Chapter 423
Chapter Title: An Earnest Duel
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Luke's eyes swiftly followed the trajectory of Aina's sword.
*Clang—!*
Luke hastily parried the sword aiming for his neck.
*'Fast.'*
The first-year representative.
Aina's blade was faster and sharper than Luke had ever imagined.
But that wasn't all.
*Clang!*
Sword met sword, letting out a sharp, metallic shriek.
*'That's not all.'*
The speed at which the golden flashes embroidered the air grew faster and faster.
The blade, honed solely to cut down its opponent, sent a chill down Luke's spine.
*Clang! Claaang! Ting! Thwaaang—!*
It wasn't just fast and sharp.
As the strikes continued, the weight behind Aina's sword only grew.
And that weight became a heavy, destructive force.
*Craaash—!*
"Kuh!"
Aina's swing sent Luke's sword flying.
In that instant, Aina closed in on the defenseless Luke.
Luke drew upon his aura, corrected the trajectory of his recoiling sword, and swung it at Aina.
*Swish—!*
As a silver flash glinted, Aina used an aura step to evade Luke's strike.
Luke's sword missed by a hair's breadth.
For a moment, Aina's center of balance wavered.
*'A chance to counterattack!'*
Luke, who had been scrambling to defend against Aina's incredible speed, had finally created an opportunity to seize the offensive.
The moment he tried to close the distance, Luke's eyes met Aina's.
The same cold eyes as always.
The instant he saw those eyes, which could almost be described as tranquil, Luke felt goosebumps rise all over his body.
Luke hurriedly distanced himself from Aina.
"What was that?"
"Wasn't that a chance to counter?"
Seeing Luke give up the offensive initiative he had barely seized, the first-years muttered in confusion.
"What a waste!"
Iliana shouted, clutching her head.
Chelsea looked at Iliana as if she were pathetic.
"What is it? What happened?"
Lea, unable to grasp the situation, asked with a bewildered expression.
"If Luke had attacked just now, the match would have ended right there."
Eiran kindly explained the situation to Lea.
Luke wiped away the cold sweat trickling down his chin.
*'I broke her posture. But she completely read my attack range.'*
A melee between knights is a battle of distance.
All sorts of flashy techniques and powerful attacks become useless the moment your opponent discerns your attack range.
Of course, figuring out an opponent's range is by no means easy.
It constantly changes throughout a battle depending on their attack patterns.
But in her brief exchange with Luke, Aina had calculated that distance perfectly.
Even with her posture broken, she would have dodged his attack.
*'If I had attacked, I would've been the one to fall.'*
The reason she dodged so narrowly was to lure me deeper into a trap.
After a deep breath, Luke tightened his grip on his sword.
Looking at him, Aina aimed her sword.
Aina took a single step, and her figure vanished.
Luke urgently swung his sword to the right.
*Craaash—!*
Luke barely managed to block the attack, which carried a terrifying force, but he couldn't withstand all of it. He was pushed back and sent tumbling to the ground.
"Kuh!"
Luke scrambled to his feet and reset his stance.
In that time, Aina had closed the distance and swung her sword.
*'I can't take it head-on.'*
His palms tingled and his wrists ached.
If he kept taking impacts like this, it was painfully obvious he'd destroy himself in no time.
He had to somehow deflect the attacks and minimize the shock.
*Crash—!*
Once again, sword met sword, and Luke was sent flying.
*'I can't reduce the impact!'*
What had made Aina the first-year representative during the first semester was the overwhelming speed and power of her blade.
But that wasn't Aina's true strength.
It was her swordsmanship.
As the great-granddaughter of the Sword Saint, Aina had been honing her blade since she was young, and her swordsmanship was overwhelming.
No matter how Luke tried to deflect her attacks, Aina's technique blocked his attempts.
Power, speed, and technique.
Aina was a knight who perfectly possessed them all.
*'What should I do?'*
Luke gritted his teeth.
At this rate, he would be defeated.
He stared straight ahead, watching Aina close the distance at an incredible speed.
*'If I wait for her to come or retreat, I'll just fall to her sword.'*
Luke lowered his stance.
*'In that case.'*
*Fwoosh—!*
Luke kicked off the ground and charged at Aina.
