Chapter 306: Bread and Dagger (4)
Chapter 306: Bread and Dagger (4)
The girl’s body rolled across the ground.
It was a scene that had already repeated itself several times. While the outcome wasn't particularly surprising, Seria blinked blankly every time it happened.
Her deep blue eyes were clouded with an incomprehensible emotion.
Just how did he do it?
In truth, Seria’s confusion was entirely justified.
From the moment she was born until now, she had solved every difficult problem she faced on her own.
As an illegitimate daughter of the Yurdina family, Seria had never received much love from her kin. Even Marquis Yurdina, the one person who should have been her greatest ally, treated her with a certain coldness.
The only person who showed her any concern was her half-sister, Delphine.
Yet even that didn't translate into practical help. Delphine had been young back then, and in the long run, Seria was also her competitor for the succession.
In other words, Seria had been alone since childhood.
She had proven her talent and earned the name Yurdina through her own strength alone.
Because of that, Seria had become somewhat self-assured.
She was well-acquainted with trials and adversity. No matter what obstacle stood in her way, she believed she could find the answer if she focused on it long enough.
Just as she always had.
That was Seria’s talent.
It was the sole weapon of a girl who lived for the sword and had forged herself into a blade.
However, it didn't take long for that naive arrogance to be utterly shattered.
She couldn't find the answer at all.
The catalyst was simple.
The man who had suddenly appeared informed Celine and Seria that they were no longer effective as combatants.
There was no way the prideful Seria would accept that quietly.
As she flared up and raised an objection, the man threw out a single question.
“Care to test me?”
His voice sounded dreadfully weary.
His indifferent eyes even held a hint of annoyance. Seeing that look, as if he were dealing with a bothersome child, made Seria’s blood boil even more.
It was because of that heat that the words escaped her lips.
“Yes, I will.”
The conclusion was exactly what was happening now.
After moving to a forest clearing for the spar, Seria hadn't been able to so much as graze the man’s collar.
In truth, she had expected this result.
Seria had witnessed the man’s divine prowess when he fought Mitram. The cold face he wore as he took the dark priest’s life alone was still vivid in her mind.
He wasn't an opponent she expected to defeat from the start.
But she never imagined she wouldn't even be able to guess how he was beating her.
Gasping for breath, Seria forced herself up.
Judging by her staggering posture, it was clear that the physical damage was accumulating.
Nevertheless, her dark blue eyes were still burning fiercely.
She tried desperately to read the man’s movements, but his face remained stoic.
No matter what you do, the result is already decided.
His expression seemed to say exactly that. There wasn't a single crack in the absolute certainty etched onto his features.
For a fleeting moment, Seria wanted to punch that face.
The only thing stopping her was the fact that he was inhabiting the body of her beloved senior. Had it not been for that, Seria would have thrown herself into the desire to make it a reality.
That was how alien the man’s attitude toward Seria felt.
Disregard and coldness.
It was a gaze that triggered the nightmares of her childhood.
“...Do you want to keep going? The result will be the same.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
The words were spat out through gritted teeth.
At her determined response, the man nodded silently.
He merely offered a low warning as Seria took her stance once more.
“This is the last time.”
Did he mean for her to give it her all?
Seria had already intended to pour out every ounce of her remaining strength. Even then, he was an opponent she might barely graze.
But if that was what he wanted, she would engage in an exchange she wouldn't regret.
After a moment of silence, the girl took a light step forward.
Immediately after: compression.
Her body, launched like a cannonball, blurred the world into a single line. The distance vanished in an instant, and Seria was suddenly before the man.
Even then, the man didn't react.
It wasn't that he had lost track of her. His golden eyes were still shining in the silence.
Like an eagle in the sky watching its prey.
Seria’s strike was explosive.
Caution is poison.
That was the lesson Seria had learned after failing several times. No matter how much she agonized over a strategy, her opponent was always several steps ahead.
In that case, it was better to entrust her body to animalistic instinct.
As her sword trajectory became simpler, her blade moved even more nimbly.
With her teeth clenched, the look in Seria’s eyes as she swung her sword horizontally was almost ghostly.
It was a strike delivered with everything she had.
A faint light flickered in the man’s eyes as he watched.
He seemed to find interest in the fact that Seria had chosen the best possible move for her situation.
Of course, his hand was nonetheless ruthlessly cold.
Phak! A short sonic boom echoed.
The man’s sword was already tracing a diagonal path.
It was a single stroke of the blade.
But the result it brought didn't end with a single line.
