Bite Down Hard
All at once, the mood took a very strange turn.
Luke and Baren.
The two of them had started squabbling.
What is this, middle schoolers? Seriously, what the hell is this...
Of all places, they had to start fighting at the dinner table. Had they been raised without the slightest bit of home training?
In any case, the fire had already caught, and the tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife.
Their gazes locked, sparks practically flying between them.
“...Then let’s move somewhere else first.”
“Fine. I’m already looking forward to seeing whether you’re as cocky as you sound.”
Luke and Baren rose from their seats.
“Hold on.”
Kael stopped the two men just as they were about to leave.
“If you’re done eating, at least clean up after yourselves before you go.”
These idiots didn’t even have the most basic manners.
They changed locations.
It was the training hall that had been renovated for the guards’ use.
“...This place is pretty well equipped too.”
Linvel pouted as she looked around the hall.
For a mere guard unit, they were living in ridiculous luxury. It rubbed her pride the wrong way.
Especially after the meal they’d just had. The quality was so high she could hardly believe it came from a frontier city’s guard corps.
...Honestly, I’m jealous.
Still full of a jumble of feelings, Linvel finally decided enough was enough.
“Captain, honestly, doesn’t it look better if you don’t step in right from the start?”
She wanted to show off her skills for once.
Linvel stepped forward with a bright grin. She was itching for a fight too. Now that her stomach was full, she was in peak condition.
“Sorry for interrupting, but you should care about our dignity too.”
One of the things Baren hated most was having a fight interrupted.
But if the captain himself stepped in from the very first match, the knight squad would lose face.
At least, that was true unless the other side sent out its own captain.
“Rank has to be respected. Underlings should fight underlings, don’t you think?”
“Well, if that’s how you want it, then the two of them can sort it out.”
Baren shrugged and looked at Luke.
Luke tilted his head slightly.
“I don’t particularly mind, but... is that really fine? I’m not very good at holding back.”
“...Would you look at that?”
Linvel’s expression turned sharp.
If that was meant as a provocation, she had to admit it was a good one.
It had absolutely gotten under her skin.
Linvel and Luke faced each other.
A strange tension hung between them.
To keep from injuring each other, the two of them drew wooden swords instead of real blades.
Linvel glared at Luke, then her eyes curved into a smile.
“Don’t come crying and begging me to stop later.”
“Hmm. I think you’re the one who ought to be drinking milk more seriously.”
Linvel blinked, then burst out laughing.
“Hahaha... Fine. I’ll kill you.”
Her expression going blank, Linvel kicked off the ground.
Thud!
Oh.
Kael, watching closely, let out a quiet murmur of admiration.
Despite her small frame, her movement was explosively fast.
Kwaaaang!
The two wooden swords crashed together.
A fierce struggle of raw strength.
Given the difference in build, Luke should have overwhelmed her with ease.
Krrrkkkk.
Instead, Linvel was the one dictating the power struggle.
“What’s wrong, you big lug? That all you’ve got?”
Luke narrowed his eyes.
“...Brutish swordsmanship just isn’t my taste.”
With a cool snort, Luke launched his counterattack.
His breathing settled, and his gaze changed.
The moment his foot left the ground, his outline blurred.
It never gets less impressive, does it?
Now he could see it clearly.
Luke’s movement.
Sliding across the floor as though on ice, Luke slipped in beside Linvel.
Fshk!
A clean, precise thrust.
No matter how wooden the sword, a hit with that much force behind it would still leave a bruise at best and a broken bone at worst.
But—
Kwaang!
With a violent crack, the wooden sword was knocked away.
In that instant, Linvel had batted Luke’s attack aside.
“What the hell do you think you’re pulling?!”
Linvel bared her teeth and swung her wooden sword.
Whoooosh!
The savage hiss of displaced air followed.
Luke frowned.
Even after diverting most of the force, his wrist still throbbed.
How the hell does that tiny body produce this kind of monstrous strength?
Once Linvel found her rhythm, her attacks grew faster and faster.
She pressed Luke hard, driving him back mercilessly.
Her eyes had begun to fill with madness.
Linvel kept advancing, and Luke kept yielding ground.
At a glance, he looked like the one on the defensive, but Luke was sliding away from every single strike.
Linvel’s eyes, now fully absorbed in the fight, grew ever more feral.
And in the end, she crossed the line she should never have crossed.
A reddish energy gathered around Linvel’s wooden sword.
Her speed increased even further.
There was a clear intention in the tip of her blade now.
Killing intent.
She had gone beyond the bounds of a friendly bout; it was a blatant attempt to kill.
Luke had been narrowly deflecting her attacks until now, but this strike looked nearly impossible to avoid.
