A Single Truth
X tracked the faint shape lodged in his chest with his eyes. It stretched away into the smoke of the distant explosion — so faint it would vanish if he didn't concentrate. But its cutting power, its keenness, was unmistakable. An Auror Blade.
"How…?"
X tried to fall back, to get clear of the attack. The Auror Blade moved a beat faster.
Shnk—!!
"Ghhhk—!!"
The puncture in his chest was carved open in a long diagonal slash. Blood sprayed out hard, soaking the ground around him. That he didn't lose consciousness from the pain was nothing short of a miracle. If he'd blacked out, his head would have come off for real this time.
"Kh—!!"
The senses honed through hellish training with Roxwell kicked in. Thanks to Rung's Sword — a true masterpiece — he deflected the strike aimed at his throat. But that single parry shredded the palm gripping the hilt. He wouldn't be pulling that off again anytime soon.
"Fine. I'll give you that."
A voice carried out of the dust.
"A maggot like you, pushing me this far with a cheap trick like that. I got too careless. I'll admit it — sincerely."
Internal energy exploded through the dust storm and scattered it. Gripork emerged, his entire body scorched with wounds and burns, his eyes cold-blooded and full of hatred as they locked onto X.
He's properly pissed now.
While X was still assessing Gripork's condition, Gripork finished his preparations and slowly declared:
"All right. I'll show you exactly how House Dremore earned its name."
Gripork raised his sword toward the sky. Just as before, he concentrated every ounce of his internal energy. But this was different. Fueled by swirling rage, steered by cold reason, Gripork revealed the true face of Dremore Swordsmanship.
Goooooh—
The Auror Blade condensed without pause. The sword's length stretched endlessly — a keenness and cutting power that would shear through anything.
"…Aigoo. That's long."
It stretched past the ceiling and beyond, as if he had seized a beam of light reaching down from the heavens. Gripork gripped that light with both hands.
"This is the end."
And brought it down.
Even with more than ten meters between them, it made no difference. The farther the distance, the faster the strike became. In that instant there was no way to dodge that sword, no way to block it. A one-sided slaughter exploiting an overwhelming gap in range. This was the true face of Dremore Swordsmanship.
But.
"I'm not planning on just dying, you know."
X gripped his sword firmly with both hands. Blood poured from his split torso, his mouth a mess of gore, but he had to hold the sword now. Opposite to Gripork, he took a stance with the blade pointing upward and concentrated his internal energy into the steel.
X was not 5-Star. He obviously couldn't use something like an Auror Blade. He knew perfectly well that ordinary auror meant nothing against one — that was why Roxwell and the Academy Chairman had tried to stop the duel. No matter how you looked at it, there was no chance of winning.
But X had never stopped. While Gripork was certain of victory, X had endlessly researched methods and tempered himself. The result.
CLANG—!!!
The condensed auror dwelling in the sword X swung upward deflected Gripork's Auror Blade.
"How…?!"
Gripork was stunned for a moment. No matter how sturdy the sword, it shouldn't have been able to stop that so easily.
…That is?!
He found the reason on X's blade. Fine threads of blue light, densely woven and wrapped around the steel. He knew exactly what they were.
X flexed his tingling hands, settled into stance, and said:
"Everyone keeps calling me 3-Star this, 3-Star that…"
What shone on X's sword was an Auror Line.
It was none other than the proof of a 4-Star warrior.
Gripork's mind reeled.
4-Star? A mage?
Impossible. Mana and internal energy cannot coexist. Historically, only one person had ever been capable of that.
This maggot is using the Hero's power?
"Daydreaming…!"
That brief confusion worked in X's favor. He immediately leaped, closing the distance to Gripork in a single bound. His whole body was wrecked, but thanks to Roxwell, he'd long since mastered fighting in this kind of condition.
I can't let him take the offensive…!
He thrust his sword straight at Gripork's face. When Gripork easily dodged, X immediately slashed downward. The flowing, natural strike made Gripork hesitate. This was fairly well-honed swordsmanship, and the continuing flurry was quite sharp. That didn't make it threatening, though. The moment even a small opening showed, he could snatch the offensive right back.
That's what he's thinking.
Having read the thought, X deliberately swung his sword in a wide arc.
Kang—!
Gripork didn't miss that moment.
"A brat with no experience…!"
He immediately swept his greatsword in a diagonal slash. Everything within the domain of his auror was cleaved apart — and X was at the end of that path. Of course, X didn't just stand there.
"Watch your chin."
"…!"
Gripork sensed auror bursting up from beneath his feet.
That thing again!
The unidentified shining sword — the White Light Sword — erupted from the ground, aimed at Gripork's jaw.
"I won't fall for it twice!!"
He immediately threw his head back while preparing his next stance. The White Light Sword came so fast he couldn't avoid a graze. He tried to form Auror Armor around his jaw to reduce the impact — and then he saw something bizarre.
Shwoong—
The White Light Sword passed straight through the Auror Armor and his jaw as if they weren't there.
"What…?"
"Got time to look away?"
