professors to dismantle it.
But I didn't need that.
Just a raw power gap. I'd reached the sword's pinnacle.
Few surpassed me in pure swordsmanship. And for this technique? No one.
"Hoo."
My core expanded rapidly. Lately, I'd focused on mana circulation for magic.
Neglected my specialty, my essence. No worthy foes for full power.
Not this time. A mere barrier, but a proper opponent.
I poured mana into the sword with that mindset. Crimson mana coiled around it, exuding menace.
Not enough. Just sword aura.
Sword aura isn't my limit. I went beyond infusing—unleashed a torrent.
All at once. The ominous glow faded, as if the sword devoured it.
Paradoxically, the power swelled as it dimmed.
This'll do.
My head spun, but satisfying. I focused.
Target: barrier. I swung the heavy blade diagonally.
It flashed like lightning, tracing a graceful arc.
The concept-cutting strike I'd used on Linea's cuffs—but light then.
Now, severing the concept entirely.
"Easy."
One slash cleaved the concept.
The barrier was long gone.
"What the—insane!"
The saintess gaped, cursing.
"Wh-Who the hell are you...?"
"Rozril Academy, Magic Department, first-year."
But pretty good with a sword.