4. Imperial Capital Lumentium - 07
4. Imperial Capital Lumentium - 07
"Let us first address one thing. 'Flowing Star' is swordsmanship, and yet it is not swordsmanship."
"...Pardon?"
What was that supposed to mean? Had the Imperial Princess been drinking in broad daylight?
"Hm. That expression says you do not understand at all. Allow me to explain more simply. What I mean is that a sword is not strictly necessary to execute 'Flowing Star.'"
So saying, the Imperial Princess gave a slight wave of her hand, as if shooing away a fly.
Swiish—
The result of that small gesture was truly astonishing.
Rumble—
The enormous old tree beside the Imperial Princess—one that looked at least a century old—split in half in an instant. I watched it happen right before my eyes, and still I could scarcely believe it.
"....."
It was absurd. How could a person cleave a giant tree in two with their bare hands?
Whether she knew my thoughts or not, she smiled softly at me and continued.
"Well, such things are possible. If you achieve perfect mastery of Flowing Star, you can execute the technique even bare-handed. No—not only bare-handed. Elbows, legs, knees, shoulders—you may use Flowing Star with every part of the body you can imagine."
"...How is such a thing possible?"
"Hm. To put it simply, it is because Flowing Star is a swordsmanship that turns the opponent's power back against them. You seize the flow of force emanating from your opponent, using the sword as a conduit to grasp and twist it, then add your own strength and return it in full. That is the essence of Flowing Star."
"...Huh."
I was beginning to understand why Flowing Star could only be learned by the direct imperial line. I had never imagined that such an outrageous technique could exist in this world.
"That does not mean Flowing Star is invincible. Returning an opponent's power in full requires many conditions. Above all, if your opponent discerns its nature, you will inevitably be forced onto the defensive. Though that is not so much a weakness of Flowing Star as it is a fundamental vulnerability inherent to the counter as a technique."
Even so, the fact that Flowing Star was a supreme-grade swordsmanship was undeniable. As the Imperial Princess said, the weakness of Flowing Star was not a weakness of the swordsmanship itself but a flaw inherent to the counter tactic as a whole.
"Thus, Flowing Star has a defined form yet is simultaneously a formless martial art in itself. To be precise, it is a swordsmanship that changes shape according to how its wielder chooses to complete it—a technique that embodies the wielder's mental image."
So saying, the Imperial Princess fixed me with a stern gaze unlike any she had shown before.
"What form, I wonder, will you give to Flowing Star when you complete it?"
****
Thwack—!
"Guhk!"
The moment the duel began, Kain's fist smashed into Lucian's jaw, and Lucian could not comprehend what had just happened. Barely a second before the duel started, Kain had been standing some ten paces away. When had he closed the distance? And how had he driven his fist into Lucian's jaw?
"Tch!"
But Lucian did not panic. He was a knight who had endured countless spars. He had taken fists to the jaw more times than he could count.
Lucian was not so frail that a blow to the jaw would cost him his senses. No—he stepped forward toward his opponent. The moment an enemy's strike ended was the optimal moment for his own attack.
"Hah—!"
He lowered his body slightly and drew his hips back. His target was the solar plexus. At this distance, with this timing, he was confident it would land. Lucian's blade, drawn taut like a bowstring, shot toward Kain's chest like an arrow!
But in the next instant, something utterly unbelievable occurred.
Slip—
"....!"
The sword passed through him. He had unquestionably thrust his blade at the man's solar plexus, yet the sword passed through him as though piercing empty air. As if nothing had been there from the start.
"What's this? Where are you looking?"
His voice carried unmistakable mockery. Humiliating though it was, his opponent's taunt allowed Lucian to realize where the enemy was.
'Behind—!'
Spat—!
He spun and slashed behind him. But there was nothing there either. Kain's figure had once again vanished like smoke. And then—
Boom—!
"Guhk!"
Before he could register it, a fist slammed into Lucian's flank. The blow, all the more agonizing for being completely unexpected, tore through his ribs and reached his lungs. For a fraction of a second, Lucian's breath seized, his heart faltering. It was no more than a split second, but to Kain, who read the flow of the fight, it was an enormous opening.
"Ah, now that I think of it, I did learn one thing from my teacher."
Kain smirked at Lucian.
"Hit a man who's already hurting one more time, and it hurts even more."