Just before the wooden sword laced with murderous intent reached Luke—
His expression changed completely.
“...Huuup.”
Luke changed his breathing and grip, then lowered his center of gravity.
“Tsk.”
At that moment, Baren, who had been watching the match, clicked his tongue and stepped forward lightly.
Grab!
He seized Linvel by the back of the neck and hurled her away.
“Eek!”
Linvel tumbled across the floor in a thoroughly ungraceful mess.
“Captain! What the hell is this all of a sudden!!”
“Enough, Linvel.”
Just as Linvel, offended and ready to shout, drew breath, Bram spoke up.
“That was clearly your fault. You know that, don’t you?”
“...”
Linvel’s pupils trembled.
She had just crossed the line in the middle of the match.
There had been killing intent in her blade.
She knew she was in the wrong, and so she had no choice but to clamp her mouth shut.
Meanwhile, Luke frowned as he looked at Baren, who had suddenly interfered in the bout.
“...What is this?”
“What do you think? You about to let a kid get wrecked?”
“The one who crossed the line was her.”
“I’ll admit that. I messed up her education. I’ll apologize for it.”
Crack, crack.
Baren rolled his neck from side to side.
It was Linvel who had put killing intent into her sword, but if Baren hadn’t stepped in there, she would have been the one in serious danger.
What was that just now?
Kael, who had been watching the duel, asked Balmung.
What else? He’s protecting his own pup. If that red-haired brat hadn’t stepped in, he’d have been hurt pretty badly.
...Luke was that strong?
Maybe.
It was an answer that carried a strange weight.
Kael’s brow furrowed.
He already knew Luke was highly skilled, but... to think he had been hiding power like that.
Keep watching closely, kid. You’ll learn a great deal.
At Balmung’s words, Kael turned his gaze back to the arena. Before he knew it, Luke and Baren were facing each other.
“So you’re not a cat after all, you’re a dog. Go on then, keep doing what you were about to do. I’ll take it as your apology.”
Baren curled one corner of his mouth.
His stance was loose.
There wasn’t a trace of seriousness in him.
He casually picked up one of the wooden swords lying around and slung it over his shoulder.
It was more than relaxed. It was arrogant.
But he had every right to be.
He was one of the most admired warriors in the empire, one of the Imperial 5 Swords.
“I don’t think there’s any need to show you.”
“Now that’s a real expensive attitude.”
Luke settled into his stance.
...A monster.
A prickling sensation rose over his entire body.
It felt like standing before a mountain range.
Even though Baren still hadn’t fully revealed his presence, Luke’s skin was already going numb.
Was this the power of an Imperial 5 Sword, the strength he had only ever heard about?
Instinct told him one thing.
He should not fight that monster.
But Luke forced the corner of his mouth upward.
No matter how wide the gap in skill, he couldn’t afford to lose his spirit.
The moment he became intimidated, it was over.
Even if he was going to lose, he had to go down after landing at least one proper hit.
“...Haaah.”
Luke steadied his breathing. The trembling faded, and his eyes cooled.
Baren was not the sort of opponent to receive the first move from.
Lowering himself, Luke shot forward.
Fwap!
In an instant he got behind Baren and swung his wooden sword.
His eyes throbbed. He was squeezing out every last shred of focus he had.
Just before Luke’s wooden blade could land on Baren—
Thump!
Baren’s sword blocked him with eerie ease.
“Ghk!”
When the wooden blade struck his solar plexus, Luke’s mouth flew open.
His breath caught in his throat.
It felt as though his ribs were about to shatter.
Baren slowly turned his body and lifted his wooden sword.
Luke gritted his teeth and forced his arms into motion.
He couldn’t lose this pathetically.
Fwooom!
A chilling slash cut through the air.
It was a careless swing, as though he were swatting away a fly, but its power was beyond imagination.
Kwaaaang!
The instant the wooden swords collided, an enormous roar exploded outward.
Luke’s wooden sword shattered into pieces, splinters scattering in every direction.
Baren didn’t even blink. He stepped forward.
He raised his arm.
Just as he was about to finish it—
Shwaaaack!
The sound of something slicing through the wind rang out.
“...!”
Baren instinctively leaned back.
It was Kael.
By a hair’s breadth, the knife he had thrown skimmed past Baren’s face.
Bang!
Even so, Baren’s foot shot out with perfect precision toward Luke.
Kicked cleanly, Luke flew back and slammed into the training hall wall before hanging his head limply.
Thud, thud.
Footsteps.
Baren turned his head.
Across the direction of his gaze, Kael was walking toward him at an unhurried pace.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“What else? You about to let a kid get wrecked?”
