The Final Habit
"It's 8 to 7!"
The crowd erupted in cheers as Leonia scored another point. Even in this situation, Brika wore a satisfied smile. When she had lost the title of the Empire's Sword, it had seemed her prime was clearly over.
On top of that, losing an eye in the war had become a fatal weakness as the years passed.
But now it looked as if she'd sold her house to some high-ranking healer—her eye was back, and her stamina seemed as strong as ever.
Because of that, even the spectators who had bet on Leonia began cheering for the match itself.
"Huff… huff…"
The two fighters currently dueling were…
"Haha! Did you finally overcome your habit?"
…having their own heated moment.
"Maybe?"
"Heh, so giving up that point earlier was just to check your habit, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Good! Then show it to me!"
Clang
"I'll confirm whether you've really gotten rid of your last habit or not!"
Brika charged forward once more. Just like before, she pressured with an overhead attack, then immediately swung her sword low.
Whoosh
When that happened…
"!!!!"
Leonia's body stiffened. The habit she didn't even know she had showed itself in that brief rigidity. It was so short that an ordinary person wouldn't notice it.
Clang
But…
"Oho?!"
It was no longer Leonia's weakness.
"You're fast!"
"I won't freeze up anymore! I won't let myself!"
Leonia's monstrous ability didn't come solely from her swordsmanship sense. Rather, her greatest talent was adaptability.
The same adaptability that had let her master swordsmanship even in harsh environments now shone in correcting her own habits.
Clang
"Insane! In that short time, you've fixed over a dozen habits!"
"Thanks to Professor Selene and Instructor Brika!"
"Hah? Then shouldn't you lose on purpose as thanks?"
"Sorry, but that's not happening!"
"Uwahaha!"
Clang-clang
"That's it, kid! Keep going with that stance!"
"......"
"You're going to lose. You'll lose to Selene. When it comes to swordsmanship, she's a crazy woman who surpasses humans! But that's exactly why you should struggle.
It's fun to keep pushing until the end! Just like I did, rising from the commoners to clash with nobles through swordsmanship—go wild at least once!"
Crack
Brika's swordsmanship changed.
"Ugh?!"
"Ah! One point to Brika! It's 8 to 8!"
Leonia gave up a point in an instant to Brika's suddenly altered stance.
"Training's no longer needed! I'm sick of repeating the same moves just so you could figure out your habit!"
"What?"
"I made you the strongest, so come at me with everything you've got! I'll go wild with my prime body too!"
Clang-clang-clang
Brika moved with unbelievable, rough movements unlike before.
"Ugh?!"
Leonia was caught off guard again. But the moment she had parried Brika's attack earlier, she had already analyzed her opponent's tactics.
Clang
Clang-clang
Leonia focused, blocking Brika's attacks one by one. At the same time, she spotted the tiny openings between Brika's strikes and thrust her sword precisely into the gaps.
Whoosh
"Ah! 9 to 8! Leonia has one point left!"
Leonia caught her breath and looked at Brika. The former Empire's Sword who had once defeated her. The instructor she had met again at the academy.
What expression was that person making now? What kind of face would someone show when they clearly felt defeat approaching?
"You little shit! You're pretty good!"
She was smiling. Laughing heartily.
"One point left. Come at me with everything you've got!"
"Yeah."
Just like before, this person was still smiling. Smiling even while losing. As if the situation itself was enjoyable…
Clang-clang
Leonia blocked Brika's assault again. Having not forgotten her earlier defeat, Brika pressed her attack even more densely this time. It seemed there were no openings at all. It felt impossible to find a gap just by defending.
Clang-clang
In the duel between the two, where even ordinary people couldn't easily read the flow…
"Here I come, Master!"
Leonia finally stepped forward.
"Come!"
Brika, gripping her longsword with both hands, quickly swung upward.
Thud
At that moment, Leonia switched her longsword from both hands to one. She immediately lowered her head, extended her upper body forward, and thrust her sword at her opponent.
Crack
Thud
Both attacks landed simultaneously.
"Ah! It's a simultaneous hit! Are both invalid, or is one valid?"
The host immediately turned to the judges. After a brief moment, the judges raised their hands.
Brika's sword had struck Leonia's arm.
"The winner is…"
Leonia's sword had reached Brika's heart.
"Leonia!"
Thus, the judges ruled it a serious injury to Brika under real combat standards and declared Leonia the winner.
"In the first opening match, Leonia becomes the first victor with a close 10 to 8 score!"
Thunderous applause and cheers filled the arena.
"Well done. You've gotten much stronger, Leonia."
"Thanks to you."
The two smiled and bowed to each other.
* * * *
"Did you see that match just now?"
"Rosy. I told you not to talk to me like we're close."