".....!"
The moment those words ended, a kick like a ray of light exploded into Lucian's torso. Lucian swiftly raised his sword to block it, but he was a moment too late.
Booooom!
A tremendous blast rang out—the sort of sound you would never expect from a foot striking a human body. Kain's kick, planted squarely in Lucian's solar plexus, sent him hurtling over ten meters in an instant.
"Cough, hah, hurgh..."
"Heh. What, is it over already? I haven't even swung my sword once."
Kain laughed scornfully, taunting.
"....."
But Lucian did not flare up or grow heated as he had moments before. No—instead, he calmed his heart further and cooled his head. Composure in battle was the most basic of knightly fundamentals. To lead a fight to victory, one had to be a cold strategist, not a mad bull. Letting Kain's mockery wash over him, Lucian replayed the exchange in his mind.
'There is unquestionably some trick at play.'
Of course, he had no intention whatsoever of whining that his opponent had used a trick. A duel was a form of war. In war against another, the blame rested not with the one who used the trick but with the one who fell for it. To criticize an opponent for using a trick was, in effect, the highest compliment.
So rather than cast blame, he sought a way to break the situation. He meticulously retraced the fight that had just occurred. Let him recall. How was his opponent toying with him right now?
'There are two questions. First: that strange movement I cannot perceive with my eyes. And second—'
Why, though the man held a sword in his hand, did he not use it? Swinging a blade ought to be more powerful than throwing a punch or a kick—so why?
"....."
One more thing: that strike just now had been far too powerful. It was oddly strong for something that was supposed to be a simple kick. By all common sense, it was strange that Kain—with an untrained body—could send Lucian flying more than ten meters with a mere kick.
'...I do not know. Not a thing.'
But he had far too little information. From that brief exchange alone, he could not determine with certainty what trick his opponent was employing. Above all, if he failed to devise a means of countering that strange movement, it was obvious he would simply be toyed with by Kain and then defeated. In that case, Lucian had only one option left to him at this moment. That was—
"Kain von Estel."
"Hm?"
"I apologize for my earlier disrespect. You are strong. That you brought me to my knees, even for an instant, was no coincidence. And so—"
"...I shall face you with my full strength."
Whatever trick the opponent might employ, he would crush it head-on with overwhelming power. That was the path Lucian chose.
The next instant, powerful Magic Power began erupting from Lucian's body. The erupting Magic Power soon transformed into a stream of blue energy, converging upon his sword.
"Aura!"
"Good heavens, how old is Sir Lucian this year?"
"He has barely reached the age of twenty. Ha! To reach the Master Realm at twenty! House Turnizen has produced a genius for the ages!"
The onlookers could not hide their astonishment at the Aura blazing from Lucian's sword. But their voices did not reach Lucian's ears. His entire being was focused on one thing alone: defeating Kain.
"Here I come—"
The first to move was Lucian.
Boom—!
Now that he was truly unleashing his Aura, Lucian's speed was incomparably greater than before. So fast that even Kain, who had been watching his opponent's movements carefully, could not track him for even an instant.
"Tch!"
He could not match the timing. This time, he could not use Flowing Star. At the last moment, all he managed was to discern where Lucian's blade was headed. He channeled every fiber of his being into evasion.
Spat—!
Lucian's sword grazed Kain's chest by a hair's breadth. Blood spurted from the spot the blade had passed. It was fine. The wound was shallow. Not a fatal injury.
...But Lucian's true aim had not been Kain's chest in the first place.
Crunch—!
"Guh—!"
Lucian's foot came down hard on Kain's right foot. In that instant, Kain realized the bones in his right foot had been thoroughly shattered. With this, executing that movement he had used before was out of the question.
"...Well now. So that was your aim."
Lucian's goal from the start had been to rob Kain of his mobility. That movement—the way he vanished from sight—was something even Lucian, with his Aura unleashed, could not afford to dismiss. Conversely, it meant that without that strange movement, Kain was reduced to a manageable opponent.
"Kain von Estel, you can no longer execute that strange movement. I told you, did I not? From now on, I face you with my full strength."
So saying, Lucian slashed horizontally with his sword. Watching it, Kain frantically ducked his head to the side.
Boom—!
The wall of the banquet hall, far in the distance, was blown apart. No doubt the result of Lucian's sword strike just now.
"...You insane bastard."