For a moment, Aina's eyes widened.
Becoming a silver flash, Luke reached Aina and swung his sword first.
*CRAAASH—!*
*'I'll attack first...'*
"Ugh?"
The moment their swords clashed, Luke was sent flying and slammed into the ground.
Laughter erupted from the first-years who called themselves Aina's faction.
"How crude. Did he really think charging in first would do anything?"
"What an eyesore!"
"He probably got lucky reaching the semifinals, and now his true colors are showing."
The self-proclaimed Aina faction, who hailed her as the top first-year student, couldn't accept the sudden change in Luke, who had been at the bottom of the class.
But contrary to their reactions, Aina's eyes, locked on Luke, were trembling slightly.
Luke was smiling.
*'This boy... what is he?'*
***
Celia wore a look of disbelief.
"Is he just reckless? Or is his judgment that good?"
"Both, I'd say."
Celia nodded at Leo's answer, as if it made sense.
"True."
Some of the first-years couldn't understand why Luke had recklessly charged at Aina, but the upperclassmen were different.
They had seen through it perfectly—Luke had reduced the power behind Aina's attack.
"To think of charging in to intercept the attack before it could fully unfold in that short amount of time. He's pretty good."
"He's always been exceptional at constantly observing others and absorbing what he needs."
Leo said, watching the match.
"Even at this very moment, Luke is slowly closing the gap with Aina."
***
*Craaang—! Crash!*
A sword imbued with golden aura aimed for Luke.
Luke's silver aura met Aina's.
*'He's getting faster.'*
Aina's eyes wavered as she watched Luke begin to counter her attacks.
*'Even now, in this very moment, he's getting stronger.'*
Aina gritted her teeth.
These final exams had been the worst for her.
Her very first match was against Juen.
She had thought it would be an easy victory, but she had barely won.
No, it didn't feel like a victory at all.
The thought that she would never be acknowledged by Leo at this rate constantly haunted her, and her uncertainty only deepened throughout the final exams.
She couldn't shake the feeling that Juen, Haviden, and Sasha—all of whom she'd considered a step below her—might surpass her and leave her far behind.
In the midst of it all, Aina finally understood why she had been avoiding and ignoring Luke since the start of the year.
*'I was afraid of Luke Elda.'*
The day Leo had acknowledged Luke, and not her.
That was when Aina had realized Luke's immense potential.
She had intuited it back then—the fact that he would catch up to her in the not-so-distant future.
And now, Luke was about to stand beside her.
At that fact, Aina felt an indescribable emotion.
In Aina's heart, where nothing but revenge had existed, a new emotion surfaced.
*'I don't want to lose.'*
She didn't know why this feeling was rearing its head.
But right now, Aina did not want to lose to Luke.
*Fwoosh—!*
A golden light flared in Aina's eyes.
*Whoooosh—!*
The golden aura erupting from Aina's body soared toward the sky like a pillar.
The surging aura gathered at the tip of her sword.
-Ooooh! This is!
Lunba, the commentator, shouted in an excited voice.
Mel, commentating alongside him, muttered.
-The Sword Saint's sword.
The great hero who carried an era on his shoulders and took it by storm.
A single strike meaning 'Justice,' symbolizing the righteous and noble knight who wielded his sword for what was right.
"Justitia."
Aina faced Luke with the most powerful attack she could muster.
*'Please, stop chasing me!'*
Gritting her teeth, she screamed inwardly as if wringing out her very soul and swung her sword.
Seeing the golden sword flying toward him, Luke felt goosebumps rise all over his body.
*'Incredible.'*
Lumerne was filled with nothing but amazing people.
People so incredible that it felt like he could chase them forever and still not be enough.
*'Can I ever catch up to people like them?'*
His heart pounded.
His mind trembled.
*'Can I catch up... and stand on the same stage?'*
He didn't know.
But there was one thing he had learned while being Leo's mentee.
*'Countless times I despaired and hit my limits. Countless times I was frustrated and hung my head.'*
A silver flash erupted from Luke's body.
*'But if I refuse to give up, push past my limits, and raise my head.'*
A silver light flared in his eyes.
*'A better version of myself was there!'*
His mana amplified, and his magical power seethed.