X immediately swung his sword. The three-direction sword paths that formed the basics of swordsmanship were particularly solid, making them hard to break through. And that wasn't all.
"Fire Ball!"
Ice shot from behind X as he recovered his sword.
"Thunder Bolt!"
In the brief opening, flames scorched Gripork's vision.
"Ice Spear!"
And as X thrust his sword, lightning seared in every direction.
"The spell you're shouting and the one you're casting don't match…!"
"What kind of idiot announces the spell they're actually going to use?!"
Gripork wanted to put distance between them, but X clung to him relentlessly, making it impossible. It felt like fighting a mage and a swordsman at the same time. On top of that, the White Light Swords flying in at intervals kept grating on his nerves.
"You keep getting in my way…!"
Every time he tried to reverse the offensive, a White Light Sword came flying from somewhere. Sometimes bursting out from behind a stone pillar, sometimes erupting from underground, and sometimes even appearing by passing through X's own body.
That's definitely auror energy…!
The White Light Sword was no illusion. It was unmistakably genuine auror, so a warrior's senses kept reacting, trying to dodge. But the way it appeared was so random, and when he tried to strongly check it, it passed through him absurdly.
At this rate I'll keep getting jerked around.
The attacks he'd been dodging unconsciously — now he had to consciously stop dodging them.
This is my chance.
X was certain he'd seized the initiative. He kept up the offensive, preventing his opponent from attacking.
I can't give him distance!
He absolutely could not give Gripork any range. Without distance, Dremore Swordsmanship was sealed. So he kept pressing at extreme close quarters. The three days of hellish training with Roxwell had been for this.
But.
"You think no one's ever tried this against me?"
That was underestimating Gripork. He boldly released his right hand and extended his arm, going for the inside of X's elbow.
Sword wrestling?! And that fast!!
He read the intent, but it was already too late. The greatsword was pressing down hard, so he couldn't just let go — and for a contest of strength, Gripork's arm had slotted in cleanly. In that brief hesitation their arms tangled, and Gripork twisted, collapsing X's stance.
"Kh…! But if it's just this much…!"
Wrestling and grappling — he'd gotten used to them by getting wrecked by Roxwell every day. He had his own counters. Before his whole body completely collapsed, he took a breakfall. If he could reset his stance and resume the offensive, he could keep the pressure on.
"Get out of my face, maggot."
That is, if Gripork hadn't just picked him up and thrown him.
PAAANG—!!
"Ghhk…!"
A warrior's strength, reinforced with internal energy, sent X flying. His back slammed into a stone pillar, and breath and blood burst from his mouth. He couldn't just lie there.
"Damn it…!"
X rolled sideways before even checking his condition. If he hadn't, he would have been sliced apart along with the pillar behind him. And the pillar, as it was cut, exploded.
KRA-KOOM—!!
"Ghhk—!"
The explosions kept coming. Whenever X approached a pillar's blast radius, Gripork swung his sword and sliced it. X had to keep running to escape the blasts.
"Running away — now that's a maggot for you!"
Gripork laughed as nastily as he could, toying with him. From midway he stopped targeting X and went after the pillars alone, just to enjoy watching X get tossed around by the explosions. His whole body felt like it would be pulverized, but he ran anyway.
"The bleeding… is getting worse…"
His consciousness was growing darker. A lot of blood had already drained from his wounds. If he slowed even a little, it would be a complete loss.
Not much left…!
Dodging explosions and sword strikes, he'd somehow made a full circuit of the training ground. Depending on the direction he ran, every pillar along the path was sliced and detonated. He was heading toward the last remaining pillar when—
"This is getting boring."
KRA-KOOM—!
Before he could reach it, the last pillar was sliced and exploded.
"So the struggling is over, then."
"…I wouldn't say that."
Gripork walked slowly toward the center of the training ground. With an Auror Blade lengthened by Dremore Swordsmanship, it was a position from which he could send a strike anywhere. In other words, X had nowhere left to run. Gripork spoke with utmost leisure.
"I'll give you this — a mage, pushing me this far. So I'll grant you one last chance at mercy."
"Wow, I figured you'd say that. What is it?"
"Who's the traitor?"
Gripork still wondered about that. Sword Rang's interior had fractured beyond repair, and yet the traitor had not been identified. Everyone just tore into each other, calling one another the traitor. To somehow find a focal point, the traitor had to be exposed.
"Your backer won't be happy with the current situation either. The final goal is right in front of us — what's the point if we're this divided? So tell me who the traitor is. Do that, and I'll at least guarantee your life."
"Hmm, that's a tempting offer."
X walked slowly, arriving at the last sliced-off pillar. It was just the right height to sit and rest. He sat on it like a chair and checked his body.
"Usually when you talk at a time like this, they just kill you on the spot."
"…I swear on my honor, before Her Highness the Princess."
X flicked a glance at Beatrice. She was fidgeting restlessly as the advantage tilted toward Gripork.
"If you're going to swear that far, I suppose I have no choice."
X hung his head with a sigh, and Gripork was certain of victory.
