A Saw and a Sketch
A heavy impact rattled my grip, sending my sword flying from my hand. In an instant, my body was left completely defenseless. My eyes chased the weapon as it spun away, and by the time I scrambled to look back, the tip of my opponent's blade was already resting against my throat.
"...I surrender." Sighing, I raised both hands. What a shame. I wanted to pretend it was an accident and get stabbed. But with a defeat this absolute, I didn't even get the chance.
"Good work, Lucia." At my declaration of surrender, Arin lowered her sword and spoke. That made it three losses out of three matches. She was too strong. No matter how I attacked, she predicted it instantly, leaving me completely helpless. Even though I was clearly the one on the offensive, it felt as if I were the one being cornered into defending. Swinging, parrying, deflecting. With the bare minimum of movement, she neutralized every single one of my strikes.
Crisis Detection. It lacked the raw destructive power of Yujin's or Aris's abilities, nor did it have any flashy visual impact, but it was robustly, undeniably strong. Since she could predict her opponent's attacks in advance and act first, I was doomed to lose the tactical mind game from the very start. It was subtle yet elegant. Arin's swordsmanship was specialized in catching her opponents off guard. I thought I was holding my own reasonably well, but before I knew it, I was already pushed back onto the defensive. As expected of her, I suppose. Arin really is strong. I can't beat her. It's a struggle to even leave a scratch.
It wasn't that Lucia was weak. She was one of the heroines of Dawn Swordsman, and undeniably a member of the Golden Generation alongside Arin. Yet, the reason for such an overwhelming gap was... well, obvious when you thought about it. I hadn't used my Super Regeneration. While Arin made full use of her Crisis Detection, I barely touched my supernatural ability. To actually use Super Regeneration, I had to get hurt first, right? This wasn't a life-or-death duel, and I had no intention of drawing blood during a mere sparring match. Well, Arin didn't, at least. Secretly, I had wanted to feign a mistake and get run clean through... but perhaps my getting injured counted as a "crisis" for her ability, because none of my fakes worked. Honestly, if I had fought in earnest just now, who knows how it would have turned out? A blade pointed at my throat? So what? Lucia wouldn't die even if her throat was pierced. Please, just stab me.
Lucia's fighting style was simple and brutal. Rely on Super Regeneration and fight until the opponent collapses. Hit her, slash her, burn her—she won't die. Normally, regeneration-type supernatural abilities don't block pain, meaning the user has to endure every ounce of agony, but for Lucia, that was the ultimate blessing. I had no intention of dodging attacks. If I could cling to them tenacively and land even a single blow, it was a win. After all, my opponent didn't have regeneration, did they? But since I could regenerate from any attack in an instant, a prolonged battle played overwhelmingly in my favor. A bloodied, battered enemy versus a perfectly fine Lucia. On top of that, there was zero mental toll from accumulated pain. Plus, Lucia had excellent endurance, so wearing her out first would be quite a challenge. Oh, then why did I collapse without finishing those sixty laps around the field? Because I didn't use Super Regeneration then, obviously! Super Regeneration restores physical stamina too. Though, since mental strength has its limits, it can't act as a perpetual motion machine. A supernatural ability is rooted in the soul, and using it drains one's mental energy. No matter how bizarre Lucia was, her mental capacity had a ceiling, so she would eventually tire out. But the enemy would tire out long before that. Dragging them into a muddy, exhausting brawl until they drop, and then slitting their throat once they lose their strength—that was Lucia's way of fighting. Of course, there was no way I could do that during class. This was strictly a sparring match. We were testing our skills while taking care not to injure each other, not fighting a mutual-destruction deathmatch.
"Just now, you hesitated for a split second, didn't you?"
"Huh?"
"My Crisis Detection warned me. Lucia, you were thinking of counterattacking whether your throat got pierced or not, weren't you?"
"Oh, um... he-he." As I gave an awkward laugh, Arin offered a bitter smile.
"Don't push yourself too hard. You hate being in pain."
Actually, no, I love it. But since I couldn't say that out loud, I rattled off the excuse I had prepared.
"In real combat, we won't be shown that kind of consideration. I think I need to get used to it now, if only to properly master my supernatural ability."
"Well, you're not wrong, but..."
Regeneration was my greatest weapon. It was to me what Crisis Detection was to Arin. She knew that too, which was likely why her voice trailed off.
"If that's your resolve, then I have nothing more to say. Still, I don't recommend a fighting style that assumes you'll get hurt. People—no, any living creature—fear and detest pain. It will wear down your mind. It'll leave deep trauma. There are already precedents. Many heroes with regeneration-type abilities who fight on the front lines suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder."
Like you? Is it me who hates pain, or is it you? Do you still wake up screaming in the middle of the night? Honestly, there were far too many characters suffering from PTSD in Dawn Swordsman. Arin right in front of me was one, and the same went for Aris and Frey. Yujin and Leo went without saying. Anastasia was relatively fine, but even she carried scars in her heart. The root cause of it all was the Great Disaster five years ago. The day when spatial rifts tore open in massive numbers, and monsters poured down like rain. Everyone had lost something precious.
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind." I nodded with a bright smile. They had all gone through so much at such a young age. Even though they were only old enough to be entering high school, they were holding weapons instead of pens.
"We still have some sparring time left. Shall we keep going?" At my question, Arin checked the time, then raised her sword in lieu of an answer.
Life at the academy was a repetitive cycle, like a hamster spinning on a wheel. In the mornings, we followed a curriculum designed to improve our combat capabilities, including physical conditioning, sparring, and joint training. In the afternoons, we attended regular academic classes. Sometimes, the schedule was reversed. After school was free time, but the vast majority of students dedicated those hours to self-improvement. Everyone invested at least a minimum amount of time, whether it was a lot or a little. Aris, who did nothing but read books, was the anomaly. Seeing how strong she was despite barely training, talent really was a terrifying thing.