Luke cast his unique magic.
*'Transcendence!'*
For an instant.
A magic that pushed him one step beyond his limits, into the realm he wished to reach.
With the power of that magic, Luke.
"Haaaaaaaaaah!"
*Flash—!*
For a moment, he succeeded in standing on the same level as Aina.
The silver sword strike bisected the golden blade.
*Ruuuumble—!*
The area around Luke, who had received Aina's attack, was utterly devastated.
A thick cloud of dust rose.
In the middle of it, Luke gritted his teeth.
"Kuhk?!"
As payment for wielding a great power not meant for him, his arm screamed in protest.
*'Not yet! I can still do more!'*
But he forced himself to endure the pain.
*'The Aina I know wouldn't fall from something like this. She'll definitely come at me one more time!'*
Just as Luke prepared for Aina's next attack.
Through the dust, he could see Aina lowering her sword.
"It seems you've won, Luke Elda."
For a moment, Luke's expression went blank.
"That last strike was an attack with everything I had. Since you blocked it, I've lost."
Hearing Aina's weak voice, Luke's eyes trembled.
"Why... Why are you giving up?"
"What?"
"You can still fight."
Luke wore a look of incomprehension.
"Like I said, I'm at my limit."
"You still have the strength to swing your sword. So why do you say it's your limit?"
Luke scowled.
Seeing him, Aina spoke in a self-deprecating tone.
"The result is obvious anyway. There's no value in struggling to beat someone like me."
As Aina despaired, her spirit broken, Luke spoke.
"Someone like you?"
Luke gritted his teeth.
Leo had told Luke to become the year representative.
Is there any value in becoming the representative this way?
*'No.'*
Luke clenched his fist.
"You're an amazing person, Aina. That's why Juen challenges you with everything she has, trying to win."
"I'm not as amazing as you think."
But Aina still wore a self-deprecating smile.
"And I'm already at my limit. So you've won..."
"Then surpass your limit! What do you take the person who gritted his teeth and chased after you as his goal for!"
At Luke's emotional shout, Aina flinched.
"I want to chase you because you're amazing! I want to beat you because you're amazing! If you talk like that, what does that make all my past days of striving with you as my goal?! If you're going to give up so easily, then compensate me for all my hard work before you do!"
Seeing the self-reproaching Aina, Luke, who had lost his temper, roared.
"H-How can I compensate..."
"There's no way you can compensate me!"
*'S-Scary.'*
At the sight of Luke, who had completely lost it as his pent-up resentment over the past hardships he'd endured because of her finally erupted, Aina instinctively took a step back.
The dust settled.
Looking at her, Luke said.
"If you're going to run, at least give me your all before you do."
Luke readjusted his grip on his sword.
Watching him, Aina glanced down at her own blade.
*'Grandfather, have you never wanted to run away?'*
*'Many times.'*
The Sword Saint Kalian chuckled as he stroked his great-granddaughter's head.
*'But you overcame them all, right? Because you're the Sword Saint.'*
*'No. I ran away many times.'*
Kalian, having mercilessly shattered his great-granddaughter's innocent dreams, simply stroked his beard and smiled like a cunning old fox.
With a shocked expression, Aina looked up at Kalian.
*'But,'*
Kalian smiled warmly.
*'I never just ran. I did my best, challenged my limits time and again. And if it still wasn't enough, then I ran.'*
Kalian took his great-granddaughter's hand and said.
*'Aina. As long as you've given it your all, you can run away as much as you want. You can just challenge it again later.'*
Recalling the past, Aina gripped her sword.
*'Grandfather.'*
***
*'The atmosphere has changed.'*
Leo's eyes glinted as he watched their duel.
*'She's starting to look... a bit more like a hero candidate now.'*
As he smirked at Aina's form, Leo's expression momentarily vanished before returning.
Leo stood up from his seat.
"Where are you going?"
Celia asked with a curious expression.
Leo smiled at her and said.
"I'll be back in a bit."
With those words, he left the stands.
He felt a familiar presence not far away.
A red light flared in Leo's eyes.
An incredibly faint power.
But Leo remembered the owner of this power distinctly.
*'The Necro King.'*