"Good. I always keep my promises. Speak."
I'll turn you into a slave and make you suffer for eternity.
The oath before Beatrice was "I'll spare your life" — not "I won't make you a slave."
Doesn't matter if he doesn't talk.
Then he'd just kill him like this and hear who the traitor was through Beatrice. Whatever happened, it was his complete victory.
Just as he was thinking that, X opened his mouth again.
"Do you know the activation conditions for magic?"
That was a truly random topic. At the sudden change of subject, Gripork furrowed his brow.
"What are you talking about all of a sudden."
"There's magic education in the basic curriculum, right? I'm just asking."
"…You think I wouldn't know that just because I'm a warrior."
Gripork settled into stance as he continued the explanation.
"You shape mana into a form and imbue it with will, and it becomes magic. The most efficient form for that is a magic circle."
"As expected of an honor student. That's correct. Then what are the components of a magic circle?"
"Element nodes and mana lines. Element nodes imbued with elemental attributes, and the mana lines connecting them — that's how a magic circle is completed. So what? Trying to buy time?"
X pressed his hand to a bleeding wound, coating it in blood. With that hand, he drew something on the pillar he was sitting on.
"That's usually as far as the basics go. Once you move into advanced coursework, you start distinguishing between Lesser Magic and Great Magic."
A blood pattern drawn with natural geometric precision. Any Academy student would recognize the form.
"Lesser Magic refers to spells a mage activates individually, without external factors. Conversely, Great Magic refers to spells that use external factors."
As the explanation ended, X's hand stopped.
"Like this."
What he'd drawn was a magic circle. The activation circle for Great Magic.
Kiiiiing—!!
Blue light raced out from the pillar in both directions. The path was the mana lines X had drawn in blood, passing through pillar after pillar. In an instant, the blood mana lines formed a massive circle.
"What is this…!"
Gripork was horrified. He was standing in the very center of a Great Magic. It was already too late to get out.
"This shouldn't be possible! Magic of this scale would need a mana medium to match — where would that even…!"
Then every mana potion embedded in every pillar flashed through Gripork's mind.
"But those should have been consumed by the explosion magic…!"
"Why do you think the pillars were two meters tall?"
"…! Don't tell me the entire thing was filled with mana potions…!"
X took a step back and smiled.
"Correct."
FLAME BUSTER
"YOU MAGGOT—!!!!!"
Gripork immediately swung his sword at X's neck. But the magic activated even faster. The pillar element nodes and blood mana lines flashed once with blue light, and explosive force surged from every direction. All the mana in the area became a single charge of gunpowder, detonating violently, pulverizing the target. A true cataclysmic explosion.
KRAAAAAAAAAANG—!!!
Now…!
The instant it exploded, X dove in. He drew a short breath and held it. With no breath, he poured full power through his entire body, dropped low, and sprinted, gliding across the ground. His vision was obscured by dust and storm, but there was only one target. The long, long distance and gap closed in an instant.
Just as he set his stance to bring his sword down—
"DIIIIE—!!!"
A Gripork forged of rage and obsession brought his greatsword down through the dust. In that brief instant he had wrapped himself in Auror Armor and barely blocked the damage. His whole body was wrecked, barely able to stand — but he stood upright and brought his sword down.
"HAAAAAAAAH—!!!!!"
X roared as well. This round would be won by whoever struck down first. Of everything they had, the one with the weaker will would break. Both had given their all, poured out everything. Gripork, too, had decided to stake everything on this one strike.
Of course, this move of X's was a lie as well.
"Watch your head."
"More LIES!!!"
Gripork sensed three blades of auror flying toward the back of his head and his temples. Fast, as always. Even sensing and dodging would be razor-close — in this situation, dodging was impossible. Those White Light Swords would target his head faster than he could bring his own sword down.
But.
"I already knew you'd go for the head!!"
Illusion or truth, he just had to block it. He released Auror Armor from everywhere except his head, concentrating it to the maximum on the back and sides of his skull only.
Just three attacks! I'm ready!
Their swords came down toward each other.
KAAAANG—!!
The three White Light Swords aimed at his head failed to pierce the Auror Armor and bounced off.
CHAAAAENG—!!
X's and Gripork's swords collided. A 5-Star's blade far surpassed X, who had only just become 4-Star. X's sword was overpowered and knocked away. Overwhelmed, X left his upper body completely exposed. Gripork's sword did not stop. It plunged down to end X's life.
It should have been over.
One Truth (S)
Required Points: 5,000
"It wasn't a lie, though."
Something that shouldn't exist shot past X's head. White-shining white auror. A fourth White Light Sword.
A fourth…?
The White Light Sword was faster than the question.
TAAAANG—!!!
It struck Gripork square in the forehead.
"Kh, hhk…"
His forehead had not been protected by Auror Armor. The impact that followed was enough to rattle his brain. His sword path lost direction, wavered, and traced empty air.
And once more.
"I'm the type who doesn't let opportunities slip."
X's sword carved across Gripork's body.
The duel was decided.