A cold sweat ran down Kain's back before he knew it. If that blow had landed squarely, he would have been bisected like a pinned insect specimen.
But there was no time to rest. Lucian, who had already closed another step, drove his left foot hard into Kain's chest. Repayment for Kain's kick moments before.
Thwack—!
"Gahk!"
Kain tumbled across the banquet hall floor from the kick.
Yet Lucian did not pursue him. Though it was a golden opportunity to attack, Lucian merely watched in silence as Kain caught his breath and staggered back to his feet.
"...Hah, hah. What is it? Why aren't you attacking?"
"Did I not say it? I face you with my full strength."
That did not simply mean he would use any and all means available. It was also a declaration that he would finish his enemy with the strongest technique at his disposal.
"I shall not kill you. However, you will need to spend some time recuperating in bed."
This was his courtesy to the man who, even for an instant, had made one who reached the Master Realm lose his composure—
Vmmm—
He took his stance. The Aura coalescing on Lucian's sword expanded, filling the banquet hall. The Aura remaining in the air did not simply disperse into vapor—it became sharp fangs, lingering in the air to tear into the enemy.
The name of this omni-directional striking technique was Reverse Moon. It did not matter if Kain, dragging his injured foot, managed to display that strange movement once more. No—he would welcome it. If Kain moved recklessly, his body would be ripped to shreds by the raging storm of Aura.
"This ends it—!"
He brought the sword down. In that moment, the Aura that had spread in all directions began erupting toward a single target—Kain!
But in that instant, Lucian saw it.
".....!"
Amid a desperate crisis, Kain was smiling wryly at him.
"Thank you, Lucian von Turnizen. For being such an honorable knight."
If you had not pursued a perfect victory, I might well have been defeated—
Muttering so, Kain grasped the empty air with his hand. And the result was truly astounding.
"Th-this is...!"
The Aura of Reverse Moon, erupting toward Kain, slipped beyond Lucian's control. Soon, the Aura began flowing into Kain, utterly disregarding Lucian's will!
"...Tch! This is absurd!"
It was impossible. Reverse Moon was a technique in which Lucian's Aura condensed in the air and took form according to his will. It was as much a part of him as his own limbs. And yet he could not control it? This was no different from his own arms and legs rebelling against him!
"....!"
Soon his Aura coalesced atop Kain's hand. It swirled meekly above Kain's hand, as if acknowledging him as its master. At that sight, the word defeat surfaced in Lucian's mind.
"Kain von Estel—!"
But he would not give up here. The will of Lucian, forged through countless trials on the path to the Master Realm, howled that it would not permit defeat.
Grind—
He gathered every last trace of Aura remaining in his body onto his blade. The technique Lucian intended to employ was New Moon. The fastest thrust among all the techniques he knew. With this, he would end everything before his opponent even perceived it!
"Hahp—!"
The next instant, Lucian's figure vanished from the banquet hall. No one present could track his movement. Even Lucian himself could not properly confirm his own movement. Kain too appeared unable to perceive Lucian's form. A smile rose to Lucian's lips. This was the end!
".....!"
But in that fleeting instant, he saw Kain's hand begin to move like a phantom. Kain's right hand, upon which Lucian's Aura had condensed, gently seized Lucian's sword. And with that, it was over. The movement was so seamless it looked as though they had rehearsed it together.
'A counter!'
But his realization came one step too late. By the time Lucian understood, everything was already over.
Clang!
Both their swords flew into the air. Kain had wrenched the sword from Lucian and flung it away, and in that same moment, he had tossed his own blade aside like trash. For what came next, a sword was no longer necessary.
Their arms crossed. Kain's foot slid in toward him.
Between one blink and the next, Lucian realized his vision was fixed on the banquet hall ceiling.
And an instant before his back touched the floor—
Booooom—!
A fist bearing both Lucian's Reverse Moon and all of Kain's strength slammed into his solar plexus!
"Guh-huh—!"
The shock tore past Lucian's ribs, punched through his back, and shook the very floor of the banquet hall.
Lucian's vision began to darken. Looking down at Lucian as consciousness faded, Kain muttered in a low voice.
"You dumb bastard. Next time you pick a fight, be more careful about who you pick it with. Strutting around just because you're a Master—you might end up getting punched out again, just like today."
And so, the duel was decided.