The atmosphere was torn asunder.
The sword had been swung at a speed invisible to the eye. Following in its wake, the air filling the void exploded.
The frantic fluttering of her clothes gave a sense of the impact’s magnitude.
Yet, the reason Seria’s eyes widened was something else.
Her sword was sent flying.
She had been holding it with both hands, but the blade was soaring into the sky without her even feeling the sensation of the collision. A moment later, a fierce pain erupted in her arms and shoulders, which had been flung upward.
But Seria wasn't even given the chance to scream.
Thud! A kick slammed into Seria’s solar plexus.
The air was knocked out of her.
It was a strike delivered without a shred of mercy. Unable to withstand the blow, Seria rolled across the ground several times.
Her trembling hands were a pitiful sight.
Seria quickly tried to recall the exchange just now.
But nothing came to mind.
It was because she hadn't seen anything.
She didn't know when that trajectory had been drawn, or why her sword had been ripped from her hands.
She could only guess the circumstances from her torn palms.
She had been overwhelmed in both power and speed.
Unable to believe she had lost for such a simple, brute-force reason, Seria bit her lip and tried to push herself up again.
Until a sickening sound echoed from her own shoulder.
“...Ah, aagh?!”
A pathetic sound escaped her.
Lying face down, the girl’s eyes stared blankly upward.
There stood the man, his face as indifferent as ever.
His foot was planted firmly on Seria’s shoulder.
What is he doing?
The moment the question formed in her mind, the man applied more pressure to his foot.
Cr-crack! The sound of cartilage shattering rang out.
Under the agonizing pain, Seria had no choice but to let out a shrill scream.
“Agh, ugh... Aaaaaaaagh!”
With her shoulder completely crushed, Seria rolled on the ground, moaning. But the man continued to move his feet mechanically.
He kicked her, shattered her knee.
Only after several more acts of violence was Seria released from the torture-like pain.
It was a sudden feast of sadism.
The victim’s eyes were now stained with terror.
Meeting Seria’s eyes, which were wet with confusion and fear, the man spoke plainly.
“...I told you, this is the last time.”
You crazy bastard.
Seria cursed him inwardly without realizing it.
The man had shattered her limbs just to keep his word.
So that Seria could no longer resist.
Even as she trembled from the excessive pain, the girl couldn't help but feel both terror and rage at his logic and his cruel decisiveness.
So she thought.
She would never let this exchange be the last, as the man intended.
As soon as she recovered at the temple, Seria challenged him again, and the conclusion was always the same.
In the end, Seria suffered injuries that made a comeback impossible.
The blow that took her down was always the same.
A sword strike at supersonic speed that was impossible to even perceive.
Seria never once managed to overcome that simple, brute-force sword path.
Looking down at Seria, who was broken from her fingertips to her toes, the man spoke.
“...You won't be able to follow me anyway.”
It was impossible to tell if it was a simple monologue or a mockery.
Seria wanted to clench her fists and stand up.
But even the joints in her fingers were shattered.
All she could do now was lie there, trembling and moaning.
It was a miserable sight.
And yet, the light in Seria’s eyes did not go out.
Seria was fiercely competitive.
And even more than that, her obsession with Ian was profound.
Don't follow Senior Ian?
That was nonsense. Seria didn't want to be away from Ian for even a single day. Wasn't that why she had followed him all the way to his hometown?
Furthermore, being cast aside because she lacked ability was absolutely unacceptable.
Wouldn't that mean she’d have to give up on accompanying Ian in the future as well?
Seeing the blue flames that still hadn't died out, the man turned away with a faint sigh.
“At the very least, you must be able to replicate the technique I showed you.”
He spoke without even looking back.
His indifferent voice still carried no emotion.
“All movement (Dong) begins from stillness... keep that in mind.”
That was the final conversation Seria had with the man.
When Seria finally opened her eyes after losing consciousness, she was in the concentrated healing room.
The Saintess, wearing a rare pout, delivered news that felt like a bolt from the blue.
“You need to be hospitalized for at least two weeks. During that time, outside activities are strictly forbidden.”
Only then did Seria realize the man’s scheme.
If she was injured and hospitalized, she had no way of following him even if she wanted to.
Between the repeated defeats and her own stupidity in falling for his provocation...
Seria finally lost heart.
The timid girl had returned, and it was proof that the man’s words were right.
Seria would only be a burden.
Those words lodged themselves in her heart like shards of glass, and Seria bit her lip in silence.
Until it bled.
She was frustrated, so incredibly frustrated.