My routine varied from day to day. Sometimes I would follow Aris to the library to read, and other times I would immerse myself in self-improvement like the other students. After all, I lacked the basics. While Lucia's body remembered how to fight well enough for me to get by, the original Lucia's raw skill was on the lower end compared to the rest of the Golden Generation. When evening came, I returned to the dormitory. There, I could leisurely enjoy my personal time. The academy dorms were wonderfully soundproofed, which was a massive plus. It was a normal daily routine. Well, maybe not entirely normal. We were academy students, after all. But even if it wasn't normal, it was a peaceful life. Day after day passed smoothly, like gears meshing perfectly without a hitch.
As time flowed, it was gradually drawing near. The day the 'Incident' would occur. The moment the main story of Dawn Swordsman would truly begin. It wasn't that major of an event. There were no casualties, and everything wrapped up nicely. It was the day of the students' first field trip. They weren't heading to an actual battlefield, but rather a practical field exercise to gain real-world experience by fighting weak, pre-captured monsters. However, one of the captured monsters would escape, triggering an incident that Yujin and the other students would resolve—a classic, cliché plotline.
"From that day on, the gears of fate will begin to turn. Incidents and accidents will trigger one after another, and life will get incredibly busy."
Which meant now was the only time I could truly relax. There was no way I could let such precious time go to waste.
"Let's see..."
I pulled out the items piled up in a corner of my room. Things I had bought from the hardware store over the weekend. I had already tried out a few, but because I had purchased so many different items that day, there were plenty of things just gathering dust.
"This is a folding saw... this is a machete... a hand axe... an electric screwdriver..."
I laid them down on the desk one by one. Staring at the heap of tools with my arms crossed, I pondered for a moment before putting all but one back. Yep, let's go with this today.
"Ta-da! A wire saw!"
It was a type of bow saw, commonly used for cutting through metal. Humming a tune, I unbuttoned my clothes. I slipped off my blouse and skirt, then tossed aside my bra and panties. Holding the wire saw and a pen, I stepped into the bathroom.
Dark red stains were scattered across the bathroom floor. In the past, I used to clean up meticulously so no traces would remain, but lately, I'd gotten lazy and only gave it a half-hearted wipe. It was just going to get dirty again anyway. I slid down against the wall, resting my back against it. On the opposite side was a mirror I had set up beforehand. In the reflection, Lucia—with her striking golden hair and cherry-blossom pink eyes—smiled brightly back at me.
"Hello, Lucia."
As I waved, the Lucia in the mirror waved back. A naked, beautiful girl... in the past, I would have been incredibly excited. Too bad this beautiful girl is me.
The pen I brought into the bathroom was a water-soluble marker. Permanent markers were a pain because they didn't wash off easily. I stretched out Lucia's smooth legs. Mmh, excellent legs. She had a naturally gifted physique that would exude an irresistible sexual appeal to anyone with those kinds of tastes. Scribbling with the marker, I began to doodle on my leg. I drew a dotted line. I traced a circle all the way around my thigh. Great, preparation complete. I set the pen down and picked up the wire saw. I pressed the blade against my thigh. A cold sensation washed over me.
"Ngh..."
Applying pressure, I pushed forward. Then pulled back. Then pushed forward again. The skin scraped open. I slowly repeated the motion. Forward. Backward. Forward. Backward. The blade bit in. Drops of blood trickled down my thigh. Skrrrch. The skin tore open. The flesh protected beneath it was sliced apart right along with it.
"Ah... ugh, haaa... ah..."
A groan of agony leaked from my lips. I gritted my teeth. Grit. My teeth ground together. Skrrrch. Skrrrch. Skrrrch. I could hear my leg being sawed through. Blood vessels severed. Muscles ripped apart. Crimson blood flooded my vision. Ah, it caught. That's the bone.
"Hi-ugh... ugh... ah..."
Skrrrch. The bone was being sliced. Every time I applied force, I could clearly feel the wire saw digging into the bone. It was a spine-chilling sensation. Suppressing my body's violent thrashing from the pain, I poured even more strength into my right hand. Pushing forward, pulling back. Repeat. Sawing through the bone over and over. My leg bone... is pretty sturdy... But that won't do. If you hold out, I won't be able to cut my leg off.
How many times had I sawed? After repeating the motion dozens of times, the blade finally met no resistance.
"Ha... haha..."
I cut it off... My leg... looking at it like this, beautiful legs or whatever, it's just a chunk of meat. The throbbing pain made my vision blur. When I closed my eyes, tears that had pooled without my realizing it spilled down my cheeks.
"So intense..."
Setting down the blood-soaked wire saw, I picked up the severed leg. The leg that had been attached to my body just moments ago was growing cold, spilling hot blood like a dying gasp. I ran so hard with this leg... but I guess I won't be running anymore...
"It's still warm..."
Throb. My chest ached. Not enough. This was nowhere near enough. Cutting off just one leg wasn't satisfying at all.
"Humans have... four limbs, right?"
I grabbed the water-soluble marker. Because my body wouldn't stop shaking from the pain, I couldn't draw clean lines like before. I traced crooked, jagged lines on my remaining leg and both arms.
"Ah... I won't be able to cut... one of my arms off."
What a shame... but it can't be helped. My supernatural ability is Super Regeneration, not telekinesis. If I had telekinesis, I wouldn't have had to saw my leg off like this anyway. The Lucia in the mirror was laughing. She was smiling, twitching her freshly severed, stumped leg. I pressed the wire saw against my remaining leg. Letting out a chuckle I didn't bother to hide, I applied force to my fingertips. Skrrrch.