Kael curled one corner of his mouth.
After all the trouble he’d gone through to secure that underling, he wasn’t about to lose him so meaninglessly.
Baren, blinking a few times, suddenly burst out laughing.
“Heh... Fair enough, that is what happened. So, is it the captain’s turn now?”
His eyes narrowed pleasantly.
A crazed hunger shimmered in his gaze.
Kael was already getting a strong feeling of disgust, but now that he had picked a fight, there was no backing out.
“Sorry, but I’m a little awkward with wooden swords.”
Kael slowly pulled Balmung free from the floor, where it had been stuck deep in the ground.
...Old man, you’re really sure this won’t give us away, right?
Why are you asking me that when you’re the one who stood there doing nothing and then threw me like garbage?
Yeah. Guess I just did it before I knew it.
It hadn’t been a carefully considered action. His body had moved before his mind caught up.
The instant he hurled Balmung, he’d known he was in trouble.
Dammit. He’d gone and done it after all.
At least the disaster of Baren being struck by the sword hadn’t actually happened.
Spilt milk. What can you do?
Kael let out a sigh.
At this point, he could only see it through, whether it ended in success or a complete mess.
“I’d rather use this than a wooden sword.”
“Suit yourself. I’m most comfortable with this anyway. Consider it a handicap.”
Kael had hoped he’d simply refuse the bout altogether, but unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be happening.
Old man, honestly... what are my odds?
At best? One in ten.
What? One in ten means that’s doable.
One in ten against an Imperial 5 Sword. Somehow, that made it sound a lot more manageable than he’d expected.
Kael was just about to settle into his stance when—
“Peekaboo.”
Baren appeared right in front of him with a flash of white teeth.
Kael sucked in a sharp breath.
Unbelievable speed.
He had lost sight of him completely.
Before the fight had even truly begun, he could already feel it.
The gap in ability was enormous.
Sure enough, the seat of an Imperial 5 Sword had not been earned by luck.
The wooden sword spun in with a huge arc.
Kael’s pupils tracked the blade.
If he counterattacked now, he’d be too late.
But Kael did not look away.
For a short time, he had swung a sword every single day. That sensation was carved deep into his bones.
The body was honest, and training was honest.
His body reacted before thought could.
He cleared his mind and focused on nothing but the act of cutting.
The blade drew a precise line toward Baren’s neck.
Baren’s eyes widened.
But—
“Not enough.”
Baren’s grin stretched long.
It was a fine counter, but Baren was still faster by a full step.
The wooden sword slammed into Kael’s left shoulder.
Kael’s own blade only managed to shave a few strands from the tips of Baren’s hair.
...My arm’s broken.
He had only taken one hit, and yet his arm felt crushed. Pain surged through him, but he couldn’t show it.
Baren stared at Kael for a moment, then spoke.
“No matter how I think about it, I still can’t make sense of this.”
Harkan was a force outside the ordinary scale.
A monster even Baren couldn’t confidently judge the outcome against.
Baren had met him in person exactly once.
The vile, ferocious aura that had radiated just from standing face-to-face with him.
There was no room for doubt. One look had been enough to know he was strong.
Predators had a presence of their own.
Even among cats, no one would confuse a tiger for a housecat.
But the energy he sensed from Kael was nothing special.
Comparing him to Harkan was absurd.
The strike Kael had just shown was certainly impressive, but that alone was not enough to kill Harkan.
Not enough.
If he was going to prove that Harkan had truly been killed, this wasn’t enough.
He needed to show more.
Did she fool me?
He didn’t think Adelia had lied. She was too stubborn and upright for that, stubborn enough that even Baren acknowledged it.
“Did you really kill Harkan?”
“Well, why don’t you let him try cutting your throat and see for yourself?”
Kael smiled thinly and raised his sword with one hand.
“Hah, fair enough.”
Laughing, Baren lifted one foot.
The instant his toes touched the ground—
He shot forward like an arrow.
The distance closed in an instant.
Kael couldn’t even react in time.
Krrrk!
Baren’s wooden sword screamed as it cut through the air. This time, he showed no restraint.
Let’s see you dodge this.
The moment Kael saw that, he knew it.
If he didn’t dodge, he would die.
Then Balmung’s voice tore into Kael’s eardrums.
Kid, bite down hard.
The instant Kael heard that, he clenched his teeth.
Kwaaaaarrrm!
A thunderclap split the air.
After the deafening boom faded, a brief silence followed.
“...Cough.”
With a hacking cough, Baren dropped to one knee.
Blood, bright red, trickled from the corner of his mouth.
When he looked at Kael again, his face was filled with shock.