Meanwhile, the curved-sword killer Martin wore a meaningful expression as he watched the spectacular opening match.
"Either way, it's impressive, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"If Leonia's at that level, doesn't that mean you have the same ability as her, Martin?"
"Kek, of course. Plus, I got plenty of swordsmanship skills from that dead Jackson guy afterward."
"What? Swordsmanship skills combine and get stronger?"
"Obviously! So no matter how strong Leonia gets, I'm stronger than her. I thought she was dead back then, but it doesn't matter if she's alive."
"Because we'll win anyway?"
"Yeah."
As he spoke, Martin took out a pendant from his pocket and hid it in a corner of the arena's outer wall.
"This is the last one. You're sure all the pendants are in their designated spots?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Then it's over now. All that's left is…"
"Martin just needs to win the swordsmanship tournament, right?"
"Yeah. And in exchange for receiving the Empire's Sword, I'll meet the Emperor at today's closing ceremony."
"Heh heh. Who would've thought we'd end up doing something this big?"
"Our client is quite the big shot, after all."
"I wonder if that Cassian guy will do his part well. He's so hard to read, it's worrying. He's pretty shady too…"
"Don't worry about it. Just think about the next step."
"Got it."
The two quietly pretended to be elsewhere when…
"Ugh… my stomach feels off from the tension."
They stared at the man clutching his stomach in pain.
"Is it that guy?"
"Yeah, no doubt. He's the one going into the next match."
"Good."
Martin pulled a dagger from his coat.
"You go bring that woman who's been following Cassian."
* * * *
A moment later.
"Huh? Who are you… gah?!"
Martin easily stabbed the man with the dagger.
"A tournament participant, and that's all you've got? You should be grateful to me instead. After all, I'm the Empire's Sword."
Martin hid the man, who was bleeding appropriately.
"Well then, off you go."
While the matches were in full swing and people weren't wandering around, Martin hid his bloodied dagger.
"Ugh?"
But an unexpected turn of events occurred.
'What's with that kid?'
Martin saw a silver-haired girl walking through a place where no one usually passed. The girl was even passing by the spot where he had hidden the man he stabbed earlier.
"Tch! Don't notice… or you'll die too."
Martin watched the girl from behind a pillar.
"Ugh?"
At that moment, the walking girl stopped and looked in Martin's direction.
'Did she notice something?'
Martin held his breath behind the pillar for quite some time. Then he looked back again.
'Hmm?'
The girl was walking her own way again.
'Phew… she didn't notice.'
Martin let out a sigh of relief and walked his own path as well.
'You should count yourself lucky, kid. If you'd seen that corpse, you'd be dead too.'
* * * *
Time passed again.
"Listen carefully. Even if I can transform myself, transforming others has a time limit."
Martin had transformed into the appearance of the man he had stabbed earlier. Seria explained a few precautions.
"Tsk! This guy's kinda chubby."
"Does that matter?"
"Not at all. Just feels unpleasant."
Martin confidently picked up his weapon.
"By the way, isn't there a mana-blocking device in the dueling arena?"
"My transformation magic only uses mana at the moment of transformation. After that, it's just trace mana, so it won't be affected by the mana-blocking device. Well, except maybe for something like that pendant chain explosion at the Security Bureau."
"Good. Then there's no problem."
Martin swung his weapon a few times.
Then he sheathed his sword again.
"I'll be off. Make sure to prepare for the operation."
He strode toward the dueling arena.
* * * *
"Next match coming up!"
The arena buzzed with energy once more. The spectators began heating up again to watch the next match.
"Both contestants, please enter!"
Two contestants began walking onto the dueling stage.
"The first contestant is…"
Martin, who had entered the arena in someone else's form, paid no attention to his opponent. His target was Leonia, who was certain to take first place. After dealing with her, he would carry out his plan during the Emperor's award ceremony that followed.
"And the academy's rising star! SeleneSeleneSelene… wait, is that the right name? Ah, whatever! It's Selene!"
So he had no interest in any small fry.
"Huh?"
That's what he had been thinking.
"What? You?"
"(Tilt)"
When Martin absentmindedly looked up and met Selene's eyes, he froze for a moment.
'That's the kid from earlier?!'
The girl before him was none other than the one who had been at the scene of the murder he had committed.
'Coincidence? Or does she know something?'
Because of that, it took Martin some time to suppress the anxiety that suddenly welled up.
"Um… are you all right, contestant?"
"Huh? Ah, it's nothing. I'm fine."
Martin took a short breath and drew his sword.
'If she knew, she wouldn't just stand there.'
He decided to quickly deal with this small fry and prepare for the finals.
"Looks like your luck in the draw ends here, kid."
"(Tilt)"
"You made it to the main tournament by luck, but it's time to go home."