Revenge (2)
It was late at night two days later.
Riding by the light of the moon, we finally arrived at Lake Jain, the lakeside a short distance from the academy—our agreed-upon dueling ground.
"Careful where you step—it's dark."
"Yes, thank you, Ian."
I dismounted Silence first, and Hori followed, cautiously taking my hand as she slid down from the saddle.
Riding double like this brought back fresh memories of our journey together before arriving at the academy.
Even then, I'd thought Hori wasn't quite right in the head, but how had things escalated to this point...?
"Hm? What's wrong, Ian?"
"Nah, nothing."
To fight in a spot with better light, Hori and I headed toward the lake.
As we drew right up to the water's edge, the vast lake reflected the moonlight from the sky, illuminating the surroundings. It seemed bright enough.
"This much light should be fine for collecting data, right?"
"Yes! If I could be a little greedy, daytime would've been better, but I'll make do with this!"
"Good. So, the potion I asked for?"
Hori rummaged through her pockets as if she'd just remembered, then handed me a vial of potion in that suspiciously shady color it always had.
"By the way, Ian, how are you planning to get Peter to drink this? He's so rigid—he'll probably go on about a knight's pride and refuse."
"Don't worry, I've got it covered."
Sure, he's rigid, but he's just an old knight obsessed with face-saving. Give him a justification he can swallow, and he'll down it no problem.
I pocketed the potion from Hori and stared out at the lake, waiting for Peter.
Soon enough, through the leyline, I sensed one man and one horse barreling toward us at tremendous speed.
"He's here..."
"Huh? Oh! We need to hide quick!"
Hori looked around for a spot to conceal herself but panicked when she couldn't find one right away, ducking behind me instead. I turned toward the approaching Peter.
Peter rode in on a horse as big as he was, clad head to toe in gleaming white armor—unlike our first fight.
A massive hammer slung at his horse's side—twice the size of the one from the academy—must be the weapon he used when he was serious.
That horse is using aura too, like Robo.
Of course, compared to Robo, it was like a katana versus a rapier, but the fact that it was wrapped in aura remained unchanged.
Seeing that horse reminded me I needed to teach Silence aura soon, but I'd been putting it off for lack of time.
"...Hiiing!!"
Peter's horse neighed to a halt, and he dismounted, grabbing the hammer from its side and planting himself before me.
"You actually showed up instead of running!"
"Shut your mouth!! This time, I'll smash your skull for sure!!"
"Huh?"
Something was off. Of course he harbored ill will toward me, but this level of rage seemed excessive even for that.
"Hori, did you say anything to that guy besides the message I told you to pass on?"
"Huh? W-well, um..."
Hori hesitated, glancing at me, then nodded once I promised not to get mad and whispered everything she'd said that day into my ear.
"Kuhuhu...!!"
Having heard it all from her, I couldn't hold back my laughter imagining Peter's face at the time.
"You really, really said that?!"
"Yes... I thought if I didn't, he'd refuse the duel..."
"You did great! Perfectly great! And you even picked lines that sounded just like me!"
"Hehe... I had a feeling that's what you'd say, Ian."
"What the hell are you two giggling about?!"
"Huh?"
Peter's sudden bellow made Hori, hiding behind me, flinch. I turned to face him.
His face flushed redder than before with fury, hammer aimed at me as he spat.
"The duel starts now!! One of us might die, and you're flirting with a woman?!"
"If you think that, why are you getting so heated?"
"What?!"
If your opponent was flirting and dropping his guard mid-duel, you'd be thrilled, not pissed.
No need to demean yourself to lure him into complacency—he was doing it for you. How could you not be happy?
"If you're taking this duel seriously, you should've kept that anger bottled up till the end. Do you even want to win?"
"Shut up!! This is a sacred knight's duel!! You think I'd pull some cowardly stunt?!"
"Cowardly stunt? You think this is some tournament? Win however you have to—cowardly or not. You know what? Losers like you are the ones whining about 'cowardly tactics' or 'that doesn't count.'"
"Loser...? You bastard!!"
"Why? You are a loser. Or did you forget? Collapsing at the academy, bleeding from a training sword—not even a real katana."
"Grrr!!"
Aura gathered around Peter's enraged body. Taking it as the signal to start, I told Hori, still behind me.
"Hori, step back a bit."
"Y-yes!!"
Ever the knight, Peter distastefully waited for Hori to move away before she harmed a woman.
Once she was a good distance off, Peter assumed a defensive stance, bracing for my attack.
I didn't take any stance at all. I just stared blankly at him like nothing was happening.
Even seeing me full of openings, Peter must've thought it was a trap—he held his position without attacking.
The silent standoff dragged on, no sword drawn, no word spoken. Finally, I took a step forward.
"Waiting for me to draw first? If you're that scared, I'll come to you."
I approached defenselessly, hands nowhere near hilt or scabbard—like a casual stroll.
Watching my vulnerable advance, Peter glared and growled.
"You...!! How far will you mock me?!"
"How long were you gonna make me wait? I'm practically offering my head—why won't you swing?"
Right at striking range, I even tilted my head forward to show him the distance.
Then came Peter's furious stomp, his heavy hammer swinging down at my skull.
The wind from the strike whipped my cheek, but I didn't flinch—just watched it come.
A Sword Master-level warrior swinging full force.
And the result...
-Zzzt!!
The ground beneath my feet cracked as if absorbing the impact meant for my head.
He'd meant to kill me for real—the shock rippled to the lake, sending massive waves crashing.
The exact opposite of our academy fight. Peter's eyes widened in shock, shaking.
"H-how...!!"
"You saw it once—why ask how?"
It wasn't drawing leyline power—just redirecting the force hitting me back through the leylines. Simple trick.
I'd seen it twice, including from Robo, and once I awakened to leyline power, such feats were easy.
"Now it's my turn."
Peter snapped to at my words, but it was far too late.
Before his brain could command it, my body—honed by endless repetition over a decade—had already shifted into Battōjutsu stance.
Seeing it, Peter raised his hammer for another strike.
But before he could bring it down—clang!!—a crisp sound rang out, and Peter's body launched high into the air.
"Gah!! Graaaah!!"
"Wh-what just...?!!"
Confused cries came from above and behind—neither grasping what happened.
My sword was clearly still sheathed, yet it was like a video edit: process cut, result shown—Peter flying.
That's how it appeared, at least.
No one watching—not Peter, not Hori, not even me—saw the blade unsheathe.
The sword struck Peter's body without ever revealing its edge, like a chaste maiden keeping her skin hidden.
Success...
This technique, said to be used by England's great Sword Master, forsakes power and precision for pure speed—an ultra-rapid Battōjutsu.
No one sees the draw or sheathing. Its name...
"Adam Smith-style Battōjutsu. Invisible Battōjutsu."
Among my A++ Battōjutsu arsenal, probably the fastest slammed into Peter.
Adam Smith-style Battōjutsu: Invisible Battōjutsu
Rank: A
Ultra-rapid Battōjutsu that draws and attacks at invisible speeds, then sheathes at the same unseen velocity.
Adam Smith didn't use Battōjutsu at all, and skipping pointless steps like drawing and sheathing would've made it even stronger.
Bullshit—what does some clown who knows jack about Battōjutsu know about history?